CH 169

I’m not capable of interacting with people in a way that allows me to approach people’s hearts like Yuuto.

Like Shizuku, I do not have the personality or appearance to be liked by everyone.

Nor does I have the overwhelming charisma to bring everyone to their knees like Kirasaka.

It is not that I have never wanted to obtain such a charisma.

But I have come to realize that it is not something I can obtain through hard work.

That does not mean that I deny people’s efforts.

If there is an answer at the end of the effort, there is no reason to stop it.

But I cannot see the slightest hope or even possibility beyond the efforts that were being made right in front of me.

As for the approach, it was not so bad.

But that’s not the case for the other party.

Shiraishi, who frowned disapprovingly at my comment, quickly looked away.

I made eye contact with Yuuto next to me, and Yuuto, perhaps sensing what was going on, called out to Shiraishi.

“Shiraishi, let’s take a break. You’ve been at it for hours today and you’re gonna lose a game even if you could’ve have won if you go on like that, okay?”

“That’s …um …understood.”

Trying to take a break in the living room, Yuuto casually escorts Shiraishi out of the room.

Alone in his room, Kirasaka looked down at the many games that were scattered.

“Did you have any near-misses?”

“A little …in the beginning, but they all tend to show her personality and weaken quickly in the second half. …She’s very competitive, and if you make a provocative move, even if she knows it’s a bait, she’ll take it head on.”

“Then she’s similar to Kirasaka in this regard.”

I said this in a teasing way, and she gave me a sharp look.

But as of right now I didn’t get a very scary impression.

There are other things to think about.

As Kirasaka said, it was Shiraishi who provoked her and brought her to the game, but she too must be a person who extremely hates to lose to others.

When it comes to a match, defeat is unacceptable to her.

That is why she wanted a rematch again.

The reason why she is challenging Kirasaka Rei again and again now is that she is making it a condition to join the student council, but before that, she is refusing to end up losing as Shiraishi Momiji.

Let me assure you, even if the current situation continued for another week, the result would be the same.

Even more so if we stick to the one-on-one matches.

No wonder she says she has memorized textbooks in the storage area of her brain, completely isolated from the surroundings.

In sports, too, she has no weakness, and in addition to that her genius brain can handle an opponent in most of sports by compensating for her talent.

This is why, by definition, she must seek other options than competition.

But she had to abandon that, and now she had been repeating the same thing everyday.

So I can assure you.

This method will not change the result.

At the moment, there is not much I can do other than watch the game.

While watching the game alone, I was thinking about other solutions than the game.

I explored several possibilities, but they were all difficult.

Psychological games were out of the question.

It was also true that I felt that a verbal solution was possible.

However, Shiraishi was too quick-witted to guess the pattern of the conversation.

As a result, she is extremely slow to adapt to situations that are contrary to her expectations.

If that happens, the outcome is obvious.

That is why there are few cards left to play.

First, it will not be resolved in the way Kirasaka wants it to be resolved.

Expecting a compromise through sympathy? Presenting the benefits of those three joining the student council?

All of these are already being attempted.

But that’s not going to happen, and that’s why we are where we are.

…Even saying it’s impossible here and calling it quits is no different from what we’ve done up until now.

At the very least, we must make an effort to change.

“Since I said I’m going to win the game, I have no intention of running away, but I hate fighting by cutting corners.”

“I know, because even Shizuku doesn’t cut any corners when it comes to a match.”

Picking up the phone placed near the letters left in a mess on the desk, I look back at the few emails I’ve received so far.

If there is any chance of changing Shiraishi’s mind, there are few choices left.

I look down at one text, a few messages back, and immediately check the time.

It was now past noon, so I might still make it if I drove there on time.

“Kirasaka …can you arrange a car for me?”

Kirasaka tilted her head to the side in surprise at these words.

We were driving to our destination in an air-conditioned car, sending silent respect to the boys who were running around outside full of energy in the disgusting heat of the summer.

There were three people in the car, me, Yuuto, and the driver.

Kirasaka, Shizuku, and Shiraishi were in the other car following right behind us.

The reason for the split up into two cars is simply because I felt uncomfortable in a car full of women and also because I wanted a place to talk with Yuuto alone.

“So, what are you doing, heading off to school in the summer holidays?”

“Well, I thought it would be most effective to have Shiraishi see it in person.”

The place of destination is Sakuranaoka Academy.

…During the summer break, Yuuto is right, I don’t stop by unless I have something to do, such as club activities, committee meetings, or student council meetings.

For those of us who don’t belong to any club activities, it is definitely a place we have no business at the moment.

Instead of answering Yuuto’s question, I show him the screen on my phone.

I feel a little bad for the person I’m talking to, but I decide that it’s easier than explaining things to him and it will be easier for Yuuto to understand.

After understanding what I was going to do, Yuuto asked a genuine question.

“I see. …Well, maybe it will help her change her mind a little. But why are you showing it to me?”

“I’m going to leave the rest to you because if I talked, it’s just going to sound flimsy.”

It’s hard for me to get the right words out of my mouth.

This is the right role for the right person, and that’s Ogiwara Yuuto-kun.

No, I’m really glad we’re friends.

