The 330th Student Council
Leaving behind the teeming crowds of the Parona Peninsula market, Simon's group rode their carriage to their lodgings.
It was a small but charming inn. Mountains rose behind it, and a stream ran past the front. With no one else around, it was quiet and secluded.
While the sun was up, they went down to the stream to play for a while, and as evening fell, they lit a bonfire.
Whittling sticks into skewers on the spot, they hung chunks of meat from the market over the flames to roast. Meat eaten outdoors was, without question, the best there was.
All four of them were in high spirits, eating, drinking, and chattering away.
Perhaps because it had been so long since they'd last gathered like this, the mood was at its peak, and the hours slipped by unnoticed.
"Ugh, way too many bugs. Let's go inside."
Even once they were back in the lodge, the four of them sat around the table over a glass of wine, still chattering away.
"Dick! This place is wonderful."
"Heh heh, what did I tell you? And the real highlight of the Parona Peninsula is two days from now—so look forward to it."
Meilin, who had been listening quietly, turned her head.
"Simon."
Simon, lost in his own thoughts, flinched and looked at her.
"O-oh. Um. What is it?"
"...You've been weird since yesterday. What are you brooding about all by yourself?"
"Ah, that."
Simon scrambled for whatever words came first.
"I was just thinking, when was the last time I got to do a trip like this? I've lived in Leshill my whole life, so this is actually my first time traveling with friends."
At those words, the faces of the other three lit up. Dick immediately raised his glass.
"In that spirit, here's to another round! Here's hoping this year's as full of good times as last year! Cheers!"
Glasses clinked all around amid noisy laughter. Simon laughed along—then a shadow fell over his face alone.
'Ugh, I can't find the right moment to bring it up!'
The topic changed way too fast.
Right now Dick was sharing his second-year course registration tips, and the student council hadn't come up once since it was briefly mentioned the day before.
'I can't put it off any longer. The mood's ripe. Now's the time!'
Simon jerked his head up.
"Hey, guys!"
The three of them, mid-conversation about course registration, looked at Simon.
"Hm?"
"What's up, Simon?"
I have to do it.
I have to say it now.
Just as Simon steeled his resolve and opened his mouth to bring up what he'd been keeping buried in his chest—
—Of course I'm grateful and deeply honored by the offer! Buuut... I really don't think I'm suited for such an important position, and I don't feel qualified enough.
Camibarez's voice from yesterday buzzed in his ears.
-I wouldn't take it even if it was handed to me. Second year is when the real major coursework starts, you know? I barely have enough time to focus on my studies as it is—student council life would just be dead weight.
Then came Meilin's voice.
-Honestly, the way anyone can see it, my role isn't on the council, it's the scheming delinquent who gets dragged in and chewed out by them, isn't it?
Dick's voice echoed in his ears.
Suddenly his confidence plummeted, and Simon averted his eyes and let his words trail off.
"I-I was just wondering... who's going to be the next student council president. Haha."
The three of them blinked.
"Out of nowhere? Wasn't that yesterday's topic?"
Dick said.
"Hey, what's this? Why were you beating around the bush if that's all you wanted to say?"
Meilin's eyes narrowed sharply.
"That's right, Simon. Take your time, say it comfortably."
"Wait—don't tell me!"
Finally catching on, Dick shot to his feet.
"The student council...!"
Simon swallowed without meaning to.
"You got asked to join the student council as an executive! Right? Right?"
"Oh, right~ So that's what it was? You're joining the student council?"
"Simon! Congratulations, really!"
The three clapped their hands and congratulated him. Simon gave an awkward smile.
"That's not it."
I don't know anymore.
Whatever happens, happens.
"To be precise—"
Simon pulled from his pocket the thing he'd been fidgeting with—the student council president's badge—and held it up for the three of them to see.
"Starting this year, I'm Kizen's student council president."
"???!"
Their mouths fell wide open.
Shock.
Astonishment.
Stupefaction.
And then a massive silence settled over the lodge.
As if their reason and thinking had simply stopped, the three of them stared blankly, hollow-eyed, at Simon's student council president badge.
"Whoa~ Haha! You almost got me there. That's a joke, right?"
Dick, the only one still capable of moving his mouth, leaned in to examine the badge.
"What's a second-year doing as student council president? Where'd you even get a knockoff like this—"
But.
For a knockoff, it was far too precisely crafted.
"Hey, you're seriously—!"
"SIMON!!"
"For real? For real? For REAL? I can't believe it!"
Simon briefly covered his ears. The three leapt from their seats and began firing off wildly different words at him all at once.
"Hold on, calm down! I'll explain!"
Simon calmly explained the whole story from beginning to end.
With every twist and turn of the tale, the three expressions changed by the second.
"S-so that's how it happened."
