The movie ended, the lights came on, a few chatters rang in my ears, and finally the silence fell and dissipated.

The moviegoers leave.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa also got up.

When he got up, he glanced at Mrs. Amamiya, who was still sitting there for a long time.

She looked complicated, pondering something, and when she noticed his gaze, she glanced back at him.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa gave a polite smile, and then, he took one last last look at Amamiya, and then, silently, walked out of the screening room, no longer bothering the two of them.

The movie is over, and so is all he can do.

Just take this movie as his last farewell to Amamiya Night.

Among them, it is not only what Amamiya wants to express to his mother, in fact, but also his last hope for this girl.

Amamiya Night should be able to see it.

I hope that this second-class girl can really think about this matter as in the movie.

Then, accept the other side of her – not split up and become two people.

Okay, that's really the end of it, and the next thing belongs to Amamiya and her mother.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa, who walked out of the screening room and came to the corridor, was greeted by the orange light of the setting sun.

He narrowed his eyes, adjusting to the glitz of stepping out of the darkness into the light.

Now that the matter of Amamiya Night is over, then there is only one thing left for him next.

……

It's not the same as the lively scene on campus during the school festival.,It's remote enough.,It's quiet enough.。

The orange light that was about to end quietly licked the place, as quiet as a pure land isolated from the world.

And in this undisturbed silence, there was a young girl, standing alone by the guardrail, looking into the distance along the gap of the guardrail.

The beautiful backdrop, the light of the setting sun, the gentle flow of the wind on the rooftop, the slight swing of the hair behind him, and the buildings cut by light and shadow in the distance.

Everything is so harmonious and complements each other.

The composition is harmonious and picturesque, making people stop and not bear to disturb.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa just stood in the doorway, looking in front of him, looking at the middle of his field of vision, at the focus of his gaze.

But—

Perhaps the slight sound when the door was opened before, after enough time, was finally realized by the girl who looked into the distance and didn't know what she was thinking.

She withdrew from her state of thought and turned around.

So, in the pure land where no one disturbed, the girl faced the gaze of his uninvited guest.

“……”

“……”

In Shiori Shinohara's slightly surprised gaze, Hirakawa Tetsufumi put down his hand holding the rooftop door and stepped in.

When his footsteps stopped, he stood several meters away from Shiori Shinohara.

"Hirakawa-sensei?" Shiori Shinohara's tone rose a little, expressing her doubts.

"Well, yes, Shinohara-san, I'm ......"

"Are you looking for me something?"

"Yes."

After two brief exchanges, Shiori Shinohara had already put away her surprised eyes, and waited for him to speak with a posture of listening carefully.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa stared at Shiori Shinohara.

The rooftop here, the familiar scene, the light of the setting sun, and the immaculate face of the girl reminded him of many things.

Of course, these things have nothing to do with this incident.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa took a light breath and pulled his thoughts back.

He spoke.

"Shinohara-san, I would like to discuss with you one last about your withdrawal from the wind club."

"Finally?"

"Hmm."

Because tomorrow afternoon's farewell party for the wind club will be the time for the members of the wind club to officially retire.

If nothing else could change, the girl would have to quit the orchestra.

"So, what does Hirakawa-sensei want to say this time?" Shiori Shinohara looked at him calmly, "I've already said it, because I was disappointed in someone, I decided to quit the wind club." ”

“……”

Tetsufumi Hirakawa was a little embarrassed, his gaze couldn't help but drift for a moment, and he refocused back on the girl's eyes.

"Well, yes...... But I think ......"

"What do you think?"

"That's not the real reason for Shinohara-san to quit the wind club, is it? At least, not all the reasons. ”

"Really?"

The fluttering rhetorical question, which does not intend to affirm or deny, makes people unsure of the girl's mind.

But it didn't matter, because Tetsufumi Hirakawa came this time, and it was indeed because he thought he had guessed the girl's thoughts.

He didn't pay attention to Shiori Shinohara's rhetorical question, but took a breath and said in a deep voice.

"Actually, Shinohara-san, you don't want to quit the wind club, do you?"

“……”

“……”

After a moment of silence.

"Why do you say that?"

Shiori Shinohara's expression didn't seem to change at all, anyway, it didn't look like it was being said.

"I think."

"If it's just one-sided wishful thinking, it doesn't work – and I know a lot about that."

“……”

Tetsufumi Hirakawa choked up.

"This ...... I naturally have reasons for my judgment. ”

"So, what is it?"

……

Today's school festival has ended.,Students,Parents who came with the students.,They're all starting to evacuate Moriya.。

Looking down from the upper floors of the club building, you can see the crowd flowing from the stadium to the entrance of the campus.

After a few glances, Tetsufumi Hirakawa withdrew his gaze from outside the corridor,

He turned to the side.

Shiori Shinohara followed him about a step behind.

"The reasons for my judgment are...... Anyway, I have a certain understanding of Shinohara-san. ”

"Really?"

"Well, yes."

"So?"

In the girl's questioning, Tetsufumi Hirakawa's memories of the girl began to emerge one by one - from the very beginning, from the time he joined Moriya to take over the class and became her teacher, until today.

The memories are so nostalgic that I miss them.

With a soft sigh in his heart, Tetsufumi Hirakawa pulled his mind away from the experience of memory.

"So, I also have a little bit of an idea of how Shinohara-san treats wind music."

"I still remember how unwilling Shinohara-san was when he faced the first defeat in the national competition in October last year."

"And later, when Shinohara-san was asked by his mother to quit the wind club, he resolutely said that he would never give up."

"Including supervising me to go to the wind club again and again, and caring about how the wind club is doing."

"Of course, the most important thing is—"

Tetsufumi Hirakawa deliberately looked at Shiori Shinohara to see how she reacted.

