Chapter 196: Does It Feel Like Being Targeted or Not
The exams ended.
During the last homeroom session.
The teacher started rambling on endlessly.
Things like homework. And also things like paying attention to safety.
Homeroom teacher Masaki looked at the students below, who had no energy at all, and sighed inwardly.
She didn't dare to mess with any of the students in this school. This so-called elite academy was nothing but trouble. If possible, she wanted to transfer to another school next year—but other schools didn't offer benefits like this one.
"...Anyway, about your scores and rankings, you can check them on the school website tomorrow or the day after." Masaki finished speaking, picked up her lesson plan, and left Class 2-A.
"Woo woo woo woo!!! Summer break!!"
The moment the teacher left, a male student immediately started cheering.
"Where should we go? I think the mountains sound good."
"The beach works too, right?"
And so it began—the endless mountain-versus-beach debate, a completely pointless argument.
Can't you guys just pick both?
Japan is an island nation; do you think it only has one type of terrain? Even though some countries don't even need a navy, an island nation is still an island—how could it possibly lack beaches? It even has quite a few volcanoes, too.
Taking advantage of the fact that they hadn't started bickering yet, Sakurai quickly packed his bag.
He gathered all his things, checked to make sure nothing was left behind, said a few words to Hayasaka Ai, then got ready to head to the student council room.
On the way, Sakurai pulled out his phone and sent a message in the group "Shijo Maki's Study Support Committee" to ask about the Nakano quintuplets' progress on the exam.
Sakurai: How was it? Did you finish everything?
A few minutes later, the Nakano sisters replied one by one.
Ichika: Finished it all. ᕙ( ˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ )ᕗ ✧
Nino: I wrote down everything Sakurai-san taught me. (づ ᴗ _ᴗ)づ♡
Miku: Done. ( ,,⩌'︿'⩌,,)
Yotsuba: ...There were a few I didn't know, but I wrote some formulas down. Sakurai-san! This time I'll definitely pass! ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ
Sakurai quickly skimmed through the messages.
Shijo Maki also sent one.
Maki: The test was really easy, especially the English part. The science questions were a bit tough, but I still finished them really fast. This time I'm going to trample Saki-chan, knock out President Shirogane, and claim the number one spot! ⎛⎝( ` ᢍ ´ )⎠⎞ᵐᵘʰᵃʰᵃ
Sakurai typed a reply.
Sakurai: Screenshot taken, will save it for the slap-face moment. ദ്ദി(ᵔᗜᵔ)
——
He pushed open the student council room door.
Sakurai found that he was the first one there. With nothing else to do, he turned on the air conditioner and started making coffee.
Using the coffee beans Shinomiya Kaguya gave him last time—since at home Sakurai rarely brewed his own coffee, always buying canned ones instead—he just left the beans here.
After the coffee was ready, Shirogane Miyuki walked in.
Shirogane: "૮ ◞ ﻌ ◟ ა
With his dark eye bags, he looked no different from a background actor in a zombie movie; they could cast him in a film and he wouldn't look out of place at all.
"Sakurai, you're here early today, huh? Even though the student council doesn't have anything left to do." Shirogane Miyuki remarked with a sigh.
Though, he himself was the same.
Whether there was work or not, he always came by the student council room. Over the semester, the two of them had formed this habit. After all, there weren't many places to relax in the school.
Both of them were very popular on campus and constantly drew unwanted attention from many eyes.
"How did you do on the test?" Sakurai carried the coffee over to the table.
Shirogane Miyuki sprawled across the sofa, staring at the ceiling, and replied in a tone as if he didn't care: "The test…"
He took a deep breath.
Then sighed: "Not great. This time's exam was a bit hard."
If their relationship were any thinner, Sakurai might not even notice that he was… humblebragging.
Confident, aren't you?
Sakurai lifted the coffee cup and took a sip.
In truth, Sakurai wasn't confident about taking first place this time. Recently, he had spent too much time on the Nakano quintuplets. Still, since it was the end of the semester, he wanted to craft a perfect test for himself.
Yes, not for Nakano Maruo—the one who hired him—nor for the five sisters, but for himself.
