I Know That After School, The Saint More Than Just Noble - Ch. 9: Epilogue — After Party With The Saint
A few days have passed since the sports festival ended, and the atmosphere in the school has completely calmed down.
The rainy season had begun, and rainfall was becoming more frequent. It was time for students to gradually become aware of the existence of final exams.
On that day, Yamato and Sayla were having lunch on the landing in front of the rooftop when a light sprinkle began to fall just as they were about to take their lunch break.
“It seems like it’s been raining a lot lately.”
“Yes, it is. It’s a shame we can’t eat outside.”
Sayla chewed on a pastry with regret as she listened to the sound of the rain.
Yamato checked his phone and sighed.
“Ah, by the way, the cheer team is having their party today.”
“Ah, we’re doing it after all.”
“I honestly don’t know what kind of face I should put on to participate in this, since the sports festival itself happened quite a while ago.”
“Are you going to skip it?”
“No, I’ve already paid for it, and I feel bad for Tamaki-san if I do, so I’ll participate.”
Yamato couldn’t bring himself to waste the 2,000 yen participation fee. As for Yamato, he intends to at least get his money’s worth out of the meal. …Of course, Yamato also wanted to be considerate to May.
“If you’re that short of money, you might as well get a part-time job. It’s summer vacation now.”
“It’s too early to be talking about summer vacation. It’s only the middle of June. Besides, I don’t think my parents would approve of a part-time job.”
“Mmm, I want to do something summery.”
“You’re really going at your own pace, Shirase.”
When Yamato said this in a dazed manner, Sayla, who seemed to have finished eating her bread, lay down on her side.
“Is that bad?”
“When you say it like that, you make me look like a terrible person.”
“It’s not like I mind if you say it’s bad~”
She rolled around on the floor and stopped when she bumped into Yamato.
Yamato, embarrassed by how close Sayla’s face was while she looked up at him, averted his gaze.
“Ah, you looked away.”
“You’re acting like a child. You’ll get your uniform dirty.”
“That might be a problem. Help me.”
Sayla raised her body and turned her back to Yamato.
The back of her blouse was transparent, revealing a light orange camisole. Yamato’s heart pounded, but he lightly touched the back of it.
“Did you get it?”
“…It came off. It was not as dirty as I thought it would be.”
When Sayla saw Yamato’s embarrassment, she seemed to understand.
“Also, I’m sorry. These things make me feel weird, too.”
That’s exactly what Yamato was thinking, but he couldn’t bring himself to admit it.
“Well, I’m getting used to it lately.”
“Heh, you’re used to it?”
“Maybe.”
Yamato answered half-heartedly, even though he wasn’t used to it at all.
Then Sayla smiled happily.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Her smile made him feel strangely unsettled.
He was not confident that he could keep his heart from pounding when he was around Sayla.
After school.
Yamato and Sayla went to a restaurant in front of the station for the joint party of the two cheer teams.
As soon as they entered the restaurant, they were instructed by the third-year students to sit in separate seats for men and women.
Yamato felt very awkward as all the boys he had never talked to were sitting around him.
However, with the addition of Takao, the leader of the White Team, Yamato was able to get through it.
Sayla was also surrounded by girls from other classes and grades, and even from a distance, he could see that she was uncomfortable.
And then, his eyes met with Sayla’s and he gave her a small wave.
As Yamato waved back, a third-year boy next to him gave him a shove.
“Flirting in public. I envy you, you b*astard.”
“I-It’s not like that.”
“It’s hard for us to believe that~”
A boy in the same grade sitting in front of Yamato said coldly, and the others nodded in agreement.
Yamato was about to hold his head in his hands, thinking that the situation had become troublesome almost immediately.
“Well, I guess we’d better get started!”
Takao stood up, and everyone’s attention turned to him.
“Takao-kun, please give us something thoughtful.”
From the girl’s side of the table, Yanagi, the leader of the Red Team, stirred up the crowd. Takao then began to speak vigorously.
“Everyone, this year’s sports festival was a success! This was made possible by the united support of our cheer teams, the hard work of the sports festival committee members, the students who competed, the teachers who provided support, and the understanding and cooperation of the local residents and parents—”
“Takao-kun, that’s too long.”
Yanagi’s tsukkomi brought a burst of laughter from those around her.
Takao, who was quite serious, blushed and cleared his throat before continuing.
“—Anyway, everyone did their best! Cheers!”
