One essential quality required of a Student Council President is having common sense. Therefore, no matter how sensible Yuuki-senpai’s personality might be, his height and face were so far beyond the realm of "common" that he was practically disqualified for the role. Sorry, that was a lie. Thank you for not hating my sister.
We stood on the connecting walkway between the buildings on the third floor. There was a roof overhead, but both sides were open-air, allowing a warm, muggy southern breeze to brush against my cheek. Since we were in the shade, however, it wasn't particularly hot. Looking down from the railing on the right, I had a clear view of the students heading home. Having been liberated from their classes, they all wore bright expressions.
"Sorry for calling you out so suddenly, Wataru."
"Ah, no..."
More importantly, the choice of location was a perfect ten out of ten. Couldn't you learn a thing or two from him, Shinomiya-senpai? Please take a leaf out of Yuuki-senpai’s book and acquire some common sense. Oh, my, I could practically feel a romance brewing.
"Um... is this about helping out again?"
"I’d certainly welcome that... but the main topic is something else."
"I see..."
In preparation for the school festival, a Cultural Festival Executive Committee had been established to lead the efforts. It seemed the Student Council was already doing the groundwork for the period after summer vacation. Indeed, the documents I had helped with earlier were filled with references to "autumn" and "October." There was clearly plenty of work left to do.
Leaving that aside, what on earth did he want with me? I couldn't imagine Yuuki-senpai, a man who completely outclassed me in every category, needing to consult me about anything.
"Hey, Wataru... what do you think of yourself?"
"...Huh? Myself? You mean, me as a person?"
"Yeah."
Wait, what kind of question was that? What was he going to do with my self-evaluation? Was this some kind of test? What if I got dragged into the Student Council depending on my answer? I absolutely did not want that.
"Um... Objectively speaking, I think I'm just an ordinary guy. I have so few redeeming qualities that it almost makes me want to cry."
"..."
I offered a smile while trying to gauge Yuuki-senpai’s reaction. As I did, he took a step back and began to appraise me from head to toe, as if sizing me up. Um... could you please switch on some emotions? This was getting creepy, and it was actually starting to make me want to cry.
"I see."
Don't just say "I see." Why are you giving me such a calm analysis? An ordinary person might take pride in being ordinary, but when someone as good-looking as you says it, it turns us into weird creatures. I'm a total monster!
"But I heard that for years, you approached the girl you liked with intense passion."
"Please forget that."
I couldn't help it; the words I’d intended to keep bottled up slipped out. Because he said it so politely, the memory was absolutely excruciating, damn it. I almost felt like jumping off the walkway right then and there...
Anyway, who was the one who blabbed? It was Nee-chan. There was no one else it could be. Why would she go around talking about her younger brother's love life? Seriously, that’s exactly what’s wrong with her.
"Why did you stop?"
"I don't have any reason to tell you."
"...I see."
He was prying way too much. I spat back a cold rejection, and Yuuki-senpai backed off quietly. It seemed he didn't intend to pursue the matter further. Perhaps he had planned from the start to ask as much as he could and then stop the moment he drew my ire. His thoughtfulness was hard to read... but that was to be expected of a Cool-type Handsome Guy. He probably had that common social awkwardness.
"At any rate... it seems there has been some change in you lately."
"Well, yes. I’ve had some realizations. Rather than saying I’ve changed, it’s more that I’ve stopped doing unnecessary things."
"As for the reason... I won't ask, but does Kaede know?"
"Nee-chan...?"
Does she... not know? She must have seen the exchange when Natsukawa came to our house, but I had never told her anything specific about my change in behavior. I mean, normally you wouldn't tell anyone about this; it was too embarrassing. No matter what I said to Nee-chan, she’d just respond with sarcasm anyway. I was absolutely not telling her.
"From the looks of it... you haven't told her."
"She’s the person in the world least interested in me. You’ve seen how harshly she treats me, right? Have you ever had her act like that toward you, senpai?"
"I haven't... but well, that is certainly an intense attitude."
