Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16817330665542028014/episodes/16818093073609261853
By the time I had finished securing dinner by locking Asakura out of the kitchen with the help of Sasatsuki, it was past 8pm.
“In the end, Kanna didn’t come. Maybe she’s busy with work?”
Asakura muttered to herself as she sipped her after-dinner tea. As she said, Kanna was unusually absent. Even on days when she had to leave school early or take a day off due to work, she would almost always come to visit.
“The reason was the article and the comments. It is reasonable to assume that Hanazono saw them too.”
“Well, that’s true……it’s not surprising that Kanna would be depressed after seeing that.”
“Rather than suffering the consequences, maybe it’s just a bad habit from a long time ago… it’s not good for your mind to move so fast that you’re at a loss for words.”
The situation is more serious than I expected, but I can’t help but smile when I see that my childhood friend hasn’t changed since we were little. It may be unscrupulous at a time like this, but I think it’s typical of Kanna.
“Hey, Itsuki. Has Kanna always been like that since she was little?”
“It depends on what you mean by ‘like that,’ but Kanna has always been that way.”
She uses difficult four-letter idioms and anticipates the thoughts of others to the point of being creepy. She was called a child prodigy at the time because she was too quick-witted and absorbed what she learned like a dry sponge.
“Hene……so Hanazono was that great.”
Sasatsuki sips her tea and reaches for her tea cakes. I continue talking while nodding at the impression that she has a large appetite despite her small body, but she still manages to maintain her stylish figure.
“Prodigy sounds good, but that’s just what adults are talking about. To a child, she’s a creep who’s completely different.”
I don’t know what Kanna is thinking. It’s hard to understand what she’s saying. It’s a rural area where there aren’t many people. There is also a huge difference in the number of children in Japan compared to the city. Under such circumstances, her outstanding talent became a heresy rather than an admiration.
“So Kanna had no one she could call a friend except me. Well, that didn’t seem to change when she came here.”
“So you’re saying that you were able to have a conversation with Kanna back then?”
“What does it matter?”
“This is what I mean when it’s dark under the lighthouse. Actually, so many things happened that I completely forgot that Itsuki was a scholarship student.”
Sasatsuki nodded her head in agreement with Asakura, who smiled wryly at this. The reason why it doesn’t really hit home for me when people say it’s a great thing is because it’s something that I take for granted.
“I haven’t asked her what she’s been doing every day for the past ten years since she moved here.”
There were many opportunities for that. But the reason I haven’t done that is because I saw her enjoying the present.
“If you’re concerned, maybe you should ask her directly.”
“Yes, yes. There are things you won’t understand unless you talk to her. Come on, let’s call her.”
“……I guess so.”
The two of them urged me to move to the balcony and then call Kanna. Unlike when we talked side by side late at night, the moon was not visible tonight due to the thick cloud cover.
[Hello? It’s very unusual for Jinpei kun to call me. Perhaps you were lonely and wanted to hear my voice?]
The first thing Kanna says is in her usual cheerful voice, but I’m not stupid enough to not notice that she’s just being cheerful. Because in the past—I experienced the same thing over ten years ago.
“…..Are you alright, Kanna?”
I just asked my childhood friend, who was acting so stout-heartedly.
[I’m no match for Jinpei-kun, aren’t I? You see through everything, don’t you?]
Kanna says this in a voice so weak that she feels like she’s about to cry. As expected from Sasatsuki’s guess, Kanna seems to know about the controversy after seeing the comments on the article.
“I read the feature article too. I guess you messed up at the last minute.”
[Ahaha……I didn’t expect this to happen. The Internet is really scary.]
“Well, the majority of the comments were praising you. That’s my proud childhood friend.”
I’m ashamed of myself. I should have grown up a little, but I didn’t know what words to say to her at a time like this.
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