I was led to a set of benches arranged in a square, tucked away beside the third-floor walkway connecting the East and West Buildings. Apparently, first-years never had a reason to come here, and upperclassmen avoided the spot due to some lingering awkwardness from last year’s friction. A bit further down the walkway stood a spiral staircase that descended directly into the central courtyard.
"Ishiguro."
"Yes."
Waiting at our destination was a prickly-looking second-year wearing glasses. Combined with his sharp, business-like hairstyle—front hair swept back—his school blazer didn't seem to suit him at all. He looked like the type who was born to wear a suit.
After making eye contact with Yuuki-senpai, this Ishiguro fellow stood at attention and turned his gaze toward me.
"I’m Ishiguro, a second-year. I have a personal connection with Hayato-san, but our families are also involved. Well, just think of it as that kind of relationship."
Th-th-that kind of relationship...?!
—Just kidding. I figured it was probably some sort of conglomerate-related business tie. Still, unlike Yuuki-senpai, this guy looked like he belonged in manual labor... yet he didn't feel stifling. He had the aura of a young yakuza underboss from an R15 movie. He definitely looked sharp.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Sajou..."
"Sajou... That woman's brother, huh. You don't look like her."
"Thank you."
"....... Well, I suppose there are various circumstances."
I wasn't sure what to make of him; he seemed strong-willed, yet there was a weary air about him too. Was he a hard worker? Either way, he didn't seem like a difficult person. There was a certain sense of security in his presence. His physique was incredible; he might actually get along surprisingly well with someone like Ichinose-san. But my gut told me he was the type who wouldn't understand a joke. Oh boy, was he a "gag killer"?
To my delight, Yuuki-senpai had prepared lunch for me. Actually, I’d spotted it a while ago. To be honest, I’d been hoping for it from the moment we met. I will gratefully accept... and I'll pay back this debt by offering up my sister.
We sat down on the connected benches in a U-shape. Hanging out with a super ikemen and a guy who looked like he could win any fight wasn't a bad feeling. It felt like my stats were getting a buff. I felt like I could take on Nee-chan right now... actually, no I couldn't. If I were going to defeat her, my only option would be a reverse starvation tactic.
"Regarding the Cultural Festival Executive Committee... I had the movement of money during past festival preparation periods investigated. I had Takuto look into the current reality in more detail, and I had Ishiguro look into the past performance records of the festival. Ishiguro."
"Yes."
I listened to the story while digging into my lunch. Even though I was heartily eating a bento, Yuuki-senpai had nothing, and Ishiguro-senpai only held a sweet bun in one hand. He’d said he was only sharing information with me, so I guess I didn't need to hold back. Ah, this is delicious.
In response to Yuuki-senpai, Ishiguro-senpai pulled out a gray binder. Several sheets of paper were tucked inside. It looked incredibly official. The "talented aide" vibe was off the charts.
"We thought the information Kai gathered was everything, but we found that there are problems in every direction. Therefore, under Hayato-san's instructions, we expanded the scope of our investigation."
"...Investigated? Did you ask them directly?"
Sensing a discrepancy, I asked the question, but Yuuki-senpai answered in his stead.
"No, we avoided direct contact. A large part of why we did this was because the story I heard from Wataru smelled fishy. It might be different for you... but well, this is Kaede's intention."
I knew there were some discriminatory issues in this school's past. At the speculation stage, I assumed it was something like an economic divide. If students from ordinary families were assigned to Classes A-C in the East Building, then the West Building's Classes D-F were for the children of the wealthy. I hadn't heard much about that since I enrolled, and Nee-chan didn't seem to want me to get involved.
Ishiguro-senpai spoke again.
"According to the results of the investigation, though there are differences in severity, the problems can be divided into three main categories."
"Three..."
"I will explain them in order. First, we found that the operational format is different from last year's Cultural Festival."
".........?"
Was that really a problem? Cultural Festivals changed their themes and attractions every year, so wouldn't the way preparations were handled change too?
"Due to various circumstances, up until last year, the student council and event operations almost always adopted the intentions of the West. In this school, where competition between corporations easily gets involved, there are many related parties among the teachers and students... well, there were more than a few people who threw their weight around."
"I see..."
