The bell marking the end of the second afternoon class rang, and Kotomi wasted no time. Determined to head to the art club and work on her painting, she had already started packing her bag two minutes before the class ended. The moment the bell chimed, she was ready.

“Mashiro, I’m heading out first!”

Kotomi waved to Mashiro Shiina, who was still lazily packing her bag without the slightest urgency, before dashing out of the classroom.

“Oh, oh!” Mashiro nodded absentmindedly. She had been about to tell Kotomi there was no need to rush, but before she could, Kotomi was already gone.

“At this speed, Kotomi could probably terrify everyone at the school sports meet,” Yui Yuigahama joked half-seriously.

“Speaking of which, isn’t the school sports meet coming up soon?” Megumi Kato suddenly interjected.

Her words caught Yukino Yukinoshita and the others off guard. Yui had mentioned it offhand, not expecting the sports meet to actually be on the horizon.

“R-Really?”

“Yes, I overheard the teachers discussing it in the staff room yesterday when I went to talk to Hiratsuka-sensei. It’s apparently scheduled for after the midterm exams, as a way to help students unwind from the stress of studying. Oh, and Yui, I’ve got some good news: the midterms are in October.”

Yui shuddered, her spine tingling with dread. Sports meets and fitness tests were her nemeses. She resolved to hide under her desk the moment Hiratsuka-sensei started calling for participants.

Everyone knew the phrase voluntary participation in school events often felt more like filler words than a genuine option.

But what troubled Yui even more was the realization that midterms were right around the corner.

Save me! Two major exams in back-to-back months? This is too much! I haven’t even finished celebrating my progress on the monthly exams yet! she lamented internally.

“I’m really not feeling it. Maybe I’ll just sit on the sidelines and spectate. Do you think they’ll let us bring books to read during the sports meet?”

Yukino furrowed her brows slightly. Unlike Yui, she wasn’t intimidated by fitness exams—her athletic skills were decent—but the thought of participating in the sports meet was enough to make her expression fill with reluctance.

Yui, for her part, wasn’t unfit either. Much like Kotomi, she just preferred to avoid physical activities unless absolutely necessary. Events like sports meets? She’d rather be an enthusiastic spectator.

If Kotomi knew about the sports meet, she’d likely shut down as well. She’d never participate. Even if Hiratsuka-sensei begged her, she’d refuse.

Unless there’s extra pay involved.

“By the way, Megumi, now that you’ve mentioned midterms in October, do you know the exact dates?” Yukino shifted the focus away from the sports meet, prioritizing the exam schedule.

If the midterms were close, she’d need to start reviewing immediately.

“I think it’s on the 23rd and 24th. It’s a two-day exam, and since those days aren’t on a weekend, the 25th—a Monday—will be a half-day break. We’ll return to school by the afternoon. As for the sports meet, it’s set to take place after the midterm results are out, on the 28th and 29th.”

Megumi shared all the details she knew, prompting Yukino to pull out her phone. She opened her calendar app and navigated to October.

“The 28th and 29th are Thursday and Friday. That means we’ll go straight into the weekend after the sports meet.”

“Exactly. And following tradition, the week after the midterms will have a three-day break, from October 30th to November 1st,” Megumi added.

Students from other schools often envied Sobu High for this rare perk: a consecutive three-day break following midterms.

“Three days off? Woohoo!” Yui perked up instantly, her spirits lifted.

“By the way, the Dengeki Comic Con’s schedule has shifted slightly this year—it’ll now be on October 30th and 31st. There’s also a Halloween event on the 31st,” Yukino noted.

“There’s such good news?!”

Yui’s excitement soared, and the dread brought by the double whammy of exams and sports meet vanished instantly.

“Too bad Kotomi’s not interested in going…”

Mashiro, still leisurely packing her bag, brightened at the mention of the comic convention but sighed upon remembering Kotomi’s lack of interest.

“Yeah, she did mention that she’s been to a few conventions before and didn’t find them interesting. That’s probably why she doesn’t want to go again.”

Yui had asked Kotomi about it before and received a straightforward answer: Kotomi found conventions dull after a few visits. Even though she hadn’t attended the Dengeki Con specifically, she assumed it wouldn’t be much different from other conventions, so she saw no point in going.

