The Salty Princess Told Me That I Was a ‘Convenient Keep’, so I Tested What Would Happen if I Introduced the Most Beautiful Girl at Another School as My Girlfriend
“Umm…… please.”
Sakaki-san bows her head awkwardly.
“……, please.”
I looked around to get away from the awkward atmosphere.
My high school doesn’t put much effort into the sports festival. Therefore, the practice naturally feels like an extension of play. Among them, the two-person tripod is the best.
The participants are all running shoulder to shoulder in a couple-like atmosphere, talking happily and congenially. Some of the boys are …… watching us from afar with a grudging look on their faces, but none of us seem to be bothered by it.
“……….”
“………..”
And among them, only Sakaki and I stood out.
…Well, that’s only natural. None of my classmates know this yet, but Sakaki-san and I just broke up the other day. There’s no way I could imitate running happily, shoulder to shoulder, in such a situation.
“…., I can’t say I’m quitting now, can I?”
In part, this happened because I skipped homeroom. The timing is terrible, but it’s hard to say I don’t like it now and ask them to change it.
I gave up and turned my attention to Sakaki-san.
“Well, …… Sakaki-san, can I tie a string around your leg for the time being? If we just stand there and do nothing, it’s going to stand out.
Of course, I’ll try not to touch you as much as possible.”
“Okay, I understand. Then, please……”
Sakaki-san held out her leg toward me. Not a single blemish on her beautiful, white legs. For a moment, my eyes were caught by her, but it would be rude to stare at her too closely. I quickly tied Sakaki san’s legs to my own, trying not to touch them as much as possible.
“Are you okay? Does it hurt?”
“I’m fine. …… but if you don’t tie it a little tighter, it might come undone while you’re running, okay?”
“….Well, it’s just practice, so we should be fine. Even if it comes undone, we can just re-tie it. It’s not like everyone is in the mood to get too serious about it.”
“…….Yeah”
From what I can see, most of them look like they’re just lovers flirting with each other rather than practicing… …People seem to be really serious about things like tug-of-war and cavalry battles, but there’s no one who seems to be serious about it with two people race
So it’s not like they’ll find out if you’re slacking off, and even if they do, they won’t get too angry. …I think so, but I’m sure Sakaki-san doesn’t like doing things like that. Sakaki-san always listens seriously in class and doesn’t skimp on cleaning. I’ve never seen her slacking off on anything.
I don’t think I can make her skip class with me just because I don’t like it.
“Let’s go for one run anyway, shall we?”
“….. I guess so. If I don’t practice at least a little, I’ll be embarrassed if I fall down in the show. ……”
“Then let’s just do it lightly.”
After saying that, …. I tried to put my hands around Sakaki san’s shoulders, but I quit
“What’s wrong?”
Sakaki-san tilted hers head. I said.
“No, Sakaki-san, you don’t like to be touched so casually, do you? I don’t blame you for tying my legs together, but you wouldn’t like it if we were to cross shoulders or something, would you?”
“That’s …….”
Even when we were dating, she wouldn’t even let me hold hands properly. Now that we’ve broken up, Sakaki-san will probably be in trouble if I become that familiar.
“Let’s try running without crossing shoulders once, shall we? I’m pretty good at exercising and I’ll try to run at your pace.”
“…… I agree. That would be …… better.”
Sakaki-san answered in a low voice without looking at me. …I guess she doesn’t really like being touched. She definitely won’t look at me.
“…. run light and get it over with.”
I decided to do so and started to run with a “One two” for the time being,…….
“Wait, ……!”
“….!
She almost fell down suddenly and I hurried to support Sakaki-san.
“Sorry, Sakaki-san,……, are you all right?”
“No, I’m the one who ran at a strange pace.”
Sakaki-san lowered her gaze awkwardly.
…This may be more difficult than I thought. Sakaki-san is tall for a girl, but I’m still about 10 cm taller than her. The stride length is different, and the running pace is also different. To make matters worse, our breaths were completely out of sync. Because we’re so worried about each other, it’s actually making it harder for us to run.
“Let’s run one more time for now. Next time, we’ll be in sync.”
”……Yes. I’ll be careful next time.”
I tried several times, but I could not make it to the tenth step. Each time one of us would almost fall and stop. It seems that we don’t have the talent for tripods.
“…. something reminds me of when I used to play soccer.”
I can’t help but laugh.
“…. you used to play soccer?”
Sakaki-san mutters this without looking at me. I exhale lightly and then open my mouth.
“Didn’t I tell you? My parents were famous soccer players.
They taught me a lot of things before I can remember, but I didn’t have …… any talent. I was always getting in trouble. And I was always being scolded for it.”
“That …… must have been hard for you.”
“When I was doing it, I didn’t think it was hard at all. …… But when they abandoned me and said, ‘That’s enough,’ that really hurt me.”
“I see,…….”
Sakaki-san squeezes her hand tightly, looking pained. …bad, I said something that I shouldn’t have said.
I immediately change my thinking.
“Rather than that, why don’t we try running a little more? I’ve already proven that even if you don’t have any talent, you can do something if you keep at it.”
“……Yes, you’re right. Let’s run some more.”
