Hard Work as a Given
During lunch break—
(The first-years are in the canteen.)
Everyone Let’s tuck in!
Osei Nom nom nom…yum!
Osei The chicken and egg bowl’s really the best! The combination of rice and the melty egg cooked in stock is way too powerful!1
Takara Yup, I get it. You could eat a few bowls, couldn’t you.
Soshu …Your appetite is impressive as always, Kuramoto. From a beef bowl2 to a pork cutlet bowl3…the number of bowls you’re having is astonishing.
Aoto Do you like the school food, Minato?
Minato Nom nom…yup! I like it! It’s fun choosing from many different foods!
Takara Ah, come to think of it, did Tsuji-senpai also start working at your uncle’s place part time, again?
Aoto Yeah, from around sometime last week. He’s been helping out every now and then even before that, though.
Osei Whoa~. I see. How unexpected, did you two get along despite being in different sections?
Aoto …Reito-senpai was a regular of Kuttsuriya before this.
Aoto And my uncle was also a student of Ibuki, so he introduced him to me.
Izuru Th-Then, before you joined the band…you were already acquainted?
Aoto That’s right.
Aoto Our teachers came to the store yesterday, and we both performed a piece that Ushio-sensei requested.
Izuru A-Amazing… Y-You could play it right away?
Aoto Yeah, …I think Reito-senpai really loves the sax. He also plays when our regulars request him to—
Aoto And my uncle’s jazz friends have also taken a liking to him, you know.
Minato Jazz…! How nice, it sounds fun. I wanna try playing too!
Takara You do like jazz, after all.
Minato I do! Listening to everyone’s music, creating a rhythm… It’s fun.
Minato …I wanna have fun playing again.
Takara ?? Have fun…Minato, did something happen?
Minato Soshu, is it bad to just play as the score says?
Soshu What’s with this, all of a sudden—
Minato It’s strange to compare our performance with other schools’.
Soshu ……
Minato We’ll all have fun performing. We’ll read the score, and follow it properly.
Minato But why will even that not do.
Soshu …Minato.
(Kuri and Kojiro are in a classroom.)
Kuri Achoo!
Kojiro Ah, do you have a cold Kuri-kun? Are you okay?
Kuri Nah, apologies. I’m fine. I’m taking care of my body, after all.
Kuri I can’t let my precious time go to waste.
Kojiro Nom nom…
Kojiro Kuri-kun, is the trumpet section’s practice going smoothly?
Kuri Mm? Yeah, I guess. Both Minato and Minoike are practicing hard with a sense of urgency.
Kuri And how’s it going for the horns? Hanashiro-senpai’s been butting into the brass instruments’ practices, right?
Kojiro Uuh~~~, I know. It really is hard to sound stable, as I thought.
Kojiro …Though I’m working hard to.
Kuri …I won’t deny that you’re working hard, but the same goes for the other schools.
Kojiro Kuri-kun…
Kuri No matter how hard Ibuki works, the other schools will also work equally…no even harder than us.
Kuri Hard work never betrays us, but…when it comes to competitions against others, we won’t get judged on just that hard work alone after all.
Kojiro …Mm-hmm.
Kuri Relax, you’re getting better. Loads better than back when you were buzzing with your mouthpiece in class.
Kuri So follow Maruyama-senpai’s guidance, without hesitating.
Kojiro Yup…!
(Sensei is in the staff room.)
Sensei Summer camp, you say…
Atsukage Yes. If we get selected to represent our prefecture during the preliminaries, the Hokuriku qualifiers will be in mid-August. I’m thinking of having a band camp during the summer holidays, just in case that happens.
Atsukage May we ask for a summer camp for a final spurt, following our reflections and challenges for the prefectural preliminaries?
Tsugumi We’ve always been having training camps in the spring and summer up until now. It’ll be nice if we can get to do it this year as well, but…please Sensei.
Sensei …Understood. Let’s have that summer camp. I’ll think about preparing a location, as well as an announcement for the parents and guardians.
Atsukage Um, if it’s about that, we’re already coming up with a plan. We’ve made a list of potential facilities and our expenditure, so please use this.
Sensei Thank you very much, that’ll be a great help. …Well I’ll obtain permission from the school’s end then, so once again I—
Vice-Principal Ahem!
Tsugumi Mr Vice-Principal…
Vice-Principal I’ve heard what you were talking about. A training camp huh…
Vice-Principal I will grant you permission on behalf of the school, but! I won’t allow those who fail any subjects in the tests for the end of the first term to participate.
Tsugumi Ahh…
Atsukage …Yes, we understand.
Vice-Principal No one appeared to have failed anything during the midterms, but I’ve heard that some have been dozing off in class after the Chunichi Contest.
Vice-Principal You all appear to be working until late for club activities for days on end, but everyone’s main role is to study after all. Be sure not to forget that.
Tsugumi・Atsukage …Yes!
Sensei Thank you very much, Mr Vice-Principal…!
Vice-Principal Sigh, seriously. It’s fine as long as you get it you know; it’s fine as long as you get it. Decide on the location for the camp, and I’ll drive the bus.
Tsugumi・Atsukage ……
To be continued…
Translator’s Notes
1 Chicken and egg bowl (親子丼, oyakodon): Literally ‘parent-and-child’ rice bowl. Chicken (the parent) is simmered in dashi stock, scrambled with eggs (the child) and scallions, then topped onto a rice bowl. The translator personally finds the name of the dish a rather morbid idea. Recipe here.
2 Beef bowl (牛丼, gyudon): A rice bowl topped with beef and onions simmered in sauce. Recipe here.
3 Pork cutlet bowl (かつ丼, katsudon): A rice bowl topped with a deep fried breaded pork cutlet. Recipe here.
~ Next: Chapter 6, Page 22 ~
IKUMI’S REGRET.
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Ikuzo: Um……
Akane: What?
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