Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 374 The Philosophical Path, Night Stroll Along the Kamo River

The four-person team ultimately did not go to Kifune Shrine.

Because there are so many temples and shrines in Kyoto, even just a casual stroll around the Kamo River Delta is enough to keep girls occupied for quite a while.

After the sun gradually set, the four-person team had dinner at a restaurant near Ginkaku-ji Temple.

"It feels like there are as many temples in Kyoto as there are suits on the streets of Tokyo."

As Yosuke Kuraki slurped his noodles, he sighed with delight.

Jun Matsueda thought for a moment, "Then I think there are more men in suits in Tokyo."

There are more men in suits in Tokyo than trash on the streets.

For dinner, the four of us had the restaurant's specialty, mountain vegetable udon noodles. The mountain vegetables were slightly sweet, refreshing, and delicious, and paired with fried shrimp tempura, it was quite good.

“But Kyoto and Tokyo are indeed very different.” Aya Miyamura took a sip of her noodle soup and looked at the gradually reddening sunset outside.

"Matsuha-tei, Gomi-shi, and Tsukitai-an are names that sound very old-fashioned, which are rarely seen in Tokyo."

The girl was referring to the restaurants they had seen along the way; Songye Pavilion was where they were eating now.

"You can't say that," the middle-aged woman sitting at the counter said lazily, interrupting their conversation.

"While Tokyoites may not have the best taste in naming things, at least they're down-to-earth. Brands like Yoshinoya and Matsuya sound very approachable, which is why they're so popular all over the country."

"Haha," Cai Jiang laughed awkwardly twice, then obediently lowered her head to eat her noodles.

Matsueda Jun and Mochizuki Haruka, who was sitting opposite each other, looked up at the same time. The girl didn't say anything, but just winked at him.

But for some reason, the boy seemed to understand what she meant—the cicadas in Kyoto were still too noisy.

After dinner, the girls planned to take a walk to digest their food, and headed south along the Philosopher's Path next to Ginkaku-ji Temple.

Miyamura Aya walked ahead, arm in arm with two girls, while Matsueda Jun brought up the rear alone. The stone-paved road was lined with simple white flowers. He casually took a few photos and sent them to Yamami Maki and Imokawa Natsumi.

Of course, the girls in front of you won't appear in the photos sent to your senior.

The Philosopher's Path is just a small, tree-lined trail with no particularly spectacular scenery, but it's perfect for strolling along with the gentle, nameless stream at sunset, when the evening glow is in the air.

It was in this relaxed atmosphere that Jun Matsue received a message from Tomoka Tomatsu.

"Did Matsueda go to Kyoto?"

After thinking for a while, Jun Matsue sent another copy of the photo he had just sent to his senior, this time to Yuka Tomatsu.

"Taking a walk on the Philosopher's Trail in Kyoto after dinner."

"Is no one else here?"

He took another picture of the girls walking hand in hand ahead, and Tomatsu Yuka replied with a bunny-like nodding emoji, "The scenery looks really nice~"

"It's actually unbearably hot, but it's getting a little better now that the sun is about to set."

"It's a bit cooler here in Qingmei, and the atmosphere during practice is great~" The girl seemed to finally relax and started chatting about everyday topics.

Are you confident of advancing?

"It's hard to say," Tomatsu Yuka sent a voice message. Her voice was softer than usual, reminding Matsueda Jun of another girl.

"Because the Tokyo Metropolitan Tournament directly qualifies for the National Tournament, there are no regional tournaments, so the competition is actually very fierce."

"Even Tomatsu's saxophone won't work?" Junya Matsueda chose to send a voice message—typing would be distracting, and the stone path wasn't smooth; it would be troublesome if he accidentally fell into the river. "No way~" the girl's voice was tinged with laughter.

"While I'm happy that Matsu-san said that, Tomatsu's saxophone is just a saxophone~"

Tomatsu Yuka sent him messages all the way, from the environment and weather in Omega to her daily diet and the little incidents during her daily training, until Matsueda Jun reached the end of the Philosopher's Trail and told the girl that he had to take the train.

"Let's chat again next time~" The girl's voice was obedient as she sent the last message.

"I think Yamami-senpai is in Kyoto too. Will you guys try to meet up?"

Tomatsu Yuka sat on a bench in the green park, the cold glow of her phone screen reflecting off her face, erasing the smile from her expression.

This was a text message, because the girl didn't want Matsueda Jun to hear the details in her tone. She waited anxiously for a reply, and a cold light flashed across her face.

"It seems like my senior came to Kyoto for family matters, so we probably won't meet."

"What a pity," was her reply.

"That's great." Tomatsu Yuka breathed a sigh of relief and put her phone aside.

If her senior and Matsueda met, she was afraid she would abandon the brass band and run straight to Kyoto.
The girl sat alone on the bench, lost in thought, until a cool breeze blew through the trees, at which point she stood up and walked toward the hotel.

After returning to the hotel by subway, the girls discussed it and decided that their plan for the evening was to rest.

Kyoto doesn't have much of a nightlife, and it's almost impossible to find any shopping malls open after 8 p.m. Besides, our group of four had already walked quite a bit today, so it was more comfortable to just soak in the bath at the hotel.

But Jun Matsueda still planned to go out.

"where are you going?"

Mochizuki Haruka stood at the door of Matsueda Jun's room. She had just returned from the bath, wearing a yukata with a cat paw pattern, and even her tone had become lazy and cute.

Sitting on the bed, Jun Matsueda blinked. "I'm just taking a casual stroll. After all, it's still early."

The girl approached silently, squatted down in front of the boy, and scrutinized his eyes with her bright black pupils, like a cat's.

"I'll go with you." Her breath brushed against Matsueda Jun's face, sweet and fragrant.

“No problem.” Jun Matsueda nodded without hesitation. “You’re going out in a yukata?”

"It doesn't matter, I'm just taking a stroll anyway." Mochizuki Haruka echoed his words, straightened up, and walked towards the door.

However, after the two had walked 500 meters from the hotel, the girl suddenly stopped moving.

"I'm tired. You can explore on your own. I'm going back."

Mochizuki Haruka didn't want to go out again, but she followed him because she was afraid that Matsueda Jun wanted to find an opportunity to meet Yami Maki. Now that she realized the boy was just taking a walk, she naturally went home.

"That guy," Jun Matsue thought, watching the cat-paw yukata disappear into the distance at the hotel entrance.

The boy turned around and continued walking along the dimly lit river—the hotel was right next to the Kamo River, a place locals often passed by on their nighttime outings, so his reason for going out for a stroll was actually quite reasonable.

"Could it be that her evil aunt told her something?" Jun Matsueda felt that the cat girl's vigilance had been unusually high lately.

But that's not the issue to consider right now. He took out his phone and looked at the message that Yamami Ikuka had sent him not long ago.

"I'm free tonight, sister. If you have anything you want to ask, you can call me."

That's the real reason he went out.

(End of this chapter)