Growing Doubts

“Hey, the estimated budget sheet is nowhere to be found. I can’t ask for permission without it.”

“Ummm…”

After Big Sis’ declaration, the student council office grew a bit more noisy compared to before. Todoroki-senpai, still not showing any desire to actually work, slowly pushed up his body from the desk. Hanawa-senpai looked around his close vicinity and on the PC, but this estimated budget sheet was nowhere to be found.

“Hmm…maybe it still hasn’t reached us? The culture festival execution committee might still have it?”

“Oh yeah, we didn’t get many reports from them compared to last year.”

“Weird…It doesn’t seem like something that would take so long.”

“…Huh.”

A conversation bloomed with Yuuki-senpai and Hanawa-senpai as the center. Listening to this, Big Sis let out a bothered sigh. Leaving her aside, when I see them interact like this, I really can’t help but see them as a hottie squad, and nothing more valuable. We even have one sleepy hottie here.

“Wataru, go and grab it.”

“Wha?”

What? Did she just throw a bone at me? I turned towards the place she looked at as she raised her chin. I’m not a dog, the hell are you on about. Have you finally gone mad? Did the steamed buns take over your brain?

“Why are you looking at me like a shocked chicken? I’m telling you to head to the culture festival committee and get the data we’re lacking. In particular, the one I just mentioned.”

“Ah, yeah.”

“Here, your armband. They’ll think of you as a suspicious intruder otherwise.”

“I still am a student here, you know.”

A crude treatment—that is my daily life. No matter how much I get pushed and sent around, I can’t complain. Once she’s home, Big Sis won’t work no matter what. If I just show the bare minimum like I am, it makes me feel like a tsundere. In a way, it’s brainwashing…That damn Big Sis, she’s trying to raise me as a corporate slave with my life on the line.

After putting the student council armband on my arm, I headed to the temporary office of the culture festival execution committee. What if they say something like ‘That guy was part of the student council?’. If I just say my name and state that ‘I am a pet dog of the student council’, everything should be fine, right? Though, I don’t know how I should feel about getting the data. It’s basically asking for the results of unfinished work. Oh yeah, Sasaki and Natsukawa are in there as well…Ahh, what a pain. I arrived in front of the door, and took a deep breath.

“—Excuse me.”

Entering inside, the attention of all the students gathered on me in an instant. Leaving aside the first-year students, I hesitated to walk further inside a bit, since there were other seniors present.

“Eh…W-Wataru?”

“Sajou…?”

The first two people to speak up were Natsukawa and Sasaki after all. Leaving the guy aside, I’m happy that Natsukawa actually reacted at all. But, they seem to be confused as to why I’m here. Let me see, are they actually doing their work…Ehh? Why do they have such a mountain of files in front of them? They sure have a lot of responsibility despite being first years…

When I checked in during summer break, they didn’t seem nearly as busy…Well, it was enough that Sasaki had to take some more work with him, I guess…But, is it that much every year? Yuuki-senpai said it pretty much is, so…I guess they are just doing their part. At that moment, the female senior sitting at the long table next to the blackboard called out to me.

“Um…I’m sorry?”

“Ah, hello. I came here from the student council, my name is Sajou. Are you the execution committee president Hasegawa-senpai?”

“Y-Yes, that’s me, but…Sajou…are you actually—”

“Ah, yes, I am the vice council president Kaede’s younger brother.”

“…I see. So, how can I help you?”

She seemed gentle-mannered, wearing silver-rimmed glasses, and had her hair in two-sided braids. From my first impression, she seemed quite diligent of a senior. I thought she was a good person, but the fact that she showed caution when Big Sis was brought up had me wondering. Hey now, can’t you make things worse than they already are?

“Well…could I have a moment with you?” I asked.

“…Okay.”

What I’m trying to do here is to simply collect something. Not being stared at for too long by Natsukawa is a personal preference of mine, but what I’m about to be discussing with her isn’t something everybody should hear. As long as I tell the representative, it should be fine. Don’t care about Sasaki either. While feeling both their strong gazes, I took Hasegawa-senpai with me, out to the hallway.

After walking a bit, I stopped, and turned around towards her. Weird…Ever since she brought up Big Sis, her gaze seemed a lot sharper. Just what did you do, Big Sis…But, this isn’t the time to worry about that, so I immediately got into the main topic.

“I’ve come here to talk about the data planned for you to hand in to the student council. I’m sorry for the itemisation, but there are several things we would request…Without such, the work from the student council will be delayed as well. Is that possible?”

