Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatte Iru - Volume 14 - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Once more, that door is opened.

If a time machine had been invented, I would’ve gone back in time to murder myself. Just recalling the events of yesterday had me squirming with embarrassment and made me feel both pathetic and inadequate.

Circular thoughts plagued my mind for a long time afterwards. Perhaps I could’ve chose different words. Perhaps I could’ve been smarter in my approach. Perhaps I could’ve been cooler. But no matter where my thoughts led me, I could only arrive at the conclusion that that was the best I could do. It might’ve not been ideal, but I was confident enough to say that what I did wasn’t wrong. If nothing else, I wanted to praise myself for being able to overcome my nature of being extremely self-conscious to this day.

That being said, they were still different matters altogether. Things I couldn’t bear with were things I couldn’t bear with.

Yesterday, after getting home, I shut myself in the shower and screamed at the top of my lungs against the sound of the spraying shower. Then, I immediately got under my covers and thrashed around in bed. If possible, I wanted nothing more than to take the next three years off, but still, even so—

“See you tomorrow…”

—The words she said wouldn’t leave my ears.

It was long past the evening by the time we decided to continue down the street to head home. We barely made eye contact, engaged in only shallow conversations, and ultimately parted ways at the station. However, just before leaving, she lifted her hand like a beckoning cat to make a clumsy wave and told me those words in a meek voice. I really had no option but to go to school at that point.

In all honesty, I had an abundant of reasons why I didn’t want to be at school and in class at the time. But now that I had accepted my fate, I could no longer run away, an act that something even my self-conscious nature wouldn’t forgive. It’s incredibly lame, but it’s a vice of mine to to endure, keep up appearances, and show off just so I could keep my petty pride intact.

In the end, I settled for a compromise and slipped into the classroom seconds before the bell. I spent most of my time in my classes faced down on my desk, and any other time was spent in the restroom.

Fortunately, there was a holiday tomorrow. I just needed to get through today. The day following that was the ending ceremony, and since it was a half-day, there weren’t any classes to attend, and I could go straight home. And then, it was spring break! Therefore, I only had to feel restless for a few days longer.

There weren’t any classes left to speak of, leaving only the textbook sale and photo shoots for individuals, events that were limited to the end of the school year. Going through this hysteria made time pass by in a flash, and it didn’t take long for half of the day to be over. Once it was after school, the class surged with excitement.

Everyone passed the time in their own respective ways such as going out for lunch, discussing plans for tomorrow’s holiday, and rushing to club.

I quietly got up from my seat and left the classroom by merging with the crowd exiting into the hallway. I took a moment to go down to the courtyard and stood in front of a vending machine. I basked in the pleasant spring sunlight and the wind blowing from the south, and my finger traveled a natural arc to the button inscribed with “cold.”

I walked down the hallway to the special building while shaking my MAX Coffee. My throat was feeling parched from my strange nervousness. I sipped my coffee in hopes of relieving myself of the sensation, but the creamy and sweet texture only aggravated the dryness in my throat.

I took my time walking and thought about the face I should make when I saw her. Despite my slow pace, I had already arrived in front of the clubroom. It wasn’t that long since I had been here, but it felt like it had been ages, perhaps even a whole year, since I had last laid my eyes on this door.

Standing in front of the door, I took a deep breath to boost my confidence. I repeatedly made a fist with my hand before reaching out to the handle. My fingertips had been afflicted with a chill ever since that day, but now, they were warm. I placed my fingers on the handle and pulled at it forcefully to open it, or at least, I thought I did. The door rattled loudly but didn’t open. I made a reattempt, only for it fail again. I let out a heave-ho once more, but it still wouldn’t open.

“It’s locked, damn it…” I clicked my tongue and dropped to the floor with my back against the door. Upon gulping down the rest of my coffee, I spotted a figure approaching from the hallway.

“Oh, you’re here early.”

Despite seeing me, Yukinoshita continued to walk at a leisurely pace. Out of some rare occasions, she would always arrive before me first. She was always the first to arrive, so it’s rare for her to be late. Unexpectedly, I suppose even she was feeling strangely awkward and embarrassed, making it harder for her to carry on as usual.

“I’m sorry, did you wait long?”

“No… I just got here, too.”

Despite knowing how stupid our exchange was, I gave her the standard response. She returned back with a ticklish, wry smile.

“Can you open the door for me?”

She faced me and tossed the key, and I made sure to catch it in my hands. It was the first time I had ever held the key, and it was unsurprisingly metallic to the touch. However, she had been keeping this small key warm in her hand for all this time, and I could feel the remaining warmth in the palm of my hand.

8-2

The clubroom felt somewhat empty after setting foot in it after so long. Yukinoshita and I sat our designated positions at opposite ends of the table. The distance between us was something I thought I had gotten accustomed to, but now, it felt somewhat far.

Feeling restless, I darted my eyes around the room, only to make eye contact with Yukinoshita. That awkward moment left me unable to utter a word, and she quickly averted her gaze. But a few moments later, she began to sent peeking glances at me.

Not good… What’s not good? This isn’t good. More specifically, I’m detecting a status ailment resembling a cold with symptoms of increased heart rate, profuse sweating, rise in body temperature, palpitation, and shortness of breath. Now, what are you supposed to do when you have a cold? Easy. Just work! Being unable to rest during painful times is the very definition of a Japanese corporate slave! As such, I will now proceed to talk about work.

“Uh… do you want to start our meeting?”

“Good idea.”

I took out a printed copy of my proposal and slid it across the table. However, it stopped halfway. Looking at the documents, she sighed and rose from her seat. Then, she took the documents and moved her chair to a closer position.

“It’ll be easier to talk this way…” She muttered with her eyes on the documents.

“O-Oh, yeah, that’s true.”

Similarly, I shifted my seat beside her. We were separated by a single chair between us, and the odd gap had me feeling even more nervous and made my breathing shallow. Every inhale I made, my nose was tickled by the scent of some variety of soap—it was such a good smell. I turned the cover page of the proposal in hopes of distracting myself.

“This is the proposal I gave to Kaihin Sogo. Most of the basic things should be listed here.”

Anyway, work, work. If there’s work to do, then there’s things to talk about. We could minimize our feelings of embarrassment and awkwardness. She looked through the proposal while nodding. Her long, glossy black hair would flutter with every nod and she would comb it with her hand and tuck it behind her ear. As she continued reading, her flushed earlobes gradually returned to normal.

“At any rate, this proposal’s quite sloppy.”

“Well, yeah. I didn’t have much time, and I was really desperate to get it done.”

“Oh, you were desperate, huh?” She whispered happily. Then, she began marking the proposal with a red pen while humming.

It’s great and all that you’re in such a happy mood, but it’s a little troubling for me to see you mark so many things in red, okay…?

After a brief inspection of the proposal, she pressed the red pen against her soft lips and nodded. “I imagine it’ll be difficult to execute this proposal as it is considering it was nothing more than a concept. The lack of funds and staffing are the biggest problems.”

“Looks like we’re at the mercy of Kaihin Sogo’s budget, then. As for staffing, I guess we’ll have to make the most of our students.”

“Right. We’ll need to find people willing to help…” She said, looking at the seat between us. It was the seat that Yuigahama would always sit in.

“Well, we can’t just keep bothering her all time. I’ll see if I can check with some—”

“No, I’ll talk to her,” said Yukinoshita, interrupting. She placed her hand against her bosom to adjust her ribbon, and dropped her gaze to the empty seat. As if to reassure herself, she slowly continued. “Don’t worry, just leave it to me. I think it’ll be difficult to explain, but I want to have a proper conversation with her… Otherwise, she might get upset because we didn’t ask her.”

A tinge of anxiety was present in her voice, and she tried to cover it up with a brave smile.

“Got it… In the meantime, I’ve got a few leads I can follow up on.”

“Sure, that sounds good.”

When the smile returned on her face and she answered back cheerfully, I felt relieved and nodded back. Then, I moved my hand that was holding a page of the proposal and could see the items she mentioned marked with memos.

“That solves the issue with staffing. As for the budget… we can use up Kaihin Sogo’s funds while looking for a location… Wait? What about the location?”

“We already asserted we’d be doing this as a form of community service, so we can’t exactly use our school. Moreover, since this is a collaboration between multiple schools, it’d be better to avoid using any specific school facility in general.”

“Ah… that makes sense.”

“The budget and staffing will vary depending on the location we choose and the plan we put together, so if possible, we should try to pick out the location first.”

“Right. There’s no point in figuring out our agenda and other things if we can’t secure a place in the first place.”

“Exactly. We should produce a list of dates we want to target and search for any available locations that can accommodate them.”

“Location, huh…? Still, this proposal just has information I got the first time when I looked around and when I talked with Kaihin Sogo.”

I flipped through the proposal while acknowledging her words. When I was putting this proposal together for the dummy prom, I did give some consideration to potential locations. I had absolutely no plans to actually make the event happen at the time, so I just put down whatever came to mind, like a waterfront or a sunset beach.

