Volume 11, The First Question(1/2)
“That..damned granny! She pulled that sort of stunt on us!? We were just one step away from our victory here!”
“..”
“How many days—doesn’t she know how many days I’ve been waiting for this!? Now she’s actually saying such selfish things to me now!?”
“..Yuuji.”
“I won't be content with just splitting her body now! How am I going to repay this grudge now!?”
“..Yuuji.”
“Don’t stop me, Shouko! I’m going to concentrate my burning rage and boiling grudge inside this bat and smash that old hag a thousand times—”
“..We lost just now.”
“Huh?”
“..You won, Yuuji and everyone else. We admit defeat.”
“..Why are you saying such a thing? What are you trying to say?”
“..This isn’t okay?”
“What do you mean not okay..Shouko, this isn’t the problem to me here.”
“..Then, what’s the problem?”
“For the sake of better facilities.”
“..You’re lying. You won’t fuss over such a thing, Yuuji.”
“Himeji’s physical condition.”
“..There hasn’t been any problems up till now.”
historical
“Ahh..well, about that, how should I put it?”
“..Yes?”
“Don’t mind about such small details!”
“..You haven’t answered my question.”
“Oh, looks like Akihisa got into quite the tough predicament there! I have to go help him out there!”
“..”
“..Yuuji, why are you so insistent on having the summoning war?”
Please answer the following question:
Please name the three kingdoms that ruled China during the Three Kingdoms era.
Himeji Mizuki’s answer:
“Gi” “Shoku” “Go”
Teacher’s comment:
Correct answer. They are also called Sougi For Gi, Shokukan for Shoku, and Tougo for Go.
Tsuchiya Kouta’s answer:
“Gi” Shoku” “Go”
Teacher’s comment:
Please write down the answers in kanji.
Shimada Minami’s answer:
“Gi “Shoku” “Kure”
Teacher’s comment:
Since you don’t know how to write kanji, you ended up mixing in a certain city in Hiroshima.
His eyebrows are really long.
He has a nice nose bridge and a slender lower chin; I can only describe such a beautiful face as a work of art.
“—And then, his fringe gently caressed my face and I..”
“PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER, AKIHISA—!”
“..DON’T LOSE CONSCIOUSNESS..!”
What happened just now was so shocking that I can’t face reality properly.
“Takashiro, you bastard..! You actually used such a psychological attack..! It’s okay for you now because Akihisa just managed to understand homosexual love, isn’t it!?”
“I’M NOT OKAY WITH THAT KIND OF RELATIONSHIP AT ALL, YUUJI! I DON’T WANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT KIND OF WORLD AT ALL!!”
Yuuji’s words dragged me from my thoughts back into reality. I, I actually kissed a guy..!
“A-Akihisa-kun? Erm, well..I don’t know what to say now, but thank you for saving me..is this alright..?”
Himeji-san’s feeling really troubled, but she still awkwardly thanked me. No, it’s fine. If it’s for Himeji-san’s sake, this little thing..
“Himeji, don’t mind Akihisa. This has been his ambition for a long time anyway.”
“(GARRAK) Tamano Miki’s late, but she’s now here!”
“Tamano!? Who called you here!? Nobody can keep up with you in such conversations!”
“But someone called me here by saying ‘homo’!”
“Aren’t your ears a little too weird!? You’re mistaken here! Go back now!”
“Did I hear it wrongly..really, why must you get in my way? I’ve been thinking of getting memorial photos of Aki-chan and Takashiro-sempai here..”
“Hold on a minute, Tamano-san! I think I just heard some weird lines in the back!”
“Akihisa that’s enough! Letting her stay here is going to cause us nothing but trouble!”
“..‘I want to see your surprised expression’..the ‘terminal of friendship’..the ‘new world’..”
