“What, were you two just practicing together on your own?”
When breakfast time arrived and I went to the cafeteria, a pouting Sako was sitting there with her arms crossed.
“I’m sorry, Sako-san...” “My bad, Sako...”
After Amane and I apologized in unison,
“Konuma-kun just did it on his own...” “Ichikawa just did it on her own...”
We both pointed at each other as we spoke.
Yikes, we overlapped...
“...The fact that you’re so in sync is what pisses me off the most.”
““We’re sorry...””
“Again...!”
An exclamation mark appeared at the end of Sako’s sentence. She’s definitely mad... Even though she was in such a good mood as Sakohasu during the fireworks last night...
“Mornin’— oh, what’s going on?”
Erina-san, already changed into her casual clothes, entered the cafeteria with a wide yawn.
“Nothing,” Sako snapped coldly.
“Hmm...? Sakoshu, are you like, angry or something? Maybe you’re lacking calcium or various milk components? Want some milk~?”
Looking at Sako’s chest, Erina-san spoke in a tone like she was teasing a child.
I mean, what exactly are ‘various milk components’...? Erina-san, please don’t make Sakoshu any angrier, okay?
“I’ll drink it.”
Without noticing the malicious gaze, Sako gulped down the milk poured by the natural devil.
She set the glass down with a clack and declared,
“I’m going to work super hard during today’s practice. It’d be stupid if I was the only one sleeping in.”
I remembered the stoic Sako from our middle school brass band days.
That’s right, at her core, this girl is a hard worker... Or rather, you’re just sulking because you weren’t included, aren’t you, Sako-chan...?
“Takuto, don’t smirk.”
“Yes, sorry...”
“Pffft, Konuma-kun is getting scolded~” Amane giggled.
“Ichikawa-san.”
“Yes?!”
Suddenly, the brunt of Sako’s anger turned toward Amane. Well, of course it did, you dummy.
“Stealing a march on me is a death sentence.”
“D-Death sentence?!”
No wonder Amane was shocked.
I mean, Sako, haven't you been showing a bit too much murderous intent since yesterday?
“Hey~ I’m waiting for the ‘Itadakimasu.’ Let’s eat already~”
The natural devil holding a fork was pouting. (I wonder why devils are always depicted with big forks?)
So you were actually waiting to say grace, Erina-san.
We ate breakfast while exchanging such banter and then left the cafeteria.
“Thanks for the food! I’m so full! Abbreviated: I’m Onapai!”
“E-Erina-chan?!”
““............””
Sako and I didn’t fall into the same trap as yesterday.
“Hmm? What’s wrong, Amane-chan~?”
Even if Amane became the victim.
“E-Eh, um, no, nothing, really...”
Amane looked down, her cheeks flushing red.
“Did Erina say something weird~?”
Erina-san peered into Amane’s face with a mischievous look.
“I said it’s nothing...!”
“Hmm~?”
The teasing Erina-san and the escaping Amane both trotted away from the scene together.
“That was a relief...” “Serves her right.”
Left behind, Sako and I both let out a sigh of relief. ...Though I feel like Sako was saying something slightly different.
Then, the brown-haired President came out of the cafeteria.
“Oh. It’s Konuma and Sakohasu. Mornin’.”
“Good morning.” “Yurisuke, morning.”
This was perfect timing.
I explained the gist of what had happened in the studio this morning (though it was still morning) to Yuri and Sako.
“‘Why don’t Konuma-kun and Yuri just make a song that surpasses Watashi no Uta?’ ...Amane really said that?”
“Yeah, she did,” I nodded.
“Who does Ichikawa-san think she is?”
Sako-sama frowned slightly.
Beside her, Yuri let out a quiet, “Fufufu...” and began to laugh.
“...What’s up?”
“Honestly, amane-sama really is perfect to the core.”
“In what way...?”
Yuri’s face brightened with a radiant smile as she began to speak.
“Don’t you get it? amane-sama is saying: ‘Don’t just decide you’ve been defeated and keep challenging me.’”
“Decide we've been defeated...?”
“Yes. We just decided on our own that we lost. Even though no one said anything, we set our own limits and gave up. Even though we might not have lost yet. Ah, seriously, what was I thinking! To think I was acting like that!”
I felt like Yuri had reached some kind of enlightenment all on her own and was moving ahead.
“Hey, Konuma, we have to do this!” Yuri said, leaning forward.
“O-Oh...”
“No, put more spirit into it!”
“O-Oh!”
“Good!”
Yuri crossed her arms and nodded with satisfaction. The intimidating aura she gives off when crossing her arms is a different breed from Sako’s, isn’t it, Big Sis Yuri...
“Oh, by the way, there was one more thing Amane said that I didn’t quite understand.”
“Hmm, what?” Yuri tilted her head.
“She said, ‘You two seem to think that without Watashi no Uta, there would be no Heijitsu, but you’ve got it backwards. Without Heijitsu that day, there would have been no Watashi no Uta.’”
“It’s honestly kind of creepy how you remember it word for word.”
I felt like Sako was saying something beside me, but I ignored it.
“Huh...?” Yuri also tilted her head in confusion.
“Isn’t the order wrong there? Watashi no Uta would have existed even without Heijitsu, right?”
So even with Yuri’s skill, Mind Reading, it was indecipherable.
“Right...?”
The two of us crossed our arms again, humming in thought.
Then—
“...Wait, do you seriously not get it?”
Sako was looking at us with a face that had gone past exasperation and into being genuinely appalled.
““Eh...?””
Yuri and I spoke in harmony.
“Man, Takuto, you’re harmonizing way too much today.”
“S-Sorry...”
Wait, is this my fault?
“Wait, Sakohasu, you understand? What Amane was saying?”
“If what Takuto just said really isn’t missing a single word.”
“It’s not,” I nodded confidently.
“Don’t say it so proudly, it’s gross.”
She looked at me like I was a bug. You’re being harsh, Sakoshu.
Sako let out a long, deep sigh and asked,
“Amane-san said ‘that day,’ right?”
“Yeah.” I nodded again.
“Have you both forgotten that the song that received the encore wasn't Watashi no Uta, but Heijitsu?”
““Ah...””
Yuri and I were stunned.
“That’s why, on that day, if Heijitsu hadn’t been such a good song, there wouldn’t have been an encore in the first place, and Watashi no Uta wouldn’t even have been performed. In that case, the chance for Ichikawa-san’s voice to come out wouldn't have even arrived.”
““T-That’s true...””
I see.
On that day, the performance of Watashi no Uta was impossible without Heijitsu.
It seems we were so focused on the results after playing both songs that we had overlooked the most essential part.
“Both of you are seriously such idiots when it comes to yourselves...”
Sako was quite clearly disgusted.
“Well, I’m going on ahead. For once, I actually feel sorry for Ichikawa-san...”
Sako walked away with an 'I can't deal with this' vibe.
Left behind was a duo consisting of a stupid composer and a moronic lyricist, both standing there with their mouths agape.
“...Um, Konuma.”
“...Yeah, Azuma.”
We looked at each other’s faces.
““Maybe we can actually do this?””
Smack!! Our two palms collided with a sharp, high-pitched sound.
A new morning had come.