It’s hot.
If you were to ask me whether winter or summer is better, I would unhesitatingly choose summer.
In my previous life, I probably pondered it even a little.
The winters in the country I lived in had plenty of bitterly cold days mixed in, and when it snowed, it often came heavily, causing significant transportation issues for at least a few days during winter.
Moreover, the job I had was greatly affected by the season of winter.
It’s dry, making it easy for fires to start, and since it’s cold, the frequency of using fire is high as well.
Whenever I exit a burning building, I’m almost always soaked thoroughly in water from dousing the flames. The problem is that water meets the cold air.
Both the person holding the hose and those who come out drenched inside end up carrying ice on their bodies. The stress of a freezing belt that won’t come undone is real.
No matter how hot summer is, if you experience such a horrible situation even once, you start to change your mind a bit.
However, here I don’t need to worry about putting out fires, and winter isn’t seriously cold either. At least by my standards, it’s a ‘bearable’ kind of winter. It doesn’t snow often, so it isn’t too bad.
The problem is summer.
Saitama is hot and humid, but Tokyo is particularly severe. Even the school I attend is located in Minato Ward, right near the sea. It would be strange if it wasn’t humid.
Plus, it’s still the 2000s, and maybe that’s why, this affluent school doesn’t bother to install central air conditioning in the gym.
“It’s hot…”
“Ugh…”
That’s right. The club room has no air conditioning. In this hot weather.
What on earth did I do last summer without any air conditioning?
As I think back, I probably had so many worries that my back was cold from shivering. I think I finally understand why people look for scary stories when it’s hot.
The more concerning fact is that this kind of weather isn’t even typical summer weather yet; it’s just the beginning of summer. There’s still about a month left until break.
“Is it because the club has gotten more people?”
Izumi proposed a theory.
Upon thinking, that might actually be the case.
I don’t know if that’s true or not, but hey, there is such a thing as mood, right? When you see someone dressed for summer in winter, you feel uncomfortably warm too.
With seven of us in such a not-so-large room, it makes sense that it might feel that way.
“…Should we change locations?”
Izumi, a third-year, said confidently while reading a mystery novel. It seems that focusing is becoming quite hard.
“Agreed…”
Even Kaoru, who usually bursts with energy, muttered in a low voice, and we all got up from our seats.
We didn’t decide where to go.
Just somewhere a bit cooler would do.
*
“Ah, good, now I can breathe a little.”
After searching for a place that’s close and ideally cool enough, we ended up at a nearby fast-food joint.
Isn’t this Minato Ward? The name of the ward simply means ‘harbor,’ but it’s actually one of the affluent areas in Tokyo. As expected in a neighborhood where wealthy people live, there are plenty of cultural facilities, and each one is quite pleasant.
Of course, the fast-food place we’re at now is pretty spacious.
Sometimes, while attending school—
Having lived in that cramped apartment, I would feel a bit awkward, but I can’t help but think how nice it would be to live in a neighborhood like this.
After graduation, it’s likely I won’t be able to come here often. If it’s Kagami, they probably could find a house around here, but it feels somehow wrong to ask that.
If I end up attending a university in Tokyo, maybe I’ll consider living at Yu’s place for a while.
…No, wait. By then, Yamashita and Mori will probably be married, so it’ll be their newlywed house.
It seems better to just commute from Saitama.
As I sat feeling the breeze from the air conditioning, my mind cleared a bit, and I calmly surveyed the surroundings.
Izumi and Kaoru were sitting there, looking as if they were melting away.
Can those two really afford to relax like this? Well, I doubt they studied like crazy just because they’re in middle school. Maybe they’ ve been eyeing a spot that’s not too high but still doable.
Even if the university entrance exams in Japan are in mid-January, shouldn’t they be starting to feel a bit of pressure?
“…”
But now what do we do?
I came this far with the notion of escaping the heat, but I hadn’t really thought of what to do next. The goal of ‘escaping’ has already been achieved, so you could say we’ve kinda ditched our club activities.
Is it okay for us to do this?
Last year, various things happened, so I thought it was fine to ‘just go along,’ but isn’t this year a bit different?
Next year, Izumi and Kaoru will graduate.
Up until now, there hadn’t been any third-year students, so it lacked pressure, but now that there’s someone I won’t see next year, I do feel a bit anxious.
