Why Not Make Both Twins 'Girlfriends'?-Chapter 12Volume 2 .3 - Archimedes Tears...?

Archimedes’ Tears…? 3

Meanwhile, inside the shutter warehouse, Sakuto and Hikari had begun to move towards their escape.

“Hikari, how do we get out of here?”

“If there’s something we can use──”

──Hikari’s thoughts expanded to encompass the entire shutter warehouse.

Trying to open the shutter with bare hands was futile. On the other hand, there was a window high up that seemed reachable with a base, but it didn’t look like one could get through it.

The shutter seemed to be the only exit after all.

So, how to open this shutter in the current situation──

“Sakuto, do you understand the structure of this shutter?”

“Wait──”

Sakuto, having received the baton from Hikari, pulled from his memory information he had seen on a TV news segment called ‘Home Troubleshooting Corner’ that aired in the evening.

The reason the shutter wouldn’t open──

“──It might be due to wear and tear on the pulley or shaft.”

The structure of the shutter involved a shaft, similar to a clothesline pole, with a pulley attached to it.

The slats that block the entrance are rolled up at the top, allowing it to open and close.

“Hikari, maybe the pulley and shaft are worn out and that’s why it won’t open.”

“Where is the pulley located?”

“At two places on the left and right.”

And the baton was passed back.

“──I see! Archimedes!”

With an idea in mind, Hikari started gathering things that could be used inside the warehouse.

Bases were found quickly—two red and white ones used by the leaders of cheer squads.

There were several long iron rods leaning against the wall. These were crowbars, used to make holes before driving stakes into the ground.

Two of these were taken.

Now they had the tools. And there were two of them.

Next, they placed the bases in front of the left and right sides of the shutter.

They placed an iron rod on each base, with one end under the shutter and the other end to apply their weight.

Depending on the position of the fulcrum and the point of effort, they should be able to lift even the heaviest objects.

──In other words, the principle of the lever.

It’s a simple principle learned in elementary school, but its origins go back to around 250 BC.

Archimedes of ancient Greece was a first-class scientist of classical antiquity, renowned not only for the principle of the lever but also for the principle of buoyancy, the precursor to integral calculus with methods for calculating the area of parabolic sections and spheres, and the invention of the water screw, among other achievements in various fields.

With the help of such a genius from the past, Hikari had found a way to escape──

“If we both apply force to the pulley parts on the left and right at the same time and push straight up, it might move!”

“Alright! Then, we just need to create a gap big enough for the iron bar to fit, right?”

“Yes, please!”

──However.

“Ugh… it’s heavier than I thought…!”

If we could just get the iron bar under the shutter, it seems like we might manage somehow, but the shutter isn’t giving even the slightest gap.

Hikari tries to help, but even with the two of them, it doesn’t seem like it will budge.

──At that moment.

『Hikari! Are you there!?』

Matori rushed over.

“That voice, it’s Matori-senpai…!”

“I’m here too! Matori-senpai, please help us!”

『Understood! What should I do!?』

Hikari shouted instructions to Matori with a loud voice.

“Senpai, please lift the shutter! Even a small gap will do!”

『Got it! Leave it to me!』

Sakuto, conscious of the time, shouted through the shutter.

“Do we have time before the broadcast starts!?”

『Three minutes left!』

Regaining their focus, Matori and the others tried to lift the shutter.

『What the—!? It’s stuck───!』

Thanks to the combined strength of the three, the light leaking from the gap between the shutter and the concrete began to widen.

Just a little more──

“It’s lifting a bit! Hikari, now is the time──!?”

That moment of carelessness proved costly.

The shutter they were pushing up began to close again──

──Clang!

But, for some reason, it didn’t close, and the movement of the shutter stopped.

Updated from freewёbnoνel.com.

Something black was wedged between the shutter and the concrete. Sakuto and Hikari realized what it was and couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

“This is Matori-senpai’s…”

“How could this happen…”

In the moment the shutter was about to close, Matori had jammed her cherished personal camera into the gap.

Crushed by the shutter, a cracking sound came from the camera.

“This is senpai’s precious…!?”

『I can always work more shifts! Hurry up! I want you to go to Hikari!』

“──!? ──Hikari, now’s our chance to put the bar in!”

“Right…!”

The metal pry bar was inserted into the gaps on both sides.

