Chapter 14: Birthdays Should Be Celebrated After They're Over

「...I'm bored.」

On this extremely hot Saturday.

A lazy holiday with nothing to do.

Unaccustomed to this long-awaited free time, I somehow can't settle down. When busy, my consciousness gets split between what's in front of me.

Maybe it's the backlash. I'm restless.

Even though there's nothing particular to do.

I was lazily streaming anime that had piled up while tapping my smartphone. Information leaked out as it leaked──a holiday of nothing but leaking.

「Well, I guess it was like this.」

But I got used to it.

Free time is preferable, and it's peace itself.

Weekday busyness is "wrong", and this way of spending time is "right". Yeah yeah, not bad.

When I had enjoyed the boredom,

「...I really don't want to go out.」

My smartphone's LCD automatically lights up, notifying me of an incoming call. Mechanical vibration and ringtone.

The caller is──for some reason, Orimoto.

I don't want to answer even a tiny bit. It's a holiday after all, let me relax alone.

The wall clock shows noon.

Cicada chorus.

Cumulonimbus clouds.

Heat shimmer outside the window.

Summer scenery spreads out.

「──There's no sign at all it'll stop ringing. Maybe it's an urgent matter? ...Should I answer?」

For example, a clever plan for resolution.

For example, a worsening situation.

The smartphone keeps ringing no matter how long I wait.

「......Hello.」

「Ah~! You finally answered! I was waiting forever, you know? You're way too slow to answer!」

A sharp voice shakes my eardrums.

「Are you maybe out somewhere right now?」

「No, I'm home.」

「Eh, then why didn't you answer?」

「I had a bad feeling.」

「...Uwaa. ...Don't get mad. Kasugai-kun is this type of guy. ──I'm outside so open up.」

Anger management.

I haven't done anything to make her angry.

「Hah, outside? What's going on, where are you now.」

「I said outside. Just open up. It's hot!」

If I listen carefully, I can hear Orimoto's voice from outside. She really seems to be here.

─────

When I opened the front door, a heat wave and faint wind brushed my cheek. Orimoto is in her usual school uniform.

Come to think of it, when I met her on the footbridge, she was also in her uniform.

「...Do you wear your uniform even on holidays.」

「When I sleep and wake up, my outfit gets reset too. Besides, I don't have anything else to wear.」

What is this, some kind of strange phenomenon.

Orimoto was arranging her chestnut-colored hair with her fingers when she suddenly made a startled face and said.

「Ah, if you imagine what I wear when sleeping, I'll hit you. That's honestly gross so it's NG.」

「I wasn't imagining it?! Coming here on your own.」

I was saved that my parents were out.

「Well, whatever. So? What do you want.」

「Ah, here, this. For Kasugai-kun.」

What's tossed to me is a bookmark.

「Whoops. ...What's this?」

「Kasugai-kun, you're a library committee member, right? I thought you might like this kind of thing. Did you hate it?」

「I don't hate it, but what about the money?」

Orimoto can't be seen by others.

To buy products, money is a prerequisite. In this state of lacking everything... how?

「If you had some savings, you should first pay me back the food expenses I've spent on you.」

「...Too realistic. Gross.」

「It's not gross. So?」

I looked at the bookmark's design.

「You contacted me out of nowhere on a holiday, then suddenly came here and gave me a bookmark. There's definitely more to it than just this.」

「No, really. I tried making it with leftover craft materials.」

「Hah? Craft materials, this bookmark?」

It's made as well as store-bought items.

「Was there anywhere strange about it?」

「No, the opposite. You're not just good at cooking but also dexterous with your hands... I'm honestly surprised.」

「Do you think of me as a rough woman?!」

「Yeah. I also think you're an idiot.」

「An idiot?!」

However, the bookmark is quite well-made. The cord is carefully tied and the decoration is simple. If it were sold in a bookstore, it would make people stop and look.

