I won't be a loser.

When the subway arrived at the station, the two boarded the subway and began their summer journey.

Starting from Tokyo, we took the Tokaido's "Hikari" Shinkansen, and our destination was Hashima Station in Gifu. This Shinkansen, once the fastest in Tokaido, now only runs twice an hour.

8:42抵达东京站的三人，没有赶上8:33分的班次，只能是乘坐较晚的8:57分的班次。

It took about 24 minutes, which was not very long. After just a short wait, the Shinkansen arrived and the three of them boarded the train one after another.

Maybe because it was still early, there were not many passengers on the train. The three of them put their luggage away and sat together. The girls sat by the window, while Xianren sat next to Setsuna. Looking at the scenery inside the station outside the window, Xianren couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

"Finally, we're going back."

The moment she sat next to him, after hearing what Xianren said, she couldn't help but glance at her boyfriend, and then glanced at the Saionji World opposite. The girl wearing sunglasses also felt inexplicably tired at this moment. She didn't get a good rest last night, and now she sat down, she felt very sleepy.

She looked at the scenery outside the car window, and she didn't know when she would fall asleep. She stared at the window for a while, then looked at the person opposite her. She was a little surprised to find that he was staring at her.

"What's wrong?"

"Didn't you get enough rest last night?"

I don’t know how Setsuna could tell that I didn’t get enough rest. Saionji Sekai, who was wearing sunglasses, couldn’t help but sigh when facing Setsuna’s gaze, but didn’t deny it.

When people are tired, they tend to be more real. She didn't have the extra thoughts and energy to disguise herself in front of the other two.

"We'll leave soon. It'll take about two hours to get to Hashima Station in Gifu. You can rest here for a while. We'll wake you up when we get to the station."

“Hmm… Yeah.”

After responding, Saionji Sekai felt that she could not hold on any longer and closed her eyes.

The train has not started yet, so there is no harsh noise. As a Shinkansen that has been running for many years, the "Hikari" is different from the latest new Shinkansen trains. When it is running, there will be quite obvious noise. When it starts running, it is estimated that it will be difficult for the world to rest.

Looking at Saionji Sekai under her sunglasses, she seemed to have closed her eyes. Kento and Setsuna, who were sitting together, stared at Saionji Sekai for a while. After a few minutes, they heard her light and even breathing. They didn't expect that the girl fell asleep so easily.

The two awake people didn't talk much, worried that it would disturb the rest of Saionji Sekai, so they just waited quietly for the train to depart.

When the train started running and slowly moved, and the surrounding scenery gradually receded, Xianren couldn't help but close his eyes. He was about to return to Itomori, and he didn't know what happened to his family. He saw Mitsuha and Niha during the last holiday, and wondered how Yotsuha and his grandmother were doing.

'go home......'

When we arrived at Hashima Station, it was already 11:58 am, almost 12 noon.

After waking up the sleeping Saionji Sekai and asking her to take her luggage, the three of them walked from the train to the platform together. Saionji Sekai, who had just woken up, was still a little dazed. She was wearing sunglasses, holding her suitcase in one hand, and holding Setsuna's hand with the other.

"Since it's noon, let's find a place to rest and fill our stomachs."

He looked at the two people beside him. They felt the temperature change when they got off the train. The two girls behind him looked at each other. The two girls who had not had breakfast could indeed feel their stomachs complaining to him.

"Ah."

“Is there a place to eat here?”

I looked around Saionji World and didn't feel anything special about Hashima Station. It certainly couldn't be compared with Tokyo Station, but it also had a city feel.

"Let's go to the restaurant outside. Hashima requires three transfers. From Hashima City Hall, go to Kasamatsu, then from Kasamatsu to Meitetsu Gifu, take a bus from Meitetsu Gifu to Takayama Nohi BC, and finally from Takayama to Hida."

"Hasn't this been four times?"

After listening quietly to the explanation of the world of Saionji by the wise man, he couldn't help but raise his hand and asked the wise man.

"Meitetsu Gifu to Takayama Nohi BC is a bus."

"It feels... like it's taking a lot of time."

The trouble of four transfers was not a problem for Saionji Sekai. The key point was that so many transfers seemed to take a lot of time. She couldn't help but reveal a subtle expression.

"Well, it will probably take about 3 to 4 hours. If you are not very lucky, it may take about 5 hours."

When the words fell, Saionji Sekai's expression had become stiff and pale. Setsuna, who was standing beside her, also showed a helpless expression on her face. They were a little overwhelmed after such a long time.

"Will it take that long? Then we'll have to go to Itomori after getting to Hida, which will take quite some time. By the time we get there, it'll be dark, right?!"

"This is probably the difference between Gifu and Tokyo. In a place like this, transportation is indeed not as convenient as in Tokyo, with so many subways. There's nothing we can do about it."

