* * *
① 3:53
If you crouch down two meters away from the hole of the bass drum in the light music room and toss a five-yen coin inside, your future self will appear.
② 4:03
Walk a few steps to the right from a point where you can only see the administrative office; in the scenery that appears, a key person for your future will emerge.
③ 4:22
Immediately after counting each step from the library down to the first floor, if you count the same stairs while climbing back up from the first floor, there will be one extra step.
④ 4:44
Between the two anatomical models standing in the corner of the messy science lab, if you put a beige cardigan on the older one, something precious will appear.
⑤ 5:17
Among the few remaining cans of Calpis Water, one has a concentration 1% higher than labeled.
⑥ 5:45
※Impossible? From an outdoor table at the empty cafeteria, reflect the setting sun with a hand mirror onto the top of a stack of trays, and words will appear.
⑦ This will only appear to those who have followed the six wonders exactly on time.
* * *
“Next is, uh... ah, the library at 4:22,” Azuma-san muttered while looking at her smartphone. I checked mine as well.
* * *
③ 4:22
Immediately after counting each step from the library down to the first floor, if you count the same stairs while climbing back up from the first floor, there will be one extra step.
* * *
“This is, well, just going down and coming back up.”
“Ho... but isn't this the most like a 'Seven Wonders' thing, or rather, a ghost story (kaidan) so far?”
“Just because they are stairs (kaidan)?”
“I didn't say that.”
I brushed off Azuma-san, who was grinning. Poetry and puns are a paper-thin difference... We soon arrived in front of the library.
“These are the stairs Kenji used to confess to Sako-hasu and get rejected, right after he interrupted Erina's attempt to confess to Konuma, and then Erina ran away and Konuma chased after her.”
“When you put it into words, it really sounds like a mess of a situation...”
That happened during a study session before the 'Lock-On' in July. Not that much time has passed, but thinking about how much our relationships have changed since then makes me feel somewhat sentimental.
“Well, let's go down. Let's count the landing as one step.”
“Alright... Then, one, two, three, four...”
Following the instructions, we descended while counting each step. And the moment my foot touched the first-floor ground—
“And... this is one. Now, let's go up. Two, three, four...”
I turned back around. As I counted and reached the third floor again...
“...Hmm, there's one more than when we went down.”
“It's true~...” Azuma-san let out a strangely theatrical voice, but...
“No, isn't this just a problem with how we're counting?”
“...What do you mean by that?” Why the formal speech all of a sudden?
“No, I mean, when going down from the third floor, you didn't count that floor as one, but when counting from the bottom, you're counting the first floor as one...”
“Ah, I see... well, let's go to the next one.”
“Hey, could you show a little more interest in my brilliant deduction?”
...By the way, is this 'Seven Wonders' list full of holes really okay?
Next was the fourth one.
* * *
④ 4:44
Between the two anatomical models standing in the corner of the messy science lab, if you put a beige cardigan on the older one, something precious will appear.
* * *
“Is this 'messy' part necessary? Does it not work if it's not messy?”
“Who knows?”
“If anything, it’s not that messy. Well, the corner is a bit cluttered, though...”
When I voiced my complaint, Azuma-san shook her head, saying, “Ah, fine, fine, I get it.”
“You know, doing this Seven Wonders tour, I've realized that Konuma-kun is quite picky about details.”
“No, no, if it weren't the Seven Wonders, I wouldn't say anything, but for things like hauntings or charms, these small details are important, right?”
“I guess so...”
“Hey. Don't use my catchphrase like it’s a bother.”
...Actually, it’s embarrassing for me to even insist that it's my catchphrase.
“Anyway, we have no choice but to try it in this situation, right? The old one... is this anatomical model.”
“It looks that way. And it says to put a beige cardigan on it?”
“Yes, and I just happened to be wearing a beige cardigan today!”
Azuma-san pulled out the cardigan she was wearing under her blazer with a flourish.
“That's beyond just being well-prepared; it's a miraculous coincidence... You only found out about the Seven Wonders during lunch today, right?”
“That's right.”
As she said that, Azuma-san took off her blazer and cardigan. Since she had to pull her shoulders back to do so, I immediately looked away.
“...Gentleman.”
The single word from Azuma-san's mouth, which I couldn't tell was a compliment or sarcasm, reached my ears.
“And then, when you put this on it, something precious will appear...”
“Oh...?” I stared at the anatomical model wearing the cardigan.
“...Nothing is appearing, though?”
When I looked at Azuma-san, wondering what to do—
“Ah... Oh, look, here.”
“Hmm?” She pointed at the chest of the model.
“See, the 'internal' part of 'internal organs' is hidden, so it just says 'Heart'... What do you think about that...?”
“Don't ask me...” The characters for the stomach and esophagus are still visible, though...
“...Well, is it better than a failure? If you're okay with it, Azuma-san, then I am too...”
“Yeah... well, I didn't feel like this one would go very well anyway...”
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. Like Konuma-kun said, it's debatable whether it's 'messy' or not.”
“Hee...”
Azuma-san peeled the cardigan off the anatomical model and put it back on.
