After leaving school, we headed to the train station first.
We got on a train from the station and boarded a bus at the next station.
Hana Shikien is located in a so-called ‘urban area’ where transportation is convenient.
But right now all I see is a forest.
It’s a completely ‘rural area’.
The rustling sound of the trees when the wind blows is pleasant to hear but that means we’ve arrived at a totally different place…
“Alright, let’s go!”
President darted off, leaving me–who was already tired–with everything.
If I don’t keep up, I’ll lose sight of him.
I reluctantly chased after him.
“Please wait for me. Ahh, seriously. Like I said, where is this……”
I left my bag in school but it’d probably be better to give up on the idea of retrieving it today since it takes more than an hour just to go back.
My wallet is also in my bag, so I’ll make President pay for everything in my stead.
I feel like even if I had my wallet, he’d still pay everything for me but I would still be careful what I buy.
Rather… I want to go back.
I don’t want to spend any money or time here, so let’s go back.
As I tried to put it into words, I almost got killed by his deathly gaze.
We walked along the street from the bus stop and saw a polished wall made of stone.
It’s a little higher than us and it encloses the ground of the place that we’re going to.
”
”
On the road along the wall, the street was lined with fashionable street lamps at equal intervals. The atmosphere makes it feel like I’m in Europe.
Tall trees can also be seen on the site.
As I turned to look across the trees of the elevated place, I saw a large building.
It looked similar to the Hana Shikien school building.
Like the wall, it is made of stone and looks like a European-style ‘castle’.
There was an aged stone partially covered with vines, a pointed roof, and large glass windows.
The sky is bright now, so it gave me the impression that the design was very sophisticated. Although, if it was night, it would look like Dracula’s castle.
“A castle? Is it a tourist spot or something?”
“Yeah. It’s a stone building theme park and it’s a popular tourist spot.”
“He-eh, it looks like an old fortress. It seems like something big brother would like.”
He likes foreign architecture ever since he was young and he would often say that he’d like to go to an old castle with a mystery novel setting.
I wonder if President had planned to come here with big brother.
As I turned to look at him, he nodded as if he could read my mind.
“That castle is a recreation of the old castle in the UK that Makoto wanted to go to.”
“He-eh……I see!”
I was more surprised by the President’s research ability than the fact that the castle was recreated.
I strangely felt moved.
So he is unexpectedly the type of person who does proper research.
Rather than a passive people-pleaser, he’s more of a proactive type.
“There’s one here too.”
When I thought we were stopping, he handed his smartphone to me.
It was a dating spot ranking in an online review site.
The imposing first place was this location.
It’s been officially recognized by the city as a ‘sacred place for lovers’.
The big headline says:
“With this relaxing atmosphere, you will definitely be able to suddenly advance! There’s no doubt that you can kiss!”
So he wanted to kiss…
So dull, what a dull person.
“Do you intend to invite big brother another time? Are you just testing it out today?”
“…I don’t intend to come here with Makoto. If I do, that idiot would come along too.”
That ‘idiot’ should be referring to Haru-nii.
As the President said, I don’t think Haru-nii would leave big brother alone with the President anymore.
“Today is just for a change of pace.”
“I see. If that’s the case, then I wish you had come with Natsuhi-senpai instead.”
I want these brothers to hang out with each other and deepen their relationship to evolve them into ‘President X Natsuhi-senpai’.
“Why should I come to a place I purposely researched about with my younger brother?”
“Why not? Both of you suit each other.”
They fit each other the most and their dynamic seems great too.
Good…It’s cliche but other than that, there’s something that gives it a kick.
“Don’t say things that don’t make sense. Well, I guess you’re just right…If you keep quiet, at least your face is similar.”
I wanted to butt in and say, What do you mean by I’m ‘just right’! but the second half of what he said was something that I couldn’t ignore even more.
“Are you intending to treat me as a substitute for big brother!? I won’t be doing the ‘kiss’ or the ‘suddenly advance’!”
“Ahh!? What are you saying? As if I’d do something like that!”
“I mean, it was written in the ranking description just now!”
“Shut up! Don’t be so full of yourself! You’re not the same as him, as if you can replace Makoto!”
That’s true.
…Rather, I said it as a joke but I got yelled at instead.
Even though he planned on doing it with big brother…what’s wrong with him?
“There’s no one who can replace Makoto…Well, since you’re his younger brother, it’s better than nothing. Listen well, don’t talk unless it is necessary.”
“What’re you treating me as?”
Right over the fence, I saw a large arched gate made of iron.
It has a prominent gate structure that looked like it would appear in movies and there were colored ores embedded in the ground around the gate.
It would be a waste to step on it.
I proceeded to walk cautiously.
Looking at the President, he walked slowly to the ticket office without paying attention to the ores on the ground.
This is why ikemen gorillas are no good.
