CH 226

The town’s shopping streets were a different scene from previous years.

Different uniforms and brightly colored shirts uniformed for each class.

However, the somewhat poorly designed shirts also told that they were made by students.

The shopping street, which is usually crowded only in the evening, was overflowing with many students.

However, it is not only students, but people from all ages groups have also come here to enjoy themselves.

Many of the vendors working in the shopping district were likewise chatting with the students.

Today is the day of the first ever joint cultural festival between two schools.

And the curtain was about to rise on the town’s biggest event, in which not only the high schools but the entire shopping district would take part.

I stand beside one of the students in my school uniform.

Holding a sheet of paper with the day’s schedule in one hand, I approached the woman next to me who was standing dignified.

“President will be asked to come up on the stage with Representative Sera after the Mayor’s address. Each of you will have about three minutes.”

Wearing a green armband with the Student Council written on it, different from the yellow armband wrapped around Shiraishi’s arm, I behaved in public in a manner typical of a student council member.

All the attention and all the gazes are directed at the person next to me, which I know in my head, but my body is still tense.

Things that we are not good at are not easy to overcome.

Even if it is after I’ve been elected.

“I’m going to keep my greeting at the shopping district a simple one. …And even so, it’s unusual for you to do something like this.”

“…In case you’re wondering, I’m the president’s assistant.”

Having won the election as assistant president of the student council for the next term, I have to present a suitable image in front of the students.

This is even more so in a situation where I am standing in front of students at a major event, such as the cultural festival.

Behind me, Koizumi was doing the final confirmations with the people in the shopping district along with the students from the Jogakuin side.

Miura also continued to stare at the figures with a tablet in her hand.

Only Hino-kun was hiding in a corner of the aisle, perhaps because he didn’t like the crowded situation caused by the opening ceremony, or perhaps because the students were uncomfortable with his imposing face.

Even now, six months after joining the student council, there seems to be no progress in his relationships with his friends.

If he had the courage to take a step towards the students or, on the contrary, had the guts to try to get in touch with them, he would be able to get out of his current isolated situation.

It’s not just him, but me, Shizuku, and Kirasaka too, have a lot of things going wrong in some ways.

“I’m not sure if Kanazaki is with us today.”

President looked around and said so.

Although she is somewhat concerned that she is always considered a happy-go-lucky person. In response to her question, I turned my gaze further back than where the President was looking.

There is one place that stands out from the rest of the students, where they just gather and spread out in a relaxed atmosphere without any care.

“If it’s Shizuku, she said she’d go say hello to her classmates …ah, there.”

Today, as always, I catch a glimpse of Shizuku chatting with the students, never ceasing to smile.

A slight change in position does not mean that her position in the class has changed.

Even if she does nothing, people naturally gather around her.

And there are positions and roles that are expected of them.

Whether that is what she wants or not.

Shizuku is the healer around her, the centerpiece, the driving force behind the action.

She is a big cog in a big wheel, and it is the gathering of the class that is set in motion when she is hooked into its place.

And Ogiwara Yuuto is a big cog as well.

On the day of the event, these two big cogs came together for the first time, so the excitement around them was at its peak.

“Even though she’s helping with the class situation and other things like the student council…, the fact that she’s the centerpiece of the class doesn’t change.”

I think about my classmates, who were telling Shizuku and the others about the hardships they have had to endure, from a distance.

There is a line often heard in teenage dramas and manga that goes something like ‘she was my springtime’, but sometimes I wonder if it was really springtime at all.

From their point of view, it may be a good memory of their sweet and sour school days.

They are the narrators of the story, reminiscing from time to time about the hopes and illusions that they longed for and fleetingly scattered, and of which they say.

That time was the …peak.

In fact, that’s what my dad used to say about his school days.

It was the most vividly remembered and dazzling time in his life.

The memories are formed by one’s own subjectivity, so one cannot complain, but if I were to talk about the current class situation as a memory, I would want to make sure to include the word ‘chaos’ in it.

