Chapter 40: Sasaki's Scent And The Next Death


TL: Scaramochi


***


I'm alone with Aihara in the glass elevator. 


There's nothing else to do during the time we're up there, and even just standing there in a daze, that vanilla-sweet scent tickles my nostrils. 


Is it similar to Sasaki's scent......? 


Did she happen to use the same shampoo and conditioner as Sasaki? 


Sasaki and Aihara are friends from the same seminar, and cosmetics? I wonder if they teach each other in the course of talking about things like. 


"What's wrong?" 


While I was thinking about this and that, Aihara looks into my face. 


As the distance between us closes, Sasaki's scent becomes even thicker. 


"No, nothing." 


I reply awkwardly and shift my eyes to the scenery outside. 


"You have another match tomorrow, is your head okay?" 


"Oh. No problem at all, and the coach has agreed to allow me to play two full games." 


"Really⁈ Then tomorrow will be the big game." 


Aihara said, her big eyes shining. 


"It looks like tomorrow's schedule will be announced at the meeting after this, are we going to play working people tomorrow too?" 


"I heard from a senior manager that if it's the same as previous years, we might play with high school students." 


"High school students⁈ What do you think......?" 


Playing a team in a lower age category is not very motivating. 


Even if they do well tomorrow, they will be told that they are high school students, and if they fail, they will be cursed that they are playing against high school students. 


There is no benefit for the older age groups. 


Well, I can't complain because we are the B team of Koto University. 


We took the elevator to the 7th floor of the hotel and arrived at the meeting room in the main hall. 


Most of the players had already gathered there. 


Among them was Azaki. 


"That guy Azaki, he's here unusually earlier than us." 


In the front of the room, where a long desk for three was lined up in a row, I saw Azaki sitting quietly by himself. 


Aihara and I sit down in the two seats next to him. 


"Hey, what's going on, Azaki?" 


"......" 


"Well, I sympathize with you that you saw something shocking at the hot spring, but you don't have to be so down about it, playboy." 


"Makishima...... shut up for a second." 


He doesn't look unhappy or angry, but he's certainly not the usual Azaki. 


What's wrong with him? 


Aihara and I looked at each other when we noticed something wrong with Azaki. 


"Ah, Azaki?" 


"......" 


Azaki's face was more serious than ever before, so much so that he didn't even accept Aihara's concern. 


Without understanding why Azaki has a straight face, the meeting begins at the same time the director enters. 


"All of you, you're all here." 


The manager checks the number of people while stroking his white beard. 


"Tomorrow, we're going to play a game with A on short notice." 


A and...... a match⁈ 


There has never been an opportunity for the A team, the first team, and the B team, the second team, to play directly against each other. 


"We were supposed to have a game tomorrow afternoon, but the morning practice has been changed to a game, and the A's coach wants to watch you guys from the B's. Especially Azaki." 


"......Yes." 


"90% of the game is for you." 


I'm sure he is...Azaki is the only first-year student who's been allowed to play all the time. 


That's how much the A's expect from him. 


Could this be the reason why Azaki is acting strange? 


"The other guys should be willing to use Azaki as an excuse to appeal to the A's. As everyone except the first-years knows, the A's lineup will change drastically after the Golden Week holidays. Especially the fourth-year students, if you don't make it here, there won't be a next time." 


The look in the eyes of the fourth-year students around me changes. 


It's the last year and I'm still in B....... Naturally I'm in a hurry. 


But I'm not going to give in to that. 


After that, we watched tomorrow's schedule and a video of today's game, and the meeting was over. 


"Azaki." 


I called out to Azaki, who still looked serious even after the meeting was over. 


Aihara was standing next to him, looking worried. 


"You knew you were going to play with A, didn't you?" 


"Yeah. Jang-senpai told me." 


"Are you...... scared?" 


"Can I be honest with you?" 


"Yeah." 


"I'm really looking forward to it....... I'm so looking forward to knocking A out, it doesn't even compare to playing with women or anything like that." 


Azaki's serious look suddenly changed and he started grinning. 


"That's what I thought you meant." 


The man Azaki is not just sexually perverted. 


He is a pervert in every way. In other words, he is a pervert in soccer as well, and he is strong because he has a perverse talent for deliberately gathering his opponents to try to dribble in games and for constantly pushing himself to grow in his everyday training. It's weird, but he is strong. 


"Just imagine how good it would feel to gobble up the A's fiercest players." 


"You've just said it so easily, but the team you're playing against is a two-time consecutive college league champion, remember?" 


"We're going to do it. Me and Makishima will collapse the A's final line." 


Azaki put his own fist on my chest with a confident look on his face. 


"Besides, don't we have that signature play, too?" 


A sign play that exploits the enemy's emptiness and ensures a point. 


It's true that we have that, but do we do it in front of the......1 military coach? 


"That's right, Aihara, the best sign play that "M" Makishima, who has been practicing for this training camp, can make."


I'm not M! 


"No, you're M. I'm M. He's got a beautiful teacher in his room." 


"Don't talk nonsense, you idiot!" 


And so the first day ended, and the second day's all-consuming fight to the death was about to begin. 



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