Ch. 1: Encounter With A Saint

That night, Kuraki Yamato learned that the saint was real.

The time was eleven p.m.

After leaving the convenience store, Yamato walked with a mouthful of steamed meat buns while feeling chilly from the cold air.

Just as he was beginning to regret only wearing a sweatshirt on an April night, he suddenly saw a familiar figure.

It was a girl from the same high school as him, Shirase Sayla, he was sure of it.
[TLN: I checked the name and it should be Sayla, but since the book has her English name presented already, I’ll be sticking to that.]

It was a dark street, and even though it was almost past the curfew, she was clearly heading towards the downtown area.

She wasn’t wearing her high school uniform, but a stylish casual outfit consisting of a gray mountain parka and black shorts. If she dressed that maturely, she might be able to fool the police.

“… no way.”

I couldn’t help but speak my thoughts out loud.

Yamato, who had been promoted to the second grade of high school just a week ago, had just been placed in the same class as Sayla.

He has never had a conversation with her before, but he has heard rumors about her.

Apparently, she is a solitary person who would rather be alone than make friends. Everyone calls her “Saint” because of her beautiful appearance and distinctive name.

Shirase Sayla is indeed an exceptionally beautiful girl, so much so that it’s understandable why she’s given the nickname Saint.

She has lightly pigmented grayish hair that reaches her shoulders and her large eyes are shockingly beautiful. Alongside that are her long eyelashes, a well-defined bridge of the nose, and thin, well-shaped lips. Her neat face with its golden ratio of eyelashes, snow-white skin, and slim figure makes her a charming beauty.

However, she doesn’t seem to be arrogant; in fact, she is said to have a natural and easy-going personality. This is said to be the reason why she has attracted fans of both sexes.

Even if she was actually playing dangerous games at night, he should not get involved. After all, Yamato had only become acquainted with her recently.

It’s not as if she’s going to become a delinquent. She may be on her way home from cram school or a part-time job.

However, Yamato was already curious about her.

Normally, Yamato would have avoided anything that would involve him with other people, but in this case, pure curiosity got the better of him.

I want to find out why Shirase Sayla is heading towards the downtown area at this hour. Perhaps it was the fact that her profile, illuminated by the pale moonlight, looked so buoyant that I thought of it before worrying.

Yamato ran to catch up with Sayla as she walked away, slowly closing the distance between them.

When he finally caught up with her at the entrance to the downtown area, he made up his mind and called out to her.

“Hey, can I talk to you for a second?

Yamato thought he affectionately spoke to her, but his voice sounded very choked up due to his nervousness.

While Yamato was distracted by his tone, Sayla turned around with her hair softly blowing against the wind.

“Um, what do you want?

The expression on her face, illuminated by the streetlight, was as cold as the one he had seen at school some time ago. But she doesn’t seem to be wary of Yamato.

Thanks to this, Yamato was able to relax his mind and admire Sayla’s appearance once again.

Her face, so mature that it was hard to believe she was the same age as me, was as beautiful as the rumors said they were.

In addition, she seemed to be somewhat lovable and charming. I’m sure she doesn’t have any hostile feelings towards me.

Yamato was impressed by the fact that she was a real beauty. It was the first time he was able to see Sayla’s face at close range, so he felt refreshed.

After a few seconds of staring at her in silence, she looked away as if she had lost her nerve.

“If you don’t need me, I’ll be going now.”

Sayla said plainly, and started to walk down the street at night again.

Yamato hurriedly opened his mouth to stall her.

“No, it’s ……, um, you’re Shirase-san from the same class, right? I was wondering where you were going alone at this hour, so I called out to you. Were you on your way home by any chance?”

“No, I’m just going into town for a visit. My house is that way.”

Sayla, who was pointing in the opposite direction from where they were going, was somehow imposing and didn’t seem to be trying to make up for it.

Thinking that he might have been mocked, Yamato clumsily tried to reply.

“But it’s not a good idea, is it? It is dangerous at this time, and you don’t want to be caught in any sort of trouble. I’d appreciate it if you’d just go home quietly.”

I didn’t want to tell her this, but …… maybe she was annoyed, or maybe she was just disappointed. Either way, I thought the conversation was over.

“The night is just beginning, so don’t be so hard on me.”

But Sayla didn’t seem to mind at all and continued without a care in the world.

“I mean, are you coming?”

“What?”