“Wow, this person actually put this down as a beach event…”

“Except that person was you.”

She retorted disapprovingly, and I held my head. Man, who came up with this development? I’m going to murder you. Could you at least think of the people who would have to put this thing together?

“It says ocean, but can we just use a beach instead?”

I looked up to see Yukinoshita taking out the club’s laptop. Then, she excitedly put on her glasses and began searching something. Her slender and supple fingers freely tapped on the keyboard and eventually came to a stop.

“It looks like there are locations where you can hold events, but… it’ll be difficult to use them unless we have permission from the local government, or rather, we’ll need some form of sponsorship and financial backing. We’ll also need permits for fires and that’s issued on a case-by-case basis.”

She rotated the laptop in my direction. I inclined my head to look at the screen and took a moment to think.

“From what I remember, the seaside park had a barbecue area. If we can get permission to use the park, we should have a shot at using fires,” I said, extending my hand to type on the keyboard. “Oh, right here.”

I opened the website of the seaside park located near our school and expanded the campus map. Yukinoshita tilted her head and looked down at the screen.

“Since it’s a public facility, it shouldn’t strain the budget too much… It’s a park abundant with greenery as well, so we could make the event appear as a garden party of the sort.” Her eyes sparkled in light of the discovery. Her expression was just so dazzling, or perhaps too close, that I found myself leaning back with a twist of my body. When she noticed our close proximity, she pulled away. She removed her glasses and added. “In any case… we won’t really know unless we go there.”

“R-Right…” I nodded my head and contemplated.

Yeah, that’s true. We had a potential candidate, but whether it’d be actually usable or not was something we wouldn’t know unless we went to check. That means, we needed to do an inspection in person. Yukinoshita didn’t have a complete grasp on the details of the proposal yet, and I couldn’t make a good judgment call in regards to the minute numbers and feasibility of the location. Going separately wouldn’t amount to much. Therefore, it’d be efficient if the two of us were to go together. Since this was for work, it’s only natural that we prioritized efficiency.

Okay. My excuses are locked and loaded.

“D-Do you want to go take a look, then? It’s pretty close, and tomorrow’s a holiday, so…”

But, as soon as the words came out of my mouth, my perfect excuses flew out the window, and my voice trailed off.

“O-Oh, let’s see… tomorrow…”

My peculiar intermittent voice caused her voice to similarly dwindle as she nodded. From thereon, a strange period of time continued as I nodded back, unsure of whether her response was in agreement or just a simple interjection.

8-3

There was a staggering turnout of people at the seaside park on a holiday, also partly due to the wonderful weather.

The field with its maintained grass saw the coming and going of sport circles such as soccer and futsal. A dog show being held near the parking lot contributed to heavy road traffic. When we finally managed entry into the park, numerous families and runners roamed as if the facility was their own.

All of the townsfolk were enjoying the present spring season as if they were singing to use the public services or you’d be missing out because the municipal taxes were stupidly high[34]. They were really high, seriously. Strings of kites flew overhead, higher than the taxes. Then again, it wasn’t as high as the taxes.

I was resting on a bench in the shades of the trees and indulging in a period of extreme bliss. I drank my can of MAX Coffee while admiring the overhead kites in the clear, blue sky. In contrast, Yukinoshita was recovering from exhaustion beside me and suffering in a period of hell. The wind blew at her along with the leaves on the nearby trees.

Today, her attire was at a glance high-class lady in appearance and consisted of a girlish blue cardigan over a white one-piece dress, a beret, and a basket bag. However, the sight of her sagging shoulders and hunched back only added a feeble quality to her image.

“I’ve got another MAX Coffee. Do you want it?”

“Thank you…” She reached out with wobbling hands and gripped the can with both hands. After taking a mouthful, the hydration from the liquid or the sugar intake had her feeling refreshed within moments. “Parks are really crowded on holidays… I honestly wasn’t expecting this. The park’s also big. Really big.”

“You’re too tired to even talk properly…”

After letting out a big sigh, she removed her beret and undid the ties that bundled her hair into two. She placed the ties in her mouth and carefully used her hands to straighten her hair. After tying it into two bundles again, she checked her appearance with a hand mirror. A sense of nostalgia visited me as I watched her.

She’s wearing a hat this time, but her hairstyle’s just a little different… Those were my initial thoughts, but I realized she was sporting the same hairstyle she had back when I went out with Komachi. Twintails.

“I haven’t seen you with that hairstyle for a while.”

“Really…? Well, I don’t tie my hair this way at school.”

Instead of putting on her beret again, she lowered it and caressed her hair in contemplation.

“Hmm… it’s a holiday thing only, huh? Well, I guess it takes time to do.”

I had absolutely no idea since I never did it before, but balancing the left and right bundles seemed difficult. For someone of my caliber, I was practically in a track suit for all of my holidays. As long as Komachi didn’t see me, I’d just have a T-shirt and underpants on. So, seeing her being so conscientious about changing her appearance to keep things fresh depending on the day left me impressed.

As I was keenly examining her, she held her beret against her mouth and spoke with a sheepish voice.

“I don’t do it that often on holidays, either…”

Huh…? What’s her deal? That was… really cute just now, it caught me off guard. Wait, for real? So cute. Gosh, what’s with this girl? She’s super cute. I mean, she’s a pain in the butt, but that’s cute in its own way. No, wait, if anything, isn’t that exactly what makes her cute? Well, it doesn’t matter, she’s just cute (brain overload).

“It’s nice seeing something you’re familiar with because it gives you this sense of security, but on the other hand, seeing something new is nice in its own way. Yes, very nice…”

I abandoned all rationale in my thinking and linguistic ability to partake in the philosophical ramblings of an otaku and chanted in repetition, “Nice…” Finding that uncomfortable, she pulled the beret over her eyes and looked away. Yep, that’s nice, too…

“Based on what we’ve seen so far, we can’t do anything that could damage the grass. Building a stage with aluminum trusses, for example, would be out of the question.”

Her eyes were focused on the grass field ahead, and it was a facility we could use if we sent in an application. I looked in the same direction, and my thinking and linguistic ability that I threw into the distance came flying back within seconds.

“We also have to consider the sound and electricity. It’d be nice if we could secure a power source, but I imagine we’ll be stuck with leasing out a power generator… Weather’s another big one, too.”

It’d be nice if we had the 100% sunshine girl, but it’s rare to find a child of weather.[35]

“We have the option of setting up a tent, but that can affect the turnout. We can’t expect people to walk all the way out here in a dress as well.”

She swung her long legs back and forth while dangling her thick-soled sandals. My eyes were on the verge of gravitating to her white calves, but I managed to keep them at bay by settling for a sidelong glance of them instead. Then, I made an all-knowing nod. “Yeah… Securing walkable routes here might be hard.”

In short, the park wasn’t a feasible location for the prom. While thinking of other places we could try, I got up from the bench. I wiped the sand from my bosom, looking in the direction of where the sand could’ve come from.

“Just in case, let’s take a look at the sea.”

“Right, just in case.”

She got after me, and we walked through the park at a leisurely pace. We went past the green grass onto a walkway. Expanding beyond it was the beach. Considering it wasn’t the season for swimming, I didn’t see anyone swimming as expected, but there were occasional groups of people frolicking at the edge of the water.

The white beach stretched far into the distance, glittering under the vast, translucent blue of the sky. A salty breeze blew down the shores, still somewhat cold to the touch, but was nevertheless pleasant in contrast to the rising temperature. It wasn’t a bad season for a peaceful stroll on the beach. With the addition of arbors along the way, it was a fairly scenic location. While it wasn’t feasible for the prom based on the information gleamed from the usage sign, it could certainly be a pleasant place to stop by after the event.

I gazed at the horizon beyond the ocean and stretched. “Chiba’s sea is the best…”

“It’s the Tokyo Bay, though…” she said, walking alongside me. Then, she stopped and held down her beret to keep it from being blown away. She turned to me. “You really do like Chiba, don’t you? Do you plan on staying here forever?”

“As long as I don’t get chased out, yeah. I’m planning on attending a university that I can commute to from here, too.”

“The places you’re applying to mostly have campuses in Tokyo, after all.”

“How the heck do you know even know that? Scary…”

I didn’t even know where I was applying yet. Why did she say it like it was so obvious…?

When my honest opinion slipped out of my mouth, she pouted. “It’s not difficult to figure out when you have grades similar to mine.”

“Well, the careers we’re pursuing are similar to some degree.”

“Right… So, we may end up going to the same university.”

“It’s possible.” It’s not uncommon for people in high school to attend the same university. I had the opportunity to look at our school’s career statistics, and the precedent was clearly there. “But we won’t necessarily be in the same department. At that point, our careers are going to be different no matter what we do.”

This was a meaningless scenario to think about, but in the event that we both attended the same university, it’s likely we wouldn’t inhabit the same commuting space. It wasn’t rare for people belonging to different departments to never see each other. On top of that, I had doubts I’d make an earnest effort to commute. For example, I had the feeling I’d skip classes on rainy days and unconditionally fail my first lecture. I even had expectations of getting more credit at “Mahjong University” and “Pig University” than my actual university.

