CH 54

Chapter 54: A Disturbing Shadow Looming

TL: Akabane

***

Tennis is one of the best parts of college life. There is surely no college campus without tennis courts. And it's a place where sparks fly and youth is at war.

"Hey, everyone! Thank you for participating in the training camp! I'm Okuwa Takashi, the representative of this circle, and a third-year student at the Faculty of Economics at Chugi University. Nice to meet you!"

From a podium set up on the tennis court area of the training center, a handsome senior with a refreshingly conscious aura is giving a speech of greeting.

"In this training camp, I want all the new students to cultivate the bonds and friendships among the members that are necessary for the future management of the event. Well, what I'm trying to say is, let's have fun together! That's what I mean!"

That's when the applause crackles. The shortness of the speech seems to be well received. This kind of lightheartedness will be popular with the new students who have only known the uptight atmosphere of high school club activities. The freshmen scattered to the courts in groups. The seniors joined the groups. The seniors were in charge of teaching tennis, or rather, of organizing the groups. Or should I say, they were in charge of entertaining the newcomers. Well, that's where the freshmen boys were subjected to a kind of baptism....

"Hi. For the first program, it's me and Kubodera Genji, a second-year student in the Department of Literature at the University of Chugi. Care? Is it entertainment? Hahaha. Well, thank you for letting me do something like that!"

The group that I, Igarashi and Tsukasa joined has about 20 new students including us and other students. By the way, Mashiba is not here. I did it! Since this is a circle camp for the chosen ones only, the girls are seriously cute. But among them, Igarashi stood out by a head or two as the most beautiful. The boys' eyes naturally focused on Igarashi. Among them, Houjou was naturally there as well. What is going to happen now? There was nothing but anxiety.

"We basically play doubles. We'll be playing doubles at our place, so just pair up men and women as you see fit. Ah! Don't worry! We have an equal number of boys and girls, so you won't be left alone like in high school gym, lol."

A giggle and a laugh erupts. But the faces here are definitely not the ones who have ever been left over during P.E. time. Basically, it's a bunch of jovial people. I'm the only one who knows the taste of that solitude...sad... People around me are laughing, goofing around, enjoying the doubles decision. In the midst of all this.

"Tokiwa! I think you have something to say to me!"

Igarashi came up to me and said so like a mischievous child.

"Hmm? Ah. Let's see... Do you want to partner up?"

"Eh, I don't know what to do. You did something terrible to me the other day..."

Ugh! Well, it's my fault for being so traumatized and stubborn.

"Would you be willing to work with me?"

"Yes, I would. Well, okay. You can thank me for my generosity!"

The doubles between me and Igarashi was set. This would protect her from Kuzu Blue's evil hands for this time. I thought.

"Hey, you two there, can I have a word?"

The representative, Okuwa, came by our side. He was smiling and freshly smiling.

"You two are from the same university, right? That kind of defeats the purpose of this camp, doesn't it? We want you to spread out as much as possible, you know, for us. You know, being stuck in the same university is kind of exclusive, isn't it? Don't you want to be more open?"

This training camp itself feels exclusive, as the boys are big boys and the girls are cute girls. But it's hard to go against the pretext of the representative. Igarashi's face is a bit gloomy, and I'm a little bitter as well. That's the time.

"Yes! Representative-san! If you're having trouble, I can work with the guy over there!"

Usui raised her hand and said so. Next to him was Kuzu Blue. It looks like those two are playing doubles.

"Hey, hey, that makes me look like I'm the one they don't like!"

"Well, but Hinata and I are in the same high school. It's better for us to stay away from each other."

"Well, I guess you're right. Tsumugi, you're really brilliant!"

The representative gives a thumbs up and smiles.

"Great! Nice to have the same high school and the same college in a nice separation!"

Usui came up to me and took my arm.

"Nice to meet you! Call me Tsumugi."

"Hm? Oh, yes. I'm Kanata."

Houjou then approaches Igarashi's side.

"Nice to meet you, Igarashi. I used to play tennis in the club, so you can count on me! Haha!"

"...Uh...um...yeah. Nice to meet you..."

Igarashi looks depressed. I don't like to see that kind of face.

"Representative-san. Houjou over there is from the same high school as Igarashi. It goes against the purpose of the camp. Besides, if you're going to scatter the universities, I don't think it's fair if you don't scatter the other doubles as well, do you? There are a lot of doubles here, doubles that are paired with other doubles from the same college."

