Chapter 35: Summer’s End, With Friends

After coming back from the beach, I worked for three days, then had a full day off. Then another three days of work… and today is another day off. The After-School Sweets Club girls apparently didn’t want to bother going back and forth, so they decided to spend their break at the guesthouse.

Even though it’s technically within walking distance, there’s still a decent stretch of road between this house and the village, so I only really see them when I bring their three meals.

"Oh, I think someone’s here, Aika."

"Yeah, I’ll get it."

Past noon on my day off, the doorbell rang. When I went to the entrance…

"Heyyy, Aika-chan!"

"Aika-san, your family really owns an impressively large farm."

It was the usual two friends. As for why they came—three days ago, during my lunch break, I had checked my phone and seen a message on MomoTalk.

‘Aika-chan, your house is pretty far, so I wanted to visit sometime during summer break! When would be okay for you? ^-^’

That was from Maiha. I asked my parents when my next day off would be, and that’s how they ended up coming today. They also said they’d be staying the night and heading back tomorrow morning, so I had been a bit frantic getting everything ready. Still, the idea of a sleepover with friends sounded fun, so I didn’t mind at all.

"Since it’s your day off, we can play as much as we want."

"Nice! I wanna take my time looking at that carrier from the other day~"

"Now that you say that, I’m getting curious about it too."

So we left the house and headed toward the lake. After a short walk, we reached the pier. Moored there was the converted fishing-boat aircraft carrier, looking as imposing as ever.

"Whoa, it’s bigger than I expected when you see it up close~"

"We can go inside… right? If I remember correctly, this was what you took when you came to the beach?"

"Yes, it was originally a fishing vessel. It can fit around five people without any trouble."

Saying that, I opened the door and took them inside. The hangar bay held twenty Swordfish, all neatly maintained. For the record, I had spent about half my last day off repairing the damage they’d suffered in the previous battle.

"Ohh, so these little guys are the ones who helped out last time~ Thanks, everyone~"

They were just RC planes, so it was probably my imagination, but when Maiha thanked them, the air wing seemed just a little bit proud.

"Oh, by the way—are you thirsty?"

"Now that you mention it… a bit."

Since Masa said that, I opened the lid of the large box in front of the control room and pulled out some juice made from grapes harvested in our orchard.

"This acts as a refrigerator, so we can store food and drinks in here."

"Whoa, that’s cool~"

When we first received the ship, I was only briefed on the combat-related functions, so I learned about this from the ship’s guidebook and manual in the control room. According to that, the ship also has a break room with a small bed and chair, as well as a bathroom. The manual says it’s designed to handle voyages of about a week.

We sat in the break room, drinking juice and chatting for a bit before stepping back outside. I took out my tablet and issued a launch command to the air wing, this time without any bombs equipped.

"I’ll launch them now."

"Can’t wait~"

Masa watched the planes lined up on the deck with anticipation. Then came the moment of launch.

"…That’s amazing. If I recall, this uses various Millennium technologies, correct?"

"Yes. The air wing originally started as simple RC planes, but the AI installed in them was programmed at Millennium."

The squadron climbed into the sky, circling gracefully, then executed an Immelmann turn with flawless precision. The original full-sized Swordfish were known for their excellent maneuverability and ease of handling, and despite being biplanes—already outdated by the start of the war—that trait contributed to their long service on the European front.

"Oh, they’re coming back~"

Soon enough, they returned and landed. Just like a real carrier, they used an arresting-wire system, catching their hooks on the cross-deck cables to stop.

"Well then, shall we head back to the house?"

"Right."

We walked back the way we came and headed to the dining room. They’d apparently grabbed a light snack near the Trinity-side station, but it seemed like the perfect time for a little something extra.

"Masa-san, Maiha-san, please help yourselves."

The two of them stared at the fruit platter in front of them with eager curiosity.

"Are these from your orchard?"

