The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity (薫る花は凛と咲く)

Man, it's hot...

If it's this hot in May, summer's gonna kill me.

Rintaro, let's go to the staff room to get the AC turned on.

Sure.

Oh, man.

I need something fun to do or I'm gonna lose it.

The sports festival's this month!

Oh, right.

Man, I can't wait. Let's win this thing.

You two won't be able to take part in the sports festival.

THE FRAGRANT FLOWER BLOOMS WITH DIGNITY

Why just us?

Midterms are gonna be tougher this time. Fail, and you're off the fest for resits.

But you don't know for sure we'll fail this time.

Then, can you pull it off?

- Absolutely not! - Right?

We'll try our best, so give us some kind of reward!

If you make it to the fest and win, I'll treat you to ice cream!

Damn it. I love you, Tsuka!

This is bad, this is bad, this is bad.

How many hours a day am I gonna have to study?

I can't even focus for ten minutes straight.

Yeah, this is hopeless.

Saku, you gotta help me study!

- We're friends, right? - Not happening!

I busted my butt teaching you two last year, and you still got bad grades!

- This time's gonna be different! - Not a chance.

You gonna be okay, Rintaro?

I'm totally screwed.

Think you can teach me, Yorita?

Sorry. There's a lot I still don't get myself.

I'd prefer Saku joined, so maybe all of us...

Oh, I see how it is!

You really don't want us in the sports festival? Fine!

We'll study without you two.

Fine by me. Do whatever you want.

You don't mean that, Saku.

You bastard.

- Good luck. You two are gonna need it. - Oh, yeah?

It's our store's discount day, so why don't you invite Ms. Waguri?

It's been a while, and I'd love to see her.

True, she hasn't been by the shop lately.

I guess just because her family's rich doesn't mean she can throw money around.

To solve this equation,

we'll first need to rewrite it, so there's no linear term in X...

TODAY'S DISCOUNT DAY...

It's fine for me to text her, right?

Wait, does this message sound okay?

BA-DUMP, BA-DUMP, BA-DUMP...

TAP

In the formula we used, if B is...

Once the Meiji era began...

TODAY'S DISCOUNT DAY AT OUR SHOP WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME BY?

Can the girls over at Kikyo even use their phones at school?

KAORUKO WAGURI THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME!

I'M PRETTY BUSY THIS MONTH, SO I DON'T THINK I CAN MAKE IT...

UNDERSTOOD

Makes sense. She's got her own stuff going on.

Guess she's not coming, then.

Why do I feel so disappointed?

We're going to the library.

The school library doesn't have AC, so it gets boiling in there.

He's just trying to steer clear of Natsusawa, isn't he?

We're gonna pass without relying on Saku.

You don't have to be so stubborn.

All right, let's study.

Right.

I can't solve any of this.

Might be best to apologize to Natsusawa.

Seriously?

The only one who stuck it out and taught us last year

was Natsusawa, remember?

Look, I do feel bad, okay?

He helped us that much and we still failed.

We're gonna get ice cream together, right?

Natsusawa's just being stubborn.

You know he's looking forward to the sports festival.

Are you sure you're Rintaro?

We're gonna win this thing with Natsusawa and Yorita, right?

Bet they're studying back at school right now.

- I'll go check on them. - Gotcha.

Oh, and...

I'm looking forward to the fest because you're part of it too, Rintaro.

Gonna apologize real quick and bring them here, okay?

Okay.

- There's nowhere to sit. - True.

- Did he just give up his seat for us? - He did, right?

I didn't get to thank him.

MY BAD, LOST OUR SEATS

Hey, Kaoruko, do you get this one?

Kaoruko?

- You just plug it into this formula here. - Right, I see.

Oh, I get it!

You're a genius.

So when she said she was busy this month, it was because of her exams?

Well, it's not an elite school for nothing.

She must be studying a ton.

Are you doodling again?

Wait, is that supposed to be Ms. Kimura?

- And a giraffe next to her? - Nope, that's a cat I saw this morning.

So Ms. Waguri doodles?

Sure!

And the way she talks all casual is kind of refreshing.

You draw stuff like this a lot, don't you, Kaoruko?

Yep, when I need a breather.

Makes sense. Bet you need plenty of those.

You've gotta stay at the top of the class, after all.

But I'm the one who said I wanted to work towards that.

That's super impressive, Kaoruko.

Anyway, she's taking her sweet time, isn't she?

Yeah. I wonder how far she went.

Ms. Waguri is amazing.

She's insanely smart, even among the students at Kikyo.

Meanwhile, I'm a total failure at a dumb school.

Even after all the help I got from Natsusawa last year,

I still blew it.

At this rate, I'll never pass.

I'm looking forward to the fest because you're part of it too, Rintaro.

Rintaro.

Are you taking a nap here?

Ms. Waguri! Weren't you just inside the library?

I thought it was you, Rintaro!

It's been a while.

I thought I recognized you from behind and got curious, so I stepped out.

I was also feeling a bit hungry,

so I figured I might as well grab something to eat.

Right.

Oh, please have a seat.

Thank you.

You came here to study too, right, Rintaro?

I guess.

Oh, I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the discount day,

especially after you went out of your way to invite me.

Oh, no worries at all.

We do it every month anyway.

Then I'll try to make it next month.

I've got to save up enough from my part-time job before then.

You're rich, but you still work part-time?

What kind of impression do you have of me?

My family isn't actually rich.

I got into Kikyo on a scholarship.

So I can't afford to let my grades slip.

I've actually been top of my class for a while now.

Top of your class? No way.

But lately, I haven't been getting much sleep because of exam prep,

so I have to pinch myself nonstop during class to stay awake.

That's seriously impressive.

I managed to get into Kikyo despite coming from a regular family.

That's why I try to push myself harder than everyone else.

Why would you go so far?

I begged my father to let me attend Kikyo.

That's why I don't want to do anything to let him down.

When I started at Kikyo, something began to grow inside me.

A newfound pride.

The more time I spend with Ms. Waguri,

the more I realize how I've been looking at her through tinted glasses.

When did I become someone who treats others

the way I hated being treated?

I hate myself for it.

Ms. Waguri.

Would you mind teaching me?

I'm on track to fail again in the upcoming midterms, and it's bad.

But just this once, I can't afford to fail.

I don't want to get used to giving up anymore.

Just whenever you're free is fine.

Oh, but you probably don't have any free time, do you?

Here, take this.

I'll let you know as soon as I have some free time.

Let's do our best together for the exams!

Let's.

I've got to get back to my friends soon.

You mean the girl with the braids?

Yes, that's her.

There's another girl too.

She went to the convenience store and hasn't come back yet,

but maybe she's back now.

Kaoruko.

Who is that?

THE FRAGRANT FLOWER BLOOMS WITH DIGNITY