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“Thank you very much.”
We left the store with the waiter’s greeting behind us.
It hadn’t even been an hour since we entered, so the clock still said it was morning, but the sky was already a clear blue.
Even so, the wind was still a bit cold.
It wasn’t piercing, but there was still a lingering winter chill.
I looked at Akanishi-san walking next to me, and she was rubbing her hands together with a shawl over her shoulders.
I thought she was a little underdressed for this time of year, but maybe she just wasn’t used to the climate here yet.
“It’s still a bit chilly, isn’t it?”
“Spring comes late here. It’s even colder at night, and sometimes you can see your breath. I guess that’s just how it is in the north.”
“Yes, it is. The coldness here feels different from Tokyo.”
I’ve heard that the cold wind that blows through the gaps in the concrete in the city is harsh, but I wonder if that’s true.
There are many phrases you sometimes see in novels that you can imagine but can’t truly understand until you experience them firsthand.
People passing by on the street. The hustle and bustle in front of the station. Taking a train to go somewhere.
Those are all things that don’t happen here.
I wondered what she thought of this town where there was no hustle and bustle, no noise, and only the two of us walking.
“What did you think when you came here, Akanishi-san?” I asked her.
“Huh?”
“There’s nothing here, right? No places to hang out, and not many places to go shopping. There aren’t any tall buildings or famous landmarks. Compared to Tokyo, it must seem like a really boring place.”
After I said it, I thought that it wasn’t a very nice thing to say about the town I’d lived in for so long, but it was all true.
If someone asked me to name something good about it, I’d have to think for a bit before I could come up with something like, “It’s quiet.”
But that’s just another way of saying it’s boring, so it’s not really a compliment.
Akanishi-san put her hand to her chin as if she were thinking about how to answer such a difficult question, then slowly shook her head.
“I don’t think so,” she said. “I think it’s a nice, quiet place.”
When I heard that, I couldn’t help but smile wryly. “I see,” I said.
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Her answer matched perfectly with what I had thought were the good points of this town.
However, Akanishi-san seemed to think that my brief response meant that I didn’t like her answer.
She looked up at me with a slightly anxious expression.
“I’m sorry. Was that not a good answer?”
“No, that’s not it. I think you’re right. Yeah, that’s a good point.”
I looked up at the sky to avoid her gaze.
I wasn’t offended at all. In fact, I felt better.
I much prefer honest answers like that to flattery.
But Akanishi-san didn’t seem to take it well. She looked down and mumbled something.
“…To be honest, I don’t know this town very well yet. I spend all my days off at home reading books…”
“Oh, I see.”
I almost added, “I thought so,” but I held back.
That was also as I had imagined. Akanishi-san didn’t seem like the type to go out much.
“I’m still wearing the clothes I bought when I was in middle school… My grandmother told me I should dress up more, but I don’t know where to go shopping…”
“Ah… Well, yeah…”
Mio had said something similar before.
I think she looks good the way she is, but for girls, that kind of thing is probably important.
“I’m so embarrassed…”
“No, don’t worry about it. I think you look cute in what you’re wearing now. Besides, I just realized another good thing about this town. Since there’s no one else around, you don’t have to worry so much about what you’re wearing.”
I meant it as a compliment, but for some reason Akanishi-san blushed and looked down even further.
“Cute… I…”
“Ah, no, well, that’s not what I… I mean I do, but that’s not it!”
Oops. I was the one who misspoke.
Doesn’t this sound like I’m hitting on her? That’s not what I meant at all.
“I-it’s okay. I didn’t take it that way. I’m not cute anyway…”
“No, that’s not true! Akanishi-san is cute!”
I instinctively denied Akanishi-san’s self-deprecation, but that was another misstep.
After my second comment about her being cute, Akanishi-san’s face turned visibly red, and she buried her face in her scarf to hide it.
“Wh, wh, what…”
“Well, that’s why I want you to be more confident… um…”
The gloomy atmosphere in the cafe was gone.
We continued walking in an awkward silence.