After school, having finished dinner, Shimizu Akira received a message from the boxing club president, Satō-senpai, asking him to come to the club.
Thinking about it, it really was time for his weekly appearance at the club.
Come to think of it, he still didn't know whether Karuizawa Kei had ultimately quit the boxing club or not.
When he arrived at the boxing club, he found Karuizawa Kei had already arrived before him.
At the moment, she was carrying boxes of mineral water, one after another, along with two other female managers.
"Senpai, let me do it! After all, I did take several days off," Karuizawa Kei looked up at the senior girl beside her and proactively reached for the box.
"Hehe, it's fine," the female senpai smiled and waved her off, then seemed to suddenly remember something and asked, "Speaking of which, Karuizawa, why weren't you here last week? Weren't you feeling unwell?"
"Well... actually, I was just feeling a bit lazy," Karuizawa Kei's voice dropped a little, carrying a note of embarrassment.
"...Ah, I see." The female senpai nodded as if enlightened, then leaned in closer. "But for something like that, when you talk to the president, you could just make up an excuse. Like saying it's that time of the month or something. He definitely wouldn't ask too many questions."
"Uh... actually, I already explained the real reason to the president on Saturday," Karuizawa Kei replied somewhat helplessly.
"Is that so... You're such an honest, silly kōhai," the other female senpai laughed and patted her shoulder.
"What are you staring at me for, Shimizu-kun?" Karuizawa Kei finally noticed Shimizu Akira at the doorway. A trace of embarrassment flashed across her face, but she spoke first.
"Nothing." Shimizu Akira calmly averted his gaze.
He could tell that Karuizawa Kei had truly learned her lesson from the last incident—not only had she explained the whole story to the president honestly, but she had also come early to the boxing club to help today.
Coupled with the reason for her previous argument—standing up for Matsushita Chiaki—it seemed her nature was actually quite good.
He glanced at the floor; there were about ten or so boxes of mineral water left.
Judging by the situation, it would take who knows how long for Karuizawa Kei and the other two manager senpais to move them all to the storage room.
"Let me help, Senpais." Shimizu Akira thought about it. The boxing club was a decent club, and these managers were all senpais, so he naturally stepped forward to lend a hand.
"Sure, that would be great. Thanks, Shimizu-kun," the female manager smiled in agreement. In her view, as fellow club members, helping each other out was only natural.
"Alright, Karuizawa, just hand the box directly to Shimizu-kun."
"Okay, Senpai. Um... Hold out your hands." Karuizawa Kei shot Shimizu Akira a glance, approaching him with a bit of awkwardness.
Shimizu Akira held out his hands as asked. The moment his palms touched the plastic edge of the box, he heard Karuizawa Kei mutter softly, "It's pretty heavy, you know."
He didn't respond, just flexed his arms and steadily lifted the box.
"Shimizu is quite strong," the female manager beside them teased.
"Let's do two more boxes." Shimizu Akira took the opportunity to say, holding the water box tightly with both hands so he could carry more at once.
In his view, the weight of one box was negligible.
"...Never mind, no need for the Senpais to help. I can handle it myself." Shimizu Akira thought for a moment, then simply stacked the boxes on top of each other. Crouching on the ground, he lifted three boxes of mineral water at once with one motion.
"Th-That's way too exaggerated, isn't it?!" Karuizawa Kei stared, her eyes wide. The box she was half-holding remained suspended in mid-air, forgotten.
The female manager was also stunned for a moment before shaking her head with a laugh. "Shimizu-kun, your strength is just like the president's. No wonder he thinks highly of you."
Shimizu Akira didn't respond. As he stood up steadily holding the three boxes, the cardboard bottoms creaked faintly under the pressure.
He walked briskly towards the storage room, his back forming a smooth line, the fabric of his tracksuit stretching taut.
Just as he turned the corner of the hallway, he heard Karuizawa Kei's footsteps behind him, along with her soft, astonished gasps to the senpais.
"Is it really okay? Isn't it too heavy?" Her voice held a note of concern, as if afraid the boxes would suddenly fall apart and hit him.
He didn't look back, only slowing his pace slightly when entering the storage room.
After a few trips back and forth like this, the ten boxes were finally neatly stacked in the corner of the storage room.
The moment Shimizu Akira straightened up, a towel was suddenly offered from behind.
"Wipe your sweat." Karuizawa Kei's voice was right by his ear, carrying an unconcealable awkwardness. "Don't think just because you carried them easily it wasn't tiring—that was three boxes! You weren't overexerting yourself, were you?"
"Thank you for the towel, Manager Karuizawa." Shimizu Akira took the opportunity to thank her. The moment the words left his mouth, he received a glare from her.
"I feel like you're deliberately teasing me!"
"And! Who said I'm still a manager? Maybe after tonight, the president will just kick me out of the boxing club!" Karuizawa Kei's expression darkened, her tone tinged with dejection.
"You're really something, aren't you? Couldn't you put in a good word for me! Of course... I'm not blaming you or anything. Actually, you did help me move the water just now. And... I'm also grateful for what you said to me the other day." She turned her face away and muttered a few more sentences under her breath.
"You've misunderstood... Well, not entirely. I actually helped move the water more for the sake of those two manager senpais." Shimizu Akira took the opportunity to douse her with cold water again.
"I'm feeling really upset right now!" Karuizawa Kei's voice suddenly rose, filled with angry embarrassment.
"Hehe..." Shimizu Akira couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.
He suddenly felt that since that day, although Karuizawa Kei's personality still wasn't very straightforward, both her words and reactions were inexplicably tinged with a bit of cuteness.
"But, don't worry. Things probably won't turn out as badly as you think. The president might not necessarily dismiss you."
"You probably heard it too just now. Those two manager senpais weren't really surprised when they heard about you taking time off, and they didn't seem worried you might leave at all. Strange, right? Thinking logically based on that, you most likely won't be dismissed."
Although Shimizu Akira added internally—according to the intel, she's probably going to be let go.
Karuizawa Kei unconsciously pricked up her ears listening—after all, it was rare for Shimizu Akira to offer comfort.
Thinking it over carefully, she found there seemed to be some logic to what he said.
Even though she had taken so many days off, her relationship with those two manager senpais had always been good.
If she were really about to leave, they couldn't possibly maintain their usual calm expressions. Even just as a formality, they should have said a few words to persuade her to stay or offer comfort.