On Thursday, Shirogane Miyuki told Sakurai Saki they were going to check the warehouse together.
As a result, halfway there, he was pulled away by others again. As Student Council President, he was really busy. Fujiwara Secretary should have been responsible for coordinating the work, but for some reason, for this Sports Festival, Shirogane went to communicate with the various class representatives more often than Fujiwara Chika did. As a workaholic, Shirogane was no different from before.
He really worked too hard. I'm crying.
"Sakurai-kun, you should feel honored to go to the sports warehouse with me." Kaguya Shinomiya walked beside Sakurai Saki, holding the inventory list of items to be checked.
Since President Shirogane Miyuki was busy, the original work naturally fell to Kaguya Shinomiya—the Vice President.
"Indeed." Sakurai's voice dripped with sarcasm. "As a commoner, I should kneel down and thank you for allowing me to go to the sports warehouse with the young lady of the Shinomiya family, the jewel of the empire."
His trash-talk level was good.
Kaguya-san's expression soured slightly. "Don't treat me like an idiot."
"I say, Kaguya-san, shouldn't you be reasonable?" Sakurai Saki cried out in injustice. "The one who invited you—you who were practicing in the Archery Club—wasn't me. It was Shirogane."
Why did he have to take all the blame?
"Sakurai Saki being alive is a mistake." Kaguya's voice was cold. "A unique mistake."
"I'll tentatively assume you're praising me from the perspective of being 'unique,'" Sakurai said gently.
Beside them, many students passed by on the road.
"Being thick-skinned is a virtue, Sakurai General Affairs." Kaguya's sharp tongue was not weak. "You are also 'unique' in that regard."
But when her attacks tried to ignite his anger, they were still too naive—as soft and tender as her face, without a trace of real danger.
"Kaguya-san is also 'unique' in being unreasonable."
"What a coincidence." Kaguya's voice was gentle, but her expression was colder than ice. "We've formed a team now."
The surrounding air dropped considerably. Though it was a scorching hot day of thirty-two degrees Celsius, the surroundings felt as cold as if they had entered a freezer.
"On the day of the Sports Festival, President Shirogane's father seems to be coming," Kaguya Shinomiya said as they walked toward the side of the field.
"My mother is also coming." Sakurai Saki sighed.
He felt completely unwell. Mother, far away in Kyoto—please don't come to join the fun. The last time Sakurai Saki had met her was during the New Year. He had gone back once, and apart from a New Year's shrine visit with his mother, the rest of the time was spent in the wagashi shop. And what had Sakurai Saki done during those times? The answer was: eat. Nothing else. He had spent the winter vacation with everything handed to him.
Until he returned to Tokyo on January 7th. He had gained several pounds over that one winter vacation. Sakurai Saki felt that his mother was raising him like a piglet.
"...Curious." Kaguya murmured softly.
She was very curious about Shirogane Miyuki's father—how such a strange man had been raised. In addition, she was even more curious about Sakurai Saki's single mother. Arrogant, shameless, sharp-tongued, unable to read the room—a long list of flaws. To what extent must such a person be spoiled to turn into this appearance? Last time, Sakurai Saki's younger brother had also been very odd.
It feels like Sakurai General Affairs's mother shouldn't be a normal person either.
"My mother is a beauty," Sakurai Saki said, reading her expression. "And very gentle. At least more beautiful than you."
He knew she was silently slandering his adoptive mother. Mother was synonymous with beauty—her looks were definitely at the peak of the human realm, no doubt about that.
"Mothers are always beautiful in the eyes of their children." Kaguya Shinomiya only thought he was boasting. No one could be more beautiful than herself—at most equal. She was very confident in her own looks. And it was true. Kaguya was among the top three in Shuchiin Academy in terms of charm. Except for her chest, which was as flat as an ironing board, no man would refuse Kaguya Shinomiya's body. Her face alone was enough to drive people crazy.
"Perhaps." Sakurai Saki had no knowledge of his biological mother. When he had met his adoptive mother, he was already fourteen years old and had long developed a very normal "human aesthetic."
"However, Sakurai-kun's mother—I am indeed very curious."
"If you don't go see her then, she'll probably come to see you." Sakurai Saki sighed.
His mother was very concerned about his social relationships—almost to the extent of wanting to install a monitor to observe him twenty-four hours a day. Sakurai Saki still didn't dare to tell her about having a girlfriend, fearing that she would jump into a river and ask whether he would save Hayasaka Ai or her. Don't doubt it—Sakurai General Affairs's adoptive mother could do such a thing.
"Is that so?" Kaguya's eyes gleamed. "Then I'll look forward to it."
She decided to leave a good impression on the other party's mother. After all, she was her maid's mother-in-law. Getting along well with her was very necessary. Otherwise, Hayasaka Ai's romance might be hindered. In those TV dramas, there were many plots where wicked mothers-in-law wouldn't allow girls to marry in.
You'd better not look forward to it. Sakurai General Affairs sighed inwardly.
The two walked and walked, arriving near the sports warehouse next to the field. Few people came here, and the warehouse looked quite old. Every year, only during the Sports Festival did people come to check if the old items could still be used.
"Shuchiin Academy shouldn't be short of money, right?" Sakurai Saki had wanted to ask this question for a long time. "Why are they still using old items?"
Last year, during the Sports Festival, the tug-of-war rope had been covered in dust. The relay batons were also very worn out. Only during the borrowed-item race were the slips of paper new. Speaking of which, if the slips were also broken, then this school would really be beyond saving.
"Aristocratic schools need to cultivate students' habits of frugality… probably." Kaguya Shinomiya wasn't too sure either.
"Never mind. Let's go in and take a look." Sakurai Saki pushed open the door. "Although I don't have high hopes for the things inside."
Then he glanced to the side. Why was there a very thick wooden stick here? It was very straight and had no branches—a divine weapon that no man could refuse. But unfortunately, being in front of Kaguya Shinomiya now, he couldn't do those very childish things.
Thump.
After closing the door, the two looked at the inside of the sports warehouse. High-jump mats, relay batons, and some dilapidated, deflated balls.
"Kaguya-san." Sakurai's voice was casual. "What if this warehouse suddenly gets locked and we can't get out? What should we do?"
Kaguya rolled her eyes at him. "What kind of joke are you making?"
Click.
Outside the door, that straight wooden stick jammed the door—at an awkward angle, stuck very tightly.
The two inside had not yet discovered it.