Chapter 38: Squash any concerns before they arise
When we arrived at our destination, we first had to gather inside one of the facilities, the Manor House, with our luggage. I was hoping they would let us do something with our luggage, but the Headmaster made us listen to his explanation about the facilities and what we would be doing today.
First, we would be taken to the cottage for our stay as indicated in the reservations so that we could rest and unpack. An hour later we would meet again at the Manor House, where we were given an opportunity to experience British culture in our own way. This was followed by dinner and free time before returning to our cottage at 10 pm for bed.
“After this, we will have a cooking session about British food, right? I wonder what we will be cooking. I’m looking forward to it, Yuya.”
“It says that we can make either scones or shortbread, right? They say you decide on the spot. But it’s all in English, so it’s going to be a bit of a challenge, you know?”
The British cultural experience was the main selling point of this facility, but the lecturers were foreigners and the whole thing was conducted in English. If you wanted to communicate, you had to use English, no matter how poorly.
“Well, we can leave it to Kaede. She sounded very confident so I’m sure that we’ll be fine. And I can manage to listen to them too. So let’s take it easy.”
I owed it all to the one year of English classes I had taken as a kid. I was grateful to my idiot parents for this. I was confident I could understand English better than most people, and I even got a compliment when I had trained with Kaede for this day.
After quickly changing out of our school uniforms to more comfortable clothes, Shinji and I decided to relax in the living room of the cottage. It was just before 2 pm. Whenever I turned on this TV, there was nothing on but broadcasts or a few reruns of TV dramas. However, my other two roommates were sitting on the sofa, enjoying watching these reruns of cop dramas.
“Oh, Higure and Yoshizumi. Why don’t you come and watch it with us?”
“I’d prefer something different… I’ve already seen this one so many times…”
‘It doesn’t matter how many times you see it!’ That’s what Motegi Daichi shouted, holding the remote control close to his chest. He was a member of the baseball club, but his head wasn’t shaved. His coach thought that as if he could win with his head shaved without any difficulty. By the way, he was a regular player in his first year playing in the shortstop position. His girlfriend was a junior at the school and will be joining us this year. It’s so wholesome that she was chasing her boyfriend.
On the other hand, the one who reluctantly backed down after Motegi took the remote control from him was Sakaguchi Minato. He wore glasses, had a natural, unchanging haircut, and was a bit lacking in energy, but had a wide range of knowledge and could follow any topic, making him a walking treasure trove full of stories and a mass filled with communicative power. He was called the romantic hero because he had a childhood friend who went to another high school.
By the way, the detective drama they were watching was about two detectives who worked in a department known as the graveyard of human resources. ‘May I ask one last question, please?’ That was a line that one of the guys had the habit of saying. I like the first duo the best.
“Yoshizumi and Higurashi chose to cook, right? I decided on playing snooker (Footnote: A game variant of billiard.) or something like that, and Sakaguchi has chosen English conversation. I mean, aren’t you guys the only guys who choose cooking?”
Shut up. It was no use, Kaede and Otsuki-san said they wanted to cook. I didn’t object to it because Shinji and I were fine with anything, but when we opened the book, we were surprised by the overwhelmingly high percentage of girls. And all the girls had boyfriends. Of course. They all surely had similar reasons for registering.
“If I just knew this, I would have decided to cook too. I don’t know if I’ll ever see Hitotsuba-san in an apron in my entire life.”
That’s too bad, Motegi. Then I’ve already seen Kaede in her lovely apron many times. And not just that, but the way she looks after me as she cooks for me. She gives off the feeling of being a newly-wed wife and I’m always happy whenever I see her.
“Damn it! Yoshizumi! I’ll ask you a lot of questions later! You’d better be ready for that!”
“About that… Motegi. You don’t want to say anything inappropriate, so don’t ask him about that…”
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean, Higure?”
“Oh… what can I say… you will probably die. You’ll die of sugar overload, agony, and despair. So don’t say anything wrong, just don’t do it. I’ve been there, done that, and I’m here to advise you.”
Motegi nodded his head, perhaps sensing something ominous in the tragic expression on Shinji’s face and the advice of his, who had made a name for himself as a couple. I think I can avoid unnecessary inquiries now. Don’t ask me too, Sakaguchi.
