Chapter 5: Should I tear it up like a poster? (1)
“Please sign…”
Not much has changed since I became friends with the student council president… no, with Yume.
I just sleep in the student council room like usual, or spend my time there. I don’t do anything else, really.
The only slight change is that Yume talks to me when I wake up?
Other than that, nothing’s changed.
No, maybe not anymore.
I watched Yume handing out signature papers on the street.
Most people just ignored the papers, but Yume didn’t seem to care, and was enthusiastically promoting them.
“Tsk.”
It’s useless.
What else does she plan to do in a school that companies have given up on and are preparing to withdraw from?
That idiot will probably just repeat that stupid act all day long.
Alone.
“…….”
I stared at her for a moment, then bit my lip and approached her.
As she sensed my presence and turned her head, her golden eyes met mine.
Then her eyes widened.
“H-Hime-chan?! Why is Hime-chan here…? Shouldn’t you be sleeping in the student council room at this time?”
“I can’t sleep, so what else can I do?”
Saying that, I grabbed half of the signature papers she was holding and handed them out to the people passing by.
As expected, people refused.
Damn it.
Is it that hard to just sign a paper?
“H-Hime-chan, are you… for me?!”
“Shut up. If you don’t be quiet, I’m leaving.”
“Huff!”
Yume, with an exaggerated gesture, covered her mouth and looked at me with a bashful smile.
I feel uneasy for some reason….
“W-what, what. Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Hime-chan, is that how it is?”
“What are you talking about?”
“This, that.”
“So, what is that?”
“It’s like, you pretend to hate it but secretly like it!”
“Huh?”
I don’t get it.
Me?
That can’t be.
“Don’t say such nonsense. The only reason I’m doing this is because I can’t sleep today, and this is the only time.”
“Hmm, is that so~”
“I still feel uneasy….”
I sighed as I watched Yume next to me, humming and handing out signature papers.
I wonder why I became friends with such a stupid student council president.
“Please sign!”
Still… the thought that it wasn’t all that bad wasn’t just a delusion, I’m sure.
“That’s right, that happened!”
Yume looked at me with a grin. I gave Yume a love tap, feeling the same uneasy feeling as back then.
“Ouch, Hime-chan…!”
“I meant to hurt you.”
I even thought maybe I’d be living a better life now if I hadn’t become friends with Yume back then.
But it’s not so bad living my life helping Abydos with Yume.
Maybe it’s even more so because I’m with Yume.
Oh, now it includes Hoshino too.
“…….”
Hoshino, who had only offered to help this once, has been following us around, offering various help.
Like chasing away delinquents who came after the school, or handing out signature papers.
It’s getting more lively, which is nice.
I’m also happy seeing Yume laughing so happily.
Umm.
I shook my head, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Following my nod, the black bob of my hair fluttered into my vision.
“Senior? Why did you suddenly do that?”
“It’s nothing. There’s a bug around. What were we talking about, anyway?”
“Oh, about how Yume senior became the student council president.”
The circumstances of how Yume became the student council president.
It’s not a very pleasant story.
Should I tell her?
I glanced at Yume, thinking that, but she was smiling brightly as if she didn’t care at all.
“Hehe… Actually, before the previous student council members left, they had a yes or no vote and passed the president position to me.”
“In other words, they dumped it on you and ran away.”
“That… is like, they passed a troublesome burden to senior…?”
“No, Hoshino-chan. That’s not it.”
Yes, Yume doesn’t think that way.
Responsibility.
A sense of mission.
Will.
She embraced all those emotions and accepted the president position.
No matter how stupid she is, she has a firm sense of responsibility.
“This is the president position I wanted. If I can protect Abydos… I thought it was better to have more responsibilities and authority that I could handle.”
I’m sure I felt a strong passion from Yume.
If not….
I don’t think I’d be able to define this feeling.
Respect.
Idol.
Will.
Love.
There are many words, but my feeling is defined by this.
Admiration.
I admire her, who lit the fire in my always relaxed heart.
I truly like her, who is full of the will to protect this school that has nothing.
So I decided to stay by her side.
Whatever decision she makes, I’ll respect her choice and quietly support her from behind.
That is my dream (Yume), the goal of this life.
Strange people.
That was my first impression.
“This is a resident signature for the improvement of Abydos’s environment!”
“Yume, isn’t it, the people don’t care anyway. Why don’t we just go back.”
“No, Hime! We need to get some signatures from the residents to save Abydos!”
“…So how many signatures have we gotten so far?”
“Zero!”
“…….”
Their actions, doing something meaningless, seemed stubborn and foolish.
That’s right.
Most of the residents walking on the street didn’t even look at the signature papers, they just passed by or laughed at their actions, there were no residents who signed on the paper.
“…They’re idiots.”
That’s what it was.
But.
But.
From some point on, I started to hang around them.
Was it because they stood out?
Or was it because I was curious how long they would keep doing such a stupid thing?
What’s certain is that they already occupied most of my thoughts.
At first, I was worried they would get hurt.
Then I became interested in their foolish actions.
…Finally, I was impressed by the sense of responsibility and mission in their actions.
“This is the president position I wanted. If I can protect Abydos… I thought it was better to have more responsibilities and authority that I could handle.”
Yume senior is an idiot.
Her actions are full of mistakes and she’s an idiot, but she takes responsibility as the student council president.
And she has a sense of mission.
She accepted the president position because of that, and she performs her duties as the president.
I couldn’t have done that.
So, perhaps.
I thought, “That’s cool.”
I was impressed by her passionate figure, her lack of ability, but she takes responsibility.
So, suddenly, I had a thought.
I, too, want to stand by their side.
That’s what I thought.