Chapter 5
“I'm sorry, Miss Kaede.”
It was a plan I'd prepared even at the cost of inconveniencing everyone. But it had failed. And failed spectacularly.
The goal had been to stage a chance encounter. But I hadn't even gotten to see his face, let alone meet him.
Instead, I'd made the eldest daughter of the Mochizuki family watch a movie based on a children's anime. For nearly two whole hours.
No matter how unavoidable the cause, failure was failure.
As the person in charge, it was only right that I take responsibility. So, late that night, I went to see Kaede before bed and bowed my head.
I may look like this, but the person inside is an adult who knows how to take responsibility!
“I told you it's okay, Takamine.”
“……Even so.”
“――Nagi. Lift your head. …Come on. I said lift your head. I'm really going to get angry, you know?”
I was planning to keep my head bowed for another thirty minutes.
Kaede kept trying to stop me. Unable to resist her urging, I reluctantly raised my head.
Because I didn't want Kaede to actually get angry, as she'd said she would.
“Yes, Miss.”
I lifted my head. Kaede greeted me with a smile, dressed in a nightgown covered in frills and ribbons.
“This wasn't your fault, Takamine, was it? You're not a god, so how could you have known Arai-kun's little sister would get lost?”
That was true.
Arai-kun's little sister—in other words, Yuki getting lost had been completely unexpected. Who could possibly have predicted that?
That on the day of the plan, the target's companion would go missing.
If anyone could have predicted that, then, as Kaede said, they must have been a god.
“If anything, I think I should be praising you.”
“Praising me?”
“Yeah. You looked after Arai-kun's little sister when she was frightened and lost, didn't you? What else could that be but something worth praising?”
Kaede smiled brightly, as though reassuring me.
Kaede. You sweet thing.
Kaede had a kind heart. She must have been looking forward to meeting Arai today. And yet, instead of expressing her disappointment, she chose to comfort me.
Seeing her like that inevitably brought a certain thought to mind.
I really hated that so-called god who'd brought me to this world.
But there was one thing I was truly grateful for: that it had brought me together with Kaede.
“Thank you, Miss Kaede.”
“You don't need to thank me.”
Embarrassed, Kaede scratched her cheek. I watched her for a moment, finding her adorable, then got ready to leave.
It was late Sunday night. In a few dozen minutes, it would be midnight and the date would change.
Both Kaede and I needed to get to bed soon if we were going to the academy tomorrow.
Of course, I still had work to do, so I wouldn't be going to sleep until much later.
Anyway, putting that aside,
It was best for both of us if I left now.
“Well then, I'll be going――”
“Ah….”
As I started to leave, a little exclamation escaped Kaede's lips. Not only that, she interlaced her fingers and gave me a meaningful look.
Her face was full of regret. It seemed she wanted to talk a little longer.
I glanced at the clock.
The hour hand pointed to eleven, and the minute hand to eight.
‘Fifteen minutes or so should be fine.’
No more than that.
Any longer, and I couldn't guarantee I'd get the bare minimum of sleep.
Thanks to the consecutive late nights I'd put in over the past few days, I hadn't been getting proper sleep. As a result, my body was now severely sleep-deprived.
Honestly, even now, if I closed my eyes, I'd probably fall asleep on the spot. I was holding on by what people call sheer willpower.
“We have a little time left. Would you like me to keep you company before bed?”
“……Are you sure? Aren't you busy?”
“It's fine. I have enough time to talk with you, Miss.”
“Really!? Thank you!”
Kaede's face brightened.
All I'd offered was to keep her company before bed. It seemed our young lady had been rather starved for conversation.
Finding her adorable, I let a faint smile play on my lips.
“Hey, Takamine.”
“Yes, Miss Kaede.”
“Do you know Hina-chan?”
“………Pardon?”
The corners of my mouth, which had been curving upward, returned to their normal position. My eyelid twitched as if it were broken, too.
Hina-chan, huh.
Why had that name come out of Kaede's mouth? Confused by the fact, I stared at her blankly.
Kaede was looking at me too, so our eyes naturally met. Her eyes were blazing with curiosity. Before long, I sensed something ominous in her gaze and looked away.
“Miss. I-I really should get going, since it's late――”
“That's the name of the main character in the movie we saw today.”
Kaede cut me off. Then she came closer and planted a hand on my shoulder.
The feel of her hand on my shoulder was unsettling. Maybe that's why a certain scene suddenly came to mind.
A spider wrapping up and crushing a butterfly caught in its web.
“M-Miss?”
