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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Nekorune
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Having been assigned as a manager alongside Chinami, I moved to the equipment room with her, who was clapping her hands in delight.
“Matsuda-kouhai, I look forward to working with you!”
How should I handle Chinami?
Her energy level was so high; it was hard to keep up.
I decided to assess the situation for the time being.
“Same here, Nanase… senpai.”
“Okay! So, today I’ll teach you how to clean the bogu. You’ve heard of bogu, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then, what are the names of each part of the bogu used in Kendo?”
A pop quiz out of the blue?
How cute.
I had researched bogu and knew the answer.
But Chinami seemed eager to teach me…
I decided to leave one part out.
“Men, Kote, and Do.”
“Oh…? Good job, but you missed one. I’ll give you a hint. It’s the part you put on first…”
“I don’t know.”
“Hmm! Then I guess I’ll tell you!”
Pleased that I didn’t know the answer, Chinami retrieved a Tare, which is a piece of equipment that protects the waist and groin, from the corner.
She then showed it to me and explained,
“This is called the Tare. It’s the equipment that protects the waist and lower abdomen.”
Even though it seemed to be quite heavy, Chinami didn’t even flinch.
She was strong. That meant her leg grip would be strong too.
“It’s an important piece of equipment?”
“Of course! It is! Especially for beginners. If you accidentally hit a vital spot during a clumsy spar… it’ll hurt quite a lot, don’t you think?”
That sounds awful.
Chinami put the Tare back in its place and continued, folding her fingers one by one,
“Men, Kote, Do, and Tare… these four parts make up the Kendo equipment.”
“I understand. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Good attitude, Matsuda-kouhai. Cleaning these bogu thoroughly every day is one of our daily tasks.”
“Every day?”
“Yes. If you put it off even a little, the bogu will start to smell. Wouldn’t it be annoying to put on a stinky Men? Hehehe.”
Chinami giggled.
I hope she didn’t have a smell fetish.
“…Yeah.”
“Even though the academy provides them for free, we have to treat them as our own and take good care of them. That way, the people who’ll get to use them next will do the same.”
I got a general idea of your level… I mean, personality.
I’ll train you thoroughly with a customized education.
“Understood.”
“Good. Now I’ll teach you how to clean the bogu. First, you dampen a cotton ball with diluted alcohol…”
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“So… you joined as a manager, Matsuda?”
Miyuki said in the car on the way home, after listening to my explanation.
“Yeah, that’s what I said.”
“What? I heard being a sports club manager is really tough…”
“I spent the whole day cleaning bogu.”
“That’s why you should’ve behaved yourself from the get go…”
“Get out. You can walk home.”
“No way! My legs hurt.”
Miyuki replied cheekily and asked Tetsuya,
“What about you, Tetsuya? What did you learn today?”
“Etiquette and how to hold the shinai.”
“Etiquette? You mean the Kendo greetings and stuff?”
“Yeah. We learned how to sit and other things.”
“Martial artists have such strict etiquette, don’t they?”
“Strict? More like… spirited.”
“Show me later. I bet it looks cool.”
Tetsuya smirked.
He seemed pleased with the compliment.
I bet he was imagining Miyuki’s soft voice and getting… aroused.
Judging by his goofy grin, he probably was as hard as a rock by now.
“I will.”
“Matsuda-kun’s the problem. He needs to become kinder… I’m worried he might offend that senior manager.”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
Wow, you’ve reached the level of butting in even when you don’t understand the situation.
Attaboy, Tetsuya.
Make sure to keep this attitude up if you want me to show you a video titled “Miyuki’s Impregnation Record” later.
I dropped Tetsuya off at his house first.
“Thanks, Matsuda.”
“Get lost already.”
“See you tomorrow. Miyuki, make sure to call me later.”
He was no longer fazed by my provocations and just said what he wanted.
I ignored him as he waved goodbye and stepped on the gas, parking the car in front of Miyuki’s house.
I stared at her as she was about to get out.
