Ch.221Epilogue. The Flame (4)

In truth, festivals aren’t really anything special.

Of course, there are festivals like the Olympics or World Cup that truly capture global attention. Regionally speaking, there’s the Asian Cup and… well, things like that.

There are also festivals hosted by the country. Those relatively large-scale festivals directly organized by local governments.

But many summer festivals are smaller in scale than those. In Japan, these small festivals continue non-stop throughout the summer.

Even after attending such a small festival, your heart feels uplifted. Actually, even without a festival, just spending time with friends or family is enough to lift your spirits.

Like lingering in memories after returning from a distant trip, or reminiscing about the fun you had with friends you met by chance.

What I’m saying is that making memories doesn’t really require any special conditions.

If I consider a specific memory to be precious, then it becomes a cherished memory. That’s why when friends get together and have fun, they naturally remember different things.

Will we gather years from now and remember today?

We say things like, “We can do it again next year,” or “We can go again next year,” but in reality, each passing day happens only once. It’s impossible to remember every single day and make memories of them all, but meeting friends like this…

Especially being able to spend each unique year as a high school student—just one year at a time—is such a blessed thing.

The lingering feelings hadn’t faded for me, Koko, or Kagami.

Before heading home, our friends had already changed into different clothes, but the three of us were still in yukatas, which probably contributed to that feeling.

But even our friends who had changed clothes hadn’t completely shaken off the lingering mood, so we bought some small fireworks on our way.

We also bought snacks for a late-night meal and drinks.

And karaage for Kagami to snack on.

We got off the train together and walked for 30 minutes to reach home.

When I lived alone, my home always seemed depressing, but not anymore. Since I properly recognized it as my home, it’s become a place where I can rest comfortably.

To be honest, now there’s also air conditioning.

First, I turned on the air conditioner, then went inside to shower.

While the three of us—me, Kagami, and Koko—took turns showering, the kids were playing games on a console in the living room. Even though it was an incredibly old classic fighting game by today’s standards, the kids were enjoying it quite a bit.

Yuka was at the center of it all. Well, she was the one who had given us the game in the first place.

Since Kagami started living here, quite a few new things had been brought into the house, but the items Yuka had given us still remained intact.

Whenever Yuka came to our house, she had an unusually comfortable expression—perhaps that was the reason.

“Ah, I lost again!”

“I played this obsessively when I was younger.”

When Harumi spoke with disbelief, Yuka answered with a smile.

…Even as we get older and move a bit further apart, I feel like we’ll still be able to meet often. I just had that feeling.

Because, well, of course there are many people who commute from this neighborhood to Tokyo… but still, the distance between these kids’ homes and our house is quite far.

If they’re willing to put in the effort to come back and forth to hang out, then even if we go to different universities, we should be able to meet quite often.

And if all else fails, I just need to go to the neighborhood where the Mako trio lives, and I’ll find plenty of friends to meet.

“Kotone, you’re done showering?”

My hair was still a bit damp. I had just come out from inside.

“Want me to dry your hair?”

“Yes, please.”

Harumi asked with a smile, and I answered with a smile too.

We took turns drying each other’s hair, and Koko and Kagami also finished showering one after another.

I dried Kagami’s hair.

Her hair was as long as mine, so it took quite some time. By the time we finished drying, it was already what you could call nighttime.

After everyone had showered, we went outside and felt the humid air.

Crouching in the parking lot that had only one car, we set off the remaining fireworks.

Sparkle, sparkle.

The children’s faces shone in the middle of the dimly lit parking lot.

Every one of them was beautiful.

I don’t just mean their faces were pretty. Their expressions were beautiful too. Faces of children who could genuinely enjoy the smallest things.

Among them, Koko’s face shone the brightest. Not just because it was illuminated by the fireworks, but because her eyes sparkled so brightly that they seemed to light up everything in front of her.

The humid feeling on our skin. The subtle heat rising from the fireworks. The strange chemical smell. The small, suppressed giggles…

Each element was truly a midsummer night’s memory.

We kept gazing at those sparkles until all the fireworks we had bought were used up.

They were the smallest and most modest fireworks among all we had seen today, but they were enough to leave an afterimage in the corner of our memories.

*

Chuhai.

I think there’s actually a brand of alcohol with that name, but it actually refers to a cocktail made by mixing Japanese “shochu” with carbonated water, like a highball.

