犬と猿
The Dog and the Monkey
A few days remain until the full moon...
As if all the dust in the sky was washed away along with the stagnant, collected heat of this afternoon, the moon shines brightly with a cool light.
With the artificial light that would dull it stopped at the lowest possible level, it maintains a serene outline and falls down upon the earth.
Sakuya: Mmm! This hot water is the best!
Kei: It sure is.
Sakuya: Moon-gazing with good food in my belly, and my limbs stretching out in this wonderful water, isn't this just the pinnacle of extravagance?
Kei: It sure is.
Sakuya: And if only that weren't here, this would be my very own peak of happiness.
Regardless of how few customers are staying at a hotel, the bathing times between them largely overlap.
When it's the popular bathing time, and when people like to bathe long, the chances of such an encounter rise dramatically, so you can hardly expect having the bath to yourself.
After dinner, as we came to dip in the bath, we ran into that girl I met at the train platform last night.
Now that I remember, we were staying at this same hotel, together, weren't we?
Sakuya: Honestly, what did you come here to do, anyway?
Girl from last night: Those are my words, exactly. Did you come to get in my way again?
Sakuya: Hah! Who'd go out of their way for that?
Sakuya: I wouldn't bust my car out, drive all night, and come to a place like this for something like that.
Sakuya: Anyway, what about you? Are you planning to perpetrate some kind of scheme I'd want to get in the way of?
These two seem to have known each other for a long time...... could it be (as if it couldn't) they're on really bad terms with each other?
If they decided to ignore each other over dinner out of consideration for the others...
Kei: Ahaha......
...I'd like them to be considerate to me, too.
Uuu, why do I have to be withering away in this hot spring when I should be able to relax my body and mind......?
Kei: Hah˜˜˜
Sakuya: Something wrong, Kei?
Girl from last night: Kei?
Kei: Ah, that would be me.
Any hopes of an upright introduction from Sakuya-san seem out of the question, so I decide to name myself.
Kei: My name is Hatou Kei. It's a pleasure to meet you.
Sakuya: Kei, don't be happy to meet this bastard--- and don't tell her your name.
She's making a face as if her hate were deeper than the ocean.
Girl from last night: By Hatou, you mean... from the mansion in Hazama?
Kei: Ah, that's probably my father's house.
Girl from last night: ............
Kei: Umm... is something the matter?
She tightly knits the roots of her eyebrows, and drops her gaze to the moon on the water's surface, enshrouded in a steamy haze.
That moon wavers dizzily before falling apart.
Sakuya: Hey, Uzuki. Stop bothering respectable people. Just get up and go away somewhere.
Moving to evict her with a "go away!" gesture, Sakuya-san sprays a shower of hot water from her fingertips. *pasha pasha*
......After all the trouble a girl goes through to mediate a dispute, it sure would be nice if she wasn't purposefully sowing discord.
Kei: Sakuya-san, just be quiet, okay?
Sakuya: Yeah, yeah.
Kei: Umm... is it all right to call you... Uzuki-san?
Sakuya: You don't have to use Keigo with her. (TN: Keigo - respectful language)
Kei: But... hey! Come on, be quiet, already!
Even if she tells me not to, I wind up lured by reverse psychology and want to use it all the more... or maybe it's the atmosphere around this girl.
In the first place, I don't like the idea of a society where it's all right to act buddy-buddy from the get-go.
Uzuki: I don't mind. Our ages are probably close, after all, so feel free to speak with the words you find easiest to use.
Kei: ......Really?
Uzuki: Yes.
Kei: Ah, in that case, you should speak comfortably too, Uzuki-san.
Uzuki: ......I see. Then I'll do the same, if you don't mind.
Kei: Go ahead, go ahead.
...Wait, huh?
I didn't notice when she spoke Keigo, but she has a unique way of speaking.
I wouldn't simply call it boyish, either. Not that I would know, but I don't think boys speak that way, nowadays.
Uzuki: Senba Uzuki. Pleased to meet you... though it's not the first time.
Kei: We met yesterday at the station, and we sat together for dinner, didn't we?
Uzuki: That's right...
Sakuya: ......Kei... go back to Keigo, after all. You shouldn't be any friendlier with that girl than you need to be.
Kei: Sakuya-san, that's pretty childish, you know?
Sakuya: Tsu˜n...
Kei: Sorry about that, Uzuki-san.
Uzuki: It's not anything you should be worrying about...
Kei: Hah, Uzuki-san's so grown-up......
Compared to her, Sakuya-san... as my mom's friend, you think she'd be more---
---well, no, I guess she has more than enough of an adult's charm, doesn't she? What's more, she looks like she's at her peak years.
Kei: Adults are so lucky......
And before I know it, I wind up looking at Uzuki-san, too.
Though I know it's a bad idea to compare myself when we're so close in age.
Uzuki: Kei-san, is there something wrong?
Kei: No, not really.
There are so many inequalities in this world.
Well, I do think I line up about average, but Uzuki-san is pretty well...
Uzuki: ......Kei-san?
Kei: Ah! I mean... really, it's nothing!
Kei: ............
Sakuya: Kei, if you're feeling dizzy, you shouldn't push yourself to stay, you know.
Kei: No, no! I'm still going strong!
Press circle once more and then check your divergence map.
Note the branching of the white line and pick the appropriate path below.
If you do not yet own the game and want to know which branch you have just taken, click here.