「You're an idiot, aren't you? Are you trying to get me to do something with this bookmark? It's the same as the crab mail-order scam.」

「Calling me an idiot over and over. ...I genuinely meant it as thanks, and I'm always causing you trouble.」

「Hou, so you were aware you're causing me trouble.」

「That's where you should be gentle!」

I got punched in the chest with a fist.

「Well, I'll take it.」

「Yeah, please do. I'm not satisfied, though!」

「Where did you get the materials.」

Even if it's handmade, you can't create something from nothing.

I asked out of pure curiosity.

「Mama goes to handicraft classes and I borrowed the leftover parts. Ah, the parts they were going to throw away.」

「For discarded materials to become this magnificent...」

「Right?! You can praise me more.」

I don't want to. This girl gets carried away.

「──Then, I'm going home now! Kasugai-kun would become a weirdo standing at the entrance forever.」

「Got it. Well, be careful going home.」

「Of course. Since people can't see me, cars mercilessly speed up.」

With a bounce, when Orimoto turned around, something fell from her handbag. ──A black towel.

Are these bag and towel also handmade?

If so, it's quite a high level.

「Oi Orimoto, you dropped a towel.」

「Wah, that's bad! Is it damaged?」

Orimoto frantically picks up the towel.

She carefully checks for dirt damage and scratches.

It seems to be quite an important towel.

「Ah, this? It's a present for Keiichi.」

Orimoto folded it in quarters and put it away.

I didn't ask about its purpose, but if it's a gift for Sera, her panic makes sense.

「Keiichi's birthday is coming up soon. Since I can't buy ready-made things now, I thought at least I'd make something by hand.」

「...But how are you planning to give it to him?」

「I don't know. But I'll figure something out!」

I was about to say "I could do it instead".

It's somewhat better than the previous bento thing.

But that's fundamentally different. It's not just any item but a birthday present.

And it's something Orimoto put her heart into making.

It's not my place to get involved.

「I don't know what Inori and Serina-senpai will give him, but I made it with quality that wouldn't be overshadowed.」

「Well. He'd probably be happy with a towel.」

「Kasugai-kun is bad at compliments.」

Orimoto let out a sigh with a sidelong glance.

「Speaking of which, when is Kasugai-kun's birthday?」

「Last month.」

At my casual words, "Wha!" Orimoto lets out an exaggerated gasp. Did I say something strange?

「...Eh, last month? Eh, really?!」

「Yeah.」

When I nodded, Orimoto's cheek twitched.

「...B-By chance, last month, was it before I met you? Or after I met you? Which?」

「...? After I met you, but why do you care about that? It doesn't matter.」

「Haaah, that's not right. That's not right, Kasugai-kun.」

「A textbook example of a huge sigh.」

Orimoto shook her head left and right, then pointed alternately between herself and me with exaggerated movements.

「Listen? You and I are friends, OK?」

「I don't remember agreeing to a friendship.」

「After talking this much every day──and saying we're not friends. ...Kasugai-kun, what kind of youth have you lived up until now?」

「Stop looking at me with pitying eyes.」

Having friends isn't necessarily justice.

If you're satisfied with yourself, that's what's right.

Though public opinion might consider me the loser.

「Yes, which means you and I are friends, and we're also partners working toward resolving MY situation.」

「Taking a hundred steps back... ten thousand steps back, please continue.」

「Is becoming friends with me that unpleasant?!」

「No, it's just simply troublesome.」

I've said this many times.

I hate trouble. I'm a don't-rock-the-boat type.

Peace is best. More specifically, being self-indulgent in an air-conditioned room. Having ice cream would be even better.

「...Annoying. Anyway, you could have told me about your birthday beforehand, couldn't you?」

「I don't have any special feelings about birthdays.」

「I would have prepared something better than just a bookmark. ──Ah, I might have thought of something good.」

This flow leads to something terrible.

It's similar to when she declared for us to be partners. Orimoto raised her finger with a grin.

「I'll choose a birthday present for you.」