202: Service Club

Sobu High School Special Building

Unlike the teaching building, the main function of this building is to provide students with extracurricular activities after their studies. 

Multimedia and home economics classrooms, as well as most club activity locations, are located here.

Iroha followed Hiratsuka to the door of an abandoned classroom, which seemed to be the purpose of their trip.

She looked up at the sign:

"Service Club..."

She had been enrolled in school for a while, and when she was first considering which club to join, she had heard this name from her friends, but this was the first time she had come in person.

"Ah, the door is unlocked; the guy is already here."

"Well, Ms. Hiratsuka, do we have to knock on the door first?"

"It's okay, it's okay."

Iroha's persuasion didn't work. Hiratsuka opened the classroom door and walked in calmly, as if she were at home.

"Hey, it's been a long time since I've given you another request."

The person who spoke to Hiratsuka, in a familiar and casual tone, was sitting in the middle of the classroom. 

She frowned slightly at first but then sighed helplessly when she saw who had come.

"Please knock on the door first next time, Ms. Hiratsuka."

"Haha, I'll pay attention next time."

Seeing the nonchalant look on Hiratsuka's face, Yukino realized that she obviously hadn't listened to what she had said this time. 

However, she had gotten used to it after experiencing it so many times.

She tilted her head and turned her gaze to the third person in the classroom.

"Ah, um... hello, I am Isshiki Iroha, a first-year student. Please give me your guidance."

This senior, who had always been ranked number one in academics and who could create a strange atmosphere just by sitting there, made Iroha feel slightly nervous.

"Hello, I'm Yukinoshita Yukino."

Yukino glanced briefly at her before returning her attention to Hiratsuka.

"She is the one being entrusted this time."

Hiratsuka made her intention clear, patting Iroha's shoulder affectionately with her right hand, displaying her usual nurturing demeanor.

"Regarding this child, I hope you can think of a way to help her, whether through extra lessons or sharing your study experiences, so that her scores in the next monthly exam can meet the standards." 

"At the very least, she must maintain the level required for entrance exams, if not reach the top of her grade."

"Huh?"

The first person to react was Iroha, who had walked all the way from the teaching building. She had never heard from Hiratsuka that she would be entrusted to an unfamiliar senior.

Even though she was good at building relationships, she felt embarrassed by this!

"Teacher..."

Iroha protested softly,

"It's not necessary. The poor result in the last exam was just a mistake. I will work hard in the future."

Yukino also supported her wishes.

"If the person involved clearly expresses their refusal, then it seems there is no need for me to accept this commission."

"What are you talking about? She's just shy."

Hiratsuka looked at Iroha again, smiling as she said,

"It's okay. Although Yukinoshita looks cold, you'll find she is an excellent senior once you get to know her. In the name of my teacher, I guarantee that she is absolutely reliable, so don't worry."

Hearing such words, Yukino moved her lips slightly as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she returned her gaze to the book in her hand and sighed wearily.

"But I still have club activities."

Iroha pitifully tried to make one last stand.

"If I remember correctly, you joined the football club…" 

"Don't worry, I will speak to the minister. Your work in the club will be set aside for the time being." 

"Your most important task now is to actively prepare for the next monthly exam. If you meet the standard, I won't restrain you from anything you want to do."

In school, the identities and positions of teachers and students are absolute. As an educator and an adult, the words and instructions given by teachers usually cannot be violated.

Hiratsuka was different from other teachers. Iroha felt that if she really wanted to refuse, she might be able to make the other party give up this arrangement.

But she recalled that Saturday when she was in such a painful state and on the verge of a mental breakdown. 

Ms. Hiratsuka had come to visit her home and offered words of encouragement. She had been gentle, handsome, and extremely concerned about her, radiating a maternal glow.

Faced with such a teacher, there was truly no way to say no to her well-meaning arrangement.

"...I see."

Iroha thought clearly. She had taken a lot of leave in the past few days and really needed to seize the time to catch up on the missed coursework.

Although Yukinoshita-senpai seemed a bit difficult to approach, if she remembered correctly, Yuigahama-senpai was also in the service department. 

When the time came, she could also ask her for study tips. It was fine to treat this place like a cram school after school.

Besides, the football club practiced until very late every day, so it wouldn't hurt to stop by if she finished her studies early.

Steeling herself, Iroha nodded meekly toward Hiratsuka.

"Then it's settled. If you don't have anything important to do during lunch break or after school, just bring your textbook here."

Hiratsuka looked very happy.

"Go back for lunch quickly. I'll leave later."

"Yes."

Before leaving, Iroha bowed slightly to both of them and gently closed the classroom door behind her.

Pulling up a chair, Hiratsuka sat down quietly.

"A very docile and cute child, right?"

Yukino didn't pursue the topic. 

She understood that the teacher must have some unfinished matters to discuss with her alone, so she closed the book in her hand and looked into the other person's eyes, ready to listen.

Hiratsuka smiled, but the smile quickly faded from her face, replaced by concern.

"Isshiki has asked for leave for many consecutive days." 

"It seems something has happened to her; she appeared extremely lost." 

"On the Saturday of Home Visit, she threw herself into my arms and cried like a child, but she didn't want to explain the specifics of her distress to either her parents or me."

"The way I saw her just now, she didn't seem as bad as you described, teacher."

"That's the strange thing. I don't know if she has genuinely regained her energy or is just forcing a smile for some reason." 

"In any case, after seeing her like that earlier, I still can't help but worry until I know the exact reason for her distress."

Yukino pondered for a moment.

"The teacher mentioned before that you would ask me to do something on Monday..."

"Well, that's it."

"So teaching her to study is just a superficial excuse. The real purpose of this commission is to find a way to understand what happened to Isshiki-san or, more directly, to let her tell her story herself."

"That was my original plan, but after seeing her regain her former energy today, I must admit, my first feeling was relief."

Hiratsuka's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"So the real content of the commission this time is to find out what happened to Isshiki before the next monthly exam ends." 

"The condition is that she must not notice your intentions." 

"If we still haven't reached a conclusion by the deadline and Isshiki continues to behave as normally as she did today, then this commission will be automatically invalidated."

"I understand, but I still need to know some details."

"Well, you can ask."

"First of all, regarding Isshiki-san's situation, when did it happen...?"

Yukino calmly accepted this commission.

This type of commission was obviously much more meaningful than simply providing a review for a novel written by a student who had succeeded in secondary school.

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