The Heroines Want to Confess.

Chapter 142: Sakurai Saki Is Seeking Joy

On the volleyball court.

"What a great shot!!!"

The boys shouted with enthusiasm, their voices echoing across the court!

...

"Setter! Set the ball to me!!!"

Just as Sakurai Saki finished speaking!

A ball was set in front of him at an extremely sharp angle—Sakurai Saki leapt high.

Off the court, countless spectators seemed to see wings sprouting from his back—what a jump, it was unbelievably high!

"Thud!!!" A loud sound!

The ball slammed hard into a male student who was trying to save it.

That crew-cut boy pushed himself up with his hands, staggering, looking utterly miserable.

'...I don't want to lose.'

Satou was a member of the boys' volleyball club—losing to an outsider like this, he just couldn't accept it!

"Class 2-A scores!!"

The referee shouted loudly.

The score was now 5:11, a huge gap.

"Four more to go." Sakurai Saki glanced at Toyosaki Saburo.

"That last set—pretty impressive."

Next serve, it was the opponent's turn.

"You're still better."

"Of course."

Right now, Sakurai Saki no longer had any desire left—the craving brought by power had just been milked clean like a cow.

He was currently strong. Arrogantly strong!

Sakurai: ᕙ( ︡'︡ 益 '︠)ง

"Hey! Is this all the volleyball club's got!?"

Sakurai Saki began to trash talk.

He tilted his head slightly, casting a scornful look at the opponent before him.

"Trash should just stay in the garbage where it belongs—crawling out just to make a fool of yourself, and this is all the strength you've got?!"

A few seconds later.

Sakurai Saki noticed quite a few hostile stares pointed in his direction.

At the edge of the court, some members of the volleyball club began whispering.

"He's way too arrogant," someone said angrily.

"Normally General Affairs Sakurai is pretty mild. Did something upset him today?"

"Maybe he's just too happy and slipped up, showing his true colors," someone guessed.

"But he just mocked the entire volleyball club. If we let him win the championship this time, where are we gonna put our faces?"

"Volleyball's not a one-man sport. No matter how strong one person is, they can't keep winning forever. Class A only has a few people who know how to play. If they run into the team led by the volleyball club president from Class D, they'll definitely lose."

"Exactly. I remember the president's team also has the student council president Shirogane on it. They've definitely got this one locked in!"

Sakurai Saki heard every word.

This match—he didn't want to lose. If Shinomiya Kaguya won the championship, then so must he. In sports, up until now in the events where he's gone against Shinomiya Kaguya, he had never lost!

As for Shirogane? Hmph, that guy's level? Just an ordinary person. He's probably not that strong at all.

That's what Sakurai thought.

...

Afternoon.

Sakurai Saki looked down at Shirogane Miyuki, who had collapsed on the ground in front of him, a displeased expression on his face.

Above the other's head, a golden title was gleaming.

[Dragon of the Abyss: As long as you put in effort, success is possible. This is undoubtedly the quality of a genius. Trait: Increases burst power activation rate]

"Sorry, Sakurai, I... cough, I still haven't gone down yet!" Shirogane Miyuki stood up and wiped the blood from his nose.

At this moment, he was like a warrior who had been knocked down again and again, struck by countless arrows, yet still standing tall.

Sakurai Saki: ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°) 

'When I watched you play this morning, you didn't seem to be bursting with power at all.'

You activate a shounen protagonist halo only when it's against me!?

What kind of friend plays like this? Are you mentally unstable!?

You cheated first—so don't blame me!

Super Sakurai Saki Mode—Activated!

"I'll crush you, and then take the win." Sakurai Saki declared.

His words carried no emotion, as if he were stating a fact.

"If you can, then go ahead and try!" Shirogane Miyuki sneered, then continued:

"A match between friends—it's okay to lose! As long as I don't lose too miserably, that's all that matters."

...

Ten Minutes Later

"Throughout Heaven And Earth, I Alone Am The Honoured One."

