THIS IS A FAN TRANSLATION, THOUGH THE WEBSITE NAME...HAS MTL IN IT...

First shrine visit of the New Year

TL: Furby

The New Year came, and it was now January 3rd.

I was already getting tired of looking at my parent’s faces and watching TV at home.

But even then, shutting myself in my room and playing video games the whole time was boring, too.

With things like that, I ultimately decided to go on my first shrine visit of the New Year with Ishida, exactly the same as last year.

> (Ishida) Where’re we going for this year’s first shrine visit?

I had received that SNS message incredibly soon, on New Year’s Day. He must have been bored, too.

> (Yuu) Last year we went to Meiji Shrine to pray so that we passed our exams, right?

> (Ishida) That one sure was incredibly crowded. It really wore me out.

> (Yuu) Yeah, no kidding. Going all the way out to Tōkyō only to have to face that crowd is just too much.

> (Ishida) And to top it off, there were many couples in there, too. Wouldn’t that be a tad trying for you, Yuu? Having broken up with your girlfriend only a few days ago? LOL

(This guy! What’s with the ‘LOL’?)

I smiled wryly as I had that thought run across my mind.

> (Yuu) Aren’t you the same in not having a girlfriend and feeling lonely?! Whatever. Want to go to another place?

Certainly, with my current mental state, being surrounded by couples being all lovey-dovey didn’t sound amusing in the least.

> (Ishida) For example?

> (Yuu) How about the Sengen Shrine in Inage or the Funabashi Daijingū?
{TL Note: Sengen Shrine is also called the Asama Shrine, while Funabashi Daijingū is also known as Ōhi Shrine. I’m using the names used in the novel. A bit of extra info about Asama Shrine, it is actually a generic name used to denote MANY shrines [over 1000] that are dedicated to Konohanasakuya-Hime.}

> (Ishida) If it’s too close to here, we might run into some guys from high school or middle school. And I’m not too keen on that. On that note, too, my parents are going to Sengen Shrine. A different place would be better.

> (Yuu) You’re such a petty guy. Then you tell me where’s fine.

> (Ishida) How’s Narita-san sound? It’s reasonably separated from our houses and it shouldn’t so crowded as Meiji Shrine.
{TL Note: Narita-san is probably referring to Narita-san Shinshō-Ji, a temple in Narita.}

Hmmm, Narita-san should be considerably crowded, too, though.

Perhaps he took my not immediately replying as a tacit rejection, but Ishida sent yet another message to me.

> (Ishida) If there aren’t too many people, don’t you think it’d instead lack that feeling of the first shrine visit of the New Year? What’s more, there are many long-established eel restaurants in the vicinity of Narita-san. I’ve long thought that I wanted to go eat there at least once.

> (Yuu) Fine, I got it. Narita-san it is. When are we going?

> (Ishida) How about the 3rd? We could meet up at Keisei Makuhari Station at 11 am, maybe? The parking lots over at Narita-san during New Year are apparently full, meaning there won’t be any place to park a car. That’s why we should go by train.

> (Yuu) Okay. Well then, see you the day after tomorrow.

That was how it was decided that we would go this year, too, on our first shrine visit, the two of us alone. 

The temperature still somewhat chilly, I was waiting in front of Keisei Makuhari Station at 11 am.

This was because, if we departed from Makuhari, rather than using the Japan Railways, it was faster for us to go to Narita by taking the Keisei Line in the direction of Tsudanuma.

Ishida hadn’t arrived yet.

In my surroundings, there were, as one would expect, many girls who were specially dressed up, perhaps because they would go on their first shrine visits of the New Year, too.

Among them were even some who were wearing kimonos.

… Touko-senpai’s in Hawaii right about now, huh…

I began to let my mind idle around with those thoughts.

… We’re both fellow lonely people who don’t have a partner, after all. Call me later, Isshiki-kun…

Those words of Touko-senpai which I was made to remember time and again during these winter vacations.

D-day… That night of Christmas Eve, Touko-senpai answered me like that when I told her I wanted to keep meeting to talk now and then.

