The First Confession I Received.
The First Confession I Received.
Around 6:05 AM.
I arrived at school a bit earlier than usual.
The reason was simple.
[ You will die ]
It was because of this damn warning.
...I didn't know what kind of death it meant, though.
But the fact that I had to go find her right away remained unchanged.
But did I arrive too early? There was still some time left until 7:00 AM.
"...."
With so much to worry about, was it because I ran here since morning?
My head felt like it was going to split open.
And usually, a person whose head feels like splitting open needs one thing.
Breakfast.
"......I'm hungry."
I stopped in my tracks toward the school.
Across the street.
People were standing in line in front of a small bakery.
I wondered why people would stand in line like that so early in the morning.
Only after seeing the A-frame sign standing in front of the shop did I understand the reason.
【Today's Limited Quantity】
【Strawberry Whipped Cream Danish】
【Limit 1 Per Person】
[tip Once per day, you can win the favor of your target!]
"......"
People lining up since morning just to buy a piece of bread.
I couldn't understand them.
Thinking that, I passed by the line.
And.
I stopped about three steps past it.
"......"
I looked back.
"......"
I stared at the line.
"......"
I pulled my wallet out of my pocket.
"No."
I bought this because I wanted to eat it myself. It's definitely not for favorability.
It's simple curiosity.
Really.
I was just curious what it tasted like.
Nothing more, nothing less.
I stood at the very back of the line.
"......"
And 30 minutes later.
"Last one remaining!"
"......"
I was holding the bag of bread in my hand.
"......"
...I bought it just in case.
///
///
Shizuku changed out of her wet clothes and stood in front of the locker room for a moment.
In a place she so desperately hated being in, when he grabbed her arm and rescued her.
She denied the heart-fluttering sensation she felt for just a split second....
Yet at the same time, she strangely looked forward to that feeling that had shown her a strange sense of liberation.
She shook her head.
It was just a misunderstanding. She had to return to reality.
If they met again, he too would probably treat her like he usually did.
Shizuku walked down the hallway.
And as she quietly opened the door to the Student Council Room... the faint, sweet scent of bread reached her nose.
The world she had temporarily forgotten returned to her once more.
Akira had placed a piece of bread on the table in the council room.
As Shizuku looked at him for a moment, Akira checked her reaction before quietly speaking.
"....Because I felt like I interrupted your breakfast."
Come to think of it, she hadn't been able to eat a proper meal.
Because food was put on the back burner while engaged in that battle of nerves.
After briefly looking down at her own arm, she looked back at Akira.
An opponent who felt thoroughly human, unlike the nobles from earlier.
Within that, she recalled a fact she had momentarily forgotten and asked.
"...Come to think of it, dealing with those high-and-mighty figures... are you okay?"
No matter how much he was the Student Council President, pulling a stunt like that meant he was bound to be talked about.
"I'm fine. Well... high-ranking families are all like that anyway."
"..."
Those words bothered her a little.
At that moment, Shizuku suddenly became curious about the reason he treated the nobles that way.
"...You didn't necessarily have to kick them out like that. Is there a reason why you came to dislike them to that extent?"
"It was just because I didn't like them. It's only natural, seeing as they use the Student Council Room however they want just because they're from high-ranking families."
"..."
"I generally dislike those kinds of people."
At that, Shizuku whispered to herself without realizing it.
"...Then."
Akira looked at her.
The words "What about me...?" were barely swallowed back down at the edge of her throat.
"Hmm?"
"...It's nothing."
Subsequently, he brought the paper bag of bread and placed it in front of her.
Normally, she wouldn't even touch it.
It was a rule not to touch anything unless it was personally procured by her chef.
Originally, not eating this was the right choice.
But...
It was bread offered by Akira.
Strangely, whenever she got involved with him, she felt the urge to break her rules.
Besides, he was not her enemy. And he had a face that showed genuine concern for her.
"..."
Why did she suddenly want to indulge in such a whim?
Store-bought bread was from so long ago that she couldn't even remember the taste.
She took a bite of the bread.
"....!"
A smile formed from a subtle sense of liberation.
The combination of strawberries and whipped cream.
It was a common combination if one could call it common, but it was surprisingly delicious.
No, maybe it was all the more special because he was the one who gave it to her.
Could he have noticed that she enjoyed eating strawberries not too long ago?
"....."
She had resolved to treat him as usual again.
....Her emotions swayed much more easily than expected.
Her emotions kept stirring at these small gestures of consideration from him.
"..."
The President didn't ask for her thoughts, nor did he initiate a conversation with her.
He merely averted his gaze slightly, displaying an attitude aimed at making her time comfortable.
To Shizuku, that awkward consideration felt better than anything else.
///
'....Did I manage to salvage it at least?'
I quietly watched her eating the bread.
Since it felt like an incident was about to erupt at any moment, I brought her out; it seems we avoided the worst-case scenario for now.
....Good thing I happened to buy it in the morning.
Blatantly pulling her out of the meeting room weighed on my mind, so I was currently gauging her reaction carefully.
In a way, ruining that gathering was my own arbitrary decision.
To be completely honest...
Who's worrying about whom?
Getting too immersed in the character causes disasters like this to happen.
I even physically kicked them out. From her perspective, I couldn't be sure if she was entirely pleased with it. Nor could I ask her directly.
......Still, all's well that ends well. Isn't there a saying like that?
At least I wouldn't have earned Shizuku's hatred.
Fortunately, her favorability didn't go up.
Maintaining the status quo.
Mm-mm, let me just keep it like this.
//
8:00 AM.
In the Student Council Room, a scene no different from usual was unfolding.
