Episode One Hundred and Twenty-Nine

So.
A few days later, I was in the passenger seat of a car.
Runa, hands on the wheel, was humming cheerfully to herself.
Her sharply designed sunglasses suited her rather well, making her look like a Hollywood actress from a bygone era.

“We’ll be at the roadside station soon. Shall we have lunch there?”

“I’ll take over driving after we eat.”

“No way. Not even you get to touch the wheel of my lovely little Jimny, not even if it’s Ame.”

And besides, she added:
“Ame. You say you’ve got a licence, but you hardly ever drive, do you?”

“Well, sort of…”

That was true.

“There’s quite a bit of motorway ahead too, so I’m genuinely scared — absolutely not.”

She chuckles. Honestly, it’s a relief since I have zero confidence in my driving skills.
Even at driving school, I barely scraped through. People like me really shouldn’t drive if they can help it.

“Besides, driving in situations like this has always been my job, hasn’t it?”

“Runa, you’ve had a car since uni, haven’t you?”

“It was my parents’ hand-me-down, though. This one I bought myself, so I feel differently about it.”

“Hmm, I don’t get it at all.”

“Ame, you really aren’t interested in cars, are you?”

“Honestly, all cars on the road look the same to me.”

“As a designer, is that really okay?”

Runa said cheerfully, reaching for the car stereo beside the driver’s seat. Western music poured from the speakers. Fifth Harmony’s Work from Home.

“Wow, that brings back memories.”

“We used to play it a lot when we were working at Ame’s place, didn’t we?”

“Listening to it now, the lyrics are pretty intense…”

It had been two hours since the lime green Jimny had set off.
At first, I’d thought, “At least I can be the satnav,” but no matter how I looked at it, the car’s automatic voice guidance was far more efficient, so I gave up.
Still strapped in by my seatbelt, I turned my head to look at the two in the back seat.

“Is that alright for lunch, both of you?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” “Whatever.”

Shizuku, her elbows propped on the window frame, wore a sour expression, while Ibara glared at me with narrowed eyes.
The nuances differed, but both seemed somehow displeased.
…Why?

“Did you both get car sick or something?”

‘No, but…’

Their voices overlapped perfectly.
Well, that’s fine then. Is it?

“Could it be… you actually dislike the sea?”

‘We said no.’

Are they doing this on purpose?
Around that point, Runa chimed in.

“Going on a long trip with Ame… it’s been about five years, hasn’t it?”

“Has it?”

“Yes. Remember when the two of us went to Kujukuri? Even though there’s a sea nearby, we deliberately went far away.”

“Ah—”

“Do you still have that swimsuit from back then?”

“Nah, I threw it away. Couldn’t wear it anymore.”

“Why? It was cute.”

“That’s exactly why.”

I was about to say I couldn’t possibly wear something so frilly now… when there was a dull thud.
It was the sound of Ibara crushing an empty plastic bottle.

“Ibara?”

“…I went to Atami with you the other day too… couldn’t swim though… didn’t see your swimsuit either…”

She was muttering something.
Oh well.

“Runa, you could still wear it, couldn’t you? That bikini.”

“Ahaha, no way, no way.”

“It suited you. Look, I still have the photos.”

“Eh? Give me a break. Oh my, it’s true. Me back then, I was fearless, I suppose.”

“Youthful folly?”

“Exactly.”

There was a squish sound.
It was Shizuku crushing the half-eaten bag of crisps.

“Shizuku?”

“Nothing.”

“No, isn’t that basically powder now?”

“It’s nothing, I said.”

She pressed her lips to the bag’s edge and sucked in the corn snack like swallowing powdered medicine.

“Ghe, ugh!”

She choked partway through, and was drinking water while coughing. What on earth are you doing?

“We’re almost there.”

The sign for the parking area came into view. Runa signalled and veered off the road.
The summer sun streaming in from ahead was blindingly bright, scorching my eyes, and I squinted.

†

“Let’s go on a trip and do some glamping.”
That night, Runa suggested it to me.
First off, I didn’t know what glamping was.

“It’s camping without the hassle. You stay in luxury tents or bungalows.”

“Huh?”

“Shall we go? The four of us.”

“Well, I’ve got moving preparations and stuff…”

“It’s not like you have to do it right now, is it? You know the owner, after all.”

“That’s… true, I suppose.”

“And work won’t suddenly pile up overnight, will it?”

“Ugh…”

That was true, too.

“Once work starts rolling in, you’ll get busy. Better to refresh yourself now.”

“R-right…”

“Since you’ve gone freelance, you should enjoy the perks of being self-employed. So you won’t regret your decision.”

“Hmm… but I’ve got so much to do…”

“Ame.”

Runa tilted her chin up, looking at me with those pleading, upward-glancing eyes.
Just that change in her face’s angle made her look instantly younger. The same expression she’d have when she was an art student, completely spoiled by me.

“I’d love to go out and play with you again, Ame.”

“…No, isn’t that a bit unfair?”

When she gives me that look, I can’t refuse, though that’s probably more my problem than hers.
Knowing that, I still couldn’t say no. Still as weak to pressure as ever.

†

When I relayed Runa’s suggestion to Ibara, she immediately said, “I’ll go.”
Hey, exam candidate.
Ah well. She is studying properly, after all.

“Actually, if I don’t go, you’ll just go with Yomi-san, won’t you?”

“Well, Shizuku might come too.”

“I’m going.”

“Hmm, alright. The money—”

“I’ll pay for myself.”

She’s so serious.
That seriousness is one of Ibara’s virtues.
A seriousness that seems out of place with her teenage youth and princess-like appearance.
I find that aspect of her rather endearing.
　On the other hand, I also wish she’d be a bit more dependent.
That might upset the balance of the scales, as Ibara would say.
Incidentally, Shizuku seems to plan on paying from her New Year’s money savings too. They’re all so responsible.
Anyway, that’s how we ended up going glamping.
To the outside world, it’s a summer holiday, one night and two days.
Late July. Under the scorching sun, a short vacation begins.