Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

In short, for her, it seemed that Iruma Hibiki had tacitly agreed.

"It went very smoothly. The repertoire we practiced that day is now completely fine."

Iruma Hibiki said this with a hint of pride.

"That's great, Iruma-san. However... Shiina-san might be a little anxious. Iruma-san is a genius and definitely talented in music, so don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just take it slow!"

"Oh, don't worry, I will."

Iruma Hibiki agreed to the gentle Toyokawa Shoko in front of him.

But even though he agreed, he didn't intend to compromise on the matter of practice.

After all, the café where Toyokawa Shoko met Iruma Hibiki was actually very close to Tsukino Mori, so—

"Shigasaki-san?"

When Takamatsu Deng was returning home from school, she saw Nagasaki Suyo staring at the interior of the cafe at the door. After whispering her name, she also saw the two people in the cafe.

Toyokawa Shoko seemed a little excited.

On the other hand, Hibiki Iruma was somewhat calm.

The two of them were chatting happily, giving people a feeling that they could not get involved at all.

Takamatsu Deng laughed at the scene, then she mustered up her non-existent courage and went to find Nagasaki Suyo.

"Good afternoon, Nagasaki-san."

This time, Takamatsu Deng greeted her louder, so Nagasaki Suyo must have heard it.

"good afternoon."

but--

The one who responded to Takamatsu Touma was Nagasaki Suyo with a slightly low voice.

Nagasaki Suyo was in a bad mood.

When he realized this, Gao Songdeng was already standing there in a daze, like a hamster falling from a high altitude.

17 Penguins heading towards the mountains

"Takamatsu-san?"

When she came to her senses because of Toyokawa Shoko's call, Gao Songdeng realized that she had stayed in front of the coffee shop for a long time. What had she been doing just now? When she thought about it this way, she couldn't find the answer at all.

Looking around anxiously, Takamatsu Deng was like a vigilant pika on the grassland. Nagasaki Suyo was nowhere to be seen, and Takamatsu Deng didn't even realize when she left.

"Takamatsu-san? What happened?"

Then when Takamatsu Deng raised her head, she saw Toyokawa Shoko looking at her with a smile, and Iruma Hibiki with a hint of worry on her face.

"what--"

Gao Songdeng wanted to say something, but soon she stopped, looking pitiful as if she wanted to talk but didn't know where to start.

Her hand was slightly clenched into a fist and hidden in front of her chest, facing the second button of her shirt.

"Iruma-san, does Squidward really hate SpongeBob and Patrick?"

Takamatsu Touma asked about Hibiki Iruma's past story.

This question also made Iruma Hibiki chuckle.

"Probably. Hate is real, like is real too. The relationship between people can't be described simply as hate or like."

Iruma Hibiki responded softly, while Takamatsu Touma looked puzzled by the answer.

She couldn't understand.

Not only do I not understand the relationship between the starfish, the sponge, and the octopus, I also don't understand her relationship with everyone.

Because of this——

Takamatsu Touma wants to become a human.

She wanted to become a real human being, because if she did, perhaps someone would be willing to stop and look at her desolate scenery instead of looking down on it.

She likes stones.

Stars are also stones, but they are a little special.

She likes small animals.

After all, when looking for stones, she would inevitably encounter woodlice, and when walking through the grass, katydids would pass over her calves.

In winter, caterpillars will spin cocoons on tree branches and hibernate, waiting to pupate and become butterflies in the spring of the following year.

Stag beetles and rhinoceros beetles are very strong. When she encounters them in the summer, she is always unable to twist their wrists...

Gao Songdeng felt that his world was very small and strange. No one understood him and no one was willing to come to him.

So, can we collect more beautiful stones to attract people to come in?

When she thought about this, time passed by unknowingly, the stones became more and more, but she was still alone. Isn't this abnormal?

When an Adelie penguin is courting a mate, as long as she collects enough beautiful stones, someone will come to her.

Then the person walking towards her——

Toyokawa Shoko gently took Takamatsu Tomo's hand.

"Takamatsu-san, are you planning on taking a stroll around the area? Or are you going straight home?"

"Eh?"

When this question arose, Takamatsu Deng showed an expression of longing, but she immediately suppressed this desire.

[Deng, although I understand your interest in these things, bringing a pillbug home is still too...]

……

She couldn't understand other people's dissatisfaction and disgust with this.

therefore.

