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Chapter 128 Part 2

They continued to greet the directors in turn, but for some reason Yuu alone was asked for a handshake by them.

Since the faculty staff were also participating in this event, they exchanged greetings with the principals of both schools, too.

As expected, they were private institutions, so if you were to compare the chairman of the board of directors to a company president or chairman, the principals would be the directors. For better or worse, they gave off an impression similar to a hired store manager.

Among the guests, the chairman seemed to leave a particularly strong impression.

Huddling together quietly in the corner of the tent for guests were the student council members of the sister schools.

In the name of helping out and observing for the next year’s event, they had secured a place for themselves via the board of directors.

The reason being that from next year, the event was planned to be joined by the four high schools under the Ayakuni Group in the prefecture.

At that time, they would probably shift the date to August, and reserve a gymnasium somewhere to hold it.

So to speak, the board of directors was planning to use this event not only as a match between Sairyou and Sairei, but also as a touchstone for the Ayakuni Cup.

For this reason, in addition to the student councils, both schools had also organized Ayakuni Cup Preparation Committees, mainly consisting of first- and second-year students, and dispatched 10 members each, so they were so numerous that they couldn’t all fit in the tent.

Of the sister schools, the first one was Saihou Academy High School in Kawagoe City, located southeast of Saiou City, which, according to the explanation that Yuu had heard beforehand, was the first school to be established among all schools under the Ayakuni Group.

The school uniform was a traditional black and white sailor suit. And the ribbons were a deep red with a slight purple tint – you could even call it crimson color.

As they put a special emphasis on the pursuit of knowledge, the school boasted one of the highest rates of students going on to university in the prefecture.

Sporting long skirts and plain appearances, their students were very earnest looking.

Located in Ageyou City in the center of Saitama Prefecture, the other school was originally called Private Joubu Industry High School, but it was unpopular and was unable to attract students to its maximum capacity.

Then, the Ayakuni Group bought the management rights and changed the name to Saiai Academy.

It was reborn as a comprehensive high school to foster human resources in various fields such as nursing, welfare, and childcare in addition to the original commerce, industry, and agriculture departments.

The school uniform was a sailor uniform similar to that of Saihou Academy, but the color was closer to dark gray, and the ribbon on the chest was a magenta that was closer to pink than red.

Given that they were in the student council, they were probably among the top students, but compared to Saihou, they seemed more stylish.

「You have my gratitude for not only taking the trouble to come today, but also taking on the roles of referees.」

「No, it’s no trouble at all. Likewise, in preparation for next year’s event, I was hoping that we could not only get a feel of the air of the championships, but also be of some help, even if only a little.」

「It’s rare to hear of a co-ed school holding a social event with another school, after all. Even though it’s with a sister school, you did well making that decision!」

「Ha, haha… I suppose so.」

The student council presidents of the four schools were exchanging greetings and chatting in a friendly manner – Sayaka alone was a little awkward – but when Yuu approached them, they suddenly became quiet, so he couldn’t help but panic, wondering if his timing was bad.

As if to follow it up, Sayaka introduced Yuu.

「This one here is Hirose-kun, a first-year who’s been helping out with the student council since this year.」

「I’m Hirose Yuu. Nice to meet you.」

「…..」

「Y, yes… N, nice to meet you, too.」

The student council president of Saihou – a girl with a braided twin tail and glasses that would probably suit the title of class president – who was on the right from Yuu’s perspective, froze as soon as she saw Yuu, as if time had stopped.

The student council president of Saiai on the left – a sexy girl with fluffy short bob and large chest – was still able to somehow maintain her smile.

「A, a boy! This is my first time seeing a high school boy (danshi koukousei = DK) in real life!」

「Hey, isn’t he like crazy cool?! Way cooler than the male idols on TV…」

While time had stopped for the Saihou student council, including the president, the students of Saiai showed easier to understand reactions.

As such, Yuu, still maintaining his smile, held out his right hand to the student council president of Saiai first.

「Ah…」

Noticing his hand, the student council president hurriedly wiped her hand with a handkerchief and then shyly held it out.

When Yuu held her hand tightly without hesitation, the student council president’s cheeks turned red.

Although she was two years older than Yuu, in addition to the fact that she had never had any contact with men throughout her time in high school, she was looking at his refreshing smile up close, so her heart wouldn’t stop pounding.

After the president, he shook hands with the other students, who said 「me too, me too」, one after another.

One after the other, they introduced themselves as they shook hands, but as expected, there were more than ten of them, so he was unable to remember all of their names.

「This is the first time I’ve come into contact with a boy since entering high school!」

「As expected, I’m glad I came!」

Giving a sidelong glance at the girls that were making such a ruckus, Yuu headed towards the frozen student council president of Saihou.

