From the Bottom to the Top

Volume 3: Chapter 4

Maria Kujou paced around the makeshift farm over and over, her gaze darting towards the crops that were nowhere close to being fully-grown.

It’s obvious that she had nothing else to do here, but the girl didn’t seem like she had any intention of leaving.

It looked more like she was trying to distract herself from something, whatever it might be.

“Good morning, Masha-san.”

Hearing her name being called, the brunette turned her head to see someone whom she didn’t expect to see today.

“Kuze-kun…?”

“Who else?” he asked rhetorically.

“Have you eaten breakfast yet?”

“Yeah, of course.”

After hearing that answer, she frowned and gave him a big pout, which was kind of adorable to look at… if he wasn’t the target of it.

“You know, you made almost everyone want to find and drag you back to have breakfast.”

“Sorry, I just felt like going out and getting some fresh air earlier…” he scratched the back of his head nervously, feeling a bit uneasy at her pouting expression. “I still ate, though. Isn’t that what's important?”

“It is, but it’s better for us to eat our meals together. I don’t think anyone likes to eat alone… even Ayano-chan, no matter how much she insists that she’s only a maid.”

“Okay, I concede… it was wrong of me not to join everyone for breakfast,” he raised his hands in surrender, not wanting to prolong the issue any further. “Was she referring to Alya for a moment there?”

Masachika had Ayano tell everyone else that he wouldn’t be joining them for breakfast, as he wanted to check on the raft one last time before taking it out for another test run later.

Several of them wondered why he would skip an important part of the day — including Masha herself, Sarashina, Miyamae, and Taniyama — until the maid confirmed that he would be eating after doing an inspection on the raft.

At least he wasn’t skipping a meal altogether.

“Shouldn’t you be with Chisaki-chan right now? Since you’re going to try and go around the island on the raft…”

He nodded. “We will, after I’m done here. I just wanted to see you before we leave.”

“You… wanted to see me?”

“I’ll go straight to the chase,” he began. “I’m sure everyone else has noticed by now that you’re not exactly feeling well, myself included.”

“What do you mean, Kuze-kun? I feel fine,” she asked.

“You know that’s not what I meant, Masha-san. If you don’t want to talk about it, just tell me. I won’t bother you about it again, but I’d hate to see you looking miserable like this any longer.”

Masha stared at him for a few moments, as though she was weighing her possible options in her mind, before a sad smile took over her features.

“Nothing gets past you, Kuze-kun… Наверное, я должен был предвидеть это…” ¹

Seeing the expression on her face was enough for Masachika to determine that she wanted to talk, so he prepared himself for what he might hear from her.

“Tell me, Kuze-kun. How would you feel if there was ever a time where you have to choose between two people who are important to you?”

“Is this about Alya?”