The sun has set, and Arisa and I walk side by side along the street illuminated by streetlights. Since it's a residential area a little off the main street, there are hardly any people on the street, and it's so quiet that it's hard to believe it's a city.

It's a good thing that I'm much stronger than Kaito-san, and I also carry a stun gun of exorbitant power and legally dangerous weapons for self-defense, so I don't need you to send them to me.
Too many tweaks... but still, it's a bit of a stretch.

　He is already completely back to his usual tone and smiles at Arisa, who speaks in a laid-back tone.

'By the way, Kaito-san, aren't you somewhat thirsty?　I'm thirsty.
'Well you didn't get paid for a nice dinner yet.
That's what I'm talking about, Kaito-san!　You know the story!

　Arisa asks me to buy her a drink in a roundabout way, but that's about as cheap as it gets... or rather, this was kind of a standard process.
　Whenever Arisa came over to my house to help me with dinner, I would walk her home. And on the way there, Arisa would say she was thirsty and we would buy a drink from the vending machine and chat at a nearby park.

　At the same vending machine as usual, I buy a café au lait for Arisa and a canned coffee, with a small sugar can, for myself, and then we move to a small park with an apologetic bench and slide.
　Then we sit side by side on the old wooden benches and look at the sky together.

　The sky is bright and starless in the city... We drink our warm canned coffee, blowing in the cold night breeze as we gaze at the familiar, yet slightly lonely landscape.
　In the midst of the air where the noise of the main street could only be heard faintly from a distance, but otherwise it could be called quiet, Arisa opened her mouth to speak.

''........it's kind of nice.
Yeah?
I'm having fun every day, I thought. We talked for a long time about unimportant things, got upset over trivial things, and had little happenings, but being surrounded by good friends... That's what I call happiness.
Well yes.

　It's true that Arisa is right, every day is really full of life. I think it's really a happy day, commuting to school while chatting with Arisa about trivial matters, chatting excitedly with others in the lab.......making plans for events.

But Buta-senpai and Liddy will be looking for a job next year, and we won't be college students forever either. The environment will surely change, and our career paths may be different. You never know what will happen in the future, but I hope that our happy days will continue like this....
...Arisa was going to be a journalist, wasn't she?
'Oops, you're missing the super. I'm a super journalist. Well, it's true that being a journalist is kind of a dream of mine, and I've been preparing for it. But you never know. Lately, I'm starting to see a different kind of dream.
...a different dream?

　I listen back to Arisa's words, who speaks in a calm tone, while tilting my head. Then Arisa turns to me and smiles with a bashful smile, before returning her gaze to the night sky and opening her mouth.

".........Looking at you, Akari, I wonder if being a housewife isn't a bad idea. Well, you see, I'm a super beautiful girl who can cook perfectly, and I cook delicious food and wait for my husband to come home. On weekends, I make lunch boxes and go out with my husband, who I love, and laugh a lot.
I see.
Well, I guess we should get going.

　I couldn't help but admire Arisa's face as she told me that, got up from the bench and threw the empty can into the trash can before laughing. How can I say, I'm strangely embarrassed................................I'm conscious of Arisa.
　Following Arisa, I put the empty cans in the trash and was about to head for the exit to the park when I suddenly felt a small shock to my back.

''........Kaito-san, please listen to me without turning around.
....

　My heart jumped with a thud at the words Arisa told me as she plucked at my clothes in a small way and buried her face in my back.

''I won't rush to answer you. Or rather, I don't have the courage to ask you for a reply just now, so I'd appreciate it if you could do it later.
...Arisa?
Well, think of it as a kind of job hunting or something like that. There is no hurry and there is no deadline. ...Tell me about it. I'll ... choose that path then.

　It was a small voice, but it reached my ears loud and clear. Of course, I don't know what those words mean....

I'm really happy to have met you, Kaito-san, I think so.
Arisa....
'Oh, haha, that was a weird thing to say. I'm sorry, let's get on with it!
Oh, hey!
Look, look, look, I'm gonna leave you here.

　Arisa ends the conversation with a somewhat flustered look and starts walking in front of me at a fast pace, increasing the tension in vain. As I watched her little back, what came to my mind was........an inexplicable sadness.

　Why is that?　
　When Arisa said earlier, "I wish these days could go on forever," I couldn't agree with her. 'I feel the same way,' and I just couldn't get that one word to come out of my mouth.
　In my mind, it was as if there was another me screaming 'no'.

　But what was it?　Somehow..........I have such a sad conviction in my heart that she and.......the 'future that will make Arisa's new dream come true' will never come to pass. And that makes me impossibly sad.

　Suddenly, I look behind me as if I were being guided. Naturally, no one is there... but I feel as if someone was there for me until now.
　When I was in trouble, they helped me, and when I was happy, they laughed with me... someone important to me... but they should have been there... .........

　An inexplicable sense of unease and discomfort. Shaking my head to shake it off, I followed Arisa as she walked in front of me.