“Aco-chan, this is… um, normally I should have heard this directly from Hina-chan. But I think you might have an inkling why Hina-chan couldn’t bring it up. Yeah, you’re smart and outstanding after all.”
“…The first part is obviously true, but what’s with calling me a kid right in front of me? Can you stop treating me like a child when we’re the same age?”
“Oh shoot. It’s not like I usually call you out like that in front of me, but you’ve been acting so childishly today that I slipped up…”
“Hahaha, it’s just a bit of a habit. Sorry☆”
“…Can you at least fake an apology with a little bit of saliva? You’re not showing any signs of being sorry at all. Seriously, I feel sorry for your secretary having to deal with someone like you as a boss.”
“Right? That kid is really going through some unnecessary hardships because of me… Oh, speaking of which, our Urawa Hanako-chan is in a similar situation as you.”
“…Me? In what way?”
“Heueng. I’m not talking about abilities. I feel bad making comparisons to Hanako-chan.”
“Huh?”
Aco’s expression sharpened slightly, possibly because of the annoying remark. But this part, I wasn’t backing down on either.
“Hey, Mika-san. I’m a top-tier talent who deserves the best treatment wherever I go?!”
“You know, Aco-chan, there are only three real geniuses I’ve met in person? And one of them is obviously Hanako-chan. Yeah, the chess game we were playing earlier must have looked like child’s play to her. She’s so renowned as a genius that she appears once in a few decades in Trinity… It’s not like I’m looking down on you or anything.”
“…I won’t accept it until I see it for myself, but let’s move past that. So, where exactly are the similarities?”
“Well… Hanako-chan, how do I put this? It’s like she overly respects me, or maybe follows me? Honestly, she doesn’t really like the whole elite atmosphere at T-party or Trinity. Knowing that she chose to join T-party just for me, do you get an idea of how intense that is?”
“That’s…”
Aco, who trailed off, hung her head. What she couldn’t say was probably something along the lines of, “It feels similar to the relationship between you and the student council president…”
“It’s not that I’m being overly self-conscious, but Hanako-chan… seems to like me. I can’t be sure since she hides her feelings so well.”
“…What is that? Bragging about yourself?! Are you throwing it in my face that you have tons of admirers and suitors…? No, more importantly! You! I specifically asked you to take good care of the ‘student council president’…!”
“Hahaha.”
“You’re laughing? Are you seriously laughing right now? If I had known this would happen…!”
As Aco shot me a fiery glare, she suddenly sealed her lips tightly and let out a deep sigh. A heavy feeling seeped through my heart like mist.
“I guess nothing would change even if I knew, right? The ‘student council president’ has no feelings for me at all… No, why are you surprised? I obviously knew that much from being by her side for a long time and observing her.”
“Um…”
“Thanks to you, Mika-san, I learned a lot of things I didn’t know about the ‘student council president.’ Honestly, I’m not particularly thankful, but I also am. You know what I mean?”
“…You really expect me to figure out what you’re trying to say?”
“I already know!”
Of course, I got the gist of what she was trying to say. However, this was clearly a topic uncomfortable for Aco.
“Um… Sorry, Aco-chan.”
“…Why are you apologizing all of a sudden? What do you have to apologize for? If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have even realized it… Ah.”
“Sorry…?”
“Stop! You can’t apologize for this?! Being apologized to for such things makes me feel more miserable than anything. Just cut it out and talk more about the ‘student council president.'”
“I’m going to just say everything without any filtering, is that okay?”
“Like I said, if it’s something I need to hear, I should listen.”
Yeah, well… she seemed to have her own way of facing reality, so maybe I didn’t need to be too worried.
“Alright, then… First of all, Hina-chan has no romantic feelings for you at all.”
“Ugh.”
“And she’s been suffering because you keep avoiding her. What’s up with you, it’s been almost two months now…? I didn’t realize it was that serious until you mentioned it; this is no joke.”
“…”
“Moreover, it’s not like she’s completely avoiding you; she’s just keeping a certain distance. Maybe she wanted to maintain a presence subtly in your peripheral vision? Yeah, that must’ve been it. Hina-chan must have been frustrated watching you hovering around like that.”
“Cough.”
“Hina-chan has such a fragile heart, you know? She has something important to say to you, but she hesitates because of the instant hurt that might come from her words… so she’s been suffering when you’re just lurking around. She probably thinks she doesn’t want to hurt you herself.”
“…She’s an idiot.”
“Oh my, I can’t believe Aco-chan, the pet of the student council president, is talking bad about her master. Isn’t this a historic moment?”
“Don’t casually slip your own story in with mine!”
“Huh, did I do that?”
“That lost expression on your face shows you’re totally clueless. Seriously, what did the student council president even see in someone like you…?”
