Time passes, and the dark night turns into light.
The next day, in the Shuchiin Student Council Room.
As usual, Natsukawa Kanade sat in the main seat and attended to official matters.
The elections would be held the following week, so there was much to do. Besides organizing the submission of documents, he had to note precautions and logistical details. Although he had mastered the work, remembering every aspect was tedious.
The best thing was to stop thinking about that and focus on how to defeat his competitors.
—Shinomiya, could you show me the information on this year's candidates?
Only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you win every battle. That he hadn't cared before didn't mean he didn't care now. It was time to study thoroughly.
—Yes.
Kaguya Shinomiya replied with a slight smile.
Finally, she had her chance!
The president had been in a bad mood last week and she hadn't been able to meet with him alone. When she asked Hayasaka about it, she refused to tell her anything. She cared too much about what had happened at the bookstore on Monday!
And what about the promise to support her completely? Hayasaka was a liar!
It didn't matter. If today's plan went well, she could overthrow the president in one fell swoop. And then, she would find out why he resigned last Monday!
This battle had to be won!
—President, this is for you.
Kaguya handed him the list of candidates she had prepared in advance. Then, pretending to make a small mistake, she dropped a draft with a name written on it onto the main desk.
Perfect!
Her movements were so smooth they seemed to have been practiced a hundred times. She was the authentic Kaguya Shinomiya!
Now she just had to wait for the president to notice the draft. When he picked it up, she would act shyly...
Kaguya pretended to review a financial statement, but all her attention was on Kanade.
She watched him write, review papers, move on to the next...
Another one...
The flowers were about to wilt, and the president still hadn't picked up the draft!
Kaguya began to grow impatient. If she kept waiting, Hayasaka would already have found a partner.
The next second, Kanade stopped writing and looked at the desk, as if searching for something.
Kaguya held her breath. Her heart raced.
Closer and closer! The president's hand approached the draft... and he picked it up!
Now she had to make her shy expression!
She had trained with Hayasaka to achieve a perfect expression at any moment... but the president didn't even look at the draft. He used it and set it aside.
Not even a trace of curiosity about how that draft appeared?
Kaguya could no longer stay still.
—Ahem, president... that draft...
A direct reveal! Surely now he would react. As soon as he saw the name on the eraser...
But Kanade replied without looking up:
—Is it yours? Thanks, I'll borrow it for a moment.
That wasn't the point. He should have read it!
But she had already said it. She couldn't ask him to return it. There was no choice: Plan B.
—Now that I think about it, my term is about to end, president.
—Yes, it's already completed.
—Perhaps this will be our last week together. It's worth remembering...
Kaguya hinted delicately. Then, as if remembering something, she added:
—I have a group photo. Would you like to see it and keep it as a souvenir?
It was the "crossing in secret" plan: create a nostalgic atmosphere and show him a group photo that actually contained an edited image of the president.
There weren't many individual photos of Kanade. She had to ask Hayasaka to cut one out from a group photo.
A private collection of photos of a guy... wasn't that enough proof of her feelings?
She just had to wait for the president to shyly ask if she liked him...
—Eh, it's quite pretty.
Kanade looked up for a second and lowered it again. So fast that Kaguya wondered if he had seen anything.
—President, you should at least look properly before giving an opinion, shouldn't you?
Kanade sighed and looked again. Then he turned his head and muttered:
—Ahem... Shinomiya, I know you're confident, but this kind of photo... you'd better enjoy it in private.
?
Kaguya froze.
Shouldn't he have asked her why she had private photos? Why was he encouraging her to look at them alone? Didn't he feel anything for her? But Hayasaka had said he liked her...
Something didn't add up!
She turned the phone to check the image... and discovered it wasn't the president's photo. It was a photo of herself, sitting on the bed, her collar slightly open...
!!!!!!!!
The noble lady turned into a steaming girl, letting out a shy "kuchi kuchi" as she melted.
—I... I will... okay...
—Sh