Chapter 11 | The Night at the Inn, Just the Two of Us in the Room—

Three hours left until the day comes to an end…

When had I last lingered on such a thought?

It must mean today’s time had been precious, etched deeply in my heart.

I, Makura Koiro, let my mind wander as the night breeze brushed against my skin.

Manamichi-kun had gone to soak in the hot spring, leaving me alone for the moment. After a quick shower in the room’s bath, I slipped into a yukata and stepped outside the inn to grab a drink from the vending machine. Thirst had gnawed at me post-bath, and though I meant to avoid prying eyes and hurry back, the quiet streets and the gentle caress of the night air tempted me to linger. I chose a secluded side path, free of passersby, and strolled slowly, savoring the moment.

When was the last time I’d stayed outside this long…?

The memory drifted back to that night at the park with Manamichi-kun, the air just as crisp and alive.

This summer break had begun with me jokingly calling it “depravity,” dragging Manamichi-kun into my room. Yet, by its end, he was the one pulling me out into the world. Thanks to him, this summer had unfolded beyond my wildest expectations. Sure, holing up alone with my favorite games would’ve been fun, but the warmth blooming in my chest now—this sense of fulfillment—couldn’t have come from that solitary routine.

Even tonight, on this trip, the clear night air felt special, almost sacred.

I never imagined my first-year high school summer break would feel like this. I’d expected endless days of indulgence, tinged perhaps with a faint undercurrent of resignation. But during the fireworks, Manamichi-kun and I had shared a conversation deeper than any before. For the first time, I poured out my past, the feelings I’d kept locked away. And he, in turn, opened up about his own burdens, the emotions that had carried him to this moment. It made me happy—truly, quietly happy.

We hadn’t solved any grand problems with our talk. But the act of sharing, of listening, filled me with a quiet satisfaction. For now, that was enough.

I’d agonized over my future so many times, yet never found a way to act. I’d reached a point where I thought, ‘Whatever happens, happens.’ But these final three hours of the day, ticking by so slowly, felt too precious to let slip away unnoticed.

That said, while I was content with this moment, I couldn’t ignore the worries Manamichi-kun had shared. I wanted to do something, anything, to ease them.

I paused my steps, fidgeting with the smartphone in my hand. Manamichi-kun should be back by now, shouldn’t he? With my drink in hand, I turned back toward the inn.

Just as I neared the corner to the path leading to the entrance, voices stopped me cold. I stepped to the side, lowering my face to avoid notice. A man and woman rounded the corner, passing by arm in arm, their yukatas swaying. They looked close—intimate, even.

A couple, probably.

Nine times out of ten, a man and woman traveling together to a place like this were lovers.

The thought sent a jolt through me. Were we seen that way too?

My heart thudded loudly. Traveling together so naturally, sharing the same room, wearing matching yukatas—it all felt so effortless, yet it wrapped me in a strange illusion, as if we were something more.

“Ugh, seriously, why are we even in the same room? That’s so weird!” I muttered, half-complaining to Manamichi-kun, who’d made the reservation.

But truthfully, we were always together in my cramped room back home. Splitting into two rooms now would feel stranger still. This was our first trip together, and for some reason, my stomach fluttered with a nervous energy. I unconsciously smoothed my hair at the back.

Nothing’s happening, nothing’s happening. It’s normal, right? We’re always together.

Yet the night of a trip carried a distinct vibe, a quiet thrill. There was a good chance Manamichi-kun felt it too, that same restless excitement. With that kind of momentum, it wouldn’t be surprising if something happened.

“Wait, oh no. What am I even thinking?” I mumbled, shaking my head.

This was Manamichi-kun, after all—the serious guy who walked the straight and narrow, dedicated to his path of learning. We were just shut-in buddies, nothing more.

…But… what if serious-kun came at me, all straightforward and proper? What kind of answer would I give? What kind would I want to give?

Wait… this feeling… My cheeks burned, and the night breeze felt cooler against them, soothing yet stirring. Even my racing heart felt oddly dear in that moment.

