Chapter 22: How to spend your free time after school

“Aaah, school’s over already. This sucks…”

It was right after the chime rang, and Mikoto Hikari, slumped over her desk by the window, muttered in obvious dismay.

“Another summons today?”

“Yeah… this is the seventh one this week already…”

When I asked from the seat in front, Hikari sighed while staring out the window. Her already petite frame looked even smaller than usual.

…So, it's been a week since Hikari transferred in. But if you’re wondering whether her plan—to use me as a decoy—actually worked, well… I’d have to say no.

Because some of the guys in our class didn’t give a damn about that and just went ahead with their approaches anyway.

Almost every morning, when she opens her shoe locker, there’s a letter waiting inside. Always the same thing: “Meet me somewhere quiet after school.”

It’s pretty obvious what they’re after—no need to overthink it. Still, Hikari dutifully goes to each of these meetups just to return the letters.

“…It’s test week right after summer break, and this is what they choose to do?! How inconsiderate can you get!”

With that, she suddenly shot upright and slammed her hands on the desk.

I mean, really—who confesses during exam week? It’s likely just a nuisance for the other person, and if they get rejected, they’d probably be too devastated to focus on studying.

Given all that, her frustration was more than understandable.

“Hmm!? Did someone call my name just now, dear Ardigan-san?!”

Suddenly, someone barged in between us.

It was Gōenji. For some reason, he was standing there all proud, flashing his white teeth with a cocky grin, and letting out an audibly smug “Fufufu.”

“Ugh, it’s him again.”

“What the hell, that’s harsh.”

But the moment Hikari responded, his confidence deflated, and he slumped like a broken doll.

…Yeah. Gōenji was one of those inconsiderate guys she was talking about.

The very morning after she transferred in—right before a test, no less—he confessed his feelings in front of everyone without the slightest hesitation.

“Uh, no.”

“Damn, that’s cold.”

She cut him down with a single, clean strike.

Since then, Gōenji has taken every opportunity to show up dramatically, only to be swiftly rejected each time. Oddly enough, he seems to enjoy it, bouncing back almost immediately.

Ignoring the all-too-familiar spectacle, I turned back to Hikari and asked,

“…If it bothers you that much, why not just ignore the letters? It’s not like you promised them anything. You’re not obligated to go.”

According to her, most of the guys who’ve been sending letters have this flashy, shallow vibe to them. Like: “If even that guy’s dating her, maybe I’ve got a shot too,” and so on. She can practically see their opportunistic thoughts oozing off them.

Honestly, I had a good idea of which guys she meant. That’s why I figured it’d be best if she just avoided them altogether—but Hikari shook her head.

Her silver hair swayed softly as she did.

“Hmm, I just don’t want to do that. I mean, there might be someone out there who genuinely wants to express their feelings, right? Even if I know I’m going to turn them down, I think it’s still important to face that kind of emotion sincerely.”

For the same reason, she won’t let me tag along to those meetings either.

“…When I look at Gōenji, though, it’s hard to believe people are thinking that deeply about it.”

Just then, the aforementioned Gōenji suddenly revived, puffing out his chest again as he made a bold declaration.

“Hey, I did put thought into it, you know? But I figured, if my best friend’s dating her, there’s no point in staying silent and bottling it up. Better to just get it off my chest early and move on!”

It was a bit self-centered, to be honest… but surprisingly, Hikari seemed to sympathize. She folded her arms and nodded along, going “mm, mm” thoughtfully.

“Anyway, it’s way more annoying when people just stew in their feelings and let them build up. That kind of thing always ends in a mess.”

…Is that really how it works?

I didn’t get it at all, so I kept quiet.

“If you ask me,” Gōenji continued, “you two don’t act couple-y enough. You only met a month ago, yet you already come off like siblings who’ve known each other for years. I mean, look at me—I waltz right in here and Nitta doesn’t even flinch. No jealousy, nothing!”

“Well, that’s because Hikari and I are—ow!!”

I was about to blurt it out, but then I felt a sharp jab to my side. Hikari had elbowed me hard, her face unreadable.

The culprit, needless to say, was Hikari.

She had sneakily reached out from beneath the desk, out of sight from the rest of the class, and jabbed me in the side.

“W-What’s wrong, Nitta-kun!? If you’re feeling sick, I’ll walk you to the nurse’s office!”

“N-No, it’s nothing… I’m fine.”

As we continued to fuss like that, yet another new participant entered the scene.

“Sorry to interrupt. Yousuke-kun, do you have a minute? I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Hm? Koshimizu? What’s up?”

Caught off guard, I tilted my head in surprise.

We’d bumped into each other twice over summer break, but that was all. We hadn’t exchanged a single word since the new term began.

To begin with, she’s the honor student type, and I’m the delinquent type—there’s never been much reason for us to interact.

“To get straight to the point: I’m here to recruit you for a club. …Your leg injury’s healed, hasn’t it? If so, I was hoping you’d consider joining the soccer club. Of course, I’ll take your situation into consideration. To be specific, it’d be totally fine if you took off from practice once or twice a week.”

Even so, that was an oddly generous offer.

I’m not saying I didn’t appreciate it, but it did feel a little too convenient. It was hard not to be suspicious.

Maybe she picked up on that, because Koshimizu adjusted her glasses with a practiced push and cleared her throat.

“Even though I’m the manager, I’ll admit it—our soccer club is pathetically weak. We barely have any experienced players, and we’re just scraping by with the minimum number of members to form a team. But Yousuke-kun, you used to be really good at soccer back in elementary school, right? So I was hoping we could get some advice from someone who actually knows what they’re doing.”

“…Sounds good to me. If Yousuke joins the soccer club, maybe I’ll support him as a manager, too.”

Before I could say anything, Hikari jumped in.

That alone caused a stir among a few of the guys still lingering in the classroom.

Even if they still hadn’t entirely let their guard down around Hikari, the idea of being looked after by a beautiful girl seemed to override all other concerns—regardless of whether that came with the unwanted bonus of me.

…Maybe that chain reaction was part of her plan from the start.

I could feel the hopeful stares—Koshimizu’s, the boys’, and most of all, the one sitting right beside me: Hikari.

But unfortunately for them, my answer had already been decided.

“…Thanks for asking, but I’m gonna pass. I’ve been out of it too long—I wouldn’t be able to live up to anyone’s expectations. And more than that, I think it’d be unfair to the guys who are already putting in the effort. If you’re the manager, Koshimizu, maybe you should start by trusting the members you’ve already got.”

“…You’re right. Sorry. That was out of line.”

Thankfully, Koshimizu seemed to accept it without any fuss.

The rest of the guys must’ve lost interest too, because they each began heading off to their respective clubs.

All except for one, who stubbornly refused to give up—

“Why won’t you play again, even though your injury’s healed?! You used to love soccer so much!”

“Sorry, Hikari, but I really don’t plan on playing anymore. …You should probably get going to that meeting spot. I’ll be waiting in the library like always. Gōenji—see you tomorrow.”

“O-Oh… okay.”

Without waiting for a response, I gave a quick farewell to the dumbfounded Gōenji and walked out of the classroom.