Friday, sunny weather.
Despite the soccer club's spectacular victory, Shirase's daily life remained completely unaffected. At school, he still spent all his time either reading or doing exercises, entirely immune to outside distractions.
The same went for Hayama Hayato, though on Thursday two girls mustered up the courage to confess to him—only to be gently but firmly rejected.
Naturally, Hayama rejected them with his usual warm politeness, making every effort to soften the blow.
But as Hayama Hayato was a top-tier popular student—and a star player in the soccer club to boot—news about him spread throughout the school like wildfire.
Within just one day, Shirase had already overheard countless conversations about this.
It made him feel grateful for his own cold, detached persona at school. Even if many girls secretly harbored feelings for him, as long as he kept up his intimidating façade, they would rarely dare to confess openly.
Still, adolescent girls were naturally lively and curious. The more he pretended to be aloof, the more determined some girls became to uncover his real personality.
The big victory in the friendly match had significant impacts elsewhere. For example, the soccer club rookies—who'd previously been invisible nobodies—now enjoyed newfound popularity after their performance in Wednesday's game.
Kojima Kana and Kirisu Mafuyu, who had vouched for the soccer club, were also delighted. The principal himself had watched the match, and Shirase's and Hayama's outstanding performances had left a deep impression. At the very least, the club wouldn't be ignored anymore.
After school, Shirase originally intended to head straight home, perhaps asking Kojima Kana how the cockroach problem was going.
Today, since there were no club activities, he remembered Kana mentioning last week that Kirisu-sensei's apartment had a roach infestation.
He and Kana had spent two days researching insecticides, recommending some to Kirisu-sensei. Afterward, neither had mentioned cleaning the apartment again, so the issue might already have been resolved.
Just as Shirase stepped onto the sports field, he ran into a soccer club teammate. The teammate told him the captain wanted Shirase to come to the clubroom immediately, and if possible, to bring Isshiki Iroha along.
"Did the captain suddenly schedule extra training?" Shirase asked.
"Probably. Kirisu-sensei just stopped by earlier. I was chatting outside with friends and didn't hear clearly what they talked about. But right after they finished, the captain urgently told us to call back all the members. Hayama already replied, saying he'll be back within ten minutes."
"Got it. Then I'll go find Isshiki-san."
Shirase agreed. If Kirisu Mafuyu personally visited the soccer club, combined with the captain's urgency, it must be something important.
Shirase soon arrived outside Class 1-C's classroom. Confirming Isshiki Iroha was still inside, he stopped a girl who had just exited and asked her to help call Iroha.
...
Inside the classroom, Isshiki was completely unaware, still scribbling busily at her desk.
Although classes had ended, she was still finishing up data entry. While her original reason for joining the soccer club had been somewhat impure, now that she truly was its manager, she certainly wouldn't slack off on her responsibilities.
"Isshiki, someone's here for you!" A girl ran into the room excitedly, looking both curious and slightly envious.
"Who's looking for me?" Isshiki didn't raise her head, wanting to quickly finish the last line of data.
"It's Shirase-kun~!" The girl leaned closer, half-curious and half-jealous. "Are you friends with Shirase-kun? Otherwise, why would he personally come to our class looking for you?"
Shirase?
Isshiki paused momentarily, instantly guessing this had to be soccer-related.
But aloud, she giggled sweetly, "Eh-heh, you found me out~ Actually, Shirase-kun and I are already friends! And I even have his LINE ID."
"Seriously? Ugh, do you have any idea how many girls in this school desperately want his contact info? Is this the legendary 'closest flower to the pavilion gets plucked first'?"
"I don't really know~ But honestly, Shirase-kun and I aren't that close. At most, we sometimes chat privately during soccer club meetings."
"Eh??" Several girls nearby who'd been preparing to go home immediately perked up.
"Chat privately? Doesn't that mean your relationship is super intimate?"
"Yeah, ordinary classmates don't have private conversations, right? Plus, Shirase-kun's notoriously cold."
"So jealous..."
Listening to her classmates' jealous sighs, Isshiki maintained an innocent, humble tone. "No, no, it's not that amazing~ I told you, we only occasionally talk like that. Anyway, I should hurry out—can't keep Shirase-kun waiting too long."
Under the passionate gazes of her classmates, Isshiki trotted lightly out of the classroom.
As soon as she saw Shirase standing in the hallway, she flashed him an adorable smile. "Yo, Shirase~!"
Shirase looked back expressionlessly. "Did you pick up those tea-spilling skills from Instagram?"
"Eh?" Isshiki innocently fluttered her eyes, feigning ignorance. "Did you need something? I was just finishing data entry, you know?"
As she spoke, she subtly winked, hoping he'd play along.
Shirase glanced sideways at the girls inside the classroom secretly watching, then nodded slightly. "I actually do have something. Follow me."
"Okay~!"
Isshiki sighed with relief, instantly reverting to her cute demeanor.
Inside the classroom, a wave of heavy sighs rippled among the girls.
"So Isshiki wasn't lying… Shirase-kun is everyone's idol. How could she monopolize him?"
"Well, Hayama-kun's pretty handsome too, right?"
"Isn't there that blonde bitch always hanging around Hayama-kun? Last time I greeted him, that Miura girl immediately shot me a seriously dangerous glare."
"For real?"
...
A chorus of teenage girls' disgruntled chatter filled the classroom. Meanwhile, Isshiki followed beside Shirase, giggling softly. "Thanks for cooperating back there~"
"It's nothing." Shirase wasn't surprised. Young girls were always a little vain at this age. Besides, Isshiki Iroha had been working hard as the club manager. Playing along to let her show off this once wasn't a big deal.
Seeing Shirase didn't mind, Isshiki's smile became even brighter. "So, where are we heading now?"
"The clubroom," Shirase answered succinctly.
"Huh? Isn't there no club meeting today? The captain even said yesterday we could leave early."
"You'll find out when we get there."
"Aww, Shirase-kun, acting all cold again~"
"I told you, it's not being cold."
"Yes, yes, it's totally not~" Isshiki puffed her cheeks, playfully mimicking his flat tone.