The air conditioner rattled, vibrating slightly as it pushed out cold air. It was all I could hear with the windows shut, so I cracked them open just enough that the cold air wouldn’t escape, letting in the sounds of the sports clubs practicing outside.
It had been a few days since summer break ended, and some of the students were still in vacation mode, groaning, “I wish we could have another month off!” and so on. But for me, it was somewhat reassuring to have school every day.
After classes, I would go straight to the literature club room. That daily routine had practically become muscle memory for me.
With the school festival only a month away, there was a sense of excitement in the air. It felt strange to hear everyone’s animated voices in the hallways after school.
My class didn’t have much to prepare. Aside from the students that had volunteered to design our decorations, no one had anything to do, so I was free to continue attending literature club as usual.
I opened up a paperback and realized it had been a while since I’d read a book. It was quite a revelation for me. Up until now, apart from school and daily tasks, all my time had been filled with reading. But lately, lots of different people had come into my life, and I’d begun to get interested in other things.
I’d been essentially dragged into the band, but I found improving my skills enjoyable, and it had felt incredibly rewarding to play together with the other members in the studio. If I hadn’t been roped into joining the band, I never would have known how fun it was to play an instrument. These days, I was feeling pretty fulfilled.
Soon, my mind drifted to the topic of Nagoshi. According to Sousuke and Misuzu, she’d been completely devoted to music back in junior high, to the exclusion of everything else.
Sousuke claimed she’d quit because of Yuugo Ichihara’s arrest. He clearly cared a lot about her, and I could tell he hadn’t brought it up lightly. Judging by Nagoshi’s reaction, this Yuugo Ichihara person must have been very important to her.
But there was something I couldn’t understand.
I closed the book in my hand and stroked its cover.
I tried to imagine an event significant enough to make me quit reading. I loved reading so much I felt the urge to open a book any time I had a free second. What could possibly make me want to give it all up and disavow that love as a lie?
What if my favorite author, Koujirou Aisaka, murdered someone? His writing had a light humor to it, but deep down, you could sense a rich philosophical core. I loved his work. But what if he killed someone and got arrested?
When I tried to imagine it… I felt a detached resignation. The only reaction I could muster was, “I suppose things like that happen sometimes.” I admired him, but it wasn’t as though I knew him personally. And besides, you can never fully know another person.
“Oh…”
At that point, I realized something.
I had never listened to Yuugo Ichihara’s music before.
If his music had inspired Nagoshi and then plunged her into despair…then, maybe listening to some of it would be a good place to start.
I took out some earphones from my bag. I’d never really listened to music, so I never used to bring earphones to school…but ever since I started practicing on an electronic drum set, I’d begun carrying them everywhere.
I stared at the smartphone inside my bag.
“……”
I debated whether I should take it out, but ultimately chose to plug in my headphones while leaving the phone itself inside. I didn’t have Kaoru’s courage, and I wasn’t able to boldly break the school rules.
I opened a video site and typed in “Ichihara” into the search box. “Yuugo Ichihara” immediately popped up as a suggestion, making it clear how famous he was and how little I knew about the subject.
I tapped on the top video and listened to his performance.
…Soon, I’d completely lost track of time.