Dear Ms.
Ayako,
Spring has arrived, and the earliest cherry blossoms are now in full bloom.
I hope everyone at home is doing well.
It has been more than a month since I arrived in Tokyo.
I am happy to report that I have lived up to your expectations and successfully obtained a position studying and working at Tracen Academy.
Although I lack experience and qualifications, I have been fortunate to receive considerable help from my seniors.
Life at the academy has been going smoothly, and I have already made several good friends, so there is no need to worry.
How has my sister been lately?
To tell the truth, after more than a month away from home, I miss both of you deeply.
For her sake, however, I am working hard to become an older brother upon whom she can rely.
Thanks to my roommate’s generosity, I am sending several Tokyo specialties home.
Among them are candies sold exclusively at the central racecourse.
A friend recommended them to me, and I am certain she will be delighted.
Please do not worry about me.
I am doing well in Tokyo.
My living arrangements have been settled, and because I am now an academy employee, I receive both a salary and an allowance.
I have already transferred some money home.
You no longer need to support me, and I hope my earnings can help with the family’s expenses.
I hope that you and my sister will someday be able to visit Tokyo together.
Everything is well here.
Please do not worry.
As the flowers bloom, I wish you good health.
Asama Kazuomi
“That should be good enough.”
Kazuomi read through the letter once more before nodding in satisfaction.
“Excuse me.
These are all the items I want to send.
Could I have a shipping form?”
He accepted the form from the employee at the academy mailroom and leaned over the counter to complete it.
Beside him sat half a box of candy he had obtained from Koji.
Imagining his sister jumping with excitement when she received the gift made the corners of Kazuomi’s mouth rise.
Only after leaving home did he truly understand the instinct to report happiness while concealing hardship.
The money Kazuomi had saved came from the temporary jobs he had worked each day.
Tokyo’s prices were high, but so were its hourly wages.
By living as frugally as possible, Kazuomi had been able to send most of his remaining income home.
It was not a large amount.
For their financially strained household, however, it could relieve an urgent burden.
That said—
Now that Kazuomi was a trainee at the academy, he had little time for outside work.
The academy provided his accommodation, but he had to pay for food and utilities himself.
Considering his expenses, Kazuomi had recently begun wondering whether he could find another part-time job nearby.
He wrote the Seto Inland Sea address on the form, then handed the package and documents to the employee.
Thank you.”
When Kazuomi left the mailroom, the early spring night was quiet.
Stars dotted the darkness, and a full moon hung above the branches.
Standing in one corner of the academy, Kazuomi reflected upon everything that had happened during the past month.
He could not help feeling emotional.
“Hm?
Mr.
Asama, what are you doing here?”
A familiar voice sounded behind him.
Kazuomi turned in surprise and saw Ms.
Hayakawa standing there with a flashlight.
“Ms.
Hayakawa?”
Their gathering had continued until sometime after eight.
At that point, Ms.
Hayakawa had thanked the two men for the evening and left because she still had work to complete.
Koji had already become slightly drunk and collapsed in the room, mumbling to himself.
Kazuomi had used the opportunity to visit the academy mailroom and send something home.
He had not expected to encounter Ms.
Hayakawa.
“I see.
Are you patrolling the academy?”
“Yes.
Curfew is approaching, so I am walking around the grounds to make certain everything is in order.”
Although she was the chairwoman’s secretary, Ms.
Hayakawa appeared to be everywhere.
“You truly are incredible, Ms.
Hayakawa.”
She blinked.
“Why would you suddenly say that?”
She was intelligent, reliable, endlessly considerate, and apparently capable of almost anything.
Kazuomi could not imagine a task she was unable to perform.
“No matter what happens, you always seem to be there.
I think that’s amazing.”
“Thank you.”
Ms.
Hayakawa’s cheeks reddened faintly.
“It makes me happy to hear you say that, Mr.
Asama.”
“Still, I am not nearly as capable as you imagine. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
There are many things I am not good at.”
Before she had even finished speaking, a nearby bush rustled.
“Who’s there?”
One moment, Ms.
Hayakawa had been blushing.
The next, her expression sharpened as she called sternly toward the bushes.
“We’ve been spotted!”
An Uma Musume burst from the opposite side of the shrubbery and sprinted away.
“Stop immediately!
Curfew is approaching!
You are not permitted to sneak out of the academy!”
Before Kazuomi could react, a fierce gust swept past him.
By the time he recovered, Ms.
Hayakawa was already pursuing the student at an astonishing speed.
Her body blurred as she raced after the fleeing Uma Musume.
Within two or three seconds, both had disappeared from sight.
Kazuomi remained frozen.
How is Ms.
Hayakawa so fast?
That speed had been on the level of an Uma Musume.
Sometimes Kazuomi truly had to wonder—
What exactly was Ms.
Hayakawa?
Later, he walked alone along the academy’s sloping paths.
At night, everything felt quiet and peaceful.
Koji was still drunk and sprawled across the room, so Kazuomi felt no urgency to return.
Instead, he began wandering around campus.
Without realizing it, he arrived at the academy racetrack, the enormous field covering the area of several football pitches.
Only a handful of lights remained illuminated.
The surroundings were so silent that Kazuomi could hear nothing but the night breeze whispering across his cheeks.
The tranquility allowed his entire body to relax.
Tap, tap, tap.
A sound reached him.
Tap, tap, tap.
Kazuomi raised his head.
Was someone there?
At first he believed he had imagined it.
Then, from the observation platform, he saw a small figure flickering between the scattered pools of light.
She raced across the track with unparalleled acceleration.
She resembled a spirit of the night, dancing between gaps in the starlight.
Mysterious.
Untouchable.
An existence that could only be admired from afar.