Chapter 10

Yesterday was a disaster.

It was really a disaster. I easily self destructed after all by saying「I like you」just like that.

Of course, I already prepared some excuses. I said that I like him as「the subject of human observation」in my hobby, and that he was up to my taste. I said that I never met someone like him before, so I don’t get bored talking to him.

I also said that I want to know a lot of things about senpai, even more and more.

It was supposed to be an excuse, but I got embarrassed while saying all of that, making me flustered.

I bit my tongue, my cheeks became a little bit hotter, and senpai being his usual self just averted his eyes from me, with his ears becoming red.

Uhn… As I thought, maybe I like that senpai in the girlish-like kind of meaning. Even though this is about me, I’m not really sure about it.

Anyway, with yesterday’s event, it has been decided that my interest in senpai as an observation target would be everlasting. That is the conclusion, the truth of the world.

Now then, I need to go to school today too.

I wonder what should I ask senpai today when I meet him?

＃　＃　＃

I was really surprised yesterday.

Kouhai-chan said something like her hobby is human observing, which I don’t really understand. Er, maybe I still understood until that part.

The problem is the next part. Suddenly, she whispered something like「I like you, you know?」, and I felt that my heart was about to leap out of my chest.

Like how my appearance is, of course I never confessed to anyone, or get confessed to by the opposite sex. It’s not like my appearance is into the the level that would make others feel discomfort while looking at my face, but I’m not a good-looking guy, and I also don’t have anything that will make one lean forward to the top of the caste. But since I can study well, my relationship with my classmates is not that bad.

It will be natural for that kind of me to feel surprised when someone suddenly said「I like you」to me directly, right?

Well, it seemed that what Kouhai-chan’s「like」meant was only as an observation target, though

Since she is the type of person who always set up a trap somewhere, she should be putting traps in these words too.

After thinking overnight, I thought of warning her that saying these kind of things to random men is no good.

However, I don’t have enough conversational skills to be able to naturally bring up「that kind of discussion」. That’s why, I decided that I will ask a「question」first today.

「Good morning♪」

She finally came.

「Yeah, morning.」

Well then, it would be good if she could accept the piece of my mind.

＊　＊　＊

…He’s normal. Even though yesterday something like that happened.

Maybe he really believed my excuses, and didn’t think of anything in particular?

「Hey. Can I ask the『question』first today?」

…So according to this senpai, there was nothing particular about yesterday’s incident. Rather, I felt somewhat relieved.

「We didn’t decide the order, right? I’m also not in a position to complain about it too.」

If I’m not wrong, 10 days had passed since I first had a conversation with senpai, huh.

I felt quite happy that he was willing to take control of the conversation now.

「Then, I won’t hold back. First, this is my『today’s question』.」

I listened to senpai’s words from my usual position. I wonder what kind of question would he ask me?

「Kouhai-chan, do you know all of the regulations in our high school?」

「Yes?」

Re… what? Restriction?

「It’s regulations, the school regulations. Ah, it is formally called『student council regulations』. Anyway, it is something you can read at the booklet when you first entered the school.」

Ah, so it’s school regulations?

「There’s no way I would remember something that troublesome, right?」

「Yeah. I thought that would be the case too.」

「Then, what’s with the school regulations?」

「It’s about the Article 51 of the student council regulations. 」

「I’m even more surprised that there are 51 articles in the school regulations.」

If it’s the constitution, maybe the regulations is on the side of the parliament?

「There’s even more, though… But anyway,『Article 51. The students in this school are not allowed to have intercouse with opposite gender.』」

「What’s with that regulation, it sounded like the rules at that kind of period where the mistake will result in severe punishment.」

「Our high school has a long history after all. I think all of the regulations had been inherited from a long time ago, maybe.」

「And then? Senpai will be that kind of thick headed person who thinks that everyone has to comply with such old regulations?」

「Isn’t your way of talking too harsh?」

Even though he didn’t seem like the assertive-kind of person in love affairs, I’m sure that he is not completely uninterested in it.

