CH 87

Chapter 87: Extra: Accompanied Date In Campus (Before)

TL: Akabane

***

I heard that there is a word for "accompanying". It refers to the act of going to a restaurant with a girl after having dinner with her before business hours. It may be easy to understand if you think of it as a rental girlfriend. To be honest, I've never used this kind of thing before, so I am a little nervous about it. Today is the day of the date. I arrived at the meeting place, a coffee shop near the Hongo campus. I arrived 10 minutes before the appointed time. Then, Suo was already inside the coffee shop. She was holding a portable game console. She was playing with a serious expression on her face, staring at the screen with her beautiful green eyes. I order a coffee at the counter, put my cup on the tray and approach her seat. Then, I sat down in front of her, putting out my presence and footsteps. I watched her face as she played the game, looking at her coffee. She has a very beautiful face. When I saw her on the street at night, she had an adult's glamour and sex appeal, but now, on the contrary, I feel her childlike charm. I thought she was young, but maybe she is younger than me. And then it was time for the appointment. She turned off the game and put it away in her bag. She looked at me in front of her and her eyes widened.

"When did you get there?!"

"Maybe since a little while ago."

Suo looked doubtful and muttered in a small voice.

"You didn't give me a sign? To me?"

She looks at me as if I'm suspicious, so I try to fool her and bring up the subject of our chat.

"You were playing games with a very serious face, weren't you? Do you like them? What genre do you prefer?"

"...... Eh. Yeah, I like games. I especially like RPGs. It makes me happy when I see a cute hero helping a heroine."

Suo seemed wary at first, but she answered my question.

"I see. That's surprising. I thought you were popular in that store and your hobbies were wine and yoga. Ahaha."

"Fufu. It's true that some girls are like that. But most of them turn back into normal girls once they leave the store. I'm the same way. I'm a normal girl...."

It seems that the women who dance elegantly in the city at night are also normal during the day. Well, I'm paying Suo, who is here right now, for her daytime date, so I guess she's in work mode here!

"Well then, let's go."

"Yes. I look forward to working with you today."

Today's accompanying date. I was quite confused about where to go. I don't know what this Suo woman likes after all. I mean, I was the one doing all the talking the other night! But she did say the other day that she wanted to get her brother into college, and I thought, why not bring her into a field that I'm good at at this point?

--- "Why don't you come to my campus?"

I asked her directly, and she readily said yes. After a short walk down the street, we ended up at the Hongo campus of the Imperial Capital University. Everyone who goes there loves it and everyone who doesn't hates it, known as "The Red Gate of Harmony." Suo rolled her eyes when she saw it.

"Eh? You? You go to the Imperial Capital University?"

"Yes! Surpriseeee!"

The biggest mount in Japan is none other than "The Red Gate of Harmony." Most of the time, at a blind date, the person will say, "My university has a red gate!" It's a given that the guy who wants to make the girls guess by giving a hint of the university he attends is a Kodai student.

"You really are smart! You're amazing!"

Suo is staring at me with some kind of sparkling eyes. It feels so good! Since all the girls around me are from the same university, it's not like they're praising me just for the name of my university. I'm glad I worked so hard during the entrance exam wars. For the first time, I feel like I've been rewarded.

"Not so much. Well, let's take a tour of the place."

"Yes! I'm looking forward to it!"

Suo's smile is free of any false smells. She looked like she was really enjoying herself. First, we decided to walk around the campus at random.

"There's a solid concentration of liberal arts departments around here, isn't there?"

"Heh. Is that so? The buildings have a very historical and calm feel to them.

"Yes, it is. The buildings around here are cool. It has a kind of "university" feel to it, and it's very atmospheric."

A thought suddenly occurred to me, so I pulled Suo by the hand and brought her inside the building. Then, I found an empty classroom and put her in there.

"Kya! That's amazing! It's so spacious and the seats are tiered!"

Suo smiled broadly and moved closer to the blackboard. There were faint traces of the previous lesson's writing on the board. Suo was reading it with great pleasure. I guess that's why. I felt like joking around a little.

