Some time had passed after Shido and I stepped out of the men’s bath, and the girls finally began to emerge as well.
“That was really refreshing, wasn’t it?”
“Just like Rinne said. It was great!”
“What? When did you get out?”
“When? About ten minutes ago.”
That was right around the time I heard Rinne’s “nya~.”
“Then let’s head to the place Tonomachi told us about.”
“Hm? What about our toiletries?”
Didn’t we bring those with us?
“Oh, those? We can just grab them when we come back later. The owner said it was fine.”
“...Genius?”
Turns out Shido was smarter than I expected.
If this had been any other bathhouse, it might not have worked, but this one was unusual. There were no other customers, and we already had the owner’s permission.
After following Shido and climbing the mountain for a while, we finally reached the spot Tonomachi had mentioned.
However, our group ended up consisting of only six people: me, Shido, the commander, Yoshino, Origami, and Rinne. Well, if you included Yoshinon, that made seven, but Tonomachi still hadn't shown up.
“Hah, this really won’t do. I should plaster the school with Tonomachi x Itsuka or Itsuka x Tonomachi manga.”
Anyway, the place Tonomachi had described had a strange atmosphere. The drone of insects, combined with the fact that we were deep in the dark mountains, made it feel as if something could jump out at any second.
“What kind of idiot invites us and then doesn’t even show up?!”
Once Shido realized Tonomachi wasn’t there, he exploded.
“B-big brother... let’s go back now...”
The commander had already switched to her white-ribbon persona at some point. Judging by her reaction, she wasn’t exactly immune to this kind of atmosphere. In moments like this, she really was just a child.
“Oho~? Could it be that Kotori is scared~? Of a little bit of atmosphere~? Wow~ wow~! Where did that super-tough Kotori go~?”
“Ughhh... I’m not scared!”
When I teased her, the commander narrowed her eyes and shouted back. But despite her words, her breathing was a little unsteady.
She claims she isn’t scared, but her body is being awfully honest.
“Yeah, Kotori’s been like that since she was little. If you told a scary story, she’d bolt right then and there. There was even a time she couldn’t go to the bathroom alone at night.”
“I-I’m not a kid anymore...”
At Shido’s nostalgic remark, tears began to spill from the commander’s eyes, one drop at a time.
“A-alright, Kotori! Don’t cry! We’re just going to leave the offering and head right back, so let’s wait for Tonomachi a little longer! Okay?”
Shido did his best to calm her down.
“Shido, you shouldn’t tease Kotori so much.”
Rinne gave Shido a light scolding. She then soothed the commander, telling her it was fine because everyone was together.
Hearing that, the commander wiped away the welling tears and said she’d do her best, but honestly, something felt off. Where had the commander I knew gone?
“Shido. I’m scaaared too.”
“W-wait! Origami?!”
Seeing Shido comforting the commander, Origami announced she was scared too and wrapped her arms around him. The problem was...
She was touching him.
Her chest was pressed firmly against Shido’s arm. That in itself wasn't the issue, but it caused his face to turn bright red.
“T-Tobiichi Origami! What in the world are you doing! Get away from Shido this instant!”
“Impossible. I’m too scared to move. Therefore, staying like this is only natural.”
With that, Origami pressed even closer to Shido. Tohka then puffed out her cheeks for a moment before declaring she was scared too, linking arms with Shido on his other side.
“S-Shido... I’m scared too!”
“T-Tohka?! Why are you doing this too?!”
The two of them began clinging to Shido even harder, as if they were competing. How were those two still fighting even in a place like this?
“Um, Shido...”
“Hm? What is it?”
“While we’re waiting for Tonomachi-kun, how about we show everyone the offerings we prepared?”
Rinne seemed bored while waiting, so she made the suggestion. Shido and Tohka praised it as a good idea, and Tohka was the first to reveal her offering.
“Mm! This is what I picked!”
Tohka rummaged through her bag and held something up.
“T-Tohka? What is that?”
“A kebab sandwich I bought in the shopping district! Even when it gets cold, the juices still run from the meat, so it tastes great!”
She had brought a kebab sandwich. It was the first time I’d ever seen food like that.
“Wow, that looks delicious... maybe I should try it next time too?”
“Yes, Rinne will definitely like it! As for where the shop is, you can find it by following the smell of meat and spices!”
Normally, wouldn’t you remember the shop’s name or the general area? Why was she tracking it by scent? I couldn’t help but wonder if Tohka had been a dog in a previous life.
“Hey, Hieta. You’re drooling.”
