I Know That After School, The Saint More Than Just Noble - Chapter 16

Chapter 16  Event Practice And Festival Eve

A few days have passed.

The school was at its peak of activity as the day of the Sports Festival approached.

On this day, the final rehearsal and the eve before the Sports Festival would be held.

A venue for the festival had already been set up on the school grounds, and the afternoon classes were used to hold practice for the real thing.

At lunchtime, the students on the festival committee were rushing to get things done, while their classmates were also hard at work on the final class practice.

“Alright! We’re all participating in today’s practice! It’s mandatory!”

Eita was giving it his all, and his classmates were getting excited as well, fueled by his enthusiasm.

Yamato, too, was full of energy and motivation after having spent his day off quite meaningfully.

“Kuraki-kun, can I have a word?”

Yamato’s good mood was blown away when May approached him with a serious expression on her face.

“Err, what’s wrong?”

“You know, umm…”

May put her lips to his ear.

“Please give me some time after practice. There’s something I really need to talk to you about.”

She whispered, and Yamato nodded while his eyes widened.

She smiled relievedly, then said, “Well, I’ll see you behind the gym when you’re done,” and scampered off.

Yamato dumbfoundedly stood in the classroom for a while.

Yamato thought that was what they called a “call out”.

For some reason, the number of new couples increases during seasonal events such as Sports Festivals.

This was probably due to the atmosphere of the event or some other unseen factor, but Yamato had always thought it was something he had no association with.

But this must be—

(—Something related to Shirase?)

Because it was May who called him out, Yamato decided that must be the case.

He quickly changed into his gym clothes and headed for the last lunch practice.

Unnerved by what was to follow, Yamato continued to jump the rope in a daze, unlike his lively surroundings.

“Yamato, let’s go have lunch.”

Sayla called out to him as soon as the lunch practice was over.

There wasn’t much time left in the lunch break, but there was at least time to eat.

But today, Yamato had an appointment ahead of her.

“Sorry, I have some business to attend to. You can eat alone today.”

“Okay.”

Yamato was heartbroken at having to turn down her invitation and headed for the back of the gym where he was to meet May.

He found May already there. As expected, she was wearing a gym uniform, which made her chest look more prominent.

“Sorry, I kept you waiting.”

“No. —I mean, we just finished practicing.

“Haha, you’re right”

They both gulped after this exchange.

They were both pretending to be calm, but the tension was tingling in the air.

“You know.”

Soon after, May spoke up.

She looked like a maiden who was about to confess her love. Yamato’s mind was filled with thoughts of such a situation for a moment as he looked at the adorable figure.

Yamato gulped again. He was starting to get very nervous.

“Actually…”

May, who seemed to have made up her mind, opened her mouth, her cheeks turning red.

“—there are confession plans! To the saint!”

After much pent-up emotion, May uttered those words as best she could.

This was actually something that Yamato had expected to some extent.

It was the same thing that had happened last year when people who were in high spirits during the sports festival season confessed their feelings to Sayla.

However, when Yamato actually heard it, he was still shaken.

Unlike last year, Sayla was not an unrelated person to him. It was hard to keep a normal mind when he thought about the possibility of something happening to her.

“H-Heeh, is that so? Shirase sure is popular, hahaha…”

Yamato replied while his eyes swam, and May grabbed his hands.

“B-But it would probably be fine! The saint has always turned down confessions from anyone who’s confessed to her! …Although this might make me seem like a jerk, I like taking pleasure in other people’s misfortune.”

Yamato didn’t know why, but May looked very desperate to explain herself.

“Tamaki-san, why did you decide to tell me?”

“I heard about the confession from someone else today, but I was bothered by the thought of what would happen if Kuraki-kun and the saint stopped being good friends. …So I thought I should talk to Kuraki-kun about it anyway.

“I see…”

Yamato often heard that once one had a lover, they couldn’t hang out with their friends of the opposite gender. So there was a possibility that it would turn out that way.

That was why May must have been worried about Yamato and he was honestly happy to hear that.

“Thank you, Tamaki-san. I don’t know what to do either, but I’m really glad that you’re my comrade.”

“Kuraki-kun…”

May’s eyes began to glaze over. Maybe May was the type of person who tears up.

“I’ll be honest, I don’t enjoy the idea of Shirase going out with someone else either, and I’m going to give it some thought. I have no idea what I can do at the moment.”

“…Kuraki-kun, have you ever thought about going out with the saint?”

May asked, leaning forward at Yamato.