(っ'-')╮ =͟͟͞͞🏀

BOOOM!!

Sakurai Saki leapt into the air like a kangaroo, declaring his victory with a powerful spike.

The final score was 11:15.

Shirogane Miyuki collapsed on the ground.

He lost, but it wasn't a complete blowout.

"Class A wins!!" the referee shouted.

Sakurai Saki was lifted into the air by the cheering boys.

"ALL HAIL THE GOAT!! ALL HAIL THE GOAT!!"

Shirogane Miyuki sat up on the ground, raised his head to look at Sakurai, and gave a helpless smile.

As expected, he still couldn't win—after all, he had only trained for one week before the match.

"Shirogane, that was some great playing!" The volleyball club president, Koizumi Ryousuke, pulled him up.

"With your level, I bet you've trained for quite a while, haven't you? If I'm not wrong, you must've been practicing volleyball in your spare time all along."

"Yeah, it took quite a bit of effort," Shirogane Miyuki sighed.

He trained for a few months last year, and added another week this time.

"People who work hard will get results." Koizumi glanced at Sakurai Saki: "I'm so jealous of geniuses."

"Yeah." Shirogane nodded.

Luckily, Sakurai Saki didn't hear that.

Otherwise, he'd probably punch someone.

Sakurai to Shirogane: (=O •`０´•)=O☆(ﾉ´ᗒoᗕ)ﾉ

Goddammit, for the whole past week, while Shirogane Miyuki was training in volleyball, it was basically him who acted as the practice partner. That ball-receiving posture—like some dead, hunchbacked camel—just watching it once made his blood boil.

And you have the nerve to say you're jealous of a genius?

Able to play like that after one week—are you saying Shirogane Miyuki lacks talent?

Wrong!

Just like the title floating above his head, this guy is the type who can accomplish things just by trying hard. Compared to those who waste their whole lives stuck in place, Shirogane Miyuki deserves the word "genius." It's just that, compared to other geniuses, he has to work harder.

"If Sakurai were willing to join the volleyball club, that'd be amazing. Having a spiker like that would really reduce our offensive pressure." Koizumi Ryousuke began thinking about recruiting him.

At Shuchiin, in sports clubs, ability is everything. Since everyone came from roughly equal backgrounds, and they were all in the prime of their youth, there were always arrogant newcomers every year—so people had long gotten used to this kind of flair.

If you win, do whatever you want. If you lose, don't blame us for mocking you. That's the mindset everyone had.

Of course, this didn't apply to mixed-background students.

But Sakurai Saki was an exception. Even though his background wasn't great, who told him to have a good relationship with Shinomiya Kaguya and Fujiwara Chika?

Those two—their families basically stood at the top of the business and political world. No one dared to mess with them, so naturally, Sakurai Saki became someone untouchable too.

"Sakurai's got student council work and even has a part-time job. He probably doesn't have time to join a club." Shirogane Miyuki spoke up.

"Ah, what a shame."

...

After school, after the sports festival ended.

Sakurai Saki was walking through the school grounds.

Just earlier, he had helped the student council clean up the sports field, and was now getting ready to head home.

Today was the day before the weekend, and Sakurai Saki was thinking about what to do during it.

Go on a date with Hayasaka Ai? Or hang out with Fujiwara Chika?

Tough choice.

Liking two girls meant having these kinds of troubles—balancing things was very difficult.

What one girl had, the other should have too. That was the more proper way of doing things. As someone new to the art of "balancing," Sakurai Saki thought this way.

His phone chimed with a notification.

Sakurai Saki glanced at it—it was a message from Nakano Itsuki.

Only then did he remember—he had promised yesterday to help her deal with her weight issues.

Heading to the garden next to the academic building, Sakurai Saki found Nakano Itsuki, wearing a star-shaped hair clip.

Among the Nakano quintuplets, aside from Yotsuba, the rest hadn't signed up for any events, and today there was no sign of them sweating through training either.

