CH 47

If I was to believe that I was wrong about Shizuku’s feelings, I would be convinced.

The person whom she mentioned during the spring break was never Yuuto to begin with.

On the same day and in the same manner, the two people had come to me to talk about the person they had liked since before.

Accurately speaking, there were differences between what they had said,

“I have liked a person since before”

“I have liked a person since long ago”

If Yuuto and Shizuku had people they liked, then there was a possibility that I would know of them too.

If that wasn’t the case, why would they ask me for my assistance? That wouldn’t make any sense.

With their looks and also their personalities, they had many acquaintances. Though there were only a few people with whom they could truly talk to, and if it was a person of the opposite sex, that number would dwindle even further.

Just by standing by Shizuka’s side and talking to her, an ordinary student like me would garner cold gazes from the people from around.

Just by commuting to and from school with her, I had been told off by the male students who yearned for her.

In order to stand next to the woman called Kanzaki Shizuku, one had to meet big requirements.

Those requirements were easily cleared by Ogiwara Yuuto.

[TN – pretty sure there is no need to explain, but I will just say it this once anyway. Their given names are Shizuku and Yuuto. In Japanese names, the title comes first, and the surname comes thereafter]

Consequently, when I saw her talking, it turned out to be with Yuuto most of the times. Then, after having given their situation a thorough thought, the answer that I had arrived at was that Yuuto and Shizuku were mutually in love with each other.

If that answer was wrong, there was one thing that I had to confirm.

“There’s something I want to ask, is that ok?”

As I asked this to the two girls sitting around a circular table before me, they turned their bodies towards my direction.

I interpreted their act of having turned their bodies towards me as a positive reply, that it was okay to ask them a question. I then asked them,

“‘Since before’ and ‘since long ago’”, how many years do you think these terms designate?”

“‘Since before’ and ‘since long ago’ ……”

“It’s a question that probably has different connotations to different people, huh”

Even I felt that the answer to this question would vary from person to person.

However this time, the main point of this question was to see whether my answer was close to that of the girls’. That was my only intent.

“‘Since before’ would refer to two to three years, ‘since long ago’ would be around ten years or something like that, I guess?”

“That’s right, my answer would also be similar. Looking at it from the perspective of Nii-san’s age, ‘since before’ would be when he was a middle school student, and ‘since long ago’ would refer to his childhood days, I would say?”

“……Right?”

Well, our answers were more or less the same.

I too would equate “since before” to the last few years and “since long ago” to beyond ten years in the past.

Perhaps, I had already known the answer.

Even then, I hadn’t noticed……no, I might have been unconsciously pretending not to notice.

Since she had come to consult with me, I thought that there was no way that Icould be a party the subject matter of the consult.

When they had been consulting with me, I must have had already drawn a line of separation between myself and them.

The worlds that we lived in were different.

I had thought that there was no way that a fantastical dream-like story, where the beauty of the school would harbour romantic feelings for an ordinary childhood friend could exist.

Then, I recalled what she said when the two of us were alone at the rest and service area. If what she had said about only caring about herself was the truth, that would honestly be terrifying. A frightening thought had dawned on me and I broke out in a cold sweat.

However this way, I was able to comprehend the reason for her discomfort.

When she came to teach me even though we had no such promises, when she didn’t cheer for Yuuto during the soccer game, when she didn’t stay beside him during the wrap-up party and came to the private room me and Kirasaka were at – there were legitimate significances in all these actions of hers.

Kanzaki-san said this to me, “From here on out, I will not care about my surroundings or anything else”

“……”

Shizuka and Kirasaka were talking with each other during the canoe ride, but did she say something like that?

While spectating the growing pedestrian traffic, I involuntarily let out a small sigh.

“I wonder what’s going to happen?”

Kaede’s murmur seemed to have many meanings.

If Yuuto got turned down by Shizuku, how would the current situation pan out? Their relationship from here on out would change and so would the way they interacted at school.

Since they had only known each other since middle school, it was obvious that things would become a bit complicated.

“Well, if it’s him……he would have predicted that possibility before acting”

It was past 7 and a light-hearted BGM could be heard from the distance.

I brought out the smartphone from my pocket and saw that I had received one message.

The sender was obviously Yuuto.

The message mentioned about how the parade had just started and a short reply about how they were heading towards us.

“They’re heading towards us”

“Ara, that was fast”

As I conveyed the message to Kirasaka and Kaede, I thought for a little bit.

Like Kaede had said, if Yuuto does confess to Shizuku and gets turned down, what should we do about the situation that would follow? Due to the leaders of the parade approaching towards the street we were at, the music kept growing louder. I was unable to gather my thoughts too well.

……I didn’t think that music could ever be this much of a nuisance.

The mouse character led the parade while walking on its two legs. When I looked at the parade carefully, I could see two people running a little ahead of it. Of course they were Yuuto and Shizuku.

Although it was a distant view, but there wasn’t any particular changes in their expressions.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting!”

Said Shizuku as she sat down on a chair and immediately turned towards the parade.

Looking at how she was happily watching the parade, maybe Yuuto hadn’t confessed after all?

In any case, for the time being, I thought that it would be ok for me not to worry about the situation after this. I turned my attention towards the parade. I looked at the unique characters walking in front of me and it made me want to say to them, “Please walk carefully”.

Kirasaka too seemed to have been looking at the spectacle with deep interest. Yuuto who was beside me, spoke in a voice that almost seemed like a whisper in my ears,

“I am going out with Kanzaki-san”

“……Ha?”

It was not that I was shocked at the event of them going out.

Just that, what Kirasaka and Kaede had said earlier shouldn’t be lies either.

That was why I was bewildered and couldn’t comprehend the situation.

After hearing those words, I had no recollection as to how the parade had ended.