With my heartbeat bouncing in my chest, I stepped toward the inn.

＊

When I returned from the bath, Makura wasn’t in the room.

A message on my phone read, “Going to buy a drink,” catching me off guard. Was she okay? A flicker of worry sparked, but if she was just grabbing a drink, she’d be back soon. I settled onto the tatami, waiting alone in the quiet room.

“…………”

It was silent—almost too silent.

After the fireworks, the futons had already been laid out, side by side. The sight had startled me, though I wasn’t sure why. We’d shared a single bed before, but tonight, the closeness of the futons felt… different. Nerve-wracking.

I sat on the futon nearest the entrance, glancing at the one beside it. Maybe, being at an inn for the first time, this setup was a bit much. Should I push them apart? No, that’d make it seem like I was overthinking things.

My eyes wandered the room—the closet, the TV stand, the alcove, the veranda at the back. It was a nice space, with bright indoor light reflecting off the large sliding window, obscuring the view outside.

Was the room too bright?

I stood and fiddled with the light controls, finding buttons to adjust the settings. When I pressed one, the room’s lights dimmed, leaving only the soft orange glow from the veranda. The atmosphere shifted, heavier somehow, almost intimate.

T-this is, uh…… an even weirder vibe.

I hurriedly flicked the lights back on. If Makura had walked in just then, it would’ve been disastrous. She might’ve thought I was setting some strange mood or rehearsing something shady.

I plopped back onto the futon, letting out a long sigh. The weight of the moment pressed against my chest.

…What was this overwhelming sense of unreality?

Going on a trip like this with a girl—Makura, of all people. Sure, I was the one who’d planned it, made it happen, but still… In my entire life, I’d never been this close to a girl, let alone imagined traveling together. Even now, standing in this moment, it didn’t feel entirely real.

I wondered what Makura was feeling. Did she, even just a little, share this strange, floating sensation in her chest? I kind of hoped she did.

Today, Makura had opened up to me more than ever before. I’d talked more than usual too, spilling pieces of myself I rarely shared. We’d laid bare parts of our lives, and for me, at least, it felt like we’d reached a quiet understanding.

Not that anything had particularly changed because of it. No grand revelations or solutions. Just… connection.

I’d been mulling it over alone in the bath. What could I do next? What did I want to do from here?

Lost in thought, I barely noticed the soft slide of the fusuma until it snapped me back to reality. Makura peeked through the gap, her face brightening as she spotted me.

“Manamichi-kun, you’re back already! Sorry, I got a bit delayed.”

“No, it’s fine,” I replied, relief easing my shoulders. “I was a little worried, though. Thought maybe you got stuck in a crowd or something.”

“No crowd, just got hit by the vibes of couples,” she said, stepping into the room.

“Couples’ vibes?” I echoed, puzzled.

“You know, the vibes of love,” she teased lightly.

I didn’t quite follow, but as long as she was safe, that was enough. Makura held out a water bottle, offering it with a casual, “Here you go.”

“This okay? I heard you drink water before bed.”

“Oh, thanks.” I’d planned to grab some from the inn’s fridge, but I took it gratefully. Spending time with Makura, I’d noticed how thoughtful she was about small things like this. Honestly, I could learn a thing or two from her.

She set her things down and glanced at the futon I was sitting on. “Haha, I guess people really do think we’re a couple, huh?”

“A couple!?” I sputtered, caught off guard, then realized she meant the two futons laid out side by side. “O-oh, right…”

“Well then, excuse me…” Makura murmured, settling onto her futon. For some reason, she sat in a proper seiza, knees neatly tucked under.

“Oh,” I managed, instinctively straightening my own posture.

Side by side on the futons, we faced the same direction, the air between us suddenly heavy.

“……”

“……”

What was this? The silence was deafening, awkwardness crashing over us like a wave. It was her fault for mentioning “couple” first, making me hyper-aware of everything. The vibe was unbearable now.