“That’s because Kotomi’s just a little homebody penguin,” Megumi said with a soft chuckle.

A penguin?

Hearing this nickname for the first time, Yukino and Mashiro tilted their heads in confusion. The image of a penguin and Kotomi involuntarily popped into their minds.

It… kind of fit.

Yui, on the other hand, was used to this nickname. Her younger sister, Yuka, always called Kotomi “Penguin Onee-san” whenever she visited.

Initially, Yui had tried to stop Yuka from using such a nickname, thinking it was disrespectful. But when Kotomi said she liked it, Yui let it slide.

From then on, Yuka became even more enthusiastic about the nickname, excitedly asking things like, “Did Penguin Onee-san come by today?”

Or, during family dinners, she’d suddenly pipe up: “Mom, Onee-chan, who do you think should marry Penguin Onee-san? You two should hurry up and bring her home!”

At moments like these, Yui and her mother would exchange knowing looks and immediately agree:

“Mom, I’m bored.”

“Yeah, let’s beat up Yuka.”

What followed was usually a cacophony of Yuka’s exaggerated wails.

Kotomi dashed to the art clubroom, quickly greeted her fellow members, and rushed to her easel. She pulled off the covering cloth, adjusted her paints and brushes, and arranged her tools for maximum efficiency.

Unaware of the looming midterms, sports meet, and comic convention, Kotomi fully immersed herself in her painting.

When Mashiro finally arrived, she saw Kotomi engrossed in her work, her focus so intense it was as if the rest of the world had faded away.

Even for me, it’s hard to get into that kind of state so quickly, Mashiro thought, feeling a twinge of apprehension.

Her usual confidence in her own work wavered slightly as she watched Kotomi paint, and for the first time, Mashiro felt… nervous.

From a young age, Mashiro Shiina had always followed her own path when it came to painting.

—No interactions with others, no intrusions into anyone’s world—just quietly painting her own works.

From the first time she picked up a brush to the countless hours spent in art studios across England, Mashiro preferred to sit alone at her easel.

When replicating masterpieces, she poured her utmost effort into rendering flawless reproductions. When creating originals, she used her brush to meticulously capture the ideas in her mind.

Over time, Mashiro realized that regardless of what she painted or how much effort she invested, her works’ elegance and grandeur consistently elicited waves of admiration from those who viewed them.

The praise never ceased.

It didn’t matter what Mashiro painted or how difficult the competition she entered was—she always emerged victorious, showered with compliments.

Gradually, she began to think of such accolades as normal, inevitable.

But one day, as she sat in her English studio painting as usual, her concentration faltered. Her gaze wandered from her canvas, landing on the room around her.

The studio was filled with peers her age, yet no one was nearby.

She sat at the very center, surrounded by a conspicuous emptiness.

It was as if her talent intimidated them, pushing everyone away. The other students kept their heads down, avoiding even a glimpse of Mashiro’s work for fear it might shatter their passion and resolve for painting.

This studio, one of the most prestigious in England, had once been bustling with aspiring artists. Wealthy families sent their children here to study art, hoping to nurture prodigious talents.

But after Mashiro arrived, the number of students in the studio dwindled. Some, after seeing her work a few times, abandoned painting altogether.

By the end, only two people remained in the studio: Mashiro Shiina and Rita Ainsworth, a childhood companion who had grown up painting alongside her in their grandfather’s studio.

Mashiro couldn’t help but wonder—why had so many left? Was it because of her?

Loneliness became her companion, yet it paved a smooth path in her artistic journey.

Now, for the first time, Mashiro found herself genuinely observing Kotomi as she painted. She hadn’t even glanced at Kotomi’s canvas yet, but an inexplicable nervousness began to swell within her.

Could Kotomi surpass me in painting? Mashiro’s thoughts drifted as she stared at Kotomi, her heartbeat quickening.

“Mashiro, why are you just standing there? Is something wrong?”

The question came from Hibiki Naegi, who had arrived at the art club moments later. Spotting Mashiro frozen in place, he approached out of curiosity.

Snapping out of her trance, Mashiro shook her head. “No, nothing’s wrong.”