“””””Cheers!”””””
And so the cheer team’s party began.
In the end, Takao was not able to meet Yanagi’s order for “something thoughtful”, but thanks to this, a friendly atmosphere was created in the restaurant.
Perhaps it was because of this friendly atmosphere, but for a while Yamato didn’t have to deal with any teasing about his relationship with Sayla.
“Eh, Takao-senpai was rejected?
The atmosphere on the boys’ side changed when one of the first-year boys shouted loudly.
Takao replied with an indifferent face as he gobbled down his food.
“Oh that. I tried to tell her when we finished cleaning up, but she wouldn’t let me. She said she wanted to concentrate on her studies.”
Apparently, it was Yanagi. Some people even said that they were a perfect couple, which was why it surprised everyone as the two didn’t get together.
From there, the conversation shifted to romance.
While everyone was talking about who went out with whom and who broke up with whom, one of the boys opened his mouth.
“To tell you the truth, I confessed my feelings to the saint on the day of the sports festival, but she rejected me like normal.”
It was a second-year boy who said this. Apparently, he had also confessed to Sayla on the day of the sports festival. Yamato hadn’t heard anything about it, so it was a surprise to him.
From there, the topic turned to Yamato again.
It was hard for Yamato to keep up with all the speculation and chatter.
The second-year boy even mentioned the fact that Yamato and Sayla had dropped out of the sports festival.
“That’s enough, since he says it’s not true.”
Takao was the one who raised his voice.
While chewing on food at the same time, Takao continued.
“Kuraki and Shirase-san were asked to join. Don’t mess with them now that they’ve joined us.”
In spite of his hearty appetite, Takao expressed his opinion calmly.
The people around him quieted down when he said that.
“Um, thank you.”
When Yamato thanked him, Takao smiled in return.
“No, I’m really grateful to you two. It was the last sports festival for us third-year students, so we really wanted to make it a big event.”
When the boys heard Takao’s words, they broke down in tears and started talking about other things.
When he had calmed down, Yamato left his seat to go to the bathroom.
“”Ah!””
When he got to the hallway, he ran into Sayla.
“Umm, what’s going on on your side?”
Yamato asked, but she seemed to take his comment in a different way.
“Mmm, it’s okay. The all-you-can-eat thing is good, but since it’s just the girls, the cooking pace is too slow. It tastes good, though.”
“No, I’m not talking about the food.”
When Yamato said this in a dumbfounded manner, Sayla seemed to have finally understood.
“Ah, that’s right. I think it’s the same with Yamato. They all talked about love.”
“Thanks to Takao-danchou, I was able to get through it.”
“Yanagi-danchou followed up with me here too. Maybe the two of them had planned for this already.”
Yanagi and Takao were able to communicate with each other in such a close manner, and no matter how one looked at it, they were a perfect match for each other. But still, Yanagi had rejected Takao’s confession.
This was difficult for Yamato to believe. Could it be that studying for exams was that important to Yanagi?
Perhaps Yanagi hadn’t talked about the confession on the girls’ side of the table, but Sayla made no pretense of broaching the subject.
Sayla just said, “Well, I’ll see you later,” and left.
When Yamato returned after using the restroom, he found that the gluttony championship had started without his knowledge.
Yamato, who was forced to participate, was made to eat a lot, and the party ended with all the boys on the verge of collapse.
The party disbanded in front of the restaurant, and as everyone began to disperse, Yanagi approached Yamato and Sayla.
“Good evening, you two. I didn’t get to talk that much with Kuraki-kun because we were seated too far apart.
“Ah, yes. Good evening.”
“Thank you, Kuraki-kun, and Shirase-san the saint, for joining the cheer team. I really can’t thank you two enough for that.
“No, it’s nothing.”
“You don’t have to be so modest. After all, it is the intertwining ties that we should have.”
Yanagi nodded happily, it seemed that even she was still excited from the party.
If Yamato hadn’t heard about the confession from Takao, he never would have thought that Yanagi would be the one to reject Takao.
Perhaps Yamato’s awkward feelings were showing on his face.
Yanagi, who seemed to have sensed something, smiled gently.
“Did you hear it? That I rejected Takao-kun?”
“Eh?”
Sayla was more than a little surprised when Yanagi revealed it herself. She hadn’t even thought about the two of them getting together. This was the typical Sayla, though.
“…Yes. I was wondering about that. I heard you were trying to concentrate on your studies.”
