Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Kiro
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 83
Author Note:
Sorry to keep you waiting. I’ve been in a bit of a slump lately… my apologies.
The next week, we visited the student council room as planned. Since I had contacted Nagumo in advance, he should have expected our visit today. His happy voice over the phone sounded annoying to me, but whatever.
“You’ve come. Did you enjoy the event?”
“…Thanks to you.”
Nagumo made a proud expression and crossed his legs while sitting on the chair.
“But you surprised me again this time. I never thought there’s someone who actually noticed that ‘setup’…”
“Aah, you mean the criticism vote I cast on Nagumo-san. Well, I think you noticed, but it’s not like I did that out of hatred for you. I just tried that to see whether the vote will stay valid.”
In response to my reply, he nodded with a smile as if he already expected my answer. Looking at his reaction, it seemed the vote beyond grade was valid. I knew he already expected that, but I couldn’t help but find that annoying.
Naturally, Nagumo was the second-year student who won the ‘class transfer ticket.’ He only received one criticism vote, which came from me… It was a result that could be said to be in contrast with Honami, whose influence was limited to the first year Class A and B.
“I see. It seems you realized that I used Ryuuen, right?”
“Yes, though I realized it a little late.”
“Wonderful. Then let me reveal what’s hidden… The vote across grade was prepared as an insurance policy in case Ryuuen failed to sign the contract. The plan was to make all the second-year students cast their criticism votes for Horikita Suzune.”
As I thought, that was the case after all. Even the loophole of the rules was, after all, part of a plan to crush Horikita.
I also understood why that was the backup plan rather than the main plan. Because it would stand out too much… If Nagumo personally made his move, it would become flashy and people around would have the impression that Horikita was the victim of a plot.
For Nagumo, he would prefer that Horikita thought she ranked last because she was hated by people. It was a method that he didn’t want to use if possible in order to prevent the students of Class C from having the intention to save Horikita.
“Is the reason you plotted against Suzune-san to harass the previous student council president after all?”
Arisu-chan calmly asked that question.
“Correct. But that’s not all.”
Nagumo cut off his words there and stared outside the window.
As usual, I didn’t know what this man was thinking.
“The time for questions is over. I’ll have you go home for today. The student council has a lot more work than you can imagine.”
“Ah, I see. Then we’ll go home.”
On my side, I’ve heard what I wanted to hear. There was no point in staying any longer, so I didn’t mind leaving now.
After making eye contact with Arisu-chan, we stood up.
“…Geez, you fellows are like a storm.”
I raised my hand in response to the words he said.
The weekend has arrived.
After visiting Nagumo, there was no big movement. The only change was that Horikita started to talk to Arisu-chan more often, and my surroundings were very peaceful. Was this the calm before the storm?
“There, just eat what you like.”
“U~hn, it’s not like I’m particularly troubled with points, though.”
And for some reason, we were eating together with Ibuki at the moment.
The place was the Japanese restaurant we went to last time. She told us “I’ll treat you for a meal” and half-forcefully brought us here.
“That’s not the problem here. I owe you a debt. Now that I can repay you, I won’t be satisfied if I don’t pay what I owe. That’s why, just hurry up and order something.”
Ibuki puffed out her cheeks and urged us to order. It seemed that she remembered I treated her to sukiyaki on a whim before. Since she made a large amount of extra income from this event, she wanted to repay that. Should I call her upright…? She didn’t have to mind that though.
“Then I’ll just order this udon set…”
“Haah, don’t order something cheap. I’ll just order in your stead!”
It seemed the udon was so cheap that it was unacceptable for her. Ibuki took the menu from me and ordered two “Wagyu Beef Sukiyaki Set” on her own.
“Eeh~ you even ordered Arisu-chan’s portion. It makes me feel bad.”
“If I let Sakayanagi pay for her own meal, you will feel bad, right? I told you I want to repay what I owe for treating me to a meal last time, so there’s no meaning if you feel bad about it.”
No good, she was too good of a girl. It made me a little impressed.
To think she could give that much consideration toward someone she wasn’t even close with…
“Ibuki, what’s up, really?”
“I told you, I am grateful to you.”
“But…”
“You’re being noisy about little details. I was happy that you let me eat delicious food when I was in trouble because I didn’t have any points! Just shut up and eat!”
Her tension was high. That didn’t seem out of anger, but maybe more out of embarrassment.
Seeing that, Arisu-chan smiled. It was a sight that made me smile too.
While we were talking like that, the sukiyaki was served.
It was as delicious as ever. Even though it should be the same dish, it tasted even better than when I ate it last time.
When I looked across the table, Ibuki was eating voraciously just like last time. How to say it, it looked so cute, so much so I wanted to take a picture… if I actually did, she might get angry at me, though.
…It’s a moment of bliss.
Savor the taste of wagyu beef with friends.
It made me think it would be nice to have a moment like this again someday.
We finished eating after about twenty minutes. It was just the right portion for me, but it seemed the portion was a little too much for Arisu-chan, so the meat she couldn’t finish was shared between me and Ibuki.
Maybe because I ate a little too much, I felt super full. With our stomachs and hearts feeling full, we stood up from our seats.
“Thank you for the meal, it was delicious.”
“Fuhn.”
Ibuki pouted and quickly handled the bill.
After leaving the store, I thanked her again.
“Thank you very much. Can I tell others about today?”
There was kindness beneath her prickly attitude. Since she had an image of being a close associate of Ryuuen, students of other classes didn’t think very well of her… but she was undoubtedly a good person. It was a little frustrating to see that others remained misunderstood about her.
“Stop that. If you actually do so, I will feel uncomfortable every day that I won’t be able to live properly. What happened today is just a secret between us. If you spread it… don’t think you can get off unscathed.”
She glared at me as she said that and then turned around. It seemed the person herself didn’t want to be treated as a good person. It was too bad, but I could understand that feeling somehow.
That said, she didn’t manage to hide her flushed red face at all. Even if she spoke with a strong tone, it was clear that she was embarrassed. Perhaps she wasn’t used to being thanked.
“You’re cute.”
“Shut up, I’m going home!”
Ibuki left while puffing her cheek in anger.
She was really interesting. It was a type of person I hadn’t seen around me before, so it felt really fresh.
“Ibuki-san seems to have a surprisingly strong sense of integrity.”
“Aah, you’re right…”
Arisu-chan was also looking at Ibuki’s leaving back with interest.
Then I recalled something. Come to think of it, she should have gotten the class transfer ticket.
Well then, what choice would she make? Considering her personality, if nobody said anything about it, the ticket would be left unused in the end… but what kind of instruction would Ryuuen give?
The event was over, but the aftermath wasn’t likely to subside. In the matter about Kei-chan, it might be better to keep an eye on Class D’s movement in the future.
“…It feels cold. Shall we go home?”
“Yes, let’s do so. It looks like it’s going to rain soon.”
After Ibuki’s back disappeared, we started walking toward the student dormitory.
The cloudy gray sky felt a little eerie.
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