It was the same riverside road as in the morning, but I now walked in the opposite direction.
Using it to get to and from school was a bit of a detour, but I liked this road. A river that went up to 20 metres in width, a mix of both old and new houses lined up on either side of the street, compact steel towers from which electric cables stretched straight out, and the sight of mountain silhouettes in the distance. Perhaps on account of how cars could not pass through, people were moving at a somewhat slow pace, and even the stray cats on the roadside were yawning with their mouths wide open.
Just as I was beginning to lose sight of any other students on their way home, I spotted a figure sitting by a small flood gate. Making sure to keep my somewhat eager steps in check, I quietly descended to a narrow, person-wide path along the middle of the embankment. Taking care to not disturb the free, refreshing, and somewhat tranquil atmosphere that surrounded her.
While praying that it would be heard like the gentle sound of water, I called out.
「Asu-nee.」
Looking up from the paperback in her hand, Nishino Asuka-senpai responded almost instantly with a timbre that was like a spring breeze passing through.
「For some reason, I had the feeling that we’d be able to meet today.」
The tips of her hair that almost touched her jawline swayed dizzily, and as if drawn to the mischievous smile, the mole under her left eye waved at me. A body neither sensual nor slender, a tightly fastened necktie, and a skirt neither long nor short. Indifferent and neutral in all respects, the beauty of it all stung me with a prick.
「What were you reading?」
「『Phantom Lady』by William Irish.」
「The night was young, and so was he. But the night was sweet, and he was sour. ─ Looks like it’s the new edition. That opening sentence is by far the cleverest out of all the novels I’ve read.」
「…So you knew already. Cheeky.」
learning... please hold... 