The Third Day of the School Trip
Currently in the middle of our free-time period, we were visiting a temple that had been designated a World Heritage Site.
To be honest, I didn't really understand the appeal of Buddhist statues all that much...
Still, seeing the actual artifacts in person, rather than just in a textbook or on a screen, made me truly realize that people had been living their lives here even in ancient times.
The thought that people had poured their hearts into creating these things, and that they still existed hundreds of years later in the modern era... it made me feel a sense of profound emotion. Or at least, I thought it did.
The ever-serious Sara was taking the tour much more diligently than I was. Her current interest, however, was directed toward an old letter on display—I couldn't read the script, of course—rather than the statues.
"Satsukawa-san, what's that letter?"
"Well, this is what we would call a love letter in this day and age."
"Is that so? You've been staring at it for a while. Is there something special about it?"
"No... it's just that even hundreds of years ago, there was a culture of sending letters to a loved one. People lived their lives just as we do... seeing the physical proof like this fills me with deep emotion."
"I guess that makes sense. I can relate to that more than the statues, anyway."
Our other three companions seemed even less interested than I was. They weren't focusing on anything in particular, just wandering around aimlessly.
"An Ancient Love Letter from someone in the past, huh... I bet the person who wrote this never imagined that their confession would be put on display hundreds of years later for everyone to see."
"I think I'd lose my mind if that were me."
"Well, you'd be dead, so it wouldn't matter."
After leaving the Ancient Love Letter (?) behind and finishing our tour of the exhibits, we headed outside to take photos of the exterior for our reports. Once that was done, we began a slow stroll toward the next building.
Since it was a weekday, the crowds weren't too bad, though that made the middle school and high school students in their school uniforms stand out more. We, on the other hand, were in casual clothes.
It was the school trip season, so I suppose that was only to be expected.
Occasionally, I noticed some boys following us with their eyes, though they were almost certainly looking at Sara, not us.
"Hey, hey! Speaking of love letters, tell us about what you were saying yesterday!"
"Yeah, yeah! What exactly did you mean by a confession in front of Natsumi-chan and your mother?"
I wanted to ask where all that lack of interest from a few minutes ago had gone. Their tension was through the roof. Someone go apologize to the Buddha...
It seemed they had dispersed last night before they could get into the details of that story.
But still... yesterday had been a shock. I never would have imagined that Sara had already reached the point of staying over at Takanashi-kun's house.
Then again, seeing Sara's level of devotion, it was obvious it would have happened sooner or later. I knew that... but that didn't mean I didn't have feelings about it.
I'd made a bit of a fool of myself last night because my imagination had run wild, but surely that wasn't my fault. If anything, it was because Sara was too pure, or because Takanashi-kun was simply that worthy of praise...
"Even if you ask me 'what' I mean, it is exactly as it sounds..."
"Come on, tell us the details~!"
"Yeah, yeah. Besides, you look so happy, Satsukawa-san."
It was true; Sara looked genuinely delighted as she recalled that day, her expression betraying her bliss even as she acted slightly flustered.
She couldn't hide her happiness. That was exactly why the other three were so eager to pry the story out of her.
"I see. Then I shall tell you. On that day, due to my mother's circumstances, Kazunari-san, myself, Natsumi, and Yokokawa-san..."
"Stop! By Yokokawa, do you mean Hayato-kun?"
"Yes."
"Wait, Natsumi, why was Hayato-kun there?"
"He's just Takanashi-kun's friend. It wasn't anything more than that."
The moment they heard Yokokawa-kun's name, the three of them pounced on me. They probably made the lazy assumption that since Sara had Takanashi-kun, I must have Yokokawa-kun.
Reacting to every little thing like that made me think these three were way too starved for romance.
"Oh, right. Natsumi-chan is interested in that Tachibana-kun guy, isn't she?"
"Yeah, yeah. You've been thinking about him, right?"
"Why are we talking about me?! This is about Sara's story!!"
I hadn't expected the conversation to jump to me, so I was completely off guard. My voice cracked and got louder in my panic.
"You don't have to shout just because you're embarrassed~"
"Natsumi-chan is so cute~"
"Grrr... Sara, just keep going with the story!"
"I don't mind if we talk about Natsumi's situation instead?"
"There is nothing more to talk about regarding my situation!!"
This wasn't a lie. At this point, that was really all there was to it.
Well, if I were being picky, there were minor details—like how we'd been in contact for a while, or how we ended up alone together after tracking Takanashi-kun and Sara, which was technically the first time I'd ever been alone with a boy—but still.
"Satsukawa-san, tell us the rest~"
"We'll do Natsumi's talk next time."
Sigh... this was all because Sara had let it slip. It was her fault, and yet... I hadn't realized that Sara had been keeping an eye on me and Tachibana-kun. Knowing she cared enough to do that made me happy, which made it impossible to stay truly angry at her.
"I understand. In any case, I had been waiting for Kazunari-san to offer his confession, but an interruption occurred and the moment was postponed. Therefore, I told him that I would wait for him forever."
"And then he actually did it?"
"Yes. After we moved to a different location—and even though Natsumi, Yokokawa-san, and my mother were all present—he clearly declared his feelings for me."
Sara looked truly radiant as she remembered that moment. To be honest, I never expected Takanashi-kun to confess in that specific situation either. It was certainly a scene I'd never forget.