Although the class is gathered on a class-wide scale, their gaze is divided into two halves.

The girls look at Yuuto and the boys at Shizuku.

The classmates are conscious not to behave or solicit each other unnecessarily, and each one of them is restraining the other.

What is this …Scene of Carnage?

I don’t understand the desire to walk around with the school’s prince and princess at the festival, but let’s give in and agree with it for a moment.

If the invitation was made out of pure love, it would be a clean move, but it’s not all that simple.

The desire to walk around with a kind of brand hanging over my head, saying I’m walking around with the central figure of the school, is hidden in plain sight.

Such a selfish ideal is what they think of, and they want that from their partner.

And this festival is a typical event where students’ desires are laid bare.

I am sure that many of the boys surrounding Shizuku now will pull out their memories of this time years from now and say things like “the boys were in a fierce battle over the heroine.

Then let’s add one more word properly in there, “chaotic struggle”.

I made a promise with Minato-kun. <BbX: Dunno about this random sentence, maybe he’s remembering about the promise he made with Shizuku>

While I was thinking about this and looking at it, President turned his gaze in a different direction.　

“…Well, there are some guys who are still in the limelight of the students.”

At the edge of the crowd, a figure stands meditatively alone with her back against the wall of the shops lining the shopping street.

There was Kirasaka, with her unique atmosphere and well-defined appearance that only she could unintentionally cultivate.

Alone, isolated and the center of the school, she was the only one who behaved in an exceptional manner.

That one is probably the type of person who hates to be tied down, and who can’t tie anyone down.

That’s why people around her can’t talk to her, even if they are interested.

You can’t call on her, she’s like a painting that is completed by standing there alone.

“That one is an exception.”

Unintentionally, a giggle and a sigh escape.

The contrasting scene with Shizuku makes me realize that it is useless, perhaps because she has a quick tongue that doesn’t even let people around her fantasize about her.

It’s a really efficient and effortless way to deal with the situation.

The response is really simple and complete rejection, because the people around her think she is special.

If this is the case, the boys will not even be able to dream about her.

Even if they do remember, it’s just a bitter memory that they want to keep hidden deep in their hearts.

When they’ll try to remember that girl’s scornful smile, cold voice and sharp gaze that froze them to their very core, and they’ll be shaken once again.

“I don’t mind the way President sees it, so can you tell me when you might have some time to spare?”

I ask President as I check the schedule.

In response to this question, she turns her eyes slightly upwards and grunts with a thoughtful expression, then she checks her wristwatch on her slender arm.

“Well, …it will be open for two hours and people will overflow. But at a certain time, during the lunch hour, the stalls, which are the main food stalls, will be crowded, so around midday we should be able to take turns and have time to enjoy the festival.”

…Twelve o’clock?

Certainly sweets are not a staple food, so you’d want some other kind of snack.

I’d planned to buy and eat lunch at random too, so it’s just as well.

Thinking this, I scribbled in the margin of the paper in my hand, ‘Noon, changeable’ in a cursive style.　

“Any particular class you’re interested in?”

I shake my head in denial at the words asked.

To be honest, I was so preoccupied with preparations that even though I knew which class was putting on the show, I wasn’t interested.

But it’s just a question because I have an appointment.

“No, it’s just that I’ve got double work coming in.”

I speak the words appropriately, as if I’m trying to tell a joke.

But President shows me that she guessed what I was thinking with that one word.

She is like a child who has found an amusing toy that makes the corners of her mouth curl up and she grins.

“Oh …do you mind if I take a shift at that job too?”

“You must be kidding, …you’ll be sued as a black company for making people overwork.”

“I wonder which company you’re taking about?”

Shinra Corporation.

It has a reputation for being strict about working hours.

If you work overtime, you are ordered to leave work immediately.

The company motto is “Work hard, but stop working hard when you get tired”.

See how white it is?

“It’s ten minutes before you’ll have to be there ….it’s time to move on.”

