"It's surprising, but… alright, so you're going to help, after all. Hmm…"
After some time passed, Aira, now a little calmer, summarized the situation.
"So? Specifically, how are you going to help?"
And she looked at us with a renewed serious gaze, asking.
'She must really like him, it seems.'
Honestly, I hadn't expected her to accept the offer to help so readily.
It was as if she wanted to borrow even a cat's paw [a proverb about being desperate for help].
It seemed she was desperate for someone's help.
"Hmm… actually, I haven't thought of a specific method yet. Ah! How about this?"
Just then, Sierra came up with an idea, as if she had a good one.
"We secretly put the Potion of Fascination into the Chairman-nim's drink!"
"…No, that just increases one's libido."
"Oh, is it like that?"
The Potion of Fascination that Sierra mentioned.
Such an item exists in this fantasy world.
But despite its name, the Potion of Fascination… it was practically an aphrodisiac.
And Sierra, hearing my explanation, nodded and muttered.
"I see… so it doesn't make you fall in love… I almost caused big trouble…"
"Big trouble…? You haven't done anything yet, what do you mean?"
"Uh, ugh, huh? It's nothing!"
"Hmm…"
Anyway.
'A good way for Aira to succeed in dating Damien…'
Until now, I had only thought about how to win over heroines, never about how to win over the male lead.
So, no ideas immediately came to mind.
'Ah, now that I think about it…'
But thinking carefully.
'Originally, the game was about Sierra winning over the male leads, wasn't it…?'
I realized that a strategy had existed from the start.
However…
"...Senior-nim, if I told you to slap the Chairman, could you do it?"
"What…?"
"Suddenly…?"
"It would be difficult, wouldn't it?"
At my words, the two of them looked at me with bewildered faces.
Their expressions showed they couldn't understand.
It was understandable.
However, I was quite serious.
After all, that was how Sierra had won Damien's heart.
—*Smack!*—
'Ugh…! What is this right now…? You…!'
*Smack! Smack! Smack!*
'No, w-wait…! Hold on a second…!'
—*Smack!*—
Roughly five clean slaps.
Damien must have been quite shocked, as he thought only of Sierra day and night for several days.
As a result, he eventually developed a curiosity about Sierra.
And that curiosity would develop into affection.
"Hmm…"
"Emil, do you have some grudge against the Chairman-nim…?"
"If you're going to joke around, go home! You're not even teasing a person!"
Despite their suspicious gazes, I quietly recalled the game's story.
I couldn't have her actually slap him, but the answer must be here.
I had a feeling about it.
'…It's strange to fall for someone just because you got slapped. …The slap must have been the catalyst, and there must be a real reason for his affection.'
Damien.
Mari's older brother and the eldest son of the family.
He grew up under cold parents who greatly diminished Mari's self-esteem, receiving high expectations.
He was a talented individual, excelling in various fields since childhood.
Thanks to this, Damien was recognized everywhere, and everyone was favorably disposed towards him.
Men strived to become his friends.
And women who liked him would even gather together and become friends with each other.
'And that's where Sierra became the first person in Damien's life… to dislike him.'
In other words.
Damien's heart was swayed by her, who saw him as just a human being.
She would get angry at Damien's flaws and misdeeds.
Conversely, she would smile at his strengths and good deeds.
"This… might work…"
"No no no, Emil, even so, slapping him is not the way!"
"Ugh, I'm a fool for listening…. That's enough! I'll just handle this one-sided love on my own…!"
"No, do you think I'm crazy to tell you to slap him?"
"Oh, you're not…?"
"No, what do you take me for?"
"Hehe…"
As I glared subtly, Sierra laughed playfully and scratched her cheek.
Seriously, what did she take me for….
"Anyway, I have a good idea, so give it a try, Senior-nim."
I looked at Aira and spoke confidently.
Aira looked at me with a skeptical eye, but nodded for now.
"Hey, Emil."
"Hm?"
"Will this really work?"
"..."
Sierra whispered quietly to me, asking that.
She lowered her voice even more than usual.
She couldn't help it, because where we were right now was the student council room.
"Hmm… it'll probably be fine."
"Probably? Then Emil can't be sure either…!"
"…I'm not omnipotent, so of course I can't guarantee 100%."
"Ugh… Aira Senior-nim, will she be okay?"
"..."
At Sierra's words, we looked at the people seated around the student council room table.
There, the candidates for the student council election and the current student council president were seated, holding a meeting.
The meeting's topic was the highlight of the election: election speeches.
It was a meeting to allocate speech times to each candidate within a limited timeframe.
"Hmm, then is there any objection to each person being allocated equal speech time?"
However, the meeting did not last very long.
As it was a meeting led by the current student council president.
