Episode Ninety-One

Before we had time to count down the days on our fingers, Golden Week arrived.
That said, this year’s calendar was scattered, and the work in between was busy.
　Consequently, without much of a golden feel to it, we plunged into the latter half and before I knew it, departure day, the 4th of May, had arrived.
Ibara had said she had “preparations to make” and returned to Sereno yesterday, so today we were to meet at the station ticket gates.
Under the crisp, clear sky of May, I dragged a small suitcase towards the nearest station.

“Haaah…”

I’m sleepy.
Even though yesterday was Saturday, I lay awake thinking about things.
Not that I found any answers, mind. Just brooding alone.
Still, walking like this in the morning light has calmed me somewhat.
Frankly, I don’t even know if Ibara is expecting anything at all.
She might have no ulterior motives whatsoever, just genuinely wanting to enjoy the trip.
　If I’m the only one getting all worked up about it, that could make things awkward.
I’ll just enjoy the trip as usual, straightforwardly.

While I was thinking that, Ibara arrived.
The moment I saw her, I gasped.
C-cute.
A beige flat cap, a pale blue collarless dress.
Her hair, glowing golden as it faintly caught the spring light, swayed softly.
　She really was a princess. A princess who had come incognito to the castle town.
At times like this, I remembered the fact that Ibara used to be an idol.
In this day and age, there’s no clear dividing line between celebrities and ordinary people.
Walking through the streets, there are plenty of cute girls and pretty girls.
But still, something felt different.
I don’t want to use a word like ‘aura’, but…
　She glows as if bathed in a transparent spotlight.

──Hey, look at that girl.

──Wow, she’s absolutely adorable. Wait, but I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before…

The whispers from those around us make my heart flutter.
Half of me worries that people will recognise Ibara’s true identity and cause a commotion.
The other half──

“Shigure-san, whoa!”

I didn’t want anyone else to see her.
I didn’t want them to see her.

“…Shigure-san?”

Ibara peered out from beneath the brim of the hat I’d forcibly pulled down.

“Was my hat askew, perhaps?”

“Ah, yeah, well, sort of.”

“Oh, right. Thanks.”

She takes my hand firmly. My heart leaps again.
Ibara’s fingertips are cool, soft, and feel lovely to the touch.
Idiot. What am I getting flustered about, just because we’re holding hands? We sleep together every night, after all.

“Er, well. I was thinking we’d eat lunch locally, but will you be alright until then?”

“I’ll be fine, I’ll be fine. It’s the seaside, so fish, surely?”

“Yeah, seafood rice bowls or something.”

With a harbour there, the seafood is bound to be delicious.

“Ah, but I want that. The super hard ice cream.”

“The one they sell on the Shinkansen?”

“That’s the one.”

The famous one on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen.

“But I think they stopped selling it on board.”

“No way⁉︎”

“Ah, but you can apparently get it from vending machines at Tokyo Station. Let’s remember to buy some.”

“Yay!”

She gave a soft, floppy laugh. She’s adorable about everything, it’s a problem. Not really a problem, but still a problem.

“When we arrive, we’ll leave our luggage at the station, have lunch, see the aquarium, then check in, I suppose.”

“Looking forward to the hot springs, aren’t we?”

“…Yeah.”

Ibara leaned close to my ear.

“Let’s bathe together in the open-air bath in our room.”

The fine hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.

“I-I won’t be joining you.”

“Eh? Why not? Why not?”

We whispered to each other in hushed tones, like sharing a secret.
　Both the touch of her breath and the content of our words tickled me.
Since it’s a hot spring, we’d end up bathing together anyway, whether in the private open-air bath or the main bath.
Ibara and I, bathing together.
The more I thought about it, the more I feared I’d start acting suspiciously.
So stop thinking about it, me.

At Tokyo Station, we bought two Shinkansen Super Hard Ice Creams (apparently the official name) and boarded the bullet train.
　I removed the lids from the frosted cups and tapped the surface with my spoon. Hard.

“This really is incredibly hard, isn’t it?”

Apparently, it’s best to leave it for about ten minutes.
Reacting to every passing view outside the window, by the time we’d conquered the ice cream – hard, true to its name – we’d already passed Shin-Yokohama.

“I’ll go and throw this rubbish away.”

I stood up, holding the two empty cups.
I tossed the cups into the bin near the doors and was about to return to my seat when—

“Excuse me.”

I turned at the voice to find an older woman standing there.
She stood tall and straight, her age difficult to gauge.
Thirties… no, perhaps late twenties?
　She gave an overall sharp impression; simply put, she was a beauty.
Her features were so well-defined they seemed to repel others, as if covered in a cold film, yet strangely, I felt I recognised her.
But I couldn’t place her.
A celebrity? She didn’t seem like a YouTuber or anything.
Or perhaps, it was possible we really did know each other and I’d simply forgotten.

“I’m terribly sorry. Have you perhaps seen a bookmark around here?”

“A bookmark?”

“A bookmark. The kind you put in books, with a flower design.”

“Ah, I see. Well…”

I scanned the ground around us. There it was.
Bending my knees, I picked it up.
A paper-cutout bookmark. The design motif was… was that a rose?
It wasn’t particularly well made; the corners were frayed and discoloured.

“Here you are.”

“Thank you.”

I brushed off the dust with my fingertips and handed it over.
The woman took it casually and slipped it between the pages of the paperback she was holding.
By chance, the book’s cover caught my eye. I recognised it. It was Runa’s artwork.

“Ah.”

“Eh?”

Our eyes met, and I felt a little flustered.

“Ah, no. It’s just that the book is by someone I know. Not the novel itself, but the cover… I mean, sorry. Sorry for suddenly saying something strange.”

“No…”

An awkward silence descends.
Somehow, I’d missed the moment to say, “Well, that’s all then.”
As I hesitated, wondering what to do, the woman spoke up quietly.

“…Are you travelling alone too?”

“Ah, no. There are two of us. My—”

The word ‘lover’ caught in my throat.
　She was merely a chance encounter, a once-in-a-lifetime meeting.
We’d likely never cross paths again, and it shouldn’t matter what she thought.
Yet, the words wouldn’t come.

“…With a friend.”

In the end, that’s what I said.
Unaware of my inner conflict, the woman nodded. “I see.”
“You too” implied she was travelling alone.

“Well then, have a good trip.”

“Ah, yes. Well, you too.”

At the clichéd pleasantries, the woman lifted the corners of her lips just a little.
The shape of that smile startled me.
But before I could confirm the thought that flashed through my mind, she had already returned to another carriage.

Back at my seat, I stared intently at Ibaras face.

“What’s up, Shigure-san? Is there anything on my face?”

“No.”

…Are you sure?

“Ibara, do you have any older sisters or anything?”

“No, I don’t.”

She didn’t.
Ah well. Must be someone else who just looks like her.