Chapter 74: I Have To Be


TL: Akabane


***


After going to the cafeteria, the two of us chatted in an empty classroom. It was a fun time, just the two of us. But one day, I suddenly realized.


"Hey, we're here on a hostile situation visit, aren't we?"


"Ah! That reminds me!"


There's no doubt that Igarashi and I are both idiots for spending time in a leisurely manner and forgetting the main topic. At any rate, we decided to head for the field at a quick pace.











The baseball field was filled with a frenzy of shouting and the sound of bats. I shouldn't say it, but the enthusiasm was different from that of the baseball team at the Imperial Capital University. Hayao University has a sports recommendation system, so the quality of the players must be different. I set up my camera on a tripod over the fence to film the players. Using the data from this video, Yuzuriha is going to create a function to predict each player's behavior. I suddenly thought, I knew I've seen this video-based analysis of human behavior somewhere in the previous world before I died.


"You're a full-fledged spy! Gather information on your target and baaaack! Like that!"


Igarashi looked at the players through the camera and gestured as if she were holding a rifle.


"I don't do bakyuun, but this data is going to be useful during the game."


Yuzuriha's baseball behavior analysis is quite accurate. She can even predict the pitcher's pitch distribution with a fairly high degree of accuracy. She says there is still room for improvement in her analysis, so we can expect more research in the future.


"Hmmm. That math kid does the math. That's amazing. Speaking of which, Chuso blurted out that he wanted math-chan to do some calculations for him."


Normally, I would be annoyed if Hagiri's name came up, but I can't miss what he just said.


"What did he say he wanted her to calculate?"


"Hmm? Ah. What was it? Let's see. Yes! A stage! That's what he said!"


"Huh? A stage?"


"Yeah. Like how acting is scientific, and gestures to human psychology! Archi something! I don't know what he's talking about! And also..."


"And?"


"And, the ruins.... I'm sorry, I didn't mean that! Forget it!"


Igarashi narrowed her eyes and made a disgusted face.


"You said ruins just now, right?"


"......."


Igarashi stares at me with a quiet face like a Noh mask. I feel like I'm being scorned. But this must be important.


"What about the ruins?"


"Don't make me say it. The story about the ruins...yes. They have to be fun stories. That's why I don't want to talk about it."


She doesn't seem to want to talk about it any more. Is Hagiri doing archaeology? I don't know what he wants to do anymore. But I can tell you one thing. What Hagiri wants to analyze about the ruins is something that Igarashi is very uncomfortable with. I don't know why she is uncomfortable. The other day, when I talked about the ruins in the futon, she seemed to enjoy listening to me. So, I don't know what made Igarashi so upset. Igarashi's face in front of me still looked like a Noh mask. I didn't want to see her face. That's when it happened.


"Ah? Why is Tokiwa here!


Imayuri, wearing a uniform, approached me from the other side of the fence. Imayuri's face looked somewhat grim. But when he saw Igarashi at my side, Imayuri's face instantly turned into a scowl.


"Hey, hey, hey! Why is Igarashi here! Igarashi! It's been a while!"


"What? Igarashi. You know Imayuri?"


It was probably because Imayuri had suddenly appeared. Igarashi's Noh-like face had reverted to its usual Noh-like appearance. And she was tilting her head with a blurred expression. And then. She clapped her hands.


"This is the traditional sports exchange game that Hayao University High School and my high school have every year, right?"


"Yes, yes! That! The first time we met that was when I was a freshman in college! You were still a freshman in high school! I've seen you every year since then, but you've really grown into a beautiful girl! You were cute back then, but now you look so much more mature and beautiful!"


"Thank you so much!"


Apparently, the two of them knew each other. Igarashi, as usual, seemed to be completely uninterested in the other party. It's a good thing she remembers me.


"Igarashi, you didn't come to our university, but if you're with him, did you go to the Imperial Capital University?"


"Well, yeah."


"Seriously! Oh! If the Imperial Capital University had a sports recommendation, I could have gone there too!"


