Chapter 31: Nostalgic Summer Days

First, I brought my luggage inside and sorted everything out. Naturally, I’d prepared souvenirs too—popular Trinity teas and sweets, along with some high-end stationery that the students over there really like.

"Oh? Come to think of it, Aika, that outfit—what is it? It looks different from the uniform you wore at the entrance ceremony."

My mom eyed my white sailor one-piece. The turquoise-collared sailor uniform I wore during the first few weeks after enrolling was tucked away in my dorm closet.

"This? It’s the Trinity Tea Party uniform. Somehow—I don’t even know how—I ended up being considered excellent or something, so they brought me into one of the Tea Party’s subordinate organizations. They even made me an officer candidate."

Well, in reality, Nagisa put us under her command so she could keep us in check. Even so, I met Maiha and Masa there and became friends with them, so in the end, I think it all worked out for the best.

"Wow, that’s really impressive! The Tea Party is Trinity’s student council, right? I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to see our only daughter rising through the ranks like this."

"Oh right, I almost forgot—souvenirs. These teas and sweets are really popular over there. And here—these fountain pens, paperweights, pen cases… I bought them from an old, well-established stationery shop. They’re for you and Dad, so make sure you use them."

"You didn’t have to go out of your way, you know. Just having you come home safely is enough to make us happy. But thank you. We’ll use them with care."

While nibbling on the souvenir sweets, I told them about what I’d experienced at Trinity over the past four months.

How I got hassled by delinquents right after enrolling but turned the tables on them with the spare hunting rifle I’d brought.

How I had a personal interview with Trinity’s top authority, the Tea Party Host, Kirifuji Nagisa; how I passed; and how I joined the Tea Party—and received this uniform along with a handgun.

How I got jumped by punks when I went out again but blasted them away with my Pom-Pom Cannon.

How the Federal Student Council President founded SCHALE, and how an adult—now called “Sensei”—was assigned there. And how, under Nagisa’s orders, I secretly supported Sensei together with a certain upperclassman.

How I met Sensei in person (and yes, he was surprisingly normal), and helped with his work. How I ended up training with the chair of Trinity’s Public Safety Department—the Justice Task Force. How I got the chance to speak with the head of the Sisterhood. And how I had fun outings with the friends I made at Trinity.

How I accompanied Sensei to a meeting with the Tea Party, went swimsuit shopping with friends, and how, for two or three weeks, I got caught up in the chaos caused by the remedial instruction division Nagisa had created.

…A lot really happened these past few months. After hearing everything, my dad said:

"I see, I see… sounds like you went through quite a lot. To tell the truth, since you’re back, I was thinking of having you help with the harvest—maybe starting this afternoon, actually…"

"But?"

"But you can rest for today and tomorrow."

Honestly, that was a relief. Until just recently, I hadn’t been able to relax at all, and coming back home made all the tension drain out of me. I really didn’t feel up to working right away.

After I’d roughly finished talking about what happened at Trinity, my parents returned to work—that is, to the harvest.

Since they told me to rest, I went back to my room and, for the first time in a while, played the piano there. While I was doing so, something suddenly came to mind.

"Speaking of which, I wonder what happened to the Remarkable."

I grabbed its dedicated control terminal and went outside toward the lake. There—

"Enemy—no, friendly aircraft carrier spotted!"

Floating proudly on the lake was the former fishing boat turned carrier. I used the tablet to command it to pull alongside the pier, and it slowly maneuvered over without bumping into anything until it was securely moored.

"Hehe, perfect. Now, let’s go inside…"

Time for a test run. First, I opened the aircraft panel and ordered the onboard bombs swapped for practice ordnance. Once everything was exchanged, I designated the nearby vacant lot as the bombing point and instructed ten planes to launch. Watching the footage from the hull-mounted overhead camera on the mast, I saw the elevator working perfectly, lifting the Swordfish onto the deck before launching them.

"Mm-hm, wonderful! The folks in the Naval Engineering Department really did an amazing job."

I switched to the cameras mounted on the aircraft. Getting video from all twenty at once would be too much, so only one plane in each five-plane group had a camera—four in total.

The lead plane that launched first circled until the others joined up, and I caught glimpses of the carrier below.

Once all five were airborne, they formed a squadron and headed toward the bombing point.

I stepped outside the ship and recorded the next group taking off with my phone. Watching the footage afterward, it looked good enough to use in a movie scene even without editing. Truly amazing.

When I looked back at the controller, the planes had already reached the designated area, and a clear message displayed: “Bombing commencing shortly.”

After confirming all ten aircraft had completed the mock bombing, I went to the vacant lot to recover the practice rounds, returned them to the carrier’s hangar, cruised around the lake a few times, and wrapped up the test run.

As I spent time playing games, practicing piano, and messing around with the aircraft carrier, two days passed in the blink of an eye—and it was time to start helping with the farm work. Since my hair would just get in the way, I tied it up into twin tails and then braided them. I put on overalls I didn’t mind getting dirty and wore a straw hat to block the sun.

Looking at myself in the mirror… well, what can I say? I looked like a real country girl. If I told people at Trinity I was part of the Tea Party while dressed like this, I doubt even half of them would believe me.

"Aika, help with the grape harvest. You still remember how to sort the ones we can sell and the ones we can’t, right?"

"Mm-hm, I remember."

Since my first year of middle school, I’d been taught the full process as the future successor—including selection and grading—so it was all firmly in my head. Even though I’d been away for about four months, the moment I stepped into the vineyard, everything naturally came back to me. My body remembered the motions too. It felt nostalgic.

"This one… no good, it’s got rust spots. This one’s uneven… and this one… mm, nice sheen. Looks good."

Like that, I clipped each bunch and sorted them into baskets. The red-edged ones were for imperfect grapes; the blue ones were for high-quality, gift-grade fruit.

"This one’s scratched… and this one’s got small berries overall…"

Naturally, the blue basket filled slowly, while the red one piled up fast. But because the blue-basket grapes are few and extremely high in quality, they sell for a premium. A single bunch easily goes for 10,000 yen, and once, a bunch of extra-large, juicy, exceptionally sweet grapes—carefully selected—sold to Trinity Integrated Academy for an unbelievable 1,000,000 yen. Probably purchased by the Tea Party for their guests.

By the way, besides grapes, our farm also grows strawberries, persimmons, and mandarins—and since last year, we’ve started producing melons too.

Most of the fruit we harvest is shipped to fruit shops and restaurants in Trinity’s central district. When I saw our farm’s strawberries on sale over there, I felt so proud and happy that I bought them even though they weren’t cheap. They tasted amazing, of course—but more than anything, the familiar flavor of home made me feel completely at ease.

After finishing the first day of farm work, nighttime came. I’d already eaten dinner and was lying around in my room when a Momotalk notification popped up.

"Huh? From… Maiha? What’s up, I wonder."

Opening it, I found: “I think it’s about time to hit the beach >∀< Let me know when you’ll be free ^-^”

Ah—right. I completely forgot about our plan to go to the beach after coming back home. I’d brought the swimsuit and all the beach stuff I bought, but still…

"I’ll just ask Mom and Dad tomorrow morning…"

I replied that I’d check with my parents about whether it was okay and when would be best. Maiha sent back a simple “Gotcha ^^,” and with that, I decided to go to sleep.