I’ll send him an e-mail tonight saying, “We’re best friends!”

…He might get mad, so I’ll refrain.

The car passed through the main gate and pulled into the parking lot on campus, and we got out.

The same group of women who came out of the car next to us walked behind us, as if they don’t know why they came to the school.

We proceed through the campus, which is still bustling with the hustle and bustle of club activities, toward the school yard.

We pass a few students and who look back in surprise as they walk side by side, but we paid no attention to them now.

Without hesitation, I proceeded onward while the soccer team was just finishing up their practice and was walking up the stairs to leave the school grounds.

At the top of those stairs was Koizumi, dressed neatly in his uniform even though it was summer, sending the students off with a fresh voice.

“Good work! Please be careful of heat stroke.”

Just ask that one sentence.

I wonder if there was at the student council activity today.

“I wonder if there was any student council activity today?”

“No, there isn’t.”

This is not a student council activity.

This is genuinely something that Koizumi is doing of his own accord.

I had heard from the president via e-mail that Koizumi has been visiting the school and talking to students on all the days when club activities are being held since the summer vacation started.

When I heard about this, I thought that the election campaign had not started yet. but this seems to be the case every time since Koizumi joined the student council.

This is because Koizumi has always been thinking about the heavy responsibility of succeeding a great senior student, Akane Hiiragi, as the student council president, a responsibility that others may not understand.

He’s not as popular, well-known, or charismatic as the president.

So, in order to get his face and name known to as many people as possible, he always visits Sakuranaoka Academy, where club activities are very active, during the long vacations.

It’s diligent work, and honestly I can’t do it.

I am confident that somewhere along the way, I would fail because it would be too much trouble.

But in other words, his feelings for the student body president are that heavy.

That is why I wanted to show to Shiraishi.

I wanted to show her that there were seniors who were steadily working their way up the ladder while she was repeatedly competing against thin odds in order to realize her ideal student council.

I am not trying to say that Shiraishi’s methods are wrong.

It is just that she has more people to turn to.

There are seniors whom she is contesting for election.

Certainly Shiraishi’s motivation for applying for the student council and her message to all students would be simple and strongly supported.

But I can’t say for sure that it’s her own strength.

I will admit that Shiraishi Momiji has enough support to run for student council.

She does not know that Koizumi is a stronger opponent than Shiraishi thinks when it comes to a simple struggle as an individual.

The main reason why the president and Koizumi think Shiraishi is a threat as an opponent is because of the name recognition, popularity, and strong trust Shizuku, Kirasaka, and Yuuto have earned from the students.

I am talking like this in a big way, but I didn’t know that either.

I would never have known about them if I hadn’t moved up to the second year and didn’t have the relationships I have now.

I might not have even thought it was amazing even if I had seen it.

I might have dismissed it as a wasted effort.

It may be a crazy theory, but even I could have admired the sight of Koizumi in front of me.

I brought her here because I want to think that Shiraishi, who has joined the same student council and wants to make the school a better place, can’t possibly feel nothing towards him…

Yuuto walked up to Shiraishi, who was standing one step in front of us watching the scene in stunned amazement, and spoke to her in a gentle tone.

“I’m really glad you thought we were needed in the student body and recruited us, thank you. …but do you really need us?”

“…”

At these words, I thought I saw a slight unrest in Shiraishi, who should have responded like a model to similar words thrown at him many times before.

She clenched her fists and must have had something on her mind.

“No, if it’s necessary or not …it may be decided by the people around us, not us …But isn’t that the person Shiraishi really has to look at right now?”

Yuuto did not miss the slightest breath, the slightest reaction of her body, or the expression that clouded her face, and spoke a series of words that were convulsive, but in no way offensive.

“It’s not too late to ask us out after you beat him in the real sense of the word. Maybe that’s a choice you won’t regret later on.”

Seeing Yuuto’s smile as he said this, Shiraishi’s cheeks blushed slightly.

Then she turns around and looks at Shizuku and Kirasaka.

“If I could beat that man by my own strength alone, …would you join the student council with me?”

Shiraishi, who had been turned down many times before for similar words, asked anxiously.

But this time, Shizuku smiled and returned the words.

“Then, please tell me your story again.”

Next, Shiraishi waited quietly as if waiting for Kirasaka’s reply.

“…Next time, be prepared for a little fun and games.”

When Kirasaka stated this, she turned around and began to walk alone towards the car.

As Shizuku and Yuuto smiled at the sight of her, Shiraishi turned her body toward me for the last time.

Waiting to see what she would say, she told me nothing out of the ordinary.

“Shinra-senpai said he’ll help me, so please keep advising me tomorrow, okay?”

“…Advising? I’m not helping you, I’m just suggesting options. I don’t help directly.”

When I replied this to her, Shiraishi smiled without saying anything and looked at Koizumi again.

Perhaps she is seeing Koizumi in a different light than she did a short while ago.

I would like to think so.

As Yuuto, Shiraishi, and Shizuku started to head back to the cars, I looked up at the sky and sighed.

I wonder if this will make the situation a little better.

As I was asking myself this question, I saw a familiar figure in the school building through the glass.

<TL> : 1 more to go.