"Another option is to take a bus. It takes about two hours to get to Hida directly from here. The cost is around 50,000 yen."

Saionji Sekai and Kiyoura Setsuna, who were still students, couldn't help biting their lips and became conflicted after hearing what the wise man said.

All the living expenses of the two of them combined were only about 100,000 yen. If they took a taxi, one of them would become a pauper in an instant. The two of them fell silent for a moment, and Xianren couldn't help but smile when he saw their expressions.

"Let's go have lunch first. It's also a chance to experience the local specialties of Gifu."

"......"

The sudden change of topic caught both girls off guard, but they still followed Xianren silently. They found a restaurant that looked quite unique near Hashima Station and had lunch there. The taste was slightly different from that in Tokyo, but not too much.

“Is this what they call local cuisine?”

The three of them sat around a table, looking at the sumptuous dishes on the table. For the three of them, if they were three men, it might not be a big deal, but for two girls, it seemed that the dishes were a bit too much.

Saionji Sekai looked at the sumptuous food in front of her. After resting for a while, her spirits returned to their usual high spirits and she developed a strong interest in Gifu's cuisine.

"It seems like you ordered too much food."

As for Setsuna, he hesitated for a moment and glanced at Xianren.

— — — —

Thanks to Huangpao Buqudui, Xingyou Caihong, Chairman of the Traveler Association, Bu Xi Chigu, Suomalezi, Li Ruo, and Aliang Benliang for their monthly tickets and blades! Thank you all for your recommendation votes!

Summer Cicadas: 216. Be patient, it's coming soon

After a while of struggling, they set off from Hashima and took the train, which took nearly four hours. At around five o'clock in the afternoon, the three of them finally arrived in Hida and would soon arrive at Itomori.

"Is this Hida?"

The two girls, who had heard about this place from a wise man but had never been there before, walked out of the station and looked at the flat area around them. Most of them were small Western-style buildings with two floors at most, and the lime walls that were full of a sense of the times and had become mottled due to being soaked by wind and rain. They could immediately distinguish it from Tokyo.

Not far from the station entrance are the 'Hida City Tourist Information Center' and the 'Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank'. The two girls are not unfamiliar with the tourist information center, but they have never heard of a bank called 'Ogaki Kyoritsu'.

"That bank, is it the bank here in Hida?"

Saionji Sekai pointed at the bank curiously and asked the wise man beside her.

"It's the local bank in Gifu. Most residents use the local bank here. Big banks like Mitsubishi and Mitsui are relatively rare here. The most common one is probably the Postal Bank."

Looking at the wide open space and road in front of the station, the clear blue sky above their heads, and the vast green mountains and forests in the distance, the two girls who came to Hida gradually relaxed.

"Let's go. We have to go to the bus stop first. I don't know if we can catch the last bus. The buses here run very early, so after six o'clock, we have to walk back."

"Did it stop operating so early?"

In Tokyo, buses run until 24 pm every day. In some areas, buses even run hours a day, with buses running all day long. However, I didn't expect that the buses in Hida would stop running at pm.

"Tokyo has a large population, so many people take the bus, so profits can be guaranteed. But places like Hida are not very large, and people basically rely on walking or bicycles to get around. Buses are rarely used."

After hearing the wise man's explanation, Saionji Sekai showed an expression of confusion on her face and nodded slightly to show that she understood.

"moment?"

"Hmm? What's wrong, Xianren?"

Hearing Xianren calling her name, looking at the environment that was completely different from Tokyo, and thinking that this was the place where Xianren lived before, the girl felt complicated emotions surging in her heart.

"Nothing, I just saw you were daydreaming. That's where you catch the bus. It's about half an hour away. If you're lucky..."

Suddenly, the sound of a car running was heard in his ears, and soon a bus appeared at the end of the road. When Xianren saw the bus, he was stunned and looked at the two girls beside him.

"Here we are, let's go to the platform and get on the bus."

The two girls didn't expect that they would catch the bus so quickly. They hurried to the bus stop with Xianren. When they saw the bus coming to the three of them, Xianren took out the coins from his wallet, paid the fare for the three of them, and walked towards the back of the bus.

Looking at the old bus, the two girls followed Xianren silently and sat beside him, one on the left and one on the right, sandwiching Xianren in the middle.

The bus driver sat in the driver's seat and saw that there seemed to be no other passengers, so he closed the door and drove forward with the only three passengers.

"Is this Hida?"

Sitting on the bus, Sekai Saionji looked out the window at the scenery receding, a look of emotion on her face. She had been living in Tokyo for many years, but now she had come to a small city like Hida. Looking at the buildings and things full of a sense of age, she felt as if she had suddenly returned to the era that appeared on TV.

“It’s completely different from Tokyo.”