“WHY ARE YOU MUTTERING SUCH THINGS LIKE THEY’RE TITLES OR SOMETHING WHEN YOU’RE GOING BACK!? WHAT DEVELOPMENTS ARE YOU THINKING HERE!? WHERE DO YOU WANT TO PUBLISH THIS COLLECTION OF PHOTOS, DAMN IT!!”
Before my cries of agony reached Tamano-san, she skipped out of 2-A’s classroom. Argh..to what extent is my pride going to be trampled on..?
“Hm..looks like I can’t continue talking like this now. Let’s start over again since it can’t be helped.”
My enemy as well as the mastermind behind this, Takashiro-sempai, continues on as he sees us in this commotion.
“Takashiro-sempai, can I speak with you for a moment?”
A male student stands in front of Takashiro-sempai.
“Hm? You’re the second ranked of the second years, Kubo Toshimitsu-kun right? What do you want with me?”
“Well, it’s very awkward to say such a thing to you, sempai—”
Kubo-kun nudged his glasses and warned Takashiro-sempai.
“—But I can’t just let you go back like this you know.”
And then, Kubo-kun lowered his upper body as he faced Takashiro-kun. To the serious Kubo-kun, I guess it’s really hard for him to accept the ridiculous proposal from the 3rd years. He may have sounded really calm, but I’ve never seen him so angry up till now.
“Kubo Toshimitsu-kun, if you have any objections about the proposal us 3rd years made—”
“That doesn’t matter now.”
Kubo-kun immediately denied this. What is he trying to do?
“Sempai, just let me beat you up or I won’t be able to relieve my frustration”
“So you’re going to punch me once for the sake of your friend?”
“No, for Yoshii-kun’s—and my sake. Two punches altogether.”
Why is he counting me in this too?
“I see. I don’t like violence—but at this moment, it looks like I can only play along with you.”
“Even if you’re an upperclassman, there are some boundaries that are not meant to be crossed but you have crossed them. I’m going to beat you up with Yoshii-kun’s regret and my fury.”
Wh-why do things feel very complicated here..I have to say something, some joke to calm the situation now! Erm, erm..!
“Stop it you two! Don’t fight each other for my sake!”
“Don’t stop me here Yoshii-kun! I’ll take back your trampled pride for your sake!”
“Alright, Kubo Toshimitsu-kun, if you insist, I’ll be your opponent for now.”
“..”
What’s going on..they won’t stop no matter what I do now..!?
“Oi! Heroine! If you don’t do something, we’ll end up with a situation we can’t handle!”
“WHO’S THE HEROINE HERE, YOU IDIOT YUUJI!!?”
“First your lips were suddenly taken away, and now guys are fighting over you..aren’t you the heroine since you’re in the middle of all this?”
“....”
“What is it Akihisa?”
“..(Sobs)..(snivels)..”
“Wait! You’re really crying!?”
“Because Yuuji said (sobs) something really cruel to me (Snivels)”
“Don’t cry Akihisa. You’ll cause a bigger commotion if you keep crying here!”
“Damn it—! Either you or Takashiro-sempai can go kiss that old hag of a principal and become unfortunate! Consider this a wish from me!”
“WHO WOULD DO SUCH A THING HERE!?”
How selfish! He’s not going down to hell with me here. What kind of classmate is he!?
“Hey, Mizuki.”
“What is it, Minami-chan?”
“Exactly what happened in the end?
“I-I don’t really know..I came here late, so I’m not really informed..”
“I’ve been here right from the beginning, but I don’t understand what’s going on at all.”
“Ahh, that’s enough! You brats are really noisy! Quiet down and listen to me!”
“““SHUT UP YOU MONSTER!!!”””
The principal’s interference caused us to interrupt our showdown when we could nearly do so, and the class F members all shouted in unison as they were vexed because of this.
“Kubo Toshimitsu-kun and everyone from class F, please calm down”
Takashiro-sempai, who had a stareoff with Kubo-kun, stood in front of the principal while seemingly trying to mediate.
