Rest, Visitors Outside!

The moment they pried up the wooden floorboards, the damp scent of pine resin, carrying the dust of time, rushed at them.

Sakamoto held up a flashlight. Its beam pierced the floating motes and illuminated a sandalwood box buried deep in the gaps between the beams—a Japanese puzzle box assembled with mortise-and-tenon joints. Its copper lock had rusted dark green, and there was no telling how many years it had been left there.

"Excuse me."

Sakamoto used an iron rod found in the room to strike the rusty copper lock. In just a few blows, the old thing was completely ruined.

Inside the box, thirty-year-old ferry tickets overlapped with yellowed washi paper. A cherry blossom hairpin pinned down a café matchbox printed with Japanese characters.

Most eye-catching of all was a Swiss-made pocket watch. Mount Fuji's snow line had been engraved into its glass cover with micro-carving techniques. Inside, beneath the lid, was a silver photograph of a girl in Western dress smiling beneath a cherry blossom tree. The fountain-pen writing on the back had faded, but its contents could still barely be made out:

"To my beloved Komako."

"Looks like this place holds a deeply unforgettable love story too."

"Can I take a look at that pocket watch?"

"Of course."

Sakura took the pocket watch and stared absently at the girl in Western dress in the photograph.

There was no mistake about it. She had been a rather obscure idol or an unknown entertainer thirty years ago.

Sakura Airi felt that way because she was an idol herself—a gravure idol online, and one with a little fame.

They looked thirty percent alike. Yet the girl in the photograph and her lover had been separated by who knew how much distance and how many years. Perhaps they had already become a dusty memory of the past.

But her beloved was right before her. Just thinking about that—

filled her heart with joy.

She was so happy!

Airi secretly watched the handsome, confident man before her as he carefully made the bed and laid out the sleeping bag. He was simply too gentle!

The night was deep, and they were tired.

Yet her heart still thumped loudly!

"Hey, Shunichi."

"What is it?"

Sakamoto thought the girl was exhausted and needed to rest.

He bent down, gathered Airi into his arms, and prepared to walk toward the folding bed.

Yet the beauty in his arms wrapped her slender arms around Sakamoto's neck.

Before Sakamoto could react,

the girl's soft lips were already pressed against his.

Soft... sweet...

Sakamoto's steps toward the folding bed came to a halt as well.

This was not their first time.

Unlike the shyness, bashfulness, and faint immaturity of their first time,

this time carried a sudden trace of confusion. It was gentler, more intimate, and filled with the girl's wholehearted feelings.

They paused, and Sakamoto looked at Sakura Airi.

"Airi."

"Mm."

In response, Sakura Airi hugged him even tighter.

The girl's gaze was somewhat unfocused, her cheeks flushed. Her voice was tiny, but firm.

To say she was not afraid at all would be a lie. But to say she would give up now—that was absolutely impossible.

No more words were needed.

The two embraced once more... In that minute, time seemed to slow, slow enough that it could never be forgotten—

(Now, fantasy time... ten thousand words!)

"Sleep, sleep."

Holding the beauty in his arms, he wrapped their unfinished whispers in the night mist. All that remained was their shared warmth, and their breathing gradually steadied...

When morning mist drifted into the cabin, Sakura woke with a start. Sakamoto's sleeping profile was close at hand. Only then did she notice that his left shoulder was completely exposed to the cold air—the camel-colored sweater had somehow ended up covering her.

Before the birdsong tore open the morning sky, Sakura did two things:

She covered Sakamoto with the sweater again;

and used her camera to capture the boy's rare, gentle sleeping face.

After washing up and straightening her clothes again,

Sakura patted her cheeks to wake herself up—this was not a dream~

The moment she thought of what had happened yesterday...

her face began to burn again.

She quickly shifted her attention.

Airi carefully headed to the front room to prepare breakfast for the day. Of course, it was for two.

Sakura gently stirred the miso soup with a wooden spoon, afraid of waking Sakamoto, who was still resting. There was also a fresh tomato stir-fry—naturally, the tomatoes had been picked outside.

If this had simply been a seven-day survival challenge, then in order to save on Class D's point expenses, the poor students would not have had breakfast.

Fortunately, they had discovered this large stretch of farmland, which provided Sakura Airi with fresh ingredients. There she was, standing on tiptoe and bustling about in front of the stove.

The ingredients were indeed fresh, but there were no other seasonings. Still, it probably would not taste too bad.

"Need any seasoning...?"

"Yes—ah!"

The startled girl turned around and saw Sakamoto, who should have been in bed, smiling at her with a bottle of salt raised in his hand.

The instant she saw the person involved in yesterday's events, the memories surged back. Sakura's ears flushed scarlet at once, and the fingers clutching her skirt fidgeted uneasily.

"I-I'll go set the table!"

It had felt fine at the time, but thinking back on it now made her unbearably embarrassed.

Sakamoto, who had also been involved, was extremely calm. His tone and expression were as composed as though nothing had happened.

Don't misunderstand. He was only pretending.

He was used to remaining unflustered in a crisis, because that was the ability a qualified superior ought to possess.

And what had happened between them had come naturally. It had only happened a little earlier than he had expected.

The aroma of tomatoes scattered the memories in his mind.

Sakura Airi brought the tomatoes and miso soup to the table, which had originally been a wooden cabinet.

Then she immediately lowered her head and began eating in tiny bites. Her bangs covered her eyes completely, making her expression impossible to see, though she occasionally lifted her head to sneak glances at the person across from her.

In truth, Sakura Airi was too embarrassed to face Sakamoto.

That timid, evasive expression of hers only made him want to speak even more.

"If Miss Komako knew..." Sakamoto stirred the miso soup with his wooden spoon as he mentioned the woman in last night's photograph. When the boy pushed up his glasses, the reflection on the lenses hid the upward curve of his lips.

"Her brave act from thirty years ago has now been done by a little—" His explanation was interrupted by food suddenly being stuffed into his mouth.

Sakura puffed out her cheeks and shoved a tomato into Sakamoto's mouth, the blush on her ears not yet faded.

"N-no talking while eating or sleeping. That's table manners~"

Sakura Airi stubbornly focused on the food in front of her. She stood up to fetch more seasoning, but as she turned, the ties of her clothes swept over the small salt bottle and knocked it over. Sakamoto reached out to catch it a beat too late, though fortunately, the cap was tightly closed.

They both crouched down at the same time, their fingertips touching over the salt bottle. Sakura stared at Sakamoto as though shocked by an electric current, but she did not pull her hand away.

Sakamoto smiled, completely enclosing Sakura Airi's small hand in his. A moment later, he let go.

Though he really wanted to tease her, he could not make Sakura Airi too nervous.

That would be going too far.

Sakamoto returned to his seat and finished off the remaining food.

Airi finally finished her meal slowly as well.

Knock, knock.

A knock sounded outside the cabin—

"Are you Class D students?" Horikita Suzune's cool voice passed through the door, followed by Hasebe Haruka's call:

"Airi, are you in there?"

Rest, Visitors Outside!