I would be making actual contact with the external collaborators tomorrow at noon. Once school let out for the day, I made my way toward the Student Council Room. As I walked, my mind was occupied by the memories of the part-time job I’d dived into during the latter half of my second year in middle school—the first one of my life.
"With an attitude like that, I’m surprised you thought you could pull this off."
Everyone at the workplace had told me that. Back then, I’d kept the fact that I was a middle schooler a secret, and I’d been quite a handful, trapped in a spiral of guilt and a perceived sense of "low status." Maybe I still am, but I only had memories of being so blatantly problematic that I was a nuisance to everyone. Even so, the reason I managed to keep at it until the middle of my third year was likely because the team that took me in was still new, and I’d started when there wasn't much to memorize yet.
It was the first time I’d ever touched a computer properly. I watched as an organizational structure was built from the ground up. Unlike school, everything we did had a clear purpose. Putting Natsukawa aside for a moment, it didn't take long for me to get absorbed in it. I probably shouldn't put it this way since I was being paid, but for someone like me who had never joined a club out of pure inertia, it was, more than anything, the thing that allowed me to grow.
The know-how from that time remained burned into my brain. I wondered how I could utilize it and get involved in this Cultural Festival project. At the very least, I felt that I lacked far too much information to move freely.
I quickened my pace, and as I neared the Student Council Room, I noticed it was unusually noisy.
"—! —!"
"—please! —!"
"Nee-chan...?"
It wasn't exactly rare, but it had been a while since I’d heard Nee-chan raise her voice like that. I sped up even more, and in front of the Student Council Room, I saw a blonde-headed girl I occasionally spotted cornering Nee-chan.
"B-but, if it were I—!"
"I don't have time to deal with you! Get lost before you start getting in the way!"
"…!"
Shinonome... something... Marika. As usual, I couldn't remember the full name of this blonde ojou-sama. She had an outstanding visual impact, yet I felt like I'd never had a conversation of any substance with her. Still, she had a lot of nerve to make Nee-chan show her emotions like that. She was bringing out a side of her that reminded me of her old delinquent days.
Faced with Nee-chan's intimidating pressure, Shinonome's expression twisted with frustration. She then ran off in a very ojou-sama-like dash, heading toward the West Building.
"I haven't seen that in a while."
"…Wataru."
"I know you’re on edge, but was she really that much of a problem?"
"Shut up…"
Further prying would be dangerous. Nee-chan’s boiling point can skyrocket in an instant. If I had even the slightest bad feeling, silence was the only option. In times like these, it was better to talk about things devoid of emotion to help her switch gears.
"…What? Do you want something?"
"There’s some stuff I want to know."
"…"
Nee-chan narrowed her eyes. It was hurtful to be looked at with such suspicion. Here I was, coming all this way to help with the work.
Apparently, the tasks coming up from the Executive Committee had stalled, and the other members of the Student Council had rushed out to do fieldwork. I didn't hear the term "fieldwork" much in a school setting… it really made me realize this wasn't a normal school.
"…………Why are you here?"
"You were the one trying to make me help in the first place."
"That was because it was just pointless busywork…"
"No, I’m pretty sure you handed me some seriously legitimate documents…"
Seriously? Was that just pointless busywork? I thought she was setting me up with stuff that required a real commitment. I felt a sense of anticlimax, like a minor villain I was certain would be an important character turning out to be a total jobber until the very end.
"…Why do you have those eyes full of motivation?"
"Because a reward is waiting for me."
"Hayato’s bento? Don't you get tired of it?"
"It’s not that, and man, you’re being incredibly spoiled…"
Could I ever get tired of those? I thought they were at least two hundred times more delicious than a meat bun. Considering I was eating something better than a high-end station bento every day, it was a luxury… no, I take that back. It was compensation for my labor. Yeah, it was my rightful due. Besides, it wasn't like Yuuki-senpai was the one actually making them.
The reason I came here was for personal preparation to organize the structure of the Cultural Festival Executive Committee. The role for me and Ishiguro-senpai was to act as a bridge. As for the necessary information, Ishiguro-senpai was handling the current state of the committee. When I asked what I should do, he told me in that gravelly voice, "Just do what you can." That was the most difficult kind of instruction to follow.
I’d already looked through the data he sent to my phone. The tasks the committee needed to clear as a whole. Which processes took up the most man-hours. Which ones had high confidentiality. Based on that information, I was here to clear up any doubts with the Student Council, where I could easily investigate for now. Since I’d been avoiding them, I realized that Yuuki-senpai and Nee-chan had been doing some quite complicated things on a regular basis.
"I’m heading out."
"Huh?"
"Well, since the Student Council seems to have stalled along with the Executive Committee, I figured maybe I wasn't needed after all."
"…Do whatever you want. You were an outsider to begin with."
"Right. Later then."
I tried to be calm and reconsidered my position. Helping the Student Council was like being Nee-chan’s errand boy. But now it was different; this thing with Yuuki-senpai was the result of a trade—a contract. Nee-chan had nothing to do with it. Yuuki-senpai said something about her punching him if she found out, so there was no need to go out of my way to explain the situation.