With that, Aco thrust her face towards mine and began poking my cheek with her finger.
“Isn’t it funny?”
“What’s funny…?”
“…Everything.”
She spat that out, took a deep breath, and…
Thud!
“Ugh?!”
“Kya?!
“…What are you doing?!”
Suddenly, she charged at me with a headbutt and then held her head. What is wrong with her, seriously?
I had never been headbutted in my life, so it was shocking. It hurt more than I expected, yet it seemed like Aco was in more pain, so I didn’t know what to say…
“Ah.”
Seeing Aco’s eyes welling up with tears, it began to make a bit more sense why she acted that way.
“Lonely in love.”
Tears, like droplets of dew, trickled down.
“Lonely in sacrifice.”
As they flowed down her cheeks, they left a humid trail all the way to her chin.
“Lonely in despair…”
Those small streams became a river, flooding over her voice, making it wet with sorrow.
“Lonely in regret, yet trying to distance herself… It’s just ridiculous, don’t you think?!”
Other than bringing her true feelings to light, I had nothing to feel sorry for. She even said receiving an apology would only make her more miserable.
Still, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her as she sobbed silently against my shoulder. I gently patted her back.
Aco didn’t push me away.
Glancing at the opposite side, I saw that thankfully, Iroha was still fast asleep. If she had been awake, it would have been a disaster in its own right.
After a while of crying and soaking my cloak, Aco finally pulled away in silence and began pulling out some tissues to clean up the tear-streaked mess and smudged makeup.
“Mika-san… please forget what you saw today.”
“Hahaha, what did I even see?”
“…Honestly, don’t make a fuss. But I feel like I’ve sorted my feelings a little.”
“Oh really?”
“…Nope. It still stings like crazy, and it’s all your fault.”
After saying that, Aco fell deep into her thoughts.
While Aco was lost in contemplation, I neatly folded the now-drenched cloak covered in tears.
“Should I apologize to the student council president?”
“Do you need to? I think Hina-chan would like it better if you treat her like nothing happened…”
“That’s true. Um… Mika-san.”
“Yeah?”
“Like I said earlier, ever since the student council president met you, it’s like she changed. She seems to be smiling more, talking a little more, and appearing more relaxed than ever. All of which are faces I had never seen before…”
Oh, Aco… you’re making it sound like this situation is reminiscent of some cheap NTR or BSS manga. Honestly, this is more of a romantic comedy setup than anything else.
“Speaking of which… should I show you some pictures?”
“Huh?”
“I have a collection of photos of Hina-chan… it’s not just you who have them. Yeah, I’ve gathered quite a few, too.”
“…”
I silently opened my phone and showed her a picture, sensing Aco’s inner conflict.
“This, this is…?!”
In the photo was none other than Hina, wearing adorable animal pajamas. Unfortunately, she wasn’t wearing the hood due to her horns, yet Aco lost her words at the unexpected cuteness.
“We’re both fans of Hina, right?”
“…Ah. Please, I beg you, don’t say such stuff! Why do you keep saying things that make me feel compared?! It’s seriously annoying!”
“So, are you not going to look at it?”
“Ah, I didn’t say I wouldn’t look! Next!”
“Then next is…”
“Heehee… M-miss president… I’m dying…”
Seeing Hina in a yukata, Aco let out a groan and seemed to sink deeper into the photo.
“Ah, haha… Miss President is the best.”
“Oh, I can’t just let that go!”
Pfft?!
Just when Aco was completely absorbed, Hanako busted into the office, startling Aco and making her utter a strange sound.
“W-what’s going on?!”
“If we’re talking about who’s the best, shouldn’t it be our Misono Mika-senpai?”
“…Huh?”
“Well, abilities? That’s a no-brainer. And beauty… no need to mention that. Your head is a bit of a flower garden, but you have a good personality too.”
“…And there are obvious flaws. Comparing someone like you to the student council president is a massive insult, you know?”
“Well, seeing it as a flaw is a short-sighted perspective. Having so many people fawning and being captivated by you is actually a strength…”
“Can you please stop talking nonsense? Of course, someone should show pure devotion like our student council president—”
“Though even the ‘Gehenna’ student council president seems to have her eyes on Mika-senpai…”
“Ahhhhh?!”
As I watched the two bicker over me and Hina, I couldn’t help but feel a wave of embarrassment flooding over me.
Please, can you stop arguing in front of someone who’s actually part of the situation…?
“Hehe… the student council president is better at Jenga than you, Mika-san!”
“What? How do you know that?!”
Well, at least it looked like the situation was resolving itself, thankfully. Hmmm.
More than that, Iroha is still asleep, huh? I hope she’s okay…