I have in my head the colleges and names and faces of all the participants. This camp is a gathering of people who have almost never met each other before. Therefore, it is not strange that we naturally try to play doubles with people from the same university. If we adopt the logic of the representative, it would not be fair if we don't scatter the other pairs as well. Also, for my part, I would be very annoyed if Houjou and Igarashi teamed up.

"You know what? You, do you feel like you're frying someone? Maybe you feel like you're proving how smart you are with that?"

Representative Okuwa said grimly. That's a depressing thing to say. Many of the circle's representatives are like this. They have risen to the position of a major circle representative by continually mounting others. The ability to communicate in college is nothing but the ability to mount. So, if they receive a mount-like rebuttal from someone, they immediately become grumpy.

"I'm not trying to be a fry-up, I'm just asking you to be reasonable. It's not fair, isn't it? Right?"

"You know what? I don't care about that kind of thing. It's going to be late when we start if you keep messing around. Can't you read the air a little?"

"I see. I understand. Hmmm...the air, huh..."

If the word "air-reading" is used, it can be considered as a figurehead. However, the representative is the more powerful person, so even if you argue with him here, you will never win. Well, I'm not going to join this circle anyway, so I'll break his nose with something later. At any rate, I decided to call this guy "Ko-Kuwa," not "Okuwa," or "Kokuwagata from here.

"Hoo! That's why Imperial University students are like this...!"

The representative seemed quite annoyed, but he quickly regained his smiling face and said to everyone.

"Okay. Well then, let's practice together first! Me and Kubodera will start the ball, so let's hit it aggressively!"

Kokuwagata begins to prepare for practice while moving a cart full of balls. The new students also move one by one toward the back line of the court. Igarashi comes up to me as I move, and mutters something in a whisper.

"Thanks for biting back. There's something wrong with him, isn't it? He can't keep his word, right?"

"That's okay. That's how the world works, I guess. Let's just have fun. See? I said it before. We got to play tennis together."

"...I guess so. Yes, we did. Let's have a lot of fun!"

And practice began.

Tennis practice has a lot of waiting time. This may be one of the reasons why it is a popular university club activity. At any rate, it is very easy to chat during the waiting time.

"Kanata, you have the atmosphere of an action star in a Western movie, don't you? Do you work out?"

Usui talked to me rather aggressively. She has a friendly atmosphere.

"Well, I work out rather hard. Someday I'd like to tear my T-shirt with just my muscles."

"Haha, that's working out too much! Speaking of which, I wonder if Igarashi is dating Hagiri after all?"

The name of the unpleasant guy came up. I haven't seen him since that day, but still, not a day goes by that I'm not conscious of him.

"I haven't heard anything about Igarashi dating anyone, though."

It's not like Igarashi is dating anyone right now. The same is true with Hagiri. According to my knowledge of the future, they will start dating after Golden Week. But how will that future change when Igarashi comes to this camp? In the previous world, a family trip would have been the key. But that opportunity is gone.

"Really? But she was always with Hagiri in high school! I heard rumors that she was always trying to get other boys to confess their feelings for her. She was kind of a devilish woman. I think we classmates were a little scared of her..."

Oops. This woman is trying to spread bad rumors about Igarashi to me. Well, she is a woman who leaves a strong impression after just a word or two of conversation. At least in my previous world, a small conversation with Igarashi was enough to change the course of my life.

"Well, a devilish woman may indeed be. But I don't think she has any intention of doing so."

If she can consciously mislead a man with that clunker, I'd love to see her do it. Igarashi's quality lies in the fact that she unconsciously attracts and fascinates men.

"Er, but you'd better watch out! See! Like Hinata! All the boys get carried away. That's why the air gets so bad."

"Hmm. Well, that's true. The air might be stagnant."

In fact, the boys have been talking to Igarashi whenever they feel like it. They left the girls in their doubles team alone. I have a feeling that this is putting the girls in a bad mood. The only boy who is not talking to Igarashi is Tsukasa. Maybe that's why Tsukasa is getting more and more popular with the girls. He's my favorite. He is irresistible.

"Hey, Kanata. Tennis is pretty interesting! It feels so good when the sound is good and the ball is in the other court.

Tsukasa spoke to me. He was sweating a little, but still had a clean smile on his face.

"It sure fun, isn't it? By the way, doesn't Tsukasa talk to Igarashi?"

