A Smile Could Be Allowed (Sakayanagi IF Route)

"Have they decided on a leader?"

"Hirata Yosuke."

That was a quick reply.

Oreki thought to himself.

He hadn't contacted Karuizawa Kei in a long time.

Maybe...

He'd forgotten about it without realizing while he was with Sakayanagi.

But there was no need to dwell on it.

After all, he and Karuizawa Kei were only using each other.

"By the way, you and Sakayanagi are really close."

"You haven't messaged me in so long..."

"You definitely forgot about me, didn't you?"

Karuizawa Kei followed up with a little complaint.

They hadn't been in touch for three or four days.

It was only natural she'd be upset.

Oreki ignored what Karuizawa Kei had said.

After all...

Whenever the topic turned to Sakayanagi, he couldn't stay calm.

This wouldn't do.

What he needed now was the usual Houtarou Oreki.

Not someone who'd lost his reason.

"＜Transferred 100,000 points＞"

"?"

"Last time, you had less than 30,000 left. You must be short on money now."

"That's true... But, somehow! Never mind."

"Then, goodbye."

"Huh? So soon? Stay a little longer..."

Oreki didn't read the rest.

He didn't have time right now.

Hashimoto Masayoshi wrote the tally on the blackboard.

Houtarou Oreki: 19 votes

Katsuragi Kohei: 2 votes

A landslide victory.

There had been quite a few abstentions, but they didn't matter.

"Okay, it looks like we've decided. Oreki, you'll be the leader."

"Yes."

"Good. I'll leave the next hour to you. By the way, if you're interested, see who the other classes chose. There's nothing wrong with associating with capable people."

With that, the homeroom teacher left.

It seemed he really had no intention of getting involved.

Was it confidence, or was he just avoiding the hassle?

It didn't matter.

For someone like him, delegating authority was the right move.

"What a pain..."

He'd been prepared for this.

But now that it was actually his turn, Oreki still found it troublesome.

On top of that, it was a little awkward.

He didn't like standing at the center of attention with so many people watching him.

But for Sakayanagi Arisu's sake...

Oreki finally stood up.

He walked to the podium.

"First, we'll figure out who the leaders of the other classes are."

The room fell silent.

No, it was more like most people hadn't yet processed what he'd said.

After a long while,

a boy finally raised his hand, trembling.

"Go ahead."

"...Um, why are we doing that?"

"The reason is simple."

Oreki wrote A, B, C, and D on the blackboard.

They each stood for one of the four classes.

There were generally two kinds of lottery.

One used numbered slips.

Three people from the four classes would take turns drawing.

They could split into odd and even numbers...

Or into consecutive and nonconsecutive numbers...

There were countless possible methods.

But all of them had one thing in common.

That was...

Only three people needed to draw.

That's right, there was no need for all four people to go.

In other words, they only needed to choose three leaders. There was no need to add one more.

Besides...

Had they chosen leaders specifically to draw lots?

As if.

The homeroom teacher's remark must have been meant to mislead the students.

The other kind used written slips.

There were many variations, but the most common...

Was to write down your own class.

Then choose one person from the four to draw.

The key was how to choose that one person.

That was where the leaders came in.

Suppose...

Each class had to guess the leaders of the other classes.

Then the class with the most correct guesses would get to draw.

"I see..."

"That makes sense now."

"Good thing I voted for Houtarou."

As more and more people praised Oreki, Katsuragi couldn't help standing up.

He raised a question of his own.

"Why are you so sure?"

"Sure about what?"

"That there'll definitely be a round where we guess the leaders."

"What Mashima-sensei said before leaving."

"What?"

"So stupidity is a mistake..."

Oreki sighed.

He didn't want to waste time arguing about this.

But Katsuragi wasn't about to back down.

"I'm just trying to look out for everyone."

"'See who the other classes chose'... Mashima-sensei said that just now, didn't he?"

"So what?"

"Why would Mashima-sensei, who usually doesn't say much, go out of his way to emphasize that? Was it really because the other classes' leaders are so capable?"

Oreki impatiently tapped the desk.

Then he continued:

"The answer is obvious."

"No!"

"If not, there must be another reason. Which means there'll be a round where we guess the leaders."

"Am I wrong?"

Katsuragi Kohei was left speechless.

He quickly sat down and didn't say another word.

It was obvious.

Oreki was right.

"Heh..."

An undisguised laugh rang out.

It was Hashimoto Masayoshi.

Seeing Katsuragi thoroughly humiliated gave him a real thrill.

More than just a little.

Once Hashimoto Masayoshi got things started, more and more snickers followed.

It seemed...

After this, Katsuragi Kohei's standing would hit rock bottom.

By contrast,

more people would follow Houtarou Oreki.

Unifying Class A was only a matter of time.

"Quiet."

At Oreki's command, the snickering students promptly fell silent.

Well, they'd already accepted Oreki as Class A's leader.

And not just for this weekly test.

For the first year...

No, perhaps for all three years, Oreki would be Class A's leader.

Next came the task of assigning people.

Oreki would handle the humanities subjects himself.

As for the sciences...

Kamuro Masumi and Yamamura Miki.

Kamuro Masumi was usually rather carefree, but she was still good at studying.

The other one...

Was a girl with her hair tied in a single ponytail.

Her eyes were cold and indifferent.

Combined with her thick bangs...

She gave people the impression that she wanted to keep them at arm's length.

Her strength was science.

"That's the decision. Anyone with an objection, raise your hand."

Oreki waited quietly.

No one objected.

It seemed even Katsuragi Kohei had no choice but to agree with his plan.

"If there are no objections, everyone should get ready."

He stepped down from the podium.

A meeting that had lasted half an hour.

It had been exhausting.

In the past, Oreki would never have done something like this.

Not even if he died.

It seemed that something had changed, Houtarou Oreki.

Had he changed for someone's sake?

Oreki returned to his seat.

Some of the girls cast curious glances his way.

Fair enough.

Anyone would be curious when someone who usually kept a low profile suddenly shone so brightly.

Still, it was best if they were only curious.

Because...

The Oreki of today wouldn't fall for anyone.

Except Sakayanagi Arisu.

Oreki picked up his phone. This time, he opened an email—not from Karuizawa Kei.

But from Ichinose Honami.

--To be continued