I Understand.._(Part 2)

"What do you think I should get?"

"I don't really know anything about tea. Plus, it's not like I'm going to be drinking any."

Maria asked for feedback, perhaps worried that he was bored, but Masachika politely declined.

I'm sure Yuki would have been able to help,though.

A young gentlewoman of the Suou household would surely be knowledgeable about tea brands. While thinking that, a female clerk suddenly came walking out from the back of the shop with paper cups of tea on a tray. It appeared it was time to taste the tea that Maria was curious about.

"Mm-hmm! This is delicious. Kuze, you have to try this."

She affectionately smiled with a paper cup touching her lips while waving Masachika over. There was only one thing that came to his mind, though.

A-am I about to have an indirect kissing scene?!

These were the types of events in games where an oblivious girl casually handed the protagonist a water bottle or cup she was drinking from, but most rom-com protagonists' embarrassment would be rewarded with this fleeting moment of happiness!

I'm not like them, though.

Acting embarrassed meant defeat. Thinking too hard about it meant defeat.Masachika was well aware of that. He had to be cool about it. He had to look like a badass!

"All right..."

After placing the bags on the floor, he suavely walked (in his mind) over to Maria,and-

"And here's a cup for you,sir."

"Thanks."

-the female clerk handed him his own cup, which he accepted with a smile. They'd apparently prepared enough tea for both of them. What a thoughtful, generous tea shop...but unfortunately, Masachika wasn't exactly thrilled.

Gaaaaaaaaah! How embarrassing! I'm such a loser! Ahhh!

While he may have been wearing a smile while taking a sip of his tea, he was internally screaming in agony.

"It tastes good, doesn't it?"

"Yeah,this is seriously good."

"Right?"

"Yep."

He may have been acting like nothing was wrong, but he was still inwardly writhing with despair. It was a prime example of a nerd who couldn't tell 2D and real life apart. A sad reality for some.

<>

"Oh, you're back. I really appreciate-Whoa. That's a lot of stuff."

Touya, who was doing paperwork in the student council room, saw Maria holding a stuffed animal and smirked.

"Isn't it adorable?"

"Yeah, it's cute, but you're not goingto decorate the room with it, right?"

"Can I?"

"Please don't."

"Hey, where should I put all this stuff?" asked Masachika, holding the shopping bags ino the air. Touya stood from his chair and took a look inside them.

"So let's see what you bought... Yep, plain ol' supplies. Good work, Kuze.I don't even want to imagine what would've happened if I let Maria go shopping all by herself..."

"The student council room would have looked like some sort of theme-park gift shop.

"...Thank you. I really appreciate what you did."

Touya solemnly patted Masachika on the shoulder after seeing Maria hugging the cat plushie, as if he had a good idea what would have happened.

"So? What do you say, Kuze? Change your mind about joining the student council?"

"No, but...I don't mind helping every once in a while."

"Then why not register at the very least? It could be in name only. We're not going to force you, but what do you have to lose?"

"Oh,you agree,Maria?"

"I couldn't become a member in name only. By the way, I get why Yuki wants me to join, but what would the president want with me?" Masachika asked skeptically, but Touya simply rubbed his chin as if he was the confused one.

"Hmm...I'm actually curious as to why you don't want to join. I find it hard to believe the taxing work is the only thing keeping you from it."

"...Because I don't deserve to be a member."

Masachika had neither a strong desire for the position nor the drive to take on the responsibility that came along with it, so he believed he didn't deserve it.A shadow clouded Masachika's forced smile, but Touya simply raised a curious eyebrow and tilted his head.

"I don't think that at all. If anything, you proved you could do it when you were the vice president in middle school."

"I know I'm not right for the job because of my experience. Besides,the only reason I became vice president in the first place was because Yuki asked me to... It wasn't like I took on the responsibility because there was something I wanted to do."

"And? What's wrong with that?"

"Huh?"

Masachika lifted his head, taken aback by the tone of Touya's voice. Touya then grinned, puffed out his chest, and continued:

"I only became the president of the student council because I wanted a girl to like me. If you think you joined for al the wrong reasons, then I've got you beat! Ha-ha-ha!"

"W-wait.Seriously?"

He was caught off guard by how Touya could say something like that with such confidence, and his eyes opened wide. Touya tapped his smartphone a couple of times, then showed him a picture he had saved.

"Check it out."

"...? Uh... Is this your little brother?"

"That's me during my third year of middle school."

"What?!"

The boy in the picture could not look any more different from Touya. To be blunt, he was a very plump, nerdy-looking kid. His hair was a mess, his glasses were far from stylish, and his face was covered in acne. It didn't help that he was as tall as he was wide and was sheepishly hunching over. There was the slightest trace of this boy in the Touya whom Masachika knew.