She seemed to have an implicit understanding of that, and nodded. “What about after that?”

“I’m not sure yet, but it’ll depend on how my job hunt goes.”

Her eyes widened. “You’re actually going to work? I was expecting you to go off on one of those tangents again.”

“I’m truly sorry to say, but it turns out I have the makings of a decent corporate slave… I’m sure I’ll be able to work like crazy regardless of my feelings.” I made a hearty sigh.

Yukinoshita made an amusing smile. “I can totally imagine you getting crammed into the Tozai Line every morning with your rotten eyes.”

“Uh, if I have to subject myself to that, I’m just going to leave Tokyo.”

The Tozai Line was the leading rapid transit in Japan that had a 200% chance of rush hour congestion. In the future, the administrative efforts were supposed to reduce it, but at this point in time, I wasn’t willing enough to take that line every morning to work. Moreover, getting a job would mean moving out of the house, though it’s possible I’d choose to live by myself because commuting as a university student would be too much of a pain. But that wouldn’t be only for the sake of convenience, but for the sake of closing a chapter in my life by following through on that rite of service.

Far past the coastline beyond the opposite shore, I could make out the blurry throngs of buildings towering over the city. I gazed at them, aware of my eventual departure over there, and stood in place. Subsequently, the sounds of her steps sinking into sand stopped as well. I turned and made eye contact with Yukinoshita.

“But I think I’ll come back here one day. I really do like it here, and it feels like the place where I belong.”

“I see, I’m glad to hear that.” She resumed treading on the sand, smiling. Only this time, her steps were lighter, and her strides shorter. In taking a few steps ahead of me, she turned around. “You really do like Chiba, don’t you?”

“Yeah…”

Whether she understood the implications of her statement or not, who could tell? She made a teasing smile as if poking fun at that, and I could only return with a wry smile.

We engraved our footprints side by side in the sand.

At some point, we walked far enough to cover a whole station. As we continued on the path along the ocean, an ostentatious building came into view.

The building was equipped with balcony seats to enjoy the ocean view with glass fences surrounding the second floor, and the walls were made of bare concrete. It was the very image of a fashionable restaurant. A part of the first floor corresponding to a garden was configured as terrace seats. The sign indicated that this was a bakery cafe, and the actual restaurant was located elsewhere. It was an enriching cafe space designed with soft sofas to relax under the blue sky.

Yukinoshita pointed at the cafe and inclined her head, wordlessly asking if I wanted to stop by. I nodded in agreement. Before hurrying to the counter, she glanced back. “Can you grab us some seats?”

“Yeah.”

I took a seat on a sofa closest to the ocean that was exposed to the pleasant passing breeze. I surveyed the store absentmindedly as I waited for Yukinoshita. The menu was rather audacious in its presentation given the slight chicness to the store. There was a trendy selection of drinks such as: different flavored boba drinks including the standard milk tea, non-caffeine rooibos tea, and super fruit and vegetable smoothies.

Hey, hey, you’ve got to be kidding, we’re in Chiba, you know? Who gave you permission to act all chic here…? Chiba’s going to be the forerunner in trends at this rate,

As I lamented the trending of Chiba, Yukinoshita came over with a tray and took a seat beside me.

“Here you go, this is for earlier.” She handed me a boba milk tea, apparently to pay for the MAX Coffee I gave her earlier.

“Um, this is more expensive… Are you bad at math?”

“Better than you are. You can pay me back by getting me something else next time,” she said in an upbeat mood and began drinking her milk tea.

Huh, I guess even she likes to drink things girls normally like. The thought crossed my mind, but then I remembered her preference for cute things like Nyanko and Pan-san. Well, it’s hard to say if boba milk tea was considered cute or not, though. In any case, it’s a beverage that I rarely get. To celebrate the occasion, I decided to take a picture, acting like I would when I received a bowl of ramen. This was what they mean by instagenic, huh?

“Ah…”

Yukinoshita sounded like she had realized something too late, and I turned to see what was wrong. When I did, she had a dumbfounded stare at her unfinished drink, and the dejection in her face was saying, “I should’ve taken a picture, too…”

“Um, I haven’t started drinking mine yet, so you can take a picture of mine, it’s okay…” Feeling sorry, I urged her with a kind suggestion. I extended my cup to her and she took out her smartphone.

“R-Really? Thank you…”

She adjusted her bangs as she spoke, and slightly rose to her feet. She slid over the sofa to the seat directly beside me and unassumingly linked her arm with mine. Then, the front camera of her phone made two shutter sounds.

Her completely unforeseen attack brought me to a standstill. She made a bashful grin after checking the photo, whispered with an incredibly quiet voice, “How’s this…?” and showed me her phone. Even though the unedited photo showed us linking arms, the weird gap between us made it clear how awkward we looked.

I let out a heavy exhale after seeing the photo. Seriously…? This girl went above and beyond my imagination. My heart’s killing me…

“No, that was bad…” I said, fanning my face and my mind going blank halfway through.

In hearing that, she grew flustered and tried her best to rectify the situation. “I-I’m sorry, um…”

“Retake. My eyes are way too dead in this one, it’s insane,” I said, taking out my smartphone. When I positioned it, she had a blank look, but then rushed to adjust her bangs over and over, and then readjusted her sitting position. After inching closer, she spread out her arms to brace herself.

“I-I’m ready…”

Um, you don’t have to spread your arms like that. You’re just making me nervous, too. Stop it, I thought while extending my arm like I did earlier, but this time, moving it closer to her by only a few centimeters more.

“Here we go.”

“O-Okay…”

Her voice quavered in contrast to her straight sitting posture. I could tell she was tense because of our touching shoulders, and even her arm seemed to be trembling. But, well, it’s not like my arm wasn’t shaking like crazy, either. Putting faith in my camera’s image stabilization, I snapped a picture and showed her the photo. She timidly looked at it, but then burst into laughter.

“Your eyes didn’t change at all. It’s still as rotten as ever.”

“No biggie, I can fix it with a little editing. The power of science is almighty.[36]”

I immediately downloaded a photo editing app and began fiddling with the photo. She watched me with keen interest while verbalizing her surprise. Well, there’s really no need to edit her face at all, so…

As we were playing around like that to waste time, we eventually finished our milk tea. Before we knew it, the sea and the sky were dyed in scarlet, and the round sun that blazed with the color of a furnace had begun to set. This might be the first time I had ever looked at a sunset so closely. Both Yukinoshita and I gazed at it in silence.

Eventually, the chimes of a chapel were carried by the passing wind. We turned our heads toward the sound and the source was closer than we had thought.

“Let’s go take a look.”

She rose to her feet and made her way to the source of the sound on the walkway along the ocean. As we approached, a group of people in vivid and dressy attire came into view. They were taking photos of a male and female couple clad in a white tuxedo and wedding dress respectively with a backdrop of the evening beach in its magic hour.

It was a wedding ceremony based on what we could see from a distance.

Situated beside the restaurant building was another building resembling a chapel, and next to that was another building, which seemed to be an event hall for holding wedding receptions and other things.

Pamphlets were set near the entrance at the corner of the building. After taking a look, the building that was apparently used as an event hall was called the banquet building. The second floor had two event spaces with differing layouts, and the first floor contained a lounge with a wooden interior. Farther in the lounge was a terrace that looked out over the ocean. In taking a peek of the terrace, a fireplace was cut into the center and its warm flame illuminated its surroundings.

Hmm… they had something like this here, huh? I didn’t know at all since wedding ceremonies were so foreign to me, I thought. I reflected on my inexperience in the ways of Chiba with the pamphlet in one hand. Then, I felt a tug at my other hand.

“What’s up?”

“This place is perfect. Let’s hold it here.” Yukinoshita’s eyes sparkled as she tugged repeatedly at my sleeve. Her expression was mixed with inspiration and excitement, but the intensity of it only made it harder to ask what it was we should hold.

If I ask, I have the feeling it’ll finally be checkmate for me… I mean, this is a wedding hall, after all.

“Um… don’t you think it’s a little too early?” I said, deliberately picking my words.

She had a puzzled look as she inclined her head. Upon realizing my implication, she let go of my sleeve and placed her hand on her temple. Then, she let out an astounded sigh. “You already have a bad look in your eye and a bad personality, but if you’re bad at figuring things out on top of that, what else do you have? Look closer.” She pointed at various areas on the pamphlet one by one. “This event hall provides proper facilities and has an ocean view and bonfires.”

“Oh… Right, you’re talking about the prom.”

Oh my god, so embarrassing! Dummy! Hachiman, you dummy! You maggot! And here I thought I was composed, but it turns out I was just a tad too excited, huh? Is it time to die? It’s time to die now, right?

I head immediately cooled down as if being splashed with frozen water, and I was able to think rationally again. The overview of the facility was applicable to all of the fabricated lies on our proposal and made it possible to execute in reality, making this place ideal.

“True, if we’re going to hold the prom, it has to be here.”