I push the back of the president, whose expression is breaking with a composure that is hard to believe for someone who is scheduled to take the podium, and we proceed to walk to the intended location.

Then, as a girl of her age, she was sulking and muttered some complaints here and there.

As we proceeded through most of them, President turned her face to the side and said.

“Well then, instead of the cultural festival, I shall ask you to watch me closely at the opening ceremony.”

With these words, I stopped the hand I was pushing and came to a halt facing the President, who flipped her body a little further ahead of me.

The palm of her hand, held out without a sound, is small and white, reaffirming that she too is a girl who is only one year ahead of myself

You forget by  her speech and behavior that she is also a human being, someone who strives to embody perfection.

“…Don’t worry, there’s nowhere else in particular to look.”

President turns herself around with a pleasant sound like a high-five when she lightly claps her proffered hands together.

It’s okay, I’m not going to miss her last big day as the president because of something unnecessary. …I don’t need to be told that.

“Good morning.”

As I sent President off and looked away, a voice reached me from behind, a voice I’m already familiar with.

Yesterday I would have been fed up with it, but on the day it is surprisingly not.

I turn around and face the person in front of me and look into their victorious eyes and say a few words of greeting.

“Hello.”

…Well, since I’m not flattering or am close to her, the tone of my voice is low and adequate words spill out of my mouth unconsciously.

The other Sera does not seem to be particularly bothered by this and smiles confidently.

What about that look from the very first moment of the opening ceremony?

Is that it, or is she trying to say that I’m a lonely guy all by myself?

I’m telling you, I’m not alone, I’m alone.

No, I don’t understand, I don’t understand either.

I don’t have to tell you that Sera was also passing by to prepare to go up on stage, but since she spoke to me, she must have something to say.

I thought so, and as I waited for the words to follow, she said the words I expected her to say.　

“I will do whatever it takes to win today, so…”

Her thoughts are probably occupied with the match with Hiiragi Akane.

She looks as if she is not able to hide her preoccupation with the opportunity that has come her way, even if it is not in the way she would have wished.

“Please do your best …I’ll buy some when I’m hungry too.”

I want to end the conversation early and quickly find a calm place to watch the opening ceremony alone, but as if to prevent me from doing so, Sera continues speaking.

“Isn’t it normal that you don’t contribute to sales there?”

I sigh involuntarily at Sera, who squints at me and asks me if there is something behind the scenes…

I’m sure you can see through my underhanded tactics, but I’ll throw out the words that genuinely come to mind, without letting on my true feelings.

“It’s just that our priorities are different, you and I. …To be honest, for me it’s more important that the event goes off without a hitch than that we win.”

When people in the position as the student council are only concerned about the competition, you would be worried about whether the festival will go off without a hitch.

If I ask firmly, I can’t say anything friendly about Sera-san…, so I answered like an honors student would do.

Shiraishi would have chosen these answers perfectly.

Finally, I continued, “And…” and looked again at the upperclassman in front of me.

“What brother wouldn’t go to a restaurant where his sister is?”

…Checkmate.

This move makes the opponent unable to do anything.

When I confidently told them and looked for their reaction, contrary to my expectation, I was met with an expression of withdrawal.

Well, this is completely different from what I’ve expected.

It wasn’t like that at all. On the contrary, I was decided to be certified as a sis-con.

Sera just smiled bitterly and walked past next to me.

…Say something.

Didn’t you learn in primary school that ignoring is the most mentally damaging thing you can do?

That’s a mandatory subject you learn in the first volume of Bocchi.

But it’s definitely easier now that the troublesome person has left.

I moved to the wall of a suitable shopping street and waited to watch the stage where the opening ceremony was to take place.

A few moments later, after a large crowd of students, the Mayor, and then Akane Hiiragi and Sera took to the stage to declare the event open.

My first Sakura Festival as member of the Student Council has begun.

<BbX> : Oh so it’s been over the time which I promised, huh?