"This is wonderful. Tsubame-senpai really did accept Ishigami's date invitation."
"…"
"Rinji, shouldn't you fulfill your promise?"
"Shinomiya, you're smiling awfully happily."
"Of course. I'm truly happy for Ishigami's success," Kaguya said gracefully, though she was also delighted to see Rinji suffer.
Even though Rinji's cross-dressing had destructive charm, things were different now. At the end of the day, he was still a man. And now that Kaguya was officially dating Shirogane, she wasn't afraid at all.
"I could put in the effort to do your makeup myself."
"Spare me."
Rinji snapped.
"It's just a date. At the end of the day, it's just a man and woman going out together. It's not like they've confirmed a relationship yet. I'll fulfill my promise when they actually do."
"You said it." Kaguya smiled.
"But Rinji, you did very well. You knew that if you lost the match on purpose, nothing else would follow. Yet you still chose to win."
"I'm not the type to sacrifice my brother's happiness just to protect myself. If Ishigami can be with Koyasu-senpai, it's worth celebrating."
Rinji sighed.
Though Ishigami might find happiness, he himself would suffer for a week.
But if a week of suffering could buy Ishigami a happy future, it wasn't such a bad trade.
Click.
The student council room door opened, and the remaining members came in one after another.
"Congratulations, Rinji, you and Ishigami won the championship," Shirogane said with a smile.
"Rinji-kun really played well." Fujiwara also smiled. "But you don't seem all that happy about winning."
"I thought so too."
Ishigami, entering with them, looked at Rinji sitting on the sofa.
"Feels like you've got something on your mind."
"Nothing. Just that my future looks grim."
"That's right." Kaguya smiled. "Just now Rinji said, if Ishigami really ends up dating Koyasu Tsubame, he'll cross-dress for a week."
"Eh!!?"
Everyone looked in surprise at Rinji's sour face.
Ishigami's feelings for Tsubame weren't exactly a secret in the student council. The fact that he dared to invite her out in front of everyone already showed he wasn't hiding it.
But for Rinji to gamble with cross-dressing…
They all knew he hated it more than anything. Using that as a bet meant he had put a lot on the line.
"I see! Then I'll handle the makeup!" Fujiwara volunteered excitedly.
"They're not dating yet."
Rinji lifted his head and looked at the bewildered Ishigami.
"Ishigami, today I helped you win this match even at the risk of cross-dressing. Don't you have anything to say about my tragic sacrifice?"
"I…"
Ishigami lowered his head.
After a long pause, he suddenly looked up at Rinji.
"Double blessing?"
"You bastard, are you looking for a beating!?"
"Ow ow ow! I'm dying, I'm dying!"
Pinned to the floor, Ishigami slapped the ground in surrender.
"I really do appreciate it! You've been helping me so much, I've wanted to repay you!"
He stood up, rubbing his sore shoulder.
"For you to make such a sacrifice for me…"
"Talk about it after you succeed."
"But… Rinji, you made such a huge bet all of a sudden. Does that mean you really think my chances are low?"
"…"
---
"Rinji, you're going back the day after tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah. President, you and Shinomiya are going on a school trip after that too, right?"
"Mm. The final vote result was Kyoto."
"Kyoto, huh? That's where Shinomiya's family is, isn't it? President, planning to meet the parents?"
"Meet the parents… let's not."
At the phrase "meet the parents," Shirogane looked uneasy.
"Didn't you already meet them? Shinomiya's third brother looked at you like he'd seen a ghost."
"That was your fault."
"You'll be staying in a hot spring inn in Kyoto, right?"
"How do you know?"
"Manga always shows it that way. According to the story, you'll even get a chance to bathe in the hot spring with Shinomiya."
"No way! Don't believe everything in manga!"
After snapping, Shirogane sighed and glanced at Rinji.
"By the way… do you really think Ishigami's chances with Tsubame-senpai are that low?"
"To be precise, zero." Rinji replied. "I even bet my cross-dressing on it. That alone shows how hopeless it is."
"Well, you're not wrong…"
"No matter how much we help Ishigami, no matter how hard he tries, if the person in question doesn't want love, then there's no chance at all."
"Tsubame-senpai doesn't want to date?"
"Yeah, I chatted with her a little before, and you can pick up a bit of that meaning between the lines." Rinji said.
"Unless Koyasu-senpai suddenly wants to start dating, but what do you think the chances are of such a sudden personality change, President?"
"Well… it's not like it's impossible."
"A probability of zero point zero something basically doesn't count." Rinji laughed. "Anyway, there's no way I'd ever wear women's clothing."
"…Rinji?"
"What?"
"According to the usual manga plot, you just set up a serious flag."
"Didn't you just say we shouldn't believe everything in manga?"
---
"Kaguya, are you the only one in the student council right now?"
"Oh, Tsubame-senpai?"
At that moment, Kaguya was the only one left in the student council office. Coincidentally, Tsubame had stopped by.
"Do you need something?"
"I mainly came to see Yuu. After all… I promised to go on a date with him." Tsubame's face turned red as she whispered.
"Oh? So you really are serious about Ishigami, huh?" Kaguya smiled. "Then I'll go find Ishigami for you."
"No, no need for that trouble, in the next few days I'll… hm?"
While speaking, Tsubame suddenly noticed some manga placed on the tea table in the student council office.
"You're allowed to read manga in the student council?"
"No, these are shoujo manga that Rinji wanted to hand over to the Disciplinary Committee, but the matter was put aside." Kaguya looked at the manga on the table.
It was the "Sweet Today" series, the one that had made people cry before.
"Oh~ the kouhais in my club also recommended it to me, but I never had time to read it."
Tsubame smiled and opened one to read.
Fifteen minutes later.
"Uwaaaaah! I really want to fall in love!!"
Kaguya: "…"