Chapter 6: Should I tear it up like a poster? (2)

I tried all sorts of things with Yume and Hoshino. However, the desertification, a natural disaster, couldn’t be stopped.

What can humans do against nature?

The desertification that slowly suffocated us, had already taken over the main building of Abydos High School.

The student council room, where I loved to sleep, was buried in sand and no longer existed.

Why did this happen….

I feel depressed, wondering where I should sleep now.

But this isn’t even the real problem.

Except for three students, everyone at Abydos High School has left.

They must have felt that this was no longer a place to stay after the main building disappeared due to desertification.

I understand.

If I wasn’t close to Yume, I would have made the same choice.

Because there’s no need to be involved with a school that’s going down.

Unfortunately, I can’t even think about making such a choice now.

That’s right.

“We’ve arrived! This is the new Abydos school!”

“We’ve been kicked out to the annex building.”

Where else would I go, leaving behind the idiot student council president and my cute junior?

Yume with her smiling face and Hoshino with her still scary face.

For some reason, I felt good and burst into laughter.

“Ugh?”

“Senior, why are you suddenly doing that?”

I waved my hands at them with a smile, trying to stop my laughter.

“It’s just, isn’t it fun? A school with only three students. There probably isn’t another school like this in Kivotos.”

“Haa… It makes me feel dark the more I think about it.”

“B, but we just have to change it from now on…!”

“Yeah, Yume’s right. We can change it.”

“U, uh…?”

Yume looked at me with her usual stupid expression, not expecting me to agree.

I let out a small laugh at that sight and handed Yume two documents.

“Here, Yume.”

“Huh? What is it?”

Yume read the documents slowly. As time passed, her eyes widened and looked at me and Hoshino as if she couldn’t believe it.

“R, really?! Really, Hime-chan and Hoshino-chan are joining the student council?!”

“Maybe it was too late to join. Spending half the day in the student council room and not being in the student council is funny, isn’t it?”

Yume covered her mouth with both hands, as if she was touched by my words.

Was she that happy?

“Hime-chan…! Th, then why did Hoshino-chan join all of a sudden? You refused when I suggested it before!”

Hoshino closed her eyes and spoke.

“…Because there’s nowhere else to run. And it’s become so natural to be with you seniors… I don’t think it matters whether I’m in the student council or not… Since it’s come to this, I guess there’s nothing left but to try with you seniors until the end….”

Hoshino, who was still talking, ended her words by completely turning her head, as if she was embarrassed.

“I’m happy! I’m so happy, Hoshino-chan! Is this a dream…? Or a miracle…? Yes! That’s right! A miracle must have happened!”

Then, Yume hugged Hoshino tightly. Hoshino didn’t push her away, as if she wasn’t that bad.

“…I can’t breathe, senior. I’ll die before the miracle.”

“That’s right! Now’s not the time! Photos! We have to take commemorative photos!”

“Huh? P, photos? Isn’t it a bit of an overreaction, senior?”

“No! You take commemorative photos when you have something to celebrate!”

“Ugh….”

“Come here, Hoshino-chan! And Hime-chan too!”

“Oh, me too?”

Yume’s command, which was embarrassing for me, was made while I was watching Yume and Hoshino happily.

I don’t really like photos….

“I’m fine. You two take them.”

“Hey, don’t be shy, come on~”

“J, just a moment…!”

Yume grabbed my arm and pulled me, as if my opinion didn’t matter.

…Soft.

“Alright, alright. Everyone, look over there!”

“You’re too close, senior. We’re touching? We’re touching.”

“Don’t be shy. Come on, a little closer.”

“Y, Yume, do we really have to take the photo in this state…?”

“This kind of commemorative photo, everyone has to stick together, Hime-chan!”

“Then, can you at least let go of this arm….”

“No!”

“…….”

“Smile everyone, quickly!”

Yume, who was unusually excited, and Hoshino, who showed a softer side than usual.

I probably won’t forget today for the rest of my life.

Forever.

“This is the new student council room. How is it?”

“It’s completely crap.”

“It’s so small.”

Yume’s expression became gloomy as soon as Hoshino agreed. Then it brightened up again.

“But the Abydos student council is starting anew here! Student council president and vice president, and secretary… There are only three of us, but someday….”

“Someday…?”

“Hehehe… Won’t this place be bustling with our juniors someday…?”

