CH 211

The student council of Kikyo Jogakuin left, and as I was doing my best to calm Shizuku and Kirasaka down inside the classroom, President and the others were conversing with each other as they sat on their chairs.

“Are you sure it was okay to turn them down?”

Koizumi, who had let the situation take its course and did not object to President’s words, asked her again now that they was in a calm situation.

Even if she herself had a solution, if it wasn’t conveyed in words, he would still feel uneasy.

President puts a smile on her face as if to wipe away his anxiety.

Koizumi’s expression naturally softened, as if the anxiety that had been building up inside him had been eased by this expression.

“We’ll have think about how to deal with it hereafter.”

“W-What?”

Koizumi was astonished at the way President said it so brazenly and without hiding it.

…So she said all of that without thinking and now is considering how to deal with the situation.

Even for President, it would have been difficult to have a conversation with someone who has no idea what is going to happen in the future.

I was even relieved to see a side of President that I usually don’t get to see.

The fact that we could share the same problems made me forget my pessimistic feelings about the troublesome situation for a moment.

But it was only for a short time.

The voices of the girls standing in front of me brought my attention back from the conversation between President and the others to them.

“I wonder if you’re listening to me? I’m asking why the student council of Kaede-chan’s high school was here.”

“Oh, …about that.”

Kirasaka asks without hiding her irritation.

It is obvious that the words of the other student council president, Sera or whatever her name was, struck a chord with both of them, but I would appreciate it if you don’t direct the irritation towards me.

However, it’s also true that I’m the only one who can take the brunt of the girls’ frustration.

As you can easily guess from their reaction, I have not told them the details.

President had reminded me not to tell anyone about the joint event.

Naturally, Kaede was the same.

In addition to not wanting to give them information that was not true, President respected Sensei’s wish to handle the first contact solely with the student council.

There is an option to be vague and make up the story, but these girls, they can see through minor details and unnaturalness when I lie to them.

I scratched my head and wondered how to explain the situation to them, so I gave them a rough explanation.

First, I explained that I had first heard about the project when Sudo-sensei had called me the other day.

Then, he was told that the faculty and student council would be coming to Sakuranaoka Gakuen today, the following day.

Finally, the mayor of the town also agreed to this joint event.

I told them these three things as much as I was able to understand.

However, Shizuku frowned in dissatisfaction after hearing my explanation.

Even though she understood that this was a sudden development for Sakuranaoka Gakuen, she was not convinced.

Her tone of voice seemed to express her emotions.

“I can’t blame you for not being able to tell me about the undecided details, but I think you could have told the executive committee about it.”

“…”

Unusually, Shizuku also lined up next to Kirasaka and gave me a serious look.

…It is easy to say that it’s already in the past and be done with it.

However, even if I told them so, they would not be convinced.

Finally, just as I was beginning to reach the limit of my ability to control my outrage, a helping hand came from back.

“I was the one who told Shinra not to tell anyone else about this discussion, so don’t blame him for not explaining it to you beforehand.”

The two students closed their mouths as President walked up next to me and spoke.

It is inevitable that a student who is a senior and deserves the respect of both of them would make them unable to say anything back.

I feel sorry for the two of them, but right now I don’t have time to think of an explanation that will convince them.

What we need to do is to think about how to respond to the situation in the future.

President, perhaps thinking the same thing, smiled bitterly and opened her mouth.

“I’ll have to think about how to deal with this. …Now then, how should we explain this to the teachers?”

“I guess it’s safe to say that the discussion didn’t result in a mutually satisfaction…”

By now, the other school’s faculty and student council have probably met up and an explanation of how the conversation went down will have been given.

Even if it wasn’t a protest… but it might be considered a complaint of some sort.

We should at least be prepared to be yelled at by Sudo-sensei, the teacher in charge.

Miura expressed her opinion that all of us were in great trouble.

“As for the Sakura Festival, it is already under way. We don’t have time to rethink our plans from the beginning.”

Miura said the most reasonable opinion that everyone must have thought at least once.

That’s the problem. …Why was this suddenly brought up?

Who benefits and who gains by having a joint cultural festival?

For the town, it would be more vibrant and could bring back the customers that had begun to drift to neighboring towns.

Therefore, it is understandable that the mayor agrees.

However, what is the benefit to the other high school for jointly hosting the event?

I can’t see it clearly.

“…What is the reason for insisting on a joint event in the first place?”

I muttered and asked everyone.

I don’t want to ask about the timing of the proposal or anything.

The other party may have suddenly thought of the idea and brought up the topic.

The momentum and the mood is always there, no matter what age you are.

They may have thought that with only a month left for the event, we would be able to make it work.

They often think that we have enough time to submit our assignments and that we would be fine.

The source of this information would be me.

If that is the case, what we need to focus on and think about now is the reason for the joint project.

Once we know that, we can take measures to deal with the situation.

“I don’t know what the girls in that student council are thinking, but I can guess what the other school is aiming for.”

President puts her hand on her chin and mutters.

Everyone’s eyes were focused on a single point.

“The number of applicants for our school is increasing every year. The reason for this might be due to the success of the school festival, uniforms, and the relatively liberal school rules. However, as of yesterday when I checked, Jogakuin saw a slight decrease in the number of students enrolled.”

President took out her phone and put it on the desk so that everyone could see the screen.

