The Salty Princess Told Me That I Was a ‘Convenient Keep’, so I Tested What Would Happen if I Introduced the Most Beautiful Girl at Another School as My Girlfriend
With Sakaki-san’s hand in mine, I slowly step toward the desired location.
“…………”
The scenery is a bit nostalgic. A leisurely slope leading toward the mountains. The cherry blossoms have already fallen off the stones, but I have a feeling that the scent of spring becomes stronger …… when you get away from the downtown area.
“Sakaki san, I’m going to walk just a little bit more, are your legs okay? If you get tired or something, just let me know, okay?”
“I’m fine. I’m rather good at exercise, in spite of what I look like.”
“Oh, by the way, that’s right. You are a great person who can do everything, both athletically and academically, aren’t you, Sakaki-san?”
“No, it’s not that big of a deal. ……”
Sakaki-san blushes in embarrassment and lowers hier gaze. Today, Sakaki-san is expressive as expected. Is it just that the usual Sakaki-san is on edge and therefore appears cold? Or is Sakaki-san today more relaxed than usual?
I can’t tell.
But I heard that Sakaki-san, like me, has been through a lot in the past, and maybe she is just playing the role of “the salty princess” in her everyday life. Whatever the case, I’m not going to go into that.
I slowed my pace a little and headed for my destination.
“Oh, we’re here, we’re here.”
After walking for a while, I arrived at my destination.
“This place is not a park …… but rather a plateau, right? It’s a nice breeze. ……”
Sakaki-san’s eyes narrowed as I said this. I brought Sakaki-san to a small hill rather than a mountain ……. There is nothing much there, but it is a beautiful place with quiet and clean air.
I bought two canned coffees from a nearby vending machine and returned to Sakaki-san.
“Which do you prefer, Sakaki-san? Sweet or not sweet?”
‘”Thank you ……, I’ll take the sweet one.”
“I understand. Here you go.”
I handed the sweet canned coffee to Sakaki-san and turned my gaze to the distant view beyond the fence. The sun was just setting, and the city was turning into a deep red.
I’m glad. The timing was perfect.
“…… beautiful.”
Sakaki-san murmured quietly. I and Sakaki san are both dyed the same shade of madder red as the beautiful town. As if I am now being reborn as a different person. My …… chest is a little bit empty. In a good way as well as in a bad way, it makes my chest light.
I sipped my canned coffee and exhaled.
“I’ve never talked to Sakaki san before, have I? I used to be a serious soccer player. I practiced every day even while I slept, aiming to become a professional soccer player or something.”
“I have heard rumors. Sakashima-kun used to be a very good soccer player and a famous person.”
“Haha, who are you talking about? I’m not famous or anything.”
I laughed and continued.
“In the end, I gave up on soccer in junior high school. I got fed up and ran away.”
“I see….I’m sorry, I said something so careless. ……”
“Ah, no, it’s fine, it’s fine. I was the one who started it after all… Anyway, the court that I often borrowed for practice is close by. And sometimes I’d come here to have a coffee on my way home. When I’m here daydreaming, I don’t have to think about anything else.”
“……It sure is a beautiful view, isn’t it?”
Sakaki san took her mouth off her coffee and stared off into the distance. Her profile looked a little lonely, but it occurred to me that maybe everyone looks like that when they’re looking off into the distance.
I forced myself to relax my cheeks.
“I regretted quitting soccer after I had a setback. In hindsight, there were still things I could have done, and I was too quick to give up after realizing what was to come in junior high school. ……I think now that it would have been better if I had been a little more aggressive and not thought about the future. I didn’t have time to think about that at the time.
“……You must have gone through a lot of hardship.”
“I think I was just making things difficult. After all, I dyed my hair and made my debut in high school. The me that you know, Sakaki-san, is that …… kind of person. It is different to say that I am not the real me,……. Well, I was pushing myself a little too hard.”
“Since you became a sophomore, you’ve calmed down a bit, haven’t you, Sakashima-kun?”
“Well, to be honest, I guess it’s just starting to seem stupid to me. I used to play soccer because I was always worried about what my father thought of me, but I got tired of that and quit, so even after I quit, I’m still worrying about what others think and acting like a clown. It seems stupid, right?”
I sip my coffee again and lean my weight against the fence.
