"President, the club budget proposal is finished. Please take a look."
On Monday noon, Takamine Rinji entered the student council office and placed a USB stick on Miyuki Shirogane's desk.
"Oh, thanks for your hard work."
Miyuki inserted the USB into his laptop and opened the document.
Rinji sat on the sofa as usual, looked up, and said, "I've already informed everyone in the group chat about the exact time for the summer fireworks festival. Secretary Fujiwara and Ishigami both said it's fine. Only thing is, you'll need to inform Shinomiya Heiress yourself."
"You want me to personally invite Shinomiya…"
Miyuki fell silent.
Since Kaguya Shinomiya still used a flip phone from ten years ago instead of a smartphone, she couldn't use apps like LINE. Any messages had to be sent to her directly by text.
'Personally inviting Shinomiya to the fireworks festival, isn't that kind of like…'
"It's nothing like that."
Rinji had already guessed what Miyuki was thinking.
"This is an event for all student council members. There's no way it could be mistaken for a date. You're just passing on the time."
"Oh… right. That makes sense."
"Of course, while it looks like a group event on the surface, that doesn't mean there's no room for maneuvering."
A glint of intelligence flashed in Rinji's eyes as he pulled a map of the festival venue from his pocket and slapped it onto Miyuki's desk.
Pointing to the entrance, he said, "According to intel I got from Ishigami this morning—related to galgames—first, the five student council members meet up at the entrance. Then we stroll through the festival booths together and head to the lake when it's time to watch the fireworks."
"Yeah, that's the plan…"
"That plan is just a decoy. The real strategy comes after."
Rinji picked up a marker and circled a spot along the path they would take.
"This spot is the most crowded area. When the five of us reach here, we suddenly pull back—leaving Shinomiya there alone."
"Eh!?"
"And here comes the key part," Rinji said with a grin. "Ishigami and I will stall Fujiwara. You, President, take that chance to go find her. Don't worry—my eyes will be on the ground, making sure you locate her right away."
"Um… but why go through all this?"
Miyuki was genuinely confused.
"Ishigami told me that in many romance games, there's a classic scenario where the heroine gets separated during the fireworks festival—like her sandal strap breaks, or she gets lost somehow. Then she hides in a corner, scared or crying, and that's when the male lead heroically appears. According to Ishigami, this is the moment where affection levels skyrocket."
"Ohh, so that's a thing?"
Miyuki's eyes lit up. He was honestly impressed by the cleverness of the plan.
His mind began to imagine the scene already.
—————————Inside Miyuki's imagination—————————
"Uu… where did everyone go…"
Kaguya, dressed in a beautiful yukata, squatted in a corner crying.
"Kaguya."
Just then, Miyuki himself appeared before her, wearing a gentle smile.
"President!"
Seeing him, Kaguya ran to him, throwing herself into his arms.
"President, I was so scared!"
"Don't worry. No matter where you are, I'll always find you."
"President…"
—————————End of imagination—————————
"Incredible. This might really work," Miyuki said, genuinely amazed.
"As expected of you, President. Even I didn't understand half of what Ishigami was saying, but you seem to grasp it perfectly."
This morning, Ishigami had gone on and on about various game plots and hidden endings. Rinji had been completely lost, but at least he remembered the gist of it.
"Pretty solid plan, right?"
"Not bad. But there's one issue," Miyuki said, his tone suddenly heavy.
"What is it?"
"Even if this plan is flawless, how should I put it…" He turned his head to the side. "If I had to intentionally abandon Shinomiya in the crowd to make her scared, even if it worked in the end, I don't think I could forgive myself."
Miyuki simply couldn't bear the thought of hurting Kaguya, not even a little.
"…That's fine. We have Plan B."
"There's a Plan B?"
"Yup. This one's much simpler."
Rinji pointed the marker again at the previously circled area.
"It's simple. When the five of us get to this point, Ishigami, Fujiwara, and I will walk in one direction, while you and Miss Shinomiya head down the original path."
"That's not a problem."
Miyuki thought about it. That would naturally create a scenario where he and Kaguya would be alone—a de facto date. Not bad at all.
"But… Ishigami's easy to handle. How do you plan to keep Fujiwara occupied?" Miyuki asked, puzzled.
"President, haven't you noticed something about the stalls along this street?"
"Stalls, huh?"
Miyuki Shirogane studied the map. Since it was included in the fireworks festival flyer, each stall's purpose was marked.
"Is there something odd about the stalls?"
"There are three ramen stands," Takamine Rinji said.
"Eh?"
"Secretary Fujiwara seems to really like ramen. So when the time comes, just say, 'Let's go grab some ramen together.' That'll naturally get her to leave, and then you and Miss Shinomiya can slip away."
"Hmm… I think that's a solid idea. I'm just worried Secretary Fujiwara might not go along with it."
Fujiwara Chika didn't follow any logical behavior patterns—she acted purely on impulse, doing whatever came to mind.
That part, oddly enough, was somewhat similar to Takamine himself.
"No need to worry, President. I've already come up with a perfect contingency plan for Fujiwara."
"Oh?"
"Look."
Takamine reached into his pocket and pulled out a dark, mysterious object.
"What's that? A razor?"
BZZZT!
"A stun gun!? What the hell!?"
"That's right." Takamine looked up proudly. "If Secretary Fujiwara acts out of line, we'll just have to let her take a short nap."
"Don't do that! She's a member of the student council!"
"Great men don't sweat the details. And it's just a light stun."
"Please don't!"