Horikita Suzune was silent for a long time.
She instinctively wanted to deny it, to say "no", to shut the topic down with "this kind of thing has nothing to do with you".
But when the words came to her lips, she remembered that the person in front of her was the strong support Kazehara Tetsu had spent all her efforts to specially invite for her. Today's conversation was related to whether Student Council could fill that critical vacancy.
It's not worth it to keep chatting to death over such a private matter.
So, she chose a compromise answer.
"... I don't know."
"Oh?"
Sakayanagi Arisu raised his eyebrows, "'I don't know', is a very interesting answer."
"Literally."
Horikita Suzune looked at the cups on the table, and his voice was lower than before, "I haven't seriously thought about this kind of thing. I used to think that these things are a burden on climbing up and make people become hesitant."
"So, I never try to distinguish whether those messy feelings in my heart are considered 'like' or not."
"But now, you don't think so?" Sakayanagi Arisu asked.
Horikita Suzune did not answer immediately.
Some pictures flashed through her mind uncontrollably.
The messy pictures, one after another, finally converge into the same face.
The tips of her ears quietly felt a little warm.
"... Now, I can't tell clearly."
Horikita Suzune looked away and pushed the conversation back forcefully, "In short, this kind of thing is not within the scope of what I have to consider now. I took over Student Council, and Class C still has to go up. I don't have extra energy to think about this."
"Really?"
Sakayanagi Arisu looked at the red tips of her ears, and then at her face that was clearly guilty but pretending to be calm, and the smile in her eyes became a little deeper.
She didn't point it out, she just changed the topic slightly, as if she mentioned it casually.
"What about Tetsu-kun?"
"What happened to him?"
"I found that when you mentioned him, it was different from when you mentioned others. Today's game was organized by him. He helped you find Student Council, and you are very close to him."
"He helped me a lot."
Horikita Suzune's answer was a little abnormally fast, "In exchange, I will also cooperate with him on some things. We have a cooperative relationship where we each get what we need."
"Partnership."
Sakayanagi Arisu repeated the word, "That's it?"
"How else could it be?"
"Then let me ask another question."
Sakayanagi Arisu leaned forward slightly, "If one day, Tetsu-kun, there is a person standing next to him... It's not cooperation, it's not everyone getting what they need, but a legitimate relationship."
"How would you feel?"
Horikita Suzune raised his head and met Sakayanagi Arisu's eyes.
Those eyes were very calm, as if they had seen through everything long ago, but with a kind of non-malicious scrutiny.
It was not a test between love rivals, but more like an examiner confirming whether a certain sample met her inner standards.
Horikita Suzune opened his mouth.
She wanted to say "it has nothing to do with me" and "I won't feel anything", but those words suddenly became extremely pale under the other person's gaze, and even she couldn't convince herself.
She was silent for a long time.
"... I don't know."
In the end, she could only give this answer again, but her voice was softer and less confident than before, "I have never thought about that situation, so I don't know how I will feel, but... if it really happens one day."
She spoke very slowly, as if she was thinking and struggling to get out the words in her heart, "I probably... wouldn't hope that that person is someone who is not worthy of him."
"The things he did and the game of chess he played were huge and difficult. People who can stand beside him must at least understand what he is doing and cannot hold him back."
"As for what will happen to me..."
Her voice lowered, "I haven't thought about it, and I don't dare to think about it."
After saying that, she seemed to have exhausted all her strength, picked up the cup, and took a big sip, using this action to hide the gaffe on her face.
It was quiet for a while under the awning.
Sakayanagi Arisu didn't speak immediately.
She leaned back on the chair and looked at the girl opposite who had obviously written her thoughts on the tip of her ear but was still stubborn and refused to admit it. The tentative smile on her face slowly faded away and was replaced by a serious look.
After a while, she spoke again, but instead of pursuing the topic that Horikita Suzune couldn't resist, she changed the topic again and returned to a seemingly irrelevant, but very important topic.
"Horikita."
"... Huh?"
"Your brother didn't recruit me into Student Council back then. I always thought it was because I was not qualified. After meeting you today, I probably understand."
"What he looked at back then was not whether he could recruit a capable new member. What he looked at was whether you, my sister, could grow into a qualified person on your own in This School... Now, you have grown up."
Sakayanagi Arisu sat up straight, and for the first time all temptation disappeared from those eyes, revealing something real and solemn.
"So I kind of understand why Tetsu-kun insists on pushing me to you. A president who will think about the question of 'whether he deserves it' for a partner who 'gets what he needs'... should be worthy of my help."
Horikita Suzune was stunned.
She didn't realize for a moment whether this sentence was a signal for the other party to let go.
"However, I can't give you a formal answer yet."
Sakayanagi Arisu changed the subject and regained his impeccable calmness, "What we talked about today were all 'light topics', serious work and planning, and I haven't asked you a word yet. I'll save these for next time, when I'm in a good mood, and I'll take my time to test you."
"Until then..."
She picked up Hot Cocoa again and raised her glass to Horikita Suzune.
"Why don't we talk about the topic of 'whether we deserve it' again?"
"I'm very curious, in Horikita's heart, what does the person who can stand beside him look like."
"..."
Horikita Suzune looked at the other party's face, which was clearly smiling, but made it clear that he was not going to let her go, and suddenly missed those truly "relaxing" topics about books and seasons just now.
The winter sun shone slantly on the two girls. An interview that was supposed to revolve around Student Council was led away by Sakayanagi Arisu.
From the planning of rights and responsibilities, we have all the way into a person's innermost thoughts that he most doesn't want to reveal to others.
And the center of all this... the boy who was carrying Americano and wandering to who knows which street. He had no idea that he had been tossed and weighed over and over again in the conversation between the two girls.