161 - An Invitation from Saki (Patreon)

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After school, classmates began leaving the classroom one by one, either heading to their club activities or going home.

In one corner of the gradually emptying classroom, Haruto, Ayaka, Tomoya, and Saki were gathered around a desk, discussing something.

“So, shall we decide the running order for now?”

Haruto looked at Ayaka and the others gathered at his desk as he spoke.

“Yeah. But it’s a no-brainer that you’ll be the anchor, Haru. You’re the fastest among us.”

“Agreed~ Let’s have Otsuki-kun bring it home in style.”

Tomoya, who was sitting on Haruto’s desk, made the suggestion, and Saki nodded in agreement.

Then Ayaka, who was sitting with her chair pulled close to Haruto’s, spoke with a hint of worry.

“Do we use those starting block things for the mixed relay?”

“Ah… I think we did last year,” Haruto replied, trying to recall the previous sports festival.

“I’m not really sure how to use those blocks…”

“I totally get that, Tojo-san! They don’t really make you faster, with or without them. And I can never figure out the right position for them.”

Ayaka looked slightly embarrassed, and Tomoya chimed in, also doubting the usefulness of starting blocks.

“Well, you need to practice a lot to use them properly. Even I’m not 100% confident I can use them effectively.”

Though Haruto understood the mechanics behind starting blocks, he admitted it took a fair amount of training to get it into muscle memory.

“Huh? So none of you can use the blocks?” Saki asked, looking puzzled.

“Can you use them, Aizawa-san?” Haruto asked.

“Well, yeah,” she replied casually.

“Whoa~ That’s awesome!”

Tomoya looked genuinely impressed.

“Saki was in the track and field club in middle school,” Ayaka explained.

“Ah, that makes sense then,” Haruto said, nodding in understanding.

Then Tomoya tilted his head curiously.

“Wait, but Aizawa-san, you’re not in a club now, right?”

“Yeah, commuting by train makes morning practice tough.”

Saki used to live in an apartment until middle school, but she moved into a newly built house when starting high school, which made her commute longer.

“Don’t you get the urge to run when you’re not in a club?”

“No way. I’m not that obsessed with track. I do like running, but I can still run outside of a club. And honestly, clubs come with a lot of annoying strings attached.”

Saki answered with a slight frown, then added quietly, “Like dealing with all the expectations.”

“Oh? Was it some kind of drama with jealous upperclassmen over your talent or something?”

“No, no. Nothing that dramatic. It’s just, in club activities, you’re expected to compete in tournaments and get results, right? I just want to enjoy running, but in clubs, performance is everything. That pressure kind of killed the fun for me.”

Saki smiled faintly, probably remembering her time in the middle school track club.

Haruto nodded at her explanation, then brought the conversation back to the relay order.

“Yeah, everyone has a different attitude toward competition. So, should we have Aizawa-san go first since you’re used to using the blocks?”

“Okay. Being the first runner is a little nerve-wracking though.”

Saki accepted Haruto’s suggestion.

“So, Saki goes first and Haruto goes last. What about me and Akagi-kun?” Ayaka asked.

“Tojo-san should hand the baton to Haru. I’d probably get booed off the field if I took it from you…”

Tomoya shivered at the thought of getting booed by the girls rooting for Ayaka.

Haruto laughed and said, “That’s a bit dramatic,” but then recalled the overly imaginative girls who pushed for Ayaka to be in the relay. Maybe it wasn’t so far-fetched after all.

“Alright, so the relay order is Aizawa-san, Tomoya, Ayaka, and me?”

Haruto looked around at the others for confirmation.

“No objections!”

“Yeah, that works.”

“Got it.”

They all nodded in agreement.

“Alright, now that that’s settled, let’s head home for today. Practice starts tomorrow.”

Tomoya hopped off Haruto’s desk, slung his bag over his shoulder, and signaled everyone to leave.

Just then, Saki quickly called out.

“Ah, wait a sec, Akagi-kun.”

“Hm? What’s up, Aizawa-san?”

Tomoya turned back, tilting his head slightly. Saki bit her lip a little and spoke up.

“Um… are you free this Sunday?”

“I was planning to sleep in all day, so yeah, my schedule is wide open.”

“Okay… then, would you want to go to an amusement park with me?”

“…Huh?”

Tomoya froze in place, stunned by the sudden invitation.

“What do you think?”

“U-uh… so… are you asking me on a date?”

Stumbling over his words, Tomoya tried to clarify. Haruto and Ayaka, watching closely, widened their eyes in surprise.

As a slight awkward silence settled in, Saki nodded shyly.

“W-well… yeah. I guess it is a date.”

“I see…”

Hearing that, Tomoya looked down with a serious expression, which made Saki hastily add:

“Ah! But it’s not exactly like that! Actually, I was talking to Shizuku-chan, and we thought it’d be fun to have a triple date with the same group from the cookie-making day! So, yeah, it’s more like that.”

She hurriedly explained herself.

After freezing again for a few seconds, Tomoya snapped out of it and nodded repeatedly.

“Ahh! I get it now! Triple date, right! Got it!”

Knowing that Shizuku had been confessed to by Ishikura, Tomoya caught on quickly and gave her a big thumbs-up.

“Sunday! Amusement park! I’m in!”

“Okay… I’ll let Shizuku-chan know then. We can go over the details later.”

With that, Saki turned to Haruto and Ayaka.

“So that’s the plan. I want you two to come to the amusement park on Sunday too. What do you say?”

They looked at each other.

“I don’t have any plans Sunday, so I’m good,” Haruto said, before Ayaka looked at Saki with a conflicted expression.

“If Shizuku-chan and Kazuaki-senpai are coming, won’t we just be in the way? Are you sure it’s okay if we come?”

“Shizuku-chan said you two are required to come. It’s non-negotiable.”

“She said that?”

“Yep.”

At Saki’s nod, Ayaka turned to Haruto.

“What should we do? Should we go too?”

“Hmmm… well, if Shizuku’s saying we have to, I guess we better go.”

After a thoughtful groan, Haruto agreed, and Ayaka also nodded.

And just like that, Haruto and the others were set to join the amusement park date on Sunday.

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Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading.

I apologize for the significant delay in updating.

The truth is, I've been diagnosed with a serious illness that is likely the cause of my recent continued poor health, so I've been busy going to the hospital and haven't been able to find time to write.

Things have calmed down a bit now, so I think I'll be able to update more frequently.

By the way, please rest assured that I won't suddenly pass away and the updates will stop.

I apologize for advertising this last time, but pre-orders for the book version of volume 4 have begun on Amazon and other sites.

You can also see Ayaka in a yukata, so please take a look if you'd like.

(It's been a while, I hope he recovers well, all we want here is for the author to be healthy and not get tired.)