I’m not sane.

It’s been a while since I’ve felt this motivated to write a novel.

When I’m highly motivated to write a novel, it’s usually when work is busy.

When work is busy, maybe it’s the stress, but I get this urge to write novels as a form of escapism.

In other words, that’s how it is (crying)!

After a workout at the gym, I returned to the locker room and headed to the shower inside.

“Phew…”

As I washed off the sweat under the shower, feeling my biceps trembling, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of accomplishment—or is that just my imagination?

If I think about stuff like this, Hayashi will probably call me an idiot again… but I’m already looking forward to the next gym day.

After stepping out of the shower and getting changed, I left the locker room, but Hayashi was nowhere to be seen. She’s probably still showering.

I sat on a chair in the hallway, waiting for her to come out of the locker room.

“Sorry to keep you waiting!”

Hayashi emerged from the women’s locker room, her hair still wet.

“Did you wait long?”

“Nah, I just got out myself.”

“Oh, okay.”

I kinda lied about just getting out, but was that lie even necessary?

“Alright, shall we head home?”

“Yeah. Man, a shower after a workout feels so refreshing, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, it does.”

“Isn’t it nice to wash away all that sticky sweat?”

“I get that.”

“Right? It kinda makes me want to go to a hot spring or something.”

Hayashi’s words caught me a little off guard.

Ever since graduating high school and reuniting here, Hayashi has always been tight on money, so she’s been pretty frugal.

If she’s got enough financial leeway to casually talk about wanting to go to a hot spring, it makes me feel good for her.

“Sounds nice.”

So, I nodded in agreement.

“Oh!”

Hayashi looked a bit surprised.

“Yamamoto-kun, you’re surprisingly into the idea.”

“Guess so. It just makes me feel kinda nostalgic, you know.”

“Huh? Oh, okay.”

Hayashi didn’t seem to get what I was feeling nostalgic about, but I didn’t really expect her to understand.

Still…

Breaking free from that abusive guy.

Reconciling with her parents.

Reuniting with her best friend and getting married.

After all the hardships she’s faced since graduating high school, I was all for her going to a hot spring… or even a proper getaway trip.

“How about a two-night, three-day hot spring trip then?”

“Whaaat!?”

Hayashi… this time, she wasn’t just a little surprised—she raised her voice in complete shock.

“Y-Yamamoto!? What’s gotten into you? Do you have a fever? Did aliens take over your body? Or maybe you joined some shady cult? Did you buy a vase or something?”

“Is suggesting a getaway trip so out of character that you’d suspect I joined a cult?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“…Hayashi.”

“It’s not just surprising. I seriously question your sanity.”

“Hayashi…”

Hayashi’s lack of trust in me is breaking through the heavens. It’s kinda sad.

“…Look, even I can suggest a getaway trip once in a while.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you? You deserve to take it easy and rest for once.”

“…”

Hayashi fell silent. But her eyes were staring at me, cold and skeptical.

Seems like she’s genuinely questioning my sanity.

She’s kinda rude, this one.

…Well, I’ve known she can be rude for a while now.

She’s gotten a bit softer lately, but every now and then, her naturally savage side still peeks through.

“So, what do you say? You in or not?”

I asked.

“…Yamamoto, can I really trust you on this?”

“Obviously. A hot spring trip or two? Leave it to me.”

Geez, here I am going out of my way to invite her…

“So, where do you wanna go? For convenience, places like Atami (Shizuoka), Hakone (Kanagawa), or maybe Isawa (Yamanashi) would be easy to get to.”

“Wait, you’re actually serious?”

“I keep telling you I am. …Alright, fine. I’ll just decide then.”

“…Okay.”

“What’s your budget? Wanna keep it around 20,000 yen? If so, we probably can’t use the Shinkansen.”

“Uh, yeah…”

“And then… a ryokan, huh. Should I look into some options when we get back? One room for the two of us, cool?”

“!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?”

Hayashi’s face turned bright red.

“W-W-W-W-Wait a sec! Yamamoto! Hold on a second, Yamamoto-san!?”

“What’s with you all of a sudden?”

“One room for two!? You mean one room for the two of us!?”

“You said the same thing four times.”

“Hold on a second! That’s… just hold on!!”

Why’s she freaking out like this?

“I mean, all of a sudden… don’t you think I need some time to mentally prepare?”

“Mentally prepare? We’ve had plenty of moments like that before, haven’t we?”

“We have, but… but still!”

Watching Hayashi flounder, I let out an exasperated sigh.

“Fine, fine. I’ll scrap the shared room idea.”

“Huh!?”

Hayashi raised her voice again.

Then, her eyes widened… and after a moment, she started fidgeting.

“…I didn’t say I was against it.”

“You pretty much did.”

“I didn’t!”

Talk about being pushy.

“…Alright, fine.”

I gave in.

“…Phew. Okay, I’ll look for a ryokan with one room for both of us.”

“Yeah… Yeah!”

Hayashi broke into a radiant smile.

Seeing her innocent, beaming expression made me feel warm inside, like suggesting this trip was the right call.

“Alright, you better let her know.”

“Huh?”

“Kasahara.”

The smile vanished from Hayashi’s face.

“…What’s with that face? You’re going, right? On the getaway trip.”

I continued, exasperated.

“With Kasahara.”

“You liar!”

“Whaaat!?”

“You liar! I knew you weren’t sane!”

No, no… I’m clearly sane, right?

Right?

Yeah?

By the way, this story has slight differences in setting between the light novel and web versions.

Specifically, things like Hayashi’s father’s life or death.

In the web version, he’s alive, so please keep that in mind (note to self as the author).

Also, a setting consistent in both the light novel and web versions: there’s no way these two aren’t dating, right?