After school & hot springs

PART - 2

This is a continuation of the side story.

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　”Onsen.” (TL/N - Hot Springs)

　What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear this word?

　Is it a bathtub full of steam, or a woman in a yukata?

　Individual may have a different picture in mind.

　For me, the first thing that came to mind was an old man with a white towel on his head.

　I had no weird intentions, it was simply the first scene that came to mind.

　I had been forcibly taken away from school by Kirasaka, and was driving down the Odawara Bypass in Kanagawa Prefecture.

　The car driven by Kuroi-san was a limousine, a typical car for rich people.

　Since he had given me a ride in a black one-box car in the past, I had assumed that it would be the same car this time, but it was actually this limousine that came to pick me up.

　Needless to say, I was so overwhelmed by the situation that I couldn’t say a word…

　Anyway, we are now on our way to Hakone, but the air in the car is heavy.

　The air in front of us was so heavy that everyone was hesitant to say a word.

　The reason for this is quite simple.

　Rei Kirasaka and Shizuku Kanzaki were sitting face to face, playing a serious game of cards.

　The card game, well, it’s playing cards, but actually they are currently facing off in a game of Old Maid.

　Me and Yuuto had already finished all the cards in our hands early, but surprisingly, these two were still there.

　If my prediction was correct, the Joker was in Shizuku’s hand, and if Kirasaka drew a card other than the Joker, she would win, and if she drew any other card, she would be in trouble.

　In such a situation, Kirasaka draws the card on the right without hesitation.

“Oh, Kirasaka-san is easily caught.”

“…This vixen…”

　”…Oi,oi.”

　I’m not sure why they are playing such a serious game.

Kirasaka, who made the wrong choice, seems to have been frustrated by having been bad-mouthed, but on the other hand Shizuku was smiling.

　It’s funny …if I remember correctly, card related games are supposed to be games that are played for light fun…

　It’s a good mindset to be serious about everything, but you can’t be serious about this kind of game.

　However, when Yuuto and I finished, the atmosphere suddenly changed.

　The emotions completely drained from their faces, and a silence reigned as if they were trying to read each other’s minds with their poker faces on.

　They exchanged their cards several times, until Kirasaka now held the Joker, but these two are truly incompatible.

　They don’t want to lose to the each other even if they kills time like this, just like facing a competitior in a serious match.

“I’ve never seen such a heavy hand of cards before.”

“Don’t worry, …neither have I.”

　Yuuto, who was sitting next to me, muttered in a small voice.
　In the end, I couldn’t escape the forced entertainment of Kirasaka, so I presented one condition.

　That is, to let Yuuto, who is right in front of me, accompany me.
　Although I could enjoy the hot spring alone, I thought it would be better to bring him along, considering the other parties with whom I was going.

　However, I think I’ve been seeing a good amount of bitter smiles on Yuuto’s face lately.

　It’s hard to ask, though, because I’m aware that the three of us are the ones who are responsible for it.
　The women exchanged jokers in the same way repeatedly more than a dozen times.

　Before the game ended, Kuroi-san called out to us.

“Ojou-sama, everyone, we will be arriving in about five minutes.”

“So …let’s leave this game to be decided at table tennis after the onsen.”

“I hope …you won’t cry over losing?”

　The two of them gave up on the game here, and put their cards on the table to call a truce.
　I looked out the window of the car and saw a landscape that was different from the town we lived in.

　My family had been here before, but it had been a while since I had been to a hot spring resort, and I felt my spirits lift a little.
　At the same time, I remembered Kaede’s phone call a while ago.
　Kaede was answering the phone as usual, but she was sulking a little.

　I could tell because we were siblings.
　It was only her voice, but I could tell that she had a frustrated expression on the other end of the phone.

　Naturally, it’s normal to be envious when your brother goes to the hot-springs alone.

　When I told her that I would give up my next day off to go with her to a place of her choice as an apology, her tone changed and it was good to know there were no problems for the time being.
　If I didn’t have some kind of compromise plan, I might not be able to eat for a few days, which would be an absolute disaster.
　With my stomach in my sister’s hand, it appeared that the hierarchical relationship in my family is already decided.

　Anyway, it was confirmed that I would have to give up my day off for the second week in a row.
　My resting place is getting farther and farther away.

　The car driven by Kuroi-san stopped when it reached the entrance of the building instead of the parking lot.
　There were already several employees waiting in line at the entrance, and one man opened the back seat of the parked car.

　As I was feeling a little suspicious about his behavior, Kirasaka was the first to get out.

“We’ve been expecting you, Rei-ojousama.”

“I’m sorry to bother you all of a sudden, but I’m going to borrow your facilities for a little while.”

“Don’t tell me …this place is also a part of Kirasaka’s company?”

　After getting out of the car, I was struck by the conversation that was taking place.
　It’s very easy to imagine the answer to this question, as the white-haired man who was probably the director bowed his head several times and was being polite to Kirasaka, a student.

　Kirasaka answered the question that seemed to have no need for an answer.

“Yes, I want to go to the hot spring, but I don’t like crowds, so I asked for a private bath.”

“Apologize to the people who were planning to come here today!”

“Don’t worry, I’ve already sent the people who had reservations to other restaurants.”

　I wonder how much money this woman is spending on an after-school, spur-of-the-moment hot-springs day.

　However, it’s possible that we won’t be able enjoy the hot springs because of the regret.

I’m not a substitute for Kirasaka, who went ahead, but I bowed to the employees many times and then followed.

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Archived Comments

darkkingt (on 2021-09-16 16:42:50):

you open for picking up novel suggest ?

BrutalBotX (on 2021-09-16 18:31:10):

Nope, too busy irl & with the manga translations.

DarkWolf908 (on 2021-09-16 22:28:14):

Thanks for new chapter

Baranok (on 2021-09-17 14:56:48):

A little late, but thanks for picking this up

Daredevil (on 2021-09-18 17:40:19):

This is one of my favourite novels. I thought I would never see it again. Thanks for picking this up dude.