"We will now present the award to the stall that sold the most! That was the pancake stall from Class 3-1!"

Both the boys and girls from the class jumped in joy.

"Despite some debates between the boys and the girls, they were able to come together in the end and overcome the third day with little to no problems! Even before that, the girls did a great job of giving out their pancakes at a constant rate!"

As the awards continued, the presidents of the Drama and Band clubs came up, after strong showings. The boy's Takoyaki stand was also given an honorable mention. With Tsubaki coming back, her and her Broadcast Club were also given an award for being able to cover all three days, despite some pushback from Tsubaki, as she didn't believe she earned it. Now that the awards were over, Miku and Yotsuba stood on the balcony, Nino was somewhere else and Ichika was greeting a number of fans who had spotted her.

Miku:"We did it, Yotsuba."

Yotsuba:"Congratulations to you too, Miku."

Miku:"I thought I would get more hate from my classmates. But even then, I don't regret what I did."

Yotsuba:"Hm...No regrets, huh? Even if things don't turn out perfectly, it's still way better than living with regret."

Miku:"Yeah."

Yotsuba:"...Miku. Thank you for yesterday. And thank you for today, too."

Miku:"Don't mention it, I only did what was natural. I didn't even do much today."

Yotsuba:"Oh, you did more than I could imagine."

Miku:"Hm?"

Before Miku could ask, she saw Itsuki coming in. They called out to her, eventually meeting up

Yotsuba:"Did you finish your talk?"

Itsuki:"Yes. We're on good terms."

Miku:"Hm?"

Ichika then came up behind Itsuki.

Ichika:"Who's this plump little girl?"

Itsuki squealed as Ichika grabbed her stomach.

Itsuki:"I-Ichika-"

Ichika then suddenly hugged her.

Ichika:"I'm sorry I put that burden on you."

Itsuki:"No, it's my fault for propagating the issue. And Yotsuba-"

Yotsuba:"You don't need to mention it. I've already made peace with it. I can't believe I was scared of that for so long, now I feel really stupid, haha."

Miku:"Alright, that's enough blaming ourselves. Even if we did something wrong, as long as we understood our mistakes, we'll always forgive each other."

Yotsuba:"Yeah, that's what sisters do."

Itsuki:"That's what quintuplets do."

Ichika:"Speaking of, aren't we missing a piece?"

Itsuki:"Where is Nino?"

Yotsuba:"I just know she left a little while ago."

Miku:"...C-Could it be!? That she's assaulting Fuutarou while they're alone!?"

Miku's aura grew dark.

Ichika:"Okay, stop that train of thought right there."

As if on cue, Nino came to him, dragging someone along.

Miku:"As I thought! Hang on, Fuutarou! I'll get the disinfectant!"

Yotsuba:"Wait!"

The person that she was dragging was not Fuutarou, rather it was Maruo.

Itsuki:"Dad?"

Ichika:"He actually came?"

Nino went up the stairs to where the other four were. She was out of breath, but she was still happy.

Nino:"Look who finally came!"

Maruo:"It's been a while, girls...How are yo-"

Miku:"You're late."

Ichika:"Like really late."

Yotsuba:"The day's almost over."

Itsuki:"That's some timing, haha."

Maruo:"Yes, *cough*, I am well aware of that. I made the promise, but that doesn't mean my original work wasn't there. So, I must-"

Nino:"Oh, who cares? You made it and that's all that matters!"

Maruo:"...I suppose so."

Maruo looked at the girls.

Maruo:"There's something quite different about you all. Was the festival that enjoyable, or was it something more?"

The sisters all looked at each other before laughing.

Nino:"It's a long story. But, that's for another time. Right now, let's just spend the day as family!"

…

The family of six then went around the festival one last time. Some stalls were closed and some were out of any stock, but that didn't matter. There was no more uncertainty, no more running away, no more threats, no more waiting, no more work, no more studying, no more anger. In this fleeting time, they were a family once again.

Itsuki:"Ah, let's get some popcorn!"

Ichika:"Here, one of the kids in the auditorium gave me a voucher."

"Yes, we have all flavors available!"

Miku:"What should we pick?"

Yotsuba:"Time for Rock-Paper-Scissors!"

…

Itsuki was gleefully eating the popcorn as she strolled around.

