Chapter 42 - Prison Labor

– …Rei! Jun too! Come on, wake up

Voice, which I"m still not used to hear, has called for me and my companion who is sleeping next to me.
Husky female voice of a young adult. The way she calls me is for sure rude, but there is also a degree of familiarity mixed in her tone of voice. Despite the fact that we have met for the first time just yesterday.

5:30 in the morning, tatami room.
Smell of the sea breeze came in through the open window.
The sound of waves can be heard from the other side of the morning air. It is quiet, but there are certainly sounds of water rushing. I can"t help but feel the summer and it feels weird. Because for me, summer was always about playing games or reading manga nonstop, all day long.

Right now, for some reason, that has completely changed.
Fatigue from yesterday and heat were gradually pressing my back and…

– Hey! I won"t repeat myself. There"s lots of work to do today as well

– Hnn… Yeah, right away…

– Good. Rei too, should I wake you up roughly?

– Understood

This is the second day since I left home. I rose up.
Today as well, I have to work and work and deeply sleep.

Luckily, it appears that in this coastal private lodging "Hiiragi Manor" there is absolutely no free time.
Even though apart from having delicious seafood for dinner I"m working for free, I don"t mind. That is because what I need to do right now is only to work and to forget.

Morning duty starts from picking up rubbish in the swimming area.
Holding tongs and plastic bag, I was earnestly walking on the beach for the first time in several years. Due to the early morning, there were hardly any people. Only sounds of the wind and waves were resounding gently.

But still, before long, this area will likely become bustling.
Whatever is said, it is summer, what"s more, it is sea. Yesterday, just a little, I have seen for the first time in my life how crazy, vigorous, normie party animals were coming and going. It felt like going to the zoo.

I wonder if we are, after all, errand-boys (un-normies), as we clean the garbage that those guys have dropped.
It is a fresh feeling, somewhat like prison labor.

… Let me see, still, prison, huh?
Have I committed some sort of a crime?
And yet mysteriously, my will to work surged. I had a feeling that as long as I do my best, I"ll get liberated from some crime, which I don"t really understand myself.

– Ichijou-kun……! Wait, too fast, too fast!

I stopped walking.
As I turned around, my youth companion, Komatsu Rei, came running. It seems we are both lacking in physical training.

– Haa… Haa… You"ve been trying so hard since yesterday, haven"t you Ichijou-kun…

– Hm, does it look like that…?

– Nee-san was grateful as well. She said "That guy, strangely has some guts"

This loner-colleague cla.s.smate has saved me again.

When I was thinking that I would rather run away to the other side of the Earth, he has sent me a message saying "Nee-san"s private lodge is in a lack of manpower". And that is how I came after an immediate reply.
Of course this is not a trip to Brazil, but it only takes about two hours by bus to get here. That"s probably the minimum necessary distance to deceive the gaping hole in my chest.

After all, n.o.body can find me here… isn"t that right?

Well, I got to see aunt"s face happy from the fact that I"m going to work at the beach. Thinking about how he might have returned to being a loner, it"s not bad to have Komatsu-kun owe me one. It is killing two birds with one stone.

– I didn"t think you would come. Even though I tried only because I got nothing to lose.

– Have you called others from our cla.s.s?

– No? I didn"t have a decent talk with anyone apart from Ichijou-kun

– Is that so? That"s good then. There"s still much rubbish, let"s go

– Ye-, yeah…

We continued to work.
The simpler the work and the more I was dripped in sweat, the easier I deceived the gloomy feeling of emptiness inside my chest. But in the end, it is still only deceiving. I will end up remembering again after the work is over in any case.

Her exceedingly cute, laughing face…
It still painfully remained inside my chest …

– Jun, stop daydreaming! There is still lots of laundry to do!

Inside the hot kitchen, Komatsu-kun"s older sister Ririksan, raised her voice.
She has denim hot pants on her long tanned legs, but as she is inside the kitchen she is also wearing an ap.r.o.n and her long read hair is gathered into a ponytail.
She looks as if she"s in her mid-twenties, but it seems she has succeeded this private lodge from her parents.
With strong eyes that look confident she gives pep talks to other employees as well. I was wondering what kind of person would be Komatsu-kun"s sister, but she is his complete opposite.

– Peak will be after this, so brace up.

– Ye-, yes…!

