Chapter 6
The following afternoon
Subaru: Heyyy guys! Heyyy, yoohoo~... ☆
I thought I was gonna be the first one here, but you’re all early! Just shows how hyped you guys are for this, huh?
Me too though! I was so excited I couldn’t sleep a wink! So now I’m all high-strung from pulling an all-nighter! Woohoooo... ♪
Hokuto: You’d be high-strung even if you hadn’t stayed up. Hmm... You brought Daikichi-kun with you today?
Subaru: You bet! I’m basically his designated walking buddy during the summer.
But I’ve been sooo busy lately I haven’t had any time with him. So now I’ve gotta make up for my Daikichi deficiency!
Hokuto: Fufu, he’s so round, it’s cute.
Subaru: Pet him! He loves getting pets!
I wanna pet him too, but I’ve kinda got my hands full here.
Hokuto: You’re letting him walk around without a leash? What if he attacks someone and hurts them?
Not that I actually think Daikichi would do something like that, but it’s basic manners to keep your dog on a leash.
Subaru: What’s with the sermon right off the bat? And anyway, I didn’t let him walk around without a leash. I just took it off once we got to the park.
It’s a dog park, so I can do that.
Hokuto: Hm, really? I didn’t know; sorry for blaming you.
Subaru: It’s all good! More importantly, check this out: I got ramune for everyone! They were selling it right by the park!
Oh, but the marbles are mine ☆
Hokuto: Hmph, so you got the ramune just for the marbles, then? Typical of you.
Subaru: I mean, I can’t help that they’re so sparkly!
But that’s not all—I was also worried about how hot it was and thought you might be thirsty. Fufu, aren’t I the best? ♪
Makoto: Yeah, I was parched. Thanks a bunch~!
Makoto: ...Gyaaah?! The drink exploded!
Subaru: Ahahaha! Oh man, that killed me! I’ve only ever seen that happen in manga!
Hokuto: Don’t laugh, Akehoshi.
...You got it all over your face, Yuuki. It has to be sticky, so you should go wash it off at the fountain over there. You can use my handkerchief.
Makoto: R–right, thanks. Urrgh, it got all over my glasses, too... Uhh, where’s that fountain again?
Mao: Oh, take my hand. I’ll show you.
Makoto: Please and thank you, Isara-kun.
Subaru: Um, hmmm? Okay, but why’d the drink burst out so hard, anyway?
Hokuto: You must have rushed over here once you saw us. You might have shaken up the drinks.
Subaru: Oh, I guess so. Sorry, Ukki I’ll apologize when he gets back.
Hokuto: You should. ...Look, here he comes.
Makoto: We’re back~ Thanks for the hanky, Hidaka-kun. I wanna wash it before I give it back, so can I keep it for a little bit longer?
Subaru: Ukki! I’m sorry!
I didn’t mean to shake up the drinks.
Makoto: Nah, don’t worry about it. I got to wash my face off with cold water, so now I feel super refreshed.
Subaru: Oooh, the park water is cold? I got all sweaty walking Daikichi, so maybe I’ll go wash off too?
Makoto: Do you want a towel, then? It’s a gym towel, so it’s long enough to wrap around your neck and wipe your face down ♪
Subaru: Gimme gimme! But wait, if you had a towel, why’d you need that hanky from Hokke?
Makoto: Ahaha, because I couldn’t see anything through all the ramune in my eyes. By the way, I brought the towel with me ‘cause I thought it’d make for good merch.
Mao: Oh yeah, Makoto and Subaru were in charge of the merch.
Towels are pretty practical, and you see them for sale a lot~ I think that’s a good idea.
Makoto: I was also thinking about selling T-shirts.
I got some advice that towels and T-shirts were must-haves for summer festival-type things, so I put together a list of vendors and fabrics we could use.
Mao: Hm? You got advice?
Makoto: Yeah, I kinda stumbled upon Izumi-san...
Oh but like, he didn’t do anything to me, so don’t worry. He actually gave me a lot of advice. It really helped me a lot.
So what do you think? I looked around, and it seems like shirts are common merch for sale at summer festivals. I thought it was a good idea.
Hokuto: Yeah, I agree. I’m sure the shirts and towels will sell well.
Subaru: Hey, hold your horses! I’ve been thinking about it too, so listen up!
Hokuto: Hm... I am the one who said it’d be helpful of you to think about this, so go on Akehoshi.
Subaru: Okie doke! What about baseball hats? It gives a little shade, and you can use it all the time, right?
Mao: Oh, that’s true. Hats can help prevent heatstroke, and you can get some use out of them just like shirts and towels.
Hokuto: T-shirts, towels, baseball hats... They’re all good ideas, but taking the cost into account, we’d have to limit it to two.
Makoto: Mm... We could try to cut costs on the shirts?
I learned about silkscreen printing online. It looks like we can make our own original shirts if we just get the materials for it.
It’ll take time, but it’d mean we just have to pay for the cost of materials. How about it?
Subaru: I’m down to clown~! It sounds so fun to make our own shirts together... ☆
Hokuto: Then we’ll do that, and we can ask a vendor about hats and towels.
Actually, if we’re making the shirts ourselves, then we could also sell other handmade merch that didn’t cost much to make.
Subaru: Awesome, I’m all in!
Mao: I’m good with it, too. But if we’re gonna go this hard, we better make it good ♪
Makoto: Okay, so we’re gonna go handmade, but what kinda merch are you thinking?
Mao: Ummm... Something that has Sunflower Live vibes, I guess?
Subaru: The live’s gonna be at the beach, so why don’t we go there? It’s a beautiful day and there’s a nice breeze too, so it’s perfect for a trip to the beach!
Hokuto: Hmm... We might be able to get some ideas from the site. All right, strike while the iron is hot—let’s get over there.