A Declaration Renewed!

Natsume Chikage explained:

"She's my classmate, Saionji Nanase."

Saionji Nanase blinked her lively eyes, staring blankly for a moment before finally realizing the delicate situation she was in.

A faint blush immediately spread across her fair cheeks.

She had never expected that the first club she brought Natsume Chikage to would be the orchestra club where Tsukishima Rin, her upperclassman, was.

And during lunch, this Tsukishima-senpai had just confessed to Natsume-kun and been rejected...

Now she had brought him here, and the atmosphere seemed a little awkward...

Saionji Nanase hurriedly bowed and greeted her politely in proper honorific speech.

"Hello, Tsukishima-senpai. I'm Saionji Nanase."

Tsukishima Rin's gaze moved between the two of them. After hesitating for a moment, she couldn't help asking:

"Did you come here too, like the other students, to look for a club you're interested in...?"

Natsume Chikage nodded.

"Yeah."

"She's my deskmate. Neither of us has a club we particularly want to join for now, so we came to take a look together."

Saionji Nanase nodded vigorously and chimed in with innocent agreement:

"Yes! That's exactly it!"

At that, Tsukishima Rin visibly relaxed. A smile finally appeared on her face as she turned to Saionji Nanase.

"Then, Saionji-san, would you be interested in trying out some of our club's instruments?"

She pointed at several instruments arranged beside the booth.

"We have instruments prepared for beginners to try."

Saionji Nanase's eyes lit up at once. Her hands unconsciously clasped together before her chest, her pupils widening slightly with excitement as her voice brimmed with anticipation.

"Please, I'd love to try!"

Tsukishima Rin gestured to a club member behind her, also a first-year student.

"You're in the same year as Saionji-san. Could you guide her for a bit?"

The member didn't refuse—after all, helping recruit new members was part of the club's duties.

"Sure, no problem."

Saionji Nanase was immediately seized by the novelty of it, following the member toward the instruments with boundless curiosity and excitement.

After sending Saionji Nanase away, Tsukishima Rin turned back. Her lips pressed lightly together as she stared steadily and silently into Natsume Chikage's eyes for a long time.

Natsume Chikage grew a little uncomfortable under her gaze. As for that "violin" of hers, I'd better investigate it another time.

He cleared his throat, trying to break the silence.

"Senpai, I'm suddenly a little thirsty. I'll head to the school convenience store to buy some water. You can get back to work..."

However.

The girls nearby, who had been eagerly listening in and watching the show the whole time, immediately handed him a bottle of mineral water with great enthusiasm.

"Wait, junior! We have water here!"

Natsume Chikage awkwardly waved his hand.

"Uh... thank you, senpai, but I kind of feel like having some lemon tea right now..."

Before he could finish, the group of girls seemed to have come prepared. As if performing a magic trick, they produced a carton of lemon tea from behind their backs and stuffed it into his hands without giving him a chance to refuse, their smiles sly.

"We have that too, junior. We do!"

Natsume Chikage looked down at the lemon tea that had appeared in his hands out of nowhere and fell silent for a moment.

Seeing his helpless expression, Tsukishima Rin couldn't help letting out a soft laugh.

Then she took the initiative to gently grab Natsume Chikage by the wrist and led him behind the school building.

There were few people here, neatly shielding them from most of the curious stares. They were no longer exposed to everyone's gaze like before.

Tsukishima Rin raised her head, her eyes burning as she met Natsume Chikage's gaze openly. Her voice was clear and resolute.

"Natsume-kun, actually... after I went back, I asked some students from your former school about you."

"After learning a little about your situation, I finally understood why you answered me that way."

"I also realized that confessing to you so rashly was indeed too impulsive."

"Doing something like that without understanding you must have caused you trouble."

"But—"

Her tone sharpened, carrying an unquestionable sincerity.

"My feelings are completely genuine. There isn't even the slightest bit of falsehood in them!"

She paused, a complicated expression appearing on her face.

"But in this situation, if I said something like, 'I don't mind your circumstances. I'll keep waiting for you,' again, wouldn't that sound strange?"

Tsukishima Rin took a deep breath. As though she had made some kind of resolve, she straightened her back and said with composed grace:

"So this time—we'll start over and get to know each other from scratch!"

There was a faint, nearly imperceptible tremor in her voice, and the moment the words left her lips, an even deeper blush rapidly spread across her cheeks.

"It's fine if you get to know other girls during that time... and I'll use my own way to... win you over!"

