Chapter 30: The Excitement Leading Up To The Launch Is Extraordinary


TL: Akabane


***


Friday after school. Ayashiro and I were playing baseball with rubber balls and plastic bats in the plaza of the Tagichi dormitory. Today, the announcement of the acceptance or rejection of Milan's student theater troupe is scheduled to come by phone. We knew we'd get a prayer anyway due to the interference of Hagiri and the others, but we were still fidgety. So we were fooling around with baseball.


"In theory! If we throw with this RPM and accuracy, Ayashiro will get 100%! You'll get it! Cheest-ooooooooooooooooo!"


Pitcher Yuzuriha throws the ball. It was a surprisingly solid pitch. Yuzuriha is wearing a short skirt today. Her thighs, which I, the catcher, can see from the hem of her skirt, which is a little fluffy, are dazzling. However, Ayashiro was not able to see through such natural cuteness.


"Sweet! Witness the moment when your guts surpass your theories! It's chest-oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"


Ayashiro takes a pitch a little low on the outside corner at the sweet point with all his might and blasts it toward the outfield. If she keeps going like this, a hit is sure to follow. It looked that way, but to her surprise, Milan was standing right in the direction the ball went.


"Kukuku! Ahahaha! This is the power of mathematics! There's no need to strike out Ayashiro directly! All you have to do is let her hit it where the outfielders are and let her catch it!"


"Oh no? You dare to strike me out by letting her hit a ball? Is this what you call abandoning the game? I'm afraid of you, Satsuma Ogojyo!"


No, this is normal baseball, right? And anyway, this kind of hits the spot. At that time, a ringtone sounded from Milan's pocket.


"I got a call!!!! Everyone's, it's a call! I'll take it, okay! I'll take the phone! I'll get it!"


The fly falls and rolls over to Milan's side.


"Noooooooooooooo! The ball is frying just like I calculated! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! My calculations!"


"Wheeeeeeeeee! This is the power of man that cannot be measured by math! Yuzuriha! You licked the souls of men! That's why you lost!'


Ayashiro ran across the diamond with ease, and Yuzuriha shed tears of youth on the mound. ...Is this our quality...! Is this really the highest academic institution? I intensely doubt it.





＊＊＊＊＊＊





Then Milan, who was answering the phone, came toward us. She looked somewhat puzzled.


"Well, let's see. I'm going to go hands-free, so everyone listen up."


Puzzled, we listened to our phones. Then we heard.


||  "Yo. Remember me? It's me."


I didn't expect to hear a tsundere uncle's voice. It's scary that a world-famous director would take the trouble to call me. I've told Ayashiro and the others about Tenketsu-sensei, but neither of them can hide their sense of bewilderment.


||  "Let's start with the good news. The student theater troupe has been rejected."


"Ugh!"


Even though she knew it was coming, Milan was damaged. Ayashiro gently patted her back, and Yuzuriha held Milan's head to her chest to comfort her.


||  "If you act like that, you'll be a nuisance in the student theater troupe. You can't act like you're floating away from your surroundings. You know that, right? You're the type of person who only has one fan in a group at a dance performance, right? No? Hm?"


You're right, Tenketsu-sensei! You can tell what she usually does just by watching Milan's performance.


||  "Reflect on this. And let me tell you a bad story. I couldn't find any actor or director to be your teacher who could discipline you. I showed videos of your performance to everyone I know, but they said they didn't want to do it because it was too much for them to handle."


"Ugh!"


You've done quite a bit of damage to Milan! To translate Tenketsu-sensei's tsundere language, it seems to be, "Even other people can't teach you because they can't handle your talent☆" but even so, it's quite hard to think about the future when she can't find a coach.


||  "So, by a process of elimination, I have decided to be in charge of you. It is a nuisance to the people around me to unleash an actor like you in the industry. I will be in charge of disciplining you. Well, rest assured, I will harass you, but I will not sexually harass you."


"Tenketsu-sensei! I'm so happy! Thank you very much! Please harass me a lot!"

[TL: Another crazy girl.]


Milan's body was expressing joy, a complete change from the depression she had been in earlier. She was so happy that it made me smile, too. However, I would like to clear up a question.


"Excuse me, Tenketsu-sensei. This is Tokiwa, and I have a few questions. Could you please answer them?"


||  "Ah, it doesn't matter. Considering the connection between Hagiri and me, your questions are valid. Go ahead."


"I'm sure Hagiri doesn't find it interesting that Tenketsu-sensei is guiding Milan, but is it still okay for Tenketsu-sensei to take care of Milan? If there is a possibility of endangering her future, I must refuse to talk to her."


||  "That's quite right. But don't worry about that point. Let me correct you on one misunderstanding. What Hagiri doesn't like is that Izumi is not at hand, not that he will succeed. I have also asked and confirmed with Hagiri that mentoring Izumi and making her successful as an actor has its own merits. It seems he wants to make some kind of deal with Izumi after she succeeds and bring her into his own camp. For better or worse, he buys Izumi's talent. He doesn't seem to mind as long as it grows."


