Vol. 1 Chapter 29 – Only You

The first school day after mid-term exams ended and the weekend passed.

Under the sunlight that made one feel the gradual approach of summer, I was slacking off completely.

It was the middle of third period, during PE class—the most painful time for gloomy types, both mentally and physically.

Perhaps as a consideration from the PE teacher after the exams, we were playing soccer.

“My ball!”
“My ball, my ball!!”
“My baaall!!!”

Where I looked, classmates in gym clothes were kicking a black and white patterned ball around.

The PE teacher probably chose a ball game to let the students relax, but for someone like me who’s bad at sports, it was hardly a pleasant time.

The only saving grace was that participation wasn’t mandatory, and ball retrieving—which was tacitly understood to mean spectating—was permitted.

“Why do the soccer club guys get so fired up during soccer in class?” (Yuuma)
“Isn’t it obvious? To show off to the girls. Ninety percent of guys who play soccer do it to be popular.” (Hayato)

Beside me, Yuuma and Hayato were muttering complaints smeared with jealousy and prejudice.

PE classes were held jointly with other classes, so the two, who were usually in different classes, were together now.

The three of us leaned against the ball-stopping net, lazily watching the fired-up soccer club members.

“The girls are playing tennis, huh… Wish they’d let me mix in over there…” (Hayato)

Following Hayato’s gaze, I turned to see the girls playing tennis.

On the six courts, they were swinging rackets amidst loud squeals.

Among them, naturally, was Asahi-san, also in her gym clothes.

Was she asked by the teacher to be an instructor, or was she doing it voluntarily?

I couldn’t tell which, but she was teaching other girls how to grip the racket, how to swing, and so on.

Even though it wasn’t practice for herself, she looked like she was having a lot of fun.

Just watching her conveyed how much she truly loved tennis.

“Ho ho, my good sir… Asahi Hikaru, you have quite the discerning eye…” (Hayato)
“Wh-What are you talking about…” (Reiya)

I flinched at Hayato’s words, as if he had noticed my gaze.

“You were staring just now, weren’t you? Well, I get how you feel. But give it up. You’re seriously outmatched. To put it in easy game terms, it’s like a hero with starting equipment challenging the Demon King.” (Hayato)
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but comparing me to a hero is quite the overestimation.” (Reiya)

My self-assessment had been ‘Giant Slug’, so this was a huge promotion.

“Anyway, Asahi Hikaru is just impossible. If you’re gonna aim for someone, at least pick another girl. Our year group has a reputation for having a pretty high level anyway.” (Hayato)
“I told you, that’s not why I was looking—” (Reiya)
“First and foremost, there’s the head of the A-list girls, Sakuramiya Kyo. She’s got a harsh personality and blatantly looks down on third-string guys like us, and her gyaru style is selective, but looks-wise alone, she can hold her own against Asahi Hikaru. There are rumors she changes boyfriends frequently, but apparently, a lot of guys like that about her.” (Hayato)

Hayato rattled on, looking at Sakuramiya-san, who was chatting with her entourage by the side of the tennis court, not participating in class.

Having heard her badmouth Hino-san right in front of me before, honestly, she wasn’t my type.

“Can’t forget the assassin from Kansai, Ogata Akane, either. Her sense of closeness is even greater than Asahi Hikaru’s, and her thick Kansai dialect is irresistible to dialect girl lovers, making her quite popular among a certain group.” (Hayato)

Next, he shifted his gaze towards the petite girl currently being taught how to grip the racket by Asahi-san—Ogata-san—and continued.

She was in a different class, so I wasn’t familiar with her, but apparently, she was friendly with Asahi-san and Hino-san too.

“Then there’s Fujimoto Haruna from the track club, Takasaki Chisato with the best ‘selfish body’ in our year… and also—” (Hayato)

After that, though unasked, he continued to extract information about the girls from his prized database.

“…And that’s about it. Listing them again really makes you realize, the level of girls in our year is seriously high.” (Hayato)
“What about Hino-san?” (Yuuma)

Just after Hayato finished speaking, sounding satisfied, Yuuma posed a short question.

