Source
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n5544is/12/
“I’ll hand them out now!”
Himari, standing in front of the class as a member of the executive committee, directs her words to the class as a whole.
The reason is that there are some decisions that need to be made regarding the sports festival that is coming up at the end of June.
“Hoi! So, as you can see, the athletes for the relay and the big ball rolling? Students? I’d like to decide who will be the relay and who will be the student of the big ball roller!”
At times like this, the energetic HImari is willing to talk, which is very helpful for Aoto, who hasn’t been at the new school for very long.
“Relay …….”
The person who muttered this was Kakeru, who was so talented that he won first place in the prefectural tournament when he was an elementary school student.
At Kagetsu Academy, he is not part of the track and field club, but is part of another club, so he looks happy and says, ‘It’s been a long time since I’ve had a chance to play with my skills.’
“Haa …….”
On the other hand, Karin, who is not very good at sports, expressed her dislike for the looming gymnastic festival.
If she could, she wouldn’t want to participate, but it is the fate of high school students that things don’t work out that way.
“Then, let’s start with the inter-class relay! Five! Raise your hands if you can run!”
Himari’s cheerful voice rang out.
Then, just then, five boys raised their hands.
“…… hmmm, we only have boys, is that okay?”
“It’s fine, isn’t it?”
“Eh, really? If Aoto says it’s okay, then it’s okay!”
“No, I’m scared, ask the teacher just in case. I’m scared.”
Aoto blamed himself once in the conference room.
He would be in trouble if that happened again.
Perhaps sensing Aoto’s thoughts, Himari looked back at Ogawa-sensei for confirmation, a little hesitant.
“Kogawa-sensei, is it okay if it’s just boys?”
(TL/N: Kogawa for kowai ogawa, scary ogawa)
Himari”-chan, It’s Ogawa, right? it’s fine”
“Tehehe.”
Himari mistook her homeroom teacher’s name, and Ogawa-sensei corrected her.
The class laughed when they saw the two of them, and the atmosphere became bright and cheerful at once.
Many of the male students were smiling at Himari’s smiling face.
“It seems to be all right, so the five of you who have raised your hands can do it! Thanks!”
“We need to decide the order in which to run.”
“Hmmm, I guess so.”
Since it’s in front of her classmates, Himari gets a little angry at Aoto who doesn’t call her by name, but she continues to talk.
It can’t be helped, though, because if he call out the names of the three great beauties in front of all my classmates in a friendly manner, they’ll make a fuss about it again.
“Himari-chan!”
Despite Aoto’s intentions, a student called out Himari’s name in an imposing manner.
“Hnn, Kakeru-kun? What’s wrong?”
It’s Mamiya Kakeru.
Kakeru, who has a manly personality, doesn’t harbor unnecessary evil thoughts at times like this, or rather, since he’s only interested in Karin in the first place, he can call her by name confidently.
And since they are usually seated next to each other, Himari also responded in a familiar manner.
“The order of the relay? You’re going to decide it now, right?”
“That’s right!”
“Then, can I be the anchor? If the other four say yes, that is.”
Kakeru, one of the five, offered to be the anchor.
“Eh, Kakeru kun, are you a fast runner?”
“Well, I’m pretty sure I’m fast.”
“Wow! How fast?”
“Well, about as fast as everyone’s father?”
“Really?! Wow!”
Kakeru is not making a lot of sense, and for some reason, Himari is agreeing with him.
Koharu and Noa are staring at such an idiotic conversation between these two idiots as if they are not interested.
No, maybe they are just pissed off.
“Then, I think Kakeru-kun should be the anchor, but what about the other four? Is there any feelings?”
After her conversation with Kakeru, Himari shifted her gaze to the other four.
“Not! Not at all!”
“As you wish, Onodera-san!”
“Not at all!”
“Anything is fine!”
The four boys were so taken by Himari’s cuteness that they were willing to do anything she asked.
Of course, it is not because they do not want to be disliked, but because they want to make a good impression on Himari.
“Then, I’ll be the anchor, I guess!”
“Yeah! I’m looking forward to working with you~! Himari chan is also rooting for the other four!”
“Yes!”
The five of them, including Kakeru, took their seats with cheerful replies to Himari.
The fact that Himari-chan cheered for them made the rest of them very happy.
“So Kakeru kun is very fast,”
When the running order for the relay was decided, Karin murmured in a whisper.
Although he and Kakeru are good friends, he hasn’t been in school for two months, so he doesn’t know everything.
The next step is to pair up the big ball roller.
