Chapter 205: The Little Sister Returns
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 205: The Little Sister Returns
The long-awaited Sports Festival was now only a week away.
Once the fun of the festival was over, a hidden hurdle in the form of midterm exams awaited, but that was a problem for the distant future.
For high schoolers in their prime, the Sports Festival was one of the last chances to live out their fiery youth.
…Truth be told, there had been plenty of chances until now.
The summer camp, summer vacation, the school trip.
All of them were crucial events in one's school life.
But in the end, the world is a place where those who are meant to succeed, do.
Some guys could get a girlfriend without even trying, while others couldn't get one no matter how hard they tried.
I didn't have to look far for examples; Ryuji and Satoru were right there beside me.
In any case, the reason the male students were staking their lives on this Sports Festival was simple.
To emphasize their masculinity and win the affection of the female students.
I wasn't sure how effective that would actually be, but I suppose it was better than doing nothing.
"Alright, that concludes this meeting."
The meeting, which had gathered the class presidents from each class to prepare for the Sports Festival, ended after about an hour.
As the student council's secretary and mood-maker who had led the meeting, I had barely put down the chalk when sighs of relief erupted from all over the room.
The President, who had been sitting at the head of the table with a dignified pose, looked at me and spoke.
"Good work today, Yoo-Sung-kun."
"It was nothing."
"This was originally Shinji's job. I'm sorry for dumping it all on you."
"It's fine. It wasn't that difficult."
I said humbly, then glanced at Minami beside me.
"If anything, I feel bad that Minami had to do my secretarial work."
"...I've recorded all the minutes. I took the liberty of cutting out the proposals that went off on unnecessary tangents."
Excellent.
Just as I'd expect from Minami. Her work was as efficient as an elite kunoichi's.
The President took the manuscript from Minami, tapped it on the desk to straighten it, and then addressed the class presidents who were drained from the meeting.
"Let's dismiss for today. Thank you all for your hard work."
At the President's order, the previously slumped-over class presidents sprang to life, chattering boisterously as they left the room as if their exhaustion had been a lie.
Once the meeting room was empty, leaving only the student council members, I naturally asked the President.
"What are your plans now, President?"
"Me? I'm thinking of going back to the classroom to finish studying. The university entrance exams aren't far off, after all."
True, it was already October.
There were only a few months left until the Center Exam.
Even for the President, who made getting the top grade in the year look easy, she was bound to be feeling anxious.
"Then I'll head back to my class as well."
"Okay. I'll see you at home this evening."
Normally, the President would have tried to keep me in the student council room somehow, but ever since we started living together, that tendency of hers had vanished.
It was likely because she was confident we would see each other again at home, even if we parted ways here.
As I was about to open the door to leave, the President asked, as if she had just remembered something.
"By the way, Yoo-Sung-kun."
"Yes?"
"What are your thoughts on Japan's low birth rate problem these days?"
"All of a sudden?"
"It was the topic of an essay question I was working on. I'd like to hear your honest, unfiltered opinion."
A low birth rate, huh.
Honestly, I thought having children was something for my distant future, so I could only give a textbook answer.
"The reason young people in Japan aren't having children... I think it's less that they don't want to and more that they can't. They say it costs an average of over 20 million yen in child-rearing expenses for a young couple to have a child and raise them to adulthood. And if you start adding private education into the mix, the cost skyrockets. With wages stagnating due to the Lost 30 Years, you have to be at least middle class to have and raise a child. And most young people today don't fall into that middle class. Unless the government provides comprehensive support on a national level, it's honestly an unavoidable situation."
"So, you're saying that if the government provided significantly more child-rearing support, people would naturally start having children?"
"Yes. In a nutshell, that's right."
Hearing my answer, the President nodded as if my point was valid.
Then, she immediately offered a counterargument.
"My thoughts are a little different."
"In what way?"
"I believe the modern low birth rate problem would naturally be solved if we revived the polygamy that was abolished in the past."
"Polygamy?"
A word I had never expected to hear from the President's lips popped out, and I couldn't help but let my eyes go wide.
"The current marriage system only permits monogamy, so even a capable man can only have one woman as his wife. But what if we amended the constitution itself to allow for polygamy? A man with the means to do so would take on as many wives as he could and strive to do his patriotic duty."
