5
Calculations matter. Especially when it’s part of the job.
Well, this time it’s not exactly work, but given that there’s a task to complete, the basic approach remains the same. Results should always be presented as clear, tangible numbers.
—After all, our opponent is Kimiya Natsuki.
I don’t know anyone else as skilled at being liked by others as he is.
Ask anyone, and you won’t find a single person who speaks ill of Kimiya. If it were just a matter of putting on a nice face for everyone, things would be simple—but Kimiya even has a track record of getting students who opposed her expelled.
According to Isago and Minase—apparently, this was common knowledge among anyone who attended Seishinkan last year.
Meaning, everyone knows except me.
Well, technically, it wasn’t expulsion but a transfer. Still, the fact that everyone knows Kimiya pulled strings behind the scenes—and yet no one cares—is nothing short of impressive.
That’s a feat I could never pull off, no matter how hard I tried.
Kimiya, who could make herself liked.
And me, who could only avoid being hated.
Calling it a difference in skill would be oversimplifying things—but if I thought that way, I’d never stand a chance.
I had to accept it as a difference in what we could do.
“So, well… I’ve managed to come up with a strategy, but…”
“You sound unsure, Kageyuki-san.”
Minase, standing beside me, picks up on my muttering.
—The next day after that conversation. After school.
I’d laid out the formula I’d devised to Isago and Minase—now, all that was left was to plug in the variables.
“Hey… Are you sure Isago can handle this?”
Growing uneasy, I ask Minase beside me.
Her expression, as usual, is unreadable. In her clear voice, she replies:
“There’s no one else. Shiranui-san wouldn’t work, and neither would you, Kageyuki-san.”
“……What about you?”
“Trust Isa. She’s unusually motivated—for your sake.”
“That’s… I appreciate it, but…”
This was, in essence, the final push.
Based on my predictions, convincing the student council should already be possible with Isago and Minase on our side. But since we don’t know how Kimiya swayed them, it’s better to be extra cautious.
Still, if this fails, it won’t just be a wasted effort—it could backfire.
Everything hinges on Isago’s skill—
“Look, she’s back.”
Minase speaks up.
At the end of the hallway, Isago waves as she returns.
“I did it, Kage-kun!”
“Oh, it worked?”
“Yep. everything I took with me is all gone!”
“—Wait, seriously?!”
Her report exceeds my expectations, and I can’t help but widen my eyes.
The only one unfazed is Minase beside me.
“See? I told you Isa was the right choice.”
“Y-yeah… You’re amazing, Isago…”
“Ehh? Really? It wasn’t like we were charging money, so it was easy!”
She says it so casually, but I doubt anyone else could’ve pulled it off.
As I stare in admiration, Isago acts like it was nothing.
“So, how many tickets do we have left, Kage-kun?”
“You distributed off twenty, so thirty more to go.”
“We only printed fifty? The school auditorium is big—we could’ve done more.”
“I was just testing the waters… We haven’t even finalized the scale yet.”
Right. My plan was simple: issue reservation tickets for the performance.
—If we can’t decide on the cast, why not secure the audience first?
A straightforward, numerically measurable result.
No backstage crew, no performers, no script, no date, no venue—none of it is settled. But printing tickets on a computer? That takes seconds.
All we had to do was distribute them. Even if the details were flimsy, the fact remained: we had an audience. Even if, in reality, it was just handing out slips of paper.
Of course, since these were reservations (and we weren’t charging), it wasn’t as simple as just giving them away.
We could’ve printed flyers with half-tickets attached, but even if we handed out a hundred, that wouldn’t guarantee a hundred attendees.
Plus, we had nothing to put on the flyers.
—Frankly, I didn’t even want to mention Shiranui’s involvement.
Hence why we had Isago handle distribution instead.
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“Alright, then let’s distribute the last thirty. —I’m kinda tired, though.”
Again, Isago makes it sound effortless.
Today, our ticket-selling fairy is unbelievably reliable.
