"Hey, look! Look! Amamiya in Class B is really big, right?"
From the far side of the field, dirty talk floated over.
"Yeah, her body is amazing."
"I bet she runs like that on purpose to tease guys."
Ken looked toward the voices. Three boys stood near the fence, their eyes fixed on Iori as she ran, full of lewd stares.
This time, Ken could hear them clearly not because he was trying to eavesdrop, but because they did not even try to keep their voices down. Even when girls walking by gave them looks of disgust, the three boys did not stop.
Ken knew many boys at school liked Iori, because of her unparalleled beauty and figure. But he could not ignore those lewd stares and words.
"Those guys! Hey, Yuuichi..."
When Ken turned, he found Yuuichi Kondo hugging his knees, head down, silent. He must have heard the talk too, so why was he acting like this?
"Yuuichi, what are you doing? Didn't you hear what they said!?" Ken asked.
"But... there are three of them..." Yuuichi whispered.
Yuuichi was not the type to pick fights, nor was he strong. He knew he could not stand against those boys. Even so, Ken wished he would try to speak up for Iori, even if it looked weak.
"Tch." Ken clicked his tongue. It seemed Yuuichi's timid nature was even worse than he thought.
Still, as Iori's friend, Ken could not just stand by and ignore those guys.
"Iori, can you come here for a moment?" he called.
Hearing Ken's voice, Iori showed a bright smile and almost hopped over to him like a rabbit.
"What is it?" she asked.
She rested her hands on her knees, catching her breath. Up close, Iori looked even more stunning.
"Take a break. You've been running for a long time," Ken said.
"Okay, sure," she said, smiling as she sat down beside him.
Ken glanced toward the boys again. They were clearly glaring at him now. But compared to letting Iori suffer from their gossip, Ken did not care about that small amount of malice.
"Just wait!" one of them mouthed silently. Ken read his lips. This second run of school life already seemed harder than he expected.
"Hey, Yuuichi, you should go exercise too!" Iori called.
Hearing her push, Yuuichi had no choice but to nod. He stood up and walked to the field, still looking back at the two of them sitting under the tree.
"Do your best!"
"Do your best!" Ken and Iori called after him.
There was still time left before the class ended. Even after running and sweating a little, a nice scent drifted from Iori's side.
Ken wondered about it and looked at her.
"What is it, Ken? Do I have something on my face?" Iori asked with a bright smile as soon as she noticed his eyes.
"No, I was just thinking... why you smell so nice," Ken said before he could stop himself. He had been curious even in his first playthrough. Back then, after he got close to Iori, she would come to his house after school, and they would exercise until they sweated. Soon, his room held her sweet scent.
He once wondered: are pretty girls' sweat sweet too?
"Do you want to smell it?" Iori asked.
She blinked in surprise, then lifted her long black hair to show her white neck. Most girls would never let someone smell their sweat, but Iori did not seem to mind. Her red cheeks showed she cared a bit.
Ken was curious but pushed the feeling down. "No, it's fine. I was just joking," he said.
"Really? But I might take it as real, you know," she said, looking straight into his eyes.
Ken froze, but the school bell saved him. Iori looked at him a bit longer, then dropped her hair and stood up with a small, disappointed, "Too bad."
After a P.E. class like that, Ken could not focus on the rest of the lessons. Sleepy thoughts filled his head instead.