Ch. 129 - Sorry, Hoshikawa
Chirp chirp.
Buzz buzz.
Under the accompaniment and guidance of the third-year seniors, Class 2-1’s “Career Guidance Homeroom” officially began. What had originally seemed like a spacious classroom now felt rather crowded with students gathered together, and the atmosphere was as lively as a New Year’s market.
However, on the faces of every four-person group of second-year students, one could detect expressions of either excitement or nervousness—
Only the three-person group that Harutaki belonged to felt just like when they were first assigned: awkward and isolated.
“S-sorry… The third-years originally had enough participants, but one suddenly took leave…”
“This isn’t Fujimiya-sensei’s fault.”
Harutaki stepped in on behalf of the flustered teacher, soothing Fujimiya-sensei, who kept apologizing, while smoothly bringing up the question.
“May I ask which third-year student is absent…?”
“It’s Shirasagi-san. She… should be quite well-known among the second-years.”
Was that an unexpected answer?
Perhaps Asama-sensei’s remark about “Hoshikawa A-mon” had given her confidence, or perhaps his earlier performance had proven himself—
After comforting Fujimiya-sensei and indicating that he would handle things, the young female teacher immediately believed him and walked off lightly to take care of other students.
“…Phew…”
He let out a small sigh and turned to look at the two girls sitting there blankly, not knowing what to do or where to go. In his mind, he couldn’t help but hesitate between the options of “going to find Miyabi-senpai” and “staying to take care of the two of them.”
But this wasn’t a difficult choice, and he quickly made his decision.
Miyabi-senpai had only taken leave, but if he abandoned these two girls—who were already being excluded and isolated—it would be no different from sprinkling salt on their wounds.
He would go find Miyabi-senpai after resolving the issue at hand.
As for how to find her…
Why not ask the magical Asama-sensei?
Clack.
He pushed his chair and sat down.
“Congratulations, Asano-san, you’re very lucky…”
“Tch. Getting grouped with a guy like you, and then having a third-year senior suddenly absent—where’s the luck in that…?”
Kaede muttered her complaints in a low voice, but perhaps because of his earlier help, her tone had softened quite a bit, and she no longer showed obvious hostility toward Harutaki.
“With me, Harutaki, an experienced and handsome guy, guiding you, isn’t that something to be grateful for?”
“Ugh… such a narcissistic idiot. So gross.”
Hearing his self-praise, the girl couldn’t help but almost laugh, forcing herself to keep her slightly flushed, fair face composed.
Meanwhile, the younger sister, Suzu, quietly looked at him with honey-like amber eyes, as if observing some rare animal.
That calm, unchanging gaze and expression, along with her earlier attitude, made him involuntarily think of Miyabi-senpai.
Compared to her, the most obvious difference between the two was probably that Suzu had a cute kind of “airheadedness,” while Miyabi-senpai possessed a cool, moonlike aloofness.
“Anyway, I more or less have some experience with further education, so giving you some guidance on career paths and university choices should be enough.”
He had once been one of the “victors” who fought his way out of a highly competitive exam province, had studied abroad, and done internships… When it came to exams, applications, and choosing majors, his opinions might even be more reliable than those of the third-year seniors.
“With your grades, I’d be better off—”
“Kaede, Hoshikawa-san is ranked fourth in the year.”
Suzu quietly reminded her.
“Eh!? Th-this guy is fourth in the year?!”
Because she was so shocked, Kaede couldn’t control her volume for a moment. Fortunately, the classroom was so lively that no one paid attention to the commotion in this corner.
Isn’t that only two ranks below me?
She reexamined the boy in front of her in disbelief, still unable to accept what her sister had said.
Whenever the top ten rankings were announced, she only ever looked at those above her and worked desperately to surpass them the next time, to prove herself as a worthy student council president.
Even though this boy ranked two places below her, she knew very well that the gap among the top ten—or even the top five—was extremely small, possibly less than ten points.
He’s clearly a notorious playboy, yet…
“First of all, if you want to decide your university choices, you must consider your future career direction in advance. Asano-san, what kind of job do you want?”
After Harutaki asked that, an awkward silence suddenly fell among the three of them.
Kaede and Suzu exchanged a glance, then both looked at him.
Smack.
He slapped his forehead, only then realizing that both of them were “Asano-san.”
“President Asano—would that be alright?”
“Call me whatever you like…”
Really whatever?
“Kaede?”
“Who told you to call me by my name…?”
Knowing she was in the wrong, Kaede could only grumble to vent her dissatisfaction.
After pondering for a moment, she finally spoke hesitantly.
“…I want to become a defense attorney.”
“So, law.”
Harutaki thought for a moment and gave his opinion.
“Once you’ve decided on your major, with your grades, there’s no university that’s out of reach. The next thing you need to consider is whether you want to stay nearby or go to a different city to study and live independently.”
