CH 200

[There were 291 first-year and second-year students who came to school today, and 40 teachers for a total of 331 votes. As a result, Shinra-san received 167 votes, while Ogiwara-san received 163 votes and one blank invalid vote…]

As the school broadcast continued to announce the results of the election, I was filled with more relief than joy.

I was relieved that I had not disappointed the two people sitting beside me, and that I could happily present a report to the members of the student council who had cooperated with me.

All things considered, I was truly relieved.

“I’m going out for a while.”

I told them and got up.

In addition to the agreement to go to the student council office, there was someone else I needed to talk to.

The two of them nodded their heads without any signs to stop me.

I walked down the stairs from the rooftop and proceeded down the hallway, feeling twice as many stares from the students I passed than usual.

I called the president to let her know I would be late and waited for him at the spot he would surely pass by when he left the school.

I haven’t arranged a rendezvous or anything, but I’m sure he’ll pass by the entrance when he changes his shoes.

In fact, if he didn’t pass through, I might even ask him where he was returning from.

I just hope he doesn’t say something like, ‘out of the window’ or something…

The results of the election may have made the students less interested in the school, but one after another, they started to leave the school and go home.

And after about ten minutes of waiting, the person I’d been waiting for, Ogiwara Yuuto, showed up.

He had been hailed as the prince of the school, but there were no students behind him.

Whether he wanted to be alone or whether people around him had lost interest in him is a question I won’t ask this time.

My gaze meets with Yuuto’s, who has noticed that I have been waiting for him.

The student population was sparse, but he still attracts their gazes here.

Wordlessly, I proceeded down the pathway outside that led to the less populated area behind the gymnasium, and Yuuto followed silently.

I sat down on a bench originally used for resting during club activities, and after a short while, Yuuto sat there as well.

“Congratulations …on my loss.”

Before I could utter a word, Yuuto mumbles.

He looks a little disappointed, but he never breaks his smiling face.

I don’t want to boast about the result of the game or give my opinion about where the victory or defeat was decided.

I just wanted to say what I was told and what I needed to say to him.

“Kaede told me that …you don’t have any emotional support.”

“Kaede-chan?”

As an older brother, I should probably say this now because it’s the first time I’ve understood the differences between me and Yuuto through my sister’s words.

There are some things we can understand only because we are in a situation where we both accept the consequences.

“You always care too much about others, …and I don’t deny that you want to meet the expectations of those around you, but sometimes you need to loosen up those shoulders.”

“…”

“You may smile all the time and act like you don’t care, but without support, it’s easy for people to fall.”

Because they are outstanding and difficult to be understood by others, I believe that emotional support is essential for them.

Yuuto may be supportive to those around him, but does his own support exist?

Fortunately, I have some people nearby to support me.

Shizuku, Kirasaka, Kaede, President, and everyone in the student council.

But, when I looked behind Yuuto, there was no one standing there.

Even if they were supporting themselves, they would easily turn their backs and walk away.

So when I met him at the elevator entrance, there was no one behind him.

Even if he refused them, if they surely had the desire to support Yuuto, they would have followed him even so.

Well, maybe it’s just an assumption on my part…

Anyway, that’s all I wanted to say, so I quickly got up off my back and walked away from the place.

Just before I passed by Yuuto and his figure was completely hidden, Yuuto said as if muttering to himself.

“Total defeat…”

“…”

I immediately understood that the muttering did not mean the numerical result.

I think he meant to say that he had lost in terms of feelings from the beginning of the campaign.

It would be easy to be a friend here and offer words of comfort, but I’m sure that’s not what he’s looking for.

“I’m glad… I was the first to do so.”

As far as I know, this is the first time Ogiwara Yuuto took a game seriously and experienced defeat.

He had always said he was serious, but he had always shown some kind of composure, but this time he lost without showing any signs of it.

I myself may have had a feeling somewhere in my heart that I did not want to see Yuuto lose to someone else.

That is why I said those words to him without thinking about it.

The club activities had started and Yuuto was left alone at the back of the gymnasium, where it was getting noisy, when he heard footsteps approaching him.

When Yuuto looked up and when he saw the figure, his eyes widened.

“President…”

Akane Hiiragi, who should have been waiting for Minato in the student council room, was standing there.

The first thing that she did was to take out a small piece of paper from her pocket and without saying a word, offered it to Yuuto.

“This is…?”

“This time’s anonymous ballot.”

Handing the unmarked slip to Yuuto, Akane told him without sitting on the bench.

“I’ve seen a little bit of Shinra’s writing in the student council, and I can recognize his handwriting. …I looked over all the ballots myself and didn’t see anything that looked like his handwriting, so that’s probably Shinra’s ballot.”

Yuuto could not understand what that meant.

That is why he turned his eyes to Akane as if seeking the answer to that question.

Akane did not meet his gaze with her own, but simply looked straight ahead and said.

“He is really difficult to understand. Either he simply didn’t want to write his name, …or he couldn’t decide between you and himself, it’s up to you to decide.”

Akane took her steps in the direction Minato had left, and left Yuuto, who was sitting with her head down, with a slightly happy expression.

“Just because someone gets along with you and holds your hand doesn’t make them your friend. …You’ve found a good friend, Ogiwara.”

Seeing his senpai pass by as if nothing had happened after saying that, a real smile comes to his face, instead of the usual one for the sake of mending.

How much did that person know?

Such a question came to Yuuto’s mind.

And so, the heated election passed and a new daily routine began.

This was the day was certain to change the minds of the students and the day that signalled the arrival of the next stage of events.

Time passed without stopping, and the big day was drawing nearer and nearer.

But at the end of the day that brought about the change, the younger sister and the two girls surrounded one boy, not seeming to be in an argument, but just happily engaged in conversation.

Even he, who preferred quiet days, spent his time with such a thought, ‘It isn’t so bad for just a day’…

<TL : Ik it’s a bit of a small chapter, but it marks the end of the Student Council Election arc and Congrats! we’ve hit the 200 chapter mark>

<I’ll be moving to dorms again so, with this chapter the daily updates ends (I remember the 2 chapters which are pending tho, dw I’ll do them before heading out)>

<Then see you guys in a couple of weeks or so.   \(*￣▽￣*)/>