“……”

It was a crude explanation, but it should have gone through despite that. On top of that, I handed her a small memo I received from Yuuki-senpai. Looking down on that, more and more wrinkles showed up on Hasegawa-senpai’s face…Ah, I have a really bad feeling about this.

“…Hold on a second.”

Hasegawa-senpai temporarily returned to the room, telling the students inside something with quite the loud voice, which caused a lot of noise. They seemed to bring something to her, which presumably was the data I asked for. Or, rather than data…they were documents? Judging from what Yuuki-senpai said, this should be simple data, and not on paper, but…I guess not? After being forced to wait for a solid ten minutes, Senpai came back to greet me.

“I’m sorry…this is about all we have…”

“Eh…?”

Being handed the bundle of paper, I let out a baffled voice. I could tell they were proper documents, but that wasn’t the problem.

“Um…What? Are all of these…handwritten?”

“……”

This is far too analogue if you ask me. Would you actually write documents by hand in today’s time? Met with this surreal reality, I couldn’t not ask. In return, Hasegawa-senpai awkwardly averted her gaze. I thought so, she clearly has a high sense of responsibility on top of being diligent. She doesn’t seem like the type of person who can’t do her work. Rather, I found it hard to believe she would rely on writing documents by hand.

There, the sense of discomfort from back when I saw Sasaki working in the classroom came flashing back to me. They had large mountains of files and documents next to me. The other committee members weren’t an exception either. I could hear the sounds of their pens running across the paper. Only a few people in the back were actually touching the computers. Now hold on a second.

“Um…Senpai? I don’t mean to waste anybody’s time here, but…are you writing all your documents by hand?”

I originally didn’t plan to ask that question. I may have experience at helping the student council and public morals committee, but most of the time we only did a few documents by hand, and then moved on with a computer to put it all into actual data. As for the culture festival execution committee…they got a lot of handwritten documents from outsiders, right? I believe that many of the documents I’m carrying right now might be related to that, but…

“……”

“Uuuum…”

Hasegawa-senpai was clearly feeling awkward, as she went silent. It’s like she’s affirming my suspicion without even answering. Eh, what is this about? Why? Do you not have any students who can use the computers? Or do you not have enough computers? But, this school should be pretty rich with enough money at their disposal. Or, are there other circumstances not allowing them to…? Ehhh? Either way, I should probably take these documents back. Not like me analyzing this situation would do anybody any good. Not like it’s my job either.

“For now, I’ll take these documents with me, okay?”

“Ah, w-wait!”

“Yesh!?”

Right as I wanted to make my way back to the student council office, my arm was grabbed. It was quite the forceful hold, which scared me. I almost dropped all of the documents in my hands. I looked back at Senpai, who gave me a terrified expression.

“…You’re going to tell them, right?”

“Well…I have to. You’re late with the results after all.”

“…I see…”

I knew I must have sounded harsh, but this wasn’t anything I should hesitate with. If I don’t take this seriously, Big Sis will beat me to a pulp. It’s me or you here. I know I might sound cheeky as a mere junior and pet dog of the student council, but I didn’t feel like becoming an ally of the culture festival execution committee just because Natsukawa was there. Seemingly hurt, Hasegawa-senpai let go of my arm. I felt like I was some kind of debt collector. I know that it can’t be helped sometimes, so it’s not like I was completely cold towards this situation.

“……”

…Just to make sure, I looked inside the classroom again. Immediately after, I felt a sensation of ‘Something is bad here’. If this was an actual big problem, I should confirm it on top of getting the documents, or Big Sis would give me steamed bun punishment…What the hell even is that? I explained the circumstances to Hasegawa-senpai, and entered the room. After looking at everybody present, I went to talk to the two people I know, attempting to gather some kind of intel. The female senior next to them gave me a dubious gaze, but I ignored that.

“Yo, Sasaki, Natsukawa.”

“Sajou, when did you join the student council?”

“Remember that the gorilla is the vice president? She’s sending me around again.”

“G-Gorilla?”

“…Wataru, are you talking about your older sister?”

“Eh.”

Natsukawa explained it to Sasaki, and gave me a sharp gaze. Oh crap, she’s angry. I was careless to insult Big Sis like that, at least with Natsukawa in front of me. Seems like she’s not awkward with me at all…To think Big Sis would make Natsukawa her ally.

“Ah, well…yeah, her. I’m helping Big Sis.”

“O-Ohh…” Sasaki gave a somewhat confused reaction.

Gotta get back on track, I didn’t come here for some idle talk.

“Could you let me take a look at your documents?”

