#102 Maturing?

"*cough* *cough* I think there might be a misunderstanding." I quickly intervened before the chaos could break out and snatch Kei's chance to properly explain. I am already aware of such cliché situations.

Everyone immediately turned at me, hoping to hear a few words from me too. It looked like they already "understood" what Kei wants to say and they were no longer interested in what she is about to say.

"We are childhood friends" I betrayed their expectations and ruthlessly said those simple words with an indifferent expression.

"..." There was only silence for a few seconds.

"WHAT?!!" Almost everyone exclaimed when they heard my words except for those who already knew.

I have no idea if they are surprised by the fact that we are childhood friends or because the information I have just told them betrayed their expectations.

I thought with a darkened face.

"Wait, wait wait! How is that possible?!" Ike immediately ran up to me and brought his face closer as if to intimidate me to talk.

"That's right... You have never talked to each other. Well, maybe I saw you a few times talking together but that's not on childhood friends' standard." Shinohara did the same as Ike except her actions were much more decent compared to Ike and instead of questioning me, she was questioning Kei.

?!

I noticed a sight that was quite a surprise for me.

Mii-chan was looking at me with a surprised expression however that quickly changed to determined one. I couldn't help but look at her with a confused expression.

"*sigh* Look, there was a lot that happened between us in the past and we approached each other just recently...We didn't want others to imagine things if we started to talk to each other more frequently." I explained to everyone while Kei was nodding along with my words.

"Hmm...Things happened you say?" Ike looked suspiciously between me and Kei.

"*You used to date each other but one day you broke up, right?!*" Ike whispered to me while nudging me.

What kind of plot twist is that?! It's making me think that this information is a better plot twist than the entire change with the participation table...I am starting to have second thoughts if I really want to get these people into Class A...

I closed my eyes to calm down.

"Hm? No need to get embarrassed! You know there is no shame in- Ugh!" I stopped Ike from saying anything more by driving my fist into his stomach and he dropped down on his knees while clenching his stomach in pain.

"Agh, everyone, avenge me, please!" Those were Ike's last words before he fell down on his back, playing dead.

Everyone's eyes twitched at this sight and they just shook their head without any regards to Ike's "last wish".

"It's your own fault for saying stupid things. Now...let's go somewhere privately, Kei. You must be tired from your race right?" Shinohara glanced at Ike with scorn and then she immediately turned at Kei with a mischevious smile.

She took hold of her hand and started to slowly drag her to the secluded area

"Eh?! Wait! Don't drag me!" Kei tried to protest however when she noticed that it was all for naught, she redirected her gaze at me.

I noticed that more than 5 girls were following after Shinohara and Kei so I just forced a smile to appear on my face and folded my hands to show that I will be praying for her well being.

"I hate you!" I could only hear Kei's distance voice shouting at me.

I just shrugged my shoulders and made my way towards the table with refreshments.

"Here you go~!" Someone stopped me by putting their hand on my shoulder from behind.

I turned around and saw Kushida offering me bottle of water with a bright smile.

I glanced at the bottle and then back at her kind smile.

"There is no need, I can go take one myself, just keep this one for yourself." I replied with a small smile.

"Come on~! Don't be like that, I am not thirsty and you just finished your race. I saw you accept water from others...Why not from me? Does Walker-kun perhaps hate me?" Kushida's face became extremely sad when she asked me if I hate her.

"Hmm. You see Kushida-san... It's a bit more complicated however if you want, we can discuss it during the lunch break but it would need to be in a private area." I tried to look indecisive and act a bit shy. I also glanced at her fairly big boobs before looking away.

"Hm? I see, I would be more than happy to talk to you during the lunch break~! How about we meet up behind the school building. There shouldn't be anyone at that time." Her expression immediately brightened when she heard my words. It was the same as indirectly saying that I don't hate her.

After hearing her words, I accepted the bottle she was offering to me and then said goodbye before turning around to go somewhere else.

Today, I will finally get to see your true face. However don't worry, it will be mutual, you will get to see my true face too. I wonder how much you will like it. I hope you won't fall in love~

I sarcastically thought inwardly with a wide crazy smile.

Oh? I almost forgot something, she must be expecting me to drink that water in front of her.

"Kushida-san!" I turned around and called out to her.

She turned at me with a puzzled expression.

"I forgot to thank you. So, thanks!" I said and opened the bottle and drank from it.

Hm, as I thought, there is something wrong with it.

"Don't mention it!" She leaned forward making her boobs jiggle and said with a bright smile while winking at me.

What a bright smile...even brighter than before. I thought and smirked inwardly.

This time, I finally left.

Although I don't know what they put in this water, I should be able to take it without doing anything special but still...I don't want to risk anything.

I circuited the energy to flow through my entire body. It took about one minute before I was sure that I got rid of any harmful substance in my body.