“Right, this place has to be the closest to what we’ll need.” She made a triumphant smile, brimming with confidence.

It wasn’t bad to see an unexpected side of her, but the expression she was making that I was so accustomed to was without a doubt the best.

8-4

It was the following day after settling on a location for the joint prom. After the ending ceremony was over, Yukinoshita and I immediately made our way to the Service Club. We worked quickly to request documents, check the availability of the facilities, and get quotes. However, they were all things we wouldn’t see correspondence for a few days. In the meantime, there were still numerous other jobs to complete. Aside from the location and the scheduling, the budget and staffing were still pressing problems.

Today, Yukinoshita and I respectively invited people to a meeting to explain the details of the joint prom as well as tackle the issue of staffing.

I stood before a splendid group of customers, three pairs of glasses lined up for a total of six lenses, and cleared my throat.

“Ahem… Picking up where we left off, I’ll need the three of you to give up on many things,” I said, hardening my expression. Sagami’s younger brother, Hatano, and Zaimokuza respectively pushed up their glasses and let out unconvinced sighs.

“Hmm…”

“Hmph.”

“Mmm…”

Great, I’m glad to see you’re all doing well.

“And there you have it. These three will be our hopeful war assets.” I presented the three glasses with my right hand.

Yukinoshita stood up. “Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Yukinoshita. I apologize for any trouble Hikigaya-kun may have caused you. Thank you, and I look forward to working with you all.”

She made a courteous bow, greeted them politely, and wore a faint, but noble smile. She looked far gentler, completely unthinkable from how she used to be. The UG Club only ever knew her when she was as sharp as a knife that hurt anyone who came in contact with her, so it was only expected that they were in shock. Presently speaking, Sagami’s brother and Hatano were trembling.

“She—“

“Doesn’t—“

“Remember us!”

While we’re at it, Zaimokuza, too, was trembling. Their suspicious behavior caused Yukinoshita to give them a dubious look, her eyes containing a bit of the thorn she had back in the past.

“Um, that person’s kinda scary!”

“She really is scary…”

“Ehh… Hey, Hachiman, do something.”

The three went into a huddle and exchanged whispers. Ultimately, Zaimokuza was the one who pulled on my sleeve.

“Well, you get used to it. Honestly, it’s addicting. The gap before and after is insane once you’re hooked.”

“Excuse me…?”

That was supposed to have been a whisper, but she still gave me a piercing glare. I shrugged it off and made eye contact with the glasses boys going, “See?”

The three raised their voice with lavish praise.

“Totally.”

“I get it.”

“Nothing more, nothing less.”

Once more, we stumbled upon another door of truth as fellow comrades and did high fives. We cheered with an intensity with respect to our tight bonds while wishing you the best of luck[37]. But that intensity, too, vanished like mist within the next instant.

The door was knocked modestly several times and opened without waiting for an answer.

“Hello!”

Making her appearance so casually was none other than Isshiki Iroha herself. Accompanying her were the student council members.

“Isshiki-san, thank you for coming.”

“Oh, no worries. I’m just here to pay you back for all your help.”

Yukinoshita wore a soft smile and Isshiki responded with a dauntless laugh. The vice president and secretary-chan, on the other hand, had gloomy expressions, clearly having been forced along. Possessing a similar degree of dark sentiments were the three glasses.

“Isshiki…”

“Iroha…”

“Irohasu…!”

She smiled at the three of them and nodded. Then, she proceeded to ignore them. It was like a reaction from the Summer of Ubume by Kyogoku Natsuhiro where she could see them but didn’t, which was worse than just outright ignoring them from the beginning.

In doing so, the three, as expected, adjusted their glasses and displayed new signs of change.

“I can get used to this.”

“I think I’m starting to understand…”

“Yes, by all means.”

Is Sagami’s brother okay? His fetishes aren’t getting more distorted by the second, are they? It’s not because of his sister, right? I thought, feeling worried, and then the new door of truth was knocked again. After the low-key sound, someone peeked through the small opening of the door.

“Come in,” Yukinoshita said.

The opening gradually expanded and making an appearance was the face of an angel.

“Excuse me… Hey, Hachiman, I’m here.” Totsuka walked over with a smile and waved. He glanced around with curiosity. “What’s this gathering for?”

“All the people gathered here are people I can bother without feeling bad.”

“R-Right…” Totsuka had a mixed reaction and looked at everyone with a sympathizing gaze. He pointed himself in realization and inclined his head.

I nodded with a wry smile. “Sorry, having you here is a big help. We’re going to be doing really annoying stuff, but let me borrow your entire club, Totsuka,” I said, lowering my head.

“Entire… sure, no problem.” He made a troubled smile, but then lightly pounded his chest.

Now, with those three… Before I could see their reaction, the door was opened without reserve.

“Yo, sup!”

An annoying voice belonging to a part-time leader who had no hopes of promotion barged into the room. I sent an irritated gaze in its direction, and seeing Irohasu naturally clicking her tongue was just the best. But she immediately reverted back to her cutesy behavior.

“Oh, Hayama-senpai.”

“Hey, Iroha. You came too, huh?”

Hayama entered the room after Tobe and engaged in small talk with Isshiki. He then greeted me with a lift of his hand. Why are they here… I thought, looking at them with a dubious gaze. Then, he noticed the three glasses boys and waved. Seeing that, they began to squealing as if they just had the most delightful thing happen to them in the entire day.

“Huh? Wait, I just can’t.”

“God, no, this is killing me.”

“Wait, too precious, I can’t.”

Don’t you guys like Hayama a little too much?

However, their merry celebration immediately came to an end, because Miura came in together with Hayama and twirled her blonde curls with her fingertips in an irritable mood. She fired intimidating glares throughout the room. Some people flinched in response, but Yukinoshita had the biggest reaction. She glanced at me, scooted over to my side, and whispered into my ear.

“Hikigaya-kun, did you ask them to come?”

“No… wait, it wasn’t you?” I asked back, and she shook her head.

That means the one who asked them was… I pondered and rubbed my chin. Then, thanks to Tobe leaving the door open, someone else came in.

“Hello, hello!”

Ebina-san waltzed in with a suspicious glint on her glasses and hiding behind her was Kawasaki. She surveyed the entire room with an incredibly problematic face. Yukinoshita called out to her.

“Kawasaki-san, thank you for coming.”

“Oh… yeah, well, I’m just here to hear you out, so…” She twisted uncomfortably while closing the door behind her. When she tried to make her way to the corner of the room, Ebina-san made sure to catch her. Kawasaki gave up on resisting and was dragged by the hand to the center of the room.

As the occupants increased, so did the noise. But there was just one thing missing from this familiar racket.

Yukinoshita glanced at the clock. It was almost past the appointed time, and she had yet to show.

We were already heading into spring break as soon as the ending ceremony ended, and this applied to everybody in clubs. Helping us with this event would mean imposing on their break. Quite frankly, this was an unreasonable and difficult request to make. She had plenty of reasons to refuse, and it’s fine if she did. I didn’t want to bother her by forcing her to go along with my selfish whims anymore. That’s how I would always make excuses for myself. I made one last glance at the clock.

“We should get started soon,” I said, suggesting in a small voice.

Yukinoshita nodded. Although her mouth was open, she didn’t say a word, but persuaded me with her warm look. Her gentle gaze was directed at the door, her eyes imbued with a shining confidence, waiting for that moment.

Ten seconds passed. Then, twenty. Before long, the sound of rushing footsteps cut into the rhythmic ticks of the clock. Despite the door separating us, the sight of her came into mind like the bouncing hair bun on her head, her swaying backpack, and her restless flopping slippers.

Yeah, it’s her. I could tell right away. And so, the door opened after the sliding rattle.

“Yahallo!”

Slightly out of breath and her hand raised high, Yuigahama Yui smiled with a brighter look than she had the other day.

8-5

Preparations for the joint prom began in earnest as soon as we entered spring break. Yukinoshita also got serious and transformed into Seriousnoshita-san. She completed tasks at a frightening pace including arrangements for the prom venue, financial quotes, schedule adjustments, and work allocation for the staff members. At this point, our only pending issue was the general prospects of the budget, something we were expecting to finalize in our meeting with Kaihin Sogo today. The attendees from our school consisted of Yukinoshita, the student council president Isshiki, and me.

The meeting was going to take place at the usual community center. With the official start of spring break and our participation considered as community service, we didn’t have the option of using our school. As such, we’d be spending most of our time in the community center going forward. A conference room was reserved up until the day of the event, providing a glimpse of Seriousnoshita’s foresight.

Multiple groups were currently working in the conference room. One group included Zaimokuza and the UG Club and they were creating guide signs. Another group centering around Yuigahama and Miura were focused on advertising.

It was unreasonable to have them come every day, so we put together a shift schedule based on our availability throughout the week. We had the borrowed assistance of the grunts from the tennis club, soccer club, and the student council (mostly Tobe and the vice president), so we had sufficient manpower. The combination of Totsuka’s charisma, Hayama’s leadership, and Isshiki’s iron fist allowed us to procure free labor that we could abuse to our heart’s content. A wonderful work environment. I had nothing but gratitude for our students!