But isn’t that a terrible thing to say, Shinji? When did I push you into despair? I think you’re pretty much the same.
“Shut up. Do you know how Akiho and I felt when you guys were talking about kissing in front of us in a very natural way? Do you know how Akiho and I felt when we were hit by the strawberry air? It was so sweet that it gave me heartburn!”
What the h**l! What’s wrong with that!? That’s because you guys made some extreme comments about feeding each other first and then made me see it! Don’t blame me, you couple!
“I understand… Yes, I understand very well. It seems that Yoshizumi and Hitotsuba-san are so much in love that Higure, who is famous for being a couple, has to say so. If I were to ask you what it’s like to get used to it, you would probably faint. That’s the way it is, isn’t it?”
“That’s the way it is. I’m sorry, but I really don’t think you should get too deep into this. If you really want to hear it, I won’t stop you…”
After Shinji’s pursuit, Motegi seemed to have decided to shut up and concentrate on the television. Sakaguchi was watching the drama, not paying attention to us as if he wasn’t interested.
“Well, we have some time, but let’s wait at the Manor House first. I want to see Akiho as soon as possible, and Yuya wants to talk to Hitotsuba-san, right?”
I guess so. I could spend some time in this cottage, but I think I’d rather be with Kaede if I could. I sent a message and got a reply immediately. It seems that Kaede felt the same way. I’m so glad.
“So Yuya and I are going to go ahead, lock the door, please.”
Shinji and I left the cottage. I’m not sure why Motegi’s face looked so sullen when he replied.
“You’ve made an early victim. I don’t think Motegi will ask us again. I think Sakaguchi always sees the four of us gathering together eating lunch, so he thought it was unnecessary to ask. I’m happy for you, Yuya. It seems you didn’t have to dig your own grave.”
I’m still going to answer whatever you ask, though, am I not? I told Shinji on the bus, but if you ask me what’s cute about Kaede, I can tell you a lot, you know?
“Yeah, that’s really got to stop, please.”
As if he didn’t want to hear it, Shinji covered his ears and ran off. He was a terrible best friend to have asked me.
Chapter 38: Squash any concerns before they arise
When we arrived at our destination, we first had to gather inside one of the facilities, the Manor House, with our luggage. I was hoping they would let us do something with our luggage, but the Headmaster made us listen to his explanation about the facilities and what we would be doing today.
First, we would be taken to the cottage for our stay as indicated in the reservations so that we could rest and unpack. An hour later we would meet again at the Manor House, where we were given an opportunity to experience British culture in our own way. This was followed by dinner and free time before returning to our cottage at 10 pm for bed.
“After this, we will have a cooking session about British food, right? I wonder what we will be cooking. I’m looking forward to it, Yuya.”
“It says that we can make either scones or shortbread, right? They say you decide on the spot. But it’s all in English, so it’s going to be a bit of a challenge, you know?”
The British cultural experience was the main selling point of this facility, but the lecturers were foreigners and the whole thing was conducted in English. If you wanted to communicate, you had to use English, no matter how poorly.
“Well, we can leave it to Kaede. She sounded very confident so I’m sure that we’ll be fine. And I can manage to listen to them too. So let’s take it easy.”
I owed it all to the one year of English classes I had taken as a kid. I was grateful to my idiot parents for this. I was confident I could understand English better than most people, and I even got a compliment when I had trained with Kaede for this day.
After quickly changing out of our school uniforms to more comfortable clothes, Shinji and I decided to relax in the living room of the cottage. It was just before 2 pm. Whenever I turned on this TV, there was nothing on but broadcasts or a few reruns of TV dramas. However, my other two roommates were sitting on the sofa, enjoying watching these reruns of cop dramas.
“Oh, Higure and Yoshizumi. Why don’t you come and watch it with us?”
“I’d prefer something different… I’ve already seen this one so many times…”
‘It doesn’t matter how many times you see it!’ That’s what Motegi Daichi shouted, holding the remote control close to his chest. He was a member of the baseball club, but his head wasn’t shaved. His coach thought that as if he could win with his head shaved without any difficulty. By the way, he was a regular player in his first year playing in the shortstop position. His girlfriend was a junior at the school and will be joining us this year. It’s so wholesome that she was chasing her boyfriend.