He's not kidding. He want to get into the Imperial Capital University with a sports recommendation.


"Ah, is it possible that Igarashi.. come to see me after I decided to go pro? See! You promised! You said you'd marry me if I went pro!"


Well, well, well. I turn to Igarashi. Igarashi is shaking her head.


"Tokiwa! That's not true!"


"I know you're not, so tell me honestly what you said to her."


"I said it when we were all talking about how I'm aiming to be a female announcer in the future and how I hope to marry a professional athlete. That's about all I said! I didn't make any promises!"


You can see that she is very desperate. I can tell that she's not lying.


"Wow. That's just a common impression. Thank you very much."


Imayuri apparently took the joke to heart when Igarashi came here. And it finally evolved into a level of assumption that promised a future. Imayuri stares at Igarashi with a twinkle in her eye over the fence, and Igarashi looks away awkwardly. It's an unmotivating feeling, to say the least.


"I mean! That's right! You know Imayuri, too, Tokiwa? ! Imayuri is also from Hokkaido, so you're a local senior or something?"


"...No, he's not my senior."


I look away from her question. Because I'm embarrassed. If they knew that Imayuri, who's now in his fourth year of college, and I, in my first year, were in the same class, it would be as if I was a multi-year student. I'm a little concerned about being older than the people around me.


"What are you hiding?"


Igarashi looks into my face. She stares at me with a stern look in her eyes. It's cute, but I'm even more embarrassed than that.


"What is it? Is Igarashi doesn't know by any chance? We went to elementary school, middle school, and high school together! Kuhaha! That's hilarious! Hahahaha!"


Igarashi's eyes blink when he hears that. Then, staring at me with somewhat kind eyes, he gently taps me on the shoulder.


"You've been studying for years! That's very impressive!"


"No, just to be clear, I decided to take the entrance exam and started studying last year. In effect, I studied for a whole year. And since I was studying while working, my study time was practically the same as yours, or even less. In other words, I'm not one of those clumsy people. I'm more of a studious person."


I think it's amazing that I was able to attend a prep school while working full time as a construction worker and was accepted to the Imperial University. So I'm sure that if I had only studied seriously from the time I was a working student, I'd be smart enough to get into medical school. I'm sure I'm smart enough to get into medical school. So I'm practically a one-year student!


"That's okay, Tokiwa. I know you're an amazing person."


"So stop looking at me with benevolent eyes! It's only one ronin! I'm normal! I'm a normal!"


Imayuri seems to be taking pleasure in exposing my weakness. That's why I hate him. They put me to shame.


"Igarashi! Why don't you let go of that embarrassing guy and get in the ground? You want to be a female announcer, don't you! Come on! It's like a rehearsal for the interview!"


"Oh, I see... Surely it's good practice? What do you think, Tokiwa?"


I'm the one watching Igarashi, who wasn't at all enthusiastic about being a female announcer in the previous world to begin with. Recently, I'm even wondering if there's any point in having her become a female announcer in the first place, and there's even a possibility that the job of female announcer has been blown into Hagiri's head.


"Don't do it."


"Fufu. I should stop. There are things I have to do."


I can't help but feel a little uneasy about asking me to make a decision. It reminds me of Igarashi from the time when she was a washed-up b*tch in the previous world. Come to think of it, the only time Igarashi asserted herself strongly and stubbornly in the previous world might have been after she was caught cheating. Something about that makes me sad.


"Hey! You're a d*ck, Tokiwa!"


Imayuri grabbed the fence and glared at me.


"You were playing with a girl the other day! And yet you keep interrupting what Igarashi is doing!"


That's what you said when you were drinking with Kirin.


"Tokiwa!"


A voice sounded somewhat frightening. Igarashi has a smiling face. But I'm scared.


"...What is it?"


"Who is that girl? Blonde?"


Please don't pinpoint "blonde" and mention Mr. X.


"Yeah, um, I don't think she's blonde. I mean, I was just drinking."


