episode_0245

Shine was the only one who was able to receive a prize in the world’s best archery competition prepared by the archery club.

Lane, who scored 0 points, and I, who was eliminated by shooting a person, were able to receive a small keychain as a souvenir.

The fruit keychains that you can commonly see on the street were cute in their own way, but they couldn’t even compare to the prize Shine received.

She received a very large doll.

The fluffy king rabbit doll was bigger than Lane, and looked difficult to carry around.

Eventually we decided to head to the fifth grade classroom and put the big doll away in the corner.

The front of the fifth grade classroom, which was busy preparing to open, was filled with the fragrant scent of coffee.

“Does it smell good?”

“Because I used expensive coffee beans.”

At Amy’s words, Shine nodded with a confident expression, crossing her arms.

Amy, who had been quietly watching the scene, tilted her head slightly and asked Shine.

“With the support money from school?”

“Of course.”

Amy’s eyes narrow at Shine’s voice, which came out slightly trembling.

Shine was nervous now.

Shine, who had been observing Amy’s expression, held out the large rabbit doll she was holding and spoke.

“I, I’ll put the rabbit down!”

Shine was uncharacteristically flustered.

As I stood there gaping at her unusual appearance, Amy stroked my head and asked.

“Jeff.”

“Okay.”

“It seems like a lot of money was spent on preparing this cafe?”

I swallowed dryly at Amy’s question.

What should I do? Grandpa told me to keep it a secret from Amy.

If your card is stolen again, you won’t be able to drink cola.

I felt a cold sweat running down my back.

“That, that…”

At that time, it was Rain who saved me from the crisis.

She spoke to Amy as if she didn’t know that either.

“Didn’t you know that Mr. Ferman put special effort into this festival? Of course, he also received more support money.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

As Rain nodded, the rabbit ears on her head perked up.

Amy nodded at Lane’s words and withdrew her suspicious gaze.

I looked at Rain, sighing in relief at the sight.

Lane looked at me and winked at Amy without telling her.

At that cute sight, my heart started pounding.

I took a step back, clutching my chest, and Rain tilted his head slightly with his usual goofy grin.

Shine, who came out after putting down the large doll inside the classroom, looked at Amy’s expression.

Even though she is said to be more mature than me, I can’t help but smile at the sight of her still having a childlike side.

Shine changed the subject before Amy could bring up the topic of grant money.

“Let’s go here this time.”

Shine said, taking out a pamphlet.

The drama club was a safe choice.

There was not much time left until the play started.

“Theater club. It’s been a while.”

Amy also nodded, as if it was okay for her to join the drama club.

So our next destination was decided.

After walking down a long hallway and climbing a tall staircase, a large auditorium appeared.

The theater club seemed to be quite popular, and there seemed to be a lot of people visiting this place.

People keep coming in through the wide open door.

It seemed like they had prepared quite well, with luxurious chairs lined up in a row, and the surroundings were darkened to naturally allow people to focus on the stage.

I was underestimating it as a play by young students, but when I saw these facilities, I started to feel some kind of anticipation.

“Ah. We don’t have to wait in line.”

“Huh?”

Naturally, Amy stopped me as I was about to stand behind the line of people and said,

I tilted my head, not understanding what she was saying.

What does it mean to not have to wait in line?

Amy smiled faintly at my appearance and hugged me in her arms.

“Uh. Wait, wait a minute – everyone else is watching too…”

Suddenly, I was held in Amy’s arms and I started shaking my arms and legs wildly.

It was familiar to be held in her arms, but the gaze of those around her was a problem.

Me, I’m in 5th grade…

Even children younger than me are walking on their own…

What is this, what is this shame?

I covered my face with both hands and snuggled into Amy’s arms.

During that time, it seemed like the image of the school that had been built up with so much effort was collapsing.

Amy held me in her arms as she began to walk down the line and into the auditorium.

People whispered as we walked forward, ignoring the line, but no one stopped us.

As if it were a given, the guard standing guard at the door stepped aside to clear the way.

Amy entered the dark auditorium and walked forward without hesitation, leading Shine and Rain.

I naturally assumed that he would just go and sit where everyone else was sitting, but my expectations were pleasantly wrong.

She went straight up the stairs at the end of the auditorium and sat down at the highest seat.

The seats, which seemed to be reserved for special people, looked even softer than the chairs installed on the first floor.

Even the small table in front of him had chocolates and candies on it.

Amy naturally sat me down and then followed me and sat down next to me.

Shine and Rain also sat side by side.

“Hey, Amy.”

I wanted to ask what this place was and why it was made there, but Amy opened the chocolate wrapper and put it in my mouth.

I tasted the chocolate, my mouth naturally licking.

The soft chocolate scent and melting sweetness will make your tongue drool.

I forgot all the questions I had just wondered about and focused on the chocolate.

“It’s been a really long time here too.”

