Part 7

Various Hokkaido souvenirs are displayed in the souvenir corner, which I hadn't stopped by yet.

"Speaking of which, Nanase said something about chocolate-coated potatoes, huh..."

I tried to find out what it was, but it seems that they are not sold at a ryokan so I could not find it.

So I'll have to look for it either during the sightseeing tour tomorrow, or during our free time on the last day.

I should check my phone to find a store that sells them.

"Oops..."

When I turned on my cell phone with that in mind, there were a large number of messages and past calls.

From Kei, of course.

"Where are you?"

"I couldn't see you at all today."

"Are you busy with something?"

"I miss you."

"I miss you!!!"

...and so on. When I opened the app, all the messages were marked as read in a few seconds. Right after, my phone rang.

"Uuuh!"

It would be appropriate to describe the sound as a cat's growl.

"Are you angry?"

"I'm not angry, but, you know..!"

I see, it is at least clear that she is extremely angry.

"Why can't you just be with me for a little while!?"

"Sorry. We're on a school trip, so there's a lot I have to do."

"That may be true too, but..!"

"I received information from Kushida about group 1, so I already know that you've been conducting yourself skilfully. That's why I wasn't worried about you."

"Hmmm? You're having a lot of fun with Kushida-san, huh!? She is cute, after all! Cheater!"

"We're in the same group, it can't be helped. Besides, you already know what kind of person Kushida is, don't you?"

"That has nothing to do with it. Her breasts are big too... you're... aah!"

"I get it, I get it. I have the time now, so let's meet somewhere."

"Really? Let's hang out, then!"

After the calculated act, she suddenly replied with a cheerful voice.

"Maybe that's not a good idea. Ryuuen is in my room too."

"Ah... right."

"Where are you now?"

"I'm in the room, but I think the other 3 girls are still in the bath. I was with them until just now. But I came back first because I wanted to contact you."

Kei was always deeply concerned about the wounds on her body, but it looks like she's completely past it.

"I have the key to the room, so I'll go back to the room first. I'll call you after, so please wait." "Yep!"

I've been waiting for Sudou at the souvenir corner for a little less than 5 minutes.

Since there was no sign of his return, I got curious and decided to check the corridor leading to the backyard.

Then, I saw Sudou standing alone in the same position as when he confessed.

I can't see Horikita, so she must have already left.

"Sudou?"

I felt bad since Kei was waiting for me, but I approached and called out to him.

"Ah, damn it!"

As far as I could tell, he looked frustrated.

"I knew it wouldn't work..!"

There was regret in Sudou's face as he looked back at me, but he also had a bright appearance.

"Sorry. I couldn't forget how Suzune's hand felt, so I've been standing here." "I see."

"Did you watch? It was quite the failure."

"Even so, it was an honorable defeat."

I was shown a brave, manly confession.

"I had no intention of giving up even if she refused my confession. I thought that next year, I will show how I've become even bigger, and confess again. But that's no good. At the very least, I now know that I cannot reach her."

Sudou seemed to sense something that I could not when watching from a distance.

"It's not about giving up or not giving up. I still like her, but I feel like she's a lovely flower that I cannot reach."

He couldn't seem to put it together well, but he said so and laughed a little.

"What about Onodera?"

"How would I know? Even you don't know how she really feels, right?"

"That's right."

"Well, it'll turn out the way it should. Onodera is a good person, and our hobbies are the same. Now that my wicked thoughts about Suzune have disappeared, I feel like I can be with Onodera more fairly."

Whether or not it develops into love is a secondary matter.

"I'm telling you, I'm going to keep working really hard from now on too. It was for someone else until now, but from today on, I'll go all out for myself. My immediate objective is to surpass Hirata."

"That's quite the declaration, huh?"

If he crosses that wall, he will finally be dealing with only the top tier of the school year, such as Horikita and Keisei.

It seems that without being shaken or depressed, he can look to a higher goal.