Chapter 80: Sea

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Translator: Soafp

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[Momiji PoV]

In kindergarten and elementary school, I struggled with socializing.

I had my kind grandparents at home, and I ended up relying on them entirely.

They played with me often.

Since I didn’t have any friends, I frequently followed my grandfather on explorations in the mountains.

Up hills and down slopes.

At first, climbing was tough, but after doing it repeatedly, I got used to it.

As I became accustomed, I started to have the leisure to look around.

The warmth of the sunlight filtering through the leaves.

The beauty of the sunset from the summit.

The chirping of wild birds and the pleasantly cool touch of flowing water.

Somewhere along the line, I grew to love all of it.

[——“One day, Shiori, you should share this with your friends.”——]

To respond to my grandfather's words as he patted my head.

In middle school, during the outdoor school trip.

When I signed up for it, it was the first time I thought I'd really try at a school event.

Feeling enthusiastic. Now that I had some knowledge about mountains, I thought maybe I could stand out in a good way.

I knew most wild vegetables.

I could start a fire and knew how to set up a campfire with dry wood.

I was familiar with cooking rice in a pot and knew many mountain activities, like canoeing.

So I remembered being filled with excitement inside.

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——But.

Such enthusiasm didn't amount to anything.

Since I rarely talked to them, there was no way I could suddenly start a conversation there.

Before I knew it, I was hugging my bag—my mouth tightly shut.

I faded into the background as usual.

——“Isn't she doing anything?”

I heard that voice.

I instinctively looked down. Even though I knew it wouldn't solve anything, I couldn't help it.

——“Shiori-san, please wash the dishes.” “She hasn't done anything, after all.” “Let's go explore a bit!”

Everyone in the group left me behind to go somewhere.

It was only natural.

The self who had prepared with such enthusiasm felt terribly ridiculous.

In the end, all I could do was run away.

Running away was simply my way of enjoying the mountains.

I was the worst.

It was my fault.

Everything was my fault. It was all on me.

“…Ugh…”

Clink, clink, clink.

The lonely sound of washing dishes echoed.

That was all I felt like I had on my side——

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[Toumachi PoV]

Clink, clink.

After we had curry, while washing the dishes together—

“…M-Momiji-san?”

For some reason, Momiji-san's gaze seemed to be staring far away.

Wait, is there a rare bird seven kilometers away?

Is it possible that she has a vision of 20.0 (off the charts) and keeps her long bangs to control it (like in a battle manga)?

That's…so cool.

By the way, my eyesight is 0.6. Deciding whether to wear glasses is quite a tricky line for me.

“Are you okay, Momiji-san?”

“Oh, y-yeah.”

“Are you tired? It's dangerous, so I can wash them.”

Amid the clinking of the dishes being washed, it seemed my voice finally reached her.

It was unusual. She looked like she had completely entered another world.

“I… I'm sorry.”

“I know you prepared a lot, so I should at least do this much.”

“N-No, it's not okay! I'll do it!”

“Eh? Well, if you insist…”

I thought she was just fidgeting, but now she leaned forward with a certain intensity.

I sensed some kind of determination in her.

…Does she really feel that strongly about washing dishes? Well, I suppose it's true that it could be dangerous if something broke.

“Still, I never knew you were so accustomed to the mountains, Momiji-san.”

“I've been used to them since I was a child…”

“Haha, it's not like you were training somewhere, right?”

“N-No, I was just playing. The mountains are like… another home for me.”

“That’s amazing.”

“I was just running away into the mountains…”

She murmured, looking down.

I understood right away. I was just like her—always alone.

In middle school, especially in my second year… it was a dark period.

It was so painful to recall that I had no memory of it at all.

“You're more of a mountain person, huh?”

“Y-Yeah…”

“I was more of a sea person.”

“Eh… S-Sorry. Would you have preferred the sea?”

I must have confused her.

But she looked much better than earlier.

“When I say sea, I mean the ‘ocean' of the internet.”

“Eh?”

“To escape from the harsh realities, I dove into the online world.”

“!”

In that 15.6-inch LCD screen, an infinite amount of information unfolded.

Back in middle school, I became obsessed with it.

The vastness of the universe.

The smallness of the Earth.

Conspiracy theories about the world.

Useless trivia.

I'd learn, forget, learn, and forget. Over and over.

I plunged into the ocean of information just to drown out my loneliness and emptiness.

“But now, I think it was a good thing.”

I can only be grateful for my past self.

In that escape from reality, in the ocean of the internet.

I stumbled upon a forum.

Experiencing that world was of great value.

If I told my middle school self, he wouldn't believe me.

He'd probably say something like, “What are you talking about?”

But I can proudly say to my past self, “Thank you.”

Thanks to the “me” who ran away back then, I was able to change.

“…Why's that?”

“Actually, I dyed my hair because of the influence of the internet.”

“!”

She said this rainbow color was beautiful.

I like it too!

“So, I think you're the same, Momiji-san.”

“…”

“Thanks to running away into the mountains, I was able to play a lot today.”

“Well, that's true, but…”

The clinking of dishes echoed.

It had been a while since we started talking.

As I placed the cleaned dishes into the basket, I continued to speak to her beside me.

“Hey, Momiji-san.”

“Running away isn't usually a good thing.”

“But if it leads to ‘now,' then it's not such a bad thing, is it?”

This might be the lament of a loser.

It might just be me forcing myself to beautify the past.

Perhaps I'm simply justifying the ugly regrets I carry.

Yet.

Even if that's the case.

“I think we should be a little proud of it. Of our past selves—of the ones who ran away.”

As my voice resonated, the wind gently caressed my cheeks.

As if inviting, it flowed toward her direction.

“!?”

“Tank jou…Doumachi-kun…”

“Eh, wait a second!”

“Ugh…!”

“A-Ah! I'll go get a towel!”

When I glanced sideways, I saw that she had started crying.

While I fumbled around in a panic, wild birds were chirping cheerfully in the background.