“Eh…? But, this isn’t something an unrelated person should…”

“I’m a representative of the student council, so I’m very much related, remember?”

“Ah…”

I picked up some two documents they had in their hands. One said ‘Class topic list’. Must be the attractions of all classes gathered into a list. The other document seemed to be the list of outsiders participating. Painfully enough, it was all handwritten as well.

“…Did you not talk about doing this with a computer?”

“Computer? Eh, I thought you’d do this by hand.”

“………”

The way Sasaki said that…was it all handwritten from the very beginning? But, why? It looks like the third-years are trying to pull them along with the computers, and just because one person struggled didn’t mean that everybody else had to proceed by writing everything with their hands. This is high school, you know? Not middle school…Not to mention that this technically counts as an elite high school with a lot of sponsors.

“…Wataru…?”

“Ah, no…”

My doubts must have shown on my face, because Natsukawa gave me a worried gaze. So cute…Wait, now is not the time to be entranced. It pains me to say it, but I don’t have any time to talk with Natsukawa. Quickly returning to the student council office was probably my best bet here.

*

Upon entering the student council office, Big Sis and Hanawa-senpai stopped me with their hands, like they had been waiting for me. Just as I anticipated, they showed dubious gazes as they ran their eyes along the documents. Big Sis looked at me like an idiot who can’t do this work properly, so I explained myself.

“—That’s what happened. I can’t say that the committee was making much noteworthy progress.”

“…That’s…”

“……”

I only brought about half of all the documents we needed back with me, which led to Big Sis’ mood dropping drastically. No, it hasn’t dropped…it’s like I poured oil into a fire. I can feel the waves of pressure coming from her. I need to give her steamed buns to save my life…!

“—Odd.”

“…Right.”

“Eh…odd?”

It seemed like Yuuki-senpai couldn’t fully accept my words. Same goes for Hanawa-senpai. Yuuki-senpai’s usual smile had disappeared, as they both were lost in thought. They both turned into the cool-type hotties now? Should I join?

“If that is true, then why is the committee not reporting this to us? Leaving aside the actual work, any kind of work environment involves the student council, and that’s our condition.”

“What if they are not actually in such a stressful situation?”

“Probably not? If that was the case, they wouldn’t show such a pathetic sight to their juniors.”

“Phew…Harsh.”

Kai-senpai apparently had his own thoughts, but Yuuki-senpai immediately denied that. Todoroki-senpai threw in a comment as well, showing a bitter smile. Nobody got angry at him for that. This most likely was a daily occurrence for the student council. If this was me, I probably would have kicked that guy.

“—Probably a problem of capacity. That’s what they get.”

“Big Sis.”

“Wataru, that’s enough. You can go home now, we’ll take care of the rest.”

“Eh?”

Eh, are you sure? In the middle of this trouble, I’m allowed to go home just like this? Woah, I feel like I’m working at a white company for once. Is this what it’s like to go on time during a busy period? That’s no joke. What’s even worse is that I’m not even an actual member of the student council. This wasn’t white at all, they’re forcing an outsider to work. I decided to abide and head home, when Yuuki-senpai put his hand on my shoulder.

“Wait, Kaede. Why don’t you have Wataru help us as well?”

“Huh? Why? He’s an outsider.”

Says the person who kept pushing more and more work on said outsider? I don’t like being buried with work, sure, but that way of phrasing it didn’t sit right with me either. Go on, Yuuki-senpai, tell her.

“It’s way too late to say that…Judging from what Wataru said, he has acquaintances in the execution committee. We need these kinds of connections. We are too distanced from the average student.”

“I’m saying that I don’t want him to get wrapped up in something he has no connection with.”

“He’s your younger brother, right? Where’s the proof that the younger brother of Sajou Kaede will be able to stay out of this forever?”

That sounded quite profound, alright. At the very least, he didn’t seem like he wanted to hide it from me. Big Sis clearly seemed disgruntled about that…I have a very bad feeling about this. Almost like I’m about to be wrapped up in something big.

“Um…Kai-senpai, what are they talking about…?”

I carefully asked Kai-senpai. With things like these, hitting the closest person to you is always the best idea. Him being close in terms of age is a big factor as well, and he didn’t seem as passionate about the student council itself.

“…Until November last year, it was a general role that the student leadership management was composed of students supported by the school—Basically, students of the West side.”

“Ahh…So?”

“Trouble and quarrels were a constant occurrence. In the midst of that, a certain person coincidentally from the East side aggressively rose to power, pulling the people together—”

“Takuto. Annoying. Shut up.”

