Episode 15 – The Dilemma of the Little Devil and the Student Council President
Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818093087122434729/episodes/16818622173608455636
“I liked you from the moment I saw you! Please go out with me!”
Behind the school building. A small, isolated area within the school filled with the sounds of birds chirping and trees rustling in the spring breeze. There were two figures there.
Shiramine Hisui and her male classmate.
“I’m sorry, but I already have someone I like.”
It was a cliché, unremarkable confession. This was the third time it had happened since she had come to this school. She had never even spoken to him, let alone known his name.
“… Ugh! Uwaaaa!”
The crushed boy held back tears in the corners of his eyes and ran away in frustration.
“Haaa, this is a bit of a hassle, isn’t it?”
Being confessed to is a blessing, I suppose. But, selfishly speaking, if it’s someone I’m not interested in, it’s just annoying.
“Ah, Hii-chan. There you are.”
A few minutes after the boy left, my best friend, Koganei Mihoshi came to the back of the school building.
“That’s tough, Hii-chan. You’re so popular.”
she smiled sympathetically.
“What’s wrong?”
Judging from the way she spoke, she wondered if she was looking for her. Hisui tilted her head.
“I forgot my textbook for the next class. Could you lend me yours?”
Mihoshi put her hands together in front of her face.
“Sure. What subject?”
“Math 1…”
Then it’s probably in my bag.
“Okay. Come with me to the classroom, then.”
“Okay… Oh, right. Hii-chan…”
Suddenly, Mihoshi remembered something and started talking.
“Hey, Hayamin… Um, there’s Hayami-senpai in the second year, right? The person you talked to on your first day of school.”
“! I-I know…”
She was a little shaken as she remembered her words and actions on her first day. Thinking that Mihoshi had seen her theatrical conversation, she felt so embarrassed that she wanted to die.
“Hii-chan? Is something wrong? …Are you feeling unwell?”
Seeing her face gradually turning red, she seemed concerned and peered at her with a worried expression.
“N-nothing… So, Hayami-senpai?”
“Oh, it was written in the newspaper posted on the bulletin board, but apparently he’s dating the student council president.”
……………。
“Ha?”
***
“Achoo!!”
Invited to the student council room, I sat down to talk, but then I sneezed. My nose was itchy. It wasn’t hay fever, so it must have been dust.
“Do you have a cold?”
President Sanada tilted her head slightly and peered into my eyes.
“No, I don’t think so. I think someone is just gossiping about me.”
I’m in perfect health. They say fools don’t catch colds, after all.
“Anyway, it was the newspaper club, right?”
That’s what’s important right now. That dangerous group that wrote that ridiculous gossip article.
“Honjo kun. Please tell him.”
“Yes, yes. …The newspaper club is a club that writes articles about rumors at school and things that are talked about in the community and posts them on the bulletin board. Right now, there’s only one second-year student in the club. It was supposed to be disbanded this year.”
Yeah, that’s the newspaper club. THE news paper club.
“That person made this, right?”
I looked at the gossip article that had just torn off
Upon reading it, the content aside, it was surprisingly well-written. The expressions were a bit exaggerated and speculative, but…
“I think this is a declaration of war against us, the student council.”
“What? What did you say…?”
Really? I’ve never heard of a declaration of war outside of dramas or other fictional works.
…I’d like to use that phrase someday.
“It was the president who decided to disband the newspaper club.”
“Oh, I see.”
So, they posted a scandalous article on the bulletin board as retaliation.
“What should we do, President? If we take this to the staff room, I think they’ll take action immediately.”
Honjo said that, picked up the newspaper, and looked at President Sanada.
This definitely crosses the line of what’s acceptable.
“Hmm. In this case, what kind of punishment do you think the teachers will impose, Honjo-kun?”
…For some reason, even as she asked Honjo that question, Chairman Sanada’s gaze was fixed on me.
The corners of her mouth were slightly raised, as if she was plotting something.
“At best, a week’s suspension. But this is quite malicious, so a month… is also possible.”
“I see. So, if I hand this over, the matter will be resolved.”
Suspension. I’m old enough to understand the weight of that word. academic record will take a big hit, and it will inevitably affect college admissions and job prospects. And above all…
“Could you wait a moment?”
Ah, I’m about to do something unnecessary again. I was aware of that, but…
“What’s written here is wrong and extremely rude.”
The president probably doesn’t want to be lumped together with someone like me. And I don’t want to stand out either.
“But this newspaper has genuine passion and effort behind it.”
The photo was taken yesterday at noon. Despite that, it’s so well-made that I feel the author must truly love making newspapers above all else.
Even if it’s blind and fake.
“I don’t want to deny that. For better or worse. So, if the chairman is okay with it, can you leave this matter to me?”
The victims are me and the chairman. In other words, just the chairman. If others are involved, there’s nothing we can do, but it’s still manageable at this stage.
“Hmm. That’s fine. But what can you do?”
The chairman put away her smile and looked at me with a testing gaze.
“It’s simple. Once a rumor like this spreads, it’s already lost. No matter how much the parties involved try to cover it up or shout the truth, it doesn’t matter.”
People deny things that are inconvenient for them, whether they are true or false.
“That’s right. I agree. So? How do you plan to turn this around?”
“It’s simple. Just have the person who started it admit they were wrong. That’s all.”
In the end, if the person involved in the rumor can’t do anything, the only option is to have the person who started it correct it.
“…I see. Alright. I’ll leave it to you.”
Satisfied with my answer, Chairman Sanada tore a sheet of paper from the notepad on her desk and wrote something down smoothly with her pen.
“This is the name and class of the only student belonging to the newspaper club.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m sorry. I took up your lunch break.”
“No, it can’t be helped if there are circumstances like this… Oh!”
Lunch break. Come to think of it…
“E-Excuse me!”
As soon as I remembered, I rushed out of the student council room.
She must still be waiting.
I ran up the stairs three steps at a time, passing the second and third floors.
And then…
“Sorry to keep you waiting! Shiramine…”
Beyond the open iron door. There she was.
“…Why did you come, senpai?”
Shiramine Hisui was quietly shedding tears.
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