"Alright, let's get going. Badr, why don't you sit up front?" Itsuki, eager to get to the festival, interjected before Mr. Edogawa could continue his appraisal. "Mr. Edogawa, we're counting on you!"
"Of course," Mr. Edogawa replied with a smile as he started the car.
Ichika exchanged a glance with her sisters, knowing that their father would eventually find out about Badr. But there was no way he'd believe that Badr was actually a Devil from myth and legend.
As they drove to the festival, Badr followed along with the group, treating the whole experience as just another part of his current task. He would have preferred to accompany Mai Sakurajima or Rias, but they had their own commitments, so he was content to join the quintuplets instead.
Once they arrived at the festival, the sisters' faces were alight with excitement.
"We're here at the fireworks festival!"
"The fireworks start at seven, so we've got some time to look around!"
"Hehe, should we try catching some goldfish?"
They chatted animatedly among themselves, while Badr surveyed the crowded festival grounds. The sheer number of people surprised him. Since arriving in this world, this was his first time at such a lively event. Even in his previous life, he rarely visited places with large crowds.
The bustling atmosphere before him felt unfamiliar and intriguing.
"Badr, have you never been to a fireworks festival before? You look like someone who's never celebrated anything," Itsuki suddenly asked, noticing his expression.
"No, I haven't."
There was no reason to hide it. Even after crossing over to this world, the most memorable events Badr had experienced were battles with fallen angels. Beyond that, there wasn't much that stood out...
...
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Chapter 76: Fragments of a Festival: The Nakano Sisters' Bond
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...
Badr glanced at Itsuki Nakano, feeling slightly speechless. The girl had both hands full of snacks, her mouth stuffed as she continued to chew with enthusiasm.
"This girl is really a foodie..." he thought to himself.
Noticing Badr's gaze, Itsuki blushed and shyly responded, "Stop looking at me like that while I'm eating..."
"You know you're a foodie yourself, don't you?"
"There's nothing to be embarrassed about. It seems like you even changed your hairstyle; it looks nice," Badr casually remarked.
Seeing the bowl of food in Itsuki's hands, he naturally picked up a toothpick and poked a piece of hot tofu, tossing it into his mouth.
"Ha ha, Badr has been observing us well!"
Ichika Nakano leaned in with a playful smile and said, "So, are you interested in the fact that we aren't wearing underwear under our yukatas?"
"Now that you mention it, I am quite interested."
"Haha! Want to see?" Ichika teased, slightly pulling down her collar, revealing a hint of cleavage.
Her bold move instantly shocked Miku and Itsuki, who were standing nearby.
"Ichika!?"
Ichika just laughed, "Haha, I'm just kidding."
Badr remained calm, already knowing Ichika's personality. He could see through her antics and knew she was teasing him.
Naturally, he wouldn't fall for it, so he calmly responded, "I'm not interested in seeing; I'm just curious if it would be uncomfortable with nothing rubbing against the front."
Ichika: "...??"
Everyone else: "..."
The girls were stunned by Badr's unexpected comeback.
Nino Nakano looked exasperated. "Seriously, what's going on in your head?"
Badr shrugged, continuing to take food from Itsuki, who cried out in protest, telling him to go buy his own.
...
After some playful banter, they prepared to move to a better spot to watch the fireworks.
"Where are we going?" Badr asked.
"It's the rooftop of a restaurant. Nino has reserved the entire rooftop," Yotsuba Nakano explained.
Badr was speechless, thinking to himself how much they must have spent just to get a good view of the fireworks.
"Wait, are we really going without buying anything from the stalls?" Nino suddenly reminded everyone.
The girls were slightly taken aback before realizing what she meant.
"Oh yeah! We haven't bought that yet!"
"Do you mean that?"
"Is there a stall for that here?"
"I want to eat that soon!!"
They all seemed quite excited.
Seeing their synchronized reactions, Badr raised an eyebrow, "So, what exactly is that?"
Nino smiled mysteriously, "Ready!"
She meant they were all going to answer together.
And in the next second, the five sisters simultaneously called out their cravings.
"Candied apples!"
"Chocolate bananas!"
"Fried noodles!"
"Taiyaki!"
"Shaved ice!"