He bought a ticket for me and the amount of money I owe him increased. I entered with an unsettled stomach.
I looked at the map and decided to head directly to the main castle.
We walked along the promenade with tall trees planted on both sides.
There are shiny stones.
“These stones sure are pretty.”
“They’re marble stones.”
!? “It’s the stones that are used at the entrance for the houses of the rich!”
“It’s not only at the entrance.”
“Yeah, but you know, it’s like how in those TV programs where they enter from the ‘marble stone entrance’ when they visit people’s mansions.”
“I don’t know. I don’t watch TV. It’s a waste of time.”
“Yeah, yeah, I waste a lot of time.”
As we proceeded to walk while chatting, we arrived at the castle.
Standing in front of it gives me a strong impact.
I could see the small details that I couldn’t see from afar.
“The materials are imported from the local area and it’s been completely reproduced. The fine details and sculptures are made by local artisans.”
“He-eh, aren’t you a perfect guide? It’s a pity that I came with you instead……ow-”
President hand-chopped my head.
“Every single word you say is unnecessary.”
I just thought that it was a waste since you looked it up and brought me here instead.
Well, I was grinning when I said that, though.
“It’s way more amazing than I expected it to be. It’s kind of exciting, but…”
“…It’s not fun if we don’t enter.”
The entrance to the castle was closed and there’s a sign that says ‘The interior is being repaired, please do not enter’.
“You could’ve done better! Gyaa!”
President chopped my head again.
It hurt more than the previous one!
“I said don’t say such unnecessary things!”
“But I can’t see what’s inside! It’s too disappointing!”
I thought there weren’t many customers because it was a weekday but it might be because of this.
No, it’s obviously because the highlight of the theme park is like this.
“…It’s not just the castle; the church and the cityscape have been recreated too. Let’s take a look since we’re here already.”
“…Okay~”
President walked off in long strides, fleeing from the castle.
If big brother was here, I’m sure he’d be disappointed.
He might’ve lost to Haru-nii on this, too.
“You! You’re definitely thinking of something rude.”
“Not really.”
“Well then, stop smirking.”
“Please stop accusing me. This is my default expression.”
“…The fact that you and Makoto are blood-related is really mysterious and it’s unavoidable. Why are you so different from him?”
Just some time ago, I was told that by someone too.
While walking alongside the President, sometimes a couple or an elderly group would pass by us.
I wonder how we look to other people.
Coming here to skip class, they probably think we’re weirdos.
As I walked along the promenade, I saw a pond up ahead.
When I approached it, there was something that wouldn’t have been found in the streets of Europe.
With stars scattered around its eyes, the cute ‘duck’ is floating in the pond with fluttering eyelashes and a ribbon wrapped around the neck.
It is the so-called duck boat.
Why did they incorporate such a thing into this kind of theme park……
Even though everything has been so classy until now!
Certainly, there isn’t much offered in terms of entertainment here but I wonder if there wasn’t anything better.
I thought it was something we could ignore and continue walking but soon I realized that the President wasn’t next to me.
When I looked back, he was standing still looking at the pond.
President’s gaze was fixed on the duck boat.
“…………You won’t say that you want to ride on it, right?”
‘It’s impossible,’ I thought but I asked just in case.
“Let’s go.”
“E-ehh!?”
He replied with an unexpected answer.
Is this a hallucination?
When I thought we were only going to look at it closely, President was already standing in front of the ticket machine.
Then he inserted a thousand yen inside.
This guy, he actually wants to ride it……!
I was going to say, “Go ahead and ride it yourself.” Alas, before I could even get the words out, his finger clearly pressed the ‘two people’ button.
Is there a ‘veto’ ticket machine anywhere?
I need to calm down and think.
The picture of two high school boys in their uniforms rowing a duck boat with sparkling eyes together sounds so surreal.
“Are you serious……”
“Hurry up.”
The receptionist uncle was already on standby, waiting for us.
You don’t have to work so hard.
“Let’s stop this! I’ll stay here! This isn’t good. This is definitely something we shouldn’t do!”
“I already said not to speak unless it’s necessary!”
It’s no good, there’s no way he would ever listen to me,
The moment the duck boat was in front of the President, my fate was sealed.
Ahh, I don’t want to be seen by an acquaintance.
Even if they’re not an acquaintance, what if they take a picture and post it on SNS?!
“I’ll ride on it but when we’re done, I’ll erase my memories.”
“Have it your way.”
President handed the ticket to the uncle and he guided us to the two-seater duck boat.
‘If it was a four-seat ride, I could’ve snuck to the back seat where there weren’t any paddles,’ I grumbled internally and boarded the duck that was prepared.
“Then, I will call you when thirty minutes have passed.”
He said as he sent us off.
“Thirty minutes!?”
I have to endure this shameful play for such a long time!
