--hot.
I think so.
The outside world visible through the gap in the curtains was bathed in bright sunlight, making it extremely bright. This woke me up and made me frown.
It looks hot outside. I close the curtains with a quizzical look on my face and check the time on my smartphone.
It's currently 10am. My internal clock doesn't seem to be out of whack yet. I consider it normal if I can go to bed at night and wake up by noon. Although, I've been staying up a little late lately.
...I think it's about time I get up.
He yawned and sat up.
A week has passed since the start of summer vacation. I haven't done anything in particular during this time. I wake up, play games, browse the internet, eat, and go to sleep. I just do the same thing over and over again, so why does time seem to pass so quickly?
The week went by in a flash. Come to think of it, last year was similar, and before I knew it, summer vacation was over. A quiet, unexciting daily life wasn't so bad, either.
I'm not very good at summer.
I especially dislike high temperatures. I feel uncomfortable sweating and I hate the feeling of losing my energy. If anything, I prefer winter because I can just wrap up in layers. In summer, you can't take off your skin, so there's no way to keep out the heat.
So I basically spend my summer vacation holed up. I don't even want to take one step outside my air-conditioned room. That's how much I don't like summer.
But this year, strangely enough, I found myself not feeling uncomfortable in the summer.
The reason is clear.
I'm sure her presence will be significant.
(Okay, I guess I'll get ready soon.)
Get out of bed and stretch your body.
Lately, I've been waking up and staring blankly at my smartphone for about 30 minutes, but that's not possible today.
Because I have an appointment with Hime in the afternoon.
『♪』
Was it because I thought about her?
A sound rang on the messaging app on my smartphone, as if I had received a message. The words "Hoshimiya Hime" appeared on the screen.
Pick it up and launch the app.
The message I received said the following:
"Good morning. Are you awake?"
The text is simple and lacks emojis, emoticons, and even stamps.
Hime doesn't seem to like unnecessary decoration, so the messages I receive from her are basically written like this. It's a style that's very typical of her, and I like it.
"Good morning. I just woke up."
When I replied, it was immediately marked as read.
...I wonder if she was waiting with the screen open. Hime staring at her smartphone came to mind, and I couldn't help but laugh. Even in my imagination, she's cute.
"I'm glad. Youhei is a bit of a late sleeper, so I was worried."
"I woke up early because I'm going out with Hime today."
"Well done. You're a good boy."
...Hime's words, when written, may seem somewhat older sister-like.
They were using polite language, I couldn't hear their slurred speech, and I couldn't see their expressions, so I began to feel like I was communicating with someone older than me.
When I actually met him and spoke to him, I didn't get the feeling that way because his facial expressions and the way he spoke were so childish...but it was somehow refreshing.
"Well then, I look forward to working with you today."
"Yes, nice to meet you."
With these words, the message ended.
Hime isn't the type to contact people very often. She only does so when she has something to do, and even then the conversation ends quickly.
I don't think that's lonely... In fact, I'm not good at exchanging long messages either, so I find Hime's style very comfortable.
(I wonder if this part of him suits his personality too)
Surprisingly, Hime and I get along well.
Although I can't think as well as she does, with her genius mind, I think we probably have similar ways of looking at things. Our values aren't that far apart.
Thanks to this, I felt like we were getting along well.
"Now then."
I'm going out with Hime after all.
I think I'll be more conscious of cleanliness than usual and take better care of my appearance.
Thinking that, I left the room.
Today is a weekday, so my parents are at work. The living room is hot because the air conditioner isn't on.
But the discomfort wasn't that bad.
In fact, there's a lot to look forward to this summer.
I'm grateful to Hime for making me think that way.