“Sakuto, on the count of three, push with all your might!”

“Yes! Ready──”

Sakuto and Hikari, along with Matori, try to lift with a lever from the center upwards.

Indeed, the combined strength of the three is transmitted to the shutter, which, despite catching and resisting, gradually begins to open.

It didn’t need to be fully opened. Sakuto and Hikari slip through the slightly opened gap and out of the building.

“Phew, we made it…”

Hikari collapses to the ground as if all her strength has left her.

Sakuto and Matori both exhaled a long ‘sigh’ in unison, but they knew their task wasn’t over yet.

“Come on, let’s keep going!”

“What about you, Matori-senpai?”

“I’ll go to the staff room and explain the situation. It looks like the shutter is broken.”

With a wry smile, Matori receives a bow from Sakuto and Hikari.

“Thank you so much, Matori-senpai!”

“We’re really grateful! We’ll make it up to you later!”

“Don’t worry about it. Now hurry up!”

Urged on by Matori’s bright smile, Sakuto and Hikari dash towards the small conference room.

──Left alone, Matori quietly picks up a camera.

She strokes the camera affectionately in her hand. She continues to press the power switch, but the cracked display remains dark and silent.

“Ah, I got a pun. A camera’s shutter broken by a shutter, how ironic. Lame──”

Drops of water fall onto the ground of the sports field, one by one.

“Sorry, KANON-chan… It must have hurt… I’m sorry… and thank you…”

***

Hikari, still in her gym clothes, stands in front of the small conference room with Sakuto. From inside, they can hear lively voices.

“It’s already started? We didn’t make it in time〜…”

Just as Hikari seems about to get downhearted, Sakuto flashes her a reassuring smile.

“No, it seems like we’re just in time──”

The two peek through the gap in the door of the small conference room.

They arrive just in time for the first self-introduction segment──

『Hikari-san, what are your thoughts on participating in the Newspaper Club’s activities?』

『For me… well, I’m not that emotionally invested, maybe even the opposite?』

『Hey wait, Hikari!? You should say something nice about the Newspaper Club!』

『Something nice? Hmm… it’s not that there aren’t any good points, but if you ask if there is, maybe there isn’t?』

『No, I’m telling you, Hikari! Say something positive───!』

『Ahahaha!』

The exchange between Hikari and Wakana, reminiscent of a comedic duo, was met with roaring laughter from the host, Ishizuka.

Ayaka, too, relaxed and showed her usual gentle and easygoing smile.

“Wha, Chii-chan!?”

Sitting there with a beaming smile was Chikage.

Chikage had let her hair down, which she usually tied up with a ribbon, and was wearing her uniform in a slightly disheveled fashion—that was indeed Chikage.

“It looks like Chikage was stalling for time until you arrived, Hikari. The atmosphere inside seems good too.”

“…they could have asked Wakana-chan or Ayaka-senpai to fill in for me.”

“Maybe things didn’t go as planned?”

“But it’s just reading the manuscript…”

“I think Matori-senpai mentioned it earlier, but Chikage really wants Hikari to appear too. Personally, I don’t think there’s a substitute for you, Hikari.”

Just reading the manuscript──even so, everyone, not just Sakuto, but also Chikage, Matori, and probably Wakana and Ayaka, understood that there was more to it than that.

Perhaps there was a meaning to it because it was Hikari──

“Do you think you’re not needed if Chikage is taking your place?”

Hikari shook her head vigorously from side to side with a ‘no’.

“I won’t run away anymore. I don’t want to run away. I’ve realized that everyone needs me. I feel like I’ve understood what’s truly important.”

Her expression as she spoke with such conviction was brighter and more radiant than ever before.

“I see…”

Sakuto let out a soft smile.

“Then, Hikari, off you go──!?”

Suddenly, Hikari approached him and pressed her lips against his.

It was a brief and light kiss, like an exchange of greetings that over in just a moment.

“Huhu! A kiss for good luck!”

“Here, we’re in the hallway…”

“That’s why I kept it light. After the broadcast… let’s do something more intense?”

Jokingly saying so, Hikari opened the door to the small conference room with a grin and confidently entered.

From inside, voices of surprise could be heard exclaiming, “Huuhhh───!?”

“Kept it light, huh…? Seriously…”

Sakuto remained standing in front of the small conference room for a while, his face showing an embarrassed smile, yet also one of relief.