The Former Swordmaster Who Pretends to Be the Worst, and the School’s Top-Ranked Chairman’s Daughter Who’s Way Too Sweet in Public, It’s a Real Problem
――This has turned into a real headache.
I’m already worried enough about keeping Rika safe as it is—there’s no way I can take on the role of Seihou Festival coordinator. But with my childhood friends, Edward, and nearly all my classmates so fired up about it, I just couldn’t say no.
“Hehe… I get to be the Seihou Festival coordinator with you, Saito-kun!”
“Sorry about this, Rika. It’d be pretty tough if I were the only one handling it.”
“Yeah, it’s fine! Of course, I was one of the ones who suggested it in the first place!”
So, I had no choice.
As a compromise, I appointed Rika as the assistant organizer. This way, I could keep an eye on her naturally and without straining things. It would be difficult to go up to the Mizusawa residence like before, but as long as we were at school, it should be fine.
“Oh, come to think of it. After school, we have to coordinate with the other classes, right?”
“Yeah. In that case, Takanashi-san will probably be there too.”
“Hm? Is he in charge too?”
Just as I was thinking that, Rika mentioned her friend’s name.
Now that she mentioned it, someone like Takanashi would seem like the type to volunteer. —That’s what I thought, but it seems the reality is slightly different.
“Nope. It seems she’s actually on the executive committee. So she’ll be showing up for the coordination meetings as part of the Seihou Festival’s organizing team.”
“Huh… I see. She’s surprisingly hardworking, isn’t she?”
I found myself impressed.
I don’t know everything about her personality, but in any case, it’s commendable. It was a far cry from my own tendency to just wing things, even in the middle of an event like this.
With that thought in mind, I headed toward the empty classroom where the student coordinators were gathering—
“—Oh, speak of the devil.”
“Ah! Isn’t that Aragaki and Agatsuma! You’re in charge of Class A, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right. Takanashi-san is on the executive committee, isn’t she?”
“That’s right!”
I spotted Takanashi deep in conversation with someone right in front of me.
When I called out to her, the petite girl puffed out her chest and nodded repeatedly. Then,
“……Oh, right. Since we’ll be in touch from now on, let me introduce you to Nekro Senpai !”
“Nekro Senpai …?”
I looked over at the male student she’d been talking to just a moment ago.
He had short, cropped silver hair and purple eyes. The boy called Necro, with his piercing gaze, lightly adjusted his glasses and turned to face me.
When the boy looked at me, he let out a small sigh before introducing himself.
“I’m Themis Necrosia. You two are Aragaki and Agatsuma, the ones Takanashi was talking about, right?”
“Yes, I’m Rika Azuma. Nice to meet you.”
“I’m Saito Aragaki. Nice to meet you.”
I extended my right hand, and he took it.
His stern demeanor was striking, but he didn’t seem unfriendly by any means. What caught my attention, though, was the fact that Takanashi had apparently been talking about us.
I couldn’t believe it, but—
“By the way, Senpai. Did this idiot say anything weird?”
“Weird? Hmm, let me see—”
I asked with a bad feeling, and after thinking for a moment, she replied.
“She was saying that Aragaki’s swordsmanship is undoubtedly the strongest in the world…”
“………………Hey, Takanashi?”
“Huh…?”
I immediately glared at my troublemaking friend, who was tilting her head in confusion.
Takanashi looked puzzled, but it seemed she hadn’t grasped the situation. On the contrary, seeing the twitch at the corner of my mouth…
“Huh… You mean that underachiever is the strongest in the world?”
“Isn’t that some kind of mistake?”
“But lately, he’s been hanging out with all sorts of people…”
The students around us began to whisper these rumors among themselves.
And that wasn’t all—
“And that he’s a very reliable ally. You sounded pretty passionate about it.”
“Yes! Saito-kun is very reliable!!”
“………………”
—Hey, don’t get in on this, Rika! Don’t spread the rumor any further!?
“Ahem! ……………… Ta~ka~na~shi~?”
“Hm…?”
At that point, I cleared my throat to cut off the flow of conversation.
It turned out she was spreading even more unnecessary information than Senpai had.
So, I decided to punish her. I cracked my knuckles, clamped both fists around Takanashi’s temples—
“――Aaaaaaargh!?”
“You damn speaker! Don’t go blabbing unnecessary stuff!”
I treated her to a classic head-scrub.
Of course, I went easy on her, but she still writhed in agony. Rika and Senpai, watching us, each remarked:
“Muu… Saito-kun, you’re paying all your attention to Takanashi-san…!”
“Hmm, I see? Well then, let’s just look forward to your future performance.”
Hearing that, I stopped my hand and sighed.
And I furrowed my brow at the troublesome days that were sure to come. Meanwhile, Takanashi seemed to be suffering from a headache; with tears welling up in her eyes, she protested:
“Aragaki, don’t mess with me!? What did I even do?!”
“Shut up, you need to reflect on your actions a bit!”
With that final exchange of shouts, our after-school meeting began.
It could be seen as amusing, but it was a rather exhausting start to the day…
Maiban