“It’s twenty minutes during the weekends but there’s a lot of free time during the weekdays. You can take your time.”
“Hm, well that’s very thoughtful of you.”
Twenty minutes would’ve been enough……doing something so unnecessary……!
The duck was neither spacious nor narrow, and there was enough space for two adults to sit comfortably.
There isn’t much pressure.
There was a pedal under my feet.
And the steering wheel to control it was on the President’s side of the seat.
“Isn’t this interesting?”
President placed his feet onto the pedal and gripped the steering wheel.
I gave up on enduring the shame, and was thinking of letting President take over and pedal for the two of us, but……
“Don’t slack off. You pedal too.”
“Ehh……”
I thought if the two of us pedal, then it would look even more surreal but it doesn’t seem like President will move until I place my feet onto the pedal.
The uncle in charge is looking over here to see if we’re going to quickly move or not.
I have no choice but to do it……!
Left with no other choice, I reluctantly put my feet on the pedal.
“All right, it’s time to depart!”
It’s the birth of Captain Ikemen, the love boat is the duck boat.
The number of passengers: two people.
Waves: none.
……Well, that’s because it’s a pond.
“Aye aye sir~”
I don’t know if it’s because the Captain is putting on airs or not, but I played along for the time being and the tension between us returned to normal.
Then, President grinned as if he was satisfied and happily started to pedal.
……I wonder what this is.
“Hm, this is quite interesting.”
I was just placing my feet on the pedal.
Since the pedals are connected to each other, I’m moving my feet, but I’m not using my strength at all.
I was slacking off but the President was in a good mood and didn’t seem to notice.
I hung my head down and blankly stared at the pond.
The pond is so spacious, I could play baseball in it. It was easy to move around.
The water is green in colour.
Maybe it was because there were a lot of algae, but it wasn’t very pretty.
‘I wouldn’t want to fall in there,’ I thought.
There is another group of people other than us riding the duck boats.
Fortunately, they are far from us so we can’t see each other.
“All right, we’re overtaking them!!”
“Hah?”
If you look closely, the other group in a duck boat was near the side of the pond.
Eh, you mean you’re going to treat them as an obstacle and overtake them!?
“Uooooooohhhh!!”
While I was thinking, President started pedaling at a terrifying speed.
Stop, my feet will move really fast too!
I’m scared, and it’s embarrassing to have my legs move up and down so vigorously.
No, what is this, I want to die!
The duck advanced rapidly with a huge splash from its tail.
“Too fast! The duck will become a kamikaze attack[1]
, stop it! It’s dangerous! We will trouble the duck over there too! Don’t bother them!”
[1] Kamikaze = Divine wind (any of the Japanese pilots who in World War II made deliberate suicidal crashes into enemy targets, usually ships)
The distance between us shortened and I could see their faces.
It was a mother with her child.
The girl was looking at us while making a fuss and the mother had a troubled look as she looked over.
Ahh, I’m so sorry!
“Look, there’s a child on board. We’ll trouble them, let’s stop!”
“Is that so? Then, let’s stop.”
It’s weird for the President to listen to me so easily.
We were able to stop at a safe distance.
I’m glad I could stop this wild boar.
However, the pedal that was turning at high speed didn’t stop immediately and the speed of the boat didn’t slow down.
When President turned the steering wheel to make a U turn, the boat swayed heavily.
“Uwah!”
I lost my balance and fell onto President.
……It’s warm.
“”……””
”
”
When I realized, our bodies were stuck together and our faces were close to each other.
Our eyes met and we stared at each other for a few seconds.
“……Excuse me.”
“……Oh.”
It was dead silent.
……What is this……I don’t need this heart pounding scenario!!
Do this kind of thing with big brother!
A weird atmosphere was created unnecessarily.
It’s not my fault, it’s the President’s fault!
Ahh, I want to clear my memories!
“5 minutes left!”
It seems like thirty minutes have almost passed while we were doing such things, and the uncle in charge called out to notify us.
There’s still a little bit of time left but I’ve had enough.
We immediately finished up and returned to the uncle.
Sigh ……It’s over, I somehow managed to get through the shameful play.
But why do I feel like I lost something……?
I got off the boat and returned to the promenade but it seems like President is in a good mood.
We had an accident but it looks like he enjoyed the duck boat ride.
Even though my heart is so tired……looking at his smile irritates me.
“There’s an old wives tale about boats: ‘Ride on it during a date and you will break up,’ they said. It’s good that you didn’t ride it with big brother. Ah, I guess you can’t go out with him even before that happens.”
I said something mean in revenge.
“I see, I heard something good. That means if Makoto and that idiot rides on it, it’ll go well.”
It seems like President’s brain is in optimistic mode.
So boring.
“If it’s the two of them, it seems like they would ride it and have a happy ending regardless of the superstition.”
This time he furrowed his brows and frowned.