I stole a glance at Makura, only to catch her sneaking a look at me. Our eyes met for a fleeting second before we both whipped our heads away. Her cheeks, I noticed, were faintly flushed, a soft contrast to the pale knees peeking from the hem of her yukata.

She was embarrassed too…

Ugh, I should’ve just sat at the veranda’s table from the start. The futon was a terrible choice—I could’ve predicted it’d create this weird tension. Regret gnawed at me.

“The… the fireworks,” Makura mumbled softly, breaking the silence. “They were pretty, huh?”

“Y-Yeah,” I stammered, grasping at the lifeline. “The spot was great too, right? No obstacles, perfect view, and no one else around.”

“Yup, total hidden gem,” she agreed, her voice warming.

“We just stumbled on it, didn’t we? Pretty lucky, huh?”

“Thanks to you, Manamichi-kun.” She shifted slightly, placing her hands on the futon and turning toward me. “Thanks for helping me out today,” she added, giving a small bow.

“No, no, you don’t have to be so formal,” I said, waving it off. “I was shocked, but I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“I’m fine, really. Just got a bit dizzy, that’s all.”

“Seriously, I was this close to calling an ambulance. But when you started walking on your own, I figured getting you out of there was the better call.”

“If you’d called an ambulance in a place like that, I’d have passed out from all the attention while waiting,” she said, half-laughing.

“What, it’d backfire!? That’s such a trap. Good thing I didn’t rush it.”

I made a show of wiping my brow, and Makura let out a bright “Haha!” Stretching out her words with a playful, “I’m still bad with people~,” she relaxed her posture, the tension in the air softening.

The atmosphere felt easier now, more like us. I was hesitating, wondering how to bring up what I’d been thinking about in the bath, when—

“Hey, Manamichi-kun,” Makura said suddenly. “Was it really okay to skip cram school?”

“Yeah, like I said earlier, it’s no problem.”

“Got it… I was just a bit worried. You’re working hard on your studies, right? I thought skipping class might set you back or something.”

Oh, that’s what she meant. “It’s fine,” I assured her. “Cram school’s helpful, sure, but it’s mostly review. I’ve already studied ahead to university entrance exam level on my own, so missing one class doesn’t hurt.”

“That’s… wow,” she said, eyes widening. “Okay, then, do you know how to solve this?”

“Hm?” I raised an eyebrow at her sudden shift.

She tapped her phone and held it out, showing a single math problem on the screen.

“What’s this?”

“Can you solve it?”

“Well, yeah, I can solve it…”

“Is it easy?”

“Yeah.” The problem was third-year high school level, applied but not anywhere near the difficulty of top university entrance exams.

I stared at Makura, still trying to wrap my head around why she’d suddenly brought up this math problem.

“Could you, like, explain it to someone else?” she asked, her voice tentative but curious.

“I could, but… what’s this about?”

“Um, well, look at this.” She tilted her phone toward me again.

The screen displayed a list of services—Q&A boards, forums, that sort of thing. “This is that famous skill marketplace app, the one from the commercials,” she explained. “You can offer services online based on what you’re good at and sell them. There’s someone offering, ‘I’ll clearly explain stuff you don’t get about studying,’ and someone asked them to solve this exact problem. If you did something like that, Manamichi-kun, you could make money!”

Selling a service to teach studying… The idea hit me like a spark.

“It’d probably only be pocket money, though…” I said, tempering my excitement.

“…True,” she admitted, “but it’s not totally pointless, right? All that studying you’ve worked so hard on.”

A shiver ran through me, like goosebumps prickling my skin. I’d always thought my studying was meaningless, a grind that led nowhere. Just recently, I’d been beating myself up over how useless my brain was, unable to come up with ways to make money. And yet, so simply, so effortlessly—

My heart soared, as if a weight had been lifted. “I never thought the knowledge I gained could be directly useful,” I said, almost to myself. “It’s like being a cram school teacher.”

“Exactly, like a teacher!” Makura clapped her hands, her eyes bright.

“When did you even look this up…?” I muttered, still reeling.