Nevertheless, ever after the night of the 24th, we hadn’t met even once.

… I wonder how Touko-senpai looks when she’s wearing a swimsuit. I’ll bet it’s an amazing sight…

Unconsciously, I imagined Touko-senpai, clad in a bikini as she stood with an everlasting summer beach to her back.

That figure of hers, which you could very well call perfect, with droplets of seawater falling from her having only gotten out of the ocean; her black hair fluttering in the breeze of Hawaii…

There was no mistake that every single man who happened to catch sight of her would feel compelled to try and start a conversation with her.

My fantasy continued even beyond that.

A blond foreigner man who saw Touko-senpai began a conversation with her.

Taken in by the sense of freedom and atmosphere of the resort, Touko-senpai answered back to him in a cheerful mood, too.

To this, the blond foreigner man gets carried away and, in an over-familiar action, puts his arm around Touko-senpai…

… No, no, no! There’s no way that, of all girls, Touko-senpai would let herself get dragged along by the advances of some philandering foreigner!...

“Sorry, Yuu. I made you wait for a bit.”

That exceedingly loud voice, which paid no heed to everyone in the vicinity, brought me back to my senses.

I knew it was Ishida without needing to turn around to confirm it.

“No problem. It’s not like I waited for you for so lo—.”

I abruptly cut short my reply at that moment.

As for why, it was because a girl was standing behind Ishida.

She didn’t stand out per se, but she was still a lovely enough girl to grab someone’s attention.

Perhaps noticing that I was looking at her, Ishida turned around to his back and explained.

“You see, today, our parents told us they’d be going to Inage’s Sengen Shrine with some acquaintances from their hometown for their first shrine visit of the New Year. I thought that leaving my little sister alone in the house like that was a bit too cruel, so I asked her if she wanted to come with us. And when I did, she answered, ‘I’ll go’, so I brought her along.”

Indeed, standing behind Ishida was none other than Meika-chan, his younger sister.

She was two years behind us in school, which means she’s a sophomore in high school right now.

The high school she was attending was, unlike the one the two of us graduated from, a private institution, the Ichikawa Institute for women.

I guess her height was a little lower than your average high school girl’s.

Meika-chan may look like the quiet, gentle type of girl, but I was told that in reality, she was a lively girl who actively participated in the track and field club.

Ishida said that she had a very hard-to-deal-with attitude, but when she had been in front of me, she had always been a sweet and lovely girl.

Every time I saw her, I, who didn’t have any siblings, would always think that she was the ideal younger sister.

“Happy New Year, Yuu-san.”

She bowed her head to me, looking slightly bashful as she did.

“Happy New Year.”

I returned her New Year’s greeting and looked at her once again.

Meika-chan. How long had it been since I saw her in person like this? Maybe one year?

If I remember correctly, it was right after we had passed our university entrance exams that Ishida invited me to go eat lunch together, and Meika-chan came along with us, too.

I hadn’t seen her face to face like this since then, but I have to say, she sure had gotten a lot cuter during that year.

From a long way back, she had had a cute face, unlike Ishida’s rough-looking one, but now it was as if a touch of womanliness had been added to it.

“Sorry ‘bout not telling you before now.”

For some reason, Ishida had an awkward face after looking at my expression.

“No, I don’t mind, really. And it’s not like this is my first time meeting Meika-chan, either.”

Did I have such a displeased look on my face just now?

It wasn’t my intention to make such a face, though.

It would make me feel bad if I made Meika-chan get too conscious over it, so I spoke to her with a smile.

“It’s been some time since we last met, right, Meika-chan? About one year if I’m not wrong, no?”

“Yes! The last time we met was February of the last year, so it really has been a long time. Thank you for letting me be here with you today.”

She seemed to be a bit embarrassed, but perhaps it was because it had been one year since we last met.

She had looked a tad bashful when she had answered me.

“I look forward to having you here, too, yeah?”

After I answered that, Ishida showed an expression of relief before cheerfully speaking to us.

“Ok! Then how about we get going to Narita-san for our first shrine visit of the New Year!”

