Sousei cleared his throat and asked a new question. “Uhh, what did you mean just now when you said, ‘Until the time comes’…?”
“I mean when I feel like I want to get married. It’s not like I have a specific time frame in mind, but I want to study medieval Japanese history in university, so I’m also planning to do graduate school. I want to research historical documents. I don’t have time to waste on romance.”
“You’ve really thought a lot about the future, huh…?”
“Of course I have. This is the only life I’ll ever get. How could I not think about it?”
“That’s another thing I like about you. I think it’s really cool.” Wakkuu closed his eyes and nodded to himself. “The more I get to know you, the more I like you. Also, I wonder if that means you don’t hate me, but you just don’t want to get married right now. Well, we can’t get married yet anyway, right? So putting that aside, if you don’t necessarily hate me, then it makes me think I’ve still got a chance. If it’s for you, Tadeshina, I’ll do my best not to get in the way of your studies. I think I can do that, right?”
“Wakkuu!” Asumi did a fist pump. “Hang in there!”
“Oh! Thanks, Asumin! I’ll try even harder!”
“Please don’t say something so irresponsible, Shiramori! This guy gets carried away far too easily!” Iori yelled, pointing at Wakkuu.
Wakkuu put his hands up and shook his head. “I won’t get carried away! I won’t! I’ll make sure of it. I promise, Tadeshina. Like I said, I like you more than anyone else, so all I ask is that you don’t reject my feelings, okay? You don’t have to accept the way I feel, but just let me keep liking you.”
“…I—I mean… It’s not like I have any right to tell a person what to do with their heart…”
“Nobody does, right? A person’s heart belongs only to them.”
“I guess you’re right about that…”
“I like you, Tadeshina, and I’ll chase after you of my own accord. Don’t worry about me.”
“You say not to worry, but still…”
“Even if you never see me the same way, I’ll be completely fine. After all, I’ve got a super-strong mindset of steel. By the way, what were you guys doing, Takarai? Having a classroom gossip session? This an after-school chat group? Were you in the middle of hosting some sort of speaking event?”
“We were just chatting about Miss Hitsujimoto—” Asumi cut herself off and let out an “Oops.” She opened her eyes wide. “I just blurted it out accidentally!”
Iori frowned, her lips turning down at the corners.
“Miss Hitsujimoto? Has something happened with her again? She went home before end-of-school homeroom, and she wasn’t in the classroom during lunchtime. She was acting kind of funny.”
“Oh, don’t tell me…” Wakkuu looked around at Sousei and everyone else. “Were you having a strategy meeting to try to further your ultimate goal of becoming friends with Hitsujimoto?”
“How did you know that?!” Asumi shouted.
It’s not like we were really keeping it a secret, so I guess it’s fine. Still…
Even Wakkuu had seen through their plans.
That said, although he appeared to be a lighthearted, easygoing guy—and there were definitely aspects of his behavior that reflected that—Wakkuu had keen observation skills. What’s more, he also had the gift of gab and was extraordinarily witty.
“Long story short…,” Yukisada said, then actually managed to explain the situation quite succinctly. “We want to contact Miss Hitsujimoto, but we’re not sure if she even has a phone, and we don’t have many chances to speak to her. So we’re wondering what we should do.”
“Why not write a letter?” Iori casually suggested. “You could put it in her shoe box or inside her desk. That won’t work if she has absolutely no intention of reading it and just throws it away, but if she doesn’t feel too strongly about it, she’d probably at least give it a skim, right?”
Wakkuu snapped his fingers. “A love letter! That’s good! I should write one, too. You’d at least read it, wouldn’t you?”
“I’d correct it word by word and cover it in red ink!”
“You’d return it as a prized possession covered in your own handwriting, Tadeshina? That makes me so happy!”
“What a ridiculously positive, strong-willed guy…,” Moena muttered quietly.
Wakkuu was truly amazing. Sousei wanted to follow his example.
That’s probably not possible…
Sousei put that thought to the side for now and exchanged a look with Asumi.
“A letter…”
“A letter!”
Asumi also seemed to have been taken by surprise. They’d never even thought about that, probably because they were so fixated on modern conveniences like smartphones.
Iori walked over to her seat and took something out of her bag.
“I have stationery and envelopes if you need them. I always have some on hand, but I don’t need them for anything, really. You can have them if you’d like. Here.”
As she’d been talking, Iori had placed a light blue letter set on Sousei’s desk. She was being incredibly kind and not in the least bit pushy. Iori was also an amazing person—if in an entirely different way from Wakkuu.
“Thank you very much, Class President…” Sousei bowed his head meekly, and the corners of the president’s mouth relaxed into a slight smile.
“You’re welcome.”
“Just to let you guys know!” Wakkuu chimed in. “Tadeshina is fine with everyone calling her ‘Class President,’ but since that isn’t her name, it does seem to bother her a bit. Just something to keep in mind!”
“Really?!” Asumi asked, jumping up slightly.
“Tadecchi is rather delicate, you know,” Moena said with a shrug of her shoulders. “Unlike me.”
“It’s not like it bothers me that much…,” Iori Tadeshina—who apparently didn’t like being called “Class President”—said, looking down and fidgeting.
“So I guess we should call you Tadecchi,” Yukisada said with a smile, and Iori’s head jerked up.
“I don’t want you calling me that, either! The only person who calls me by my elementary school nickname is Hina!”