Chapter 152: Humans Always Prefer Compromise
Today was the final day of exams. Three subjects had been tested yesterday, and the remaining two today were Math and Social Studies.
General affairs officer Sakurai wasn't afraid of exams—he was even somewhat looking forward to them.
Last week, he had spent quite a bit of time helping the Nakano quintuplets study, so he was hopeful for decent results.
In the afternoon, the last exam ended.
Sakurai Saki let out a sigh of relief.
Since he had made a bet with Shinomiya Kaguya, he didn't want to lose—he couldn't afford to lose.
If nothing unexpected happened, he would probably land in second place this time.
Taking the top spot from Shirogane Miyuki was extremely difficult. The sheer number of practice problems that guy had gone through was on a completely different level.
He also had to thank Shuchiin's massive library and its generous lending system, which allowed Shirogane Miyuki to gain an edge over everyone else—while simultaneously making it harder for Sakurai Saki to catch up. He had been pretty lazy last year too.
...
After school, it was Sakurai's turn on classroom duty today. His partner was a girl from the same class. Since the two weren't close, Sakurai Saki didn't engage in much conversation.
Hayasaka Ai had also left early today. Even though they were now a couple, Sakurai Saki and she rarely spent time alone. Aside from one official date, the rest were mostly online dates. If not for seeing each other at school, Sakurai Saki might've started wondering if they were actually in a relationship at all.
Last weekend, he had gone with Minamoto Mashiro to a film audition. The audition was a big success. The female director looked at Sakurai like she had just discovered a once-in-a-century treasure—which honestly freaked him out a little. Ichika acted really well during the joint performance—perhaps because she'd grown up constantly observing her sisters.
Sakurai had noticed that during tutoring sessions too. Among the sisters, Ichika wasn't just the peacemaker during conflicts—she was also the most observant. Her eyes often followed her younger sisters, a trait that clearly reflected her gentle nature.
Like a scarecrow in a wheat field, standing guard for her sisters.
...
In summer, the sun set very late. It was only four o'clock now, and the sunlight outside was still intense.
"Sakurai-kun, I'm heading out first." The girl from class said softly, picking up her bag to leave.
She still had club activities to attend.
"See you tomorrow."
Sakurai Saki was wiping the blackboard.
A while later, he watered the potted plants and left the classroom.
...
Student Council Room.
Shirogane Miyuki saw Sakurai Saki walk in and immediately asked, "How were the exams today?"
"Not bad."
"Looks like you did pretty well." Shirogane Miyuki said with a smile.
Sakurai wasn't the modest type—everyone at Shuchiin knew that—even when praised, he would simply say "thank you."
"Probably still not enough to beat you," Sakurai Saki said seriously.
"Then I guess I'd better be careful. I don't buy that 'probably' of yours." Shirogane Miyuki joked.
He didn't think he would lose.
Still, it didn't really matter who ended up first between the two of them. Shirogane Miyuki and Sakurai Saki weren't the type to fight to the death over rankings.
Sakurai Saki walked over beside Shirogane and glanced at his desk.
"This semester's pretty much done with the major stuff, right?"
"Yeah, the only big thing left is the sports festival. Next semester is where the action is—school trip, then the Devoted Hearts Festival, all fall in the second term."
Sakurai Saki: "There's also the student council election—it'll probably be around that time too."
"This summer break, there's also a summer camp, but honestly, I prefer the beach. Camps are usually held in the mountains," Sakurai said casually.
Suddenly, a wild Chikamon appeared——
✧｡٩(ˊᗜˋ )و✧*｡
"Obviously, the mountains are way better!!" Chika shouted, slamming her hands on the table in protest.
"Chika, the mountains have more mosquitoes and bugs."
"No matter what Saki-kun says, the mountains are still the best!"
That's what she said.
"Secretary Fujiwara, I personally think the beach is better," Shinomiya Kaguya said as she entered from behind.
And so it begins!
The eternal debate between the beach and the mountains!
Like the arguments of Pie or Cake, Intel or AMD — the battle between mountain and sea was a timeless topic.
"Then what about the SPresident? Which do you think is better?" Secretary Fujiwara launched her vote-gathering campaign.
Shirogane Miyuki thought for a few seconds, then chose the middle ground: "I think either is fine."
Hearing that, Fujiwara Chika sighed in disappointment: "When it's time to choose, men either dodge the decision or want everything — that's just how men are!"
Then she turned to Sakurai with a sweet smile: "Right?"
"Why ask me? I'd never choose between the beach and the mountains," Sakurai Saki said while holding a few stacks of documents, taking a seat on the sofa.
Mountains? Not even dogs wanna go up there!
Chika-chan and Ai-chan — I want them both!
"Secretary Fujiwara, humans inherently prefer compromise, and by nature, we hate making choices," Shirogane Miyuki said as he sat down across from Sakurai Saki with some documents of his own.
He gave an example: "Say you go out shopping — most of the time you'll just go with whatever the sales assistant recommends, right?"
"For example, 'This year's latest model is this one, how do you feel about it, miss?'"
Sakurai Saki chimed in: "They're handing you a pre-made choice. All you have to say is 'yes' or 'no.' You're not picking from dozens or hundreds of options — it's a sales trick."
"People don't like to make decisions, so they subconsciously wonder if the suggestion is okay or not, whether they should buy it, instead of rejecting it and choosing something themselves."
"If you're buying crepes, a smart store will ask, 'Would you like to add strawberries to this?' rather than, 'Would you like to add chocolate, vanilla, strawberries, or banana?' — the former saves time and sells better too."
...All of that, by the way, was Sakurai Saki just talking out of his ass.
But Fujiwara Chika didn't realize that at all.
"But what does that have to do with deciding where we're going over summer break?" Secretary Fujiwara sat down next to Sakurai Saki, a curious look on her face.
A few seconds later, she finally caught on——
"Wait… are you guys just trying to dodge the topic?!"
ChikaL (｡•̀ ⤙ •́ ｡ꐦ) !!!
"Debating mountains vs. beach is a war, Chika. You're still too green," Sakurai Saki said while flipping through some papers.
They were documents related to the sports festival.
Preparations had started a month in advance.
Honestly, Sakurai preferred holding the sports festival in the fall — summer was just too hot. That whole "build character through adversity" stuff really wasn't necessary.
"But I want to go play in the mountains!" Chika whined, shaking Sakurai Saki's arm.
"I still think the beach is better." Sakurai didn't even look at her and instead turned to Shirogane: "It's a bit early to ask, but Shirogane, got any plans for summer break?"
"Part-time job," Shirogane Miyuki said with a heavy tone.
"And Shinomiya-san?" Sakurai Saki turned to Kaguya.
"…Probably stay home." Shinomiya Kaguya was brewing tea. She'd started preparing it as soon as the conversation began.
The scent of black tea gradually filled the student council room.
"Staying home? Shinomiya-san, are you a hikikomori?" Sakurai Saki said. He had no intention of spending his summer break indoors. While not exactly an extrovert, he would get bored if he holed up inside all the time.
"Hikikomori?" Shinomiya Kaguya shot him a sideways glance: "It's over 30 degrees in summer. Wanting to go outside in that heat — that's what's weird."
"Shinomiya-san, if you keep this up, you'll turn into Ishigami." Sakurai Saki replied.
Ishigami: ( ಠ_ಠ )?
That's a line Hayasaka Ai would surely agree with.
Lately, Ai-chan had noticed that Kaguya-sama really was heading in the direction of becoming NEET-hime.
"Not your concern," Shinomiya Kaguya said as she carried the tea tray over.