Up until Wednesday, it wasn't entirely smooth sailing.
In fact, on Monday night after Aoki returned to his apartment, he received a message from Kita Ikuyo.
Her message basically read:
She wasn't very confident in her singing, and although she really wanted to improve, she didn't know where or how to learn.
So after giving it some thought, she wanted to ask Aoki-senpai if he could spare some time to coach her.
While it was a bit of a hassle, Aoki clearly had no reason to say no.
The time they settled on was... a little odd.
Every day after 6 p.m. during summer vacation, for an hour or two.
Still, Kei didn't think too much of it and agreed.
After that, he didn't continue the chat with Kita.
Then, the time moved to Wednesday.
It was the first day of the final exams.
Unlike the past few days, when the entire school had been in full-on panic mode with everyone furiously cramming, today the atmosphere had noticeably relaxed.
After all, once these exams were over, summer vacation would officially begin—a whole month of it.
Everyone had already studied hard up to this point.
Now that the end was in sight, there didn't seem to be much point in stressing anymore.
The finals lasted for two days: Wednesday and Thursday.
Results would be announced on Friday, and the school would begin summer break on Saturday.
Wednesday's subjects were Japanese, Math, and Modern Social Studies.
And Thursday would cover the remaining subjects.
Aoki felt pretty confident about his performance.
All the questions were familiar, and he could answer them without much trouble.
Except for one history question he couldn't quite remember because the event took place so long ago.
That question—"Where did the Christian Ottomans first emerge?"
His answer: "Asia Minor."
Even though his memory was fuzzy, it turned out to be the correct answer.
And so, the two-day finals came to a close.
Friday's schedule was simple:
Morning, end-of-term cleaning and administrative wrap-up.
Afternoon, a school assembly in the auditorium to announce exam results.
It's worth noting—Yukinoshita Yukino didn't show up for the finals.
Kei didn't know the full story.
All he'd heard, from both Hikigaya and Miss Hiratsuka, was that something had come up at Yukinoshita's home, so she hadn't been at school for several days.
As for the whole "bet" thing between them... Kei wasn't particularly concerned.
At the time, his challenge had been more of a heat-of-the-moment response, something he said just to get under her skin.
Honestly, aside from being rivals, he never held any real grudge or opinion toward Yukinoshita Yukino.
Still, it was surprising.
Someone as principled as Yukinoshita, who always took her words seriously, not even informing him she'd be absent—especially considering the terms of their bet—it was strange.
But Kei didn't dwell on it.
They weren't that close, after all.
He had no reason—or right to pry into whatever was going on in her life.
Anyway, back to the main story.
Unsurprisingly, Kei ranked first in the second-year class.
During the assembly, he was called up on stage to receive praise from the principal and was awarded the top prize: an academic scholarship worth 800,000 yen.
However, he wouldn't be receiving the money immediately.
Maybe due to budget allocations or some other reason Kei didn't care to think about, the scholarship would only be deposited into his bank account at the start of the third semester.
A month's delay? Kei didn't mind.
And so, after wrapping up his responsibilities, having a brief chat with Miss Hiratsuka, and watching Komachi drag Hikigaya away, Kei's last day of school before summer break came to a quiet, peaceful end.
———————————————————————
Summer Vacation Begins
August 21st
The weather was just as hot and heavy as ever. Just standing under the sun made your head spin.
Shimokitazawa High had started summer break two days earlier than Kei's school, Shuchiin Private Academy.
Originally, Kei had planned for the girls in Kessoku Band to rest a few days before starting summer training.
But, unexpectedly, during a group chat the night before break started, the girls had all come to a unanimous decision:
———————————————————————
[Let's start practice on the very first day of summer vacation!]
———————————————————————
So now, it was around 2 p.m. on the first day of break, and Kei had arrived at the live house in Shimokitazawa—STARRY.
Though the scheduled meetup time was 2 p.m., the girls had all arrived earlier than him.
They hadn't started practicing yet, though.
Instead, they were gathered around a round table, deep in some sort of discussion.
Even Starry's manager, Seika, was around during this time—a rare sight.
As soon as Kei entered, Kita Ikuyo, who was facing the door, noticed him right away.