At the beginning of this year, we promised to create a proper club newsletter, but we still haven’t written a single character. Of course, there are still a few months until we need to show it to anyone else.
“Phew, good. Now I feel more awake.”
Kaoru let out a long breath and said.
“Yes. Now I can finally breathe.”
“Izumi, we should become successful people. Let’s earn lots of money and donate an air conditioner to school. If it’s a donation from a senior to juniors, the school shouldn’t have a problem with the electricity bill or anything.”
“Well…”
Listening to Kaoru, Izumi replied with a laughter that felt lightly exasperated.
“Well, alright. Since my brain is finally rebooting, shall we slowly start talking?”
Kaoru cleared her throat and said.
“We’ll only be active until this year. That’s only natural since we’re third-years.”
At those words, the other club members turned their heads in concentration. Especially Tsuneda, who looked a bit tense.
The only literature club members graduating next year are Kaoru and Izumi. Since there are many second-years, it’s natural that the club will continue to run normally even with those two absent.
However, in the next couple of years, we’ll be graduating. If we graduate as we are, it’s likely that Tsuneda will be left alone.
For Izumi, at least with Kaoru by her side, it won’t be a desperate situation, but for Tsuneda, it’s different.
There aren’t many friends in her class, and if she only hangs out with seniors during school life, her third year will probably be incredibly tough.
Of course, you could just set everything aside and focus only on studying, but how many students would actually want that?
I’m not sure if I’m in a position to worry about Tsuneda like this, but since we’re already at school, I hope she can fully enjoy it as a junior and as a senior.
“So this year, I really want to do proper activities. So first of all, I’ve decided to accept Harumi’s proposal.”
Harumi puffed her chest out with a smug expression.
“We’re going to open a maid cafe at the festival. I thought about reserving a spot in the park or setting up a space on the first floor, but I think it’ll be better to do it wherever we are. After all, other classes will likely be holding maid cafes too, so customers will be dispersed.”
Kaoru explained leisurely, but it was Izumi who wore a proud expression next to her. It seems the overall plan reflects Izumi’s intentions.
“It’d be enough to accommodate one or two tables at a time. Oh, but I think it might get a little cramped, so I’ve decided to rent the empty clubroom. Even if it’s not right next to us, I think it would feel okay since it’s like a second location.”
I nodded along.
It’s true; having a lot of guests at once is not necessarily a good thing. Even if it looks like it, I know very well since I’m a professional maid.
“As for the outfits, I want them to feel a bit more traditional Japanese. You know? Since it’s a literature cafe after all.”
I think I understand what she’s trying to say.
They’re suggesting writing in the style of those who wrote classic Japanese novels. Maybe wearing kimonos with an apron that has a maid style.
Looks like it would suit Mako or Yu really well. Kaoru and Harumi… well, in a certain sense, they’d suit it too.
To be honest, I think just wearing our school uniforms would attract a lot of people anyway since our school uniforms are quite classical.
“You’ve put quite a lot of thought into this.”
Since becoming a third-year, these two hadn’t shown up in the club that much. They used to practically always be around after school.
“Yes. While studying together, I gathered ideas during our breaks.”
So they’re really studying properly.
That does put my mind at ease a bit.
“So we decided to divide the duties between the servers and the guides, and I think Mako and Izumi really should take part. Especially as guides.”
We all nodded, but the two of them looked a bit flustered.
“I…I’d rather be the one preparing the ingredients…”
“I…I’m not sure if I can manage that…”
“That’s a good attitude! You look like a literary girl.”
Kaoru assessed them quite accurately.
The rest of us nodded in agreement, even Tsuneda.
Koko seemed to just be nodding along because she found it enjoyable rather than resonating with the concept of a literary girl.
“Alright. Let’s think about this slowly. We still have a few months until then.”
After Kaoru said that, she closed her eyes briefly before opening them again.
When she opened her eyes, they were much shinier than when they had been discussing the cafe.
“Next, let’s talk about the summer camp.”
“Camp…!”
“Wow!”
As soon as they heard the word camp, Tsuneda and Koko reacted simultaneously.
Koko absolutely loved events like this, and Tsuneda had only just recently become a high school student. I’m not sure if she likes manga or not, but it would be strange if she didn’t have any kind of dream regarding this.
Anyhow, I can’t believe we are having a summer camp this summer too.
It’s only natural.
Ironically, in our literature club, last year’s camp had almost everyone gather again.
