Chapter 420 – What Happened at the National Competition #2

Perhaps because it is the day when the National Sports Festival is held, there are a lot of people.
Even if the competition hall is divided into several parts, this is a bit too much.
If I were to hesitate, I would be lost in an instant.
I think the popular baseball stadium will be completely destroyed.

“What did you eat with Nanase-senpai and Inoo-senpai on the bus earlier?”

While I was in the luggage compartment pouring water for the members of the competition to drink, I answered Tetsuya’s question as he approached me without even looking at him.

“Jelly.”

“Those three fruit-flavored jellies? “What do you often eat at the academy?”

“Uh.”

“Isn’t that what Miyuki likes? “Can I give it to you carelessly?”

What strange reason are you sitting here giving?
Can’t we make some of the criticisms more reasonable?
I said, straightening my back and looking at Tetsuya with bewildered eyes.

“Do you only like Miyuki? “Because it’s famous, most people like it.”

“No, I mean…”

“I know what you want to say, but don’t attach meaning to every single action.”

“I’ve never done that.”

“It looks like that to me. “Do you think other people would think the same way?”

“Is it?”

Seeing her pretending to be innocent makes me want to grind a bamboo tube.
There are many more bad thoughts I want to have, but that is the best way to encapsulate the emotion.

“But weren’t you also participating in the competition?”

“I was going to do that, but it was a national competition where grades were important, so I decided to skip it. “I plan to go out in the winter.”

I feel like they are criticizing me for not participating even though I have good skills, but am I mistaken?
No, it is highly likely that he has that purpose.

“Okay, do your best.”

“Thanks. Are you planning to give up kendo altogether?”

Ah… The smell of poop is already spreading in abundance… I really hate it.
For now, let me answer obediently. If you think it’s all for the future, you’ll be able to get through it somehow.

“Well, I don’t think I’ll give up at all.”

“You have talent too. “Why don’t you give it a serious try?”

You are so talented.
Why is it so unpleasant to see people giving empty praise and subtly raising their own level?
Now, it seems like Tetsuya has reached a point where he gets annoyed just by breathing.

“I take care of my own business. “I have to unload, so go.”

“Okay. Thanks for your effort.”

The way you speak is as if you are dealing with a subordinate.
The fact that he has become so arrogant just because he learned boxing is both absurd and funny.
They say you lose if you get angry, but how could anyone not get angry when that guy behaves like that?
The patience within me is gradually disappearing.

“Junior, junior. “I will help you too.”

Chinami’s words approached me as I was silently carrying my luggage.
He felt better after eating peach-flavored jelly on the bus, and it was very cute.

Deciding that I needed to erase the scent of the previous bug, I hugged Chinami’s small body tightly.
Then he put his nose to her head and sucked in her breath.

“Sickle…!? “Wh-what are you doing?”

“The area around me smells like fertilizer, so I’m trying to erase it with Master’s smell.”

“Smell like fertilizer? “There is no farmland around here at all?”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. “I’m not healthy.”

“There is no need to take it on purpose. “Master, you smell very nice.”

“Is that so…? “Youngjae, you also like the scent.”

They are sharing body heat with Chinami, making strange noises to each other.

“Ugh… It’s a mess again.”

A grumbling sound was heard.
When she turned her head, she saw Lenka looking at her with an annoyed expression.
I released the hug and turned Chinami’s body around, grabbed her wrist, lifted it up, and waved her hand in greeting.

Lenka was biting her lower lip, probably finding it funny that Chinami was behaving like a robot, absent-mindedly giving her body to me.
When I gestured for Lenka to come over, she came over and stood in front of me.

“What. Why.”

“I will cheer you on, so cheer up.”

“… No… Well… Okay.”

It’s okay to pretend it’s not.
I giggled at her see-through attitude, took out two candies from her pocket, and handed them out to the two of them.

“Let’s eat and cheer up.”

“How do you cheer yourself up with candy?”

Unlike Lenka, who took the blueberry-flavored candy with a sigh, Chinami was very happy and grabbed her share of the peach-flavored candy.

“It’s a lucky candy. “If you eat this, you will definitely win.”

It’s good to see a positive person sounding very hopeful.
I wish Lenka, who tends to be negative about everything, could be a little more like Chinami today… But it doesn’t matter if she doesn’t.
Because no matter what she does, her education will proceed the same way.

