This trip included eleven people in total: the Light Music Club, the Service Club, plus Kanna, Hirasawa Ui, and Hikigaya Komachi.
Kanna was small enough that she could simply squeeze in with the girls, while as the only two boys, Sato and Hikigaya Hachiman naturally ended up sharing the same room.
The inn had been built near the mountaintop, and overall it resembled an old-style apartment building. Since all the room windows faced outward, the view from the windows was exceptionally good.
Looking into the distance, the mountains were dyed in layers of autumn colors.
The majestic mountain ridges resembled giant dragons stretching across the earth, cloaked in brilliant multicolored armor.
Hot Spring Inn, Room Five.
The two stood by the window for quite a while, quietly appreciating the scenery.
Sato suddenly let out a breath and turned to Hikigaya Hachiman with a smile.
"What do you think of the scenery here?"
Hikigaya Hachiman nodded first, then showed a pained expression.
"It's just a bit expensive."
Sato froze for a moment, somewhat surprised, then patted him on the shoulder encouragingly.
"Come on, a real man shouldn't fuss over details like that! There's a saying for this, right... enjoy today's happiness while today lasts."
Hikigaya Hachiman remained silent, but inwardly he was shedding manly tears.
As the person with the lowest status in the entire Hikigaya household, his allowance was naturally the smallest in the family. His younger sister Hikigaya Komachi received at least twice as much pocket money as he did.
Incidentally, the pillar of the Hikigaya family ranked only slightly above him in household status. Aside from money necessary for social obligations, even his father's allowance was not much higher than his. Thinking about that comforted him a little.
Fortunately, he did not have unnecessary social interactions, which allowed him to save money for things he liked and build up a tiny amount of savings...
Though Komachi occasionally fleeced him for some of it, he still had at least several tens of thousands of yen left.
But this trip alone had already cost him a full third of his savings.
Thinking of this, he could not help but look at Sato with envy and jealousy.
This guy never seemed short on money. He even handed over money to Komachi without batting an eye. Could his family secretly be some kind of rural landlords or something?!
Sato noticed something off about Hikigaya Hachiman and narrowed his eyes.
"Hikigaya, that look in your eyes doesn't seem right."
Hearing this, Hikigaya Hachiman returned to his usual expression and stared at him with those dead fish eyes.
"What's wrong with it?"
Sato thought for a moment, then looked at Hikigaya Hachiman seriously and answered with the title of an old essay prompt.
"A strange glint flashed through the salted fish's eyes."
"???"
Hikigaya Hachiman stared at him blankly, his eyes seeming to ask whether something was wrong with his brain.
Knock knock knock!
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.
Sato walked over and opened it, revealing a somewhat nervous Hirasawa Ui outside.
"Senpai!"
The moment she saw Sato, Hirasawa Ui jumped back like a startled deer. Then she steadied herself and softly greeted him with a red face, seemingly still not fully recovered from what happened on the bus earlier.
There always seemed to be a faint watery haze in the girl's eyes. She looked like a willow branch swaying in the breeze, naturally evoking tenderness and pity.
Seeing this scene, a certain line of poetry suddenly surfaced in Sato's mind.
Moved by emotion, he lowered his head and looked at the girl whose height only reached about his chest. Looking down at her shy face, he murmured softly,
"The most tender thing is that gentle lowering of your head, like a water lily too shy to withstand the cool breeze..."
"Ah!"
The girl suddenly jolted in shock and looked up at Sato blankly.
In that instant, Sato also abruptly came back to his senses.
Clarity gradually returned to his eyes, and as he realized what he had unconsciously muttered just now, his heart instantly turned cold.
Oh no!
Why did I suddenly recite a poem?! Did I look cool though?
As he snapped awake, he suddenly noticed the deep blush spreading across Hirasawa Ui's face like brilliant sunset clouds, rapidly extending down her fair neck and crystal-like ears.
She stared blankly at Sato, and the thin watery mist in her bright beautiful eyes deepened further. Waves of embarrassment crashed against the girl's heart one after another.
Hirasawa Ui's watery eyes looking at Sato seemed both bashful and reproachful. Suddenly pressing her lips tightly together, she turned and fled in panic.
Sato: "..."
Gulp.
He swallowed hard, his scalp tingling.
This is bad.
My brain seriously malfunctioned just now!
Stiffly, he turned his head toward Hikigaya Hachiman in the back, who had witnessed the entire scene and was now standing there dumbfounded with his jaw hanging open.
"Hikigaya... you have to testify for me later. I really didn't do anything!"
Didn't do anything?
You call that doing nothing?!
Are you fooling ghosts here?!
Having witnessed the whole thing firsthand, Hikigaya Hachiman roared internally several times before taking a deep breath.
Suddenly, he stepped backward and instantly dropped into a full dogeza, the highest form of apology.
Keeping his legs tightly together, he prostrated himself on the floor and solemnly declared,
"Please, I beg you, spare my little sister!"
Sato opened his mouth, then the corner of his lips twitched.
"You misunderstood!"
"She's still young, and she's an idiot too. She can't do housework, her grades are terrible, and although she's the cutest in the world, she's still just a child!"
Huh? The cutest in the world?
Wait!
Now's not the time for that!
"I seriously didn't do anything!"
Sato could not help crying injustice. He really had been possessed by a ghost just now, he himself had no idea what happened!
Hikigaya Hachiman looked up at Sato, his eyes seemingly bloodshot now.
Sorry, but this time I saw it with my own eyes!
That playboy reputation of yours definitely didn't come out of nowhere!
You even won't spare middle school girls. That's truly envi... disgraceful!
He was secretly anxious now.
What if this guy started flirting with Komachi the same way as before?
That idiot definitely would not be able to withstand it!
Watching Hikigaya Hachiman sink into intense inner conflict, Sato fell silent...
What kind of mess is this?
Very quickly, he heard hurried footsteps approaching, and his expression immediately changed.