"I really do like you, so I'll definitely make you like me!"

After delivering that declaration-like speech, Tsukishima Rin's face was as red as a ripe apple.

Her once calm heart was now pounding violently in her chest, its clamor nearly enough to burst through her eardrums.

When she saw Natsume Chikage seemingly about to respond, she panicked at the thought of hearing a rejection and reached out to gently cover his mouth.

The movement was so quick that even she surprised herself.

"M-my name is Tsukishima Rin. I'm seventeen years old, and I'm your upperclassman..."

Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, brimming with embarrassment.

"...Please take care of me from now on!"

She practically squeezed out the last few words.

Even someone as composed as her could not hide her embarrassment. Before her words had even faded, she suddenly turned like a startled deer and fled in near panic.

Leaving Natsume Chikage standing there alone, somewhat bewildered by that sudden "declaration to start over."

He stood there in silence for a long while. By the time he returned to the stall, Tsukishima Rin was, as expected, nowhere to be seen.

Just then.

Like a cheerful little bird, Saionji Nanase skipped back over to Natsume Chikage, her face glowing with excitement.

"Natsume-kun, there's a buffalo!"

Natsume Chikage was taken aback by her seemingly random remark.

"A buffalo? What buffalo?"

Saionji Nanase's starry eyes gleamed as if she had discovered a new continent, and she excitedly pointed into the distance.

"I just saw a club! It's called the 'Flying Buffalo Pasta Club'! Their club emblem is a water buffalo! It looks really interesting—do you want to go take a look?"

Natsume Chikage was speechless.

"Sure."

Remembering that she had just gone to try out some instruments, he asked:

"But weren't you trying instruments over at the orchestra club just now? How did it feel?"

Saionji Nanase gave an embarrassed, shy smile.

"It was really fun... but after trying them, I realized I seem to be a little tone-deaf, and I'm especially bad at keeping rhythm. I couldn't figure out how to play at all."

Seeing how frankly she admitted it, Natsume Chikage smiled faintly.

"I see. Then let's go check out that Flying Buffalo Pasta Club you mentioned."

Saionji Nanase immediately nodded happily.

"Mm! Okay!"

After leaving the orchestra club's stall, the two strolled through the lively club recruitment area.

Saionji Nanase was endlessly curious about all the novel and interesting club stalls, frequently tugging Natsume Chikage over to stop and look.

After browsing for a while, Natsume Chikage noticed that Saionji Nanase had accumulated quite a few things.

A garland woven from colorful paper flowers hung around her neck, several beaded bracelets of different colors adorned her slender wrists, and she held several small toys and keychains she had won from various stalls.

She was like a beast called "curiosity," unable to resist touching, trying, and learning about anything that caught her interest.

As a result, she had practically played her way through the whole area and collected quite a few prizes.

When the two arrived before a relatively quiet stall, Saionji Nanase remembered one of Natsume Chikage's reasons for coming here.

Pointing at the sign above the stall that read "Shogi Club," she reminded him:

"Natsume-kun, we're at the Shogi Club's stall!"

Natsume Chikage nodded slightly and walked up to the stall.

It was rather deserted, with only a short-haired girl who looked quite capable idly manning it.

"Excuse me, do you know Yasui Ryoto, the upperclassman?"

Araki Yua looked up at the question. The instant she saw Natsume Chikage's face, her eyes lit up as though she had spotted an interesting target.

"Yasui-senpai? Of course I know him! He's the vice president of our Shogi Club..."

She carefully looked Natsume Chikage up and down, a meaningful smile curling across her lips.

"But... you're Natsume Chikage, right?"

Natsume Chikage was somewhat surprised.

"You know me?"

As though she had heard something incredibly amusing, Araki Yua suddenly slapped the table and burst into laughter, doubling over.

"Pfft, hahaha! Know you? Of course I know you! How could I not know you?!"

She laughed so hard tears nearly came out, pointing at Natsume Chikage.

"After all, Tsukishima Rin—the senior who confessed to you—is the goddess our vice president Yasui chased for a whole year without managing to win over!"

"At this point, if anyone in the shogi club still doesn't know you, Natsume Chikage, that would be the really strange thing! Hahaha!"

"Th-this..." Natsume Chikage froze where he stood.

Hearing that, Saionji Nanase covered her small mouth in surprise. When her bright eyes looked at Natsume Chikage, they seemed to carry a faint, curious smile.