HPDBC Chapter 80
Chapter 80
“Tired, Mina?”
“Exhausted... The winner’s interview was longer than the actual event...”
A somewhat exhausted Mina returned, having been released from her duties by the school festival committee.
She was still wearing the kimono and hakama she wore on stage.
“What a whirlwind of events.”
“I didn’t expect to win when I decided to enter the beauty contest on a whim.”
Mina walked beside me, smiling sheepishly.
“But you were amazing, Mina.”
“Really!? Yuu-kun?”
“Yeah. You looked great in the yukata last time, but this Taisho-era romantic hakama and furisode suit you so well.”
“Do you think so? At my elementary school graduation, many girls wore hakama and kimono, but I thought it wouldn’t suit my face or hair color, so I wore a regular dress.”
Mina said this while twirling around, showing off her furisode and hakama.
“Don’t you need to change out of that kimono?”
“It was provided by the sponsor of the beauty contest, and they asked me to wear it home.”
If Mina walked around the festival in that outfit, it would be great advertising for the kimono.
Smart thinking.
Indeed, Mina had been catching everyone’s attention since earlier.
It’s rare to see someone in a kimono at the school festival.
Usually, it’s just people from martial arts clubs in their uniforms, which aren’t nearly as glamorous.
“By the way, when did you learn to recite poetry, Mina?”
“When I was a child. My mom told me that since we look foreign, we should know more about Japanese traditional arts than pure Japanese people.”
“I see...”
Her response made me feel a bit down.
During the world war, when anti-foreign sentiments were high in Japan, Mina and her mother, Millia, who had naturalized but still looked completely foreign, had a tough time.
Millia must have been desperate to protect her daughter...
“But it was tough earlier. They asked me to show a special skill right before the contest, but I didn’t have any props or prepared music, so I decided to recite poetry since it could be done a cappella.”
“Thanks to your mother’s education, huh?”
“Yeah. I should thank her when I get home. I got to wear such a lovely kimono and hakama.”
“You look wonderful. I’m so happy to walk around the festival with such a beautiful girl in traditional Japanese clothes.”
“Why are you complimenting me so much today, Yuu-kun? You weren’t like this when we were in Okinawa in swimsuits.”
“Well, I think you’ve grown a lot...”
“You’re seeing me like a parent would!? I know kimono and hakama are worn for graduation ceremonies, but...”
“Oh, I get it. This must be how a father feels about his daughter.”
“I also dream of being a young wife.”
“I see. Girls do have those dreams.”
“Don’t get me wrong! I’m not in a hurry to marry just anyone!”
“Haha, I understand.”
“Do you really?”
Mina looked up at me, pouting.
Today, she wore short boots instead of her usual school loafers, making her a bit taller.
So, her face was closer than usual.
“Ah...”
Mina seemed to realize this too, blushing and hiding her face with her furisode.
Her different demeanor made my heart skip a beat.
“A wedding... might be nice.”
“Really!?”
I unintentionally spoke my thoughts out loud.
Mina, who had been acting demurely, clung to me, excited.
“I’d love to see you in a white kimono.”
“I’ll wear it! Absolutely!”
Mina, your face is so close... Why are you so desperate?
You mentioned wanting a wedding dress earlier, but you’re okay with a traditional wedding now?
As I wondered, someone called out to us.
“There she is! Excuse me, Miss Tiger Roar, the beauty contest winner. Can we take a picture?”
Several people with cameras approached Mina.
“Yes, of course.”
As the beauty contest winner, Mina was expected to walk around the festival promoting the event.
Taking photos was part of that.
“Me too!”
“Please look this way!”
“Can you pose with your furisode spread out?”
“Now, give a cold, disdainful look!”
“Oh, great!”
Before we knew it, a crowd had gathered around Mina, taking photos.
Surprisingly, many of her fans were girls.
As more people joined, the crowd quickly became unmanageable.