"Satsukawa-san’s event is coming up soon, and the crowd in the cheering area near the start point is really starting to swell."
A massive crowd was definitely gathering.
What caught my attention, though, was how many of them shared a suspiciously similar look.
Wait, was that her fan club?
"Um... by any chance, is that crowd Sara-senpai's fan club?"
"I can't say for certain, but that's most likely the case, isn't it?"
So those guys were the ones.
It was the first time I’d ever seen them all gathered together, but they really did exist.
Even from all the way over here, I could see Sara-senpai wearing a look of pure disgust.
...Ah, I’d just spoken into the live microphone.
Maybe she made that face because she heard me mention them...
"Takanashi-kun, you’re currently serving as the Vice President Assistant. What’s Satsukawa-san like in the Student Council?"
For some reason, the President asked a question that had absolutely nothing to do with the current event.
Was he plotting something again? Or was he just looking for a topic?
Either way, I couldn't just ignore him, so I decided to answer as safely as possible.
"Let’s see... Well, she’s fundamentally serious and has a very stoic approach to her work, but she always listens to what I have to say and takes my opinions into account. If there’s something I don't understand, she explains it to me very patiently and kindly..."
"...That’s only for Takanashi-kun."
"...She just gets mad at us and tells us to go study on our own before she’ll even consider helping..."
"...Ignorance is bliss, I guess."
Without me noticing, members of the Executive Committee had gathered behind us and were whispering among themselves.
"I see. So that's how Satsukawa-san is usually. As you can see, in her role as Vice President, Satsukawa-san..."
This... he might have been trying to provide some cover for Sara-senpai, since she tended to make enemies easily.
It was true that there were almost no opportunities to let the entire student body hear about her in such a casual, conversational way, so this was a rare chance to give everyone a better impression of her.
Meanwhile, Sara-senpai was smiling happily and giving me a small wave.
"Still, Takanashi-kun, you're quite observant. As expected, since you're always—"
"Now then, it's finally the match everyone's waiting for! Since I can't go to the track because of my commentary duties, I'll be cheering her on from right here!"
I couldn't lower my guard.
Who knows what this man was about to say just now...
I forcibly cut him off while giving him a sharp glare.
"I'm back~ Sorry to keep you waiting."
Fukazawa-senpai returned at the perfect moment.
"And Fukazawa-san is back. I'll hand the microphone back to her, so I, Takanashi, will be taking my leave. Thank you very much."
I finished my greetings as quickly as possible, stood up, and fled the scene.
If I lingered, he was bound to say something unnecessary.
If I hurried, I might just make it in time...
I headed toward the cheering area, picking a spot far away from those fan club guys.
Sara-senpai seemed to have spotted me and waved again. Recalling the absolute disaster that occurred during my own race, I kept my voice down and didn't call her name so as not to draw attention.
"Good luck! I'll be waiting at the goal area!"
Senpai nodded with a radiant smile.
"Wow~ As expected of Satsukawa-san, that was a magnificent run!"
Senpai had won by a mile.
I probably wasn't the only one captivated by the sight of her running.
I really wanted to go talk to her, but I simply gave her a sign after she crossed the finish line and hurried back to Headquarters.
The scavenger hunt was next, which meant it was my turn to get ready.
"Regarding the upcoming scavenger hunt: borrowing items from the Faculty Tent and the Headquarters Tent is strictly prohibited!"
"""Whaaaaat?!"""
A chorus of groans erupted, primarily from the male students.
They were likely planning to use the race as an excuse to approach Sara-senpai.
Of course, I had anticipated that and suggested the rule change myself... and it turned out my instincts were right.
Well, it also meant I couldn't borrow anything from Sara-senpai either...
"Now, regarding this scavenger hunt, it seems we have a lot of complaints from the boys about the prohibited areas. Satsukawa-san, what do you think of them?"
"If they cannot follow a rule as simple as this..."
The complaints stopped instantly.
They were so easy to read.
"Now then, since everyone has gracefully accepted the rules, the competition will begin. If the prompt is an object, just bring it back, but if it's a person, please cross the goal together!"
The heats progressed, and once the current group finished, it would be my turn.
The items hadn't seemed too difficult so far, and I knew there were some "bonus" or very easy prompts mixed in, so if I got lucky, I might be able to place high.
"Now, Takanashi-kun is in the next group. He seems to be getting quite a lot of cheers; is he popular, I wonder? Now then, what kind of prompt will he— Ah! Satsukawa-san, don't try to leave the tent just because we made it a prohibited area!"
Me being popular is something that wouldn't happen even if the world were turned upside down.
But right now, more than that, I just hoped I'd draw an easy prompt.
And it seemed Sara-senpai had tried to pull something, as the commentary booth was making a fuss again.
On your marks... bang!
I sprinted toward the boxes and narrowed my target down to one.
The guys who reached the pile first took the envelopes on either side of my target, leaving one sitting there all by itself.
I felt like destiny was telling me to take that one.
I snatched the prompt and peeked inside.
"A close friend of the same gender."
...For me, that was an impossibly high hurdle.