On the day of the trip, we headed to the station to catch our train.
Upon arrival, we boarded the first train that came along, headed for Shinjuku Station.
"I’m so sleepy..."
Letting out a massive "Fwaaah," Hayashi gave a cavernous yawn right there in the car.
Luckily, since it was early morning, there weren't many other passengers. We sat side-by-side as we traveled.
"Then why don't you just sleep for a bit?"
I suggested she try to get some rest until we reached the next station.
"No thanks."
Hayashi rejected the idea immediately. She let out another yawn even as she refused.
"Why not?"
"Because it’s vexing."
There it was.
Hayashi’s classic "because it’s vexing."
She occasionally brushed off my kindness simply because she found it annoying to accept. Well, I had to admire the sheer willpower it took to stay awake despite her exhaustion... but the underlying desire to avoid showing me any weakness was honestly petty.
I suppose this was exactly why people used to call her The Queen.
Not that I really understood the logic behind it.
"Ah—I want to eat Shingen Mochi already..."
While I was occupied with those trivial thoughts, Hayashi was scrolling through her smartphone, her mind clearly already at our destination.
Seriously, this woman was thinking about nothing but food for this entire Comfort Trip.
I didn't mind her having a Cheat Day to indulge every now and then, but I just hoped that by spoiling her now, it wouldn't become a permanent habit.
"Hey, hey. Is it just me, or am I the only one talking about buying souvenirs?"
"Oh, you finally noticed?"
Hayashi had been so high on the excitement of the trip that it seemed the realization had only just struck her.
"Don't you have anything you want to buy?"
"...Hmm."
I crossed my arms and considered it.
Souvenirs I wanted to buy, huh?
"Not really."
"Wow. This man is already dissing our destination before we’ve even arrived."
"No, that’s not what I meant."
"Not what you meant? ...Wait, does that mean you just don't have anyone to buy souvenirs for?"
The usually useless Hayashi—the former Queen herself—occasionally displayed this kind of sharp intuition. It was a pain to deal with.
"...Ah, no, I might want to pick up some Shingen Mochi or something."
Her assessment had hit the mark, but a specific face had flashed through my mind, so I tried to cover it up.
"Hey, Yamamoto. Is that..."
However, the second I heard the tone of her voice, I realized I’d made a mistake by trying to hide it.
"...For Akari?"
"...No."
I denied it instantly, but I felt like those few seconds of silence were fatal.
Hayashi, who had been in such high spirits until a moment ago, was suddenly looking down at the floor.
"It’s not like that. The person I’d buy a gift for is... Shiho."
"Liar."
"You’re making a lot of assumptions here."
"I mean, the shelf life for Shingen Mochi is only about a week, right? Are you planning to go back to your Parents' House within the week?"
"...Fair point."
Honestly, Hayashi’s occasional bursts of insight were extremely inconvenient.
"On the other hand, you can see Akari whenever you want at the university. You’d be able to give her the Shingen Mochi long before it expired."
"Good grief, are you some kind of great detective...?"
"Hmph."
Great Detective Hayashi ended up pouting.
To ask me if I wanted to buy souvenirs and then get upset at the answer... she was a piece of work.
"...Hayashi, my bad."
Since we were finally heading off on our Comfort Trip, I couldn't stand the thought of her pouting for the rest of the day.
I didn't actually think I'd done anything wrong, but I offered her an apology anyway.
"...You think I’ll just forgive you if you apologize, don't you?"
"No, that’s not it."
"Liar."
"I’m not lying."
I truly didn't feel like I was at fault for her getting upset this time.
"Then why are you apologizing?"
"Well, this is supposed to be a special trip. I don't want us to spend the next few hours being irritated with each other, do you?"
Essentially, I was suggesting we let the matter go for now.
"...Well, I guess if you put it that way."
"Yeah."
"You have to treat me to ramen later, okay?"
"Wait, what?"
Seriously, her appetite over the past few days was something else.