"Whoa, Takanashi-kun really stepped up! I mean, I've never heard of someone confessing in front of their girlfriend's mother before!?"
"Seriously! His guts are incredible. By the way, how did you respond!?"
"I... um... I told him that I also adored him..."
As she said those words, Sara's cheeks turned a deep crimson. Despite her embarrassment, she didn't try to hide her feelings at all. It felt like she carried her love for Takanashi-kun with a sense of immense pride.
"Whoa, that response is so romantic!!"
"I knew it. A guy with that much resolve is the only kind who could win over the Goddess. Guys who are just 'all looks' don't stand a chance."
"You actually said something decent for once, Yuri. Even if you're not popular yourself."
"Mind your own business!"
Yuri always got teased even when she said something good; that was just her position in the group.
But in truth, it was because Takanashi-kun was that kind of guy that I felt safe leaving my best friend in his hands. Even regarding this part-time job... I thought he had incredible moxie for diving straight into the inner circle of Sara's father.
"Still, even though you knew 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 side, Satsukawa-san."
"That is not the case. Once Kazunari-san had made his resolution, I would not do anything to hinder it. My role is to stay by Kazunari-san's side and support him."
"Phew... your response and your way of thinking... Satsukawa-san, you're really serious. I don't mean it in a bad way, but maybe you're a bit old-fashioned? Oh, speaking of old-fashioned, your speech is strangely formal only when it involves Takanashi-kun."
"I was curious about that too! Is there a reason?"
"Yeah, I've wondered about that myself."
I'd never really had a chance to ask before. I'd just accepted it as part of who she was and moved on. Sara usually used relatively polite language anyway, but there was no denying that it became much more pronounced whenever she spoke to Takanashi-kun.
I wondered if there really was a reason for it.
"Um... well... you won't laugh, will you?"
"Eh, is it that strange of a reason?"
"No... it is just that until I met Kazunari-san, I essentially disliked men. I only had experience ignoring them or dealing with them in a strictly businesslike manner. In the midst of that, Kazunari-san was the first man I ever truly wished to get close to, and I simply didn't know how I should speak to him..."
"So you became even more formal?"
"...Yes. However, it is different now. It is a conscious choice I have made regarding my own way of being as Kazunari-san's lover."
I see. So that was why. Not knowing what tone to use with the first boy she'd ever wanted to be friends with was such a Sara-like reason.
"That's kind of incredible. Satsukawa-san's mindset is already beyond the level of a typical girlfriend."
"Yeah, it's more like... oh, never mind."
"?"
Yuri had apparently realized that continuing that thought would only trigger an even more intense round of I Love Takanashi-kun Talk, so she cut herself off. A wise choice.
"Takanashi-kun, good work today. How are you holding up?"
I had finished the major sorting of the mountain of documents on the desk. Today, I was busy dividing them into smaller groups based on the section names.
Just as I was starting to get into the flow and enjoy seeing the work get cleared away at a steady pace, Masaomi-san looked in on me. I wondered if his own work was going all right today.
"Good work, sir. Things are going smoothly. I'm confident I'll have everything finished within the allotted time."
"That's very reassuring. Actually, I'm sorry to trouble you, but there's a document I need urgently... I was hoping you could help me find it."
It seemed that was the reason he had stopped by. Since I'd already finished the primary sorting, I figured finding it would be much easier than it would have been a few days ago.
"Do you know the department name or the category?"
"Let's see..."
Masaomi-san pulled out his smartphone, tapped the screen a few times, and showed me the display. It listed the department and document names. They were all departments I recognized—or rather, I had completely memorized them over the past few days of work.
"Let me hold on to your phone for a second."
"I know the department, but finding the specific..."
I took the phone and walked over to the sorting boxes for the specified department. Following my intuition, I pulled a few documents from the box and lined them up on the desk.
"I hope it's in here... Ah, here it is."
"Let's see... Ah, yes, this is definitely it. How did you find it so easily?"
I felt a wave of relief that I'd managed to dig it up. I’d wanted to avoid the awkwardness of being unable to find a document I was supposed to have organized.
"I categorized the documents into genres as much as I could. I just took a guess based on that."
"I see. That's very helpful. You seem to have gotten quite used to this. At this rate, you'll have every department in the building memorized."
"Actually, I've already memorized them for the most part."
"Hahaha, that's reliable."
Masaomi-san nodded with a satisfied look, likely because the document had been found so quickly. I was just glad to be of use. This was a job given to me out of pure kindness, so I wouldn't be able to hold my head high if I wasn't at least making myself useful.
"Oh, dear? When did you get back...?"
Mayumi-san had come to check on me, carrying a tray prepared for tea. Since the desk was now clear, we could take a break right here without having to move to the living room.
"I just came back to look for a document. Thanks to Takanashi-kun, I found it immediately. I think I'll be able to finish up early today. I should be home in time to have dinner with you, so please get things ready."
"Understood."
As I expected, Mayumi-san looked delighted that Masaomi-san was coming home early. Even from a distance, I could tell how happy she was.
"Well then, I'm off."
"Take care, dear."
As she spoke, Mayumi-san moved toward Masaomi-san with a fluid, natural motion and kissed him on the cheek. Masaomi-san accepted it with a smile before making a brisk departure.
This was likely a daily ritual for them.
Which meant that Sara had probably grown up watching this. If that were the case, then Sara's own habit of showing affection through kisses almost immediately after we started dating might have been influenced by her parents...