Translator: Reflet
Editor: ryunakama
After gym cla.s.s, there was a slightly longer break.
Aoyama Akiha did not return to the cla.s.sroom with her cla.s.smate Aoba, instead climbing the stairs by herself.
Once she reached the top, she swung open a door whose k.n.o.b was brand-new, emerging on the rooftop.
Her body was immediately greeted by a pleasant wind caressing her.
It was the kind of wind that blows with the changing of the seasons, refreshing for both body and soul.
While receiving that, she stepped out onto the roof.
「Oh, someone"s here already?」
Akiha raised her voice.
Ahead of here on the fence.
There was a girl she was unfamiliar with.
The girl was not wearing the mandated school uniform.
She had long white hair reaching the back of her knees, which contrasted with a black gothic dress.
It was questionable whether she was even a student or not. She was positioned atop the fence, a certain distance from Akiha.
She was standing on the fence, feet together.
「Who……goes there？」
The girl turned around murmuring once she recognized Akiha"s voice.
She was a mysterious girl who had a vacant expression.
Akiha walked over to where she was, answering.
「I"m Akiha, Aoyama Akiha. It"s written as "Blue Mountain" and "Fall Wave"」
「Nice to……meet you？」
「You phrased it as a question?」
While giggling, she stood before the fence, hoisting herself up.
She didn"t actually stand next to the white girl, but sat cross-legged in her usual manner atop the fence.
「You"ve done this……before」
「Cause I"ve been coming here often. You?」
「Occasional, ly. Because I like……high, places」
「Just like me」
Akiha giggled again, proceeding to ask again.
「So what"s your name？」
「……Yu, ri？」
The white girl answered after thinking a bit.
「Why do you not even sound sure？」
「Because……I haven"t used it, lately」
「Wow, seriously?」
「Is it really, okay？」
「What is？」
Akiha asked with a puzzled face.
「It"s……no, thing」
「Kay. Anyhow, how do you write Yuri? Like the flower symbol 百合？」
「It"s difficult……to, explain」
「So it"s one of those super difficult ones」
She said, and Yuri curtly nodded.
「Just like me. Mine, "Akiha", is normal-sounding, but it gets confusing once you put it into kanji. My name became this way cuz my dad was a chinese cla.s.sical literature freak. How "bout you?」
「An unavoidable……reason」
「I see」
Akiha giggled.
She wasn"t sure what that reason was, but she didn"t care much.
She was the type of person to clearly separate important and trivial things, which was why she didn"t particularly care.
「The wind here feels nice, doesn"t it」
「……Mhm」
「See, I come here when I"m happy as well as when I"m depressed. Having the wind hit me here is what gets me going」
「There……The, re」
Yuri said, patting Akiha"s head.
Her eyes were boundless, but her hands were gentle.
They felt like the hands of a mother comforting her child.
Akiha made a wry smile at that.
「So you automatically a.s.sume I"m depressed」
「Mhm……Because your ki is, down」
「Ki？」
「Ki」
「Ki? You mean THAT ki?」
「The kind of ki……where you can slice wooden chopsticks in half with, paper」
「You can just detect that sort of thing?」
「Mhm」
「Whoa, ain"t that impressive」
「Mhm……It"s, amazing」
「Ahaha, amazing amazing」
Akiha laughed in a carefree manner, and Yuri showed she felt similar.
After that, neither one of them spoke.
Akiha was sitting on the fence, and Yuri was standing on it.
The two girls let the same wind blow against them quietly.
Suddenly, Akiha seemed to remember something, asking her.
「Yuri, got anyone you like？」
「Yes, I do」
「Ooo, what are they like？」
Yuri turned her head, thinking.
She looked around restlessly, showing that she was thinking about Akiha"s question.
「Id……iot？」
「Idiot？」
「Mhm……id, iot」
「An idiot, huh? I like those kinds」
「You, do？」
「I do」
「O, kay」
Yuri nodded, and silence drifted between them right afterward again.
Akiha was starting to get a good feeling about this atmosphere.
If she had "met her earlier"…she thought.
「……Hey hey, that"s where you"re supposed to ask me too」
Yuri tilted her head.
「Ya know, I"m saying things in an insinuating manner. Aren"t you supposed to respond with something like『And who do you like?』or『You fell in love with someone who isn"t an idiot?』?」
「I……am, supposed to？」
「That"s the idea」
「You want……me to ask, you?」
「……Well I"m not gonna force ya」
「O, kay」
Silence once again.
「Okay okay, just ask. You"re probably annoyed with me acting like a tsundere but ask me anyway」
「I don"t even……have, to」
「Huh？」
「Cause I……know who, you, like. A fairy……told, me」
「Didn"t know you were that sorta girl」
Yuri tilted her head in response.
「That sorta……gi, rl？」
「The type that talks about fairies and all that」
「There is……a, fairy」
「……Kay then」
Yuri spoke of a fairy.
If such a thing really existed――.
「If it"s really here……might be nice」
「It, might？」
「Yup. Like, I could say "Fairy-san Fairy-san, convey my feelings for me since I"m too cowardly"」
Akiha said, smiling mischievously.
That smile also looked like it was somehow lonely and resigned.
「You are really……okay with them, doing that？」
「If they really exist」
「Okay」
「Huh？」
「I will……let Fairy-san, know」
「Yuri, are you…actually an eccentric girl？」
「I leave it to you……Fairy-sa, n」
Yuri said at last, softly leaping off the fence.
She had actually leaped off of the roof.
「Hey！ ――Wait, she landed just fine？」
Akha, who had panickedly looked down, was astonished at the white girl landing nonchalantly.
However, she ended up just accepting her as "one of those girls".
She just had something about her that made her accept it.
Satisfied, Akiha looked up at the sky while sitting.
「Fairy-san, eh?」
She muttered.
「Geez！Yami-chan, you are so irresponsible」
Hera had been listening the entire time.