Anything that could involve the budget was dealt with. Our problem today was dealing with Tamanawa-san. He was tapping on the pamphlet of the venue with his fingers, looking rather pleased.

“This venue is great. I like it. This conforms exactly and compactly with the proposal.”

Tamanawa expressed his approval while aiming to rhyme his words “exactly” and “compactly.” He passed the pamphlet down to his neighbor Orimoto, and she responded with endorsement, “Ooh, looks good to me.” Isshiki and I nodded in agreement as if saying, “I know, right?” Kaihin Sogo’s reception was good, So far, so good.

Without giving them much room to think, Yukinoshita kicked the discussion into gear. “The issue is that it’s available only on the first week of April… which coincides with our farewell ceremony. Are you fine if we proceeded to reserve this time period?”

“Of course. We’ll actually be conducting our farewell ceremony fairly soon, so I expect many of our graduates will be available then. It’ll be relatively easier to have them attend.”

“Sounds great to me! I mean, we’re not gonna get anywhere if we can’t get the people.” Orimoto fired an eager thumbs-up in response.

All right, let’s get down to business…

I coughed and nonchalantly interjected. “That leaves the budget, but can we rely on your student council for that?”

“Let’s see… Even if we share the expenses evenly, we should be prepared for some personal expenses. Otherwise, I believe we’ll have the room to shoulder some of the burden.”

“Uhh… actually, we’re a little strapped for cash, you see…”

“Hm?” Tamanawa responded as if he didn’t catch my statement, his voice extremely calm in tone.

Isshiki twiddled her fingers and giggled. “Um, the thing is, we can’t use our budget, so…”

“Hm?” He had the same tone as earlier, her foxy gesture having no effect on him. In light of that peculiar exchange, Yukinoshita inclined her head in confusion.

“Did Hikigaya-kun not inform you? Our student council is participating only as volunteers, not as sponsors for this event.”

“Hm… Hmm? So you’re saying, we can’t make use of your budget?”

The three of us bobbed our head in acknowledgment. There wasn’t much we could, let alone any money we could use.

He made an obviously forced smile. “O-Oh, I don’t think we can foot the entire bill, I think, h-hahaha…”

“I see, so it sounds like you never came to an agreement on that.” Yukinoshita thought out loud in a low voice and then proceeded to pinch my thigh under the table.

Ow, ow, ow! I squirmed in my seat by myself, and Isshiki gave me a dubious stare wondering, “What the heck is he doing, having so much fun by himself…?” But then she nodded with a convinced face saying, “Oh, makes sense, he’s always by himself,” and nodded.

Isshiki turned to Tamanawa. “Which means, we’ll need to include an admission fee.”

“That could be a little problematic… There might be some people who might not be so welcoming if they hear of a fee.” Tamanawa linked his fingers and frowned.

Well, I could see where he was coming from. An admission fee would mean having to use physical money at the venue. Having the opinion, “This event is supposed to be a celebration for us, so why do we have to pay?” was understandable.

“Then, we can do some crowdfunding. Let’s invite some willing investors,” I said.

Tamanawa lifted his face and made a contemplative groan. “I see… there’s some potential there.”

“Totally! Probably.” Orimoto casually interjected following his agreement.

Isshiki squinted in confusion. “Is there…? They’re still paying in the end, aren’t they?”

“They are, but it’s how they’re feeling when they’re paying that matters.”

“Um, feeling…? Like, the fish cake from Kibun Foods[38]?” When Isshiki looked at me, her gaze was saying, “What the hell is this guy saying…?” But then she turned to Yukinoshita and asked her the question “What’s this person even talking about?” regardless.

“Basically… Hikigaya-kun is talking about psychological barriers and perceived value, right?”

“Well, you could say that. To make it easier to understand, it’s like the difference between using an iTunes card and a credit card in mobile apps.”

“That’s just harder to understand…”

“It’s a problem with how we perceive spending cash versus digital money. There are people who are less resistant to making online payments and using credit cards instead physical money, right?”

Yukinoshita continued, and Isshiki could only interject with a mixed understanding. Tamanawa took this as an opportunity to spin his hands. “The merits of CF go beyond those aspects, though. A prominent one is perception of being an investor or a backer. In that respect, patrons are more analogous to collaborators than to clients. In other words, the awareness that they are collaborating will make them more accepting of a standard admission fee.”

“Uh-huh.” Isshiki dragged her voice without hiding her lack of interest.

“That leaves us with the problem of providing returns for their investments… Admission to the prom can be the bare minimum, but we’ll need to provide larger rewards for bigger investments…” Yukinoshita moved her hand to her chin to think.

Orimoto shot her hand up in the air. “Oh, I know! How about something like this? We have a limo pick them up or something? You know, those instagrammable ones! That sounds super nice, right?”

“Oh, it does! It’s like being a bachelor.”

“We can make the arrangements, but it’ll be difficult to ascertain whether the extra costs will keep us out of the red.” Yukinoshita made a wry smile when Isshiki jumped into the conversation.

Nevertheless, opinions from the girls were valuable. No matter how stupid they were, this was an event with a high ratio of women, so they shouldn’t be overlooked.

“Limousines and bachelors, huh…?” I mumbled while flipping through the venue’s documents. Sure enough, I caught sight of an area that connected those two words together. “The parking lot… Let’s add the right to use it as a reward. We’re talking about recently graduated students, so I’m sure a lot of them want to come by car.”

“Ahh… something like having your boyfriend come to pick you up, right?”

“There’s probably some demand for that kind of thing. Either way, we won’t be able to reserve the lot for everybody, so we’ll have to limit it to the bigger patrons.”

Chiba was one of the largest cities following Tokyo (self-research) with a prominent motorized society. We were already in the Reiwa era, and a city like Kisarazu still had an abundance of cars in body kits that shined like an excessively decorated squid fishing boat. There were some stories of people who didn’t bat an eye at speeding and tailgating people on the highway. Good grief, a society reliant on automobiles was bad news.

Well, looking at it from another angle, it just meant we were attached to our cars. Therefore, cars were a status symbol. It’s only natural that people who had expensive cars would want to flaunt them, and what better place to drive them than to a place of celebration? When we’re talking about limousines and bachelors, we were talking about the special experience our female customers could have, like the sensation of being a gorgeous celebrity and having the opportunity to lord over others through Instagram. For the men seeking popularity with such ladies, there was no better opportunity to attain that special feeling than this. Oh dear, was that some painting of Hell in the making?

In any case, if there’s demand for that kind of thing, then it’s obvious what we should offer.

“One more thing we can do is designate one of the waiting rooms as a VIP room and make that another reward. This way, we can add more value without incurring any additional costs.”

“You really would make for an amazing scam artist…”

“I wouldn’t say that. I’m just really bad at math, that’s all… I really don’t know how our expenses will look in the end.”

I honestly wasn’t sure if what I suggested would actually be a worthwhile reward. Frankly speaking, in all of our events thus far, all of the business details were completely left to Yukinoshita’s discretion. As such, I bowed my head to her, and she returned a smile.

“You can leave that to me. At any rate, let’s proceed and have the limousines and other gaudy matters on the table,” Yukinoshita said, writing them down as memos.

After taking a glance, Isshiki coughed. “So, are we good for now?”

“Indeed… I’m feeling more confident than ever.” Tamanawa grinned and blew at his front bags. Motivation and confidence illuminated his face.

I knew you were a reliable fellow, Tamanawa-san… and since you’re so dependable right now, I think I”ll ask you to help with a lot of other things, too!

“All right, we’ll leave the rest of the details to you, then. We’ll probably need more rewards, so can you take care of that, too? We’re not exactly well-versed in the art of CF, you see… you guys seem accustomed to the process, though.”

Tamanawa continuously blinked to my rapid succession of requests and ultimately made a strained smile. “O-Of course…”

He pounded his chest, welcoming any challenges, but he was breaking into a cold sweat. Will he be okay…? But we have to believe in Tamanawa-san! I’m sure if it’s him, then he can do it!

Of course, we had no idea what he was planning to do, but since he said he would do it, we had to leave it up to him. Nowadays, CF websites allowed people to pledge their support through their smartphones in case they didn’t have credit cards, which made it possible for students to participate. If we could dump a majority of the work on the motivated Tamanawa, that would be better for us. We had come this far, so I wasn’t going to question the methods or the details.

“If there’s nothing else, we’ll send you the quotes and an estimated balance sheet. Can you contact us once you have the details finalized on your end?”

“Roger that!”

Yukinoshita bundled the documents together with slight taps on the table and wrapped up the conversation. Orimoto jovially responded and Tamanawa nodded. “We’ll try to join you in the preparations within a few days.”

“All right, thanks. Well, you don’t need to worry too much about bringing in people since your main responsibility is managing the money. Oh, we’ll need people on the day of the event, at least.”

“Okay, we’ll ask around.”

