"Yukinoshita's sister is very outstanding."
The first thing Hayama Hayato said was something rather surprising.
Sato pondered over it, then noticed that Isshiki Iroha in front of him had quietly perked up her ears to listen.
He found it amusing inwardly, but did not point it out. Instead, he asked Hayama, "How outstanding? Compared to Yukinoshita, who's better?"
Hayama Hayato took a deep breath, his expression turning serious.
Looking directly at Sato, he said, "From childhood until now, Yukinoshita has always only been chasing after her sister's back."
Hm?
Sato was somewhat surprised, but quickly accepted it. His gaze shifted toward the two figures inside the meeting room.
Yukinoshita Yukino was outstanding. Anyone who had interacted with her would not deny that.
But clearly, in the eyes of someone like Hayama Hayato, who had known the sisters for a long time, Yukinoshita Haruno was even more exceptional, and by no small margin.
"Then I suddenly understand something."
Sato muttered to himself.
Hayama frowned slightly. "Understand what?"
Sato came back to himself and smiled. "Nothing. Just something that happened during the executive committee meeting."
He had not seen Hayama at the last committee meeting, so if Hayama appeared here now, it was either because of Yukinoshita Haruno or because he was volunteering.
And the sudden change in Yukinoshita Yukino's personality during the last meeting had left a deep impression on Sato. Now he could confirm that it was because of Yukinoshita Haruno.
Chasing after her sister's shadow…
Sato thought to himself. Could it be that because Yukinoshita Yukino had always lived under Yukinoshita Haruno's shadow, she developed some special feelings toward her sister?
Then what about Yukinoshita Haruno?
What kind of feelings did she have toward Yukinoshita Yukino?
The complicated emotions between these sisters were pretty interesting…
Love and hate intertwined? Was that possible?
The Yukinoshita family seemed to be a traditional political family. Their father was a prefectural assemblyman, and their mother was the president of a construction company.
Traditionally, such things would definitely be passed on to the eldest son or eldest daughter. Even if tradition was ignored, Yukinoshita Yukino still seemed inferior to Yukinoshita Haruno in terms of ability.
But fighting for power and profit was probably impossible for Yukinoshita Yukino. He was certain the girl had absolutely no interest in such things.
After all, no one aiming to become a politician or businessman would create a club like the "Service Club."
From that perspective, Yukinoshita Yukino was excellent, but also naive. A person like that would not succeed on either path.
Hm?
At that thought, Sato suddenly narrowed his eyes and locked his gaze onto the smiling Yukinoshita Haruno, giving her a deep look.
Something was off.
Since Yukinoshita Yukino was born into such a family, why would she still have such naive ideas?
Traditional Japanese political families were frighteningly stubborn in their thinking. For the sake of family inheritance and continuation, strict education and arranged marriages were completely normal. Yet Yukinoshita Yukino did not seem to have been affected by that at all.
Was it because her parents were relatively open-minded, or… was someone blocking that pressure for her?
"Um… everyone!"
Suddenly, Sato's thoughts were interrupted by Sagami Minami speaking up in the meeting room.
Standing in the center, she smiled at the people around her. "I thought about it a little, and I think the executive committee members should seriously enjoy the culture festival too!"
"If we can't enjoy ourselves, then how can we make others happy?"
The committee members seated around the room exchanged glances.
Seeing this, Sagami Minami pressed on while the momentum was there. "Since the work is progressing smoothly, how about slowing down the pace a little?"
Hm?
Sato and Hayama Hayato beside him frowned at the same time.
Slow down the pace?
The school festival planning and arrangements were not simple at all. They had to constantly review each class's progress while giving advice and guidance, along with financial reviews and applications, external publicity, internal scheduling, emergency preparations, and all sorts of other work.
Some of these tasks did not require much effort but needed constant monitoring. Others required huge amounts of work even if they did not need constant attention. And now, on the very first day of preparation, she wanted to slow things down?!
Yukinoshita would definitely object.
That thought appeared in both their minds.
Sure enough, after hearing Sagami Minami's words, Yukinoshita Yukino frowned slightly and said, "Sagami, that is the wrong way to think. We need to increase the pace so we have enough buffer time."
Sagami Minami's expression stiffened as she stood there.
At that moment, Yukinoshita Haruno suddenly smiled and said, "Back then, I also worked hard together with my classmates."
Her words were like a shot of confidence for Sagami Minami. Looking at Yukinoshita, she suddenly smiled.
"Yukinoshita, I don't know if you and your sister have some kind of conflict, but you should properly learn from the wisdom left by those before you…"
"Don't let personal feelings interfere. Think about everyone else too."
The room fell silent for a moment before Yukinoshita Haruno's smiling voice broke the tension.
"My, what a wonderful thing to say."
Hm?
What was going on now?
"What exactly is she trying to do?"
Sato frowned as he muttered while looking at Yukinoshita Haruno.
"Maybe… she wants to help Yukinoshita grow."
Suddenly, Isshiki Iroha, standing in front of him, turned her head and spoke in a somewhat complicated tone. "Yukinoshita was the only one organizing the work inside just now, while Sagami Minami arrived late. More accurately, she's been acting like a hands-off manager from the very beginning."
"So that's how it is."
Sato nodded. He had only arrived recently, so naturally he had not noticed.
Yukinoshita Yukino was probably working this hard because she had been stimulated during the committee work and had resolved to surpass Yukinoshita Haruno.
Meanwhile, Yukinoshita Haruno had seen what happened earlier and was deliberately pushing Yukinoshita Yukino.
If that was the case, then Yukinoshita Haruno's feelings for Yukinoshita were probably unimaginably deep, and what she wanted to teach Yukinoshita Yukino was subtle and gentle, like rain soaking into the earth without a sound.
But Yukinoshita Yukino was clearly more stubborn than anyone expected.
As for Sagami Minami, she completely failed to understand any of this. If Yukinoshita Haruno had dropped that smiling expression at the end, then it probably would have been direct mockery aimed at Sagami Minami.
However…
"I'm probably going to interrupt your lesson."
Sato suddenly muttered with a low laugh.
Hayama Hayato and Isshiki Iroha looked at him in confusion.
Sato's gaze remained fixed on Sagami Minami. Whether it was Yukinoshita Yukino's matters or Yukinoshita Haruno's matters, he actually had no interest in interfering.
But from the perspective of an outsider, that bitch's behavior was making him irritated. He rarely got angry, but today was clearly an exception.
"Excuse me."
Sato pushed aside the people in front and walked into the classroom.
(P.S. I went back to reread this part of the story. I seriously want to kick this bitch to death.)