Vol 4 Chapter 2 (2/2)

“Oh? Seron”

He heard someone’s voice

Seron looked down There, between the flower beds, stood Meg

However—

“Huh?”

Seron froze, failing to recognize the figure in the gardens

Meg earing a white dress, but she earing her hair down instead of her usual pigtails

“I also woke up early this ”

Five seconds of staring later, Seron finally recognized the girl he loved

“H-hey there! Good ”

“Yes, it is a very good ardens for a short moment Would you like to walk too, Seron?”

“I-I’ll be right there!”

Seron tightened his grip, ready to leap over the railing

And just as he prepared to spring forward, he realized that so and stopped himself

Quietly but very quickly Seron descended the central staircase He had never walked so fast in his entire life, he thought As soon as he was outside, he ran to Meg’s side

She was squatting in front of a bed of red flowers But when she noticed his presence, Meg stood and s hair aflutter

“The weather is very good today as well”

“…Yes And you?”

“H?”

“No, wait Sorry My bad I reat today”

“Indeed it is very good! As we are awake early, let us walk this wonderful garden!”

Stiffly, but desperately putting on a blank front, Seron went over to Meg’s left side

They slowly began to stroll through the garden of flower beds, lawns, and trees

Seron kicked his sputtering thought processes into high gear

“Y-you know, your hair It surprisedelse

“Oh I walked outside after I slept and woke up in thelike this I think it would be okay to untie ain later It is very uncomfortable when I move”

“Huh? Yeah You’re right It could get in the hen you’re using a caainst his will

“Yes! It could” Meg agreed brightly and obliviously

With her finger Meg played with her hair Seron could see her profiled face Blinking, he kept his gaze on her

“At the school in Sou Be-Il which I attended, it was the law to tie students’ hair in pigtails”

“I see”

“My school was a girls school All the students were girls And the hairstyle was not free, like the school now I thought it was very not free, at the time”

“Right Roxche’s pretty easygoing about things like that”

“Yes It was very surprising But after cotails were cotails My friend Lillia says for me to use different hairstyles, but still”

“I guess it’s hard to break out of your coh in his head he was deter’s hairstyle with this friend named Lillia

“Yes Thinking of which, I want to take Lillia to Sou Be-Il with me some day Everyone will be surprised when I take a Roxchean whose Bezelese speaking is better than mine”

Seron inhaled, readied himself, and spoke in Bezelese

“I studied, Bezelese, a little”

“OhAs expected, you are a, Seron”

“It is a very difficult language I was very surprised” Seronback “Sorry That’s about as far as I can go The conjugation is so difficult that all I can do is h, and I had a hard tienders for nouns” He shook his head

“Then I will speak a little” Meg said, looking at Seron “You’re always full of surprises, Seron I feel like I could learn so much from you”

“What does thatelse was a blur”

Meg took a hts into Roxchean, then simplified her sentiment

“I said, ‘you are very cool, Seron’!”

Seron’s thought processes ca’s concerned voice several seconds later

Afterwards, they had uneventful conversations about the flowers in the gardens and the sights they saw on the autobahn the previous day

“shi+ne on, Seron I am so proud of you!” Larry whispered fro and Seron alking side-by-side at the other end of the garden, he could not hear what they were talking about

“Agreed Nohy can’t you ever e that?” Someone said from above him

“Tch”

Larry scowled and looked up

Natalia leaned against the railing of her balcony Her hair was even longer than Meg’s

“That’s long”

“Yeah Wanna try cli it?”

“No thanks Isn’t it annoying to wash and dry it all?”

“Yeah It’s such a bother”

“Ever think about cutting it short like me?”

“If I feel like it”

There wasn’t a hint of romance to be found in the conversation Natalia looked out at the gardens

“Het down there and have some fun”

“Don’t you dare get in their way, Lia” Larry said, his eyes glinting

“Heh Can’t even joke around with you I’ back inside

Larry sighed Before he knew it, Nick was standing on the balcony next door

“It is considered bad forreeting

Larry turned Nick stood there wearing light green pajaolden stars

“Yeah Morning”

“Goodday ahead”

“Then I will see you at breakfast time”

“Yeah See you”

After a stroll through the gardens, Seron said goodbye to Meg at the stairs and headed back to his own room But just as he passed Larry’s door—

“Good job”

“Whoa!”

