Chapter 172: Day 1 of the School Trip
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 172: Day 1 of the School Trip
The Shinkansen ride from Tokyo to Kyoto took about two and a half hours.
It was my first time on a bullet train, and it was as unbelievably fast as its reputation suggested.
"Whoa... So this is Kyoto Station."
「It looks just like a pyramid.」
The first to let out cries of admiration upon arriving at Kyoto Station were Sasha, the Russian, and Mahes, the Egyptian.
They spoke Japanese so well that I sometimes forgot they were foreigners, but moments like these were a clear reminder that they were.
Before heading to our lodgings, we were given thirty minutes of free time. We took the long escalator up to the sky garden at the top of the station.
From the sky garden, the open view allowed us to see the entire Kyoto cityscape, including one of its landmarks, the Kyoto Tower, in the distance.
Rika, with her hands behind her back, murmured.
"It's kind of small."
"I hear everyone from Tokyo says that. Probably because it's smaller than the Tokyo Tower."
As the Class President said this and took a picture of the distant Kyoto Tower with her phone, Ayame, who was next to her, reached out a hand.
"Hey, Class President, don't just take pictures by yourself. Let's all get one together. These are memories, after all."
Satoru, standing nearby, enthusiastically agreed.
"Ooh! Great idea! I'm in!"
"True, they say pictures are all you have left after a trip."
With Ryuji adding his support, the Class President was swept up by the mood, saying, "Huh? O-Okay?"
"Excuse me, could you please take a picture for us?"
We asked a passerby to take a group photo for us with the Kyoto Tower in the background.
"Kyaaaaaah!"
But as the Class President was checking the photo, she let out a scream.
"What's wrong?!"
Everyone turned in surprise, and she showed us her phone screen with a trembling hand.
"So-something weird was captured behind Sakamoto."
Huh?
I quickly looked at the photo.
Sure enough, something white and shimmering was visible behind Ryuji.
"..."
I glanced over at Ryuji.
Saya... no, Chiaki, who was clinging to his back, seemed to feel a pang of guilt and turned her head away slightly, making an excuse.
「I-It's not my fault! Hmph!」
Good grief, what a troublemaker.
I wracked my brain to try and persuade her.
"It's probably just something like backlighting. There's no way a ghost would show up in broad daylight."
"I didn't say a word about it being a ghost."
"O-Oh, didn't you?"
"...So you think it looks like a ghost too, Yoo-Sung?"
I had nothing to say to that, so I just nodded meekly.
"What's going on?"
Just then, Satoru appeared like a relief pitcher.
"Ah, something that looks like a ghost showed up in the picture."
Satoru glanced at the photo, then chuckled and shrugged.
"This is just an effect from the HDR's light reflection. It's nothing, so don't make such a fuss."
"O-Oh, really?"
As the Class President scratched the back of her head in embarrassment, Satoru said with a mischievous look.
"But I never knew you were scared of ghosts, Class President."
"Is there a rule that says I can't be?"
"No, I just found an unexpectedly cute side to you."
The Class President's face turned beet red as she started pounding Satoru with her fists.
"Ow! Ouch! That actually hurts!"
Thank you, Satoru. I won't forget your sacrifice.
*
After taking a chartered bus from Kyoto Station, we arrived at an old hot spring ryokan in the city.
As expected of Kyoto, a city full of traditional houses, there were old-fashioned wooden buildings everywhere.
It felt like we had traveled back in time.
I guess this is what you'd expect from Kyoto, the famed capital of a thousand years.
As one of Japan's most famous tourist destinations, the scenery was beautiful all around.
"Whoa... It's so pretty."
As we walked down the hallway to drop off our luggage, we saw a maple tree planted in the garden and couldn't help but be captivated.
It was a little different from a traditional Japanese garden with pine trees, but the sight of crimson maple leaves scattered over the stone bridge was like a painting.
Rika, walking ahead, asked Sasha.
"This is your first time at a ryokan, isn't it, Sasha?"
Sasha nodded meekly.
"I've seen them a lot in anime, but this is my first time visiting one in person."
"Then do you know how to wear a yukata?"
"No. When I went to the festival last time, a hotel employee helped me."
"Hehe, I thought so. I'll help you change later, then."
It was a relief to see the two of them getting along so well.
Before summer vacation, they had clashed quite a bit due to disagreements.
After parting with the girls, we entered our room and were amazed at how spacious it was.
