Tokyo: Who would still fall in love after being spoiled?

Chapter 126: It takes more than childhood sweethearts to have a secret base

Amano accepted his suggestion in its entirety, and the two of them went into the mountains with only basic items such as food lunch boxes, drinking water, lighters and knives that were easy to carry.

My cell phone is fully charged and I also brought a power bank.

In the end, only the trumpet was left for the finale, which was carried by Amano himself.

He was responsible for carrying the mountaineering bag containing the above basic items, walking through the path between the rice fields and into the mountains.

"Why are you carrying a trumpet when you go into the mountains?"

"Why do you ask that?"

"Just wondering..."

"You should be asking, 'Why would someone go into the mountains to play the trumpet?'"

"So, why?"

Why hadn't he felt that communicating with Amano was so troublesome before, and he frequently struggled with words and sentences?

Amano paused for a moment.

"To find a place," she said finally.

They went into the mountains and forests, and at first they walked up along the mountain road. Looking back, they saw that the rice fields and the town were getting farther and farther away from them.

The field of vision gradually widens and the perspective gradually becomes more bird's-eye view.

The weather is good today, there is no fog blocking the view, and you can see clearly even the farthest end of the town.

“Do you have a favorite place in this mountain?”

"I?"

"Is there anyone else around?"

"As for me..." He was at a loss for words. "In what sense do I like you?"

He heard Amano sigh, but that was all he could ask.

From a bloodline perspective, the answer is the family cemetery surrounded by bamboo forests. From a practical point of view, the fruit orchard and melon fields are equally matched. If he were to venture into the mountains to find painting material, he'd choose either a place with a wide view overlooking human buildings, or a place deep in the woods, far from human habitation...

How could he get the answer without asking clearly which aspect it was?

"...How do you want me to explain?"

"You're the one asking the question, how would I know..."

"Any reason is fine. It's a place you'll fall in love with after visiting it once, right?"

"I still don't understand." In fact, he already understood what kind of place Amano was asking about.

But he suddenly wanted Amano to say a certain word in person to see if they had a tacit understanding - in a way, he seemed to have developed a special liking for this kind of interaction recently.

Of course, he had no ill intentions, nor did he want to see Amano embarrassed and ashamed. He just didn't want to appear too smart or too knowledgeable about the other person.

"Have you ever read a novel that tells the story starting from the protagonist's childhood? A boy and a girl, childhood sweethearts like you and Eri."

“There are many books like this.”

"Parts of the novel will have this secret meeting place where they meet, almost exclusively between the two of them."

"Then?"

Unfortunately, the expression of shame and embarrassment that he had expected on Amano did not appear.

This young lady, who had always lived in a scholarly family and was only in her teens, was much calmer than he had imagined.

This makes him seem a little childish.

"You could think of it as a 'secret base from childhood,' a place where imagination and beautiful visions are stored." Amano even found a fairly appropriate descriptive term and patiently explained to him, "It could be an old bus abandoned in the wilderness. Clean the interior, put mats on it, and plant some flowers. Or it could just be a piece of grass with a wide view where you can see the trams passing by..."

"Why does this abandoned bus look like a homeless person's home?"

"If you were homeless, would you choose to rest somewhere far away from town? Wouldn't you prefer to sleep on the streets?" Amano really discussed it with him seriously.

This guy is really scary when he gets serious sometimes, but he was just joking.

"Nothing. Actually, I've read a novel where an abandoned bus was used as a secret base. In the end, the bus sank into the sea and was salvaged by the protagonist at the end of the story."

"Oh, Inoue-san actually reads light novels? I thought your bookshelf only had traditional literature." Amano pretended to be surprised.

"I'm an illustrator after all. Isn't it normal to read light novels?"

"But this is the first time I've heard you talk about this actually."

So it's not that I'm surprised that he reads light novels, but I'm criticizing him for reading both, but only citing passages from traditional literature as examples when quoting in conversation.

She probably knew from the beginning that he was playing dumb, deliberately trying to make her explain the "secret base" and other words that would normally be considered shameful for a high school student. So she deliberately set a trap, tit-for-tat.

That's too stingy, since he obviously didn't succeed.

"You don't watch Kamen Rider or Transformers, and you don't even react when Ultraman is mentioned. You really don't have any childlike innocence."

So he immediately started fighting back.

"Instead, you only react when I mention Ami-ryo. How would I know you read light novels?"

This time it was Amano's turn to explain and respond.

He put the pretentious hat of high school syndrome on the girl's head, but it cleared his own name.

"When you think of childlike innocence, don't you also think of Doraemon, Chibi Maruko-chan, and Crayon Shin-chan?" Amano asked, unfazed, dodging another full-strength punch. "What about Conan and Pokémon?" He could also think of Tyrannosaurus and Goku. His childhood was filled with choices.

"So, just because you haven't watched one or two of the anime you've watched, you're labeled as childless. Is this how Inoue-san behaves in the world?"

"Dede..." He raised his hands in surrender and chose to reconcile.