I am pretty sure that it was unnecessary because my organs are much more reinforced than my skin, muscles or bones. Of course, I am not saying that they are tougher but in terms of enhancement, they definitely received more love from the energy inside my body than other things. I am pretty sure that I am unable to get cancer no matter how hard I try. Simply said, there is no disease that can actually damage my organs as long as I am not half dead.

...

After a while, Kei finally showed up before me with an upset expression while puffing her cheeks.

"They finally released you, huh?" I asked with an amused smile.

"Tch! Why didn't you help me?!" She asked me for an explanation still with an upset expression.

"It was a lesson for you. You should learn how to accept the consequences of your actions." I supported my head with my hand and lazily continued looking around the track while leisurely sitting at the table.

"? What do you mean?" She asked me with a confused expression.

This time it was my time to be confused.

"What? You aren't even aware? Your choice of words was extremely inappropriate plus your nervousness wasn't exactly helping. Recall what exactly happened and try to get into the position of the spectator." I turned at her with a surprised expression and explained.

"..." She had a thoughtful expression for a while before she finally realized, widening her eyes.

"I-I am sorry, it wasn't my intention. I hope boys didn't give you as much trouble as the girls gave to me." She started to blush and apologized while looking to the side, too embarrassed to look at me.

"Not much, they are not as annoying as you girls in this aspect except for Ike." I said with an indifferent expression.

"Hey! Not all girls are like that..." She frowned and reprimanded me.

"Sure, sure. You definitely don't like gossiping about other people's relationships. But don't worry, boys are even worse but thankfully they don't discuss the relationship between two people but individuals instead." I said with a helpless smile.

"...What kind of discussion is that?" She asked me with an uncertain expression.

"...It will be better if you won't know." I simply replied.

"Are you taking part in those discussions?" She asked while glaring at me with her narrowed eyes.

"Huh? What do you take me for? I am not interested in discussing those subjects and definitely not with other people. Anyway, will you tell me the reason why you were so upset?" I was slightly offended that she thought of me like that but I quickly threw it aside.

"I wasn't upset! I was just...Haaah since I promised to tell you then I will honor that promise. It was because of Mii-chan." She said with a slightly sad expression.

"Because of her? Why?" I asked with a confused expression but I already had a theory why.

"Well...you spent much more time with her lately and I was afraid that...that you would-"

"That I would abandon you? *sigh* I guess you are still a bit paranoid. I promised you...as long as I will be near you and you will have the resolve to become a stronger person...I would protect you from anything." I interrupted her and explained to her once again.

"I- I am sorry for doubting you! I knew that I shouldn't have doubted you but there was suddenly that feeling inside me..." She said with tears in her eyes, threatening to fall at any moment.

"Don't cry here. And I don't mind it, after all, it's only to be expected that you will be a bit insecure and paranoid. So hide those tears and smile brightly!" I got up from my seat and patted her shoulder a few times.

"I am going, they will call me at any moment. You can use this chance to calm down and don't forget...you can always depend on me so don't be afraid in case you are facing something that's too much for you. Even if you aren't strong enough to overcome that problem, having a strong mind, will summon me as your guardian, hehe." I said with a smile and left her there alone, wiping away her tears.

I guess she is maturing mentally right now. I think I can expect a lot of similar situations in the future. She will have her weak moments but as long as there will be someone who she can trust, she will be totally fine. And after a while, those moments will become rarer and rarer until they completely disappear.

It's actually good that this happened so soon, even though it wasn't my intention, it worked out pretty well.

I thought while approaching the track for the next contest...200-meter dash

...

"Huuh?! Why do I have to be against him?! Why do you hate me so much?!"

When I arrived at the track I could already hear other students complaining while looking up at the sky.

Even the students from Class B who usually weren't affected by this had desperate expressions on their faces. I mean...they can compete just for fun but knowing that you have no chance right from the beginning isn't really encouraging. When you compete for fun then usually that "fun" in it is the unpredictability. When you have that mindset, you don't mind if you lose because you can still have fun competing for that small chance to win. What if that chance was taken away from you? There is no fun in competing in match that is already lost. Thankfully for them, there are still the 2nd and the 3rd place which brightened their mood by bit.

...

By this time, no one even expected me to take any position other than the 1st one. And the results were exactly according to everyone's expectations.

I won the 1st place, my classmate won the 2nd place and the 3rd place was won by the guy from Class C.

---

'...His stamina is really something else but I wonder if he will be able to keep this up even after the lunch break. Speaking of lunch break...I should contact him and ask him if he wants to talk' Sae-chan thought while looking at Felix with a genuine smile.

'...Or maybe I shouldn't...I would be only taking his time which he could spend by resting...*sigh* I will ask and see if he accepts or not.' Sae-chan thought, completely clueless about how her thoughts are becoming more and more centered around Felix.

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