The President processing paperwork, and the Vice President organizing documents at the opposite table.
And.
A small paper bag resting quietly on one side of the desk.
Shizuku looked at it once, then turned her gaze away as if nothing was amiss.
However.
There was someone who saw that.
"......Huh?"
"Shizu-Shizu!"
"Yes?"
"That."
The gaze of Kanna, a Student Council member, slowly drifted toward the paper bag Shizuku held.
"Is that by any chance the Strawberry Whipped Cream Danish that came out recently... isn't it?"
"...Yes, it is."
"I knew it!"
Kanna's eyes sparkled.
Then she stared intently at the paper bag.
"That's the one you can't even buy even if you go early in the morning!"
"......?"
Shizuku's delicate eyebrows twitched ever so slightly.
"You can't buy it?"
"Yes!"
"......"
"I've been trying so hard to get my hands on it since last week because I wanted to try it too."
It was just a piece of bread. Handed to her by Akira.
A commoner's bread of no significance.
At least.
That was what she had thought.
"...Is it to that extent?"
"It really is!"
Kanna nodded seriously.
"......"
"How did you manage to get it, Shizu?"
Shizuku closed her mouth for a moment.
The tips of her fingers pressed ever so slightly against the corner of the paper bag.
"......Just."
"Just?"
"Because I was able to get it."
"Eh?"
Kanna looked at her with an incredulous expression.
"That's not something you can just get like that!"
"......"
"I heard it's sold out even if you go at seven in the morning."
"......"
"Did someone give it to you as a gift by any chance?"
Instantly.
Shizuku's hand froze.
And. She recalled what happened just a short while ago.
When she entered the Student Council Room. The bread placed on top of the table.
And Akira, who handed it over with an awkward expression.
'Because I felt like I interrupted your breakfast.'
Was this... something so difficult to obtain?
"......"
"Huh?"
Kanna did not miss that subtle change.
Normally, no matter how minor the question was, she would have answered immediately.
This time.
She did not answer.
"......No way."
Kanna's eyes widened.
"Did you really get it as a gift?"
"No."
"What do you mean 'no'?"
"......"
"Then who bought it for you?"
"......"
"The President?"
Shizuku's head turned ever so slightly.
That alone was enough.
"Ah."
Kanna's mouth fell open.
"Really...."
"......"
"Did the President personally buy it and bring it for you?"
"......"
"Could it be by standing in line since morning?"
Shizuku did not answer.
However.
The tips of her ears turned slightly red.
Only then did Kanna realize.
This was not simply the reaction of someone who received a snack as a gift.
"No, wait a minute."
Kanna folded her fingers one by one.
"A bread that you can't even get even if you go early in the morning..."
"......"
"The President bought it and brought it here."
"......"
"And he gave it to you, Shizu-ssi?"
"......"
"Just like it was nothing?"
Shizuku thought for a moment.
"...Yes."
"What did he say?"
"He said it seemed like he interrupted my breakfast, so... he gave it to me..."
"......"
Kanna said nothing for a while.
Shizuku looked at her expression.
"...Why are you...?"
"No."
Kanna slowly opened her mouth.
"The President."
"..."
"He really has no clue, does he?"
"......?"
"Never mind."
Kanna shook her head.
Then she looked back at the paper bag.
"By the way."
"Yes."
"Did you really not know, Shizu-Shizu?"
"Know what?"
"That that bread is so hard to get."
Shizuku quietly shook her head.
"I didn't know."
"......"
"Just."
Shizuku looked at the paper bag.
"Because I couldn't eat breakfast."
"......"
"So I thought he gave it to me for that reason."
Kanna's expression became subtle.
"I mean, that's true too, but."
"......?"
"No."
Kanna pondered for a moment.
And then she asked carefully.
"Was the President originally the type of person to go that far for someone else?"
"....!"
Shizuku couldn't answer.
She thought of Akira.
The hand pulling her away. The bread offered so casually.
And. A face that didn't even seem to know whether it was something special.
"...I don't know."
Shizuku answered softly.
A brief silence fell.
Kanna stared intently at Shizuku.
"Shizu."
"Yes."
"That."
Kanna pointed at the paper bag.
"It's not just bread."
Shizuku's gaze shifted back to the paper bag.
"......"
"It's bread that the President went out of his way to get since early morning."
"......"
"There's no way the President didn't know it was that precious and just gave it to you.... He must have stood in line to get it in the first place."
"......"
"So."
Kanna paused for a moment.
"This is..."
"......"
"pretty dangerous, isn't it?"
Shizuku's eyes widened ever so slightly.
"...What do you mean by dangerous?"
Kanna looked at the paper bag.
And then she looked at Shizuku.
"That."
"......"
"Doesn't it mean the President is interested in you, Shizu?"
Shizuku's eyes widened ever so slightly.
If the Student Council President had heard those words in this spot, it was content that would have horrified him.
"......"
"Or not."
"......"
"No, but wouldn't most people think that way?"
"......"
"If someone remembered what you said you wanted to eat, and even stood in line early in the morning to get it for you."
Kanna thought for a moment.
"If it were me, I think I'd take it as a confession."
"......"
Shizuku slowly raised her head.
"......A confession."
"Ah."
Only then did Kanna realize she had delved too deep.
"No, not to that extent."
"......"
"Just."
"......"
"Like... he's interested?"
Kanna quietly shut her mouth.
Shizuku looked back at the bread.
Until a moment ago, it was just bread.
But now, it was bread that Akira might have gotten from somewhere early in the morning.
Knowing that fact.
Strangely... it felt like a waste to just eat it.
Shizuku stared at the paper bag without a word.
And then.
Very carefully.
She pulled it into her arms.