211 — Exclusive Photographer?

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The dazzling summer sun beat down upon the school grounds.

As if clinging desperately to the heat of summer, the cries of cicadas echoed throughout the schoolyard.

“We swear that we will compete fairly and honorably, fighting until the very end.”

With the entire student body lined up on the field, the athletes’ oath was delivered from a small platform set up in front of them, officially marking the beginning of the school sports festival.

“First up, the girls have the long jump, and the boys have the high jump! Participants, come over here! Everyone else, head to the waiting tents!”

The PE representatives from each class raised their voices, directing the students around.

Amidst all the lively commotion, Haruto and Tomoya slowly made their way toward the waiting tent.

“That was a pretty ordinary athletes’ oath.”

Tomoya said it casually, and Haruto replied with an exasperated look.

“There’s nothing wrong with it being ordinary.”

“No, but since it’s the opening of the sports festival, shouldn’t it be something more spectacular?”

“What would a spectacular athletes’ oath even look like?”

“You know, those ones you occasionally see that go viral on social media.”

“Have there really been ones like that?”

As the two continued their trivial conversation, Ayaka and Saki caught up with them.

“It’s finally started. The sports festival, I mean. I’m nervous.”

Ayaka naturally moved right up beside Haruto, her tense voice betraying her nerves about the mixed relay.

Trying to ease her anxiety even a little, Haruto smiled gently.

“We’ve practiced a lot. I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

“Yeah. That’s true.”

Ayaka nodded earnestly. There was something resembling strong determination shining in her eyes.

In contrast to Ayaka’s fired-up attitude, Tomoya looked up at the clear blue sky.

“The mixed relay is the very last event, so we’ve still got plenty of time.”

With his usual laid-back attitude, he added, “Until then, let’s cheer for our class.”

Saki glanced at him and spoke up.

“Getting too nervous isn’t good, but being too relaxed isn’t good either.”

“True. In order to win our reward, we must achieve victory!”

“It's not a reward!”

Tomoya suddenly straightened up and struck a determined victory pose, prompting Saki to repeatedly smack him on the back.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding! But seriously, let’s give it our best shot and aim for the podium.”

Tomoya looked at Haruto with an unusually serious expression.

In response, Haruto gave a single firm nod.

“Yeah. Since we’re competing, let’s aim for first place.”

“Exactly. We’ve practiced so much. Right, Ayaka?”

“Yeah!”

After sharing their determination with one another, the group reached the waiting tent.

That was when Sato came running over.

“Otsuki! I’m going to take some amazing pictures of you today!”

He was holding a DSLR camera in both hands, his expression filled with determination.

“That's pretty impressive. Is it yours, Sato?”

“My dad’s into photography as a hobby. So I borrowed it from him!”

Sato also pulled a large lens out of the bag hanging from his shoulder.

“With this, I won’t miss a single moment! Whether you’re nearby or far away, I’ll be able to get perfect shots!”

“Whoa! What the heck is that? Is it a bazooka?”

Tomoya's excitement rose as he stared at the enormous lens Sato had pulled out.

“It’s a telephoto lens. No matter how far away Otsuki or Tojo-san are, I can capture them clearly!”

“Really? Can I take a look?”

Tomoya looked intensely interested, so Sato handed him the telephoto lens.

“It’s pretty expensive, though, so be careful with it.”

“Seriously? How much does this thing cost?”

“My dad told me it was 250,000 yen.” (~1572$)

“Wha—!? I-I’m giving it back.”

Faced with a price far higher than he'd expected, Tomoya returned the telephoto lens to Sato with slightly trembling hands.

Watching the exchange, Haruto became interested in the other lenses inside Sato’s bag.

“Hey, Sato. What about this slightly more compact lens?”

“That’s a prime lens. It lets you blur the background and stuff.”

“Oh, right. Smartphones have a camera function that does something like that.”

“This takes much better pictures than a smartphone. Oh! Tojo-san, could you stand over there for a second?”

“Huh? Here?”

Caught off guard by the sudden request, Ayaka hesitantly moved to the spot Sato indicated.

Meanwhile, Sato looked through the camera with the lens attached, making tiny adjustments to her position.

“Okay, now smile, Tojo-san.”

“L-Like this?”

Ayaka awkwardly raised the corners of her mouth.

Still looking through the camera, Sato repeatedly pressed the shutter.

“Yeah, yeah. That’s a really great smile. Come to think of it, Otsuki was bragging to us the other day about how Tojo-san has the cutest smile in the world.”

“Hey!”

Haruto immediately protested Sato’s blatant lie.

But Ayaka had heard every word.

“T-The cutest in the world? Fufu… Haruto, you’re exaggerating.”

Her cheeks faintly flushed, Ayaka smiled shyly, unable to completely hide how happy she was.

At that exact moment, Sato rapidly fired off several shots.

“Got it! I got a great one!”

Looking satisfied, Sato lowered the camera from his face and showed Haruto the LCD screen on the back.

“This is the background blur you get with a prime lens.”

“This is… amazing.”

Haruto couldn't help holding his breath at the quality of the photo.

Tomoya leaned over his shoulder and let out an impressed cry.

“Whoa! Ayaka looks like a model!”

With the background blurred, Ayaka's presence had taken on an almost dreamlike quality, making her bashful expression look several times cuter.

“Could I get a copy of this picture later?”

“Of course! I’ll edit all the pictures I take today on the computer at home, finish them up, and send them to you and Tojo-san!”

“Thanks.”

Haruto unconsciously held out his hand for a handshake.

Tomoya, meanwhile, kept marveling at the DSLR.

“Man, these DSLR cameras are insane.”

Seeing their reactions, Ayaka also came over to take a look at the picture.

“Wow! This is actually amazing!”

After Sato showed her the photo, Ayaka was practically at a loss for words while looking at herself.

Saki, who had been looking at it beside her, also praised him.

“Nice work, Sato-kun.”

“Thanks! With this, I’ll make sure to perfectly capture Otsuki and Tojo-san’s Love Relay in pictures!”

Sato gave them an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

Before long, several classmates gathered around him.

“Hey, Sato. Can you take some pictures of me looking awesome too?”

“Me too! Get some cool shots of me.”

“Sato-kun, does that camera make people look better?”

“Take some of me toooo!”

Everyone started making requests of Sato now that he had such a professional-looking camera.

“Sure! To capture the atmosphere, excitement, and energy of the sports festival, I’ll take pictures of everyone too, with Otsuki and Tojo-san at the center of it all!”

“So we’re the supporting cast!?”

One of the boys jokingly complained, poking fun at Sato’s unwavering dedication to Haruto and Ayaka.

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Finally a new chapter