Meilin sat down with a dumbfounded look.
"Since Senior Azel's return as third-year president is delayed, the president's seat goes to Simon..."
"Wow, ha..."
Dick gave a hollow laugh and poured wine into Simon's empty glass, glug glug.
"The face I see every single day, and suddenly he looks like a different person! We are friends, right? Do you remember my name?"
Camibarez clapped softly.
"That really startled me. Simon. Once again, congratulations!"
Meilin rested her chin on her hand and gave a meaningful smile.
"Hm~ So that's why you kept flinching every time the student council came up?"
"Yeah, something like that. So anyway, Meilin."
"?"
Clack!
Simon picked up the wine glass Dick had filled for him earlier. Then he downed it in one go. Meilin jolted in alarm.
"Hey! What are you doing? If you drink that fast—!"
"Meilin!"
Simon sprang from his seat and leaned in close. Her face flushed scarlet.
"W-what's gotten into you! You've been like this since yesterday—"
"As student council president of Kizen, I have a proposal for you!"
Where on earth had a single glass of wine given him all this courage? Simon gripped her hand and put force into his eyes.
"Be my vice president, Meilin!"
At those words.
Her time stopped.
"M-me?"
She pointed at herself with a trembling hand.
"Yes! I'm looking for student council officers to work alongside me. And the only person fit for the vice president's seat is you!"
Whoosh!
Red to the very nape of her neck, she shot to her feet and stumbled backward.
"Wh-WhWhWhWh— what are you saying right now!! You're teasing me, aren't you? Don't joke about stuff like that! You're getting my hopes up for nothing!"
"Do I look like I'm joking right now?"
Simon advanced with overwhelming presence, and the retreating Meilin's back hit the wall.
"I know second year keeps you busy, and I know how serious you are about your studies! But—!"
Gazing into her trembling pupils, Simon's voice softened, deflating a little.
"I figured if I couldn't even bring myself to ask, I'd regret it."
"..."
Her sky-blue hair slid down, veiling her face. A moment of silence. But it felt longer than any silence in the world.
And then.
She raised her head.
"Stop making things up!!"
She shoved Simon in the chest with her palm.
"Oof!"
"Why! Why me? What makes you think you can just plop me into the vice president's seat?! There's Serne, who's better than me, isn't there? And you're super close with Lorraine too!"
She pressed a hand to her chest and shouted.
"Over break, at the Ivory Tower, Serne was bragging all about it, remember? How Special Admission No. 1 and No. 2 got invited to the royal ball together and went on a date!"
Simon's face twitched.
"N-no! That was Princess Molly's—!"
"And if they seated you in the president's chair, isn't Kizen headquarters' thinking obvious? Obviously Lorraine, Nephthys's successor, would suit being at your side!"
By now the rims of her eyes had gone red, and she was screaming hysterically.
"Why! Why me, huh? Did they both turn you down, so you came to me?"
"No."
Simon shook his head and took another step closer.
"From the very beginning, I only ever thought of you."
At that one line from Simon—
'?!'
Meilin's soul left her body on the spot.
Her heart pounded wildly, hammering out of control.
"I thought there was no one but you from the start, and this is my first offer."
Simon was remembering Phantasos's voice.
-Choosing your officers is, quite properly, the 'president's right'! You must pick people you can trust without question—people who'll take your side against any outside pressure!
"Someone I can trust, and who'll take my side."
-The vice presidency is a bit special. It's your running mate—someone whose policy line matches yours! They have to be capable and excellent. Trustworthy, and ideally in the Top 10.
"Someone capable and excellent. I've watched you from right beside me all year long, so I know better than anyone."
Simon thrust out his hand boldly, hammering the point home.
"There's no one at this school better suited to be vice president than you. Please, Meilin!"
Ripples spread through her blue eyes.
'He's serious...'
Every emotion flooded in like a bursting dam. Her eyes suddenly burned hot, and her chest went tight.
Looking as though the slightest touch would spill her tears over, she finally covered her face with both hands and turned her back to him.
"Ah."
Simon stood there awkwardly, hand still extended for a handshake. He could see her rounded shoulders trembling faintly.
"Um... will you accept?"
He couldn't see her face, but beneath her eyelids he caught the small glint of a bead of moisture.
Before long, from her waterlogged voice came a tiny, soft "Yes."
'Yes!'
Only then did Simon's face break into a radiant smile.
Clunk!
In the end, Meilin couldn't overcome her embarrassment and, face still hidden, fled out of the lodge as if running for her life.
"Haaaaah."
And then the embarrassment caught up with Simon, too, a beat late.
He'd said everything—everything that should and shouldn't have been said. I really need to drink wine in moderation, he thought, turning around.
"And Dick, Kami, you two should also—huh?"
