There’s No Way A Side Character Like Me Could Be Popular, Right? - Volume 4 Chapter 24

Translated: Sei, MTL-sensei-tachi
Edited: Sei, Grammarly no Danna
Source: Syosetu

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24, Father-in-Law

?The day of the sports festival.
When I looked up at the sky, it was clear and cloudless.
Today is supposed to be a very hot day with high temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius.

In spite of such temperatures, I listened to the principal’s long speech, which I could only assume was trying to kill the physically weak students, and now, after the pledge of the athletes by the heads of each cheering squad, the competition finally began.

I immediately got in line to participate in the second event on the program, the 100 meters for second-year boys.
Looking around me, I could see that people were talking with others in the vicinity in a buoyant mood, but only around me no one spoke a word, a complete silent wake.
While I was feeling pretty awkward, I was too apologetic and prayed it would be my turn to run.

A few minutes passed, and finally it was my turn.
As I take my place at the start, I can feel the agitation of the students who are also running in the race in my hands, but I ignore it.
Take a deep breath, then concentrate and get into position.
Then the starting signal reaches my ears and I dash as fast as I can.

“Yuuji-kun, do your best!”

While running, I hear Kana’s voice and turn around.
I don’t have time to wave, but I respond with a glance.

“A, Ani, Ani… Ani—–!!! Aa–!! Hoaaa—!!!”

And this time I heard a wild voice that seemed to be extremely excited.
Not slowing down, I glanced over and saw Kai, waving his cheering flag, shouting enthusiastically.
Apparently, one of the students running at the same time as me is “Ani-san”.
Seeing that the dutiful Kai is abbreviating honorifics, he must be very excited.

The so-called Ani-san must be very well-liked, or is he a senpai of the soccer club? I was smiling, and I finished safely in first place.

After I finished my run, I was walking back to the tent where the guys from my own class were waiting for me after I caught my breath.

“Ara, Tomoki-kun.”

A woman’s voice reached my ears.
I turn my gaze in that direction and look at the owner of the voice.
There was Makiri-sensei, her hair pulled back in a ponytail, not in her usual neat suit but in a jersey that she wore to facilitate exercise.

“Hello”

I bowed, and Makiri-sensei laughed softly before she nodded.
Then she slowly opens her mouth.

“I watched you run the 100 meters. You are very fast.”

I was embarrassed and at a loss for words when she gave me an unusually straightforward compliment.

“T-Thank you…”

When I responded with a few words, Makiri-sensei looked at me with kindness in her eyes.
I was feeling very embarrassed,

“Do you think you will have a lot of fun at this year’s Sports Festival?”

She asked.
I remembered that I had skipped the sports festival last year, and I realized now that I had been worrying and troubling Makiri-sensei.

“I will try to enjoy it as much as I can.”

Surely, what I should do is not an apology.
With that in mind, I told Makiri-sensei how I would spend my time today.

After she heard my words, she nodded her head in satisfaction,

“That’s so. …Then, good luck today.”

She said,

“Yes”

I nodded, and Makiri-sensei walked away.
As I was about to walk to the tent again…,

“Ha, hareh…?”

I heard a dumb voice, not unlike Makiri-sensei’s during office hours, and I turned around.

“What’s wrong, Makiri-sensei?”

I ask Makiri-sensei, whose mouth is opening and closing like a goldfish, but she is so flustered that she only mumbles a small “ah, u……eh”.

I wondered what on earth she was looking at, and when I looked where she was looking, there was Kana and a nice middle-aged man who looked somewhat familiar.

The nice middle-aged man, who looked somewhat familiar, smiled at Kana and opened his mouth.

“Young lady. Earlier you seemed to be enthusiastically cheering for Yuuji-kun.”

Perhaps because there were not many people around them, the calm sound of their voices reached our ears from a short distance away.

“Eh… U-Uhm. Who are you…?”

Kana was upset by this nice middle-aged suspicious person and asked the obvious question.
The nice middle man looked as if he had been waiting for it, and then responded to Kana’s question.

“Me? I am Yuuji-kun’s father-in-law”

The nice middle man who confidently called himself my father was Sennojo-san, Makiri-sensei’s biological father.

?What is he doing, that person….
I was somewhat taken back, but instantly agreed that he was probably here to see if Makiri-sensei was doing well in the workplace.

Because that person is a doting parent…

Seeing Makiri-sensei turning bright red and trembling, and Sennojo-san smiling freshly, I was anxious to see how the sports festival would turn out, even though it had only just begun?.