Episode 180: Kazunari’s Legendary Story

The third day of the school trip.

We’re currently visiting a temple that’s been designated a World Heritage site during our free time.

To be honest, I don’t really get what’s so great about looking at Buddhist statues, but…

Still, seeing the real thing instead of just photos in a textbook or on a screen makes it feel real that there were actually people living their lives back in the old days.

Thinking that those people made these things with some kind of purpose, and that they’re still standing here hundreds of years later… I guess I’m feeling something deep like that… maybe.

Sara, being as serious as she is, is actually doing the sightseeing properly unlike me. Right now, her interest is fixed on some ancient letters on display… I can’t read the handwriting, obviously.

「Satsukawa-san, what’s with that letter?」

「Well, this is what we’d call a love letter nowadays.」

「Really? You’ve been staring at it for a while. Is there something special about it?」

「No, I just felt a bit moved seeing the real thing. It makes me realize that even hundreds of years ago, there was a culture of sending letters to loved ones, and people had lives… things like that.」

「I guess I get that. Makes more sense than the statues, anyway.」

Well, these three seem even less interested than I am.

They aren’t really focusing on any one thing; they’re just wandering around aimlessly.

「A love letter from someone in the past, huh… I bet the person who wrote it never thought their love letter’d be put on display for everyone to see hundreds of years later.」

「I’d probably go insane if that were me.」

「Well, you’d be dead, so.」

After leaving the ancient love letter behind and looking through the rest of the exhibits, we stepped outside. We took some photos of the exterior for our reports and started moving slowly toward the next building.

Since it’s a weekday, it doesn’t feel that crowded, but because of that, middle and high schoolers in uniforms really stand out. (We’re in our own clothes.)

It’s school trip season, so I guess that’s only natural.

Occasionally, I see boys tracking us with their eyes, but they’re probably looking at Sara more than the rest of us.

「Hey, hey!! That love letter reminded me, tell us the story from yesterday!!」

「Yeah, yeah! What was that about a confession in front of Natsumi-chan and your mom?」

Their energy is so high I want to tell them to apologize to the Buddha statues.

But it looks like we split up last night before that story could come out.

But man… I was shocked yesterday.

To think Sara had actually gone as far as staying at Takanashi-kun’s place.

Though, seeing how devoted she is, I knew it’d happen sooner or later.

I know that… but obviously, I still have some feelings about it.

Last night, I made a total fool of myself because my imagination ran wild, but that wasn’t really my fault.

If anything, Sara is way too innocent, or Takanashi-kun is just that worthy of praise…

「Even if you ask what it was like, it’s just exactly as I said…」

「I still want to hear the details~」

「Yeah, yeah, Satsukawa-san looks so happy anyway.」

It’s true. Sara seems to be remembering that day; even though she’s acting a bit hesitant out loud, her expression is beaming.

Actually, she’s not hiding her happiness at all.

That’s exactly why those three are so desperate to pry it out of her.

「I see. Then I’ll tell you. That day, because of my mother’s convenience, it was Kazunari-san and me, along with Natsumi and Yokogawa-san…」

「Stop!! Yokogawa, as in Hayato-kun?」

「Yes.」

「Wait, Natsumi, why was Hayato-kun there?」

「He’s just Takanashi-kun’s friend. There’s nothing more to it.」

The second Yokogawa-kun’s name came out, the three of them jumped on me.

Since Sara has Takanashi-kun, they probably jumped to the conclusion that I have Yokogawa-kun…

Reacting that hard just shows how much these three are starving for guys.

「Right, Natsumi-chan, wasn’t there a guy named Tachibana-kun?」

「Yeah, yeah, you’re interested in him, right?」

「Why is the topic turning to me! We’re talking about Sara!!」

I wasn’t expecting them to throw the ball back to me, so I was caught totally off guard and my voice got way too loud from the panic.

「You don’t have to shout just because you’re embarrassed~」

「Natsumi-chan is so cute~」

「Ugh… Sara, just keep going with the story!」

「I don’t mind talking about Natsumi’s story instead, you know?」

「My story is done for now!!」

That wasn’t a lie. At this point, that’s really all there is to tell.

Well, if I had to be specific, there are little things like how we’ve been in touch for a while, or how we ended up alone together after tracking Takanashi-kun and Sara, and it was actually my first time being alone with a guy…

「Satsukawa-san, keep going~」

「We’ll save Natsumi for next time.」

Haa… this is all because Sara went and exposed me.

It’s her fault, but… I didn’t think Sara would be worrying about me and Tachibana-kun.

Knowing she feels that way makes me happy, so it’s hard to stay mad at her.

「Understood. Anyway, I was waiting for Kazunari-san to confess, but we were interrupted, and it looked like the moment would be pushed back. So, I told him that I’d wait for him forever.」

「And then he confessed?」

「Yes. After we changed locations, even though Natsumi, Yokogawa-san, and my mother were all there, he clearly told me his feelings.」

Sara looks so happy remembering that moment.

Honestly, I never thought Takanashi-kun would actually confess in that situation either. That’s a scene I won’t forget.

「Whoa, Takanashi-kun really stepped up! I mean, I’ve never heard of someone confessing right in front of the girl’s mom before!?」

「For real! The guts on that guy. By the way, how’d you answer!?」

「Eh, well, I told him that I liked him as well…」

As she said that, Sara’s cheeks flushed red.

