Vol 1 Chapter 15 (2/2)

[At least call it character.]

Homura would have really liked to see the small-statured Kamikoma-senpai dominating the male club members. She would probably get the chance at some point, when Seiran and Hiyos.h.i.+zaka’s respective Exploration Clubs went on an expedition together.

“Umm, Koma-senpai…”

[Hmm? Ah, sorry. You’re going to bed now?]

“No, not that…”

The memory of that human figure in the forest flashed through Homura’s mind. But asking about it would be… Would asking for sympathy and consolation about something only she’d seen solve anything? And Kamikoma-senpai had also told her not to lightly talk about it either.

Thus, what reflexively came out of Homura’s mouth was the name of her cla.s.smate.

“…Umm, it’s about Kujou-san.”

[Yeah, what about Orie? Is she doing well?]

“Kujou-san is doing things at her own pace as always. The truth is, it’s more about me, err… I’d like to get along with her more, you know?”

[Hmm?]

“I get to go through a various experiences and have fun every day in the Exploration Club, but as I thought, I want to prioritize my life as a female high school student, like a normal girl…”

[You just said something I can’t overlook there, but… so what, you want a chance to get closer to Orie?]

“Yes. So, if possible, could you maybe tell me more about your past with Kujou-san—”

[What do you like about Orie?]

Kamikoma suddenly asked her that.

“…She’s cute?”

[There are lots of cute girls out there. And Orie is, as you can see, unsociable, so that cancels it out, doesn’t it?]

“…She’s good with the violin…”

[That isn’t limited to her alone either. Do you like violinists, Homura? Or do you want to learn the violin?]

“That’s… not it. Like I thought, do Kujou-san and I not fit each other…?”

[……]

After taking a little while to think, Kamikoma said this.

[I think it’s pointless getting some kind of advice from me to get along better with Orie. Orie’s intuition is quite sharp, so she’ll immediately notice something like that. If she knew that I thought something like ‘She seems so pitiful without friends’, she’d break off her relations.h.i.+p with me this time.]

“I see… Yeah, you’re right. Sorry for asking.”

Leaning back against the bed, Homura hung her head shamefully.

But suddenly, a kind-sounding sigh came through the terminal’s speaker.

[But, you know, I’d be really happy if you and Orie became friends.]

Kamikoma-senpai at the music club.

The golden saxophone.

The flame-like red violin.

Kujou Orie’s black, jewel-like dress.

The link of the four-beat rhythm that wrapped the stage in a deep timbre.

[Sorry, I spoke too harshly before. I also like Orie as she plays the violin. Homura, if you ever realize what about that girl you truly like, please tell it to her straight up.]

When Homura went downstairs, she found her mother preparing boxed lunches in the kitchen.

This was an unexpected sight, considering how her mother was usually early to bed.

Counting the prepared boxed lunches on the kitchen countertop while taking out some milk from the fridge, Homura tilted her head in puzzlement.

“Huh? Mom, tomorrow’s boxed lunch…”

Homura shouldn’t actually need one for tomorrow, but there were three portions for her father, Tsuyu and herself there.

There were only morning lessons tomorrow.

The plan was to transport as soon as lessons ended. She was told that it was much preferable to have a light meal before transporting. Well, as long as she didn’t turn queasy with transport sickness like Touya, she would probably be fine.

“This is a good luck charm from Narita-san temple.”

After having gotten her gla.s.s of milk, Homura went over to the dining table and found a good luck charm for safe travels abroad there.

“I heard that you’re going on your first expedition tomorrow, Homura-chan. So I went to visit the temple and prayed a hundred times.”

“A hundred times!? Really?”

Homura’s mother made a slightly proud-looking pose in her ap.r.o.n.

“That’s right. I prayed a hundred times. It’s surprisingly simple.”

Homura’s mother reproduced the original prayer of clapping her hands together and entreating the G.o.ds repeatedly right where she stood. That might have been slightly different from how the proper way of praying a hundred times was supposed to be done traditionally…

And sorry, Mom. This isn’t actually my first expedition.

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Yes, you’re welcome. Tsuyu-chan went along with me. She was in charge of offering the hundred yen coins.”

Homura could just imagine the two of them standing side by side in front of the offertory box, her mother praying zealously while Tsuyu kept throwing in hundred yen coins with a bored expression.

“Ahaha, thanks for your hard efforts. I’ll have to thank Tsuyu later as well.”

“I really thought about giving you a ceremonial arrow or bamboo rake, but Tsuyu said you can’t bring those kinds of things with you. So please make do with just a boxed lunch and good luck charm.”

“No, no, it’s quite rea.s.suring.”

The good luck charm she placed on her palm was the standard synthetic charm that you could find anywhere, but Homura could feel some faint warmth from it.

