Hard Times! Project: Plan Meeting

Part 1

Lunch Break

Miyamasuzaka Girls Academy

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Saki

Ugh, I’m starving~! Wonder what they’ve got at the cafeteria today.

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Emu

Ehehe, I can’t wait to eat! ♪

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Shiho

Ah, where do you guys wanna eat?

Since it’s sunny, why not the courtyard?

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Saki

Ooh, great idea! Count me in ♪

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Emu

Yippee ☆ Lunch party with everyone in the courtyard! This is gonna be sooo exciting ♪

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Saki

Ehehe, I know right? It’d be so nice if we could all go on the research study trip together too~♪

Oh yeah, do we get to know where we’re going today?

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Shiho

We just talked about it in LHR1 yesterday, so probably not yet.

Well, as long as it’s not too biased, the teacher said our preferences should go through, so I wouldn't worry much.

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Saki

That's true.....! I really hope we can all go together!

Courtyard

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Emu

Ehehe ☆ We found some wacky onigiri today!

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Saki

I got one too! The special ume onigiri ♪

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Shiho

The special ones have two pickled plums2 in them, right?

I figured you’d be able to tell just by looking….. but turns out, not so much.

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Saki

They were all the same size, so they totally looked identical.

But it felt like a treasure hunt, so I got super into picking mine!

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Emu

Me too, me too~! C’mon, let’s eat!

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Shiho

Yeah, yeah.

Alright then—let’s eat.

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Saki - Emu

Bon appétit~!

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Saki

Mmm, so good! This is totally living up to its "special" name ♪

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Shiho

…..Isn’t it just a normal ume onigiri, though?

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Emu

Ah! Yay ☆ My second plum just showed up ♪

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Shiho

…..Huh, I got two too. Looks like Otori and I got lucky.

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Saki

Wait, both of you got lucky!? No fair~!

Okay, then I’ll—!

Hmm? Still nothing..… Maybe if I eat from the other side?

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Shiho

I mean..… if you’ve eaten that much and still haven’t found it…...

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Saki

I-I just have to keep eating from this side! It’s gotta be in there!

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Emu

There’s still hope! Maybe it’s just hiding on the other end!

Don’t give up, Saki-chan~!

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Saki

Thanks, Emu-chan! Alright, I’m gonna find it for sure!

Nom, nom…..!

*silence*

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Saki

.......I ONLY GOT A PLAIN ONE~!

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Emu

Mr. Pickled Plum.....it's such a tragic thing to be single.....

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Saki

Gasp! Could this be..… a premonition—no, a plum-monition!?3

Oh nooo, what if I’m the only one whose request gets rejected?!

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Shiho

You’re overthinking it.

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Saki

But I’ve got a really bad feeling about this..…!

Maybe I should start, like, racking up my good karma or something?

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Shiho

Karma, you say......

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Emu

Hmm...… Oh, I know! How about helping someone in need?

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Saki

Someone in need…... Oh! I could be, like, a textbook fairy and save someone who forgot theirs!

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Shiho

Yeah, that works. Or, you know...… letting someone copy your homework.

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Saki

Ah! I see what’s happening here! Shiho-chan, you’re trying to fish for someone to copy that math homework we were given earlier from!

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Shiho

I literally didn’t say any of that.

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Emu

Saki-chan! I wanna go on that research project with all three of us too, so I’ll help out!

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Saki

Thanks a bunch!

Alright, time for me to start stacking up those karma points!

  1. "Learning Home Room" or "Long Homeroom", refers to a dedicated period in the school day where students gather in their homeroom class for activities not directly related to academic instruction, like announcements, group discussions, or administrative tasks; essentially, a longer version of a regular homeroom period.

  2. ume (umeboshi) is pickled plum

  3. Saki is making a pun here
    foreboding/premonition/etc. is 虫の知らせ (lit. can be understood as "an unseen force [虫] within your body giving you a warning [知らせ]") but she quickly changes to 梅の知らせ (梅 is plum)

Translation
Usagi
Proofreading
Hachiware
QA