Itsuki:"I won~"

Nino:"When did she get so good at that?"

Miku:"I don't know if you can get good at Rock-Paper-Scissors."

Yotsuba:"I feel like there has to be some strategy involved."

Nino:"Yeah, like force them to do a certain one."

Ichika:"Or be tricky."

Miku:"Hm, I just throw what feels natural. Sometimes I win, sometimes I don't."

Itsuki:"Yum~"

...

Maruo noticed a stall that was no longer open, but it caught his eye anyway. It was the magic stall that Yae, Rito, Takebayashi and Sandy were taking care of at one point.

Nino:"What's up, you like magic?"

Maruo:"No, rather I've come to loathe it over the years. That stall just piqued my interest is all."

…

Itsuki:"It's almost time for the third day to finish."

Miku:"Which means the bonfire dance is starting soon."

The five girls wondered about dancing.

Maruo:"There's a seat if you're willing to see the dance from afar. I…"

Maruo took out a bag.

Maruo:"I tried making some food."

The five sisters stared at him.

Maruo:"Right, not a good idea."

Nino:"That's not it! It was just surprising."

Maruo:"I just thought it'd be good to make up for the pancakes yesterday. Great job on those, Nino-kun, Miku-kun."

Miku:"Don't mention it, I had a lot of help."

Nino:"It was a piece of cake."

Miku:"No, they were pancakes."

Nino:"Listen here, you."

The six then sat together as a family and began to eat.

Yotsuba:"How long has it been since we've been like this?"

Ichika:"Way too long."

Maruo:"..." [I certainly haven't been there for them, have I, Rena?]

…

Nino:"This food is pretty good. I didn't take you for a chef."

Maruo:"It's all about following the recipe. Only a fool would mess up."

Miku:"Y-Yeah, only a fool, haha."

Ichika put her hand on Miku's head.

Ichika:"Please apologize, dad."

Maruo:"Huh? For what?"

Ichika:"Just do it."

Ichika closed her eyes and developed a wide grin.

Maruo:"I-I'm sorry?"

Yotsuba:[Ichika is too scary!]

...

Maruo:"So you're coming back to school, Ichika-kun?"

Ichika:"Yeah, sorry for suddenly telling you."

Maruo:"It's fine, we will talk with Principal Takeda."

Ichika:"Ah, well…"

Maruo:"What's wrong?"

Ichika:"That's another story…"

Nino:"By the way, Papa. Can you drop the -kun? It's weird."

Maruo:"Very well, Nino-kun."

Nino:"Did you even register what I just said?"

Maruo:"I apologize. I was just reminded of your performance, your singing was well done."

Nino:"W-Who!? Who told you!? I want names! It was Fuu-kun, wasn't it!?"

Miku:"Is it really so embarrassing when you did it in front of so many?"

Ichika:"The auditorium was packed."

Nino:"It's not about that, you idiots!"

…

Maruo:"So that's what happened at the end of the first day...As long as you were all safe."

Nino:"That sure brought a host of problems."

Miku:"But we made it through in the end."

Ichika:"I heard a certain Miku was the reason the boys and the girls could stop fighting?"

Miku:"Ah, that was a little embarrassing. Especially with Fuutarou watching."

Maruo:"There was a rift between the two?"

Miku:"Yeah, but it's all good now."

…

Nino:"Hey, Papa. Do you think we could visit Ebata-san later?"

Itsuki:"Huh? You're right, where is he?"

Maruo:"He's currently resting, but we can check up on him together if you would like."

Yotsuba:"Let's visit him!"

...

Maruo:"Will you require additional assistance?"

Yotsuba:"I told you, it was just fatigue. Besides, I feel way better now…"

Itsuki smiled.

Yotsuba:"Oh, by the way. Itsuki will be a great teacher! It's pretty mortifying when she screams!"

Itsuki:"Y-Yotsuba!?"

…

Maruo:"You're fully sure?"

Itsuki:"Yes, I want to be a teacher, no matter what."

Maruo:"And that's not just because of your mother?"

Itsuki:"Correct. I've already come to terms with it."

Maruo:"Very well."

…

Maruo:[Rena...Your daughters have all become fine women.]

The Nakano family continued their meal with delight.

End of Chapter 93