Chapter 58: “I-Prefecture, Kirishiro Family Villa Route 2 (Summer)”
The summer sun blazed mercilessly overhead in the middle of the afternoon.
Even though the clock had already passed four o’clock, the heat pouring down from above continued to roast the asphalt without the slightest hint of mercy. The air shimmered above the pavement, and every surface seemed to radiate heat back upward in visible waves.
It wasn’t even much of an exaggeration to say that if someone dropped a raw egg onto the ground, it would probably turn into a fried egg by the end of the day.
On such a sweltering summer afternoon, the four of us had once again gathered in our usual spot at the university cafeteria.
“Congratulations! Summer vacation is finally here!”
Kuwajima threw both arms into the air as she declared it.
Although she’d looked thoroughly burned out after surviving her exams, somewhere along the way she’d completely recovered her energy.
It was now the end of July.
Even the longest-running lectures had concluded, final reports had been submitted, and exams had finally come to an end. The campus was entering that peculiar period when students gradually stopped coming altogether, no longer having any reason to set foot at the university.
Unlike high school, university summer vacation didn’t begin with a closing ceremony.
There was no gathering in the gymnasium.
No principal giving a speech.
No formal declaration that classes were over.
After all, even students in the same year and department took different courses depending on their personal schedules. There was little point trying to gather everyone together under a single event.
Besides—and this was merely my personal opinion—I suspected most professors would find attending such a ceremony incredibly bothersome.
One of the reasons I attended lectures so diligently was because I enjoyed analyzing professors.
The way they structured their classes.
The way they explained concepts.
The kind of understanding they expected students to reach.
Observing all of that was genuinely interesting.
Professors were a rare species.
Among all the people I’d encountered throughout my life, they belonged to a category unlike almost anyone else.
A peculiar breed.
Listening to them, identifying their characteristics, categorizing their habits and thought patterns—it was a task with no end.
And one I never grew tired of.
“So, Kuwajima.”
I looked over at her.
“Now that you’re in such a good mood, have you finally decided what you want to do during summer vacation?”
I was referring to the vacation-home trip my mother had proposed some time ago.
Kuwajima had originally been fired up about avoiding whichever destination my hallucinations seemed to recommend.
Unfortunately, the issue of her academic survival had intervened before any decision could be made.
Only now, after finally defeating the monsters known as first-semester exams, had she remembered the matter.
Which probably explained her excitement.
“Heh-heh. So you’ve finally asked.”
Kuwajima grinned smugly.
“You’re curious, aren’t you? You just have to know, don’t you?”
She was trying far too hard to make us ask.
It was an embarrassingly obvious setup.
After a moment’s consideration, I decided to ignore it.
“Taketsuru. Meiko. You’ve both decided on your preferences too, right?”
“Yeah.”
Taketsuru nodded.
“Sumire-neesan said she’d love to come too, so it’d be nice if it were somewhere everyone could just relax together.”
“I’d like somewhere peaceful.”
Meiko rested her cheek against her hand.
“Preferably somewhere that doesn’t look like it’ll cause any problems…”
“WHY ARE YOU IGNORING ME?!”
Unable to tolerate being left out, Kuwajima finally exploded.
“Please ask me too!”
Both Taketsuru and Meiko had joined me in deliberately overlooking her, and the attention-starved Kuwajima had cracked under the pressure.
With a sigh, I turned back toward her.
“Before we get to that.”
I fixed her with a stare.
“Do you properly understand that this discussion got delayed in the first place because of you?”
“Yes.”
Her shoulders immediately slumped.
“I’m very sorry.”
Good.
Her excitement had been brought back down to manageable levels.
Now we could proceed.
Incidentally, I wasn’t participating in the selection process myself.
My hallucinations had already shown me unnecessary information.
If I picked the destination, somebody would probably complain later.
Besides, I’d visited several of the vacation homes before.
Personally, I didn’t care which one we chose.
The real question was whether it would be possible to satisfy everyone’s wishes simultaneously.
At worst, we could simply visit three separate vacation homes.
University summer vacation lasted two whole months.
Even after touring all three, we’d still have time to spare.
It might be a nuisance for Taketsuru’s workplace, but according to him:
“Other students pick up more shifts during summer vacation anyway. I worked extra during exam season, so they’re practically telling me to take time off.”
Apparently there was no problem.
And so, the demands were presented.
“Summer means the ocean! That’s non-negotiable!”
Said Kuwajima, whose IQ appeared to have dropped several points after finishing her exams.
“Since Sumire-neesan likes this kind of thing, I’d like somewhere in the mountains where we can just relax.”
Said Taketsuru, sounding less like a university student and more like a retired old man.
“Somewhere peaceful…”
Meiko murmured.
“I’d like to rest. Maybe watch fireworks.”
Sounding exactly like an exhausted office worker who desperately needed paid leave.
The requests couldn’t have been more different.
“So, in summary…”
I folded my arms.
“You want a quiet vacation home near the ocean, surrounded by mountains, with access to a fireworks festival nearby.”
“Now that you say it out loud,” Kuwajima replied, “does a place like that even exist?”
“It does.”
Immediately, I recalled one location from the list of vacation homes.
The beach was within walking distance.
The house itself was nestled in the mountains—or more accurately, deep within a forest.
Anyone motivated enough could even go hiking.
There was space for barbecues.
Fireflies could be seen there at night.
And depending on the timing, fireworks were visible directly from the property.
On top of that, it wasn’t particularly far from the university.
The only downside was that the train network in the area wasn’t especially convenient, so having access to a car would be preferable.