"As you can see, I was your stereotypical loser two years ago. My grades weren't good, and I wasn't athletic, either. To be honest, I didn't even like school itself that much, but I ended up falling in love with a girl way out of my league: one of the two beauties of Seiren Academy."

"Wait.Do you mean...?"

"Yep, the vice president, Chisaki Sarashina."

Basically, everyone at school knew that the president and vice president were dating. Even Masachika, who had absolutely no interest in gossip, had a rough idea. But he always thought it was simply two elite students at the top of the school caste dating. Never did he imagine that an underdog at the bottom of the school caste managed to pull off an upset win.

"After that, I worked my ass off to become someone good enough for her.Becoming president was nothing more than the first step to achieve that goal. I did it all for myself. Still think your motive was impure?"

"Ha-ha-ha...I see what you mean."

Masachika could only laugh at how proudly Touya admitted that. He had no idea what to say.

"So who cares what your reason for joining is? Even Maria here only joined because Chisaki asked her to."

"Really?"

"Yep.I had been interested in it before, though," admitted Maria with an attractive smile. Her expression became slightly more serious as she gently added:

"I don't think that motives matter as long as you produce results. Whether you join for love or friendship is up to you. All you need to do is work hard for your fellow students."

"Really...?"

"Of course. If it were any other way, that'd mean that politicians had to be saints to run for their positions, and, well..."

"Ha-ha-ha. You've got a point." Masachika laughed awkwardly.

"She's right. It doesn't matter why you joined. You and Yuki achieved outstanding results, and there's absolutely no reason why you should feel embarrassed or guilty about that," chimed in Touya. Those words strongly resonated with Masachika. He had always felt guilty deep down inside. No matter what he achieved, he always felt there was someone better for the job,and that thought haunted him. The guilt of stealing that position from someone had cast a shadow over his heart. People could praise someone for every little thing they did, but it would be meaningless if they never acknowledged it themselves. Glory would feel empty without self-respect. But Masachika was finally able to give his past self some credit thanks to Touya and Maria.

"Maybe you only want to join the student council to help someone else become president? Do it. Chisaki, Maria, and I welcome you with open arms,and I'm not going to let anyone stop you," vowed Touya as he proudly,fearlessly smirked,and Masachika almost wanted to cry. Was it the happiness of feeling like he had been forgiven for his past? Or was he simply being drawn toward Touya's radiant glow?

"...I'll think about it."

"Great. Take your time. Think about it long and hard. That's a privilege of being young."

"You're still young, too, President. You honestly don't look like you're still in high school,though."

"Ha-ha-ha! I get that a lot! Someone even mistook me for a college student the other day!"

Masachika couldn't help but crack a small smile as he watched his kindhearted schoolmates laugh cheerfully.

Joining in order to help someone become the next president...

He ruminated on Touya's words until someone naturally came to mind. He was surprised, though, because that person wasn't Yuki...

"By the way, where's Alya?" asked Masachika, looking around the room.Although it was a rather sudden change of topic, Touya didn't seem to be bothered as he replied:

"Oh, she's acting as an arbitrator for a bit of trouble between two of the sports clubs... She's taking a lot longer than I thought she would, though."

"'Trouble'? Do you mean...?"

"Don't worry. There wasn't a fight. A physical one, at least."

Apparently,the soccer club and the baseball club were having an argument about who had the right to use the schoolyard, since they both went there for practice. Around this time every year, the baseball club would be practicing in the schoolyard frequently for their upcoming games. However, the soccer club spoke out this year. They had matches to prepare for as well, so they asked the baseball club to hand over their schoolyard rights.

"The baseball club argued that this was how things have been every year,while the soccer club argued that it didn't make sense for them to get special treatment,since their performance hasn't been particularly strong. The soccer club has, in fact, been very successful this past year. Meanwhile, the baseball team has been losing members and shrinking these past few years. So I can see where they're coming from. It's going to be hard to find common ground."

"So Alya went to see if she could help them work things out?"

"Yeah. Usually, when there's trouble between two clubs, Chisaki's the one who handles things, but she had something important to take care of at the kendo club today, so she couldn't make it. I figured this would be good experience for Alisa, but it looks like she's having a hard time."

Touya looked at the clock, then outside the window at the clubhouse.

"Should we be worried?"

"Hmm? Well,I'm sure things will get pretty heated, but it's not going to turn into an all-out brawl or anything." Touya shrugged. Maria was showing no signs of worrying, either, as she organized the supplies they had just bought.However, Masachika couldn't help but think back to when Alisa got into an argument with that intoxicated businessman, making him feel uneasy.

"Anyway,I should get going."

"All right.Take care."

"Thanks a lot for helping me shop today. I promise I'll make it up to you."

"I'm looking forward to it."

Although distracted, Masachika said his good-byes and left the student council room.

"I should go make sure it hasn't gotten physical," he muttered to himself before setting out not for the school entrance, but for the clubhouse.