Chapter 388
"Didn't we just walk over here?"
Ogasawara Haruka made a speechless comment.
They used this bridge when they first arrived here.
"I just gave a brief overview, honestly, Club President, you really have no romance at all~"
Tanaka Asuka adjusted her glasses and pouted at her lack of understanding.
"Hey hey~ I'm sorry I'm not as obsessed with romance as you are."
She responded with a sigh.
The Uji River divides this side of the mountain into two.
On one side is the area where Byōdō-in and other places are located, and on the other side is the Uji District where Kitauji is located. They just came from that side.
"Alright, alright~ Since that's the case, let's take a few photos and then go."
[Note: Kitauji's real-life counterpart is "Kyoto Prefectural Uji High School," which is located quite far north. Also, considering that Kumiko Oumae had to cross a bridge to get to and from school, her home was on the other side of the bridge.]
We've arrived at this side of the river.
With little time left, the group quickly visited several places, including the "The Tale of Genji Museum," the "Tea and Uji City Exchange Hall," and the "Fukujuen Uji Tea Workshop," according to their closing times.
Meanwhile, the sky gradually darkened.
"Alright, everyone!"
Tanaka Asuka wiped the sweat from her brow, her expression heavy, her voice trembling as she clenched her fists, closed her eyes, and said, "We've finally reached the last, and biggest, hurdle!"
"Come on, ladies! Let's begin our final challenge! Night—or rather, it's almost night, isn't it? Night climb of Mount Daikichi!"
"Haa~"
X 3.
Having walked all the way and exhausted themselves from the morning's exertion, the group couldn't help but sigh upon hearing this.
"Hey, hey~ Are you tired already? As a member of the Wind Instrument Club, how can you have this little bit of stamina?"
Tanaka Asuka crossed her arms and looked at the group with a disappointed expression.
"Don't judge us by your physical strength..."
"And look at this guy? He's handling it with ease too, isn't he?"
"It would be even more outrageous if the standard were applied to men!"
"I'm sorry, I might not be able to make it..."
Kōsaka Reina's eyes were lifeless, her face ashen.
"Then you three can rest here. Asuka and I will go upstairs and take a look."
Himemiya Chihaya offered a "thoughtful" suggestion.
Let's do it this way.
Thank you for your understanding...
"Thanks..."
"Hey! Wait! Why me?! I've been explaining things the whole way, I'm exhausted!"
Tanaka Asuka stomped her foot and complained loudly.
"Really? I can't tell at all."
"... Actually, I was just pretending. If it's convenient, could you go up and take a look by yourself?"
She forced a smile, clasped her hands together beside her face, and looked at him with wide, expressive eyes.
"Look, just follow this path and you'll reach the observation deck, then you can take a few photos..."
"Hehe~ I refuse!"
"Why?!"
"Because it's too boring to be alone, and I'm quite familiar with you."
"It's just that we met a few hours earlier..."
"The reward is all the remaining snacks."
"It would be my pleasure to serve you, sir!"
She stood with her legs crossed, pointed her arms toward the path leading up the mountain, and bowed slightly in an invitation.
"..."
The remaining three people stared at the two who still had room to perform their play, their mouths slightly agape, speechless.
These two people...
"This is Uji Shrine. Like the Ujigami Shrine ahead, it was built to enshrine the Prince Uji no Wakiiratsuko, who is said to Emperor Ōjin. The Tomb of Prince Uji no Wakiiratsuko that we visited earlier is his grave."
"Our area is also called Udo. As you can tell from the Chinese character 'Udo,' this place is closely related to rabbits, so there are many rabbit stone statues and rabbit-shaped ema (votive tablets) around here."
"Judging from the timeline, the shrine above was built earlier and has a more antique feel... I wonder if it was just the quirky taste of the ancients, but they always liked to build shrines high up in the mountains, making believers have to climb a mountain path."
"..."
The two strolled leisurely along the way, gradually reaching the end of the road under the illumination of the streetlights and the shadows of the trees.
"We've arrived! This is the Mount Daikichi Medical Center Observatory! Whew~"
Tanaka Asuka sighed deeply and took a deep breath.
She's not a superhero; after a whole day of running around, it's impossible not to be tired, but she's just managing to keep going.
"It's already evening, but the city's aerial view at night is just as beautiful, or even more beautiful!"
The already dim sky had completely darkened as the two climbed the mountain.
The Japan lights of the city below were fully visible to the two people standing on the mountaintop, both on this side of the bridge and the other side...
[Note: This mountain climbing process is the one that Kumiko Oumae and Kōsaka Reina climbed at night on the day of the festival in episode 8 of the first season of the anime.]