It was probably something that May had been wondering about for a long time. She hadn’t asked when they had their first proper conversation, but now Yamato could understand why she would ask this question.

If you don’t want her to be taken, you can go out with her yourself — that was what she was trying to say.

Yamato thought for a few seconds and then quietly opened his mouth.

“I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it. But for me, as long as I can be with Shirase, that’s enough.”

“Kuraki-kun, you don’t like who you are.”

When May said sadly, Yamato nodded immediately.

“So I won’t be able to do what Tamaki-san thinks I can do. Still, I’m going to try to struggle in my own way, though.”

“Yes, I understand. I’ll leave the rest to Kuraki-kun then.”

Yamato nodded vigorously to May, who smiled gently at him.

And since it’s Shirase, I’m sure she’ll refuse their confession too. For some reason or another.

“That’s right! Even if the ace of the soccer team, the pitcher of the baseball team, or the vocalist of the light music club confess their love to her, I’m sure Saint will refuse!

Yamato’s thoughts froze for a moment as a number of titles that he couldn’t believe his ears heard came out of May’s mouth, who had been smiling and sympathizing with him.

“…Eh? That just now, was like… examples right?”

“No, they’re the ones who are going to confess to the saint.”

It was easy for May to say, but Yamato’s face twitched when he realized that the other party was a popular person in the school.

And apparently, it wasn’t just one person. This made him even more anxious.

“Well, first of all, how many people are planning to confess?”

“As far as I know, there are five, and they’re all going to confess during the eve before the festival.”

Yamato assumed they wanted to spend the day of the sports festival as a couple. In fact, Yamato had seen a lot of new couples just recently.

But still, five people? It was a number that made Yamato realize once again that Sayla was very popular.

In addition, the confession was to be made on the eve before the event — that is, after today’s practice was over. It was the last minute.

“Umm… have they decided where to confess?”

Yamato asked weakly, to which May replied, racking her brain.

“Hmmm… I think it’s the terrace. I’ve been called out there too.”

“Heh, I knew you’d be popular too, Tamaki-san.”

“I-It’s not that I’m bragging, you know!? I just wanted to give you some proper information…”

“I know what you mean. Thanks.”

Yamato had been hearing about how popular May was since her freshman year, so he was not surprised now. He hadn’t heard that she had gone out with anyone, but it didn’t seem like the right time to ask about that.

Then the bell rang. It seemed that lunchtime had passed unnoticed.

“Gee, the bell already rang. We have to go to the rehearsal, don’t we?”

“Of course! Hurry up!”

“Yeah!”

Sayla was being confessed to by a number of boys — and because of this, Yamato was not ready for the sports festival, and was filled with anxiety and impatience instead.

But skipping the sports festival practice was not going to make things better.

For the time being, Yamato stopped thinking and ran to the track with May.

When they arrived at the track, many students had already gathered there.

The number of people on the ground made it naturally noisy, but there was still something wrong with the atmosphere.

Also, for some reason, all eyes seemed to be focused on Yamato and May. May seemed to have noticed the strange situation and looked down anxiously.

After separating from May, Eita called out to him as they stood in line for their class.

“Oh, you’re finally here. You guys are in some kind of trouble…”

As Eita said this with a wry smile, then Yamato heard May’s curt voice from the direction of the girls’ line, “What?” She was staring intently at the phones of the girls in her class, so there must have been some kind of problematic content on it.

Eita shows Yamato his own phone.

There, Yamato saw him and May talking behind the gym. …Apparently, someone had taken a hidden picture of them talking earlier.

It seemed that the story had already spread on social media, and it is said that “Kuraki Yamato confessed his feelings to Tamaki May”. Yamato felt slightly dizzy.

As if to cheer Yamato up, Eita squared his shoulders with him.

“Well, they’re just trying to be funny. They’ll get tired of it sooner or later.”

“I hope so.”

Then Yamato’s eyes met with Sayla’s at the back of the girls’ line.

She had her usual poker face and he couldn’t read what she was thinking.

Then immediately, Sayla averted her gaze.

(She averted her eyes… Is she misunderstanding this too?)

With so many rumors around, it would not be surprising if Sayla had heard about it, but it was unlikely that she would be able to confirm if it was true now.

The biggest problem for Yamato at the moment was the eve before the festival, where Sayla will be confessed by many boys, but the problem with May cannot be ignored.

May says to those around her, “It’s a misunderstanding! I just called Kuraki-kun because I wanted to talk to him about something!” May desperately appealed to the people around her, and it was a relief that the misunderstanding within the class was being resolved.

