Raiha:"Come on, dad! You're falling behind!"

Isanari:"Sorry, sorry. Fuutarou just called me about something."

Raiha:"What was it?"

Isanari:"Well...Have you ever climbed a tree?"

Raiha:"Not really…"

Isanari:Hmm, it's like-Oh, watch out!"

Raiha then bumped into someone. She looked up and apologized to the girl.

Takebayashi:"That's no problem at all. This festival is quite packed."

Isanari:"Thank you for catching her."

Takebayashi:"..."

She simply smiled as Isanari walked away with Raiha. Once they were a little further, Takebayashi's smile disappeared.

Takebayashi:"..."

"That girl looks scary."

"Don't look at her directly."

Raiha:[That girl…]

...

Nino:"W-What are you doing!?"

Fuutarou gave Nino a helmet.

Fuutarou:"We're going after your dad. This time, I'm not letting you go."

Nino blushed at the statement, but regained her senses and tried to hand the helmet back.

Fuutarou:"Hm?"

Nino:"...I'm not going. It's fine."

Fuutarou:"...

Nino:"Even though papa read the invitation, he still didn't come. He couldn't care less about us right now! There's still one more day left in the festival and I just want it to end. I'm starting to regret wishing for something that'll never come true!"

Fuutarou:"...I knew this was coming. But, I'm not backing down this time."

Nino:"...Fuu-kun..."

Fuutarou:"I'm sure you're thinking that I have no right to butt into your family affairs. I don't even know the details of your family's history past the little my dad told me. But I do know that the relationship with your dad differs from what's normal. He tries to pretend he's this stone-faced professional father. But on the other hand, do you know…? That his wariness towards me is really friggin' scary?"

Nino:"...!"

Fuutarou:"That awful gaze is no doubt the product of someone who's very protective of something, or in this case, someone. There's no way he would do that if he didn't have affection for you guys. At first, I was just gonna complain to him what a massive pain you girls were, but I'm also going to give him a piece of my mind on how he's handling his daughters."

Nino:"You don't...know his motives…"

At that moment, Tsubaki appeared behind them.

Tsubaki:"Heeey! Uesugi-kun! Here's the footage you asked for!"

Fuutarou:"Sorry for bothering you."

Tsubaki:"No problem! Anything to help Ichika-chan's sister! I found the man who gave me his business card, Dr. Nakano!"

Tsubaki pushed the play button on her tablet. The video then played a video of a girl taking the microphone and getting up close to the camera.

"Take back the mic!"

"Don't get in my way!"

Tsubaki:"Let's fast forward…"

Fuutarou:"That girl…"

Nino:"Wasn't that the old track team leader?"

Fuutarou:"Yeah, I talked to her a few hours ago in the Drama Club."

…

[Tsubaki:"I see you're standing here alone. Are you waiting for someone? Are you contemplating what stall to go to first?"]

[Maruo:"That's not it, I'm thinking about-]

…

[Maruo:My apologies, but you'll have to excuse me."]

…

Tsubaki:"That was all we had of him."

Fuutarou:"...You interviewers are scary…"

Tsubaki:"You have to take control of the conversation at all times!"

Fuutarou:"I-Is that so…? But you saw that, right? He came, just like pops said. So what will you do?"

Nino:"T-That's…"

Suddenly, Nino took Fuutarou's hand and dragged him out to right outside the festival.

Fuutarou:"N-Nino!?"

Tsubaki:"There they go…"

Irigaku:"Excuse me!"

Tsubaki:"Ah, yes?"

Irigaku:"I was wondering if I could see some footage."

Tsubaki:"Certainly!"

...

Nino kept dragging Fuutarou away.

Fuutarou:"Uh, Nino? The motorcycle is over ther-"

Nino suddenly stopped and turned around.

Nino:"Papa's hospital is being sued!"

Fuutarou:"Huh?"

Nino:"I didn't want to tell you but you wouldn't shut up about going!"

Fuutarou:"..."

Nino:"Now do you understand!? It makes sense why he's not coming!"

Fuutarou:"Did he tell you?"

Nino:"N-No, it was Ebata."

Fuutarou:"If it was him, doesn't that mean he did it without your dad's consent?"

Nino:"W-Well, he's papa's personal lawyer too, so maybe he did."

Fuutarou:"That makes less sense. If he was his lawyer in this situation, why would he tell someone outside their group, especially if it's not made public yet?"

Nino:"T-That…"

Fuutarou:"Stop dancing around it, Nino. You know there's a little more to this. Your butler letting you know is the reason for that, he knows you care the most for your dad."

Nino:"W-What do you know about dancing around the subject!? You're already-"

Fuutarou:"I know what I've done, but this is about you right now!"

Nino:"I…"

Fuutarou:"Come with me, Nino."

Fuutarou was staring right at Nino's eyes.

Nino:"Fuu-kun…"

Nino clenched her fists and grit her teeth.

Nino:"Fine! Take me to where papa is! I...I refuse to run away anymore!"

Fuutarou smiled.

…

Fuutarou and Nino were now on their way there, going as fast as they could.

Nino:"Fuu-kun...If you're wrong...Just know I'll hate you forever."

Fuutarou:"Yeah, I know."

…

After a bit, they both made it to the hospital.

Fuutarou:"Alright, we're here."

Nino:"Fine, let's go."

Fuutarou:"Wait. I somehow doubt that we'll be allowed to enter, even with you here. They were very strict about that."

Nino:"Huh? Then what do you propose we do?"

Fuutarou:"I think I have an idea. Look over there."

Fuutarou pointed to the tree next to the hospital.

Fuutarou:"I noticed some interesting marks there, and I thought back to that one time pops bragged about getting in despite being banned."

Nino:"I'm sorry, what?"

Fuutarou:"That's...a different story. Anyway, I already called him on what to do."

…

Inside the hospital, Maruo was coming back from a meeting. He came inside his office to find it silent as always. He had wondered about how Isanari came in but he decided he had other things to worry about. Soon, he was on his desk doing some work on his computer. As the silence continued, Maruo heard a small noise. Some slight rustling, a couple knocks.

Maruo:[What is that noise.]

For a second, he could have sworn he heard a small cry, but perhaps he was just imagining things. Suddenly, a louder knock finally got his full attention and he got up from his chair. He approached his curtains and opened them. At that exact same moment, Fuutarou and Nino smacked head first into the window. Now, all three of them were staring at each other. Nervous, Nino could only wave.

Fuutarou:"H-Hey, there."

Maruo looked at them with dead eyes.

End of Chapter 77