“Apparently there’s been a major incident.”
When Mizusaki says this, it’s usually about something incredibly trivial.
“That’s terrible. Let’s hurry home.”
I changed my shoes and exited through the entrance. Classes were over, and all that was left was to go home.
“Hey hey, you can’t go home. My bad. Are you still mad about lunch break?”
“I don’t get angry over something like that. But you were pretty rude to Iwama-san.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I messed up. The moment she called me ‘Mizusaki-kun,’ my brain turned all cherry blossom pink.”
“Your brain was already cherry blossom pink to begin with.”
“Well, true, with the white of brain cells and the red of hemoglobin, brains probably are close to light pink.”
Really, this guy is articulate in the most trivial ways.
“Reflect on it.”
“Don’t worry. I casually apologized properly for butting in like that.”
I was relieved that he was actually reflecting on it. Mizusaki is a guy who, as the price for his communication skills, sometimes does insensitive and presumptuous things, but deep down he’s actually pretty decent.
“…So, what’s this major incident?”
When I asked, Mizusaki suddenly stopped. A beaming smile turned toward me.
“There are two cherry blossom trees growing on the mountain behind the school.”
“The back mountain?”
I turned around. Beyond the school building, I could see a forest on slightly elevated ground.
The town of Tsunagai faces the Pacific Ocean to the south and is surrounded by mountains on the other three sides. As you go north from the ocean, the elevation gradually increases. Our Tsunagai High School is located in the northern part. The school gate faces the southern ocean, and beyond the school building, past the grounds, there’s a mountain.
“Yeah, the back mountain. You can’t see it from here, but anyway, there are two cherry trees. They grow next to each other and are apparently called the ‘Married Couple Cherry Trees.’ They’re a super popular spot.”
“Good for you.”
“Right? And these cherry trees are supposedly at their best viewing time right now.”
I see, so he wants to go see them.
“They must be a fairly late-blooming variety.”
“Right. And there’s a legend about these cherry trees—a very interesting legend.”
I nodded to prompt him.
“The two trees, when they’re in bloom, apparently form a really beautiful heart shape. And any couple who sees it—they’re guaranteed to end up together.”
“Limited to opposite-sex couples? In this Reiwa era?”
When I threw in that jab, Mizusaki tilted his head somewhat seriously.
“Hmm, that’s just a figure of speech, I guess. I don’t think it has to be opposite-sex couples. Basically, it’s about romantic success.”
“So Mizusaki wants to go see those cherry trees with me.”
“Well, that’s about right.”
Receiving his cheerful reply, I deliberately inserted a moment of silence.
“…Should I take that as a confession?”
“Wha… Look, you’re an important friend, but… I-I don’t think of Delta that way, .. or anything!”
And so we ended up going to the back mountain.
Exiting the school gate, I could see the town center beyond the ginkgo tree-lined path leading downward. Beyond that was the ocean. The bright sun made the waves glitter and sparkle. The forecast said the weather would deteriorate today, but it seemed like it would hold for a while longer.
Instead of going down the tree-lined path, we entered a side road heading toward the back of the school. It was a narrow road, but paved. Since the grounds are surrounded by mountains, they probably use this road when transporting things to the athletic field.
“But it’s suspicious, right? ‘Guaranteed to end up together if you see it’—seems like you’d easily find counterexamples if you looked.”
At my point, Mizusaki wagged his index finger.
“Well yeah, ‘guaranteed’ might be an exaggeration. But apparently for the past nineteen years, there’s been at least one success story every year. Pretty amazing, right?”
“Where’d you hear such a sketchy story?”
“From a reliable upperclassman. Anyway, the nineteen-year miracle is an established fact.”
“…It’s a matter of probability. If it’s a famous cherry tree and many couples see it every year, sure, maybe one couple will succeed. Plus, if two people are close enough to go see a legendary cherry tree together, their romance would probably succeed even without the cherry tree’s power.”
“Man, guys who are too logical don’t get girls.”
After shrugging his shoulders slightly, Mizusaki grinned and looked at me.
“And you know, there’s more to this major incident.”
“Is that so?”
“It is indeed.”