Yamato really wanted to talk to Sayla right away, but the practice would start soon.

In the meantime, Yamato decided that he would check if Sayla had misunderstood the situation later, so Yamato turned his attention back to the practice.

The practice for the sports festival went according to the program, and the students carried out the events in a flowing manner.

The events that Yamato would be participating in were all hard ones, such as the 200-meter sprint, pole vaulting, cavalry battle, and tug-of-war. Of course, it was all the result of losing the lottery and rock-paper-scissors, so he couldn’t complain.

“Kuraki, let’s prepare for the cavalry battle!”

Eita, who was also a member of the cavalry battle, called out to Yamato. Yamato had heard that the prep for a cavalry battle takes about half the time of the actual event. That alone was a huge hassle.

Because of the size of the members, Yamato and Eita were put in order for the cavalry battle. Eita was in the center and Yamato was on the left. The rider on top of him was Nagayama, a small, light-featured man.

“By the way, did you hear about the rumor? Uchida from the soccer team is going to confess to the Saint.”

Nagayama, getting atop, said lightly. Apparently, the story has spread to other students besides May.

Uchida, a member of the soccer team, must have been good-looking as well. The “ace of the soccer team” that May was referring to was no doubt this Uchida.

The mention of a specific name made Yamato feel bewildered. Yamato couldn’t imagine how Sayla would be shaken if such a popular guy confessed his feelings to her.

However, there was no way he could reveal such feelings to Nagayama.

When Yamato felt awkward and kept silent, Eita, who seemed to be used to talking about such things, replied with a sigh, “I heard about it yesterday.”

A man named Mikami, who is in charge of the right side of the horse, lightly spat venom, saying, “But Uchida doesn’t know what he’s getting himself into…” Nagayama, who heard this, chuckled.

“Well, he’ll probably be rejected anyway. I don’t know what to say… Uh, Kuraki is here too!?”

Nagayama seemed to have forgotten that Yamato was here, and awkwardly turned his gaze forward.

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it. I know Shirase is very popular.”

Yamato replied with an amiable smile, trying to soften the awkward atmosphere.

As much as Yamato would like to get away from this place, the cavalry battle was already ongoing. There was no way to escape now.

Then Nagayama turned to Yamato with a grin on his face, as if he was getting carried away.

“So, tell me what’s been going on with Kuraki lately. I don’t care if it’s about you and the saint, or how you felt when you talked with Tamaki!”

“No, that’s…”

“Nagayama, you’re being too aggressive. That’s why you’re not popular.”

It was Eita who interjected to stop Nagayama. For some reason, even Mikami nodded in agreement.

“Shut up, you perennial popular guy!”

“Whoa, ahh, no violence! Or you might just fall here!”

Thanks to Eita, the topic was diverted, and Yamato was relieved.

After all, he was not going to get used to this kind of talk any time soon. And in all honesty, he didn’t want to talk about what happened with Sayla to other people.

Then the whistle sounded to start the match, and the cavalry battle (practice) began.

“All right, we’re running away today. The real fight is tomorrow, so there’s no need to show them our strategy.”

As instructed by Eita, the leader of the team, they decided to run away and buy some time. A hawk with a talent hides its claws, Yamato thought.

And so the practice cavalry battle ended without incident.

Immediately after he was released from the practice, Eita squared his shoulders with Yamato with a straight face.

“Hey, about what we said earlier.”

“You’re talking about the guy who’s trying to confess to Shirase?

“Ooh, I’m sure there are many others. I heard that the eve before the festival last year was incredible.”

“…but there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“But you can’t say that you don’t care.”

“Shut up…”

Eita smiled briskly with a laugh.

There was no way Yamato didn’t care. If Sayla were to go out with someone, it would probably be impossible for Yamato to hang out with Sayla like before.

However, somewhere in his heart, Yamato still had a strange expectation that Sayla would not go out with anyone.

Eita seemed to be able to see through this feeling, and it made Yamato feel uncomfortable.

“Well, it’s good to cherish the relationship you have now, but I think it’s also good to step in once in a while.”

“When I have to step in, of course, I will.”

For example, when Sayla is in trouble, the current Yamato will probably step in without hesitation.

However, it seemed to be a little different from what Eita was trying to say.

“I think you misunderstood something, but whatever. I’ll stop meddling now.”

Eita said, and walked away.

“I know… I don’t like this either.”

But Yamato didn’t know what he should do.

Yamato let out a small sigh as he watched Sayla cleaning up in the distance.