The stories Nee-chan didn't want me to hear probably involved that kind of thing. It sounded complicated, so if I could stay uninvolved, that would be for the best. Even so, what was with their attitude of trying to pull me into the Student Council?
"The Cultural Festival of Kouetsu High School was directly influenced by those sorts of people. As the scale grew by involving the local community, it became customary to start early because everyone was swamped with preparations every year, and the preparation details were turned into a manual."
"Well, that sounds like a good thing."
"Preparations should be progressing based on that manual this year as well. Even though the West held the reins until last year, there were many experienced people on the East side as well, so it was thought that no problems would occur."
"It was thought." Those words carried a 100 percent chance of a bad omen. If it were Akira, he’d be having a premonition. Something must have happened. Something about the manualization that had a negative impact on the Cultural Festival.
"—That manual had already become hollowed out years ago."
"H-hollowed out...?"
"The 'West' was faithfully carrying out the manualized Cultural Festival—on paper."
"More specifically, in the digital records," Yuuki-senpai added, and Ishiguro-senpai slapped his left hand with his binder as if the thought were loathsome. Scary, scary. His appearance was completely that of a bodyguard. If I compared him to a combat character, he’d be the type with high STR and low SPD. He probably wouldn't use magic.
"Um, does that mean they were doing something special?"
"Outsourcing."
"Whoa."
Ou-ou-outsourcing? That’s that thing, right? Where you request external people who aren't originally involved to do part of the work? Since you're requesting it, you obviously need to pay a "reward"... eh? No way. That thing small businesses do as a last resort, in a high school...?
"While expanding the scale of the Cultural Festival is risky, it becomes a grand achievement if it succeeds. It likely became a hotbed for competing over 'contribution levels' to the school—and by extension, the community. When we re-examined the scale the Cultural Festival would likely reach this year, we found that it is currently 2.5 times what it was last year."
"Two point—!?"
Ishiguro-senpai continued. He said this was something that could be easily understood if one looked into it. However, because the content wasn't something visible, it was simply impossible for anyone to bother checking it in advance.
"Was that... not in last year's records or something?"
"I told you, 'on paper.' Everything up until last year was done unofficially. Using pocket money, making it look as though it were volunteer work. Therefore, the 'scale' was never left as data. In reality, last year's Cultural Festival was likely much larger in scale."
"But then, wouldn't the traces of the work they did be in the data—"
"It was deleted."
...Huh? Deleted?
"B-but, from what I've heard, wasn't 'outsourcing' rampant not just last year, but the year before that, and the year before that too? I can't believe it just happened to continue every year by coincidence... wouldn't they have been in the same trouble last year too?"
"We discovered this by attempting to restore the Student Council's backup data... but the reason last year's and previous unofficial data were deleted was—at the end of last November."
"Huh? Late November...?"
Why? The actual Cultural Festival was at the beginning of October. I didn't see the connection with the timing of when the data was deleted. Why would last year's student council go out of their way to do something like deleting event data...? If this were a proper job, you'd be fired in an instant. Once, a flashy college student senior at an office job I worked at messed up and vanished.
What did this mean...? While I was stuck in confusion, Yuuki-senpai, who had his eyes closed and arms crossed looking solemn, spoke with an unchanging expression.
"—That was the time for the Student Council handover."
"........."
Following Yuuki-senpai's words, a still-loathsome Ishiguro-senpai let out a sigh. For me, the content was still full of question marks. All I could do was listen. However, I could somehow sense that this matter was intertwined with the former "East and West" issue.
"Out of respect for that woman's wishes, I'll omit the specific details—but last year, due to a movement by students from the 'East' and some from the 'West,' there was an event that broadly suppressed the 'excessive favoritism toward the West.' Because of that, the upperclassmen in the student council and the various committees, which were solidified by 'West' students who were deeply involved in school operations at the time, were forced to step down."
"Step down."
That's a word I only heard in overseas political news or history class... eh? Did this school have more darkness than I thought? And Nee-chan was actually involved in that? I hope the repercussions don't come back to bite me now. I had my suspicions, but...
"—I believe this was a parting gift from last year's student council, or perhaps the president, to strike back at the current student council as revenge."
Heh... It’s really sunny today.
The bento is delicious.