CH 29

You're betting on something very important.

Translated by Dawn

Edited by Dawn

You’re betting on something very important.

Our school was a reasonably advanced school, and the teachers were decent.

Even in regular examinations, the questions were designed to prepare students for the entrance examination.

Therefore, I saw students studying hard here and there in the school.

One of the classrooms in the school building.

I was sitting at one of the four desks attached together.

Mizutani was sitting across from me, Shuji was sitting next to me, and Ogura was sitting on the opposite side of the desk.

The four of us had a study session for the rest of the week. The idea came from Mizutani.

The idea was to eliminate as many unwanted elements as possible with the help of Ogura and the others. In other words, in a sense, it was also for me.

“I’m glad you two made up~”

Ogura was the first to open the conversation, followed by Shuji.

“I was worried, too. If you two break up, it will be hard for the four of us to play together.”

“Eh, that’s what you’re worried about?”

“Ah, no, of course, as a best friend, I’m—”

Regardless of Shuji’s excuses to Ogura, I lightly bowed my head.

“Sorry for causing all that trouble.”

“No, no, no, don’t apologize like that. You’re so serious, Aizawa-kun.”

That’s right.  In the first place, I was just worrying about you, and you didn’t give us much trouble. You’re worrying too much, Akito.”

“…Is that how it is?”

I asked, raising my head.

They looked at each other and then smiled at me.

“Of course!”

“Of course!”

Apparently, I was blessed with a good group of friends.

“…Thank you, both of you.”

I bowed my head again.

“It’s fine, it’s fine! Heads up, both of you!”

Both of you?

When I looked at the other side of the desk, feeling uncomfortable with Ogura’s words, I saw that Mizutani had also bowed her head.

When I lifted my head, my eyes met hers. Mizutani smiled faintly.

“So, what are your usual grades, Aizawa-kun?”

The study session began after that, and Ogura immediately asked.

“I’m usually in the top 20. I don’t have any particular subject that I’m good at. I feel like I have a balanced knowledge of all the subjects.”

“Eh, that’s really good! We don’t have to teach you anything then, do we? I mean, if we just did it the normal way, you’d win.”

“That’s not going to happen…”

I explained to them that apparently Yamamoto’s grades were good.

After listening to what I had to say, they both looked at me with difficulty.

“Hmm, that’s pretty tough…but I wonder if there is anything we can teach you. My grades aren’t very good either, and Shu-kun is…”

When Ogura slurred her words, Shuji said as if taking over with a big smile.

“Yeah, I’m almost on the verge of a red mark. I mean, it’s weird to get around 10th place while doing club activities.”

“…But even you two have your strengths in certain subjects. If there is even one subject in which Aizawa can beat him, I want you to teach it to him.”

Mizutani said in a calm tone of voice.

“I’m good at subjects…I’d say social studies. I’m especially good at Japanese and world history!”

“I’m good at…health and physical education.”

“…Shu-kun. I’m sorry, but P.E. has nothing to do with grades.”

“Eh, seriously!? Then there’s probably nothing I can teach you!”

Well, I didn’t expect much from Shuji, to begin with.

I was just grateful for his support.

“What are you good at, Mizutani?”

“I’m good at English and mathematics. My overall ranking is about the same as Aizawa’s, so I think I can teach those two subjects.”

“Ehh, I’m surprised you have such good grades too, Karin. You two are awesome!”

“…Compare to Mizutani, who is also taking a piano lesson, I’m a go-home student with nothing to do. I have to be able to at least do well in my studies.”

Perhaps because I wasn’t used to receiving compliments, I ended up uttering self-deprecating words.

Shuji said to me reproachfully.

“Hey, hey, I don’t think it’s good for you to say that, Akito.”

When I look at Shuji without thinking, the guy continued with a serious face.

“If you could do well in your study so easily, I wouldn’t be having such a hard time. You should be more proud of your ability.”

“Hahaha, that’s right! Shu-kun always suffers from regular tests, right!”

“Yeah. But, the more I suffer, the stronger I am. So there is no problem.”

“For someone who says he’s getting stronger, your grades haven’t gone up at all!”

“…I mean mentally. I don’t care about superficial things like grades.”

Hey, that was a 180-degree different statement than the one you just made.

Well, putting aside the silly conversation, the study session began.

The sound of a mechanical pencil lead scratching a notebook echoed in the air.

Occasionally I would ask Mizutani or Ogura a question, and sometimes they would ask me back.

I began to see the advantages of studying together.

First of all, as a matter of course, I could ask other people what I did not understand.

By asking Mizutani about math and English and Ogura about social studies, I could solve problems faster than if I had to figure them out on my own.

But that was not the only advantage.

“Akito, what is the equation of motion?”

“It’s the equation ma=F, where m is mass, a is acceleration, and—”

“Akito. Why can’t the choice here be 2?”

“You’ve already said it outright. Most of the choices that are definite are questionable.”

“Akito~, I don’t know what ‘mol’ means.”

“…6.0 x 10 to the 23rd power.”

“No, I’m not just talking about numbers.”

“…..”

Since it was a study session, of course, I was not the only one asking one-sided questions.

On the contrary, I was sometimes asked questions (mainly by Shuji), and when I tried to answer them, my understanding naturally deepened.

So we stayed and studied until school closing time every day during the week.

But studying at school was not the end of the story.

I had to use all the time I could because the other person had excellent grades.

When I got home, I finished dinner and immediately went to my desk.

I would use LIME to ask Mizutani and the others questions about the parts I didn’t understand, and I would move my pen around.

“Brother, you’re studying really hard this time, huh.”

Mai, who had come to my room before I knew it, suddenly said so.

When I turned around, Mai was still lying on my bed, reading manga.

Didn’t she also have a regular test?

“I’ve got a little bet going on.”

Mai widened her eyes when I replied with a vague answer.

“Ah, are you betting money!? That’s gambling! That’s no good!”

“It’s not gambling, I swear.”

I’d never seen anyone gamble on a regular test.

But it would be interesting to see if there were.

If there were odds or something, the whole school might become noisy.

In that case, my odds would be…well, maybe about average.

“Then what are you betting?”

“…something.”

“Tch, at least tell me. My big brother is so stingy.”

Mai puffed out her cheeks and turned her attention back to the manga.

Thinking that the conversation was over, I turned back to my desk.

After a while, Mai muttered something to me.

“But if you’re studying that hard, you must be betting on something very important.”

“—Eh?”

I was so focused on my studies that I was caught off guard and was genuinely startled.

When I turned around, Mai was looking at me with a dubious look on her face.

“What are you surprised about, are you really studying so much because what you’re betting on is so important?”

“…..”

No way.

The only reason I was trying so hard was simply that I wanted to put an end to this relationship with Mizutani. It wasn’t that I didn’t like Mizutani, but it wasn’t right to continue the current relationship. That was why I was trying to win against Yamamoto, and it didn’t matter whether what I was betting on was important or not.

To put it another way, if Mizutani and Yamamoto become in love with each other, everything will be resolved.

There was no need for me to work hard, no need for me to be an obstacle. I didn’t even need to play the role of her boyfriend.

…But for some reason, I would rather not think about that too much.

That meant that, as much as I hate to admit it, Mizutani’s presence in my life was—

No, let’s not think about anything more than that.

Right now, anyway, I should study as much as possible to increase my chances of winning.

“…It’s not what I’m betting on matters.”

When I answered that to Mai, she replied lightly, “Hmmm. That’s strange.”

Apparently, she didn’t mean it that seriously.

In the end, I continued studying that day until the day changed.