After the swimming lesson ended to what one might call "great acclaim," school was over for the day. During the closing homeroom, our teacher—wearing a distinctly grim expression—informed us that the Student Council had summoned us to discuss a matter regarding our club. It was almost certainly about the sports festival.
Even though I’d given them a heads-up beforehand, we really had gone a bit overboard in more ways than one.
"By the way, Kokonoe-kun, did Mika-chan ever get back to you?"
"No, still nothing. Up until last week, she would’ve replied instantly..."
As I stayed behind in the classroom, hanging my head in a gloom induced by the summons, Hiiragi-san asked about the email with a worried look. I simply closed my eyes and gave a small, negative shake of my head.
"Hey, you think she’s just so surrounded by classmates that she doesn't have a spare second to check her phone?" Yuji guessed, looking skeptical.
"Could be." I made a sour face and nodded.
Mika and the others were likely being besieged by their classmates right now, enduring a relentless barrage of questions. If that were the case, she might not have even noticed a notification. However, if we went charging into her classroom—or even just onto the first-years' floor—out of concern, it would likely just pour oil on the fire, especially considering how many students from other classes had already gathered around our room to gawk. In short, we couldn't really justify showing our faces near Mika’s classroom right now.
Well, it would be a different story if we actually wanted to fan the flames and stir up more trouble... but we didn't.
"Anyway, let's go take care of the urgent business first," I said.
"...Yeah, let's go."
"Right. Procrastinating won't help anyone."
Putting the matter with Mika aside for the moment, we headed toward the Student Council Room, moving with a decidedly dejected air. We felt like we'd overdone things, but since we’d given prior notice and hadn't actually done anything wrong, I wanted to believe we wouldn't be grilled too harshly.
When we arrived in front of the Student Council Room, we scanned the hallway and stopped, deciding to wait a few minutes for Mika and Saori in case they had been summoned too. After homeroom ended, I’d sent Mika an email asking if they had also been called to the Student Council Room, but I still hadn't received a "yes" or "no." If they were coming, it would be better for us to enter as a group.
We waited for about five minutes. Before Mika’s group could arrive, the door to the Student Council Room opened from the inside, and Minashiro-san, the Student Council Secretary, poked her head out.
"Oh, you guys... you were already here?"
"Ah, Minashiro-san. Um... hello."
"Hello. Goodness, if you were already here, you shouldn't have just stood out here. You should have come inside."
"Uh, sorry. Actually, the thing is..."
I gave her a brief explanation of why we were waiting. A look of understanding crossed her face, followed by a slightly troubled, wry smile.
"I see, I get the situation. But... well, you see? The only ones we called for this time were you three."
"Eh?! Argh..."
We all averted our eyes as Minashiro-san delivered the truth with a wry grin. We felt incredibly awkward.
"S-Still, regardless of the circumstances, the fact remains that you all answered the summons and came here... so come on, get in, get in."
"U-Uh, yeah. Excuse us..."
Excuse us.
Urged on by Minashiro-san’s attempt to smooth things over, I led the way into the Student Council Room.
God, we really messed that up. If I'd known, I should have confirmed exactly who was being called the moment we heard the message.
"I'm glad you could make it, Kokonoe-kun, Hirose-kun, Hiiragi-san."
"No, we're the ones who should apologize for being late."
"Don't worry about it. I heard your conversation with Minashiro-san, so I understand. We didn't specify a time, anyway."
"Haha, that's a relief."
Once inside, the Student Council members, including the waiting Hisamatsu-senpai, greeted us normally without any sign of reproach. If anything, it felt like it would have been easier to just get a scolding... This was strangely uncomfortable.
After the light greetings, we immediately got down to business.
"So, why were we called here today? Well, I have a general idea of the reason..."
"As you suspect, we called you here regarding the recent sports festival," Hisamatsu-senpai said, nodding with a somewhat apologetic expression that mirrored my own attempt to look innocent. "The demonstration you performed the other day has drawn more of a reaction than we anticipated."
"A reaction... you say?"
"Yes. You're probably aware of it to some extent, but it's caused quite a stir."
Hisamatsu-senpai rested her cheek against her hand and let out a small, troubled sigh.
"I've certainly felt that firsthand since this morning."
"I imagine so. I heard from Minashiro-san that students from other classes have been gathering to gawk at you during every break."
"Yeah, they have. Thanks to that, I can't even go to the bathroom properly. Every time I take a step out of the classroom, I'm surrounded and interrogated."
It really had been a struggle. I’d managed to slip away during lunch, but during the short breaks, a wall of people formed so quickly that escape was impossible. I felt bad for the rest of my class getting caught in the crossfire... though I figured the debt was mostly settled after they joined in on the interrogation this morning.
"That does sound difficult. However, because of that, the teachers have been lodging complaints with the Student Council. They're troubled because students aren't back in their seats by the time classes start."
"Uh, well, surely that's..."
Just as I opened my mouth to argue that it wasn't our responsibility, Hisamatsu-senpai held up a hand to stop me.
"Of course, those students are simply suffering the consequences of their own actions; it's not as if we're saying it's your fault. But from the teachers' perspective, they feel the need to give a piece of their mind to the ones who caused the commotion."
"I... I see."