It was a sudden and unexpected invitation. I had thought that Sayla Shirase was a solitary person, so I was caught off guard.

I wondered what she was thinking about. It may be impossible to decipher her true intentions from her elusive manner.

But strangely, I didn’t feel annoyed that I didn’t know. I felt as if my curiosity had been further stimulated.

The world she was looking at would surely be different from the boring everyday life that I was seeing. Yamato had an unfounded feeling of foreboding in his heart.

However, Yamato is not used to receiving this kind of offer.

“……But are you sure? It’s the first time we’ve even talked to each other properly today.”

Although Yamato, who is classified as a so-called shady character, is confused, yet Sayla responds in an unconcerned manner.

“But you’re from the same school. I feel like I’ve seen your face before.”

“Which means you don’t remember my name.”

“I’m sorry. I’m not very good at remembering people’s names.”

While apologies come out of her mouth, Sayla’s tone was as unconcerned as ever.

Yamato couldn’t help but smile when he saw how she was going at her own pace.

“Huh? Did I say something funny?”

“No, that’s not what I meant. I’ll go with you. It’ll be a little safer that way. And my name is Kuraki Yamato.”

Yamato introduced himself while accepting the invitation, and Sayla smiled and chuckled.

She was smiling with the neon lights of the downtown area behind her, and Yamato couldn’t help but look at her as if she had a halo.

(Indeed, she looks like a saint when she smiles. No, I don’t know what the real thing looks like.)

The scene seemed so precious that he felt he could feel the existence of a saint. And for some reason, he felt a warmth deep in his chest.

“Let’s go then, Yamato.”

Yamato came to his senses when her husky voice reached his ears.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

The first time a classmate called him by his first name, Yamato’s heart was thumping loudly.

◇

“Wow, this is really something……”

Yamato shouted as he looked around.

The downtown area at night was all lit up with lights, drunks in suits, excited college students, and touts strutting their stuff on the street.

Naturally, I couldn’t find any students in uniform. It was a completely different world from the one during the day.

Unlike Yamato, who became suspicious in the face of an unfamiliar scene, Sayla seemed to be calm as she walked ahead.

“It’s best not to look around too much, you’ll get tangled up in trouble.”

Sayla, operating her phone with one hand, plainly tells me something horrible.

“Well, you say that ……”

“Come on, this way.”

Yamato’s heart beats rapidly as Sayla suddenly withdraws her hand.

At the same time, he became aware of the palms of his hands touching each other.

Her fingertips were thin, smooth, and cool.

Just as he was about to feel annoyed by the noisy throbbing of his heart, an unpleasant mechanical sound drowned it out.

When he looked up in surprise, he saw that there was an arcade in front of him. As Yamato and the others stood at the entrance, the automatic door opened and the sound of the machines in the arcade leaked out.

As they entered the arcade, they saw that even though it was the middle of the night, the game machines were busy making money and working.

“This place is still the same at midnight, isn’t it?”

Yamato said this in a dumbfounded manner, Sayla tilted her head puzzled.

“Really? It’s usually empty at this time on weekdays, so I think it’s pretty comfortable.”

“Comfortable, yes……”

The number of customers was indeed small. But the absence of middle and high school students and families made the presence of flashy-looking college students and lone customers who seemed to be harboring dark emotions stand out, and Yamato’s heart was not at ease.

And He’s not just talking about the clientele. The biggest source of anxiety for Yamato at the moment was the presence of the “shopkeepers”. From the moment he entered the store, there was a male clerk who stared at him intently.

It was already around 11 p.m., Yamato’s anxiety was about to reach its peak as he knew that he would be out of the running if they checked his age.

——Squeezed

It was then that he felt the power of Seiyara’s fingertips. Yamato was reminded that he was still being held back by her.

When he glanced at her, his eyes met hers.

Her eyes twinkled and she whispered slowly with a poker face that made it hard to tell what she was thinking.

“It’s okay. If you keep your head up, they won’t know you’re in high school.”

The elusive expression on her face somehow gave a sense of reliability, and the words she whispered immediately removed Yamato’s anxiety.

If she says it’s okay, then it must be okay.

Such an unfounded sense of security filled Yamato’s heart with comfort.

The two of them then went through a series of games.

They played shooting games, racing games, and rhythm games such as drumming and dancing, but Yamato was unable to win a single game against Sayla, and his reputation as a man was ruined.

