Starting today, we were helping out at a watermelon farm.
On the grounds of Uncle Tomiyasu's house stood a large storage shed. That was where we would be hauling the watermelons.
And today, we were heading out to harvest the crop so we could do just that, but...
Gathered in front of the shed and stretching under the morning sun, Sakura called out cheerfully.
"Man, I can't wait! Let's yank out tons and tons of watermelons!"
"Uh, 'yank out'? Watermelons aren't buried in the dirt, you know."
"They're fruit, so do they grow on trees?"
Shinonome and Nakina chimed in with exasperated retorts.
By the way, Nakina, watermelons don't grow on trees either...
Everyone, myself included, had already changed into work clothes. We were outfitted in provided boots and work gloves, topped off with hats we had brought along for sun protection.
The girls were chatting idly among themselves while waiting for Uncle Tomiyasu, who was going to drive us out to the fields.
It was great that they seemed to be having fun, but I wondered if they actually understood what the work entailed.
"Sorry to keep you waiting! Well then, shall we head out to the fields?"
Called over by Uncle Tomiyasu, we climbed into the vehicle.
◇
"M-My arms are gonna dieee!"
Shinonome's scream echoed across the watermelon field that stretched far into the distance.
Well, I had figured this would happen. Especially for someone small-framed like Shinonome.
"H-Hatsukade, my arms are about to fall off?!"
She pleaded with teary eyes, but assembly-line work waited for no one.
I brought the wheelbarrow to a stop and loaded inside the watermelons lying in the field. Shinonome was also busily loading watermelons into my wheelbarrow, but she wore an agonizing expression.
And no wonder—a large-sized watermelon could easily weigh nearly ten kilograms if you got a heavy one.
"I feel like I'm gonna drop it..."
"Careful, we won't be able to sell it if you do."
Even while we were doing this, Uncle Tomiyasu was pressing ahead at the very front of the field.
He was judging which watermelons were ripe for harvest, and if there were no issues, snipping them from their vines with shears.
Our job was to collect those watermelons and load them onto the bed of the mini-truck.
I glanced back at the pair of Nakina and Sakura.
They were using a separate wheelbarrow. Compounded by the blazing sun, sweat was streaming down the napes of their necks.
Shinonome whined again.
"No one told me it'd be like this..."
"I explained beforehand that it was physical labor, didn't I?"
It was tough work, but the daily wage was correspondingly high.
As long as we were getting paid, we couldn't afford to complain.
That said, now that I thought about it, Shinonome was bad at athletics. Well, I ought to show her some consideration.
"I'll carry the bigger ones as much as possible, so just take the smaller ones, okay?"
"Eh, y-yeah..."
Perhaps losing her focus from the conversation, Shinonome was pulled down by the weight of the watermelon she was holding and lost her balance.
I gently supported her shoulder.
"...Are you all right?"
"I-I'm fine..."
Her face was oddly red.
Had the heat gotten to her?
Then, for some reason, Nakina and Sakura were grinding their teeth and glaring over at us.
"No fair, only Shii-chan gets to!"
"Ugh, but Shii-chan is on Attack Duty today..."
What in the world are they doing?
Or rather, so that mysterious duty really was a thing after all.
And apparently, Shinonome was the one taking care of me today.
When I took my hand off her shoulder, Shinonome abruptly looked away. Her ears were bright red.
I just hope this doesn't turn into anything weird... Wishing for the best, I returned to work.
◇
The harvest took more than half the day, and after spending the rest of the time boxing them up in the shed for shipment, the first day of work flew by in a flash.
Probably due to being unused to the manual labor, the girls were completely wiped out.
We all ate dinner together, took our baths, and by the time we finished lounging around, it had grown dark outside.
While I was reading a book alone in my room, there was a knock at the door.
"Hatsukade, you there?"
It was Shinonome's voice.
When I opened the door, all three girls were standing there.
"Need something?"
Nakina then spoke up with a suspicious smile.
"Umm, well, it's a hot summer night, isn't it?"
"...Huh?"
"S-So we thought we'd like to have some ice cream."
Sakura nodded emphatically multiple times.
"Yeah, exactly, so we'd love it if you could go buy some at the convenience store."
"Me?"
"Yep, and Shii-chan's going with you, so you won't be alone, right?"
Looking down at Shinonome, I noticed she had full makeup on despite having just gotten out of the bath.
Well, the makeup itself wasn't a problem. Nakina always wore it too, saying she lacked confidence in her bare face.
The issue was the blatantly schemy attitude of the three of them.
Could this be the so-called "Hatsukade-kun Attack Duty"?
Did they plan to take turns each day, working together to instigate something with me?
Meaning, I would have to go along with this every single day—was that what this came down to?
"Hatsukade, let's go together."
Shinonome invited me with an unusually determined look in her eyes.
It felt tasteless to interrogate them on their exact motives.
Besides, it wasn't as if I minded going out with Shinonome.
"Sure. Give me a moment to get ready."
When I closed the door, faint voices drifted through from the other side.
"You promised to report back on how far you got, okay?!"
"I-I know that already!"
...Maybe I should have turned them down after all.