4.1

After that, I took turns playing in the pool with my group of friends, enjoying myself to the fullest.

After playing two-on-two water volleyball, we were now in the middle of first to five, one-on-one matches. First up was a battle between Keisiei and Airi, which Keisei won 5-2. Then Akito and I fought, and Akito won by 5 points to 3. Airi, who lacked physical strength, was sat down by the side of the pool to rest, probably tired after just one match. Seeing this, I called out to her.

"You looked like you were having a great time."

"Ah, Kiyotaka-kun. Yeah, it's really fun. Though I wasn't much of an opponent at all…"

For some reason she tried to stand up, so I stopped her and sat down beside her instead.

"To be honest I'm still surprised. That you had the courage to do something like this, Airi."

"That's…yeah. I thought I'd take the plunge…Though I'm still terribly embarrassed about it."

"Why did you decide to be brave?"

She couldn't have decided to do something like this on a whim.

"During the uninhabited island exam, we were always with our group for 24 hours every day, right? So Haruka-chan and I spoke about all sorts of things. About when we were little, about middle school. And then after coming to this school, about how we started getting along."

If you were together for long periods of time, small talk just wasn't going to cut it. With that being the case, it was no wonder that they delved into the deeper stuff. Probably because of the intense time they spent together, the two of them must've come to understand each other like they'd been best friends from way back.

"I thought maybe I can change now…It might be the only time…"

"Change? You're not just talking about looks, right?"

"Yeah. I can't say it clearly yet, but… I've started to think that I should change, that I have to change. It's not good enough for me to be bad at both studying and sports."

Even though her cheeks were flushed and she felt embarrassed, Airi expressed her determination.

"So the start is your appearance."

"Haruka-chan scolded me, saying that it's not good to be deliberately inconspicuous."

Airi didn't like to stand out because of her personality. That was why she lived her life keeping her hairstyle modest and wearing unnecessary fake glasses. As for posture, she often rounded her back and kept her head low. She couldn't improve her studies or sports abilities overnight, but she could fix her appearance.

As Airi gazed at the pool, she saw that in the new match, the ball had been smashed into the water and Akito had scored a point against Haruka. This gave Akito a lead of 3 points to 1.

"It's too late…I guess."

After telling me everything, Airi looked up at me anxiously.

"No, it's not too late." I wanted to praise her honestly for making that decision. "I'm rooting for you."

"T-thank you, Kiyotaka-kun. I'll try my best."

"Ah, yeah, yeah, I forgot to tell you earlier but Airi's image change is still a secret, okay? We'll be unveiling it to everyone when the second semester starts."

It would probably be better to do it in a classroom with all the students present. At any rate, if it was going to make her nervous, the fewer times, the better.

"So what did you think, Yukimuu? When you saw Airi."

Haruka, who was serving, stopped what she was doing and spoke to Keisei, who was watching the match.

"D-don't ask me."

"We won't know unless we ask, will we? Let us hear your unreserved opinion."

After being told that, Keisei looked directly at Airi and observed every inch of her body. Naturally embarrassed, Airi tried to run away.

"You can't run away, Airi."

Haruka did her best to hold Airi down as she growled and flapped her legs. And after completing his observation, Keisei's evaluation was…

"…It's…not bad, is it? I mean, no, it's totally attractive…"

Keisei, who didn't usually show much interest in girls, replied, his body tense.

"Oh, if Yukimuu reacts like that, then I'm sure it's perfect!"

Haruka, as pleased as if it were her, jumped high into the air at that moment. She then slammed her serve towards Akito, who had been watching Airi after having his attention caught.

"Whoa!"

"One point! With that it's two points to three!"

"That's not fair, Haruka."

"It's your fault for gawking at girls, Miyacchi. Don't let your guard down, carelessness is one's greatest enemy."

"Don't be ridiculous. But…how can a girl change so much just by taking off her glasses and changing her hairstyle a little?"

"It means the original material was already top-notch. Didn't you know that much?"

"Even if you say that…"

Akito and Keisei looked at each other and nodded at the same time.

"Oh dear. Well, it's because you guys are like this that I'm comfortable hanging out with you."

Akito shook off his worries and concentrated on his own serve. With the game resumed, Airi let out a sigh of relief.

"When it comes to studying, how do I improve? Or rather, how do I get smarter I wonder…"

Although Airi and the others prepare when tests come around, they don't study from the ground up like Horikita and Sudō do. That part was essential when it came to raising your academic level.

Keisei overheard something related to studying, so began to explain in front of us.

"The first step is to find out what you can and can't do, isn't it? Beginning with the 1st year of elementary school, we all start running side by side. But gradually our strengths and weaknesses when studying start to emerge. Do you know why?"

"Um…"

"Individuals have different abilities regarding learning and absorbing content, as well as different levels of concentration. There are those who can't stand it for even one minute, and there are those that can get through an hour of class by resourcefully controlling their concentration. That alone will start to make a difference in your ability to learn, but how much you study outside of class is also a big factor."

"That's…yeah. It's true that the kids who went to cram school were smart."

