Shuichi Kanda: I Think I Can Do It... Sorry to Bother You

Then, after tasting the tea, he realized... it wasn't bitter at all?

After glancing at Akane Tachibana with great surprise, I noticed a smug and amused look in her eyes.

Okay, I've been tricked again.

After finishing his tea, Shuichi Kanda left the Student Council Room; he didn't want to meet with Nagumo for the time being.

As of now, Horikita Manabu has not announced his position as Vice President of the Student Council, presumably because he intends to keep it a secret until the new Student Council takes over.

Back in his dorm, Shuichi Kanda started thinking about what to eat that day.

Because I went to the Student Council, I didn't have enough time to make chicken soup, so I'll just have to make some porridge instead.

Moreover, since I gave Kushida some guidance last time, he seems to have changed somewhat. The most significant change is that he hasn't come here to vent his stress these past two nights.

"Are you really not going to take those twenty million back?"

Kamuro sat opposite Shuichi Kanda, holding a bowl of porridge, and asked Shuichi Kanda question.

"Well, that's not necessary for me. You can keep it safe, but don't let Sakayanagi know, otherwise you won't be able to keep these 20 million Private Points."

"Then why don't you take it back? It should be safe with you, right?"

"After all, you're not under my watchful eye. If anything happens, this 20 million can be used for emergency treatment. Consider it insurance for you."

Shuichi Kanda's words made Kamuro Masumi lower her head, though a hint of smugness flickered across her face.

No matter how aloof and mature she may seem, she is still just a sixteen-year-old high school girl, an age at which she is easily moved.

"Shuichi, do you want to go for a walk after dinner?"

Um?

Wait a minute.

Why did you suddenly change the topic?

Shuichi Kanda was a little confused; why had such a leap in topic come up?

Seeing Detective Shuichi's suddenly blank expression, Kamuro quickly explained, "I recently heard that taking a walk after meals is good for your health, and I happened to have nothing to do today, so I thought I'd accompany you for a walk."

"Let's go for a walk then. I usually go out to digest after dinner anyway," Shuichi Kanda agreed.

Since we're just going out for a stroll anyway, bringing Kamuro might save us a lot of trouble.

The news that Shuichi Kanda had amassed nearly 50 million Private Points in the VIP Exam had somehow spread throughout the entire school.

Thanks to this, Shuichi Kanda is easily approached by people whenever he goes out alone, not only by first-year girls, but also by second and third-year girls.

The purpose is self-evident: the enormous points held by Shuichi Kanda.

That's why Shuichi Kanda readily agreed to Kamuro's travel proposal; with Kamuro around, those people might behave themselves a bit.

The school has a wide variety of recreational facilities, and even after dinner time, you can still see groups of students heading out on the streets, making its nightlife quite vibrant.

However, judging from the people I met along the way, most of them were second or third-year students. The first-year students seemed to be quite tired because of the Sports Festival, so I didn't see any in the evening.

Of course, it could also be because their route was relatively remote; at least at this time of day, there weren't many people strolling along the lake.

After the two walked around the lake, Kamuro suddenly asked Shuichi Kanda, "Shuichi, how are you feeling?"

"It's alright. I feel very tired after strenuous exercise, but I can walk normally without any problems. I can feel myself gradually recovering."

"That's good."

Kamuro nodded.

"Thank you for your concern, Masumi. By the way, could you tell me what kind of person I used to be?"

Taking this opportunity, Shuichi Kanda wanted to get some information about himself from Kamuro.

"Back then," Kamuro said with a nostalgic expression, "You still remember the relationship between our two families, right?"

"Yes, you told me before that Kamuro is a branch of the Kanda Family. I think we met at the family gathering during the New Year."

Shuichi Kanda nodded. This was something Kamuro had told him before. Although he didn't know if it was true or not, he had a feeling that it shouldn't be false.

"When I was little, my parents were both very busy with work, so I was often bullied. The person who stood up for me back then was Shuichi."

Ah, I can picture it now. These kinds of bizarre and melodramatic plots always happen in large families.

The story is about a weak little girl who was bullied, then a little boy came to her aid, and the little girl decided to repay him with her body.

"Really? Looks like I'm actually quite a gentle person."

Shuichi Kanda, without any modesty, began to boast, after all, he claimed to be the gentlest man in Class D.

"Although Shuichi didn't like to smile back then, he was incredibly clever and knew how to use all sorts of strange methods to subdue those disobedient kids. I still can't forget how he had such a clear sense of order around people."

At this point, Kamuro smiled and said, "The phrase 'making things clear for others' was Shuichi's catchphrase back then."

Damn, this sounds so much like me!

"I've arranged everything perfectly for you"—this doesn't sound like a popular Japan saying.

Then Kamuro talked a lot about their childhood. The Shuichi Kanda listened, the stranger it seemed. The image Kamuro had of himself was so similar to the image he had now.

So, am I living a second life?

Shuichi Kanda's head was throbbing; he had no idea what had happened in between.

Forget it, if I can't figure it out, I'll stop thinking about it.

"By the way, how much do you know about my sister?"

Upon hearing this, Kamuro immediately fell silent.

"I promised Sakurare I wouldn't tell you anything about her, but don't worry, Sakurare likes you, her older brother, very much too."

Sakurare, is your sister's name Sakurare? Sakurare Kanda... I seem to remember that. Oh right, when I first woke up, someone from the Kanda Main Family seemed to have said something like that.

Since Kamuro is unwilling to talk, there's nothing Shuichi Kanda can do. Even if he forces him to talk, he probably won't get any particularly useful information out of him.

But, do you like me as your older brother? That's good news.

Chapter 173 Shuichi Kanda: I think I can do it... Sorry to bother you.

