"Well, that should do it. Thank you so much for helping us,Masachika."
"Thanks."
"No problem."
About an hour after starting, Masachika had emptied his mind and detached himself from the physical world, which helped him speed up his work considerably. The three of them finished organizing far earlier than expected, but when they left the supply room, they were approached by a large male student.
"Oh,you're done already?"
"Oh, if it isn't the president. Yes, we finished earlier than expected thanks to Masachika's help."
"Awesome. So you're Masachika Kuze, huh? I'm the president of the student council, Touya. I've heard a lot of good things about you."
"Uh-huh.Nice to meet you,too."
Masachika bowed, then looked up at the guy. He didn't need to be introduced because he already knew who he was. His name was Touya Kenzaki,and he was a second-year student and the charismatic president of the high school student council. He was a large guy but not just in height. He had broad shoulders and a thick chest, so he looked even bigger close-up. He wasn't the best-looking of guys. If anything, he seemed old for his age; this, coupled with his large stature, made it hard to believe he was still a high school student.However, his eyebrows were well groomed where they hung over his stylish glasses. But what stood out most of all was his extremely confident expression,which gave him both charm and a strong presence. Just one look at him would make it clear that he was someone you could count on. That was why everyone naturally felt they would be okay with him in the lead. Perhaps rulers such as kings had a regal presence like his. Most guys at school had extreme doubts at first when they heard that one simple guy was leading four beautiful,talented girls all by himself, but everything made sense the moment they saw him.Masachika honestly felt the same way.
"Well,I need to get going."
"Hey,wait. I'd feel bad sending you home without thanking you somehow for helping. I know you need to get home, but let me treat you to dinner."
"I appreciate the thought, but..."
Masachika was hesitant. Of course, he was uncomfortable being treated to dinner by someone he had just met, but he also had a bad feeling in his gut as well. He wondered if perhaps this was what Yuki was really after when she asked for his help.
"Why not take him up on his offer? It's not like dinner is waiting for you at home, right?" chimed in Yuki as if to confirm his suspicions.
"Yuki..."
"Hmm? How would you know that?" asked Touya as he and Alisa stared at them in utter bewilderment.
"Because we're childhood friends," said Yuki with a straight face.
How does that explain anything?
Masachika-and probably Touya and Alisa as well-thought that,but the overwhelming power behind Yuki's archaic smile kept them from saying anything.
"Okay, then... That's all the more reason for us to go grab something to eat.Alisa, Yuki, you're coming, too. I want to thank you two for today as well."
"Thank you very much."
"...Right.Thanks."
"If you say so."
Before Masachika even realized it, it had been decided that the group was going out to eat. While he wasn't thrilled about it, he didn't feel like arguing over it, either, so he hesitantly went along.
So this is the power of the president...
While inwardly sighing, Masachika casually turned to his side to look at Alisa.
"...What?"
"Nothing."
"Excuse me? You know it's rude to stare at a lady's face for no reason.""Sorry."
He looked forward and reflected on his behavior, since she was completely right.
And this is the cold, heartless accountant of the student council...
Thinking about such nonsense, Masachika began to daydream.
"
Masachika nearly died again, but he continued to stare forward. He could sense Alisa grinning and glancing in his direction, but he didn't have the capacity to respond. He was already long out of MP. He returned to emptying his mind while slipping into his shoes at the school entrance and then stepping outside. That was when they ran into the soccer club, which most likely had just finished practice, but the athletes naturally moved to the side the moment they saw the four of them.
They aren't moving out of the way for me. That's for sure.
Even as they passed by, the soccer club members' eyes were glued to them,especially Alisa. Yuki was the next in line for most stares, followed by Masachika, who was only being looked at because they had no idea who he was.It was as if their eyes were saying, "Who the hell is this guy?"
Can't blame them.
Even though Masachika himself realized that he didn't belong there, it still didn't help how uncomfortable it made him. However, neither Alisa nor Yuki batted an eye, despite being gawked at. They didn't seem to care. When they left the school, the environment changed, but the situation did not. Even people merely passing by couldn't take their eyes off the two girls, but everyone except Masachika seemed to be completely used to it. They walked down the street for around ten minutes until they reached a restaurant. Touya was the first to sit down after they were led to a table, so Masachika urged the other two to go ahead so he wouldn't have to sit across from him. However...
"Here,Masachika.Have a seat." Yuki innocently smiled while offering the seat right in front of Touya.
"You heard the lady, Alya," said Masachika, feigning ignorance, as if he was throwing her a hot potato.
"She was clearly talking to you."
The stalemate continued for the next few seconds until Touya finally broke the silence.
"Come on, just have a seat, Kuze.The waitress is waiting to take our order."
When Masachika glanced to his side, a waitress was idly waiting with a tray carrying four glasses of water, so he gave up and plopped himself down in the seat in front of Touya. Yuki then smoothly slid into the seat by his side while Alisa sat next to Touya.
"I know it's a little late to bring this up, but isn't it against school rules to wear our uniforms off campus?"
"Don't worry about it. We often go out to eat like this when the student council works overtime like today. Plus, it's an old rule that nobody follows anymore anyway. So just order whatever you want and enjoy yourselves. Keep it within five thousand yen,though."
"I thought you were really cool up until that last sentence, President." "Heh! It's not the wallet that makes the man, Yuki."
