Volume 5 - CH 10

“Sajocchi, something happened between you and Aichi, right?”

Three days have passed since I’ve picked up on the irregular situation in the culture festival execution committee. It seems like Ashida found out about things being awkward between me and Natsukawa. Since she dragged me next to the stairs with a confident tone like that, I could only steel my nerves. She probably must have felt some sort of discomfort at the fact that Natsukawa and I weren’t talking despite sitting right next to each other. Because I went and helped Natsukawa before at the culture festival execution committee, I now have a bad habit of avoiding her. At the very least, I never talked to her myself. I want to become a shell.

“…You could tell?”

“You kept showing such an uncomfortable expression.”

Eh…did my feelings actually show on my face? Well, it’s not as bad as I thought. Natsukawa was constantly looking at the back of my head. Still, imagining her looking at me that way makes my body itch. Every morning, I had to mentally prepare myself for that.

“Also, Aichi is so frank with it.”

“Eh?”

Really? Well, it’s true that Natsukawa’s been acting a bit off as of late. She doesn’t seem like the person who would get flustered, so I figured it would just show on my face. I wonder what kind of expression she made…I just hope the other guys didn’t see that.

“…I mean, it’s been weird this entire time. There’s no way that Natsukawa and I could actually be normal friends.”

Until recently, even if I was aware of it, I kept interacting with Natsukawa, looking for more chances to be around her, disregarding the fact that she might feel awkward. At first, I thought about why that was the case, but it’s possible that Natsukawa herself wasn’t all too aware of it. It’s like she didn’t put much attention towards the world around her, and didn’t care about love and all that stuff. That’s why rejecting me over and over in the past wasn’t such a big thing to Natsukawa at all. It wasn’t something that would bring cracks to our friendship.

Love…huh. Right now, I might be the same. Before, I kept burning up with my feelings, screaming ‘This is love!’, but…like a combustion, my desire to monopolize her may have disappeared, I just can’t forget my feelings. Even if I’m not an adult, I can somewhat understand. I probably have trouble moving on to another love. But, it’s better than not having any regrets at all. This is something I should experience, because it’ll help me when I move on to another love, allowing me to do better.

“—I’ll become a full-fledged employee.”

“The heck are you talking about.”

It genuinely felt like my youth came to an end in the first year of high school. I wonder, I want to experience a more mature love next. Maybe a love that isn’t solely focussed on the right now, but rather with marriage in mind? And then, I’d move forward with my partner at my side. Maybe that’s what it would feel like if I started dating Sasaki-san… Oh yeah, she’s a middle school student.

Either way, even if things ended up awkward between me and Natsukawa, nothing weird will happen. That’s the expected result for me, and the shape of the future that is the correct one.

“I feel like…you’re fine now, Sajocchi.” Ashida showed a bitter smile, like she was feeling down about something.

No, I’m most definitely not fine. I’m riddled with wounds, just trying to find the small positive thread to hang on to. Blood is gushing out of every wound, and I’m simply attempting to stop the blood flowing. My heart still hurts badly.

“Ahhh…so complicated.” Ashida spoke up.

“Complicated…what is?”

“Nothing really. Was just thinking that your turn already ended, huh.”

“Eh?”

It appears as if my turn has come to an end (?). I was still figuring out my best hand though. However, in the sense of me wanting to change my relationship with Natsukawa, there’s nothing more for me to do. It all depends on Natsukawa now. Will she stay aware of the current relationship we have, and still keep me as a ‘place where she belongs’ like Ashida called me, or will she be plagued by the embarrassing times before, and treat me as just a classmate? But, I failed to understand just why Ashida looked so hurt by this conclusion.

“Let’s go back.”

“Ah, yeah.”

Ashida grabbed my sleeve, pulling me to the classroom. She may have been afraid of me running away mid-way. I still can’t guess what she’s thinking. That being the case, I figured that needlessly meddling wouldn’t do me any good. If there was one thing I was certain of, then it was the fact that I could not allow her relationship with Natsukawa to suffer under any circumstances.

*

Honestly speaking, sitting in front of Natsukawa is pretty tough. Not that I dislike it or anything. It’s just because of us being really awkward right now. Even though I can’t think of anything that we could talk about, whenever I move from my seat, I would automatically meet gazes with Natsukawa. I can’t ignore her either. It’s not that I want or can forcefully distance myself from her. If I did that, I would die.

“…Ahhh…today’s classic literature homework?”

“…Y-Yeah.”

