After the meeting for the maid café, I went to Keyaki Mall.
Today, I was going to do a price survey on foodstuffs. This includes items sold in the mall and those available on the Internet. It's important to be able to prepare high quality food at the lowest possible price. If I invited Kei, it would turn into a date instead of a reconnaissance, so I would do it alone today. On the way to
the supermarket, I found a man staring at a map of the building. I was a little bothered by his rather grim face, so I decided to talk to him.
"You were the center of attention today, Sudō."
He looked back, a little startled, as if he hadn't noticed me until I got closer.
"Eh? Oh Ayanokōji? What do you mean, the center of attention?"
"I'm talking about the midterms."
"Oh, you mean that? I'm glad to hear that, I guess I got what I expected given the amount of studying I did."
Apparently, after the midterm, he even graded himself in detail.
"I bet you'd be surprised to see what you looked like when you first entered the school."
"Haha, no doubt. I think my past self would be yelling like, "What the hell?
What's the use of studying and memorizing words and formulas? You should practice basketball more instead of wasting your time like that!"
Sudō replied, imagining himself in the past. I felt compelled to ask Sudō one question, so I decided to act on it.
"If your past self did actually tell you, 'Don't waste your time.' What would you say back?"
"Huh? Well..." After thinking for a moment, Sudō formed his own answer.
"You can't even remember simple formulas, what are you?"
It was a brilliant and uncharacteristic response, but it's also true that the old Sudō was not a one-trick pony.
"I'm going to become a professional basketball player, so it doesn't matter,"
he would reply.
"Ugh, fine! What's the right response in that case? Isn't a professional with brains one step ahead of you? It's a little tricky when you can't reason with." Sudō
laughs bitterly as he racks his brains. "To be honest, I'm getting impatient since it's getting a little more difficult to understand. Up until now, once I got the hang of it, it went pretty smoothly..."
Sudō, who's been making up for his educational setbacks by trying his hardest now, seemed anxious and impatient. It was as if someone restarted from the junior high school level, or in Sudō's case, elementary school level. Now that he's caught up to the average second-year high school student, did he realize that he's in a stagnant period?
Although the 11th place result he acquired this time, which is higher than half of the class, is something to be proud of, I fear that the momentum will come to a halt here. From here on out, it will no longer be a matter of simply increasing study time. Factors other than effort, understanding, efficiency, and talent are probably required in a more complex way.
"Anyways, what's up? What did you want from me?"
"Nothing in particular, I was just a little curious. Aren't you supposed to be at club activities today?"
I was curious as to why exactly Sudō was at Keyaki Mall at this time of the day. Even though the cultural festival was approaching, club activities were still taking place.
"I had to take some time off today."
"That's unusual."
At a quick glance, he doesn't seem to be in bad shape.
"I just had another problem..."
"Another problem?"
"Lately, my eyesight's been deteriorating to the point where I'm aware of it."
He said and stared off into the distance.
"I've always had a clear vision since I was a little kid, but lately it's been strange."
So the adverse effects of his dedication to his studies were changing Sudō's physical and mental condition.
For an athlete, eyesight is important. If his eyesight were to deteriorate in the future, it would probably affect his game. Of course, glasses or contact lenses can greatly compensate for this, but even so, good eyesight is better than nothing.
"I'm looking for an optician to measure my eyesight. I've never been to one before, and I was wondering where it was."
"So you've been staring at a guide map. If you're feeling a strong sense that your eyesight is declining, there's a good chance that your eyesight is actually deteriorating."
"Even if my eyesight is going to be failing in the future, I'm going to keep studying, man. I mean, I'm dying for basketball and I'm not going to stop. But, while I dream of becoming a pro, I'm starting to think that I might have other options."
"Other options?"
"Don't laugh, okay?"
"I won't."
"I thought I could go to a normal university and continue my studies, and even if I could force my way into the pros because of my academics, there's no way they'd use me in the sports world if I'm not good enough. If that's the case, then I can get into the university I want to go to and do my best."
Studying, which he began reluctantly, brought about a major change in Sudō's thinking.
"You can go to university and become a professional after graduation, right?"
"Yeah, that's right."
It's not that one has to branch off the path to a profession from high school.
Until now, Sudō only thought about the path from high school graduate to professional, but now he's thought of the option to go on to university. His own path will be further subdivided as well.
"Ah." Sudō noticed something out of the corner of his eye..
I also turned my gaze to the sight of Akito and Haruka's backs.
"It's not a date, is it?"
"I guess not."
If one were to look at the rear view from a distance, it would appear as if a couple was walking. But we classmates know exactly what kind of state the two are in now.
"Can we really just leave them alone?"
"It wouldn't matter if we told them anything now anyways."
"That may be true, but..." Sudō clenched his fists, his teeth grinding. "I wasn't particularly close to Sakura, but I've had similar experiences."
Sudō used to hang out with Yamauchi so much that he was once called one of the three idiots alongside Ike.
That must be why Yamauchi's withdrawal was particularly painful for him.
"But I guess it's nothing compared to what I was like back then. I couldn't even go so far as to say that I would expel myself in his place."
For Haruka, it seemed like her school life was equal in value, or even more so, to Airi's.
"If you have any trouble, you can always tell me. Well, I'm sure you don't need my help, Ayanokōji."
"That's not true. If there's anything I want to discuss with you, I won't hesitate to do so."
"Sounds good, man. I better head out, see you later, Ayanokōji."
I said goodbye to Sudō and headed for the supermarket.