“How do you expect everyone to calm down here! Someone interfered with our wish here!”
“And you made us see such a disgusting thing! How do you expect to compensate us here!?”
“You and that old hag can scram! Bring out Kogure-sempai!”
The members of class F started yelling at Takashiro-sempai and the principal.
“Is that so? I understand why everyone’s unhappy here.”
Takashiro-sempai answered in an extremely calm manner.
“Obviously as everyone can see here, the principal indeed does not have a nice appearance.”
Is this really the main point of this issue?
“Takashiro-kun, that’s enough”
Kogure-sempai has the same idea as me, and although she tried to advise Takashiro-sempai, he continues on.
“The principal really isn’t pretty—and I can even say that her looks aren’t even average.”
“Please stop. Don’t continue on any further.”
“Ehh..I might even say that it’s more accurate to call her ugly!”
“Please calm down, Takashiro-kun! The principal will really become your enemy in this case.”
“Relax, Kogure. Right from the start, I’ve been treating everyone here as my enemy.”
“But people’s worth isn’t decided by their appearance! You have to listen to the principal even if she’s ugly! Even if she looks like this, she’s still able to talk with others here!”
“I understand now, Takashiro-kun. Looks like there’s still a need to further educate you.”
Kogure-sempai herself may not have that intention, but she let out a sigh in a really bewitching manner.
Also, is Takashiro-sempai’s head really alright here..?
“Alright, we’ll leave Takashiro’s punishment to Kogure..now let’s get back to the main point about the ‘summoning war between the second years and third years’.”
It seems that the principal agreed to the fact that Takashiro-sempai needs to be punished as she changed the topic.
Upon hearing the summoning war issue pop up, Yuuji’s expression changed.
“Principal, let me get this straight. Do we have the right to refuse this war?”
“If there is, you don’t think that I’ll deliberately make my way here to interfere in your war, right?”
“That’s true. Just to be sure.”
Yuuji nodded away, seemingly expecting this.
That’s true, if we can reject the principal’s proposal even after her interference, she’ll really deserve a thousand deaths or more.”
“So what about that? It’s enough for us to kill you here..!”
“We planned to use that large display for a viewing party..!”
“How do you intend to compensate me when I was going to rub my face on Kirishima-san’s seat here..!”
Never mind. It doesn’t matter whether it was the case or not, since the end would be the same for her either way.
The principal looks like she’s trying to appease the furious class as she tries to warn them not to do so yet.
“Anyway, there are still a lot of things you want to say to me, right? But you can leave it for the time being can’t you? You can boil me or roast me however you want after this anyway.”
“I understand. Once this is over, I’ll kill you without remorse here.”
“Eh?”
The principal answered in shock. What are you shocked about? You’re the one who said this. It’s not weird to have whatever outcome happen to you after this, right?
“A-anyway, The summoning war between the second and third years is an established thing so we can consider this to be a school event.”
Since it’s a school event, we naturally don’t have room to object. Of course, boycotting it is a completely different case altogether.”
“Let me ask you again, old hag. What’s being bet on this year?”
“The facilities of the respective years. The losing year has to give up its own A, B, C, classrooms, for the winner’s D, E, F classrooms.”
“In other words, as long as we win, we can get their A, B, C classrooms..?”
“That’s how it is.”
“Is that condition really fair to us?”
“Huh. They won’t give up anything even if they lose, right?”
“Eh?”
Yuuji said while nearly clicking his tongue. What’s going on?
“Think about it, Akihisa. There’s still 2 months before the 3rd years can have their study break. Even if they lose their facilities, they can just stay at home to study, and they don’t have to come to school to study at all.”
As the private Fumitzuki Gakuen is called a prep school, the free school period is earlier than the other schools. It’s true that the 3rd years don’t need to attend school starting from December onwards.
“In contrast, we second years have to study on until March next year. The benefits are the same, but the risks are different, which makes things unfair for us, right?”