When I came back to the classroom, our eyes met again. I saw no other option but to talk to her, to which Natsukawa gave an awkward response, looking at my facial color. That’s not something she would normally do…I selfishly fell in love with her, got rejected, and yet invited her for a conversation like this. I’m not in any position to complain if she calls me gross to my face.

I only caught on to my blunder after that. During our conversation, I reached my seat already, so in order for our conversation to continue, I’d have to turn my body towards her. Since I called out to her myself, I can’t just break it off here. How can I make it out of this mess…No other cards to play here…What do I do? Sing? Going eccentric is all I can think of.

“—Um, hey.”

“!”

She showed a worried expression, looking at my empty desk. My excited feeling withdrew. It seems like I’m still hung up on what happened at the culture festival execution committee office. It seemed like Natsukawa didn’t seem that hung up on that event, which left me surprised.

“…Did something happen after that?”

“……” Natsukawa faintly shook her head.

That probably is the problem in this case. She probably feels pressured because there’s barely any progress. That even if she puts effort into it, nothing will change, and they might make it in time—that’s the kind of anxiety she may have. If I had known that this might happen, I probably would have stood against Natsukawa and her becoming a committee member. Who could stay calm when their favorite idol suffers. But, this situation has already progressed too far…and I couldn’t do anything. If only I had some proper reason to help her out.

“Big Sis…the student council will be moving after all.”

“…I see.”

Even if I said that, it wouldn’t be enough to give Natsukawa back some energy. I didn’t want to give up here. It seems like Natsukawa was blaming herself too much. She’s still a first-year, so she should just put the blame and responsibility on the seniors. Maybe this is just her older sister mentality acting up again?

Either way, there’s no reason for her to stick around from start to finish. My Big Sis is a demon. At the student council office, she works like an insane person, but at home she acts like a lazy cat, not moving a finger. Natsukawa has to do the exact same. She shouldn’t have to force herself when she’s in front of Airi-chan. If she really can’t stop herself from working despite that, then I want to make it at least easier for her.

“If something happens, you can just call me over.”

“Eh…?”

“I’m part of the go-home club, remember? The preparations for our class’ attraction will start soon, but lunch break is different. I’ll still be bored during those times, so just use me whenever. I’m used to it.”

“Used to it…But…”

“If I don’t have anything, Big Sis will just call me over again. No big difference there. So, I’d rather you rely on me and use me.”

“Wha…!?”

When I exclaimed my honest feelings, Natsukawa seemed shaken by something, as her worried expression broke into pieces. She stared at me in disbelief, like she had seen something impossible. Weird…Normally she should be fine with a ‘Thanks, Wataru’, as she showed me a gentle smile…?

“What are you talking about…!” Natsukawa stuttered over her own words, hiding her face with the sleeve of her uniform, sinking deeper into her seat.

I just looked at her in disbelief. Through the gap of her sleeve, I saw how red her face was.

“D-Don’t look at me…”

“S-Sorry…”

She rejected me with a voice that was full of shame and embarrassment. Seeing that reaction, it made me feel like I did something I shouldn’t have. Unable to bear with that, I simply looked ahead of me.

*

Fourth period ended, and I took out my wallet from my student bag. Things were still as awkward as before with Natsukawa. When I turned to my side to get up, I could tell that she was trying her hardest to not make any eye contact with me. I’ve lost all appetite now. I just want to go home and sleep.

I simply moved to the school store because it was my habit, so I left the classroom. Right as I stepped outside, a single male student blocked my path.

“Wataru, can I have a moment?”

“Eeek.”

The student council president Yuuki-senpai called out to me. The pressure of seeing him outside the student council office is no joke. Because of the difference in handsome levels around us, he and his good looks stood out even more. Eh, was he always this tall? I really wish he wouldn’t stand next to me. Judging from what Big Sis and the guy himself said, he was more of a frivolous guy, and seeing him stand next to the door like that, I can somewhat see that. He looks like a model. Why?

While spitting complaints inside my head, I looked up. Once again, his pressure is no joke. My instincts were screaming ‘You’ve already lost’. I could never hope to reach him.

“W-What’s this about?”

“It’s about the previous incident. As this is something urgent, I involved several people from other houses.”

“E-Eh?”

The way he said ‘involved’ made me feel like I could hear several screams behind him. No, not those kinds of screams, but I can’t say for certain despite that. He said involved, right…not held in his arms…right?

“I also talked with Renji, and decided that we should tell you.”

