Sato pushed past the people standing at the doorway and walked in. He made no effort to hide his movements or footsteps, and in the meeting room, where a strange atmosphere currently hung in the air, his entrance naturally drew everyone's attention.
When they saw Sato enter, everyone in the room reacted differently.
Hikigaya Hachiman, who had been about to speak, suddenly let out a small sigh of relief. He immediately returned to his usual dead-fish mode, slumping lazily against his chair.
Yukinoshita Haruno paused slightly, then looked at Sato with interest.
As for Sagami Minami, who had already been embarrassed by Sato before, her expression instantly became unpleasant.
Could this freshman not read the room?
The others also wore strange expressions.
Sato walked into the meeting room and said with a smile, "I think the Executive Committee Chair's suggestion makes perfect sense!"
Hm?
Several people's expressions changed subtly.
Among them, the one whose expression changed the most was Sagami Minami. She looked at Sato in disbelief, clearly not expecting him to speak up for her.
At first, she felt a burst of excitement, but soon after, an uneasy feeling rose from the depths of her heart.
Would this person really help her?!
She stared deeply at Sato.
Not far away, Yukinoshita Yukino sat at the head seat with a calm expression, impossible to tell what she was thinking.
Sato took in everyone's changing expressions before smiling at Sagami Minami.
"Did everyone already forget what the Executive Committee Chair said during the election?"
Hm?
Everyone froze for a moment before starting to recall it.
Sagami Minami did the same, but her face quickly turned deathly pale. She had clearly realized what Sato was referring to.
Of course, some people did not remember it very clearly, or simply had not understood what Sato meant.
Thoughtfully, he helped refresh everyone's memory.
"The Executive Committee Chair said she hoped to grow through this event, so everyone shouldn't let down the Chair's good intentions. Just enjoy the school festival to your heart's content, the Chair will take responsibility for these matters!"
Sato smiled as he turned toward Sagami Minami.
"Right, Chair?"
He stood only a few steps away from her. That handsome face, which could definitely be called refined and attractive, carried a bright and refreshing smile.
The expression on his face looked completely sincere, but Sagami Minami's pupils suddenly contracted as she froze in place.
At that moment, she felt as though she had fallen into an icy abyss, her whole body turning cold.
"Oh? So something like that happened too?"
Yukinoshita Haruno narrowed her eyes as she smiled at Sagami Minami, though deep within her gaze was a trace of indifference.
Although she wanted her little sister to grow, she was equally happy to teach this person a lesson.
Because from the current situation, her plan had already failed, and there was no way to reverse it.
She had not known that Sagami Minami had said something like this during the election. That was her miscalculation, and Sato had seized precisely that point, delivering a fatal blow to her plan.
First, Sagami Minami was the Executive Committee Chair, the highest person in charge of the entire school festival.
Second, those words had come directly from Sagami Minami herself.
It could be said that Sagami Minami had lifted a rock only to smash her own foot with it. She seemed to have completely forgotten that she was the actual Executive Committee Chair of the school festival. Yukinoshita Yukino had only been invited by her to help. If the school festival failed, the school administration would not hold Yukinoshita responsible.
She would be the one held accountable.
Yukinoshita Haruno's meddling had failed to shift the pressure onto Yukino. Instead, all the pressure had landed squarely on Sagami Minami.
And Sagami Minami had foolishly accepted it herself.
Faced with this situation, Yukinoshita Haruno decisively switched sides.
Since she had already said such grand and righteous words herself, then she could go fulfill those responsibilities on her own...
Haruno's eyes toward Sagami Minami were filled with coldness.
At that moment, Sato suddenly walked over to Yukinoshita Yukino and tapped on the desk in front of her.
Looking somewhat troubled, he said, "Oh right, could I trouble you to come take a look at our rehearsal? I feel like some parts of our performance aren't very coordinated."
"You should be able to put aside your current work for a bit, right? After all, the Executive Committee Chair just said everyone could slow down a little."
Yukinoshita Yukino raised her head and looked at him with a somewhat complicated expression, but she remained seated, hesitation appearing on her face.
Seeing this, Sato lowered his voice.
"You wouldn't want me to become the target of public criticism, right? If you refuse, it'll be really awkward for me."
The cool and graceful girl looked at him in astonishment. She pressed her lips together and let out a long sigh, helplessness appearing on her beautiful face.
So he had even calculated this much...
"All right, I'll go take a look."
A smile appeared on Sato's face. He turned toward the completely frozen Sagami Minami and waved his hand.
"Then we'll leave things here to you, Chair!"
"We'll leave this place in your care."
After stepping away from her seat, Yukinoshita Yukino slightly bowed toward Sagami Minami and spoke in a calm tone.
Just like that, Sato openly walked out together with the girl.
From a corner of the meeting room, Hikigaya Hachiman secretly gave Sato a thumbs-up and silently mouthed the words.
Nicely done!
Just now, he had already been prepared to self-destruct, but Sato had forcibly dragged him back from the edge of the cliff. In truth, he himself had overlooked this point as well.
Sato wore a faint smile as his lips moved silently.
No big deal!
After Sato brought Yukinoshita Yukino out of the classroom, the meeting room immediately fell into silence.
"Ah~"
Suddenly!
Hikigaya Hachiman stood up and stretched lazily.
As though speaking to everyone, yet also muttering to himself, he said, "Guess I should head back and check on my class too."
His words acted like a signal, and quite a few people stood up.
"Ah, I've been gone so long, I wonder how things are in class."
"We just got the funding approved, I still need to bring it back."
"..."
Watching this scene, Yukinoshita Haruno suddenly smiled. She patted Shiromeguri Meguri on the shoulder and said, "Well then, Meguri, I'll be leaving first too. If anything comes up, just call me."
"Ah, okay!"
Shiromeguri Meguri nodded blankly.
By the time she came back to her senses, she looked at the meeting room that was now nearly half empty and could not help twitching the corner of her mouth.
Then she turned a sympathetic gaze toward Sagami Minami.