"Wow, this room is huge."
"Isn't this like fifty square meters?"
"In middle school, they crammed all the boys into one room. This rich-people school is really on another level."
After each of us offered our own commentary, we started unpacking our things.
"Hehe, I brought a secret fashion item just for today."
Satoru pulled a pair of black sunglasses from his backpack.
"With just this one item, you can overflow with manliness."
"Ooh..."
"Nice."
Every guy has a thing for sunglasses.
It's probably the influence of all the media we've been exposed to since childhood, but for some reason, people wearing sunglasses just looked cool.
Ryuji, who had been watching Satoru put on the sunglasses, tentatively reached out his hand.
"Let me try them on just once."
"Hey! These are mine."
Satoru slapped the back of his hand, and Ryuji grumbled, clutching his reddened hand.
"Stingy."
"I knew you'd say that, so don't worry. I brought some for you and Yoo-Sung, too."
Satoru then took out two more pairs of sunglasses, slightly different in design from his own.
They were the slightly rounded aviator-style sunglasses that protagonists wear in movies with fighter jets.
"I knew I could count on you, damn it!"
As Ryuji reached for the sunglasses, Satoru suddenly pulled his hand back and asked.
"You haven't forgotten the promise we made at the beach, have you?"
"Promise? What promise?"
"The one where you said you'd definitely go picking up girls with me next time."
"Ah..."
Now that he mentioned it, I think we did make a promise like that.
To be honest, I had completely forgotten about it.
But for Satoru, it seemed to be the most important promise in the world, as he asked with a serious expression.
"You're not going to tell me you forgot, are you?"
"O-Of course not."
Once Ryuji nodded with a forced smile, Satoru finally beamed and handed over the sunglasses.
"That's my friend."
「Ryuuujiiii?」
Chiaki, clinging to Ryuji, was giving off a dangerous vibe, but hey, it wasn't my problem, so I figured it was fine.
"Alright, Yoo-Sung, now it's your turn."
Satoru held out a pair of classic, slightly angular sunglasses.
To be specific, they were the kind a cyborg from the future would wear.
I tried them on, and Satoru fell silent.
"What? Do I look weird?"
"Weird isn't the word... You look like you're about to grab a sashimi knife and charge at someone."
In other words, I looked like a yakuza.
"I'm not wearing them."
I promptly handed them back.
"Ah! Sorry! I didn't mean it in a bad way!"
Satoru hastily tried to take back his words, but it was too late.
A huge crack had already formed in my glass heart.
While we were bickering, our free time ended, so we headed to the meeting spot our homeroom teacher had designated.
The plan was to look around the tourist attractions near the ryokan and return at night.
*
Kiyomizu-dera (淸水寺).
Literally, the "Clear Water Temple."
In terms of fame among Kyoto's tourist spots, it's right up there with Kinkaku-ji and Ginkaku-ji.
Its historical value is so high that it's registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it's a structure beloved by the Japanese people.
It was a must-visit spot for any school trip to Kyoto, much like Bulguksa is for trips to Gyeongju.
"Huff... huff... so high..."
Satoru, who had initially boasted that this was nothing, was now panting heavily on the endless uphill path.
"See, I told you it'd be better to pace yourself."
"Pant... I didn't... think it would be this bad..."
Seeing Satoru gasping for air as if he were about to pass out, I shook my head and handed him the water bottle I was holding.
Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
Satoru chugged the water in the plastic bottle as if it were the elixir of life, then pulled it away from his lips with a "Puha!" and asked.
"By the way, where did all the girls go?"
"They said they wanted to look around the teahouses on the way up. We're only here because we were following you."
"If you're really struggling, why don't we find a place to rest too? We still have plenty of free time."
At Ryuji's concerned suggestion, Satoru replied shamelessly.
"Well, if you guys insist... I guess I have no choice."
Watching him, I turned to Ryuji beside me and asked.
"Should we just ditch this guy?"
Ryuji nodded with a serious expression.
"Not a bad idea."
Finally sensing the ominous mood, Satoru cautiously reached out a hand.
"Uh? Hey? Guys?"
"We're going on ahead. You can catch up when you're done resting."
But we had already decided to mess with him, so without a backward glance, we started running up the steep hill.
Satoru, left all alone, shouted from behind us.
"Hey! You rotten bastards!!"
Oh, the Doppler effect.