“I figured you wouldn't know. It's okay. I didn't know until today, either. I'll explain it to you. I looked it up thoroughly after I got back.”
The way she looked at me was frightening.
I trembled under that frightening gaze, then squeezed my eyes shut.
＊＊＊
“Hey, look at Takamine's face. She looks like she's in a terrible mood. Something must've happened, judging by that. Anyone who talks to her today is bound to get their head bitten off.”
While talking with Shota, Kenji spotted Takamine arriving at school and abruptly changed the subject.
‘She looks like she's in a bad mood?’
Shota turned around at Kenji's words and examined Takamine's expression. Normally, he wouldn't have paid her any particular attention, but
yesterday's encounter had made Shota take an interest in Takamine.
“……She really does look upset.”
Takamine wasn't usually one to show her emotions on her face. From what he could tell, she spent most of her time expressionless. Only when someone spoke to her would she briefly let an expression appear.
Because of that, Shota had once gotten the impression that Takamine was like a ‘machine’ that had been ‘programmed.’
But now, that very Takamine had an expression of displeasure on her face—an even stronger emotion than she showed when dealing with men.
The realization stirred something unfamiliar in Shota. At the same time, it left him troubled.
His little sister, Yuki, had told him to arrange a meeting because she wanted to see Takamine.
“I should stay away from her today. I don't want to get caught in the crossfire.”
Kenji said that and returned to his seat. Shota watched him go, then turned his gaze back to Takamine.
Unfortunately, Takamine still looked like she was in a bad mood.
Ugh.
‘This is troublesome.’
His reason told him to leave Takamine alone. But his emotions urged him to talk to her.
What kind of big brother couldn't even grant his little sister one request? Even if she turned him down, he should at least try.
As his decision started to lean toward reason, his feelings kept urging him to act like a big brother.
Shota kept mulling it over as he watched Takamine's sulky expression, then finally came up with a compromise.
At lunchtime,
he would try talking to Takamine when she was alone.
If she turned him down while they were alone, at least it wouldn't turn into a rumor among the others.
＊＊＊
At lunchtime, Shota devoured his lunch in no time, then headed straight for the rooftop.
According to his close friend Kenji, the person he was looking for, ‘Takamine Nagi,’ was on the academy rooftop.
Creak―.
The old door made an unpleasant noise as he opened it, fitting for the building's age. Shota crossed the threshold, letting the squeal serve as background music.
It was early May, and the sunlight beat down fiercely, heralding the approaching summer. Shota squinted against the intense light and looked around.
He was searching for Takamine Nagi, who was somewhere in this place.
‘Ah. There she is.’
As he looked around, the shape of a person appeared at the edge of his vision. Silver hair glimmering softly in the sunlight. It was Takamine.
Shota immediately headed toward her.
“?”
As Shota walked toward her, Takamine's figure gradually came into sharper focus. He tilted his head, a question mark appearing over it.
It was because of what he saw in front of him.
‘…She's asleep?’
When he got closer and took a look, she had her eyes gently closed, holding a convenience-store bread bag in her hand. Her head kept nodding forward, then lifting again. And if he listened carefully, he could even hear her faint breathing.
Anyone could tell she was asleep.
‘What should I do?’
Shota scratched his cheek, taken aback by the situation. Finding Takamine was all well and good, but he hadn't expected her to be asleep.
‘She must be really tired.’
Even though someone was nearby, she kept sleeping peacefully, softly snoring. As if she wouldn't notice even if someone carried her off.
How strange.
As he watched Takamine sleeping, he had that impression.
To Shota, Takamine seemed like someone who lived in a different world from everyone else, even when she was in the same space.
Her otherworldly beauty, the silence she carried around her, and her rejection of others made her seem that way.
For that reason, Takamine was someone Shota considered ‘mysterious.’
And yet, now that very person was nodding off right in front of him. She even had a crumpled bread bag in her hand.
It was an utterly ordinary sight, no different from that of any other schoolgirl.
Somehow, that ordinary sight drew Shota in. Maybe that was why he found himself staring absentmindedly at Takamine as she slept.
He watched her as if she were so delicate that even a breath might break her, taking care even with his own breathing.
Wanting to savor this moment, a moment granted to him alone, he focused on Takamine's face and gazed at it intently.
It was then.
“…………Mmm.”
Takamine groaned as she shifted in the uncomfortable surroundings. As if she'd received some sort of signal, she suddenly opened her eyes wide.
Shota's reflection appeared in Takamine's eyes.
He was so startled that
Shota froze on the spot.