“I’ll walk you halfway.”

          When I expressed my desire to go home, Sendai-san suggested the idea of accompanying me, but I declined. It was still light out, and I had already memorized the route we had taken, so there was no need for her to escort me. Besides, there wasn’t much to talk about even if we walked together.

          Even when we were going to Sendai-san’s house earlier, we didn’t really talk much.

          Besides, I was more comfortable going home alone.

          I felt a bit awkward considering what happened today.

          However, despite my strong insistence on going alone, Sendai-san ended up walking with me anyway.

          Even though you’re so sensitive to the heat…

          I wasn’t sure when it was that my orders stopped holding any weight.

          Even though I ordered her not to accompany me, she defied my words and left the house with me anyway.

          I sighed softly, ensuring the person beside me wouldn’t hear.

          I asked Sendai-san to take me to her house in the first place solely because she had been behaving as she pleased recently.

          She acted as though she had complete freedom over the break. She kept making up new rules by herself and fulfilling her desires without my input, so I wanted to get back at her by forcing her to undertake an impossible task – I ordered her to take me to her house even though I had no idea where it was.

          What kind of room did she spend her time in?

          Admittedly, I was a bit curious.

          Regardless, she would turn me down.

          At least, that was what I expected, and now I regretted issuing that order so casually.

          I ended up witnessing something Sendai-san hadn’t wanted me to discover. It seemed like she’d been hiding it all along and wanted to keep it hidden.

          ‘Sendai-san seemed like the type who was loved by her family.’

          That was what I once thought of her, but now I realized it was merely a product of my imagination. When we encountered her mother at the entrance earlier, she left without even sparing a glance at her own daughter, leaving Sendai-san with a complex expression on her face.

          The air around them felt tense and I could tell right away that they didn’t have a good relationship with each other.

          There was definitely something off between them.

          I messed up.

          No matter how uncomfortable I was with silence, I said too much today. It was my fault that I put Sendai-san through that experience.

          Sendai-san was silent right now.

          As if to make up for saying too much last time, I kept quiet as well.

          If I were to apologize now, it might provide me with some relief, but it would surely anger Sendai-san. Therefore, I had no option but to remain silent as we walked alongside each other.

          Even when we walked side by side, silence was the only companion between us, so it didn’t feel much different from walking alone.

          I couldn’t bring myself to look beside me, so I directed my gaze downwards instead.

          The setting sun cast our shadows onto the sidewalk.

          I walked at a leisurely pace, with Sendai-san matching my speed, much like our journey to her house earlier.

          「So, Miyagi, what did you think?」

          For the first time during our journey back, I heard a voice from beside me that had the same familiar tone, breaking the silence between us.

          「Of what?」

          I asked, not quite sure what she was trying to get at, as I turned to look at Sendai-san.

          「I don’t know. You were the one who wanted to come to my place, weren’t you?」

          She answered in a cheerful tone, as if forgetting what had happened today.

          「Look, all I wanted was a change of scenery.」

          「Yeah, yeah, I know. Anyway, tell me, what did you think of my room?」

          Sendai-san’s room had a modest level of decoration, not too extravagant yet not entirely bare. “An ordinary room” would be the most suitable description for it, and it wasn’t much different from my own.

          However, if I had to point out one difference, it would be her bookshelf.

          Most of her bookshelf was filled with workbooks, reference books, and magazines that Ibaraki-san seemed to like reading. However, I felt like that wasn’t the response she was looking for, so I opted to go with a safe answer.

          「Well, it felt like a regular room.」

          「Huh? Why wouldn’t it be? What were you expecting?」

          「I don’t know. Something more high school girlish?」

          「Oh, is that the kind of impression I give off?」

          「At least, that’s what it seems like at school.」

          Sendai-san wasn’t particularly flashy, but she certainly stood out at school, projecting an open and cheerful image. I was surprised to see her room wasn’t entirely adorned with cute and fashionable items.

          「Well, okay, aside from my room, do you have any other thoughts?」

          Sendai-san pressed me for a response, appearing somewhat dissatisfied with my previous answer.

          Before we left, I spent the rest of my time at her place reading the books that were on her shelf.

          It wasn’t like I’d gone over empty-handed, but I hadn’t brought my printouts or workbooks with me, so I had no other choice. Meanwhile, Sendai had been engrossed in a book as well.

          In other words, we spent our time together just like we always did.

          「There was nothing else really worth mentioning.」

          「I guess you’re right.」

          Sendai-san agreed casually, but then she suddenly came to a halt.

          When I stopped as well, she extended her index finger, stopping it just before it could touch my neck.

           「Does this still hurt? It’s still a bit red.」

          Sendai-san, who had pushed me down earlier, hadn’t shown restraint.

          She bit into my neck so deeply that I nearly thought she might draw blood.

          I had experienced her biting me several times in the past, but this was the most painful bite I had ever received.

          「It hurt when you bit me and it still hurts right now.」

          When I responded with that, Sendai-san’s hand lightly brushed the reddened area.

          To be honest, it didn’t really hurt anymore.

          But it continued to throb, as if the pain was still there.

          「Yeah, I’ll bet. I was trying to make sure it hurt.」

          Sendai-san said while wearing a serious expression on her face.

          “Stop trying to copy me,” I was about to say, but I quickly stopped myself.

          I heaved a sigh, realizing again just how horrible I’d been to her this whole time.

          I peeled Sendai-san’s hand off my neck.

          It’s fine.

          It’s not a big deal.

          Even if it was still red right now, it didn’t hurt anymore, and it shouldn’t leave a mark behind either.

          「You’re such a pervert, Sendai-san.」

          「Yeah, you might be right about that.」

          Sendai-san, who typically would deny such words, nodded in agreement.

          Things have been going crazy ever since summer break started.

          The Sendai-san I knew possessed self-restraint and wouldn’t do something like push others down onto the bed. Even if she strayed from the orders I gave her, there was never any special meaning behind her actions.

          She had caressed my skin with her tongue.

          Even though it was just a simple act of licking, it felt as if Sendai-san was attempting to impart it with a deeper meaning in that moment.

          No, that’s probably just my imagination.

          It wasn’t a big deal, and I was sure I’d forget all of this by tomorrow anyway.

          「Let’s go.」

          Sendai-san said, her voice slightly drowned out by the noise of the city.

          Just like during our trip to her house, I couldn’t determine the right walking pace.

          When it came to other people, our strides naturally aligned, but it didn’t seem to work the same way with her.

          Was it okay to walk side-by-side, or was it better to have a little distance between us?

          Even though my steps were hesitant and a bit slower, Sendai-san remained right next to me.

          We continued walking down the streets side-by-side. It had been like this ever since we left her house.

          Sendai-san was walking relatively slowly, just like how it was on the way to her house, but I couldn’t tell if that was her usual walking speed, or if she was simply trying to match mine.

          Nevertheless, as we strolled through the streets, the cityscape around us gradually changed.

          I wouldn’t mind if we walked a little faster.

          But when I thought about how this could be my last opportunity to wander the city with Sendai-san, I couldn’t find it in me to rush the shift in scenery.

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