"Hey, wake up."
"You. I remember you never had much of a habit of oversleeping, did you?"
"What the hell are you doing? You haven't finished a single thing you were supposed to do—how could you just fall asleep?"
Dissatisfied voices reached Sakumura's ears.
That voice—
So familiar—
Sakumura looked somewhat dazed.
He coughed dryly, his throat feeling as though it were being scorched by flames.
In short—
It hurt.
"Takasugi, go easy on Sakumura. He looks pretty miserable right now, like he's just been dragged out of a fire?"
Another voice slipped into Sakumura's ears.
Takasugi?
The first person who spoke was Takasugi...?
Ah, it was Takasugi.
Then the other voice...
Was it Katsura?
"All right, Sakumura. Even if you were sleeping, it's about time you woke up, isn't it?"
The final voice reached Sakumura's ears.
Still bleary-eyed, Sakumura finally opened his eyes.
"What... so it's you three..."
He let out a relieved sigh.
Naturally, he could not have known the three people before him any better.
Takasugi Shinsaku, Katsura Kogoro, and—
Sakamoto Ryoma.
"So what made you three decide to come visit me?"
He looked at the three of them and asked a somewhat ambiguous question.
Takasugi Shinsaku and Katsura Kogoro exchanged a glance, then burst into laughter together.
"Ha ha ha ha—did you see how pathetic he looks, Katsura?! He's practically an idiot!"
"We actually worked together with someone this stupid—ha ha ha ha!!!"
"You know, I understand that you've forgotten quite a few things, but surely you haven't forgotten what you're doing right now too?"
Ryoma did not laugh loudly. He merely wore a helpless smile as he patted Sakumura on the shoulder.
"You need to pull yourself together soon."
"...Ah."
Sakumura was still somewhat dazed, but he seemed to finally remember something and nodded.
"Still...