59: Overdrawn Today

Although Hakuto's words were full of loopholes at this moment, Ayumi still chose to believe him unconditionally. Perhaps this was the power of goodwill.

"Alright, let's go have lunch now."

"Okay! Hakuto-nii can come to my house. I'll cook for you."

"Alright, I'll look forward to it."

Meanwhile, at Toyosaki Academy...

Eriri had taken advantage of the lunch break to eat, and after finishing, she wandered near Hakuto's classroom.

For the past few days, she had been feeling down, her mental state completely off, to the point where she had no motivation even for her manuscript deadlines.

Under Sayuri's guidance, Eriri decided to confront the issue head-on and clear things up with Hakuto.

However, she lacked the courage to face Hakuto directly, which led to her pacing back and forth in front of his classroom.

"Should I go in? I should, right? Alright, I'm going in!"

After repeatedly convincing herself, Eriri clenched her twin tails, gritted her teeth, and stepped into Hakuto's classroom.

But as soon as she entered, a familiar and annoying voice reached her ears.

"Hmm? You said the underclassman became an exchange student?"

"At least, that's what he said. Plus, Takasaka-sensei announced it in class..."

Eriri turned her head and saw Utaha standing at Hakuto's seat, arms crossed.

Next to her, Hachiman was waving his hand, explaining Hakuto's situation.

"Kasumigaoka Utaha? What are you doing here?"

Hearing Eriri's voice, Utaha turned to look at her, only to see the girl glaring at her like an irritated puppy.

"Eriri? Haven't I reminded you more than once not to call your senpai by her full name?"

"Huh? Senpai? You?"

"I'm a third-year, and you're a first-year. Doesn't that make me your senpai?"

Utaha waved her hand dismissively and continued speaking.

"You came to see our underclassman, didn't you?"

"So what if I did?"

"Well, too bad. It seems he became some kind of exchange student and left yesterday."

With that, Utaha walked straight past Eriri. Since Hakuto wasn't here, there was no reason for her to stay.

"Exchange student?!"

"But isn't Hakuto in the same year as me? Didn't we just start school?"

Eriri found it hard to believe. What kind of school sends a student who just enrolled to be an exchange student?

But more importantly, she had finally mustered the courage to talk to Hakuto, only to find out he was already gone?!

"So, he didn't tell you either..."

Seeing Eriri's bewildered expression, Utaha immediately realized that Hakuto hadn't mentioned anything about this to her.

At first, she had been holding some resentment toward Hakuto for not informing her in advance about the exchange program.

Looking back now, considering how sudden everything was and the fact that Hakuto hadn't told anyone, Utaha found herself letting go of her frustration.

"Hoshino Umi Academy, huh... I should find some time to check it out..."

With that thought in mind, Utaha waved her hand at Eriri behind her and left the classroom.

Although Utaha didn't know why Eriri was looking for Hakuto, she was certain it wasn't in her favor.

Seeing Eriri hitting a dead end because Hakuto had become an exchange student, Utaha felt a small sense of schadenfreude.

Eriri watched Utaha leave, then glanced at Hakuto's empty seat before walking out of the classroom as well.

At this moment, Hakuto had no idea that the two most popular girls at Toyosaki had come looking for him. All he knew was that he was about to be late.

"Crap, crap, crap! I shouldn't have gone to Ayumi's house for lunch!"

"Why is Ginko already up next? Couldn't the previous players hold out for a few more rounds?! Don't they understand that shogi is all about never giving up?!"

After getting off the train, Hakuto sprinted at full speed, his phone playing the live broadcast of Ginko's match.

According to Hakuto's calculations, Ginko was supposed to play around 2 PM, but the previous games had been so one-sided that the schedule had been pushed forward significantly.

Meanwhile, Ginko was sitting quietly outside the match area, dressed in a black kimono. Her sky-blue hair shimmered under the hall lights.

She was silently calculating how much time she had left before her match while constantly glancing at the spectator seats.

Her gaze kept scanning the audience, searching for the one person she wanted to see.

"Ginko... it's your turn."

The voice of Kiyotaki Keika, who was sitting beside her, pulled her back to reality.

At that moment, the match before hers ended with one of the players conceding, signaling that it was time for Ginko to step up.

"I understand."

Ginko took one last look at the audience but still couldn't find any sign of Hakuto. She let out a soft sigh before standing up and making her way toward the board.

"Ohh~! Up next is the Queen of Shogi, the Snow White of Naniwa, Ginko-sensei's match!"

"I wonder what kind of brilliant checkmate she'll pull off this time. Let's wait and see!"

Hearing the live broadcast through his phone, Hakuto's heart sank.

"Damn it! Whatever!"

Without hesitation, he activated his ability. However, to avoid completely draining himself, he limited its computational power.

Even though his surroundings still took on the frozen-in-time effect, it was far less intense compared to when he used it at full power.

Back at the match, the game was about to begin. After exchanging formalities, Ginko let out another quiet sigh, trying to adjust her mindset.

Hakuto's absence was affecting her mental state, and if this continued, she might not be able to live up to her title as the Snow White of Naniwa.

"Seriously..."

Feeling helpless, Ginko instinctively glanced at the audience once more. But this time, it was different.

The person she had been looking for was sitting right there, smiling at her.

"You got this~"

Ginko understood Hakuto's silent words, and the frustration on her face melted into a warm smile. With that, her mindset finally steadied.

"Let's finish this quickly..."

As expected, the match was overwhelmingly one-sided. Ginko secured victory with absolute dominance, and in just a few dozen moves, her opponent conceded.

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Check out the other translations too: [Mash-Up: I'm Not A Substitute]

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