Act 3 - The School Festival
18-4
"Sorry, I kept you waiting." (Rei)
By the time Rei returns, I'm standing in the kitchen.
I welcome her casually and put down a cup of coffee I had brewed well in advance.
She sips from her mug and exhales.
"My manager told me the next gig was set." (Rei)
"Oh, really?" (Rintaro)
"Yes. The next show is for Halloween. After that, we might go on tour toward the end of the year." (Rei)
"When you say tour, do you mean the one that goes all over the country?" (Rintaro)
"Yes." (Rei)
If so, Rei and the others won't be back for a while.
"Once the tour starts, you girls will be absent from school, then?" (Rintaro)
"Probably so. We don't know exactly how the tour will go, since it will be our first tour." (Rei)
This may appear presumptuous, but when it comes to touring, she will probably not be able to move freely for at least two weeks, right?
I am concerned about the number of days she will be absent, but thanks to Rei's efforts, she will probably be able to stay within the acceptable range of absences.
If this is the reason why she has been going through such a hard time, I have nothing but respect for her from the bottom of my heart.
"You are one step closer to your dream, right." (Rintaro)
"......Yes. Maybe we're almost there." (Rei)
Rei clenches her fists with a somewhat expectant look on her face.
Her dream is, to perform live at the Nippon Budokan.
For those who have become national idols, it is not a distant goal.
But that does not mean it is an easy goal.
――――If, she were to fulfill that dream.
What will Rei do after that?
"?? What's wrong?" (Rei)
"......No, it's nothing." (Rintaro)
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I shake my head at her words and check my watch.
Before I knew it, it was already quite late.
"You should go back to your room. You have an early day tomorrow, right?" (Rintaro)
"Ugh... You're right. Can you wake me up at six tomorrow?" (Rei)
"Okay. I've already scheduled it." (Rintaro)
"Thanks for everything. I'm already very anxious without Rintaro. If it's possible, I'd like to take you on tour with me." (Rei)
"That's impossible. I don't want to miss school." (Rintaro)
"......I know. I won't ask you for unreasonable things." (Rei)
But you tried to resist for a moment.
Rei will be away from home again for a while starting tomorrow.
It seems that each member of Millefeuille Stars is working on a single song, and Rei will be the first one to start working on it.
She is going to be even busier than before, as she will also be shooting music videos.
"I'm sure things will settle down a bit more in September......." (Rei)
"Then I guess you'll just have to persevere until then. If there is anything I can do, I will help you as much as I can." (Rintaro)
"Yes, thank you. ――――And, I haven't forgotten my right to order you to do anything I say." (Rei)
――――Tsk.
"I wish you could just forget it." (Rintaro)
"Don't worry, I'll use this right when it matters most." (Rei)
"...... Be easy on me." (Rintaro)
The punishment for losing at beach volleyball.
I have heard Mia's wish, but Rei and Kanon have yet to tell me what they wished for.
I'm thankful as well as anxious about that.
"Bye, Rintaro, good night." (Rei)
"Yeah...... good night." (Rintaro)
Rei left my room, throwing one last unexpected pickoff.
In the room left alone, I let out a sigh once.
From tomorrow, Rei will be gone.
This makes me feel a little lonely again, but there is something more important to think about.
"A week starting from tomorrow, huh ......" (Rintaro)
A by-promise I made during the beach volleyball game.
The promise to cook dinner for Mia for a week starts tomorrow.
The reason why it starts tomorrow is because Mia will be coming home by the time Rei leaves.
I have to see her tomorrow whether I want to or not.
I will naturally have to give her an answer to her confession――――.
"...... Sigh." (Rintaro)
Anyway, let's just go to bed now.
Because the answer to it has already been decided.
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◇◆◇
The next day arrived with more or less melancholy in my heart.
I cleaned my own room and did laundry. Following that, I finished cleaning Rei's room, and then relaxed on the couch in my own room.
There was a time when I thought that cleaning is not something I should do that often, but it was surprisingly uplifting to be able to keep the place clean.
I myself often clean as a casual way to pass the time.
"...... it's about time." (Rintaro)
I mumble so and casually look at my smartphone.
Then I see a message from Mia displayed in the notifications.***
I grab a set of my cooking utensils and leave the room.
It takes me ten seconds to walk down the hallway.
I stand in front of the door to the room farthest from mine.
I press the intercom, and a few moment later.
[――――please come in.] (Mia)
Mia's voice comes over the speaker and I open the door.
"E-excuse me......" (Rintaro)
Something about the thought of stepping into a girl's room of my grade suddenly made me nervous.
Even Rei's room is still a girl's room――――but, maybe because I've been in there so much for cleaning, and so on, I no longer feel any kind of nervousness.
I wonder if that is a good thing or a bad thing...... But, well, it doesn't matter either way.
"Yo! I'm glad you're here." (Mia)
"...... I've promised after all." (Rintaro)
I scratch my cheek in front of Mia.
She is dressed in loungewear that I have seen at the cottage, but it is still somewhat fresh.
Even though it is just loungewear, it doesn't have a dowdy atmosphere at all, which I can only say is due to the quality of the material.
"Eh, I think I've shown you this loungewear before." (Mia)
"Don't be silly. I don't have a soft heart to be discomposed by the unusual appearance of the opposite sex." (Rintaro)
"Hmmm. You seem a bit nervous though." (Mia)
Shut up!
"Well, never mind. Let's talk anyway. You're going to give me――――your answer, right?" (Mia)
"...... Yeah." (Rintaro)
I step into the room as Mia leads me.
The room is decorated with a lot of blues, which is the color of her image, and has a cool atmosphere.
This layout itself may be quite to my liking.
"Come on, sit down." (Mia)
She urges me to sit down on the couch.
Then she takes out a bottle of water from the refrigerator and hands it to me.
"Thanks." (Rintaro)
"Sorry. I want to brew you coffee as you did, but unfortunately, I don't have such a thing." (Mia)
"Don't worry about it. I'm not the kind of man who would complain about the hospitality of others." (Rintaro)
I bought the coffeemaker because I wanted it.
"...... Well, then" (Rintaro)
I take a sip of the water I have been given and look up.
I don't want to waste time. This is because the longer it takes, the harder it will be for me to say it.
"I'll let you know the conclusion I've reached." (Rintaro)
"...... Mmm." (Mia)
I pause for a beat and then say the words.
"I, can't go out with you." (Rintaro)
Her expression doesn't change even after hearing these words.
It is as if she has predicted that I would say that.
"Well, I suppose. But, can I ask you why, just in case?" (Mia)
"......The only person I want to be my lover is someone I'm convinced I can love for the rest of my life. So I don't want to make a decision on the spur of the moment at this bratty age." (Rintaro)
I think I have said something similar to that to Mia before.
Besides――――having that kind of relationship with me means that she will inevitably have to work instead of me for the rest of her life.
I know that sounds bad, but that's the path that I'm pursuing, so I can't help it.
So, I think I have to be even more careful in my search for a partner considering that she will bear such a responsibility.
I don't want to be abandoned again.
"......, are you all right?" (Mia)
"Uh, yeah. I am." (Rintaro)
I've caused her unnecessary worry because of the darkened expression on my face.
Now is not the time to make her worry about me.
I have to tell her why――――.
"――――And besides. It's not like you actually are in love with me, right?" (Rintaro)
Mia's expression finally changed here.
