My love index is at its maximum.

I came back after buying drinks.

Tazaki Tsukasa sat down next to Ninomiya Shiori, not very close, but the fresh scent of the antiperspirant on the girl still wafted into her nose with the sea breeze.

It smelled wonderful, and he decided to include this jasmine-like scent in his summer fragrance collection.

After replenishing her fluids, Yui Kikawa looked at Tsukasa Tazaki with a slightly satisfied expression and began to explain the upcoming filming schedule.

Chapter 150, Act 1: Tazaki's First Arrival in Ōma Town (2)

"When the first tram arrives at the station, get on it immediately and find a seat near the platform so I can take a close-up photo. Once you're on the platform, don't move around too quickly. Look down and think, or stare intently in the direction of the exit."

As he listened, Tsukasa Tazaki gulped down cola, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed.

"Aren't we going to find tuna? Why aren't we hurrying?"

The little cutie fanned herself with her hand as she asked. After walking all the way, her little face was flushed from the heat, and her clothes were soaked with sweat, revealing glimpses of her black bra straps.

Tazaki Tsukasa leaned back and inadvertently noticed that the blonde girl's suspenders were white, the same color as the thin, almost transparent stockings she wore.

The little cutie's bare white legs, exposed beneath her short skirt, were straight, slender, and beautifully shaped.

Which looks better, white stockings or bare feet?

Tazaki Tsukasa frowned in thought, a little conflicted despite his usual fondness for stockings.

Thinking he was thinking about how to answer her question, Ninomiya Shiori flashed a very infectious, playful smile: "Kiki, have you thought about it yet?"

"Hmm... white stockings, oh, that's a cinematic technique used to express the character's inner turmoil of not knowing how to move forward!"

Tazaki wiped the sweat from his brow and mentally added: Stockings are definitely better than bare feet!

Shiori Ninomiya put the water bottle in her mouth and took a small sip of the salted soda.

I don't quite understand.

The Hokkaido girl has never experienced a moment of confusion.

Ahead of the tracks, a tram with only two carriages clattered and swayed as it pulled into the station.

"Get off the train, exit the station, and this part is up to you!"

As soon as Yui Kigawa finished speaking, the tram stopped at the station.

Tsukasa Tazaki quickly boarded the train.

In the first row by the window, a young woman stood up with her luggage, preparing to get off the bus.

salute……

Tazaki Tsukasa looked at his empty hands and felt he didn't look like a traveler at all. He approached the stranger, a young woman, and said with a smile, "Hello, may I borrow something from you?"

Completely unprepared to be approached like this, the older woman was stunned for a moment, then noticed the boy's excessively handsome appearance. Her expression was clearly somewhat embarrassed and shy.

"I'm sorry, I don't have any on me..." she said, blinking, momentarily at a loss for words.

Tsukasa Tazaki affirmed, "You do."

Her face flushed slightly: "What do you want?"

"Your luggage."

"I……"

"It's alright, I'll return it to you when I get back." Tsukasa Tazaki pointed to the camera on the platform and quickly explained the situation.

The older sister tightened her collar with her fingertips, looking somewhat disappointed.

Tsukasa Tazaki took her suitcase and sat down in the spot where she had just been sitting.

There were three minutes left before departure.

"Kiki, good job." Shiori Ninomiya outside the window smiled happily, gave him a thumbs up, and asked, "Are you ready?"

Tsukasa Tazaki responded with an OK sign.

The adorable stagehand held up a small black and white striped sign and excitedly shouted, "Tasaki-kun's first visit to Oma-cho, scene one, take 1 action!"

The camera started recording.

"beep beep"

The high-decibel departure bell rang, and a boy wearing a white shirt and green tennis shoes dragged his suitcase off the two-carriage electric train that looked like it was about to rust.

After that, he stared blankly at the sea, which swayed in the sunlight, without saying a word. The June sea breeze blew in from afar, and if you tilted your head up and listened carefully, you could even hear the cries of seagulls.

A Shiba Inu walked past him and ran straight towards the exit.

In the blink of an eye, the dog disappeared.

Even a dog knows better than this person where to go next... Yui Kikawa, who was staring intently at the viewfinder screen, nodded, very satisfied with the Shiba Inu that had accidentally wandered into the frame and then quickly left.