Touya's playful response broke the ice, helping Masachika to relax as well.But it was still too early to let his guard down. Everyone ordered,keeping their meal under a thousand yen per person, and Masachika soon became the topic of conversation.
"Anyway, I'm still surprised you managed to organize everything that quickly. I totally thought it was going to have to be finished tomorrow," stated Touya.
"We wouldn't have been able to do it without Masachika's help. Having a man around really makes a difference, especially one who's used to this kind of work," Yuki immediately chimed in.
"I bet."
"Masachika is incredible. It doesn't matter if it's physical labor or desk work. He gets the job done without even a single complaint. And he's quite the negotiator,to boot."
"Yuki, stop making me sound way better than I am. You're overselling me."
"It isn't often Yuki speaks this highly of someone, though. What do you say? Interested in joining the student council? We actually don't have any general members to help us out."
Masachika was not surprised in the least that it had come to this. After glaring hard at Yuki beside him, he replied:
"I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in joining the student council.I already had my fill in middle school, and I'm done."
"Hmm... While I admit things in the student council are a bit more intense in high school, it's much more fulfilling as well. We're given a lot more freedom to make decisions compared with other schools, and to be blunt, it positively affects our transcripts."
Touya was just being truthful. Simply being part of the student council at Seiren Academy put one in an extremely beneficial position. Not only would it give them advantages for getting into university, such as positive letters of recommendation, but the positions of president and vice president were also elite titles that went beyond the usual school pecking order and held significant meaning after entering the workforce. There were even social gatherings solely for people who used to be the president or vice president of the student council at Seiren Academy, an institute known for producing impressive graduates who went on to work inpolitics, finance, and elite business establishments.If you could function as a member of the student council for a year, then it was essentially guaranteed you would succeed in the workforce as well. Conversely,if you did a poor job managing and caused a major problem, then you would be labeled incompetent for the rest of your days. Yet in spite of that, there were still countless people who fought for the position of vice president and president.Furthermore, the quickest way to work your way up to those positions was to become a general member of the student council first.
"Sorry, but I just don't have the ambition. I don't plan on going to a different university, and I'm not really interested in making connections with big shots after graduating, either."
But none of that was enticing to someone who didn't have any specific dream for their future and idled the days away like Masachika.
"Come on, don't be like that," said Yuki. "Let's join forces. Let's run together."
"Seriously? You're already asking more from me? Besides, you don't need me. It's pretty much guaranteed you're going to be elected president next election cycle, right? You were president in middle school, after all."
"I want to run the student council with you,Masachika."
"No way. It's too much work."
Over 90 percent of the guys at school would agree to help Yuki without even giving it a second thought, but Masachika continuously turned her down.Touya stroked his chin while watching them in amusement.
"Masachika. Yuki isn't guaranteed to win, just to let you know. There are plenty of other candidates, including Alisa here," mentioned Touya before glancing at Alisa by his side. When Masachika instinctively looked over at her as well, his eyes immediately met hers.
"Alya? You plan on running for president, too?"
"Yes, I am going to run against Yuki next year."
Alisa looked over at Yuki, who was smiling calmly, but Masachika could practically see the flames roaring behind the two girls.
"By the way, Alisa, you sit next to Kuze in class, right? What do you think of him?" Touya promptly changed the subject to lighten the mood, but he ended up only adding gasoline to the fire.
"What do I think? Honestly, I can sum him up in one word: uncommitted."
"Oh?"
Touya appeared to be greatly interested in Alisa's heartless remark. He then glanced in Masachika's direction, but Masachika simply shrugged because she was right.In fact, he was actually thinking, Yeah, that's the spirit. Yuki talked me up so much that I need someone to bring me down.
"He always forgets his textbooks, he barely pays attention in class,and it would be faster to count from the bottom if you want to know where he stands with his grades."
"At the very least, he does do the bare minimum, so he isn't failing any of his classes," explained Yuki as if to balance out Alisa's relentless critiques,causing one of Alisa's eyebrows to twitch and the flames behind her to reappear.
"...Yes, I know he's passing his quizzes, since I'm the one grading them.He manages to get good enough grades on them to avoid having to take the makeup quizzes, and I can somewhat admire that, but he could do so much better if he applied himself."
"Masachika has always been really smart, after all. He got into Seiren Academy even though he barely studied for the test. Oh. Of course, I only know this because we grew up together."
"Kuze's really athletic, too, but he's hopeless when it comes to ball sports for some reason. He even jammed his finger playing basketball in PE the other day."
"He's always been bad at ball sports, ever since we were little.I'm not any better, though. Masachika's favorite sport in PE was always long-distance running."
Whoosh! The imaginary fire behind Alisa roared higher. Masachika literally began to sweat, despite it not actually being hot. It was even stranger since Yuki had the calmest, coolest look on her face.
"S-sorry to keep you waiting," hesitantly squeaked the waitress carrying their food. She forced a diplomatic smile as the two young girls sitting by the aisle continued to emit an alarming aura. She appeared to have been holding the tray for quite a while, sadly enough. Today was not her day.
"Oh, great. The food's here.Let's eat."
Those simple words from Touya ended Alisa and Yuki's staring contest and restored peace to their table-much to the waitress's relief-sending Masachika's respect for him through the roof. Touya, however, already had a girlfriend, so naturally, none of this would ever develop into love.