107. Then, the School Festival of Determination. (11)

Wednesday, October 28th.
Three days until the cultural festival.

During the lunch break, Sakura Sakurakoji and two other boys walked into the classroom carrying several cardboard boxes.

"Everyone, the class shirts for the cultural festival have arrived! Come register and pick yours up," Sakurakoji called out.

The girls were the first to crowd around. Sitting in the back row, Tsukigami Jinguji glanced over. Upon seeing the bright, neon-yellow T-shirts, he was left speechless.

Whose taste was this, anyway?

Bright yellow fabric, messy graffiti patterns, nonsensical English text, a "2A" printed on the chest, "God Sakura" on the back, and a black dashed line running down the front and back—it was all utterly baffling.

"Is this a bit too much?" Jinguji thought.

"Who designed this cherry blossom pattern? It’s hideous."
"It was Iwasaki."
"Eh? Why didn't you guys say anything before?"
"I can't believe they actually printed it. Seriously hilarious."
"Don't say that, everyone. I think it's cute." Trust Sakurakoji to say that; she might actually mean it.
"What’s with the dashed line in the middle? Are we supposed to cut it in half?"
"It's a cutting line," someone replied.
"Go-pi-pa."
"We should have just let Jinguji draw it. He’s good at that stuff, right?" Tsuchiya, the class gyaru, complained.

Jinguji pretended not to hear. If you accidentally step into these kinds of topics, you usually end up getting burned.

"That wouldn't work at all. Jinguji is way too busy with committee work. Everyone, don't be so picky; I think it's cute."

Once Sakurakoji said that, the gyaru stopped complaining. Jinguji received his own shirt, didn't say a word, and shoved it into his desk. Some boys were already crouching under their desks to secretly change into them, then parading around the room, performing incredibly flamboyant "transformation" poses that sent the rest of the class into fits of laughter.

Well... how should I put this?
It certainly suits the impression your class gives off.
Jinguji thought to himself.

After school, Jinguji headed to the meeting room as usual. As the cultural festival drew nearer, the school was filled with a festive, joyful atmosphere, and each classroom was decorated in its own unique way.

When he arrived at the meeting room and walked in, he found that a girl was already sitting in his usual spot. Seeing Jinguji arrive, she offered a gentle smile and gave a small wave.

Jinguji walked over with a stoic expression.
"Please don't hinder my work."

"Eh! The first thing you say is to kick me out?!"
Jinguji couldn't help but sigh.
"Using a phrase like 'kick me out' suggests that you, President, have completely distanced yourself from this."

Hoshino Hoshino, sitting before him, tossed her smooth, azure-colored hair and laughed. "Who told you to finish the work so well? There’s simply no use for me here anymore."
"My current dream is to never have a boss like you in the future."
Hoshino displayed a look of praise, sticking out her thumb. "There’s progress. At least you have a dream now. I’m very relieved."

The girl insisted on playing dumb, and Jinguji, having no other choice, sat down beside her in silence and opened his laptop to begin working.

"How is the progress?"
"It's going smoothly. The only thing left is to maintain order on the day of the cultural festival."
"Seeing you so busy, you probably won't be able to enjoy the festival. My class and Yomiya’s class are both doing haunted houses. If you have time, remember to come visit and give us a rating."
"Is it a competition?" Jinguji asked.
"Not exactly, but I’d be very happy if I won."
"The winner is Class 1-C."
"A champion has been born before it’s even started?!"
"Since you haven't contributed to your class’s program either, President, you must be the one reaping the rewards without doing any work."
"You can tell that? Ah... I suppose so."

Hoshino had even abandoned her duties for the cultural festival; it was obvious she wasn't doing it for the sake of the class program. One only had to think about it for a moment to realize that.

"Oh? Hoshino-senpai, you’re here."
Sakurakoji walked into the meeting room, saw Hoshino sitting side-by-side with Jinguji, and walked over to greet her.
"Long time no see, Sakurakoji-kouhai."

The two chatted for a bit, but Sakurakoji had other work to attend to and left after saying goodbye.

"Hey, Jinguji-kun." Hoshino poked Jinguji’s arm with her elbow.
"What?"
"Guess how many people in this meeting room have feelings for Sakurakoji-kouhai?"
Jinguji’s hand paused for a moment. He glanced at the slacker president and sighed helplessly. "Are you really that bored?"
"How can you call it boredom? I have a mountain of work to do later."
"The work is all right here with me."
"Yes, yes, how impressive. When no one is around, I’ll pat your head as a reward."

More of those jokes meant for children. Jinguji was already used to it.

"So, won't you guess? How many boys in this meeting room like Sakurakoji-kouhai? I’m not bragging, but my powers of observation are quite sharp."
"Three. Koizumi, Gotanda, and Takasaka."

Jinguji didn't intend to drag it out and gave the answer directly. In terms of observation, Jinguji, who possessed a photographic memory, clearly had a distinct advantage over Hoshino.

"Pfft—pfft—wrong answer."

Jinguji’s expression didn't change as he turned to look at the lazy student council president. Hoshino rested her head on one hand, squinted her eyes, and pointed her right index finger at Jinguji.

"The answer is four. Don't go leaving yourself out."

"..."
Jinguji didn't know what to say.

Hoshino giggled, stood up, and laughed softly. "It’s getting late, and it wouldn't be good for me to keep bothering you here. I’ll head back first. Jinguji-kun, keep up the good work."

The boy didn't stop her, simply saying goodbye in a calm tone. Hoshino’s complexion looked much better than before, which meant she had been resting properly. Knowing that was enough for Jinguji.

Not long after, Sakurakoji came back with a stack of documents for Jinguji to stamp and sign.
"Where did Senpai go?"
"She went back."
"Eh? Is student council work that busy?"
"Heaven knows."
"What’s with that 'none of my business' attitude? Don't get carried away just because you've been given a big responsibility."

Jinguji looked at his childhood friend, then scanned the back of the meeting room, where several boys were casting longing glances at Sakurakoji from time to time.

The boy sighed softly. "You too—don't get carried away."
"Huh? What does that mean?"
"Forget it if you don't understand."
"You're being a riddle-maker again. How annoying."

With that, the girl leaned down, brought her lips close to his ear, and whispered:
"Well... the parts that are annoying are very annoying, but the parts I like, I like one hundred percent. That's all."

This girl—what is she saying in the meeting room?
She scratched her cheek shyly and trotted out of the classroom with the stamped documents.

Jinguji watched her retreating figure and thought that Hoshino had been right.
There were indeed four of them.