“Who’s next, Mina? How about those guys?”
Spotting a group of students walking down the hallway, Isago points.
But Minase shakes her head.
“No, skip them. They’re not in the drama club, but one of their classmates is—and they’re close. Even if they take tickets now, it’s doubtful they’d actually come.”
“Makes sense!”
“Ah, those three guys are perfect. They just came out of that classroom.”
“Who are they?”
“In order: Nakayama, Sotoguchi, Niida. All volleyball club.”
“Ooh! Nice, a big group. I’ll hand them ten at once.”
“Yeah.”
With their quick strategy meeting over, Isago trots off again.
From the start, Minase had been feeding her info on who would be most efficient to approach—and Isago had been distributing tickets accordingly.
Watching Minase, who seems to know the entire student body in detail, I ask:
“…Are they acquaintances of yours?”
“If you mean those guys, then no. I’ve never even talked to them.”
“…Then how do you know so much about them?”
“For me—”
She pauses briefly,
then meets my eyes before continuing.
“—It’s hard not to look into things that are easy to find out.”
“…………”
“Creeped out?”
She looks up at me, her expression unchanged.
—Would it be terrifying if someone knew everything about you?
I don’t have a good answer to that question.
But even so, she must’ve asked—or rather, investigated—for a reason. I shake my head slightly.
“What about you, Minase?”
“…I think I’m fine. I’m not scared of you, Kageyuki-san.”
“Good to hear.”
“…You’re weird, Kageyuki-san.”
For some reason, as if amused, she gives a faint smile.
But it’s fleeting. She soon returns to her usual self, breaking eye contact.
“It’s just a habit. My family’s work rubbed off on me.”
“Huh? What kind of work…?”
“Never mind. Point is, don’t worry—I won’t tell anyone.”
“…………”
“At least, Isa doesn’t know. I’ve decided not to tell her. And for now… probably never will.”
—Then, does that mean…
Minase knows about my middle school days?
But if she won’t bring it up, neither will I.
Instead, she glances at Isago, now talking to the upperclassmen down the hall, and shrugs.
“Honestly, Isa’s probably worse than me. —Look.”
“Hm?”
I tilt my head, following her gaze.
There, just within earshot, Isago is chatting with the three upperclassmen.
“Wow! You’re so tall, senpai—I guess that’s the volleyball club for you!”
“Uh, well… I guess?”
“It’s true! That’s probably why I noticed you! Hehe. I just had to talk to you! Tall guys are just so cool, you know?”
A sparkling smile.
Invading personal space.
A sweet, yet dignified tone.
—Natsuki Isago is terrifyingly good at worming her way into people’s hearts.
“This is how you spike, right? Hyah!”
She mimics a volleyball spike right in front of them.
Her form is awful—clearly, she has no athletic skill. But the poor victims she’s talking to aren’t even looking at that part.
Thinking the same thing, Minase remarks:
“They’re too busy watching two other balls bounce around.”
“You really didn’t have to say that…”
“Anyway, now you see why Isa doesn’t have guy friends.”
“…………”
“Well, technically, she does have some. But she talks to everyone the same way—no sense of distance. …Actually, that’s pretty much the whole reason.”
I can’t help but deadpan.
If we’re talking about who’s more ruthless—Minase doesn’t even compare.
“What’s wrong with her is… she’s not really aware of it herself.”
“This? Really?”
“Yeah, though maybe I said that poorly. It’s not like she’s completely clueless—she is trying to be liked by others. But still, it’s more like… it’s just the way she is.”
“Just the way she is…”
“She’s not doing it to mess with people. She just genuinely thinks, ‘If someone’s going to fall for me, I want them to be serious about it.’ That’s her natural mindset. That’s why, even though she’s popular, her relationships never last. Nobody can keep up with Isa’s ideals. In that sense, Kageyuki-san is the exception. The kind of ideal she’s chasing was different from the start.”
Once again, I looked over at Isago.
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