When interacting with people, I always worry that I will become the one who is disliked.

Unable to understand other people's dislike or disgust, it is natural that you are not liked by others.

How I live my life is none of your business.

So, in Hibiki Iruma's story, when Patrick said this, Takamatsu Touma was actually—

"Where are Toyokawa-san and Iruma-san?"

So Gao Songdeng asked back.

Head down, looking at the ground.

The ground, tempered by time, is actually not intact. This street has been built for some years, and even the completion date has been largely forgotten.

The broken pieces of cement fell to the ground, a small piece, no one would notice it, no one would care.

But in Takamatsu Deng's eyes, the angular shape looked a bit like SpongeBob SquarePants in Hibiki Iruma's story.

In the final analysis, her words—

"As for us, we've already finished what we wanted to talk about, but it's still early—"

Toyokawa Shoko looked at Iruma Hibiki.

"Takamatsu-kun, is there anywhere you'd like to go? Since we've met, let's go together."

And Hibiki Iruma spoke without waiting for Shoko Toyokawa's hint.

Anyone who wants to hurt Takamatsu Touma, who is as cute as a little animal, or treat her coldly, would definitely be committing a heinous crime.

At least that's what Hibiki Iruma thought.

So he couldn't just leave Takamatsu Deng alone, who had been standing at the door of the cafe staring at him and Toyokawa Shoko for who knows how long.

After all, he had once been lost in thought for a long time on the streets of Ikebukuro, facing the empty tracks.

A guy who has been caught in the rain will hold an umbrella for others.

So when Takamatsu Deng raised her head, she saw Iruma Hibiki and Toyokawa Shoko standing side by side, their bodies slightly tilted, moving towards her.

It's probably like—

In the icy Antarctic, two scientific expedition members stood before a lone penguin running towards the mountains. (Note 1*)

"Yeah, there is!"

So Gao Songdeng nodded seriously.

Then——

Hibiki Iruma and Shoko Toyokawa were caught.

Perhaps Toyokawa Shoko had a shocked expression at first, and was grabbed by Takamatsu Deng and walked forward.

Gao Songdeng didn't look back.

Penguins running towards the mountains never look back at the glaciers and ocean behind them.

She tightly grasped the wrists of the two people behind her.

“Isn’t that good?”

Iruma Hibiki spoke softly to Toyokawa Shoko, then hurriedly urged Takamatsu Deng's feet to make her movements, which looked a bit difficult, easier.

"That's really messed up, Iruma-san."

Toyokawa Shoko sighed.

Having said that, her curiosity was probably already aroused.

She wanted to know Takamatsu Touma's destination.

"Toyokawa-san has no right to say such things, and at least hide your smile."

Hibiki Iruma looked at Shoko Toyokawa subtly and complained.

"Interesting, isn't it?"

"Ah."

After responding to Toyokawa Shoko, Iruma Hibiki looked at Takamatsu Touma who was walking in front of them, and then quickly took two steps forward to catch up with Takamatsu Touma's pace.

Such an action was a bit surprising to Takamatsu Deng at the moment.

After all, Iruma Hibiki came to the same level as her.

Then came Shoko Toyokawa who was jogging to catch up.

"This will make it easier for Takamatsu-san."

"Eh--"

After a brief exclamation, Takamatsu Deng showed an expression of genuine joy.

"Ok!"

Then she responded happily and walked quickly on the streets of Ikebukuro with Iruma Hibiki and Toyokawa Shoko.

Of course, this kind of walking is totally inappropriate for a young lady like Toyokawa Shoko, as the intensity is too high. Iruma Hibiki is okay. Although his body cannot be said to be connected to the planet after challenging the Ozaki Eight Items, he can be said to have been trained by Rinkai Park to be able to keep up with Takamatsu Touma's pace.

When Shoko Toyokawa appeared tired, he still had plenty of energy.

Gao Songdeng was not aware of this.

Therefore, the only goal in her mind at this moment was——

mountains.

18 Planetarium, Lantern, and Xiangzi

Takamatsu Deng's final destination soon became clear. After 30 minutes of hellish street racing, Toyokawa Shoko drooped her body, gasping for breath, beads of sweat dripping from her chin, and she looked extremely exhausted.

On the contrary, Takamatsu Deng and Iruma Hibiki looked as if nothing had happened.

"Toyokawa-san..."