Chapter 62

With the final exams over and summer vacation approaching, the student council was quite busy with arrangements for student events during the break, such as the music and art club's participation in the city competition, the kendo club's inter-school and community school exchange matches, and so on.

My test ranking remained the same. I was first, Harthis was second, and the heroine was third. Cerea was eleventh, I think. Harthis and I studied hard, so we couldn't afford to lose to the heroine.

Because of that, the student council work piled up.

"We won't be able to go anywhere during the summer vacation at this rate!" we all grumbled. All these events were happening during the summer break, and the student council had to participate. Well, it can't be helped.

"Hello!"

...For some reason, the pink-haired girl came to the student council room again. She brought snacks and tea, saying it was a treat.

"Rinrin, do you have something to ask?"

"It's Rinse! I brought a treat for Shin!"

"I've told you many times that it's not necessary. Please share it with the rest of the student council..."

"I've always wondered, why won't Shin eat anything I make!"

"Is that so?"

"Yes, it is!"

The entire student council was exasperated by this exchange. Why can't she understand...?

Finally, the vice president, a third-year student named Remy, couldn't bear to watch and spoke up.

"Rinse, we are in the middle of our duties. Please don't disturb us."

"I just want to thank Shin for always helping me!"

She's so pushy...

I simply tried to stop bullying in the school by getting drenched with water, but it seems she has misinterpreted it as me not being entirely averse to her. After all, the one who first drenched me with water was Cerea, but it seems like that's been completely forgotten. She only sees what suits her.

According to the strategy guide Cerea and I made, when the heroine gets drenched, the character with the highest affection level at that moment should prepare a change of clothes, leading to a lucky perverted incident and a happy ending.

"What's a lucky perverted incident?" Cerea's face was priceless when I asked her. She turned bright red and said, "It's when you accidentally see or touch the heroine's undressed body or something like that."

If that's what counts as lucky, Cerea and I have had plenty of those moments since we were kids. I've seen her in various states of undress many times.

Incidentally, it's unclear how the target character prepares the change of clothes. A boyfriend who always prepares the protagonist's clothes is pretty creepy, isn't it? Why doesn't anyone question this?

Anyway, the character with the highest affection level right now is Picard. Haha, they would make a good couple. I might have messed up by stopping the event. Preparing a change of clothes is just a temporary solution; I want to stop bullying altogether, not just help her in the moment. This isn't about increasing my affection for the heroine. But it seems her affection for me has increased, which was unexpected. This is an event that doesn't exist in the game.

"Anyway, please give up on trying to make me eat anything. Let's get back to work, everyone."

We need to print the flyers to distribute to students before summer vacation.

"Why should I give up? Is there a reason!?"

"There are mountains of reasons. Back to printing."

These are flyers for student events during the summer break, such as the music club's participation in the city competition, the kendo club's exchange matches, and the art club's exhibition at the city art festival. We want as many students as possible to come and support us, as this is our school's first participation in these events.

We use a mimeograph to print the flyers. We apply ink to the roller, lay the paper on the stencil, and print each sheet one by one.

"I'll help too!"

"No, you can't. I won't let you."

The stencil is a wax paper that Harthis, the secretary, hand-drew with a stylus. There's only one, and if it gets damaged, we have to start over. We need to print three hundred copies without any mistakes, and I'm the best at this. I wear an apron and gloves to avoid getting any ink on my hands or body, and everyone is amazed at how skilled I am.

In the game, there's an event where the heroine joins the student council and is later appointed as a member. However, this heroine hasn't participated in student council activities, so that route isn't selected. According to Cerea, the "clumsy and natural" heroine has events where she causes trouble in the student council room, such as tearing the stencil and having to remake it with me. I won't let her do that.

In the game, I forgive the crying heroine and work with her late into the night, but in reality, I would probably lose my temper.

The treasurer, a third-year student named Olivia, lays the paper under the stencil, I apply the roller, the vice president Remy picks up the printed sheets, and Harthis arranges them. We can't stack them until the ink dries.

"Hello."

Cerea came to the student council room with a basket containing snacks and a teapot.

"Ah, welcome."

The entire student council greets her warmly. Cerea often brings treats and helps with the work. Her smile froze for a moment when she saw the heroine, but she quickly recovered.

