A Case in Which My House Is a Gathering Place for Girls - Chapter 36: Kanna, Going Up in Flames

The next day after school.

As expected, the explanation of the bazaar from Misuta-sensei’s mouth was explained in the morning, and in response, a meeting was held to discuss what to sell immediately in our class. Strangely enough, however, the air in the classroom was heavy for some reason. Asakura and Sasazuki also have mysterious faces.

“Hey, Wada. Isn’t the mood kind of bad for a discussion?”

I quietly asked my well-informed friend, who was sitting in front of me. Wada then took his smartphone out of his pocket, showed me a certain screen and muttered.

“This is a special article about Hanazono Kanna, which was uploaded shortly after noon, and this is the cause of the tension.”

The title of the article is “Why did you start a company in junior high school? The present and future of high school entrepreneur Hanazono Kanna.” It carefully describes her simple background, the introduction of products made by Kanna’s company, and her own thoughts on them. I was wondering what might be the cause of this.

“The problem is near the end, where she comments about school events. She was asked about the bazaar at the end of the month, and well… her answer was a bit off.”

Wada scratched his head. I continued reading and soon reached that section. Kanna had been looking forward to this event, so I found it hard to believe she would say anything strange.

“Amahashiritsu Academy will hold its annual bazaar in May, right? Will they sell their company’s products there?”

“No, I have no intention of selling my company’s products, including samples, at the bazaar. After all, it’s just for fun.”

I groaned and held my head in my hands as I looked at the accompanying photo of Kanna smiling. She had given flawless responses up until the very end, but her bad habit had slipped out at the last moment.

“Well, Hanazono-san is the president. So she has to consider things like material costs and labor expenses. Even free samples aren’t actually free to produce. But calling the bazaar just for fun is a bit much, don’t you think?”

I think Wada’s words are reasonable. While the article praised Kanna’s talents and business acumen, the comment section also contained negative remarks like, “Isn’t it weird to call a school event just for fun?”

Wada also said that it is true that many of our classmates are disillusioned after reading this article, and that the teachers are also confused about Kanna.

“This is what you’d call an internet backlash. Well, at least she’s not here to witness it firsthand.”

Wada shrugged his shoulders and let out a heavy sigh. Kanna is not here because she left early in the afternoon because she had work to do.

It is fortunate that she was not exposed to this difficult atmosphere, but it is also true that she should explain her true intentions as soon as possible in order to settle the situation.

I know that Kanna is looking forward to the bazaar. However, since it is known that I and Kanna are childhood friends, it is the punchline that seems to be protecting me from the explanation. Now, I don’t know what to do.

“Alright then, let’s start the class meeting about the bazaar that will be held at the end of this month!”

I was thinking by myself, and before I knew it, the class president was standing on the platform and the meeting began. The topic of discussion is whether to sell anything other than the items we talked about last night or in that case, what to sell─

“Why don’t we just bring the right things from home and do nothing else?”

“We don’t have time and we don’t have money. Even if we try to make something and sell it, it’s obvious that it’s going to be in the red.”

“I wish Hanazono-san had offered us a sample of the company. Well, it’s useless to ask people who don’t like school events.”

It is far from a meeting because men and women complain rather than express their opinions. Moreover, as far as I’ve heard, everyone seems to have relied on samples from Kanna’s company. Now that this expectation had been suddenly dashed, their frustration and disappointment were all mixed together.

“This is the perfect example of counting your chickens before they hatch.”

“Seriously, they’re being way too entitled.”

I could hear the murmur of Sasazuki and Asakura in the hustle and bustle of the class. I’m sure the two of them who listened to last night’s story must have guessed that the real intention was hidden behind the statement in the article. However, there is no contact with Kanna in the school to figure it out.

“T-then, for now, we’ll bring in the bazaar goods from each house! That’s all for today, the meeting adjourned!”

The color of disappointment oozes into the classroom. While everyone’s motivation is visibly declining, the class president, who can no longer stand the waste of time and silence, declares their dissolution with a twitching face.

Students slither out of the classroom with bags in their hands. I started high school a month and a half ago. I felt like I heard a big crack in the class already.

“Hey… is this really alright?”

I had never experienced such a tense atmosphere in my old school back in the countryside. This was far from any sense of unity.

“Well, things will work out somehow. Or maybe they won’t, who knows.”

In a somewhat resigned tone, Wada left the classroom to go to club activities. Does this case mean that the fire subsides and ends without incident? Or will the situation continue or worsen to a bad result?

“…I don’t know what’s going on.”

But bad premonitions tend to come true.

I received a message from Asakura saying that she was going to have a massage today, along with an angry stamp, so I wandered around the school until the end of the club activities and wasted time.

“What shall I do with the bazaar?”

Since I had just moved to the city, I didn’t have anything suitable to contribute. Asking my family to send something from back home didn’t seem like a viable option either.

I recalled something my former teacher, Katsuragi-sensei, once told me—moving your body can help clear your mind. So, I decided to put that advice into practice, but… it didn’t seem to do much good this time.

“Come to think of it… Katsuragi-sensei mentioned she was an alumna of this academy. Maybe I should ask her for advice later.”

After walking around for about three hours, this is the only conclusion I came to. No matter how much I have never experienced it, I feel sorry for myself.

The sun had set and it was time for club activities to end.

“Asakura must be angry…”

I glanced at my phone and saw a flood of furious messages from her saying, “Where the hell are you?! Don’t tell me you already went home!”

I groaned internally, knowing I was in trouble.

I hurried back to the classroom to grab my bag before heading to the clubroom. But just as I reached for the door—

“Don’t you think Hanazono-san’s getting a little full of herself?”

“Isn’t it because she’s the active JK? I guess all the praise is going to her head.”

“─Huh?”

As I put my hand on the door, I heard the girls chatting inside the classroom.