The next day was Tuesday, and the weather was perfect. The sky was a deep, clear blue, and the young leaves of the trees glistened in the sunlight.
During lunch break, Watanabe Tetsu, finally able to enjoy the ordinary rhythm of daily life again, leaned against the window of the hallway with Kunii Osamu and Saitō Keisuke, overlooking the courtyard as they chatted.
Everywhere in the courtyard, students were eating their bento boxes.
"Damn it!" Kunii Osamu muttered, watching a couple under a tree, tearing a huge piece of bread and chewing it vigorously.
Saitō Keisuke scoffed, "If you'd gone after Yamaguchi Naomi, you wouldn't be sulking here."
"How could I? Am I someone who abandons his friends? Even if I had a girlfriend, I'd still eat with you guys!"
"By the way, how's it going with Yamaguchi-san?" Watanabe Tetsu sipped his strawberry milk through the straw.
After focusing so much on studying lately, his body craved sweets. Cola wasn't nutritious, so he opted for this girly milk drink instead.
Kunii Osamu gazed at the distant sky. "I… I like someone."
"Huh?" Saitō Keisuke looked surprised.
"Listen." Kunii Osamu closed his eyes.
"Listen to what? Someone you like? But you like Yamaguchi Naomi… or—"
Watanabe Tetsu interrupted. "It's the cello."
"The… cello?"
"Yes. The sound of the cello."
Faintly, from the elevated corridor between the club building and the classroom building, the sound of a cello drifted through.
Saitō Keisuke strained to hear, but all he could discern was a vague musical performance, impossible to identify.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"It's Hanada Asako from the music club," Kunii Osamu said, his expression dreamy. "She's practicing the Koshien cheering song—the Violent Shogun Theme."
Even though the melody was barely audible, Kunii Osamu seemed certain and utterly enchanted.
"What about Yamaguchi Naomi?" Saitō Keisuke asked.
"Keisuke," Kunii Osamu grabbed Saitō's shoulder, looking him in the eye, "love is blind. Romance always comes like a hurricane—I can't control myself."
"Where did you read that? Some book?" Saitō Keisuke swatted Kunii Osamu's hands away in annoyance.
"Forgot," he said.
Watanabe Tetsu, topping off his sugar intake, added, "'Hojo-san seems willing to do anything for me… with 120% favorability'."
"Impressive, Watanabe! Your memory is amazing!"
"I just happened to read this light novel recently and remembered the line."
Exposing his excellent memory by accident, Watanabe Tetsu was about to change the subject and ask about Hanada Asako, when someone called him from behind.
"Excuse me, are you Watanabe Tetsu, third place in the entrance exam and monthly test?"
He turned to see a boy and a girl looking at him.
The girl held a notebook and pen, while the boy carried a camera.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"I'm Hase Momoka from the journalism club," the girl said.
"Nishikawa Yū," the boy added briefly.
The girl repeated her question: "Are you Watanabe Tetsu, third place in the entrance exam and monthly test?"
"Yes, that's me. I placed third in both. What do you want?"
"We're making a special feature on the exams and would like to ask you a few questions." Without waiting for consent, Hase Momoka asked her first question.
"What was your goal for this exam?"
"His goal is second place!" Kunii Osamu chimed in.
"That's not true," Watanabe Tetsu quickly interjected.
He didn't want such things discussed publicly. If Seino Rin found out, she would lecture him:
"Before you succeed, do it quietly while your heart races. I told you this, didn't I? Your foolishness surpasses my expectations."
He could already imagine her disdainful smile.
"Second place," Hase Momoka wrote in her notebook, ignoring him.
"Wait! My goal is top ten in the school! That's my target!"
Hase seemed not to hear.
"According to our research, Watanabe-san graduates from Mitsuzawa. Only three people in the school study entirely on their own. What is your study method?"
"Top ten in the school," Watanabe Tetsu said firmly.
"What's your study method?"
"Top ten."
"What's your study method?"
"."
True to the journalism club's style—relentless questioning.
"Solving problems, from morning till night."
"No need for teachers, no need for cram school. Self-study." Hase Momoka wrote swiftly.
"Hey! That first part was unnecessary! Don't you have any journalistic ethics?"
If this got reported, Watanabe Tetsu's image—handsome, smart, diligent, modest, and kind—would be ruined!
"Last question," Hase Momoka ignored him. "Among the freshmen, first place Seino Rin and second place Yuki Miki haven't changed in rank, and now you're in the same club. What are your thoughts about them?"
"None."
Watanabe Tetsu already knew the journalism club was unscrupulous. He wouldn't give them material to twist.
"No thoughts? Understood. Watanabe Tetsu looks down on them."
"Wait, wait!"
This time, Watanabe Tetsu moved with agility, grabbing Hase Momoka's careless right hand.
Look down on Seino Rin and Yuki Miki? What a joke!
Was she trying to get him verbally slaughtered by Rin's cherry lips or trampled by Miki's legs?
"Let go, Watanabe-san! Journalism freedom must be defended!" Hase Momoka struck a heroic pose.
Watanabe Tetsu was momentarily speechless.
Then he smiled gently. "Hase-san, I've decided something. Can I have the last question answered again?"
Hase, captivated by him, immediately agreed.
Yū Nishikawa, carrying the camera, whispered, "Club president, journalism is about truth… you can't redo it, right?"
"Shut up."
"Yes."
"Thank you." Watanabe Tetsu nodded at Hase with a smile.
"It's fine," Hase said obediently, shaking her head, cheeks faintly red. "For interview news, you must respect the interviewee's wishes."
You weren't like this before, President Hase!
Indeed, news could be interpreted however one wished.
Watanabe Tetsu said earnestly:
"I have great respect for Seino-san and Yuki-san. They are beautiful, smart, diligent, modest, and kind—the epitome of Tokyo's beauties. They are my goal, my guiding light, and my life ideal."
"Hey, Watanabe," Saitō Keisuke said incredulously, "you're not usually like this."
Kunii Osamu patted Watanabe Tetsu's shoulder, giving off a vibe of 'flattery king.'
"After getting close, you'd think the same as I do," Watanabe Tetsu said confidently, without a hint of embarrassment.
He instructed Hase Momoka: "Make sure my exact words are reported."
After sending the journalism club off, the conversation returned to Hanada Asako of the music club.
Kunii Osamu had seen her carrying a cello during baseball stadium rehearsal and thought the girl and the scene were incredibly cute. From that moment, he liked her.
"Is it really that simple?"
"Generally, yes. You see someone adorable in a moment, and you fall in love. Now, I can't stop thinking about her—I check every day for the sound of the cello."
"What about Yamaguchi Naomi?" Saitō Keisuke asked.
"Forget her. Talking to her just leads to questions about me. Watanabe, if you liked her, you could easily get her."
Watanabe Tetsu drained the last of his strawberry milk. "I only love studying."