I’ve Been Working My Hardest as Manager of the Girls’ Track and Field Team, but Ever Since I Retired, the Team Members Have Been Coming at Me Like Crazy!?
“…, I’m sleepy.”
I turned off the lights as soon as I got back to my room, but I just couldn’t sleep properly with the door unlocked.
The thought of them waking up before me and coming to my room kept me waking up every hour. After dozing off and on about three times, it was just about time for the breakfast buffet to start, so I rubbed my sleepy eyes and got out of bed.
“…No one’s here.”
As soon as I got dressed, I glanced around the hallway to make sure no one was there before quickly hopping into the elevator.
I tiptoed my way to the breakfast buffet hall and spotted the teacher there first.
“Oh, Senba. Good morning.”
“G-good morning, teacher. You’re early.”
“You’re the one who’s early, Senba. Those three haven’t shown up yet.”
“Looks like it.”
Hearing that, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Well, they were up late playing cards last night, and Shiratori ran two races in the competition, so they must be exhausted.
I’d be grateful if they just slept right up until check-out time.
“Well, I’ll go get something to eat, then.”
A moment of tranquility.
I carried my bowl alone, loaded it with my favorite side dishes, and poured myself some rice and miso soup.
Figuring I might as well have some bread too, I piled my plate a bit too high with food and headed back to the table where the teacher was sitting.
“Teacher, I’ll join you over there… Huh?”
“Mitsuru, good morning.”
“W-what’s Yukimura doing here? Wait, where’s the teacher?”
“The teacher went back to her room ages ago.”
Sitting where the teacher had been was Yukimura, dressed in a tracksuit.
“…No way.”
“What’s wrong, Mitsuru? Aren’t you going to sit down?”
“Uh, well…”
“Oh, did you want to eat with the teacher all by yourself?”
“N-no way.”
“Really? The teacher might have that personality, but she’s beautiful.”
“I-is that so?”
I denied it, but the teacher really is beautiful.
It’s just that her personality is, well, terrible.
There’s a lot I could say, but if I had to sum it up in one phrase, I’d call her “the personification of ‘half-assed.’”
Basically, she’s half-assed about everything and has zero motivation.
Well, she is a nice person, so it’s true that I’ve been able to turn a blind eye to it until now.
“Hmm. So, Mitsuru, what kind of woman is your type?”
“My type…”
Yukimura stared intently at me while helping herself to one of the croissants I’d brought.
She probably wants me to say that someone like her is my type.
No, that must be it.
But it’d be a hassle to get her hopes up and lead her on, and on the other hand, if I just brush her off by saying she’s not my type, who knows what she might do.
…Why is she holding a knife in one hand while eating a croissant?
“……I guess I’d rather be with someone I get along with than someone who’s just good-looking.”
So, I avoided mentioning anything about looks.
I think I managed to cover it up pretty well.
I intended it to be an answer that wouldn’t touch on looks and would let me make any excuse I wanted.
“Hmm, I see. Get along well, huh?”
For some reason, Yukimura blushed bright red and looked down as if I’d just confessed to her.
“Well, we do get along well, don’t we?”
“…Huh?”
“Y-you don’t have to be so roundabout about it. I mean, we always have similar opinions, so we clash a bit, but… you know, Mitsu and I really do get along well.”
She repeated “we get along” twice.
Wait, I’ve never once thought that, though?
If anything, I only remember always struggling to find common ground because our ways of thinking are so completely opposite.
“Um, Yukimura.”
“Aaah, come on, stop making me blush first thing in the morning. I’m going to go get some food, too.”
Yukimura stood up, looking cheerful and in high spirits.
It seemed her heart was filled with a lovely misunderstanding.
…Wait, did I really say something that could lead to such a misunderstanding?
Hmm, but well, she seems in a good mood, so maybe that was for the best.
“Oh, Sen-chan.”
“…Hayase?”
When I turned around, Hayase was standing there still in her pajamas.
“You’re up early, Sen-chan.”
“You’re the one who’s up early. You’re usually the biggest sleepyhead, so this is rare.”
“Maybe I had a good dream. Hey, were you and Mai sneaking out together?”
“N-no. It was just a coincidence.”
“Hmm. Well, I’ll sit here with you then.”
Hayase set her bag down next to me and went to get some food from the buffet.
And just as she left, Yukimura came back.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Mitsuru. Masa’s up too.”
“Ah, everyone’s an early riser today.”
“Really? Usually they’re all sleepyheads. But Moe probably isn’t up yet.”
“Oh, okay. That’s a relief.”
“Well, she had a match yesterday too. Anyway, about yesterday…”
“About yesterday?”
“After we got back. Where are we going on the date?”
“Wait, what do you mean, ‘date’?”
“We talked about meeting up, just the two of us.”
“No, you said you wanted to be alone with me because you had something to talk about.”
“That’s not a date. Assuming we end up at your place, where should we go for breakfast? For lunch, there’s this place with really good pasta that I recommend. And for dinner…”
“Wait, wait, wait. Wait, are you planning on eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner together?”
“Huh? You’re not going to eat with me?”
“……”
What do you mean, “not going to eat with me”?
Is what you want to talk to me about so massive it’s going to take all day?
“Mitsu, do you not like eating out?”
“I don’t hate it, but it costs money.”
“You were worried about that? Don’t worry, I’ll pay for everything that day.”
“No, I can’t let that happen as a guy.”
“I just want to treat you to whatever you want to eat. Come on, you’ve treated me to juice and stuff plenty of times before, and there are things like tape and heat patches that you’ve bought out of your own pocket, right?”
“Yeah, but that was for the club.”
“If this is just me returning the favor, then it’s fine, right?”
“No, but still…”
“Do you really hate it that much when I treat you?”
Yukimura’s hand reached out gently toward the fork on the table.
“W-wait! I don’t hate it! I’m happy, I just feel bad about it!”
“Oh, come on, you’re such a killjoy. You don’t have to be so shy. So, how about breakfast, then pasta, and for dinner, maybe some yakiniku?”
“……I’ll leave it up to you.”
Just as she’d unilaterally mapped out our date plan, Hayase returned to the table, and the conversation ended.
I was worried that Yukimura might get angry since Hayase had naturally sat down next to me, but her expression remained calm the whole time.
Her expression, that is.
The fact that she kept holding a fork in her left hand the whole time was probably just my imagination.