“That’s not true, Sakamoto Yuuji-kun. We third years have given up on the ‘precious time before the exams’. Don’t you find that our risks are equal?”
“Well, in that case, how about we maintain the status quo for each other’s sake.”
“That’s a pity, but you can’t do that.”
A little boy suddenly appeared from behind Takashiro-sempai. It’s the overseas exchange student Linne-kun.
“Why not, Linne-kun?”
“Because I came here to watch this summoning war!”
“Eh? Is that so?”
“Un! So I’ll be troubled if you interrupt this war!”
Even if you tell us that..
“And this will be more troubling for you, isn’t it, Akihisa? This war will involve the sponsor’s mmm—”
“It’s not good to rattle off like this, brat.”
Linne-kun wanted to say something, but his mouth was covered by the principal from behind.
“Cough, I see..sorry Toudou.”
“Good that you understand.”
There’s probably some reason amongst the adults, but it seems that the principal doesn’t want Linne-kun blurting it out.
“I don’t really understand the situation, but it seems that we’re not really at a loss of what to do.”
It seemed that Yuuji thought of something as he went over to Linne-kun.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“Oh brat, I think you said that you like tras—Akihisa, right?”
“Right, I really like tras—Akihisa!”
I resisted the urge to argue back.
“And then, you’re the representative reporting the situation in this school, right?”
“Right!”
“Then it’s simple. For your most beloved Akihisa, just report that this school is in great condition. All problems will be settled then.”
“I see! Nope!”
“..”
Ah, there’s a popped vein on Yuuji’s head.
“Why no? This idea’s really logical.”
“Because I like the cool Akihisa. I can see Akihisa’s cool side in a summoning war, so you have to do this!”
“Listen up, brat.”
Once he said this, Yuuji placed his hands on Linne-kun’s shoulders, and answered seriously,
“If you want to keep believing in that illusion, it’s best that you listen to me.”
“Oi Yuuji, you’re saying that a summoning war can kill someone’s illusion like that!?”
“I can’t stand it if this brat goes crazy due to despair.”
“There’s no problem! I only saw two summoning wars, but Akihisa’s really cool!”
In this situation, anyone can see that Linne-kun’s on my side here.
“Sakamoto Yuuji-kun, no matter what you said, the principal has already agreed to this summoning war. Let’s just treat it as a school official event .”
“Huh? So the third year upperclassmen are that obedient?”
Yuuji answered back Takashiro-sempai in a sarcastic manner. It seems that he’s still furious that the war with A class was interrupted.
“Pardon me for interrupting here.”
Hideyoshi, who had been observing things up till now, suddenly raised his hand.”
“What is it?”
“Hm, well, how about the second years can make peace with the third years and declare this contest as a draw? In this case, the third years won’t have to waste time that can be used to prepare for the exam.”
Hideyoshi’s proposal is good.
But,
“No, if you’re going to do such a stupid thing, I’ll tell the higher ups something bad here, you know?”
Linne-kun immediately refused.
“But Linne, your beloved Akihisa will feel troubled by this.”
“I said no! I like this cool Akihisa here! Akihisa will be sad if I end up not liking him!”
Linne-kun, I’m happy that you’re saying this about me, but this is like saying that I’m not likeable outside the summoning war.
“And Akihisa’s not only my hero! I know that!”
And then, he gives a meaningful look at my pocket and Minami. My pocket should have a translated text of some random English book, right?
“Linne-kun, what’s on the paper you just gave me?”
“Un, it’s something really important.”
Something important to Linne-kun..it’s most likely something regarding the summoning war, or maybe about the school exchange thing.
Takashiro-sempai probably had the same idea as me as he lowers his head at me.
“I’m really sorry, Yoshii Akihisa-kun, but can you please hand me the paper he just mentioned?”
“Why?”
“Maybe there’s some personal career path written on it or something.”