**

The inside of the conference hall was very noisy.
This was because it was the largest competition held once a year and so many people flocked to it.

“Fighting Matsuyama!”
“Going Sena Kendo Club!! Wow!!”

Among them, there were kendo club members from other academies who cheered normally.
There were also members who cheered up their spirits by shouting.

Even though it is the women’s competition venue, the smell of sweat seems to fill the venue.
With that thought in mind, I looked at the scene where Lenka, the leader, and Chinami, the second leader, were sitting in the reserved seats of the Yeboni Academy members, checking each other’s equipment.

Winning here would be a huge honor. An academy with a kendo team that wins or has good grades is likely to become famous as a prestigious kendo education facility.
To begin with, Yeboni Academy’s women’s kendo club is considered prestigious.

Anyway, looking around, the tension on our side was low compared to other academies.
There was some cheering, and everyone had a relaxed expression.

Have we become arrogant because we thought our women’s team would naturally be at the top?
It wasn’t bad because it had a feeling of the dignity of a strong man, but the atmosphere was really bad.

If you do this, you’ll feel like you’ve become the villain rather than the protagonist of a youth romantic comedy.
I twitched the corner of my mouth as if I was displeased, and when the heat in the venue was slightly subsiding, I shouted loudly so that Chinami, Lenka, and our participating athletes could hear.

“Fighting Yeboni!!”

“Ai… I’m surprised…!”
“What… Matsudane?”

A voice so loud that it resonated throughout the spacious conference hall.
To this, the male and female seniors sitting in front and behind reacted according to their individual tendencies.

While some people were shaking their hearts in shock like just now, there were also others giggling.
They, who had received attention because of me, looked at each other’s faces and started cheering vigorously without anyone saying anything.

It’s a little embarrassing, but that’s how it should be for a youth drama.
Now it feels like the club the main character belongs to.
With a satisfied smile, I looked at Lenka and Chinami raising their thumbs in our direction.

“Can’t you be quiet? “It’s a nuisance.”

After hearing Tetsuya’s words sitting next to me, I let out a long sigh.

“What’s bothering you?”

“Screaming. “Shouldn’t we support each other in a positive way?”

The other people were cheering and squealing, and it was so crazy.
There is no one who doesn’t get angry after hearing something like that out of the blue, in a completely unsuitable situation.
Let’s show we’re a little angry here.

“Ha… Hey.”

Tetsuya flinched at my call, sighing.
I glanced sideways at his pitiful face, turned my eyes back to the conference hall, and continued speaking.

“I know you don’t like me, but don’t say something like that in a place like this. Annoying.”

“Uh…?”

He appears to be embarrassed, as if he didn’t know that he was going to criticize him so openly.
I guess I looked like a pushover because I’ve been putting up with it so far.
Mazda’s notoriety in the past… I might miss it a little.

“Did our kendo club have the image that we had to cheer quietly? You do it your way. “Don’t talk to me.”

“That’s a bit harsh.”

As you live in the world, you come across a group of people who are not good.
There are some people who keep pouting even though it is clear that they are wrong, so as not to even say a word.
There are people, like Tetsuya now, who criticize people for making them feel bad and then turn the blame on the other person as if they did nothing wrong.

Their pride is a big reason why they do that.
When I admit it, I feel like I’m losing it, and in Tetsuya’s case, I feel especially bad because he thinks of me as his romantic partner.

There may be some other reason, just in the slightest chance, but for Tetsuya, anything would be negative, so it’s not worth knowing.

“I told you not to talk to me.”

“No… I can’t even give my opinion?”

“What you just did was not giving an opinion, but arguing. Instead of crawling up next to me and hurting my feelings, just shut up. “If you don’t like it, go somewhere else.”

“You seem very excited. “Shall we talk separately later?”

Are you starting a fight? Or maybe it’s just to keep scratching.
Some part of me seems to think I’m getting excited… But it’s ridiculous.

“I will speak for the last time. Shut up.”

“…”

Did the soft voice decide that now was the time to step down?
Tetsuya, who kept his mouth shut, said no more and quietly watched the game that was about to start with his teammates.
If you’re going to throw a candle, do it after the competition is over, or pour cold water on a good day.

Maybe today, after the tournament is over, Tetsuya and I will take our irreversible paths.
I have that feeling. Of course, if that happened, it would be welcomed with open arms.

Let’s prepare for every situation so that things go in my favor.
There is absolutely no harm in doing so.