"Huh? You just kissed her on the cheek, didn't you? Didn't you go to a hotel after that anyway!"


Hearing this, Igarashi's smile deepens. But in the same way, the shadow seems to have deepened as well.


"Imayuri. Can you stop talking about your own delusions? Igarashi will get the wrong idea."


"Heh. So, what did you do at the hotel, Tokiwa?"


"I didn't go there! I seriously didn't go there! We broke up before the last train! I don't care if you ask the other guy to confirm it!"


Why am I making excuses so miserably? I didn't do anything! That's why I hate him!


"Huh? He kissed her on the cheek and didn't take her home. You're such a slacker, Tokiwa."


"Nugugugu."


Igarashi snickered at me. Then she clapped her hands and started to look smug. It's a face that came up with an absolutely lame idea.


"Imayuri! I want to interview you, so can you let me in the ground!"


"Oh! Sure! Please come in!"


Imayuri opened the entrance to a nearby fence and called Igarashi over.


"Tokiwa!"


"What is it?"


"You'll be my cameraman!"


Igarashi then brought her face close to mine and whispered in my ear.


"With this, we can get detailed data on the players, right? I'm doing a great job, aren't I? Maybe I'm suited to be a spy!"


"That's right, Igarashi is a spy."


I'm pretty sure she was just taking advantage of Imayuri's suggestion, right? Just imagining Igarashi interviewing a smug-looking Imayuri makes me angry. But on the positive side, it's also an opportunity to collect more accurate data. I'm going to go along for the ride. I set up my camera and went into the ground, filming Igarashi.









　


While taking pictures of Imayuri introducing the baseball team with a smug look on his face and Igarashi interviewing him, I also take pictures of the players here and there. Everyone is not suspicious of us, who are accompanied by Imayuri. Some of them asked Igarashi for her autograph. And when we were done collecting most of the data, we left the field and sat down on a bench on campus to review the video we had taken.


"What do you think? Tokiwa. Do I look like a female announcer?"


"Yes, you do. You look like that."


"Ufufu. I'm glad to hear that."


Igarashi, in her conservative fashion, really looks like a female TV announcer just by walking around on the field. She is beautiful and stands out well. I catch her walking around in a good mood on camera. When I check the footage, it looks like a work of art in itself. I really think she is a beautiful woman.


"Come to think of it, this is the first time I've had someone take a real video like this."


"Yes. It's the first time I've had take a video like this."


Igarashi said as she looked into the video she had taken.


"I see, another first for us."


Igarashi's face was adorable as she smiled at me saying that. Seeing this, I was unintentionally nervous, which is why I was a little perturbed and asked a strange question.


"Well, why do you want to be an announcer? Did something happen that made you do it?"


Igarashi was puzzled to hear that.


"Nothing. I just think I have to become one."


"What? Wait a minute. You have to become?"


"Why are you surprised, Tokiwa?"


"No, because...what? ...Eh? No, no, no. What do you mean you have to become...huh?"


"You have to become what you have to become. You have to become an architect too, don't you, Tokiwa?"


"No, I want to become an architect, okay?"


The conversation doesn't mesh. What's this discomfort? Igarashi tilts her head cutely. That's why I don't understand her as if she were an alien.


"Why does Igarashi have to become a female announcer?"


"Because ......... there are people who want me to become a female announcer. That's why I have to become one."


Who is that? No. You don't have to say it. He's the only one who wants her to be an announcer. She is bound to Hagiri no matter how far she goes. That's why I must face him. I have to break the chains that bind her. That's what I thought.
















Without knowing that this is the curse that has been placed on her....











***Author's musings***



I can't wait to draw the hot youth of baseball.


Season 3 will not be that long. Probably.


Also, I want to do Season 4 as soon as possible.


Ayashiro is the heroine in season 4.


I would like you to expect what will happen when Kanata is involved in a romantic-comedy template event.


And I would like to have a night pool and an some event in the extravaganza.


And also the ocean and the river.



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