Yamada Ryo looked left and right: "Where's Saiki?"
Ijichi Seika glanced front and back: "He was just here a moment ago…"
[I'm right here.]
Saiki walked out from the kitchen carrying coffee jelly.
Ijichi Nijika: "Kusuo-kun, didn't you say that was the last one just now? How come there's more!"
[This really is the last one.]
"Really? I don't believe you."
...
Ijichi Nijika: "Ah, right, where's Bocchi-chan?"
Ijichi Nijika stood up to look around but couldn't see her.
Saiki, with coffee jelly in his mouth, pointed with his finger right beside Ijichi Nijika.
[Isn't that weird creature right there?]
"Right here～"
Gotoh Hitori was sprawled limp on the floor, turned into a soft blob, but still managed to let out a laughing sound: "Hehe, one step further, one step further…"
"Are you okay, Bocchi-chan? What's wrong? Hurry up and get back to normal."
Ijichi Nijika called out to the soft-bodied Gotoh Hitori, shouting "Bocchi-chan!"
Yamada Ryo let out a relieved breath: "Good, she's fine!"
"No, this doesn't look fine at all!"
A long while later…
...
Saiki and Gotoh Hitori opened the door and stepped outside, taking a breath of fresh air.
[Ha! The air outside is so much fresher. Let's go, Hitori, head back.]
"Mm."
Leaning against the wall, Ijichi Seika suddenly held out an envelope and spoke: "Wait, Saiki kid, this is for you."
Saiki took it.
Before Saiki could say anything, Ijichi Seika continued: "You're a temp worker, this is your pay for today. Take it."
Saiki glanced at the 1000 yen… then put it in his pocket.
[Thanks then.]
"Bye, Kusuo-kun, Bocchi-chan."
"Take care."
[See you.]
Gotoh Hitori: "T-Tomorrow… see you tomorrow."
After the two calmly walked down the stairs.
"Phew!"
Gotoh Hitori could no longer hide her inner excitement and started excitedly slapping Saiki.
"Saiki, Saiki, you saw that, right? You saw it! I made it through the whole day! Maybe I can actually keep this part-time job going properly. I took one step forward today, so tomorrow I can take another step!"
Gotoh Hitori, shaking Saiki while full of excitement, formed a huge contrast with how she had been inside earlier.
[Calm down a bit.]
Seriously, some people are like this in front of family. Completely normal around family, shy and hesitant around friends, seen as a aloof high-cold queen who likes being alone by teachers and classmates because she avoids eye contact… and completely unhinged in front of Saiki.
"Alright Saiki, we have to keep doing our best! Tomorrow's shift, we have to work even harder!"
Saiki's mouth twitched as something occurred to him. After Gotoh Hitori finally calmed down, he reminded her.
[Hey, Hitori! Aren't you misunderstanding something? I'm just a temp worker who came to help for one day only, you know. Tomorrow you're coming alone!]
Gotoh Hitori: …
Gotoh Hitori turned her head in a daze.
"Huh…"
Gotoh Hitori [He's right… Saiki really is just a temp, it's different from me. He even reminded me—he didn't want to do it today originally, but he just couldn't stand watching and came to help. So that means tomorrow, the day after, the day after that, and onward… I'll be alone…]
[But hey, you've still got Nijika and Ryo, so you'll be fine, right?]
Gotoh Hitori put on a teary, miserable face /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~
Saiki: …
[What is that face supposed to mean? What are those tears for…]
After Saiki used his top-tier "language" to comfort Gotoh Hitori, he headed home.
...
Some day at noon
(What is the meaning of life, anyway?)
Saiki was on the rooftop of Sobu High School, enjoying the breeze, gazing at the sky in thought.
(Is it for personal growth, creating value, experiencing things, learning, spiritual exploration, family, paving the way for the future, exploring culture, making life more complete, enjoying existence… or is it to give life meaning through our very being, changing the world by existing? The meaning of life lies in giving value to living, becoming a better person ourselves. Life is full of all kinds of possibilities, everyone has their own brilliance and mission. In the end, life returns to nature, so we should live well and become better versions of ourselves…)
"Hey! Saiki, Saiki…"
"Come join the discussion too, Saiki!"