With Damien's charisma and thorough organization of content, the meeting concluded in less than 10 minutes.
And the other meeting attendees also seemed to accept his decision.
However.
"Excuse me, Chairman-nim."
"Hmm? Is that Aira? What is it?"
"I think it's unreasonable."
"What…?"
To such a clean conclusion, Aira raised an objection, causing a stir.
"What's unreasonable about each person being allocated the same amount of time for their speech?"
"As you can see from the speech materials submitted by each candidate, there's a significant difference in the amount of material prepared by each candidate."
"Hmm… and?"
"I believe it's right for the person with more speech content to be allocated more time."
"...But, Aira. If that happens, the time allocated to you will decrease."
"I'm not trying to gain an advantage; I'm talking about what's unreasonable."
Damien showed his inability to understand Aira's objection.
He couldn't help it.
Honestly, Aira wasn't arguing because she truly felt it was unreasonable, but rather because…
'She had to argue, no matter what.'
"Hey, Emil… will this really be okay?"
"Hmm…"
"It feels like the atmosphere is just getting worse…"
The student council room's atmosphere grew colder and colder.
Starting with Aira's objection, the two began a heated debate.
Ultimately, it was just a conversation arguing about who was right.
The important thing was that Aira confronted Damien without backing down an inch.
"…If Aira Senior-nim were to gain his heart from *that*, wouldn't that be a problem in itself?"
Sierra muttered that as she watched Aira and Damien engage in a fierce debate.
'It feels strange to hear that from the person who actually gained affection that way…'
Of course, considering realism, approaching someone you want to gain favor with in such a manner is obviously not good.
However.
Other than that, no other way for Aira to win Damien's heart came to mind.
And so.
The two's debate continued even after the meeting ended.
As the other candidates and assistants all left the student council room.
"Chairman, let's talk for a moment."
"Ah, we do need to finish this."
Aira clung to Damien, not letting him go until the very end, and Damien also accepted Aira's direct challenge.
By the way, we left the student council room and waited idly in the hallway for Aira to come out.
"You know… Emil, you…"
"Hm?"
Just then.
Sierra, who was standing beside me, leaning against the hallway wall, subtly tilted her head and asked.
"Is your type perhaps a woman who picks fights?"
"Why did the conversation suddenly go there…."
"But people usually give advice by relating it to their own experiences, don't they?"
"Then were you thinking of using the Potion of Fascination when you made that suggestion to Aira Senior-nim?"
"Eh, ugh! N-no?! I wasn't! Not at all! Ugh! No, I wasn't!"
"…If you weren't, then fine, but do you need to deny it *that* much?"
"Ugh…! A-anyway!"
For once, Sierra looked incredibly flustered and hurriedly continued speaking.
"I, I wasn't, but? In Emil's case… it's so specific, isn't it?"
"..."
"Like, specifically telling her to talk back to the Chairman, or to argue to the very end…"
"I mean, that's just a strategy to win over the Chairman, it's not my type that…"
"Then how do you know the Chairman's type, Emil?"
"..."
"See?"
As I couldn't give any answer, Sierra subtly looked at me with a sharp gaze.
I avoided Sierra's eyes.
'It certainly can be misunderstood… but it's also strange to say I know the Chairman's type…'
As I was agonizing over what excuse to fabricate.
Sierra quietly continued.
"You know, Emil, you're close with Chris too, right?"
"Hm…?"
"Chris, with her strict and unyielding demeanor… it seems to fit somehow…"
"..."
In reality, Chris has been backing down a lot lately, but I didn't bother mentioning that part.
I just carefully met Sierra's eyes, racking my complex brain, and hastily thought of an answer.
'What's the right thing to say?'
Honestly, rather than Aira's strategy… this girl was worrying me more now.
I was afraid of being misunderstood for nothing, and scared of being hated for nothing.
Therefore, I thought faster than I ever did when trying to win over any heroine.
"My type is…"
"..."
Just as I realized that the only answer was to speak the embarrassing truth.
—*Slide!*—
"Ugh…!"
"C-Cough…!"
"..."
Just then, Aira, who had finished talking in the student council room, opened the door and came out.
We somehow turned our bodies away, blushing, as if in sync.
But Aira, who had startled us, didn't look at us.
She closed the door without a word, her head bowed.
"D-Did it not go well…?"
"..."
Sierra carefully asked Aira about the situation.
And then.
"W-What, what should I, what should I do…?"
Aira lifted her head, her voice trembling.
—*Stomp stomp stomp!*—
She rushed forward to us, grabbing both our arms.
"The Chairman-nim asked me on a date…!"
"Eh… really?"
At Aira's words, Sierra's eyes widened in clear surprise.
And she subtly looked at me.
Her expression seemed to ask, 'Why on earth…?'