Chapter 15

Today was October 1, the day of glasses.

The reason was when one wrote the number (10-01) in kanji, the「一〇〇一」 somehow looked like glasses.

Most of the things around the world had their own anniversary set with one reason or another that was just weird, but this one was at least still better than some of the others.

One of the terrible ones was the「Make-up Day」. The reason was because May 9 (May Kuu) sounded like Meiku (make-up) when pronounced, or something like that. Wasn’t that just a pun, then?

Anyway, starting from today, it would be October. There was a saying that this was the month where lingering summer heat had disappeared completely, and the season of autumn reading would begin now.

Only half a year before April. Some people with high awareness would review their activities starting today, and reassert themselves for the remaining six months.

Of course, there’s no way I would do that. I would just lay down on my bed and laze around by reading web novels in my spare time. Unfortunately, I had to go out today.

When I thought that she would just inform me with yesterday’s call, she even sent me a LINE message to remind me at night.

Maharun♪：It will be troubling if you say that you don’t hear it clearly later on, so I will write it again.

Iguchi Keita　：Here it comes~

Maharun♪：Tomorrow we will gather at Harajuku Station in the Takeshita Exit, at 16:30!

Maharun♪：I’m looking forward to it!

Keita Iguchi　：[You sent a stamp.]

It would make me sound too obedient to reply to her with a「Yes」or「OK」(So far as it goes, I was unwilling!), but it would also be somehow wrong not to reply to her, so as I hesitated, I decided to send her a sticker. At this kind of time, this feature was truly convenient.

I didn’t send a sticker that clearly conveyed something, but a surreal stamp that I didn’t know what the heck the meaning was. Anyway, what important was that I already replied to her.

With that, I was wearing the clothes I had chosen for three hours yesterday (although the main focus was still UNIQLO in the end), and took the Yamanote Line that was heading to Harajuku.

Anyway, Harajuku, huh.

I knew that Harajuku was covered in talks and variety shows as a place with a「fashionable」feel, but actually, I didn’t know what kind of shops were actually there, whether it was really fashionable like what everyone said, or how many ticket gates were there.

After all, it’s that Takeshita Exit, right? The Takeshita Exit that faces Takeshita Exit?

And then, not only Ikebukuro, but they also definitely lead to the Otome Road. There would be lots of fashionable clothes shops, and crepes/pancakes shops. Speaking of which, Kouhai-chan’s favourite food is pancakes, eh?

…Not like it matters.

She would push me around anyway. Let’s take a rest on the train for now.

＊　＊　＊

Ah, here he comes. Glancing quickly at my watch, it was still 4:20.

I thought that maybe I should come a little sooner since I was meeting senpai after all, so I also came even earlier as well. Well, usually he would come ten minutes before the meeting time too.

「Senpai~!」

He was wearing a black trousers and white shirt together with a light blue jacket. Not bad.

「Ah, here you are. Did you wait for a long time?」

「Not really.」

Waiting for him was also fun.

If I really didn’t want to wait, we could also come together from the usual nearest station we took, but there’s no way I could say it.

「Then, let’s go now.」

「Where are we going? Is it a pancake shop or something? If I’m not wrong, you really liked pancakes, right?」

「You remembered it well, senpai. But, you’re wrong. As the punishment for being incorrect senpai, please follow me without asking anything.」

「Oi… That’s too unreasonable!」

I knew that senpai would follow me even if he said something like that, so I started walking immediately. After all, it would he troubling if the pedestrian crossing at the station became red now.

＃　＃　＃

Although I got down from the Takeshita Exit, we didn’t leave from there.

I always stared my map application on my smartphone except when I was walking to places I was familiar with, so I walked while glancing at it once in a while. Even so, Kouhai-chan just walked in front of me without any hesitation.

I didn’t really understand what was considered fashionable in my eyes, but I didn’t look at the clothes shop that young people would like or the sweets shop that girls would like, and I was just looking at Kouhai-chan who was walking ahead. I didn’t have any choice but to follow behind her.

After we walked for around five minutes, Kouhai-chan stopped in front of the building one block away from the main street, and looked back to me.

「Welcome to Himitsukichi!」1

「Isn’t it ‘Japari Park’! 2 Anyway, what is Himitsukichi?」

The sign arrow that pointed towards the building basement clearly said「Himitsukichi」on it.

「Nn, well… It is a place where you can play mystery solving games.」

「Mystery solving?」

「Brain exercises, intelligence competitions, mind puzzles, you can call it whatever you like, but that’s one of the description too.」

「Hee…」

「I felt like senpai will like these kind of things.」

She was actually right. I usually watched those「Test the Limit of your Brain!」shows on the television against my better judgement, and I quite liked it.

「What they are doing now is a collaboration show with All-Japan detectives. We have to buy the tickets, so let’s go now.」

As always, Kouhai chan was really good at making the necessary arrangements.

「By the way, the solving success rate is only around 10%, you know?」

「But the question in those TV shows also only have 10% correct solving rate, and yet they are usually surprisingly easy to solve.」

「Fuu, senpai, you can keep composed only at this kind of moment!」

As we went down the stairs and go inside, we were guided by the staff towards a stable with six other people. Not long after we sat down, an announcement in the hall room echoed.

「Thank you very much for visiting the ‘Real Mystery Solving Game’ today. This game will be a challenge between teams. Now, there are six people who are sitting at the same table… there’s a five person team too? Ah, there is. Those people are your team, that will decide your destiny. Please introduce yourself, and get along with each other now! And then, please wait a moment before the challenge starts.」

‘Decide your destiny’… What a terrible notation.