It was only after the cheerleading program had ended that the opportunity suddenly presented itself.

“Ah, celebrity.”

As they all returned to their waiting seats in class, Sayla pointed and called out to him.

Yamato was happy as he walked right up to her.

“Who’s the celebrity? If we are talking about that, it should be Shirase who is the celebrity.”

“But there have been more rumors about you than about me.”

“I thought you were the type of person who doesn’t mind such rumors.”

“Then maybe I’m curious for the first time.”

“Goodness, it was only rumors…”

They paused for a moment.

“”Pfft… Ahahaha!””

The two of them couldn’t hold it in anymore, and then they laughed out loud.

Yamato stopped laughing when the people closeby turned to them, but Sayla still continued to laugh.

“Hey Shirase, they’re watching us.”

“So? Is there something wrong?”

The smile on her face was just so cute that Yamato felt his cheeks relax just looking at her.

After Sayla had finished laughing, Yamato opened his mouth, averting his gaze.

“…Are you free on the eve before the festival?”

“Yes, I’m free. Let’s go around together.”

“Really! Are you sure you’re not being called away by anyone…?”

Yamato was happy to hear that, but he wanted to make sure that she didn’t have any plans beforehand.

Then, Sayla stated puzzledly.

“I was called, but I declined them all. The eve before the festival allows you to participate as you like, but this year they’re going to give out ozoni and oshiruko, and I was planning to eat them with Yamato.”

“Haa…?”

It might be said that it was typical of Sayla to take food over other appeals for attention.

But that only seemed to Yamato to be a postponement of the problem, just because she was going to be confessed to.

Therefore, Yamato made up his mind and said,

“But since you’ve been called for, I think you should go. …I’ll be sure to save the ozoni and oshiruko for Shirase.”

Yamato thought that he was a pathetic person for adding that to the end.

But he couldn’t help but say it. He wanted her to come back to him in the end, and such a possessive desire overflowed from his heart.

Sayla, on the other hand, thought about it for a while and then nodded.

“Okay. I’ll call you when I’m done.”

Sayla’s expression remained dry as she spoke. As expected, Sayla knew that what these calls were “confessions”.

Yamato felt frustrated by Sayla’s choice to go, even though he had told her to. He also felt a sense of self-loathing at the thought.

When they arrived at the waiting area of the class, Yamato had to part ways with Sayla who was going to participate in the next competition.

“Ah, that’s right.”

On the way to the entrance gate, Sayla looked back at Yamato as if she remembered something.

“The rumors about you and Tamaki-san, are they true?”

Sayla asked with the same poker face she normally had.

Yamato was so busy asking about the eve before the festival that he realized that he had forgotten to explain that it was a misunderstanding.

“No, it’s not like I and Tamaki-san have that kind of relationship. We were just discussing things, that’s all. In other words, that rumor is a falsehood. It’s just a rumor.”

“I see.”

Sayla smiled and turned back around.

Then, with a skip in her step, she headed for the entrance gate.

After watching her back, Yamato sat down on the waiting seat of the class.

(If she looks that happy, I’m going to misunderstand her feelings…)

With this in mind, Yamato quietly squirmed in agony.

The practice for the Sports Festival went off without a hitch, and now the eve before the festival has begun.

The eve before the festival at Aosaki High School was quite a lively event, with the student council and the sports festival committee working together to put on a show and distribute homemade ozoni and oshiruko.

Many students in a festive mood remained in the school, and it became a place where they could relax and enjoy themselves after the midterm exams.

However, unlike the others, Yamato’s mood was far from festive.

As promised, he had secured some ozoni and oshiruko, but she still hasn’t come.

He entered the empty classroom and sat down in his seat without turning on any lights.

Even though it was still early evening, the room was very dark, probably because the curtains were all closed.

“Haa…”

A pathetic sigh escaped his lips.

He didn’t expect that waiting for Sayla to finish receiving her confessions would be such a terrible thing.

The occasional shouts of joy from outside made it even more depressing for him.

“Should I intervene…?”

Yamato heard from May that the terrace was a popular spot for confessions. If Yamato headed there now, he might be able to stop them.

“What am I going to achieve by intervening…?”

As Yamato was muttering to himself, his phone reported an incoming message.

When he checked, it was from Sayla.

“Where are you?”

Yamato immediately replied, “I’m in the classroom.”

Then, within a few minutes, there was a knock, and he turned to look at the entrance.

The person who peeked in was Sayla.

“Hello.”

It was a very cute gesture, but her tone was indifferent.

