The meeting concluded with a remark from Aris.
Clap, clap.
Everyone was tidying up to leave.
I stuffed the meeting documents into a folder and stood up.
At that moment.
“Mr. Kim Deok-Sung.”
I heard Aris’s voice.
“You stay. There’s still special training today.”
Her silver eyes sparkled.
As usual, the surrounding committee members began whispering like a drugstore’s secret ingredient.
“Is it true that the Black Beast melted the Student Council President’s frozen heart?”
“They say those two secretly share hot love in the practice room after special training every day?”
“Someone heard some lewd moans coming from inside the practice room!”
“Oh my, oh my! Even that uptight president has finally found love!”
Now, just hearing it made me sigh as if I were part of an extra comedy show.
It seemed like the more I heard, the worse it got.
Aris’s expressionless face turned slightly red.
Of course.
If I heard such smut, I’d be blushing too.
“President’s face is turning red!”
“Guess it’s true they’re in that kind of relationship with the Black Beast…”
Just then, the extras, who seemed endless in their banter, were cut off.
“Be quiet.”
A cold voice struck the meeting room.
Everyone’s gaze turned to the owner of the voice.
Shine.
With a sparkle like an animation, the blue-haired pretty boy, Maeda Shinji, adjusted his glasses with a serious expression.
“Let’s put aside the sordid talk, and everyone disband.”
“Ah, understood, Chairperson.”
“My apologies!”
The extra committee members hurriedly scattered.
What’s with him?
From that eye contact, it’s not like he was being friendly.
I felt uneasy about it.
Maeda Shinji’s blue eyes turned towards me.
His gaze scanned me from head to toe.
“So, you are Kim Deok-Sung.”
Once the scanning was done, he grinned, showing a fake smile.
A typical scheming pretty boy villain smile.
My stomach churned already.
He was like a cookie-cutter third-rate villain.
“Let’s work well together until the cultural fest.”
“Uh, sure.”
I replied shortly to his words, and he nodded with that insincere smile.
After acknowledging me, he turned and left the meeting room.
[Partner, that Maeda Shinji gives off a bad vibe. I don’t like him. He seems shady. Be careful.]
Listening to the Black Prince’s advice resonating in my head, I tried to calm my boiling stomach.
It’s now special training time.
*
Shuo Hero Academy.
Academy.
Practice Room.
After today’s special training and receiving a magic injection massage from Aris, I rose my weary body.
Crack.
Every joint in my body let out a pleasant sigh.
I clumsily put on the clothes that had fallen to the floor.
To be honest, being in just my underwear every time is a bit embarrassing, but if it makes me stronger, I don’t mind.
Once fully dressed, I picked up a sports drink bottle lying on the floor.
“Mr. Kim Deok-Sung. That…”
Aris’s face turned bright red upon seeing the drink.
What’s this? Why is she suddenly acting like that?
Without thinking, I took a sip from the drink.
“…That’s the bottle I drank from.”
Aris’s face turned even redder.
“If you drink like that, it’s an indirect kiss…”
She muttered in a quiet voice.
I’m not at an age to believe in indirect kisses.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen Aris blush so innocently.
Somehow, it makes her look cute, and I feel like teasing her.
“Indirect what?”
Pretending I didn’t hear, Aris shakes her head.
“No, it’s nothing…”
She pats her flushed cheeks with both hands and takes a deep breath.
[Partner, you’re being mischievous. Hehehehe.]
The Black Prince in my head chuckles.
What’s with him again?
Honestly, he gets more ridiculous every day.
Just then, a calmer but still blushing Aris looked at me and said,
“Thank you for your hard work during today’s special training. It’s nice to see your skills improving a little…”
Wobble.
It seemed like her legs gave out as she stumbled.
“Whoops…!”
My body reflexively moved as I saw her about to collapse.
I caught her in a manner that seemed like hugging her as she fell.
[Oh, partner. Nice! A gentlemanly action, very good!]
The Black Prince shouted in my head.
Her face flushed even more as she nestled into my shoulder.
In a small voice, Aris said,
“I’m sorry, Mr. Kim Deok-Sung…”
Her voice was weak.
For some reason, it tugged at my heartstrings.
“Isn’t this a bit too much? Senior. You should rest a bit.”
Objectively speaking, Aris was definitely overdoing it today.
Unlike usual, it’s currently the preparation period for the cultural festival.
During this time when student council work is concentrated, she had pushed herself with special training that was already physically demanding.
So, it’s obvious her stamina would be depleted.
This was definitely a scene that wasn’t in the original story due to the absence of special training during the cultural festival.
In other words, her collapsing was because of me.
“No, it’s not too much… I’m the student council president of Shuo… I can’t crumble like this…”
Aris muttered in a low voice.
I know.
Her current demeanor is a mask to hide her true self as a country girl.
The position of student council president is also part of the perfect facade of Saionji Aris.
But…
“There’s no need to pretend to be strong in front of me when we’ve seen everything already, Saionji-senpai.”
She doesn’t need to put on a show in front of me.
We’re already close enough that I know everything.
Furthermore, she collapsed because of me, which makes me feel a little uneasy.
“But still…”
“If it’s hard, just say it’s hard, and if you want to rest, just say you want to rest. No one else is around anyway.”
“Well, there’s nobody around anyway, right?”
I may be a bit of a petty person, but I’m not cold-hearted enough to turn my back on Aris, who’s ended up like this after overlooking me.
At my words, the tension in Aris’s body loosens up.
Huh.
Aris’s face turns bright red.
