Two weeks later.

Standing at the back of the classroom, Naruse touched the wood plywood next to him and felt the texture of the paint with his fingertips.

He painted them one by one, and after two weeks, the paint had already solidified and dried, so he didn't have to worry about getting it on his hands or clothes.

It's been a week since the work of coloring the boards, and since there is nothing to do, he stays after school to help, and is now in charge of another part.

Naruse caresses the board, the outside of which is a bright pattern that he and Ito have painted together, while the other side of the face is filled with sound-absorbing material, that is, sound-insulating cotton.

Yesterday afternoon, the boys in Class C had tried to assemble a soundproof room, but after the actual experience, the soundproofing effect was not as good as expected.

Naruse also went in to experience it once, but I thought it was okay.

He tapped with his knuckles, and the striking plank made a muffled sound, "I can't hear the outside sound anymore, can I." ”

"It's not enough." Another boy next to him said, "Naruse didn't participate in the Tsugara Cultural Festival, but it was very lively, in other words, it was very noisy." ”

Naruse glanced at the few first-year boys beside him, although all of them had only entered Tsugaraka this year, but most of them had already come to Tsugao to experience it when they were in middle school.

"It's so soundproof that you can't scream inside and you can't hear it outside!" Another boy emphasized.

Naruse smiled, this is what he stayed to help today - on the basis of the original, add a thicker and more expensive layer of soundproof cotton with better effect.

At the moment, the new soundproofing cotton has not yet arrived, and the rest of the work cannot be carried out, so they can only wait.

The cultural festival at the end of September is getting closer and closer, and there are less than two weeks left, and preparations are in full swing. The boys were busy assembling soundproof rooms, while the girls were working on things like decorating and publicizing, such as cutting colorful paper and drawing posters.

Looking at the girls chatting in front of the classroom while busy, Naruse couldn't help but think of Naoko, who was staying at the handicraft club at this time.

Two weeks ago, at the Hakaino Cafe outside Tsudaka, she took the initiative to reveal to him for the first time her plight at the handicraft club.

It was also at that time that she said that she would solve the problem on her own.

Naruse didn't know if Naoko had noticed the investigation he was secretly conducting, but since it was her request, he hadn't been to the handicraft department since then.

"It's slow—"

Compared to the girls in the front row of the classroom, the boys were idle and a little impatient.

"It's all this time, haven't you sent it yet, let's call again."

"I contacted just now, and I said that I had already arrived at Shinteramachi."

"Isn't that just around the corner, can't you find Tsugar's location?"

"What a stupid thing, the owner of that shop is a graduate of Tsugarka...... Hmm, the call came. ”

The person who contacted the store was Koji Tanaka, the executive member of the Class C Cultural Festival, and when he received a phone call, it was really from there.

"Hey...... Has it arrived? Can't get in? It shouldn't be...... I know. ”

Hanging up the phone, he greeted the boy: "The soundproof cotton has been delivered, but the car from the store is not allowed to enter the school, who will go with me to get it?" ”

Idle is also idle, Naruse was the first to respond.

"Another boy...... Tokawa, come with us. ”

Together with Koji Tanaka, the three boys went downstairs together.

Leaving the main building, bypassing the circular flower bed in front of the teaching building, the three of them walked towards the school gate.

The road was bustling, and although it was close to the cultural festival, there were many students who left directly after school.

Naruse unconsciously looked for a familiar figure in it, and Koji Tanaka suddenly spoke:

"Oops...... Such a big volume, three people may not be able to take it. ”

Following his line of sight, Naruse also saw two middle-aged people standing at the school gate.

One of them was holding a large roll of black soundproof cotton, which looked much taller than the pickup truck next to him.

And the high-grade soundproof cotton that almost squeezed out the budget of the cultural festival in Class C, they ordered a total of six volumes.

"Not really."

Another boy, Tagato Tokawa, complained, "I don't want to drag that thing around twice." ”

"It's not easy to take, but the portion shouldn't be too heavy, and it shouldn't be a problem for everyone to carry two rolls downstairs." Naruse looked over there and said, "I'll go up first, and then call a few people down, and I'll be able to move it all at once." ”

Koji Tanaka agreed, and Oga Tokawa didn't say anything.

The people in the store also noticed the three boys who came to the door, recognized the person who came to the door to place the order, and raised their hands to beckon.

"Naruse is really reliable."

On the way over, Koji Tanaka looked at Naruse again, "And I feel that the nearest Naruse is also better than when school first started." ”

"That's right."

Tokawa nodded his head, especially agreeing with the last half of his sentence.

"How to put it, although Naruse didn't have much of a shelf when he started school, there was always a feeling of being on top...... Just a little bit. ”

"Is that so?"

Naruse smiled, "I didn't even notice it myself." ”

This is a lie.