Seron flinched The door was ajar

“…Can I come in?”

“Sure thing, buddy”

As soon as Larry shut the door behind them, Seron let his emotions tint his voice—but not his face

“D-d-did you see, Larry? Nothing beats Megmica with her hair down!”

“I only saw her fro in the same club” Larry replied

His fists tre

“I can die happy now”

“Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves”

It was tiathered in the dining room

Larry was in his usual T-shi+rt and a grey parka Nick earing pants si with a white button-down shi+rt Jenny was in navy shorts and a long-sleeved shi+rt Natalia wore long pants and a light green summer sweater

They had a traditional Roxchean breakfast that etables, and fruits It all tasted wonderful The butter was as good as it had been the previous night

Everyone was lass after glass of milk

“The lass!”

“Good to see you’re taking in all that calciuot hope, shortie”

“Shut up, Lia”

“I think this weather will last all day” Said Mrs Ruf, bringing in tea “Hoould you like to have a barbecue in the gardens for dinner?”

The newspaper club agreed with gusto Mrs Ruf proetables for the barbecue

“I can help! Outdoor cooking is my specialty” Larry volunteered Seron joined in as well, followed by Nick In the end, everyone had signed up to help prepare dinner

Mrs Ruf took down everyone’s requests for the barbecue And once she was gone—

“Good , everyone”

Kurtz and Litner entered the kitchen Kurtz asked Jenny about her plans for the day

“Today, we’re going around town by bicycle for soraphy practice Lunch will be at the local specialty spaghetti place by the village hall Could youeaters We’ll drop off our filraphy studio and come back here, and if we have time we’ll learn to use typewriters or take a nap We’ll have a barbecue in the evening and another lesson at night, if we have time”

Kurtz nodded in understanding Larry spoke up

“We’re not gonna develop the photos ourselves? I was looking forward to that”

“We don’t have a darkroom here Believe me, I e could develop theive you a lesson on the darkrooet back”

“Right And about going into town… are the six of us gonna go on six bikes together?”

“That’s the plan Why?” Jenny asked All eyes were on Larry

“I have another idea Can we split off into three pairs? We don’t all have to crowd around together I know I’ kinda selfish, but I want to race around town on a ive someone a ride behind me, so the rest of you can pair off and have free time until lunch It’s no fun if everyone takes photos of the sa”

“You gotta do what I say! —Is what I wanted to say, but that sounds fine as long as everyone does soonna decline”

“Looks like it’s gotta be“I’m too lazy to bike It’d be nice to have a slave take me everywhere by motorcycle”

“Who’re you calling a slave, Lia? Fine It’s the two of us, then”

Larry and Natalia orking in perfect sync Nick joined in

“Then could I perhaps ith you for the , Jenny? I’raphy, I’mica will be fine with Seron, as he knows all the details about camera use”

Only then did Seron realize that Larry, Natalia, and Nick were doing their best to help him Blankly and silently he heaped praises and thanks upon them

“Hmica?”

“Yes It is very fine with me”

Coreed with a smile

“Good Then I’ll hand out maps of the area to everyone We meet at noon today in town All the boys have wristwatches, right? The rendezvous point is the fountain in Huckanee Mee It’s on the map, and you can ask people for directions The park is about 3 kilometers away, and there are alo by bike And don’t go snacking before we meet—we have reservations for lunch That is all Dismissed!”

