“You weren’t bluffing, then? Knowing you, Gakuto, I was certain you were dangling false bait with the meat thing!”
“How rude. Is that how you see me?”
“Uh, what? What goes on in your mind, Gakuto? Think back on every interaction we’ve had until now!”
“Okay, so I don’t cook for myself, but grilling meat is easy. Even I can do that much.”
“Gak, you’re a genius. Can we eat?”
“Sure. Make sure to chew well and grow strong!”
“Whoo! I’ll dig in! I mean, since you were kind enough to grill steak for us, Gakuto. It’s always me who ends up serving you, so knowing you had to do a little work for once makes me feel kinda good.”
“And it’s your job to wash the dishes and degrease the frying pan after eating, okay, Akiba?”
“When was that decided?!”
“Why do you think I invited you to join us for morning training anyway?”
“You invited me just so I could be your dishwasher?!”
The number one reason why cooking was troublesome was because of the cleanup afterward. Especially when using oil. I’ve heard it’s a major hassle, since you have to use a special oil sheet to absorb the used oil for easy disposal, and you have to carefully wipe the sticky ventilation fan with a cleaning agent.
If I didn’t have a convenient maid like Akiba, I would never think of grilling meat at home.
“…I take back my previous statement. You really are trash, Gakuto.”
“I permanently ban you from all future meat-eating sessions and from any future collabs with Shiika.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it! I’ll gladly clean for you, Lord Gakuto!” Akiba apologized frantically, then bit into her steak, her expression growing soft and gooey.
The abrupt change of facial expression was just too funny. I’ve already secretly nicknamed her Girl of a Hundred Faces.
Shiika was huffing for air around a bulging mouthful of meat when she suddenly looked up. Her gold eyes were staring right at me.
“What’s up?”
“If I train my body…eat meat…build muscle…will I get good at dancing?”
“Naturally. And you’ve got the best teacher around: Ootsuka.”
“Hmm… Then I’ll do my best.”
“I’m sorry for making you do something you’re not good at.”
“It’s okay.”
She shook her head.
“I’m not good at dancing, but…I like the color of dance music. If I learn to dance, I feel like I’ll be able to see more new colors.”
“…That’s right. Let’s do our best to find those new colors.”
“Yeah.” Shiika nodded and stuffed another forkful of meat into her mouth again.
Shiika was trying to break out of her shell in her own way. Not only was she not trying to bury her head in the sand when it came to her weak points, she was actually bravely attempting to stretch her own limits.
With that being the case, I wanted to help her as much as I possibly could.
(…But we didn’t have much time until the final exam…)
Lost in thought, I watched Shiika and Akiba eat.
Muscles, athletic performance… You can’t achieve remarkable growth in those things overnight. The only subject you can’t cram overnight is phys ed, you might say. And our chances of being able to beat skilled dancers like Ryan Sengoku were practically zilch anyway.
We might need to bring out the heavy guns here.
Focus not just on the quality of our dancing, but other things we could bring to the table. If we couldn’t find something like that fast, Shiika’s chances of standing on the special stage at the Ryouran Summer Festival would soon be dwindling to nothing.
Information. That was what we needed.
If only I could speak to someone with experience of last year’s Ryouran Summer Festival, I could get some hints and figure out a way to get ahead without relying on athletic performance.
Should I rely on Akiba’s information network?
…No, no. Akiba’s specialty is info-gathering among the first-years, since she’s a first-year student herself. Once she becomes an upperclassman, she’s going to have to go out and gather herself a whole new set of info.
Right now, I wanted her to focus on training, rather than wasting her time gathering info.
Besides, I had an inkling of where I might find myself an upperclassman familiar with last year’s Ryouran Summer Festival.
“She’s odd, so I’d rather not get involved too deeply with the likes of her… But I guess I’ve got no choice.”
Muttering vaguely, I pictured the face of one particular female student.
Io Kanda. The genius actress. The eccentric I’d encountered during the basics of muscle-training class.
We were inside the Ryouran High School building. The interior was painted in a tasteful color palette that matched its distinguished redbrick exterior. The brown-and-white painted walls of the wooden corridor made me feel like I’d wandered into the Taisho period.
And contrasting with the old-school atmosphere, the corridors were filled with students dressed in the latest fashion trends.
Girls squealed together, and the atmosphere was that of your typical lunchtime.
But things looked a little different from usual. After all, this was the third-year student floor.
I was weirdly nervous.
Everyone here was the same age as me, but I was a first-year. The thought of standing in a space full of seniors made me anxious. I’m a shut-in, see, so I’m shy, and I’m not great at talking with people. I just wanted to quickly take care of my business and head home.
