It had been about a week since we got back from Kinosaki Onsen. Looking for extra spending money for summer vacation fun, I’d been packing my schedule with work shifts over the past week. My part-time job is at a small, independently run café in town. Nagisa works there with me, while Yukina has a job at a convenience store, and Noa works as a private tutor.

And recently, a new hire had joined us at the café as well. Kikuchi Mio. She’s a junior in her third year of high school, attending a reasonably good metropolitan public school. With her long black hair and a neat, modest-looking dress, she was the textbook image of a pure, well-mannered beauty. Apparently, she’d all but secured admission through a designated school recommendation, so she didn’t really need to study for entrance exams anymore. Instead, she planned to work part-time and save up money in preparation for college life. And the university she’d gotten into through that recommendation was—

“Oh, wow. So Amemiya-senpai really is going to be my senior.”

“Yeah, looks like it. By the way, Nagisa’s going to the same university too.”

“Ah, Akatsuki-senpai as well? I mean, that makes sense. You’ve talked about college stuff from time to time.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you in the same club or something?”

“No, not exactly. It’s more like we’re just part of the same group that hangs out a lot.”

“So you’re close, then?”

“Yeah, I’d say we are. I think they’re the best friends I could ask for.”

For a brief moment after I said that, it felt like Kikuchi’s eyes glinted strangely. For the record, this café is tucked away in a slightly convoluted back alley, so it’s not the kind of place that gets a lot of customers. On top of that, the owner is an elderly man who runs it more or less as a post-retirement hobby, so it has that “a hidden gem known only to those in the know” kind of vibe. The old man who owns the place apparently trained at cafés in Paris back in the day and even placed in various competitions multiple times, so his skills are the real deal. The coffee he brews is insanely good, but given his age, it seems he’s not all that interested in making the place widely known. Because of that, we part-timers are allowed to work at a pretty relaxed pace. It’s such a laid-back job that we can even chat like this during slow periods.

“Friends, huh.”

“Yeah. Friends really are nice.”

“So you didn’t have any friends before that?”

At Kikuchi’s blunt, straight-to-the-point question, I gave a wry smile and answered.

“No, it’s not that I didn’t have any. I just mostly had guy friends.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“Hmm… I don’t know, I just don’t really click with guys. They tend to act all high and mighty, or once they start talking it’s nothing but bragging. It gets boring.”

“That’s unusual, hearing a man say that.”

“Probably. But for me, messing around with girls is about a hundred times more fun.”

When I said that, Kikuchi muttered under her breath—

“This is definitely a devilish man. No doubt about it.”

“Hm? Did you say something?”

“Nooope. Nothing at all.”

When I asked again because it sounded like she’d said something, Kikuchi put on a mischievous grin and replied.

“Anyway, seeenpai.”

“What’s with that sudden sweet voice?”

“Hey, don’t react like that. I’m just kidding.”

“No, that wasn’t really something you can brush off as a joke.”

“…Wow, that’s pretty harsh. I’m hurt.”

“Ugh… s-sorry. If that really hurt you, then my bad.”

“Which is why you should take responsibility and take me to a love hotel too.”

“Huh? A love hotel?”

At Kikuchi’s sudden suggestion, I furrowed my brow and looked at her suspiciously. Why would she suddenly bring that up? As I was thinking that, she went on to explain herself.

“No, I heard about it the other day from Akatsuki-senpai. That you went to a love hotel together with Amemiya-senpai. I was kind of curious what it’s like myself, so I thought, since I have the chance, I’d ask you to take me.”

“Why me?”

“Because you’re the only one I could ask something this embarrassing, Amemiya-senpai.”

“…Don’t you have any close friends or something?”

“That’s rude. I mean, of course I have one or two close friends… well, actually, I don’t.”

“You don’t?”

“Please, think of it as a pitiful junior asking you for a favor.”

Kikuchi clasped her hands together as she asked me that. I had no idea why she’d go out of her way to want to tour a love hotel with me of all people, but when a junior earnestly begged me that hard, I guess I didn’t really have a reason to refuse. I let out a weary sigh, scratched my head, and nodded.

“Okay, okay, got it. Then let’s go sometime.”

“When is ‘sometime’?”

“Hmm… I’m free the day after tomorrow, but—”

“Then let’s go the day after tomorrow.”

“Roger that. The day after tomorrow. I’ll keep my schedule open.”

When I agreed, Kikuchi muttered in a small voice—

“Yes. I knew it, Amemiya-senpai is easy.”

“Huh? Did you say something?”

“N-nope. Nothing at all.”

With that, Kikuchi broke into a bright smile and, looking up at me from under her lashes, she continued.

“I’m really looking forward to the day after tomorrow.”

“I don’t think there’s anything to look forward to, though.”

“I am. So please don’t forget, okay?”

“I won’t forget, I won’t forget. Do you have that little faith in me?”

“That’s not it. It just means I’m that excited about it.”

What on earth there was to be excited about, I still couldn’t really understand.