Chapter 26

“Summer break, huh.”

Looking at the calendar, July 31st was circled in red.

That was something Shin had marked three weeks ago—he said it was the final day of the semester exams. Once those were over, summer break would begin.

In other words, today marks the start of summer vacation.
And that means Shin won’t be going to school, won’t be constantly studying, and will be home—with me.

…Just like before, or maybe even more than before, we’ll be spending time together.

“…”

My face feels a little warm.

Did I set the air conditioner too high?
Or maybe I’m coming down with a summer cold. I should be careful.

“…”

…It’s not like I’m flustered just because Shin will be around more. Definitely not.

…Though ever since that day, three weeks ago, I have been acting a little strange.

For a while, I’d tense up when Shin came close, thinking he might try to pat my head again.
And even though something like that happened, he went around with that same carefree look on his face—it annoyed me so much I ended up glaring at him a few times.

But that’s all in the past now.

Three weeks have passed. I’m already back to normal.

Even if someone brought all that up again now, I wouldn’t feel anything.

Even if I remembered the lap pillow or him patting my head, it wouldn’t make me feel weird at all.

“…It’s hot. I should turn the AC down.”

I grabbed the remote and lowered the temperature.

It’s seriously hot. Maybe the AC’s broken.

My face won’t stop feeling warm because of it.

To cool down, I lay on the sofa and pressed my face against it.

The chilled surface felt really nice.

…Wait, isn’t this the same spot where Shin gave me a lap pillow?

“…Right! I should get something to drink!”

When it’s hot, cold drinks are the best. That’s just common sense.

I sat up and stood from the sofa.

It really was hot. I couldn’t go on without drinking something.

Fanning my face with one hand, I headed toward the kitchen.

With a glass of barley tea in hand, I sat at the living room table.

The sofa was off-limits for now.

Lazing around on it in the middle of the day just didn’t feel right.

Healthy people should sit properly in chairs.

“…Come to think of it, Shin said he wanted to do all sorts of things over summer break.”

As I sat sipping my tea, I remembered what Shin said this morning.

Since it's summer vacation, he wanted to go traveling, visit the beach—try all sorts of things.

He also told me to let him know if there was anywhere I wanted to go or anything I wanted to do.

“Places I want to go, huh…”

Honestly, I don’t really know.

The only kind of trip I’ve ever been on was that elementary school field trip—and that was years ago. I barely remember it.

I’ve never been to the beach. I’ve been in a pool before, but that was just the school’s.

My parents were always too busy with work, so we never did anything like that.

Oh, wait—I guess I did go to the beach once. In the other world. But that was just for monster hunting.

…Anyway, the point is, I don’t really know.

Since I don’t have any experience with it, I’ve never really thought about places I want to visit.

……And besides, if we’re doing all kinds of things, maybe it’ll end up like that time we drank together and he patted my head—

—Wait, no! That’s not it!

I quickly shook my head.

What am I even thinking?

It’s not like I want to drink again or have him pat my head or anything.

It’s just… yeah, I never did get to ask Shin about what happened that night, so maybe the whole alcohol thing is still stuck in my mind.

“…Sigh.”

I pressed the glass to my cheek.

The condensation on the surface cooled my flushed skin.

“…Maybe I’ll do some housework.”

I stood up, cup in hand.

If I just sat here any longer, I’d start thinking about things I shouldn’t.

Looking at the clock, I saw that Shin would probably be back in another hour or two.

Maybe I should start thinking about dinner.

“Since today was the end of exams, I guess I’ll make something a little special.”

With that thought, I made my way to the kitchen, thinking over what we had in the fridge.