In the case of combat games, which Yamato claimed to be good at, he was unable to reduce Sayla’s health gauge by even 10%.

Yamato was barely able to get any results from the crane game, which he half-heartedly tried, but he was only able to get one small panda keychain.

The results of the games were disappointing, but Yamato was still enjoying the arcade for the first time in a long time.

He was genuinely enjoying playing games with Sayla.

Perhaps it was because his opponent, Sayla, always gave it her all. That’s why Yamato was also excited.

In addition to this, the fact that the shopkeepers do not call out to him thanks to his imposing attitude is probably one of the reasons why he is enjoying himself.

“Okay, I guess I’ve won again.”

Sayla was not particularly proud of her victory, and she said it without hesitation.

In the end, Yamato was unable to win the medal game that was to be played at the end of the day. It was not that Yamato was a bad player, but that Sayla was too good.
[TLN: Medal gamings are like gambling type and coin pusher type.]

“You’re too good at the game for a saint……”

It’s not that he’s not good at it, it’s just that Sayla’s too good at it.

“I’m not a saint.”

“You don’t approve of that nickname, do you?”

“Of course not. I’m not a saint, rather, it’s the opposite.”

Sayla seemed to be sulking as she said this.

To relieve the resentment of being beaten up in the game, Yamato decided to tease her a little.

“I’m sure Saints don’t go to the arcade at night.”

Then, Sayla crossed her arms as if she was thinking about something, without getting upset.

After a while, she seemed to come to a consensus and raised her index finger in objection.

“But in the sense that it’s keeping the economy going, I guess that counts as a good deed.”

“No, even if that were true, it’s not something a high school student should be doing……”

“Well, I don’t mind.”

When Yamato saw Sayla trying to end the discussion curtly, he suddenly thought.

I wondered if she didn’t feel bad about being called a saint.

“……but Shirase-san looks and feels like a saint, doesn’t she? That’s why people call her that. And her name also has the word “Saint” in it.”
[TLN: 圣女 is saint, but her name has 圣, which the the bases of saint.]

Feeling a little guilty, Yamato followed up, and Sayla began to examine her face, using the screen of her phone as a mirror.

“……hmm, I don’t know.”

But after staring at it for a few seconds, it seems that it was only the conclusion he came to. Apparently, Sayla herself didn’t feel the same way.

“Pfft.”

Seeing her like that, Yamato couldn’t help but blow up because of her surreal gesture.

Sayla, the one who was laughed at, didn’t seem to be comfortable with it and tilted her head curiously.

“Yamato is strange, isn’t he? He suddenly starts laughing.”

“No, that’s not what I want to hear from you, Shirase-san.”

“Am I weird? In what way?”

“The fact that you’re so earnest about asking me that……”

“Hmmm. It’s a mystery then.”

Sayla was struggling to think of something to say, and Yamato gave her some advice even though she was dumbfounded.

“Whether you’re a weirdo or not, it’s okay for you to stay as you are, Shirase-san. As long as you don’t get caught going to the arcade in the middle of the night like you did today, I’m sure the people at school will treat you the same as they always have.”

At school, Sayla is said to be ‘noble in her very existence’, but her current nightlife is the exact opposite of that. If the people around her found out, she might be considered a dangerous person.

Therefore, Yamato mentioned it as a way of lightly pricking the needle, but it seems that Sayla was also very aware of the danger.

“Well, it’s not good to be found out, is it?”

Yamato felt relieved when he saw Sayla answer with a bitter look on her face.

“So, we should get out of here.”

“Are you leaving already?”

Yamato asked with regret, and Sayla shook her head from side to side.

“We’re not leaving yet. Let’s go.”

Sayla said simply and started walking.

It seems that Yamato and his friend’s night is far from over.

The shorthand of the clock had passed the top of the mountain and the date had changed.

It had been a while since they had left the arcade, but Yamato and his friend were still walking around the city.

Since Sayla, who was leading, hadn’t told me where we were going, I felt like we were lost in the middle of nowhere.

After a few dozen minutes of wandering, they finally arrived. They finally arrived at a major karaoke chain store, about fifty meters away from the arcade.

As we were walking to the store, she kept looking at her phone, which has a map app.

I thought she was used to coming to the city at night, but I might need to change that perception.