Renji…must be Hanawa-senpai. It took me a second to fully figure out who we were talking about. But, what exactly did the council president and secretary talk about…Ahh, scary.

“I have a very bad feeling about this…”

“I can’t tell you here. Follow me.”

I indirectly stated that I really didn’t want to get involved, but he beautifully ignored that…or maybe he realized, but just didn’t give me any option to say no. He did call it urgent, so it must be something serious at least. I should probably treat it that way as well, otherwise I won’t be able to follow the situation.

Still feeling reluctant, I followed after him. Because of that, a somewhat odd scenery opened up in front of me. He’s wearing the same uniform, and yet his waist is so tight. Normally, uniform pants would be a lot more baggy, right? Why does this look so stylish? Did he have that specifically made? I knew that this wasn’t the time to joke around, but even so, my eyes couldn’t look away. It was like I was hit by a lighting that showed me how unreasonable this world is, and stopped me from actually taking things seriously.

*

He took me to a small pathway on the South side, connecting the East and the West building. From there, I spotted a small resting space in the corner right after we left it. If we proceeded a bit further, we would have spiral stairs leading down to the courtyard. Right before was something like a rock bench in the shape of a large コ. Apparently it was a place you could sit down on, with everything around it being colored grey. I feel like this would be a popular spot if you uploaded it on Insta. Looks like the place influencers would constantly frequent. And, in the middle of that rock bench sat a large male student, probably even winning against Yuuki-senpai.

“Ishiguro.”

“—Yes.”

He wore glasses, seemingly being a more uptight person. Judging from the color of his necktie, he must be a second-year. He had his bangs put up to create somewhat of a business man hairstyle, and the uniform didn’t look all too good on him. I feel like a suit and jacket would be a much better fit. At the very least, it looks like he could do his job properly. This Ishiguro person made eye contact with Yuuki-senpai, and stood up to greet me.

“Second-year Ishiguro. I have personal connections with Haruto-san, but our families are closely related. Just think of our relationship like that.”

T-T-That!?—Naturally I wouldn’t freak out like some adolescent girl. He was probably referring to a conglomerate meaning more than anything. Still, compared to Yuuki-senpai, he feels much more like a physical worker…But, as he doesn’t seem that stuffy-looking, he protects his youthful appearance that could land him as an old man in a R15 video. Since they’re connected to some degree, he must be quick to lose his mind.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Sajou…”

“Sajou…so you’re that woman’s younger brother. You don’t resemble each other at all…”

“Thank you very much.”

“…Well, you must have a lot of trouble to deal with.”

I came to like Ishiguro-senpai a lot just through this short exchange. He has good eyes. I wonder why, but he looks so strong-willed, but also weak-willed at the same time. Maybe it’s just his nervous temperament. Either way, he at least doesn’t seem to be one of those difficult people. I feel so relieved. His personality is proper as well. He might get along with Ichinose-san quite well. Or that’s just what my intuition is telling me. At the very least, jokes probably don’t work on him.

“Wataru.”

“Yes—Eh?”

To my positive surprise, Yuuki-senpai handed me a lunch box. This one’s delicious, alright. I’ve been hoping for this ever since he came to pick me up. I will gladly accept this……How about you take Big Sis off my hands? Right now, you’ll get her for free. We all sat down comfortably on the rock bench. Being surrounded by hotties who probably are strong in a fight didn’t feel as bad as I initially assumed. It’s like they’re constantly buffing my own status. Right now, I might just be able to win against Big…yeah, not happening.

“Let’s get to it.”

“Y-Yes.”

“In regards to the case of the culture festival execution committee…I looked through the flow of money during past culture festival preparation periods, Takuto targeted details of the current situation, and Ishiguro looked into the results of culture festivals in the past—Ishiguro.”

“Yes.”

While munching on the lunch I was given, I listened to them. Instead of eating anything himself, Yuuki-senpai simply handed Ishiguro-senpai some sweet bread. I feel a bit bad now…How are you fine with only that, despite possessing such a body? Asked by Yuuki-senpai, Ishiguro-senpai took out a binder with several pages of paper inside. Even here, everything seemed so thorough.

“I thought that Kai’s information was everything, but after looking deeper into it, I found problems everywhere. For that, I raised the number of people to open up our scale as we checked it out.”

“…Checked it out? So you asked the people directly?” I felt like something was off, when Yuuki-senpai answered me instead.

“No, I tried to avoid direct contact. Judging from what you told us, something doesn’t add up there in the committee. Since you have someone who is a member of the committee, you’re an exception but…Well, it was Kaede’s wish.”