The only way to pass through the mountains and forests is by narrow dirt roads trampled by pedestrians, which are barely wide enough for a two-wheeled light vehicle to pass through.

After going around the middle of the mountain, you will first pass a melon field.

He went in and picked and chose, and brought back a watermelon.

"Inoue-san..." Amano witnessed the whole thing from the side. Not only did he not help, he also shook his head and sighed, thinking that he was wasting his time.

"Knock it?" He held the watermelon in front of her.

"knock?"

"Aside from the special effects of heavy rainfall, the riper the watermelon, the higher the water content of the flesh. The sound it makes when tapped is crisper, and you can even tell it's about to burst." He paused, observing Amano's expression as she looked at him, confirming that this was indeed something she didn't know. He continued, "For this reason, ripe watermelons are difficult to transport long distances. We have to choose varieties with relatively thick rinds, or pick them before they're fully ripe."

After listening to these insignificant and boring trivia about watermelon, Amano cooperated with him and raised his hand and knocked on the watermelon.

嗙嗙
"Use your thumb to press your index finger and tap the middle of the watermelon. Use some force," he continued to instruct.

Boom——

As Amano snapped her fingers, the watermelon split open where she had flicked it, revealing a bright red and crisp flesh.

He broke the watermelon in half along the crack created by Amano, stuffed one half into Amano's hand, rummaged through his backpack for the lunch box, and pulled out the spoon wrapped in the tablecloth.

"Is this the reason you bring a spoon as a cutlery?"

"It's convenient." He ignored Amano and sat cross-legged on a nearby rock, holding the other half of the watermelon and scooping a spoonful of the watermelon core. "No need to wash the rind, no need to find a suitable, clean surface to cut the watermelon, and no need to worry about getting juice everywhere. It's three birds with one stone."

The watermelon he picked was not big, weighing about six or seven pounds. He had walked quite a distance from the mountain to the watermelon field, which was just enough to replenish his water.

Amano couldn't hold half the watermelon with one hand, and seeing that he was determined to finish the watermelon before leaving, he had to find a stone as well. Unlike him, Amano only put the watermelon on the stone, and squatted beside it with his legs crossed, in an awkward posture.

"Sweet?" he asked.

Amano didn't really want to answer, so he nodded reluctantly.

"No matter what kind of watermelon it is, as long as I take a look at it and knock it, I can tell whether it tastes good or not. I have never failed," he boasted.

But unfortunately, in Tokyo, most people buy cut watermelons, and some even buy watermelon chunks with the rind removed, placed in fresh-keeping boxes and sold with labels.

His amazing skill in picking melons was of no use.

"Is this Inoue-kun's melon field?" Amano was still worried.

"Everything you see in this forest can be said to belong to the Inoue family. I'm not sure exactly where the boundaries are."

With the experience of watching fireflies last night as a lesson, he took the initiative to increase the frequency of speaking since he entered the mountain today, seeking topics to talk about, alleviating concerns, and allowing Amano to relax more.

After all, their relationship wasn't close enough to begin with, so it was normal for them to be reserved and cautious.

By the time he finished eating the melon, there was still a considerable portion of Amano's half that had not been eaten.

He walked around the melon field, patting and tapping, selecting the watermelons that were about to ripen and could withstand the transportation all the way from Tottori to Tokyo.

After Amano reluctantly finished eating the watermelon, the two continued along the dirt road.

"Back to the question, for Inoue-san, is there such a place?"

"I've never actually dated any girl, so how could there be a place like a secret base?" he said confusingly.

"The example I gave was not appropriate, and I subconsciously expected Inoue-san to learn from it and blame myself." Amano sighed. It seemed more like he was mocking him, even though he said he was admitting his mistake.

“However, there are quite a few places where I feel like, ‘If I take a photo, a lot of people will like it.’

"In other words, it wouldn't be a bad idea for me to find a place I'm particularly fond of and willing to place my imagination."

In fact, he already had the most suitable answer in his mind for taking Amano there.

“…Can you find it?”

"It's just farther away."

After walking along the dirt road for a while, we entered a fir forest. There was no road further into the forest.

He led the way, turning left and right and continuing forward.

The sun gradually moved towards the center of the sky, and it was approaching noon while we were on the road.

They stopped by a stream, shared their lunch boxes, and replenished their energy.

Further on is a very strenuous mountain climbing route, where you need to use the surrounding tree trunks or stones for support and climb up from the slope where the stream is located to another mountainside.

The destination was a flat land halfway up the mountain without any trees blocking the view. The ground was overgrown with weeds, and there was only a lonely maple tree standing on the edge of the cliff.

Standing on the flat ground and looking into the distance, you can pass through a long and winding valley and see the stream at the bottom of the valley disappear behind the mountain along with the valley.

"Amano-san,"

The cool mountain breeze blew, and the maple leaves swayed and rustled.

He stood under the maple tree and looked at the girl who was looking into the distance.

"You blow the trumpet here, and from now on this will be your and my secret base."

(End of this chapter)