After registering through the Class 1-1 channel with Kanzaki Sou, Kondo Haruka no longer paid attention to the “Borrowed Item Relay”.
From Kondo Haruka’s perspective, she was certain she had already won.
No one could interfere with her participation in the “Borrowed Item Relay” with Kanzaki Sou.
No one could affect her plan to make Kanzaki Sou her dance partner for the sports festival.
She went to Tennis Club practice as usual.
Even when Kanzaki Sou acted as her practice partner, she never brought up anything about the Borrowed Item Relay.
Kanzaki Sou was the same; he didn’t mention it at all.
The two of them behaved as if the event was unimportant, as if they’d forgotten they were even participating, sharing an unspoken understanding.
Kondo Haruka didn’t find this strange at all.
She thought nothing had changed.
She just felt she was the winner standing next to Kanzaki Sou.
However, what Kondo Haruka didn’t know was:
Even though she had asked to participate in the Borrowed Item Relay with Kanzaki Sou, and they had successfully registered together—
She still hadn’t truly won.
***
After registering for the Borrowed Item Relay with Kanzaki Sou, Koharu Miura’s feelings became complicated.
She felt a vague sense of “guilty conscience,” hard to describe.
Because in reality, aside from Sakura-sensei, the Athletics Committee, Kanzaki Sou, and herself, no one knew…“That Kanzaki Sou and Koharu Miura had registered together as participants in the Borrowed Item Relay.”
It felt like a secret, fundamentally different from everything before.
Before, whatever she did, Kondo Haruka or someone else was always watching—her every move was known by others.
But this time was different.
Sakura-sensei and the Athletics Committee wouldn’t reveal the registration, so the fact that she and Kanzaki Sou were participating in the Borrowed Item Relay was, in effect, a “secret.”
This strange reality always felt odd to Koharu Miura whenever she thought about it.
She couldn’t quite explain how she felt.
But her friends weren’t oblivious.
“…Koharu Miura’s been acting different lately.”
Such things didn’t require much digging—the gossip-loving “intelligence masters” of the school only needed a glance to sense a girl’s troubles.
“Koharu~!”
At lunchtime, just as Koharu Miura sat down in the cafeteria, several familiar voices surrounded her.
Short hair, a lively, refreshing smile—these traits declared the arrival of Yui Hori, Class (5)’s popularity queen.
If she was here, it meant the others were, too.
Mio Sato and Yuzuki Yasuda, members of the iron triangle, gathered around as well.
“Yui… Mio, Yuzuki, good afternoon.”
Even if they’d just separated in the classroom, it felt strange not to greet each other when meeting in a place like the cafeteria.
Koharu Miura had even reflected on why she felt that way.
Was it because she only considered the classroom a safe space, so outside the classroom, meeting acquaintances felt unfamiliar?
“Whether I’m well or not, I’m not sure—but…”
Even if Koharu Miura was thinking of other things, Yui Hori didn’t care at all.
Full of energy, she always spoke her mind.
If it was a normal topic, a response was good, but if not, it didn’t matter.
But if it was a topic she cared about—
Then Yui Hori was the type who wouldn’t let it go until she got to the bottom of it.
Most of it was gossip that could be shared casually, but if pressed, it was hard to resist.
Hopefully, it wouldn’t be—
“You’ve definitely had something good happen lately!”
At that moment, Yui Hori interrupted Koharu Miura’s thoughts.
As expected.
Looking at Yui Hori’s expression, Koharu Miura could only twitch her eyebrows helplessly.
“Did you? Did you? I won’t believe it if you say no!”
“We won’t believe it either!”
“You definitely experienced something good, Koharu! It’s obvious, you don’t need to hide it…”
As she spoke, Yui Hori poked Koharu Miura’s cheek with a confident look.
Why were they suddenly asking if she’d had good things happen?
She hadn’t acted out of the ordinary before—did they find out something from somewhere?
No, that would be too scary.
Gossip queens among high school girls, huh.
Koharu Miura frowned.
Would ignoring them work?
Might as well try.
“Eh? Did I? What good thing happened to me?”
Koharu Miura calmly set down her tray.
“I don’t even know myself.”
“You did! Absolutely!”
“That’s right, absolutely!”
Yuzuki Yasuda nodded vigorously alongside Yui Hori, her fluffy twin tails bobbing like a pecking chick.
“These days you walk like you’re floating, and you keep smiling secretly.”
“After school, you don’t stay in the classroom anymore—you run off quickly, like you’re meeting someone, and you never help me with cleaning duty.”
“And you even called out a boy’s name in your sleep during break, clearly dreaming something nice.”
After Yuzuki Yasuda spoke, the four girls fell silent.
“People smile when they’re happy, that’s normal, right, Yuzuki?”
Koharu Miura’s brow kept twitching.
“But after school, isn’t it normal to leave the classroom, go home, and leave the school?”
What are they even talking about?
It’s ridiculous.
What do they mean, running off after school to meet someone?
Come on, if school’s over, isn’t going home normal?
It’s not like I’m in a club.
Before Koharu Miura could say anything, Yui Hori stood up and interrupted Yuzuki Yasuda.
“Yuzuki, let’s not talk about the rest.”
Yui Hori’s tone was suddenly serious.
“The one who slept during break was me.”
“—What did you hear! Forget his name! He’s my target, don’t spy or covet!”
But after one serious line, Yui Hori returned to her usual energetic self, shaking Yuzuki Yasuda’s shoulders.
“Eh? It wasn’t Koharu, it was Yuiiiiii~?”
***
“Ha… ha…”
“Huff… huff…”
Under Mio Sato’s efforts, the two girls were finally separated, their neat hair now a little messy.
“Alright… I’ll talk to you later, Yuzuki.”
“So, Koharu—what’s the good thing? Tell us…”
Then, having just finished with Yuzuki, Yui Hori turned her questions to Koharu Miura.
Her relentless determination was genuinely overwhelming.