"Sakurai-san~ um... I've gotten thinner again." Itsuki spoke while glancing around. Once she confirmed no one else was around, she gently jumped into the air.

It didn't look like she used much strength, but she jumped quite high.

In Sakurai Saki's mind suddenly surfaced the solution he had asked Gaen Izuko about yesterday.

The Oddity known as Heavy Stone Crab (Omoshi Kani)—there was a simple way to deal with it. Aside from having Shinobu eat it directly, there was another method.

Itsuki believed she was too fat and wanted to lose weight, which is why the Oddity targeted her. In a sense, the Heavy Stone Crab fulfilled her wish, but at the same time, it also took away part of her memory—just like its name suggested.

In Japanese, Omoi means heavy, but when written differently, it can also mean thoughts, feelings, ideas, or sentiments.

Omoshi Kani: Heavy Stone Crab.

When Gaen Izuko read the name, she even chuckled in amusement.

The name of this Oddity was truly interesting.

"If I'm not wrong, then you've probably forgotten something."

"What do you mean?"

"What's your most important memory?"

"..." Itsuki thought for a moment, then said two words: "...My mother."

Then she realized—the memories of her mother from when she was little had completely disappeared from her mind!

Sakurai Saki showed an expression of understanding and directly stated the solution:

"The price for losing weight is also your memory—in this case, your memory of your mother. If you want to get it back, you have to let go of your original wish."

"But I don't want to lose weight anymore!" Itsuki said anxiously.

"The human subconscious can't be controlled. Even if you say you don't want to lose weight anymore, whether that's truly the case deep down is another matter. Itsuki, you don't accept your body weight. In a sense, that itself means you do want to lose weight…" Sakurai Saki speculated.

A few seconds later.

Sakurai Saki clapped his hands a few times—pah pah—then the corners of his mouth lifted into a mischievous smile—

"I have a great idea~."

Sakurai: (≖⩊≖) ~ ~ ~

"What is it?!" Itsuki asked urgently.

She didn't want to lose the memory of her mother. That was the most precious thing to her. For it, she would do anything!

Sakurai Saki thought for a moment, then said:

"Itsuki, you need to publicly admit in front of the entire faculty and student body that your body is not slim. Maybe then, it'll have an effect."

"What's that thing called again? 'Scorched ships'? Once the whole school knows about your title, even if you don't want to admit it in your heart, you won't be able to avoid it."

Itsuki: ( ｡ •̀ ⤙ •́ ｡ )

"..." Itsuki felt like he was messing with her.

And she wasn't wrong—Sakurai Saki was simply having fun.

"The broadcasting club has a radio segment at noon on Monday, and I heard they're still looking for a guest." Sakurai Saki had already arranged everything for her: "I'm really looking forward to your performance, Itsuki!"

Hearing that, Itsuki went quiet for a moment, then asked:

"Sakurai-san... what kind of person are you?"

She couldn't help but seek the answer.

If it were Yotsuba, she might've kept that question to herself. But not Itsuki.

"The tutor your dad hired." Sakurai Saki said, then walked toward the bicycle parking area.

Itsuki stared at his back, lost in thought. After a while, she stopped thinking, turned around, and walked away.

If he didn't answer, then there must be a reason.

…

On the street, the scenery before Sakurai Saki changed rapidly.

[Ka ka~ You really are a man with terrible taste~]

Sakurai Saki pedaled his bike. He didn't refute Shinobu's words.

The reason he made Itsuki admit her weight publicly was mostly because of what happened last time when he called her down for study—she kabedon'd him and threatened him!

He still remembered that clearly.

Sakurai Saki was a blunt man—and held grudges!

But more importantly—

This was fun!

Sakurai: (๑˃́ꇴ˂̀๑)

Just thinking about it was enough to let him eat three bowls of rice.

Between having Shinobu eat the Oddity and making Itsuki confess her weight publicly—there was no need to even think about which was more entertaining.