Saiki glanced over at the one who interrupted his thoughts—the philosophical Inuzuka Shu.
(Yare yare daze, how annoying. At least let me finish thinking before you cut in.)
Saiki picked up his bento, took a bite of rice, and asked
[Discuss what…]
Inuzuka Shu: "Ah! So you didn't hear anything we were just saying?"
[No.]
"Come on! We were talking about where would be good to go for summer break…"
Inuzuka Shu slapped his forehead and looked at Izumi Yuu sitting in the shade: "Right, Yuu? Come on, join the discussion too!"
"Oh, coming."
Izumi Yuu stood up and walked out from the shade.
The moment Izumi Yuu stepped out of his shelter and into the sun, a cicada came flying straight at him and smacked right into his head.
¯_(⍤o⍤)_/¯ (How long was that cicada lying in ambush there?)
Inuzuka Shu: "Same old Izumi, huh."
Nekozaki Kyo: "Being this unlucky is honestly impressive."
Inuzuka Shu looked at Saiki and asked: "So what do you think—where should we go for summer break…"
[Stuff like that doesn't matter to me either way.]
"Why say it like that? We waited so long for your opinion, and Hachimitsu even held an umbrella for you."
(That's forbidden…)
Saiki glanced sideways at Hachimitsu Yui, who was standing beside him holding an umbrella to block the sun for him.
The expressionless Hachimitsu Yui gave a smile that showed no emotion: "It's fine～."
Saiki: …
(Yare yare daze.)
He had been perfectly fine eating his bento alone on the rooftop, occasionally enjoying a bit of sunlight—after all, he hadn't gotten any real sun in a while. The last time he flew into space to sunbathe, he didn't tan at all.
But then Inuzuka Shu and the others suddenly showed up on the rooftop, greeted him, casually surrounded him, and started discussing where to go for summer break.
They dragged him right into the flow without asking, completely derailing his thoughts about boring nonsense.
Saiki stuffed the rice into his mouth in two or three big bites, looking like a hamster as he finished.
Saiki stood up and took the umbrella from Hachimitsu Yui.
[Sorry, thanks, Hachimitsu-san. I'll hold it now.]
Saiki opened the umbrella and shaded Hachimitsu Yui from the sun. If he stood up, she'd have to tiptoe to reach—since she had blocked so much sun for him, holding it for her for a bit wasn't too much to ask!
Hachimitsu Yui looked at Saiki holding the umbrella for her and suddenly said: "Sure, Saiki, I really like you."
(Don't say weird things like that.)
Inuzuka Shu: "The way you say that makes it sound like there's a whole story behind it."
Nekozaki Kyo: "Hehe, Saiki…"
Before Saiki could speak, a hand reached out from behind holding a bottle of mineral water in front of him.
Saiki took the mineral water.
[Thanks, Shikimori-san.]
Shikimori broke into a bright, sunny smile. Under this blazing sun, the brightness doubled, and Saiki felt like his eyes were about to get blinded.
Shikimori handed out the other bottles to everyone else.
When it came to Hachimitsu Yui, she had just grabbed it and passed it over.
Then she gave a gentle smile—the exact same smile as before, yet this time without any sunshine, carrying a dark aura instead, and asked
"Hachimitsu-san, what did you mean by what you said earlier? It's really easy to get the wrong idea!"
Hachimitsu Yui looked at her hand being tightly gripped and at Shikimori wearing that so-called "gentle" smile.
"I meant I like Saiki… as a person… his character."
(So just say it like that from the start.)
"Is that so? Is that so? Oh, got it!"
The dark aura around Shikimori vanished again. Her smile stayed the same, but the sunny aura around her doubled—now even stronger than before.
Izumi Yuu felt like he was going to get sunburned and quickly raised his hand to shield himself.
"The sun today feels especially strong!"
...