I know that there had been some kind of discrimination going on in the past. As Kouetsu High was built right next to the business street, children of officials and higher-ups would often attend this school. Depending on the person, their parents might even donate large sums of money, expecting sincere treatment from the school’s side. These arrangements could turn crude over time, and through the current students’ conditions, the school was split into an East and West school building. Finally, one student of the East side amassed more power, which caused a clash that even lasted until now.

“After looking into it, I was able to split the problem of this gap between last and this year into three parts.” There, Ishiguro-senpai spoke up.

“Three…”

“I’ll go through each one of them. First, I figured out that last year’s culture festival and the shape of management are different compared to now.”

“…?”

Is that really a problem? The culture festival always offers different themes and attractions every year, so of course they’d have to change their approach when it comes to preparing.

“Because of various reasons, student council and event management has been left in control of students of the West side. Well, this school has a lot of people, such as teachers or even students, related to the neighbouring businesses, so…There were those who made their presence felt.”

“Seems like it…?”

The part Big Sis doesn’t want me to hear seems to be somewhere inside of there. Well, it does sound pretty complicated, and I don’t lose anything if I stay unrelated to that. Still, what is her motive for dragging me into the student council then?

“Our Kouetsu High’s culture festival received a lot of influence from these people. With a lot of secret funds, it basically turned into a large-scale event involving the entire area, and it became custom to start with the preparations for the festival at a very early stage, giving it a proper routine and schedule.”

“Sounds good enough.”

“This year, they went with the usual manual. Although the culture festival was mostly handled by students of the West side until last year, there now were talented and experienced students from the East side—So everybody assumed that this was a safe bet.”

Assumed. That’s the point that turned my bad premonition into cold reality. Judging from that expression, something bad must have happened. I wonder what it was…It must have been bad enough to disrupt the manual they had been going along with.

“This procedure they were using as a manual actually hadn’t been used for many years.”

“I-It wasn’t used…?”

“The preparations followed this procedure, and the West side prepared for the culture festival loyally with this—On paper, that is.”

“According to detailed data, that was not the case.” Yuuki-senpai added, to which Ishiguro-senpai slapped his left hand on the binder next to him.

Ahhh, scary. It’s like he’s a bodyguard at a club. If you used him as a battle character, he would have high STR and low SPD. Don’t think he’d be able to use magic.

“Um…? Did they do something special then?”

“Outsourcing.”

“Woah.”

O-O-Outsourcing? That’s what I think it is, right? You have a group of people completely unrelated to the actual job do a part of the work, yeah? Since it’s something like a commission, you basically need to give them a reward as well…Eh? A normal high school would do that? What kind of profit would that have? What about giving the students power?

“At the same time as they dealt with the risks of the culture festival blowing out of proportion, it would be a tremendous achievement if it succeeded. The school—basically competed in terms of contribution for the area. While reconsidering the proposal of this year, I realized that the scala had grown at least 2.5 times compared to last year.”

“2—!?”

Ishiguro-senpai continued bluntly. By looking into it, that would be something simple to figure out. However, as the contents aren’t evident, confirming that before the planning was impossible, according to him.

“So then…are there any records left from last year?”

“As I said, on paper. This whole outsourcing was not publicized. They showed off the pocket money of the wealthy families as donations, and hired volunteers, so to speak. That’s why there was no data left behind from that structure. If I looked at the more miniscule details, I surely would find out more about last year’s culture festival structure.”

“But then, you should have traces of their work or data from last—”

“It’s all been deleted.”

…What? Deleted? Why? This was about their own school, right?

“U-Um…if I understood you correctly, this outsourcing has been happening even before last year and the year before that, right? I don’t think that they could keep up a lie that the data would be deleted every year…Also, weren’t they having the exact trouble last year that we are having right now?”

“This is something we managed to figure out by analyzing the backup data from the student council, but…The data from last year, and all of it before that was deleted—at the end of November last year.”

“Huh? End of last November…?”

Why? The culture festival usually happens in the beginning of October. The time the data was deleted doesn’t match up at all. Why would the student council delete data from the school that was related to older culture festivals…? If this was some actual job, they’d be fired on the spot. I know that, since that happened to a frivolous university student who I worked with before. But…why? I tilted my head in utter confusion, when Yuuki-senpai showed a complicated expression, crossing his arms.

“—That was the time when I inherited the student council.”

