In early July, the dry, hot air blew into his nostrils with the wind, causing his whole body to start heating up.
Besides that, there was the sound of cicadas.
Living underground for five years, only to come out and annoy people in the summer—why did these creatures even exist? What was the meaning of their existence?
Sakurai Saki pondered this question as he cycled uphill. In the end, he still hadn't figured it out by the time he reached the school gate.
Today wasn't Miko's turn for duty, so Sakurai didn't linger. After parking his bike at the bicycle shed, Sakurai Saki took his self-reflection essays to the office. Subsequently, after being lectured by the teacher with earnest advice, Sakurai Saki returned to the classroom.
As soon as he entered the classroom, everyone started to jeer.
"Sakurai General Affairs, amazing!"
"Did Hayasaka-san accept him?"
"...Hayasaka-san—!! I love you the most! The most!" Toyosaki Saburo, sitting in the front row, yelled at the top of his lungs, mimicking in a way that didn't sound like it at all.
The class burst into laughter—his imitation was too fake.
Sakurai sighed helplessly. These people were still too idle.
He glanced at Hayasaka Ai and noticed that she was uncharacteristically shy. She probably recalled the Sports Festival a week ago, and his public confession, which had indeed been a bit silly.
He walked over to her and put down his bag.
"Now I'm famous. Are you happy?" Hayasaka Ai said, blushing and feeling depressed.
Though she loved romantic scenes, and Sakurai Saki's words so much she wished she could record them and listen to them thousands of times, this past week she had been subjected to the scrutiny of the entire class, and even the entire school. Some even directly asked her—"Ai-chan, did you accept Sakurai General Affairs's confession?" Hayasaka Ai didn't dare to answer that question, fearing she would only add fuel to the fire. However, not answering was no different from answering. Now the entire school assumed she and Sakurai Saki were dating.
It turns out the person who can most hinder my work isn't the mysterious F (Fujiwara Chika), but Sakura-chan!
Chika at most would suddenly appear when she was gathering information, but Sakurai Saki was different—his stunt directly cut off Hayasaka Ai's possibility of remaining hidden. If before, Hayasaka Ai's stealth skill points were one hundred, now Sakurai Saki had manually applied a debuff, and it couldn't be removed.
Famous, yay (monotone).
"It's not a bad thing." Sakurai's voice was soft. "At least we can openly go out to eat together."
He leaned in, lowering his voice to a very low decibel so only she could hear. "After school, you can also bring Shinomiya-san, and we can all go out and have fun together."
"It's better if it's just the two of us." Hayasaka Ai refused. She didn't want to bring a third wheel on a date.
However, speaking of dates, Hayasaka Ai suddenly remembered something—Tanabata.
Tanabata in Japan was not celebrated on the lunar calendar, but on July 7th of the Gregorian calendar. The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl had to rush to two different sets: meeting once in China, and then again in Japan. The magpies were quite pitiful—they had to be stepped on twice a year.
It's almost Tanabata.
At the Shinomiya estate, not many people came for Tanabata. Last year's Tanabata, Hayasaka Ai had spent with Kaguya Shinomiya. The two had hung wish notes on bamboo branches, and then had dinner as usual. This year, it seemed they could invite more people, such as a few members of the Student Council. It would be nice as a family gathering.
She could discuss it with Kaguya-san in the evening.
...Wait.
Hayasaka Ai suddenly realized that just now, she had been fantasizing about showing affection with Sakurai Saki in front of Kaguya-san—completely forgetting that she was still hiding her identity as Hayasaka-kun from Sakurai Saki.
Moreover, as for Fujiwara Secretary, Hayasaka Ai had brushed her off as Hayasaka-kun last time. This time, Sakurai Saki knew her maid identity, but the other Student Council members did not, so Hayasaka Ai couldn't use her maid form. She had to disguise her identity again, and couldn't let Sakurai discover anything unusual.
...Forget it. Let's just skip Tanabata. It's just a minor festival. Besides, what was the point of wishing upon the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl? If they could truly grant everyone's wishes, they wouldn't only meet once a year.
After school, Sakurai Saki went to the Student Council Room.
"Good afternoon, Shirogane."
"Oh, it's Sakurai. Good afternoon." Shirogane Miyuki sat in the president's chair, looking at documents without raising his head.
Sakurai didn't disturb him. Instead, he looked at Kaguya Shinomiya beside him.
"Kaguya-san, what are you doing?"
In front of him, Kaguya Shinomiya was writing something on a sticky note.
"It's a Tanabata wish. Sakurai-kun, don't you even know this?" She looked at Sakurai with an expression that said he was an idiot.
"Tanabata is in four days. You're already writing wishes now?" Sakurai sat in front of her. "Just to ask, Kaguya-san, do you think Santa Claus exists?"
Kaguya didn't answer, just continued to look at him with a disdainful expression.
Tsk, what an annoying expression. I really want to punch her.
"...Tsk tsk. You don't believe in Santa Claus, yet you believe in the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl." Sakurai Saki picked up his usual teacup and poured himself a cup of red tea that Kaguya had brewed. "So, these days, faith also depends on nationality."
Japanese people don't believe in foreign gods, hey. How authentic. How particular.
"Tanabata is a traditional Japanese festival, and Christmas is a foreign one," Kaguya explained calmly.
"So last year, Kaguya-san, you gave up Christmas to participate in the archery competition?" Sakurai held his teacup and took a sip.
Probably not... If Kaguya Shinomiya had someone she liked, or a boyfriend, Christmas would likely have a much higher priority than an archery competition.
"I was the national champion in the individual competition last year." Kaguya Shinomiya didn't stop writing.
Archery—anyone could do it. Stance, body alignment, nocking, raising, drawing, focusing, releasing, zanshin—the eight stages of shooting, she had long mastered them, able to hit the target with her eyes closed. It wasn't an exaggeration to say anyone could do it.
If Sakurai General Affairs ever betrayed Hayasaka Ai, Kaguya-san wouldn't even need a handgun—one arrow would be enough to send Sakurai Saki to hell.
"Tanabata," Sakurai Saki murmured.
He kind of wanted to spend it with Hayasaka. Chika would also be fine.
"What? Sakurai General Affairs, you want to celebrate Tanabata too?" Kaguya Shinomiya asked. "From what you just said, I thought you didn't want to."
"I want to spend it with my girlfriend," Sakurai Saki replied.
Kaguya Shinomiya stopped writing at his words. In her mind, fragments of last year's Tanabata flashed—a Tanabata with just Hayasaka Ai. Though not lonely, it was still somewhat quiet.
After thinking for a while, she said, "This year's Tanabata, do you want to come to my house to celebrate?" As if she felt her words might be ambiguous, Kaguya-san added, "Of course, it's with everyone from the Student Council. Kei can come too."
"Sounds pretty good," Shirogane Miyuki interjected. On Tanabata, his father wouldn't be back, leaving only him and Kei at home.
Sakurai didn't object either.
In the hallway, Hayasaka Ai, who was chatting with friends, suddenly felt a chill down her spine.
What's going on?
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