“Career path?”
“Yeah. It’s really private.”
Speaking of which, what’s Takashiro-sempai’s personal career path. It’s useless to me even if I read it..what shall I do? I just feel annoyed if I have to just hand it over like this for some reason—
“I don’t feel this way, but are you somewhat in my personal information, Yoshii Akihisa-kun?”
“Take it, you damned thief—!”
I take out the letter from my pocket and throw it hard at Takashiro-sempai. What kind of joke is this! I don’t have any interest in this immature upperclassman at all! I like normal girls!
“Ah..the content of that letter isn’t about that..”
“Eh? What’s written on it then?”
“That? Erm..it’s really something private!”
No, I’ll say that I don’t have any interest in Takashiro-sempai’s private affairs at all.
“Good grief. We’re not getting anywhere at all.”
Upon seeing our rally here, the principal deliberately sighed.
“But principal, even if you want us to accept this immediately..”
“Be quiet. I’ve already said that this is already established right from the beginning. Don’t you find that it’s more constructive to talk about the details of some things rather than waste time like this?”
The principal said with a somewhat stern tone. It’s true that since we’ve decided to hold this summoning war, our conversations don’t have any meaning. Since our important war was already interfered with, there might not be much time left.
Upon hearing the principal say this, Yuuji deliberately snorts and answers,
“Tch, damned old granny..okay. I can’t accept this, but since I understand the reason behind this, let’s talk about this summoning war.”
“As expected of you, Sakamoto Yuuji-kun. That’s really a wise decision.”
“I’m not happy that you’re praising me, not at all.”
The conversation’s now getting into the main point.”
“Then, damned old granny, what are the rules of this summoning war?”
“It’s about the same as an ordinary summoning war.”
“So that means that it’ll end when the reps for both years are defeated, right?”
“That’s how it is.”
If we’re talking about the representatives for both years, the 3rd year’s rep will be Takashiro-sempai in front of me here—
“And considering that the battle was ended prematurely just now, the second years’ rep will be Shouko.”
—And it would end up like that.
“At the same time, there seems to be some special rule for the other class reps.”
“Right, as long as a class rep is defeated, all the members of that class will have to head to the remedial room.”
In others, if Yuuji is defeated, our F class will have to head to the remedial room. Should we take down the general immediately? Or do we weaken each other’s fighting strength by beating the class reps? It’s really hard to choose.
“Then what about the subjects of the summoning war? Us second years have a difference in choice of subjects compared to you, right?”
“That’s basically it. We’ll base it on the subjects tested in the National Center Test.”
“““The center test!!?”””
Takashiro-sempai’s words caused everyone to be shocked.
Impossible, we’re using the Center Test’s subjects..we’re using the Center Test’s subjects for this summoning war!?
1. State the defensive position of Center Field in baseball
2. State the position closest to the hoop in basketball, the Center
What’s that upperclassman saying out of a sudden..!? Is he an idiot!? I can’t stand this no matter what!
“It’s really weird to have such unrelated subjects for such a thing here!”
“Oh my? Yoshii Akihisa-kun, if you don’t intend to take the Center Test, are you planning to enter a private school?”
“Private!? Please don’t say such an off-topic thing here, alright!?”
“Shush, Akihisa. The fact that you don’t have plans for your future may be leaked just like this, you know?”
I’m thinking about it! At least I know that I can’t possibly be a professional baseball player or a basketball player!
“Well, Akihisa-kun, please talk with me over there for a while. I’ll tell you everything about the Center Test, okay?”
Since Himeji-san says so, I follow her to a corner of A class. Himeji-san’s not too familiar with baseball rules, but she actually knows about the professional Center Test?
<What is the Center Test?>
It’s an abbreviation of the National Center Test for University Admission, an independent administrative common Test that is held in the entire country at the same time. It is held before the universities begin their recruiting, and is held on the first weekend before January 13th.