“Miyuki.”
“Yes…?”
“You got into the student council, right?”
“Ah… yes. I’m starting as a clerk, though.”
“Congratulations.”
Miyuki stiffened at my sudden seriousness.
“Th-thank you…”
Miyuki always got flustered when the mood softened.
She would act normal during our dates, but then she would become shy and fidgety again towards the end.
I chuckled at her shyness, opened the console box, and took out the box I had prepared.
It was a mini cake box with a handle on top and a rounded, arch-shaped lid.
I handed it to Miyuki, and her eyes blinked a few times.
“What’s this…?”
“A congratulatory gift for your student council debut. Open it.”
Miyuki reflexively reached out and opened the box.
She carefully unwrapped the packaging and gasped when she saw the contents.
“Wow…”
It was a cake.
A mini cake with strawberries layered between each tier, decorated with cream flowers and topped with a large strawberry.
Miyuki probably never expected me to buy her something like this.
It was a small gift, but it would mean a lot to her right now.
It was a shame I couldn’t make it myself… I would make her one later.
I said to Miyuki, who couldn’t take her eyes off the cake,
“So you’re a clerk… That’s a position where you do all the odd jobs, just like me.”
“…Huh? What?”
Miyuki was too preoccupied with admiring the cake to hear me.
I chuckled, failing to tease her, and shook my head.
“Never mind. Enjoy the cake.”
“B-but I didn’t prepare anything…”
“I wasn’t expecting you to. Come on, hurry inside.”
“Right now…?”
I gave her a good gift, but there was no follow-up mood, right?
That was just how I was. She knew that.
“Go inside and eat it secretly. Don’t let your sister steal it.”
“She won’t steal it…!”
“Go on in.”
“Okay… Then… I’ll go now, Matsuda-kun.”
I nodded in response and watched Miyuki slowly get out of the car.
She glanced back as she walked towards her house.
She was holding the cake box carefully in both hands, as if it was precious.
*vroom*
I started the car and watched Miyuki disappear in the side mirror.
She was rummaging through her pockets in front of her door and then crouched down. It seemed like she dropped her keys.
So clumsy.
Preparations for the school festival would begin in September. I need to complete one more event before then,
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Miyuki’s lips stretched into a wide smile as she rested her chin on her hand, which was propped up on the corner of her desk.
She was staring at the cake Matsuda gave her, which was sitting on her desk.
It was a beautiful cake, made with care by a pastry chef.
And she loved that it was filled with her favorite strawberries.
She knew Matsuda had a thoughtful side, considering how he handled the incident at the movie theater and his actions before and after quitting the circle…
But she never imagined he would prepare a gift like this.
“I should get him a gift too…”
A bento box was too cliché… Maybe some homemade cookies?
Miyuki pondered over what to give Matsuda in return, staring at the cake, and then picked up her phone.
He should be home by now.
She opened the camera app.
“Hmm…”
She tried to take a picture of the cake, but it didn’t feel right.
Miyuki got up from her chair, cleared the notebooks and textbooks around the cake, and hurried down to the kitchen, calling out,
“Mom! Do we have any pretty plates?”
Midori, who was washing dishes in the kitchen, tilted her head.
“Pretty plates? Why? Ah… for that cake?”
“Yeah. Do we?”
“It’s hard to say. All the dishes look pretty to me.”
It was a perfect answer to a silly question.
Miyuki awkwardly twirled a strand of hair and was about to search for a plate when,
“You know that plate you bought during your high school trip to Okinawa a few years ago? The pretty one? Why don’t you use that?”
She gasped when she heard Wataru’s voice from the living room.
The small plate with cherry blossoms embroidered on the rim, the one she bought with Tetsuya.
Why didn’t she think of that? She used it often.
She opened the corner cabinet, took out the plate she hadn’t used in a while, and hesitated in front of Midori.
She wanted to wash the plate, but Midori was already washing dishes.
Midori chuckled, sensing her daughter’s thoughts, and held out her hand, which was covered in a rubber glove.