Orimoto casually responded, and that marked the end of the first meeting of the joint prom budget committee.

I fell back into my chair as I watched the two leave and let out an exhausted sigh. “Looks like the budget’s more or less figured out.”

“That’s only if the crowdfunding goes well… what should we do if we don’t have enough?” Yukinoshita asked.

Isshiki made an excessively contemplative frown. “Well, if we’re off just by a little, and I mean, very little, the student council can maybe, just maybe, cover some of the costs if we really have to…”

“I don’t think I’ve heard anything more unreliable than that… Anyway, it depends on how much, but worse case scenario, I can cover it with my own personal funds,” I said, looking sullen.

Yukinoshita widened her eyes in surprise. “Even though you don’t have any savings?”

“I might not have any, but my parents do. I’ll get a interest-free loan from them and default on it. I’m that resourceful.”

“I’m not really sure you can call that resourceful…” Yukinoshita wore an astonished smile, and I shrugged.

Truthfully speaking, I was fine with being in the red. I could only imagine the annoying issues we’d get pulled into if we came out with profits. At the end of the day, this was an event hosted by high school students, so it needed to stay as a non-profit event. We wouldn’t want the tax bureau coming after us if we had some unintended revenue flowing in, after all… The thoughts that toratanu[39] would have filled my head.

Yukinoshita began playfully using her calculator. “I’d feel guilty for having you burdened with debt at such a young age, so I’ll look into cutting costs somewhere.”

“Try not to reduce my labor costs at least, okay?”

“Don’t worry, that’s been zero since the beginning, so there’s nothing to reduce.”

“What a wonderful workplace…”

Well, I knew from the start that there were zero labor costs, so that’s okay… We engaged in our customary exchange after so long, and Isshiki let out a sigh in exasperation.

“You two sure are close…” She glanced around the room and coughed. Then, she continued in a hushed voice. “…but I’m going to ask just in case. What kind of relationship are you two going to have exactly?”

Upon asking, Yukinoshita and I both froze. Well, right, I knew we were going to get this question one day. From her perspective, Yukinoshita and I were involved in a dispute just the other day. It’s only reasonable she wouldn’t understand when we suddenly told her we were going to run an event together.

She pressed us for answers with her low-temperature stare.

We need to say something or else… I glanced at Yukinoshita and she returned one as well. It was evident in our eyes that we were at a loss for words.

“Wh-What exactly, indeed…”

When I let out a meaningless mumble to fill the silence, Isshiki’s glare grew fiercer. I averted my eyes, and Yukinoshita was gasping, trying to figure out what to say.

“Th-This is difficult to explain, but…” Her cheeks turned red and she dropped her gaze. Then, she continued. “I suppose we’re something like… p-partners?”

“That’s it! Well, you know, when you ask us outright like that, I’m not really sure how to answer, but it’s probably something along those lines.”

“Th-That’s true. I’m not entirely sure either, but I’m sure it’s something along those lines.”

I latched onto Yukinoshita’s words, and she subsequently bobbed her head with high frequency. Isshiki continued to give us a quiet, cold stare. Before long, she let out a tired sigh.

“Huh, right. Well, if that’s good enough for you two, then okay.” She grinned. “But I think it’d better if you made it clearer than that, though.”

She made a suggestive smile and hopped to her feet from her seat. Then, she walked away from the meeting table while humming, only to be stopped. Coming from the direction she was heading was Miura. She was twirling her wavy and dangling golden hair with her fingertips in displeasure. After walking over to us, she exhaled and asked, “Do you mind if we grab something to eat?”

“N-No.” Yukinoshita answered, surprised by her sudden request.

Even after getting permission, she took a moment to observe Yukinoshita and me. Then, she quickly removed her gaze and looked at Isshiki. “You want to come, too?”

“Wha? Uh, well, I don’t know about that…”

Surprised by her invitation, Isshiki struggled to refuse. Normally, she’d do it on the spot, but it looked like her bewilderment was stronger than her rivalry with Miura. I know, I know, these two aren’t on good terms at all… I’d be a little confused too if I had to see Yume x Iro happening in front of me…

Miura stayed quiet while we were baffled and sent me a momentary glance. Then, she looked at Isshiki and inclined her head for an answer. In seeing that gesture, Isshiki sighed. “Well… I’m a little hungry, so I guess I can tag along.”

“Mm.” Miura nodded and turned, her back declaring her to follow. Isshiki gave us a quick greeting before following after her.

I had an idea of the reason why Miura had that attitude. She didn’t say or ask anything, but she was likely being considerate. Not to me, but to the three of us. She really is a good person…

Miura took Isshiki to the entrance of the conference room. Waiting for them at the door was Yuigahama, Ebina-san, and Kawasaki. The three of them were wondering where to go, and Zaimokuza and the two UG Club members were also there. It looked like the three glasses boys were invited, too. She really is a good person…

As they were leaving the room, I found my eyes chasing them. Ever since preparations began, I caught Yukinoshita and Yuigahama talking about various things, but I never joined in. I was using my work as an excuse to postpone things.

But I felt those things would work out eventually. Once we were done with everything here and returned to the period after school where nothing happened, I believed from the bottom of my heart that things would work out.

As I watched the door with my cheek in my hand, I felt a slight tap on my upper arm. It was such a delicate touch it had me feeling extremely ticklish, but I still ended up flinching from the surprise. I made a sidelong glance to see Yukinoshita making a shy smile.

“Why don’t we go get something to eat, too?”

“Good idea…” I answered, and we both rose from our seats.

8-6

With the joint prom closing in on us in a few days, our work had reached a new peak of intensity. The budget that was left entirely in Tamanawa’s hands was expected to lean slightly in the red, but our prospects were promising. We were able to secure rights to the venue and needed only to focus on our preparations. That being said, we only had two days to use the venue, which was the day of the event and the day before for unloading. Otherwise, we needed a place to continue working which was ultimately the community center. For the past few days, we had spend days and nights there.

A majority of our time was spent in frequent meetings and the creation of exhibiting display goods, but with both of our schools enlisting their respective students for assistance, we seemed to be on track toward completion… or something to that effect. That was only true as of the other day, however. These past few days, everyone had the tendency to stop working every so often.

The leading cause was the change in the spring climate. The temperature continued to rise and rise as if to match the growing excitement of the staff. As a consequence, the balmy weather brought upon bouts of drowsiness on people doing desk work while people engaged in hard labor were dripping with sweat. Regardless of the work, the workplace had become a very aggravating environment. To add to that, we were constantly tormented around the clock by an evil of humanity[40], deadlines.

After finishing a task, my shirt was glued to my chest. I flapped it for ventilation while grumbling. “Sure is hot… Time to call it a day and go home.”

Yukinoshita, who was sitting in across from me, tilted her head with an energy drink in one hand. Today, her hair was done in an upswept style and her nape looked refreshing.

“Didn’t you go home the past two days? Are you planning on going home today, too?”

“Is there something wrong with going home everyday? I still have a place I can go home to, and nothing could make me happier.”

I’m sorry… You’ll understand, right? I can go see you anytime, work…[41] I narrated internally.

She let out a thin breath. “Well… it looks like you’re taking your work back with you, so I can’t really complain.”

Oh, damn, she found out. Are you a Newtype, perhaps?

“Wait, you’re doing the same thing, aren’t you? Anyway, give me some of your work before you hit your limit,” I said, sounding slightly strict.

She stopped for a moment and hung her head to reflect on her behavior. Unexpectedly, she became docile and nodded. “Okay…”

“Um, ‘okay…’?” She’s really tired. Her linguistic ability was fading. “You okay? Things are looking kinda bad, aren’t they?”

“Yes, they are. I honestly don’t know if we’re going to make it. This is bad. I could die a little[42].”

She was completely fatigued. Both her speech and conduct were in dangerous peril. She went back to glaring at her documents, typing on her laptop, and using her calculator. The sight of her working with her blue-light blocking glasses slanted and wearing a cooling patch on her forehead was just so tragic. Chocolate and crackers were stacked in front of her, either for emergency calorie intake or were offered by someone. People in the vicinity who saw her looking busy and looking to be one step away from hitting her limit, or even close to falling forward two steps came over to provide some relief.

“Yukinon, I’ll take this.”

“Oh, then, I’ll take this.”

Concerned for Yukinoshita, Yuigahama and Isshiki would pick up some snacks while retrieving documents and calculators every time they passed by, evident of the many ordeals they had gone together in the past. Everyone was seemingly on the same page when it came to who to worry about.

As for me, the only thing I could do was initiate her on some life hacks like how “it’s faster to intake caffeine pills and glucose powder instead of energy drinks!” I suppose another thing I could do was confiscate her work and force her to rest…

Now, how should I pull her away from work and get her to rest? As I contemplated, a dark shadow came approaching from behind. It was Zaimokuza wearing a twisted headband with three nails in his mouth. There was just something mysterious about his appearance with the way he was tapping his shoulder with a hammer and rubbing his chin.

“Hachiman, material supplies are running low.”

