Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Kiro
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 79
January 31st arrived.
Voting for the event must be done by today. While most of the students had already finished voting, Arisu-chan and I filled out our forms after homeroom.
“…Okay.”
I was thinking about the students I would be voting for. This was difficult to decide.
I had already heard from Kei-chan regarding the details of the contract between Class C and Class D. My votes were made under consideration of that.
Voter Name: Takashiro Haruto
Praise Vote
- Ichinose Honami
- Kushida Kikyou
- Ayanokouji Kiyotaka
So far so good. The problem was who I should name for the criticism vote.
Since the other classes were mostly contractually bound to what they voted for, the first-year students would likely be overwhelmed by organizational votes. Therefore, it didn’t matter who I gave the criticism vote to.
…In that case, wouldn’t it be fine if I just wrote what I had on a whim?
There was one thing I was curious about. It was about the rules of this event.
If I didn’t get to confirm whether this “trick” was valid or not, it would be boring to finish the event.
Therefore, I put down a vote that I know will be most likely rendered worthless.
Criticism Vote
- Nagumo Miyabi
It was a vote beyond a student’s grade. There was no mention that this was being prohibited.
It was just my personal speculation, but I think Nagumo deliberately wrote the rules in such a manner on purpose while considering the possibility of this loophole being used. I had no idea whether there was actually a benefit in doing so… but I couldn’t imagine that when he saw this ballot, he would be surprised. I was sure it was within his expectations.
After I finished writing, I handed it over to Mashima-sensei, who was waiting for the final reception.
“Well then, how will it turn out?”
“I don’t know. But it’ll be interesting.”
“Fufufu, I’m glad then. As long as Haruto-kun is having fun, it’s plenty for me.”
I laughed with Arisu-chan, who submitted her vote earlier.
Strangely enough, Class B, which was supposed to be a subordinate of Class A, had the highest degree of freedom of who to vote for. The demanded vote was just a single praise vote for Honami. The remaining two praise votes and the criticism votes were to be left up to each individual.
In comparison, the votes of other classes were tightly restricted. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the votes of Class C were already decided beforehand. Of course, they would receive corresponding compensation for that… but I was sure it wouldn’t be enjoyable for them. In that sense, I guess Kei-chan’s choice was a failure.
I held hands with Arisu-chan and left the classroom in the evening.
Since we ran out of drinks at home, I decided to stop by the convenience store before returning to the dormitory.
The days were short at this time of the year and it was already dark.
Meanwhile, Arisu-chan and I witnessed an inexplicable sight in the park on our way home.
What is she doing?
There was a girl walking back and forth in the same place with unsteady steps.
She had beautiful black hair and a pretty appearance. There was no doubt that she was Horikita Suzune.
However, she felt somewhat weird?
“…What should I do?”
She seemed to be muttering something. Her usual prickly atmosphere was gone and it was clear that she was in a panic. Since I knew things would be troublesome if she found us, I decided to take some distance.
Even if she was worried about something, I didn’t give a damn. There was no benefit for us to interfere with it. I was indeed curious about what was going on, but I decided to pretend I didn’t see it.
“…So that’s how it is.”
Arisu-chan stared at Horikita from a distance.
Thinking it was a bad idea to stay here for too long, I tapped her shoulder lightly, which surprised her, and she looked in my direction.
We left in haste to be as inconspicuous as possible.
After taking enough distance, Arisu-chan bowed her head toward me.
…As a result, the hat she wore fell from her head to the ground. She sure was clumsy.
When I picked it up and put it on her head again, she smiled shyly.
“I’m sorry. I was… so clumsy.”
“It’s totally fine. Also, you don’t have to apologize. Even if Horikita notices us, I don’t really mind… but if we get involved with her right now, I just think it would be a little troublesome. I am also curious about what’s going on after all.”
I understood Horikita’s personality to some extent. I also know she was a pushy type.
If she was that panicked, it was highly likely because of her older brother… I think she would mention that person who I was not good at dealing with. If I was forced to get involved in such a topic, I honestly felt it was dull.
“It’s just my nature to lose sight of my surroundings when I get attracted to something…”
“It’s okay. I find that cute after all.”
