Traveling With a Beautiful Girl

“Haru-chi, you idiot––––––––––––––––!!”

Suddenly, Ruka-san shouted.

“I really liked you so much–––––––!!”

With both hands forming a circle around her mouth, leaning forward, Ruka-san shouted from the bottom of her heart.

“Go and be happy, you damn fool––––––––––––––!!”

Having finished shouting, Ruka-san was breathing heavily with her shoulders.

That’s right, this was Ruka-san’s heartbreak drive, I remembered belatedly.

“…The echo doesn’t come back.”

“My soul’s cry is too much even for Mount Fuji to return.”

Ruka-san said with a refreshed smile.

It didn’t seem like she had just gone through a heartbreak… but her arms, resting on the handrail, were trembling slightly.

…She really must have liked her.

Somehow, I felt frustrated too.

“I still don’t understand.”

Nanase turned towards Ruka-san.

“Huh? What don’t you understand?”

“Why did you go through with the confession even though you knew you would fail?”

Ruka-san tilted her head with a puzzled expression.

She didn’t seem to understand the intent behind the question.

“I’m asking why you confessed even though you knew it would fail and hurt you, considering the other person is the same gender and has a boyfriend.”

Nanase’s gaze went to Ruka-san’s trembling arms.

Her expression was serious.

“I don’t know how to answer that…”

Ruka-san crossed her arms and shook her head from side to side with a troubled expression.

I had a rough idea why Nanase asked such a question.

For Nanase, failure is heavy and unforgivable.

That’s why she couldn’t understand it.

Ruka-san had charged into a confession that was obviously a losing battle.

Nanase must have wanted to know what drove Ruka-san to do so.

“Isn’t it normally unpleasant?”

“…Unpleasant, as in?”

“I’d rather not suppress my feelings than fail. I don’t like that.”

“That might be true, but…”

“Is failure such a bad thing in the first place?”

As if a baby was questioning her mother, Ruka-san asked.

“It’s obviously bad.”

“Why is it bad? Why?”

“Why, you ask…”

At that point, Nanase fell silent.

Her gaze wandered like that of a lost child.

–In regards to tests, foot races, piano, and art exhibitions, my parents never allowed me any compromise when competing with others.

As a result of being unilaterally forced to produce results by her parents, Nanase had been instilled with the obsessive belief that she must not fail.

There probably isn’t any intent on Nanase’s part.

That’s why she couldn’t answer.

“Well, anyway, failure is unacceptable. If you fail, you’ll suffer some disadvantages. It’s only logical to maximize your benefits.”

“Hmm…”

Ruka-san put her index finger on her chin and seemed puzzled.

“I don’t really understand, but you know what, Ri-chan? Maybe you should become a bit more of an idiot?”

“…Huh? An idiot?”

This time, Nanase looked perplexed.

“That’s right! Become an idiot like me!”

Ruka-san struck a triumphant pose.

“You’re aware of it, aren’t you?”

“No, not that much!”

“I’m not praising you.”

“Anyway…”

Ruka-san pointed her index finger at Nanase and spoke as if scolding a child.

“You think too much, Ri-chan. You should relax your shoulders more.”

“Relax my shoulders…”

“That’s right!”

Ruka-san loosened the corners of her mouth with a grin.

“It’s fine even if you fail. It’s not like you’re going to die or anything.”

Ruka-san’s words made Nanase’s eyes widened. For Nanase, who had held the belief that failure was unacceptable as an absolute principle, Ruka-san’s words must have been a bolt from the blue.

“I don’t know what you’ve been through so far…”

Taking one step, then two steps closer, Ruka-san gently smiled and said to Nanase, who was right in front of her,

“Let’s live more carefree.”

It was as if these words were magical. As if they could instantly blow away the heavy burdens weighing down her entire body. Because Ruka-san, who was likely living a truly carefree life, said those words, they resonated straight to the heart.

“Right?”

With a bright smile, Ruka-san looked at Nanase. For a while, Nanase seemed to have forgotten how to change her expression and stood there dumbfounded. However, eventually, she looked away with an awkward expression.

“…I’ll think about it.”

“See––––! You’re overthinking it again. Let’s become more of an idiot!”

Saying so, Ruka-san began performing a mysterious dance.

It looked like the kind of dance you’d expect a monkey kemono friend to do.

“Ka-kun, you’re definitely thinking something rude right now, aren’t you?”

“I was thinking you dance really well. Want a banana?”

“Uki! I’m not a monkey!”

“You’re a monkey, right?”

“Monkey, huh.”

“I was a monkey.”

…Pfft. What’s that?

I couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness. Ruka-san also seemed to find it funny, as she began to laugh while holding her stomach. Nanase too… covered her mouth with her hand and let out a soft chuckle. When was the last time I laughed so purely because something was just plain funny? With the breathtaking view of Mount Fuji before us, we laughed for a while.