"...Narika?"
"..."
"Narika? Whoa, hang on! You're getting close! Too close!"
Had she finally reached her breaking point?
Watching her face draw nearer, a flurry of risks flashed through my mind. We were in the final stretch of the election, with only days left. If a scandal broke now—if people got the idea that the Student Council President Candidate and her Vice President Candidate were an item...
(It's over...!!)
It wouldn't just be a hit to our support ratings. I could already see the students of Kikou Academy shouting, "Keep your romance out of the election!" while they protested. I'd be the one reduced to tears.
For Narika's sake, I had to stay calm and reason with her.
But right as I made that resolve—
"Miyakojima... senpai?"
A voice came from the side. I spun around.
There stood Nishi-san—the underclassman Narika was supposed to be meeting.
"U-Um, are you two... in that kind of relationship?"
"No—wait, actually, maybe it's better if we are? If we establish a fait accompli right now..."
"No! We're not! Narika and I aren't like that at all!!"
I cut her off with everything I had before she could reach any more disastrous conclusions.
"Wait, which is it? Who am I supposed to believe!?"
"Me! Trust me! Me, me, me!! Believe me!"
"When you're that desperate, it honestly makes you look more suspicious..."
Dammit, what was I supposed to do!?
"Besides, there are rumors that Tomonari-senpai is a bit... messy with women."
"I am!?"
That was the biggest shock of the year.
"Oh, but people are saying it was a misunderstanding now. Until a little while ago, there was a rumor that Tomonari-senpai came from a famous family of financiers and used his wealth to keep a harem of beautiful girls around him."
A rumor that had been circulating until recently and had only just died down. I had a very good idea of how that had played out.
(Rintaro...!)
I reflexively clenched my fists. I really needed to have a serious talk with that guy. It seemed he'd been running a vicious negative campaign behind my back.
"But seeing you two like this, those rumors seem pretty credible..."
"They're not!! They really aren't!!"
I shook my head violently, and Narika's face crumpled into a pout again.
"You didn't have to deny it that hard..."
"Narika, please, just be quiet for a second!!"
She was only making things more complicated...!!
◆
The next day, after I'd finally managed to clear things up with Nishi-san.
In the morning, after my usual round of handing out flyers, I met up with Tennoji-san and Narika ten minutes before class. We were scheduled for a quick briefing, but...
"...I-Itsuki?"
"..."
"Look, I'm sorry. I went too far yesterday. Please don't ignore me...!"
I let out a long sigh as Narika apologized with teary eyes.
Well, she seemed to be truly reflecting on her behavior, so I decided to forgive her. I was partly to blame for my lack of tact, anyway.
Tennoji-san watched us with a puzzled look, so I simply shook my head to signal it was nothing.
"Tomonari-san. The operation you mentioned—it goes into effect after school today, correct?"
"Yes."
I nodded, and Tennoji-san wore a fearless smile.
"The strategy you shared last night was quite the surprise. It's unusually daring for you, Tomonari-san. But that is precisely why I'm so fired up."
I'd figured she'd say something like that.
"Seeing Joto-kun's speech... it made me realize something."
Joto's performance when he was truly trying had been overwhelming, a force of nature that we couldn't hope to match. But that was exactly why I could decide in an instant: we couldn't afford to fight him on the same level.
The real question was where our own field of battle lay. As I pondered that, I reaffirmed the core difference between us.
Takuma-san had said it. Kikou Academy is made up of politician types and management types.
Joto is a politician type.
And we... we are management types.
"Let's fight our own way."
We can't win at politics. If that's the case, we'll challenge him to a battle of management.