Ch.233Epilogue. At Least This Time (3)

Let me turn back time for a moment and return to lunchtime.

The sports festival lunch periods differ by class. They change flexibly depending on whether there are matches or not. We ate a bit earlier than others.

Students who had already experienced the sports day last year practiced much harder this year, and naturally, the second-year students were running around with the most enthusiasm. And their efforts paid off.

Usually, the more matches you win, the more matches you have to watch, which pushes lunch time back. Our class had many matches, so our schedule was pushed quite far back.

On top of that, I came a bit later because I needed to make final adjustments and memorize movements for the cheering performance in the afternoon.

“Hello~!”

When I finished all that and came to our spot, Miki was already there.

The lunch period was quite generous—to allow students who had been running around all morning to rest sufficiently, and to let visitors from other schools or parents who had to work on Saturdays to visit. It would be troublesome if any student missed lunch due to various preparations.

“Hi.”

Although she was older than me, it felt a bit awkward to keep using formal speech with a colleague who worked at the same place. Above all, Miki herself had said, “I’m a first-year, so you can just speak comfortably to me~,” which is why I started speaking casually to her. Shii still used polite speech, perhaps because she was still a year below us.

“Everyone’s working so hard~ The boys in our class have no motivation at all.”

“The kids in our class were like that too.”

I answered while sitting down near Kagami.

It was a bit difficult for all of us to sit together since many students had parents visiting. Still, I felt somewhat relieved that everyone was nearby.

“But when the matches got closer, they suddenly became super enthusiastic.”

I think it was the same when I was in school.

Until it came time to decide on basketball or soccer, the atmosphere was like “Why bother with that? Just decide quickly,” but once the match approached within a few days, everyone would use it as an excuse to go out and run around together enthusiastically. Even I, who didn’t particularly like sports, ended up participating in one of the ball games, and once I started playing, it was quite fun.

Isn’t that just how teenagers are? They think everything is bothersome and boring, but once they try something and find it enjoyable, they throw themselves into it with everything they’ve got.

Well, I was still a teenager too, so I was the same.

After all, here I was wearing a cheerleader outfit that I had sworn I would never wear until last year.

“Here, here.”

As Koko and I sat down, Kagami smiled and placed a lunchbox in front of us.

It was a three-tier lunchbox, but not excessively large. It was enough for the three of us—Kagami, Koko, and me—plus a little extra to share with friends.

Inside were very traditional side dishes and rice.

Karaage, rolled eggs, sausages cut at the ends and split to look like octopus legs, and some vegetable side dishes. It was a combination that couldn’t possibly taste bad.

The contents of the three lunchboxes were almost identical, but the messages written with seaweed on top of the rice were different.

Kagami’s rice just had some seaweed flakes sprinkled on it without any writing, but Koko’s lunchbox had “Go Koko!” written on it, and mine had “Kotone Fighting!” written on it. Well, to be precise, it was “Faito,” but that’s basically the same thing, used in similar contexts.

She said she’d been preparing it carefully since morning, so she must have been writing these messages.

“Wow, how cute~”

Miki reacted. Yuka, who was sitting nearby, also smiled when she saw Koko’s and my lunchboxes. Kagami proudly stretched her shoulders, looking very pleased with herself.

The manager smiled contentedly at Miki’s reaction and our expressions, then opened her own lunchbox.

The contents of her lunchbox weren’t much different from ours, though some side dishes were different. I wonder if she’s also just starting to enjoy a normal life.

I’m glad they seem to be getting along well. Sometimes relationships can become strained even after family members are finally reunited.

“Well then… thank you for the food.”

I picked up my chopsticks, said that, and put a sausage in my mouth.

It was ordinary.

Ordinarily delicious. But that’s what made it good. To be honest, if Kagami had laid out some elaborate nine-tier lunchbox, I would have found that jarring in its own way. It would probably taste good, but at the same time, I would have thought it was a bit much.

Since this would be the last sports festival I’d enjoy with all my effort, I preferred it to be ordinary like this.

