Mm, That's Right

[Topic: Piano Performance]

[Only one person can register per group. Registration will close when five people have registered or one hour has elapsed since the topic was announced.]

[First Place: 1000 points, one chance to upgrade a regular card]

[Second Place: 800 points]

[Third Place: 600 points]

After successfully registering, Kitagawa Ryo also took a look around. He only saw four middle-aged men who seemed to be judges observing the situation with great interest under the protection of a parasol on the other side. Apart from them, he did not see any other students.

"Perhaps it's because there are too few students in your grade who can play the piano, but that's a good thing. If Kitagawa is the only contestant later, it's basically like he's already locked in first place."

Because of Horikita Suzune and Horikita Manabu, Tachibana Akane was very friendly towards Kitagawa Ryo, and since the project hadn't officially started yet, she simply started chatting with Kitagawa Ryo:

"I remember Kitagawa-kun was in a group with Suzune, and Suzune also plays the piano, but since you were chosen to participate, does that mean your piano skills are better than Suzune's?"

"Of course, and speaking of which, I was the one who taught Suzune to play the piano."

Kitagawa Ryo's answer surprised Tachibana Akane:

"Is that so?"

"Um."

Kitagawa Ryo wasn't lying about this, but that was something that happened during Horikita Suzune's simulation, and his current [Pianist] talent also manifested from that simulation.

Not only piano, Kitagawa Ryo also taught Horikita Suzune Tea Ceremony, Aikido, cooking, Math Olympiad, and more. Although at the time he made Suzune suffer quite a bit by telling her to surpass Horikita Manabu, looking back now, it was a pretty good memory.

"Suzune often mentions you, Kitagawa-kun, to me in the Student Council. She's talked about that swimsuit you bought for her so many times."

For the sake of her best friend and potential future sister-in-law's happiness, Tachibana Akane spared no effort in stirring up conversations.

"I saw Suzune wearing that swimsuit yesterday, and it really suits her perfectly."

"It's not that I have particularly good taste; with Suzune's figure, she can pull off any clothes."

[Including cat-eared maids]

Although Kitagawa Ryo didn't dare say the last sentence aloud.

"Right, right, actually Suzune..."

Tachibana Akane seemed to want to say a few more words, but the tablet she was holding suddenly displayed a notification message: "[One minute left until the deadline for project registration]." Just then, a disheveled-looking man, looking travel-worn and exhausted, rushed over.

"I... I want to sign up!"

Kitagawa Ryo looked closely and saw it was Ishizaki Daichi from Class 1-C.

The other person was also so exhausted that they couldn't straighten up; they could only support themselves on their knees, hunched over, panting heavily.

"Ishi... Daichi, has... has the report been submitted yet?"

"Just in time."

Tachibana Akane didn't forget her job either, and quickly registered Ishizaki Daichi's name at the last minute before the registration deadline.

After catching his breath for a full minute, Ishizaki Daichi finally raised his head, wiping the sweat from his brow, and saw Kitagawa Ryo standing beside him:

"Hey, Kitagawa, you're here too."

Although Ryuen Kakeru, the class leader, didn't get along well with the other student, Ishizaki Daichi always felt a natural affinity for this student from Class D, as if they had known each other for a long time. Therefore, his tone of greeting was quite familiar and casual.

"Drink water."

Kitagawa Ryo glanced at Ishizaki Daichi, who was sweating profusely, and without a second thought, pulled a bottle of water from his bag and tossed it over. He had left his large bag with Ichinose Honami and only carried the necessary drinking water with him.

Thanks, I'll pay you back next time.

Ishizaki Daichi didn't hesitate at all, readily accepting the bottle and gulping it down. Although Kitagawa Ryo knew that drinking water in small sips was better for absorption after such intense physical exertion, he didn't want to remind him, so he simply smiled and watched as Ishizaki Daichi finished the entire bottle of water in one go.

"Kitagawa, are you here to participate in this research project too?"

Wiping the water from the corner of his mouth, Ishizaki Daichi chuckled twice.

"Hehe, isn't it just like I thought, that no one would come here anyway, so you came to pick up the scraps?"

