Chapter 59: It’s Fine If You Play Nicely in Your Love Triangle, So…
July passed in relative peace.
Summer vacation had begun, and although my daily rhythm changed somewhat, life itself remained calm and uneventful. We still gathered several times as part of the Normalcy Appreciation Society’s activities, but nothing particularly noteworthy happened, so I’ll spare the details.
If I had to mention one thing, it would be Taketsuru saying with genuine emotion:
“This is what normal is supposed to look like.”
After surviving another month of ordinary days, August finally arrived.
And with it, our club’s long-awaited summer trip began.
◇
9:00 AM. Near the university’s main gate.
Five people had gathered there.
“Niwashita-san, thank you for joining us this time.”
“Of course! Leave it to me. I’ll show you my dependable upperclassman side!”
The special guest for this trip was Taketsuru’s girlfriend, Niwashita Sumire.
Taketsuru had gone through quite a lot since they started dating—including getting transported to another world—but apparently the ten years he’d known her still outweighed the five years he’d spent in that other world, so the two of them managed just fine without any major awkwardness.
Though Taketsuru did have a bad habit of reporting their relationship progress to me in unnecessary detail, as if I were somehow obligated to listen to his romantic updates.
Still, Sumire-san was actually a key figure in this trip for one very important reason.
She had a driver’s license. And a car.
“It’s technically a van for transporting research equipment, so everyone’s luggage should fit, but don’t expect a luxury ride.”
“That’s more than enough. You saved us the trouble of renting a vehicle.”
Apparently her laboratory specialized in fieldwork-oriented nature research, so she often drove around with professors to various locations. Despite her gentle appearance, the van itself looked surprisingly rugged and sturdy.
Somewhere between folklore studies and natural sciences, perhaps. A rather uncommon specialty even within our university.
Aside from Aoba-senpai, Sumire-san was the only upperclassman I knew personally, so I made a mental note to ask her about university events and other senior-student knowledge if the opportunity arose.
“Um… I actually got my license before today too, so I can take over driving whenever you’re tired, Niwashita-senpai.”
“Really? Thank you, Nekoyanagi-san! You can just call me Sumire. I get sad when cute girls act so formal with me.”
“Understood, Sumire-senpai.”
Meiko spoke up quietly, and Sumire-san responded with her usual bright smile.
Apparently Meiko had been squeezing driving lessons into her already packed schedule. That probably explained why she’d looked unusually exhausted lately.
For the record, Meiko was the only one among us who had actually obtained a license.
“Damn it. If I’d gotten mine earlier, I could’ve shown off my manly side here too.”
“Oh? You’re going to driving school, Taketsuru?”
“Yeah. I considered doing one of those intensive camp courses, but being separated from Sumire-neesan for two whole weeks felt emotionally impossible.”
“I genuinely don’t know whether I’m supposed to laugh at that.”
If this had been an ordinary college student saying it, I might’ve dismissed it with a ‘What are you talking about?’ But Taketsuru was a college student who had actually spent five years in another world. Considering the trauma he carried from that experience, I could understand why the idea of separation affected him so strongly.
Meanwhile, Sumire-san simply laughed.
“Yuu-kun, you’re exaggerating~”
…Yeah.
“What about you, Kirishiro?”
“I don’t have a license, but I can drive.”
“…I’m choosing not to ask further.”
It wasn’t really that mysterious.
You only needed a license to drive on public roads. On private property, no license was required.
So if I really wanted one, I could probably go to the licensing center and get it in a day.
“As a perfectly ordinary college student, the proper etiquette is to operate various machines without a license when the situation becomes desperate enough, right?”
“I literally just said I wasn’t asking. Let’s keep it that way.”
And so I was silenced.
Kuwajima, meanwhile, had apparently decided on a policy of ‘I’ll get a license if I ever need one,’ which probably meant she wouldn’t bother until job hunting started and employers began treating the lack of a license as a disadvantage.
“Speaking of Kuwajima, you’re unusually quiet today. Shouldn’t you greet Sumire-san properly?”
That was when I noticed it.
Normally Kuwajima was the type of person who barged into conversations with zero awareness of personal space. Today, however, she was sitting there as meekly as a borrowed cat.
When I addressed her, she flinched visibly before answering in a small voice, her gaze lowered.
“Ah, um, well…”
“So you’re the famous Black Princess! You’re even prettier in person! You look like a model. Do you have Instagram?”
“N-no, I don’t.”
Ah. That explained it.
Kuwajima was simply being shy around Sumire-san. After all, she was the only one meeting her for the first time.
I exchanged a glance with Meiko, and she nodded knowingly.
Then, without warning, Meiko pulled the black bandage from Kuwajima’s bag and wrapped it around her arm.
Kuwajima’s eyes snapped open.
“Hmph. You would be wise not to approach me too closely. This form is merely a temporary vessel. Draw near and your soul shall be ensnared—”
“Ah! So this is the famous act! I’m so happy to see the real thing!”
“I-I’m not a sideshow attraction! Maintain a proper distance! Cease this at once!”