“Give it to me. I’ll wash it for you.”
Miyuki smiled sheepishly and handed her the plate.
She then started tiptoeing about, holding a dry cloth, fidgeting to express her impatience.
Midori washed the plate and handed it back to Miyuki.
“Did Tetsuya give you that cake? Or was it Haruka?”
“No. I’m busy, so I’ll go back upstairs. Thanks, Mom.”
“Okay. But when is Matsuda coming over? You said you would set a date.”
Miyuki, who was about to leave the kitchen, stopped.
“I haven’t set a date yet…”
“Hurry up and do it. If you keep procrastinating, it’ll never happen.”
“Okay… I’m going upstairs.”
“Okay.”
Miyuki ended the conversation, grabbed a fork with a rabbit character on the handle, and returned to her room.
She carefully took the cake out of the box and placed it on the plate.
She even placed the fork on the rim, making it look presentable.
Miyuki took a picture with her phone and opened her conversation with Matsuda to attach the photo. She then thought of what to write…
[It’s too pretty to eat.]
It felt lacking…
Should she add an emoji?
[It’s too pretty to eat ♥]
Was a heart emoji too much…? It might seem frivolous.
A wavy line or an exclamation mark seemed too plain…
The usually assertive Miyuki couldn’t make up her mind. She sent the original message and added a smile emoji instead.
“…”
There was no reply even after a while.
Was he taking a shower? Or did something happen on his way home?
She kept imagining quite extreme things while worrying about Matsuda when she heard her phone vibrate, and rushed to unlock it immediately.
[Miyuki, did you get home safely?]
It was a message from Tetsuya, not Matsuda.
A slight pang of disappointment flickered in Miyuki’s heart as she saw the message.
It was so fleeting that she didn’t even realize it herself.
[Yes, of course I did.]
[That’s a relief. I was worried because you weren’t replying.]
Come to think of it, Tetsuya did say he would contact her later in the car.
She had completely forgotten.
Feeling apologetic, Miyuki took a picture of the plate she had taken out.
She made sure that the cake and fork weren’t caught in the shot, only showing the rim of the plate.
[Do you know what this is?]
[Isn’t that the one we bought during our school trip to Okinawa two years ago?]
[That’s right. You remembered?]
[It’s something full of our memories together. Of course I remember it. Do you still use it?]
[I use it all the time. What about you, Tetsuya?]
[I use it sometimes to serve side dishes. That reminds me, do you still have the necklace I gave you when we were in elementary school?]
Miyuki looked at her bedroom door.
A cute cat with its right paw raised was dangling from the top.
It was a maneki-neko, a lucky cat, made into a necklace.
[Of course. It’s hanging from my ceiling, bringing me good luck.]
[I remember you cherishing it, saying it was cute. Ah, by the way, congratulations on getting into the student council.]
[Now you tell me?]
[Oh… I’m sorry.]
She tried to tease him a little, but his reaction was bland.
If she had sent that kind of message to Matsuda, he would have replied with something like, “Be grateful I even said congratulations in the first place” in a nonchalant tone.
[I’ll forgive you this time. Thanks, Tetsuya.]
As Miyuki was comforting Tetsuya, imagining her conversation with Matsuda,
*buzz!*
Her phone vibrated, and a message from Matsuda popped up on the screen. She immediately tapped on it.
[You know that if you eat that too late at night, you’ll get fat, don’t you? So eat it now. And you might get cavities, so make sure to brush your teeth. Or don’t, whatever.]
A reply with a completely different temperature from Tetsuya’s.
Even though it was just a simple text, Matsuda’s personality shone through.
If it were before, she would have found it rude, but not now.
It was so Matsuda. She thought it suited him perfectly.
[Are you a tsundere, Matsuda-kun?]
[Huh? You wanna mess with me?]
It was a silly reply, but she was already having fun.
Miyuki, her face beaming with a smile, got lost in her conversation with Matsuda.
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