Each of the five sisters shouted out a completely different answer.
Badr was speechless and couldn't help but sigh, "So much for being in sync..."
Everyone: "..."
The girls were a bit embarrassed but decided to go all out and turned around together, saying, "Let's just buy everything!"
Badr had no choice but to follow them as they began their shopping spree before the fireworks began. His task today was to be their diligent bodyguard.
"Badr, hurry up!" Miku called out.
"I'm coming," he replied, quickening his pace to walk alongside her. "You're really enthusiastic about this. Don't they have fireworks every year?"
"Fireworks remind us of our mother. She loved watching them, and she would take us every year. Even though she's not with us anymore, we still come here every year," Miku said softly.
Badr nodded, understanding her feelings.
"Fireworks are fleeting, but memories last forever."
"Yeah." Miku smiled gently, her eyes reflecting a sense of nostalgia. "To us, fireworks are just like that."
At that moment, Ichika suddenly pulled out her phone, glanced at it, and looked apologetically at the group.
"Sorry, I have to take this call."
She squeezed through the noisy crowd, finding a quieter corner to answer her phone.
Badr watched her from a distance, his mind deep in thought.
Recently, Ichika had been getting calls quite often, and she always seemed busy with something. He couldn't help but wonder what she was up to...
But that was her personal business, and he had no right to pry.
Just then, the announcement for the fireworks show blared through the speakers, indicating that it was about to start.
Nino hurried everyone along to the reserved rooftop, only to realize that they had lost sight of each other in the crowd.
The bustling crowd pushed Nino around, and the sisters were separated. Badr quickly noticed and identified their locations.
Thanks to his demonic abilities, sensing their presence was a piece of cake.
Badr squeezed his way to Nino, who was struggling to stay upright amidst the crowd, and grabbed her wrist.
"Badr, where are the others?" she asked.
"They got separated. It's too crowded right now. Let me get you to the rooftop first."
"What a mess..."
"Stop complaining. I'll bring the others over soon," Badr reassured her, gently pulling her along.
With Badr leading the way, Nino fell silent, her thoughts wandering.
Soon, Badr managed to get Nino to the rooftop of the hotel, which was completely empty.
"...Oops, I forgot I'm the only one who knows the location of the hotel," Nino said awkwardly. She quickly pulled out her phone to make a call but realized there was no signal.
"Seriously... why does this rooftop have no signal?" Nino was frustrated.
"It's fine. Don't worry. The fireworks will last for an hour. Just wait here, and I'll bring them over," Badr said before hurrying back down the stairs, leaving Nino to sigh in resignation.
Using his keen senses, Badr soon found two of the sisters, Yotsuba and Itsuki.
One had been distracted by a goldfish scooping game, and the other by the delicious food, which explained why they had gotten separated.
After telling them the hotel's location, Badr set off again and found Miku.
He noticed that Miku seemed a bit off, limping slightly as she walked.
"What happened?"
"...Someone accidentally stepped on me. It hurts," Miku said with a bit of a pout.
Badr looked down at her foot and, remembering that Nino and the others were probably waiting for them, softly suggested, "How about I carry you?"
"...Huh?"
"We promised to watch the fireworks together, didn't we?"
With that, Badr crouched down and gently lifted Miku onto his back.
As she rested her head on his shoulder, Miku's face turned red, her heart racing.
This was so unexpected.
"Are we really going to walk like this?" Miku worried about being too heavy.
But her weight was nothing to Badr;
After all, he was used to doing push-ups with Rias and Asia both sitting on him.
"Let's get you to the rooftop first. Miku, did you see Ichika?"
"No... I didn't," Miku shook her head. Lying on Badr's back, she quietly murmured, "She's been acting a bit strange lately."
"She has, hasn't she?"
"Ah, I remember seeing Ichika get out of a car with an old man with a mustache..." Miku added.
Badr was left speechless.
Getting out of a car with a mustached old man?
What kind of situation is that?
Pursing his lips, Badr carried Miku to the hotel rooftop, where the four sisters were finally reunited.
Now, only Ichika was missing.
Perhaps feeling guilty for making him run around so much, the sisters sincerely thanked him, saying, "Please bring Ichika back to us."