Besides, this area is very close to the school Yamato and Sayla attend. This is the first time I’ve ever been to a place where you can’t get lost in the middle of the night…… I wonder if Sayla is extremely directionally challenged.

(Now that you mention it, is it safe to follow this girl……?)

After all this time, Yamato was beginning to distrust Sayla.

There was no way that Yamato’s concern would reach her. Even in the face of the flashy lighting of the karaoke store, Sayla was undaunted and tried to enter.

“Wait a minute! Isn’t it a bit reckless to go in here?”

Yamato grabbed Sayla’s shoulders and held her back desperately.

This is because you will be asked to show your membership card at these facilities first, and if you show it, they will know your age.

If you don’t have a membership card, the representative needs to write your age on the guest list, and if you read your mackerel at that time, you will likely be suspected and asked to show your ID.
[TLN: Reading mackerel is to misrepresent age.]

If it had been Yamato from before, he might have still thought that Sayla would be able to handle it.

However, this was right after the incident that made him distrust her.

So Yamato held her back, but Sayla pulled a card out of her pocket, held it up, and said proudly, “don’t worry.”

“I’m fine, I have my sister’s membership card.”

“The Saint……”

The fact that she looks like a saint makes her misdeeds stand out even more, but Sayla doesn’t seem to be offended at all.

Deciding that it was useless to hold her back here, Yamato decided to follow quietly.

Upon entering the lobby, the languid male clerk’s face instantly tightened. Perhaps the sight of Sayla’s beautiful appearance had shaken him out of his drowsiness.

Leaving the formalities to Sayla, Yamato sat down on a pipe chair at the end of the room and watched the proceedings from a distance.

Sayla presented her membership card (in her sister’s name) first, so there was no sign of any suspicion about her age.

After Sayla filled out the form with a smooth and familiar hand, the waiter said, “Two people, free time at the membership rate.”

Yamato felt a rush of excitement as he realized that they were going to do karaoke all night.

Right after I thought that all I had to do was move to a private room, Sayla beckoned me to come over.

Yamato pointed to himself and asked, “Me?” She nodded and continued beckoning.

“……you can go, right?”

As he walked next to her, he felt the eyes of the shopkeeper on him. Maybe they were wondering why such a dull man would be with such a beautiful girl.

The lobby is lit in daylight, so unlike the arcade, you can see the other person’s face clearly. In such a place, it would not be surprising if they could see that you were a high school student.

In addition, Yamato’s face is not very mature, even though he says so himself.

He was dressed roughly in a sweatshirt and denim shorts, and if a clerk who was even a little suspicious of him came to check his age, he would be out of the picture.

So, Yamato, full of anxiety, was face down in a cold sweat, feeling as if he was about to throw up.

“—Hey, are you listening?”

So when Sayla and the others approached him, Yamato’s shoulders shook with fright.

Yamato, who had been too nervous to listen to the conversation, froze when he looked at her.

He couldn’t help but admire Sayla’s face, which looked so beautiful up close in the brightly lit room.

Her fine, soft skin was as white as snow, and her cool expression made her beautiful face stand out even more.

She really is a beauty. As he looked at her face, Yamato realized once again that she was really beautiful.

“Yamato?”

Yamato came to his senses when Sayla tilted her head curiously.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t listening. Can you say it again?”

“I was wondering which drink you’d like. Is there anything else you want to eat?”

“I’ll have a Coke, then. I’m not too hungry, so I don’t think I’ll need any food.”

To tell the truth, I was so nervous that I didn’t feel like I could pass solid food down my throat. So I just picked up a drink from the menu.

“Okay. I’ll have a Coke and Ginger Ale to drink, plus a pile of fries, a mayo pizza, and some okonomiyaki skewers. Also a big bowl of shrimp crackers.”

“Did you hear what I said……?”

“I heard you. I heard you.”

“Well, I’m not complaining as long as you can eat it all by myself.”

So the two finished their order and moved to a private room.

Even though it was late at night on a weekday, the store seemed to be quite crowded, and as he walked along the corridor, he could hear singing voices, some like shouting, leaking out from various places.

Yamato’s relief was short-lived as he opened the door and was shocked to find that his private room was in the corner, the furthest from the lobby.

Too small. It was just too small. An L-shaped sofa, table, and karaoke equipment were crammed into a four-and-a-half tatami room, and if they weren’t careful, their feet would bump into each other.
[TLN: four and a half is about 1.76 meters by 0.88 meters.]

