Support Speech [Interlude]

Nino regained consciousness, blinking her dry and long-opened eyes.

"...What? She was clearly nervous when she spoke at home last night, saying, 'What should I do if I forget my words on stage?', 'Will the chandelier suddenly fall?', 'How should we evacuate in case of a terrorist attack? Etc..."

She smiled helplessly.

"That idiot really wasted time worrying about it... Even though I'm not qualified to say she's the one."

"No, let's talk about someone who's the most idiotic..." Shinichi shook his head, pointing to the girl on the other side with a smile.

"Look over there."

Nino followed his finger, confused.

She saw Itsuki place her hand on her chest, take a deep breath with rhythmic inhalations and exhalations. Then she wrote characters on her hand and swallowed them. Occasionally, she held her breath and stared at the speaker on the stage.

As if she was the one going to speak on stage later. Her overly nervous appearance left Fumino beside her unsure how to comfort her.

Nino covered her mouth.

"Did you ask me to find someone to support you?"

Shinichi glanced at her and deliberately furrowed his brow. "Are you really talking about your sister like that?"

"Stop being too verbose!"

Nino hummed twice but quickly dismissed her feigned anger.

Shinichi realized he hadn't let go of her hand.

"Aren't you nervous anymore? Then..."

When he said this, he wanted to take the initiative to let go. Not because he didn't want to hold hands with Nino, but there was a possibility of being seen by others anytime, so he had to be careful.

However, as he was about to pull his hand away, the girl squeezed his shoulder and held his hand tighter.

Her face flushed, Nino smirked and said gently.

"Well, now that you're not nervous, can you be a bit flirtatious?"

Shinichi's eyebrows furrowed. "...Hey, look at the situation."

"No~"

When it comes to being playful, she acted coquettishly, rubbing Shinichi's shoulder gently as if she were tipsy, and her tone was so soft it almost melted hearts.

"By the way, everyone is watching his speech now, and no one is paying attention to us—"

"Hello, I'm paying attention."

Suddenly, Miku forcefully pushed her head between their shoulders, then turned and looked at Nino with a calm gaze.

"At first, I wanted to see how daring you could be... But I really can't stand it anymore."

She frowned in disgust.

Nino looked embarrassed, her cheeks getting darker, and she wanted to explain.

"Uh, what..."

Miku's expression was without emotion, without giving her a chance to explain, and she made a decision directly.

"Nino, the thieving cat."

"Thieving...!"

Nino's eyes widened, but shortly after, she looked into Miku's eyes and smirked.

"Hmph! Steal away, say what you want!"

"The one holding my hand now is not your hand, so you can only rely on words to ease your jealousy."

"Nino..."

When Miku heard this, her face turned colder, she puffed one of her cheeks, and was about to forcefully separate their hands.

"Both of you, now is not the time to do such things."

A displeased voice sounded, and at the same time, a force came from her shoulder.

The two sisters turned around and saw a petite, bespectacled girl stretching her arms, forcibly separating the three of them, and then standing next to Shinichi, looking directly at the sisters.

"Someone has noticed us. If you have something to say, please go back and let us know. We have prepared for this day for a long time. Please don't let the plan change because of a boring argument."

No anger, and her tone was unclear, but it carried a serious spirit that was hard to reject.

Both sides stared at each other.

Rizu raised her chest and pursed her lips tightly.

In a one-on-two situation, she didn't back down.

They only realized at this moment that the two sisters looked at each other and finally distanced themselves from Shinichi.

One said nothing, while the other looked at Rizu apologetically.

Rizu stated that it didn't matter with her eyes, then turned to Shinichi.

"Shinichi-san."

"Yes!"

Shinichi lowered his head slightly towards the girl who only reached his chest.

She looked a bit confused, then turned away.

"Yotsuba will go on stage."

During this collaborative effort, she and Yotsuba gradually became close. They were classmates and quickly became friends, enjoying each other's straightforward and energetic personalities. Moreover, there were a total of five classmates of Nakano. When they talked to each other in the classroom, more than two people would always respond. To avoid confusion, she discussed with Yotsuba and decided to call each other by their first names from now on.

Shinichi had heard that Sekijo Sawako cried for a day and night, then made this request to Rizu.

Both sides also called each other by their first names.

Given Rizu's complex expression when discussing this matter, Shinichi smiled.

"What's funny?" Rizu looked at him puzzled.

"Nothing." Shinichi waved his hand and stood side by side with her, looking at Yotsuba who seemed mentally prepared.

"Yotsuba is going on stage, so what?"

Rizu paused for a moment and turned.

"Nothing."

"Hm?"

Shinichi bowed in confusion and found the girl's ears were slightly red, and her cheeks seemed to be puffed.

Like a small hamster.

"It's nothing."

Rizu repeated firmly, then stared straight ahead with a pout.

Shinichi suddenly realized that since Rizu replaced Nino and Miku, the distance between them had become closer.

So Shinichi understood, this is what they call a girl's heart.

"Okay, then let's support her here."

With Nino and Miku's sharp gazes almost piercing his face, Shinichi reached out and touched the girl's head.

Feeling the girl's delicate body relax, Shinichi smiled faintly.

Rizu also seemed to smile because Yotsuba turned around and looked at her in surprise, then looked at Shinichi next to her. She showed her teeth intimidatingly towards him.

Shinichi withdrew his hand. Although the light here wasn't focused, and Shinichi adjusted his position before touching Rizu's head, blocking most of the view behind him, some people could still see the movement.

It's easy to hide things like holding hands quietly, but touching the head is too obvious, so it's better to restrain it.

Especially when surrounded by six beautiful girls, it's easy for male peers to become targets.

Fumino looked at him with a dry smile as a thank you, and sighing.

At this moment, the campaign speech for the 1st-year president candidate finally ended, and it was the turn of the 2nd-year president candidate.

Shinichi was so focused on chatting with the girls earlier that he didn't even realize what they were saying.

But it didn't matter; he had absolute confidence in Yotsuba.

Because as the lights merged, the girl smiled brightly and stepped forward.

"Next is a support speech for candidate Asada Shinichi, please invite Nakano Yotsuba."

Yotsuba stood in the middle of the podium, and the audience was pitch dark, with hundreds of students.

There was a table microphone in front of her. She looked into the distance, gazing at the eyes of everyone cheering, exchanging silent glances with students she knew or didn't know.

Yotsuba took a deep breath again.

Oddly, she felt relaxed.

"Ahem!"

Yotsuba grinned, revealing two neat rows of white teeth.

Her characteristic vitalizing smile, with a raised hand, suddenly illuminated the shadowy scene.

"Hello, everyone!"

"I'm Nakano Yotsuba, delivering a support speech for candidate Asada Shinichi. I seek your guidance in the upcoming period!"

She bowed enthusiastically.