Since it’s come to this, should I invite Shii?
If they end up enrolling next year, I’d think of introducing a junior to Tsuneda beforehand.
…I wonder what will happen if Sasaki tags along? Well, I guess I can think about that when the time comes.
“The location is going to be by the sea. Last time, we decided a bit hastily, but this time we’ll have more time to plan leisurely.”
Izumi provided more explanation.
“The period will be in mid-August. I’ll share more detailed plans once they’re clearer.”
I nodded my head.
Looking around, I could see the excited expressions of the kids.
There’s the excitement on Tsuneda’s face, and Koko looks the same.
Mako, Harumi, and Yu are also similar. Mako and Harumi had clear excited expressions, while Yu was trying to play it cool as usual but was obviously listening to Mako and Harumi’s chatter with interest.
Yuka was the same.
“The sea, huh…”
Yuka murmured as if she were reminiscing with a glazed look in her eyes.
“I went to the sea last year too.”
And we met some Yōkai there.
Not only that, but one of the heroines even got kidnapped by a cultist.
This year, nothing like that will happen.
Thinking that, I relaxed. It will be a fun trip with absolutely no worries.
In fact, I’ve already gone on a few such trips this year, and those kinds of trips only get more enjoyable regardless of how many you go on.
“Oh, and before I forget to mention, I’ll tell you some points to be careful about in advance.”
Kaoru said with a mischievous smile.
“There will be some courage training during the camp too.”
“….”
Hmm.
Hearing that made me feel a bit uneasy again.
Yuka, on the other hand, seemed delighted by the thought of it.
*
“Do you have more time today?”
After finishing the club activities (?), Yuka asked me on the way to the station.
“I have time.”
I figured even if I came home a bit late, as long as I got back after dinner, Kagami wouldn’t be upset.
That’s an agreement we’ve gradually fine-tuned over the past few months. Kagami tries to do everything ‘we couldn’t do back then’ while still accepting the fact that she can’t constrain us too much.
In return, we have agreed that we’d rather have dinner at home, even if it’s a little late.
It seems we can’t give up on a harmonious family meal.
Fortunately, Kagami’s cooking skills are getting better every day. As time goes by, Kagami is getting more serious about cooking, so honestly, I’m looking forward to dinner time a little.
Is this how it’s supposed to go?
“Really? Well then, let’s go buy swimsuits.”
But that leisurely sentiment flew away high into the sky with Yuka’s words.
“Swimsuits?”
“Yep.”
I asked back, thinking I might have heard wrong, and Yuka confidently nodded in response.
“I bought one last year too, right?”
“You’ve got plenty of casual clothes, right?”
“…Yeah.”
I tilted my head in curiosity about why she suddenly asked such a thing.
Then Yuka said,
“Because swimsuits are also clothes. Since they are clothes, it wouldn’t make sense to have just one for a lifetime, right?”
Well, it’s not that I plan to have just one for a lifetime or anything.
But swimsuits aren’t something you wear every day, right? Why would there be a need for multiple with different designs?
“So let’s go shopping, shopping.”
But Yuka said that in a very determined voice.
If she insists that much… well, it wouldn’t hurt to go.
Well, having one more swimsuit won’t kill me.
“Hey, Koko, wanna come?”
“Wow!”
Koko happily responded to the mention of shopping.
Although she doesn’t have any habits of buying something, she knows she can get something tasty whenever she goes shopping.
“Let’s go.”
Yuka, smiling as if delighted, took my and Koko’s hands in her own.
She seems like a little Kagami.
I wonder if she looks at both of us as something like younger sisters.
Well, I think it wouldn’t be an issue though.
As I contemplated this, Koko and I followed behind Yuka.
The swimsuit Yuka picked out was far more ordinary than last year’s. Maybe it emphasized cuteness a bit more, but as long as it’s not overly embarrassing for me to wear, it should be fine.
The real problem was when we got home after shopping and Kagami’s response to hearing, “We’re going to the sea for camp!”
Kagami’s eyes were shining like they were sparkling rather than just glistening.
“And we’re also traveling in summer!”
Her momentum was so great that I couldn’t outright deny both statements.
In the end, it looks like I’ll be going on two trips this summer, and I’ll probably also be taking part in the festival and even getting ready for Comiket.
…
Well, maybe this kind of life wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Watching Koko shout wow! at the news of the added summer trip, I drifted off into thought.
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