Chapter 37: Exposed at the Sports Festival
My relationship with Yukari-san changed a little.
We found ourselves smiling at each other more, talking more often, and spending time together whenever something came up.
Those were happy times, and I was totally into Yukari-san.
And then, I explained the situation to Nagase-san too.
Nagase: "Ehh?! That really happened? So? Kousuke-kun, you've been sticking with Tomonaga-san since summer break, helping her with her revenge and dieting? And even Airi-senpai is involved?!"
Nagase-san was a bit down, like "I missed my chance..." but I told her, "Don't worry, I'm here for you."
Nagase: "That's what worries me..."
But, well, I spent almost the whole summer with Yukari-san... you know?
There's a sense of attachment and something special.
Then, the sports festival arrived.
I was able to shine, winning in class events and the 200m hurdles as an individual!
Since I'm in a sports club and take it seriously, I guess I stood out a bit at the sports festival.
The big topic at the festival was Yukari-san.
Her true identity hasn't been revealed yet,
but apparently there was a huge buzz like, "Who's that cute girl?!"
I wonder what happened?
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Hide your existence! side Yukari Tomonaga
Osada: "Yukaricchi? Seriously, do not stand out, okay?"
"Yes!"
As usual, I'm in hiding, just like Osada-san told me.
But today, since the sports festival is outdoors, I get a pass on my usual long, matte black wig and mask!
I'm running in the 100m race that everyone has to participate in.
Lined up in lane 6, ready to go.
Girl from the class next door: "Huh? Who are you?"
Girl from the class next door 2: "Yeah, really, who? Are you from Class 4?"
"..."
(Oh no, Osada-san is going to scold me!)
I play dumb.
As soon as I cross the finish line, I'll hide!
(I'm slow, but I ran so much this summer... Maybe today I can do well?)
On your marks, get set, bang!!
My body feels so much lighter than ever before! With this, I can—
I run with everything I've got! I was never used to running like this before.
But now, I can!
First place!!
For the first time in my life, I won a race!!
And just like that, I disappeared from the scene.
It's dangerous to stand out, huh?
Even in team events like the big ball roll and jump rope, I was able to do way better than I ever thought possible!
I've always just dragged everyone down at the sports festival, never once stood out like this!
But there's something that's bothering me.
"Class 4? Who's that girl?"
"Yeah! I wonder who she is?"
"Have we ever seen a girl like that? She's unforgettable if you've seen her, right?"
There's a bit of gossip going around... Is this okay?
Osada-san heard the rumors and came rushing over!
(Eek! I'm going to get scolded!!)
But Osada-san, while laughing,
Osada: "You killed it out there! Maybe you don't see it, but Yukaricchi, you've gotten really cute, you know? Your existence has finally been exposed, huh?"
Cute? Really? If that's true, I'm so happy!
But exposed... I mean, I've been here all along, you know?
"Haha, you're kidding, right?"
Osada: "No, seriously, it's frustrating, but you're actually really cute! That's why, today, that's enough! Don't go out anymore, okay? No need to draw any more attention!"
Osada-san told me to stay hidden, so I'm hiding.
But, yeah, I was definitely the topic of some rumors.
There's a mysterious cute first-year girl, and nobody's ever seen her before.
The mysterious beautiful girl!
A cute girl of unknown identity appeared at the sports festival and disappeared by the afternoon? A ghost?
(Maybe I'm being self-conscious, but! "Mysterious beautiful girl"?!
That's way too much pressure!)
But if everyone found out it was me, wouldn't they just be disappointed?
I can't help thinking that way.
Anyway, with all those rumors at the sports festival, even if they don't know who I am, my existence got exposed.
The rumors spread more than I expected, and now people are even saying, "Let's find that mysterious beautiful girl!"
...No, please stop with the mysterious beautiful girl thing!
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Advance Announcement side Osada
Even though I told Yukaricchi not to stand out, she went and won the 100m and did pretty well in the class events too.
Now there's this wild rumor about a beautiful girl no one's ever seen before, or that she's some kind of ghost—things are exploding.
Nobody's figured out her true identity since she only popped up for a bit, but this is actually useful...
With this, at the culture festival,
if we say, "She's the one who caused a buzz at the sports festival!" we'll get a ton of attention, right? The class exhibit could totally blow up!
So, letting people know just a little now is actually great PR!
Yukaricchi is just as useful as I thought!
It's been a little while since I brought her into my group, but she's obedient, never argues, and she's easy to manage!
She's an asset to our group!
People are saying she's from Class 4, so we'll keep her hidden for now, but when her identity comes out? The story behind her weight loss and all that...
And if we have the film club's backup, Cinderella? Cinderella Girl, right? Maybe she'll become the most popular person in school overnight!
Then we could beat Mishima and win at the class exhibit too!
"Introduce her to me!" "Okay, but what's in it for me?" There are some seriously juicy ways to use this...
Kuzu: "...."
Even that handsome, status-obsessed Kuzu-kun is apparently interested in the "mysterious beautiful girl" and is looking for her.
You're the one who dumped that fatty, lol.
Hehehe! Isn't this fun?
Yukaricchi's stock is only going up!
Let's nurture her more, get some favors, and use her well, yeah?
Yukaricchi needs to really see herself as a member of our group...
Ah, I just had a great idea! Didn't she say she wanted to burn her bridges?
Time to win Yukaricchi over and cut off her escape routes.
From that day on, I gave Yukaricchi the treatment of a top clique girl and told everyone else to do the same.
If she wanted juice, someone would go buy it, and if she needed anything, people would work it out or cover for her—I made sure everyone knew.
Yukari: "Upie! No way! I'll go myself!"
Yukaricchi just isn't getting with the program...
Is it because she grew up at the bottom of the caste?
Would winning her over by making her feel like part of the group work better?
I changed my policy and started working on winning Yukaricchi over.