"I also know the story that Shinohara-san told me, the one about her and her mother, who broke free from her mother's control for the first time."

“……”

Shiori Shinohara's expression finally changed slightly.

Seeing this scene, Tetsufumi Hirakawa showed a little smile on the corner of his mouth.

"Really?"

"For the first time, I freely chose my hobby, without asking my mother's opinion, and after that, in the midst of constant obstacles, I never gave up and persevered."

"Even if I quit the club, I practiced alone until high school."

"This incident was told to me by Shinohara-san himself."

“……”

From the night of that summer festival, before the fireworks went off, the girl's last confiding.

"And that's not all."

Tetsufumi Hirakawa's words didn't linger for long.

"After rejoining the wind club at high school, when faced with the matter of quitting the club again, Shinohara-san did not hesitate to say to the instructor, if you don't want to lose your job, please don't meddle in your affairs."

“……”

"It's a bit bad, but Shinohara-san's determination to give up is really impressive—right?"

“……”

Recalling such a past, the corners of Hirakawa Tetsufumi's mouth rose with nostalgia.

Now that I think about it, it's really ......

It's emotional.

This was the beginning between him and Shiori Shinohara.

If he hadn't chosen to visit his home in the first place, maybe things would have been different...... Stop, my mind is running astray.

Get back on track.

He continued his claim.

"That's all I know about Shinohara-san and the wind music."

"I don't think it's too much to say 'a little bit of understanding'."

"To put it mildly, I'm probably the one who knows Shinohara-san's determination to continue playing the wind music."

"-Of course, of course Shinohara-san was disappointed in me, right."

"Even I felt like I was really bad, and I was so disappointed in myself."

"But if Shinohara-san quit the band club because he was disappointed in me...... I spent a lot of time thinking about it later. ”

"The result I've come to is—"

Tetsufumi Hirakawa will reveal the final answer.

"Will the eldest lady, who has always been unwilling to give up her only interest under her mother's obstruction, really decide to give up because of this?"

He looked at Shiori Shinohara's expression, and the girl was speechless.

So, he continued to speak firmly.

"Of course, the possibility can't be said to be none."

"But I'm more inclined to, actually, there are some other reasons."

"What is the reason for Shinohara-san to give up playing wind music?"

"It's not that you can't win the gold medal, but, I guess, it's Shinohara-san's mother who once again proposed the idea of wanting Shinohara-san to give up the wind club next, right?"

"If it were any other time, I'm sure Shinohara-san would never accept it like this."

"But it just so happened that Shinohara-san, who had already become disappointed in me, was once again under pressure from his mother, and finally made a decision to give up his only interest, which was not expected by his mother."

"There are even some ideas that go further."

"For example, because I persuaded Shinohara's mother in the beginning, I had to stay in the wind club with the next Shinohara-san students."

"So, for my disappointed Shinohara-san, I may still have some thoughts about 'returning' all of these to me, so I accepted it calmly."

"Am I guessing correctly?"

“……”

Tetsufumi Hirakawa's large paragraph of inference has finally come to an end.

Between the two, there was once again silence that seemed to have nothing to say.

Shiori Shinohara, who has neither affirmation nor denial, has long since lost her eyes on him.

However, it is more accurate to say that this gesture is tacit.

It wasn't until a long time later that the two walked through the aisle of the campus together and arrived at the school gate.

In Tetsufumi Hirakawa's ears, the girl's footsteps stopped, and then, finally, her voice sounded again.

"What if you guessed right?"

Tetsufumi Hirakawa stopped and turned to look at her.

The eldest lady's eyes were resolute.

"Shiori has decided to quit the wind club. And, too, promised his mother. There's not much more to say about it. ”

"I don't think there's anything more to say."

"It's already decided, and it can't be changed."

"I don't think it's really unchangeable."

“……”

Shiori Shinohara silently faced Tetsufumi Hirakawa.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa told his reasoning.

"Since it's the only interest, don't give up so easily, at least, if you're disappointed in me...... Please, please think again. ”

He is already leaving, and he will no longer be associated with the wind club, so there is no need for this eldest lady to quit because of him.

Moreover, it was he who owed Shiori Shinohara something if she gave up her interest that had lasted so long and was unwilling to give up even if her mother hindered her because of him before she finally left.

Then, it was absolutely impossible for him to leave in peace like this.

So, before leaving, he had one last thing.

"This is my last request, so please consider it carefully."

“……”

Shiori Shinohara pursed her lips.

In front of her, Tetsufumi Hirakawa bent down and bowed deeply.

“……”

'Last Request......'

'Finally. ’

Amamiyaya's words came to mind again.

Mr. Hirakawa's time is running out. ’

“……”

Ridiculous, where can there be such a thing.

Shiori Shinohara denied Amamiya's claims.

It's just like when she said "the last decision" and "the last time, I want to participate in a festival with Mr. Hirakawa".

To put it in a very cunning way, it's hard to refuse.

Because, once the word "last" is used, there is always a strong sense of supplication in the words.

“……”

Tetsufumi Hirakawa, who was bent over, finally heard Shiori Shinohara's reply after a moment of silence.

"I have promised my mother that the decision to withdraw from the ministry cannot be changed."

“……”

As it turned out, the girl's determination to play wind music did not disappear so easily.

Maybe it was because of his rhetoric, or maybe it was some other reason, in short, he heard it, and Shiori Shinohara was shaken.

She did not say that her own decision could not be changed, but that her mother's will could not be changed.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa straightened up and faced Shiori Shinohara, affirming almost without question.

"As I said, I don't think it can't be changed."

"Because, if you can convince once, you can also convince a second time."

“……”