I don't know what's going on. There's no doubt that Hagiri is a small-minded guy and a scoundrel. I thought he would try to sabotage Milan, but he doesn't seem to be worried about that.


||  "He has a lot of work to do. Frankly speaking, he can't afford to be left alone. I hate to say it, but it would be more efficient to wait until the ears of rice are ripe and then come and reap the harvest. It is safe to assume that Izumi will not face any obstacles in the entertainment industry. I'll be keeping a close eye on that. Your youthful performances have made me hungry, too. I'll cooperate with Hagiri for a while, but one day I'll cut my ties. Izumi, I want to direct you as an equal partner someday. That's what I thought. I'll make that dream come true. Yes, I'm sure."


"Tenketsu-sensei...! I don't know what to say, I'm so honored!


Milan is moved to tears. All her hard work had paid off. She's had a surprisingly hard life. She has won a chance to make it this far in her life. There is no reason not to be happy.


||  "Don't worry about it. It's not that I'm great, it's just that you worked hard. If you want to thank me, thank the guy next to you. I didn't do anything of any importance. I'll contact you later with the details and I'll throw you in a big firm where you can feel secure. You just think about your art, okay?"


"Yes, sir! I understand!"


This time, the sword is safe. There is nothing more wonderful than to be rewarded for your efforts. Milan's talent will never shine if she stays under Hagiri. But this may change one thing in the future. I feel a thrill at the prospect.


||  "I'm very excited at the prospect. Can I talk to you two guys for a minute?"


"Ah, yes. Okay, sure."


I borrow Milan's phone and end the hands-free mode.


||  "There's one thing I don't feel comfortable telling Izumi, so keep that in mind as I pass it on to you..."


"...Yes. Please do."


Something in his voice is heartbreakingly mysterious. This sounds serious. I tighten my face and wait for the rest of the conversation.


||  "It's just her act, you know. She has a fatal flaw."


I swallow my spit. This seems like an important point for the future. I'm afraid to hear the rest of the story. But I'm prepared to listen to the rest.


||  "I can't help but smell the fanciness of a virgin passing for a virgin."


"Huh? What the hell?"


||  "It is often said that virgins have strong illusions about love because they don't know men. But that's true, and that feeling gives reality to the performance. But not the smell of virginity! No! Izumi is a woman, but she reeks of virginity! There is more dreamy fancy in her acting than virginity! That is something that can attract the audience, but I want more out of her acting. Tokiwa, teach Izumi to be a woman. Engrave it! The reality of being a woman."


"Excuse me! Tenketsu-sensei! I was hoping you could say it in more understandable words!"


No, I know, but if the teacher here gets embarrassed and blurts it out in a tsundere, I can pretend I didn't hear it.


||  "Just have sex. That's all. Heterosexual experience elicits strong emotions. It is a great weapon of an actor. You can have many loves, or you can be in one love. But it is no good if you don't have any. I cannot bear to see a virgin acting."


"Oh you said it! Oh my God! What is that!"


||  "What are you ashamed of? If you're a college student, you should at least have sex with them as a way of saying hello."


"Not all college students are like that!"


College students = alcohol, sex, and parapiahs! I want people to stop being like that. I wasn't blessed with those three things in my previous world.


||  "I'm not doing this for you! I'm doing this for Izumi's sake!"


"That's even worse! What's with the no sexual harassment! What do you mean you won't sexually harass her! You're harassing me!"


||  "This is not sexual harassment! It's for the sake of art. See you later. Next time, I want to meet face to face with Izumi, who has become a non-virgin woman. Don't disappoint me."


Saying that, Tenketsu-sensei unilaterally hung up the phone. Let's just pretend you didn't hear that for now! That's better!


"You seemed to be getting excited about something. What were you talking about?"


Milan, who had stayed away from my side while me and the teacher were on the call, comes up to me. She asks me with an innocent smile.


"Milan. You should remain a virgin woman. That's part of your personality."


"No! I don't want to be a virgin! Why do they call me a virgin so much? What's that smell? Do I smell like a virgin? No!"


Milan writhes with her head in her hands. A virgin has value, but a virgin has no value.... But wouldn't it be nice if there was at least one girl in the world who was a virgin? That's when I was thinking about something silly. Ayashiro and Yuzuriha came up to me.


"The three of us were talking earlier, and we decided to launch today. Milan wants to invite us to some place."


"Shibuya! I've never been to Shibuya, just passing through! I'm looking forward to it! I'm sure it's a mature town..."


Apparently, the girls had already decided on a plan. Naturally I am.


"Great! Shibuya! That's just like a college student! I'm looking forward to it! Hyuuuuu!!!!"


""Hooooooooooooooooo!!!!""


We, for our part, are going to stick our right hand up to the sky in a Parisian manner and store up some parley power.


"Hmmm, virgin, virgin, no I'm not a virgin! I'll prove it tonight! Then all three of you come to me in front of Hachiko in Shibuya at about 9:30! I'll be waiting for you!"


Milan, who had been feeling dizzy, probably because it was the launch, got all crispy, told us where and when, and then ran out of the dormitory square.


"We have quite a bit of time until 9:30, don't we? Do you want to study or something?"


"Yes, that's right. The library is open, so let's study."


"You guys have that Supreme University student feel in a weird way, don't you? Well, let's study."


We headed to the library. We decided to study until the appointed time.



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