The train from the Keisei Line was so packed full that you could call it damnable.

It had been a long time since I rode on a train this crowded.

“I guess I should’ve known that going by car would’ve been better.”

I could hear that whisper from Ishida.

“Going by car would’ve been a problem because of the congestion of the roads, man. And didn’t you say that all the parking lots were full already?”

“Yeah, right.”

I turned to look at Meika-chan.

“Meika-chan, are you okay? You’re not too uncomfortable?”

I was worried that Meika-chan, who was not very tall, would get crushed by the crowd inside this congested train and find it difficult to breathe.

“I’m fine. I’m already used to it from commuting to school and such.”

Meika-chan smiled as she answered.

“Be sure to tell me if it gets difficult for you to breathe, OK? It’s not like we’re in any hurry, so we can get off midway and take a break.”

After I said that, Meika-chan replied in a low voice with a ‘Thank you very much’.

Was something wrong with her? Meika-chan didn’t seem to be very cheerful today.

No, ‘cheerful’ may not have been the best choice of words. I mean, she did have a bright smile on her when we met at the station.

Although, according to my memories, back in her middle school days, she was a more animated girl.

Today, though, she was kind of fidgety or something which gave me a different feeling from her.

… Well, Meika-chan is a high school girl now, too. I suppose it’s only natural that she’s different from before.

We arrived at Keisei Narita Station.

Finally, we were freed from that throng of people…

It was but for a moment that I thought like that since the road leading to Narita-san was also jammed with people. 

And along the road leading to the shrine were many people making a line.

“Wow… These many people are lined up already?!”

Laughing, I replied to Ishida who had said that.

“Even so, this is still better than the one we saw over at Meiji Shrine last year. I mean, you can still walk along the road.”

“You’re right about that. Still, waiting in line, without moving, in this cold weather is not what I would’ve liked.”

I directed my gaze to Meika-chan.

“How’re you doing, Meika-chan? You’re not cold?”

She looked up at me when I asked her, which led to our eyes meeting from a close distance.

She then averted her eyes in a fluster and answered in a low voice like before with a simple ‘I’m fine’.

People were crowding in front of the main temple gate like ants swarm to candy.

The multitude of people that had gathered there were lining up in a single line and passing through the temple’s main gate like a giant centipede. 

There were souvenir shops lined up on both sides as soon as you passed the gate.

After you passed that area, you had to cross an arched bridge that stretched over a pond, and beyond it, you had to climb a steep stone stairway.

The main temple of Narita-san was atop a small hill, and the road leading to it was not only narrow, but its steps were also considerably steep.

“Ah!”

Meika-chan gave a small yell while we were in going up the stone stairs. Her body was falling back.

I hurriedly extended my hand to her.

She grabbed my arm reflexively in response.

I wonder if she had been pushed by the people passing around or if she accidentally stepped on the hem of her coat.

“Th, thank you.”

Meika-chan cast her gaze downward bashfully.

“Don’t mention it. This place is very crowded, on top of the stairs being quite steep, so it’s completely understandable.”

I looked up the stairs after I spoke.

Ishida! The nerve of that guy to have already gone up the hill at full speed by himself!

… That nitwit… He abandoned his own little sister…

I was slightly angered by that. Wasn’t an older brother supposed to be someone who worried a bit more for their younger sister?

At the same time that I was thinking of that, the line of people behind us continued moving forward non-stop, putting pressure on us.

“This place is dangerous, so make sure you grab my arm and don’t let go of it.”

As soon as I said that, Meika-chan replied with a ‘yes’ and proceeded to grab firmly onto my arm and stooped down close to me.

That action of hers was cute. For a moment, I felt like I was an older brother, too.

“Watch your step, OK?”

After saying that, I started to go up the stone stairway with Meika-chan latched onto my arm.

We arrived at the top of the main temple at last.

There was gravel laid out on both sides of the road, with a three-storied pagoda to the right. The main temple was straight ahead.

This place was considerably spacious for the temple, but as you could imagine, it was all one big sea of people. 

