Chapter 359: The Soirée
As expected, his choice of orca earned him glares from all three of them.
( 눈_눈)( 눈_눈)( 눈_눈) ¯\_(- > -)_/¯
Sakurai Saki didn't regret it — even if asked ten thousand more times, he would still like orcas.
The argument over cats and dogs didn't last long anyway — there was no point continuing.
In reality, convincing others is an extremely difficult thing.
After all, this wasn't Detective Conan, where the protagonist only needs to say a few words before the culprit bursts into tears and confesses.
All things considered, in Conan's storyline, quite a few murder cases are actually "perfect crimes." If they really went to court, as long as the defendant hired a good lawyer, whether a conviction could even be made would still be questionable.
...
In the following days, the student council watched bloody movies every day to help Shirogane Miyuki… learn to cook?
Iino Miko was so terrified she didn't dare come to the student council room for days — apparently, she was really afraid of that kind of thing.
Aside from her, Shinomiya Kaguya was also extremely scared — so much that she couldn't even look — yet she was also incredibly curious, constantly torn between fear and curiosity.
During that time, Sakurai Saki found it fascinating to observe the Ojou-sama's startled, trembling expressions — even more entertaining than the movies themselves.
Finally, after all that effort, the home economics class took place smoothly.
The sight of Shirogane Miyuki coldly dissecting a fish terrified the entire class, while Fujiwara "Mama" Chika hid in the corner of the room, nearly moved to tears.
Chika: (˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )づ♡ I raised that boy~
...
Time fast-forwards to the Golden Week holiday.
The break was supposed to be long and relaxing, but since the student council had to prepare for the upcoming marathon festival, work started piling up again.
This year, Shuchiin had replaced the annual sports festival with a marathon festival — seemingly to encourage all students to participate.
The useless otaku boy, Ishigami Yuu, gave his evaluation as follows:
"An event that forces everyone to join is the worst kind of garbage! The absolute worst! A marathon festival that's 8km long! An event that's definitely gonna kill people from exhaustion — if possible, I'd rather take the day off."
But of course, he wouldn't take the day off, because the girl he liked the most — Koyasu Tsubame — happened to be free that day, and even said she would run from Kanagawa to come watch him.
Everyone in the student council had to participate.
Although the senior students still had some time left before graduation and might not give their all in the cultural festival due to exam prep, taking part in the spring marathon festival was still manageable.
...
Early morning.
Sakurai Saki was having breakfast with his girlfriend.
"What were you doing in Kyoto the other day?" he asked.
Hayasaka Ai took off her apron, carried her plate over, and sat across from him. "It's about the matter between the Shijo family and the Shinomiya family. The Hayasaka family used to serve the Shinomiyas, so we got dragged into it this time."
"And then?" Sakurai Saki didn't understand why that required his girlfriend to personally show up.
"I went back to stay with your mother for a while."
I see — so Hayasaka Nao went to have Ai-chan call in "reinforcements."
Jinguuji Tamaki's influence in Kyoto was indeed considerable; thanks to that powerful connection, the Hayasaka family no longer had to fear being suppressed by the other two families.
"I get it now." Sakurai Saki accepted the bowl of rice she handed him.
"What about you? How are things going with Kaguya?" Hayasaka Ai suddenly said something that froze him in place.
"…You already know?"
"Kaguya has her reasons — I made her do it." Hayasaka Ai didn't sound accusatory at all.
Even though her boyfriend and her best friend had slept together.
"Kaguya's older brother told her to seduce you, so that Jinguuji-san would step in to help the Shinomiya family gain an advantage in the business world."
After returning to Japan this time, Ai-chan had learned about some internal matters through her mother.
"And what does Kaguya think about all that?"
Sakurai Saki recalled what Kaguya had said before. He felt that she hadn't acted out of self-interest but rather genuine feelings. If those words of confession and affection had all been lies, if it had all been an act — he could accept that too. Her acting was so convincing that not being deceived would've been an insult to her performance.
"Of course she's not happy about it. But I'm more worried she might be punished by the Shinomiya family. The last time you stayed overnight at her place, I'm sure the servants already reported it to the main family. Consider that as giving them a sedative pill, so Kaguya can stay safe for a while — at least until the business war is over."
Hayasaka Ai told a small lie.
At that time, Shinomiya Kaguya had indeed agreed — though she had feigned refusal, it wasn't entirely sincere. Ai-chan didn't blame her. After all, within the Shinomiya household, Kaguya's position was extremely dangerous — like a wooden boat adrift without oars, left to be carried wherever the wind blew.
"I didn't expect there to be that kind of backstory." Sakurai Saki picked up his chopsticks and continued eating.
Even if the Shinomiya family were to collapse, it had nothing to do with him. The only one connected to him was Shinomiya Kaguya herself.
A centipede continues to wriggle even after it's dead — the Shinomiya family was the heart of this country; even gravely wounded, they wouldn't fall easily.
Life had to go on — peaceful days were what Sakurai Saki truly longed for.
If some fool really came looking for trouble, he'd just use the Death Note and kill them — Saki couldn't be bothered to drag things out. Neither law nor morality could stop him.
——
After breakfast, he had to go to school today.
Mainly to arrange the venue for the welcoming soirée for the French exchange students, scheduled to take place two days after the Golden Week holiday ended.
The student council was responsible for a lot — almost every major and minor matter seemed to involve them.
When he arrived at the assembly hall, Sakurai Saki looked around at the decorations.
The tables and chairs had already been arranged.
Shirogane Miyuki was directing everyone; many students from various sports clubs had come to help.
Saki walked over to him, observed for a while, and then noticed a pair of "bunny ears" peeking out not far away.
It was Nakano Yotsuba.
Truly deserving of the titles "the most easily manipulated tool," "the treasured gem of Shuchiin's sports clubs," and "the track-and-field goddess champion."
She really could be found everywhere.
"How did you manage to get Yotsuba here?" Sakurai Saki patted Shirogane on the shoulder.
"That's Yotsuba? I'm not really sure." Shirogane Miyuki wasn't good at telling the five Nakano sisters apart.
"The one with the bunny ribbon is Yotsuba. She's always so full of energy." Saki said while scratching his chin, a bit puzzled. "But today she doesn't seem to have any spirit at all."
"When I came here, I saw the track-and-field club and the basketball club fighting over her." Shirogane revealed a little piece of information he had just witnessed.
"..."
She really was popular—Sakurai Saki had never received that kind of treatment.
Because if someone came to ask him for help, unless it was a close acquaintance, he would refuse them all.
Even when he helped the Kendo Club before, it was only because he knew Kojima.
"Ryuju!! Come here for a bit!"
Shirogane called toward a girl wearing a white beret.
It was the Astronomy Club president — Ryuju Momo.
Today she wore a white beret, an outer coat, and a one-piece dress. If you didn't know better, you'd think she was going on a date.
"Momo, why are you dressed like that today?" Sakurai Saki said with a laugh.
"Ask him!" Ryuju Momo pointed straight at Shirogane Miyuki.
Her tone was irritated. "He called me out during Golden Week, and it turns out it was just to move stuff! Sakurai, don't you think that's too much?"
She was clearly angry.
"Sorry, sorry, I'll buy you a drink later!" Shirogane Miyuki also realized he was somewhat in the wrong.
"Yeah, Shirogane, you really should've explained that on the phone from the start."
Sakurai Saki patted his shoulder.
Now he finally understood why Shirogane still didn't have a girlfriend.
...