"By the way, Takamine, you came in through external admission, right? I thought you came from a poor background like me, but now it doesn't seem that way."
Shirogane had wanted to ask this for a while.
Someone who could offend the Shinomiya family and throw shade at the Shuchiin Joint Club Federation… he couldn't possibly be just a farmer's kid.
"What kind of background do you think I have, President?"
"Like… the son of a big corporate tycoon or something?"
"My old man really is a farmer—I wasn't lying about that. I'm just not that good at lying, to be honest." Rinji shrugged. "If I seem well-connected, it's just because my dad has a lot of friends. I tend to get by pretty easily because of that."
"And your daily expenses? Does your family support you?"
"Partly. I still try to earn my own money."
"That's a good habit—part-time jobs build life experience." Shirogane nodded approvingly.
He himself enjoyed part-time work, partly to support his household.
"Where do you usually work?"
"Overseas."
"Overseas? Oh right, you're a foreign exchange student. Must be tough, huh?"
"It is. Making money at our age isn't easy. It's not like when we were kids."
"Huh?" Shirogane looked surprised. "You made money as a kid?"
"Yeah. I remember starting around five years old."
"That young!?"
"It was pretty early."
Rinji looked up, seemingly reminiscing.
"Back then, my dad had just opened his farm. These really pretty ladies would randomly come visit our house. When they saw me, they'd quietly say, 'Call me mom and I'll give you pocket money.' I didn't get why, but for the money—I called them that."
"You gave in that easily!?"
"Business is business. No shame in making money."
"…I don't even know what to say."
"I'm only telling you this because we're friends, President. Don't spread it around. Even my dad doesn't know."
"I promise I won't say anything."
"Anyway, it's not like that anymore. I'm way past the age of calling some stranger 'Mom' just for cash."
"…"
Shirogane was truly speechless at the student council treasurer he'd recruited.
"By the way, President, do you actually want my help or not?"
"Well…"
"Maybe don't. I mean, taking on the Shinomiya family just to deal with a student's love problem—it's not worth it."
Rinji actually wanted to drag Shirogane into this mess. If Shirogane really did get involved with Kaguya, the Shinomiya family would inevitably step in. And then, as his friend, Rinji would have a justifiable reason to go after them directly.
But still…
"You probably just admire Shinomiya Kaguya. No need to get yourself mixed up in all this just for a student consultation."
"Well…"
But the truth was—Shirogane was very tempted.
Whether Rinji could really go up against the Shinomiyas was another matter. But the idea of getting help in making Kaguya confess… that was seriously appealing.
"Alright… for the sake of the students at this school, I'll go all in."
"Is that really necessary?"
"Of course!"
Shirogane puffed out his chest, eyes brimming with righteousness.
"This is all to help our school's students."
The excuse was full of holes—no sane person would buy it.
But luckily, Rinji wasn't a sane person.
"As expected of the president. I'll be sending you intel on Kaguya regularly then. Let me know what you need—I'll have people on it."
"You have people helping you?"
"Oh, I've got an official post here in Japan assigned by HQ. I can use a few idle hands."
"…You really aren't simple."
---
"Miss, please get in the car."
"Mm."
Standing beside a stretched limousine, Ai Hayasaka opened the rear door for Kaguya. As she got in, Ai followed and shut the door.
Leaning back on the sofa-style seat, Kaguya let out a long sigh.
"Ugh, I ran into that demon."
"Are you talking about Takamine Rinji, Miss?"
"Exactly. I didn't expect even he would show up at Shuchiin."
A hint of worry crossed Kaguya's face—as if remembering a bloody night from the past.
"Even though he said he's just here to study… his real purpose is still unclear."
"Are you worried he might harm you?" Hayasaka asked gently from beside her.
"So far, he doesn't seem to have any intention of doing that… but… but…"
Kaguya's body trembled slightly. Her fists clenched.
"He actually… told the president not to confess to me!! That devil… is that even something a human being would do?!"
Hayasaka Ai: "…"
"This is definitely his way of getting revenge on me… that guy…"
"But Miss, I thought you didn't have those kinds of feelings for the president?"
"Of course I don't!!"
Kaguya turned her head away proudly.
"Well, I suppose if the student council president were to lower himself and confess to me, I might consider it."
"...You're such a pain," Hayasaka Ai replied with her usual expressionless face.
This was typical of Hayasaka. Whether talking to Kaguya or pretending to be a flashy gal at school, she rarely let her real emotions show on the surface.
"Wasn't it because you rejected him back then?" Kaguya quickly turned the conversation around.
"How is that my fault? Am I not allowed to turn a guy down?"
"If you really didn't like him, of course you could. But I remember you crying for days after that. You were a mess."
"..."
"And you've been looking into him for years. Do you really not like him...?"
"It's not that, milady," Hayasaka said.
"I do like him. I like him very much."
"...Then why?"
"Because I know who I am. If I had accepted him back then, the Shinomiya family would've done something to him. Even if it was just childish nonsense at the time, the Shinomiya family eliminates anything that might be a threat."
"...You're right," Kaguya sighed and shook her head. She knew better than anyone what kind of family the Shinomiyas were.
"So it was because of me?"
"It's not your fault, milady."
"Then why do you like him? He's just a good-looking guy with a ton of weird behavior."
"Because he's different from us. He never hides behind a mask or pretends to be someone else."
"..."