SCPK 41

Chapter 41 

The Underclassmen and the Pool (Part 3)

“So, Yamada-senpai—do you like Tsukiyo?”

Right out of nowhere.
Sera’s blunt honesty can be refreshing, but being able to ask something like that so casually—I almost admire her nerve.

“I think I do. Seiya does too… I guess we all feel the same way.”
“That’s not the kind of answer I was asking for, you know.”

It seemed Tsukiyo and Urihara had gone to buy drinks.
Left alone, Sera sat down right next to me.
She wasn’t as striking as Tsukiyo, but still—she was cute enough to make being alone with her a little nerve-wracking.
Sera narrowed her eyes and leaned closer and closer.

“Then… do you want to go out with Tsukiyo?”

She was close enough that I could hear her breath. I had to look away.

“I don’t think so. Tsukiyo and I don’t match. She deserves someone better.”
“…Huh? Are you serious?”
“Of course I’m serious.”
“—!”

I put a little firmness behind my words. Sera’s expression faltered, and she backed off without replying.
Maybe she’d thought she could push me into a flustered reaction—but I couldn’t let a junior walk all over me.
I’d already had a similar talk with Tsukiyo before, so I knew exactly how to answer.

“That’s kind of sad for Tsukiyo, though…”

Sera still didn’t seem convinced. I sighed. There was something I didn’t really want to bring up, but…

“Then what about you, Sera? Don’t you have someone you like? Are you gonna confess?”
“Wh—!? H-how do you even—”
“So you do like someone. Well, since you’re the only girl who doesn’t fall for Seiya, I figured there had to be another guy you’re into.”
“Wait, why do you assume it’s someone outside school?”
“If it were someone here, Tsukiyo and Urihara would’ve been helping you more. So I thought maybe it’s someone they don’t know that well.”
“Mmm… you pretend not to notice things, but you actually do, huh? Ugh, that’s annoying.”

That last part didn’t sound very flattering. Sera pouted, clearly frustrated—and it was honestly a little funny seeing her like that, since she’s usually the one who wins arguments.
I couldn’t help but laugh a little.

“You don’t like being talked down to by the opposite sex, right? I get that. So just… cut me some slack, okay?”
“Ugh—so frustrating!”

“What’s wrong, Umi-chan?”

Urihara had come back.

“Senpai humiliated me.”
“Wha—! That’s not what happened!”
“Eeeeh~”

And with that, Sera marched straight into the pool, leaving me alone with Urihara.

“Tsukiyo’s still not back?”
“She said she was going to the restroom first, so she’ll be here soon.”

Urihara sat lightly on a chair beside the parasol.

“Can I… talk to you for a minute?”

Ah. Here we go again.
Please don’t turn me into everyone’s counseling booth.
Still, unlike Tsukiyo or Sera, Urihara didn’t sit right next to me. That was just like her—polite, reserved.

“Yamada-senpai… do you ever feel inferior to Seiya-san?”
“…I guess I do envy him sometimes.”
“I thought so. But… you don’t seem to really resent him, even when you say it.”

Seiya Kaminagi—the man who seems perfect in everything except wealth.
Every guy around him ends up feeling jealous, and I’m no exception.
Even when I study harder, his test scores still beat mine.
But despite all that… I think I genuinely like the guy.
Not in a weird way—it’s just hard to explain.

“You… you’re thinking about Tsukiyo and Sera, right? Or maybe… even more than that?”
“…”

Urihara, Tsukiyo, and Sera have known each other since kindergarten. Which means she’s known Seiya just as long.
And Urihara’s been in love with Seiya for… what, over ten years now?
Meanwhile, I met Seiya in high school, became classmates, got to know Hōjō, Mizusato, and Yumisaki through a series of coincidences.
Then in our second year, Kudo transferred in, and Hi-chan showed up too.
One by one, the circle kept growing.
From Urihara’s perspective, that must’ve been frustrating—all these “new” people suddenly surrounding the person she’s loved for so long.

“Everyone’s so dazzling… I’m just a tiny, awkward girl. Standing next to Seiya-san feels wrong somehow.”

If I were in her shoes, I might feel the same.
Cheerful and gorgeous Mizusato, tennis ace Kasumi, the brainy Kanaha, elegant heiress Kudo, and the idol-like Hi-chan…
Yeah. I’d be overwhelmed too. Good thing I’m a guy.

“When I confessed to Seiya-san, he said my feelings were just admiration.
…What makes my confession so different from everyone else’s?”
“Well, I only heard about it secondhand, but… I think Seiya just saw through it somehow. What he saw, I couldn’t say.”
“I see… I thought maybe you’d understand. You and I seem kind of similar, after all.”

She’s quiet and modest, not the type to stand out.
With girls like Tsukiyo and Sera shining nearby, it must be even harder for her to step into the spotlight.
Though honestly, Urihara’s really cute too—she just doesn’t realize it.

“And besides…”

She hesitated before continuing.

“I thought… maybe if I could figure out why Tsukiyo likes you, it might help me.”
“Eh? Sorry, what was that?”
“Nothing, just talking to myself. Forget it.”

We both fell silent after that.
Urihara wasn’t a big talker to begin with, and I’m not exactly a chatterbox around girls either.
We could’ve just let the conversation end there…
But there was one thing I wanted to say.

“You and I really are alike, personality-wise.
But what Seiya saw—the part he called ‘admiration’—that’s something I don’t think I could ever truly understand.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“What are you two talking about?”

Ah—Tsukiyo’s back.
And at the worst possible timing, too.

Urihara and I both averted our eyes, avoiding the topic entirely.

“Kinori, did something happen?”
“Uh, um… Yamada-senpai humiliated me.”
“Hey! Again with that phrasing!”

Once Sera returned, her energy completely changed the mood,
and for the rest of the time, we all enjoyed the pool to the fullest.

And then—on the way home from the pool…