"Phew... I'm so sleepy..."
Inside the high school gymnasium.
The morning sun poured in through the large windows, causing heat to build up inside.
"Summer vacation has ended, and the second semester has begun. Two weeks from now, we will have the School Festival and the Sports Festival. I hope that with everyone's strength..."
Students still dressed in their summer uniforms stood in two lines, listening to the speech of either the principal or the vice-principal—I couldn't tell which, since I only see them at the opening and closing ceremonies—while yawning.
It felt both long and short; it felt fulfilling, yet I still wasn't quite satisfied. Regardless, the summer of our second year of high school, which happens only once in a lifetime, had come to an end, and we were standing at the opening ceremony.
"Hey, Takuto-kun..."
The owner of a drowsy voice poked me in the side from behind.
"H-hic...! Ahem... What is it, Erina-san?"
I disguised my voice, which had reacted instinctively to the touch on my side, and replied.
"I told you, I'm sleepy..."
"I don't know what you want me to do about that..."
"How cold..."
"The lingering summer heat is still hot, so isn't this coldness just right?"
"Ugeh, that was freezing..."
The genius beautiful girl standing next to me, who had turned into a human air conditioner, looked back and admonished Erina-san.
"Erina-chan, didn't you have an irregular lifestyle during summer vacation? Sleeping late and waking up late isn't good, you know?"
"That's not it. Erina has jet lag... I was in England until the day before yesterday. More importantly, why is Amane-chan so energetic? Is it because your house is close?"
I see, so Erina-san went to see her father, the one who imports that white powder. That's why I haven't seen her lately. It can't be helped then.
"No, I wake up at 5:00 every morning."
"Ugh, so serious... What do you even do waking up that early?"
As Erina-san asked with her tongue hanging out, looking drained just thinking about it, Ichikawa performed 'that movement' where she crossed her arms and opened them.
"Radio calisthenics!"
She answered with a smile.
""Radio calisthenics!?""
The people around us glared at us.
Sorry, two former loners and one normie were being noisy...
But seriously, radio calisthenics? Are you an elementary schooler?!
While I was shouting that retort in my head, Ichikawa continued with the 'limb exercises.'
"Eh, you did them this morning too?"
"Yeah, I did?"
Ichikawa tilted her head.
"Heh..."
Well, I guess it fits her character, doesn't it? Actually, Ichikawa doing limb exercises while tilting her head is remarkably cute...
"Takuto-kun, you're smirking."
"I'm not smirking."
I immediately regained my sense of self and answered with a straight face.
"Hmm...?"
Erina-san peered into my face and then gave a slimy grin.
"What is it...?"
"Somehow, Takuto-kun, your facial expression has changed."
"You think so?"
"I mean, before, you would have been totally twitchy in a situation like this."
As I furrowed my brows to avoid acting twitchy under Erina-san's attack of poking me with her elbow, Ichikawa cut in.
"That's right, Erina-chan!"
Ichikawa agreed vehemently, looking excited despite her low voice.
"It seems Konuma-kun became an adult over the summer vacation!"
She clenched both her hands into fists in front of her chest.
"Ha, seriously? With who?"
Suddenly, Erina-san's voice became low. Wait, the ends of her words aren't stretched out anymore...?
"With who...? By himself... I think?"
"Huh? Amane-chan, what are you saying? You can't become an adult alone, can you? Can you give me a serious answer?"
"Eh, somehow, Erina-chan, your pressure is so strong..."
There was the Angel-san, puzzled with a finger to her lips because she didn't understand the meaning of the question, and the Devil-san, who was strangely leaning forward regarding the 'adult' matter.
No, I'm still a child...
Then, Ando, who was standing in front of me, turned around with a weird face, stretching out the skin under his nose.
What...?
"Princess Erina, I have become an adult, de gozaru!"
Ando reported for some reason in a Sakamoto Ryoma style.
"I don't care about Natsu-tatsu-kun."
Erina-san dismissed him instantly.
...Eh!? I'm actually quite interested!? More importantly, isn't that a crisis for the band name's survival!?
"Everyone, what are you really talking about...?"
Ugh, the Angel is just too much of an angel...
After the opening ceremony ended, homeroom in the classroom finished quickly as well.
Today, we have practice at a studio in Kichijoji.
I stood up to go get my drumsticks, which I had forgotten in the school's studio during our last practice of summer vacation.
The Cherry Boys (tentative name thanks to Ando) said they had booked the studio, so I have to go before their practice starts.
As I hurried to leave the classroom, Ichikawa came running up to me.
"Konuma-kun... where are you going? What about practice?"
"No, I forgot my sticks in the Rock Club studio, so I'm going to go grab them for a bit..."
When I said that—
"I see. Can I... go with you?"
Ichikawa asked.
"...Actually, I want you to be with me today, is that okay?"
That upturned, pleading look was just too... well, too much.
"Ah, eh, ah, yeah, it's fine-o."
I lost my consonants.
"THEN SHALL WE GO.”
As a result of turning my heart to iron to stay calm, I became a robot. When I left the classroom with Ichikawa, she said—
"Let's go this way today?"
Ichikawa pointed in the opposite direction from usual, to the left after leaving the classroom.
"Eh?"
Normally, the shortest route is to turn right, pass in front of Class 5 and Class 4, and go through the connecting corridor to the studio.
"Why? It's a detour."
"...Is it no good to take a detour?"
Ichikawa tilted her head slightly again.
"IT IS NOT NO GOOD."
I was forced back into my robot mode.
What is with Ichikawa-san today!?
Heading toward the studio via the mysterious detour route produced by Ichikawa Amane, I saw an unfamiliar male student standing in front of the studio.
He was a handsome guy who looked like a 'good young man.' Not really the Johnny's type, but more like Nishijima Hidetoshi—the kind of masculine guy you could unreservedly call handsome.
As I tried to approach the studio regardless, my arm was tugged.
"WHAT IS THE MATTER?"
Turning around, I saw Ichikawa looking up at me.
"Um, Konuma-kun, actually... would tomorrow be okay for the sticks?"
"Huh, why?"
"No, well, that's..."
While I was tilting my head at the flustered Ichikawa, a voice cut in.
"Oh! Isn't that Tokugawa-senpai!"
It was Mizusawa's voice.
"Yo, Kenji."
"You're back from studying abroad!"
Mizusawa spoke happily, and the person called Tokugawa-senpai responded with a smile.
"Yeah. So, I'm not your senior anymore. I'm your classmate."
"That's true!"
Studying abroad? Ah, come to think of it, I heard something during the training camp about a senior returning from studying abroad and joining our grade...
Why did I hear that story again?
...Ah.
"Ichikawa, is that person from... Firefly Pond?"
"Uugh, Konuma-kun, what should I do...?"
While looking at Ichikawa, who was looking up at me with teary eyes—
"Man..."
Hmm, for some reason, I found myself unable to fully remain a robot.