After exchanging a few words with her, Chihiro
hung up the phone and headed for the entrance.
He changed his shoes at the shoe box and walked
through the stalls and crowds to the school gate.
Then, he walked up to the entrance gate which
several committee members had made with their own hands, and found the person
he was looking for.
Mannish short hair.
She is a woman in her twenties wearing a
simple, neatly designed, casual style pantsuit. She is not wearing a tie, and
she carries a small bag on her shoulder.
She is only one or two centimeters taller than
Chihiro. But then, Chihiro should have grown a little since he entered high
school, but still, he is not taller than her.
Perhaps she had noticed him while he was
approaching her, but she stares at him with a piercing gaze. Chihiro could not
look her in the eyes, perhaps because of his unconsciousness.
**a
「Sorry to keep you waiting」
「Oh. No, I haven't waited as long as I thought
I would. Is everything all right with your class?」
「I'm not on shift right now, so it's fine」
「I see」
Hearing his reply, she suddenly relaxed her
expression. Her expression, which tends to look stiff when she is in her normal
state, turns into a relaxed one when she smiles.
「Then, let's go」
She says this and starts to walk away without
waiting for a reply. Her walking speed is considerate enough for Chihiro to
catch up with her.
So, he catches up with her at a trot, and
takes a position next to her and half a step behind her.
When he looks up at her, he sees that she is
looking around with the same smile on her face as before.
「Why, suddenly?」
She replies without looking back.
「Do I need a reason to come to see my alma
mater's school festival?」
「Yes, but...」
Before long, they come to a dense area of
stalls.
His sister visits to the nearest stalls one
after another and buys food from them. Naturally, Chihiro had to follow her.
At the first stall, the clerk asked Chihiro to
show his student ID cards when he saw him standing next to his sister.
His sister, who seemed to feel something,
looked back at Chihiro every time paying the bill in the following stores.
Well, there is no particular reason to hesitate to show the card, since it
gives a discount, especially since the student ID card has been in vain since
this morning.
「You know, I'm busy, but I thought I'd take a
day off for this」
「Well, okay」
Continuing the conversation in between
shopping, Chihiro nodded his head quite readily.
「But there's definitely another reason」
「What's that?」
「Well, I wanted to say hello to the teachers
and ask for a little advice. And of course, I came to see Chihiro's face」
「......」
When he heard the reason added at the end,
Chihiro was at a loss for words.
「I don't think you're at an age where you miss
your family」
「Family is still family, no matter how many
years old you are」
She said this without any hesitation.
She also stands tall and stately, with a sense
of solidity and dignity.
Well, having trained at Shibahou Academy for
three years and beyond, she is indeed a talented young woman of whom one can be
proud.
「... Then, I guess it's time to go」
By the time his sister muttered this,
Chihiro's hands were full of paper plates and plastic packets. Despite the fact
that Chihiro is her younger brother, he was willing to help his sister with her
stuff, but it still too much.
「Where are we going?」
「To the teacher's room」
The layout of the school should be almost the
same as it was when his sister was a student.
So, Chihiro followed her without hesitation
into the staff room.
While the school is in full swing for the
annual school festival, things are not so different from usual here. So, the
teachers seem a little more relaxed.
「Excuse me」
When his sister raised her voice near the
entrance, a number of teachers inside turned around.
Although Chihiro was horrified by their
fearless attitude, the teachers' reactions were extremely friendly.
「Kaede-san?」
「Kaede? Ah, Izumi Kaede?」
More than one person recognized her just by
looking at her face.
They invite her to their desks, and even
Chihiro, a baggage handler, accompanies her.
It has been a few years since Kaede graduated
from the school, but it seems that there are still some teachers who have been
working there since then.
In the midst of the lively atmosphere, Chihiro
felt like he was out of the mosquito net, even though he was nearby.
「You've become beautiful」
「Thank you very much」
「What's your rank now?」
「A. I don't think I'll be able to get an S
rank, so I guess that's the end of it」
With this conversation, he's reminded once
again of his sister's popularity and recognition.
**b
「Who's the boy over there?」
「That's my brother. He's in his first year here」
「Heh. I didn't know your brother was enrolled」
「What is your rank?」
Chihiro did his best to answer the topics that
kept popping up.
In between conversations, Kaede took the food
she had bought from Chihiro's arm and offered it to the teachers. The amount of
food they had bought for this purpose was quickly consumed, probably more than
they could eat.
In the end, the two left the teacher's office
about fifteen minutes later.
It has been less than an hour since he met his
sister again, but he is already very tired.
「Sister (Nee-san), I have to go back to class
soon...」
「...Oh, yeah」
He needs help closing up.
In addition, he needs to meet the executive
committee and the student council after that, but before he could say anything,
Kaede reached out her left hand to her.
「Then, give me the key to the dormitory while
you're at it」
「...Why?」
「Because I'm planning to stay here today」
Kaede tilts her head as she looks at him
lightly.
「Is there something wrong?」
「...No」
He shakes his head, goes through his pockets,
and holds out the key to his dormitory.
Well, he wanted to tell her to get a hotel
room, but it was easy to imagine that even if he did, she would reject the
offer because of the cost.
Besides, it would be a bit awkward to turn
away a family who had come to see him.
And fortunately, he had kept the key with him,
even though he had not used it for a long time.
So, when he returned to the classroom after
leaving Kaede who said that she was going to the principal's office, the last
guest was just leaving.
Maisaka, whose face he seems to see for the
first time today, shouts to the last staff and his classmates who have come
back.
「Phew~. Just in case, we have a few more
minutes until the store closes, so don't make any big movements until then.
However, please start cleaning up the kitchen and other areas that can be
cleaned up」
"Oh", the group, mostly boys, started
to move.
Chihiro thought about helping them, but then
he saw a number of people rushing into the kitchen and decided to stand by.
Then Riko, who has changed from a maid to a uniform, quietly approaches him.
「Hey. Do you want to continue "that"
on the night?」
「Uh...sorry. I don't think I can do it today.
I've got something I can't miss」
「What is it?」
Riko tilted her head curiously at Chihiro's
answer.