"Yes! I'll take attendance! Sit, sit, sit!"

I said to Suo as I stood on the podium. She immediately took a seat in the front row. She is smiling, somewhat nervous, but happy. This girl really likes to study. I thought so.

"Well, I'm going to start now! Gohon! Cultural Theory of Architecture. Urban Structure and Design Symbolic Analysis Course is about to begin!

"Thank you very much!"

I pick up a piece of chalk and write the title of today's class on the blackboard. I've always wanted to teach architecture at a university. Pretending to be a professor, I started the class.

"Namely! In architecture, the thing that was going to make that architecture, the idea, the ideology, takes on symbolic motifs...!"

As I spoke passionately about architecture, Suo responded with equally passionate questions and discussions.

"Yes! Sensei! In other words, the passion behind the motifs creates a session with others, and this is the cultural act of architecture as a mission in itself...!"

I think this is what a university should be like. The professor gives a lecture, and the students listen to it, think for themselves, debate, discuss, and deepen their thoughts, and step by step they come closer to the truth. There is no end to the mysteries of this world. Universities are the front line in the challenge to these mysteries. For me, playing in class with Suo was a thrilling time and a lot of fun. So I remembered what Ayashiro told me some time ago. She said that there are people who are gifted but cannot get an education. Suo is very smart. People like her should be the ones who go to college. But she doesn't seem to be going to college. She said she wanted to send her younger brother to college. I don't think that is a lie. The reality of not being able to go to college due to lack of money may be common in Japan. I was able to go to college because my family was very wealthy and I had a lot of motivation. However, Suo is probably in a situation where she cannot go to college even if she had the motivation to do so. I wonder if I am looking down on Suo by feeling sorry for her. But there was one thing I could say. I feel sadness for Suo. Even now, she is only going on dates to get money from me. I felt that there was nothing but unreasonableness there. At the very least, I should pay her a lot of money. That's what I thought.

After class, we went to the cafeteria because we were hungry. We went to the cafeteria in the basement of the lecture building, the symbol of the Hongo campus.

"Order whatever you like."

"Yes, that's what I want! This is good!"

Suo chose the croquette set meal, which could be found in any school cafeteria. Rather than being wallet-friendly, I think she wanted to eat something that a normal college student would eat. I chose the yakiniku set meal for myself. Then we both lined up at the counter.

"I guess everyone in a school cafeteria brings their own meal ticket and comes out from the counter!"

This is a common sight for college students, but for Suo, it seems to be a new experience. She was smiling excitedly and happily holding her meal ticket. What is it? This healthy spirit...! I have to pay more tribute! Then, I received my set meal and sat down at the table. Before eating, I took out a red can from my bag and handed it to Suo.

"Hmm? What's this?"

"Um? What is it... it's guarana juice. I heard you like it, so I gave it to you."

"Eh? What? The can is red. It really says guarana on it..."

Suo looks at the can of guarana juice with interest. Huh? That's funny, isn't it? I gave her a can of guarana juice, which is a major drink in Hokkaido. Most guarana juice sold in Hokkaido comes in red packages. You don't know that? What do you mean? Suo opens the can and takes a sip. Then, after taking a small sip, she mutters with a nostalgic smile on her face.

"Ah, it's definitely guarana. Delicious. But there are cans of non-green guarana, aren't there? I didn't know that."

A green can of guarana? I tilted my head in the opposite direction. In Hokkaido, guarana is part of the culture. The major manufacturers sell it in red-colored packages, but I remember that there is also a local guarana juice that is sold in various colored packages. But that isn't very major, or it should be very local in Hokkaido. Where is Suo from? The mystery deepened. Well, I'm sure she won't answer my question, so I'll leave it at that for now. We enjoyed our lunch, chatting as we went.

***Author's musings***

That guarana juice is delicious!

His date with Suo will be divided into two parts, "before" and "after".

The next installment will be a relaxing date at the library. Enjoy!