Although She's a Beautiful Student Council President Who Maintains Her Coolness Towards Everyone, She Wants to Act Spoiled and Lovesick Around Him, Who is Misunderstood by Everyone as a Delinquent - Chapter 31: Promise (2)

“No, no, there’s no need to be so surprised just because I was waiting…”

“Huh, this isn’t right… Why, why, it is so late…”

Shizuku opened her eyes wide, her mouth flapping in disbelief. It’s only natural that her mind would be full of thoughts, given the unexpected event.

“Why? It’s dangerous to walk home alone on such a dark night, right? Even the student council members who went home earlier were walking together.”

“But, I was going to call my car-“

“You weren’t really planning to call it, were you?”

“…!”

Riku spoke with certainty, overlapping his voice with Shizuku’s.

“Unless you contact in advance you can’t call for pick up, right? Today you promised to go home with me, and since you were working so late, it’s unlikely you’d have called the car.”

“…”

Silence was an affirmation. In other words, Shizuku didn’t call for pickup.

 If she had called, it would have been visible at the main gate.

Shizuku’s family was a prestigious one. They have a dedicated person to pick up and drop off family members, and that person never keeps the family waiting.

“Well, since we’ve met up, let’s go home quickly, okay?”

Riku tried to be helpful, reaching out to take Shizuku’s bag – but then.

“…What do you mean, ‘only a little late’…? You’ve been waiting for more than two hours…”

Shizuku’s mouth opened, and her voice, somewhat twisted, flied out.

“What are you talking about? You didn’t make me wait that long.”

“Don’t try to deceive me…”

Shizuku’s sharp gaze pierced Riku. At this point, there’s no way he can mix lies into his story.

“Well, maybe… I may have waited that long, but let’s not bring that up again. I’m not angry, and I chose to wait, after all.”

“Why are you so kind…? You could have just gone home…”

“I heard some words because I was waiting… To be honest, I was happy.”

Riku, scratching his cheek with his index finger and showing an embarrassed smile, lets go of Shizuku’s bag and takes a step back.

[I wanted to go home together…]

This one phrase, whispered by Shizuku, had reached Riku at the main gate. As Riku said, these words could only be heard because he was waiting.

When her true feelings reached him, it was only natural for happiness to sprout within him. After all, it meant that she was looking forward to the promise he had made with her.

“Baka…”

“Well, I might be an idiot compared to you, but you don’t have to say that now…”

“That’s not what I mean… Mou~.”

This “idiot” shouldn’t be taken in a literal sense. The word has multiple meanings in this context.

“Well, there’s no point in worrying about it… Like I said earlier, let’s hurry home, okay?”

“….Baka”

With a dissatisfied pout on her face, Shizuku heard Riku’s suggestion to go home once again. Although she was held up because of the student council work, they needed to get home quickly so as not to cause unnecessary worry for their families.

While they wanted to talk more, prioritizing personal feelings would be a mistake. As high school students, they needed to show restraint. Of course, Shizuku understood this as well.

And so, Shizuku took a certain action…

“…Here”

“Ehh, What’s with that hand?”

Shizuku held out her unoccupied right hand towards Riku. However, Riku, being somewhat dense, couldn’t understand the meaning of her action.

“Hmm!”

With a tilt of her head, Shizuku held out her right hand again.

“Ah, a handshake?… Wait, why a handshake?”

“…Hold…hand…”

“What did you say?”

Even after all that, Riku still didn’t understand…

With a great deal of courage, Shizuku conveyed her wish. Luckily, it was late and there were few people around. Her blushing face was only seen by Riku.

“I… I want to hold hands… on the way home…”

“Ah, hold hands… wait, what!?”

“I did my best with the student council work until this late… so, isn’t it okay for me to be a little spoiled…?”

As Shizuku closed the distance between them, Riku became visibly flustered.

“So, don’t you want to hold hands with me?”

“That’s not it… it’s just that I wasn’t prepared for… this kind of thing…”

…These were the last words before they held hands.

Gyuuu

“…!?”

“Caught you…”

Shizuku’s slender and long fingers intertwined with Riku’s hand.

“It’s your fault, Riku-kun… because you didn’t let me prepare back then…”

“Ah, um… yeah.”

Riku, who had been urging her to go home several times, was now holding hands with Shizuku and his body stiffened. His heart raced, and shortness of breath attacked him due to the intense tension.

“Aren’t you going to squeeze back, Riku-kun?”

“Well, I can’t just squeeze back when you suddenly do something like this…”

“…Coward.”

“You’re one to talk, Shizuku.”

“I’m holding your hand properly, aren’t I?”

“…Well, of course, you can do that if you planned it all out.”

There was a reason why Riku thought that.

– Riku had tried to take Shizuku’s bag with one hand while holding his own, but Shizuku didn’t let him. 

If she had, Riku’s hands would be full, and they wouldn’t be able to hold hands…

If she had been planning to “hold hands,” then that was something she absolutely had to avoid.

“I didn’t plan anything… I just… wanted to do this now…”

“…You’re lying.”

“…I like you, Riku-kun… That’s why I want to do this…”

“…!”

Her cheeks turned red as she gazed at him with upturned eyes. Riku also naturally locked his gaze with hers. Neither can look away, and their bodies grow hotter.

It was in the midst of this.

“Ah, um, I don’t mind you showing off your passionate side, but… can we close the school gate now?”

“…Yanagida-sensei!?”

“Huh!?”

Shizuku released the hand she was holding at the speed of light and quickly changed her body’s direction. Riku was left behind at the scene.

“I never thought you, the student council president, would say such a thing. But well, the reason you were struggling must have been that. It must have been tough.”

“No, this, uh…!”

“…”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. The only idiots who interfere with the love lives of students are the student guidance staff, that’s enough.”

After saying those words, Yanagida-sensei skillfully closed the school gate.

“Go ahead and be lovey-dovey, boyfriend and girlfriend… That’s what youth is all about.”

He put the key to close the gate in his pocket and left, uttering such a line.

And then, the two were left behind.

“Are you okay, Shizuku?”

“I can’t stand it anymore… To be seen like that… I, I just…”

With her long silver hair covering her face, she shakes her head vigorously. After a while, when her head stops moving, a faint voice can be heard, as if it could disappear at any moment.

“Let’s go home…”

“Ah, yeah… Let’s go home…”

After that, they both walked home without talking, the atmosphere awkward.

From time to time, cars pass by, casting their shadows in the headlights.

…However, in those shadows, their hands were still connected.