Although it was obvious, Airi nodded her head as if she were convinced.

"Rah!"

The ball bounced off Haruka's attempt to catch it and he won the 5th point. The result was a 5 points to 2 win in favour of Akito.

"Alright. With that I guess it's my win."

"Bummer. But I was a little curious about what those two were talking about and couldn't concentrate, so that's why I lost."

So with that analysis and excuse, Haruka came up to the pool side.

"Why don't you teach her how to study, Kiyopon?"

Hearing the flow of the conversation, Haruka came up with an idea.

"Sorry, but I'm not very good at teaching. Besides, there's a teaching specialist nearby, right?"

To shift the gaze away from me, I turned to Keisei as if to urge him on.

"Well…if Airi says it's okay, then I don't mind."

"No, but Yukimuu, you know, I was thinking you could take care of me and Akito from now on. Wouldn't it be hard to teach all of us if we added Airi, who's at a different level?"

"Uh, that means I'm an idiot, right?…Ugh."

"Ah, that's not it! That's not what I meant!"

"No, you know, that's the only way to take what you just said, Haruka."

Unable to defend her, Akito muttered under his breath.

"I'm just, you know…Ah jeez, I'm very sorry, I was out of line!"

She bowed deeply to Airi, and at the same time, the two lumps became bigger…And don't look…If I do, my concentration will be uprooted and taken away.

After that, there was a lot of laughter and the atmosphere became more relaxed.

"Then it's time for the Airi and Keisei revenge match."

"Ehh? I won't win no matter how many times I try~!"

"You don't need to worry, I'll join you as a helper."

"W-wait, Akito. I'm at an overwhelming disadvantage then!"

Even while complaining, Keisei went into the pool without hesitation. He was very serious about it.

"I-I'll try my best."

Airi, who had gained a reliable companion in Akito, clenched her fists slightly.

Haruka and I decided to watch the novel two-on-one battle from the poolside.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Hmm?"

Shortly after the match started, Haruka spoke to me with her gaze fixed on the competition.

"I hope it's not my imagination, but aren't you a little cold towards Airi, Kiyopon?"

"I don't mean to be."

"But you could've taught her one-on-one. You can do that much, can't you?"

If I had to choose between being able and not being able, then I would say I could do it without any problems.

"That's kinda unfair, don't you think? For Airi."

"I'm just trying to be fair to everybody."

"Really?"

"I've never really favoured anyone except for pretence."

"…Does that mean you'd be as fair to your best friend as your girlfriend?"

"That's right."

"Isn't that a little strange? It's like the distance between us is too far. I'll take this opportunity to say, right from the start you've been watching us while keeping your distance, right Kiyopon?"

Apparently, that idea had gotten through to Haruka.

"I've never seen you smile or anything."

Saying that, she reached out with her right arm and pinched my left cheek. She played with it, pulling it with some intensity.

"I wish we could at least make you smile, Kiyopon."

"It's not like I'm not smiling on purpose though."

She removed her fingertips from the cheek she had been pinching and crossed her arms in displeasure.

"There are more reasons that I can't tell you directly. The distance between Airi and I was too close from the beginning."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I think it's not me, but the environment surrounding her that is making her grow."

"The environment surrounding her?"

"There's you, there's Akito, and there's Keisei. Growing surrounded by her best friends is the most important factor for Airi. In fact, Airi is about to undergo a major change thanks to you, Haruka."

"I think the one most important to Airi is you though, Kiyopon."

"If she were the type who thrives on romantic entanglements, that might've been a good idea."

"You told me that you were aware of Airi's feelings once before Kiyopon, but, how can I put this? What you're saying is a little harsh, don't you think?"

She looked at me with complicated eyes, as if she didn't know how to express herself.

"Since our first year, Airi has been thinking about me in no small way. That makes me happy. It's just…"

She looked at me with anxiously, as if she were a girl waiting for a reply to her confession. Airi's love. It was an undeniable fact that she was her best friend and was praying for her to succeed.

"What Airi needs right now are friends that she can trust."

"But, but you know what? It might be good if there were also a romantic element. She might be able to work harder."

"Indeed, there could be some synergy."

But the trouble was, love wasn't something that you could have for more than one person at a time.

Basically, if the seat was occupied by one person, if you wanted to bring in a second person, you'd have to take action to cut off the first. Of course, it wasn't impossible to do it with two or three people at the same time if you were good at it, but I'd say it wasn't suitable in the closed environment of this school and the demerits should you get exposed were far greater. I stood up from the poolside.

"In the near future, Airi will undergo a bit of a psychological shock. At that time, Haruka, I need you more than anyone to be there by her side to encourage and cheer her up."

"What's that? What do you mean?"

"Sorry, but I can't answer that right now."

Airi is the least valuable person in the class. Academic ability, physical ability and other factors. Looking at her comprehensively, that was the only way to judge it. This was not only true for the OAA, but it was also my own personal opinion.

However, depending on Airi's willingness to change from here on out, she will surely grow, albeit slowly. Maybe in six months, maybe in a year, at that time, she might be able to climb out from the bottom of the class.