The tram had been gone for a long time when the expressionless, handsome young man finally took a step.

The camera followed his movements closely.

After exiting the station through a narrow, dilapidated passageway, there was a small roundabout with several shops selling local specialties on both sides, all of which looked rather dull.

If you keep walking along the road, there's a small park at the corner with a slide and three swings.

The boy sat on the swing and swung alone for a while (actually, the filming only lasted less than a minute), then he noticed something and looked into the distance.

The camera then pans to reveal a solitary lighthouse standing at the end of a long seawall.

Yui Kawakawa shouted "Cut".

Tazaki Tsukasa returned the suitcase to the older woman from earlier and chatted with her for a while.

There's no way around it; if you use someone else's stuff, you always have to pay something in return.

"Do you need any help? I'm just here for tourism, I don't have anything else to do."

"no need."

"Oh... what are you doing here?"

"Schoolwork."

"Oh...can I leave my contact information?"

"No, that won't work..."

Tsukasa Tazaki shook his head. Just then, Yui Kikawa called out to him, "Come and watch the movie," and he casually declined, saying, "My girlfriend is very possessive and absolutely forbids me from exchanging contact information with other girls."

"That's true."

The older sister glanced at the stunningly beautiful blonde girl, then turned and left dejectedly.

Tsukasa Tazaki understood her feelings. People who leave school and enter the workforce often miss school life after experiencing the harsh realities of society.

After watching the original footage, Shiori Ninomiya gave it a thumbs up: "It's fantastic! Kiki is practically playing herself. And Kikawa-san's photography skills are truly admirable."

Kikawa Yui watched the footage they had just filmed repeatedly without saying a word.

When Tsukasa Tazaki returned, she asked, "Do you want to see it?"

"No need, you can have it."

"Yes, thank you."

It refers to the suitcase.

Tazaki Tsukasa nodded, took a bottle of mineral water from the equipment case in the little cutie's hand, and took a few sips.

Kikawa Yui quickly turned on the camera; in the lens, the transparent liquid shimmered in the sunlight.

The next segment filmed was still a solo silent film by the male lead.

The camera follows Tsukasa Tazaki as he walks alone through the streets of Omacho.

I bought a plain mini ice cream cone for only 250 yen at a dessert shop that could only seat five people, and ate it while walking.

Passing by a simple grocery store, he turned and went inside, glanced around, and then came out. He passed a seawall with simple stone pillars beside it, and a few fishermen nearby, their houses piled high with small fish they had caught that morning.

After walking around and stopping frequently, it was already five o'clock in the afternoon, and the setting sun bathed the entire coastal town in gold.

Yui Kikawa shot nearly an hour's worth of footage, but only five minutes of it was actually used in the final cut.

As dusk approached, she said, "Let's go to the lighthouse," and then picked up her camera and headed towards the end of the seawall.

Shiori Ninomiya asked, "What is the significance of a lighthouse?"

"Guiding the way."

Tazaki Tsukasa replied, taking the equipment case from her hand as he did so.

On the way to the lighthouse, the Hokkaido girl limped, perhaps because she had blisters on her feet.

Yui Kikawa set up the camera and began filming the last set of shots.

Between the golden sky and the sea, the boy sat beneath the white lighthouse, the seawater washing over his feet.

On a calm afternoon, you can even spot schools of small fish swimming beneath the surface.

He listened intently to the sound of the waves, gazing at the schools of tiny bamboo fish at his feet, and forcefully threw pebbles into the sea. As dusk fell, he returned along the same path, the world ahead filled with immense, unknown pressure, leaving him no room to relax.

The scene is very simple, but clean and beautiful, full of the atmosphere of dusk and the hazy melancholy of growing up.

"Cut"

Yui Kikawa suspended filming for the day, and the three of them sat on the seawall to rest for the time being.

"so tired!"

Shiori Ninomiya let out a long sigh, and couldn't help but take off her shoes and rub her toes with her hands.

Tazaki Tsukasa stared at her slightly pale face and asked, "You must be very tired, carrying so much equipment all day."

"Uh-huh……"

The little cutie nodded vigorously, staring at him with her big, pitiful eyes.

It must be admitted that her expressive eyes are very captivating.

Tazaki Tsukasa squatted down and said helplessly, "I'll carry you back."

"Ha ha……"