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After thinking about it for a while, I decide to call Jane, who often asks Hana Ninomiya to help her with detective work, to see if this great detective can deduce anything.
[Jane]...Assistant, you should ask a telepath about this instead of asking me.
[Jane]Detectives aren't gods. Reasoning requires basic deduction. Don't tell me you think detectives are able to know the whole story after getting a flash of inspiration like in manga?
[player]Isn't that the case?
[Jane]Apologize to me now! Apologize to me and my grandmother now!
[player]Sorry, that was rude of me. Well... in your conversations with Ninomiya, have you ever noticed anything related to this?
[Jane]No. Ninomiya and I only talk about things related to cases and school. She rarely talks about herself.
[player]Sigh... I guess there's nothing I can do about it then.
[Jane]That's not necessarily the case.
[player]Oh?! Grandmaster! What advice do you have for me? I'll make notes now.
[Jane]Although it might be strange to hear this from a detective like me, there are some truths that you don't need to know.
[Jane]For example, your feelings about wanting her to grasp this opportunity may not necessarily be correct. You think you're encouraging her with good intentions because you're assuming she wants to perform, but what if that's not the case?
[player]...You make a good point. Maybe we said a lot of things that burdened her with our wishful thinking about wanting her to perform on stage.
Like what Jane said, the truth isn't important. If Hana Ninomiya doesn't want to perform on stage, why must I find out the reason to persuade her to do so?
[Jane]Anyway, you'd better apologize to Ninomiya properly after this and reconcile with her, or else I won't be able to get you two to complete tasks for me as a team. However, I do wonder why Ninomiya doesn't want to perform.
[player]Didn't you just tell me not to dig into that...
[Jane]It's a detective's instinct to be interested in mysteries. Didn't you say that Ninomiya has been reading the novel the stage play is based on? That means it's possible that she really does want to perform on stage, just that something is preventing her from making up her mind.
[Jane]I'll think about it when I don't have any cases to investigate, and I'll tell you if I think of anything.
[player]I'll be looking forward to your reply then, great detective.
After hanging up, although I had already decided to stop investigating the reason why Hana Ninomiya doesn't want to perform on stage, the last thing Jane said before hanging up makes it impossible for me to completely let go of this matter.
If Hana Ninomiya really wants to perform, would she have new regrets if she misses out on this opportunity?
I... Is there anything I can do?
The next weekend, I go to the courtyard of Asaha High School and find Hana Ninomiya tending to the plants busily as I expected.
[Hana Ninomiya]You... Why have you come?
[player]I've come to help. Your enthusiastic classmate Nana said she will be going out to have fun with her family, so I thought you would need some help.
[Hana Ninomiya]...How are you so sure that I'll be here? Aren't you worried that you'll come here for nothing?
[player]According to my calculations, it should almost be time to water the Rieger begonia. Also, since the weather is good today, I was thinking that you would probably want to move the potted plants outside so they can soak up some sunlight.
[player]I'll go water the flowers now... Oh right, it's quite sunny right now, so I'll move these flowers to a shady place since they can't handle too much sun.
[Hana Ninomiya]Okay. I'm so envious of your learning ability. You remembered all the key points even though I only told you once.
[player]That's not entirely true. These last few days, I've been reading up on ways to take care of flowers and plants on the Internet whenever I have time. Since I want to help you, it would be more efficient if I knew these key points.
[player]I'm doing okay now, but I might forget some details once it starts to get busy. But you did say that the more plants you take care of, the more experienced you'll become, so I'll definitely be able to do better if I put more thought and effort into it.
[Hana Ninomiya]That's true, but there are things that can't be achieved even if you put in thought and effort...
Hana Ninomiya still seems to be a little depressed. Fortunately, things haven't gotten awkward between us after the unhappy end of our conversation the other day.
Half an hour later
After toiling about for a while, we decide to take a break. Hana Ninomiya finds a place to sit down and starts reading, but she isn't reading "The House of Music" today.
[player]Have you already finished reading the book from last time?
[Hana Ninomiya]Yes, so I didn't bring it with me today. I've actually read that book several times already, and I just suddenly felt like reading it that day...
Hana Ninomiya covers her face with the book, and I vaguely hear her whisper, "It's in the past now..." It's obvious that she wants to avoid this topic.
[player]...Ninomiya, you said you have a good memory. Since you've read it several times, I believe you know the lines by heart. In that case, let's put on a performance now!
[Hana Ninomiya]Huh? Wh-What performance?
[player]But before that, I want to apologize to you properly... I'm sorry for trying to persuade you to participate in the stage play without caring about your feelings. I even said something terrible like "it isn't like you to..."
[Hana Ninomiya]...Actually, I should be apologizing to you instead. PLAYER, you kindly came to help me, yet I abandoned you here and left.
[Hana Ninomiya]I know you and Nana were encouraging me with good intentions, but I...
[player]It's okay. Ninomiya, I'll respect your decision to not register for the stage play, but that won't stop us from putting on a performance now.
[Hana Ninomiya]Well... That's why I was asking you what you meant when you said that.
[player]The literal meaning. Let's perform the stage play of "The House of Music" here!
[Hana Ninomiya]...Huh?
[player]Is there a reason we can't?
[Hana Ninomiya]That's not the issue here. Can you tell me why you suddenly want to perform a stage play?
[player]Although I said I would respect your decision, I'm still worried that you'll have some regrets if you miss this opportunity.
[player]So I've decided to make this courtyard our stage. Ninomiya, this means you can perform in a stage play you like without participating in the class performance.
[Hana Ninomiya]But we don't have an audience. Don't you feel like it's a little silly of us to amuse ourselves like this?
[player]But we do have an audience. Look, the potted plants you've been taking meticulous care of are sitting straight over there, waiting to enjoy your performance.
[Hana Ninomiya]Th-This is sophistry!
[player]Hahaha, like you said, we really are just amusing ourselves, but it doesn't matter if there's no audience and if the stage is smaller. To me, all that matters is that you're the female lead.
I can't think of a way to make up for her past regrets. All I can do is to do my best to make her happy right here and right now.
[player]I believe this will be a brilliant performance. Are you willing to step on this stage with me, Ninomiya?
[Hana Ninomiya]...We don't have enough actors if you're all we have.
[player]A-Aren't we only performing scenes that only require the male and female leads?
[Hana Ninomiya]Since you put in so much effort to build me this stage, of course we need to start from the beginning.
Hana Ninomiya takes a book from her bag and hands it to me. It is the novel "The House of Music". Maybe it is because it's so hot today, but her cheeks seem slightly red under the sun.
[Hana Ninomiya]You can read this book when you forget the lines. Let's start now and not keep our audience waiting.
[player]Haven't you finished reading it? Why are you still carrying it with you?
[Hana Ninomiya]Ah, I suddenly don't feel like performing the stage play.
[player]No, don't! Let's start now! I speak first, right...?
[Hana Ninomiya]...Hehe.
A pleasant breeze blows by. This afternoon, this small courtyard of Asaha High School is our secret stage...