He wanted to see how much he could change them over the course of one semester—perhaps that was its own kind of pride.
"And you?"
"Me, huh." Sakurai set the coffee cup down, looking a little disappointed. "The test… how should I put it?"
He hesitated several times before saying, "This time, I might lose to Kaguya-san."
Mainly, it's because that shameless Shinomiya Kaguya made Hayasaka Ai talk on the phone with Sakurai every night. Sakurai could still handle that part, but the problem was—after the call ended and Ai-chan fell asleep, another Ai-chan woke up. Basically, by the time he got home, Sakurai didn't have any time left to study at all.
As for "gymnastics," he sure learned a lot.
Knowledge related to gymnastics, especially the complex positions—Sakurai had mastered quite a few of them.
"I remember… you two went all out this time, huh." Shirogane Miyuki almost couldn't hold back his laughter.
Now he was really looking forward to Sakurai getting "overturned."
If Kaguya got overturned, that wouldn't even be interesting—after all, she's a girl; whether it's a miko outfit or cosplay, there's not much difference. It might be a little embarrassing, but her acceptance level would definitely be way higher than Sakurai's.
"Umu. We really did go all out." Sakurai regretted it now.
"Here's some good news for you. The first two days you weren't here, Shinomiya went to help Ishigami review. Later, I heard Ishigami say he ate so many dried fish snacks he almost puked."
Kaguya & Ishigami: (╬ `益 ') (っ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ ς)
Shirogane Miyuki offered a bit of consolation.
"Why didn't Ishigami ask you for help?"
"I was working part-time those two days."
"You were working part-time during the last week before exams?" Sakurai was stunned.
"I'll be working during summer break too, so what's there to be surprised about?"
"Nothing."
Still, if I take first place from you, I'd feel kind of bad.
That was what Sakurai was thinking.
He couldn't help feeling a bit guilty.
"You're still doing that rental boyfriend job, right?" Shirogane asked.
"I was too busy filming before, so I didn't have time. Recently, I've started doing it again," Sakurai replied.
Eating meals with clients and so on—he considered it a way to socialize, to adapt early to the life of an adult.
"Tch, I was actually thinking of inviting you to do a part-time job together."
"After summer break, I have to attend kendo training, and a few days after that, I'll have to go compete in Fukuoka Prefecture."
The two were in the middle of chatting—
When Shinomiya Kaguya walked in.
As usual, she swept her gaze across the student council room like she was patrolling her own territory.
"Sakurai-san, there's something I really want to know. If you lose, how do you plan on fulfilling your promise?" Shinomiya closed the door and then sat down beside Sakurai as if it were the most natural thing, picking up a cup of coffee.
Even though she preferred tea, coffee was acceptable too.
"The results aren't even out yet, so why are you already assuming you've won? People make mistakes, horses stumble, and besides—last time, I believe I won, didn't I? Right, Maid-san?" Sakurai sneered.
"Master-sama, you really are such a busy person that you easily forget things, huh. Have you forgotten how you were under me for the entire year last year?" Kaguya took a sip of coffee, calmly firing back.
"Shirogane, I've told you before—making this girl your target isn't a good idea." Sakurai looked over at Shirogane.
Shirogane: ∘ ∘ ∘ (｡· v ·｡) ?
"Why are you dragging me into this out of nowhere?" Shirogane Miyuki's face was full of question marks.
"When you're faced with an irrefutable truth, shouldn't you pull in an ally? President, stay out of this!"
"Our student council is only active until today anyway. Can you two calm down a little?" Shirogane Miyuki sighed.
Then he continued: "Next semester, after the student council elections, we don't even know if we'll still be in the council."
Sakurai didn't care in the slightest:
"No problem, I'll push you back into this position."
Shinomiya Kaguya nodded in agreement.
"You already know the Shinomiya family's influence, don't you, President?"
"You two…" The corner of Shirogane's mouth twitched.
Did I ever say I wanted this?
The only reason I became president in the first place was for the recommendation slot! Are you seriously not going to let me retire?
You're even acting like it's already been decided! Are you trying to kill me from overwork?!
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