The Golden Sun

*typing* Ah… I messed up again.

Ahh… I deleted everything… I need to do it again…

This is the third time… I’m so stupid…

Renga-kun, have some tea. You’ve been working for five hours straight. Let’s take a break.

…No. If I do, I’ll forget how to use the laptop again, so I need to keep going…

(He’s been at this for three days… He looks exhausted. Is there any way I can help?)

I got an idea. You don’t have to use the laptop if you don’t want to. You could try hand-writing everything first and just draw any pictures or symbols you need.

…If I did it like that, Liguang would come for me again. Especially because Yachiyo put all of that work into the thing he wrote.

What’s important is for you to get your ideas down. Doing that is hard work in and of itself. You can show me what you write, and I’ll type it up for you!

Isn’t that ch-cheating?

Not at all. We’re helping each other out. It’s a win-win situation. I think teamwork is an important skill.

…Oh. I’m okay with it then. Can I just draw things in a sketchbook? I think that’d be easier for me than writing things out…

Yeah! We can go with that!

Mmm… Oh no, I fell asleep. Ah, the sun’s almost up…

(Hm? Where’s Renga-kun? Last I remember, he was up drawing pictures for the tour documents…)

……

Ah, there he is…

(Is he okay? He looks a little down. He’s just staring out into the horizon…)

Ah, the sun’s rising…

…The sun’s up.

It’s so pretty… Did you come out here to watch it?

Chief…did I wake you up? I’m sorry…

Don’t worry about it. It’s nice to see the sunrise after pulling an all-nighter.

Yeah.

Hey, so…you know how HAMA was developed through land reclamation a long time ago, right?

Yeah, I guess.

…I got told when I was a kid that all of this land used to be ocean. So I started to realize something over the years.

In HAMA, when you go to the port in the morning and look around, everything turns blue—the sky, the ocean, the city… It all mixes together.

It…makes me feel like I’m part of the city, even though I’m so small in comparison…

And then you get to see the rays of the sun shining down on HAMA, turning all of the blues into gold.

The sun just covers everything in its light, no matter where you look. It…doesn’t matter what you’re struggling through or what you’re worried about…

(Renga-kun?)

I’ve always loved this view. You end up having to look away because it’s so blinding, but you can still see the light of the sun even when you do…

It’s so intense and strong, like it’s trying to wash everything away with its light… That’s why I’ve always thought that the sun was so cool, but…

I’m tiny in comparison, so I felt like it completely outshone me. It kinda made me mad… But feeling the warm sun at the end of a cold night also saved me.

I know I’m contradicting myself, but even though I’m jealous of it…I look up to it and love it at the same time.

……

(I feel like…Renga-kun is telling me something really important about himself.)

When I was a kid, I wanted to become the sun. I knew that it wasn’t possible. But…

There really is someone out there who’s like the sun itself. And I…

……

Now that I think about it, I feel like showing off and being stubborn was my way of trying to become the sun, even though I knew I couldn’t…

Nah, never mind. I just like mornings in HAMA, that’s all I wanted to say.

…I like them too.

Yeah… I want our tour guests to see it too, but you can’t if you’re only here for a day trip.

Yeah, you’re right. It’s something you can only see if you stay here overnight.

……

…Ah! I got it! I know what I wanna do for the tour!

Chief, I got an idea! I’m so happy!

Woah… Y-You’re welcome…?

(He’s holding my hands… This never happens…!)

*gasp* Wah, I-I’m sorry! I don’t usually do that kinda stuff… You were just right in front of me, so… But I’m not saying it’s your fault for…

Ahaha, it’s okay, I didn’t mind!

But since you have an idea, let’s go back inside and write it down before you forget.

Ah, y-yeah!

Maybe the sun can be on my side every once in a while!