I looked around the area, but I couldn’t see Ishida anywhere.

I stood on my tiptoes and stretched to see further ahead and searched for him. But even then, I couldn’t catch sight of Ishida.

That guy, just where did he go?

“Don’t just stand there in the middle of the place! Move it already!”

An elderly man who was behind me was the one who spoke gruffly before lightly pushing my back.

Nothing we could do, then.

“Meika-chan, for now, let’s go offer our prayers and then look for Ishida from outside of this mass of people. Make sure you don’t get separated from me.”

As soon as I said that, Meika-chan grabbed my arm with more strength than she had been doing so up to now.

We went along with the flow of the crowd until we were before the main temple. 

However, we couldn’t go all the way to the offertory box. People were making a myriad of lines in front of the giant offertory box, and it felt like we would be pushed to one of the exits on the sides before we could reach it.

Since it couldn’t be helped, we made our offering by stretching our arms over the person in front of us.

We then put our palms together and prayed.

… I pray that things between Touko-senpai and me will advance smoothly this year…

I did feel like it was a bit insolent on my part to choose that as my prayer for my very first visit to a shrine in the year, but that was the most important wish for me at the moment.

Looking to my side, I saw that Meika-chan had linked her arm with mine and was praying together with me.

I’ll bet that we must’ve looked like a couple of lovers to an outsider.

… Seeing how not only was there a large number of people praying here, but I was also together like this with Meika-chan, my prayer about my relationship with Touko-senpai may not be answered at all…

Though I did have that thought weigh on me, it was still unacceptable for me to break free from her in the middle of this crowd.

I didn’t know what Meika-chan was praying for, but she stood for a very long time with her palms together in prayer.

There was a promenade that extended from where Narita-san’s main temple was, crossed the Narita-san Park which was behind it, and went around the Great Pagoda of Peace. 

Many people were heading over there, too.

Nonetheless, in the middle of this cold weather, I just couldn’t get myself in the mood to go for a walk in the park.

And because Meika-chan was together with me, it would be dangerous if we ran into some drunkard or some other weird guy out there.

… Be that as it may, Ishida, man, just where did you go?...

I looked around the place. There were many people around, so I couldn’t be certain, but as far as I could see, there was not a person who looked like Ishida.

(This isn’t like him…)

I thought to myself.

Ishida had an insensitive side to him, but he wasn’t someone who would be together with another person and then abandon them and go around doing as he pleased.

Maybe he lost sight of us and went downhill back to the main temple gate before us?

Narita-san had two routes, one to each side, which led from the main temple to the main temple gate.

It was a mystery which of the two Ishida went down through, but because there was only one main temple gate, it should be easier to find him once we were below.

“Meika-chan, it’s very difficult to find Ishida here with all these many people. Let’s go down to the main temple gate and wait for Ishida in front of it.”

Meika-chan nodded silently.

I took out my smartphone and sent Ishida a message, telling him that we would be waiting for him near the souvenir shops that were in front of the main temple gate below.

We left by taking the road to the left side when seen from the main temple, passed the Three-story Pagoda before crossing the narrow flight of stone stairs that were next to the Buddhist Temple, and continued going down until we were before the souvenir shops located in front of the main temple gate. 

I looked at my phone, but my message lacked the mark indicating it had been read already.

“Ishida hasn’t contacted you either, Meika-chan?”

Meika-chan then took out her phone before replying with a simple, ‘He hasn’t’.

Meika-chan and I stood in silence in the middle of the various souvenir shops which were lined up.

When I casually turned my line of sight to Meika-chan, she averted her eyes in a fluster.

I wondered if something was wrong with her since Meika-chan really was acting a bit weird today.

I got the impression she wanted to say something to me.

Whatever the case, today sure was cold. It was so chilly that you couldn’t stay put in place from the cold.

Unintentionally, I started to move my body around without noticing.

In doing so, I incidentally saw a poster in one of the souvenir shops nearby which read, ‘We have Amazake’.
{TL Note: Amazake, 甘酒, is sake made from rice which can be low or non-alcoholic.}

“Meika-chan, since it’s cold out here, want to drink some Amazake?”