She raised her hand with a bright smile and called out:
"Ah—Aoki-senpai! Good afternoon! We were just talking about you!"
"Talking about me?"
Kei blinked, a little puzzled.
He returned the greeting, "Good afternoon, Kita-san," and offered polite nods to Seika and the others.
Then, curiosity getting the better of him, he asked:
"You were talking about me? What's there to talk about?"
"Lots, actually!" Kita Ikuyo nodded enthusiastically. "We were just talking about your grades! I had no idea you were the top student at Shuchiin High, Aoki-senpai!"
Nijika, who had also been part of the conversation earlier, chimed in.
"Yeah, that's what we were discussing."
Aoki pulled up a chair and sat at the round table, letting out a nonchalant "Oh."
Since both Kita and Bocchi-chan went to the same school as him, and the top student's name had been announced publicly, it made sense they'd find out.
Still... It would've been fine if they were talking behind his back, but talking about him in front of him felt... kind of awkward.
After Nijika's explanation and Aoki's nod, Kita suddenly changed the subject.
"By the way—Aoki-senpai, that girl who used to be number one before you, she didn't take the finals this time, right?"
"Yukinoshita Yukino?" Kei blinked.
He hadn't expected Kita to even know Yukinoshita. He replied with a hint of surprise, "Her family had some issues to deal with, so she missed the exams."
"I see... I remember she's in the same club as you, right? That one with the weird name and only three members... Oh—yeah, the Service Club!"
Hearing that, Nijika's expression subtly shifted.
Her eyes instinctively turned toward Aoki as soon as Kita mentioned "that senpai."
Meanwhile, Aoki raised a brow.
"Wait, Kita-san, how do you know all this?"
"I actually visited the Service Club once with Bocchi-chan. You weren't there at the time, though, so we just chatted briefly with that senpai and left," Kita explained, then turned to Bocchi.
"A-ah... Y-yeah, I—I went with Kita-san that time..." Bocchi stammered.
Kei looked between the two, recalling the mental image of Bocchi-chan frozen in fear under Yukinoshita's icy gaze.
He didn't dwell on why the two had visited the club—most likely, Kita had gotten curious about Kei's mysterious club and decided to go on an "exploration," dragging Bocchi along.
Another possibility was that they actually needed help, and came seeking the infamous "Service Club" that solved problems for others.
Either way, Kei gave a small nod, deciding not to overthink it.
"Alright, alright. That's enough talk about the Service Club. Let's switch gears—how about we start going over '打上花火' (Fireworks) now?"
Kita nodded in agreement, but Nijika still looked like she wanted to say something.
She glanced toward the counter, where her older sister—the manager of STARRY was typing away distractedly, clearly absorbed in her work.
Nearby, Ryo was resting her chin on one hand, staring off into space, and Bocchi was staring down at her lap.
None of them seemed particularly confused about anything, so Nijika blinked a few times and turned back to Kei.
She opened her mouth again, but her expression wavered, and hesitation crept in.
Then—before Nijika could speak—Kita piped up instead, "Are we gonna try a full-band practice or something? But, Aoki-senpai, doesn't STARRY not have a piano?"
"There's an electric keyboard in the back. It still works," said a voice suddenly.
It was Seika, the manager, who'd been silent behind the counter until now.
Her unexpected interjection startled the group for a moment.
Once she processed it, Kita quickly perked up, "Oh! Thanks, manager!"
But while the others moved on to the music discussion, Nijika—already hesitant felt her moment slip away entirely.
"Um, I—I'll go grab my drumsticks," she said, standing up abruptly.
Her voice faltered slightly as she turned to leave.
But before she could take a step, her motion was interrupted by the loud creak of the front door swinging open.
A girl forcefully pushed open the entrance of the live house, scanning the room like she was searching for someone.
Before Seika could even say "Sorry, we're not open yet," the girl's eyes locked onto Aoki.
Then, she pointed dramatically and shouted, "Bearer of the Seven Deadly Sins! Master of the Terminal Horizon! Tyrant of Wandering Realms… The Sealed One! I've finally found you!"
———————————————————————
Daily Uploads!
Unlock bonus chapters by reaching specific milestones with [300 Power Stone] votes!
Go to p-atreon.com/InsomniaTL to access more than 100+ advanced chapters and other works.