Everyone nodded and stood, but Seron spoke up

“Jenny Teach us to load and unload the cameras”

To load the film, they had to turn a dial on the bottoe on the left side

Then they had to wind the end of the filht side Then, they had to close the lid After taking two or three throay shots, they had to set the film counter under the dial to zero

After taking 24 pictures, they had to press the button next to the shutter to unlock the camera Then they had to turn the knob on the left until there was no more tension in the knob Then they could take out the cartridge

If they made a mistake somewhere in this process, they could end up with no photos at all or an entire roll of ruined photos It required careful work

After the explanation, the newspaper club set off

They only took their wallets, cameras, lenses, and photometers Each person took about five canisters of fils or leather purses The bicycle teas in the baskets at the front of their bikes

As for the motorcycle team—

“It’s all on you, Lia”

“Ugh”

Natalia had to put two people’s worth of belongings into a backpack she would carry

Outside the villa were four bicycles and a motorcycle

The bicycles included cross-bikes and touring bicycles with straight handlebars and gears

There were different types of fra elected for types with lower frames so they could climb on and off easily, while Seron and Nick chose bicycles with triangular frames

And as the bicycle team adjusted their seats and checked their brakes—

“Whoa! This is the latest model!”

Larry ran his hands over the black motorcycle in awe

The 250cc ine cylinder, and had drum brakes for both the front and the back

Just as Larry raved, it was a very recents

The oval fuel tank was also silver in color The top was painted black, and there were thick rubber cushi+ons over the tank where the knees went

The motorcycle could seat two people The second seat was on top of the rear fender behind the rider’s seat

Mr Ruf had prepared and even serviced the bicycles and ht He turned to Larry

“You kno to ride it, yes?”

“My brother taughtabout, but I’ve never incurred a traffic violation, either!” Larry replied

“Take care, of yourselves Motorcycles are great, but it’s very easy to get in an accident”

Then he handed Larry two leather jackets, two silver helloves

Larry put on his jacket, helloves

“H”

Natalia had pinned up her hair, which made it impossible for her to put on her helmet She went all the way back to the bathroom to untie her hair and tie it in a ponytail Then she tucked in her ponytail under her jacket and put on her helmet

When Natalia hid her long hair and dressed like aman

“It is cool, Natalia! You look like a cool rider!” Meg cheered Larry had to agree, but he pouted

“Thanks, Meg face, Larry? Want me to drive instead?”

“Pop quiz, Lia Is the clutch on the left side or the right?” Larry asked,the handlebars

“Hm This?”

Natalia stepped doith her right foot

“…Yeah, no”

Before departure, a sument broke out between Jenny and Kurtz

Kurtz and Litner told Jenny that they would follow her by car Jenny refused, saying she had never needed such security detail at Ercho Village But—

“Miss If anything were to happen to you here, Litner and I will certainly lose our jobs I have a three-year-old daughter, Miss Jenny And Litner finally overcame the odds that come with this line of work and recently found herself a boyfriend” Kurtz argued soleht face

Litner stood by him in mechanical silence all the while

“Man, Mr Kurtz is good Guess you’d have to be, if you wanted to be Jenny’s bodyguard”

“It is not good to leave the said, taking Kurtz’s side

“Thank you, Miss Megmica” Kurtz nodded “Now if you’ll excuse us, Miss Jenny We will proceed to follow you like a pair of stalkers”

Jenny was forced to give up

“Fine But you have to keep your distance, okay? Fifty meters”

Everyone was finally ready to go

“Let’s all do our best until noon!” Larry cried

“Yes!” “Yes!” “Yeah!”

Meg, Nick, and Natalia raised their fists into the air

“Yeah” Seron followed, half a beat behind

Jenny was already on her bicycle

“Now get out there and shoot! Shoot like your life depends on it! Pretend you’ve never heard of personality rights! And remeraph ood memory In ten, an irreplaceable treasure And in a hundred, it’ll be a snapshot of history’”

“Nice line, Jenny —By the way, I have a question” Larry said, raising a hand

“Yeah?”

“Are we allowed to take photographs of one another?”

“I guess it’ll be practice for taking photos of people Don’t forget to adjust the focus”

“Right Hear that, guys? We now have perirls Don’t hold back”

“Oh? Flattery will get you nowhere, Larry”

“What’re you talking about, Lia? I’ photos of the motorcycle”

“Honest, huh I like that As a reward, I will personally strangle you from behind while we’re on the motorcycle”

“With a cause of death that stupid, we’d make headlines in all of Roxche”

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