Meika-chan looked at me with a confused expression.

“I don’t think the Amazake they’re selling has alcohol in it, so there wouldn’t be any problems if we were to drink it.”

I went to the souvenir shop after telling her that and ordered 2 Amazake.

The lady from the shop used a ladle to pour the Amazake from the hot pot into the two paper cups.

I took the two cups of Amazake with both my hands and gave one to Meika-chan.

“Thank you.”

Having said that, she took the cup with both her hands and then blew on it a few times before taking it to her lips.

The fair-skinned Meika-chan had her cheeks tinged pink from the cold. That image of her burrowing her face in her scarf was so like a high school girl and very endearing.

… IF I had had a little sister, I’m sure that she would’ve been like this…

Seeing her like that, I gazed at her heartwarmingly.

“Even so, just where did that moron of Ishida go?”

As I spoke to myself like that, I turned to look at Meika-chan.

“I’m sorry, Meika-chan. I suppose you’re getting bored despite having come with us on the first shrine visit like this.”

I had said that in a casual tone, however…

“Not at all.”

Meika-chan spoke in a low but clear voice.

“I’m glad to have been able to come together with Yuu-san today.”

“I’m also happy to have met you after so long, Meika-chan.”

I answered her with a smile. Well, I had said half of it out of politeness.

“Really?!”

She replied in a more excited voice than I expected.

“Yeah, really. Meika-chan, you also changed a lot during this last year.”

“I… In what way did I change?”

“Hmm. Naturally, you look a lot more like a high school girl, or rather, you became a lot more like a woman. Back when I saw you at the station before, I was taken aback for a moment.”

“To think that I’d receive those words from you, Yuu-san… I’m very happy to hear them.”

Meika-chan smiled bashfully before hiding her mouth behind the cup of Amazake.

Her mood seemed to have relaxed considerably now that we spoke like this.

After a short moment of time, Meika-chan glanced over at me and then began to speak.

“I, I have a favor to ask of you, Yuu-san. Will you listen to it?”

“Hm? What is it? As long as it’s something I can do, I’ll help you.”

 For a second, Meika-chan looked as if uncertain about speaking, but soon after, she seemed to make up her mind and spoke before she lost her courage.

“Could you please teach me?!”

“Teach you? You want me to teach you?”

It was a bit unexpected. Because I was attending the Department of Science and Engineering of a private university, it was obvious that I was well-versed in science and mathematics only.

I was certain that Meika-chan would be going to a university specializing in humanities.

“Uh, yes… I, I don’t understand anything about Mathematics, or Physics, or Chemistry… I’m pretty sure that I’ll end up with failing marks if things continue like this!”

So, the reason why Meika-chan had been so fidgety the whole time since we met was that she wanted to ask me this?

“If it’s only that, then it’s no problem… But, you know, both Ishida and I have nearly the same grades. Wouldn’t it be better for Ishida to teach you?”

For you see, Ishida was her older brother. Since they lived in the same house, she could immediately ask him whenever there was something she didn’t understand. Taking the speed of response into account, Ishida seemed like the best option to me.

However, Meika-chan shook her head sideways with great intensity.

“Onii-chan is a big NO. He’s very bad at teaching, and he isn’t kind in the least when teaching, too. He immediately starts making fun of me saying things like, ‘You can’t even do this stuff?’.”

Is that so? I had thought that Ishida was a very doting older brother, though.

Being an only child, there was no way for me to know, but it may well be that having siblings teach each other something was actually quite complicated.

While I was thinking about those things, Meika-chan looked at me with a worried expression.

“Is it a bother for you? That time before when you explained to me some things about mathematics, I remember you were very courteous and your explanations were easy to understand, Yuu-san. That’s why I thought that if I ever needed help with my studies, I should ask you for help…”

I couldn’t possibly tell her no if she looked at me with that kind of a face on her.

Not to mention that I wasn’t against teaching Meika-chan in the first place.

Personally, I considered Meika-chan to be the ideal little sister.