– I have prepared quite a lot of rewards, okay?

This place also happens to be a lunch counter and the sea is close, so during the day it completely changes into a beach hut.
It is open to the non-guests as well, so this place is quite busy. More precisely, there is a pretty hotel close to here, so guests are getting stolen. It appears that most of the income comes from food and drinks.

Basically it is like this during the day, therefore I seldom go to the sea.
I often get exposed to the air overflowing with energy of vigorous party animals, so by the time I get to have a pause, it is already evening.

That being said, work does not end here.
Because even though Ririksan calls it "reward", personally, I would call it heavy labor itself. There is no lie in her declaration of "lots", there are sashimi and stuff lined up on the dining table, but…

– Haa… Really, you guys have some strange tastes, huh? Right now, it is summer holidays, you know? In a place like this, what are you loafing around for?

Giggling, Komatsu-kun"s sister drained another cup of shochu.
It has been about half an hour since we started eating, but she already reeks of alcohol. Her dignified face is red as well. By the way, this has also happened yesterday. It doesn"t happen to be an established part of the work done by the volunteers, right…?

– Come on, it was nee-san who called us, wasn"t it!

– Haha, that"s right. Well then… Ichijou, do you have a girl you like?

– …… Not really…

– Oh, a yes-face…♪ Haa… Aren"t you guys in second year? This place is close to the sea, there are both men and women lying around there. As they are not here, why don"t you just go and pick them up?

– What"s with that way of talking, as if it is about picking up sh.e.l.ls…

– After all, rooms are empty for so long, they will soon stink… right? Here, you guys, have a cupful as well.

– Nee-san, please stop…

– It"s fine, it"s fine. Rei and Jun too, aren"t you already seventeen? Come, come

– I won"t be drinking, absolutely

– Che, ain"t you a Serious-kun… It would"ve been more fun if someone more easy-going came. Alas. How I want to have a chat with a cute girl

– Nee-san, Ichijou-kun is here, please stop it…

It"s difficult, but comfortable at the same time.
Both of them don"t know about my circ.u.mstances.
Even my aunt and little sister suspect that I was rejected. Thinking about that, I"m so happy to be able to work hard.

Even though it is only the second day, I started being pleased with this situation.
After working and working and then keeping company for idle talk, there is only sleep.

– Ahaha… Sorry about my sister, okay…?

– She is an excessively easy-going person.

11:30 pm. Well-regulated life.
Urging my tired body, I swiftly finished laying out the futon.
I want to quickly sleep. I still worry, but I can easily sleep if I"m this tired. The only thing left is to wait before Komatsu-kun finishes his preparations, but…

– Hey…? Isn"t it, summer-like?

– Ha, huh? Which part of it?

Youth with a childish face and visible freckles shyly laughed.

– Like staying together overnight with a friend. Somehow, it"s a bit fun… maybe

– … Basically, we"re only working

– Even so. Ichijou-kun, didn"t you hate being a loner?

Hate being a loner…? I have never thought about it.

– Did you… hate it?

– I don"t know… but. After ceasing to be a loner, I started thinking that I don"t want to return to being one, um. That it would be great to further get along with everyone. Is it… impossible?

As I tried to move my head, his b.u.t.t fell down on the futon with a thump.
Seeing that, Komatsu-kun smiled with a "Hahaha, sorry, sorry".

– Fu-aah…… At any rate, if you want to get along with everyone, you"re not supposed to be here. It is indeed summer, so let"s rest.

– Yeah… Ah, right!

– Hm…?

For some reason Komatsu-kun rustled behind him and took out his smartphone.
And what he has shown me was the chat history with cla.s.smates.

– What?

– You know, Hyoudou-san, she asked if Ichijou was together with someone. Haven"t you got the message?

– It"s noisy, so I turned it off

– Come one… Isn"t having smartphone ringing supposed to be part of the job? Has something happened?

– Well… I wonder…

Has something happened? There shouldn"t have happened anything concerning Hyoudou. Why is it Hyoudou?
The more I thought, the more something cold has been running down my spine. Among my cla.s.smates, the only one who is supposed to know that I am here is Komatsu-kun.

– Anyway, Ichijou is not with me. It would really help if you sent that.

Sea continued to faintly resound in the distant night air.
It seems tonight I won"t be able to sleep soundly once again.