“School layout…? What are you talking about?”
“The northeast corner of the school. Near the second club building area – do you know it?”
Caught off guard by the sudden location description, I tilted my head as I answered.
“…If you’re saying it’s pretty far…”
“That’s understanding enough. Actually, there’s an old lodge there, and I’d like to ask you to run an errand there. Here’s the key. Please return it here when you’re done.”
As I accepted the old key being handed to me, I tilted my head further.
“Hah… Well, I don’t mind, but what exactly am I supposed to do?”
“Just take a look. See if there are any signs of the lodge being used.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“Hmm. For now, I’d appreciate if you didn’t ask questions.”
“What’s with that? Creepy…”
Hiyama dodged what should have been a perfectly normal question.
This homeroom teacher was always like this. Despite having the sweet, attractive face that should make him popular with girls, there weren’t any female students fooled by his looks at this school – probably because Hiyama somehow always came across as suspicious.
Feeling unnecessarily anxious because of this, I checked with Hiyama.
“You’re not going to tell me there might be outsiders living there or something, right?”
“If that were the case, I’d be calling the police, not sending students. Don’t you agree?”
“Yeah… Okay, if that’s all there is to it.”
“Thank you. I had a feeling Kageyuki-kun would accept.”
“Don’t say things like that.”
“Oh, that hurts. I want to be a teacher students like.”
“…………”
“Please don’t look at me with such narrow eyes? You’ll make me cry. Hahaha.”
“You’re laughing though…”
From start to finish, he was a suspicious teacher. Even though he wasn’t saying anything particularly unusual.
I shook my head and brought the conversation back on track.
“Well, Hiyama-sensei does overlook my ‘work,’ so I can do at least this much.”
At that moment, Hiyama lowered his voice slightly.
“How should I put this… You’re quite an unusual student yourself, Kageyuki-kun.”
“…What’s with the sudden comment?”
“Originally, our school was an integrated institution, so high school entrants are rare to begin with. But among them, I’ve never seen a student who started doing what you’re doing. Came up with something interesting, didn’t you?”
Well, there probably aren’t many guys who take payment from fellow students for services.
“It was Kimiya’s idea. Not mine.”
“That’s also strange. How did you manage to get into that young lady’s good graces?”
Young lady – that’s how Hiyama referred to a student under his charge. I shrugged and answered:
“Kimiya’s like that with everyone. I didn’t do anything special.”
“…I see. Well, let’s leave it at that. It doesn’t seem to be within my domain.”
Hiyama’s attitude seemed to imply something. If he were just teasing me, that would be easy to understand, but the atmosphere didn’t feel like that. There must be some backstory I’m unaware of.
As a new student, this kind of thing happens relatively often. Not something I can really worry about, so I let it go.
Returning with Hiyama sensei to where Kimiya was, I reported that I’d accepted the request.
“Sorry, Kimiya. I’ve got some work to do now.”
“So it seems. I suppose I’ll be taking the first ride alone today again.”
“Looks like you’ll have to wait for another chance. I’ve got to walk all the way to the edge of campus.”
“In that case, Sou-san, shall I take your bag to the classroom for you?”
“Ah… Yeah, that’d be helpful.”
“Leave it to me!”
Kimiya smiled happily. The fact that this made her genuinely happy is probably what’s amazing about Kimiya.
I handed my bag to Kimiya, who held out both hands with a smile. As she accepted it:
“Should I send you a campus map on your phone?”
“…No, that’s okay. Thanks.”
“Understood. Well then, Sou-san, see you later.”
Her thoughtfulness and devotion are overwhelming. Getting used to this might turn me into a useless person.
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2
Changing back into my shoes, I left the main building and headed outside.
The weather was nice. Students doing morning practice were beginning to appear here and there.
I put the key in my pocket. Thinking about it, this wasn’t a bad opportunity for a stroll.
After all, there are still plenty of areas I’ve never been to. The school is ridiculously large. At this rate, I’ll probably graduate without ever visiting some places.
