We walked together beneath the summer night sky.
Unlike the humid heat of the city, the night breeze cooled the warmth lingering on my skin.
The croaking of frogs echoed from the rice paddies.
Walking along the dark road with its sparse streetlights, Shinonome was being painfully awkward.
"T-The weather's nice, isn't it? The stars are pretty, too..."
"...Yeah."
Disconnected bits of conversation like this repeated endlessly.
I wished she would just relax. Maybe because she had such a strangely determined look on her face, I was at a complete loss for what to say to her.
"The convenience store is farther than I thought."
"It's the countryside, so it's about a fifteen-minute walk each way."
"Too inconvenient... I guess I really am a city girl after all."
A proper conversation had finally started.
If I let it die here, she would probably feel uncomfortable again, so I needed to do my best to keep the momentum going.
"I like the countryside, though. I actually gave serious thought to which one I'd rather live in someday."
"Ugh, that's a total no-brainer. There are tons of bugs, nowhere to hang out, and you can't just casually drop by a stylish cafe. I looked it up on my phone earlier, and the nearest Starbucks was a whole hour away by car! I totally freaked."
"Well, having city conveniences for everyday life is definitely hard to pass up. But there's a flaw in that logic."
"What flaw?"
"If you're going to raise a high-energy, large dog, wouldn't the countryside be best where they can run around freely?"
Shinonome's shoulders slumped in utter exasperation.
"...Dogs again. That's literally all you ever talk about, Hatsukade."
"Can you blame me? When you prioritize a doggy's happiness above all else, that's inevitably where you end up. For example..."
"A-Alright, I get it! Enough already!"
What the heck? And here I was about to keep the conversation going by explaining the optimal lifestyle for raising a border collie...
"I see. So you really don't like the countryside, Shinonome..."
"It's not that I hate it, but... Ah?!"
Suddenly, as if realizing something, she let out a yelp and flashed a bashful, sheepish smile.
"B-But don't get the wrong idea, okay?!"
"Was there something to get the wrong idea about?"
"You know, if it's about settling down as an adult, the countryside is totally fine too! In fact, I'm actually leaning toward it! I'm surprisingly the devoted type, you know? Like, if my husband wanted to live in the countryside, I'd happily go along with it, you know what I mean?"
"...Right."
"Ugh... I messed up."
What was with this sudden about-face when she'd been passionately arguing for the city just a second ago?
Come to think of it, the girls had been exchanging suspicious glances before we left...
Rattling off excuses in a rapid-fire flurry, she grew dejected all on her own and buried her face in her hands.
In the end, our pointless chatter continued all the way until we reached the convenience store.
I used the restroom before shopping.
After washing my hands, I headed over to the ice cream freezer where Shinonome was, only to hear her muttering under her breath.
"This isn't how it was supposed to go at all... In that case, I've just gotta go all out on the way back!"
Radiating a tense aura, she roughly dumped the ice cream and drinks for the stay-at-home crew into her basket.
I picked out my own treats and headed to the register.
"We can pay separately. I already got money from the others."
"Got it. I'll check out first, then."
After taking my bagged items from the clerk, I waited for Shinonome to finish paying.
Mine was light since it was just for me, but hers looked heavy. Carrying that all the way back on the long walk home would be exhausting—especially after our arms had been thoroughly wrecked by watermelon duty earlier today.
"I'll take that. It looks heavy."
"Huh? Really? Thank you!"
She broke into a delighted smile, only to freeze stiff right before handing it over.
What was the matter?
Her gaze darted back and forth between my right hand holding my bag and my outstretched left hand.
"A-Actually, it's fine... I can carry this much myself."
"Didn't you make a huge fuss earlier about your arms falling off, though?"
"That was... ugh, I mean, yeah, but..."
Shinonome looked down, visibly disappointed.
Even though there were no other customers, I wondered if having this kind of back-and-forth at the register was getting in the way, but the clerk behind the counter was simply nodding with a knowing look on his face.
Well, I supposed that was that.
"I'll carry it after all. You should rest your arms."
"...Okay."
I picked up the bag sitting on the counter. Then, I offered my lighter one to her.
"...Huh?"
"Could you hold this one instead?"
Handing it over, I turned my now-empty palm toward her free hand.
"Let's get going before the ice cream melts."
"...!"