I fell in love with the most beautiful girl when I was in middle school. Now, the person I like who went to a different high school asked me to become her bodyguard - Chapter 3

Prefectural Cultural Hall, 9:30 am.

Prefectural Cultural Hall would be the venue for the choral competition this time. Sometimes, it was used as a venue for country tour events by famous artists. It takes about an hour by train from the Kazami High School’s nearest station.

Kazuya and I arrived at the venue. We walked around the venue in the blazing heat, just one step away from being scorching hot, even though it was still early in the morning.

“Hey, why are we here in this damn heat?”

“You’re here to meet Sairenji, right?”

“No, I came here for the competition.”

Perhaps the heatwave had gotten to him. Kazuya said something other than the main reason for being in the venue.

“For you, meeting Sairenji is your main goal. The choral competition comes second, right? Still, it’s hot…” said Kazuya as he brought the bottle of mineral water in his hand to his mouth.

“No, the main purpose of coming here was the competition, and meeting Sairenji was after that…”

“Well, if that’s the case, I don’t need to go along with your search for Sairenji, right?”

“I’m sorry, I get nervous when I’m alone, so please come with me.”

I begged Kazuya, who suddenly threatened to end the search.

Even if I were lucky enough to meet Sairenji, It would be awkward as I wouldn’t know what to say if I was alone, so I asked Kazuya, who had a girlfriend, to accompany me.

“However, with so many students from other schools, will I be able to find Sairenji?”

“In the first place, there’s no need to look for Sairenji alone.”

“What do you mean?”

I tilt my head, not understanding what Kazuya said.

“Instead of finding Sairenji among all these students, first, find a group wearing Takasaki High School uniforms. There’s a high possibility that Sairenji will be among them.”

“I see! So that’s what you mean.”

I let out a cry of admiration when I heard Kazuya’s thoughts.

“You truly only see Sairenji, ” said Kazuya mockingly, placing his hand on my shoulder.

“I don’t want you, who only see Akane, to say that.”

Annoyed, I threw the boomerang back, thinking it was a counterattack, but …

“Why are you saying something so obvious?”

As expected, my attack ended in vain.

“By the way, let’s look for it soon because I don’t want to waste my energy walking around in this heat. Moreover, we don’t have that much time left.”

Our singing order was the third.

As Kazuya said, we had limited time. So, instead of slowing down, I increased my walking speed, hoping to find it quickly.

After walking for about five minutes, Kazuya tugged on the sleeve of my uniform…

“Hey, Masato, aren’t those people from Takasaki High?” He said, pointing diagonally in front of us to the right.

There, I saw choir members wearing Takasaki High School uniforms, divided into groups and chatting.

I’m sure Sairenji must be somewhere in that group. I search for Sairenji, who has been etched in my mind since middle school.

“Ah……”

I spotted Sairenji on the far left from several Takasaki High’s groups.　

It’s been about five months since I graduated from junior high school, and the person I had a crush on for the first time in a long time was a little more mature than I remembered. Her cuteness and beauty were also peeking through.

My body froze, and my mind went blank as I admired the sight of her.

“Isn’t it great? Seeing her for the first time in a long time,” said Kazuya with a smile while he put his hand on my shoulder.

However, I was so fascinated by Sairenji’s appearance that I could only hear half my best friend’s words…

“Yeah”

All I could reply was… No, I couldn’t respond.

“Sorry Masato. It seems impossible to talk to her. We don’t know most of them. Miyahara, her knight, is there too, and our singing order is getting closer .”

Sairenji and Miyahara were always together. According to hearsay, the reason they’re together was not just because they’re best friends but also to keep away men who were trying to court Sairenji…

Even if I barged in, Miyahara would probably turn me away. I also didn’t dare to join the group of people we didn’t know.

So we walked past Sairenji and left the place.

***

It’s time for Kazami High School to perform. My first choral competition in high school.

My legs were shaking when I went on stage as I was the type of person who got nervous during performances.

As I stepped onto the stage, the bright lights illuminating there made my eyes naturally narrowed.

It was hard to tell due to the lighting, but quite a few people were sitting in the audience seats.

There were various schools, such as schools where all members were invited to observe and schools where members were free to observe and move around.

Maybe Sairenji is also watching Kazami High School…

In that case, I can’t show anything that was not cool.

I managed to suppress my trembling legs and sang with renewed enthusiasm in order to give out everything I had practiced for today.

***

After singing, I was relieved from all the tension. I had lunch with Kazuya and wandered around the building until Takasaki High School’s turn. We sat in the audience seats and listened to the other high schools sing before Takasaki High.

Takasaki High School performance was about to begin.

Students from Takasaki High School began to appear on stage.

Finally, the advisor-cum-conductor appeared on stage, turned to the audience, and bowed deeply.

Even from a distance, the teacher, dressed in a suit, could be seen as stunning.

The teacher raised both hands and looks at the accompanist.

I held my breath as I thought that Takasaki High School, a school that regularly competes in national competitions, would finally start singing.

When the singing started, I was simply amazed at the high level of the singing.

The singing ability of all members was extremely high, and none of them were out of tune.

Some schools have members who go out of tune, quicken their pace, or start singing late due to nervousness, but Takasaki High School was not in such a case.

The singing from each member gives the impression that they were a professional choir, captivating the whole venue.

When the song finished, the audience applauded tremendously.

I had been looking at Sairenji since the middle of the song. When the song ended, I naturally applauded.

There were gold, silver, and bronze awards in the choral competition. The school that earns a gold award will get a ticket to the national competition.

Takasaki High School and another high school got tickets to the national tournament, and we, Kazami High School, won the silver medal and unfortunately missed out on participating in the national tournament.