"However, if the teachers were to call you in and warn you directly, unfavorable rumors might spread that you were being disciplined. So instead, they asked the Student Council to summon you under the guise of club business and tell you to settle the commotion quickly."
I mean, even if you tell us to settle the commotion... The three of us looked at each other, bewildered.
Hisamatsu-senpai gave us a wry smile.
"Of course, we won't leave the task of calming things down entirely to you. We'll work together to bring this commotion to an early end."
"Wait, really?"
Faced with this unexpected offer of cooperation, the three of us stared at her.
"Yes. While we were surprised that the actual performance was much flashier than expected, we did promise to cooperate with you beforehand. It's only natural for us to help settle the disturbance."
"I-I see... Thank you very much."
Thank you very much.
The three of us bowed our heads and voiced our gratitude to Hisamatsu-senpai and the rest of the Student Council.
"Now, on another note, Kokonoe-kun. Following the results of the sports festival, how is the situation with the trouble the first-years were causing?"
"Ah, that matter. Actually..."
I relayed what I’d heard from Mika about the situation immediately after the sports festival, along with my deductions based on the online activity where the video was being used to stir things up.
As I spoke, the atmosphere in the Student Council Room grew heavy.
"...So, the deterrent effect was successful for a time."
"Yes. I haven't been able to confirm how Mika and the others are doing today yet, so this is just a guess. But I think there's a high probability that someone intervened and caused them to change their strategy."
Hearing my deduction, Hisamatsu-senpai massaged the bridge of her nose and let out a small groan of distress. Well, that's what happens when you're told a problem that was finally on the verge of being solved might have flared up again.
"...Hey, Jojima-kun? Have you heard anything about someone intervening in the first-years' problem?"
"Unfortunately, I haven't heard a thing."
"...Minashiro-san?"
"I haven't heard anything either. But President? What we're talking about now is just Kokonoe-kun’s deduction; there's no confirmation that things are actually moving that way."
"True, Minashiro-san has a point. But considering the situation they described, I can't say the possibility is zero. In that case, even if it ends up being for nothing, I want to take the initiative."
With that, Hisamatsu-senpai stood up and looked around at everyone in the room.
"Everyone, you heard the situation. It's possible that the first-year problem, which we thought might be resolved, could reignite due to the intervention of upperclassmen. Therefore, I want you to keep your ears open in your respective grades for any rumors of that sort. Discretely, of course."
"Discretely?"
"Yes. If we try to gather information too overtly, those types will immediately use a scapegoat as a decoy and vanish. So, don't move openly until we find proof of intervention. Instead..."
Hisamatsu-senpai turned her gaze toward us.
"I understand. We'll be the decoys, right?"
"Yes. I feel bad about it... but could we ask this of you?"
"I don't mind. If the upperclassmen are intervening, it seems like our existence is the reason for it anyway."
"I'm sorry."
When I accepted the role of decoy as our representative, Hisamatsu-senpai bowed her head with a regretful expression.
After discussing potential intervention measures for a while longer, we left the Student Council Room. We headed toward our clubroom to organize our thoughts. Along the way, we encountered students who asked us questions or requested handshakes, but since there weren't many people gathering, it wasn't too much trouble.
When we finally arrived at the clubroom and went inside, someone was already there, sitting in a chair and waiting while doing paperwork.
"Oh, Hashimoto-sensei?"
"Eh? Ah, you guys... you finally made it. I heard you were called to the Student Council Room, but that took quite a while, didn't it?"
"Oh, uh, yes. Sorry."
"Well, that's fine. More importantly, have a seat. I have a report... or rather, something I need to tell you."
As she spoke, Hashimoto-sensei began clearing the documents spread across the desk. We were momentarily puzzled, but we sat down as urged.
"First of all, good job on the sports festival."
"Ah, thank you very much..."
"And straight to the point: one problem has arisen regarding you three in relation to the sports festival."
"A problem? Did someone complain that the demonstration was too much?" Yuji asked, sounding slightly anxious.
Hashimoto-sensei shook her head and spoke in a tone meant to reassure him.
"There weren't any complaints like that. On the contrary, many people said they'd seen an incredible performance. That demonstration was supervised by your grandfather, wasn't it, Hirose-kun? I understand being anxious about what others think, but you should have confidence that you created something good. You can hold your head high."
"T-Thank you!" Yuji let out a long sigh of relief.
While glancing at Yuji, Hiiragi-san spoke up next.
"In that case, Hashimoto-sensei? What kind of problem occurred?"
"The problem is the sports festival video posted online. The video of your demonstration was leaked, and it's drawing a strange amount of hype."
I knew it was that.
"...Are you talking about that video?"
"...Oh? You all know about it? Then this will be quick. To be honest, I think the fact that sports festival videos leak is... unavoidable in this day and age. Everyone has cameras, after all. But the problem this time is the commotion caused by that particular video. The school felt this was a problem, and they immediately issued a take-down request to the hosting site in the school's name. I suppose that worked, because it looks like the related videos have already been deleted."
So the reason the videos were deleted so quickly was because the school had issued a request even before we did.
"That being said, just because the video has been deleted doesn't mean the commotion will settle down immediately. So, you three?"
"Yes?"
"Make sure you're careful not to get caught up in any weird trouble for a while, okay?"
"Yes!"
Faced with Hashimoto-sensei's worried expression, we straightened our posture and gave a firm reply.