Chapter 17 Dull

Dull

For several days, I had been commuting to school by train at the same time every morning. I always boarded the same car—the one in front of the business-use air conditioner, located just past the ticket gate of the nearest station to my home. After going up the stairs and walking a little, it was right there.

Whenever I boarded from that spot, Tachibana-san was usually seated in the corner, absorbed in a book.

“Good morning.”

“Mm.”

Hearing her brief reply, I settled into the seat next to her. Then, suddenly, I noticed something.

“Tachibana-san, your earphones aren’t put away properly.”

I felt like I recognized the earphones that were half sticking out of her bag. If I remembered correctly… the day after I returned to school, during my first commute by train—the day Tachibana-san was molested—she had been wearing those pink wired earphones.

Seeing them haphazardly stuffed into her bag, as if she had hurriedly put them away, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

It almost seemed like she had taken them off in advance, anticipating my arrival and waiting for me.

“Don’t laugh.”

“Ouch, ouch.”

With her cheeks slightly flushed, Tachibana-san flicked my forehead. It stung just a little.

As I rubbed my forehead, she let out an exasperated sigh before lowering her gaze back to the reference book in her hands.

“…Studying?”

“The finals are coming up soon, aren’t they? What about you?”

“Ahaha, you got me there.”

Figuring it would be rude to disturb her studies any further, I decided to leave it at that and let her concentrate… but instead, Tachibana-san closed her reference book and turned her gaze toward me.

“You couldn’t take the first semester’s midterms, but… you did take the finals and the second semester’s midterms, right?”

“Yeah. You remember well.”

“N-not really…”

Tachibana-san looked away.

“So, how did it go?”

“How did what go?”

“Your scores.”

“…Ah.”

She really hit me where it hurt.

I let out a vague sound as I shifted my gaze toward the ceiling.

“Well, knowing you, I probably don’t need to worry too much.”

“W-why’s that?”

“You were quick on your feet the other day. I figured you’d handle tests just fine, too.”

Tachibana-san said this with a slightly annoyed tone.

It seemed she had seriously overestimated me.

Unable to say anything, I simply scratched my head with an awkward expression.

Before long, Tachibana-san turned to me with a sharp look, as if something had clicked.

“…Come to think of it, weren’t you attending remedial classes for failing grades after school?”

“Yeah.”

So she noticed.

“Yeah? Wait, does that mean your grades are bad?”

“Well, I did have amnesia until recently.”

“This isn’t the time to be making weird jokes.”

As usual, Tachibana-san seemed to think my “important backstory” was just a joke.

It was an undeniable fact… Well, maybe not exactly. But the situation I was caught up in was just as serious, if not worse.

Even if I didn’t have amnesia, the last time I studied high school material was twenty years ago. Most of those memories had long since faded. Given the state of my mind, there was no way I could suddenly ace a test. Naturally, I failed. And naturally, I had to attend remedial classes.

“You need to take studying more seriously.”

“That’s rude. I am taking it seriously.”

Summer break.

Ever since Kaori banned me from getting a part-time job and told me to focus on studying, I had been diligently reviewing and preparing every day. Before tests, I even did some last-minute cramming.

My poor performance in the last two tests was mostly due to a lack of time and conflicts with extracurricular activities. But my preparation for the second semester’s finals was going well.

Besides, I wasn’t unmotivated when it came to high school studies.

I needed a solid amount of money to conduct my own investigation into what had happened to me. Relying on my tiny allowance wouldn’t cut it. Getting a part-time job to secure funds was a necessity.

That’s why I had to score well on my exams first—so I could convince Kaori to let me work.

“…By the way, what are your grades like, Tachibana-san?”

“What? Where did that come from? Do you really not want me prying into your scores that badly?”

“No, it’s not like that, but…”

“…Tenth.”

“Oh, tenth in the class, huh?”

That meant she was among the top students in our grade.

Given her serious personality and how much she cared for her younger sister, it wasn’t surprising.

“Wrong.”

But apparently, I had misunderstood.

“Tenth in the national mock exam.”

“National—?!”

National mock exams, as the name implied, were taken by students all across the country. Ranking tenth in that was on a completely different level—far beyond anything I could have ever achieved before.

“Y-you’re that smart…?”

“…Considering my family’s financial situation, the only way I can go to college is by taking out scholarships. So, I had no choice but to study hard.”

At that level, she could probably qualify for full-ride scholarships from both the government and the school.

“That’s amazing. I’m seriously impressed.”

“Stop. Hearing that from you makes me feel weird.”

Since she said that, I decided not to push the praise any further.

“…Hey.”

Tachibana-san lifted her face as if she had composed herself.

“Want me to help you study?”

“Wait, seriously?”

Considering she was ranked tenth in the entire country, her intellect probably far surpassed that of my mentally thirty-five-year-old self. Having her as a tutor would be an incredible advantage.

“…Don’t get the wrong idea. This is just to return the favor.”

“Favor?”

Had I really done something for Tachibana-san that warranted such generosity?

“…That time at the ward office.”

“Ah, but that was nothing. This is way too much in return.”

“Maybe to you. But for me, what you did back then and tutoring you now aren’t even close to being equal.”

Hearing that, I couldn’t come up with a rebuttal.

“So, it’s settled then.”

The sigh Tachibana-san let out sounded almost… relieved.

“Alright. From today until the test, we’ll have study sessions at my place. That okay?”

“…Yeah. Thanks.”

“Mm.”

With that decided, the train carried us toward our school’s station.

Even after getting off, we kept chatting for a while.

Then, a thought struck me.

Come to think of it, the last time I was invited to a girl’s house… was back when I used to visit Kaori’s.

A faint sense of nervousness crept in.

That aside, ever since I started taking the same train as Tachibana-san, this car had never once been crowded. Just when exactly did it get packed?