Hoshiwatashi-hen Chapter 3 (第3話 Dai San-wa) is the third chapter of Hoshiwatashi-hen.
Summary[]
The Three Families meet with a Polaris representative. Mayor Kimiyoshi says they’re in a critical period that will determine if Hinamizawa becomes a World Heritage Site and doesn’t want any trouble, and asks what the Holy Mother is feeling. The Polaris rep says she feels the same, but the mayor’s son Kisaku asks to speak to her directly. The rep denies it and reminds him that Polaris wants to avoid contact with outsiders as much as possible, and asks if that’s really such a problem. An elderly Irie watches the meeting nearby.
Another elder gets angry at Polaris for not offering simple greetings and dumping trash illegally, and the rep asks if he has proof of the latter. The rep says Polaris just wants to coexist peacefully with Hinamizawans. Kisaku gets angry at the thought of coexisting with people who only care about their own rights, and the mayor calms him down. The rep says if that’s the case, then all of Polaris should be able to join the town council. Some elders are taken aback, but Mion says that per the local government act, they cannot deny entry into the council, especially when half of the population is Polaris. All of Polaris has the ability to vote for one of their own in the next mayoral election. The rep chastises Kisaku for his hate of idealism and says that Kisaku’s in the position he is now because of Polaris’s idealism, and they can stop that treatment at any time.
After the meeting, some elders worry about the possibility of a Polaris member becoming mayor and wish that Rika were back. Kisaku asks Mion how Akane is doing since she didn’t attend again, and Mion says she’s still giving orders and is well mentally. Kisaku demands to know why the Sonozakis aren’t doing anything to get rid of Polaris and accuses them of losing their love for Hinamizawa. Mion retorts by saying that Kisaku is a nobody who never even attended the Hinamizawa Branch School and is still trying to lecture her about loyalty. Back then, Kisaku bragged about how wonderful the Okinomiya school was, and if he had attended the Hinamizawa school, he may have had a nice senior-junior relationship with Satoko before they ever got married. Kisaku thinks about how wonderful that might be but is also enraged by Mion’s teasing.
Meanwhile, Keitarou is excited to get a call from Rika. Keitarou asks how she's doing after her fall, and Rika asks if he ran into any problems ever since moving to Hinamizawa. Keitarou’s face falls as he asks if she’s heard about the Polaris Family Society. Rika also gets a sad look and glances at her Ekusurika Jewels, which have two broken beads. Rika already knew about Polaris from Mayor Kimiyoshi and is certain that Keitarou wants to make friends with them. Keitarou is saddened that Polaris members don’t react whenever he tries to talk to them and is at a loss for what to do. He wants to show them the joy of communication and feels like his identity is at stake, especially when it comes to “that girl”. Keitarou corrects himself and says he’s talking about a Polaris girl, but Rika teases him about it.
Rika asks Keitarou to consider it from Polaris’s point of view, and that before making friends with them, he should understand how they feel about Hinamizawa. The next day at school, Keitarou starts handing out paper surveys to Polaris members and shows one to his friends. The group takes a look at the biased questions asking how they feel towards Hinamizawa and is dubious it will actually work. Keitarou asks them to offer a counterproposal rather than just disagreeing with him all the time and falls to the ground defeated. Tamaki compliments the survey and asks everyone what they like about the village; Kihiro likes it because the four of them can be together. Even though Hinamizawa might not be very special, being able to talk like this is fun. Keitarou knows that the village’s greatest treasure is the people living in it and remembers their solidarity during the dam war, and wonders why Polaris doesn’t want to get more involved.
As the group leaves school, they talk about the village’s bad qualities: it’s out in the countryside even though that was a positive point earlier, and it’s smaller so there’s fewer encounters. Sakiko asks Tamaki about the possibility of getting the Sonozakis to open a village groom contest. Keitarou and Kihiro are considered as participants, but Keitarou says that romance between the group can’t happen.
In the hallway they run into a girl chastising a Polaris girl for not saying thanks for the first girl doing most of her homework. Kururu appears to defend the Polaris girl and apologizes on her behalf. Keitarou calls out to her, and Kururu acknowledges him, Tamaki, and Sakiko. Kururu teases Keitarou as the others watch with interest, and Keitarou remembers that she’s the only Polaris member who’s willing to talk to others. Kururu says communication is indeed not allowed with outsiders, but her dad actually joined the group while Kururu’s just along for the ride, so she doesn’t believe in them too strongly. Keitarou asks her what Polaris members think of Hinamizawa, and Kururu replies by asking what he’ll do when he gets an answer. Keitarou just wants to become friends with Polaris after learning their point of view, and Kururu then asks what benefit Hinamizawans have from befriending them.
Keitarou struggles to answer, and Kururu says everyone was considerate of them at first, but things went wrong because of their doctrine. Kururu teases him again about just wanting to get close to Inori. Keitarou reinforces his belief to befriend them and thinks the Holy Mother’s rules are wrong. Kururu says some people think it’s okay to have rules like that. She personally thinks Hinamizawa has a country feel to it and looks like a place for poor people. Keitarou gets angry after more of her teasing and chases her through the hall.
The group bids farewell. Kururu looks at a survey Keitarou gave her and crumples it up. She goes to Inori in a classroom and tells her about Keitarou and his friends, and how suspicious they were. Inori stays silent and Kururu hugs her, promising that her dad will protect Polaris from Hinamizawans, and that Kururu herself will protect Inori. Keitarou opens his locker and finds some returned surveys, only for his spirits to fall when they all say negative things about him and the village. One person especially dislikes how Hinamizawans smile when talking to each other, but when they see a member can’t speak, they get angry and sigh. Keitarou begins to accept how mistaken he was.
The next day, the Polaris mass school dropoff happens as usual. Inori’s mom drops her off and says they need to do festival prep when she gets home. Kururu’s dad, the Polaris rep from earlier, reminds her to keep an eye on the kids around her, as the villagers are on edge right now. Kururu sees Inori staring at something in her locker, and she pulls out a letter written by Keitarou. Inori asks what she should do.
Characters[]
- Mayor Kimiyoshi
- Kisaku Kimiyoshi
- Mion Sonozaki
- Kururu's father
- Kyousuke Irie
- Keitarou Maebara
- Rika Furude
- Tamaki Sonozaki
- Kihiro Ryuugu
- Sakiko Kimiyoshi
- Kururu Isshiki
- Inori Mikazuki
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