“Alright, next! The one I was looking forward to the most today!” The upperclassman, who was too quick to switch her mood, raised her right hand enthusiastically.
“What was it again...?”
* * *
⑤ 5:17
Among the few remaining cans of Calpis Water, one has a concentration 1% higher than labeled.
* * *
We headed to the school store.
“By 'remaining,' is the school store okay? They sell Calpis in the vending machine over there too.”
“It's impossible to buy out all the Calpis in a vending machine.” Azuma-san snorted at my simple question.
“Well, that's true... But why does it specify a can? Are they like you, Azuma-san?”
“Maybe plastic bottles didn't exist when the Seven Wonders were created?”
“Then there's even less reason to specify a can, since there were only cans back then.”
“I guess so...”
“...Hey.”
There were three cans of Calpis left at the school store. In fact—
“The plastic bottles are sold out. Are the cans unpopular?”
“Be quiet, don't make fun of canned Calpis. I'm sure they're popular, so the shop lady stocked a lot of them.”
Azuma-san said this as she took all three cans to the register and bought them with her own money. Then, we sat at an outdoor table by the cafeteria.
“The weather is just right.”
“I guess so... I wish the temperature was always like this.”
“Then we'd lose all our seasonal events. Okay, shall we verify this...!”
Licking her lips, Azuma-san took out a permanent marker from somewhere and wrote A, B, and C on each of the three cans.
“So, how are we going to check?”
When I asked with my hand raised, Azuma-san answered while writing on the cans.
“We'll each take a sip, decide in our hearts which one is concentrated, and then say which one we think it is on the count of three. If we match, then that one is 1% stronger. If we don't, then it was just our imagination.”
“Oh...?” Hmm, but that would mean...
“Hey, do you have cups or something?”
“Eh, I don't. Here, which one do you want to drink first?”
“No, because if we do that...”
“Yes?”
Azuma-san poked her face toward me with a scowl, then—
“...Uwah.”
She let out a sound as if she had just realized.
“Right...” Because if we follow the procedure she just said, no matter who goes first, it would be an indirect... something.
Azuma-san suddenly flustered and pulled all three cans toward herself as if to hug them.
“S-Sorry, we can't verify this! I can't cross that line!”
“Hey, watch your phrasing...!” It sounds like we were about to do something much more serious...
“How could I... I shouldn't just include everything I think of...!”
“What do you mean 'think of'...? Anyway, why don't you just drink them yourself and verify it, Azuma-san? Since you drink them so often, wouldn't you know if one is stronger?”
“No, I can't drink three 350ml cans... I can't take them home once they're open.”
“Well, they are cans, after all...”
“...What, are you going to diss cans even more?” Azuma-san looked at me with judging eyes. No, it’s like she’s become a fan of cans themselves rather than canned Calpis...
“Well, never mind the verification, let's just each drink one... Konuma-kun, which do you want? A, B, or C?”
“No, those are all yours, right? I'm fine.” After all, she paid for all of them herself.
“Well, they're mine. My A, and my B, and my... never mind.”
“...Hmm?”
“A-Anyway, not in any weird sense like 'mine', just which one do you want? A, B, or C? I can't drink them all if I take them home, so please have one...!”
For some reason, Azuma-san asked me with an upturned gaze, her face red. It didn't really matter which one, but if I were to take one, I felt like the last one would be best.
“Then, C.”
“C-C!? Ah, I see...! Konuma-kun, you're quite aggressive, aren't you...! Okay, here you go...”
“...What have you been talking about this whole time?”
* * *
⑥ 5:45
※Impossible? From an outdoor table at the empty cafeteria, reflect the setting sun with a hand mirror onto the top of a stack of trays, and words will appear.
* * *
“...It's 5:45. Do you have a hand mirror?”
“Yeah, of course! But...”
“I guess so...”
Azuma-san, who had whipped out a hand mirror, and I looked at the western sky together. The sun had almost completely set, and the sky was a beautiful violet. The 'setting sun' meant to be reflected in the mirror was nowhere to be seen.
“...We can't do it.”
“Yeah...”
Both of us let out a sigh.
“...This is effectively the last wonder, right? Since the seventh one won't appear unless you do this.”
“That seems to be the case...”
“I wonder about this being the end... In fact, it was already getting messy at number five...”
“You're right...”
The two of us slurped our Calpis at the same time. Then—
“Azuma-senpai, you two look like an old married couple...”
A girl with a very refined face approached from a short distance away, a mischievous yet elegant smile on her face.
“Nnh, Rinko? Wait, is the Instrument Club on duty today?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Which meant this Rinko-san was a member of the Instrument Club and Azuma-san's junior.
“Since this isn't inside the school building, you're allowed to stay, but I saw you so I had to come over. And this person is surely from 'amane'...?”
“Ah, yes, hello... I'm Konuma.” Knowing the band was recognized made me feel a bit like a celebrity...
Well, since it was the Instrument Club, there was a good chance she knew from the joint training camp.
“Ah, Konuma-san...! I see, so that's how it is.” Rinko-san smiled enchantingly. Eh, what...?
“Wait, Rinko, don't get any weird ideas...!”