“……”

Hearing Yuuki-senpai’s words, Ishiguro-senpai showed a grim expression, as he let out a sigh. I still had a question mark floating above my head. Though, I somewhat figured out that the previous student council had bad intentions, which is why they deleted the data. However, I still can’t fully grasp why that would be the reason. Ishiguro-senpai came to the rescue, and explained.

“In regards to that woman’s wish, I’ll leave out the details, but…last year, through the actions of the students of the East side and a group of students from the West side, they’ve managed to suppress the preferential treatment of the West side to a great degree. As a cause of that, several upperclassmen, part of the student council and other committees, involved in the management of the school, were forced to retire.”

“Retire.”

“Depending on it, many leading figures of the student council and committees were from the West side.”

“Leading figures.”

All these words sound like they could be part of a political news program talking about a foreign country, or some history class…I mean, I can guess the basic gist here, but this school has a much darker side to it than I expected…Also, Big Sis is the current vice president of the student council, so she was involved in this, right? She won’t be shifting the burden onto me, right? Please no…

“In a way, you could see this as the last present of last year’s student council, or even its student council president, for our current student council.”

Ahhh, I can’t hear anything! I’m not listening to this~! Of course, trying to play it off like that was already far too late. Yuuki-senpai looked at me with a ‘You get it now, right?’ gaze. I may have understood, but the weight is far too heavy for a first-year student like me…If I relaxed for only a bit, I might ask ‘What am I supposed to do with this information?’. I’d probably eat a fierceful first from Ishiguro-senpai. I’m glad I have rice inside my mouth.

“Now, the second part of the problem.”

Does he not have any restraint, like at all? Eh, that was the first part done? That sure was heavy alright. Isn’t there some kind of plan in action that would fix the issue? I’m still feeling restless, okay. At this rate, you’re just telling me the problem, but nothing more. However, Ishiguro-senpai continued without bothering with me one bit.

“These are the results Kai brought together with your information as a basis, Sajou Wataru.”

“Y-Yesh.”

With him suddenly saying my name, my shoulders jolted up in shock. I really don’t think anything I brought up would be of much help though…It’s mostly thanks to Kai-senpai.

“Three days ago, you collected the documents from the execution committee, right?”

Phrasing. I simply borrowed them as the errand boy that I was.

“Just as you reported, the majority of documents handed to you were written by hand. They weren’t just about backup from the outside, volunteers so to speak, but also internal documents.”

“Oh…is that so.”

“The reason for that is the advisor of the culture festival execution committee.”

“…What?”

Let alone that connection making no sense, I only now learned of the fact that the execution committee has an advisor. Last time I checked inside that room, there was no teacher to be found. On top of that, they’re the reason…? Sounds a bit fishy if you ask me. Why would a fully-fledged member of society have them do all of the work-heavy stuff by hand? …No, wait a second. All of it…?

“…………Don’t tell me, Oneda from modern society…?”

“Specifically speaking, Oneda Hitoshi who is responsible for modern society, as well as politics and economics.”

From what I heard, he’s at least sixty, if not older. He’s a total gramps. If you even dare to whisper with someone else, he’ll give you a long lecture, so those 50 minutes you usually spend in absolute silence. I still remember vividly how all the end-of-term examinations, work sheets, and exam papers were written by hand. I feel like one girl got her exam messed up because she had a naturally small size when writing by hand…

“Don’t tell me, is that…?”

“No, this is just a problem of rotating teachers. Normally, advisors sent by the school all are responsible people, but…You know. During last year’s movement, he declared that he supported the East side…so although it caused a bit of noise, it was convenient for us, so we left it be…”

That does sound troublesome. Basically, Oneda’s been in service for a long time. He went through several transfers, and dedicated himself to being a teacher. Also, wasn’t the theme of this culture festival something along the lines of ‘A new Generation’? Why would you leave an old-fashioned guy like him in charge?

“Same goes for the first problem, but…do you have any way of resolving that?” I asked.

If not, then things looked grim. Yuuki-senpai coldly answered my question.

“We do. It’s a bit forceful, but we can only ask the outsiders for their support. Naturally, using the budget that has been split between the student council and the execution committee.”

“What about the budget—” I asked, to which Ishiguro-senpai responded.

“The execution committee seems quite strict with that, but…unfortunately, the previous student council was full of spoiled brats, so the budget they mistakenly thought was necessary is still being used as a standard. I guess even the most thick-headed people could not foresee this.”

“…That being said, we can’t let this stand. In order to break away from this outsourcing, we need to use our own people. Luckily, Ren’s family owns a top-notch IT company.”