I don’t know if the clerk was trying to harass me or if he was just trying to be helpful, but I thought I understood why the room was empty even though it was a corner room.

“Oh, you’re in luck. It’s so small.”

However, it seemed that Sayla was pleased. The reaction was so unexpected that Yamato was taken aback.

“What’s wrong? Let’s hurry in.”

Saira didn’t care about Yamato’s reaction and urged him to go inside without hesitation.

“Yeah, I know……”

When they first entered the room, it was much smaller than they had expected. Yamato sat in the back of the room, but he felt very close to Sayla.

“Whoa!?”

It was Yamato who made the exclamation.

This is because his feet collided with hers under the table, and he could feel the warmth and texture of her soft calves.

Now Yamato’s heart was beating loudly, and strange sweat was breaking out all over his body again.

When he looked at her sideways, she didn’t seem to mind and asked, “What’s the matter?”

(Shirase doesn’t mind at all, does she? ……. I’m not sure if I’m being too conscious after all.)

Thanks to the darkness of the room, it was difficult to read each other’s expressions.

Thinking that this would help him cover his nervousness, Yamato retracted his foot and then replied with a plain face, “It’s nothing.”

“I see. So, which song do you want to sing first?”

Sayla asked in a carefree tone while fiddling with the remote control.

Yamato managed to calm himself down and decided to ask what was bothering him as he answered.

“You can sing first, Shirase-san. I’m not sure how you got through it with your sister’s membership card. How old is your sister?”

“She’s 20 years old. She’ll be twenty-one this year.”

“How did you get through ……?”

“This place is not so strict about such verification. As long as you show your membership card, they won’t notice if you manipulate your age a little.”

Without taking her eyes off the remote control, Sayla replied without hesitation.

Whether or not a high school sophomore claiming to be 20 years old is really “a little” or not, all’s well that ends well. At least that’s what Yamato was convinced of.

“Then why were you so happy that the room was small?”

“The smaller the room, the more sound it picks up, so you can hear yourself sing better.”

“I see……”

Beep, beep. The first song comes on after the questions are answered.

It was a Vocaloid song that Yamato also knew, and he was surprised by the unexpected song choice.

“This is …….”

“I know it. It’s good.”

Sayla said happily, then turned to the screen as the intro began to play.

Her profile looked very lively as she swayed a little in rhythm.

As melody A started quietly, Sayla’s voice echoed through the room.

Instantly, goosebumps broke out all over Yamato’s body.

Her slightly low singing voice was pleasant to the ears, and Yamato naturally started to catch the rhythm.

As the song entered melody B, the tempo changed to up-tempo and the chorus started immediately.

“No, no, I’ll pass. I’m too embarrassed to sing after listening to such an amazing song. That’s why I want to focus on listening today……”

“I want to hear it, Yamato’s song.”

She said this with a straight face, and the feeling that had been shrinking inside Yamato was roused.

Yamato feels like he can sing now.

—He thought so, but before that.

“I’m going to go to the bathroom. I’ll sing when I get back.”

“Have a safe trip.”

Sayla stood up and leaned her body against the wall at the entrance.

“Thank you.”

After thanking her, Yamato was about to leave the room when he passed her and smelled something soft and alluring.

“Yamato.”

“Yes!?”

He thought she had caught his excitement at her scent, but apparently not.

Sayla took out a deodorant sheet from her bag and handed it to Yamato.

“You can use this if you want. You look like you’re sweating a lot.”

“Oh, thanks……”

This was said with a straight face, so it didn’t sound like sarcasm, but Yamato felt embarrassed and ran into the restroom.

I wiped my whole body with a borrowed deodorant sheet to calm myself down.

Then I suddenly became calm and realized that my current situation was not normal.

I was visiting a karaoke bar late at night on a weekday with a girl who was nicknamed the “Saint” at school.

It was unimaginable for me, who had been living an ordinary and boring life.

It was truly an extraordinary situation, but Yamato had a definite feeling that this special event must be a one-night-only illusion.

That’s why he thought it would be a shame not to enjoy this precious night.

Perhaps it was because he was feeling so uplifted that he did not feel tired or sleepy at all.

I wondered how good it would feel to put these uplifting emotions directly into the song. I was getting excited just thinking about it.

All right.

Yamato shouted as if to inspire himself and left the bathroom, determined to enjoy the night.

