“Well, good night, Konuma.”
“G-Good night.”
Azuma walked past the three girls who had collapsed like dominoes and returned to her own room.
“Why did she only say it to Konuma-kun...?”
““Who knows...””
After that exchange, we also returned to our room.
When we did, Hazama and the rest of the Cherry Boys had already returned to their room.
“Konumatchi, bringing back three of the Four Heavenly Kings is insane...”
Ando looked impressed. Ugh, certainly...
“Yurisuke was here until just a moment ago, too.”
“Sako-san, isn’t it a bit weird to be making a smug face right now...?”
While that idle talk was going on to the side.
“K-Kenji. I heard you went to Firefly Pond...?”
Erina-san was fidgeting as she spoke to Hazama. ...Erina-san makes that kind of expression in front of Hazama, huh.
“Yeah, well.”
Hazama gave a curt reply. ‘Well,’ my foot.
“How... was it...?”
“There’s no ‘how’ about it. If a girl I don’t even like confesses to me, of course I’m gonna turn her down.”
“I see, that makes sense...”
With a face that looked relieved yet somehow sorrowful, Erina-san smiled and looked down.
Presumably, Hazama’s bravado was aimed at Sako.
Even so, he doesn’t realize that he’s hurting someone in the process.
I felt somewhat irritated, and so,
“...Let’s play Grand Millionaire.”
I invited everyone to play.
“Alright, I’m not losing today!”
Hazama hopped on the idea.
“...No, I’m going to win by a landslide today too.”
After all, yesterday, I didn’t give up the seat of Grand Millionaire even once.
It might be too small to have any real meaning, but still.
I felt like I wouldn’t be satisfied unless I took Hazama down a notch.
I slowly shuffled the playing cards.
“...Takuto-kun, thank you,” Erina-san thanked me in a small voice.
...One hour later.
“Out! Yay! I’m the Grand Millionaire again!”
As expected, it was a landslide victory.
...For Ichikawa.
“Takuto-kun... don’t mind it. You were a little bit cool... until just a moment ago...”
Mine was just bravado too, I’m sorry!!
“Phew— I’m sleepy...”
Erina-san flopped down onto the nearest futon.
“Geez, maybe I’ll just sleep here... is that okay?”
I-I mean, it’s a problem if you look at me while saying that...! More importantly, that’s my futon...! Or rather, your yukata is a bit disheveled...! Everyone else in the Cherry Boys except Hazama is averting their eyes while gulping...! And of course, I am too...!
“No, wait, Erina-chan, we’re going back, okay?”
“Ehh— Amane-chan, you’re acting like a Class Rep...”
“No, no, the Class Rep of our class is you, Erina-chan, right?”
“Ugh, that’s true...”
“Hey, don’t close your eyes!”
Erina-san and Ichikawa as a pair, this is definitely a thing...
“...Takuto, you have an idiot’s look on your face.”
You’re right, I’m sorry.
The girls eventually went back, and while the Cherry Boys fell asleep, likely exhausted.
Around 4:30 AM, I suddenly woke up.
Or rather, because the futon had a faint, pleasant scent, I couldn’t fall asleep properly in the first place...
“Haa...”
I let out a sigh.
This is one of those times where I won’t be able to get back to sleep...
I quietly crawled out of the futon and went into the dark hallway. My footsteps echoed strangely loud.
Thinking I’d buy a canned coffee from the vending machine at the entrance, I headed down the stairs.
There, I spotted a figure trying to sneak out of the building.
“What are you doing, Ichikawa?”
“Ah... Konuma-kun.”
She looked back with an awkward expression.
“...Are you going somewhere?”
“Well, you see...”
Ichikawa hesitated for a moment, then said,
“...Konuma-kun, do you want to come with me for a bit?”
Led by Ichikawa, we walked through the chilly predawn air.
“Um... President Ichikawa? I think this is outside the training camp grounds.”
“That’s right... since you’ve already come this far, you’re an accomplice too, Konuma-kun.”
“Is that how it is... where are we going?”
“A surprise for when we get there!”
Ichikawa laughed happily. Well, if the President is okay with it, then I don’t mind at all...
“Konuma-kun, are you having fun at the camp?”
“Hmm, well, yeah.”
“Ahaha, that’s a very cold response.”
“S-Sorry...”
I didn’t mean it that way...
Ichikawa smiled but fell silent.
After walking for about five more minutes.
“Alright, we’re here!”
Emerging from a small grove of trees, I gasped at the sight before me.
“Ichikawa, this place is...”
“This is Firefly Pond, Konuma-kun,” Ichikawa said bashfully.
“This is amazing...”
Leaving aside the fact that Firefly Pond was a famous spot for confessions, I was captivated by the scenery.
A large pond stretched out before us.
And beyond the horizon, the red sun of the final day of the camp was peeking out from the eastern sky.
The voices of birds began to whisper as if noticing the dawn, plants and trees rustled in the gentle breeze, and the red light reflected everywhere.
“It really is beautiful, isn’t it...?”
Looking to the side, Ichikawa was smiling.
Even that fleeting smile of hers seemed to blend into the scenery.
“Last year, after someone confessed to me, I couldn’t sleep, so I snuck out alone in the morning. Then I found this beautiful view. I tried to hum a song... and, of course, no voice came out.”
“I see, so that’s why...”
When I said that, Ichikawa nodded gently.
“Last year, I didn’t think I’d be able to smile like this...”
While still smiling gently, she looked down slightly.
“You know, I feel like I was doing music all alone until I met you, Konuma-kun. A ‘loner,’ to use your words.”
Ichikawa chuckled.
“But since I started doing music with you, you brought Yuri along, and you brought Sako-san along. I’ve even been able to talk to Erina-chan a lot more than before. The number of fun things has really increased.”
“I see...”
Having her talk about me so suddenly made me feel flustered.
“But, you know, as the fun things increase, my heart hurts a little bit. I wondered why.”
After laughing a little, Ichikawa said firmly,
“I’m sad that this daily life is going to end.”
“...There’s still a year and a half left before high school ends.”
When I said that,
“But we won’t come to a training camp next year, right? A high school summer camp will never happen again in our lives.”
I was taken aback by those words.
“It was fun, this year’s camp. So much more fun than last year’s. The happy things, the laughing... even the things that made me annoyed increased a lot. I wonder why?”
“Well, who knows...”
Since I didn’t come to the camp last year, there was no way for me to know.
“Just kidding. I actually know the reason. I’m just... a little scared to put it into words.”
After saying that, she took a deep breath.
With the eastern sky as her backdrop, she smiled gently.
“It’s surely because you were there, Konuma-kun.”
Her words robbed me of my voice.
“E-Er, well...”
“Just kidding!”
Ichikawa laughed mischievously, as if shaking off the silence.
“The camp isn’t over yet! We have to do our best at today’s concert!”
“Y-Yeah, you’re right...”
Then, Ichikawa softly hummed a melody that she couldn’t sing last year, not specifically for anyone to hear.
* * *
Hey, I wonder why?
The bigger the fun and happiness,
The bigger the sadness becomes too.
Sharing an ice cream, scribbles on the desk, the “Good morning” greeting.
I started to count how many times were left, then I stopped.
Hey, I wonder why?
While these days are still normal,
Will I ever find the answer?
The bench at sunset, the convenience store on the way home, the “See you” greeting.
How many more seconds can I look at that profile of yours?
Pretending not to know,
I smiled once again.
Just this one,
Natural, ordinary, everyday life.
* * *