Hey hey hey! We’ve broken the limits of keeping this inside the school, you know!? Why did you even call me over? Is it some casual ‘You must be curious, so I’ll just tell you’ reason!? Right!? However, Ishiguro-senpai continued.

“At the same time, we’ll just sweet-talk Oneda, and have him become a mere window dressing. If he catches on to our motives, and causes a ruckus, we’ll have him take full responsibility. The responsibility of doing half-baked preparations for the culture festival, and ignoring the problem, that is…”

“Eeeek…”

S-Scary! Ishiguro-senpai is terrifying! He has zero intent on being nice to Gramps-sensei! No, wouldn’t using him as a decoration let him get off easily…? Either way, please take care of yourself, Oneda-sensei…I guess this is what it means to be left behind the times?

“Is Hanawa-senpai okay with that…?”

“Normally he’d probably think of this as a chore, but…the third part of the problem is related to him.”

“Eh…?”

“Well…I don’t feel too comfortable in regards to telling Kaede about this, but…”

Ishiguro-senpai spoke quite nonchalantly, but Yuuki-senpai narrowed his eyes. I can’t imagine what that would be about. There’s way too many things Big Sis would feel bothered about. I waited in anticipation, when Yuuki-senpai gave Ishiguro-senpai a bothered glance.

“—The execution committee’s president, Hasegawa Tomoka, has feelings for Hanawa Renji from the student council.”

“Wha…?”

Hold on, why is this suddenly turning so sweet…What? Was everything up to this point just trifling? You bring up this problem as the last one? I feel like that one matters the least. Is he being serious? How am I supposed to react here? Yuuki-senpai’s facial expression relaxed a bit, as he rubbed his face with the palm of his hand. Then, he looked over at me. He must have figured out what I was thinking.

“I understand how you feel. However, this is quite troublesome…So that she wouldn’t show any pathetic sight of herself to Renji, Hasegawa has kept the progress and situation of the execution committee secret. I hear she’s quite frantic about making everything consistent.”

“Welp, good luck.”

“Hold on, hear me out.”

I tried to use this as my chance to escape, but Yuuki-senpai forcefully kept me down. Well, not like I actually wanted to run away. I just don’t want to get involved any more than this. The two problems just now give off a really bad smell.

“When it comes to love affairs, you need to treat women with utmost care. If Hasegawa now broke free from our calculations, it’d throw everything into the dust. You understand that, right?”

“……?”

“…Younger Sajou brother, only a certain group of men will be able to understand this dimension. I sadly am one of those who don’t.” Ishiguro-senpai argued.

…Eh? So only hotties will get it? I don’t know how to feel about that, hearing it from another hottie. Ishiguro-senpai is clearly fit for a suspense movie actor. You’re rubbing salt into my wounds, so whatever you’re planning with that, it ain’t helping chief. Judging from what Yuuki-senpai tried to say, women can grow rampant and take inexplicable actions when it comes to love. What a prejudice. Is this a problem only hotties experience?

“As a result of that, Renji said that he will ‘take the responsibility for being her romantic interest’—”

“Eh? Wha…? Responsibility?”

“…? What are you talking about? It’s natural, right?”

“………?”

“Younger Sajou brother, don’t think too deeply about it…just take it as granted.”

Natural? That is supposed to be natural? So you’re saying that the person who is someone else’s love interest has to take responsibility, and this is part of Japanese culture? I see, so I’m the exception, huh. Maybe I wasn’t born as a Japanese after all.

“—Anyway, that clears up the problem with Renji.”

“…’Zat so.”

What if the logic of an unpopular guy took the main spotlight here? Well, that would probably not do anything in this situation. Though it hurts that I don’t understand this logic. No problem. No problem at all. If Yuuki-senpai says so, then it’s fine. I merely learned of a new concept that exists in this world, so I’ve made some huge progress! Everyone! Make sure to take responsibility if people have feelings for you!

“The bigger problem is Kaede…With Hasegawa’s current actions, she’s ended up on Kaede’s bad side to say the least.”

“…That makes sense.”

I can agree with that. If their actions and ideals don’t match up, it’ll always result in hate. Being negligent of one’s work for the sake of something else will definitely make Big Sis snap. If it was any other woman, she may be able to understand the whole love part, but Big Sis is unfazed and uninterested in any of these hotties, so that won’t get through to her.

