Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16817330665542028014/episodes/16818093073609446848
I, Hanazono Kanna, was looking at the seat of my childhood friend who was supposed to be there but no one was sitting there.
It had been a few days since my article had gone up in flames in some circles for a trivial comment. The gazes of my classmates and others directed at me in the school are not very pleasant, even though I deserved it.
“Jinpei kun,…..where are you?”
I whisper so that no one hears me. I was happy that Jinpei kun called me when I was depressed, but he also said that I should leave it to him.
But after that exchange, Jinpei kun stopped contacting me. When I went to his house, there was no light on or even a sign that anyone was there. I asked Asakura san and Sasatsuki san, who seemed to know what was going on, but they said that I should trust Jinpei kun.
[As long as you trust Itsuki, you’ll be fine.]
But they did not tell me anything more than that.
Moreover, since the alliance was formed, the two of them who had been frequenting Jinpei kun’s house every day stopped showing up. Thanks to them, I had to spend my days alone in a house without the owner.
“What on earth are you up to, Jinpei kun?”
But in the end. Jinpei kun did not come to school at the beginning of the school day. After the morning assembly, I asked Misuta sensei about it, but she just smiled at me and said, [I think Itsuki will be back today.] I thought it was too much for a homeroom teacher.
The only thing I could find out was that Jinpei kun was away from home somewhere. I don’t think he is skipping school to go on a short trip, and the mystery only deepens.
Jinpei kun seemed oblivious to my worries and anxieties, and did not show up even after lunch time, which quickly turned into after-school hours.
Normally, the meeting would have been dismissed, but Misuta sensei asked the class president to hold a meeting to discuss the bazaar that was to be held this weekend.
[Isn’t there anything to discuss now?]
[It was unanimously decided to bring in unused items, wasn’t it? I mean, there’s no other choice now.]
[Well, thanks to someone else’s disruption of the class circle.]
With a buzz, grumbling, complaining, and even sarcasm erupted from the classroom. I want to close my eyes and cover my ears, but then I notice that Asakura san and Sasatsuki san are looking at me. And they both said at the same time with their mouths agape.
[ [Sorry to have kept you waiting.] ]
I was about to ask aloud, [What do you mean?] then the classroom door rattled open.
“Sorry, Class prez ! I’m late !”
It was none other than Jinpei kun who entered the classroom saying so. As he said, he must have been in a great hurry, for he was breathing on his shoulders, which was unusual for him. But what bothered me more than that was the cardboard he was holding in both hands. When he placed it on the podium, a loud thud sounded.
What in the world was in that cardboard box? To answer this question, Jinpei kun opened the cardboard and pulled out a white horn necklace about the size of his finger.
“What is it, Itsuki kun?”
The class president asked on behalf of the class, who was closest to Jinpei kun.
“It’s a pendant made of deer antlers. How about making one of these and selling it at the bazaar?”
[ [ [—Eh?????] ] ]
I think this is probably the first time this class has come together in one breath. But except for a very few people–Asakura san, Sasatsuki san, and Misuta sensei. Jinpei kun began to explain to us who were generating a lot of question marks on our heads.
“My family lives in the countryside and there are mountains nearby. There are wild deer living there, and they shed their antlers every spring.”
When I was a child, I had several times eaten wild dishes such as deer and wild boar that Jinpei kun’s grandfather had hunted in the mountains. But I didn’t know that the antlers came off.
“During the fall mating season, the male deer fight over the female deer, and the male deer fight each other over the antlers. In the spring, when the breeding season is over, the antlers fall off.”
Jinpei kun said that these antlers are generally called [fallen antlers] and that they are also used as a good luck charm to bring good fortune and ward off evil.
“My grandpa has always loved to collect these antlers. He collects them every year.”
“Is it possible that they are in a cardboard box?”
“You’re very perceptive, Class prez. That’s right. I have cut and shaped the antlers to be used as ornaments.”
Jinpei kun smiles as he says so. So the reason he was absent from school for the past few days, and even more so from home, was to go home to his hometown to prepare for this.
“If it is a handmade deer accessory, which is rare in the city, it has a much better chance of selling than if people bring their own unused items. And if it is a one-of-a-kind item, with no two pieces alike in shape or pattern, don’t you think it would be even better?”
“If such items were sold at the annual bazaar, they would be the talk of the town. It will surely sell like hotcakes, including the added value.”
While everyone was in an uproar, Wada kun took the initiative and agreed to Jinpei kun’s proposal. This triggered a gradual change in the atmosphere.
“But time is still an issue, isn’t it?”
“Yeah……in the past few days I have only been able to process the horns, and the important accessories have not been completed at all.”
Easier said than done. Making accessories is difficult if you don’t have experience in the first place. It becomes even more difficult if the material is not beads but deer antlers.
“—So, from here on out, we need everyone’s cooperation and Kanna’s power.”
“My power, you say?”
I was confused when my name was suddenly called. At the same time, the eyes of my classmates suddenly focused on me. However, Jinpei kun continued speaking with a serious expression on his face, as if he had been waiting for this situation.
“Although the items are different, Kanna makes earrings at her own company, so she knows how to make them, right? If we continue to work with Kanna as the center, we should have enough in stock by next week’s performance. It should be possible.”
“That’s true, but……”
The classroom was once again in an uproar at Jinpei kun’s explanation. I don’t think everyone will cooperate in a situation where my favorability or trust in me is not only zero, but negative. In fact, I could hear small voices saying things like [You’ve got to be kidding me] and [It’s not possible].
“In the first place, everyone is concerned about Kanna’s comment that [bazaars are for fun] but that’s not what she really meant. She just didn’t say it properly.”
“What did Hanazono san wanna say then?”
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