After giving it some thought, Hoshino decided on the order.
As far as ease of work went, it would be simplest to first hand over the documents that needed to be reviewed by the teachers.
He skimmed through them. They seemed to be a review of how the students had been doing lately. The parts requiring a simple check were fine, but some sections asked the teachers to write comments, which would take more time.
"Knock, knock, knock..." Hoshino rapped on the teachers' office door.
"Come in!"
"Hoshino, what is it?" Chabashira-sensei looked up and glanced toward him at the doorway.
"These are the documents the Student Council requested. The teachers for each class need to review and fill them out."
"All right, put them there." Chabashira-sensei pointed to a corner of her desk, then turned her attention back to her work.
Seeing that there was nothing else to do, Hoshino placed the sorted documents on the desk and prepared to leave.
Just then, the office door suddenly swung open, and a familiar figure appeared.
"Oh? Little Hoshino, did you have business in the office?" Hoshinomiya-sensei looked surprised.
"...I'm here to deliver some documents. You can head back now, Hoshino." Before Hoshino could answer, Chabashira-sensei urged him to leave, as though she didn't want him interacting with Hoshinomiya-sensei.
"Sae, you're so mean! I wanted to chat with little Hoshino!" Hoshinomiya-sensei came over to Hoshino, draped a hand over his shoulder, and looked at Chabashira-sensei with a pout.
"He has things to do!...You know he's a member of the Student Council."
"Hmm... All right! But, Sae, you're not planning to run off, are you?"
Suddenly, Hoshino sensed a strong undercurrent of tension. This didn't feel like their usual teasing. Hoshinomiya-sensei's tone had turned ominous, even though she still wore her usual smile.
"...What are you talking about?...Of course not." Chabashira-sensei was unusually shaken, but quickly regained her composure.
"...Is that so?"
Life in Class D really did seem tough! Why did it feel like there was something going on between Chabashira-sensei and the Class B homeroom teacher, too...?
This school sure had a lot of problems!
Eager to escape this "battlefield," Hoshino hurriedly excused himself.
Only after leaving the office did Hoshino let out a breath of relief.
But the club survey in his hands was a bit of a challenge. It meant he would have to talk to every club, and he didn't even know where some of them actually held their activities!
He skimmed through the forms and glanced over the questions. They all seemed to be the same: a general estimate of each club's budget and a survey of their opinions.
As he walked toward the club building, Hoshino mulled over what he would say. It was his first time doing this kind of work, and he found it a little novel.
To make it easier for the sports clubs to practice, most of their clubrooms were on the lower floors.
The first room he saw upon entering the club building had a sign that read "Soccer Club." All right, he'd start there! Hoshino psyched himself up.
"Good afternoon! May I..."
Hoshino began making the rounds. The process went fairly smoothly; since it involved activity budgets, most people were quite cooperative. Perhaps to make club activities easier, most clubs had someone staying behind.
However, some of those staying behind were "ghost members" who knew nothing about these matters, which was a bit of a hassle. Hoshino could only leave the forms with them and come back to collect them the next day.
Next up, the Chess Club.
"Good afternoon! May I... Huh? Sakayanagi? What are you doing here?" As soon as he entered, Hoshino spotted an unexpected figure. She was playing against what seemed to be an upperclassman, with a few people gathered around them.
Sakayanagi was a member of the Chess Club?
"Good day, Hoshino-kun. I'm not a member here!"
"Huh?" Hoshino stared at Sakayanagi in surprise, as if she'd read his mind.
Her opponent was deep in thought about their next move, while Sakayanagi looked completely at ease. The difference in their skill was obvious, and Hoshino almost felt sorry for the other person. Why had they even agreed to this?
"Then why are you..."
"...I lost..." Before Hoshino could finish, the other person let out a long breath and admitted defeat.
"Then, shall we honor our wager?" Sakayanagi maintained her unruffled smile, straightened her clothes, and sat up.
"...All right." The other person took out a phone and tapped at the screen.
"...Thank you! If you'd like to play again, feel free to ask me anytime!" Sakayanagi checked her phone and smiled.
Hoshino roughly understood. This was the famous point-betting game, then. It seemed like the kind of thing that suited someone like Sakayanagi, who was exceptionally skilled at something.
Perhaps feeling dejected, the upperclassman gave a brief greeting before quietly leaving.
The onlookers, seeing there'd be no more entertainment, scattered like birds and beasts. No one else challenged Sakayanagi.
"Hey, Hoshino-kun, did you come here for something? Want to play a game?" Sakayanagi still didn't seem satisfied. She looked at Hoshino expectantly.
"Uh... I'll pass. I'm here on an assignment." As he spoke, Hoshino raised the forms in his hand.
In truth, Hoshino didn't want to play against Sakayanagi either. He wasn't a masochist. Ever since learning how good she was at chess, he'd resolved never to play her. Getting crushed wasn't nearly as fun as crushing someone else.
"That's true! Since you joined the Student Council, work must come first!"
Thanks for understanding, Hoshino thought with relief.
"Um, could you tell me if the club president is here? I'm Hoshino from the Student Council. I have some club-related forms that need to be filled out." Hoshino turned to the people who had been watching the game. They had started playing among themselves.
"Sorry, the president isn't here right now. This..." Everyone looked over, and a boy with glasses answered.
"Could I ask you to pass this form on to the president? Could it be filled out by tomorrow afternoon? I'll come back to collect it."
"...Oh... Oh, sure!"
"Thank you very much!" Hoshino bowed slightly. "I'll be going, then."
"Wait! Hoshino-kun, I don't have anything else to do anyway. Mind if I walk with you?" Sakayanagi picked up her cane, used it for support, and rose to her feet with surprising ease.
"...But I still have things to do?" Hoshino gestured at the forms in his hands, looking surprised.
"That's fine. We can walk together for just a little while!" Sakayanagi's expression remained unchanged as she slowly approached him.
"Then... all right." Looking at the girl before him, Hoshino could only sigh in resignation.
After exchanging farewells with the others, they left.
"Where are you going? I'll walk you there." Once they were outside the clubroom, Hoshino looked at the girl walking slowly beside him.
"Oh my, Hoshino-kun, what a gentleman!" Sakayanagi came up to him and stopped, teasing him.
"Where are you going?" Hoshino merely rolled his eyes and ignored her remark.
"...Then walk me to the dormitory." Seeing that Hoshino wasn't taking the bait, Sakayanagi thought for a moment before answering.
"Sure."
Hoshino nodded, then quickly moved in front of Sakayanagi and stood to her left, indicating that she could hold onto his arm.
He had no experience helping girls walk. He'd seen Kamuro do it a few times, so this was the best he could manage.
"...Thank you!" Sakayanagi smiled brightly and placed one hand on Hoshino's arm...
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