When I returned to the corner room, the food and drinks I had ordered had arrived.

“Welcome back.”

Sayla stood up to greet him, and Yamato went to return to his seat in the back.

“Ah smells better.”

“Thanks to you……”

Sayla seemed to have checked out the scent as they passed each other, and she seemed happy. Perhaps she has a smell fetish.

Once they were seated at the table, Sayla said, “Well, let’s eat. Itadakimasu,” and began to eat the food on the table.

“You have waited all this time without eating, thank you. I’ll pay for it too.”

After saying so, Yamato also reached for the food.

The slightly cooled mayo pizza was much more flavorful and tasty than I had expected when I put it in my mouth.

“Well, I guess I’ll sing, then.”

I reached for the remote control and put in a famous song that was popular a long time ago.

“Oh, I know this one.”

Yamato’s motivation was further boosted by the interest of Sayla, who was chewing on a pizza.

It was the first time Yamato had sung karaoke since the day he attended a class party in junior high school, but his voice was much louder than it had been then, and he started to sing with great enthusiasm.

─ ……

And so Yamato finished the song and took a breath.

For the first time in my life, I was singing in front of people without being embarrassed. I’ve always been shy about singing in front of people because I’m not very good.

It felt so good to be singing, and I felt like something that had been swirling around in my chest for a long time had cleared up.

Clap, clap, clap. Sayla applauded.

When Yamato shyly thanked her, Sayla smiled gently and softly.

“That’s good, that was cool. Now let’s do a duet.”

“Yeah!”

They continued to sing until dawn.

It was non-stop. Each of them sang their favorite songs at will.

Sometimes, even though it was not a duet song, Sayla would intervene, which made Yamato happy.

And so the time flew by. The end was announced by a phone call from the receptionist informing us that it was ten minutes before the end.

“Yes, I understand…”

As soon as she put down the phone, Sayla stretched widely.

“It’s already over. It’s almost five o’clock, isn’t it?”

“I’m sure it’s around five o’clock. So, let’s get ready to leave.”

Without any particular emotion, Sayla simply started to get ready to leave.

Yamato felt a little sad about this and left his seat.

“I guess so. My throat is already rattled.”

“Hmm, you were shouting a lot, weren’t you?”

“It’s been a while since I did something like this.”

“Ah, so that’s why you were so stumped at first.”

“I knew you’d see it that way……”

“Oh, well.”

The casual conversations he had with her now seemed precious to him.

As soon as they left the room, Yamato went to the lobby and tried to pay the bill for both of them out of gratitude.

However, Sayla lightly refused, saying that she “doesn’t like that”, so they ended up splitting the bill.

When we left the karaoke, the sky was already starting to lighten.

The view of the city in the early morning was different from that of the day or night, and it was somewhat deserted.

The adults walking by in their suits looked stern and seemed to be preparing for the day ahead.

It’s hard to believe that tomorrow – or today – school will be back to normal.

Besides, the feeling that he was about to end his day a little earlier than everyone else was waking up was very strange and seemed to be something special to Yamato.

He was so happy to have someone standing next to him who shared this feeling.

It’s so fulfilling, Yamato thought wistfully.

“Hey, let’s go eat a beef bowl. It’s cold outside.”

Yamato tried his best to hide the grin at Sayla’s quick invitation.

“You’re right, let’s go.”

She was right, it was still a cold April morning.

We went to a gyudon restaurant together, and I sipped on a bowl of miso soup from the breakfast set meal, which warmed me up from the core.
[AuN: gyudon = beef bowl]

When we went outside after finishing the breakfast set meal, the cold had abated somewhat.

Yamato was having a hard time deciding how to express his gratitude to Sayla for inviting him out this time.

It would have been easy to just say thank you straight out, but he felt that if he did that, his relationship with her would be over.

But while he was hesitating, Sayla, who was walking in front of him, turned around.

“I’ll see you at school.”

Sayla waved her small hand as she said a quick goodbye.

“Eh, ah…”

Yamato reflexively responded with a kind of “ah-ah” stutter, and Sayla left without looking back.

“Huh……”

A sigh spilled out naturally.

There were more things I wanted to say or ask her, but I couldn’t formulate them properly and it was frustrating not to be able to say them properly.

She told me that we would meet again at school, but I don’t think we will have anything more to talk about.

Regretting this, Yamato started on his way home.