<66> Sano's Wallet Crisis

Chapter 66: Sano's Wallet Crisis

In the end, Sendo decided to accompany him, mostly because he was curious to see what kind of conversation the two of them would have.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Come in!" (Japanese-style polite invitation)

"Excuse us!"

"Ah, it's been a while, Sano-sensei!" Sawamura greeted enthusiastically.

"Hm? Sawamura? Honestly, I was hoping never to see you again. Oh, Sendo! I see you haven't been driven crazy by him yet!" Sano, the baseball team's advisor, gave Sawamura an irritated look before turning to greet Sendo.

"Just barely hanging in there," Sendo replied.

"How rude! As if I would ever annoy him to that point!" Sawamura shot back almost simultaneously.

"Hm? 'Just barely hanging in there'?! What's that supposed to mean?" Sawamura turned to confront Sendo, who had said his line at the same time.

"I was just saying that you're really annoying!"

"Alright, alright. What do you want this time?" Sano interrupted, noticing their banter was escalating.

"Well! You see, Sensei! Arrange a practice match for us, please! After all, autumn's almost here, and so is the fall tournament. We'll probably register next week, right?" Sawamura clasped his hands together, looking like a slick salesman promising a "come back soon" deal.

"Oh, and get us transportation! We'll win this time for sure, and then you'll treat us to BBQ, right?"

Without giving Sano a chance to respond, Sawamura had blurted everything out in one go—it didn't even sound like he was making a polite request but rather giving Sensei a list of demands!

"Are you trying to pick a fight with my wallet, kid?!" Sano snapped, both annoyed and a bit exasperated.

"I wonder what happened in the past for Sano-sensei to react so strongly? This is getting more interesting!" Sendo thought, watching their exchange with amusement.

…

"My poor paycheck! Fine, I'll see if I can arrange a practice game for you. But it might take some time. Our school's baseball team just started and doesn't have much of a reputation. And we did put on quite the 'fun show' in the summer!" Sano finally gave in, albeit reluctantly.

"'Fun show' is putting it lightly!" Sendo thought, recalling that summer game that nearly had him in stitches. He turned away to hide his laughter, also remembering Sano's deadpan, defeated expression on the bench back then.

"Awesome!"

"But please, don't put on another 'fun show' like the one from summer!"

"'Fun show'? What does that mean? Anyway, we're going to win this time! We're absolutely going to win! Hahaha!"

Smack!

"Stop yelling! This is the faculty room! Your voice can probably be heard a hundred meters away—quiet down, you fool!" Seemingly getting a bit too used to it, Sendo gave Sawamura a smack on the back of his head.

"Sendo, is that true?" Sano, aware that Sendo had taken over the team's training after summer, asked with curiosity. Before, he was just the guy Sawamura came to when needed—a glorified wallet and backup.

"Well, kinda. In Tokyo, we were lucky enough to beat a team that usually makes it to the second or third round."

"Oh? Isn't Tokyo on a different level compared to here?" Sano, not knowing much about Tokyo middle school baseball but aware that high school teams from Tokyo are top-tier, was intrigued.

"I'm not sure either, but if we play against teams from Nagano, we'll have a better idea. If possible, start by inviting a team like ours that doesn't make it past the first round. If we play well, then maybe we can reach out to stronger teams."

"Don't be so stingy! If we're reaching out, let's go straight for the strongest teams! Hahaha! I'll beat them all and go to Nationals!"

Smack!

"Shut up already! I told you, keep it quiet in the faculty room."

"Okay!"

"And keep it down in general! You're really loud, you know!" While Sendo did enjoy Sawamura's goofy, slightly dense personality, he still wished he'd tone down the volume—though he knew it probably wouldn't make any difference.

Still, Sendo couldn't deny that there was something oddly satisfying about giving Sawamura a light smack on the back of his head!

Smack!

Just like that, Sendo casually gave him another one.

"Huh? What now?" Sawamura looked completely baffled by the hit.

"Oh, my bad!"

"Huh?" Sawamura blinked, clearly not understanding.

"Alright, we're done here, right? If so, let's head back!" Sendo said as he grabbed the collar of Sawamura's shirt, ready to drag him out. With his strength, he easily pulled Sawamura along with one hand.

"Oh, and Sano-sensei, don't forget to arrange the bus and the BBQ if we win!" Sawamura called back, waving at Sano as he was dragged out.

Then—

Smack!

"Haven't I told you to keep it down?" Sendo hit him again, this time making Sawamura lower his head.

Smack!

Annoyed by Sawamura's loud voice right next to his ear, Sendo delivered yet another smack to release some frustration.

It looked just like that scene when Wakana first visited and Kuramochi had to drag Sawamura away, waving goodbye to his friends—only this time, Sendo's slap had Sawamura bowing his head.

"Ahh, what am I going to do with this clueless kid?" Sano sighed as he watched them leave.

As people had often said, it was hard to find anyone who truly disliked Sawamura; even in the original story, people worried about his future. When sending Sawamura off, Sano was always beaming, sometimes even drinking himself silly.

"Don't worry, Sano-sensei! Things will work out as long as Sendo's around to look out for him." In some parts of Japan, people don't judge a person solely based on grades or performance.

Although Sendo often slept in class, those who got to know him over time could see he was genuinely dependable, even without factoring in his perfect scores.

"True, I suppose… Ah, but that Sawamura, he just added more work to my plate. And my poor wallet," Sano muttered, feeling both agreement and frustration. (This respect and support for teachers is why they hold such a high social status in Japan.)

On the other hand...

"Alright! Go on ahead and join everyone else at practice."

"Aren't you coming with me?"

"Me? … I have a few things to take care of, so I'm heading home."

"Can't exactly tell you I'm going home to lie down, read manga, and take a nap, can I?" Sendo thought to himself.

This guy could sleep for a whole day and still not get enough. Seriously, he was just... um, never mind!

"Oh! Sorry for piling all this work on you! Well, thanks for the help!" Sawamura waved, saying the farewell phrase often used at the end of club activities, before running off.

"Wait, hold on! Kid, did you just completely misinterpret the situation? No, wait, did you actually make up this whole idea in your head?" Sendo watched with an amused look as Sawamura ran off.

"Hmm... Ah, whatever. If I don't sneak off now, when will I get the chance? In a way, it's probably for the best—if he found out the truth, it wouldn't be this easy to escape." Glancing around to confirm he was alone, Sendo looked up at a 45-degree angle, grinning to himself as he made his way home, perfectly happy with Sawamura's overactive imagination.

As for Sawamura's assumption that he was working hard on club responsibilities, Sendo felt absolutely no guilt about it.

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