3.3
It was past 4:00 p.m., and I was sitting alone on a bench on the second floor of Keyaki Mall when the meeting broke up after I had finished my role as a silent listener at the karaoke session.
I had decided to stay behind regardless of whether the meeting broke up early or not.
Since I had no particular purpose in mind, I decided to browse the Internet on my cell phone for a while, but before I knew it, Kei had sent me a message and a picture.
I could see at a glance that she and Satō were enjoying themselves, cuddling with each other while making a peace sign.
It seemed that they were planning to gather in the girls' room until this evening to chat in the dormitory.
Kei was also with some others. Satō, Mori, Ishikura, and Maezono seemed to be there.
Her ability to easily get together with her friends like this, even if she couldn't spend time with me, was one of Kei's strengths.
I was asked when I would come back, so after a little pondering, I replied that it would be after 8:00 p.m.
If I told her that I'd be back early, there was a chance that Kei would leave her friends behind and call it a day.
It was better to let them enjoy the day without being distracted.
“Well...”
There was no one else in the vicinity at the moment, and there didn’t seem to be a risk of the phone being overheard.
I picked up my cell phone and called Ichinose, occasionally observing the students in the distance.
I’d like to make the appointment tomorrow if I could since there was no point in putting it off.
The call rang in my ear for a while, but Ichinose didn’t answer.
Either she was spending time with someone and didn’t notice, or she was taking a nap.
Alternatively, she may have been aware of the call and intentionally avoided answering it.
Did my contact with Ichinose the night before the end of the school trip change the result? As I was looking at my call history with various thoughts in my mind, I received a call back.
“Hello? I'm sorry, I couldn't get to the phone.”
The recipient's first words sounded nervous.
There was no sign of reluctance as far as I could hear from her voice.
“Are you busy?”
“Uh, no. I was just getting ready for dinner.”
I realized that it might’ve been true.
I could hardly remember calling Ichinose during these private hours.
I heard what sounded like a faint conversation on the other end of the phone. I thought it was someone else, but upon closer listening, it turned out to be the sound of the TV.
“This is a bit of a short notice, but if you're free tomorrow, can we meet?”
As to get straight to the point, I immediately told her what I wanted to do.
“What…? With me?”
“Does it sound like I'm inviting anyone but you?”
“Well, no, I don't, but… But… Two people, um, just us two...?”
“Just the two of us, if possible.”
There was no need for any roundabout way of saying it, so I conveyed my message directly.
Ichinose didn’t reply, and a rather heavy silence followed for a few seconds.
“I don't have any plans… What can I do for you?”
What could she do? Depending on what it was, Ichinose might be willing to meet with me. If it was a consultation or some kind of problem, then it would be easier for Ichinose to accept. However, I couldn't reveal that I had been asked by Kanzaki and the others to investigate without arousing suspicion.
They’ve asked me to find out without Ichinose’s knowledge.
“If there's no particular matter, would you still be willing to meet? Just the two of us?”
“It's not like that... But, um, being alone with you...”
“I want to meet with you.”
“...!?”
“But if it's mentally straining for you, it might be better to not meet.”
I took a risk and tried to back off a little bit.
I tried to get a feel for where Ichinose's emotions lay.
“...Wait. No… it's okay”
I’m not saying I wasn’t cautious, but it didn't sound like there were any feelings that I wanted to avoid.
“Are you sure you want to do this? I don't want to force you.”
“I'm not forcing myself… I want to meet you too…”
“Okay. Then let's meet in front of Keyaki Mall tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.”
I didn't know how much time it would take, so it was preferable to have the maximum amount of time possible.
“10:00, right?”
“Yes, see you then. If this isn’t convenient for you, call me anytime.”
We could've had a longer conversation, but it was better to avoid that.
“I'll see you tomorrow, okay?”
With those words, the conversation ended somewhat awkwardly.
With this, I was able to set up a meeting with Ichinose for now.
All that remained was to find out more about Ichinose's mental state tomorrow.
It would be ideal if I could learn what she was thinking while I was at it.
I thought I’d stop by a bookstore afterward.
I still had a lot of time left to spend alone that day.
It was different from the time I spent alone when I didn't have any friends.
This was also a blissful time that I noticed now that I had a different point of view.
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