~Taken from the ‘Daijien’~
“....”
“Akihisa, what is it? Why are you honest out of a sudden?”
“Maybe you don’t know about the Center Test at all, Yoshii Akihisa-kun?”
“No, that’s not it. Well, I just mixed it up with the sports recommendation thing there. It’s not like I don’t know about it..”
Upon hearing my answer, Takashiro-sempai shrugs his shoulders in an exaggerated manner.
“..As expected, such a person who doesn’t plan ahead can’t be with you, Miss Himeji Mizuki.”
“No, this isn’t it! Akihisa-kun’s just a little bad at studying and common sense, and he doesn’t know about current affairs, that’s all! It’s not like he doesn’t plan ahead!”
“Yeah, Himeji’s right! You should be praising him for not mixing up the term ‘center’ with the ‘setter’ in volleyball!”
“Okay okay, Aki’s working hard already. I believe he’s a kid who can succeed as long as he works hard at it, you know?”
Uu..no matter whose opinion is it here, the damage to my pride is really great here..!
As I’m thinking about this issue of pride, Yuuji immediately gets back to the topic at hand.
“But since the test subjects selection is based on the Center Test, isn’t it beneficial for you upperclassmen?”
“But this is the best choice for both parties, right? Our Fumitzuki Gakuen here is a prep school after all.”
Takashiro-sempai smiles as he receives Yuuji’s glare.
“Then, what about health education? Do we scrap that subject completely?”
“I suggested it to the principal..”
“But I can’t allow this here. Both second and third years are studying health education. Are you unhappy about having this as a tested subject?”
Without health education, the fighting strength of our F class will drop drastically. I really want to support the principal for making this decision here.
“Then, I suppose my explanation ends here. The summoning war will happen a week later, and I’ll notify you of any further rules later.”
The principal ends this conversation with an urgency of wanting to end her explanation.
“Hm? A week later?”
“Are you unhappy about this?”
“No, this isn’t what I mean..”
I might say it’s a good situation for us second years here. A week is enough time for us to replenish all our depleted points in the summoning war completely. Takashiro-sempai probably knows this as he asks the principal for confirmation again.
“Principal-sensei, do you seriously want to carry this out a week later?”
“You’re noisy here, Takashiro. Didn’t I say that the scale of this war is going to be 6 times that of before, and that I need the time to prepare?”
“So that’s how it is..”
If this is really the case, it’ll be really strange. Since there’s still a week left, why must she deliberately make her way here to stop our battle? We were so close here.
“The war will begin a week later at 9am. The entire school will be used for this. Do prepare well before the day of the war.”
The principal left these words, and left the classroom.
“Un..ah, never mind. You’ll know about what’s written on that letter one day, Akihisa. Don’t mind too much about it!”
“Sorry to intrude on the second years. I’m really looking forward to the summoning war next week.”
And then, Linne-kun and Kogure-sempai proceed out of the classroom.
Just when I suspect that Takashiro-sempai will stay here, he proceeds to walk towards me. What does he want..?
“Takashiro-sempai, you still have something you want with me?”
“Do relax, Yoshii Akihisa-kun. I’m not looking for you now. But since there’s a chance now, I want to talk with Miss Himeji Mizuki here.”
The moment Takashiro-sempai said this, I immediately got in front of Himeji-san to prevent him from approaching her.
“I’m sorry, Yoshii Akihisa-kun, but can you let me through?”
“It can’t be helped, Takashiro-sempai. Since you intended to do something strange to Himeji-san just now, I can’t let you approach her again.”
If you want to forcefully kiss Himeji-san again, I’ll send you flying.
“As expected of you, Akihisa, your readiness to kiss a man is not just for show here.”
“..Are you addicted to it?”
“Akihisa’s moving further and further away from us here..”
“Aki..”
W-well, I’m mentally prepared to take this level of disaster for Himeji-san’s sake..but I really-->>