“It doesn’t score perfect marks in every category,” I admitted.
“But there’s one place that’s almost exactly what you’re asking for.”
Then I added:
“Of course, we could still visit three separate vacation homes that each perfectly satisfy one request.”
“Wow.”
Taketsuru nodded.
“So a place like that actually exists.”
“Going to three different locations sounds exhausting,” Kuwajima said.
“Maybe we should just use that one.”
“Oh, and by the way~”
Meiko raised a finger.
“The Kirishiro family already gave permission for us to use the vacation homes during future holidays too.”
“Why do you know that?”
“So winter vacations or next year can be somewhere else.”
Again, why did Meiko possess authorization I didn’t know about?
Well, whatever.
Traveling to three different places during a single summer would be a hassle.
One destination was certainly appealing.
I glanced down at my phone and opened the selected property’s information.
The familiar display appeared before me.
──────
“Kirishiro Family Vacation Home Route 2 (Summer) — I Prefecture”
Horror: ○
Fantasy: ○
Science Fiction: ×
Gathering Materials: ○
Social Media Appeal: △
Romantic Comedy: △
Recommended Rating: ★★★★☆
Comment:
The first challenge of any trip is arriving safely.
──────
“By the way, Taketsuru. Meiko.”
“Hm?”
“What?”
“There was actually something I never told you.”
The two looked at me.
I continued.
“Among the vacation homes on this list… there are several locations where my hallucinations insisted, ‘You should probably bring the Holy Sword.’”
“WHAT?!”
“EXCUSE ME?!”
Both of them stared at me in shock.
Their expressions practically screamed:
This is the first we’re hearing about this!
Meanwhile, Kuwajima wore the exact opposite expression.
Wait, they didn’t know?
Her face seemed to say.
“Why are you telling us this now?”
Taketsuru demanded.
“Why now, Kirishiro?”
“Ahahaha…”
Meiko laughed weakly beside him.
Meanwhile, Kuwajima muttered:
“Ahh… so we avoided those after all.”
Avoided them?
What exactly did she mean by that?
The moment that information entered his ears, Taketsuru slammed his hands onto the table and stood.
“Kirishiro.”
His eyes burned with determination.
“Let’s change the destination immediately. There’s still time.”
“Taketsuru.”
I calmly met his gaze.
“Are you really going to let a mere hallucination dictate your summer plans?”
“Absolutely.”
“Doesn’t that trample upon human dignity?”
“My human dignity isn’t located there.”
He answered without hesitation.
Honestly, though, it was precisely because Taketsuru existed that I felt comfortable choosing these kinds of destinations.
“Think about it another way.”
I pointed at him dramatically.
“What’s your Holy Sword for?”
“To carve open humanity’s freedom.”
I continued passionately.
“To protect the ordinary happiness of everyday people with your own hands!”
“The moment ordinary happiness requires a Holy Sword, it stops being ordinary.”
Taketsuru shot back instantly.
“You really need to realize that.”
“…?”
I frowned.
“What a strange thing to say.”
“This setup is practically straight out of a textbook light novel.”
“NEKOYANAGI-SAAAN!”
Taketsuru cried toward the heavens, presumably appealing to some absent higher authority.
The truth was that summer events covered an absurdly wide range of possibilities.
Take Kuwajima’s request to visit the ocean.
A perfectly normal summer event might involve:
Kuwajima getting hit on by strangers.
Kuwajima nearly drowning.
Kuwajima being attacked by a giant squid.
Kuwajima being swept out to sea and stranded on a deserted island.
All perfectly ordinary occurrences.
That was simply how summer vacation worked.
Well.
Not any summer vacation I’d ever experienced.
But surely those things happened to completely ordinary college students somewhere.
Probably.
“Taketsuru-kun.”
Meiko suddenly spoke.
“Don’t worry.”
“Hm?”
“I’ve already negotiated compensation.”
“Compensation?”
“If Gouto-kun drags you into something dangerous, you’ll receive hazard pay.”
She smiled brightly.
“Kuwajima-san and Taketsuru-kun should feel free to file claims.”
“That doesn’t count as prevention!”
Taketsuru immediately objected.
Why exactly was hazard pay being offered simply for spending time with me?
The entire Ordinary College Student Project had been Meiko’s idea in the first place.
“Calm down, Taketsuru.”
I raised a hand.
“Even if something does happen, you’ll have your Holy Sword.”
“…”
“And more importantly—”
I leaned forward.
“Wouldn’t it be a perfect opportunity to show Niwashita-san how cool you are?”
Taketsuru froze.
Then:
“…You make a compelling argument.”
The persuasion was successful.
To be fair, Taketsuru was one of the rare men who could honestly say:
“No matter what happens, I’ll protect you.”
And actually possess the ability to back it up.
A man capable of physically protecting someone was a valuable thing.
“Well then.”
I clapped my hands.
“Now that the destination is decided, let’s work out the schedule.”
Then I glanced around the table.
“Everyone except Kuwajima is free, right?”
“Why is it assumed that my schedule is the busy one?!”
“Is it?”
“…I might go home during Obon.”
The hesitation alone made her statement suspicious.
Still, everyone had apparently kept their schedules fairly open.
Whether Kuwajima truly intended to return home during Obon remained questionable.
In the end, however, we settled on traveling during the first half of August.
As for the Holy Sword—
Apparently it could teleport itself whenever necessary.
Since its owner could warp across vast distances, it would have been strange if the sword couldn’t do the same.
As a result, everyone unanimously agreed to leave it behind.
Which was probably for the best.