On Friday, Ichin finally received feedback from Yoshino and Kitagawa.
Outside the classroom, Kitagawa grinned and said, "After practice yesterday, we went to McDonald's. While chatting, we brought up the topic of relationships. Turns out, Satou doesn't have any girl he likes or cares about right now. You can tell that girl you know to rest easy."
Yoshino nodded in agreement. "Yeah, when we asked him, he got all shy and said he had zero experience. He's got a pretty good personality. We've known him for a few months now, and he doesn't seem to have any bad habits. He doesn't even seem to get angry."
A nice guy, huh?
Not necessarily the best, but definitely not bad either. The only thing to worry about was whether he had that pseudo-harem protagonist kindness—the type that stays overly close with other girls even when he's in a relationship.
For some reason, Ichin suddenly thought of himself.
Wait, no. That doesn't count. I've never crossed the line in my interactions, and Utaha is always around. If I did anything inappropriate, she'd definitely call me out on it.
Shaking off the thought, Ichin thanked the two and headed back to the classroom.
---
That afternoon, during club activities, Eriri arrived at the Service Club with Komatsu from Class 1-B. Yukino, Utaha, and Ichin had already arrived earlier.
While waiting, Ichin explained the gathered information to Yukino, easing her concerns a little.
After all, this was the Service Club's first official request. It would be embarrassing if they failed right out of the gate.
Once Eriri and Komatsu arrived, Ichin relayed the information to their younger schoolmate.
"Komatsu, the Satou you're interested in currently doesn't have anyone he likes or cares about. If you want to make a move, you still have a chance."
Hearing this, Komatsu's face lit up, and she thanked him sincerely. "Thank you so much, senpai! That's wonderful news!"
But before she could get too excited, Yukino promptly poured a bit of cold water on her enthusiasm.
"Komatsu, while we now know that Satou doesn't like anyone, the same applies to you—you two have no connection whatsoever. If you want to take things further, you need to figure out what to do next. Otherwise, you'll just keep harboring a one-sided crush forever."
"Ugh… I-I know," Komatsu mumbled, blushing as she nervously gripped the hem of her skirt. "But… but I don't know what to do. If I just go up to Satou and say I want to get to know him, wouldn't that be too abrupt?"
No, you're just shy, that's all.
Everyone silently had the same thought.
Then, Utaha spoke up.
"From what we know, Satou is a member of the soccer club. Komatsu, are you in any clubs right now?"
"Me?" Komatsu hesitated for a second before shaking her head. "No, I'm not in any club."
"Then why not join the soccer club?" Utaha suggested. "They have a logistics team and a cheer squad—you could choose whichever suits you. That way, you'd have a reason to interact with Satou. Don't overthink it for now. Just get to know him first before deciding if you want to confess. It's only September—there's still plenty of time before Christmas or even Valentine's Day next year."
Utaha's suggestion was like a revelation to the girl.
"That's right! I can just join the club!" Komatsu exclaimed. "Thank you so much, Kasumigaoka-senpai! I'll go prepare my club application right away!"
Beaming with excitement, she stood up, bowed to Utaha, then turned and bowed to the others. "Thank you all so much for your help!"
Eriri waved her hand with a smile. "Don't worry about it. Since you came to the Service Club, it's only natural for us to help. But ultimately, this is something you have to do yourself. Let us know if anything happens, okay?"
"Yes! I definitely will!"
After Komatsu left, the Service Club's first request had officially been completed successfully.
Yukino let out a small sigh of relief. "Even though we completed the request, I don't think I was much help. It was Ichin-senpai and Utaha-senpai who came up with all the ideas."
Ichin responded casually, "Don't overthink it. Everyone has things they're good at and things they're not. This request just happened to be about romance, which isn't exactly your strong suit. If a different request comes along, that'll be your time to shine."
"That's right! You should rely on your friends more."
A familiar voice came from the doorway. As the clubroom door slid open, a woman in a white lab coat appeared—Hiratsuka Shizuka.
"Yo~ Good afternoon! Looks like you guys completed the request nicely."
Yukino, expressionless as ever, shot an icy glance at the woman stepping inside. "Hiratsuka-sensei, I've told you many times—please knock before entering."
"Ahhh, don't sweat the small details."
Hiratsuka walked over to Ichin, pulled out a chair, and sat down with a satisfied grin. "Yukino, pour me some tea, will you? I just finished a meeting, and I'm exhausted."
"…"
Yukino was silent for two seconds but ultimately poured her a cup of black tea.
"Thanks!"
Taking a sip, Hiratsuka let out a contented sigh.
"So, how did the request go? Smoothly?"
Utaha, glancing at the teacher who had casually draped one arm over her boyfriend's shoulder, didn't seem particularly annoyed. "Hiratsuka-sensei, you don't know the details?"
"Nope~" Hiratsuka shook her head. "I just saw that girl looking troubled and told her that if she needed help, she should go to the Service Club. I didn't really get into the specifics."
Yep, that definitely sounded like Hiratsuka.
However, perhaps because of her annoyance at Hiratsuka's habit of entering without knocking, Yukino suddenly activated her signature sharp tongue.
"There's no real need for you to know the details of the request, Hiratsuka-sensei. After all, you've been single your entire life. Your attempts at group dates and matchmaking have all failed. You have no useful advice to offer regarding high school romance. If you were to get involved, you'd just be adding to your own troubles—falling back into the endless cycle of matchmaking, rejection, and more matchmaking."
"…"
Hiratsuka froze mid-sip, suddenly finding that her tea had lost all its flavor.
Deep breaths… deep breaths…
Placing the cup down, she looked at Yukino. "You brat… You don't have any experience in romance either, so what gives you the right to say that to me?"
"Because I'm young. I'm only sixteen."
Yukino straightened her posture, locking eyes with Hiratsuka with absolute confidence. "Besides, I'm cute. If I wanted to, getting into a relationship would be effortless. I just choose not to."
Every word was a direct hit.
Hiratsuka couldn't take it anymore.
Slamming down the rest of her tea in one go, she stood up abruptly.
"I'm leaving! You're not cute at all!"
...
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