A study session.
I thought it would be something like everyone doing the same subject at the same time and teaching each other, but everyone is studying quietly on their own.
How should I put it... a study session is quite a serious affair.
I mean, in anime or manga, it usually feels like everyone is making a lot of noise.
So, being a normie and being serious can actually go hand in hand.
"Ngh..."
While I was thinking about that, Hazama, who was sitting across from me, began to let out a groan-like sound.
"Kenji, what's wrong?"
Erina-san, who was sitting to my right, spoke to Hazama.
"I don't get math at all."
"Ah... Erina doesn't understand math either..."
Hazama was scratching his head.
"Oh, I know."
Erina-san clapped her hands together.
"Amane-chan, how are you with math?"
Erina-san directed the question to Ichikawa, who was sitting next to her.
That's right, that's what a study session is for.
But...
"Um, Amane-chan...?"
Ichikawa was completely ignoring Erina-san.
Erina-san looked at me, looking puzzled.
Well, I don't know either...
"Ichikawa?"
Ignored.
"Ichikawa-san."
Sako tried.
But she was ignored as well.
Could it be...
"Amane, her concentration is incredible..."
Even Azuma was pulling back a little.
Apparently, Ichikawa is the type of person who can't hear any surrounding sounds once she starts studying.
I see, so this is the concentration of a top-performing student...
"Takuto."
Sako called out to me while I was watching in amazement.
"Huh?"
"Takuto, you're good at math too, right?"
"Ah, well, I wouldn't say 'good' exactly..."
I snorted, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Takkun seems like he'd be good at studying."
Yeah, yeah, thanks. I'm a little concerned about the "at studying" part though.
"Is that so? Konuma, teach me."
Hazama said with an unusually serious face.
"I'm really betting everything on this 'Rock On,' so I can't afford to not be able to perform."
It can't be helped. I don't really like the way he said it, but I respect his enthusiasm.
But shouldn't he have realized by now that my name isn't Konuma?
"Oh, I see, I get it..."
After I finished teaching him, Hazama raised his voice in admiration.
"Konuma, you're good at teaching."
"You're right, that's unexpected."
Azuma was also nodding along.
"O-Oh, thanks..."
"No, I'm the one who should be saying thanks."
Hazama said something uncharacteristically humble.
"Takuto is good at teaching."
From the side, Sako puffed out her chest by a fraction of a millimeter as she said that.
"...Is that so?"
At that moment, Hazama pouted his lips, looking sulky and displeased.
"Kenji is aiming for Sakosh, isn't he?" Erina-san had said.
Ho, I see, so that's how it is...
He doesn't like that Sako is praising another guy.
So that's why he was so unpleasant when we first met in front of the ice cream shop in Kichijoji. He doesn't seem like a bad guy by nature.
To my right, while I was coming to various realizations, there was a girl fiddling with her twin tails.
"Ah, um..."
When I looked over, Erina-san was looking unusually frantic for some reason.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?"
When I said that to Erina-san, her shoulders jumped for a second, and she looked at me.
"...?"
While I was wondering what was up, after a short while, Erina-san's face became serious.
She gave a small nod as if preparing herself.
"T-Takuto-kun, you're smart and cool, aren't you?"
She said that.
"N-No, not really..."
What? What's wrong? All of a sudden...?
"U-Um. Takuto-kun."
Erina-san gently pinched my sleeve.
Then, she looked up at me.
In a voice so small only I could hear, she whispered, "Sorry."
Just as I thought she whispered that, she took a deep breath.
The fingers pinching my sleeve were trembling slightly.
...What? What is about to happen?
"You see, Erina is..."
"Hmm...?"
Her eyes were moist.
Her face, as well-defined as a doll's, moved a little closer.
"Takuto-kun is..."
About me...?
"I l..."
"Erina!"
Hazama cut off Erina-san just as she was about to say the last part.
Wait, what was she about to say...?
With my mind in a mess, I was searching for the words that followed "I l".
No, in truth, maybe I wasn't searching for them at all.
"You should cherish yours more."
Hazama said that with a smile before turning to face Sako.
"Hasu."
"Eh?"
Sako, whose eyes were wide in surprise, turned toward him after being called out of the blue.
Then, in one breath, Hazama said,
"I like you, Hasu. I want you to go out with me."
He said it.
"Ha...?"
"Kenji..."
Azuma and I both let out a sound.
"...Eh?"
Sako was staring blankly, her voice trailing off.
"Kenji..."
Erina-san let out a voice that sounded like she was about to cry, and she tightly squeezed the sleeve she had been holding.
What, what is happening?
Hazama stopped Erina-san just as she was about to say something desperate to me, and then, riding that momentum, Hazama confessed to Sako...?
My head can't keep up.
Dazed, I watched Hazama and Sako sitting in front of me.
"...Hasu, you don't have to answer right away. Let me know on the day of Rock On."
Hazama added softly.
Then, Sako shook her head.
"No, I'll answer now."
"...I see."
"Kenji."
"Yeah."
"...Sorry."
Sako whispered just that one word, probably the most cruel 'Sorry' of all.
"...I see."
The conversation, consisting only of single words, echoed through the quiet Group Learning Room, bit by bit, yet with a great surge.
Hazama laughed as if he were holding back something that was about to overflow.
"Kenji..."
Azuma let out a painful voice.
"...You're the worst."
Just as I heard a low whisper from my right, the owner of that voice stood up with a bang and ran out of the learning room.
"Erina-san!"
Without understanding why, I chased after Erina-san.