Chapter 3: I saw you working hard.

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Translator: Soafp

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“……(Nom nom)”

While watching Sora eat vinegared kelp in tiny bites like a hamster, Ginji began to speak little by little.

“The first time I started noticing you, Sora, was because of the entrance ceremony.”

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“Fuwaa~”

On the day of the entrance ceremony, Ginji had spent the night playing games with his middle school friends and was struggling to open his heavy eyelids. He decided to leave the classroom to wash his face at the water fountain behind the gymnasium.

“I'm lost.”

Still unfamiliar with the layout of the school, Ginji ended up getting lost and found himself in the courtyard. There, behind the school building, he saw a student in a school uniform—Sora. He was muttering something to himself.

“…For the life ahead… Is this okay?”

“Sora, have you finished your speech for the entrance ceremony?”

Aika, another student, approached Sora. Ginji, hiding in the shadows of the building, decided to watch them.

“Yeah, I finished it, but…”

Aika snatched the manuscript from Sora's hands and checked it.

“…This will do. Also, one of the board members wants ‘my drawing.’ Well, it's a bit cliché, but you have to finish a painting of cherry blossoms in two weeks.”

“Got it.”

“I also told you yesterday, but tonight my father is hosting an entrance celebration, so prepare my dress. Do my makeup while we're on the move, okay?”

“Uh… Aika-chan…”

“What? Hurry up and say it. You're so slow.”

“I… um…”

“Stay at the venue in case something happens to me. Of course, wear that outfit, okay?”

“…Okay.”

As the two of them left, Ginji scratched his head in confusion.

Then, the ceremony began. At first, there was a sense of anticipation about the entrance ceremony, but as time passed, it became dull.

In that relaxed atmosphere, the ceremony continued.

“Next, we have the student representative speech by Aika Shiki.”

“Yes, on such a day—”

When a student named Shiki began her speech, everyone was captivated by her appearance and listened intently to her voice. Only Ginji frowned and listened to her speech with a scowl.

“…So that little one prepared the script, huh?”

Two weeks later, a painting of cherry trees was displayed next to the staff room. It was introduced as a piece expressing the artist’s feelings about the entrance ceremony.

The artist's name was, of course, “Aika Shiki.”

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“Well, this was the reason I started paying attention to you.”

“You were watching me… Yeah, I was suddenly told to write a script for the speech that morning. The painting was also something I drew.”

“That's when I started watching you and Aika. Like during the tests. Aika was ranked 10th, right? You're the one tutoring her, aren't you? I secretly looked at your notebook, and that's what it said.”

“You looked at my notebook? …Well, yeah, Aika-chan is naturally smart. I just tell her what I think will be on the test.”

“That's fine, but then why are you ranked near the bottom? The class was probably making fun of you, right?”

…During the test results review, Aika, pretending to encourage Sora, exposed Sora’s low score.

“Sora, if you try harder, you can do it. You should really try harder. Isn't it embarrassing to score so much lower than the average?”

“…”

Hearing this, the other students began whispering and making fun of Sora. At the same time, they praised Aika for showing concern for Sora. Whether it was in sports or small events, Aika repeatedly put Sora down to lift herself up.

“Is that…?”

“You were told to score low by Aika, weren't you?”

“…Because if I stand out, I get bullied.”

“You know that's just an excuse, right?”

“…(Nom nom)”

“Don't try to cover it up with vinegared kelp… Does it taste good?”

“…I kinda like it.”

Sora looked up at Ginji. Ginji sighed and also started munching on vinegared kelp.

“All the studying, the painting, the school jobs she's taking on… You're doing it all. I don't like it.”

“It's fine… I've always thought I need Aika-chan.”

“Even if she's doing this to your paintings?”

“…”

Next to them was a torn sheet of drawing paper.

“I told you, I've been watching you, Sora. Aika's work is only increasing, and you're already at your limit.”

“…Maybe.”

“If this keeps up, you're going to break.”

“Let me break. Nothing I do ever goes right… Even my paintings are only praised because they're Aika-chan's. If I say I drew it, no one looks at it.”

Sora set down the box of vinegared kelp, placed his hands on his knees, and started crying.

Ginji began arranging the torn drawing paper like assembling a puzzle. The picture that appeared was of a cat riding a motorcycle.

“Nice drawing. I can tell you really like machines.”

“…I like cars and motorcycles. Aika-chan wouldn't let me draw it because it didn't fit her image.”

Tears kept flowing.

“I like your paintings. They're cool.”

“…Thank you… I can endure other things, but… I'm frustrated about my paintings.”

“I see, look over there.”

Ginji adjusted a chair and turned Sora to face the wall. Then he sat back-to-back with Sora, leaning against him.

“Now no one can see. Cry when you need to. I've been watching you. You're doing your best. You've done well. So, it's okay now.”

These words of encouragement, with no real basis, seemed to sink in deeply. For the next several minutes, Ginji silently stayed close to Sora as he cried, offering his presence.