Apparently even the great Goetheschwarz Sanzen Sanbyaku Sanjuuin-sama couldn’t intimidate Sumire-san.
Then again, Sumire-san was looking at Kuwajima with the indulgent expression of an older sister watching a child. There was a nonzero chance she had mistaken Kuwajima for a middle schooler.
“Alright then! Let’s get going!”
After the greetings were finished, Sumire-san cheerfully announced our departure.
We loaded our luggage into the van efficiently… and immediately started arguing over the seating arrangement.
Surprisingly, the people arguing were Taketsuru and Meiko.
“Come on, Nekoyanagi-san. If Sumire-neesan is driving, then obviously I should get the passenger seat. You three can enjoy your little love triangle in the back.”
“Absolutely not. We’re already heading into a situation where we have no idea what might happen. Gouto-kun’s appraisal-like skill is practically predicting trouble, and I’m not about to deliberately trigger a ToL●ve-Ru scenario. We should isolate Gouto-kun and preserve the balance of the group.”
“No, no, no. Putting Kirishiro in the passenger seat is way more dangerous. If you let him handle the map, who knows where we’ll end up?”
“And leaving Gouto-kun unsupervised in the back is terrifying too!”
For the record, the entire argument was about where to place me.
That felt vaguely insulting.
Sumire-san had told Meiko to relax, so Meiko had already dropped back into her usual casual speech. Lately she’d been spending too much time using that underling-like tone anyway.
The arrangement was simple: Sumire-san in the driver’s seat, one person in the passenger seat, and three people in the back. The passenger also had the responsibility of helping with navigation.
Because I had previously mentioned things like ‘Apparently we might need the Holy Sword,’ the two of them were debating which seating arrangement would be safest in the event of supernatural trouble.
What kind of argument was that supposed to be? I was a perfectly ordinary college student. I couldn’t possibly trigger events just by sitting in a car.
“Um… if it’s that important, should I take the passenger seat?”
The timid suggestion came from Kuwajima.
Taketsuru and Meiko immediately fell silent and considered it.
“…Honestly, I’d prefer to sit next to Sumire-neesan. But if Nekoyanagi-san and I sandwich Kirishiro in the back, we can restrain him if necessary.”
“It’s not ideal, but Taketsuru-kun has a point. Gouto-kun handling directions is scary.”
Apparently Kuwajima-as-passenger-seat became the compromise solution.
“I think you’re both misunderstanding something. If I’m given a job, I complete it perfectly.”
“We’re aiming for seventy points, not perfection.”
“A guy who adds two hundred extra points and a bunch of unnecessary bonus features needs to stay seated.”
The two of them grabbed Kuwajima’s shoulders firmly and spoke in unison.
“We’re counting on you, Kuwajima-san. Get us to the destination safely.”
“If anything happens, we’ll jump in somehow, so don’t worry.”
“I-I’m sure it’ll be fine. This is probably just a normal trip. Probably.”
“If you’re all this worried, maybe we should cancel the trip entirely.”
“““We still want to go.”””
And so the seating arrangement was finalized: Kuwajima in the passenger seat, while I sat in the back trapped between Taketsuru and Meiko.
◇
The vacation home wasn’t actually that far from the university.
Even without taking the highway, it was less than a five-hour drive using regular roads.
Once the destination address was entered into the car’s navigation system, it immediately began guiding the route, and Sumire-san confidently assured us that she was used to driving in this kind of terrain.
The route passed through a lot of mountain roads and rural farming paths that looked easy to get lost on, but according to her, visiting such places was practically part of her research.
And so we set off for the vacation home.
Kuwajima, who had initially been shy around Sumire-san, gradually relaxed after performing the Goetheschwarz Sanzen Sanbyaku Sanjuuin routine and getting enthusiastically encouraged instead of mocked.
Even Taketsuru and Meiko, who had started the trip on high alert, began relaxing after about two hours passed without any incidents.
Along the way, we stopped at a roadside station for lunch and treated ourselves to soft-serve ice cream made from fresh milk delivered directly from a nearby dairy farm.
The summer heat, the cool sweetness of the ice cream, the mountain breeze carrying the scent of grass and soil—it all felt remarkably peaceful.
After everyone finished eating and returned to the van, I happened to glance at the navigation screen.
──────
“Car Navigation System”
Destination: A mysterious force is interfering.
Comment: If you correct it now, you’ll arrive without any problems.
──────
“Kuwajima. Is the navigation still set correctly?”
“Huh? Once you enter the destination at the start, it doesn’t change just because you stop somewhere. Didn’t you know that, Kirishiro-kun?”
“…No, if that’s the case, then never mind.”
“Fufufu! I finally got to teach Kirishiro-kun something for once! You may call me Teacher Kuwajima if you wish!”
I was glad she was enjoying herself.
The navigation resumed, and Sumire-san pulled the van back onto the road.
──────
“Car Navigation System”
Destination: ■■■■ Village
Comment: Ah, there it goes.
──────
Even my hallucinations sounded disappointed in Kuwajima.