Vol 1 Chapter 4 (1/2)
4 - The Descendants of the Eventful Classics Club
It was on a Sunday that I was invited out by Chitanda She said she wanted to see e where toat the ”Cafe Pineapple Sandwich” The coffee shop, which serves the sourest seasoned Kilimanjaro coffee I've ever knoas decorated in a so board outside was quite hard to miss
This coffee shop was quiet as there was no radio or TV being broadcast Though it was indeed a pleasant environ place to wait for someone There were only a few ety about Chitanda not yet arriving as I stared at my cup of coffee within the compartmentalized table I was seated at
Finally, Chitanda arrived, and according to ht on time at half past one It's quite a small coffee shop, so she quickly found me Dressed in a ot herself seated One could say there's no other person more well-dressed than this casually dressed Chitanda
”Sorry for calling you out on such short notice”
”It's fine,” I replied as I emptied my cup of coffee, and then called for the waiter Chitanda had a look at the menu and said, ”I'll have a Vienna Cocoa, please”
She decided on soh school student, I wasn't wealthy enough to make another order myself
Before getting to the enda, we had some small talk, which started with Chitanda's favourable impression with this coffee shop I then commented on how a person like her who doesn't order coffee in a coffee shop was like a person who visits Ueno Zoo but doesn't go to see the giant pandas As Chitanda began listing many examples of coffee which eak in caffeine, her Vienna Cocoa had arrived I was startled to see the amount of cream on her cup Seems like she has a sweet tooth
Chitanda began to use the spoon to stir in the crea herself while she was at it At this rate, she'll just be drinking her coffee and engaging in s half serious and half fearful about that happening, I decided to get the ball rolling
”So, what do you want?”
”Huh?”
Is this the attitude you should have for asking people to take time out of their holy weekends?
”What is it that you asked me out for?”
Silently sipping her coffee and”That was delicious”, Chitanda tilted her head and said, ”Well, it was you who chose to meet at this place”
”That's it, I' home”
”Ah! Please wait!”
Placing her spoon and cup down, Chitanda quickly sat upright and said, ”I'm sorry I, I was a bit nervous”
Though she looked as though she was calin with It would see out whenever she's nervous So I decided to tease her by asking, ”Nervous? You have so to confess to me?”
Upon saying that, I quickly noticed that such a generic joke had a subtle effect on her
”No, I”
As though trying to conceal her embarrassment, she looked hesitant as she slowly nodded
I started to panic, and quickly called for the waiter
” I'd like another coffee, please”
Notmy reaction, Chitanda silently spoke
”While it ht be a confession, it's more of a request I have for you In truth this is my problem alone, so I don't know if I'm justified to make such a request So, would you please hear my story first?”
Chitanda was no longer staring at her cup of cocoa Is that so Though I'ood with such solemnness, I replied, ”Okay, let's hear it”
”Thank you”
And so, after taking a gulp, Chitanda began to slowly speak
” I have an uncle, he was my mother's older brother His nae to Malaysia, but he has been o
”When I was young no, I'o, I was quite attached to my uncle From what I can remember, he could answer any question that I could ask hi to s he toldthat he didn't know of”
”Sounds like an a fellow”
”He was knowledgeable and eloquent, though I don't know if that's still true now”
I sly, ”Well, at least you knehen he was still around I have two to three unclesa request of o to Malaysia to search for him, are you?”
”No My uncle was last seen in the Bengali region, umm, in India, that is What I wanted to request from Oreki-san is to help me remember what it was that my uncle said to me”
Chitanda finished her sentence upon saying that, which seemed appropriate, as I had no idea what she had just said She's asking me to help her remember what her uncle told her?
” That's too ridiculous”
”I' to my uncle come from my childhood, so I can't exactly remember the impression in my mind I really want to recall that moment”
As her lips were getting dry, Chitanda took a sip of her cocoa She then continued in a lower voluarten For so about a 'classics club' I always thought this 'jurassics club' had so to do with dinosaurs, so I became interested in this 'classics club' of his[1]”
”Jurassics Club”, ”Classics Club”, it was a silly pun, though kids that age usually pronounce things wrong Maybe that's why This must be when Chitanda Eru, the incarnation of Curiosity itself, was born
”I heard many stories about my uncle's 'classics club' Then one day, I went looking forthe 'classics club' Normally he would answer me as usual, but on that day, he see his hands with this regretful look, and when he finally cal his answer, I”
”What happened?”
” I cried Whether it was so fearful or sad, I cried out loud Myon, and that's all I could re I can recall is that my uncle didn't come to console me like he normally would”
”You were shocked?”
”Yes, a bit, I believe I've remembered that day all this tian to be bothered by that event Why did retful? Why did he not console me?Oreki-san, what do you think?”
Upon being asked, I started thinking Why would a person ould so patiently answer every single question asked by a young kid leave her crying by herself at that moment?
I quickly figured out the reason, and explained with as much co he could not take back He didn't want to lie to a kid, and probably wanted you to know that what he said was true”
Chitanda gasped and smiled
”Yes, that's what I thought of as well”
She said while looking straight at onna come?
”Upon realizing that, I began to wonder in earnest just what it was that he had told s into action, first by atte to reenact the environment of that day I sneaked into the residence of the Sekitanis, e have becoed with”
She's definitely the sort that would go to all lengths in order to get things done
”I see So that's what you meant by 'personal reasons' when you said why you joined the Classics Club”
Chitanda nodded
”Yes I wasn't aware that the Classics Club was nearly abolished until recently I kneasn't easy, but I didn't expect that there would be no one left behind ould know the truth I considered asking the teachers, but the teachers ere around when er at the school”