I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

"Later, the teacher fell ill."

“It’s hard to imagine that the teacher who said his only advantage was his health would contract an incurable disease at such a young age,” Kiyoyori’s voice suddenly lowered, his eyes vacant. “By the time they realized something was wrong, it was already in its final stages…”

"Even so, the teacher always manages to face it with a smile, at least in front of me."

Looking back, every time I visited her in the hospital, Chihiro seemed to get thinner and thinner each time. I don't know when it started, but she began wearing a hat, a pink knitted hat with a soft, fluffy pom-pom on it.

Kiyoshi cried every time he went to visit, and Chihiro always had to comfort him. At that time, Chihiro was still able to write, and she wrote many songs for Takigatsu and Kiyoshi.

But he could no longer play it himself.

“One day, suddenly, the teacher’s illness seemed to have improved a bit. She suggested that she wanted to be discharged from the hospital and go on a trip, just the two of them, with Taki-sensei.” Her heart began to ache. Whenever she thought of this, waves of guilt would wash over Kiyoyori and engulf her. “I was angry, no, I was jealous.”

"At that time, I was participating in a performance competition. In the last round, I wanted my teacher to see me win the gold medal, so I kept pestering her to come to the concert hall to watch my performance."

Kiyoshi's voice trembled slightly, "She agreed."

"Kiyori...stop talking..."

"I waited for her at the entrance of the venue for a long, long time, but I couldn't see her. I didn't see her until the end of the competition, and I never saw her again..."

She still remembers standing in the sun waiting, with people coming and going around her, but none of them were the people she wanted to see. Thinking she had been stood up, she was so angry that she gave up her qualification for the competition. She just stood there at the door until finally, Yuanzi arrived.

she says,

Chihiro is gone.

Did the teacher go on a trip?

Kiyoshi asked that question at the time.

Yes, Chihiro traveled to a very far place.

This is the answer she received.

"Later I learned that the teacher came that day, but thought there was a traffic jam and got stuck on the way. She was very anxious because she never broke her promise. She even wanted to walk to the music hall, but her body couldn't take it. Somehow, her condition suddenly worsened on that blocked road. That day, before she could be taken to the hospital, the teacher passed away."

In the blink of an eye, the person was gone.

"I've always felt it was my fault, that I killed the person I loved."

“From then on, I stayed away from playing. I couldn’t stand myself and go back to playing the oboe, which was my teacher’s favorite instrument.”

"I'm sorry, Reina, I haven't told you yet, I really..."

"Fool."

It felt so warm to be hugged tightly from behind.

"Feel sorry……"

P.S.: I'm on duty on Sunday, and working consecutive days made me think it was Tuesday, but it's only Monday! So tough... I heard that Women's Day now has a half-day off, but all my company gave us was a small cake?? Happy Women's Day, ladies!

Chapter 89, Section 327: More Important Things

Since then, Reina has never talked about Chihiro again, and her playing has returned to its previous level, neither louder nor more passionate than before.

One morning, Reina invited Kiyoyori to go somewhere with her.

It was a rare occasion for me to ride my bike to meet Kiyoyori; it seems like I haven't had many opportunities like this since entering high school.

Reina, carrying her trumpet, parked her bicycle by the roadside and waited. She looked at her phone, which contained a photo that Kiyoshi had sent her. It was a picture of Kiyoshi and Chihiro when Chihiro was still healthy.

The woman in the photo, smiling brightly and dressed with youthful vigor, is Chihiro Taki. She is half-squatting down, hugging Kiyori from behind, and together they hold up the gleaming golden trophy.

It's really hard not to be attracted to someone with such a smile.

Kiyoshi said that the person who took the photo was Taki no Shō.

"Rina."

Kiyoshi's voice came from behind her, and Reina immediately turned off her phone screen.

"Good morning, Qinglai."

She didn't tell Kiyoshi what he was going to do outside, so Kiyoshi simply rode his bike to the agreed-upon location.

"……Good morning."

Seeing the trumpet slung over Reina's back, Kiyoyori seemed to understand something. "Going in the morning?"

"Don't we have training this afternoon?"

Is Reina really ready?

"I just... have a few words I want to say to her."

Kiyoyori sighed. "You went to see Taki-sensei again later, didn't you?"

“Yes,” Reina nodded. “Taki-sensei said that his wife has always wanted to come to Soubu High School as an advisor for the brass band, saying that she wants to lead the brass band to win the national gold medal.”

Kiyoshi turned to look at Reina's profile and saw only her resolute gaze.