"That... sounds a bit unrealistic, to be honest."
"Fufu, it's just for an essay question, after all. It's one way to form a hypothesis."
Just what you'd expect from a rom-com heroine. While I was surprised by this unexpected side of the President and her American-style view on marriage, I could only manage a wry smile to get through the situation.
Honestly, what could I even say to a topic like this?
Sometimes, just applauding quietly is the safest bet.
*
After school.
Since Rika was still clearly avoiding me outside of school, I was on my way home alone and feeling a bit lonely.
"Huh? You're…"
I ran into a familiar face on the subway.
A petite frame, orange twin-tails, and an assertive snaggletooth, as if to say, "I'm the little devil character."
It was Ryuji's little sister, who was currently at the peak of her popularity.
Huh? Why am I calling her "little sister" instead of by her name?
I'll be honest.
I forgot.
"Aren't you Ryuji's little sister? It's been a while."
I greeted her casually to avoid showing it, and Ryuji's sister gave a slight nod with a prim expression.
"It has been a while. You're, um, Kim Yoo-Sung Sunbae, right?"
"Senpai?"
"Well, we go to the same school. Even though I'm in the middle school division."
"Ah, right."
Come to think of it, Ryuji's sister did go to the same school.
I'd heard it before but hadn't paid much attention and had forgotten.
"On your way home?"
"Yes. I had club activities today, so I finished a little late."
She said, glancing at me before asking.
"...Senpai, are you close with my brother?"
"Close with Ryuji?"
I pondered his sister's question.
If you asked if we were close, I'd have to say we were.
We had a mutually beneficial relationship, after all.
"Yeah, I guess so."
"Then do you know about a senpai named Hattori Ayame who transferred recently?"
"Yeah, I do."
At one point, we had fought as adversaries due to our different goals, but after the battle in Osaka, she had fallen head over heels for Ryuji and become an ally.
To be honest, it felt like she'd still turn her blade on me if necessary, but at least it didn't seem like she would do that to Ryuji.
She had the face of a girl truly in love.
Hearing my answer, Ryuji's sister thought deeply about something before speaking to me.
"Senpai, if you have a moment, could you give me some advice?"
"What? Advice?"
"Yes. Advice. It'll only take a minute."
As she said that, she looked up at me with sparkling eyes, and I found myself unable to refuse her request.
'What is this adorable creature?'
I was a man with a huge weakness for cute things.
*
Ryuji's little sister, Sakamoto Yuika.
Her name came back to me belatedly. In the original work, Scramble Love, she was the third most popular heroine.
Right after Rika and Sasha.
How can a blood-related sister be a heroine, you ask?
Don't ask me. In Japanese rom-coms, it's common for the little sister to be treated as a heroine.
Of course, being related by blood, the little sister heroine is usually doomed to lose, but on the rare occasion the author decides to go wild, you can get an incest ending, so you can't let your guard down.
In any case, I never expected Yuika to suddenly ask me for advice.
We didn't have any particular connection; the only link between us was Ryuji.
But today's consultation was precisely because of that 'Ryuji'.
"So, you want to know why your brother suddenly became so popular?"
"Yes."
We were at a cafe near my house.
Actually, Ryuji's house and mine were only about a block apart, so you could also say it was a cafe near his house.
"I see. The reason for his popularity."
Frankly, too many things came to mind.
I mean, it made sense. Ryuji was the original protagonist of Scramble Love.
His grades were average, but he had a strong sense of justice, an above-average face, and a likable personality.
On top of that, he was currently getting a buff from an Egyptian minor ghost and a childhood friend ghost, who boosted his Yang and Yin energy respectively, so his fighting prowess was also outstanding.
He'd be terrifying as an enemy, but as an ally, he was incredibly reliable.
But the answer Yuika wanted from me right now probably wasn't something like that.
I racked my brain for a moment before speaking.
"Don't you know better than me? You're his family."
As if she had been waiting for that, Yuika nodded and said.
"True, it's him we're talking about. He probably went around charming girls without a second thought. It's obvious even without seeing it."
"......"
Seriously, to be treated like this even by his own sister... what on earth has that guy Ryuji been doing?