“Of course I’ll stay in Tokyo.”
Kaede wasn’t the rebellious type. She had no desire to escape her parents for freedom or to prove herself to them.
“Then your choices are obviously limited to Todai’s humanities programs and Keio.”
“I’m going to aim for Todai.”
“As expected.”
He then turned to Suzu, who had been quietly listening.
“And you?”
“I want to stay with Kaede.”
Though her tone was light, there was a firm determination behind it.
“So you’re also aiming for Todai.”
Harutaki nodded, about to continue, when he suddenly noticed the awkward expression on Kaede’s face.
“Suzu, your grades…”
She cleared her throat, a bit embarrassed.
“Ahem… Suzu’s grades are actually around the middle-to-lower range.”
“May I ask her deviation score…?”
“69.”
Suzu answered expressionlessly, as if she felt no embarrassment about her lower grades.
At Nichiya High, where many students had deviation scores above 74, her level was indeed in the middle to lower range.
“Based on previous admission results, Todai or Keio probably aren’t options. But several prestigious universities in Tokyo should be fine. With enough effort, Waseda is also possible.”
“I have to go to the same school as Kaede.”
“Th-then I… I could go to a slightly lower one like Waseda…”
Compared to university admissions, Kaede clearly valued her sister more.
“If you do that, President Asano, Asano-san, have you estimated the tuition costs?”
Public universities were manageable, but private universities usually cost nearly twice as much.
“For Todai, aside from the first-year admission fee, it’s about 550,000 yen per year. For private schools like Keio or Waseda, it’s at least over 1,000,000 yen per year.”
In other words, for both of them to attend private universities, it would cost over 2,000,000 yen per year.
“Th-then maybe something cheaper—”
The Asano family clearly wasn’t well-off.
That was the conclusion Harutaki reached from her reaction.
However, giving up the opportunity to enter Todai’s elite network just to save money or take care of her sister—this was something Harutaki found difficult to agree with.
He directly interrupted her.
“President Asano, you should understand this: a defense attorney who graduates from Todai’s law faculty and passes the bar exam will definitely have far better prospects than one from a second-tier national university. And the chances of entering top law firms are also the highest…”
He paused, then continued.
“…You have to understand that at that point, the judges could very well be your seniors, and the partners of top law firms could also be your seniors. The Todai name brings the most convenience in every industry.”
“But Suzu…”
“The best solution is for Asano-san to get into Todai as well.”
That was easy to say, but Harutaki himself wasn’t sure how feasible it was.
“No need to consider Humanities I. You can aim for Humanities II, but your main target should be Humanities III, which has had the highest acceptance rate in recent years.”
However…
He looked at Suzu again.
“Do you really have no university you admire, no interests, no hobbies?”
“Kaede.”
It was truly a concise expression of sisterly affection.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
After all, he wasn’t that close to the Asano sisters. Speaking too deeply without a close relationship was taboo. Saying this much was enough.
For the next twenty minutes or so, Harutaki explained exam preparation techniques and important points to keep in mind for university entrance exams.
When the bell rang and the lively atmosphere in the classroom had yet to fade, Kaede let out a light sigh.
Before she knew it, her prejudice against Harutaki had lessened considerably.
The boy in front of her was more mature than she had imagined, more thorough in his thinking, and had even almost perfectly resolved Yuna’s bullying issue earlier—
Although her impression of him had improved, she still refused to show any sign of softening on the surface.
Hoshikawa was excellent—truly excellent.
But he really did feel like a playboy.
When she asked about his dream, he actually said he wanted to date beautiful girls and enjoy his youth…
Even knowing it was a joke, she couldn’t accept it. And Suzu had even played along to tease her—
With a straight face, Suzu had said something like, “Just give in to me,” which, no matter how cute she was, Kaede absolutely couldn’t accept!
“Young lady, just endure it and count the stains on the ceiling—it’ll stop hurting soon.”
“Oh? Asano-san, you’re quite knowledgeable!”
“Too kind.”
Hearing this back-and-forth, Kaede finally couldn’t take it anymore and slammed her hand on the desk as she stood up.
“You two, that’s enough!”
She hugged her sister’s head and glared fiercely at Harutaki.
“Hoshikawa-san, please don’t teach Suzu such weird things.”
“Then would President Asano like to learn? Knowledge only adults understand~”
“Y-you… watch your words! I’m the student council president!”
With classmates and teachers all around, what exactly was going on in this guy’s head!?
“Hm? I was talking about entrance interviews and job interviews. Don’t you want to learn about that?”
“Guh…”
Now she understood—Hoshikawa was teasing her again.
“Kaede, you’re lewd.”
