Volume 1 - Chapter 1 Part 3

Chapter 1 - Part 3

 As expected, being surrounded by people since morning made Hayato feel tired.

(In this classroom, the amount of people is as much as the one I used to saw at a festival in the countryside)

Although the boys in his class invited him to join them for lunch, Hayato declined the invitation and went to the canteen to buy his lunch.

[Ugh...]

When he arrived at the canteen, he was too late. The crowd was at its peak. Hayato couldn’t believe how crowded and noisy the canteen was.

(... From tomorrow, I’d better pack a lunch box...)

Hayato let out a sigh over a margarine bread he managed to get his hands on. It was tasteless, but fortunately, the portion was enough for the growing child.

Hayato wanted to eat in a place where he can eat in peace. So he wandered around the school, looking for a place where he could eat his lunch peacefully.

However, finding that place was not an easy task.

He went to the backside of his school, thinking that no one would be there. But when he arrived, Hayato saw an unknown girl that he didn’t know.

[Hm, isn’t that?]

When Hayato was about to leave, he found something that he’s terribly familiar with. It’s something that one doesn't usually see in the city.

The curious boy waddles behind a petite girl with a frizzy hair that reminds him of something.

Even though Hayato didn’t think about him, he was suddenly dragged to a sense of nostalgia.

 

[Ugh, I couldn’t get any fruit to grow… Is there any problem with the fertilizer? Or maybe...]

[Is that Zucchini?]

[Hyaa! You surprised me]

[Ah, sorry to surprise you. But those yellow flowers are zucchini, aren’t they? The purple flowers next to it are eggplants. And the white ones are shishito peppers… Did you plant corn as well?]

[Eh? Y-Yeah, you’re correct!]

It was a flower bed.

It was surrounded by a long brick wall, and then you fill the center with soil, and as it gets to the center, the soil was heaped up and ridges were made, and then, the plants were planted. 

By nature, Hayato is not the type of person who would actively talk to a girl at their first meeting.

In fact, he rarely knew what to talk about, and he would’ve been overwhelmed if he hadn’t needed to talk to someone like Nikaido.

But just now, he couldn’t help but call out to her.

[Have you pollinated them? Zucchini won’t grow unless you pollinate the female flowers]

[Eh… ah!]

[Eggplants will produce more fruit if you cut off the excess flowers, and for Shishito peppers, if you remove some of its branches, you’ll get more fruit]

[Huh...]

After hearing Hayato’s suggestion, the female student hurriedly took out a notebook from her skirt pocket and flipped through it. She looked back and forth between the flower bed and the notebook, and her face was turning red as she did so.

By the way, Hayato’s knowledge in this field is so basic that even a child who helps in the fields in the countryside would know about it. For him, this is nothing to be proud of.

[You know a lot, don’t you?]

[I used to help out in the fields in the country… Anyway, is this some kind of club activity?]

[Y-yes, I’m in the field art club]

[Vegetables for an art club?]

[I mean, is that weird?]

[Nope. I think it’s fine. Tomatoes used to be ornamental, and I also like wildflowers as well]

[I see...]

In fact, Hayato is more familiar with the wild flowers that bloomed in harvest seasons than the ones he saw in the flower shops.

(Well, I also got some pocket money since I helped out in the field)

Suddenly, the girl was blinking her eyes and started panicking, Hayato was confused.

Her appearance was somewhat like a small animal, which reminded Hayato more and more about something.

[What are you doing?]

Suddenly, Hayato heard a voice behind his back.

However, the tone of her voice contained a hint of dismay, and her eyes were somewhat cold.

[Mitake-san, The fertilizer you asked for has arrived at the storage room.]

[Eh, Ah, Yes! I’m going to fetch it now. Thank you for the information, Nikaido-san]

[Uh, well… This… Nikaido-san...]

The one who spoke to me was the beautiful girl sitting next to me, Nikaido.

After that, the girl from the Field Art Club left to get the fertilizer from the storage room. After they saw her off, Nikaido put her hands on her hips and stared at Hayato with a fierce look in her eyes and brought her face closer to Hayato’s.

[Hmm, picking up a girl on your first day at your new school? I don’t know that you like that kind of girl, Kirishima-kun]

[N-No, You misunderstood something...]

It’s hard not to be taken aback when someone puts their beautiful face close to yours. But there was something else that made Hayato taken aback. The current Nikaido was emitting a certain powerful aura that made him step back. She suddenly threw away the ‘coat’ she was wearing, and her familiar words and attitude left Hayato in confusion.

[I didn’t mean to pick on her, I just thought that she looked like them]

[Them? Who’s ‘Them’?]

[Grandpa Minamoto and his sheeps.]

[Ah, I tried to train them to only eat the weeds. But they kept eating the rice seedlings and he got mad at me.]

[Ah yeah, the girl’s hair is curly, and the way she stumbles in front of the garden… It hurts!]

[Pft, Ahahahahaha!]

And then, the girl started laughing and started slapping Hayato on the back so hard that the sound “BANG” could be heard..

[What a horrible guy you are, calling out to her because she looks like Minamoto-san’s sheep, huh?]

[Hey, cut me some slack won’t you, Haru...ki?]

Hayato didn’t know why that name came out of his mouth.

That last word is a complete mystery for Hayato. His head was in confusion as he stared at the girl in front of her.

[Ah, Nikaido-san, You’re here! Can I talk to you for a minute.]

At that moment...

A female student who seemed to be looking for her came up to her and asked for help.

[Yeah, how can I help?]

[Wha-, Wait!]

And then, Nikaido put her “coat” back on.

[Shh...]

Then, as she was leaving, she turned to Hayato, putting her index finger to her lips in a quick, mischievous smile

[... What in the world was that?]

Lots of information rushed Hayato’s head at once. Leading his heart to an agony.

(Haruki… huh...)

Hayato was picturing his best friend, Haruki, all afternoon during class. In the countryside of Tsukinose, two childhood friends ran around and played together.

Ah, speaking of which.

[Ah, I caught one! I caught one, Hayato!]

[I get it, I get it. Stop hitting me!]

As Hayato mentioned earlier, Haruki had a bad habit of slapping hayato’s back when she won at something. No wonder that Hayato called her “Haruki” after what she did, just like back then. It was because the feeling is deeply engraved in his heart.

(... Is Nikaido-san… Haruki?)

If she’s not familiar with the countryside of Tsukinose, she wouldn’t know who grandpa Minamoto is unless she is or used to be a local. 

Hayato decided to observe a bit more.

It’s hard for him to believe that the girl sitting next to him is an innocent, pretty, mature-looking girl that used to act like a monkey back in his memory.

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TL: Hyou

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