It was the first time I had felt such exhilaration in my school life.
That moment seemed long but was actually just an instant, and I didn’t have the luxury of time to look at others.
It was a victory won solely with the desire to be the first to cut that finish tape.
「Iyaa… I still can’t believe it…」
After the event ended and I returned to the team’s cheering section, I was greeted with loud cheers and applause.
It was the first time this had happened, and I felt genuinely happy because I felt I had contributed to the team.
I wanted to share this joy a bit longer, but I have other roles to fulfill.
A very important one, the Home Economics Club’s stall.
Eri-san had already headed to the clubroom, so I hurriedly decided to go there too.
Still, maybe Eri-san’s thing had some effect after all…
By Eri-san’s thing, I mean the grateful hug.
Honestly, I didn’t know if I could really win.
In practice, I had seen that senpai run, and he was clearly faster than me.
If we raced 10 times, I would probably lose more than half.
Thinking about it, Eri-san’s contribution might have been surprisingly significant.
I find myself thinking so.
With the Siscon President’s seal of approval, I was a bit skeptical at first, but I have to admit it.
I want to thank her in some subtle way…
But knowing Eri-san.
She’s probably already regretting overdoing it to encourage me.
If I said, “That hug really worked. Thank you so much!” she might overheat from embarrassment.
It’s better to thank her without making a big deal out of it…
I don’t want her to regret supporting me.
I thought of various ways to thank her without being obvious, but I couldn’t come up with anything.
But Eri-san has the right to command me after winning our bet, so maybe I’ll fulfill some unreasonable request as a way of thanking her…
Knowing Eri-san, she won’t ask for anything too crazy.
So I decided that I want to fulfill her wishes as much as possible.
〇
「Ah, welcome back! I watched it all. Congratulations!」
「Ahh, thanks…」
I thought she’d be a bit more awkward, but Eri-san was surprisingly her usual self.
「What’s wrong…?」
She tilted her head at me.
Hmm… she’s not concerned at all…
Maybe I was overthinking it.
「N-No, it’s nothing.」
「I see. We don’t have much time before opening, so let’s get ready quickly.」
「Y-Yeah! Let’s do that.」
I was overthinking it after all?
Eri-san has a stronger mentality than I thought…?
There was some discrepancy in interpretation, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.
As I approached Eri-san to take out drinks from the cooler box we had brought earlier.
「Hmm…? Eri-san, don’t your eyes look a bit red?」
Eri-san seems a bit different from before.
Her eyes look slightly swollen…
「D-Do they?」
「Yeah… you looked normal before, did something happen in the last hour??」
As I leaned in to look at her face, she quickly covered it with both hands and stepped back.
──Light Novels──
──Read Here──
「N-N-Nothing happened!」
「Really? Then why are you covering your face??」
「T-That’s because Yamanaga-kun suddenly got too close! It’s surprising, so please stop it!!」
「Sorry about that. I was just worried…」
「Uuu… that’s… make me happy… thankful, but there’s nothing to worry about. It’s probably just hay fever.」
「I see… hay fever.」
「Yes, that’s right. It can’t be anything but hay fever. Definitely.」
She was adamant, but I wonder why.
It’s May, so pollen is still around, but was Eri-san ever allergic to pollen??
…I’ve never seen her sneeze like “achoo!” before.
「Geez! We can chat later as much as we want. We have more important things to do right now!!」
「Yeah, right.」
Only 10 minutes left until opening.
We hurriedly continued with the preparations.
〇
「Welcome~」
「Waa… I saw the poster, but it really looks delicious…」
「Then, I’ll have this one!」
「Certainly!」
「Waa… amazing! Looks so tasty!」
After opening, people who had seen the posters or heard the announcements came, and it was bustling. At first.
As time passed, the number of people gradually decreased, and about 20 minutes after opening, no one was lining up anymore.
「Eri-san, how are the sales looking?」
「Um, we’ve sold about 30% so far. If this pace continues, we should be fine. If it continues, that is…」
It seems there are limits to what school announcements and posters can achieve, as students wanting to take photos during lunch break or eat at the food stalls were going elsewhere, not here.
「Was it tough because we’re offering light snacks…?」
「It’s true that the odds are against us…」
We’re offering things like juice and fruit, essentially light snacks.
Juice is available in vending machines, and it’s obvious that people would gravitate towards food stalls offering both bento and light snacks rather than just fruit.
「We need to find a way to break out of this situation.」
Just waiting won’t change anything.
So we need to take action…
「Eri-san, I have a suggestion.」
「What is it?」
「I want to go advertise where there are lots of people.」
「I see… That might indeed be the most effective thing to do right now.」
「But, there’s a concern.」
The concern is that the person left behind will have to man the stall alone.
After explaining this to Eri-san, she thought for a moment and then said,
「Understood. I’ll stay here and man the stall, so Yamanaga-kun, please go and advertise.」
It seems she also realized this was the best course of action.
「Got it. Then, I’ll go right away──」
Just as I was about to leave the clubroom.
「…Excuse me. Do you still have items for sale??」
A girl peeked in through the door.
A calculated cuteness and a soft voice that makes people smile just by hearing it.
「Hoshino…」
「I came to buy some!」
There stood Hoshino, whom I hadn’t expected to see here.