“I don’t want to hear that from you, Suzu…”
She collapsed back into her seat, lying on her desk weakly. Alongside her irritation toward the boy, she couldn’t help but feel a trace of happiness—
So, in Hoshikawa’s eyes, she was also a beautiful girl worth “dating.”
Although she disliked smooth-talking, unreliable playboys, being acknowledged by him meant she wasn’t lacking in charm.
Even so… that guy…
“The career guidance session is over. I have something to take care of—see you if there’s a chance. Bye.”
“Hoshi—”
Just as Kaede was about to say something—at the very least to thank him for his help—she realized he had already walked away.
She complained inwardly. He had just said he was interested in her, yet he left even faster than the third-year seniors.
“Suzu, what do you think of Hoshikawa-san…?”
“He’s a good candidate for dating.”
“D-don’t be fooled by a playboy’s appearance!”
“I mean for you, Kaede.”
“I—I already…”
Seeing Suzu staring blankly in the direction Harutaki had left, Kaede had no idea what her sister was thinking.
She pursed her lips and dropped the topic. She decided she had to keep a close eye on Suzu and not let her get taken away by some playboy.
…
“Rooftop.”
Asama-sensei was scrolling through his phone. When he noticed it was Harutaki, he casually answered without even looking up.
“Uh… rooftop? I haven’t even asked anything yet.”
This sloppy middle-aged man definitely knew something.
Harutaki quickly realized that and thought, Asama-sensei really was something else.
“When giving career guidance to the third-years, Shirasagi mentioned your name.”
Miyabi-senpai had indeed said before that Asama-sensei, as an excellent teacher, was also responsible for third-year Japanese and career guidance.
The principal really had a good eye for talent.
But in the next moment, Asama-sensei clicked his tongue and deliberately used an exaggerated, sickening tone.
“‘Hoshikawa-kun this~ Hoshikawa-kun that~’ So disgusting.”
Spare your students, please.
Harutaki already wanted to cover his ears.
“I seriously can’t stand you, old man.”
“You’re the playboy no one can stand, you brat…” Asama-sensei glared at him and complained through gritted teeth. “…Even getting close with third-year seniors. Back in my day, I never had that kind of treatment. Damn it.”
“If you at least cleaned yourself up instead of looking like an unemployed middle-aged drifter, maybe you’d have a girlfriend.”
Harutaki showed no mercy.
“Don’t JKs like this kind of vibe? If I clean up, I won’t be able to get a girlfriend. Then it’ll all be your fault.”
“Leaving your love life to a student’s advice… you’re a pretty terrible teacher…”
“You’re the one who pushed me to change. If you influence someone, you should take responsibility, idiot.”
Take responsibility…?
Harutaki paused, then brushed it off with a joke.
“Please don’t sound like a resentful housewife. I only take responsibility for cute girls. Scruffy middle-aged men aren’t in my range.”
“If you don’t have the courage to take responsibility for changing someone’s future, then don’t casually interfere. You understand what I mean, right, Hoshikawa?”
“…Yeah. That was pretty clear.”
He scratched his head with a wry smile.
“So Miyabi-senpai is troubled about her future?”
“She’s a top student with a 100% chance of getting into Todai. Troubled about her future? What nonsense.”
Asama-sensei shot back immediately.
“Then… is it about her career?”
Even after entering Todai, students still have time to decide their future paths.
Would Miyabi-senpai really be troubled by that?
He recalled her cool voice beneath the cherry blossoms.
Like a bright moon in the night sky.
“She doesn’t seem like the type to be lost about her future…”
“Do you think I’m some kind of advice hotline big sister? I’m just a teacher who watches students make choices—and bear their consequences.”
“That doesn’t sound like something an ordinary teacher would say.”
Harutaki turned to leave for the rooftop, but before stepping forward, he asked:
“Any advice for your student?”
He switched to polite speech.
“Emotional impulsiveness and careless mistakes are only allowed before sixteen. When thinking about your future, take responsibility for your words and actions first.”
“Think before you act?”
“Not bad. I’ll give you 80 out of 100.”
“Where did the other 20 go? Afraid I’ll get arrogant?”
“Idiot. If you already know, keep it to yourself.”
…Was that about the summary, or the second question?
Even as he climbed the stairs to the rooftop, he couldn’t quite figure it out.
…
“Asama-sensei, where did Hoshikawa go?”
“Where? Rooftop.”
Leaning against the wall outside Class 2-3, Asama-sensei answered reflexively.
But when he realized something was off and looked up, all he saw was the girl’s youthful, energetic back—
…That was Shihou, wasn’t it?
Thinking of her relationship with Hoshikawa, he awkwardly rubbed his stubbled chin.
“…Sorry, Hoshikawa…”
He really hadn’t meant to set him up.
Physics says triangles are the most stable shape…
Maybe… he should send Nogami up too?
…This kind of problem was a bit too much for a literature teacher to handle.
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