She returned to her seat and resumed working on her painting. Yet today, Mashiro seemed uncharacteristically distracted. Every so often, her eyes darted up from behind her canvas, stealing glances at Kotomi.

Meanwhile, Chihiro Sengoku had arrived at the art club for her usual “inspection rounds” to maintain her presence as an advisor. This time, determined not to disturb the members hard at work on their paintings, she opted to sneak in through the back door.

Just as her hand touched the doorknob, she caught sight of Mashiro’s peculiar behavior.

Crouching slightly, Chihiro observed from the back door, her eyes narrowing with curiosity.

For a good ten minutes, she watched Mashiro’s unusual behavior before a realization struck her like a bolt of lightning.

“Mashiro’s… spying on Kotomi?! Wait, that can’t be right. Nothing ever distracts her when she’s painting. Unless…”

Chihiro quietly tiptoed to the main door to peek at Kotomi. She saw Kotomi seated before her easel, her gaze tender and her movements gentle, as though caressing her painting with every stroke. Her eyes shimmered with a softness that seemed reserved for something—or someone—precious.

Chihiro’s curiosity deepened.

What on earth is Kotomi painting?

Turning back to Mashiro, Chihiro’s eyes widened in shock. A sudden realization flashed in her mind, leaving her almost speechless.

Without even stepping into the art clubroom, Chihiro’s knees felt weak as she walked away, muttering to herself.

In the teachers’ office, Shizuka Hiratsuka was visibly irritated, her silver teeth clenched as her fingers furiously danced across the thin-film keyboard. She was working on her monthly teaching report, summarizing her duties and her class’s progress over the past month.

Although the report wasn’t due until the end of the month, Shizuka decided to start early. Other than having a student as extraordinary as Izumi Kotomi and seeing Yui Yuigahama emerge as a dark horse in the recent monthly exams, she didn’t feel there was much else worth summarizing.

Still, she figured it was better to get ahead.

Every month, without fail, Shizuka found herself pulling all-nighters to finish the report on time. It didn’t help that, despite being a Japanese language teacher and having a mother who was a light novel editor, she herself had zero talent for writing.

Glancing at the word count at the bottom of the screen, Shizuka groaned. Despite what felt like hours of writing, she’d barely reached 577 words.

Maybe I’m just a slow typist, she thought grimly, removing her hands from the keyboard with a heavy sigh. At least she had been smart enough to start early. Otherwise, the end of the month would have seen her scrambling in a panic again.

Staying up late is bad for my skin… Even if I’m single, I still need to take care of myself. This mantra was one Shizuka often repeated to herself.

“That’s enough for today,” she muttered, closing the document and grabbing her bag. No overtime pay anyway. I’ll just add a few hundred words every day after school and finish it in time. I might even be the first teacher to hand it in this month.

The thought brought a sly smile to her face.

In the past, she might have struggled to find content for her report, but things were different now. With Kotomi in her class, Shizuka could easily spend a thousand words singing her praises alone.

Feeling triumphant, Shizuka stood to leave. Just as she was about to invite Chihiro to head home together, she noticed her colleague leaning against the window.

Chihiro gazed deeply out the window, her expression contemplative.

The view outside, however, was nothing but a blank cement wall.

“This is the first time I’ve seen someone contemplate life while staring at a wall,” Shizuka teased as she approached.

Chihiro shook her head with a sigh, raising her left hand as if holding an invisible cigarette. If smoking weren’t banned in the office, she might have lit one by now.

“I’m lamenting the passage of time. Where has it all gone? The kids back home have grown up so fast.”

“Kids? You’ve been single since birth. Where on earth did you get kids—did they fall from the sky or something?” Shizuka retorted mercilessly.

Chihiro glared at her, clutching her metaphorical arrow-pierced chest. “I meant my cousin. Mashiro. She’s grown up so much…”

“Oh, Mashiro? Yeah, she’s in high school now. Definitely growing up.”

“Exactly. She’s growing up and starting to have secrets. I’m beginning to suspect…” Chihiro’s voice trailed off as her expression turned grave, “…that she might be dating someone.”

“What?!”

The bombshell left Shizuka reeling, nearly causing her to stumble.

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep