Chihiro
moved from the backstage area of the gymnasium and stood on the stage.
Below
him, about 200 students of Shibahou Academy were standing in a row, looking at
Aika, who stood diagonally behind him and him.
Thump!
Immediately,
his heart starts to beat fast and he can't control it.
He was
fine at the MissCon because he was in "Chisato mode" and there were
only a few people.
Well,
in fact, he is always nervous when he stands in front of others.
（Shall I
take your place, Nii-san?）
Although
Chihiro was not so good at this kind of thing herself, he still answered his
sister kindly.
（No,
it's fine. I must do this）
He
takes a light breath to calm himself down a little.
Suddenly,
he saw a figure standing at a distance behind the row of students.
A young
woman with her long hair tied up with an elastic band and her ample breasts
fitting snugly into a suit. She is Suzu, who has returned to work at the
school.
When
their eyes meet, she smiles and waves at him.
She is
probably in a state of [Cognitive Obstruction], judging from the fact that the
other students don't notice her. The fact that she took the trouble to come
visit him made him feel strangely grateful.
**a
Besides,
Aika was by his side.
Offstage
were Maria, Riko, Hana, Yotsuba.
Lucille,
Marika, and Ayase were also there. Before the performance, he received warm
words of encouragement from them: "I won't forgive you if you
fall,""Don't worry," and "Stay calm".
「I am
Izumi Chihiro from class C of the first year. I am currently running for the
vice president of the student council」
As soon
as he started talking, his head cooled down and, strangely enough, he didn't
make any major mistakes.
He
talks about how he had been helping the student council since the preparation
stage of the school festival, how he was recommended by Lucille to run for the
vice president, and how he would like to support the president if elected,
without any eccentricity.
Despite
some impatient comments from the students like "Chisato-chan~," he
managed to finish his speech and passed the baton to Aika.
「I am
Takatsuki Aika from Class C of the first year, supporting Izumi-kun. When I
first entered the school, I thought Izumi was an inconspicuous child」
Aika
shared her personal experience of Chihiro's life with the students.
They
know each other well because they have practiced with each other. The content
was easy to understand, not only in terms of praise, but also in terms of frank
opinions.
After a
short speech of a few minutes each, they bowed.
As they
returned to the backstage with applause from the students, the first feeling of
relief came over.
「Good
job, both of you!」
Lucille,
who had already finished her speech for the presidential election, came up to
them.
She
turned her body in front of Chihiro and the others, turned her face away from
them and shouted.
「Well,
it wasn't so bad, was it? You should be confident」
「Thank
you」
She has
a sharp mouth, or rather, she makes fun of Chihiro in some way, and she doesn't
mean to offend him. Chihiro knew that, so he smiled and thanked her for her
kindness.
Lucille,
on the other hand, scratched her cheeks in a bad mood and then changed the
subject.
「I mean,
Takatsuki-san, right? You do some pretty amazing things, don't you?」
「Amazing
thing?」
Chihiro
and Aika both look at each other and tilt their heads.
"But
the speech was a very reasonable one," Chihiro thought.
「You
see, it must be torturous for the guys who don't have girlfriends to be told in
detail how you two met from the beginning, isn't it?」
「...ah」
Aika
moaned and her cheeks flushed.
Well,
that's certainly one way to think about it.
Chihiro
felt embarrassed, too, because some of the points made sense to him.
（Hahaha.
But Nii-san and Aika-anesama have been in love with each other for a long time）
（I
wonder how much people outside of 1-C think so...）
Chihiro
has been a little too conspicuous since winning the school festival, or rather
the Miss Contest.
Well,
it's okay that "Chisato mode" has been settled with some strange
looks and some jokes, but making flirtations with his girlfriend publicly might
cause some jealousy.
**b
「It's no
use worrying about it now. It's not important」
「Even
though it doesn't matter」
「Having
a girlfriend or dressing up as a woman won't change your job, will it? If they
don't understand that, just leave them alone」
It was
a very Lucille word.
Thinking
this, Chihiro looked at Ayase who was chatting with Marika. Naturally,
"she" is wearing a girl's uniform, and he can only admire
"her" guts.
Yes,
that's right. In the first place, Ayase has been an officer of the student council
for a year.
It may
be no use to be really worried about it.
The
speeches by the secretary, general affairs, and accountant continued without
delay.
Furthermore,
speeches related to the public morals committee were also delivered.
After
all the speeches were done, the students disbanded and went to their classrooms
for the voting process.
Chihiro
approached Aika while confirming that the students moved out one after another.
「Then,
let's go back」
「Yes.
Chihiro-kun, you can come back with us, right?」
「It'd be
a problem if you participate in the vote count, you know」
Not
Chihiro, but all the candidates.
Although
it is not expected that anyone would tamper with the votes, the candidates do
not participate in the vote counting in order to promote the "fair
election".
Therefore,
the class representatives collect the votes from each class, and after the votes
are collected in a separate room, it is the turn of the volunteers. Students
who are not directly involved in either the student council or the public
morals committee are divided into two teams to open the ballots, count them,
and announce the results.
The
announcement will be made by the school announcement system.
Candidates
will be in their classrooms, waiting for the results with a sense of
excitement.
「Yo,
Izumi, good job!」
「That
was pretty cool!」
In the
classroom, he was approached several people. Though, most of the students were
still focused on Maria and Kamishiro.
Anyway,
the ballots were distributed quickly by Maisaka's initiative.
（So, I
vote for myself, huh...?）
（Oh,
then, may I write it? ）
That
might be a good idea, he thinks, and surrenders his body to Chisato.
「Fufu」
With a
slight hum, Maria giggles as she sits next to him. Then Chisato begins to write
the words on the paper.
『Confidence』 (*Note: vote of confidence)
Those
are the only words written in Chihiro's column.
He was
wary of a feint of adding the word "No", but in the end, it did not
occur.
Chisato
wrote "Confidence" in everyone's column, and folded the paper in two.
Perhaps
because it was an easy task, Chisato looked rather regretful.
**c
（Geez.
Don't worry, I'm not mean to you. That's rude）
（Sorry,
sorry. I'm anxious and all this stuff just popped into my head）
Maisaka
takes the collected forms and comes back to the office.
『We will
now announce the results of the voting for the Student Council Officers and the
Public Morals Committee Members』
Here it
comes.
Chihiro
felt both "It will be all right" and "Just in case" at the
same time.
『Lucille
Orwell-san elected as the President of the Student Council』
Naturally,
Lucille was elected.
Chihiro's
announcement comes next in the order.
The
format in which the candidates are carefully announced one by one makes his
heart palpitate faster.
『Izumi
Chihiro-kun elected as the Vice president of the student council』
"Oh,"
said the class.
When
Maria, Hana, and Kamishiro were subsequently elected, there was so much noise
that there was no need to listen any longer.
Everyone
congratulated each other, and Chihiro was also squeezed by the momentum.
（Fufu.
Congratulations, Nii-san）
（Thank
you, Chisato）
While
answering Chisato's congratulations, Maisaka raised his voice amidst the
clamor.
「Izumi,
do you dress up as a woman when you work for the student council?」
「No!」
This
signaled a burst of laughter in the class.
* * *