I sneaked down the corridor, peeking into classrooms, trying not to be noticed. I was looking for her…for Io Kanda.
She’s a peerless beauty, a genius actress with an impressive aura. She ought to stand out from her surroundings. I should easily be able to spot her. That was my thinking.
But I couldn’t find her anywhere.
Even though I strained my eyes and sharpened my senses, Io Kanda was nowhere to be seen.
I’d researched her class in advance, but perhaps my information was incorrect. Or maybe she went somewhere else for lunch break? As soon as class ended, I’d left Shiika in the care of our friends and run here in a hurry, but… Maybe I just missed her?
I was about to turn and retreat when I suddenly sensed someone behind me.
“…!”
I whirled around.
How long had she been standing there? A beautiful face, like Snow White’s, so close to mine that our noses were almost touching.
“Did you need something from this class? Are you looking for someone? I can get them for you.”
“Io… How long were you standing there?”
“Hello, Gakuto. I’ve been standing here for just a few moments actually.”
It was the woman herself, Io Kanda, wearing a modest smile.
She had pale skin, white as snow, and silvery bleached hair. She was known to have an expressive face, yet it was currently unreadable, like she was wearing a painted mask. She wore her uniform in the orthodox manner, making her look like a well-behaved honor student but also mysterious at the same time.
She was the most talented student in Ryouran High, a school of talented students. She was already active as an actress and had already appeared in movies and TV dramas.
They call her the actress with a thousand emotions, due to her ability to play a wide variety of roles convincingly.
Why would an ordinary person like me be addressing such a celeb by her first name when there was such a hopeless disparity between us? Like the moon and a turtle, like diamond and stone, like a sniper rifle and a stone axe, that was me and her.
I’m not indecorous, you have to understand. It’s not like I don’t see the huge gap between us.
I would have liked to call her “Kanda,” nice and proper.
But it was none other than Io herself who’d asked me to call her by her first name. She said it was fine since we were the same age. I’m not sure how she found out my age, but I had no choice after that but to indulge her in her wish and call her Io. I meant nothing bad by it, in other words.
“You were here for several moments? I didn’t notice you approaching at all.”
“Hee-hee. I also work as a stage actress, you see.”
“What’s that got to do with it?”
“I can’t step loudly on the stage if it’s not part of the production. I’ve been training myself to walk silently. It’s an occupational hazard. I’m like an assassin. Don’t you think that’s super cool?”
“I mean, yeah, it’s cool, but…”
I’m a shut-in, but I am still very conscious of others. No, actually, I think it’s BECAUSE I am a shut-in.
I hate it when people look at me. When people stare at those like me in society, they’re rarely thinking anything good. After a bunch of unpleasant experiences, I’ve developed this chill that makes the fine hairs on my whole body stand on end whenever I notice someone looking at me.
Shiika’s sensitive to sound, but sounds don’t bother me that much. Still, I’m more sensitive than normies who’ve never experienced any hurdles in life.
It was amazing that Io had managed to sneak up on me—and closely enough for me to feel her breath.
“What is it? Captivated by my face?”
“Ah, no. I was wondering who you are, really. Like maybe you really are an assassin?”
“Maybe.”
“Don’t answer so glibly. I can’t tell if you’re being serious or joking.”
“Hee-hee. Well, thank you.”
“Er, that’s a compliment?”
“Yes, yes. It was the best compliment for an actress.”
“Ah, I see. Depending on how you look at it, that makes sense…”
Just having a normal conversation with her felt like I was being swallowed alive by an ant lion, and my legs started to get wobbly.
As I stood there looking down, clutching my head, Io leaned forward and looked at my face, as if she could see right through my chin.
“Is it possible you came to see me?”
“You sure cut straight to the chase.”
“You were looking inside the classroom until just a little while ago, but since you started talking to me, you haven’t glanced over there even once, see.”
“Your insight is horrifyingly sharp. And you’re correct.”
“Hmm, so you’re captivated by me, is it? That’s… Well. Hee-hee-hee. I’m pleased.”
“It’s not you I’m interested in. I’m interested in learning about the final exam.”
I decided to get to the point. It felt like the conversation had been going on for too long already, and if I continued to let Io set the pace, we could be at this for hours.
“The end-of-term exam, huh?”
“Yeah. If you get a high grade, you can perform on the special stage at the Ryouran Summer Festival, right?”
“Yeah. That’s the setup every year.”
“I want some tips on how to get on that stage. You’re a third-year student. I thought you might have some ideas, based on trends from the previous years.”
“I see. It’s true that I performed on the special stage last year and the year before that. I’m so great. Eh-heh-heh.” Io puffed out her chest.