“What are you going to do with that?”
“I thought I’d take it home and make a pressed specimen or something.”
A pressed specimen is, simply put, a specimen where plants are flattened and dried like pressed flowers. I already have a katakuri specimen at home, so I could just throw it away here, but I felt reluctant to do that in front of Iwama. I put the plastic bag back in my backpack.
Our goal today was the cherry blossoms. We started walking up the mountain path again.
“Izuta-kun, you were in the chemistry club, right? The Bakegaku….”
“…Yeah, but…”
“Did you also study plants? The katakuri talk seemed more like biology than chemistry… but you knew so much. I don’t think the chemistry club makes pressed specimens either.”
“Ah… well, that’s… for various reasons.”
When I vaguely dodged the question, Iwama smiled at me.
“You like plants, don’t you?”
“Like them… or rather, I admire them.”
“Plants?”
“Yes. Because plants are straightforward.”
Seeing Iwama tilt her head slightly, I realized my words weren’t enough.
“Plants always live their lives straightforwardly, true to themselves. That’s what I admire about them.”
Iwama looked at me with a surprised expression. It quickly returned to a polite smile.
“…Being able to live without hesitation is certainly a bit enviable.”
“Right?”
We must have walked quite far by now. Looking back, the school building’s rooftop was visible far below.
Iwama stopped, so I looked up to see a male and female student coming down the path toward us, chatting amicably. Iwama moved to the side of the path to let them pass. I followed suit.
“We climbed all the way up for nothing. Totally disappointing.”
“Well, can’t be helped. The wind was strong this winter.”
The two passing by while saying such things appeared to be upperclassmen. They had flashy appearances and, judging by their proximity, seemed to be a couple. When both of them glanced at us, they smiled and waved.
Iwama bowed her head, so I gave a slight bow as well. It was a convenient excuse to look away.
After passing the couple, I became worried that Iwama might think the cherry blossoms we were heading to were that kind of place, but my concern seemed unnecessary. Iwama continued walking ahead with the same demeanor as before.
The mountain was quiet. According to Mizusaki, this was supposed to be a “super popular spot,” but there was nobody else around. We’d climbed quite far, but the only people we’d passed were that upperclassman couple just now.
“Ah, isn’t that it?!”
Iwama pointed ahead around the curve.
When I caught up, I could see the light crimson of cherry blossoms ahead. While there was a lot of fresh greenery around that looked like watercolors, only that spot was vividly blooming with cherry blossoms as if oil paint had been dripped there. They were in full bloom.
As we approached, I could hear cheerful chirping sounds.
Looking closely, many sparrows were perched on the cherry tree. They innocently bit off flowers at the base, sucked only the nectar, and discarded them on the ground. Since the sparrows don’t carry pollen with this eating method, it’s sometimes called “nectar robbery.” For the cherry trees, these are guests with a hundred harms and not a single benefit.
“Falling flowers or plunder, I suppose.”
“But the sparrows are so cute, you can’t help but forgive them, right?”
“Is that so…?”
We somehow came to a stop in front of the cherry trees. Many sparrows were also flocking to the surrounding trees. Iwama gazed at the scene lovingly.
“I think sparrows are creatures designed by God.”
She suddenly said something outlandish, seemingly not joking.
“A small, round form, perfectly round eyes, and most of all, those black spots on their cheeks! I’m sure God thought about creating an incredibly cute creature and came up with this.”
As I stood dumbfounded, Iwama hurriedly waved both hands in front of her chest.
“Of course, I’m joking… it’s the age of Neo-Darwinism, right?”
While saying this, Iwama turned her body toward the cherry trees.
The suspicion swirling inside me turned into certainty. Neo-Darwinism is the modern theory of evolution that has reinforced the concept of natural selection proposed by Darwin with new knowledge.
While it wouldn’t be strange for an honor student to study ahead, if she could smoothly bring up such topics in casual conversation, that’s a different story. She’s apparently not just any honor student.
Iwama is not a casual fun-loving crowd—by any measure, she’s hardcore.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
The two large mountain cherry blossom trees stood on the valley side of the mountain slope, leaning close to each other. The mountain path curved in a direction that maintained its distance after approaching the cherry trees to a certain point. I still couldn’t see anything resembling an ino no m (or heart) shape. We continued along the path.
However, the path around the bend soon came to a dead end.
“Oh no, this is terrible…”
A huge fallen tree. A large konara oak had broken at the base near the cherry trees and was lying heavily across the path. Judging by the condition of the soil at the roots, it hadn’t fallen long ago. The wind was strong this winter. It must have fallen during the winter. Black and yellow striped tape was wound around the trunk of the fallen tree.
We stopped. It seemed we couldn’t proceed without climbing over it. While it looked like we could somehow climb over, the tape being there probably meant no entry was allowed.
“A dead end, huh?”
“But look! It seems you’re supposed to view the cherry blossoms from there.”
Iwama pointed to the side of the mountain path. From the path toward the cherry trees, a wooden platform was set up, just large enough for two people to stand on side by side. The entire thing was shaped like a heart.
The platform had what appeared to be a sign attached. But probably due to many long years, gray lichens covered the surface, making it completely unreadable. I used a fallen branch to peel it off, and finally the text appeared.
It said—cherry blossom viewing Platform. Below what was written, an explanation was also added.
Treasure the flowers and plants! Don’t leave the mountain path, view the cherry blossoms from here ♡ Class of Heisei Year 16 (2004), All Graduates
It seemed to be a graduation project. Looking at it that way, the construction was indeed crude. High school seniors from 20 years ago must have cut and assembled the wood. The material appeared to be hardwood based on the wood grain, and it remained undamaged even after many long years. Probably chestnut wood. The hard material containing much tannin doesn’t rot easily even in damp places and has been used for building foundations and railroad ties.
After Iwama read the cherry blossom viewing platform’s explanation—or perhaps after seeing the heart at the end of the text—she got on the platform to view the cherry blossoms.
“Great view! From here, the cherry blossoms really do look best.”
Behind the impressed Iwama, I stood still on the mountain path without moving.
“Huh? Izuta-kun, you come too! It’s dirty, but surprisingly sturdy!”
Iwama invited me innocently, but that wasn’t the issue.
This heart-shaped platform was obviously meant for couples.
“What’s wrong?”
Iwama tilted her head. There was no way I could refuse by saying something like “Well, I’m a bit embarrassed to get on a heart with a girl,” so I joined Iwama next to her with a face showing no concern.
The designer must have been a strategist. The exquisite size of the cherry blossom viewing platform appeared to allow two people to stand side by side, but when actually getting on it, it was cramped, and moving even slightly would make our shoulders touch.
I tried not to be conscious of it and gazed at the cherry blossoms.
It was a platform placed to get slightly closer to the cherry blossoms than the mountain path. Not too close, not too far, the two yamazakura trees in full bloom appeared to fill my entire field of vision.
My breath involuntarily stopped.
It was as if the entire world had become spring.
“I see… it’s beautiful.”
The light crimson petals, darker than somei yoshino, danced up with even the slightest breeze and showered down upon us. The sparrows busily stealing nectar kept dropping flowers with soft plops.
The ground around us was covered not just with cherry blossom petals but also with katakuri flowers. The cherry blossom viewing platform off the mountain path probably also served the role of preventing these katakuri from being trampled by spectators.
In the back mountain where the green wasn’t yet deep, this space might be the most vividly colored place.
“Hmm…”
However, Iwama seemed somewhat unsatisfied.
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