3.2
Because of the unexpected request, my steps were a little... Heavier, if not quite heavy.
“Why won't she just give it to him?”
It was a mistake to accept. How could I, an irrelevant person in this affair, have such a task? I should turn back and tell Ichinose-san to give it to him in person.
“That would be the right thing to do.”
When the thought of escape crossed my mind. I suddenly remembered the time when I tried to give a letter to my brother who had decided to go to high school. I was a fool in the past, not realizing that he’d been cold toward me and desperately wishing to return to the old days when we were close. I thought that if I couldn't talk to him face to face, I could just put my feelings in a letter. But the pen in my hand didn't move as smoothly as it did in my head.
For days and days, I thought and wondered, writing and erasing over and over again.
How could I convey my feelings?
How could I make my brother happy?
I struggled with the act of writing the letter itself. And in the end... I couldn't give it to him. My brother left this school and I can no longer see or contact him.
“I wonder what happened to that letter...”
As I dredged up my memory, I recalled putting it in my brother's desk drawer.
“What if my brother goes home and sees it?”
I stopped in the hallway and felt my heart rate suddenly hasten. If my brother saw a letter like that now, he would laugh at me.
“I should forget about that.”
Even if I get jittery here and now, I can't get rid of the letter and pretend it never happened. Now all I can do is hope that my brother doesn't find it.
Remembering my brother's back from outside the window, I decided to put my hands together.
“That’s right.”
It's not easy to write a letter to someone you love. And if you have to hand it to them directly, the hurdle is even higher. Even now, if I were asked if I could write a letter to my brother, it would be difficult for me to give an immediate answer. I don't know who she is or where she is from, but her target is the Student Council President Nagumo Miyabi. I understand her feelings of timidity.
Somehow, I found an excuse to give it to him and arrived at the student council room. When I opened the door, all the members of the student council were already there except for President Nagumo. There were three boys present, Yagami-kun, a first-year student, Aga-kun, also a first-year student, and Kiriyama-senpai, the third-year vice president.
However, it would not be possible for just any boy to do what I need. I couldn’t simply entrust them with the task of handing out love letters, which isn’t even a responsibility for the student council.
However... I was relatively close to Yagami-kun. I talk to him quite regularly. I knew I was taking advantage of my position as a senpai, but I couldn’t turn my back on this letter. Yagami-kun was sitting down and chatting with Ichinose-san.
I reached for the love letter in my briefcase, hoping to get the troublesome matter out of the way quickly. But just then, Student Council President Nagumo appeared in the room.
“The meeting will begin immediately. Take your seats.”
The voice of Student Council President Nagumo was as dark and heavy as he appeared. I felt the air instantly become tense and tight and put my hand back on my bag.
There was no way I could say that I was asked to hand over a love letter under these circumstances.
“Ichinose, if you have anything to report, let's hear it.”
“Yes. It seems that it has been decided that all classes will participate in the rehearsal the day before the festival.”
“It was decided in almost half a day? It seems that the student council president's decision was correct. However, if the decision was made by the student council, I wish you would have informed us a little earlier.” Kiriyama-senpai, the vice president, made a thorny remark.
“It's just an idea. I thought starting a little earlier would make the juniors happy.” Student Council President Nagumo replied without any particular apology.
Such a scene from the student council meeting was becoming a regular occurrence.
Basically, the student council-led things started with an idea from Student Council President Nagumo. Sometimes they were born from a comment made during the meeting, and other times they were created without our knowledge.
Then there was a sudden silence, and Student Council President Nagumo had his arms crossed and his eyes closed. It was obvious that he was holding back his anger.
“Um, what's wrong, Nagumo-senpai...?”
“Listen, I heard a strange rumor.”
“Rumor...?”
“It's not proven, but there was a guy, Kishi, who said that I was betting a lot of money to get certain students expelled from school.”
“What? What do you mean?”
It's no wonder Ichinose-san asked back. I, too, could not immediately understand the meaning of what Student Council President Nagumo said.
“Who told you that nonsense?”
“Someone from your class, Kiriyama.”
Student Council President Nagumo threw such words to Vice President Kiriyama with his eyes closed.
“From my class?”
“It's just a rumor from my friends, though it wouldn't be strange if you were aware of it.”
“Sorry, that's news to me. I don't understand why you would bet a lot of money to get someone expelled in the first place.”
Usually, students use large sums of money to move someone in particular to an “A” class. If that's what he was talking about, it's certainly not hard to understand, even for me. Especially for third-year students, the odds were stacked against them, and if they were invited to join President Nagumo's class, they were practically guaranteed an “A” class. It’s possible, for lack of a better word, for the Student Council President Nagumo to have secretly offered private points to those he has close relationships with, giving them the right to move to his class.
“It's just a rumor. But I'm not willing to sit idly by and let the accusations against me go unchallenged.”
Indeed, as student council president, such rumors could damage him one way or the other. It’s understandable that he was visibly in a bad mood.
“The student council will be suspended for a while.”
“Suspended...?”
Ichinose-san was surprised by this unexpected proposal from Student Council President Nagumo.
The student council used to meet like this once a week and repeatedly discuss various topics. The only exceptions were during test periods and some special exams. It was unusual to suspend them during the regular school year.
“We're done discussing the cultural festival, too. There shouldn't be any problems.”
“Are you going to look for the culprits?”
“Of course, we'll look for them thoroughly. The next meeting will be held after the festival.”
We then continued discussing the day before the festival, and we departed shortly afterward. I got up from my seat and headed toward Yagami-kun.
Perhaps sensing my approach, he raised his gaze away from his notebook, stopped his hand, and closed it. He’s the secretary of the student council, so he was keeping the logs. The other students left the student council room ahead of me, which I was grateful for.
When we were alone, I decided to call out to him.
“May I have a word?”
Yagami-kun turned to me after looking a little surprised.
“I'm sorry, were you still in the middle of writing it down?”
“No, I just finished. Don't worry about it.” He placed his hand lightly on top of the closed notebook and smiled at me.
“Is something wrong, Horikita-senpai?”
“Yagami-kun. May I ask you a slightly unreasonable favor?”
“What is it?”
“I want you to give this to the student council president. It's a love letter.”
I took out the love letter and presented it to Yagami.
“That's very rare these days. Most of the time it seems to be done through chatting or phone calls...” When he received it with a surprised look on his face, I hastened to add.
“Just to let you know, it's not from me.”
“I see. I thought it was a love letter from Horikita-senpai... Or should I just give it to him as such?”
“No, that's not it. A girl in my grade asked me to give it to him.”
“There is no sender name. Whose love letter is it? I'll let him know.”
“I can't tell you that. She wants to remain anonymous.”
“It’s an anonymous love letter...?”
“She asked for me to pass it on as a member of the student council, but there’s the issue of anonymity, and if I give it to him, he might think it's from me, right?”
“That's quite possible. To be honest, I still have a little bit of doubt that Horikita-senpai didn’t write it.”
Yagami-kun smiled a little funnily, but to me it wasn’t funny at all.
“I'm just kidding. Given the look of disgust on senpai's face, I know it's not true.”
I sure hope so.
“Actually, it would’ve been smoother if I had given it to you before Student Council President Nagumo arrived...”
“Even if you gave it to me, I don't think I would’ve been able to hand it over. It didn't seem like the kind of atmosphere to give a letter.”
“Yes, that was inevitable.”
Under the circumstances, no one could talk to Student Council President Nagumo.
“I'm sorry to ask you to do this, but could you please deliver it as soon as possible? I'm sure they think I’ll deliver it today.”
“In that case, I'll visit the dormitory later.” Yagami-kun stared at the love letter intently while looking a little perplexed. “Is this really a love letter?”
“Probably. I think she said she put her feelings into it, but I can't be sure.”
I couldn't peel off the seal to see what was inside.
“If I gave it to him as a love letter and it turned out to be different, I think it would be disrespectful to the student council president.”
“That might be possible.”
“I'll put it somewhat vaguely, saying that I received the letter from someone.”
“Yes, I think that's a good idea. Thank you.”
I thanked him for his honest acceptance.
“By the way, even in this day and age, it's hard for a secretary to work with handwritten notes, isn't it?”
There is nothing wrong with using a computer to work nowadays.
“Tradition is also important. It seems that the notes have been kept on file ever since this school was founded. If we suddenly switch to digital, it’ll create a sense of discomfort.”
Yagami-kun turned around and stared at the bookshelf. Certainly, there are many records revealing the story of the Student Council's history. It wouldn’t necessarily be bad if the student council files were replaced by a disc, but Yagami-kun made a good point. Perhaps this is exactly what we should continue if we value tradition.
“I also hear that it is better to have hardships while you are a student. If you get used to easy life early on, you may suffer later.”
Yagami-kun showed a slightly mature response, not like a first-year high school student.
“In that sense, this love letter is similar.”
It is true that nowadays it is not uncommon to confess one's feelings using one's cell phone. But I can understand that there is a certain meaning to conveying your feelings through your letters.
“Even so, today, Student Council President Nagumo really didn't seem to have a lot of time to spare, did he?”
“Yeah. Someone said he's betting a lot of money to expel the students, isn't he? As I recall… What was his name...”
As if remembering something, Yagami-kun opened his notebook and showed it to me. The first page that was flipped through was from the middle of last year, and looked like something a current third year student would have written in his sophomore year. Then the font changed and switched to the most recent notes.
I instantly recognized this because the notes, which seemed to have been written by Yagami-kun, were written in a perfect, orderly manner that showed his meticulousness. And the writing was so polished that it was hard to believe it was handwritten.
“There it is. He said that this Kishi-senpai might have spread a rumor. Do you know what class Kishi-senpai is in?”
Yagami-kun asked me with the same expression as usual, showing me the meeting records. But my brain was pulled into another realm all at once.
These characters.... They look very similar to that letter which had almost slipped from my memory.
Was he the person who presented me with the letter during the uninhabited island exam? I held my gaze, which was about to blur with agitation, and reached the notes of today's meeting. I looked at Yagami-kun from a broader perspective and saw that he was still looking at me with the same smile.
It couldn't be... But... No, it can't be.
Amidst a whirlwind of emotions, I think as I continue to feign looking down at the notes.
“Horikita-senpai?”
“Sorry, I don't know, but you should be able to figure it out pretty quickly if you look at the OAA.”
“Sure. I'll look it up right away.”
“I'm sorry, but I just remembered something I have to do. I'll leave you to it.”
“Oh, really? I understand.”
I looked away from him and quickly turned as if to run away.
“Well then, I'm sorry, but I need you to take care of my letter to the student council president.”
“Yes. Thank you for your hard work, Horikita-senpai.”
If he stared at me then, I probably would have asked him. I knew in my gut that I had to avoid that. I exited the door connecting the student council chambers and slowly closed it.
Just before it was about to close, I saw Yagami-kun smiling at me through the door’s slightest gap. He looked at me with a smile, as if he was testing me.
It was as if he was challenging me with a question, “Did you notice?” It was as if he was trying to provoke me. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken the trouble to open the notebook and show me the handwriting.
The door slammed shut.
I couldn’t deny the possibility that the handwriting was coincidentally the same. Since a certain amount of time had passed since I saw that letter, my memory is blurred.
Even so, the handwriting was similar enough to make me certain of the reason for the resemblance. If I assume that he was the person who wrote me that letter... Then that person had been standing by my side for a long time while behaving in a nonchalant manner.
At the same time, it seemed to me that this assumption was very realistic.
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