Epilogue
Summer vacation ended today, its long stretch finally over. Tomorrow, school reopens. By day, I was cramming for the assignment test with Reona and Riona; now, at night, I’m sprawled in the living room, staring at the TV.
They call it Blue Monday Syndrome—that sinking feeling creeping in around Sunday evening. I’m drowning in it. No, with nearly four weeks off and an assignment test looming tomorrow, this is worse than any Sunday slump. It’ll probably take a week for the summer haze to lift, but these first few days? They’re going to be brutal.
“Ugh, if only a typhoon would hit tomorrow and stretch out summer vacation,” I mutter. “Or maybe some freak off-season flu could shut the school down.”
“Onii-chan, you look way too depressed,” Mio says, her voice cutting through my gloom. Fresh from the bath, she fixes me with an exasperated stare. “It’s so bad you’re dragging me down with you.”
“Well, let me ask you, Mio,” I counter, “aren’t you depressed?”
“Sure, a little,” she admits, “but I’ll get to see my friends at school.”
“…Yeah, that’s a concept a loner like me can’t even wrap my head around.”
Mio, so cute it’s hard to believe she’s my little sister, obviously has real friends. A loner like me? No chance of relating to that.
“Onii-chan, you’ve got Reona-san and Riona-san,” she points out. “You can’t call yourself a loner anymore, right?”
“They’ll get bored of me eventually,” I say, shrugging. “Then I’ll be back to square one.”
“I can’t even imagine Reona-san and Riona-san getting bored of you,” Mio mutters, her tone incredulous. Honestly, I can’t picture it either, but I keep that to myself. Oh, and that birthday party? It sparked a huge misunderstanding with Mio. I explained it was all a mix-up, though I’m not sure she bought it. As for Reona and Riona’s parents, there was no way to clear things up, so I let it slide for now. If I see them again, I’ll try to explain, but who knows when that’ll be.
“By the way,” Mio says, “second-year high schoolers have a school trip right after summer vacation, don’t they?”
“Yeah, school trip in September, cultural festival in October,” I groan. “It’s like a relentless barrage of exhausting events.”
“They’re special, Onii-chan! You’ve gotta enjoy them, or you’ll miss out!”
“I’ll… try my best. In moderation.”
School trips and cultural festivals are torture for a loner like me. Enjoy them? Hardly. But I toss out a vague reply to keep the peace. After that, I brush my teeth, head to my room, and start prepping for tomorrow. Summer assignments are due first thing, so I double-check they’re in my backpack. Thanks to Riona, I finished them all, but forgetting them would tank my grades.
“This summer vacation was insane,” I murmur, reflecting. From Tokyo Aqualand on day one to the open campus at Okayama City University, the Kisarazu fireworks festival, the birthday party—it was packed with events. Last year, I spent the whole time holed up at home. This year? I somehow lived the kind of normie summer I’d usually despise. And Reona and Riona? They were at the heart of every single moment, with Mio popping in now and then.
Lost in thought, I finish packing and sink onto my bed. Summer’s late mornings are gone; tomorrow, it’s back to early wake-ups. Depressing. I can’t oversleep with the test, so I set multiple alarms. As I fiddle with my phone, it buzzes with a call. The screen flashes Tsurugi Reona.
“…Hello?”
“Ryouya-kun, been a while, huh?” Reona’s voice chirps. “How’re you holding up?”
“School starts tomorrow,” I grumble. “No way I’m doing great.”
“Figured you’d say that,” she laughs.
“Yo, Ryouya,” Riona’s voice cuts in. They must be on speaker.
“Why’d you guys call me out of nowhere?”
“’Cause I felt like talking,” Riona says simply.
“Do we need a reason to call you, Ryouya-kun?” Reona teases.
“No, it’s just…” I trail off. A loner like me only calls for a reason, but extroverts like them? They probably ring up friends on a whim.
“Anyway,” Reona says, “we’ll swing by to pick you up tomorrow, so wait for us, okay?”
“If you ditch me and Onee-chan, I won’t forgive you,” Riona adds.
“Got it.”
Those two might barge into my room if I’m still asleep, so ditching them isn’t an option. If anything, I’m the one who’ll get left behind.
“See you tomorrow,” Reona says.
“Yeah, go easy on me, alright?”
“I’ll give it some positive consideration,” Riona replies, her tone dubious. I’d hoped they wouldn’t cling to me at school, but her answer doesn’t inspire confidence. After hanging up, I flop onto my bed.
The new semester looms with plenty to worry about, but things will unfold as they do. With that half-optimistic thought, I close my eyes. I’ll probably get dragged around by those two like always, but somewhere deep down, I’m actually looking forward to it.
《The End》
