"What’s wrong, President?! This isn't right!"
"T-That’s not true! Everything’s perfectly fine!"
The next morning, after the general meeting had concluded, Presia found herself being cornered by Hao, who had followed her out.
He was clearly worried about her, but his concern was so intense that it bordered on interrogation. Presia tried her best to placate him, but Hao only raised his voice further.
"Why aren't we heading into the forest for the ingredient search today? We came all this way for this! It’s pointless if we don't go out!"
"I—I gave you a proper reason, didn't I? We encountered a Magic Armor Beast in the woods yesterday. There might still be more of them out there, so we should stay quietly in the village until we're sure it's safe!"
Presia offered the excuse she had prepared in advance.
While it was true that the presence of monsters was a major factor, her primary motivation was a desire to investigate the dangerous atmosphere hanging over the village. If they did nothing, there was a chance the threat lurking here might catch them off guard.
In an attempt to investigate the anomaly before that happened, she had decided to cancel the search and keep the club members in the village, hoping to draw the villagers' attention away from her specific movements.
...However, to Hao, her behavior looked incredibly suspicious. Even though avoiding the threat of a Magic Armor Beast was a perfectly logical reason, he seemed to doubt even that.
"I’m not saying I don't believe you, President, but... did you really run into one yesterday? The Inn Proprietress said the Security Force already took care of it, didn't she?"
"I-It’s true! I’m not lying!"
Hao didn't have the slightest suspicion that the villagers themselves were dangerous. From his perspective, it was hard to believe that a Magic Armor Beast—one supposedly eliminated by the Security Force—would still be wandering so close to the village.
He didn't doubt Presia’s character, but he absolutely did not trust Yugo, who had been with her. Hao grabbed her by the shoulders, a look of grim determination on his face.
"President... I have to ask. Does that Yugo guy have some kind of leverage over you? Is he blackmailing you into doing whatever he says?!"
"T-That’s not it at all! You shouldn't say such rude things about Yugo-kun!"
"But it doesn’t make sense! You’ve been acting weird ever since you got back with Yugo and the others yesterday... and you even went to his room last night, didn't you?! Why?!"
"E-Er, well, that’s..."
Presia couldn't very well admit that she was sheltering a missing child in Yugo's room and had gone there to give the boy some warm soup. She stood there, unable to answer, her eyes darting around nervously.
Seeing her hesitation, Hao’s suspicions deepened, and he pressed her even harder.
"And another thing! What happened to the ingredient bag I lent you?! Why did you ask for it at a time like that? It just doesn’t add up! President, you're hiding something, aren't you? Please, just tell me! Do you really not trust me that much?!"
"U-Umm..."
It wasn't that Presia didn't trust Hao. Rather, she was hesitating because she wasn't sure if someone as prone to jumping to conclusions as he was could handle the truth.
However, seeing how worked up he was, she began to think it might be better to tell him everything and ask for his cooperation. Just as she was about to mention Shiroi to Hao...
"My, my, you're certainly being quite loud, Hao-kun."
"You seem awfully excited. What are you two talking about?"
"Ah...! Cyan-san, Egos-san...!! Perfect timing. Actually—"
"Wait! H-Hao-kun?!"
Cyan and Egos had suddenly appeared. Seeing Hao’s agitated state, they seemed to have taken an interest in the conversation.
Presia turned pale as she watched Hao blurt out the situation to the newcomers before she could stop him. Cyan and Egos looked at her with smiles that appeared full of compassion—yet were utterly hollow inside.
"President Presia, what on earth happened? Don't keep secrets from us. You can tell us everything."
"It might be difficult to talk about, but please, have courage! We promise your secret is safe with us!"
"Ah, uuh..."
Caught in a three-on-one situation, there was no way the gentle-hearted Presia could maintain the secret.
Her shoulders slumped in defeat. Feeling a wave of guilt toward Yugo and the others, she finally gave in.
"Actually, you see—"