"I'm busy printing, so I can't help. Please eat."

"Sure."

Cerea took a snack from the basket, took a bite, and then fed it to me.

"Aaah! You won't eat my snacks, but you eat Cerea's! Why!?"

Pink head is so noisy.

"A wife feeding her husband. Is there a problem with that?"

"But we're not engaged... Your reason for not eating mine is invalid. That's discrimination."

"I have a valid reason, but I won't explain it."

"That's mean."

"I don't mind if you think it's mean. It's my personal rule."

The heroine is pouting. I don't care.

"Why does Cerea call you 'sama'?"

"Cerea is my fiancée and future wife. I allow her to use a more personal form of address because she is special to me."

"I want to call you 'Shin-sama' too."

"I won't allow that. Please maintain a distinction between public and private. In school, everyone is equal and uses 'kun' or 'san.' Outside of school, I am 'Highness.' As a noble, you should understand the rules of public and private life. This is a common expectation in society after graduation."

"Why is Cerea, who isn't even a student council member, here?"

"Cerea occasionally helps with student council work during her free time. We don't refuse volunteer help. The student council room is not off-limits to students. In fact, we don't even restrict non-student council members from entering. We even ask committee members and class representatives for help when we're really busy."

"I want to help too!"

You've never offered to help before.

"That's very kind of you. Please check each flyer for readability and any smudges. Thank you."

"Whaaat..."

She grumbles while flipping through the still-ink-smelling flyers.

"You won't eat my snacks, but you eat Cerea's..."

Cerea, who is boiling water with an alcohol lamp, explains.

"Shin-sama is royalty and cannot eat anything that hasn't been tasted for poison outside the palace. I am the one who tastes the food. I apologize if I have caused any inconvenience."

Cerea's deep bow surprises the heroine.

"I didn't know that!"

The entire student council is shocked by her ignorance and poor manners. Harthis scolds her.

"All nobles know this, Rinse... At parties, the host ensures the proper procedures are followed when inviting royal guests. You should be aware of this. And you should respond appropriately when Cerea bows. That's rude."

"...But you ate at a fried chicken place without any issues!"

"I was there to taste the food."

The heroine, reminded by Cerea, slaps her hand to her forehead. "Oh, right!" How can she not notice Cerea?

"Shin, have you eaten at Hans' fried chicken place?"

Everyone is surprised.

"About two years ago."

"Right, Shin, come to the store!"

The heroine is excited, and everyone looks puzzled.

"Why is Rinse so happy...?"

"Hans' restaurant and fried chicken place are my family's business."

Harthis nods in understanding.

"Please come again! We'll be waiting!"

"..."

Everyone falls silent.

"Is it because I'm from a commoner background? Is fried chicken considered a low-class food?"

"No, I've eaten there. I don't discriminate based on that. I just realized you don't know much about noble etiquette."

I try to soften the blow.

"Everyone thinks I'm a troublesome woman..."

Ding! Correct! Finally, she understands!

By "troublesome," I mean her pushy and intrusive personality, not her background. But she probably took it the wrong way. I might be accused of bullying her. That would be unfair.

"It takes time to learn manners. Let's study them. In school, we allow breaches of etiquette so students can learn. Okay, three hundred... Done! Let's take a break and have tea."

"Please eat these. I'm sorry."

As we were about to take a break, the heroine left the bag of snacks she brought and left the room.

"...Oh, will I be blamed for this?"

"No, everyone will think it's natural. They'll be more surprised that she doesn't know better."

"She might be bullied again."

"Depends on whether she talks about this."

Harthis analyzes the situation calmly.

Headache...

"Regardless of the reason or who is being bullied, bullying in school is unacceptable. If it happens again, we'll launch an anti-bullying campaign."

The student council members nod in agreement.

No one touched the snacks she left. Since I didn't eat what she brought, no one else would either.

Is this considered bullying...?

I took the snacks home and gave them to Schwarze, who happily ate them, saying, "They're homemade by a girl student!"

Since Schwarze showed no unusual changes, it seems she didn't put anything harmful in the snacks. Good.

Next: "62. Running Away During Summer Vacation"