"That's right. Tsukasa, don't you talk to Igarashi?"

Me and Usui had the same question. Especially me, I know that Tsukasa is one of Igarashi's ex-boyfriends in the future. I thought maybe he would talk to her and the two of them would get along right away, but it doesn't look like that's the case.

"Hmmm. ...I wonder if it's okay to say these things... well, Kanata would be fine."

Tsukasa glanced at Igarashi for a moment. Then he asked about Kuzu Blue Houjou in a fearful manner, and said in a small voice.

"Igarashi is indeed very beautiful and pretty, but...it looks bad. No, I can't put it into words well. Yeah...I don't know. I wonder what it is. Is it like the Mona Lisa's smile? Or the Venus de Milo?"

"Huh? Mona Lisa? Why?"

"No. I think the ambiguity of the Mona Lisa's smile is what inspires the viewer. Her smile is like that. For me, it stimulates my desire to create. It is like the two hands of Venus de Milo. Igarashi has the golden ratio, but something is missing, and the viewer has a desire to fill in the missing pieces. I see. I don't know why I'm saying this. Anyway, it's not good. I don't want to get involved with Igarashi because I don't want to go down the wrong path. I'm scared. I'm afraid I'll be swallowed up and disappear. That kind of fear..."

I wonder if it is his sensitivity as an artist. Certainly, in my previous world, I had seen many men madly in love with a woman named Ririse Igarashi. There were many ex-boyfriends who fought with me, who her my current boyfriend and husband. I secretly called it the Ex-Boyfriend Trojan War.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. No one can touch her! Let's just leave her alone and have fun!"

Usui is in a good mood. She was probably satisfied to hear Tsukasa's negative opinion about Igarashi. But I told him that she is attractive, just that Tsukasa should not approach her. After all, people only see what they want to see. Usui is so angry at Igarashi for taking her eyes off the boys that she's stuck with that. I feel sorry for her. But I have no obligation to help her. I want her to escape from that at her own risk.

"Hey. Then it's time to play a mock-up! Take a look!"

The representative Komuwagata stuck the match-up sheet on the wire mesh wall behind the court. On it was written.

Round 1: Tokiwa/Usui vs. Houjou/Igarashi

I looked up to the sky at this too subtle matchup.

On top of that, around that time, her childhood friend...

[Hagiri's POV]

Ririse ran away from the trip on a whim. She is with Tomoe now, and Tomoe informed me that she was at a circle camp. So I am not worried. However, it was quite painful to be apologized to and bowed down by the Igarashi's parents. But now, on the other hand, I was happy to be able to stroll around this Izumo area with a very peaceful feeling. If Ririyo were here, she would be too noisy and chatty, and I would not be able to quietly and leisurely investigate this place where the air of the divine era or the Miyo period still lingers. I wanted to feel this place with my own senses before conducting a full-scale investigation with Dr. Amakaze. And I am sure there is a part of me that is relieved that Ririse is not coming here. Both my parents and their parents are so adamant that they want to keep Ririse and I on the same side. To be honest, I am cautious about going out with them. If I wasn't dreaming, there would be no obstacles to going out with Ririse. But now it's different. Ririse is a necessary piece of the plan. Of course I have feelings for her. She is my childhood friend. But not now. The dream hasn't come true yet. When I fulfill my dream and everything is settled and settled. That will be the right time. Ririse will never date a man anyway. There is no need for me to be so busy with romantic matters. What I'm worried about now is Tomoe. She has been spoiling me and Ririse a lot lately. I am sure she will be spoiled by Ririse even on the circle trip. I don't mind that, but since I went to the trouble of using my connections to send her there, I really want her to take in Mikamo Tsukasa. I was actually going to use a hostess to bring him in, but Tomoe volunteered, so I left it to her. I need her to produce results. I'm really getting tired of it. Why do I have to bother with other people's circumstances like this? I saved up my strength in junior high school and high school, but I still get swayed by other people's circumstances. Especially Kanahisa Tokiwa. He is not good. He is really not good. Just thinking about him irritates me. I don't even want to think about him hanging around me, out of control like a nuclear warhead. It makes my nerves tingle to behave in a way that does not cross the dead line of his mood. Well, he is probably having fun with his own women during GW. He needs to take this opportunity to rest. Tomoe and Ririse are also gone. Let's call up our female henchwomen and have a good time at night. Let's enjoy the power we have gained. We will nourish our energy and draw the future that we want.