"Yes. They’re pieces that were excluded from the gift shipments for cosmetic reasons. But the taste is almost identical to the premium ones."

Right—there are way more irregular-shaped fruits than gift-grade ones, so we always end up with extras. We use the imperfect ones for juice like we had earlier, jams, fruit sandwiches, desserts, and grapes can be fermented for wine… plenty of uses. And of course, there’s no problem serving some to guests.

munch munch "Mmm~ it’s super sweet and delicious~"

"Hmm… ah, this flavor… My parents sometimes buy these grapes. So they were from your family, Aika."

Despite living a much more high-class lifestyle than the After-School Sweets Club girls, it seemed they didn’t eat this sort of thing that often.

"Phew, thank you for the meal~"

"I’ve had these a few times before, but they are indeed delicious."

"Hehe, I’m glad even Aika’s friends say so."

Masa tends to give her opinions straightforwardly and without reserve, so hearing her praise them honestly felt very reassuring. I’d eaten these all my life, and while I knew they tasted good, I wasn’t sure how others perceived them.

Having both the four Sweets Club girls and these two friends praise them directly made me feel confident in the fruit I helped grow. Really, when I think about it, they’re sold as high-end fruit—of course they taste good.

After that, we hung out in my room for a while, chatting and playing games. Once my shoulders started feeling a bit stiff, I decided to take a break and sat down in front of the piano.

"Oh, right—I've been curious for ages. Aika-chan, you can play the piano, right?"

"Yes, I’ve been taking lessons since I was very young. Would you like me to play something?"

I handed each of them sheet music from the pile of pieces I was already familiar with. I keep a wide range: classical, pop, ballads, military songs, marches, game music. I like listening to all sorts of music. Some scores were even ones I had transcribed myself from memory from my previous life.

"Let’s see~ then I wanna hear you play this one~"

"I’ll choose this."

A quick look at their selections told me Maiha had picked a love-themed pop song, while Masa had chosen a medley from that popular RPG in Kivotos.

"Very well. I’ll start with Maiha-san’s request—"

I began to play. My fingers glided, tapped, and spun notes into sound. Memorizing a piece well enough to play smoothly is incredibly difficult… but the sense of accomplishment when it finally clicks is something powerful.

Thinking about that, I turned the page. I mostly had it memorized, so glancing at the music was mainly for confirmation.

"Amazing…"

…To be honest, I still don’t really understand romance. Sad as it is, in my previous life I never had anything like that. If we’re talking about people important to me, there’s my family, the two girls sitting right here… and Sensei.

Yes—I’m able to enjoy my youth like this thanks to Sensei, who tirelessly works behind the scenes for the students, and ultimately for Kivotos. In that sense, he’s definitely precious to me… but somehow, it feels like there might be something more.

(...No, it’s probably just my imagination. I mean, in my previous life I was a guy, right?)

Sensei looks somewhat androgynous, but he’s probably male… and if this feeling were romantic, then mentally that would make me… well, that would be same-sex romance…

(...Okay, stopping that line of thought. Focus on the music—oh, I’m already at the end.)

While I was lost in thought, I reached the final chords. When I finished and looked toward the two of them, they clapped excitedly.

"That was amazing! I can’t believe you can play that well~"

"I felt like you suddenly got more passionate midway. Did something happen?"

"N-nothing at all… Next is your request, Masa-san, right?"

I started playing her piece to gloss over the question. After a few songs, we wrapped things up and went downstairs for dinner.

Dinner finished, and we all took our baths—separately, of course.

Anyway, after getting out of the bath and changing into our pajamas… it was time. The classic school-trip-style late-night chatting session. Fueled by that special nighttime energy, it often leads to talk about romance. Maiha seemed to have been waiting for this moment; she was already munching on snacks she’d brought from home, smiling happily.

"Ufufu, it’s a girls’ night~"

"Right."