“But… I think that’s why I was attracted to Sakaki-san. Because it seemed like she didn’t care about what other people thought of her and just stuck to her own beliefs. She was cool… and I was jealous.”
“…I’m not that great, you know? I hadn’t had any connections with people up until now, so I just created a shell like that to protect myself. So… that’s why I think I was actually a little jealous about you. You were always the center of attention in class, and it seemed like you had something that I didn’t have.”
Me and Sakaki-san were at odds with each other from the beginning. She knew nothing about me and I knew nothing about her. We went out in such a state, both of us kept our walls up and believed what was convenient for us.
So we broke up, and after we broke up, we are talking about things we should have talked about earlier,…….
We’ve come a long, long way.
“Sorry for suddenly talking about something weird. I just wanted to show you the beautiful sunset you can see from here, but I ended up saying a bunch of unnecessary things.”
“No, I’m glad you asked. Because I wanted to know more about Sakashima-kun. I’ve always been so busy talking about myself that I never thought about what Sakashima-kun was suffering from.”
“I don’t care about that. I’m only suffering because I deserve it. And I’m mostly just spinning my wheels.”
“…But you’re trying your best, aren’t you? Even in class, Sakashima-kun is always trying his best. you are just spinning wheels, but that’s something I can’t do… I think that’s why I fell in love with you.”
Sakaki-san looks at me. Her beautiful, light-colored eyes. Eyes that are straight, almost engulfing, yet somewhat fragile.
I have never been able to figure out what it was about me that made Sakaki-san fall in love with me. To be honest, even now I don’t really know. Even though I was attracted to her, she was attracted to me in the same way that I was attracted to Sakaki-san. Sakaki-san has something that I don’t have, and I am sure that I have something that Sakaki-san doesn’t have.
If that’s the case, then my hard work must have meant a little something. I suddenly thought …….
The sunset was then swallowed by the darkness of the night. I still had a few things I wanted to talk about, but it would be bad to keep her company any longer. I reached out my hand toward Sakaki-san again.
“Shall we go home now?”
“….I guess so. Shall we go home?”
Sakaki-san took my hand in her. Her hand is cold. I put a little bit of strength into her hand.
“Let’s go out together again, shall we? I’ll check if the aquarium is open this time.”
“That’s right. Let’s go out somewhere together again. Next time, I’ll tell you about a restaurant I recommend.”
“I’m looking forward to it.
I will make sure I’m hungry.”
“Hahahaha. I’ll take you to a place where you can eat a lot.”
The two of us walk down the quiet night street. The same time a few weeks ago, we were walking down the street at night, we were not holding hands, but talking about our breakups. But now, the time is so pleasant that you may think it was a lie.
“Oh, by the way, next week is the gymnastics festival, right?”
“Ah, yes, that’s right.
I forgot about it because of all the things that happened.”
“Let’s work hard, shall we?”
Then, Sakaki-san took her hands off me and put her hands on my shoulders as if we were doing a three-legged race.
“What? Practice? You are surprisingly enthusiastic, Sakaki-san.”
I smiled a little and turned my attention to her. When I …… did that, somehow Sakaki-san leaned toward me and hugged me.
“Sakaki san ……?”
Confused, I supported her shoulders. Sakaki-san looked up at me with moist eyes.
“I really do love you, Sakashima-kun.”
“No, I ……”
“I know.
The answer can be in a year or in ten years, it doesn’t matter. I’ll be waiting for you, so …… let’s work hard on our three legs race, shall we?”
Sakaki-san repeats the same words as before and removes her hand from mine. I was …… surprised. I thought that she was going to kiss me again or something like that. My heart is still thumping and racing.
I exhaled loudly and said the words back.
“……Yes, that’s right. Let’s go for it, tripod.”
“Yes!”
Sakaki-san smiles at me. That’s a wonderful smile that I don’t know about. Looking at that smile, I felt ……
“…… Hey, Sakaki-san.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“…… No, sorry. I’m sorry. We’re running a little late, so I’ll walk you home.”
“……? Is that so? Then, please.”
I took Sakaki san’s hand and started walking again. … For a moment, I thought it might be better to talk about my father, but I decided not to for now. Even if I told her about something I haven’t decided yet, I’m sure it would just cause trouble for Sakaki san.
“……It’s a beautiful star.”
As if to cover up the feelings in my heart, I looked up at the night sky and muttered something like that.
This is how my first date with Sakaki san came to an end.
Maiban