“Whatever do you mean? Isn't it Azuma-bucho who is thinking of weird things? Anyway, please leave the school by 18:00. I don't care where you go after that.”
“W-We're just going home!”
“I shall remain uninvolved~. Well then.”
Rinko-san gave a light bow, looking like a lady who would say 'gokigenyou,' and headed back toward the school building.
“You're really admired by your juniors, Azuma-san.”
I was impressed as I watched her back, but—
“What part of that looked like that to you!?” She hissed at me like a cat.
“Why are you mad...? No matter how you look at it, it seemed that way. It makes me think you really were a good club president.”
“H-Huh...?” Azuma-san's hackles went down, and she suddenly started fiddling with her hair in confusion.
“W-What’s with that all of a sudden...!”
“...What's with that tsundere-like reaction?”
“I-It's not like that right now...!” Azuma-san turned her back to me, picked up her bag, and said, “L-Look, let's just go home!”
She started walking. Well, we are going home.
“Hey, were you okay with how the Seven Wonders ended? Should we try again in the summer? We still have next year...”
We can't do number six unless the days get longer, and when that time comes, we can prepare cups for number five too. As I walked beside her and made the suggestion—
“...Hey, Konuma-kun. Do you still want to know about wonders and things you don't know?” Azuma-san asked in a suddenly soft tone.
“Well, since we've come this far, I'd at least like to know what kind of words would appear...”
“But there's a saying, 'When you see the ghost's true identity, it's just withered pampas grass'... Once you know the truth, you might be disappointed or your perspective might change, you know?”
“Eeh...? Then why did you try to uncover the wonders today?” We spent the entire time after school on this Seven Wonders tour because she invited me.
“Ahaha, true. Honestly, I don't really know myself, but...” Azuma-san suddenly looked up at the sky. “...Sometimes I feel like they want to be found.”
“What...?” Despite her serious tone, I had no idea what she was talking about.
“Well, anyway, I had fun! This...”
“This?”
“...Never mind!” Then Azuma-san shoved her hands into her blazer pockets, turned to me, and gave a broad grin.
That expression was somehow fleeting, looking as if it might break if touched, but because of that, it was strangely charming.
And the next day.
During lunch, on my way to the school store, a small, animal-like junior came walking toward me from the opposite direction.
“Oh, Taira-chan.”
“Konuma-senpai! Good work! Are you going to buy canned Calpis?” Taira-chan tilted her head while holding a can of Calpis next to her face. The way the can tilted at the same angle was kind of funny.
“No, you've inherited too much of your master's teachings... I had some yesterday, so I'm good on Calpis. ...Actually, it was thanks to the Seven Wonders you told Azuma-san about. Those Seven Wonders that were full of holes...”
When I pointed it out half-complaining and half-joking, Taira-chan's mouth hung open.
“Seven Wonders...? What are you talking about...?”
“Eh? You told Azuma-san about them, right? Saying you found them on the internet.”
“No, no, I didn't do anything like that...?”
“Eh, what do you mean...? You don't know this...?” I took out my smartphone and showed Taira-chan the text of the Seven Wonders I received from Azuma-san yesterday.
“Oh my, what is this...? Did Master say I told her about this?”
“She did... Eh, you really, truly don't know?”
“I really, truly, truly don't know anything about it...!”
Looking into Taira-chan's eyes, even I, who can't read minds, could tell she wasn't lying. Besides, there was no reason for her to tell such a lie... But if that's the case, it makes even less sense.
“Um, this might just be a guess, but could it be that Master was lying...?”
“Why would she tell a lie like that...?”
“I don't know, but...”
“And she should know that I'd find out it was a lie the moment I met you, Taira-chan...?”
“True, true...?” Taira-chan tilted her head in thought. “It is mysterious. I wonder if Master wanted her lie to be found out...?” She murmured.
“Wanted it to be found out...?” Those words made me remember what Azuma-san said yesterday.
‘...Sometimes I feel like they want to be found.’
Could it be that this lie is...?
The moment I thought that, it seemed Taira-chan had realized the same thing.
“...Konuma-senpai, could you show me those Seven Wonders one more time?”
“Oh, sure...” She peered into the screen as I displayed the Seven Wonders on my smartphone.
“As I thought, this might be a code from Master to Konuma-senpai...”
“Seriously...?” But thinking about it that way, the half-baked Seven Wonders and the way Azuma-san defended them so much seemed to make sense.
“She surprisingly likes riddles and codes. I didn't think poetry and puzzle-solving were that similar.”
During the Star Festival the other day, she also seemed to enjoy solving the mystery posted by the Mystery Research Club.
“It could be a romantic code, Konuma-senpai. Something like a confession of lo—hauh!”
“Hauh?”
“No, no, it's nothing! Just one possibility...!” Saying that, Taira-chan looked at my smartphone screen again.
“...Konuma-senpai, could I have this text?”
“Sure, but...?”
“...Thank you very much.”
“Eh, are you going to solve it?”
“I'll try, but...” Taira-chan gave a troubled smile. “...The answer will probably be a secret from you, Konuma-senpai.”