I sprinted up the stairs and hurried through the concourse toward Gate A.
This stadium was massive. Was Gate A really this way?
I slowed my pace and started searching for a map on my phone when it happened.
"Kyah!"
"Whoa!"
Because I was staring down at my screen, I collided with someone right at the corner of the exit.
"S-Sorry about tha—wait."
The person I had bumped into was...
"Honestly... walking while looking at your phone is very dangerous, you know?"
She had long, reddish hair styled in a half-up look. Her refined figure and elegant posture made her look like a professional model. Even while scolding me, she wore a charming smile that made her large eyes impossible to look away from.
The refreshing, citrusy scent of oranges tickled my nose.
Standing right in front of me was Nozomi Himesaki—the beautiful junior student Tanaka had been raving about earlier.
It really was Himesaki. Seeing her up close, she was incredibly cute.
"Um, Senpai?"
"Ah, s-sorry! My bad!"
"Please be more careful from now on, okay? Ryouta-senpai."
"Y-Yeah... wait, Ryouta?"
"Oh my, look at the time. A friend of mine is about to compete in the pole vault, so I have to run. See you later!"
Himesaki gave a polite little bow and hurried off.
I had no idea why, but she knew my name. Had hanging around the Beautiful Girl Trio made me some kind of local celebrity?
"W-Well, whatever. More importantly..."
I had to get to Rui.
I stepped out through Gate A, but I didn't see Rui anywhere. I figured she’d be right by the exit.
The sun was sweltering, enough to make me feel like I was melting, so I waited in the shade between the gate and the venue entrance.
"Fufu... Ryouta-kun?"
"W-Whoa! Rui!"
The voice behind me startled me, but I relaxed the moment I realized it was her.
Rui was still in her midriff-baring track uniform, her hair tied back in the same ponytail she'd worn on the track.
"C-Congratulations, Rui! I heard you won five times in a row. That’s incredible."
"Fufu, thank you. It was a pretty tight race at the end, though."
"Is it okay for you to be here? You're in the middle of a meet. I don't want to make you late for your next event."
"It’s fine. The relay isn't until after noon. Besides... talking to you like this is part of my preparation, Ryouta-kun."
"Talking... to me?"
Honestly, I couldn't imagine how someone as great as Rui could consider talking to me "preparation."
"I didn't tell you I was competing today, so you must have been surprised, right?"
"Of course I was! You said it was 'punishment' for the other day, so I went to school all excited... I thought it was going to be something much more erotic and fun."
But when the curtain rose, I was just forced to witness Rui's greatness once again, which only served to remind me of how small I was.
Rui really did live in a different dimension than me.
"What’s wrong, Ryouta-kun? You look so gloomy... Ah, do I smell like sweat?"
"N-No! There’s no way you smell bad! You have that amazing girl-scent you always have! I-If anything, the smell of sweat would actually be a turn-on for me!"
"...Fufu, oh, Ryouta-kun."
Even when I said something that pathetic, Rui just smiled and let it slide. As always, she was...
"The Rui here right now... she's the same as always."
"What's gotten into you so suddenly?"
"...I just realized that someone like me shouldn't be standing next to someone as amazing as you."
"...Eh?"
"You're incredible, Rui. First in the country in sports and studies, beautiful... You’re way too perfect. It’s just not right for a loner like me to be the one beside you."
I squeezed my fists tight and let out my honest thoughts. The more I spoke, the more I felt like a lowly, gloomy otaku.
Lately, I’d gotten ahead of myself—diving into Airi’s chest, touching Yuria’s thighs, thinking I could do perverted things with Rui... but I wasn't the kind of person who belonged with those three in the first place.
"Listen, Ryouta-kun. Don't you think whether or not you're 'worthy' of me is irrelevant?"
"Irrelevant...?"
"The fact that you're a loner is common knowledge. Your only redeeming quality is being slightly good at school. You hate standing out, your head is full of nothing but lewd fantasies, and you're a bigger pervert than anyone I know."
"T-That’s all true, but you didn't have to be so blunt about it."
"Even so... you’re the one who makes me smile."
Rui suddenly reached out and cupped my cheeks with her beautiful palms.
"R-R-Rui...?"
My face, already flushed from the summer heat, grew even hotter.
"You're always saying stupid things and irritating me by being unfaithful... but all of that is part of who Ryouta Izumiya is. I don't care about what people think. You are the only boy in this world who can truly make me smile."
"I'm... the only one?"
"Making me smile is what leads me to perfection. To the perfection that is happiness."