On my way back, I passed by the Executive Committee’s classroom to see how things were going. I stopped and peeked inside from a distance, but I couldn't see Natsukawa, who usually sat by the corridor. Well, as long as she was quietly working away right now—
"Ugh, so tedious."
"Seriously, I can't deal with this anymore."
"—!?"
I almost let out a shout. I didn't think people would come out of the room at this exact moment.
Startled, I watched as two female students and Sasaki stepped out. As expected, Sasaki noticed me and gave me a look that said, "Why are you here?"
"Sajou, why are you…?"
"Nah, just on my way back from a small errand."
"What’s this? Taka’s classmate?"
"Oh? Didn't you come here before too?"
"That was when I was being an errand boy for the Student Council."
They probably didn't remember, but we should have met at least twice. The first time was when I helped Shinomiya-senpai during the Summer Vacation Trial Enrollment. The next was recently, when I came to collect deliverables from Hasegawa-senpai. So this guy was called "Taka" by his seniors, huh?
"Are you on a break? Must be tough."
"Not a break, more like ditching?"
"Exactly. Who could put up with being forced to work under such unreasonable conditions?"
"Heh………… 'Is that so?'"
I answered while looking at Sasaki. Whether he understood what I was implying or not, Sasaki’s expression turned bitter, and he glared back at me with a face full of guilt. Maybe it was because I’d gotten used to seeing Yuuki-senpai and the other Student Council members, but even looking at Sasaki’s "normally handsome" face, he didn't seem all that handsome to me. If Sasaki was like this, I’d probably feel despair when I looked in the mirror later…
"I mean, we're in the Soccer Club, you know? We have work as managers too, so I don't know why we even joined this thing. It’s cut into our time with Taito. Oh, Taito is the soccer club captain."
"Stop bragging about your boyfriend. Haa... I thought this would be more fun."
"Haha."
"………"
Natsukawa had said it. That they weren't bad people. That they’d helped her out with various things at first. Well, if that was the case, I could understand the circumstances, and even if it wasn't a valid reason to ditch, I didn't intend to try and talk them down with harsh words.
However.
"—Ah, but I think things are going to change starting around the beginning of next week, so could you stop 'that'?"
"Huh?"
"Eh?"
"The Student Council has made its move. I think things will start becoming more decent in various ways. You won't have any complaints then, right?"
"Hey, hold on, Sajou…"
I intended to say it as a piece of advice, but it didn't seem that way to Sasaki. He’d been hanging back like a tagalong, but then he stepped forward to shield the two stunned girls and shoved my shoulder.
"What do you think you’re doing? You’re not an executive committee member, and yet you’ve got a lot of nerve talking to my seniors like—"
"What do you think you’re doing?"
"Wh—"
A leader who couldn't get the job done. Endless remaining tasks. It was perfectly understandable to be fed up with that. While that was no reason to slack off, based on what Natsukawa had said, I thought they were the type of people you could talk sense into. All I could really say was what I just did.
But this guy, Sasaki, was different.
"Sasaki, you're an executive committee member, aren't you? Are you in any position to talk down to me?"
"B-but! Sajou, you're an outsider. Don't do anything unnecessary!"
"'Unnecessary'?"
If I were to meddle in the Cultural Festival Executive Committee’s methods, would that actually cause Sasaki any trouble? Or would it be inconvenient for him if things happened to go well and the committee ended up in a good state?
"Hey, Sasaki. By 'unnecessary,' do you mean, for example, 'covering for Natsukawa'?"
"!"
"She seems to be having a hard time. Like she’s being burdened with everything. It was so ridiculous that I ended up helping her the other day. While you weren't there."
"Y-you……"
I understood that it was difficult to go against your seniors. But if Sasaki’s feelings for Natsukawa didn't outweigh that, then that was a different story. I couldn't stand the ulterior motives of someone trying to win her over with that level of commitment. I had no intention of ever supporting him; to me, he was nothing but a total failure.
"Sasaki... why did you become an executive committee member again?"
"…!"
I still remembered the meaningful look this guy gave me when he volunteered for the committee. Where did that desperation from back then go? If you’re doing this with an ulterior motive, shouldn't there be at least some blatant favoritism? Shouldn't you be sticking to Natsukawa with enough resolve to not let anyone else lay a finger on her? Or maybe I was just the abnormal one…
"Well, see ya. I’ve got stuff to do."
"………"
Man, oh man. I really had a twisted personality. It was fun to pick on handsome guys. It cleared away my daily envy and jealousy—wait, so I really was envious and jealous. Suddenly, I felt like I’d lost.
Whatever, forget it. I had things to do right now. Handsome guys or average guys, it didn't matter. In the face of Nee-chan’s fist, they both turned ugly. Your eyes would swell shut until you couldn't see a thing, and everyone ended up with the same face.
"—Good luck with your soccer."
"……"
Now then, get back to work.