Chapter 70
Sports Festival⑤
“Big brother?”
“Ah, I’ve got somewhere to go. Take care of Tsukiyo.”
“Eh, ah…”
Seiya tried to hand Tsukiyo over to me directly. Tsukiyo was surprised and started to resist.
“W-wait, wait a second!”
“It’s dangerous if you start struggling here!”
“B-but… having to be carried like a princess again…”
Still, after running nearly 500 meters in unfamiliar shoes, Tsukiyo’s feet must have been hurting a lot. I was fine, so I took her from Seiya.
“Ugh… how embarrassing.”
“But right now, you’re really princess-like, so being carried like a princess is fitting.”
“I-it just can’t be Sun-san! And besides, I’m heavy right now.”
“You’re light.”
“…I’m sweaty and smelly.”
“You smell good!”
“Ah! Already!?”
Tsukiyo blushed bright red and buried herself against my chest. Damn it, with this armor-like costume, I can’t really feel anything.
Still, having her this close like this… I can’t help but feel embarrassed.
I wonder where Seiya went. Ah, he ran over to our group, the Red Team. Then, just like that, he lifted the Red Team captain, Kasumi Hojo.
“Eh, Kannagi!?”
“Don’t struggle, you’ll fall.”
He lifted her in a princess-style carry. Hojo is 170 cm, Seiya is 180 cm—together they look really impressive.
But Kasumi’s bright red face is adorable. She probably isn’t used to this. Then again, in her case, she might usually be the one doing the lifting.
“Red Team! Let’s dedicate our victory to the captain!”
“Ooooooooooooooooh!”
The Red Team was pumped. Being there, I wanted to shout along too.
I walked the track with Tsukiyo still in my arms.
“Big brother… I can’t believe you did that.”
“Quite a change from the morning, huh? Maybe Seiya’s motivation in the relay got fired up thanks to the cheering squad.”
“You’ve changed, too… maybe because of everyone… but I—”
“You’ve changed too, Tsukiyo. That’s how I see it.”
Tsukiyo stared intently at me. Her hat covers her face, so we don’t make complete eye contact, but strangely, it feels like we are.
Then, suddenly, Tsukiyo hugged me tightly. Damn it, I can’t feel much through this costume. She wrapped her arms around my neck.
“T-Tsukiyo?”
“Hehe, this is how you reduce the burden when being carried like a princess.”
My heart was pounding so much it felt exhausting… Being this close feels kind of wrong.
I wanted to feel her body… just a little more clearly.
I can’t help but wish the view was just a bit better.
We waved to the crowd as we completed a lap around the track. Once finished, the other club-based relay events began, and the five of us went to the waiting room in the school building to change.
“Before everyone changes, let’s take a photo.”
Before splitting into the boys’ and girls’ changing rooms, we gathered the five of us.
Seiya in his prince costume, Tsukiyo as the princess, Sera as the female knight, Urihara as the magician, and me—definitely a group worth photographing.
“That’s fine, but…”
Seiya naturally spoke up. Yeah, I understand that.
“How long is Tsukiyo going to keep hugging me?”
She wouldn’t let go. I couldn’t drag her off, so I’ve been carrying her this far… but my arms are reaching their limit.
How can I get her to let go?
“No, I want to stay like this a little longer.”
She hugged me sweetly, making me very happy, but my arms really are at their limit.
As I was thinking of a solution, Urihara spoke up.
“Tsukiyo, Senpai Yamada can’t take off the mask unless he changes out of that costume, so you can’t see his face.”
“Sun-san, please put me down.”
Quick!
Tsukiyo was put down and finally freed. My hands hurt…
Using the camera timer in the waiting room, we took a group photo of all five and individual shots.
All the photos turned out great, but Tsukiyo as a princess was on another level. Definitely a must-save in my secret folder.
Looking at the photos, Tsukiyo tugged on my costume.
“What is it?”
“I think you’d look better without the helmet.”
She wanted to see the Dark Knight without the mask? Well, that’s fine too.
With Seiya’s help, I took off the full costume, removed the mask, and then put it all back on before returning to the waiting room.
“I took off the helmet, I mean mask.”
“Kyah!”
Tsukiyo’s eyes sparkled as she ran to my side.
“Sun-san, you really look better without hiding your face! That’s way cooler!”
She circled me, clasping her hands like the other girls who were staring at Seiya in awe, examining my face.
Honestly, it was embarrassing, but her ecstatic expression was so novel that I couldn’t help staring at her too.
Then, I noticed the other members’ gazes. Seiya, Sera, and Urihara all had blank looks.
Well… yeah. My face probably looks better covered.
“Hmm, but maybe it’s still better to hide my face.”
“Geez, Kai-chan! How can you not understand this?”
“I… I think so too!”
“Even Kinori!? I’m sad.”
“Honestly, I don’t care.”
“I don’t care about big brother either.”
Unexpectedly, Seiya’s knees buckled. At this point…
“Tsukiyo, do you have terrible taste in men?”
“Why are you saying that, Sun-san!!”
I may say it myself… my face isn’t that great.
Amid this playful exchange, our Red Team’s comeback victory at this year’s sports festival was celebrated with excitement.
This relay will probably remain a lifelong memory for me.
With the two major events finished… the season was slowly approaching winter.
