Inside the enclosed storeroom.
The air wasn't great. Imagine the feeling of dust getting into your nose when it suddenly rains on a hot day—it was similar to that. Sakurai Saki had hay fever, but he wasn't afraid of dust, which was a remarkable constitution.
It was embarrassing, but not completely embarrassing.
Just like now—they could leave, but not completely.
"Sakurai-kun, don't you think it would be incredibly embarrassing for us to ask Shirogane Miyuki for help right now?" Kaguya Shinomiya asked with a serious expression.
Shirogane Miyuki was someone she had always wanted to defeat. She didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of him. As for Sakurai Saki—he was, in any case, her maid's boyfriend. There was no threat to speak of, and it didn't matter if he made a fool of himself.
"My relationship with Shirogane Miyuki is very good." Sakurai Saki didn't understand girls' sense of shame. He hadn't seemed to hide anything when he was chatting loudly about childbirth topics in the Student Council back then. "And he's not someone who would care about such minor things. You can rest assured."
"Who cares about you?!" Kaguya's voice rose. "I'm from the Shinomiya family! The young lady of the Shinomiya family got locked in the Sports Festival storeroom by mistake—and with a man at that!" Her face filled with despair.
"You mean if this gets out, my reputation will be ruined by you?" Sakurai Saki spoke first, stealing her argument.
Kaguya Shinomiya was left speechless.
"Fine. I'll call Miko over. That should be acceptable, right?"
"Iino Miko?" Kaguya nodded upon hearing this. "That's a good idea."
So Sakurai Saki messaged Miko on his phone, asking her to come to the Sports Festival storeroom. He didn't state the purpose—only that he needed her to come.
Closing LINE, Sakurai General Affairs looked up and found Kaguya Shinomiya hiding behind a shelf, her entire body obscured by sports equipment.
"What are you doing?" Sakurai looked at her as if she were an unevolved ape.
"Your gaze is truly rude!" Kaguya Shinomiya's voice came from the darkness. "Once you and Iino Miko leave, I'll go out by myself."
Afraid of embarrassment, so she's hiding?
Are you a new species of ostrich?
Sakurai Saki rolled his eyes at her, then sat down on a mat, waiting for Miko to arrive.
Ten minutes later.
Miko arrived at the main entrance of the Sports Festival storeroom.
This was her first time being summoned by Sakurai Saki. As Sakurai Saki's beloved junior—toy number two (crossed out)—he only teased her before class each day, specifically when she was handling Disciplinary Committee matters. Other times, Sakurai Saki would not disturb her daily life and studies.
"Sakurai-senpai." Miko moved the wooden stick and pushed the door open while softly calling out.
Stepping inside, she froze.
The person she respected—her most, most, most favorite senpai—was actually sitting on a green mat, spacing out, looking not very intelligent.
"Miko, you're finally here." Sakurai Saki snapped back to reality.
"Sakurai-senpai, why did you call me over?" Iino Miko was still wearing her Disciplinary Committee armband, likely having cut short her after-school patrol to come.
"I came over to check on the Sports Festival items and accidentally got locked inside."
Sakurai Saki was too lazy to make excuses. What was there to be embarrassed about? Moreover, telling Miko that he needed her help would do no harm. He wanted to give her the feedback that her actions could help others—very important for building self-confidence.
"Thank you." Sakurai Saki smiled at her, then walked over and ruffled her hair.
In the shadows, Kaguya Shinomiya was secretly observing.
If only she had her phone right now. She could take a picture of Sakurai General Affairs and his junior's intimate contact—hair ruffling—and send it to Hayasaka Ai, allowing her to use it as a weapon to gain the upper hand in love. In cases of relationship troubles, evidence was always useful. Having leverage over one's boyfriend was never a bad thing.
Kaguya Shinomiya, to this day, was still operating with old-fashioned, purely self-serving thinking.
The young lady's transformation plan was still a long and arduous journey.
However, the fact that she would give up Archery Club training to do such a thankless small task in the storeroom was already quite surprising to Sakurai. Last year's Kaguya Shinomiya would not have done such meaningless things. Facing Shirogane Miyuki's request, she would probably have chosen to ignore it and continue training.