“Next, we’ll choose the pairs for the big ball roll!”
After finishing the relay running order smoothly, Himari moved on to the next topic.
“Well, this is a male-female pair of two! We will make five of them!”
[Pairs of two, male-female pairs.]
The moment they heard these words, the eyes of Noa and Koharu, who seemed to be uninterested, turned to Himari at once.
“…..”
Aoto’s heart is half astonished and half happy to see such persistence on the part of these two.
“Well, the relay was only for the boys,…… so let’s start with the girls this time! Raise your hand if you are a girl and want to do it! By the way, I’m not doing it!”
Himari, who knew that Koharu and Noa would raise their hands, declared that she would not raise her hand, as if to say, “I’ll give you a handicap.”
The other classmates wonder, “What’s the report?” but Noa and Koharu only think it’s “annoying.”
Nevertheless, Noa and Koharu, wanting to take advantage of the opportunity, raised their hands.
Karin quietly raised her hand as well, feeling a sense of duty to participate in one event or another, even if she didn’t want to.
“Fufuun…… Eh, Karin-chan too!?”
“A-are you calling her Karin-chan?”
Aoto called out to Himari, who was surprised that Karin, who hates sports, raised her hand voluntarily.
“Yes, it’s a miracle that Karin chan raises her hand!?”
“Are you so close to her that you call her ‘chan’? ….. well, you would call everyone like that”
“That’s because I’m Onodera Himari, and I’m good friends with everyone.”
“Well, that’s true. “
‘That’s surprising,’ he thought, but since he often see Himari talking to everyone, Aoto stopped mentioning it.
Once again, looking at the girls raising their hands, there were two other people raising their hands besides Koharu, Noa and Karin, making a total of exactly five people.
“The girls’ big ball rolling is decided, well, good luck!”
“That’s too blunt, isn’t it?”
The amount of enthusiasm of the cheering was clearly different from that of the boys.
It was in a bad way, too.
Unfortunately, they are showing signs of rift, but their classmates don’t notice.
“Then, I’ll choose the second boy! Raise your hand!”
When Himari raised her hand in a cheerful voice, the boys raised their hands.
Among them was Kakeru.
“He’s trying too hard!?”
“Wha..He’s so awesome”
The relay was a great success.
Himari and Aoto let out surprised voices at his ability.
Seeing the two of them, Kakeru opened his mouth.
“The man has a reason why he has to do it …..”
“Hmm, are you going to start a Western movie?”
“Eh, Kakeru kun are you freaking out?”
“I’m not crazy, and I’m not going to start a foreign movie!”
The two were surprised again when Kakeru suddenly said something like an actor in a foreign movie.
Of course, the reason Kakeru is working so hard is because “Karin” ran for the race.
Like the girls, the boys seemed to be going well, but it was not to be.
The girls were lucky because they had exactly five people, but the boys – only four people had raised their hands.
One more person was missing.
Noa, who couldn’t bear to see the boys in such a state, opened her mouth.
“Can I talk to you for a minute? Himari.”
“Yess, wait Noa huh. What is it?”
“Let Aoto next to you do it, there’s only one left.”
“Eh? Aoto?”
“Yes. That’s what I said.”
“Eeh, it’s not like I haven’t heard it, but it’s unusual for Noa to say something like that!”
Kisaragi Noa basically never gets involved with boys on her own.
Partly because of her own personality, but also because she is genuinely uninterested in other boys.
However, she is a kind girl at heart, and if spoken to, she usually responds and does not avoid them in a strange way.
Normally, Noa is a bit of a sass, giving off an unapproachable vibe.
But if you talk to her, she is usually very kind to you, and the boys are in love with her.
“Aoto has only been at the new school for a little while, right? Then why don’t you let him do it?
“Eh, but it’s our first gymnastics festival, too.”
“……Well, that’s true, but he doesn’t even have any friends, you know? So let him do it! ”
As usual, Noa uses “no friends” to hide her embarrassment.
‘That stings,’ Aoto thought, but since it was true, he kept it to himself.
“Well, that’s fine, but Aoto…”
“I think Noa is right too.”
Koharu, who is also one of the three beauties, stops Himari from trying to argue with Noa again.
“K-Koharu?”
“For Aoto-kun’s sake, I think it’s fine that one more person is Aoto-kun. Friends are essential to high school life. Or rather, Himari won’t be participating in the big ball rolling, so I guess you don’t have to worry about the small details.”
“If you say it like that, Himari-chan is sad. But…well, that’s just the way it is.”
