A few days later at lunchtime.
「Here, today’s bento.」
「Thanks!」
As usual, I came to the rooftop with Sasaki-san. Recently, it has become a habit to eat lunch alone with Sasaki-san every day.
So I received the bento from Sasaki-san and opened the lid.
「Ohh! Today’s bento is colorful and looks really delicious too!」
「N-No, it’s not particularly colorful or anything… I-It’s not any different from usual. So stop staring at the contents of the bento and just eat already. Lunchtime is limited, you know.」
「Yeah, you’re right. Then, without further ado… itadakimasu!」
「Yeah, itadakimasu.」
Saying that, we put our hands together properly before starting to eat.
「Yeah, today’s bento is really delicious too! Thank you so much for always making such a beautiful and tasty bento!」
「No, it’s nothing. Besides, I’ve been getting help with studying from you lately. So thank you too.」
As I expressed my gratitude to Sasaki-san, she bowed her head to me while saying that.
「No, no, you don’t need to worry about that at all. But I’m really glad to be of help to Sasaki-san.」
「Yeah, you’re helping me a lot. If I get bad grades and have to attend supplementary lessons, I won’t be able to go to club activities.」
「Ahh, I see. It must be tough for sports clubs if you have to attend supplementary lessons. If I remember correctly, getting a failing grade means suspension from club activities, right?」
「That’s right, exactly. And next month we have a lot of practice matches with other schools, and after that, the city tournament starts, so I absolutely can’t afford to be suspended from club activities. That’s why I’m really grateful to Yamada.」
「Hee, practice matches with other schools and a tournament, huh… Yeah, you definitely have to give your all in both club activities and studies! I’m cheering for you!」
「Yeah, thanks.」
It seems that the girls’ volleyball club has a lot of super important club activities coming up soon, like practice matches with other schools and tournaments.
That’s probably why Sasaki-san feels she has to give her all in both studying and practice.
(Unn, but I wonder if there’s anything I can do to help Sasaki-san besides studying?)
At that moment, I started to think about such things.
After all, I owe a lot to Sasaki-san, and I think it would be nice if I could help her with something other than studying…
「Hmm… Ah, that’s right!」
「Nnn? What’s up?」
「Come to think of it, Sasaki-san, you’re actively involved in purchasing equipment for the volleyball club, right?」
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「Eh? Yeah. Well, I guess so. …Wait, how do you know about that?」
「Ahh, actually, I heard about it from Segawa-san from the volleyball club a little while ago.」
「Eh? Ahh, I see. Now that you mention it, you did meet with Kasumi a little while ago. I see, so you talked about that with Kasumi then.」
「Yeah, that’s right.」
At that time, I heard various cool stories about Sasaki-san from Segawa-san, a member of the girls’ volleyball club.
And among those stories, I heard that Sasaki-san goes to sports shops and takes the initiative to buy equipment for the volleyball club.
Well, purchasing equipment itself is something that every club does, so I don’t think it’s particularly unusual in itself. But…
(But if you think about it, it’s the girls’ volleyball club… so there are no male members.)
That’s why they have to carry heavy items by themselves, and in such cases, Sasaki-san probably takes the lead in carrying the heavy items. So I…
「…So? What about me purchasing equipment?」
「Ahh, yeah. Umm, if there’s going to be more of that in the future, should I help out?」
「Eh? Yamada?」
「Yeah. It must be tough for just the female members, right? If there’s heavy lifting or hard work involved, I’d be happy to help.」
So I made such a proposal. Well, I made that proposal with the thought that it would be nice to be of help to Sasaki-san. But…
「Unn, I’m happy that Yamada offers, but… there’s really no work that’s that tough, so it’s okay. Besides, we don’t purchase equipment that often.」
But Sasaki-san said that and gently declined my offer.
(Well, I guess so. That’s the kind of girl Sasaki-san is.)
From our interactions so far, I’ve come to understand that Sasaki-san is the type of girl who doesn’t want to trouble others too much. That’s why she hesitated at first when I suggested the study session.
And back then, she accepted my proposal because I properly explained that there was a benefit for me in having the study session… but in this case, it’s clear that there’s no benefit for me, which is probably why Sasaki-san gently declined.
(Well, it can’t be helped. I need to properly respect Sasaki-san’s decision.)
「Yeah, got it. If Sasaki-san says it’s okay, I’ll trust that.」
「Yeah, it’s okay. So I’ll just accept the sentiment. But thanks for saying that, Yamada.」
When I said that, Sasaki-san smiled and expressed her gratitude to me again.
「No, it’s totally fine. Ah, but if anything tough comes up, feel free to rely on me anytime! I’ll definitely do anything if it’s a request from Sasaki-san!」
「Eh…? O-Okay. Got it.」
But I conveyed that once more at the end. I told her to rely on me anytime if she was in trouble.
Well, I don’t know if I’ll actually be of help… but I’d be happy if she remembered that there’s at least one guy she can rely on when something happens.