“Dad… still gets displeased when we bring up the Exploration Club, doesn’t he?”

“That’s true. I also worry about you returning late, though.”

Taking a rest from the food preparation, her mother also came over to the dining table.

“But your father did praise Touya-kun. He said that you found a reliable boy this time. Out of the boys you’ve brought home before, he might be the first one your father’s ever praised.”

Homura couldn’t help smiling wryly.

“Well, it’s true that he seems to be popular with adults… His behavior is just like a Bubble-era salaryman that Dad talks about a lot. By contrast, Tsuyu seems to hate him, though…”

“It’d be nice if Touya-kun came every morning. I’d even make him breakfast, you know?”

“No way, no way, Tsuyu would never allow it.”

Their early morning running sessions were continuing even now as part of Homura’s daily routine. Miraculously so!

Had Homura ever continued a single thing for more than three days? And voluntarily at that. No, she hadn’t. It was only natural that her father would look at her so differently as a result.

In any case, after Homura got properly used to it, Touya stopped visiting the Hinooka household every morning.

Frankly, she wanted to laze off on days when there were no supervising eyes to watch her, to the point where Homura had thought,Yeah, let’s just skip today, I’m going to skip, wahaha, and let her guard down by actually doing it, but Touya made sure to come check up on her once every week.

Even though she’d only skipped one day, she’d been seen through after running for only a minute the next day Touya came to check, and her training menu had been increased further as a result. She really had no way of escape anymore.

“Your father also said he might consider running with you as well.”

“I don’t think I’d like that…”

If that happened on top of everything else, then she really would be no match for Touya, who regularly came to look over her studies in the library after school. She’d kept getting indebted to him ever since joining the club.

When she asked, out of unjustified anger, “You probably play around all the time, right?”, he made a curious expression and answered, “Is there anything more fun than the Exploration Club’s activities?”

So she thought about at least treating him to breakfast.

If she were a normal girl in this situation, she would probably do a special service like giving him a handmade boxed lunch, but she had learned the error of that the hard way during the s.h.i.+nryoku Festival. And she was already giving everything she had in her club activities, studies and early morning running. It was a full course of non-stop work.

She was going to turn to ashes at this rate. That was something that Homura herself understood.

Just how long would this intense lifestyle continue? She felt like that kind of formless worry was gradually raising the water level of her heart drop by drop.

What would happen when it overflowed? That was something that even Homura couldn’t imagine.

“—You can stop if you want, you know.”

Homura’s mother murmured that, as if she had seen through Homura’s thoughts.

Homura, who had begun unconsciously hanging her head, raised it quietly to look at her mother.

In front of her was her mother’s usual gentle smile.

“……”

“Sorry. That wasn’t really much of an encouragement. But even I’ve had times where everything was suffocating to me and I ran away, you know?”

Looking at Homura, her mother continued speaking.

“However, make sure you at least treasure your friends. The number of people you meet in your life is already settled, after all.”

Anxiously, Homura stared at her mother’s fingertips.

“I think family is more important, personally. I don’t want to worry you all.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Don’t fret over us.”

Despite those refres.h.i.+ng words, Homura became slightly dejected.

“Mom, you don’t think this family is important?”

“Me?”

Nonchalantly tilting her head, her mother smiled.

“What I treasure most are, of course, you, Tsuyu-chan and Masafumi-san… but I wouldn’t choose family over everything else.”

“Eeh?”

“Friends can be replaced, you know?”

“Eeeeh? Didn’t you just tell me to treasure them?”

“That’s exactly why.”

Holding up each of her hand’s index fingers in turn, her mother continued.

“Good friends and bad friends—beneficial friends and harmful friends. When you start differentiating and grading them like that, you’ll end up having no one close to you eventually. That’s a very sad thing.”

“……”

Seeming to be reminded of something, Homura listlessly lowered her head.

“But… treating everyone equally and the same way… that’s absolutely impossible.”

“Yeah. I won’t tell you to do that. There probably isn’t anyone who can perfectly interact and socialize with others. You just have to do what you can. But—”

If you opened the door with your own strength.

If you walked somewhere you’ve never known before.

“Homura-chan, if you find someone you want to be friends with and be together with from the bottom of your heart… Would you give that person special treatment and treasure them? Going to many places and meeting various people is a very wonderful thing.”

“……”

That wish was hidden at the core of her mother’s feelings as she supported Homura’s attempts.

Though, Homura believed that, if the time ever came when she clearly felt that way, it would probably be something like destiny, and with someone she could call her lover.

“It’s all right. You can stop if you want.”

Her mother, as always, spoke frankly and nonchalantly.

“There’s no such thing as something you can’t do over again, after all.”

“…Yeah.”

Chapter 15 END

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