Badr understood. For the five sisters, it was a tradition to watch the fireworks together, and they didn't want to miss out.
"Leave it to me."
Badr descended the stairs and quickly made his way to the spot where he had sensed Ichika's presence earlier.
Although he couldn't distinguish each sister's aura perfectly, he had already located the other three, so by the process of elimination, the remaining aura had to be Ichika's.
He rushed toward the designated area and soon caught sight of Ichika's familiar figure.
As he approached her, reaching out to tap her shoulder, someone suddenly jumped in front of him, blocking his way.
"Who are you? What are you trying to do with Ichika?"
...
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Chapter 77: Ichika's Struggle: Between Sisters and Dreams!
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...
The man cautiously asked a question, and Badr finally got a clear look at his appearance.
..A bearded middle-aged man?
Facing the bearded man in front of him, Badr's expression slightly tensed.
Did he mistake me for someone harassing Ichika?
Is this man protecting Ichika?
It seems like he has some unusual relationship with her.
Just as he was about to say something, Ichika Nakano suddenly slapped the shoulder of the middle-aged man:
"Ah! Someone seems to be breaking into your car window!!"
"What!?"
The bearded man immediately turned around, and seeing this, Ichika grabbed Badr's hand and ran towards the distance.
"...Hey, Ichika?"
Badr could only follow her, feeling a bit puzzled.
"Haha, don't ask, just run, or we'll be caught."
Ichika looked back and said with a smile.
Seeing her smile, Badr's expression subtly changed, noticing that her smile seemed a bit forced.
Without asking much, he followed Ichika into a narrow alley.
In the distance, the bearded man checked the car, scratched his head, and walked back, only to find that Ichika and Badr were already nowhere to be seen, his expression instantly freezing.
With a confused look on his face, he circled around several times, only to see the crowd surging around...
In the alley, Ichika pressed Badr against the wall.
Smack!
She stretched out her hand and leaned it against the wall beside Badr.
Is this... the legendary kabedon?
Badr felt a bit speechless. What is this?
He had no idea what was going on.
Maintaining a calm expression, Badr quietly looked at Ichika in front of him, who was also staring straight at him.
After a while, Ichika finally showed a faint smile.
"Hey, can you keep what just happened a secret for me?"
Her gaze slightly lowered, with a hint of melancholy as she said, "I can't go see the fireworks with them."
Badr lowered his head, keeping his gaze aligned with Ichika's.
"You should know that they all want the five of you to be together."
"Of course I know." Ichika smiled a bit helplessly.
She also wanted that, didn't she?
"It's just that I suddenly got some work, so I can't go see the fireworks."
"Work?" Badr quickly caught on: "So that man just now is your colleague?"
"Haha, that's right."
"It seems like they don't know either."
Ichika looked a bit embarrassed, "Ha, haha... well, I planned to tell them after making a name for myself first..."
"Are you sure it's okay if the five of you don't watch the fireworks together? This is a memory you share with your mother, and you've been together every year, right?"
Badr's calm words made Ichika Nakano slightly pause.
"How do you know that...?"
"Miku told me."
"That girl even told you that, huh."
Ichika smiled helplessly: "After all, we're quintuplets, everyone looks exactly the same, so it doesn't matter if I'm not there, right?"
Badr shrugged, calmly saying: "Do you have the guts to say that to their faces?"
Ichika: "..."
She was at a loss for words, finding it both amusing and exasperating.
"Speaking of which, what does this have to do with you, Badr? Why do you care about us...?"
"Who knows, maybe it's because I don't want to miss the chance to showcase my charming, steady personality."
Badr said casually with a calm expression.
Ichika: "..."
How can you say something so shameless...
Just then, Ichika noticed a familiar figure appearing outside the alley, it was the bearded man from earlier. Her expression instantly changed.
"Ah! How did he find us?"
She hurriedly took two steps forward, seeing the bearded man approaching the alley, her face slightly tense.
"Oh no, oh no, I tricked him into running away earlier, now I'm going to get scolded..."
Suddenly, she thought of something, quickly wrapping her arms around Badr's waist and turning slightly to hide behind him. From the outside, it looked like a pair of lovers embracing each other.