Queeee—
Dick and Camibarez were each crouched in the far corners of the lodge.
"...Ooh, ooh. How magnificent."
Clap. Clap.
Dick applauded hollowly.
"President Simon and Vice President Meilin! Keehee~ Us mere 'ordinary students' should have caught on immediately and graciously vacated the room. Haha! Alas, we failed to seize the moment."
"Wh-what are you even saying all of a sudden!"
Simon shouted, face burning.
"...Congratulations."
Camibarez traced circles in the air with her fingertip, a somewhat dazed look on her face.
"The two of you are drifting further and further away. Higher and further still..."
"Kami! Why are you doing this too?"
One glass of wine, and everyone had lost their minds.
Simon quickly gathered his composure and let out a khm! cough.
"Dick."
"Yesss~ you called, Mr. President."
Dick lolled about and made a show of groveling on the floor.
"I'll get straight to the point. I want you to be the student council's secretary-general."
"?!!"
Dick's head snapped up.
"You're serious?"
"Yes."
"Serious-serious? Like, actually serious?"
"That's what I said."
"You know my reputation among the students is awful, right? 'Shady Dick'? And on top of that, I'm ranked 400th?"
"Rank doesn't matter."
Simon went on with a smile.
"What matters most is ability as a secretary-general. Remember? Back at the start of first year, when everyone else was buried in their studies, you were out doing market research all on your own and starting a little side business. By second year, you'd acquired shops all across Rochest and were running a pretty sizable operation. There's no one like you anywhere in Kizen. And above all—"
Simon raised his clenched fist.
"You're so good at pulling schemes yourself, you'll be great at catching other people who try them."
"...Khehe."
Dick's body began to quiver. Before long his head shot up, he bumped his fist against Simon's with a solid thump! and rose to his feet.
"That, I'm more confident in than anyone else on this earth! Hahaha!"
Watching Dick fully resurrected, Simon smiled quietly.
"So that's a yes?"
"Hm! If I take a public post, I'll have to let go of a few businesses and install a managing director—but it's true that a student council office carries more scale than some second-year nobody. Plenty of merit! I'm swimming with the big fish now!"
"Ah, but of course."
Simon laid down one condition.
"Meilin will be the auditor. There is absolutely no spending the school budget however you please."
"...Kgh. I think the real problem is that we know each other far too well."
With Meilin serving as a deterrent, any of Dick's potential lapses could be reliably contained.
Not that he'd been about to embezzle anything anyway—not after Simon had said all that to his face.
"Then next up is Kami... Ah."
While Simon had been rescuing Dick, Camibarez had sunk deeper and deeper into the abyss.
At some point she'd managed to open the storage shed door, and now she was crouched inside it, scratching at the floor with her finger.
"Kami."
The shed door stood open, but Simon knocked lightly on it anyway.
"Can I come in?"
She only gave a small nod. Simon knelt down in front of her crouched form and spoke gently.
"I understand if the offer feels like a lot of pressure. But I'd like you to take the student council secretary position. It's meticulous work—handling the administration and writing up the meeting minutes."
At Simon's soft, warm voice, she raised her head.
"...Will it really be all right? I'm worried that plain old me will just drag the three of you down."
"You're still saying that."
Simon laughed as though he couldn't help it.
"How many times do I have to tell you? You're more special than anyone else in this world."
"...!"
Her face flushed bright red.
"You'll accept, won't you?"
When Simon held out his hand, Camibarez shyly took it in both of hers. Tiny beads of moisture glistened at the corners of her eyes.
"Yes! I'll work hard so I never fall behind the three of you!"
"Well, you've never fallen behind in your life."
Simon carefully helped her to her feet.
BANG!
Just then, having apparently finished calming down, Meilin came back into the lodge, her face absolutely glowing.
"I am the vice president of Kizen! Kyahaha!"
Her excitement had climbed even higher.
Camibarez came darting over too and flung herself into her arms.
"Meilin! I'm going to be the secretary!"
"Reallyyy? That's great, Kami! Congrats!"
Beside them stood Dick, nose in the air and shoulders ready to take flight, pointing at himself.
"I'm the secretary-general!"
"Are you insane?! HIM? In charge of money?"
Meilin gaped at Simon in horror.
"Simon, is that for real?"
"If Dick steps out of line, you just stop him."
"...W-well. True, but."
"Now then!"
Excited, Dick filled the empty glasses with wine and passed them around. Soon everyone raised their glasses high.
"Simon! What number student council are we?"
"The 330th, as of this year."
"Okay! To the '330th Simon Polentia Student Council'!"
All four clinked their glasses and roared out the toast together.
Amid the riotous laughter, talk of the new student council and its members carried on until dawn.
It was a night that exploded with passion.