But it's not entirely false.

Before being pointed out by Morimi Kazuha, he really didn't notice that the attitude shown by his occasional unconscious behavior would make him seem a little high-minded...... Or rather, a little pride.

These are her exact words.

Naruse still remembers that one day two weeks ago, he went to the supermarket with Naoko and Morimi to buy shopping, and casually mentioned what she wanted to say that morning.

Morimi didn't deny this, "Do you care? ”

"I didn't really care, almost to the extent of what I had for dinner today."

"I feel the same way, so I've forgotten what I wanted to say this morning."

“……”

But after a turn in front of the shelves, she told him anyway.

"That's it."

"I hope you can make it clearer."

"I obviously care, but I can't let it go, so I can only pretend not to care, because I am a 'city person' who has been to a big city and has a wider range of knowledge—this is just my irresponsible conjecture about the reason, if it is not right, I should not have heard it. Narose's actual performance gives people the impression that you seem to be a little proud of yourself. ”

“…… Just say the last sentence and that's it. ”

"But don't worry, Naruse's 'symptoms' are not very obvious, and the frequency of triggering is not high, and it can even be understood that my side is too sensitive, because most high school students are like this, regardless of gender."

Although he didn't directly accept her somewhat rude opinion before meeting Mori at the time, after that, Naruse often looked at himself, consciously or unconsciously;

And in this case, although in his opinion, he just said less casual emotion, or said two more useless nonsense, but in the eyes of others, it is "Naruse-san has become easier to get along with"......

Back to the present.

The three of them came to the gate of Tsu High School, Koji Tanaka docked with the people in the store, and Naruse and Tsuchikawa Taiga each carried a roll of soundproof cotton and tested the weight.

"It's okay, it's not that heavy, it's about the same as last time." Tokawa said.

Naruse picked up another roll of soundproof cotton, "It feels like the three of us can move back." ”

"Well, it's not heavy, but it's not easy to balance......

After Tanaka's handover, the three of them carried six rolls of soundproof cotton, and finally did not stop, and staggered back to the C class classroom.

"Don't sit still, come and help. Cut out a part of it first and try the effect. ”

"If it doesn't work, can I still return it? Then again, shouldn't you buy a roll first to try the results before making a decision? ”

"You know the, there's a discount for buying six rolls."

"That's because as soon as you go to the store, you shout that you want to buy six rolls of soundproof cotton!"

The boys in class C are a little broken-mouthed, and their mouths won't be idle even if they're busy, and Naruse is holding a cutting knife and is a little headache from the noise.

The same goes for the boy who is holding a marker and marking a line on the soundproof cotton.

"The line drawing is slanted, right?"

"Ah...... Hey, you're arguing! ”

The fine soundproof cotton can't stop the sharp blade, and you can feel a little resistance when cutting, and at the same time it is very smooth, which makes people feel an inexplicable pleasure.

Seven or eight pieces of soundproof cotton were cut in one go, and Naruse was holding a knife, still a little unsatisfied.

After pasting a small piece of soundproofing cotton cut into a wooden board that had been filled with a layer of soundproofing cotton, and after all sides were pasted, Naruse felt that the interior space was a little narrower.

"I'll go in and try it."

Koji Tanaka went into the soundproof room and asked the other boy to close the door on the other side, "You can say whatever you want, the louder the better." ”

With that, he closed the door shut.

Sensing that the boys were going to start making noise, Naruse quickly stayed away and sat down on Naoko's seat next to him.

"Hey—"

"Hey—can you hear me—"

"Tian, Zhong, Da, Bai, Idiot-"

The girls in the front row of the classroom turned their heads one after another, frowning at the noise.

After shouting for a while, the boys were a little skeptical.

"Can't really hear at all?"

"It can't be pretended."

"Possibly. If you buy such an expensive soundproof cotton and it doesn't work, how shameful it is. ”

"Anyway, Tanaka insisted on buying soundproof cotton at this price, wouldn't he have taken a kickback at the store?"

"Eat kickbacks! Eat rebates—"

"Really?"

"Shh......h It's a joke, of course, just to see if he really can't hear it. ”

It was another moment before Tanaka came out of the soundproof room, his face delighted.

"I really can't hear anything, you guys come in and try it too!"

It seems to work really well.

Naruse also went in to try it, and the soundproof room was so quiet that he suspected that as soon as he entered, everyone outside would go home.

"Okay, that's it. Pack the rest. ”

The next morning.

After explaining some things, when Nakahara Xue left, he called Koji Tanaka out alone.

"That, Tanaka-san, someone reported that you took a lot of kickbacks when you procured items for the cultural festival......"

"Huh?"

"There are a lot of girls who have heard it, and they can all testify......"

"Wait a minute—"