"Then there’s no need for me to go out of my way to tell her anything."
"Heh..."
O-Oh... Yuuki-senpai gave a thin smile. Damn, he was photogenic; even as a guy, I found it admirable. Looking at his profile, the small-time villain vibe of that stalker lady certainly seemed like a bad match. For the sake of the world, please go after some American celebrity actress instead.
"But it's impossible that she's the person least interested in you. In fact, Kaede seems bewildered by your change."
"Huh...? Nee-chan is?"
Come to think of it, Kai-senpai had said something similar. I think he’d mentioned something about me being in my rebellious phase, but I hadn't been interested enough to remember it well. I simply couldn't imagine Nee-chan’s iron spirit being easily shaken.
"You don't seem to think it's a bad change, but at the very least, we didn't feel that way when we heard about it from Kaede. Especially regarding the fact that you gave up on your love for the person you like."
"That sister of mine talked about that too...?"
"Don't be like that. Kaede only told us because she wanted to consult us."
Indeed, if someone pieced together the information Nee-chan had, it might have looked as if I had fallen into self-loathing, lost my confidence, and given up on the person I liked.
...Wait, wasn't that actually correct? I did fall into self-loathing and stopped following Natsukawa around. But it wasn't a negative feeling like that; I was doing it for positive reasons, like moving my life forward...
"Kaede seems to think that a large part of the cause lies with her. She’s worried that she might have destroyed her brother’s precious youth with her own hands."
"..."
I remembered now. Kai-senpai had said the same thing. At the time, I’d laughed it off as a joke, but hearing it from Yuuki-senpai gave it a much heavier nuance. It was heavy. Too heavy, Nee-chan. Are you for real?
"I’ve vaguely felt that Kaede has been carrying a sense of guilt toward you. we tried to encourage her, saying that couldn't be the case... but after hearing what you said the other day, her state changed completely."
"...Huh?"
"When you were young, didn't you say something to the effect of being convinced by Kaede and your mother that 'you are only at that level'?"
"...Ah, ahh............"
...I-I did sort of remember saying that. I definitely said it, but if anything, I’d meant it as a reflection on how I hadn't been able to live up to such realistic and helpful guidance. On that point, I truly felt that Nee-chan and Mom were right.
"After that, it was the first time we ever saw Kaede cry."
"...! Are you... are you serious?"
"From your reaction, it seems you don't feel much dissatisfaction with your current situation."
"Yeah... if anything, I was feeling relieved that I could finally behave in a way appropriate for someone like me and not have to embarrass myself anymore..."
"I see..."
The day I went to the Student Council office was Friday. No wonder I hadn't spoken to Nee-chan once from that night through the weekend. Come to think of it, I hadn't even seen her. That meant Nee-chan had been intentionally avoiding me.
Furthermore, I now somewhat understood why Yuuki-senpai had been speaking to me with such intensity. I had been wondering why he was acting so familiar, but that was it. He was telling me not to do anything that would make Nee-chan suffer. Does he like her that much?
"...I understand. She's family, so I'll do something about it. But please let me ask one thing."
"What is it?"
"Is the reason you're telling me this because you don't want Nee-chan to be sad? Or is it because you're pissed off at me for being the cause of her suffering?"
"..."
When I asked, Yuuki-senpai fell into thought. I’d expected it to be an unfair question where either answer would be awkward, but he responded immediately without showing any embarrassment.
"In addition to those, it's for my own sake."
"..."
A Student Council President had to be sensible. That meant that, in addition to ideals, they had to be someone who could show understanding toward the more mundane, human parts of the students. I’d thought Yuuki-senpai was just a handsome guy who spouted dreams and hopes, but it seemed he had a passionate side as well.
"...Senpai, you probably understand how good-looking you are, don't you?"
"I let it go to my head and suffered for it. When I had fallen as far as I could go, the person who scooped me up was your sister."
"...Are you serious."
What kind of backstory was that? You could make a whole school drama out of that alone.
Are you serious?