“H-Hino…? What about her…?” (Hayato)

Caught off guard by something, Hayato started flustering just like I had moments ago.

“Isn’t it weird to leave Hino-san out of that lineup?” (Yuuma)
“Not really… It’s not weird…” (Hayato)
“No, no, she’s just overshadowed by Asahi-san, but Hino-san is quite beautiful too, right? In fact, even I hear talk about lots of guys harboring a desire to be scolded by Hino-san, so there’s no way you don’t know, Hayato-kun.” (Yuuma)
“R-Really…? Her being beautiful… I don’t really think so—” (Hayato)
“Maybe you left her out on purpose?” (Yuuma)

Further attacks were launched against the inexplicably flustered Hayato.

It was true that Hino-san was a bit scary, but she definitely fell into the category of quite beautiful.

It was strange for Hayato, who boasted about checking out all the girls in the year, to omit her from the list.

“…Come to think of it, you went to the same elementary school as Hino-san, didn’t you?” (Reiya)
“S-So what…? Elementary school, how many years ago was that…?” (Hayato)

He grew even more flustered.

Suspicious. Very suspicious.

There was definitely something going on here. As Yuuma and I directed suspicious gazes at him—

“Hey, you three over there! Can you take that leveling tool over there to the PE equipment storage shed!?”

Nakayama-sensei, the PE teacher who was refereeing, called out to us.

“H-He said! Let’s decide who takes it with rock-paper-scissors!” (Hayato)

Seizing the timely rescue, Hayato tried to cut the conversation short.

“Tch… Lucky guy…” (Yuuma)
“We’ll hear the rest thoroughly next time.” (Reiya)
“There’s nothing more to tell, seriously… Okay, here we go. Rock, paper… scissors—” (Hayato)

＊＊＊＊＊

“Damn it… Should’ve chosen paper…” (Reiya)

Carrying two unusually large and hard-to-hold leveling tools, I passed through the door of the PE equipment storage shed.

Perhaps because it was usually kept closed, the inside was slightly dusty.

Wanting to put them away quickly and leave, I headed towards the back and placed them so they wouldn’t fall over.

Quest complete.

Just as I turned on my heel to leave quickly, I noticed someone standing blocking the entrance.

It was slightly hard to see due to the backlight, but I strained my eyes to confirm their identity.

A slender, well-proportioned body visible even through the tracksuit, and sharp eyes behind glasses.

I immediately recognized her as Hino Ayaka.

I thought maybe she had also been asked by the teacher to do something, but she wasn’t holding anything.

While finding her just staring at me suspicious, I tried to pass by her side—

Bang… Placing a hand on the door, she blocked my path.

“I-Is something wrong…?” (Reiya)
“I need to talk to you for a bit.” (Ayaka)

Flames burning fiercely in her pupils, she began.

“T-Talk about what…?” (Reiya)

Perhaps because I had somewhat expected this, I responded more calmly than before.

Well, I was still a little scared, though…

“About Hikaru. During practice on Saturday, she got into a fight with Mitsuki-san… her mother… and stormed out… Did you know?” (Ayaka)
“Eh? Ah, ahh… Yeah, Taiju-san contacted me too, so I know, but…” (Reiya)

Obviously, I couldn’t possibly say that she had stormed out and come to my room, and then spent the night there.

So I answered by mixing truth and falsehood.

Hino-san didn’t respond immediately to my reply, instead directing a probing gaze at me from behind her glasses.

“S-So, what about it…?” (Reiya)
“Don’t you want to do something about it? Honestly, I can’t bear to see Hikaru like that anymore.” (Ayaka)
“Do something…? Well, it’s not that I don’t think about it, but… If it’s a matter of her own feelings, there’s nothing someone like me can do—” (Reiya)
“Actually, it’s the opposite.” (Ayaka)

Hino-san denied my words conclusively.

“O-Opposite…?” (Reiya)
“This is probably… a problem that only you can do something about, I think.” (Ayaka)

And then, she proceeded to assign me a role far too heavy for me to bear.