Chapter 172: Opening of the Sports Festival
Early morning, on the way to school—just before reaching the gates of Shuchiin, there was a slope that wasn't too steep.
Sakurai was riding his bike when, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Shinomiya Kaguya—under the lush green street trees, she was wearily climbing the slope, with a few glistening drops of sweat dotting her forehead.
Today wasn't a cool day. It was already the end of June, and the temperature had climbed past 30 degrees.
The feeling of summer was unmistakable—summer could be summed up in just a few words: scorching heat, cicadas, sweat, watermelon…
Just saying those words was enough to bring up the taste of summer, wasn't it?
——
"Kaguya-san, are you okay?" Sakurai Saki asked in surprise.
As he spoke, he stopped his bike.
"I should be the one asking you that… huff… is your brain messed up or something?" Kaguya panted.
Just when Sakurai Saki thought she would try to act tough——
"Do I look like I'm okay to you?"
She stepped up beside Sakurai and casually placed her schoolbag into his hand. "General affairs Sakurai, carry this for me."
With that, Ojou-sama Kaguya stood in place, hands on her knees, catching her breath.
'Walking under the sun from the Shinomiya household to school is seriously exhausting!'
The last time she walked to school with Hayasaka Ai, it was a cloudy day, and the temperature wasn't nearly this high.
"Kaguya-san, have you considered this possibility—today is the sports festival, we don't have classes." Sakurai held her bag but didn't immediately throw it away.
"There are coffee beans inside. I promised you yesterday." Shinomiya Kaguya had never gone back on her word.
Doing what she said—that was one of the Shinomiya family's virtues.
And sincerity was one of Kaguya's own strengths.
"Suddenly, helping a classmate-san carry their bag doesn't seem so bad." Sakurai Saki smiled.
"You're just doing it for the coffee beans. If you're going to lie, at least come up with a better reason." Shinomiya Kaguya said irritably.
"Kaguya-san is so beautiful—any male student would have a hard time saying no to you."
…What a blatant lie!
The Shinomiya family's coffee beans were specially made and of very high quality. Sakurai Saki rarely got the chance to drink them. Mostly because Kaguya preferred black tea—usually in the student council room, tea was served far more often than coffee.
He was only helping because of the coffee!
"Say one more compliment." Shinomiya Kaguya, after resting a bit, returned to her usual haughty self. She lifted her chin slightly, a vague smile tugging at the corners of her lips: "Something this simple—any other male student could do it too."
The words had just left her mouth—
When beside them——
"Sakurai-chan~ yoro~ good morning!" A golden bolt of lightning with a voice full of energy suddenly shot in from behind the two of them.
Hayasaka Ai, like a rocket, flew straight toward Sakurai Saki, and with overwhelming momentum, just as he turned around, she leapt into his arms.
Sakurai Saki caught her, spun once, and finally steadied himself.
(っ˶ ˘ ³˘)ˆᵕ ˆ˶ς)
Shinomiya Kaguya glanced at the bike that had nearly toppled over and casually reached out to prop it up.
Then——she was force-fed a mouthful of dog food.
"Good morning~" Sakurai Saki greeted softly.
"It's only been one day—did you miss me?" Hayasaka Ai let go of him, her eyes seeing nothing else but him.
"Weren't we together all day yesterday~? You're way too clingy, but that's what makes you so adorable."
"Because I love you—I don't want to be apart for even one second…"
Kaguya: (ꐦ≖ - ≖)----->(ʃƪ ˘ ³˘)♥(˘ ε˘ʃƪ)
Nope. These two are being so lovey-dovey I feel like throwing up.
And I'm still standing right here, you know?! Do they think I'm invisible?
Maybe they should just break up already.
'Forget it, I'll go by myself!' Kaguya felt there was no point in paying attention to this dumb couple anymore.
She parked the bike on the spot, took her bag that had the coffee beans, and left on her own.
...
The opening ceremony of the sports festival took place in the gymnasium.
Recently, everyone had changed uniforms, switching from winter uniforms to summer ones. The female students wore short-sleeved white blouses underneath sleeveless black dresses, with sailor-style white collars and red ribbon ties.
As for the male students… never mind, probably no one wants to know.
The students sat in rows inside the gymnasium, and Sakurai Saki looked toward the front.
The person giving the speech on stage was Principal Adolf Pescarolo, who didn't look old at all—on the contrary, he appeared very energetic and full of spirit.
Sakurai Saki didn't have much connection with him, except for a few exchanges back when he was hired as a tutor. Other than that, there was almost nothing else.
Occasionally, this principal would also drop by the student council office and even bring along some snacks as gifts.
What surprised Sakurai Saki the most was that this old principal actually played Pokémon Go on campus—that augmented reality pet-catching game. All he could say was that the man had truly kept a childlike heart.
His granddaughter was a member of the board game club—the same club with Fujiwara Chika. That granddaughter was a third-year senpai, but it was said that she didn't have much prestige in the club.
"Today, June 22nd, the entire faculty and student body of Shuchiin, filled with joy and high spirits, welcomes the 63rd Annual Sports Festival…"
Filled with joy…
Sakurai Saki didn't feel joyful at all.
Right now, he was like a block of wood—neither happy nor sad—as if he had spent ten years in Buddhist ascetic practice.
Sakurai looked at the tiny speech script in the principal's hands, but his vigilance didn't drop. He knew all too well that the more powerful a school official was, the more long-winded their speech would be.
What was this? This was a performance to flaunt authority.
However, this time the speech wasn't too long either—today, each event had a fixed time slot.
Starting from 9:30, each grade would perform their routines in order.
From first-year to third-year, sequentially. At 10:30, the 100-meter dash would begin.
As for why Sakurai Saki felt so troubled—well, it had something to do with his mother.
————
9:45, the second-year students began their performance.
The content — the Soran Festival.
With choreography this simple, of course it was no challenge for Sakurai Saki. He was very confident in his body coordination.
But——
"Baby!! You're dancing so adorably!!" Jinguuji Tamaki cupped her hands like a megaphone and shouted out loud in support.
Mommy: ₍₍(∩˶˃ ꒳ ˂˶∩)⁾⁾♡
The parents were seated under the covered spectator area. The father of Student Council President Shirogane was also there, wearing sunglasses and enjoying his son's dance performance.
As soon as Sakurai Saki heard his mother's voice, he nearly tripped.
This was exactly why he didn't want to live with his mother, and also the reason he didn't initially study in Kyoto—when it came to things like this, his mother didn't feel embarrassed at all.
'Still salvageable.'
Sakurai Saki observed the gazes of the people around him. Aside from the usual admiring looks from the female students, there wasn't anything strange.
After all, that kind of "Baby" term is usually only used for girls, right?
(Note: nah, i don't think so.)
Although Sakurai Saki's name could be used for both boys and girls, he was definitely a boy. A normal person probably wouldn't think Jinguuji Tamaki was calling out to him.
Next to Sakurai Saki was Shirogane Miyuki, whose dance moves were quite solid—he had completely mastered the Soran Festival routine!
"Rokkusei!! Rokkusei!~ Soran~ Soran~" Shirogane Miyuki sang loudly along with the music.
Today, he was the champion!
"Well done!... Miyuki~" In the stands, an extremely unforgettable voice rang out. Shirogane Miyuki's father held a can of coffee, crossed one leg over the other, and gave a flat-toned cheer.
Shirogane Miyuki turned to stone.
Social death arrived in an instant.