“Huh? Ah, s-sorry.”
While I was lost in thought, I had unconsciously started drooling at the kebab sandwich Tohka had produced. It just looked way too delicious.
“So what did Rinne bring? It looks pretty heavy.”
At Shido’s question, Rinne pulled a large, round object out of the plastic bag she’d been carrying.
“Well... I couldn’t think of anything in the end. But I figured food would probably be a safe bet...”
“A watermelon?”
Rinne had brought a watermelon. It seemed a bit early in the season for one, but I thought it was still a good choice. Watermelons are delicious.
“Ah, was that not okay?”
“I don’t think it matters much. It’s a fun choice, right? Besides, does anyone here even know what Tengushi eats? We can only bring something that seems appropriate.”
“That’s true.”
Rinne nodded at Shido’s explanation. It was true that Tengushi was a story Tonomachi had made up, so there was likely no one here who actually knew its tastes—unless Tonomachi himself had invented them.
“Next is... Origami? What did you bring?”
“White lilies. For an offering.”
Origami had prepared white lilies. That was suspicious. There had to be some hidden meaning; there was no way she’d prepare something like that for no reason.
“Love?”
I was pretty sure the flower's meaning had something to do with love. If that was her aim, she was seriously impressive. But this was Japan, so perhaps the flower meanings differed from those in Korea?
“Hm? Why love all of a sudden?”
“Ah, in Korea, white lilies symbolize pure love, clean love, and things like that.”
At my words, Origami’s eyes sparkled. It was as if she were thinking, Oh? So it has that kind of meaning too? Useful.
“Then next is Yoshino.”
“I-I brought... this...”
“Hm? A cow doll?”
Yoshino produced a cow doll. More specifically, it was a hand puppet with a hole underneath, just like Yoshinon.
“It’s a puppet too?”
“I got it from Miss Reine a while back! She said it’d be nice if I had one more friend!”
“So it was a gift from Murasame-san.”
“Y-yes... B-but even if I talk to it a lot, I c-can’t really h-have a conversation...”
That was only natural, since Yoshinon and my Hikinon were the weird ones.
“So I thought maybe, since they’re both cows today, they could get along!”
“...If it’s alone, it’ll be lonely.”
I patted Yoshino on the head, touched by her thoughtful idea.
“That seems like a really good choice. I hope Yoshino’s feelings reach Tengushi.”
“Y-yes...”
Yoshino’s face seemed to turn a little red, but that was probably just my imagination. Yeah. It had to be because of what we heard in the bathhouse earlier.
“What did Kotori bring?”
“Mm? Big brother, what about you?”
When the commander asked back, Shido revealed his own offering.
“Mine is this. Shortcake. I bought it in the shopping district too.”
Shido’s offering was shortcake. The shop that sold that cake was incredibly popular with children and women. I should probably buy one for Yoshino sometime.
“Then, Kotori?”
“So... my trump card is this~!”
What the commander proudly pulled out was...
“A lollipop?”
Just a lollipop. Compared to the others, it looked pathetic—and it was something she ate all the time anyway.
“Isn’t that something you always eat?!”
“Ahahaha! Big brother, your eyes are useless!”
“What does that even mean?”
“Look! It’s a limited regional edition, so~ it’s different from the ones I usually eat~”
What exactly was the difference?
“And last is Hieta’s turn?”
At long last, it was my turn. I took my prepared offering out of the bag.
“I brought this.”
“What is it?”
“My special pineapple pizza.”
I didn’t know about the rest, but Tengushi was a cow, right? In that case, I figured it’d be better to give it something that wasn’t meat, so I made this. Apparently, it tastes surprisingly good too.
“Ugh... why would anyone eat that kind of thing...”
“Silence! Kotori! This is a perfect food! Do not insult pineapple pizza!”
“Wah! What is wrong with him?!”
“Calm down! Why are you having a seizure all of a sudden?!”
“LET GO! Kotori just insulted pineapple pizza! What?! She said pineapple pizza looks like garbage?! What?! She’d rather bite her tongue and die than eat it?!”
“I didn’t say it was that bad!”
“Tohka! Calm him down!”
“Understood!”
With a thud, a shock slammed into my solar plexus.
“Guhhh... I got a little carried away.”
“H-he’s back!”
“...Shido. Is Hieta always like that?”
Rinne asked Shido with a slightly wary look on her face.
Hearing the question, Shido put on a troubled smile and answered quietly, “Well... sometimes?”
Too harsh?!
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