Translator – Vodka
Damn, this chapter was long, hah……btw guys, I will kind of be like on a hiatus, after posting the next chapter on 15th December, for the festive season is soon approaching . The next to next chapter will be posted on 5th Jan 2020 .
What was the first unpleasant event that took place after you entered a company?
Wonder when it was, but I had asked about it to my grandad when he returned home from his work .
At that time, my grandad said this .
“The first time I had a meal with my boss alone”
It indeed must have been an unpleasant event for new employees who had to deal with people who had a higher position within the corporate hierarchy or were older than them . It was also nigh impossible to grasp the distance that had to be maintained with such people at the outset .
It was exactly like the situation I was in now .
The person who was sat in front of me was the student council president . She was a senior, with whom I came to be acquainted only recently, and there were many things we had in common .
However, for students who weren’t in any clubs, school years were of little importance .
In the first place, students had little involvement with others from outside their school years . It wasn’t possible to discern the school year of a student, by looking at them for a moment .
You had to look at the colour of their indoor shoes to be able to comprehend the school year they belonged in .
I had started to become familiar with the student council room, but there was an awkward mood in the air .
The president brought out a container wrapped in a cloth from inside of the refrigerator that she would, in the normal course of her activities, seldom use . From inside of that container, she produced a sandwich .
The freshness of the vegetables in the sandwich was apparent from how they shone resplendently . It stimulated one’s hunger .
“Did your sister make your bento?”
“Well, yes……”
I answered, my gaze directed at one point of the bento .
There were this one variety of green pulses that had orb-like structures in my bento .
There it is . Green peas……my eternal foe .
It was a strong entry that came right after eggplant in my list of hated vegetables .
I skilfully moved the chopsticks to grab them, and then, carried them over to the edge of the bento .
Kaede will warn me again about how I shouldn’t waste food like this, but since it was something I hated, it couldn’t be helped .
For some reason, the president, having compared our Bentos, gave a little nod with a “Fumu” .
“I too am making my own bento every morning, but it doesn’t look like I will be able to win against your sister”
“Just making it is amazing . In my case, I am reliant on my sister”
For women, cooking must be a status .
She had a bitter smile on her face . Did she feel a sense a defeat, after looking at the cooking of a girl who was two years younger than herself?
“Ah, I am reminded”
As the president said this, she stood up and walked to the back of the room .
She must have had gone to the kitchenette .
Hino-kun would usually be headquartered in that place .
From the back of the room, she brought two mugs along with her . A familiar smell enveloped the room .
It must have been instant coffee that has been poured into those mugs .
“It’s instant, but what do you say about some coffee? Although, it doesn’t go well with a bento”
“Thank you, even though I should be the one pouring the coffee……”
“Don’t worry about it . I am bad with those hierarchical relationships . Come now, drink it”
She flashed a smile and then held out the mugs she held in both of her hands .
I accepted a mug from her and took a sip after I let the steaming content cool down a bit .
The president sat in front of me . She was holding the cup with both her hands and looking at me with a smile on her face .
No, it was as if she was observing me .
There wasn’t a trace of constraint in that attitude of hers .
Being able to look at people so majestically, was a feat in itself .
My hands were still moving while I was thinking of these things .
“Ren was……the girl I knew, would rarely express her emotions”
“Hah……that Kirasaka?”
The topic had suddenly changed as the president started to talk about Kirasaka with a distant look in her eyes .
“Maybe it is misleading to say that she rarely expressed her emotions……even then, she is like a sister to me . While I too am happy that she has changed, I have mixed feelings about this”
“……It seems to me that she hasn’t changed, though?”
If something did change, I would say, it was her image . Now, I knew the rumours about her were untrue . Pretty much only that
Although, I couldn’t refute the possibility of her not being abundant in expressing her feelings .
……I guess the rumour that she was, through and through, apathetic towards people whom she didn’t have any interest in, was true . Especially, towards Yuuto .
She could perceive the intention of the other party, but if she didn’t feel the need to further engage with them, she would take a cold and unreactive attitude towards them, befitting her title of “The Ice Queen” .
Only she was aware of how that demarcation worked .
She was much better than those girls, who would behave amicably on the surface, but who knew what they were thinking in their hearts .
It was only coincidence that she had put me on the favourable side of that demarcation line, while Yuuto wasn’t .
When it came to her relationship with Shizuku, from the very start, it had nothing to do with the demarcation line . They fought like cats and dogs……would be an appropriate expression that described their relationship .
“Only Ren knows if there had been developments or changes to her state of mind or not . Even then, it must have been because of you . It’s because it is something I couldn’t achieve that I am feeling envious of you”
“It’s not like that……”
I wasn’t so exceptional that I could stimulate someone’s growth like that .
The changes to her state of mind were due to the changes in her environment .
I mustn’t have been the impetus for that change either . It must have been due to the influence of people like Shizuku or Yuuto .
I hadn’t done anything to the extent the president said I did .
Therefore, I couldn’t help but doubt .
I couldn’t figure out what she was thinking about . So, it was only natural for me to be frightened of her .
“Lately, Kanzaki seems to be having fun too . That’s is a good thing”
“……Yes”
Although the President’s words had no ill will, they pierced my chest a little .
It was as if the fact that I was looking away from reality, was being shoved in my face .
The president didn’t know about how Yuuto had confessed to Shizuku, or how Shizuku had conveyed her feelings and real intention to me .
Shizuku and Yuuto had both desired change .
They must have had wanted growth and progress in their relationship with the person they liked .
As a result of that, the current vague relationships were born .
The cause was obvious . My answer .
That was exactly why the President’s words had brought forth an unpleasant feeling .
You can’t escape by yourself .
This reality was being thrust at my face .
“……is it only me?”
“Hm? Did you say something?”
The president who had stuffed her mouth with the sandwich was rather cute, but I immediately averted my gaze and looked down .
I closed the half-finished bento and stood up from my chair .
“Kaichou, for the next class, I will have to change the classroom . So, I will take my leave here”
[TN – “Kaichou” is “President”, I think I will keep it in Japanese]
“……Is that so? Sorry to make you keep me company . I will inform you of the date and time of the photography session during the council activities after school”
When I was in front of the door, I turned around to look at the President once . I bowed to her before leaving the room .
“Sometimes it’s the correct thing to not desire change, Shinra”
From behind me, I could hear these words of the president, wafting to my ears .
It was a gentle voice .
It felt kind of like being consoled……
The person who gives her attention to the students, much more than anybody else, was the student named Hiiragi Akane .
That was why she was able to catch on to the meaning behind the slightest changes in human nature .
In this case, since it involved a person she had known for a long time, naturally, she was able to narrow down the contents .
I, who was able to understand a little bit, the meaning behind her invitation for us to have lunch together, exited the student council room .
It was still lunch break . The voices of the students reverberated in the hallway . I was walking alone . I let out a feeble voice, that seemed to have been drowned out by the commotion of the lunchtime .
“……I’m tired”
Today was a day when the reality that I had unconsciously, not been thinking about, was thrust at my face .