Holmes of Kyoto Volume 1 Chapter 3 part2

The next day.

I was riding my bicycle towards Hyakumanben.

Hyakumanben Chionji was not that far from my house.

It was actually even closer than Teramachi Sanjou.

I traveled down south on Shimogamo Main Road until it merged with Imadegawa Road, then turned left (East). I eventually reached a large, busy intersection known as "Hyakumanben Intersection". The Kyoto University building could be seen from a particular angle.

After progressing a little East on that intersection, there was the Hyakumanben Chionji Temple.

However, since I had arranged to meet Holmes-san in Tokyo U's parking lot, I nervously entered Tokyo U, still on my bike.

Even while it was a Sunday, there were still many students milling around. There were absolutely normal students wearing shirts and jeans, but there were also those with ruffled hair, clad in sweatshirts and jerseys, giving the strong impression that they didn't care much about how fashionable they looked.

Come to think of it, a friend in class said, "Whenever I see someone with clothes that look like they can't be bothered, I assume that they're from Kyoto U."

There were really a lot of students who couldn't be bothered with how they looked. Were they too focused on their studies such that they couldn't pay attention to their style?

I was a little nervous about entering the school for the first time, but seeing those shabbily-dressed people helped me relax.

But more importantly, the parking lot is so huge. Where should I park my bicycle?

I frantically looked around.

"Good morning, Aoi-san," Holmes-san's voice reached my ears.

When I turned towards the direction of the voice, his figure, clad in a rough jacket, V-neck and jeans, appeared in my field of vision. It was a simple yet clean fashion.

As I thought, Holmes-san was really cool. On top of that, his handsomeness was further emphasized by the location, or the parking lot within Kyoto U.

"G-Good morning. How did you know that I would be here?"

"Well, you know how to get to Chionji Temple from Imadegawa, so I thought that you would enter Kyoto U from this gate."

Holmes-san casually answered.

That was a stupid question, I thought regretfully.

"Can I park my bicycle here?"

"Yes, it's fine."

"Come to think of it, Holmes-san…"

I started, but held my tongue.

It might be a little late for me to realize this, but he could be embarrassed being called "Holmes-san" in front of all these people. This is a university, after all.

Then, how should I address Holmes-san? Should I call him "Kiyotaksan"? Or should it be "Yagashirsan"?

Those were my concerned thoughts as I locked the bicycle.

"Ah, Holmes-kun, ya came today. Will ya be in school later?"

A girl who was passing by called out, causing me to choke.

"Nah, I'll be going to Chionji now. What's up?"

"Chionji! I see, it's the 15th. Well, I was hoping that ya would take a look at my report. I just need it for next week, so would ya take a look?"

"I don't mind."

"Thanks! See ya later, then!" The female university student waved and left.

It might be natural for fellow students, but it was fresh to hear Holmes-san speak casually in Kansai dialect.

…But that wasn't all.

"Holmes-san, you're also called 'Holmes' in university?"

I squeaked in surprise.

"Yes, I've been always called that since elementary school, even up till now. That's because my family name is Yagashira."

Holmes-san faced me as he spoke with his usual mannerisms. It was quite a weird feeling.

"Come to think of it, you were about to say something, weren't you, Aoi-san?"

"Ah, yes. It might be late to ask, but what do you primarily learn in university?"

"I take 'Philology1 and cultural studies'."

"Philology and cultural studies?"

I didn't know what that meant, but it did seem like a subject for Holmes-san.

"Shall we go, then?"

"Ah, yes."

I walked out of the gate together with Holmes-san.

As we did so, I noticed other students peeking at Holmes-san as they passed by.

Yup, Holmes-san is a cool person, after all. And he's tall.

During the Aoi Festival incident, those university and even the Saiō representative were getting excited over him, so he must be really popular.

…Now that I think of it, does Holmes-san have a girlfriend?

I've worked with him for about three months at Kura already, but I haven't found the slightest trace of a girlfriend, although I wasn't specially paying attention to that…

We continued walking in silence.

"What's the matter?" Holmes-san suddenly asked as he peered at me with a curious look on his face.

"Wh-What?"

I yelped.

"You seemed to be deep in thought."

"Ah, yeah, well. But if you're saying that, doesn't that mean that you've already read what I was thinking?"

"Your thoughts are often relatively easy to infer, but this time, I can't really tell."

Holmes-san said, causing my cheeks to go hot.

I definitely couldn't say, "0I was thinking about whether you have a girlfriend."

Since that would probably get me into a weird misunderstanding.

"W-Well, I wasn't thinking of anything important."

"I see. You did give off that vibe."

"That's mean."

We laughed, exiting from the school gate.

Once again, the Hyakumanben intersection came into view. As expected of the student quarters, it was bustling with people, and we were surrounded by dumpling shops, gyudon restaurants, burger bars, yakitori stalls, izakaya2, as well as other food and beverage stores.

"There's an amazing number of food shops."

"Yes, it's really lively here, don't you think?"

"Do you go to izakaya on the way home from school, Holmes-san?"

"Sometimes, but there's the shop, so not really."

"Right, you need to tend the store."

I nodded as went across the pedestrian crossing and headed East.

Soon after, we could see the temple's old, magnificent gate.

A sign with the words "Handicraft Market" was set against the gate, and there was a great deal of hustle and bustle past it.

Under tents and parasols were various goods, and the temple ground was packed with people who came to browse those goods.

"W-Wow, this place looks really prosperous!"

Seeing me being overwhelmed at the entrance, Holmes-san grinned and nodded.

"The Handicrafts Market is always held on the 15th of each month, and its popularity seems to be compounded by the fact that it's a weekend today."

"I see, so it's because it's a Sunday today. Weekdays must be slightly better."

We entered the crowded space together and slowly walked around while looking at the goods on sale.

Like in a normal free market, clothes were on sale, but since this was Kyoto, they were mostly kimono, obi and fabrics.

There were cute animals made of wool felt on sale, as well as bags and shoes made of real leather.

On top of that, there were accessories and gamaguchi

Chapter end