By the time everything was tidied up, it was already a bit late.
Asakura asked Yukinoshita Yukino to send Yanami Anna, Yamada Ryo, and Ijichi Nijika back. After all, with the three life-saving hairs, or rather, the Scale Flash Pattern, he had given her, Yukinoshita Yukino could theoretically contend with a 460mm Type 94 battleship main gun for a whole day, so there was no need to worry about any accidents.
The only thing to worry about was probably whether Yanami Anna and Yamada Ryo, who had packed a large amount of food, would get too tired and break down halfway…
As for the others, Asakura planned to drive them back, after all, his little broken car had quite a lot of space—Undetectable Extension Charm, kid!
Although Asakura really wanted to say that, in reality, he only needed to send Gotō Hitori, Asagumo Chihaya, and Yuigahama Yui, so it could fit them all even without an Undetectable Extension Charm.
"Although I heard Yui-chan mention it before, it really feels strange to sit in it myself…" Asagumo Chihaya, who had casually taken the front passenger seat, observed the interior of the little broken car with great interest, and couldn't help but gently touch some strange places.
The little broken car trembled with a clattering sound.
"This guy seems a bit ticklish, it's best not to touch it like that—" Asakura reminded her.
Asagumo Chihaya quickly raised her hand and smiled somewhat awkwardly, while Asakura added, "Also, fasten your seatbelt."
After confirming that everyone was seated, he pressed the invisibility button, and from the outside, it looked as if the little broken car had melted into the air in an instant.
Then Asakura stepped on the gas and directly rushed into the sky: even though he had driven it many times, Asakura still thoroughly enjoyed the process of taking off.
He suspected that the little broken car actually had other magical enchantments, otherwise it would be difficult to explain why, despite rapidly ascending hundreds of meters abruptly, there was no pain in his ears due to changes in air pressure.
Yuigahama Yui curiously rolled down some of the car window—as an antique car, the little broken car's windows were naturally controlled by classic crank handles. However, as a modern child, Yuigahama Yui had hardly ever seen such car window controls, just as she had hardly ever encountered a rotary phone, so she was naturally curious about such things.
"If you open the window in the sky…" Asakura had just spoken when a howling gale surged in through the window crack, making the three girls' hair whip wildly.
Yuigahama Yui quickly rolled the window back up, which finally allowed the air inside the car to settle down again.
Gotō Hitori and Asagumo Chihaya's hair were a mess, but Yuigahama Yui, the culprit, whose hair was shorter than the other two and tied in a bun, didn't suffer much.
"There will be strong winds blowing in—" Asakura's voice, a half-step late, finally sounded. He shrugged innocently—unable to make his preferred gesture of spreading his hands while driving—and said, "I thought you knew."
"Yeah—" Yuigahama Yui shrunk her head, feeling a bit guilty about the sharp gaze coming from under Asagumo Chihaya's messy hair in the front seat: "It made quite an impression, I definitely won't do it again next time."
For the next ten minutes or so, Asagumo Chihaya was busy tidying her hair—although her long, flowing hair usually looked beautiful, when it was blown into a mess, it inexplicably gave off a ghostly feeling.
Perhaps seeing her disheveled appearance in the rearview Mirror, Asagumo Chihaya gave up on talking and focused on tidying herself up, but before that, she specifically asked Asakura not to look at her until she had tidied up, and Asakura naturally agreed.
However, by the time she was almost done tidying, the little broken car had already arrived at its destination: her home was the closest to Soubu High School.
After Asakura made a beautiful glide and slowly descended, parking the car in a deserted alley next to the girl's house, Asagumo Chihaya got out of the car with a hint of disappointment.
"See you around—" Asakura nodded to her. Just as he was about to become invisible and ascend again, the girl suddenly turned and looked at him.
"Takuma-kun—" she said softly.
"What's wrong?" Asakura put down the hand that was already on the key and asked the girl curiously.
"I think Takuma-kun really did a lot for the success of this Founders' Festival and has an indelible contribution—" Asagumo Chihaya said.
"It's not that amazing—" Asakura genuinely felt that the time and effort he spent on this Founders' Festival were not something to be praised. In fact, in terms of contributions to the preparation phase alone, Yanami Anna's contribution might even be more than his.
"I'm not good enough. I wasn't able to help much, whether in the preparation or execution process—" Asagumo Chihaya looked at him.
Because of her identity, she was neither a member of the Service Club nor the Magic Club (publicly), nor was she a member of the Student Council, so she had no reason to join the Founders' Festival work and could only watch Asakura and the others work tirelessly.
"This is nothing to apologize for. After all, it was my proposal to have you stay out as a surprise force from the beginning—" Asakura comforted her indifferently.
"My pocket watch is gone, and now I'm just an ordinary person, unlike Ruri-chan and Hitori-chan who have great power. It's really difficult for me to be a surprise force that can deliver a decisive blow—" Asagumo Chihaya looked at Asakura with extreme seriousness: "So I hope I can join the Magic Club and be able to help you… you all, legitimately."
"I see…" Asakura looked at the girl.
"Sorry for troubling you—" Asagumo Chihaya lowered her head and said softly.
"Not at all. Rather, I failed to notice your feelings, I'm sorry—" Asakura shook his head, "You can join anytime. Just hand in your application to Hiratsuka-sensei. Everyone in the Magic Club will welcome you very much."
Asagumo Chihaya bowed to Asakura again.
Asakura then gave her a cheering gesture, and then the little broken car leaped up under the girl's gaze, melting into the clear blue sky.
Asagumo Chihaya stared at the empty sky for a long time, which contained nothing but large patches of clouds, before finally turning and returning home.
Asakura soon dropped Yuigahama Yui off at her house, and after making a promise to visit her home when free, he took the remaining Gotō Hitori and flew into the sky again.
From just now, Gotō Hitori had been silent as if she was thinking about something.
Of course, she was usually this silent and gloomy, and someone unfamiliar with her might be deceived by her expression, thinking she was a cool and aloof beautiful girl.
But Asakura felt that the girl was just spacing out.
So he took the initiative to speak.
"Hitori."
"Yes, yes!"
"Let's go on a date this weekend."
"I'm sorry, I sang too badly… Huh? Eh eh eh eh—?!"