Rui spoke with a gentle smile before letting go of my face. Without even realizing it, had I been... supporting her perfection all this time?
"That’s why I was able to win today—it was because you came to watch me. Just knowing you were there allowed me to smile."
There it was again. Once again, I had saved Rui without even trying. It was always the same. Whenever I helped her, it was something I did unconsciously. It was never a choice; it was always just a lucky accident.
I was happy she needed me that much, of course. But I didn't want it to be an accident anymore. I wanted to make her smile by my own will.
"You understand now, don't you? Well then, I should get bac—"
"I! I want to keep talking to you like this, and I want to be the one who always makes the perfect Rui smile!"
"...!"
I stopped her with my own words. If someone as perfect as Rui needed a loner like me this much, I wanted to answer that need with my own resolve.
If I was the only man who could make her smile, then I wanted to keep doing it.
And... as a bonus, I still wanted those selfies, and I definitely wasn't giving up on the lewd stuff! That was why I had finally made up my mind.
"I want to support you—the Rui who needs me—by my own choice."
"Ryouta-kun..."
"So please, let me be the Student Council Vice President!"
I bowed deeply and pleaded with her. It was a heartfelt request, born from my resolve to support her of my own volition.
I was honestly happy that someone as incredible as her truly felt she needed me. I had been agonizing over it for a long time, but if I could be of use to her... then I had to do it.
"Okay. Ryouta-kun... thank you."
"Eh? Really?"
"Really. I was the one who asked you to be Vice President in the first place, remember?"
"A-Ah, yeah, I guess you did."
"Fufu... I like that strangely serious side of yours, Ryouta-kun."
Wait... she... she likes me?!
"Wait, Rui, do you like me!? Is that a confession!?"
"...! N-No! I just said I like your serious side."
Oh, come on...
I got ahead of myself and pulled a pathetic otaku move by jumping to conclusions.
"...Fufu."
"What are you laughing at! So what if I'm a delusional otaku! You're the one who said I was fine the way I am!"
"That's true, isn't it? I think I like the Ryouta-kun who gets the wrong idea and thinks I'm in love with him."
"Y-You're doing that teasing thing again. I won't fall for it anymore!"
When I said that, Rui gave a brighter smile than usual. Her smiles usually felt a bit guarded, but the one she wore now was soft. It felt special.
"Why are you staring at me, Ryouta-kun? Did you fall for me?"
"N-No! Don't get the wrong idea!"
"Fufu... you're such a tsundere."
It really wasn't like that. Her smile was just so rare that I’d looked at it without thinking.
"A-Anyway! If you win the election, you'll choose me as your Vice President, right?"
"Yes. You're going to be my right arm, Ryouta-kun."
Rui's right arm, huh...
I glanced at her slender, toned arm visible from her sleeveless uniform.
"I'd prefer an arm that was a bit more soft and curvy, though."
"Fufu... Ryouta-kun, do you have a death wish?"
"Ah, sorry, I got carried away."
Crap, I’d better watch what I say.
"Oh, and one more thing."
"Eh? One more thing?"
"If your true goal in becoming Vice President isn't to support me, but rather to get close to Nozomi Himesaki... I might not forgive you. ♡"
Rui ruthlessly poked her index finger right over my heart.
C-Crap... I might have had a thought like that when I first saw Himesaki.
"Ugh... N-No way! There's no way I'd be aiming for Himesaki when I'm supporting a perfect beauty like you, Rui. Sure, Himesaki was graceful and cute and had a nice citrusy scent, but that wasn't my goal or anything."
"You sure know a lot about her, Ryouta-kun. I wonder if she really is your target after all?"
The atmosphere suddenly felt very heavy, despite the heat.
"M-More importantly, it's hot out here. Why don't we go buy some drinks? My treat."
"Fufu... you're not very good at sucking up, are you?"
"B-But Rui..."
"Ah, found you, Ryouta! Rui-chan too!"
While I was flailing, a voice called out to us from a distance. That voice... honestly, it was Airi.
I turned around to see Tanaka, Airi, and Yuria walking toward us.
"Ryouta was taking so long that Tanaka got worried and started looking for him~"
"I-I wasn't worried about Ryouta-kun at all!"
Yuria and Tanaka approached while bickering as usual.
"Everyone! Ryouta-kun says he's buying us all drinks!"
"Eh, hey! You—!"
And so, it was settled that I would become the Vice President who would support Rui if she was elected.
And despite my wallet already being dangerously thin this summer, the coins I had left vanished into the vending machine.