“It’s not a bother at all. If I can be of help to you, of course, I’ll do it.”

“Really? Yay! I’m so happy!”

Meika-chan brought both her hands together in front of her chest and had a beaming smile.

… Man, this side of hers is so proper of a girl and cute…

“Yuu-san, you’re a very kind person, you know?”

“Is that so? I think that this much is only normal, though.”

“You’re kind! I guarantee it! You’re someone who’s always being considerate of other people, Yuu-san.”

She turned her face downwards after she said that.

“Still, your girlfriend did something horrible to you, right, Yuu-san?”

“Eh?”

“I happened to listen to my onii-chan while he was talking on the phone. I did think that it was wrong to do so, but the conversation was so intense that it just kind of happened…”

Oh, yeah. Meika-chan knew about the love affair thing of Karen. Ishida had told me so before, too.

“To think that she would lie to you and cheat with other men behind your back… I won’t forgive her.”

Meika-chan had an expression of frustration on her face. It was almost as if she herself had been cheated on.

“I’m thankful that you worry for me like that… But still, there’s no need for you to get angry, too, Meika-chan.”

“It’s just that, I just can’t forgive her! How could she take advantage of your kindness and do something like that…! That’s too cruel!”

“I’m also partly to blame for having chosen a woman like that as my girlfriend, though.”

“That’s not true! You’re not the least in the wrong here, Yuu-san!”

Meika-chan declared that in an exceedingly resolute tone.

“If that woman appears before me, I’ll slap her in your place, Yuu-san!”

She made the motion of slapping something with her right palm as she spoke.

I was slightly surprised. Well, it was true that Meika-chan had always been a very active and energetic girl.

“Haha, thanks.”

“But you already separated from that woman, right?”

“Yeah, on Christmas Eve. It wasn’t the same as the one you showed before, but I also had this feeling of not being able to forgive her at all, you know. I made sure to pay her back in full for it, too.”

I answered while remembering the looks on Karen and Kamokura’s faces on D-Day.

“And it was Sakurajima Touko-san who was together with you during that payback, right?”

Eh…? I turned around to look at Meika-chan immediately.

“Do you know Touko-senpai?”

Meika-chan nodded while looking downward.

“Yes, although only by name. But I did hear that she was a very beautiful woman.”

I found that surprising.

“You two shouldn’t have had the chance to meet each other, though. By the time you entered middle school, Touko-senpai should’ve already graduated. Not to mention that you went to different high schools.” 

I remembered that Ishida once said that he had attended the same middle school as Touko-senpai. Naturally, Meika-chan had gone to the same middle school, too.

“You’re right about that, but it’s because she had only just left school at the time I entered. I heard the name ‘Sakurajima Touko’ mentioned more than a few times from many of the upperclassmen senpais I had.”

“I see.”

I had heard that Touko-senpai was a famous beauty in her hometown since her middle school days. As such, I suppose having rumors of her circulating around wasn’t that strange.

“Then, Yuu-san, are you planning to start dating Touko-san next?”

I could see her bite tightly her lower lip after asking that.

“I’m not sure about that. Regardless of how much I may want to date her, I also have to take Touko-senpai’s feelings into consideration. I guess you could say I haven’t thought that far ahead.”

I voiced my true, honest feelings.

Of course, should Touko-senpai say that she wants to go out with me, I would gladly comply.

Nonetheless, I found it hard to believe that Touko-senpai would be so quick to move on to me.

I, too, didn’t know how I should go about interacting with Touko-senpai from now on.

“In that case, that means that you’re free right now, doesn’t it, Yuu-san?”

“Yeah, regrettably. That’s why I ended up coming on my first shrine visit of the year together with Ishida like this.”

I answered her with a bitter smile.

I then heard Meika-chan take one deep breath.

When I looked at her, she was tightly gripping the hem of her coat.

“Then… Won’t you come occasionally to play together with me in the future…?”

“Eh?”

