“Oops, it looks like only Takanashi-kun has come to a complete stop. Could it be that he’s drawn a difficult scavenger hunt prompt~?”
Normally, this would have been a lucky draw, but for me, it was a high hurdle.
Yuji, of course, wasn’t here.
And neither Sara-senpai nor Natsumi-senpai were the right gender.
“Kazunari! Is it a tough one!?”
Yokogawa?
I looked over at him. What about him?
Just as he had during the 200m dash, Yokogawa had come to the nearby cheering area to support me. One look at his face told me he was genuinely concerned.
And besides…
Even though I hadn't gone to cheer for him, he was the one sending me signals and coming to my events. Even now, he was calling out to me, worried.
I certainly still had mixed feelings regarding the situation with Natsumi-senpai. But at the very least, he had been honest about it and hadn’t tried to hide his intentions from me. Since then, he hadn’t brought it up once, yet he continued to try and engage with me like this.
Since we both struggled with making friends, I felt like I understood where he was coming from. Above all else, I didn't actually feel bad being around him.
He was the first person to ever ask to be my friend since I started at this school.
I walked over to him.
“Kazunari? If it’s something I can help with…”
“Come with me!”
I grabbed Hayato’s arm and broke into a sprint. The rules stated that when bringing a person for a prompt, you had to be in physical contact, like holding hands or an arm.
“Got it!”
He didn't ask a single question; he just ran alongside me. On the way, I noticed several girls directing strangely passionate gazes toward us, which was a bit unsettling, but we managed to reach the finish line without any trouble.
We didn’t take first place, but finishing third was still a solid result.
At the goal, the staff member checking the prompts read mine aloud over the microphone.
“A close friend of the same gender.”
Hearing it announced like that was honestly pretty embarrassing. Hayato looked genuinely stunned for a moment. Well, considering how sudden it was, that was only natural.
Feeling a bit awkward, I decided to be the one to break the ice.
“Well… let’s make it official then. Looking forward to it, Hayato.”
At my words, Hayato broke into a wide grin.
“Same here, Kazunari!”
Hayato vigorously threw an arm around my shoulders. Seeing that, the staff member gave us the signal that the prompt was cleared.
And just like that, I finally had my first male friend at this school.
“““ Eeeeek!! ”””
What was with those girls and their noisy screaming? It didn't sound like they were upset, but it was certainly a bit much.
The boy with his arm around Takanashi-san is certainly…
Excluding special cases like the Student Council, I generally make it a point not to remember the faces or names of men. Since there are so many who try to talk to me without even knowing me, I simply decided I didn't want to bother remembering them all.
However, I do recognize him. I have frequently seen him calling out to Takanashi-san lately.
If I am being honest, I had hoped Takanashi-san’s first friend would be someone who looked a bit more serious… but no, that is for Takanashi-san to decide, and it is not my place to interfere.
More importantly, the fact that Takanashi-san has made a friend at all is what matters most.
Takanashi-san was never blessed with good classmates, and I had never seen him standing beside a male friend at school until today. Therefore, this turn of events is truly wonderful.
Congratulations… Takanashi-san.
When the lunch break began, I headed over to the flowerbed.
I had considered inviting Hayato to join us, but I was worried Sara-senpai might be uncomfortable with it. Besides, he didn't want to look like he was using me to get closer to Natsumi-senpai, so we agreed that he wouldn't join these sorts of gatherings for the time being.
So, I headed there alone, but…
There was already a woman there.
She looked to be in her twenties, and to put it bluntly, she was a striking beauty.
Initially, she was just gazing at the flowerbed, but she turned toward me—perhaps sensing my presence or hearing my footsteps. When our eyes met, she offered a small bow and a smile. Reflexively, I bowed back.
I assumed she was a relative of one of the students here to watch the festival, but I was surprised to see anyone in this secluded spot. I didn't know what to say, so I just stood there, fidgeting awkwardly.
“Hehe… what’s the matter?”
Perhaps finding my reaction amusing, she was the one to speak first.
“N-No, I was just surprised. Not many people come to this spot!”
I felt a certain sense of composed maturity from her—and a hint of something mischievous in her tone. It made me nervous, and I ended up blurting out my answer.
“That’s true… it’s been that way since a long time ago.”
The way she said it made it sound like she had known this place for years. Was she an alumna?
“I’m so glad I came today. I’ve never seen that girl looking so happy. I still can’t believe she just abandoned her post at the live commentary seats on a whim. Breaking the rules like that… the old her never would have even considered it.”
That girl? The live commentary seats?
With those two clues, the list of candidates was incredibly short. And the only serious person I knew who would never dream of breaking a rule was Sara-senpai.
Which meant this person was… but I was pretty sure Sara-senpai didn't have an older sister.
“Excuse me, are you… Sara-senpai’s older sister? I hadn't heard that she had one.”
“Oh my, oh my. That girl… I’m sorry, it seems my little sister didn’t explain things properly. Takanashi-san, thank you again for always taking care of Sara.”
Sara-senpai’s older sister gave me a polite, graceful greeting.
“Ah, excuse me! I’m Kazunari Takanashi. If anything, I’m the one who’s always being taken care of by Sara-senpai…”
“No, no, we are the ones truly in your debt. Ever since she met you, Takanashi-san, that girl has become so much brighter. She’s even started saying that going to school every day is fun.”
With a radiant smile, she stepped closer—closing the distance until she was right in front of me. She reached out and took both of my hands in hers.
“Takanashi-san, thank you so much. I truly can’t thank you enough. Please, continue to look after Sara from now on.”
She smiled as she pulled my hands toward her chest, still holding them tightly.
I was so embarrassed that I completely froze, but the older sister peered closer into my face, her expression turning even more mischievous.
Wait, was she teasing me?
Even as the thought crossed my mind, I was too flustered to do anything about it.
“Takanashi-san, sorry to have kept you wait… ing…”
Sara-senpai appeared.
Taking in the scene—or rather, seeing our current positions—she wore “that smile” for the first time in a long while.
“What exactly do you think you’re doing? For now, please let go of his hands… Mother.”
Mother?
…Mother!?