Part 5/10:

Additionally, tension spirals when a new character, Shun, introduces a secret society conspiracy, raising the stakes for the festival and highlighting Kusuo’s feeling of entrapment. Kusuo pretends to align with Shun's wild theories, believing the chaos to be merely a figment of Shun's imagination. Still, his mind-reading prowess alerts him to the excessive distractions crowding his life.

The situation intensifies when the object of seemingly unrequited affection, Kokomi Teruhashi, enters the plot. Despite her vanity, Kokomi is obsessed with the idea of winning a beauty contest and believes her golden ticket to success is securing Kusuo's attention—something he steadfastly avoids. Their romantic tension serves as both comic relief and a central theme of the narrative.