The night they returned from Nijō Castle to the hotel, Aoki Kei ran into Yamada Ryo near the ping pong table in the hotel lobby.
They didn't talk much, but Ryo did share one rather ridiculous story: she had originally planned to "launch a surprise night attack" on Aoki, but had to give up because their teacher had strictly forbidden students from leaving their rooms at night.
From that little tidbit, Aoki Kei reached a very clear conclusion—
Ryo still hadn't taken his words to heart. All that nodding and "uh-huh" from before? Pure lip service.
Not that this conclusion was of any real use.
Still, he silently thanked the diligent teachers of Shimokitazawa High a thousand times over in his heart.
After that, Ryo asked what he had planned for tomorrow.
Tomorrow—Thursday would be the fourth day of the school trip.
The second-to-last day, and one of the rare days where students were allowed to roam freely.
They could visit whatever places they wanted, with only one requirement: be back within the designated time.
A very humane policy, in Aoki's opinion.
As for where he wanted to go…
He didn't have any particular sightseeing spot in mind, but he did want to try authentic Uji matcha chocolate.
He briefly mentioned this plan to Ryo.
Originally, he hadn't intended to invite anyone along—Hikigaya was apparently heading to Kitano Tenmangū, Ryo and Nijika might be busy, and besides, it was simply easier to move around alone for this sort of outing.
But upon hearing his plan, Yamada Ryo immediately offered, "Let's go together tomorrow."
Aoki had no strong feelings either way, so he agreed.
It was only then that Ryo told him Nijika had already made plans with classmates to stroll around the Kamo River, so she wouldn't be free tomorrow.
And so, it was decided—just Ryo and Aoki heading to Uji.
Later that evening, back in his room, Aoki received a message from Niijima Yusuke.
Through him, Aoki learned about the signing contract for a deal, though they'd have to wait until returning to Tokyo to finalize it.
No rush for now.
After a quick wash, a bit of reading, and turning in for the night…
On the second-to-last day of the trip, the school no longer required students to eat in designated places.
This, to Aoki, was nothing short of a blessing.
For some reason, the chefs brought in to cook breakfast for Shimokitazawa High and Shuchiin High were utterly hopeless in the culinary arts.
Compared to them, even Aoki Kei himself—
Well, no.
If he were honest, his cooking would probably be worse.
But still, when an emperor has to compare himself to a commoner, it's already a sign the emperor's fallen on hard times.
Losing a cooking match to a chef? Aoki didn't consider that shameful in the least.
After consoling himself with that logic, he went out alone for breakfast, finding a reasonably priced teishoku set meal.
Once he'd eaten, he took a walk toward the station.
He hadn't waited long for the bus when Ryo arrived—around 7:40.
The autumn morning carried a faint chill.
Ryo wore a light gray hoodie, her school skirt, and black tights of just the right thickness for the season.
Compared to her school uniform, her casual outfit added a touch of charm.
If he had to put it into words…
It was like a single faint-red maple leaf still clinging to the branch after all the autumn leaves had fallen—standing out vividly among the bare, tangled twigs.
For a moment, Aoki Kei was caught staring, but quickly snapped himself out of it.
"Morning. The bus should be here soon," he said.
"Haah—" Ryo covered her mouth mid-yawn, probably from staying up too late last night. "Morning, Suki-san. Where are we going today?"
"Uji. To eat matcha chocolate," Aoki replied, giving her a slightly exasperated look. "Didn't I tell you yesterday? You even said you were really interested and insisted I take you…"
"Ah… forgot."
"You're really half-hearted about this."
Since this was a sightseeing shuttle connecting attractions, its departure times were earlier than regular buses.
After just a few more exchanges, their bus arrived.
There weren't many passengers, so they picked seats at random and sat down side by side.
Uji was about fifteen kilometers from the city center—farther still from the hotels where Shimokitazawa and Shuchiin High were staying.
By bus, it would take about fifty minutes.
As soon as they sat down, Ryo said, "Call me when we get there, Suki-san," then promptly closed her eyes to rest, leaving Aoki to watch the stops so they wouldn't miss theirs.
Looking at his phone on the bus always made him a bit queasy, so with nothing else to do, he started planning their route.
If he wanted matcha chocolate, he'd need to stop by a matcha shop—
The famous ones in Uji he'd looked up before included "Nakamura Tokichi," "Tsujirihei," "Tsujiri Uji," and more…
Plenty of options, but visiting them all would be overkill.
He'd just have to pick the best one.
They had passed three stops when Aoki suddenly felt a slight weight on his right shoulder.
Turning his head, he found the sleeping Ryo leaning against him.
Her breathing was steady, her warm exhalations brushing faintly against his cheek.
Pulled an all-nighter?
He wondered for a moment, then looked at her delicate, doll-like face so close to his own.
After a brief hesitation, he shifted his position slightly to make her more comfortable.
About fifty minutes later—just as expected—they arrived.
Holding the same posture for nearly an hour, with Ryo resting against him, had left his shoulder a little numb.
He gently shook her awake.
She blinked blearily, turned her head toward him, froze for half a second at the sight, then quickly realized where she was.
After a small pause, she pulled away from him without a word and rubbed her face to hide any trace of embarrassment.
"Are we… ahem, are we there?" she asked, her tone a bit stiff.
Aoki glanced at her, noting the faint red mark on her cheek from sleeping against him.
"We're here," he said simply—then, with a small push to nudge the still-groggy Ryo off the bus, he led her to the station sign. "But that's not the important part… Ryo, how about we take a commemorative photo?"