The three friends went forward with their newfound courage to tackle the terrifying working conditions that all class representatives and the people that volunteered found themselves in. It didn't matter how they had gotten to this point, all that mattered is that they were here doing their best in this final phase of the second day. This second day had already gotten off to a bad start due to circumstances that the safety committee found themselves under. From seeing themselves be judged over the possible negligent treatment of one of the stalls, to one of their crew passing out, it had been nothing but hectic is this far more populated second day. Despite the work almost taking another victim in the form of Fuutarou, he was given a second wind thanks to his already exhausted, yet willing friends he had made during these last few months.

Takeda:"Allow me to help you, ladies!"

Maeda:"I'll take care of the heavy lifting."

Fuutarou:"Let's do one final check-up as you close your stall."

Now, things were finally starting to get back on track.

Takeda:"Hey, look."

Fuutarou:"Oh, it's the guys from our class."

Maeda:"Last time I saw them, they were still pretty mad."

Fuutarou:"We probably shouldn't get in the middle of-"

Takeda:"Let's go, my classmates. Come help out Uesugi-san with his work."

Maeda:"That idiot! Does he ever think about what he's doing?"

Takeda had gone up to all the boys, who were sitting together with scowls on their faces. As soon as Takeda put forward the idea of helping Fuutarou, all were very against such an idea.

"Help the person that didn't check the stall properly?"

"We don't feel like letting the girls laugh at us."

"We put in so much work for nothing!"

These remarks were thrown at Takeda, who slowly began to back away, finally realizing he was unable to answer their complaints in a good way. Once he came back, he was greeted by Maeda's fearsome look.

Maeda:"Why'd you go and rile them up like that for, you numbnuts?"

Takeda:"In their times of despair, it's best to become a leader for them, am I wrong?"

Fuutarou:"Getting all of them to join you at once is a meaningless endeavor. The best strategy is to gain one to your side, one by one, by playing to their strengths and pushing just the right buttons. It's...not always something you'll think was fair, but it gets results."

Maeda:"You talkin' from experience?"

Takeda:"Of course he is, who else would he be talking about?"

Maeda:"Ah, of course."

Fuutarou blushed a little.

Fuutarou:[I walked right into that one. I'm already starting to use my past with them as examples. I'm acting like an old man.]

Fuutarou looked back at the boys from the takoyaki stall.

Fuutarou:[Regarding them...Their rivalry with the girls never got resolved either. Not to mention they no doubt harbor some negative feelings there. There has to be a way to fix that.]

...

Later, they ran into Yae, who was now at the magic stall previously left unattended. Fuutarou looked around but saw no signs of Takebayashi, but of Rito, approaching the stall. He stopped looking pretty quickly and went to Rito.

Fuutarou:"Hey, you. You've got nothing better to do. Why don't you help?"

Rito:"Excuse you?"

Takeda:"Didn't you just tell me…?"

Fuutarou:"This guy looks like he could wrestle a bear, might as well put him to good use."

Rito:"Thanks but no thanks. I'd rather not help your little meaningless crusade."

Fuutarou:"You're even more useless than I am, huh?"

Rito:"The hell you just say!?"

Fuutarou:"As for you...Why are you so far away?"

Yae:"I can hear you just fine. Make it quick, I can barely handle all this noise, even with my earbuds."

Fuutarou:"I was just going to mention you and that other guy leaving your stall like that."

Yae:"Oh, right. Sorry."

Fuutarou:"Just don't do it again. By the way, where is that other guy?"

Yae:"Went to check out cosmetic stalls."

Fuutarou:[Then what were they doing in the first place?] "I see. Very well, just let me run a safety inspection."

Yae opened the stall to let him in. Upon finishing his inspection, Fuutarou let them know and went on his way with Takeda and Maeda to continue their work.

Maeda:"You're feeling a lot better?"

Fuutarou:"Amazing what 2 more pairs of hands can do, even if they're not as good at it as I am."

Maeda:"We need to fix that 'head up own ass' syndrome too."

Takeda:"Let's finish the rest of the day!"

…

Rito:"It's a good thing we didn't leave the papers inside the stall, huh?...Are you listening to me?"

Yae:"I'm trying to sleep. Sandy's terrible at keeping quiet even when he's supposed to."

Rito:"Hm. I can't argue with that."

Yae:"But you're even worse."

Rito:"It's called a manly voice."

Yae:"Does it have an off switch?"

Rito:"Ehhh?"

Yae:"Although at the very least, you don't smell like a chemical weapon."

…

On the Southern side of the festival, Miku was almost done with the tasks she had been given in Yotsuba's place.

Miku:"This is borderline torture. Yotsuba has nerves of steel."

Miku takes out her phone, which was turned off.

Miku:"I can't believe I forgot to charge it. I hope Fuutarou is doing fine on his side."

As her exhaustion reached its peak, she decided to go to the cafeteria.

Miku:"I wonder if Itsuki is still there…"

…

Inside of the main building on the second floor, a flamboyant man with way too much makeup was going through some of the stores.

Sandy:"What beautiful colors! I shall make sure to try them all on!"

As Sandy danced through the selections of cosmetics, he noticed a certain someone moping about while pretending to care about what she was holding.

Sandy:"Ah, that's one of the quintuplets...That scary aura...No doubt, it has to be her!"

Sandy was looking at Nino.

End of Chapter 70