“Ah! No, I mean, you see, you’re going to be free with nothing to do these coming spring vacations, too, right, Yuu-san? This will also be my last chance to go somewhere and enjoy myself before my entrance exams. But because I’m at an all-girls school, I don’t have many chances to go out together with someone… So, I was thinking that I would be a lot more comfortable if Yuu-san was together with me…”

Meika-chan was speaking frantically, her face red the whole time.

I found seeing her like that somewhat amusing.

Not to mention that even if she was my best friend’s younger sister, receiving the invitation of a girl in this way didn’t feel bad at all.

And it wasn’t as if Meika-chan was saying that she wanted the two of us to meet alone, after all.

“Is that…a no?”

Meika-chan had a worried expression on her face once again.

“No, no, it’s nothing like that. You’re right. I am free myself, and I also feel like seeing Meika-chan’s face every now and then, too.”

Meika-chan being Ishida’s younger sister meant that she had known me for a long time.

There was no need for me to think those strange things. I should just stop this weird excessive self-consciousness.

That was what I thought at that time.

“Yay!”

Meika-chan’s expression brightened up in an instant.

Seeing her like that, I got into a cheerful mood myself.

“Then, when should we meet next time?”

“Hmm, let me see. I’m having my university exams soon after this, though, so it may be impossible to meet like this for a while. This is because I’m going to have to study for my exams even after classes resume. I guess it won’t be until February has started that I’ll be able to take some time off.”

“Is that so…?”

Meika-chan’s expression was one of disappointment for an instant, but she immediately lifted her face again.

“Oh, then, taking the promise from before to help me study into account, could I ask that you let me study together with you? I’ll be studying next to you while you study for your university exams, Yuu-san. And when I found something I didn’t understand, if you could only explain me at that moment…”

“You’re right. So long as our schedules coincide, that would be a great idea.”

“Thank you very much! I look forward to it then, Yuu-san!”

With a spring, Meika-chan gave a quick bow of her head.

“Well, it’s still hard for me to say how good of a teacher I can be for you, Meika-chan.”

A wry smile on my face, I caringly watched over Meika-chan as she bowed.

“Oooh! So this is where you guys were?”

Someone called at us with a loud voice from beyond the crowd.

It was Ishida.

I raised my hand and signaled at him, too.

Hmm, I wonder what happened. I got the feeling that Meika-chan was somewhat displeased…

“Just where’d you go, man?”

 Ishida answered my question calmly without any sign of compunction.

“Just here and there. I rarely have a chance to visit Narita-san, so I was thinking about what I should go see next. I went all the way around Narita-san Park which is behind this place.”

“You should’ve at least contacted us, then.”

“I did think about it, but I had very little battery remaining in my phone. Well, I thought that since Meika-chan was together with you, Yuu, it was fine even if I went my way for a bit.”

Ishida then looked at Meika-chan.

“I imagine you didn’t have any problem with it, right, Meika? Rather, I’ll bet you were happy to be together with Yuu, no?”

As you’d expect, Meika-chan pouted by puffing her cheeks.

“It would’ve been better if you had taken longer, though.”

“I mean, I did like we promised…”

At that moment, Meika-chan pushed Ishida strongly with both hands, almost as if hitting him.

“Shuttit! Don’t say unnecessary things!”

Meika-chan then turned her back to him just like that.

Ishida made a strained smile before turning to look at me again.

“By the way, like I told you before, the path leading to the shrine here at Narita-san is famous for its eel restaurants. Wanna go eat there?”

“Eel, huh? It does sound good, but isn’t it expensive?”

“I’m receiving a little more money than usual from my parents tonight. If you want, I can lend you the money.”

“No need, thanks. I have a decent amount myself, so there’s no problem there.”

“That so? Then, let’s get going! Come on, Meika! Let’s go!”

Meika-chan then followed after me from the opposite side of where Ishida was.

That reminds me, what was it that Ishida was about to say just now?

I suddenly felt my arm being gently pulled.

Looking at it, I saw that Meika-chan was grabbing onto my coat’s sleeve, holding it between her fingers.

The moment our eyes met, looking slightly bashful, she gave me a cute smile.