And yet, she seems super meddlesome when it comes to me. She keeps trying to feed me bell peppers, and I still can’t forget the time when I got my influenza vaccine shot because she forced me to. That needle really hurt…In the end, that must have flipped her switch. Leaving aside her personal circumstances, she’s been in a job that involves other people’s circumstances, so giving negative influence on anything is a no-go for her.

“…I already had a slight suspicion. Ever since the preparations for the culture festival started, Kaede has been exceptionally harsh with Hasegawa. I wondered why that was the case, but after looking into it, I found the connection.”

“Um?”

I understand that part even without being a hottie. A woman’s intuition is no joke after all. It probably won’t take long until Big Sis finds out.

“…So, what are you going to do about that?”

“In general, we lack the personnel for all of the work left over. However, there’s not enough people who can take care of the management as well. Even if we get enough people to help, without anybody around to keep everything organized, it’ll all break down again. Hasegawa probably has her hands full already, so we can’t expect any more work from her.”

“Um…”

“Basically, we need an individual who can create a cooperation between the supporters from the outside and the students of Kouetsu.”

Through Ishiguro-senpai’s explanation, it finally clicked with me. Even if we had people helping from the outside, you need to tell them what work is needed. If you don’t solidify the working structure during that time, all the money and manpower amassed is just going to waste. Ishiguro-senpai continued.

“For that, we need the cooperation of the culture festival execution committee—namely President Hasegawa Tomoka. However, the student council has its own hands full with the data and documents that came in late.”

I get what he’s talking about. However, that isn’t something that can be resolved with sheer forceful methods. Having understood what I was thinking about, Yuuki-senpai crossed his arms, and looked at me.

“That being said, there is also the risk of Hasegawa and Kaede running into each other. Your older sister’s ability to judge quickly and courage is indeed remarkable—but when it comes to useless people, or people that aren’t beneficial for her, she can’t understand their feelings, I’m pretty sure.”

“Wha…?”

Big Sis doesn’t understand the feelings of people who can’t do something…? No, definitely not. After all, I’m right here. There’s no way.

“Um, Big Sis is pretty tolerant when it comes to that, you know? She’s seen me all the time, so she must be used to useless people who can’t do anything.”

“…? What are you talking about? You have enough talent and knowledge to work in the student council, and even Shinomiya has praised you highly. On top of that, whenever Kaede would scold someone in the student council, she would use you as an example.”

“Huh…?”

“‘Even my younger brother could do that’, she would say. It’s become somewhat of her habit lately. When dealing with Yuudai, that usually did wonders.”

I mean, Todoroki-senpai never does his work either way, right? I’d rather not be compared to him. If possible, use me as an example with a normal person—or not at all, actually. She’s probably using that a lot towards people I don’t even know…What if they start hating me because of that?

“Also…you’ve gained the know-how of working together with a team back in middle school, right? Unlike Kaede, you are much more fit for a negotiation. Who would call you useless or unfit for this?”

“No, negotiation isn’t…Also, wait a second! How do you know about all of this!?”

I never told anybody that I was working part-time in middle school. Big Sis apparently figured it out somewhere down the line, but I doubt our parents are aware. So, how does he of all people know? Did Big Sis tell him…? What about my damn privacy, woman!

“Knowing that Kaede has a younger brother, there’s no way I wouldn’t look into him, don’t you agree? For crying out loud…she kept it a secret all this time, and yet this is what happens once the cat is out of the bag.”

“……? ……???”

“Younger Sajou brother, just ignore it…”

I can’t follow at all. At the very least, I understood that Big Sis didn’t tell him, and that Yuuki-senpai isn’t just some random hottie. I feel like I’m starting to see why Big Sis hasn’t already fallen for him. Even Ishiguro-senpai held his temple. He looked like he just took a bullet.

“Either way, we’d love for you to take up that role.”

“H-Hold on a second!”

What kind of messed up joke is this!? Who would purposefully accept such a role!? I was just used as a pet, remember? Leaving aside that I’m Big Sis’ younger brother, I’m basically an outsider.

“Um, to be perfectly honest, the only reason I helped the student council is because Big Sis told me to. Since she’d just constantly be in my ear, I decided to help out a few times to be freed in the bigger picture. If not for that, I wouldn’t have assisted the student council, so I don’t want to take responsibility for simply helping out.” I couldn’t hold back a complaint in the end.

This time around, Big Sis isn’t related at all, and I have no obligation of helping the student council. The only connection Yuuki-senpai and I have is Big Sis, so an outsider helping them would only be worse for the position of the student council president.