Then I tried to start running again, but for some reason, Sakaki-san was …… not moving.
“What’s wrong?”
I asked her, and she said, still not looking at me.
“…Can I touch your shoulder? No… that’s not it. Could you please let me touch your shoulder, even if it’s just a little? Otherwise… it’ll be hard for me to run.”
Sakaki-san looks at me. …It’s like I’m seeing it for the first time. Her cheeks were slightly red and her eyes were moist. She looked like a girl before confessing her love to someone.
……No, that’s just my imagination.
There is no need for Sakaki san to look like that now. I’m sure that ……I’m just just being weirdly sensitive because of the confession I had earlier for the first time in a long time.
I put on my usual fake smile and replied.
“If it’s okay with you, I don’t mind. ……Sakaki-san, are you sure you’re not overreacting? If you really don’t want to do it, I…”
“I don’t mind….. I don’t hate it”
“Then….., it would be fine.”
Somehow, I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. Since we’ve already broken up, there’s no need to worry about unnecessary things. That’s what I thought, but why are all these troubles happening?
“I really …… don’t know what I’m doing.”
I swallowed a sigh and put my hand on Sakaki san’s shoulder.
“….”
Her body is so delicate that it looks like it could break if you put too much force into it. I wanted to touch it so much, but when I did, I felt like it would break, and I wanted to let go right away.
“……Sakaki san, you don’t have to force yourself to touch my shoulder. I’m taller than you, and it might be easier for you to run if you put your hands around my waist.”
”Yes, that’s right. Excuse me…….”
“…………”
The hand of Sakaki-san touched my waist. ….she’s trembling a little. After all, she’s probably forcing herself to do it. …That’s what I thought, but Sakaki-san shook her head.
“It’s okay. I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t like it.”
“I see?……Well, let’s go for a little run.”
Then, we both try running for a while. Of course, it wasn’t like I could suddenly run better because I tied my shoulders, but as my bodies moved closer together, my center of gravity stabilized and I was less likely to fall.
“I think it’s easier to run when we touch like this, isn’t it?”
Sakaki-san looked up at me. I couldn’t help but look away.
“….Yes. But if you feel any pain, just tell me right away. There’s no way I’m going to let you get hurt because of that.”
“You don’t have to be so careful, it’s fine. I’m …… fine.”
“If that’s the case, that’s fine. ……”
And after a few runs, we finally decided to run the distance we would run in the real thing, and we both stood on the course drawn with white lines.
“Then we’ll go, okay? Sakaki-san.”
“….Yes. I’ll do my best.”
“Ready.””
With that call, we started running together. I couldn’t understand her running at all in the beginning, but now I could somehow feel her running.
Compared to the beginning, it has become much easier to run. To be honest,……, it still itches to be touched by Sakaki san, but I glimpsed Sakaki san’s profile,…… and she was very serious.
“…………”
That’s why I run seriously without thinking too much. …Although I felt dizzy along the way, I managed to finish the course safely.
“Yes! There we go!”
I couldn’t help but give a gut-punch. Sakaki-san was ……
“Fufu, I’m so glad!”
She smiled at me. It was only for a moment, but her cheeks certainly relaxed. I thought that when she …… smiled, she looked different and childish than usual,…….
For some reason, it was terrible and my chest hurt.
“……, I don’t know if this was the right thing to do.”
I don’t have any regrets, not really. But if something had been a little more …… different, more ……, no, let’s not. It’s all over now.
I look up at the sky and let out a small breath.
“Okay, that’s good enough for me. I may not win first place, but I won’t be embarrassed at the show.”
“….Yeah, that’s right.”
I was finally able to run, and now I can finish practicing. That’s what I thought, but Sakaki-san was somehow dissatisfied…or rather, what? She grabs my gym uniform, as if she’s reluctant to leave me behind.
“……? What’s wrong, Sakaki san?
Do you still want to practice?”
“No,……, gym is already over, and it’s time to untie our feet.”
With that said, Sakaki-san squats down and tries to untie the laces that tie her legs together.
“Ah.”
However, I think she lost her balance in the process and Sakaki-san falls down towards me in the form of hugging
“….”
Sakaki-san’s soft breasts were crushed by my body. Through the gym clothes, I can feel the warmth of her body temperature. The scent of citrus fruits wafting through the air makes my heart skip a beat.
“Are you okay, ……? Sakaki-san?”
I ask in as flat a voice as possible. Sakaki-san buried her face in my chest and said
“I’m sorry, ……. It seems I was straining my legs in a strange way and my legs went a little numb. ……”
”are you okay? Do you need to go to the infirmary or something?”
“No, it’s not that big of a deal. However, could you support me just a little bit more? I still can’t walk very well, and my legs hurt when I move.”
“…..I don’t mind.”
“I’m sorry. I’m …… really, really sorry.”
I can’t see Sakaki-san’s expression because she has her face buried in my chest. …However, she apologized over and over again. I didn’t think there was any need to apologize for something like this, but for some reason I couldn’t put it into words.
In the end, I couldn’t shake her off or hug her back, and all I could do was keep looking up at the sky until the chime rang.
-Maiban