The alcohol content isn’t that high. Depending on the mix, some deliberately make it stronger, but the one Kagami brought was 5 percent.

“…”

All the kids, including me and Koko, silently watched Kagami drinking the chuhai.

Their gazes seemed somewhat expectant.

At this age, there’s great interest in alcohol. Some might actually try drinking, but at least none of these kids had tried alcohol before.

They might have smelled it, though.

Adults enjoy drinking it, yet it’s prohibited from even being sold to minors, so they naturally wonder, “Why do people drink it?”

I only tried it for the first time in college, and well, I didn’t really enjoy it then. I drink tea and coffee, but the bitter taste with that distinctive alcoholic flavor wasn’t to my liking.

However, as time passed, when I had difficult times or good times, I would drink a little with friends, and at some point, I came to enjoy it in my own way.

I wonder how Kagami feels about it.

“…Hmm.”

She took her lips off the can and stared at it intensely.

“How is it?” asked Harumi cautiously, who had become closest to Kagami among the kids we met today.

“Oh my. Hasn’t your father told you about it?”

“Dad just said, ‘Try it yourself when you’re an adult.'”

Harumi answered with her lips pouting, sitting with her knees pulled up.

“Hmm…”

Kagami looked at the can for a moment, thinking, then said,

“…I’d like to give a similar answer. I think you won’t know until you try it yourself.”

She frowned slightly.

She didn’t like it, I see.

Well, judging from the food Kagami usually eats, they’re typically things considered “delicious.” To be more precise, she liked foods that don’t generally divide opinion.

But could Kagami really never have tried alcohol before? She used to sell it, after all.

Perhaps sensing my gaze, Kagami smiled bitterly and said,

“I know the taste. It’s bitter, not very tasty, and has a strange smell. I didn’t particularly enjoy it.”

“How about today?”

“Well, I thought alcohol might taste better when you’re in a good mood.”

Kagami put down the can and picked up a piece of karaage with chopsticks, putting it in her mouth.

“That means you don’t like it.”

“Well… everyone has different tastes, right? Who knows. Some people say they loved it the moment they tried it as adults.”

The kids nodded with puzzled expressions.

Harumi’s father, who seems to be involved in something like yakuza work, whatever that might be.

Yuu’s father, who is simply yakuza through and through.

And Mako’s father, who isn’t yakuza but is a suspicious civil servant in many ways.

As for Yuka… don’t they use alcohol for ancestral rites?

It’s a bit surprising that none of the four have tried alcohol.

Well, that’s actually a good thing.

“If you’re not going to drink that, can I have it?”

I’m not someone who extremely enjoys alcohol, but I don’t dislike it either. It depends on the situation, but overall, I did prefer drinking.

But as soon as I said that, the kids’ gazes quickly turned toward me.

“No, you can’t.”

Kagami said seriously.

“No.”

And for some reason, Koko was serious too.

“You shouldn’t drink,” she added, seemingly basing her statement on what she learned at school.

Wait, but with this body, wouldn’t it be fine for me to drink? I’m half human, but the other half is a body given by a god. Unless it’s some otherworld alcohol brewed with octopus heads, I probably won’t get drunk, right?

“…I’m just kidding.”

But the kids’ gazes seemed quite serious, so I said that.

Kagami quickly picked up the can and took a few gulps, then put another piece of karaage in her mouth.

“Miss Yuuki. You said you’re planning to go to the same university as Kotone, right?”

And then Kagami said something completely out of the blue.

The kids’ gazes turned to me again. Especially Mako and Yuu seemed a bit surprised.

I hadn’t discussed university with these kids yet.

I gave Kagami a slight glare for suddenly bringing up that fact.

“Yes, that’s my plan. Because we promised that day.”

Yuka answered very proudly, straightening her shoulders.

“Then, could you keep a good eye on her at university? I don’t want my daughter drinking alcohol. I’m also worried she might fall for some bad guy.”

“Of course. I’ll properly take care of both Kotone and Koko.”

I looked incredulously at Yuka, who spoke while snorting.

Wait, why are you all interfering with my drinking?

Could it be because of my appearance?

Seeing Mako, Yuu, and Harumi watching that conversation with somewhat understanding expressions made me even more incredulous.

No, more than that, you used to sell alcohol!

Well, bringing that up here would probably just make the atmosphere awkward, so I just ate some karaage while dwelling on the absurdity.