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
“It’s almost time for the real thing, isn’t it?”
Sakaki, looking a little more nervous than usual, said this and turned his gaze toward the field.
“Yeah, I’m starting to feel a little nervous.”
I smiled back at Sakaki and glanced around.
We had been called to the waiting area at the edge of the field to prepare for the next event, the three-legged race. During practice, I thought it was just a bunch of couples with a frivolous atmosphere, but I guess they’re not going to slack off during the actual event. Everyone is talking happily, but they look a little nervous as they tie their feet together with rope.
“Here’s the rope for Sakashima-kun and his partner. Good luck!”
“Thanks.”
I was handed the rope by a classmate who was on the sports festival committee, and I looked back at Sakaki-san.
“Okay. Sakaki-san, I’ll tie your feet.”
“Yes, please.”
I approached Sakaki-san and tied her feet with the rope. At first, I was nervous just touching her feet, but now I’m used to it. I tied it a little tighter so it wouldn’t come undone during the actual event, and slowly stood up so I wouldn’t fall.
Sakaki-san slapped her cheek to get herself pumped up and looked ahead.
“Sakashima-kun. You remember our promise, right?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t forget my promise with Sakaki-san.”
“Then let’s give it our all, okay? I’ll give it my all too.”
Sakaki-san uses the hair tie she’s holding to tie her long, beautiful black hair. …Sakaki-san’s ponytail. Her usual calm straight hair suits her and is cute, but when she ties it up like this, the atmosphere changes and it makes me feel a little nervous.
“…Sakashima-kun, is something wrong? You’re staring at me.”
“No, nothing. I just thought that Sakaki-san looks cute with her hair tied up.”
“…What are you saying before the performance? Stop making weird jokes.”
“I wasn’t joking…”
“Then it’s even worse!”
Sakaki blushed and lightly tapped my shoulder. Our eyes met, and we both laughed. …I didn’t mean to do it, but it seemed to ease Sakaki’s tension a little.
Then the announcement from the sports festival committee rang out, and we walked toward the course together.
“…”
Along the way, I felt like someone was watching us, but with Sakaki and I tied together by a string, I couldn’t just stop. Well, it was probably just some guy who came to see Sakaki. Concluding that, we stood shoulder to shoulder on the course marked by white lines.
“Good luck! Ochiha!”
“Don’t hurt Sakaki-san if you fall!”
“You, switch places with him now!”
I heard a few familiar voices, so I waved my hand casually. When I looked toward the visitor’s seating area, I saw Koga-san staring at us with a slightly sulky expression. I almost laughed, but I focused my attention on running.
“Let’s definitely get first place, okay?”
“It’ll be a piece of cake with me and Sakaki-san.”
“…Sakashima-kun, you’re still the same as always.”
Sakaki-san’s hand on my shoulder tightened. After the usual “On your marks…” call, the sound of a pistol rang out, and Sakaki-san and I kicked off the ground almost simultaneously.
“…!”
The distance we ran in the three-legged race wasn’t that long. Still, running together made it impossible to sprint as easily as when running alone. Even though our legs were only tied together with a rope, it felt like our entire bodies were bound by ropes, making our movements stiff.
“One, two. One, two!”
Still, we kept kicking the ground and accelerating.
At first, everyone was side by side, but gradually the gaps began to show. Sakaki and I left the others behind and surged to the front. This is good. If we don’t fall, we can aim for first place.
“…Ah.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the pair running next to us fall. But there’s no time to worry about that now. The finish line is right there. We can’t stop here. Sakaki-san is also focused solely on the front. So I too just keep my eyes fixed ahead—
“…!”
Just a few steps from the finish line, a shock runs through my body. A group of people who had clearly gone off course collided with us. …It’s the pair that fell earlier. Did they force themselves to keep running even with their shoelaces untied, causing them to lose their balance again… No, that’s not it.
“Huh…”
I saw the woman who collided with us laughing. …Maybe it was just my imagination. There’s no way I could have noticed something like that. But I’m sure I saw a dry smile.
“…!”
I instinctively reached out my hand and shielded Sakaki-san as we fell to the ground. The impact was greater because we were going so fast. My feet were tied with a rope, so I couldn’t take the fall properly.
“… Are you okay, Sakaki-san? Are you hurt?”
I hurriedly got up and looked at Sakaki-san. She brushed the sand off her clothes and quickly stood up.
“I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong!”
“That’s good…”
I was also lucky; I only scraped my knee a little, nothing serious. Sakaki-san wasn’t forcing herself either; she really didn’t seem to be injured. …I’m relieved.
“Ah.”
However, while we were lying there like that, another pair crossed the finish line. We hurriedly got up and started running, but we ended up in fourth place. The pair that collided with us had their rope come undone and were disqualified, so we were effectively last.
“…Damn it.”
After untying the strings on my shoes, I distanced myself from Sakaki and muttered to myself.
I wasn’t really serious about the sports festival competitions anyway. The other students in my class would probably just say it was a disaster, but no one would blame us. After all, it’s just a recreational event. Even though we fell so spectacularly, neither Sakaki nor I suffered any serious injuries, so maybe we should be happy about that.
“…”
Even though I knew that, my heart was racing. Sakaki, who I had just seen, seemed to be smiling, but that smile seemed forced. Sakaki must be feeling the same way I am… depressed.
“Sakaki…”
I wanted to say something to cheer Sakaki up, but no words came to mind. So I ended up looking away from Sakaki.
Then, my eyes met those of a girl standing a little ways away.
“That’s right. That girl…”
The girl who bumped into us earlier. That girl was the one who confessed her feelings to me behind the school building the other day. After that, I was approached by Miwa-kun and completely forgot about it.
“…Could she be holding a grudge about that and bumped into us on purpose?”
No, there’s no point in thinking that way. Even if her actions were intentional, there’s nothing I can do about it now. Even if I confronted her now, she wouldn’t admit her guilt, and even if she did, we couldn’t start over
“Damn it…”
I kicked the ground in frustration. Then, as if in response, the bell rang, signaling the start of lunch break.
“…There’s no point in moping around forever.”
I slaps my cheek to snap out of my thoughts and starts walking toward Sakaki-san.
“What am I doing?”
The last words I muttered had a surprisingly cold tone, even to myself.
Maiban