Chapter 69: Those Who Know Bitterness

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Translator: Soafp

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The day after their date, Ginji arrived at the meeting spot. As always, Sora was already waiting.

She stood there, idly playing with her bangs. When she saw Ginji, she couldn't wait any longer and walked over to him.

“Sorry… I'm late.”

“You're actually pretty early. …Hm?”

Noticing Ginji's expression, Sora rose up on tiptoe and leaned in close to his face.

“What is it?”

“You've got light bags under your eyes. Didn't sleep?”

“Maybe not enough.”

Knowing he couldn't fool Sora's sharp memory, Ginji let out a sigh. He'd been trying to mentally prepare himself for today, but that had the opposite effect—he'd ended up staying up later than usual. Since he normally slept well, the lack of rest hit him hard.

“I often stay up all night too, so I can't scold you too much… But still, you really should sleep properly.”

“I know, I know.”

“Alright, decision made! Today, my caring theme is ‘sleep'!”

With a puff of her nose, Sora sounded resolved, which made Ginji uneasy.

“…In moderation, right?”

“We'll see.”

Sora grinned mischievously. Ginji responded by messing up her hair, and the two of them began walking together. As they got closer to school, more and more students began to appear as usual, but today, it felt like more people were looking at them than normal.

“Sora, are we getting more looks than usual?”

“Seems like it. Even people we don't usually interact with are glancing our way. Maybe Aika did something?”

“…Doesn't really feel like that.”

The stares weren't hostile. They were filled with curiosity and interest—and more directed at Sora than the two of them together.

As they climbed the hill in front of the school, they could see the banner for the student council's morning greeting campaign. Aika, as usual, wasn't there.

They passed by and headed for the bike parking area, where Saito, with a damp towel over his head—likely just finished with morning practice—approached them.

“Morning, Saito.”

“G-Good morning, Takagi. And Ginji, too.”

“What, I'm just a bonus? What's up? You got something?”

Noticing Saito seemed to have a purpose, Ginji questioned him. Saito then took out his phone and showed them the screen.

“This… This is Takagi, right?”

“Huh? Yeah, that's me.”

“…”

Displayed on the screen was a social media post—Sora, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a dress, glaring at the camera. The picture had clearly been taken at a shop yesterday and uploaded by the store's account.

“Wow, nice find, Saito. That's a real scowl though. I'm not good with pictures.”

While Sora responded casually, Ginji stared at the screen in silence.

“Sora, check the number of ‘likes' or whatever they call it.”

“‘Likes'? Let's see… 80,000!! …Wait, is that a lot?”

“Hell if I know. Seems like a big deal?”

“That's seriously a lot. But that's not the problem here. Students from school found this picture of Takagi and started sharing it on SNS. People are saying there's another amazing first-year besides the Four Seasons Princess.”

Saito leaned in excitedly while Ginji pushed him back, and Sora's face fell into a look of dismay.

“Ugh, more boys are gonna start showing up again… I don't think I'm as cute as Aika-chan, though.”

Sora tilted her head, causing Saito to clutch his.

Finally grasping the situation, Ginji let out a yawn.

“Fahh… Nah, Sora's cuter, for sure.”

“Pfft… Sneak attack. But thanks, Ginji. Ehehe. Still, Saito, you know a lot about this stuff.”

“The baseball club is always gossiping about girls when they have downtime. I heard this is even making the rounds among upperclassmen and students from other schools. With all the buzz about the Four Seasons Princess, people are suddenly like, ‘Wait, there's another one?'”

“Got it. Thanks for telling us. I'll bring you some rice balls next time.”

“You guys seriously okay…? I'm kind of worried you don't realize how big this is.”

“I'm fine, Saito. I'm with Ginji most of the time anyway… or rather, after hearing that, I can't leave his side.”

Not that she needed any excuse to stay with him, but Sora puffed out her chest with pride. Seeing that, Ginji smiled and pointed at himself with his thumb.

“Exactly. I'll protect Sora. …But if things get rough, back me up, Saito.”

With a grin, Ginji spoke boldly. Sora watched that smile intently. Saito nodded deeply and turned on his heel.

“No need to worry. If you ever need help, leave it to us…”

Though it was morning, he somehow seemed to be walking off into the sunset, one hand raised—in it was a can of black coffee.

“Why the hell is he carrying canned coffee after club practice? Shouldn't it be sports drinks?”

“Who knows? More importantly, Ginji—protect me, okay?”

“Obviously. Come on, let's go.”

“…(gyumu)”

Without a word, Sora clung to his arm. Ginji was about to comment on the stares they were getting, but held his tongue after seeing her expression. If this meant drawing attention away from Sora and toward himself, so be it.

Feeling his ears redden, Ginji started walking. Sora walked beside him, beaming as she watched him try to look away.

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As they approached the school entrance, a group of upperclassmen—who had been lying in wait—started to approach them.

“Oops, my bad. I seem to have bumped into you… with my shoulder, foot, hand, and body.”

“Don't think you can get past us if you're not a girl.”

“Let us share in the divine presence of Takagi-chan together.”

The upperclassmen were blocked by a group of boys holding cans of black coffee. These were members of the newly renamed “Men Who Know Bitterness: The All-Blacks,” formerly the “Watch Takagi-chan From a Distance Group.” Composed mainly of first-year boys, this secret group was growing in influence within the school and prided itself on being an impenetrable wall—unless you were a girl.

Thanks to their efforts, the upperclassmen couldn't get near Ginji and Sora, and would continue to be blocked again and again in the days to come.