“…I don’t mind if you decline.”

“…Eh?”

“But, are you sure about this? I surely might be able to find a replacement, but…I can’t guarantee any unobstructed view.”

“Huh?”

I don’t get what he’s trying to say. If I’m allowed to say no, then naturally I’ll do that. I was just confused because Yuuki-senpai explained all of this to me like I was some hostage to the success of the culture festival, but he’s quite wrong about that. It’d be a shame if the culture festival ended in a failure, but it’s not that big of a shock to me. It’s Big Sis’ responsibility with her job, as she’s the vice president. Just because we’re siblings doesn’t mean that I have to take after her.

“I told you, knowing that Kaede has a younger brother, there’s no way I wouldn’t look into it.”

“Huh…”

“Sajou Wataru—for what reason have you trained yourself like this. For what sake have you worked part-time in middle school…? For what reason have you previously clashed with your own older sister, before last summer break…? For what reason have you helped at the culture festival execution committee three days ago, on top of assisting the student council?”

“T-That’s…”

I couldn’t even say something in the face of such accurate profiling. What about my own privacy, huh? God dang it. He better not have like 20 monitors in his room that monitored me 24/7. What about Big Sis then…?

“I don’t plan on putting it into clear words to tell you. Nor do I plan on guilt-tripping you into making a decision. However, let me ask you one more time—Are you truly satisfied with this?”

“……”

All of this was just pushed onto me. But, there are people in this world who can’t ignore these problems when they are in front of them. No matter how much I tried to chase her, there’s a girl I care for, out of my reach. I don’t want to see her suffer. What I decided on was to pray for her happiness. Even if she doesn’t stand next to me, as long as I can observe her smile from a distance, I’m fine with that. While pressing down the pain in my chest, that is what I swore towards my Goddess—Or, I should have. Right now, and forever, that’s what I wish for.

“…I’m…not.”

“Then, what will you do?”

This was probably Yuuki-senpai’s plan from the very beginning. He’s not just acting knowledgeable about love. In fact, it’s almost like he was provoking me. I was basically a clown when I tried to earnestly decline. Being played like a fiddle by a hottie of all people sure felt frustrating. But, if this helps me protect my promise to my Goddess…If Natsukawa gets to go home early and spend time with her beloved Airi-chan…

“…I’ll do it. Please, let me do it.”

“…Seems like it’s decided then.”

The always-cool Yuuki-senpai showed a smirk. I want to smack my fist right into his stomach. If Natsukawa is not involved, I’ll have to stay away from him as much as possible. Ishiguro-senpai looked at me with a ‘You as well’ gaze.

“…I don’t really understand love all that much.

“Don’t be like that, Ishiguro. I had a similar time before. That all girls looked the same to me.”

“I can’t even directly look at a girl’s face.”

“Maybe fix that first?”

It took him a long detour to make me realize. Or maybe he just taught me? Either way, now that I’ve seen Natsukawa like that, I can’t ignore it…So for better or worse, I have to be thankful to him.

“More importantly…Won’t that woman flip out for good this time?” Ishiguro-senpai commented with a stiff face.

Will…Big Sis be angry? I’m simply helping out here. If she’s praising me about my work, then she should be happy about this.

“No need to worry about that. I’m prepared to be hit two or three times.”

“…I don’t really understand love all that much.”

“Heh…”

We got back on track, and Ishiguro-senpai handed me a single document. There, I saw details about the plan of action and the way to proceed for the culture festival preparation from here on out. Just as he stated, it seems quite forceful. I could even see my name there on several points. What if I hadn’t agreed to help out, huh?

“I’ll have you enter the execution committee together with Ishiguro, so cooperate with the team Renji set up.” Yuuki-senpai added, as he looked at the document in my hands.

It seems like he already has a plan on how we get this party started.

“Sounds serious…Alright. Please take care of me, Ishiguro-senpai.”

“Yeah…Constantly calling you younger Sajou brother is a bit bothersome, so I’ll call you Wataru from now on.”

“Understood, then I will call you Ken-senpai.”

“Um, my name isn’t Ken, though…”

“…Huh?”

Even though this was under the jurisdiction of the school, I feel like it would need treatment that goes beyond being a normal student. It requires different skills compared to me simply helping out Big Sis, and I have to deal with a lot more people. Judging from the documents, I definitely can’t take this lightly, or it might cause an incident.

Somewhere deep inside of my head, I flipped the switch I hadn’t touched since back in middle school.