On the other hand, the one who reluctantly backed down after Motegi took the remote control from him was Sakaguchi Minato. He wore glasses, had a natural, unchanging haircut, and was a bit lacking in energy, but had a wide range of knowledge and could follow any topic, making him a walking treasure trove full of stories and a mass filled with communicative power. He was called the romantic hero because he had a childhood friend who went to another high school.
By the way, the detective drama they were watching was about two detectives who worked in a department known as the graveyard of human resources. ‘May I ask one last question, please?’ That was a line that one of the guys had the habit of saying. I like the first duo the best.
“Yoshizumi and Higurashi chose to cook, right? I decided on playing snooker (Footnote: A game variant of billiard.) or something like that, and Sakaguchi has chosen English conversation. I mean, aren’t you guys the only guys who choose cooking?”
Shut up. It was no use, Kaede and Otsuki-san said they wanted to cook. I didn’t object to it because Shinji and I were fine with anything, but when we opened the book, we were surprised by the overwhelmingly high percentage of girls. And all the girls had boyfriends. Of course. They all surely had similar reasons for registering.
“If I just knew this, I would have decided to cook too. I don’t know if I’ll ever see Hitotsuba-san in an apron in my entire life.”
That’s too bad, Motegi. Then I’ve already seen Kaede in her lovely apron many times. And not just that, but the way she looks after me as she cooks for me. She gives off the feeling of being a newly-wed wife and I’m always happy whenever I see her.
“Damn it! Yoshizumi! I’ll ask you a lot of questions later! You’d better be ready for that!”
“About that… Motegi. You don’t want to say anything inappropriate, so don’t ask him about that…”
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean, Higure?”
“Oh… what can I say… you will probably die. You’ll die of sugar overload, agony, and despair. So don’t say anything wrong, just don’t do it. I’ve been there, done that, and I’m here to advise you.”
Motegi nodded his head, perhaps sensing something ominous in the tragic expression on Shinji’s face and the advice of his, who had made a name for himself as a couple. I think I can avoid unnecessary inquiries now. Don’t ask me too, Sakaguchi.
But isn’t that a terrible thing to say, Shinji? When did I push you into despair? I think you’re pretty much the same.
“Shut up. Do you know how Akiho and I felt when you guys were talking about kissing in front of us in a very natural way? Do you know how Akiho and I felt when we were hit by the strawberry air? It was so sweet that it gave me heartburn!”
What the h**l! What’s wrong with that!? That’s because you guys made some extreme comments about feeding each other first and then made me see it! Don’t blame me, you couple!
“I understand… Yes, I understand very well. It seems that Yoshizumi and Hitotsuba-san are so much in love that Higure, who is famous for being a couple, has to say so. If I were to ask you what it’s like to get used to it, you would probably faint. That’s the way it is, isn’t it?”
“That’s the way it is. I’m sorry, but I really don’t think you should get too deep into this. If you really want to hear it, I won’t stop you…”
After Shinji’s pursuit, Motegi seemed to have decided to shut up and concentrate on the television. Sakaguchi was watching the drama, not paying attention to us as if he wasn’t interested.
“Well, we have some time, but let’s wait at the Manor House first. I want to see Akiho as soon as possible, and Yuya wants to talk to Hitotsuba-san, right?”
I guess so. I could spend some time in this cottage, but I think I’d rather be with Kaede if I could. I sent a message and got a reply immediately. It seems that Kaede felt the same way. I’m so glad.
“So Yuya and I are going to go ahead, lock the door, please.”
Shinji and I left the cottage. I’m not sure why Motegi’s face looked so sullen when he replied.
“You’ve made an early victim. I don’t think Motegi will ask us again. I think Sakaguchi always sees the four of us gathering together eating lunch, so he thought it was unnecessary to ask. I’m happy for you, Yuya. It seems you didn’t have to dig your own grave.”
I’m still going to answer whatever you ask, though, am I not? I told Shinji on the bus, but if you ask me what’s cute about Kaede, I can tell you a lot, you know?
“Yeah, that’s really got to stop, please.”
As if he didn’t want to hear it, Shinji covered his ears and ran off. He was a terrible best friend to have asked me.