“Good evening. Did you finish your business?”

Yamato tried to remain as calm as possible, but his voice was shaking.

Sayla replied in a chipper tone.

“Yes, they were all confessions. And I turned them all down.”

“…You’re so graceful and consistent, aren’t you, Shirase?”

Although Yamato was inwardly relieved, he couldn’t be honest and had a foul tone of voice.

“Eh? Are you mad at me?”

Then Sayla said and looked into Yamato’s face.

The distance between them was so close that Yamato, embarrassed, plopped down on the desk.

“No, I’m not mad at you.”

“Also, it’s really dark without the lights on. —What about the ozoni and oshiruko?”

“I put it on Shirase’s seat by the window… It’s probably cold by now.”

“Thank you. Has Yamato eaten yet?”

“No, I haven’t. I had no appetite.”

“Then I’ll give you one of them. Which one do you want?”

“…Oshiruko, maybe.”

“Okay.”

Soon after, Yamato was poked in the shoulder.

But he could not bring himself to look up, so he continued to lie down.

“Oshiruko. I’ll give you some. It’s cold though.”

“Just leave it here.”

“Okay. —Itadakimasu.”

Yamato could hear the sound of chewing nearby, and because of the darkness, Yamato could feel it very clearly.

Sayla was nearby.

Yamato felt very safe just by that feeling.

“… I was actually regretting it.”

He mumbled to himself, but there was no response. Hence, Yamato continued.

“I knew Shirase was going to be confessed to, and yet I told you to go. Because it’s just something you can’t take lightly.”

Yamato could still hear the sound of chewing, but there was no response, so Yamato had no choice but to look up and see Sayla sitting next to him, eating a delicious bowl of ozoni.

“…No, it’s still nothing. Forget it.”

“Me too.”

When she had drunk all the soup, Sayla finally opened her mouth.

She then looked straight at Yamato and said,

“I was bewildered when I heard that Yamato confessed his feelings to Tamaki-san. So I think it’s probably the same.”

“The same?”

Yamato asked, his voice trembling.

Then Sayla said with a puzzled look.

“Hmm? So, how does Yamato feel? I also think that my current relationship with Yamato is important. I also decided to discuss it more with you the other day.”

“Y-Yeah, that’s right.”

Yamato felt a deep sense of relief.

At the same time, Yamato became aware of the fact that he felt a little disappointed.

As if to shake off these feelings, Yamato shoveled a bowl of oshiruko, which had been placed nearby, into his stomach.

“It’s too sweet… And it’s really cold.”

The sweet and cold oshiruko was much sweeter than Yamato expected and yet couldn’t believe how delicious it was.

Then Yamato suddenly noticed that Sayla, who was sitting next to him, had her back turned to him.

“Shirase?”

When Yamato called her name, she touched her hair in a fidgety manner.

“What’s wrong?”

“I was happy when I realized that Yamato felt the same way. …My face is hot.”

As she said this, Yamato thought he saw that Sayla’s ears were turning slightly red. The only thing Yamato regretted was that it was still dark in the room and it was difficult to check.

However, when Yamato noticed this, his face was also starting to burn brightly. The darkness of the room helped Yamato as well.

Once again, to take his mind off things, Yamato took a sip of Oshiruko, which was still too sweet, but it didn’t seem so bad.

“…Tomorrow is the main event of the sports festival, so we should go home soon.”

Yamato said in a somewhat muddled way, and Sayla agreed with him.

When they left the gate, they could see other students leaving the school here and there. It seemed that the eve before the festival was over.

As the sun was beginning to set, Yamato and Sayla were walking side by side, but without any particular conversation.

Perhaps it was because the image of Sayla from earlier was flickering in Yamato’s mind, but he was unable to broach the subject.

(Keep calm, I need to keep calm…)

Trying to retain his normal state, Yamato slapped his own cheek.

Sayla, who was walking next to him, looked at him in surprise as he suddenly did such a thing.

“Eh, what’s wrong?”

“No, I was just getting back into the swing of things…”

“Ahh, it’s a real thing tomorrow.”

Yamato quietly stopped what he was doing as he seemed to be relieved by a different topic.

“That’s right. I’ve never been so excited about a sports festival in my life. I’m nervous as hell and I still can’t believe I’m on the cheerleading team.”

“Why don’t you just do what you always do? It’s good to be excited.”

“That’s just like Shirase.”

“Yeah. I don’t really like being tired.”

When they were finally able to talk as usual, they arrived at the station.

“See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

They sent each other off as usual before parting and headed home.