Well, Kagami’s “longing for ordinariness” was quite sincere. She was working hard to do “what other families would have done” with Koko and me, and sometimes her efforts seemed almost touching.

I looked up.

Kagami was watching me with a slightly tense expression. She seemed much more nervous than when we just went on a picnic together.

“Koko, how is it?”

Wanting to tease Kagami a little, I deliberately leaned forward slightly and asked Koko.

“It’s delicious!”

Koko exclaimed with a bright smile.

A smile spread across Kagami’s face.

Seeing that expression, I also said:

“It’s delicious.”

“That’s… really great.”

Kagami smiled, then slightly bowed her head. She picked up a side dish from her lunchbox with her chopsticks, put it in her mouth, and chewed carefully.

After doing that for a while, with her head still bowed, she murmured:

“Even though I made it myself, it’s delicious.”

“……”

Without trying to probe into her expression, I just silently ate my lunch.

The karaage that Kagami had fried herself was also delicious. The rice was well-cooked too. Even though some time had passed, it was still tasty.

I ate everything without leaving a single grain of rice.

Kagami looked at my empty lunchbox and once again had a slightly moved expression.

Ah.

Come to think of it, I was so focused on eating that I forgot to share with the others—

“Here.”

Yuka didn’t forget and handed rice balls to me, Koko, and even Kagami. They were Japanese-style rice balls, triangular with a sheet of seaweed attached—the kind that comes to mind when you think of onigiri.

“Thank you.”

At my words, Yuka smiled a bit shyly.

“Yuka woke up early in the morning and worked hard to make these.”

“G-Grandfather!”

Because of her grandfather’s unnecessary explanation, Yuka’s face turned bright red.

“Here, have some of mine too~”

Miki smiled and offered her lunchbox as well. After that, friends each handed over things they had brought. Not just lunchboxes, but also fruits and vegetables like cherry tomatoes and bananas, and snacks like chocolate.

Koko and I accepted and ate everything so eagerly that by the end of lunch period, we were so full our stomachs felt a bit bloated.

Well, it would all burn off while cheering anyway. I also had a running race. Above all, my body is quite sturdy.

So I wasn’t too worried.

*

Homeroom teacher Sanae Suzuki was someone who wanted every child in her class to enjoy the sports festival equally.

Rather than having a few athletic students dominate almost all events to improve the class’s performance, she preferred everyone to enjoy the sports festival together.

Although I was a fast runner, instead of putting Koko and me in all the running events for her class, Suzuki-sensei adjusted the lineup so other children could participate appropriately too. Thanks to this, the distribution of students was more diverse than last year when Suzuki-sensei was also our homeroom teacher.

I was in the short-distance race, while Koko and Yuu were in the relay.

So originally, after finishing the inter-class cheering competition that used the entire field, I would have had nothing to do for a while and could just sit and wait leisurely.

However, unexpected situations always occur at events.

With so many students, it would be strange if one or two didn’t get injured.

This time, a student who was supposed to run in the event race got hurt. They thought they had just slightly twisted their foot during the cheering competition, but the area slowly swelled, and now it was uncomfortable to walk.

It didn’t seem to be broken, but running was impossible.

By the way, that event race was “Bring What’s Written.”

Yes, that game often used as an event in romantic comedies.

“…Sorry.”

Nanami said with a slightly pained expression. As her friend had said, she was limping a little.

“No, it’s fine.”

Since it was a “running” competition, and they had seen my skills during the morning, they probably came to me for that reason. If so, I should agree.

Suzuki-sensei asked too.

I don’t plan to use all my energy here since I still have the finals. It’s just an event race anyway, and most students participating aren’t seriously competing in other events.

However…

I glanced at Nanami.

And at Souta Sasaki, who was examining her leg.

Although the main story might be over, that “harem protagonist” aura still clings strongly to Sasaki. He’s still somehow attracting girls around him. Though not really by his own will.

So I just hope that event doesn’t affect me too.

If I open a note and it says something like “a boy”… who would I bring besides Sasaki? He’s the only male acquaintance I’m that close with.

I’d rather have much more complicated conditions written on it.