It still feels a little strange sometimes, considering I was a boy in my previous life… but I’ve spent about eight years living as a girl now, so maybe I count as one by experience? Or maybe it only counts once the total years I’ve lived as a girl surpass the years I lived as a boy…?

"Poke."

"Nyah!? M-Maiha-san…?"

Lost in thought, I suddenly felt Maiha poking my cheek, making me jump.

"I don’t know what you’re thinking about, but let’s talk about stuff~"

"Talk about… something? Hmm, let me think…"

Nothing came to mind when she asked so abruptly. Since I’m not good at picking topics, I turned to Masa—who then said:

"Now that you mention it, I’m curious about why you chose to come to Trinity."

"Aww, Masa-chaaaan. Don’t ask interview questions during a girls’ night~"

She puffed her cheeks in protest, but since Masa had already offered a topic, Maiha answered anyway.

"Let’s see… I used to live near the D.U. District, but I wanted to make friends with lots of people, so I thought I’d go to one of the three major schools~"

"I see."

"So I looked into each one beforehand, and Trinity seemed like the best fit for me. …But honestly, sometimes I kinda regret not choosing Gehenna or Millennium."

Even someone as cheerful and soft as Maiha had moments where she wondered if she made the right choice…

"You remember when we looked into Azusa-senpai the other day, and we heard about the bullying stuff, right? I don’t even like hearing about things like that… but Trinity has a lot of it."

Her expression darkened slightly—but then she lifted her head and looked straight at us.

"But I got to meet you and Masa-chan at Trinity. So overall, I think coming here was the right choice~"

I didn’t realize she valued us that much as friends. She treats everyone warmly, so it was hard to tell… but hearing her say it clearly really struck me.

"…When you look me straight in the eyes and say that, it’s a little embarrassing."

"I agree… It’s the same for me."

While we both fidgeted shyly, Maiha puffed her cheeks again and said, "I answered, so now you two go." So it was my turn.

"I’ve lived my whole life in the countryside here, where our orchard is. When it came time for high school, I wanted to see a bigger world, not just my hometown. So among the three major schools, I chose Trinity General Academy because it was the closest."

It was almost identical to the answer I’d given Nagisa during the Tea Party interview months ago. Yes—everything began when I received that interview invitation. Meeting Maiha and Masa, getting wrapped up in the Make-Up Work Club’s troubles… and soon, the Eden Treaty signing ceremony…

"I see~ Then next is Masa-chan~"

I watched her carefully, curious what she would say since she’d started the topic in the first place.

"What are you expecting…? I didn’t come to Trinity with anything as grand as the two of you. I just chose it because it was the closest large school."

After Masa gave her surprisingly normal answer, we moved on to the next topics and chatted for a while longer. About what had been happening at Trinity while I was back home, about a restaurant Maiha recently tried that was delicious, about Mika’s state when Masa visited her, and about doing SCHALE duty during the break.

Eventually, after we’d gone through nearly every topic and sleepiness began to settle in, Maiha looked at us with a calm smile.

"Hehe, I really do love hanging out with you two and chatting like this."

"That’s sudden… but yes, I enjoy it as well. It’s one of my favorite times."

"Ufufu, of course I’m having fun too. Especially since when I’m back home, the only way we can talk is through MomoTalk. I’m glad we could see each other again after a whole week."

And then, what I truly felt deep in my heart:

"I want the three of us to always be together."

"…We can be, I’m sure of it."

"Yeah, even after graduation, we’ll still be together."

The three of us laughed, then settled into a comfortable silence. Soon, sleepiness fully caught up with me, so I turned off the lights and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, I saw Maiha and Masa off as they prepared to return to the academy.

"You didn’t forget anything, right?"

"Nope, I checked everything a bunch of times. We’re good~"

Maiha waved over her shoulder, and Masa added with a small smile:

"Let’s meet again at the academy."

"Yes, see you again."

I watched them until they disappeared from sight, then straightened myself up. One more week to finish the farm work. I changed from pajamas into work clothes and got to it.