Since the Sports Festival was announced, there has been at least one hour of physical education class every day.

The students in Class D naturally wouldn't waste this time, since there were still many events they needed to practice. Besides the 100-meter and 200-meter races, events like the three-legged race, which is a competition that tests the teamwork between two people, were held in pairs.

Other events include hurdles and Ball Toss Competition, so even with a month to go, it still seems a bit too short.

After all, you can't expect Student Council to practice on their own after school or on weekends, can you?

Something interesting happened before this physical education class.

"Um, Suzune, could I bother you for a moment?"

The red-haired man, Sudo, walked over somewhat awkwardly.

"I've warned you repeatedly, can you please not call me by my first name?"

"Why? Is it bothersome to be called that?"

"This is a huge problem. I don't want someone I'm not close to calling me by my first name." Horikita completely disregarded Sudo's feelings and said bluntly, "If you still call me by my first name after I've expressed my displeasure, then I'll probably have to take some measures."

Yeah?

I eagerly await your necessary measures.

Shuichi Kanda, one of the onlookers, watched what was happening.

However, Sudo only opened his mouth but couldn't continue calling out Horikita's name. Perhaps he still wanted to call out Horikita's name, but if he were disliked for it, it might ruin what was originally a normal relationship.

Even Sudo didn't want this kind of situation—losing both his wife and his army—to happen.

However, Sudo quickly found a plausible excuse.

"So, if I'm the most active student in Class D during this Sports Festival... then you can officially allow me to call Your Name."

Tsk tsk tsk, how pathetic, Sudo. It's just a pity, someone like Horikita could never like you.

She likes people like her brother, but you're nothing like him.

However, the fact that Sudo was able to say those words made Shuichi Kanda realize that he at least had some courage and self-awareness.

What? You're saying he wasn't brave because he didn't confess?

That's not necessarily true. If Sudo were to confess right now, that wouldn't be courage, that would be recklessness, that would be idiocy.

Speaking of which, during the summer vacation before last, Sakura sent me a text message saying that Yamauchi had confessed his feelings to her.

When Shuichi Kanda was quite worried. What if Sakura, that silly girl, actually got confessed to by Yamauchi? Wouldn't that be like jumping into a fire pit?

However, when Shuichi Kanda vaguely remembered that Sakura seemed to like Hasebe Haruka, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Sakura is attracted to women, so Yamauchi definitely wouldn't succeed.

Sure enough, Sakura later told Shuichi Kanda that she had rejected Yamauchi and received praise from Shuichi Kanda: "You're so brave."

Although Horikita didn't understand Sudo's thought process or why Sudo would ask such a question, Horikita agreed in order to motivate Sudo.

"If you're the most active, I'll allow you to call me by my first name. But don't be content with just being in your class; you have to get first place in the entire grade to prove me right."

Being first in the grade means surpassing 159 people, which is an extremely difficult goal.

However, Sudo immediately agreed, "Okay, it's a deal. If I become number one in the grade, I have to call you that."

In this way, instead of feeling discouraged, they became even more motivated.

If this guy really goes all out, no one can stop him from winning first place, not even Kouenji.

As for why, putting aside the mandatory events, Kouenji would definitely not participate in the recommended events, so Sudo's first place seems to be a foregone conclusion.

"However, not until the results are in. Also, if you don't get first place in the entire grade, I will forever forbid you from calling me by my name. You must be prepared for this during the competition."

"Okay, okay."

Judging from the current situation, Sudo is already in a good position, and Horikita doesn't think it's a bad thing either. Anyway, many people call her by her name, and even Ryuen from Class C often calls her by her name without permission.

Perfect timing! Let's thwart Ryuen's conspiracy this time and teach him a lesson along the way.

Not only Sudo, but Horikita was also filled with fighting spirit.

Next comes the formal practice. Whether it's the 100-meter or 200-meter dash, you need to pay attention to the rhythm in order to unleash your full potential.

"You've worked hard, Sakura, you ran so fast!"

Looking at Sakura, who was panting heavily and struggling to keep herself from collapsing by supporting her knees, Shuichi Kanda praised her without hesitation.

As for why people watch Sakura, it's because of her extremely impactful visual effects, which even sportswear can't hide.

"Ah, Kanda -kun, haha... thank you."

Intense Sports Festival in a short period of time will produce a lot of lactic acid in the body. For a student like Sakura who is not good at sports, running 200 meters at full speed will definitely make her feel uncomfortable.

"Take a short rest; strenuous exercise isn't good for your health."

"Haaah... um, I'm fine."

Even Sakura, who is not good at sports, is working hard for the class at this moment.

No, apart from Kouenji, all the other students in the class, even Yukimura and Wang Xiaomei, who had decided to aim for the bottom ten spots to ensure the class's survival, were practicing hard.

Of course, Shuichi Kanda was no exception, but he didn't plan to run 100 or 200 meters; he was more interested in three-legged races.

Shuichi Kanda's partner is Teruhiko Yukimura is also not good at sports and is also willing to play it safe.

After greeting Sakura, Shuichi Kanda went to the finish line to wait for Yukimura, who was running the 100-meter dash.

"Ha-hoo... Ha-hoo..."

Yukimura's physical fitness, like Sakura's, is among the worst of the boys. His grip strength is even weaker than Ike's 42kg; I think it's only 40.6kg?

I don't remember the specifics, but it was very weak.

"Yukimura, want to practice three-legged race together? I'm quite interested in this sport."

"Please wait a moment, let me rest for a bit."

Yukimura, bent over and supporting himself on his knees, was panting heavily without looking up. Shuichi Kanda wasn't in a hurry; instead, he first brought over the props for the two-person game.

That's a rope, since we'll be tying their different feet together later.