Rain, who was sitting next to me and rolling a candy around in his mouth, looked around as if he knew this place and spoke.

After I swallowed all the chocolate that was in my mouth, I started asking Lane things I was curious about.

“Hey, Rain. Why are you here?”

“Mr. Ferman made it for Amy.”

“Because of Amy?”

“Yeah, Amy said she didn’t want to see the play with other people. She wanted to see it alone.”

“Rain, stop talking nonsense.”

“Oh. Okay, I got it!”

This is a story about Amy’s childhood.

I wanted to hear a little more…

I kept my mouth shut, leaving my regret behind.

Amy hated talking about her childhood.

Since I had no intention of picking on something she didn’t like, I focused on the chocolate again.

While waiting like that, eating chocolate, the time for the play to start approached.

All the lights that had been dimly illuminating the surroundings went out, and a ray of light fell down onto the stage.

Thud-!

The light that fell from the sky illuminated the old sword stuck in the center of the stage.

Everyone’s eyes naturally gather there.

The genre of the play seemed like fantasy.

Before coming here, I hadn’t checked the title or genre, so I asked Lane, who was sitting next to me and eating candy.

“What’s the title of the play?”

“Are you a witch’s knight?”

As Rain finished speaking, someone started walking towards where the old sword was stuck.

Clank, clank. The heavy, weighty footsteps of a knight in armor filled the auditorium.

The surrounding air changes.

The refreshing breeze had turned humid, and the faint smell of grass wafting from the surroundings made me feel as if I was in a real forest.

And that was the moment.

Paat-!

The tent covering the stage split left and right, and the sight of a huge forest filled the view.

I was so absorbed in the play that I didn’t even notice that I dropped the chocolate I was trying to put in my mouth.

***

The play ended after a little over an hour.

A sword fell from the stage and plunged into the ground, signaling the end of the knight.

“Wow…”

I hung on the railing with my mouth open, unable to even think about hiding the exclamations that were flowing out of me.

The play was absolutely fantastic.

The quality was so amazing that it felt like it was straight out of an actual animation.

“It was pretty good.”

“It was pretty, pretty good, right? Wasn’t it really cool?”

I spoke, shaking my legs wildly at Amy’s words.

She said with a small smile at my appearance.

“What you did this time was pretty good, but there were a lot of things that were even better in the past.”

“Really? Even though it’s a play made by elementary school students?”

“The teachers write the scenarios and direct the scenes. The students just act.”

“The acting was great too!”

As I spoke excitedly about Amy’s words, Shine, who had been sitting quietly, asked me.

“Jeff. Are you interested in theater?”

“Yeah. That’s not it. I just changed my mind and thought it was worth watching a play. I thought it would be a little boring compared to movies or animations.”

Now that the play was over, it was time to leave the auditorium.

As if to signal the end of the play, all the actors who had performed came out on stage and greeted the audience, and we stood up from our seats.

I was in a good mood because I was able to enjoy an interesting play, and I followed Amy with bouncy steps.

Even if you jump up and down high stairs, you can get down in no time.

The moment I jumped down the last step and touched the floor, a loud scream was heard from near the entrance to the auditorium.

“This little shit!!!”

The voice of a grown man filled the auditorium.

I was startled by the voice and looked up at the stage.

I was wondering if perhaps another play had already begun.

However, the actors on stage also had surprised expressions.

thud-!

At that moment, there was a crashing sound, and then one of the doors at the entrance to the auditorium was ripped open and blown away.

Because it happened so suddenly, no one there seemed to know what had happened.

As the panicked people began to retreat, the situation at the entrance came into view.

A man was standing there, very excited, taking off his suit jacket and loosening his tie.

Is this a fight?

Why on earth are you fighting?

The man, very excited, started to approach the door that had been blown away.

Near the blown-off door, a man with a bloody face was lying there, writhing.

It’s hard to see this as a normal fight.

The sight of a man approaching his opponent as if he were trying to finish him off while he was lying down was not normal.

The moment I realized that, Amy, who was standing next to me, ran forward.

Amy’s back catches my eye as she passes through the crowd in an instant.

Her pink hair grows long like a tail and scatters like an afterimage.

Amy quickly approached the man and approached him as if supporting him.

To other people, it must have seemed like she was supporting the man.

But, in a split second, Amy’s fist slammed into the man’s side.

The man collapsed as if he couldn’t withstand the shock, so it would have been only natural for Amy to support him.

“It’s an accident~ Everyone, please wait a moment~ If you try to leave in a hurry, you might end up crashing like this~”

Amy handled the situation skillfully.

He handed the fallen opponent over to the guard standing nearby, and also handed the man he was supporting over to another guard.

So this situation became a simple accident.

People who had been looking around with anxious faces left the auditorium with relieved expressions.

Amy, having sorted out the situation, took out her cell phone and approached us.

Her expression was set in a rigid manner.

This wasn’t just an accident.