Masachika and Alisa had been quietly doing paperwork in the student council room after the Mystery Gift Incident reached its conclusion.
“President Touya, I finished checking the files.”
“Oh, really? Just put them over there, then. I’ll go through them later.”
“All right.”
Touya was the only other person in the student council room. Chisaki apparently still had to have a “talk” with the handicrafts club, Yuki was still sick, and Ayano had gone home to take care of her. As for Maria, she had to go to a meeting with the broadcasting club, leaving behind only these three for a change.
“Uh? Kuze, you have a moment?”
“What’s up? Did I make a mistake?”
“Hmm… I’m not sure. Could you give this another look?”
“…Oh, you’re right! That’s definitely a mistake. Sorry about that!”
“I thought so. It’s not like you to make a mistake like this, though.”
“Yeah, I’m really sorry. I’ll fix it…”
Alisa stared at him with slightly worried eyes as he returned to his seat with the documents, so he uncomfortably smiled back.
“You don’t have to rush. This is it for today. You too, Little Kujou. You can work on that tomorrow, right?” Touya asserted.
“Oh yeah. You’re right.”
“Okay, then. Let’s just wait for Big Kujou to get back, and then we can all go home,” Touya replied as he grabbed his tea and moved to the seat in front of Masachika.
“So?” He began, casually looking at them seated across from him as though he were trying to make small talk. “You two seem really out of it today. Is something bothering you?”
Both Masachika and Alisa froze simultaneously. But after they briefly exchanged glances, Masachika gave a hesitant nod, his expression slightly strained, and stated on their behalf:
“Yeah… Kind of.”
“Really? Well, I’m here to listen if you want to talk. This is my duty as the president of the student council.”
“The president’s duty is to listen to students’ problems?”
“Hmm? Uh… Well, at least right now it is!”
Touya probably had a picture of the ideal student council president in his head, offering them a reassuring smile before slightly relaxing his expression.
“I mean, there are some things you can’t talk to your family or your friends in class about, right? I’m not going to force you to talk, but I will listen if you decide to do so.”
His genuinely concerned gaze prompted Masachika to exchange glances with Alisa once more.
Alya’s problem…is, well, obviously my fault.
He had a vague idea of what was bothering her, but wasn’t entirely certain. Still, judging by her expression, it was clear this wasn’t something she wanted to discuss here.
Should I tell him what’s bothering me…?
Discussing the issue itself wasn’t problematic for Masachika, especially since Alisa already knew what was bothering him… The real challenge was figuring out how to explain it.
“Hey, I don’t really want to be a diplomat or the successor to the Suou family, so is it really right for me to steal that position away from Yuki?” Yeah, there’s no way I can tell him that.
He bit down on his lip and mulled it over for a moment before calmly saying:
“…I know it’s probably rude of me to ask you this, but…”
“No, go on.”
“So, uh… You didn’t want to actually be the president of the student council, right? You just did this so that Chisaki would start paying attention to you, right?”
“Hmm? Well, uh… Yeah, I guess.”
Touya shifted his gaze slightly upward to the side and nodded.
“So I’m not trying to insult you or come at you in any way at all, but…”
After leading with that, Masachika asked:
“Do you ever…feel guilty for becoming the president…since there were countless other candidates who seriously wanted the position itself?”
“…Hmm.”
Touya slowly crossed his arms and leaned against the backrest, then raised his eyebrows and muttered:
“When you joined the student council—no—actually, before you joined, I vaguely remember you mentioning something similar. You were talking about your motivations needing to be pure if you wanted to join the student council.”
“Oh… Right. Masha was there, too.”
“Yeah. But, uh… Back to your question… Do I ever feel guilty? Hmm…”
He tilted his head and thought for a while…then smirked awkwardly.
“Sorry, but to be honest, I never really even had a chance to think about it when I was elected. All I felt was happiness and a sense of accomplishment. And up until then, I had been running nonstop, so I genuinely never had time to think about the other candidates.”
“Oh… Huh.”
“I know what you’re trying to say, though. The privilege of this position—the privilege of being accepted into the First Light Committee—is something that some people would risk their life for, and while I’m not really interested in the committee, that doesn’t mean I’m entirely indifferent about it.”
Alisa, seated beside Masachika, flinched slightly and stiffened. Yet Touya continued talking, seemingly oblivious.
“My goal was definitely not this position in the student council itself. I simply wanted Chisaki to pay attention to me—no, that’s not it.”
Touya suddenly shifted his gaze to the ceiling, narrowing his eyes as if facing his own inner self.
“The old me…was searching for a reason to change. I felt inferior to my peers, and I couldn’t find one good thing about myself. I hated that about me, so I always wanted to change, and that change was my love for Chisaki.”
His honest and simultaneous confessions made their eyes widen.
“Looking back, I honestly never believed that she would ever return my feelings… But I needed a reason to change, so I took the chance, despite believing that it was hopeless. Even though I hardly knew Chisaki at the time, I went to confess my feelings for her so that I couldn’t run away anymore. I blocked off my only path of escape.”
“What? That’s what happened?”
“Yeah, and then I immediately went to join the student council. Of course, I had to, since that was the condition Chisaki had given me… Ha-ha. But thanks to that, my arms and legs were trembling on my way home that day. I can still remember the feeling.”
Touya continued, smiling as if fondly remembering the past:
“But thanks to all that, there was no way I could turn around and run away. From then on, I only continued to run forward, never looking back. Because I felt like looking back would tempt me to give up, and allowing my gaze to wander would only get me laughed at and mocked by my peers.”
That was likely the reality, too. Touya always stood alone and took that step forward alone. Sure, there were probably people who were there for him, like the student council president and vice president at the time…but it wasn’t hard to imagine that he was subjected to looks of curiosity and mockery far more often than anything else.
“And while I continued to run, I gradually changed, and all my hard work ended up getting me elected. While I was happy about becoming the president, I was thrilled about finally being able to like the person I had become from the bottom of my heart. Of course, I don’t feel great about stealing this position from the other candidates for my own selfish reasons…but what I gained far outweighs all of the negatives.”
He smiled at Masachika and Alisa, his expression genuinely radiant.
“At the very least, if I had let guilt prevent me from running, then I would have forever missed my chance to change, and I’d still be stuck as the same person who used to hate himself. That’s why I don’t regret running, and I’m proud of the person I became,” he confidently declared before locking eyes with Masachika once more.
“Kuze, I don’t know what’s bothering you, but from what I can see…you care a little too much about others. Of course, that’s a beautiful trait to have, but it only hurts you in the end. You’ll regret never taking that next step forward, and these people you were worried about aren’t going to help you.”
Masachika’s eyes noticeably widened at Touya’s stern yet gentle comment.
“So why not take that next step forward? Run straight forward for yourself, and forget about everyone else. Instead of worrying so much about future regrets, try chasing future dreams. Who knows? You might end up regretting nothing at all.”
Touya suddenly grinned mischievously.