I walked alongside Azuma toward Higashi-Koganei Station.
“Do you head home from Higashi-Koganei often, Azuma?”
“Well, my house is on the down-line, so yeah.”
Right. Come to think of it, Azuma lived in Ome.
“True. Then you could always use Higashi-Koganei. Why do you usually use Shin-Koganei?”
“Because everyone else goes home from Shin-Koganei. Plus, there’s a vending machine over there that sells Calpis for 100 yen.”
“That’s intense...”
The Youth Club President is alive and well... or rather, isn't she more like the Calpis Club President at this point?
While I was thinking about such trivial things, we spotted a Ministop along the way.
“Ah, a convenience store on the way back. Let’s buy some ice cream.”
Following her lead, we entered the store and stood before the open-top freezer.
“What should I get...”
“Hey, Konuma. Let’s have a Papico.”
At that moment, I froze.
“Wh—What did you say...?”
My neck moved with mechanical stiffness as I looked over. Azuma was nonchalantly pointing at the two-in-one ice cream set.
As I continued to tremble in sheer terror, she turned a dubious gaze toward me. “Huh? What’s wrong?”
“N-No, please tell me if I’m just overthinking this...”
“What is it...?”
I spoke the words haltingly.
“Doesn’t splitting a Papico count as... cheating...?”
Azuma’s eyes went blank for a few seconds before she let out a gentle laugh.
“I didn’t know you cared about stuff like that, Konuma.”
“No, I thought you’d be the one to care about it more. I expected you to say something like, ‘You can’t eat a Papico unless you’re a couple.’”
“Ahaha, what’s that supposed to be?”
She was still laughing.
“What’s so funny...?”
“No, no, sorry. I don’t dislike that side of you, though.”
Then, she placed a hand on her chin with an ‘Hmm’ and began to think.
“For example, let’s say you bought a box of ice cream. One with six bars in it.”
“Right.”
She pointed to a different freezer with a door, separate from the one in front of us.
Indeed, that freezer displayed boxes of five or six ice cream bars meant to be kept in a home freezer.
“Now, if we each took one bar from that box, that wouldn’t be cheating, right?”
“I guess not...”
Yeah... I mean, if that were cheating, then how many times would I have ‘cheated’ by giving Sako ice cream at my house when we were kids?
“But right now, there’s only two of us. So we can’t exactly buy a six-pack box, can we?”
“I guess not...”
My responses had been reduced to a pathetic verbal tic.
“In such a situation, don’t you think it would be great if they sold a two-pack ice cream?”
“Why are you using formal speech...?”
“And here is that dream-like ice cream! It’s Papico!”
Ignoring my retort, Azuma continued in her formal tone.
“If you buy it now, it’s 140 yen before tax! If two people buy it, you can eat it for only 70 yen each!”
“Are you a TV shopping host? Besides, isn’t there an option where we each buy a different single ice cream?”
“No, I can’t eat a whole one by myself. It’s cold.”
She waved her hand in front of her face, dismissing the idea.
“Wait, if you say it’s ‘too cold,’ doesn’t that undermine the whole point...?”
“Anyway.”
Azuma cut me off sharply.
“A Papico is just a two-pack ice cream. They just happen to be stuck together, so it doesn’t count as cheating.”
“Why the Kansai accent all of a sudden...?”
And it was a terrible fake one, too. People from Kansai would get mad at her.
“So, let’s buy the two-pack. We’ll split the cost.”
“Fine... I mean, that’s okay with me.”
Having been overwhelmed by her persistence, I started worrying about something else rather than the act of buying the Papico itself.
“...Why are you working so hard to convince me to eat a Papico?”
When I asked, she didn't panic or try to hide her effort.
“Hmm, it’s not particularly that I want to eat a Papico. I just want to buy an ice cream and split the cost.”
“What does that even mean...?”
I tilted my head.
“I’ve got my reasons. You could call it foreshadowing, or maybe laying the groundwork... though, whether it’s foreshadowing or groundwork, it might be better if I never have to use it.”
“I seriously don’t understand...”
What? Is this some kind of riddle? I felt like for once, the problem wasn't my lack of comprehension.
“Yes, yes, it’s fine. Let's go to the register, the register.”
With that, Azuma gently pushed my shoulder.
“Oh... okay.”
So, just as Azuma wished, we bought the Papico, splitting the cost down to the last yen, and left the store.
“Ah, a bench at sunset.”
Azuma pointed toward a park bench a short walk away and headed toward it.
...This was the park we went to on the day Erina-san was rejected by Kenji.
Following Azuma’s lead, I sat down on the bench. In the twilight, the fluorescent streetlights were flickering.
“Here, Konuma.”
“Thanks.”
Azuma split the Papico in half and handed one to me, which I accepted.
“It’s been a while since I had a Papico...”
Just as I put my finger through the ring to pull the seal open—
A soft hand firmly gripped my wrist.
“...Eh?”
The cool temperature of Azuma’s palm seeped into my skin.
I found myself thinking that for someone who played the bass, her hands were surprisingly small.
But more importantly, why did Azuma suddenly grab my hand...?
“Hey, Konuma...?”
“Y-Yes...?”
She tightened her grip slightly.
Her expression was hard to read in the twilight, but I felt like her eyes were slightly moist.
Her lips parted softly, and Azuma spoke.
“...Have you forgotten that the goal was to cool your eyes?”
“Ah, so that’s it?”
Man, she really startled me...
“Hey, don’t ‘so that’s it’ me. There was no point in buying the ice cream otherwise.”
“Well, I think the ultimate point of ice cream is to eat it...”
Feeling embarrassed that I had gotten so nervous, I muttered that while gently looking up, closing my eyes, and pressing the Papico against my eyelids.
It felt a bit too cold for the winter air, but the chilly sensation was pleasant. My eyes must have really been flushed. I felt like I could fall asleep just like this.
“I wonder how long it takes for the swelling to go down...”
“Who knows? I’ll check if the swelling’s gone, so just stay like that for a bit.”
“Okay...”
I replied like a younger brother being lectured by his older sister.
“Hey, Konuma.”
Azuma’s voice followed, sounding somewhat tense.
“...Will you listen to what I have to say, just like that?”