"Did you always live in a place like this before?"

Looking at the scenery outside the car window, Setsuna also felt the difference between Hida and Tokyo, but deep down he was more surprised that Xianren chose to leave here, leaving here and going to Tokyo alone. Only at this moment did he have a clearer understanding of such determination and courage.

Not everyone can make the decision to leave their familiar environment and go to a strange world.

And in Setsuna's heart, the encounter with the wise man who left here and went to Tokyo has become a blessing comparable to a miracle.

Gradually they drove away from Hida and when they entered the suburban highway from the city of Hida, Setsuna turned his head slightly and looked at the young man beside him. He felt deeply concerned in his heart. He didn't know why Kento chose to leave Itomori and go to Tokyo alone.

But looking at Sekai Saionji who was sitting next to the wise man, she opened her mouth, then closed her lips and lowered her head quietly...

The two girls had come all the way from Hashima to Hida, having taken buses and trains for almost four hours, and were already exhausted. As the bus drove out of Itomori, they fell into silence and unknowingly leaned on Kento's shoulders, one on each shoulder, until they arrived at Itomori.

"More than forty minutes. I didn't expect it to take so long. It's getting dark."

Looking at the setting sun, Xianren didn't expect that it would take him so long to go home. He looked at the two girls standing beside him. They no longer had the energy they had when they set out, and their faces were filled with fatigue.

"Hey, Xianren, you don't need to take the car anymore, right?"

Saionji Sekai, carrying a suitcase, slowly came to the side of Kento and asked cautiously. She was a little overwhelmed. She continued to ride in the car, worried that she, who did not have motion sickness to begin with, would develop symptoms of motion sickness.

Coming out of Hida, the road is a bit dilapidated. Although it’s not a big problem, it is indeed a bit bumpy when sitting on it.

"Sir, I need to go to the bathroom..."

She bit her lip and slowly looked up at the wise man in front of her. She felt a little ashamed, but still spoke and told him about her current situation.

"Sorry, there's no public restroom around here... If you want to use the restroom, you'll have to go home. Go up this road, and my home is probably at the end."

She pointed in a direction, bit her lip, and looked in the direction of the sage's finger. She saw the quaint house located halfway up the hill. The long distance made her hold the suitcase tightly, take a deep breath, and hold it in!

"Everything's alright...right, Setsuna?"

Saionji Sekai, who originally had no thoughts, couldn't help but look at Setsuna after hearing what Setsuna said. Seeing the girl's pale cheeks, tightly holding the suitcase, and looking very uncomfortable, she felt a sense of empathy.

"It's okay, let's go!"

He uttered a muffled sound, bit his lips, lowered his head and made a final sprint towards the finish line. Every second counted, and there was no time to lose!

"You're so slow! Why haven't you arrived home yet? Didn't you say you'd leave this morning? It's almost evening already. Are you not planning on going home tonight?"

Sanye, who was staying in the house, gently poked the peaches in the fruit bowl with her fingers. Siye watched her sister's actions, picked up the mosquito swatter beside her, and swung it directly towards Sanye's hand. Sanye quickly withdrew her hand, and Siye also stopped in mid-air and put the swatter back to its original place.

"If you care, why don't you go out and take a look?"

"Since this afternoon, I've checked at least five times, but I haven't seen him and Setsuna. I don't know if they're shopping. No, there's not much shopping here."

Thinking about where I live, a place like Gifu doesn’t seem to have any special attractions. The only thing worth mentioning is that it is located next to Nagoya, which is only a two or three hour drive away.

"Did he go to Nagoya?"

"Brother is different from you."

Glancing at Sanye, Yotsuba seemed a little disapproving.

"Ah... so slow."

Sanye, who was sitting, lay down on the floor, feeling the coolness on the floor. She couldn't help but close her eyes. She always felt that her brother would not come home tonight. She opened her eyes and looked towards her mother's room.

I wanted to ask my mother if she had received the call from Xianren, but I felt that if I asked, it would seem like I cared too much about that guy, so I suppressed this feeling in my heart.

"The last time my mom and I came back from Tokyo, it didn't take that long."

"That's because Dad had someone drive you back directly from the Shinkansen, right? Grandma told me that without a car, it would have taken at least four or five hours."

"........"

When she didn't know how to answer Yotsuba, she suddenly heard the footsteps of more than one person and the voice of an unfamiliar girl at the door.

"Is this the wise man's home? I'm getting a little nervous."

"Just treat it as your own home. The room should be ready. I'll take you there later."

"Sage, toilet."

"Wait a moment, I'll take you there."

wow——

The sound of a door opening was heard, followed by that familiar voice, which rang out in the house.

"I am back."

Hearing that familiar voice, Sanye felt excited for some reason. His body jumped up from the ground, climbed up, and hurried to the door.