As if aiming for impact, Mizusaki exhaled slowly and left a pause.
“According to that upperclassman, apparently this year, no one has actually seen that heart shape.”
“…Why not?”
“Well, that’s what I’m curious about. Apparently the shape has collapsed, and it doesn’t look like a heart by any stretch of the imagination.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
A couple who specifically ventured into the back mountain with hopes of romantic success, only to not see the heart. Imagining it, they seem pitiful. They’d probably feel like their love path was being obstructed instead.
Being betrayed after having expectations is far more painful than not having expectations from the start.
“Well, seeing is believing. Let’s just go check it out. Sounds interesting, right?”
“Yeah.”
I obediently followed Mizusaki’s lead as he strode forward confidently.
Following along the fence, we came out behind what seemed to be a gym storage building. The road widened there, and there was even a plastic bench. Maybe this was a place for sports club members to rest. It didn’t seem to be used much—rusted steel cans and mud-covered baseballs were scattered in the corner.
“I think we enter the mountain around here somewhere.”
Saying this, Mizusaki looked around the area.
And suddenly, he turned to face me.
“Ah. Whoops.”
It sounded somewhat deliberate.
“Sorry, I just remembered I have something I absolutely can’t miss today. See you tomorrow.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll definitely make it up to you! I’ll buy you a whole box of cherry tomatoes, so forgive me. Later!”
Mizusaki closed one eye, pressed his hands together in front of his face, and scurried away. And in the opposite direction from where we came.
If he was in a hurry to go home, the shortest route would be to go back the way we came. I wondered why. Thinking that, I turned to look back at the path we came from—and I understood why Mizusaki suddenly disappeared.
And that reason also sufficiently explained why Mizusaki ran in the opposite direction.
The reason was walking alone from down the path.
—It was Iwama Rio.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
“Huh, Delta-kun, what are you doing in a place like this?”
Iwama was carrying her school bag. She must be on her way home. She stopped in front of me.
“I was sort of forcibly brought here… By the way, you don’t have to force yourself to call me Delta.”
“Really? Then, Izuta-kun.”
That’s much better. I’m not particularly happy about being called “Delta-kun.”
“Why are you here, Iwama-san?”
“Me? Actually, I heard an interesting story and came to investigate.”
I felt something ominous. Something very ominous.
“…An interesting story?”
“Apparently on this back mountain, there’s a famous cherry tree that makes you happy when you see it. And supposedly only during admission season, a pattern called ‘ino no m’ (boar’s eye) appears—it’s a charm against evil! I was so curious that I came to see it.”
I see. I was gradually understanding the situation.
You don’t need to be a master detective to realize this situation wasn’t created by coincidence.
“…Did you happen to hear that story from Mizusaki?”
“Yeah! I don’t really understand why, but as some kind of apology, he told me about the ino no m.”
That bastard…
“Izuta-kun, did you also come here after hearing from Mizusaki-kun?”
“…Well, ‘hearing’ is one way to put it… more like ‘being dragged’…”
By the way, ino no m is basically a heart shape. Whether it’s romantic success or warding off evil—I don’t know which is the real legend, but Mizusaki cleverly changed the story depending on the person, arranging for me and Iwama to meet here. What a guy, like the dirt under a con artist’s fingernails.
“Huh, but where’s Mizusaki-kun?”
“He said he had something to do and went home.”
Leaving me behind.
“I see… Even though Mizusaki-kun seemed interested in the ino no m too. Poor thing.”
If that guy was interested in anything today, it was probably solely in what would happen if he threw me and Iwama together—thinking that, I felt something odd about Iwama’s statement.
“…Poor thing? Mizusaki?”
“Yeah. Because tonight, a really strong low-pressure system is coming and it’s forecast to be quite stormy, right? All the beautiful flowers will probably scatter.”
“I see, so if we miss today there won’t be another chance.”
Talking this far, somehow, just somehow, I was anticipating a very inconvenient development. What’s worse, Mizusaki apparently didn’t tell Iwama about the romantic success story. Iwama thinks this back mountain cherry tree is simply a famous lucky spot.
And even worse, Iwama now knows that I also came to see the cherry trees.
Given this flow, Iwama will—
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