Koharu and Himari show signs of their rift, and the atmosphere becomes a little tense.
I mean
—Um, Koharu-san? Aren’t you saying the same thing as Noa in a roundabout way? It stings…
Aoto mutters in his mind.
And Koharu, out of monopolistic desire, makes a characteristically bad comment.
The classmates, who usually only know them as good friends, are a little surprised at the slightly sour atmosphere between Koharu and Himari.
However, because of her perfect personality, her classmates only think of her as a “kind girl who thinks of the transfer student”.
Of course, if the transfer student were not Aoto, Koharu would not be doing this.
“Himari, is that okay?”
“Nn…… if it’s okay with Aoto, that’s fine, but……”
“I see, I’m glad to hear that.”
“Hmph. Well, you should run as a candidate from the beginning.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. ……”
Himari is being persuaded by Koharu, and Aoto is being scolded by Noa for some reason.
‘Be honest…’, Aoto whispers in his heart, but if he says that to Noa, he will be erased from existence, so he doesn’t say it.
Aoto’s repeated “preferential treatment” from the “three most beautiful women” causes some to look at him with envy.
“So Aoto. You good?”
“Well, yes. Yes, I’m good.”
Aoto shook his head, because he had no reason to reject the offer, although he was concerned about the envious stares.
Once the participants are decided, there is only one thing left to do.
It is no exaggeration to say that for Koharu and Noa, this is the most important part of the event.
“Now that the participants have been decided, we’ll decide on the pairs!”
Himari’s voice is cheerful, as if to blow away the bad atmosphere that has just prevailed.
“Then, you can gather and talk about it with those who have been decided!”
Of all people, Himari made a proposal that could have caused the situation to turn sour once again.
But that was also on purpose.
“It’s just right.”
“That was my intention.”
However, contrary to Himari’s thoughts, Koharu and Noa are burning with fighting spirit.
Five boys, including Kakeru and Aoto. Then, a total of ten, five girls including Koharu, Noa, and Karin, moved to an empty space to decide on pairs.
“How do you decide?”
“Hmmm.”
It is a classmate who takes the lead in speaking.
However, he seems to be in a bit of a pickle.
It seems unethical to choose who is best, and yet they can’t think of any other way to go about it.
Seeing these classmates, Noa offered a helping hand.
“How about a lottery? Maybe we draw men and women separately, and the people with the same number get paired up.”
Noa’s kindness at times like this makes her well-liked by the girls, even if she does have a bit of a twang to her personality.
“Oh, that’s a good idea. Thank you, Noa-chan.”
“It’s totally fine. I’m also grateful to everyone for considering it.”
With a gentle smile on her face, Noa thanked her classmates for their kindness.
At that time, another classmate spoke a horizontal spear.
“You don’t have to do anything so troublesome, just Rock paper…”
“If Noa has made up her mind, let’s just go with it, shall we? I think rock-paper-scissors would be fine, but I think I’ll stick with the lottery. But I’m glad you came up with the idea.”
Koharu verbally restrains him from saying “rock-paper-scissors.””
Koharu and Noa have bitter memories of playing it with Himari.
If Koharu loses to Noa or Noa loses to Koharu in a game of rock-paper-scissors-scissors, then Koharu would be the lowest ranked of the three in the “rock-paper-scissors” category.
Because they absolutely wanted to avoid such a situation, Noa also requested a “lottery” at the time of proposing the idea. Pride is a scary thing.
Aoto thought to himself, “Do you have the pride to protect Noa?”
“Yes, that’s right. If Yozakura-san says so, then let’s go with that!”
The classmates who wanted to make a good impression on Koharu agreed to do as they were told.
Koharu also turned a gentle smile to the student and said, “Ffufu, thank you very much.”
“Karin wants to be paired with and Kakeru-kun.”
“That’s unexpected.”
“Eh, really?”
Suddenly, standing beside Aoto, Karin muttered something like that.
“Yeah…well, that’s what I can say.”
“I am normally good friends with Kakeru-kun, You know? Karin.”
“Yeah, sorry about that.”
“Noa and Koharu, they seem to want to be paired with Aoto.”
“I’m sure that’s not true.”
“Karin’s intuition” is brilliant today as well.
He wondered if they were such good friends that they called each other by their first names, ‘Noa’ and ‘Koharu,’ but Karin’s instincts would become clear again if he asked them something rude, so he decided against it.
Thus, the battle between Noa and Koharu begins.
The battle for Aoto’s pair, a battle they absolutely cannot lose–.
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