"How many people in our grade can play the piano? You can't find a single one in Class C."

Ishizaki Daichi sat down at the piano:

"Alright, let's just randomly press a couple of buttons, one of us will get first place and the other second, then we'll be done with it. As long as we get the points, that's fine."

Having said that, he stared wide-eyed at the sheet music placed to the side, and after looking at it for a long time, he only recognized a few words in the middle:

"<The Wedding in My Dream>?"

"So that's the piece of music," Kitagawa Ryo instinctively explained.

"Actually, a direct translation from French would be 'Marriage of Love'."

After all, it was a world-famous piece of music comparable in fame to "Für Elise." As soon as Kitagawa Ryo's fingertips brushed across the black and white keys, the melodious and familiar tune poured out like water.

In the past eight simulations, Kitagawa Ryo has only stepped into the marriage hall once.

If he remembers correctly, this was one of the songs played at the wedding.

It's <Dream Wedding>.

Or is it "Marriage of Love"?

At that moment, the two names of the piece were whispered in his ear.

It's Horikita Suzune.

Chapter 150: Yes, that's it.

The location for the [Tea Ceremony] project is on the coast, or more precisely, on a slightly protruding cliff. There are many such terrains on Uninhabited Island, and standing on the high cliff edge, one can overlook the boundless sea.

When Horikita Suzune arrived, a group had already arrived. The girl with short blue hair was communicating with the teacher in charge of the resource exchange, seemingly asking about something. Then she received an item from there and walked back to the other girl sitting on the bench by the cliff.

It's a duo consisting of Shiina Hiyori and Ibuki Mio from Class 1-C.

Horikita Suzune quickly recognized the silver-haired girl she had seen at the mall last month. Now, facing the sea Shiina Hiyori seemed to have an even more ethereal feel, as if her whole body was shrouded in a dreamlike light and shadow.

The sky was bright and clear, and the sea was a flawless blue.

Seemingly sensing that someone else was approaching, Ibuki Mio and Shiina Hiyori turned around together. Having seen Horikita Suzune Shiina Hiyori quickly waved and smiled at her.

"Horikita- kun, it's been a long time."

"This is indeed the first time I've encountered something like this since the start of the Uninhabited Island Exam."

Horikita Suzune nodded in reply.

"The registration point is over there, but it's blocked by the trees."

Shiina Hiyori knew Horikita Suzune's purpose and pointed out the direction for her.

"Thanks."

Although she had already seen the registration location, Horikita Suzune still expressed her gratitude for Shiina Hiyori's kindness.

However, when she rounded a bend and arrived at the registration point, she was somewhat surprised to find that the person in charge of registration was not a school teacher, but her older brother, Horikita Manabu.

"--Why is my brother here?"

Almost instinctively, Horikita Suzune asked the question. After asking, she stared intently at the other person before confirming that the man sitting in front of her was Horikita Manabu.

"This Special Exam was unprecedented in scale, and the school was short-staffed, so some third-year students were reassigned to do some miscellaneous tasks and logistical work."

Horikita Manabu's explanation was concise and to the point. While explaining, he also took the time to register Horikita Suzune for registration. Every move he made was clean and efficient.

Whether it was because he couldn't talk to people freely while at work, or simply because he had nothing to talk about, Horikita Manabu remained silent after registering Horikita Suzune's application, sitting there quietly and calmly.

So Horikita Suzune could only shake her head and leave, returning to the place where she had first met Shiina Hiyori.

Compared to when she left, Ibuki Mio was gone. Shiina Hiyori, still sitting alone on the bench, now held something in her hand. Horikita Suzune recognized it from the blurry outline—it was a bottle, but not the plastic water bottle they had exchanged for; it was a clear glass bottle with a cork.

"Message in a bottle?"

Looking at her watch, Horikita Suzune realized there were still twenty minutes before the lesson started, so she sat down next to Shiina Hiyori and started a conversation.

She had already compiled a list of 'suspects' before, but with the confirmations of Karuizawa Kei and Ichinose Honami, the list is now nearly empty, and Shiina Hiyori is standing right in front of her, happens to be one of them.