“…………”
The building I’d just been in with classrooms was the main building. While the Seishinkan’s largest structure, there are actually school buildings up to the fourth one. Beyond that, there’s the clock tower that rings the class bells, the cafeteria, library, two club buildings – structures scattered throughout the vast campus.
Of course, there are facilities for each sports club too – indoor pool, tennis courts, baseball and soccer fields, gymnasium, even halls for bands and theater.
The lineup is so complete it feels more like a university than a high school.
Technically, some facilities are shared with the middle school, and parts are used by Seishinkan University too. But even so, it’s absurdly luxurious for a single high school.
“…Well, good for walks I guess.”
The school with almost no people around had a completely different atmosphere. Though I could hear distant club cheers from morning practice, making me aware of their presence. Yet it all felt like events from some faraway world. As if – I’d wandered into another world.
No. I’ve felt this way constantly since enrollment.
To me, this academy truly is another world. A place outside my common sense, an unknown world.
Before I knew it, I’d reached the edge of campus, so far that I could no longer hear the sports clubs.
The northeast corner. The second club building primarily assigned to cultural clubs and hobby groups came into view. In this place now so quiet you could feel the silence, stood the lodge in question.
“–That one?”
Compared to the other neat, pristine buildings, it was a noticeably shabby little structure.
That building standing out like a sore thumb in this academy must be the lodge Hiyama mentioned.
As I approached the front, I noticed something.
The entrance door – the latticed window beside it was open.
“So this counts as signs of use… right?”
Muttering this, I started to look away from the window to try the door – when suddenly.
“Spirit! Guts! Passion! Resolve! –Whoa!”
Far more intense than the sports club cheers from earlier, a sharp cry filled with heat rang out from inside the lodge. Words that sounded like a black company’s morning assembly.
And immediately after:
“…Haa, what am I saying… If that could solve anything, I wouldn’t be struggling…”
“……………………”
Undeniably the same voice, yet words that seemed to come from a completely different person.
What was that? In that instant, my mood dropped as sharply as if I’d lost both my wallet and phone simultaneously. The contrast was enough to catch a cold.
“Aaah seriously, why did things turn out like this…!”
“…………”
“But there’s no turning back now, and I was the one who decided to do this… Ugh, I’m really not cut out for this. It’s totally not my character…”
The soliloquy from the lodge kept spiraling into darker places.
–What to do?
I hesitated slightly about the key’s fate in my pocket.
Why were there voices coming from inside a lodge that should be locked? And whose voices?
The tone was unmistakably female. Probably a student from the vibe, but with over two thousand middle and high school students combined, identifying who exactly was impossible. Probably not someone I knew, I thought.
–Though I feel like I might have heard it before.
“Well, let’s check it out…”
Hiyama’s request was just to check for signs of use. You could say that was already accomplished at this point, but leaving now would be inconsiderate.
In the end, I decided to head for the window rather than the door.
Resting my hands on the window frame, I peered inside the lodge.
“Muu…”
What I saw was a female student groaning at herself while facing a standing mirror.
Since her back was to me, she hadn’t noticed me peeking. But thanks to the angle, I could see her face reflected in the mirror.
“—————“
Was this fate? For a brief moment, I entertained that ridiculous thought again.
Because inside the lodge was — that Shiranui Natsuki.
Neither the bright, soft impression from our first meeting, nor the hostile, prickly attitude right after.
An expression showing vulnerability that erased both those images.
The completely unguarded, real Shiranui.
Facing the mirror like she was playing a staring contest, she had her fingers pressed to her mouth.
Using her index fingers to pull both corners of her lips downward, as if forcing herself to make a sullen face.
“…… What’s that? “
I inadvertently let the words slip.
I’ve occasionally seen people lift their mouth corners to force a smile, but the opposite was new.
You could say it looked like she was practicing how to make an unfriendly face. Pursing her lips, furrowing her brows, narrowing her eyes – creating an intimidating expression.
–Just what is she doing?
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