The display was the Kikyo Jogakuin website, showing the number of students enrolled in the last three years.

Certainly the numbers were down, though by about ten or twenty.

But, it’s not unusual for the number of students to change from year to year, said the President.

“Most likely, the goal is to increase the number of prospective students by making them aware of Jogakuin through the joint cultural festival.”

President said with a sigh.　

Koizumi listened to the President’s explanation and muttered in agreement.

“I see, so because Jogakuin’s cultural festival is a traditional one …the number of visitors from outside the school would be small…”

“…In regards to that, the cultural festival at Sakuranaoka Gakuen is open to the public so as a joint partner, it’s a safe choice because of the opposing nature of the events.”

In addition, we are in the same town.

The townspeople were supportive of the idea of a joint event to bring back life to a shopping district that has been depopulated by the construction of a shopping mall in a neighboring town.

If the other party has thought this far ahead and proposed the idea, it is probably a difficult project to avoid, was what Sudo-sensei said.

It would be difficult to deny the proposal because the groundwork has already been laid.

Well, there are people in front of me who have already denied it.

While everyone in the classroom was thinking with their mouths shut, the sound of strong footsteps approaching from the hallway echoed.

We could only imagine who it was.

The footsteps that had walked up to right in front of the classroom turned into a knocking on the door.

Without waiting for a response, the door was opened, and as expected, Sudo-sensei was at the end of it.

The expression on his face was a mixture of anger and dismay.

“Hiiragi… why did you turn them down without permission?”

“I heard what they were planning, and assuming the time and budget, etc., I decided it was impossible.”

President, who had stepped forward from the group, unhesitatingly announced her opinion.

Sudo-sensei seemed to find it difficult to point out from what President has said, because what she was saying was not wrong.

After a moment’s pause, he cut in with his next words.

“I told you that we would take care of it as well, didn’t I?”

“I also remember hearing you say that it would be difficult to avoid the joint program. I thought it was necessary to indicate that the school’s intentions and the students’ intentions were different.”

After this exchange of words, Sudo-sensei fell silent, as if he had lost the will to fight back.

He must have realized from the way President behaved that it would be difficult to overturn her opinion.

After letting out a sigh, he tells her in a lowered tone of voice.

“The other school has asked for another opportunity to discuss the matter. …We have until the end of this week, and if we don’t reach a consensus during that time, this proposal will be dropped.”

Sudo-sensei’s words brought out the bad Minato-kun that had been hidden inside.

…Okay, I’ll let the student council know that I’ll be absent until the end of this week.

Regardless of my inner-self controlling my brain, the conversation proceeds.

“What do you want us to discuss this week? The Sakura Festival is already underway.”

“The teachers are well aware of that, so the Sakura Festival can proceed as planned. It doesn’t have to be a forced plan, we just need the students to come up with some kind of compromise.”

He wants the students to find a way out, not with the rigid thinking of adults, but with the flexible thinking that only students can do.

In other words, that’s what he’s saying.

However, if you don’t mind that the Sakura Festival goes ahead as planned, we can have the executive committee work on it and the student council can handle it.

President nodded and replied, and Sudo turned on his heel as if relieved.

He looked at Kirasaka as if he had forgotten to mention something.

“By the way, did you hear that Kirasaka-san’s father is the sponsor of the event at the shopping district?”

“My father? …I haven’t heard about it.”

Kirasaka shook her head with a surprised expression on her face, and sensei simply nodded his head and agreed on his own.

Well, if it’s self-fulfilling, that’s fine. 

She also does not seem to have any particular intention of asking the reason, and her gaze quickly diverted from the teacher.

A quiet atmosphere returned to the classroom.

To summarize, the Sakura Festival can proceed as planned, but he would like us to continue discussions about potential compromises with the other party.

The town’s sponsor will be Kirasaka’s father.

The last one is a completely separate issue, but that’s about all the information I have.

The problem remains unresolved, but if we can return to the direction of creating something as a compromise, there is still a possibility.

I was relieved to see that the Sakura Festival, which Shiraishi and President are working on together, is taking shape as planned.

However, President’s expression did not clear up.

“Koizumi and Miura are assigned as important mediators in the executive committee …Hino is not good at these kinds of occasions, so I’ll let him join the executive committee, so me and Shinra, huh?

“What kind of black company is this student council…?”

Oh, come on. Is it a long overtime parade?

No, hasn’t it become death parade at this point?

It was Kirasaka that the president called out due to the personnel issues.

“Rei, if your father is the sponsor, is it possible for you to leave the executive committee to Miura and join us?”

“Yes, that would be fine.”

With her arms crossed and her eyes closed, Kirasaka agreed nonchalantly.　

For her, it is probably as trivial as a change of location.

However, there is no doubt that the addition of just one Kirasaka would be a great asset.

“I know it will be especially hard for Kanazaki, but I would be happy if she could support the committee members and the student council, including Koizumi and Miura.”

President asked Shizuku with a gentle smile.

Shizuku drops her gaze downwards and falls silent as if thinking about something.

After a moment’s pause, her raised eyes turned strong.

“President, I have a favor to ask of you.”

Quietly, the words with a sign of determination, spread through the empty room before fading into the mist of the noise from outside.

But, surely all the students in the room would have noticed that the atmosphere itself had changed with Shizuku’s words.