As we talked, the cold became more and more severe.
Seeing Arisu-chan’s body trembling, I sped up our walking pace.
As soon as we returned to our room, Arisu-chan opened her mouth again.
“Fufu, so that’s how it is.”
She wore a cold smile. It was clear it was directed to Horikita whom we encountered earlier.
I turned on the heat and closed the door. Since it was especially cold today, perhaps I should have a hotpot for dinner?
“Does that mean… this is as far as Horikita will go?”
“I don’t know if it would be to that extent, but it was clear that Horikita-san was scared of the possibility of ranking last. Moreover, she must have obtained information that it was likely to happen. It is already too late, though.”
“Hou hou.”
While I replied to Arisu-chan who spoke indifferently, I started preparing the hotpot.
I checked the refrigerator to see if there was any leftover cabbage. There was, and even tofu was there.
There was about an hour left before Kikyou-chan came, so let’s cut up the vegetables first.
“…That lack of interest is very like Haruto-kun.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. I love that part of you as well.”
The reason I lacked interest in my response was because there was no use in Horikita knowing about it after all this time. As Arisu-chan said, it was already too late for Horikita to realize the situation. I was sure that she already voted, and it was too unrealistic to manipulate the number of votes. In the first place, I didn’t think it was worth taking a big risk to save a student named Horikita Suzune. Knowing the danger, I didn’t feel like doing it despite the risk.
I didn’t think she would end up being expelled from school. It wasn’t written that a student would get expelled immediately if they couldn’t pay 20 million points, and I was pretty sure Kiyotaka was keeping an eye on her. That said, it was possible he would just abandon her cleanly, though…
“Ah, I see. So that’s where Nagumo will appear.”
“…Amazing. To think you managed to reach the answer just from what I said earlier.”
Arisu-chan was surprised, but the expression “just from what she said earlier” was incorrect. If not for the interaction with Horikita Manabu that day, I was sure I wouldn’t have noticed it at this time. Why did he want to stop this event…? As I thought about the series of events, I managed to reach the conclusion.
Basically, Nagumo just liked Horikita’s brother so much that he couldn’t help but do it. It was like the emotions of elementary students where they loved to bully the person they liked.
“So both Nagumo and Ryuuen were accomplices from the beginning.”
“Yes. Most likely, Ryuuen-kun received a huge reward from Nagumo… which was likely in the form of private points. This event reveals his policy from now on.”
I nodded while cutting the cabbage with a kitchen knife.
Now that he couldn’t expect class points, the path Ryuuen had set to aim for was…
“To transfer every member of his class, which costs 20 million points each, to Class A.”
I stopped cutting vegetables and turned to Arisu-chan.
She looked at my face and smiled happily. Rather than being happy about Ryuuen’s action, she was happy about how I managed to reach the answer.
…Since I already knew that from the beginning, I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty to be praised for that, but it couldn’t be helped.
Indeed, that was the dream that Ryuuen had since he first entered the school. Having Hiyori taken away from his class served as pushing his back forward… It meant I did something good for him.
After that, Kikyou-chan came and we made the hotpot together.
I got too enthusiastic and ended up making too much, so I called the Kiyotaka couple and Honami to have a hotpot party together. It was an enjoyable “event” that was suitable for a cold night.
Finally, the day for the result announcement came.
At the same time as homeroom ended, the student council officer put up a large A2 size paper in various places.
It listed the scores of all grades in descending order.
I pushed my way through the crowd of students and confirmed the content.
1st place – Ibuki Mio – 45 points
2nd place – Kushida Kikyou – 31 points
・
・
・
・
154th place – Horikita Suzune – -30 points.
154 participants were listed there. As a result, all first-year students participated in this event. Due to contracts that bound each class, nobody could choose not to participate in the event.
…Everything is according to Nagumo’s plan.
I was sure that man must be gloating by now.
In order to consider this result, Arisu-chan and I quickly prepared to go back.
I already called for Kiyotaka. It was the time for spoilers.
Author Note:
I think pooling 700 million points should be possible over the course of three years.
Want early access to Cannon Fodder, Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer, and I Was a Man Before Reincarnating, So I Refuse a Reverse Harem? Support the translator on Patreon!
