After school.
Supporting the listless Hinako had helped me regain my own drive. I finished packing my textbooks into my bag, preparing to head home.
“Ah, Tomonari-kun. Do you have a moment?”
Fukushima-sensei called out to me.
I tilted my head in confusion and approached the teacher at her desk.
“Yes, what is it?”
“I’m sorry, but could you deliver these documents to the homeroom teachers of each class?”
Sensei handed me a bundle of papers.
“Well, I don't mind, but...”
Perhaps my confusion as to why she was asking me was written all over my face, because Fukushima-sensei gave a little chuckle.
“If you’re setting your sights on the Student Council, it wouldn't hurt to boost your reputation with the faculty, would it?”
I see.
Before I knew it, the news that I was aiming for the Student Council had spread quite far. Well, I mentioned it myself during small talk with my classmates, so it didn't feel unnatural that it had reached the teachers’ ears as well.
I glanced behind me for a second. My eyes met Hinako’s, and she gave me a small nod.
I’d have to ask Hinako to wait in the classroom for a bit.
“I understand.”
I took the documents and left the classroom.
Just as Fukushima-sensei said, if I was going to face the Student Council Election, the impression I left on the teachers would surely be important. I needed to keep piling up these kinds of steady efforts.
...I’m not just being used as a gopher, right?
I decided not to overthink it.
◆
The second-year students at Kikou Academy were divided into six classes, from Class 2-A to Class 2-F. Class 2-A, where Hinako and I were, was on the second floor of the school building, along with Class 2-B and Class 2-C.
I intended to head to the nearest one, Class 2-B, first, but...
(...Calm down.)
For several reasons, the Class 2-B classroom felt like a difficult place to step into right now.
I took a deep breath, firmly composed myself, and then entered the room.
“Excuse me.”
As I stepped inside, several people looked my way.
Since we shared PE classes with Class 2-B, there were a few students I recognized. Some of them gave me a light nod, so I bowed back as I made my way toward the teacher’s desk.
“I’ve come to deliver some documents.”
“Oh, thank you very much.”
The homeroom teacher for Class 2-B was an adult-like woman. While Fukushima-sensei had the aura of a small animal, this teacher gave off a calm, composed, and intellectual impression.
“You’re Tomonari-kun, right?”
“Eh? Yes, I am...”
“It’s nothing. Good work.”
Perhaps she just wanted to confirm my face matched my name, as the teacher stared intently at me for a moment but said nothing more.
Next was Class 2-C.
I headed straight out of the room without looking around, trying to avoid making eye contact—
“...Ah.”
“...Ah.”
For just a fleeting moment, I caught a glimpse of the classroom's interior.
With just that, our eyes met.
—Narika.
The "various circumstances" that made it so hard for me to enter Class 2-B. That was Narika.
I vividly remembered the exchange I’d had with Narika after the Management Game ended.
I wouldn’t forget. There was no way I could forget.
I could still feel the phantom sensation of those clumsy feelings on my cheek.
—Because it was Itsuki who told me to just go for it!!
Narika had said that with a bright red face, and then—she had bolted.
...Because she'd run away, I had absolutely no idea what kind of face I was supposed to make the next time I saw her. I had agonized over it all night, but no answer had come to me. To be honest, I was sleep-deprived today because of it, which was part of why my guard had been so low earlier.
I understood Narika’s feelings. In response, though it was pathetic of me, I hadn't yet been able to organize my own.
That was why I probably had a very awkward expression right now.
But seeing me like that, Narika shifted her gaze around for a second as if she were flustered—then, she looked embarrassed and let a smile like a blooming flower spread across her face.
“...!”
That look hit me harder than any words ever could.
As if to distract myself from my racing heart, I hurried out of the classroom.
“M-Miyakojima-san just gave a soft smile...!”
“Don’t be silly. These days, Miyakojima-san smiles about once every three days!”
I could hear the voices of the Class 2-B students talking behind me.
If it had been a little while ago, I probably would have laughed and thought, “Narika can’t be helped,” upon hearing that.
But now, I didn't have the composure to think that way.
That was how much Narika's presence had grown within me.
(...Get a grip.)
Next was Class 2-C.
Once my heart rate had settled down, I entered the classroom.
“Excuse me.”
I rarely set foot in Class 2-C, but it wasn't as if I had zero connections here.
That was because this class held that girl with the blonde ringlets... Tennoji-san.
“Oh, Itsuki-san. What brings you here?”
Tennoji-san noticed me even before the teacher did.
Interrupting her chat with her classmates, Tennoji-san walked over.
“Fukushima-sensei asked me to deliver some documents to the Class 2-C homeroom teacher.”
“Documents?...Ah, I see. Since you are the only candidate from Class 2-A, Fukushima-sensei is quite the proactive one.”
What did she mean by that?
As I wondered, Tennoji-san turned toward the teacher at the front of the room.
“Teacher, it seems some documents have arrived!”
Tennoji-san said in a clear, carrying voice.
Classic Tennoji-san. She clearly had no qualms about raising her voice in the middle of a classroom.
The Class 2-C homeroom teacher, called by Tennoji-san, stopped his clerical work and looked up. I walked to the teacher's desk with Tennoji-san and handed over the documents.
“Ah, sorry about that. You went out of your way to bring these to me?”
The Class 2-C homeroom teacher was a tall, thin man.
He gave the impression of having a slender build, but he didn't seem frail. His clean-cut jacket fit his frame perfectly, exuding an air of elegance.
“This is Itsuki Tomonari-san. He is a student from Class 2-A.”
“Yes, I know. He’s famous for various reasons, after all.”
Tennoji-san introduced me, but it seemed I was already known.
“For your information, he is aiming for the Student Council, just as I am.”
“Is that so?...Ah, no, wait. I certainly recall hearing something like that.”
“Tomonari-san's strengths are his earnestness and his high level of ambition. If you check the trend of his grades, it becomes plain to see—”
Could this be... was Tennoji-san actually pitching me to the teacher?
When my eyes met Tennoji-san's, she gave me a sharp wink. She was likely improving the teacher's impression of me in preparation for the upcoming Student Council Election.