“Just now. Like, really just now.”

“Just now?”

“Yup. When I went out to buy a drink.”

“What, at a time like that?”

“Yeah.” She nodded, unfazed.

I stood there, stunned, as she continued. “You said you had nothing, Manamichi-kun, so I was thinking about it. I wanted to tell you that’s not true. You’re really amazing, you know? When you explained my makeup assignments, the parts I didn’t get, you were so clear and easy to understand.”

Warmth bloomed in my chest, spreading like wildfire. I was happy—genuinely, overwhelmingly happy. Her words, her actions, all of it was for me. The fact that Makura had been thinking about me, trying to lift me up, meant more than I could say.

Overcome with emotion, I opened my mouth. “Me too! Actually, I was thinking about something too—!”

Makura blinked, her eyes wide with surprise.

“I can’t show you concrete results like you did,” I admitted, “but… it’s about our future.”

She shifted, turning her knees toward me, her gaze steady. “Yeah. I want to hear it.”

Her directness made me swallow hard, but I pressed on. “Makura, you’re fine—I mean, you can be yourself around me, right?”

“Yup. I’ve already spilled everything, like I’ve got nothing left to hide.”

Her answer drew a grin from me. “Then you don’t need to worry about anything. We can just stay together forever.”

“Forever…… together?” Her voice wavered, as if testing the weight of the words.

“Yeah. At school, at home, wherever, whenever. When you need me, I’ll be by your side.”

“You’ll…… stay by my side?”

I nodded firmly as she echoed my words. “Kumada-sensei said you can still earn credits with health room attendance. In the health room, you barely have to see anyone, right? During breaks, I’ll come hang out—to keep you from getting bored, to check if you need anything. If you feel lonely, just tell me. I’ll fake being sick and stay with you there. If you get anxious, call me, and I’ll rush over, even in the middle of class.”

That was part one of my plan: spend as much time together as possible at school.

“After school, on weekends—if you’re okay with it, let’s hang out. Like today, I can skip cram school anytime. If you need to shop or go into a crowd, just ask me.”

That way, I could support her more. That was part two.

“When you’re not feeling up to it, you don’t have to go to school. Skipping to play games together is fine too. School rules let you miss days up to the attendance limit, after all.”

Makura stayed silent, her gaze fixed on my face. Her eyes, fragile and wavering, held a faint, almost fading light.

“Why… go that far…?” she whispered.

The answer was obvious. I took a small breath and flashed a bold grin. “To keep up this depravity, of course, teacher.”

I wanted to keep living this fun, carefree life, like this summer break. As the teacher of depravity and her student, as accomplices sharing the secret hidden in our indulgence.

“We’ll get through school at our own pace and enjoy life at home. That’s our main thing. Let’s live for that. In the meantime, we can take our time figuring out ways to make money.”

That was my plan, laid bare. I wanted Makura to find even a sliver of joy in life. For that, I’d do anything. Before I knew it, that had become my truth.

“Manamichi-kun…” Makura’s voice was soft, her eyes glistening as if tears might spill over.

Startled, I opened my mouth to say something, but she scooted closer, grabbing the hem of my yukata.

“Hey, hey. Will there ever come a day when wearing pajamas every day is normal?” she asked, her voice trembling with hope.

“If you want it, it’ll definitely come. We’re young—we can make it happen. Daily depravity, an endless summer break.”

The conversation was spiraling, leaping to wild heights, but I was too caught up to care. I nodded enthusiastically, maybe a bit too dramatically, but it felt right.

“Ahahaha, it’s like a childhood dream!” Makura laughed, her voice bright and free.

Somehow, I felt more optimistic than I had before the summer began. I hoped she felt it too.

“Thank you. For thinking about me,” she said softly, raising the hand that had been clutching my yukata.

I firmly grasped the small hand she offered.

“Here’s to the future, Manamichi-kun.”

“Likewise, here’s to us—”

Hearing my reply, Makura bloomed into a radiant smile, like a sunflower finding the sun.