"Did Kiyoyori come to Soubu High School because of his promise to Chihiro-sensei?"

Kiyoshi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I guess so. Winning the national gold medal was a promise I made to my teacher, but I came to Soubu High School to fulfill a promise I made to someone else."

"Asuka-senpai?"

"Ah."

Reina stared at Kiyoyori silently for a while, then said, "Let's go."

After saying that, he pedaled his bike and rode towards the cemetery.

"Rena, are you jealous?"

"No, I didn't."

"Haha."

"Shut up!"

They parked the car outside the cemetery, bought a bouquet of flowers at a flower shop at the foot of the mountain, and then walked up the mountain.

It's very quiet here, with only the sounds of nature along the way. Today isn't a special day, and in a place like a cemetery, there aren't many people coming and going.

Led by Kiyoshi, they soon arrived at Chihiro's grave.

This was the first time Kiyoyori had come empty-handed, and also the first time he had come with such a calm mood.

Kiyoshi watched as Reina knelt earnestly before the grave, her hands clasped together, while he stood behind her, doing nothing.

Teacher, we will fulfill your wish.

Goodbye.

…………………………………………………………………………

"Speaking of which, it's been so long since I've seen Qinglai~"

Yuihama leaned on the Service Club's table, put down the travel magazine in her hand, and sighed, "I wish Kiyori could come with us on the school trip."

Hikigaya glanced at the abandoned travel magazine, which listed some famous tourist attractions in Kyoto, such as Kiyomizu-dera Temple and Kinkaku-ji Temple.

Next week, the second-year students of Soubu High School will go on a school trip to Kyoto. For most students, this may be a good time to relax, but for others, the school trip means the start of their third year of high school.

It's like a final, sumptuous dinner before setting off on your journey.

Hachiman thought the analogy was very fitting.

“It’s not impossible,” Yukinoshita, who was reading a book next to her, said unexpectedly. “Our school trip coincides with the national tournament.”

"But the national tournament has always been held in Nagoya, hasn't it? We probably won't run into each other there."

"Hikigaya-kun's preparation doesn't seem to be very thorough," Yukinoshita continued turning the pages of her book without pausing. "Because Kyoto has built a new, top-of-the-line concert hall, the organizers seem to have decided to move the national tournament venue to Kyoto, so—"

"Kiyori will be going to Kyoto with us!"

Yuihama's eyes lit up.

"Don't get too excited yet," Hachiman continued to pour cold water on the situation. "Although the hotels booked by students from the same school are likely to be the same, they are different from us. They are here to compete and don't have much time to rest or play."

"Indeed, although the national competition only lasts one day, considering unified management, the school will likely arrange for the brass band and students on school trips to go to Kyoto together. However, nothing is certain. Moreover, they already have other commitments to fulfill, and I don't think Tachibana-san would have the time or inclination for this at a time like this—"

"Sorry to bother you."

The door to the activity room was opened, and standing in the doorway was none other than Qinglai, the person the three had mentioned.

"Long time no see, seniors."

"Little Qinglai!"

Under Yuihama's eager gaze, Kiyoyori walked over and sat down next to the two girls.

“Actually, I came here for something,” Kiyoyori said, taking out three tickets from his bag. The tickets clearly stated “National Competition.” “As you seniors probably already know, the venue for this national competition is in Kyoto, and the timing coincides with our second-year school trip. So, I thought if you seniors have time, you could come—”

Before he could finish speaking, the door to the activity room was pulled open again. Perhaps the person who opened the door used too much force, because the door slammed against the wall with a loud bang.

"please!"

An awkward atmosphere permeated the activity room, and an embarrassing silence quietly spread.

"Ahaha, sorry, sorry," the boy who opened the door said "sorry," but he didn't mean to apologize at all. "Is the Service Club where Penguin is located here?"

The rude address caused all the girls present to frown.

"I'm sorry, he's a little nervous." Ye Shan, who was walking at the back, came over and apologized to everyone.

Yukino put down her book with displeasure. "Is there something you need?"

Guessing that there might be a request, Kiyoyori put away the tickets for the national tournament.

"He brought some things he wanted to discuss with you. Ministry of Revenue, didn't you want to entrust this to the Ministry of Service?"

Kebu glanced at the girls with unfriendly expressions, and at Hikigaya sitting on the far side drinking tea, and suddenly took a step back.

"No, forget it. I don't want to talk about this kind of thing with Penguin!"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the four members of the Service Club grew even more unpleasant, especially Yuihama.

"Aren't we the ones asking for favors?"