I came to Harajuku without knowing why, and for some reason, I would work with the people at this table to solve a quiz. I see. I didn’t understand.

Hmm.

The moment I was going to ask Kouhai-chan who was sitting text to me, someone at the same table with us opened their mouth.

「Everyone, I’ll look forward to working together with you today.」

「Please take care of me too!」

Of course, the one who replied energetically was Kouhai-chan. Everyone, including me, greeted each other vaguely.

There were four males and two females. Truly the combination that would make those two people feel sad if this was a joint party.

「Are both of you currently dating?」

A college student-like elder sister who was sitting opposite of us suddenly said.

「Nn, I wonder about that…」

Kouhai-chan replied like that. Her voice was slightly higher than usual, as if she was behaving herself.

Nn?

There was something strange running through my back.

Why did this girl answer to that elder sister just now.

In the first place, was she talking to us anyway?

Two females at the same table. One person talked, and the other one came here together with me.

…I see.

Who ever thought that the day when someone would ask me about that at the first meeting would come.

「Senpai?」

This wouldn’t do. My mind became complicated on its own.

「I want to ask you myself what we are doing too. Kouhai-chan is the one who invited me after all.」

「It’s not the matter between whether you’re invited or not, but whether this is a date or not.」

「Didn’t we define that word before already? You said that if the opposite sex is inviting the other one to go together, it is considered a date.」

「…I feel like I said that. Then, this is a date.」

Kouhai-chan cleared her throat, and turned back to the older sister.

「It seems like this is a date.」

「I see!」

I wonder why. That elder sister’s eyes were shining as she stared at us.

Her body gesture screamed「These kind of relationship is my favourite food!」, and she bent her body in excitement.

「By the way, how many times have you been dating?」

「Two times, I think.」

「Ehh, that would be a lie, senpai.」

「Ha?」

「After all, senpai matches your train time with mine, every morning, every day. If a ‘date’ is inviting the other person out’, they are considered as dates too, isn’t it?」

「Aren’t you the one who is matching your train time with mine?」

「As long as it matches, no matter who matches it, it is still a date, right? Am I wrong?」

Uwahh, I dug my own grave.

「With that, we already have countless dates!♪」

「I see, I see!」

After this, that elder sister kept asking us questions until the mystery solving game started.

It was the first time in my life that I felt this relieved when the MC finally came up to the stage.

＃　＃　＃

「Everyone, I’ll check back once again. The important thing in mystery solving is information sharing and the distribution of the roles! Then, please enjoy it as much as possible. The mystery solving game will start… Now!」

I couldn’t write the contents of the mystery here, since they said no one should spoil it to anyone.

But I felt like I could at least say that「The picture book was amazing」, so I’ll do so.

The picture book was really amazing.

No, really.

At the end, we failed tragically.

If this was like a gacha where one can win with 10% probability, on the other hand there was a 90% chance of failing too. Well, it was pretty reasonable too.

Even so, it was really vexing. I just need one more step again to clear it.

Uwahhh, I want to come again.

Due to the nature of the「mystery」, it seemed like I won’t be able to participate in the same show again, but it was really vexing. I want to come back again. Let me solve the mystery this time.

When they gave me the feedback questionnaire that said「If you like it, sign up for the e-mail magazines!」, I even wrote my main e-mail immediately. I felt vexed to that point. More than that, it was fun.

I never knew that this kind of entertainment existed in the world.

＊　＊　＊

I played a mystery solving game after a long time.

I was hoping secretly that maybe senpai could clear it, but it was a little difficult after all. How vexing.

But it was a happy occasion, since senpai felt even more vexed than me. This might be my chance to ask him to go back together again.

When we went out from the hall, the autumn wind cooled my head, which had been fully rotated and worked hard inside.

The sky was getting dark, huh. When we came, it was still bright.

However, I felt tired and I also didn’t feel like eating right now. Let’s just get home.

We walked to Harajuku Station, and I took the same train with senpai.

I naturally headed to the usual place where we stood at the morning train. Senpai followed me to stand on his usual position as well.

The time slot was different than usual, but with this, there was only one thing to do now.

「Senpai, this is my『today’s question』.」

Senpai who was going to take out his book faithfully today as well twitched after hearing my words, and waited for me to continue.

「Senpai, did you like it?」

The ‘it’ could mean「the mystery solving game」, and it could also mean「this kind of date」.

The hidden-like meaning would be clear according to how he viewed「our relationship」as.

How far would senpai think about it?

How far would senpai answer my hidden meaning?

＃　＃　＃

She, Kouhai-chan, Yoneyama Maharu, just how far is the meaning of her question.

And also, how far should I answer her question, what kind of meaning should I react to.

I couldn’t answer her immediately, but my reply itself was naturally already determined.

I didn’t dislike lt. I also couldn’t say that I didn’t like it.

I mean, it was interesting. It was fun.

After all, she always told me about things I didn’t know.

「Yeah, I like it.」

That’s why, I answered honestly, as how it was.

I didn’t like making long explanations, and I thought that she didn’t wish for it as well.

So now, I would just answer with this.

「Thank you very much♪」

She also gave me thanks my straight reply properly.

…Er.

Wait, wait, wait. Wait a minute. It felt like we ended the conversation nicely, though. Wouldn’t my timung to use『today’s question』be gone just like that? I mean, it would be boring to ask the same thing, with the same shading off situation.

Maybe, she already took this into her consideration… Really, what a scary junior.

I didn’t want to break the calming atmosphere, so I just took out my book gently.

I could ask my『today’s question』at LINE when I reached home. With that, I decided to do so.

The things I knew about my senpai⑮

Looking at his reaction, I feel like he became addicted to the mystery solving game.