Even if she’s embarrassed, the fact that she doesn’t hide it at all makes me think she’s actually proud of her feelings and her relationship with Takanashi-kun.

「Wow, the response is so romantic!!」

「I guess that’s why a guy who can go that far managed to land a goddess. Guys who are just good-looking don’t even stand a chance.」

「Yuri, that’s surprisingly insightful for you. Even though you aren’t popular yourself.」

「Mind your own business!」

It’s Yuri’s job to get teased even when she says something good, so there’s no helping it.

But really, it’s because Takanashi-kun is that kind of guy that I can feel safe leaving my best friend to him.

Even with this part-time job, to think he’d dive right into Sara’s Father’s territory… he’s got incredible courage.

「But still, even though you noticed Takanashi-kun was trying to confess, you didn’t let him off the hook and made him say it properly. That’s so like your Spartan style, Satsukawa-san.」

「That is not it. If Kazunari-san has made a resolution, I will do nothing to hinder it. My role is to stay by Kazunari-san’s side and support him, after all.」

「Whoa, between the confession response and your mindset, Satsukawa-san, you’re really serious… I don’t mean it in a bad way, but maybe you’re old-fashioned? Ah, speaking of old-fashioned, your speech gets weirdly polite whenever it’s about Takanashi-kun.」

「I noticed that too! Is there a reason?」

「Yeah, I’ve been curious about that myself.」

I hadn’t had a chance to ask until now, or maybe I just accepted it as「that’s just how she is」and let it slide.

Sara usually uses relatively polite language, but it’s definitely way more noticeable when she’s talking to or about Takanashi-kun.

Is there a reason for it?

「Um… well… you won’t laugh?」

「Eh, is it that weird of a reason?」

「No… it’s just that until I met Kazunari-san, I basically hated men, so I only had experience ignoring them or dealing with them purely professionally. In the midst of that, Kazunari-san was the first man I actually wanted to get close to, so I just didn’t know how I should talk to him…」

「So you became extra polite?」

「…Yes. But it’s different now. It’s a choice I’ve made after considering how I should be as Kazunari-san’s lover.」

I see, so that’s why.

Not knowing what kind of tone to use with the first guy she wanted to be friends with is just so Sara.

「That’s kind of amazing. Satsukawa-san’s mindset feels like it’s already beyond the level of just being lovers.」

「Yeah, it’s more like… ah, never mind.」

「?」

Yuri stopped herself mid-sentence, probably realizing that if she said any more, the「I love Takanashi-kun」talk would just go into overdrive.

Wise move.

「Good work, Takanashi-kun. How’s it going?」

I’d finished the major sorting of the mountains of paperwork on the desk, and today I was working on dividing them up specifically by section names.

Just as I was starting to enjoy the steady progress after finding my rhythm, Masaomi-san poked his head in.

Is he done with work for today?

「Good work, sir. I think the work is going well. I should definitely be done within the time frame.」

「That’s encouraging. By the way, I’m sorry to bother you, but I need some documents urgently… could you help me find them?」

So that’s why he’s here.

The major sorting is done, so even if we have to search, it should be better than before I started.

「Do you know the department name?」

「Let’s see…」

Masaomi-san took out his phone, tapped it a bit to open an app, and showed me the screen. It had the department and document names written there, and they were familiar… or rather, they were all departments I’d completely memorized over the last few days of work.

「Let me borrow your phone for a sec.」

「I know the department, but…」

I took the phone and moved to the sorting box for the department on the screen.

I took a few things out based on a hunch and lined them up on the desk.

「I hope it’s in here… ah, this is it.」

「Let’s see… ah, that’s definitely it. I can’t believe you found it that easily.」

I was relieved I managed to dig it out.

The absolute worst-case scenario would’ve been not finding anything even though I’m supposed to be organizing it.

「I’ve categorized the document genres as much as I could. I just took a guess based on that.」

「I see, that’s a huge help. You seem pretty used to this now. You’re going to end up memorizing the departments soon.」

「Actually, I already memorized them to an extent.」

「Ahaha, how dependable.」

Maybe because the document was found so easily, Masaomi-san was nodding happily.

I’m just glad I could be useful.

Since I was given this job as a favor, I’d feel terrible if I weren’t helping out at all.

「Oh, dear? When did you get back…」

Mayumi-san must have come to check on me, because she was standing there with a tray of tea. Since the desk was cleared off, we could take a break here without having to move to the living room.

「I came to find some documents. Thanks to Takanashi-kun, I found them easily, so I think I can be home early today. I’ll be able to eat dinner with you both, so get it ready.」

「Understood.」

Mayumi-san must be happy when Masaomi-san is around. I could clearly tell she was delighted just looking at her.

「Well then, I’m off.」

「Have a safe trip, dear.」

As she said that, Mayumi-san moved naturally toward Masaomi-san and kissed him on the cheek.

Masaomi-san accepted it with a happy look and then made a brisk exit.

I guess this is something they do every day.

Which means Sara-san has been seeing this since she was little.

If that’s the case, the way Sara-san started showing her affection through kisses right after we started dating might be because of her parents’ influence…