Ch.261Epilogue of an Epilogue. A Story Not Yet Ended

Living in a different country doesn’t feel that different once you actually live there.

Perhaps if it had been a completely different region, the story might have been different. America, Europe… or somewhere else.

The language and lifestyle are different, but since my hobbies in my previous life and this life are quite similar, it feels like being on an extended vacation abroad that eventually just became everyday life.

I studied quite diligently until university graduation, so my final grades turned out fairly decent.

Among me, Yuka, Koko, and Kagami, none of us had to study extra due to poor grades. As we progressed, our class schedules diverged somewhat, and we took different major courses, so we spent less time in the same classes, but at least we were always together when returning home.

Yuka lived in our apartment throughout university.

We had many enjoyable times. We’d visit each other’s rooms when bored and have fun, and sometimes we even barbecued in the parking lot. Though we couldn’t do that often because we felt self-conscious around the neighbors.

The number of cars in the parking lot steadily increased.

By the time I graduated university, Kagami’s compact car had been replaced with a rather large van. It was as if Kagami knew I would be going out with friends and willingly purchased a new car.

I couldn’t bear to part with Kagami’s old compact car, the Lapin, so I inherited it. The design was cute, and though it was somewhat worn after several years, it was a Japanese car after all. If I had driven it in another country, maintenance would have been a nightmare, but here in Japan, it wasn’t much of a concern.

Above all, I’m the type who gets attached to things. I didn’t want to easily let go of a car filled with memories.

When I got my driver’s license, Koko naturally got hers too. She didn’t buy a separate car but shared the Lapin I inherited from Kagami.

We actually went through with the nationwide tour I had planned with Yuka. Well, it was more like visiting major cities on Japan’s four main islands for a day each.

The three of us with licenses took turns driving, and we stayed at hotels that looked nice whenever we felt like it.

All three of us kept detailed records of the journey and took plenty of photos and videos.

About half a year after the trip, I edited the videos and uploaded them to YouTube, where they became quite popular as a series featuring three beautiful women traveling together. I think one of the reasons for their popularity was that Koko and I are twins.

The travel guide we compiled from our journals was published as a book around the time I graduated university.

Sales were decent. Not enough to live on, and the royalties were even smaller when split three ways, but it gave me a dream.

Someday, I wanted to be known as a writer.

Somewhat amusingly, I ventured into light novels. My ultimate goal was to have my novels adapted into animation. Whether I could achieve it or not, I couldn’t guarantee, but well, life is long.

Oh, right, Yuka also bought a car. When we traveled together, we used the Lapin, but Yuka got her license with the intention of buying her own car.

She bought a boxy compact car literally called “Cube.” I remembered it from a celebrity I saw on TV as a child.

Mako, Yuu, and Harumi also lived in our apartment until university graduation. All three got their driver’s licenses, but only Yuu bought a car.

Mako was somewhat cautious about driving by nature. Given her family’s assets, it wouldn’t have been strange for her to buy a car like us, but her “thinking about it” was postponed until graduation.

Still, Mako looked quite cool when she showed up on graduation day with a red sports sedan.

Prescription sunglasses and hair grown slightly longer than in high school.

Though the atmosphere completely changed when she took off those sunglasses and showed her embarrassed expression, but that suited her too in its own way.

Yuu surprisingly purchased quite a large SUV.

Unexpectedly passionate about camping, Yuu regularly packed seasonal gear and traveled quite far. She would carefully arrange her schedule to have Fridays or Mondays off and take extended weekend trips.

Sometimes alone, sometimes with friends.

A few times, she took all of us from the apartment, including Kagami.

We set up a row of tents at the campsite and spent a long time silently gazing at the stars pouring down from the sky, with no light around except for starlight.

An unforgettable memory.

Harumi didn’t buy a “car.” By car, I mean a vehicle that can seat at least two people.

Not front and back. Side by side.

Harumi bought a vehicle that could seat “two people front and back,” but wasn’t a car.

Yes, a motorcycle.

I thought a gyaru like her would buy a cute scooter or something, but I was surprised when she showed up with a large bike bearing a German automotive brand logo.

I rode on the back a few times when Harumi offered, and honestly, it was refreshing and fun.

I became more restrained about it when I saw Kagami’s heart-dropping expression each time.

Whether Harumi was lucky, drove relatively safely, or both, she hadn’t had a single accident so far.

Like Yuu, she occasionally rode her bike far away alone and sent us photos. Her solo photography skills kept improving, and she might be the second-best photographer among those who stayed in our apartment, after Kagami.

Sometimes she would take Mako on the back, and strangely, they looked really good together.

The Literature Club steadily welcomed new students. I continued visiting and buying their anthologies until Shii graduated, but after that, I stopped going.

Even if I went, the only person I knew there now was Ms. Suzuki.

Ms. Suzuki, who still taught children with a bright smile, always greeted Koko and me with a warm smile whenever we met. I still visit occasionally when I think of her. Seeing how popular she still is with the children, she seems to remain “the best teacher” for many students.