"Yes—it seems Horikita has already registered."

Shiina Hiyori didn't seem uneasy about Horikita Suzune's arrival; instead, she openly showed her the message in a bottle she was holding.

A little sand, a few seashells, and a small, rolled-up letter.

"Actually, it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing. I even asked the Ibuki in charge for me, and I didn't expect to actually find something similar, even though this place was originally used to store medical alcohol."

Shiina Hiyori enthusiastically introduced the message in a bottle in her hand to Horikita Suzune:

"Actually, while I was sitting here just now, I suddenly understood a bit of the feeling people had when they threw messages in bottles into the sea."

The silver-haired girl raised her face, her hair cascading in the gentle breeze.

"When all you see is the sea and the sky, you always feel like you're in a simple yet vast two-dimensional space, as if being too free can feel like being imprisoned."

"This emotion can only be entrusted to drifting bottles, letting each one carry a huge secret as it wanders the sea."

"So what did Shiina write in here?"

"This—you can't say."

Shiina Hiyori suddenly withdrew her hand alertly, as if afraid that Horikita Suzune would snatch her message in a bottle and open it to see what was inside. Her expression reminded one of small animals like rabbits.

Horikita Suzune was somewhat surprised, because the other person had always seemed absent-minded, giving her the impression that Shiina Hiyori was slow to understand anything.

Seemingly realizing that her actions and reactions had been somewhat excessive, Shiina Hiyori quickly changed the subject apologetically:

"Horikita- san, have you run into Megumi on the island these past few days? It seems she was traveling alone; I wonder how she's doing now."

"I ran into them the night before last, and we even camped together."

Horikita Suzune wasn't surprised that Shiina Hiyori Karuizawa Kei, since she already knew that the two of them, along with Kitagawa Ryo, had known each other for a long time. Therefore, she added:

"Karuizawa seems to be in good spirits."

That's wonderful!

Shiina Hiyori looked relieved upon hearing this, but then added:

"A girl living alone on Uninhabited Island... that's not feasible for me."

"I... I still feel that this way I'll be both lonely and scared."

"Moreover, I might be more afraid of being alone than I realize."

Horikita Suzune frowned, sensing that things weren't as simple as they seemed.

However, Shiina Hiyori seemed quite enthusiastic about the topic and continued talking to herself:

"Yesterday afternoon, because I was running out of energy, Ibuki told me to rest at the camp while she went out to find a research topic to work on."

"I spent an hour there watching the clouds by myself."

"Horikita, do you know that clouds at sea move very quickly? Sometimes they pile up together in clusters, and sometimes there's only one lonely cloud left. Just when you think it's sitting there and won't leave, it disappears in the blink of an eye."

"People only fantasize about loneliness when they are not lonely. I used to think about being like Thoreau, running off to some island or lake to live a solitary and carefree life and write my own Walden. But in the end, this only became a topic of conversation between Ryo and me."

"When I heard that the location for this Summer Special Exam was Uninhabited Island, the first thing that came to my mind was Agatha's 'And Then There Were None,' because the story also takes place on an island."

"I've read this novel; it's excellent."

Horikita Suzune finally found an opportunity to speak.

"You know Horikita, right? I auditioned for Ryo's Theater Troupe with Megumi before, and even spent a short time there."

"I've heard Liang mention this before."

"Um."

Shiina Hiyori held the message in a bottle up to her eyes; the sunlight reflected off the bottle, creating a rainbow of colors that obscured her expression.

"Actually, I dreamt about Liang last night. I dreamt that we became a duo and were together on this Uninhabited Island."

At this point, Shiina Hiyori paused, gently shaking the message in the bottle in her hand, and softly humming an aria-like verse:

"The island is filled with all sorts of sounds and pleasant melodies that are delightful and harmless. Sometimes thousands of tinkling instruments play in my ears, and sometimes I hear those sounds when I wake up from a deep sleep, which then lull me back to sleep."

"In my dream, it was as if a door opened in the clouds, and countless treasures were about to pour down on me."

"But when I woke up, I burst into tears, wishing I could have that wonderful dream again."