I Was Reincarnated as a Mob in a Completed School Rom-Com Manga, and When I Tried My Best to Cheer Up the Broken Losing Heroines, I Realized I Had Surpassed the Original Story - 16

Chapter 16: Student Council President Election Part 3

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After receiving an invitation from Chadani-san to become the student council vice president, several days passed, yet I still couldn’t bring myself to give her an answer.

“Kazuto-kun, could you check the draft for my campaign speech?”

After school, as I was working in the classroom like always, Nazuna came up to the desk where I was sitting. When I looked up at her while still seated, her voluptuous chest blocked half her face from this angle.

How indecent…

 I thought to myself, but careful not to let her notice my gaze, I accepted the two sheets of paper.

“Y-yeah, s-sure…!”

“Um, I tried my best to write it, but it’s my first time writing this kind of thing, so I can’t help feeling unsure…”

Even as Nazuna made such timid comments while I was skimming through the printed pages she handed me, her writing was flawless—unsurprising, considering she was far smarter than I was.

“No, I think this is really good! I’m glad I trusted you with it!”

“Really!? Hearing you say that, Kazuto-kun, gives me so much confidence!”

“I want Chadani-san to look over it later too, so is it okay if I hold onto this for now?”

“Yes, of course!”

With a beaming smile, Nazuna simply stood there, basking in the joy of the moment.

“Y-you look really happy for some reason…”

“Ehehe… When you praise me, Kazuto-kun, my cheeks get all drooopy…”

At that moment, I heard faint shutter sounds going off in rapid succession behind us. When I turned my head toward the sound, Kirari was pointing her phone’s camera at Nazuna with an expression that practically screamed “guehehe…” Maybe she was collecting photos of her… She really never let anything slip by.

Suddenly, my eyes were drawn to the movement of the two members of the poster team at the back of the classroom.

“Hiyori-senpai, that’s not it~! Okay, watch closely, okay? Achyooh!!”

“Like… this? Achoo~!”

“No no no, like this, liiike this!”

“L-like th- this…?”

Moe and Konno-san had abandoned their work entirely and were practicing some sort of kung-fu-like moves.

“What the hell are you two doing…?”

“What do you mean? I’m teaching Hiyori-senpai how to attack when she gets annoyed at Onii-chan.”

My sister spoke as if to say, “Isn’t it obvious?” Then Konno-san, pointing the brand-new stance she had just learned at me, said.

“Do you want to try taking Moe’s secret technique?”

“Konno-san… Please, don’t take her seriously…”

“But I’m bored…”

Konno-san’s sulky little face, still frozen in her kung-fu pose, was honestly adorable.

“Well, if the poster’s done, then whatever. Go ahead and master that path.”

“You sure? If I become a kung-fu ninja, someone like Kurosaki-kun can be done in just one punch, one punch.”

Konno-san threw a couple of quick punches through the air—shff, shff.

“P-please, be my guest…”

I never imagined Konno-san would be corrupted by Moe… Though it was definitely true she’d become far brighter than before, which left me with complicated feelings.

“Moe, that guy is no match for me. Please finish him off when you get home.”

“If it’s Hiyori-senpai asking, then I guess I have no choice~. Onii-chan, prepare yourself, okay?”

“Yeah yeah… I get it, just don’t bother anyone else, alright…?”

Another day of the manga research club members peacefully enjoying themselves… I think.

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“Please cast your vote for Suzu Chadaniiiiiii!”

““Pleeease!””

Once the election period officially began, we manga club members split up and started handing out flyers in the early mornings and during lunch breaks. Chadani-san, Konno-san, and I took the area in front of the student entrance, while Nazuna and the first-years handled the courtyard.

Having a large number of people was the strength of the Chadani campaign—it allowed for strategies like this. Nazuna’s support campaign speech, delivered by one of the most popular students on campus, worked brilliantly, and it felt like Chadani-san’s approval rating was skyrocketing.

However, there was one problem. As we continued handing out flyers, the courtyard became filled with students lining up just to get close to popular Nazuna, while the entrance—where the actual candidate, Chadani-san, stood—had only sparse foot traffic.

“Everyone’s desperate to get even a little closer to Nazuna… Lately Kirari’s practically giving off the vibe of a professional talent manager.”

Konno-san reacted to my mutter.

“Yesterday Kirari tried to charge 500 yen per handshake with Nazuna.”

A shocking truth dropped out of nowhere. More than confusion or exasperation, panic took over.

“H-hey hey hey, if that gets found out we’re done for…! That’s like bribery or an under-the-table scheme! You stopped her, right, Konno-san!?”

Konno-san made a face like a little “?” appeared above her head, then said to me.

“I told her to make sure she didn’t get caught. And to give me a share too.”

“I—it’s over for us…”

Seeing my shoulders slump, Konno-san suddenly broke into laughter, as if she couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Pft—puhahaha… I’m kidding. You totally fell for it.”

Even though it was the first time in a while I’d seen Konno-san looking so genuinely amused, I really couldn’t appreciate it right now.

“S-seriously, cut it out… My heart almost stopped…”

“Because your troubled face is funny, Kurosaki-kun.”

“You’ve got awful taste…”

“I’m going to the bathroom.”

With a hand over her mouth as she giggled, Konno-san turned and walked off. Watching her go, I felt the significance of an election that had somehow pulled in all the Amakoi heroines. But, of course, the earnest Chadani-san wasn’t pleased with the situation. Peering out from the large window near the entrance at the state of the courtyard, she murmured quietly.

“At this rate, no one would know who the actual candidate is…”

“Well, Nazuna already had hardcore fans from the start…”

Not to mention the biggest one is in her own family…

“If I win like this, can I even be happy about it…? Maybe I really should withdraw…”

Knowing her sense of responsibility, she probably felt guilty, as if she were cheating somehow.

“Even then, I think this is still part of your ability, Chadani-san. Nazuna wouldn’t ever support someone she thought wasn’t fit to be the student council president.”

“But still…”

Her inner struggle felt familiar. In the original story, the protagonist Shiratori had coddled Chadani-san in moments like this, and it had ended badly. The confidence she’d had during the original storyline seemed missing now, likely because of that. Among the heroines in the Amakoi, Suzu Chadani was the only one who didn’t get the chance to confess her feelings to the protagonist. I never wanted her to experience regret again. So I decided that giving her some half-baked encouragement would be the worst possible thing. Rather than flattering her to push her up the tree, I wanted her to climb by her own will.

“Alright. Why don’t you quit then?”

“Eh…”

Behind her glasses, her round eyes widened as she stared at me.

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