Thus, the first day of the exchange meeting and the first round began.
The school sent us the game and rules.
The group we were going to compete against was Group Nine. From Horikita's class, Ike and Keisei were there.
The game was 'oshibana creation.' The location was an oshibana kyōshitsu.[5]
[TL/N: A specialized workshop space for teaching and practicing the art of oshibana, equipped with the necessary tools and materials]
Some students might have laughed when they heard it.
But I was very serious.
The question was how to compete with oshibana, and in this case, the quality of the finished product was of utmost importance.
The combination of many types of flowers.
Whether or not you could find petals with the right amount of moisture, and the selection of appropriate flower materials of different sizes.
Whether you could finish it without breaking or damaging it because they were delicate.
The winner would be decided by the total score of these factors.
I hadn't been able to experience anything since I hadn't been to the training camp yet and I was called up, so I decided to go straight to the actual facility.
We received a brief lecture just before, but this seemed much more in-depth than I had imagined.
The work itself was done by all participants at the same time, and in the end, we would compete in a one-on-one format.
From the first to the fifth, who would be in charge was decided in advance.
At the designated production site, there were participants from both groups, ten people and two leaders, and a few spectators including Hashimoto.
Among them was Takahashi Osamu, a first-year Class A student from the Nagumo group.
By the way, following the instructions from that time, I participated as the third person in line.
"Do you also make oshibana, Ayanokōji-senpai?"
Nanase Tsubasa from the first-year Class D, who was among the opponents, walked up to me and asked.
"No, I've never done it. I just got a little guidance from a friend."
By the way, that friend was Hiyori.
She had been making bookmarks with oshibana for a long time and had a lot of experience.
"I see. I thought you were good at it because you were the only boy participating."
Perhaps because it required dexterity, as Nanase said, nine out of ten participants were girls.
I was the only male participant, so I was a bit out of place.
I had a match with Nagumo, but there was no need to tell Nanase, who was irrelevant to our competition.
"I've only done it once or twice, so I don't know if I can do it well."
"Please go easy on me."
I was worried that the scoring criteria might be somewhat vague, but it seemed that the person in charge of oshibana, the same person running the facility, was well-informed and judged strictly.
Fortunately, the first-year girl who was my opponent wasn't very good, so I was able to fight her head-on and win.
And as for the group's victory status, although the decision was tangled up until the fifth match, we barely won with three wins and two losses.
"You're amazing, Ayanokōji-kun. I think you're doing very well for your first time."
"I'm nowhere near as good as Hiyori though."
Both were beautiful oshibana at first glance, but the quality was worlds apart.
If she had been my opponent, I would've been utterly defeated.
"You have a knack for this, Ayanokōji-kun. If you enjoy it, let's make it together next time."
"Yeah, I'd like to get better at this too."
I was relieved that such a formidable opponent was an ally. It was significant that I had won in the individual competition.
If possible, I would've liked to stay in the oshibana kyōshitsu and quietly continue making them.
I wouldn't mind competing in making oshibana for three days straight.
Such feelings were welling up, but unfortunately, I had to suppress them.
Sorry, oshibana. See you later...
After the first match, Kiryūin discreetly called out to me.
"A victory's a good start. Though, I didn't feel any tension."
"Well, that's true."
While answering, I kept quiet about how serious I had been.
Whispering was allowed during the game. It was inevitable that the spectators would find it boring.
"But if it's a competition based on experiential learning, it's not strange for anyone to win or lose. If you consider the school's intentions, it's a very interesting way to decide who wins. It's meaningless to just gather students with high OAA abilities. Every group has a chance to win."
Even the great Nagumo couldn't foresee or determine whether Horikita and the others could make good oshibana.
That being said, the same could be said for us.
What we could and couldn't do. Use the spare time to experience as many experiential learning activities as possible and improve our skills. A leader should be in charge of these things...
"Hashimoto made this list for me, which makes things easier. He's surprisingly useful."
To avoid the hassle as a leader, Kiryūin seemed to welcome it.
Well, that was fine too. It was good to enjoy the three days without getting too serious about winning.
"If we continue like this, there will be almost no need for you to take command."
"I'm grateful for that. All I want to see is the match between you and Nagumo."
As expected, she didn't seem to have any intention of doing anything.
"I don't think the results will meet your expectations."
While having such a conversation with Kiryūin, I noticed Inogashira was looking at us alone.
Judging from the situation, she probably didn't participate in the first game.
She said she was good at sewing, and she might like oshibana too.
I thought she had come to experience oshibana in her spare time, but it didn't seem to be the case.
"What's up, Inogashira?"
When I asked her out of curiosity, she approached me with a bit of nervousness. Seeing this, Kiryūin stepped back to make it easier for her to talk.
"Um… uh, you're good friends with Kōenji-kun, aren't you, Ayanokōji-kun?"
"Huh?"
I answered immediately. It was the first time I had heard that I was good friends with Kōenji.
"Is that so…? I see..."
"What's the matter?"
"Well, Tatebayashi-senpai told me to bring Kōenji-kun back..."
Tatebayashi is the leader of the group to which Inogashira and Kōenji belong, the third-year Class D.
"He was really angry."
"Yes..."
As a member of the same group and his classmate, it seemed that the timid Inogashira was forced to take responsibility for managing Kōenji.
"I thought maybe you could do something about it..."
She had been watching the scene earlier and our eyes had met.
She must have come to ask for help out of desperation, but the problem was that the other party was too difficult to deal with.
"Why don't you ask Yōsuke?"
I tried to offer the most feasible solution, but Inogashira shook her head.
"I can't ask Hirata-kun to do something like this... It's too much to ask."
I wonder if it's okay to ask me...? Well, it would be rude to compare myself to Yōsuke, who was very helpful. If asked, he would accept and if Kōenji didn't return, he would likely continue to persuade him until he did. I could understand why Inogashira would feel guilty.
"I'm sorry. I can't help you. There's nothing I can do."
"I see... I'm sorry, I'll try to figure something out..."
Inogashira bowed her head slightly and slowly walked away.
"Should we just leave it like this?"
"I do feel sorry for her, but that man won't act according to our wishes. We've tried various things over the past two years, and this is the conclusion we've come up with."
"Of course, the decision is up to you. Regardless of the details, the fact that she came to us first is significant."
"You're serious in strange ways. I won't deny it, but I'm not enthusiastic about it."
My thoughts and policies towards Kōenji had solidified the last time I interacted with Mii-chan. Now, without a special exam threatening expulsion, any unnecessary contact and communication would be a waste.
"There's still some time until the next game, why not give it a shot? From what I've seen, Tatebayashi's group is small and unlikely to win, but if Kōenji is competent, the situation might turn around somewhat. Right?"
He didn't seem like the type to worry about others, but it would be inappropriate for me to say that.
I wanted to try many different things, but opportunities like that seemed hard to come by.
"I understand. I'll try contacting him for now. If Kōenji wins, he might appreciate the private points he'll earn."
"That's a good idea."
In fact, that was the only thing that could potentially motivate Kōenji.
While thinking that I had been asked to do something troublesome, I decided to give it a shot.