「Also, there’s one more reason.『Article 8. The president of the student council of this school should be selected from among the outstanding students with good grades and good attitude. They should always be conscious as all of the student’s role model.』」

Hee… So he meant that, eh?

「Student council president?」

「Don’t make a face questioning who it is! Even though I’m like this, I’m the student council president, okay? I already said it before, though!」

「Ufufu. Don’t worry, I remember.」

「No, you definitely forgot about it just now.」

「No way. After all, they put up the full name of the student council president on the high school homepage, so of course I will know.」

「Eh? Are you serious? They put up the name there? I didn’t know about that…」

This is the face of someone who really didn’t know about something. I did a great job.

「Anyway, senpai, so you completely memorized all of the school regulations? Rather than amazing, I think it’s more unpleasant, why are you wasting your brain capacity like that?」

「Don’t say it that plainly… I don’t completely memorized them. I just remember the outline of the contents, and then add some words to make them sound authentic. The people who would check them back are just a few anyway, so no one will notice.」

「Article 32」

「School’s opening and closing time.」

「Article 108」

「There’s no such thing.」

「Article 334」

「What now, it has nothin’ to do with Hanshin, oi!」1

＃　＃　＃

「And then, because you are the student council president, you want to make sure not to break the school regulations. Is that so?」

「That’s right. Even if nobody cares, I care anyway. Won’t you somehow be restless if you break them?」

「Senpai, you will be a good corporate slave in the future. Congratulations.」

「I don’t want to die from overwork. Stop it.」

I felt that recently, Kouhai-chan was pretty calm.

Rather than not pushing me off the cliff anymore, it’s like she became more suave, I think.

Now is also like that. If she is the person from five days ago, she would definitely make me say the last conclusion, take it up, and tease me with my own words.

I’m not sure whether she is currently planning something, or if she actually stopped planning anymore.

Kouhai-chan straightened up her body that was leaning on the train door, and stared at me.

What? What’s going on?

「But, senpai, it’s not like you don’t want to fall in love, right?」

「It’s not like I don’t want to, but I don’t think it’s something that’s worth so much to violate the school regulations.」

If this is a romance or love comedy novel, some people might feel quite happy to face that sort of rules from the start, but if it happens to my own self, it sounds like it would be quite annoying.

Fiction and reality are different after all.

Wait a minute.

…I just realized it now.

Since she corrected her gesture, I thought that she would ask something serious, so I just answered her honestly. But, Kouhai-chan hasn’t said『today’s question』. In other words, the main question will come from now on?

I was deceived? Maybe, I got screwed now?

「Hee. So it’s not like you don’t want to, eh.」

Kouhai-chan stuck out her tongue and licked her lips, then she threw me a question with a provocative smile.

「This is my『today’s question』. That school regulation, Article 51, have you ever wanted to change it before?」

Haha. Revising, huh.

There were times when I wondered what kind of rule is this. I also checked what should I do to be able to revise it. That’s why, if she asked me to answer, then…

「…It will be a lie if I say no.」

I have no choice but to answer with that.

＊　＊　＊

I see.

Well, so he also thought about it a little, huh.

「If we are talking about whether you can change it or not, you can, right?」

I’ll confirm it just in case.

「Nn? Yeah. It will be hell if there is a rule that can’t be changed after all.」

「Since it hasn’t been changed since a long time ago, then our current situation is hell, right?」

「That… might be true.」

「How can someone change it?」

「It would be pretty tough, okay? After passing the student council’s board meeting, getting the teachers’ approval, and having the approval from the majority of students, then it should become valid.」

The hurdle is pretty high, eh. Rather than difficult, it’s more like the arrangement will be troublesome.

Well, but then, it looks even more interesting with that.

Thinking so, I make a proposition to senpai.

「Senpai, do you want to change this stupid school regulations with me?」

―Senpai, let’s work hard on our first collaborative project together, okay?

The things I knew about my senpai⑩

As I thought, he was a terribly serious person.