「President, your hand…」

「Ah! I, I’m sorry.」

「Don’t be, it’s nerve-wracking to meet someone for the first time, isn’t it?」

At the urging of the vice-president next to her, the student council president of Saihou, who was facing Yuu, timidly held out her right hand.

Her small hand, with a wrist so slender it looked as if it might break, was shaking with nervousness.

Yuu gently wrapped his hand around it as he shook it.

「Hiu!」

「I’m Hirose Yuu. Nice to meet you.」

「Yesh! I, I, I, I’m….」

Her face was turning bright red and she was stuttering over and over again, but the student council president managed to somehow introduce herself.

Seeing that innocent appearance, Yuu’s lips naturally broke into a smile.

Compared to the students of Saiai, the students of Saihou were so nervous that they could not properly speak and shake hands unless Yuu held their hands himself.

When women, who had lived their lives without any contact with men, saw one up close for the first time, their reactions varied.

Among the so-called delinquents and sociopathic people, and women in their 20s and 30s who had had their virginities taken, many of them would act true to their desires and stare at them with apparent ulterior motives.

However, as they belonged to the student council, they were probably the earnest type.

To Yuu, innocent girls were simply adorable.

Meanwhile, Sayaka and Riko, who were watching the scene, were lost in deep emotion as they recalled the moment when they met Yuu for the first time.

At the same time, they were in a physical relationship with Yuu in front of them, so they couldn’t help but feel a sense of superiority.

「It’s almost 8:40! We’re starting the opening ceremony~」

Hearing the words from the headquarters, Yuu and the others bowed to the directors and students from other schools in the guest seats and left the place.

Not only the student council members of the sister schools with whom he had just shook hands, but even the older directors remained standing as they saw off Yuu, who left at a quick pace.

『Attention all students of Sairyou Academy and Sairei Academy. The opening ceremony will start soon, so those participating in the quiz championship, please enter the track. As for cheering students, please gather around the track.』

「Let’s go, Yuu-kun.」

「Yes. Now then, Sayaka, Eimi, see you later.」

「Good luck, Yuu-kun. Riko, too.」

「Yuu-kun, Rico-senpai, we’ll be watching over your performance!」

The ones who decided to participate from the student council were Yuu and Riko.

They would pair up with their classmate and friend respectively.

Therefore, the student council was not involved in the setting up of the quiz questions.

In early July, along with the announcement of the competition, questions were publicly solicited from all students and faculty staff, which were then compiled by the executive committee.

The quota for each school was 300, including several different types.

These questions were then exchanged between Sairyou and Sairei, and after screening out the ones that were deemed not suitable due to their bias in content or difficulty, the remaining ones were adopted.

While Yuu and the others were saying their greetings, it seemed that a considerable number of students had come out onto the school grounds.

Even now, more and more students were gathering in droves.

A white line was drawn right down the middle of the 400m track, and from the headquarters, Sairei students were lined up on the right and Sairyou students on the left.

Students who were not participating seemed to be forming groups around the perimeter of the track.

The number of students at Sairyou was about 600. And Sairei was said to have about 500, so more than a thousand people were gathering there, which made for quite the spectacular sight.

Looking around, the largest number of students were dressed in short-sleeved gym uniforms and bloomers for ease of movement. They were followed by those in school uniforms.

There were also some students who were wearing matching printed T-shirts instead of gym uniforms.

Students that belonged to sports clubs seemed to be wearing their own uniforms, which were very colorful.

Despite the heat, there were even some who were wearing kendo uniforms (minus the masks) or judo uniforms, and the cheerleading club had brought their pom poms for cheering.

On Sairei’s side, there were even some who were dressed in kimonos, perhaps from the tea ceremony or flower arrangement club. The ones in white blouses and black long skirts were probably from the choir or concert band club.

There was no specific dress code, so they could even wear casual clothes, but those belonging to the clubs seemed to have gone out of their way to dress in a conspicuous manner.

For that reason, it created a very festival-like atmosphere.

Incidentally, Sairyou was on the white team and Sairei was on the red team, and they were each required to wear ribbons with safety pins in a place that was easy to see, such as on their chests or shoulders.

After parting ways with Riko as they entered the track, Yuu went to where the boys were gathered.

Five groups, or ten boys, from the first-year boys’ class were participating.

This time, the friend Yuu was the closest with, Higashino Rei, declined, so Yuu decided to team up with Yamada Masaya.

In terms of final exam results, Yuu barely made it to 10th place, while Masaya came in third.

He could surely expect much of his knowledge.

「Sorry to keep you waiting!」

「Heya, I’ve been waiting for you.」

Looking over, he saw Houshou Haruto, who was seated behind him in the classroom, sporting a refreshing smile on his face.

While Yuu was exchanging greetings with his classmates, the opening ceremony was finally about to begin.