“I hope that day comes before I graduate.”

“I’m sure it will, don’t worry, Hime-chan!”

“I agree with Hime senior for the first time.”

“Hoshino thinks so too~ Ah, I, like a fossil, won’t be able to see many juniors and graduate…”

“H, Hime-chan…!”

Hoshino and I exchanged glances and burst into laughter as Yume’s face turned sour.

I think I realized that Hoshino and I had something in common.

It’s fun to tease Yume.

Time passes quickly.

Every day, we work part-time to pay off Abydos’s debt, and we chase away the delinquents causing trouble near the school. Of course, Hoshino was in charge of all the battles.

Anyway.

Every day was spent struggling to earn money, or rather, to protect Abydos.

When money was really urgent, I even worked in the black market.

Yume almost got into trouble when she got scammed, but she was able to avoid the crisis because Hoshino helped her every time.

As for me, I just earn money with ordinary part-time jobs.

If that’s enough to pay off Abydos’s debt, I can do without sleep.

Ah, still, I couldn’t give up completely.

Because taking a nap was a hobby that I really liked, I work part-time at night and sleep during the day.

It’s no different from a three-to-four arrangement, but it’s good because I can take a nap.

“Ugh… I’m tired….”

Of course, it can’t be helped that my life has been ruined because the day and night have changed.

If Hoshino and Yume knew this fact, wouldn’t they get very angry?

They’d say to take care of my health or something.

“Phew….”

I smiled, as if I could hear the voices of Yume and Hoshino.

Ah, there’s one more bad thing about the changed day and night.

Because I only sleep during the day, Hoshino thinks I’m not very interested in protecting Abydos.

Actually, I’m secretly working at night.

Still, the good thing is that Yume doesn’t seem to think that way.

The reason is clear.

It’s because of what Yume said when Hoshino asked me before if I could stop sleeping and do a part-time job.

Yume’s insight cannot be ignored.

How much I was moved when I heard that.

I almost shed a tear.

Of course, Hoshino doesn’t seem to understand.

It seems like I’m being hated by Hoshino.

Ugh, what can I do.

It’s the job I chose.

“Ugh…!”

The convenience store part-time job in the early morning is quite hard. There are a lot of jerks than you’d think.

Maybe there are the most jerks during this time.

“Is it already time to go home?”

I yawned widely, rubbing my hazy eyes.

I should go back to school and go to sleep right away.

Recently, I’ve been working in many places besides part-time jobs, so I’ve been struggling.

Although there’s nothing harder than working for a company, because the things I’ve done recently were done while reducing sleep, it couldn’t be any more difficult.

“When will I be able to quit this kind of life….”

Passing the front gate of Abydos school, the now familiar school came into view.

I stared at the school for a moment, then moved my steps. Normally, I would be doing something else in the student council room, but I didn’t want to do that today.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been overworked recently.

So, as soon as I entered the student council room, I threw myself onto the sofa in the corner.

Then I closed my eyes.

I can finally rest.

I thought so….

“Senior!”

“Ugh….”

Hoshino…! Just as I was about to fall asleep!

“You just lay down as soon as you came to school, where is the responsibility as a student council member?”

“I think I dropped it while walking to school.”

“Really….”

Hoshino sighed and took off the blanket that was covering my body.

Aah… My precious sleeping time….

“Hoshino… I’m so sleepy, can’t I just sleep for a bit…? You know, I don’t usually sleep at this time, and I only sleep during the day…”

“No. The situation in Abydos is getting more serious every day, and I, as the vice-president, can’t allow you to declare that you’re just going to sleep after coming to school.”

Ugh… If I had known this, I would have taken the vice-president position….

I was lamenting, thinking about the past while rubbing my eyelids that kept closing, but nothing changed. So, I just decided to go back to sleep.

“Then I’ll sleep for 10 minutes.”

I said that and tried to cover myself with the blanket again.

If it weren’t for Hoshino’s cold voice.

“Senior.”

“……?”

I flinched and looked at Hoshino, and then I saw Hoshino’s figure, which I hadn’t seen in my sleep.

Her eyes were dark and her hair was disheveled. And her face had shallow wounds and dust.

“Hoshino…? You, that look….”

“Hime senior.”

A voice so cold that my body shivered.

“Please take responsibility as a student council member.”

I could only look at Hoshino leaving the student council room without being able to object to that word.