“Looks like we’ll need to make a trip to MrMax. I’ll go, so help me carry stuff.”

“Understood. If you don’t mind, can we stop by Surprised Donkey? Worry not, I merely need a glass full,” he said, imitating a gulping gesture.

“Eh… that’s fine with me. Are hamburg steaks just drinks to you like curry is?”

Is this guy okay…? I gave him a compassionate look, and he responded with a smug face.

“As of late, even tonkatsu is nothing more than a beverage to me…”

What the heck, that’s just scary… I trembled from the thought, and Isshiki who had been listening nearby trotted over.

“I like the sound of that. It’s almost time to eat, after all. Right? Right?” Isshiki said, winking with one eye. What’s with the wink? Is she some kind of lonely tropical fish[43]? Then, she pounded me in the side as if telling me to get the hint.

Ouch… I whispered to myself, and noticed Isshiki pointing her chin at Yukinoshita. I looked to see she was absentmindedly staring at the clock and currently docked in exhaustion mode. I see, this is the perfect time to pull her away from work…

Yukinoshita massaged her temple and sighed in exhaustion. “It’s that time already, huh…? Let’s have a meal break, then. Can you bring something back after you finish your shopping?”

“Yeah… Wait, no, that’s not happening, because it’s going to take awhile.”

“Why?” Yukinoshita inclined her head with a blank look.

I assumed a grave expression and slowly opened my mouth. “Because… we’re going to the sauna.”

“Huh?” She said, sounding partly furious. Her unspoken message was clearly saying she had no idea what I was saying. But even if I tried to explain to her that she needed to get some rest, she’s definitely going to insist on continuing her work and that she was fine. As such, I had to include another reason to convince her.

Fortunately, the street that had MrMax we were heading to also had a public bathhouse called Yukemori Yokocho on the same street. Going somewhere with a sauna nearby and not choosing to enter it was a choice a saunner wouldn’t make.

As Yukinoshita’s partner and a saunner, I readied myself to persuade her with a detailed argument.

“All right, listen up. It’s important for us to go because it’s part of our job. By bathing in a sauna, we’re able to condition our disordered autonomic nerves and relax our bodies, allowing us to work more efficiently, which is exactly what we need right now. So, in a sense, saunas are like an employee benefit. If anything, they’re a necessary expense that should be paid for. I’ll go get a blank invoice, so tell me who to write it to.”

“O-Oh…”

It practically became my opinion as a saunner halfway through, but after I leaned forward and fervently pitched the idea to her, she shrank back. My passion propagated to my surroundings.

“Saunas have that kind of effect, huh…?”

“I want to feel euphoric.”

“I want to be steamed…”

“That’s right, they call it löyly. They also call it aufguss from what I hear.”

All of the boys, centering on Zaimokuza and the UG Club, expressed their approval. As for Tamanawa, he was already churning the air with his hands like a skillful heat waving specialist[44]. The boys of Kaihin Sogo raised their hands in agreement as if wanting another dose of the hot blast of aufguss.

“We’ll be completely hooked on saunas once we understand the wonders of cold baths.”

“True. The cold baths are essential in deriving the cultural value of saunas.”

“Speaking of cold baths, we ought to visit Shikiji[45] when we get the opportunity.”

This was the exact moment saunas saw a rise in popularity among the young. Since it was popular with the young populace who were sensitive to rising trends in the old ages, it was only natural that it would catch the attention of Kaihin Sogo’s students who were equipped with sensitive antennas.

How many times did I need to say it? A sauna anime would absolutely be popular! I’d better go get my license as a sauna health advisor and make my preparations to feel that runner’s high (as in the sauna). Heck, I already had the qualifications to be a sauna and spa professional, you know?

I got up and the rest of the boys followed suit. After seeing us, Yukinoshita pressed her temple and sighed. “Let’s take a break, then. Do you mind giving me the address of that place just in case?” She said, and closed her laptop.

8-7

A brilliant sheen ran across the surface of the water from the inclining rays of the sun.

We assembled outside of the community center together with the tennis club, in charge of the physical labor, and the soccer club helpers and went to enjoy our last substantial break before the final spurt of preparations at Yukemori Yokocho.

While everyone was getting comfortable, I was quietly steaming myself. The sauna was installed with a TV, but it wasn’t noisy by any means. In fact, the noise level was just perfect. The ambient voices permeated my opened sweat glands and gradually became one with the pulsating beats of my heart. My spirit was alleviated by the the combination of noise and heat.

The steam enveloped my naked body to produce heat, and I began to feel the sensation of my blood boiling throughout. The things that lingered in the corner of my mind melted and flowed outward, leaving only “emptiness.”

By staying exposed to the waves of heat for a brief period of time, all ideals, concepts, and generalizations dissipate into nothing, and you would reach an absolute stage of enlightenment that couldn’t be expressed in any other way than “it’s hot… so hot…” I was thinking about a lot of things at first, but at some point, I stopped caring about everything and could only think about how hot it was.

Conversely, that could be considered as the ultimate form of concentration and the supreme state of relaxation. It’s so hot.

But the allure of saunas wasn’t limited to the room itself. After a supple amount of steaming, you had to wash off your sweat with a douse of warm water, and submerge yourself in a cold bath. What waited for you was a sharp increase in the inner workings of your mind. Nay, all of the cells throughout your body, not just your head, would awaken one by one. In addition, the water warmed from your body heat would wrap your being like an angel’s raiment and provide you with overwhelming relief. It was when man tore off those angelic robes with his own hands that he would acquire valor. The will to leave the confines of your warm home and head to the windy, desolate wastelands was the epitome of valor. Still, it sure is hot…

To add, the cold bath that followed could be said to be the biggest charm of saunas, otherwise, known as the air bath. The moment in which man rested his body in an open space after a steaming and cooling was the moment he came to know of the feeling of “euphoria…”

By cooling your warm body after steaming in the sauna, your blood vessels would shrink. Then, exposing yourself to the open air would cause your body to generate heat once more, give rise to pulses of your heart, expand your blood vessels, and begin circulating oxygen throughout your body. By repeating this process, everyone would become euphoric.

This was the same as the history of Earth. We transitioned from the age where lava would spew from the earth’s mantle, to the ice age where everything was frozen, and finally to our era where we could inhale oxygen without batting an eye. What awaited us at the end of alternating between bathing in the heat and bathing in the cold was the understanding through our body, not our language, of the words “humanity is alive” within the chasm between serenity and zeal. In steaming our body in the sauna, heat would burst forth internally, and in cooling our body in a cold bath, we would contract our bodies to keep that heat from escaping. We would be liberated of everything in the moment we exposed ourselves to the outside air. It’s when we were liberated from all kinds of oppression that we experienced true freedom. So hot.

Feeling that I had been indulging in the heat for long enough, I glanced at the clock in the sauna to see that almost 5 minutes had passed.

My routine usually followed 3 rotations of one 12-minute set of the following: 7 minutes in the sauna, 2 minutes in the cold bath, and 3 minutes indulging in the open air. This allowed me to utilize the sauna for 12 minutes. But this was merely my ideal. The duration would change depending on the temperature of the room (98 degrees or more preferably), the temperature of the cold bath (16 degrees or less preferably), and the presence of space to become euphoric (a deck chair to rest my body on was preferable). Accounting for the crowd at the sauna, checking one’s physical condition, and doing everything possible were proof of an excellent saunner.

There’s an open-air bath and it’s pretty clear out there, so bathing in the air should feel good… Based on the conditions here, I wouldn’t have minded spending more time indulging in the outside air. Ahhh, I want to get the in the cold bath quick, and become euphoric… Hot, hot, it’s really hot.

Before long, my thoughts vanished like mist along with my sweat.

So hot…

“Damn! This is freakin’ hot! Nope, nope, nope! Super freakin’ hot!”

Even the heat vaporized that hoarse voice. Hot…

“Wait, wait, Hayato-kun, this is insane! Wait, wait! This is the hottest thing ever! Wait, Hikitani-kun, how are you even okay? You’re nuts!”

Tobe, shut up. My concentration was broken by all the noise he was making. I slowly opened my eyes to see Tobe coming in, followed by Hayama, Totsuka, and Zaimokuza.

“Hey, Hachiman! Let’s sit together!”

Of course, the person calling my name and sitting beside me was Zaimokuza Yoshiteru. I can see why Totsuka was wearing a towel, but why are you fully armored? I ignored him and moved my body and face to the other side that had an angel.

“It’s really hot in here, huh…? I might pass out.”

Totsuka fanned his face with hands. Every stroke caused his pearl-shaped sweat to slide down his white porcelain skin. His sweat would glitter like a jewel in the instant it stopped in the crevice of his collarbone. He would pull up his towel to wipe the sweat and avert his gaze in embarrassment.

His gesture almost had my mind on the verge of being blown away. Then again, it did get blown away.

“Yo, saunas are pretty boring, yeah?”

Because of the hoarse voice, I was brought back into reality and lost a few seconds of my memories.

“There’s nothin’ to do, you know? How about we compete to see who can last the longest?”