Fuhaha, I’m happy.
I started walking again but my legs were tired and I was getting kind of thirsty.
As we were talking about taking a break somewhere, I saw a cafe wagon stopped in front of an open area.
The silhouettes of birds and flowers were drawn on a light blue wagon, and a colorful flag garland was attached to the counter. It was a cute cafe that girls would like.
The employee was also a cute older sister working alone.
“Welcome.”
While I was being shy because the cafe was really girly, I turned my eyes to the menu that was written on a blackboard in bubbly handwriting.
‘Since President is going to pay for me again, let’s not get anything too expensive.’ As I was thinking so, President’s eyes were fixed on something strange again.
It’s a fruit juice composed of tropical fruits from the southern countries; the glass is decorated with orange flowers and it has two straws stuck in it.
It’s a juice for ‘couples’ to drink.
”
”
“I beg of you, please just stop.”
“……I haven’t said anything yet.”
“You’re staring at something again!”
“I thought it would be delicious, so I was just looking at it.”
“Oh I see but if you’re going to drink it, please drink it by yourself!”
I could hear him clicking his tongue.
He definitely planned on drinking that.
It’s fine to be curious but stop trying to test it out with me.
“There’s also a way for friends to drink it. But of course, you can drink it by yourself too.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Even though the President was going to give up, she dealt a crucial hit and turned the situation around.
Please stop, don’t encourage him!
”
”
“That’s what she said.”
He looked at me with a smug look on his face as if he won or something.
So annoying……
“Please do as you like.”
As I replied, he beamed and proudly ordered it.
In the end, it came to this.
“Sighh…”
“What’s wrong? You’re even sighing.”
I decided to relax at the table near the wagon.
While I sipped the cola that the President bought for me, I reviewed everything that had happened since we came here.
“I was just wondering what I’m doing right now.”
I came all the way here but I couldn’t look inside the castle. I even endured the shameful play on a duck boat ride and right now I’m in front of President, watching him as he drank the juice for couples by himself.
“Not satisfied?”
“It’s more fun than studying, I guess.”
“Then isn’t this fine?”
“Well……you’ve got a point.”
Although I couldn’t enter, I got to see the castle and the nature here is a great change for me.
Before the President came, he was in a dragon zombie state; now it looks like he’s having fun.
“Was this a good change in pace for the President, too?”
“Most probably.”
“I’m glad.”
“When I’m with you, being serious makes me feel stupid. I think that’s a good thing.”
“What do you mean by that?”
I can’t tell if he’s complimenting me or speaking ill of me.
At that moment, the smartphone in my pocket rang.
“Ah, it’s big brother.”
It was a call from big brother.
President was a little concerned about it but it’s probably fine to pick up.
I pressed the answer button.
“Akira, are you okay?”
“Not really.”
President’s eyebrow twitched as if he was worried about my words.
“Where are you right now?”
“The countryside.”
“The countryside? What’re you doing there?”
“Going on a date with the President?”
“A date!?”
After the duck boat is a juice drink for couples, doesn’t it sound like a date?
Well, it’s a joke though.
Half of it was to harass President.
Big brother will probably hate it if I told him I was going on a date.
Actually, the President is frowning right now.
“Don’t say such weird things to Makoto!”
As I was grinning mischievously because it went as I expected, I heard a buzzing sound over the phone.
“Akira, are you alright? He didn’t do anything to you, did he!?
“Ah, Haru-nii.”
Haru-nii’s voice sounded concerned and uneasy.
The President is kind of treating me like how a pervert does.
I can understand why though.
“I’ve been forced to do so many things. I’m ashamed of myself.”
“Hahh!!?”
I want to erase it from my memory but I can’t.
If I look at the CM that has ducks in it, my heart will probably hurt from now on.
“Ah.”
“Don’t interfere.”
Even though I was talking to Haru-nii, President took my phone and ended the call.
He even turned it off.
“He’s really a hindrance.”
They really don’t get along.
Well, I guess that’s because they’re love rivals. It can’t be helped.
They probably won’t reconcile unless President finds someone else.
“Let’s go back using the street.”
Before I knew it, the President had finished that huge amount of juice.
“Sure.”
We spent quite a long time here, we’ll end up going back late if we’re any slower.
The map shows that the exit is at the end of this street. It’s near, just perfect.
‘We’ll probably reach the bus stop in thirty minutes,’ was what I thought, but……
Even after that, the President’s eccentricities continued. He dragged me along as he participated in activities such as ringing the bell for couples like how you would ring the bell for New Year’s, throwing all his coins into the wishing well to make his wish come true, and experiencing bouquet tossing in the church even though he’s a man.
I was planning to go home immediately but two more hours had passed.
Why did this happen, I don’t know.
The sun has completely set. As I thought, I had to give up on the idea of retrieving my school bag.