Since Yanagi spoke up on her own, Yamato answered honestly.
Then, Yanagi opened her mouth after thinking for a moment.
“Well, I guess you’re right. I mean, there are a lot of stories about how two people in a relationship got through studying for exams together.”
“Yes.”
“To put it bluntly.”
Yanagi approached Yamato and continued to whisper in his ear.
“—I thought it would be easier for Takao and me to remain friends.”
After moving away, Yanagi said with a smile, “That’s all.”
In other words, studying was just an excuse.
“…So, I see. Thank you for telling me.”
Yamato was mildly shocked to learn that there was such a way to take things.
Yamato couldn’t help but feel a buzz around his chest. The third year in front of him had suddenly become a more unfamiliar person.
Yanagi’s words were barely loud enough for Yamato to hear, and Sayla tilted her head curiously.
“I won’t say anything to you, Shirase-san. Sorry. Kuraki-kun, don’t tell her anything either~”
Yanagi said somewhat coldly, then after saying, “Well, good night!” She left.
“What’s that?”
Sayla gave him a disapproving look and Yamato turned his face away from her.
“T-That’s why I can’t tell you even if you ask me.”
“I don’t mind. I’m not that interested.”
Even though she said that, she was glancing at Yamato repeatedly.
“No, you’re really curious…”
“No, I’m not. It’s just that I’m bothered by the fact that Yamato is hiding things from me.”
The unexpectedly cute comment made Yamato feel like telling her.
However, if he told Sayla here, he didn’t know what Yanagi would do if she found out, so he kept his mouth shut.
Then, Sayla seemed to have given up pursuing the matter.
“Well, whatever. It doesn’t matter to me whether the leaders go out with each other or break up.”
“Shirase is amazing, being able to leave it at that.”
“Is that a compliment?
“I think it’s a compliment?”
“All right then. Let’s go home.”
Sayla, already having settled on the matter, began to walk.
“You’re right. It’s already dark. I’ll walk you halfway.”
“Thank you.”
After a while of walking, Yamato began to speak as if thinking about the past.
“Now it finally feels like the sports festival is completely over.”
“Right. It felt so long.”
“How was it, Shirase? Did you enjoy it?”
“I enjoyed it. But I had to deal with a lot of people, so it was troublesome at times.”
“You joined the cheering squad, you know. I didn’t expect that I’d have to join alongside you, though.”
“Did Yamato enjoy it?”
Suddenly, Sayla looked into Yamato’s face and he hurriedly averted his gaze.
“…Well, I did. At least it was the most fun I’ve ever had in a sports festival.”
“Fufu, that’s nice.”
Sayla smiled happily and began to walk beside him.
Then Yamato suddenly asked her something that had been on his mind.
“The other day, I heard from Shirase’s grandfather about your friend. It was about a person named Tsubaki-san. Do you still see her?”
Perhaps because Yamato suddenly started the conversation, Sayla answered with a blank expression.
“I heard that part. It’s true that I’ve talked to her from time to time, but I don’t think we’re friends. And I haven’t seen her since I started high school.”
“R-Really? Don’t you ever miss her?”
“No, I don’t miss her. But it’s not like I don’t like her.”
Blithely, yet clearly, Sayla denied it.
As Sayla said, it’s not that she doesn’t like Tsubaki. However, Yamato was also sure that Sayla didn’t want to see Tsubaki anytime soon. Therefore, Yamato decided not to dig any deeper.
“Oh, okay. I was just a little curious.”
They walked along the street for a while, and when they reached the main street, Sayla turned around.
“Here’s fine.”
Saying that, Sayla lightly waved.
“I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah, bye-bye.”
After they said goodbye, Sayla turned.
“Ah, that’s right.”
Sayla turned around again, shouting as if she remembered something.
“What’s wrong?”
“Make sure you clear your schedule for the summer vacation. We have a lot of things to do.”
Sayla smiled at him.
Yamato smiled back and replied.
“I told you, it’s too soon to tell.”
After parting ways with Sayla this time, Yamato looked up at the night sky, which seemed incomprehensibly vast.
Even though it was the city night sky, Yamato could still see the stars that looked like the Summer Triangle.
Summer vacation was still a little ways away, but since she said so, maybe it wasn’t as far away as he thought.
Yamato started to walk home, thinking about what was to come.
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Xavier1021
Thanks for the translation!