“Saunas aren’t meant for that, shut up.”

I’m too busy trying to recover the memories I just lost earlier, damn it. Let me concentrate. Anyway, you weren’t supposed to endure in a sauna. How should I put it? It’s something to enjoy freely, something to relax in, and something that made you feel like you were being saved.[46]. However, punks who didn’t clean themselves (entering the cold bath without washing off your sweat) and punks who contaminated löyly with their sweat (wringing your sweaty towel over the sauna stones) were without question guilty and would get an arm lock of death!

Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but I reprimanded Tobe and shut down his rash remarks. Unfortunately, he was the type of person to lose his memories from a few seconds prior.

“How about whoever lasts the longest is the champ?”

He started off on his own, and Hayama looked at him with a fed up face. “That wouldn’t be fair because everyone came in at separate times.”

“Word! Then, the loser is the one who says it’s hot first. Anythin’ close to it or means the same thing are out. It wouldn’t be a contest, otherwise.”

“Yeah, yeah. Okay, start.”

It became clear Hayama didn’t want to deal with him anymore, so he quickly started the game and clapped. Afterwards, the time passed without anyone saying a word. A few seconds later, Tobe grew impatient and fiddled with his long hair.

“Damn… I’m bored. How about we not stay quiet? Gotta talk at least, right?”

“Talk about something then, Tobe.”

“Huh, serious? Uhh…” Tobe began thinking after Hayama’s suggestion. Then, he snapped his finger. “Oh, hot damn, Hikitani-kun. Dude, don’t tell me. You dating Yukinoshita-san, man?”

The sauna stirred. Hayama and Totsuka exchanged glances and sighed. On the other hand, Zaimokuza went into a rapid rant like a mosquito going, “Of course not, no way… No way, right? Right? Say it isn’t so. Be honest. Don’t worry, I won’t get upset. Okay?”

“…”

When I upheld my silence, Tobe moved half of his body toward me to press for an answer. Hayama then flicked his head. “Don’t ask him…”

“Yeah! We all said we’d just watch over them, because they’ll definitely deny it if we asked.” Totsuka lectured Tobe in a hushed voice.

Wha… you’re kidding… Was everyone already aware and were just staying quiet out of consideration…? That’s just, I don’t know… I wiped my sweat and looked up at the ceiling. Ahh, I want to die…

The thoughts came from the bottom of my heart, and I let out a hot and deep sigh. Then, I blurted out. “Uhh, you said the taboo word earlier, so Tobe… you’re out.”

“Out!”

After my stupidly random call, Totsuka and Zaimokuza repeated after me.

“Wait, what, why!? I didn’t say it was hot at all!”

Shut up. Those excuses wouldn’t work before my power of “taboo.” Conventional wisdom dictated that the use of “hot” in any situation were completely applicable. Since any usage of the word in any context was forbidden, Tobe’s “hot damn” activated my power.[47]

I shooed him away with my hands, and Tobe reluctantly got up. Subsequently, Zaimokuza slapped his thighs and got up as well.

“Hmph, I, too, am at my limit with this heat!”

“Same…”

Zaimokuza made his way out while pushing Tobe, and Totsuka followed him with staggering footsteps. With less people, the sauna went quiet. Only Hayama and I remained. He stayed still as if in meditation. We didn’t exchange a single word, merely breathing in and breathing out.

As we continued to steam like we were having an endurance contest, Hayama opened his mouth. “So, what’s the truth?”

His words were smooth, yet there was a pressure to them that pricked my skin. The muscles on his back were suggesting he had no intention of moving until I responded.

“It’s nothing like that… if anything, it’s nowhere near that,” I said, sighing.

Hayama’s body twitched. Then, he burst into laughter and held his stomach. After a few moments, he let out a deep breath and stood up. He turned half of his body to me and grinned, wearing a smile that was refreshing in appearance but interlaced with irony.

“Sure is hot…”

He stated coolly, and calmly left the sauna.

8-8

After a careful and thorough steaming, my mind and body felt light. I made my way to the shoe rack at the entrance feeling refreshed. On the way, I fiddled with my smartphone to send Komachi a message saying, “Don’t need dinner.” I immediately received a response saying, “Roger! Do your best with the preparations! I’ll make sure to be at the prom!”

You don’t need to come… I made a wry smile and walked outside after putting on my shoes. After pulling up the door cloth, I could see the sun had inclined quite a bit, and the ocean in the distance was flaring with a bright red.

As I was walking, I pressed the cold can of MAX Coffee that I just bought against my forehead and my neck. The passing spring wind was pleasant to my warm skin, and I narrowed my eyes from the glare of the western sky.

“Hikki.”

I turned to the voice, and Yuigahama was on a bench beckoning me over with her hand. Yukinoshita was sitting beside her with slightly flushed cheeks. Her hair was loose, compared to her tied up style during work, and she let out a satisfied breath. Peeking from over her shoulder beside her was Isshiki who gave me a criticizing gaze.

“Senpai, you’re so slow.”

“Or maybe you three are just too fast?” I retorted and walked over to the bench, fully aware that I was the last one out. “Where’s everyone else?”

I couldn’t see anyone else, and Yukinoshita answered. “They already went to eat.”

“I see.”

No one said a word from that point on. In spite of that, we didn’t show any signs of heading to Surprised Donkey where everyone was dining.

Yukinoshita, Yuigahama, and Isshiki stayed put on the bench. I accompanied them, shaking my MAX Coffee and snapping the tab open. Then, I rested my back against the wall beside the bench and sipped my coffee. Of course, everyone maintained their silence and the moment of quiet and serenity continued on. The four of us simply enjoyed the cool evening breeze after our baths and watched the setting sun.

We were all here together, yet we didn’t have a single conversation. In any normal situation, this would’ve been an awkward period of time with little to do. It wouldn’t have been strange for us to fiddle with our phones as a form of distraction. But we were all strangely calm, merely indulging in the silence.

It was a little similar to the atmosphere of the clubroom after school on a day like any other. There weren’t any words I would describe it with, for it was a place I could stay in forever without ever growing tired of it.

Isshiki hummed a standard prom dance number and swung her legs in conjunction with the rhythm, her skirt just barely flapping back and forth. Her intermittent humming turned into a lullaby that invited a feeling of nostalgia due to the setting sun.

Thanks to that, Yukinoshita began to nod off. The added comfort of getting out of the bath caused her to let out small yawns, and she would rest her head on Yuigahama’s shoulder. Yuigahama inched her shoulder closer as if to avoid losing the faith warmth of their touch.

I drew my shoulders in from the sudden gust of wind that blew across the seasons. I looked down at the bench with a sidelong glance, wondering if it was just the chills after a bath, but there were no routes for the wind to travel through.

It was still a warm sunny spot. A comfortable sunny spot that closely resembled that room filled with sunlight. A sunny spot that closely resembled that place—that room as we brilliantly watched the sun set below the ocean’s horizon and brighten the surface of the water.

I’m sure the reason I—we wanted to stay in that sunny spot forever might be because we knew that this evening would eventually end, and that this time would never come again. However, the time for us part from it arrived.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t reluctant. It’s not like I didn’t have any regrets. I still had thoughts that pulled at the back of my head.

But I had no choice but to finally accept it; I liked that time and that place, so much that it made me have these thoughts. If I didn’t accept it, I felt I wouldn’t be able to part from it.

It was just so bright and dazzling that it left a scorching scar. It would leave a wound and turn into a blemish that I could never forget. I would one day lament the things that once happened as I looked upon that scar. Before the afterglow could disappear, I stepped forward to leave that warm spot.

“Ready to go?” I said, turning half of my body.

Yukinoshita who had been falling asleep opened her eyes. “Sure…”

Her answer was brief as she straightened her body from leaning on Yuigahama. After thanking Yuigahama in a low voice, she adjusted her crumpled collar.

Isshiki joined her legs together and jumped to her feet without waiting. She rotated her heels with the sound of her loafers grinding against the sand.

“Yep… let’s go.” Isshiki wore a tender smile and turned to Yuigahama.

Our backs steeped in the sunset glow and Yuigahama looked up at us. She closed her eyes and nodded several times. Then, she whispered, “Okay, we should get going…”

She didn’t hesitate to get up from the bench and used her momentum to walk forward without turning back. She chased after Isshiki to walk alongside her and left that place behind.

Yukinoshita remained on the bench after adjusting her appearance. I sent her a gaze saying that we should get going. She nodded back and was about to stand.

Before she could, I offered my hand without a word.

She tilted her head slightly, unsure of the meaning of my gesture, but she immediately made a faint smile.

“I can stand up on my own…”

“I know.”

I knew she could stand on her own, and I knew she would say that. But even so, I offered my hand. And I would probably continue to do so from now on.

Moments before disappearing, the evening glow radiated even stronger and deepened the shadows as it stretched farther. Both her shadow and my shadow became one, and no one could distinguish whose shadow was whose.

In the world encased in vermilion, the color that dyed my face, her cheeks, and everything in its hue, she took my hand with an astonished smile.