Kaoru and Izumi kept in touch frequently even after becoming university students. Like us, they often went to the Literature Club’s literary cafe, but apparently stopped going after Shii graduated. When we all gathered to hang out at our apartment, the two of them often joined us. Like us, they came by car. Sometimes Kaoru drove, sometimes Izumi.

After graduation, the two started a small publishing company, and they seem interested in the next works from me, Koko, and Yuka. They said, “Let us know in advance if you’re going on another trip!”

Should I write another one? It might be fun to write about an overseas trip this time.

In the year I became a third-year university student, while living so boisterously, another tenant moved into the vacant room in our apartment.

It was Shii.

Shii nonchalantly followed me to my university and my department. Well, I thought it was only natural for someone like Shii. If Shii couldn’t get into this university, who could?

Both Shii and I worked part-time jobs until we graduated university. The manager was fine with hiring slightly older maids, and thanks to that, we were able to secure some extra spending money throughout university.

Shii and Souta’s relationship continued. Souta as a brother who truly cherished his sister, and Shii as a sister who took good care of her somewhat scatterbrained brother.

Their relationship with their mother, who barely survived, was never fully restored, but neither Souta nor Shii seemed particularly concerned. Well, those people were the reason Shii had such an unfortunate childhood.

Their relationship with their father… is gradually recovering.

Time heals, they say. He at least had enough affection to provide them with a house, and these days they maintain somewhat gruff communication.

Perhaps his thinking changed as he aged. To be honest, I don’t think it’s a relationship that can be easily accepted, but that’s for the Sasaki siblings to handle, so I decided not to interfere further.

I just plan to silently stand by them, watching over them, ready to be there when they need help or support.

Speaking of part-time jobs, the manager stopped wearing the maid uniform when she entered her early thirties. She could have remained active for several more years, but around that time, she changed the cafe to a more serious atmosphere and has been running it that way until now.

Some maids stayed for quite a long time, and as the cafe expanded to two floors, they all became full-time employees.

Miki was one of them.

Though she became a university student a bit late, Miki studied hard. Her grades weren’t the best, but she could smile brightly on graduation day.

Miki also began running the cafe in earnest with the manager, and these days they’re working to make it one of the must-visit places in Akihabara.

It seems like they’ll continue that legacy, which is reassuring.

Oh, and Souta.

Souta never lived in our apartment, but I saw him often since he was always with Shii.

After graduating high school, Souta somehow seemed to have grown a bit taller and become more handsome. Perhaps taking off the gakuran school uniform actually enhanced his appearance.

Nanami went to the same university as Souta, but unfortunately, they were in different departments. She had a fiery rivalry with Tsugumi, who had worked desperately to get into the same department as Souta the following year.

That war continued until graduation—and right after graduation, as the two were bickering beside Souta, a white foreign car pulled up.

The person who got out was Hagiwara, who had graduated a year earlier.

Yes, Hagiwara, who had only maintained occasional contact during that long time, had been sharpening her knife.

That war shows no signs of ending yet.

…

And as for Kagami, Koko, and me—

We eventually moved out of that apartment.

The three of us didn’t separate. Neither Koko nor I found jobs far enough away to necessitate moving.

Actually, by that time, I was already earning some money from my writing, so there was no reason to move far away for independence, and neither of us had boyfriends or girlfriends.

But Kagami finally acknowledged that Koko and I couldn’t live in the same room with our mother forever.

I didn’t even try to persuade her first.

We purchased a house near our family home in Tokyo and moved there.

For the first time since living with Kagami, I had my own room.

The day we moved was the day after Shii’s graduation ceremony.

Mako, Yuu, Harumi, and Yuka had already left one by one, making the apartment somewhat lonely again, like in the old days.

When the three of us packed our last belongings and left, everyone who had ever lived in that apartment gathered.

Despite various repairs and new paint, the aged atmosphere simply wouldn’t disappear. Nor would the somewhat gloomy feeling.

But for us who had lived there intertwined for years—all those atmospheres were memories.

“This place will remain as it is,” Kagami said, looking up at the apartment.

I don’t know how long it will stay.

Just as I inherited Kagami’s car, it seems Kagami wasn’t the type to want to give up on this aspect either.

“Yes. Forever.”

“Mmm…”

For a long, long time, we gazed at that place where our memories had accumulated and overflowed.

After taking a group photo, we all headed to our cars.

Everyone slowly dispersed in the direction of where they now lived.

I know this isn’t the end.

After all, when the weekend comes, during the Golden Week holiday, when we take vacations… we’ll naturally gather again.

But we won’t be able to live boisterously together like we did throughout university.

That’s how things change as we move forward step by step.

I had already experienced this feeling when graduating high school.

Still, shedding one’s shell remained an awkward experience.

After driving for just under an hour, the car stopped, and outside was an unfamiliar house.

The place that would now become “our home.”

Just as we had done after leaving the apartment, the three of us stared at the house for a long time.

“Well, shall we go in?” Kagami said with a smile.

Koko and I nodded, and together we slowly entered the house.

Into the place we would fill with our new memories.

After all, the story is far from over.