This year, she had indeed improved—but not by much.
"As a thank you, I'll treat you to a drink." Sakurai Saki withdrew his hand from his junior's head and walked out of the Sports Festival storeroom first.
Miko followed him.
Then she closed the door.
Sakurai Saki looked back again at the wooden stick on the ground. A bold idea emerged in his mind...
Never mind.
Locking Kaguya Shinomiya inside would be a bit much—she didn't even have her phone. Their relationship had eased considerably this year; at least they could be considered friends. There was no need to make the atmosphere awkward with someone you could get along with amicably.
The two arrived at the vending machine next to the gymnasium.
"What would Miko like to drink?" Sakurai Saki asked.
He still didn't know her preferences. Their interactions weren't frequent.
"Tea, please." Miko said expectantly.
This was her first time receiving a physical reward from Sakurai-senpai. Previous times had only been verbal praise.
On the nearby field, the Sports Festival cheering squad was training—
"Go! Go!!! Go Red Team!!" The cheering squad leader was leading everyone in practice.
"Go! Go!!! Go Red Team!!"
It was rhythmic and full of energy. Sakurai Saki's gaze was drawn to them.
"Burning hearts!! Passionate fire!!"
The chants were loud.
"Ishigami Yu joined the Sports Festival cheering squad this time," Sakurai Saki suddenly mentioned.
Miko and Ishigami Yu knew each other from before. Their relationship was very bad. Sakurai Saki wanted to hear her thoughts.
"Whatever." Iino Miko took small sips of her tea.
If Ishigami Yu could gather his spirits and work hard in his studies and life, Iino Miko would be happy for him. She didn't want those who were unfairly treated to receive undeserved punishment, nor did she like those who were already misunderstood to fall into darkness.
The two moved toward the cheering squad.
By the fence of the field, Sakurai Saki glanced and then spoke—"He is trying. Actually, for someone to want to make a change, that's already a remarkable thing."
Sticking to the old ways and acting out of habit was human nature. Sakurai Saki and Shirogane Miyuki had not expected Ishigami Yu to leave his comfort zone this time—it was truly incredible. Perhaps it was to meet the expectations of everyone in the Student Council, or perhaps he himself wanted to change. Either way, he was remarkable.
"That senior… she's so pretty." Miko held the drink bottle with both hands, her delicate, cute face full of surprise.
"Oh, that one. Her name is Tsubame Koyasu." Sakurai Saki took a sip of coffee. "The third-year 'high mountain flower.'"
He didn't have much interaction with her.
"…" Miko looked at the senior, somewhat lost in thought.
"Does Miko also want to be as popular as her?" Sakurai Saki guessed.
"I can't do it. I'm just an introvert." Miko's voice was small. "Completely different from an extrovert like her."
"Be confident. You're also very charming." Sakurai Saki said seriously.
After he finished speaking, he ruffled Miko's head again.
"You don't need to become anyone else. Just be yourself."
Miko looked up at him.
Sure enough—Sakurai-senpai was very gentle. Just like a prince charming.
By the field.
Ishigami Yu wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Beside him, the blonde-haired female student Onodera Rei grumbled, "You have such poor stamina and you still joined the cheering squad."
"After what happened, I dared to come to school, so why wouldn't I dare to join the cheering squad?" Ishigami Yu panted.
He had once been mistaken for a stalker—a scumbag who beat up a love rival to steal someone else's girlfriend. But didn't he still come to school as usual?
A loud shout came from not far away—
"Ishigami Yu!!!!! Go!!"
Ishigami Yu turned around. It was Sakurai Saki.
Sakurai Saki smiled at him. Ishigami Yu returned the smile.
He only needed to meet the expectations of those who valued him. Why had he joined the cheering squad? Wasn't it precisely to meet the expectations of Sakurai-senpai, Shirogane-senpai, and Shinomiya-senpai?
Ishigami Yu turned his head back. His eyes seemed alight with fire.
A few seconds later—
"Fever!! Fever!! Aim for victory!! Red Team!"
The cheering sounds rang out once more. Ishigami Yu's voice was exceptionally clear among them.