"The scenery is indeed very nice."
Himemiya Chihaya leaned against the railing of the observation deck, taking out her phone and snapping photos of the view below.
"Right?"
Tanaka Asuka smiled gently, leaned on the railing, and gazed intently at the scenery below that she had seen countless times before, falling silent.
A gentle breeze atop the mountain stirred the strands of hair that fell across her face, and the dim lamplight softly touched her tranquil mood, evoking both a philosopher's contemplation and a fairy-like, aloof beauty.
Although, fairies don't wear glasses...
Himemiya Chihaya, holding her phone, couldn't help but take a picture of her.
"Snap!"
The shutter button and flash startled the beauty on the mountain, who hurriedly looked over. "Hey! What are you taking pictures of!"
"Scenery~"
"You're lying! You're filming me, aren't you!"
She put her hands on her hips, pointed at him, and said with absolute certainty, "Hand over your phone!"
In an instant, she transformed from a taciturn fairy into a vibrant young woman.
"Beauty is also scenery."
He chuckled and put his phone away, ignoring her request.
Her expression froze for a moment, a faint blush rising to her cheeks, barely visible in the darkness of the night. Her deep eyes trembled for a few seconds before returning to normal.
"... That's the kind of talk you'd use to pick up hot girls in Tokyo! Delete the photos right now!"
"No way! You can hit me if you want!"
"What would I need your photos for? If Mom finds out, she'll scold me for dating and it affecting my studies!"
"Your mom... well, her thinking is... nothing special."
He moved his lips, his gaze complex, hesitant to speak, but ultimately suppressed the urge.
Seeing that he was unwilling to hand it over, she had no choice but to lean against the fence again. "Ha... I don't have to delete it, but you can't use it for anything bad, understand?"
"For example?"
He countered with a joking retort.
"Did you know? The urban legend of Uji, Mount Daikichi at night, has accumulated countless spirits over thousands of years?"
"I promise I won't use it for anything bad!"
"Good to know."
Chapter 397 The band name and the girl playing the Oboe.
"Ha~ Ah..."
After enjoying the cool mountain breeze for a while, which relieved the heat, she glanced sideways and asked, "Looking at the city below, do you feel like shouting it out?"
"Yes, but I'm shy and embarrassed to say it."
"Ha~ You're still embarrassed?"
Just kidding.
He took in the brightly lit, semi-ancient city below, and his expression gradually calmed.
The Uji Bridge, not far from here, is clearly visible, and you can even faintly see the ancient buildings on the opposite bank illuminated by the light.
After thinking for a moment, he still felt at a loss for words. "To be honest, I don't think I have anything to shout out."
"Um?"
"The act of climbing to a high place to declare one's existence is somewhat tinged with Chūnibyō, or perhaps it's simply an attempt to vent pent-up emotions, right?"
He wagged his finger. "But apart from one thing, I have almost no other worries."
"Even with that one thing, whether I'm truly dissatisfied is another question—after all, life has to have some flaws; a life without regrets isn't perfect."
A life without flaws or failures is like a piece of glass—beautiful but fragile.
"So I've been thinking about it, and maybe I'm not actually that opposed to the current situation."
"That is, if I can survive," he silently added in his mind.
Even he himself is very satisfied with his current life. Apart from the constant threat and pain of death, he has almost no problems that can be considered troubling.
But if this lifelong problem were removed immediately, he had a premonition that he would experience an additional emptiness—this was definitely not masochism or Stockholm syndrome!
However... an overly idealistic situation can also raise another kind of crisis for him, a sense of crisis that worries his perfect life will be gradually broken and damaged.
Water overflows when it is full, and the moon wanes after it is full.
That's probably what they mean by this kind of mentality.
In his past life, he longed for the ordinary but could not attain it; in the past, he yearned for perfection; and now, he has begun to appreciate that imperfection can also be a form of beauty.
Of course, it's not impossible to say that he had no choice but to accept his fate.
Although he didn't believe at all that this was some kind of punishment from heaven, it was precisely because of this body that he could enjoy everything he had now with a clear conscience.
Thinking about how he would eventually resolve this matter Mirai, he felt a strange sense of loneliness...
"..."
Tanaka Asuka looked over in surprise, then quickly looked back down at the vast land below, closed her eyes with a relieved expression, and raised the corners of her mouth, her voice calm.
"Really? Is that how you understand it? Maybe that's true..."
Twenty seconds later.
"Ughh..."
She took a deep breath, mustered all her strength, cupped her hands together like a megaphone, and shouted it out loud.