Chapter 51: The Beautiful Girl in the Night Mountain

Sigh...

The barbecue was over, and everyone had gone back inside the cottage.

As for me, I’d stepped out alone, saying I was going to buy a drink from the shop. Now here I was, standing outside, letting out a long sigh.

Man, today’s been a total bust. Maybe it’s the summer heat, but I could barely eat any of the barbecue.

I buy a sports drink at the shop and take a sip. The cool liquid clears my head just a little.

Ahh, I’d been looking forward to that barbecue, too. Nothing’s more frustrating than not being able to enjoy something fun just because you’re not feeling well.

I didn’t have much of an appetite earlier, but now that it’s nighttime and cooler, I feel like I’ve mostly recovered from the dizziness I had during the day. There’s still time to enjoy the night and make up for it! Let’s go! ...Wait, go where?

Muttering my own self-commentary, I head back toward the cottage.

"Ah, welcome back! Hey, hey, let’s go do a test of courage later!"

The moment I step inside, Moeka-chan waves at me energetically.

"A test of courage?"

I tilt my head.

This doesn’t really seem like the kind of place where you’d test anyone’s courage. It’s just a normal campground.

"Yeah. We figured just playing cards all night would get boring, so we thought—why not take a little midnight walk and make it a test of courage?"

Ryoji answers in Moeka-chan’s place.

I mean, sure, just playing cards endlessly might get dull... but still.

"Isn’t it kind of dangerous to go outside the campground at night?"

Mostly for me, that is. I doubt they’d go wandering off into some animal trail or anything, but still—I’m clumsy as heck. If we’re walking down a mountain path in the dark, I’ll probably trip for sure.

"Nah, we’re not planning to leave the campground. It’ll just be like a night stroll. Even within the campsite, once it gets late and there’s no one around, it can get pretty spooky."

Togo spreads out a map of the campsite as he explains.

"Hmm... well, if we’re staying inside the campground, I guess that’s fine."

Although honestly, walking around the campground doesn’t sound like much of a “test of courage.” But at least that means no dangerous trails. I think. Still, I can’t let my guard down—I’ll have to watch my step.

No, wait—wouldn’t it still be dangerous even if I do watch my step? I’m pretty sure there weren’t many streetlights along the walking paths...

"Do we even have any flashlights?"

It’d be crazy to walk around in pitch darkness, right? But who even brings flashlights to something like this...?

"I came prepared! I brought two, just in case!"

You did, huh.

Sakurako-chan rummages through her bag and proudly pulls out a pair of flashlights.

Between those and the water guns she had earlier in the day, she clearly came here ready to have fun. Sakurako-chan, who happens to be the younger sister of the model Yoshino-san, usually gives off a calm, mature vibe... well, except for those moments when she gives off that slightly dangerous aura. Still, most of the time she’s so composed that seeing her bring along fun little things like flashlights and games is kind of cute. The cards we’ve been playing with? Also hers.

With her that prepared, I really don’t have anything left to say.

"In that case, let’s go!"

I let out a small laugh, and everyone cheers in excitement. Wow, they’re that eager for a test of courage? Why though...?

While I’m still lost in thought, Sakurako-chan grins mischievously.

"Alright! Each of us draws a slip of paper, and whoever gets the same color becomes a pair!"

She holds out five slips in her hand.

"A pair? But there are five of us... don’t tell me someone’s going solo?"

I glance at Sakurako-chan. Surely she doesn’t mean to send one poor soul off alone.

A lone person wandering the campsite paths at night—that’d be terrifying! I wouldn’t even want to run into them!

"Wait, wait, Ayumi-chan! It’s fine! We’ll do two pairs and one group of three! Nobody’s going alone!"

Right, that makes way more sense. Being alone in the dark? I’d rather stay behind at the cottage, thanks.

"Alright, let’s draw then."

Ryoji, Togo, Moeka-chan, and then I each draw one of Sakurako-chan’s slips.

The end of mine is colored yellow with a fluorescent marker.

Togo and I end up walking together along one of the campsite trails.

He had the same yellow mark as me. For some reason, Moeka-chan and Sakurako-chan both looked a little disappointed that they didn’t match with me.

"It’s darker than I expected. You okay, Ayu-chan?"

"Yeah. I think I’ll be fine."

Togo shines his flashlight toward our feet to light the path.

They’d called this a “test of courage,” but really, it’s not scary at all inside the campground. Feels more like a regular night walk.

It’s quiet and dark, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind. Some people might find that creepy, but me? I’m totally fine.

The cool mountain air at night actually feels really nice, I think to myself.

"Ayu-chan, you really don’t seem scared at all."

"Heh. Do I look like the type who’d be?"

I chuckle softly and glance up at him.

"Yeah."

Whoa. That was fast.

But really, I’m not scared of the dark. What scares me more are tall, imposing guys—or big crowds. The dark’s just dark. It’s not like it’s going to do anything to you.

"Do I really look that timid?"

"Hmm... how should I put it? It’s more like being easily scared kind of suits your vibe."

"Mmmph."

I puff my cheeks out a little. I bet the reason’s something like “you’re short” or “you look like a kid,” huh. Well, it’s true I don’t have that cool, mature air like Yoshino-san does, but still!

"I didn’t mean it in a bad way, sorry."

Togo scratches his head, looking a little embarrassed.

"Hehe, I know."

Feeling a bit guilty for teasing him, I give Togo a small, gentle smile.

He stops walking and stares at me for a moment.

"What’s wrong?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking... I lucked out with this pairing."

Pairing, huh. I wonder where Ryoji and the others are now. The trail loops all the way around the campground, so we probably won’t run into them.

"Ah, Togo-kun—there’s a step there."

"Huh? Wha—whoa!"