“…Yes. I’m sorry.”

“……”

Big Sis’ voice immediately silenced Kai-senpai. You don’t need to be so strict towards him…Kai-senpai is something like my family already. What a waste of hotties here. Kai-senpai prefers blunt sadistic tendencies more than anything…Ahh, what a waste of a hottie with glasses.

Big Sis said that she had no plans of ‘involving’ me. Basically, the reason she tried to suddenly push me away from this situation is because this entire problem could revolve around the ‘East and West’ conflict. Judging from what I heard just now, the majority of last year’s culture festival execution committee was composed of students from the West. But, what does that have to do with the current problem?

“Kaede. I don’t plan on getting Wataru involved, you have to believe me.”

“……He’s not related. A first-year who doesn’t know anything is simply helping out. If something happens—Hayato, I will not follow your lead.”

“…Yeah, that’s fine.”

…Yep, that’s totally alright with—Wait hold on. What about my personal opinion? As of right now, I just helped out because it’s not that big of a deal, but…Wait, aren’t I already being wrapped up in something messy?

“—You two. We should look into this as quickly as possible, and figure out the differences compared to last year.”

“Yeah, you’re right. We need to begin right away. Wataru, that’s enough for today. If we have more miscellaneous work, I’ll call you over. I’ll pay you back for this another time.”

“Eh…Eh? Ah, yes…Yes.”

I was still confused, but excused. Guess I’m still going to get dragged into something bothersome. Only mysteries around here, can I just get my reward? I see? I’m basically an agent now? With an odd sensation befalling me, I left the student council office behind me. I somewhat understood that the reason I got kicked out was because things will become even more annoying from now on. I guess they, including Big Sis, were only trying to be considerate of me. I just realized way too late. If I could wish for one thing, then please don’t ask me to help you at all anymore.

*

I walked down the hallway, aiming for the front entrance. In the meantime, I kept thinking about what happened in the student council office. I don’t know if I’ll still be involved with the management of the culture festival, but if I had to say one thing I was worried about, then that would be the fact that Natsukawa is part of the committee. I just hope that Natsukawa doesn’t get any unnecessary burden from that…Maybe I should go check it out.

“—Ah?”

The second I took the corner, an odd sight opened up in front of me. Two female students left the execution committee room—together with one boy. That handsome face, there’s no way I would mistake it. It’s Sasaki. One girl had her arm around his shoulder. The heck is this…

“Seriously, I can’t deal with this. To think they’d let us work this much.”

“Well…I guess.”

“The superiors aren’t taking their job seriously, so there’s no need for us to care either.”

I checked the time on my phone. There was still some time until lock-up. The committee members should still be in the middle of working, and yet Sasaki and the other two had their bags on their shoulders, walking away. This faint discomfort I was feeling soon turned into an awful premonition.

“You’re kidding.”

I didn’t want to believe what I had just seen. I hurriedly moved ahead, peeking inside the classroom. The amount of files and documents had not gone down in number. In the back of the classroom, in the corner of the second-years, I saw two empty seats. Next to them was the place where Sasaki sat, no more documents to be found. The desk next to it was still riddled with analog documents—almost like all the work was just pushed onto Natsukawa. Before I realized it, my body already moved.

“Excuse me.”

Everybody present in the room turned towards me. Why, I thought to myself. I didn’t mean to open this door. I didn’t want to get this much attention. Even Hasegawa-senpai gave me a shocked gaze, her face completely pale.

“Um…is there something else?”

“Class 1-C. I’m here to take over for the boy who just left. This is unrelated to the student council.”

“Eh…O-Okay.”

She probably couldn’t follow my intentions. This makes total sense, as I was the bad cop before, now suddenly acting like the good cop.

“—Eh…?”

Without even waiting for her permission, I just walked to the seat Sasaki should be sitting on. Naturally, Natsukawa was bewildered at my arrival. She probably is wondering why I’m here. Don’t worry, I don’t really know myself.

“W-Wataru…?”

“Natsukawa, could you tell me where to bury all of this paper?”

“Um…Sasaki-kun wasn’t skipping on his work or anything…!”

“Ah, yeah, I figured as much.”

From what I could see, the girl that had her arm around Sasaki’s shoulder was a second-year, so he probably couldn’t say no. Although she was a simple girl, brushing her away would only bring more trouble. Since he can be very diligent, leaving behind all of this work to leave surely wasn’t his real wish. I understand him being unable to disobey. But, there was not a single ounce of sympathy I had for him.

“Um, Wataru…?”

“…”

You bastard, I thought you liked Natsukawa?