“Th-that’s…”
Aris’s ears perk up.
Her neck flushes with color.
Seeing her lips quivering, it looks like she’s barely holding back her Kansai dialect from popping out.
Silence follows.
In moments like this, it’s best to just wait until Aris calms down.
I gently pat her back and wait for her to respond.
After a short while,
“…Mr. Kim Deok-Sung is right.”
Aris speaks in a slightly trembling voice.
“I unnecessarily… put on a show. I’m sorry.”
Aris wraps her arms around my waist.
“No need to apologize.”
“Is that so? Still, I apologize.”
Aris whispers in a heated voice.
Honestly, it’s a warm-hearted world we live in.
No need to apologize, yet here she is.
“Well then, as you said, Mr. Kim Deok-Sung, let’s take a little break…”
Aris whispers in my ear.
“Not here, but at the resting spot I always rely on when I want to be alone.”
A resting spot for when she’s alone, huh.
Naturally, I knew where it was.
“…If it’s okay, would you come with me?”
Aris whispers in my ear.
I couldn’t refuse her secretive invitation.
*
Walking out of the Training Building alongside Aris.
The sky has darkened.
Due to it being nighttime, not a single person could be seen in the courtyard.
“I’m sorry for the trouble…”
Still not fully recovered, Aris murmurs this while leaning against me with her arms crossed as we walk through the night courtyard together.
The wind, perched somewhere between late summer and early autumn, wraps around both me and Aris.
“It’s fine.”
At my words, Aris’s face flushes red.
We continue walking in silence.
Arriving at the Main Building.
Entering inside, we keep climbing the stairs.
The place we finally reach is…
“…This is it.”
A classic must-have spot in Japanese academy stories.
The rooftop of the school.
The old desk, the outdoor units, and the safety fence of the nighttime academy rooftop.
As Aris reaches the rooftop, her face slightly relaxes.
“…It’s still here.”
Now a bit more energized, Aris pulls something out from between the old desks.
It was a mat.
It may have been in her bag, so it wasn’t dusty, but it was an old mat.
Aris spreads the mat out.
Under the moonlight, the mat is laid out on the rooftop.
“Please, sit down, Mr. Kim Deok-Sung.”
At her invitation, I silently take a seat on the mat.
Since it’s the roof of the Main Building, the view of Shuo Hero Academy spreads out below us.
“…Is it okay if I lean on you a little?”
Aris asks with a slightly flushed face.
“Go ahead.”
“Thank you.”
She quietly rests her head on my shoulder.
“Can I ask you to listen to me for a moment?”
At Aris’s words, I nod my head.
At my reaction, she hesitates before starting to speak.
“This is… a place I often visited when I was a first-year student, just moving from my hometown to Tokyo, when everything about the school felt so unfamiliar.”
I was aware of that.
It was mentioned in volume 7 of the original work.
More than anything, Aris was originally my favorite character.
There was nothing about her that I didn’t know.
From her three sizes to her blood type, zodiac sign, height, weight, hobbies, and family relationships.
I knew it all.
So I knew what it meant that Aris brought me to the rooftop.
“It’s a lonely place where no one comes looking for students, but being here, where I can see the academy’s view and feel closest to the sky… It’s such a liberating feeling. I liked that I could eat my lunch here without worrying about anyone watching me…”
But hearing it directly from the person involved was different from just knowing it through books and texts.
Aris smiled brightly.
Not as the Student Council President, but as a country girl.
“After my first year, I adapted to the academy with the help of the chairman, and even after being recognized by everyone at the academy and elected as the Student Council President… sometimes when I’m tired and worn out, I come here when I want to be alone.”
I had definitely read those lines in the original novel and heard them in the anime.
And yet…
“Every time I came, the rooftop welcomed me without a word. For me, this rooftop is the only sanctuary where I can be myself without being disturbed by anyone else…”
Damn it.
I really hate this sentimental world.
“…I just wanted to talk a little about myself. It’s a story I can only tell you. Kim Deok-Sung. As you said, we’ve seen everything.”
Aris smiled.
The moonlight quietly sparkled on her silver hair.
“Thank you for worrying about me today. No, thank you for always being there.”
Aris’s silver eyes were fixed on me.
“I wanted to express my gratitude to you, who treats me the same even after knowing my true self and encouraging me to say if I’m having a hard time. Just…”
Her face turned bright red.
Aris lowered her head deeply.
“Thank you so much… Kim Deok-Seo…”
A dialect slipped out of Aris’s mouth.
I couldn’t respond to her words of thanks.
Because I knew too well what kind of person Aris was.
Ironically, I didn’t know how to answer.
The brilliant moonlight settled on our shoulders.
*
A few days later.
Shuo Hero Academy Annex.
Small Auditorium.
Inside the darkened small auditorium, there were five beautiful girls.
A shy-looking girl with green bobbed hair sitting in the back, Kamiya Makoto.
Next to her, a girl with orange twin tails smiling, Nishizawa Eri.
Behind them, a girl with a navy ponytail and a blank expression, Shinozaki Rin.
A girl with purple hair and a pure look, Hoshino Kasumi.
Finally, a lady-type girl with striking platinum blonde hair, Olivia Napoleon Bonaparte.
All the female members of the cooking club were now waiting for someone.
Creak.
The door opened.
All eyes turned toward the door of the small auditorium.
There stood Han Seo-Jin.
Dressed in a neat gray bob and a crisp suit, she closed the door and pressed a button on the remote she was holding.
Click.
The lights turned on.
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