There’s a scraping sound as his foot slips, and Togo lands squarely on his backside.

"Ow..."

"You okay?"

I hold out my hand to him. He fell pretty hard, so that must’ve hurt.

Togo just stares at my outstretched hand. Maybe he doesn’t want to be helped up by a girl?

"Sorry, Ayu-chan. My hand’s all dirty from the ground."

"Oh, that’s fine! Don’t worry about it."

I take his hand anyway.

For a moment, Togo’s body jolts in surprise.

"Eh?! N-no, it’s fine, really!"

He sounds flustered. Geez, he’s hurt—he doesn’t need to be that stubborn.

"Ayu-chan! It’s okay, really!"

I tug on his hand to help him up—but then he suddenly pulls back, as if trying to escape my grip. My upper body follows the motion—

"Whoa—!"

I shouldn’t have kept holding his hand.

His sudden pull throws me off balance, and before I can recover—too late—I fall forward, right into him.

This is bad. Definitely bad. Instead of helping him up, I’ve just made everything worse.

"A-Ayu-chan!?"

Togo’s voice comes out strained from somewhere below me.

Wait—below me?

It hits me all at once. He was trying to stand when I lost my balance... meaning I’ve just fallen right on top of him. From the outside, it totally looks like I pushed him down. And his face is—oh no, his face is right against my chest—

"AAAAAAAAAAH!"

I spring back like I’ve been electrocuted. My face must be red all the way to my ears. Thank goodness it’s dark! No one can see me! ...Wait, no, that’s not the point!!

"I-I’m sorry, Ayu-chan!"

Togo sits up quickly and bows his head, completely panicked.

No, wait—it’s not his fault!

He didn’t even want me to help, and I ignored that. This whole mess is completely on me.

Ugh, I’ve been messing up all day. What am I even doing...

"It’s fine! Seriously, don’t worry about it, Togo-kun!"

I can barely get the words out. My face feels so hot I could probably boil water right now.

"I’m really sorry..."

"It’s fine! Just forget about it already!"

He keeps apologizing, while I just want the ground to swallow me up. A heavy awkwardness settles between us.

Why does this kind of thing always happen to me...

Alright, first, calm down. Deep breaths. ...Okay. A little better.

Really, Togo has nothing to apologize for.

If anything, I’m the one who should be saying sorry.

"I’m the one who’s sorry. I shouldn’t have interfered like that."

"Huh!? No, not at all! I mean—uh—I was really happy you tried to help me, Ayu-chan! It wasn’t meddling at all. I just... got embarrassed, that’s all. You grabbed my hand, and I kinda freaked out. I was happy, really! Just... you know, flustered, so I ended up pulling away..."

Togo looks startled as he answers. Hearing him say he was happy I offered my hand makes me feel a little relieved too.

If I were still a boy, I’d probably get nervous too if a girl suddenly grabbed my hand. I hadn’t even considered that—how careless of me.

"Sorry. You must’ve gotten dirt all over your clothes."

Now that Togo’s managed to stand up on his own, I apologize again.

He should’ve only dirtied the seat of his pants, but I’m pretty sure his back got covered in dust too.

"It’s fine. The ground’s dry, so I can just brush it off."

Togo pats at his back and sides with both hands—thump, thump—shaking off the dirt, then stretches a little to loosen up.

I watch him quietly.

Now that I think about it, the night I talked with Aoi-kun, I messed up in a similar way. Though that time, I was the one who tripped.

"Speaking of which, Ayu-chan—what kind of guy is Aoi-kun?"

"Eh!?"

Because I’d just been thinking about him, his name catches me completely off guard, and my voice comes out in a weird squeak.

"…That again? Is everyone that curious about him?"

"W-well, yeah."

Togo scratches his cheek awkwardly.

Talking about Aoi-kun still stings a little. Not because of anything he did, but because of my own half-heartedness.

They say time heals all wounds—but honestly, I’ve just been avoiding thinking too deeply about that night. Because if I do, I start asking myself how I actually want to live my life—and I still don’t have a clear answer.

Back then, I swore to make a decision. And yet, here I am, letting it all fade into vagueness again. I replied to Aoi-kun’s email, sure, but I haven’t reached out to him myself or taken any real step forward.

How do I want to live from now on? I think I already know the answer deep down. Maybe I’m just waiting for someone to give me a push. But if I told Togo that, he’d probably think I’d lost my mind.

…No, this isn’t something I should talk about here. If I’m going to wrestle with it, I should do it alone. I shouldn’t drag others into it.

"Sorry, Ayu-chan. I asked, but... forget it."

"Huh?"

Togo suddenly takes back the question he just asked.

A part of me feels relieved, but I can’t help wondering why.

"You looked like you were troubled. Same face you had that time we stopped by the burger place after the committee meeting."

He remembers something that small?

Somehow, that makes a warm feeling bloom inside my chest.

"You’ve got a good memory, huh."

When I say that, Togo just shrugs and replies, "Well, yeah."

"Sorry for bringing up something you didn’t want to talk about."

He apologizes again, being considerate as always.

It’s me who should be apologizing for making him worry.

"But, y’know... if you ever need to vent or anything, I don’t mind listening."

"…Yeah. Thanks."

Togo usually doesn’t join in much when the girls are chatting, and he doesn’t talk with me that often either. Maybe he’s just being polite—or maybe he’s keeping a little distance. He spends more time with Ryoji, after all. Still, I wouldn’t mind if he talked to me more.

"Togo-kun, you’re a lot kinder than I thought."

"Wh—! Do I really seem that cold-blooded?"

"Haha, I’m kidding!"

Our laughter echoes faintly through the quiet mountain woods.

The “test of courage” has completely turned into a peaceful evening walk—but honestly, that’s not such a bad thing.