Chapter 8

The following day during lunch break.

I was accompanying Yuina, who was appearing on the broadcasting club’s program, and had come with her to the broadcasting room. Inside the booth, Yuina was seated across from the head of the broadcasting club. I was watching over things from the adjacent room that housed the sound equipment.

Yuina looked slightly tense, her expression a bit stiff. Her shoulders were rigid, and she was staring intently at the script. Before long, it was time for the broadcast to begin. The intro played, and the broadcasting club president kicked things off with a greeting.

“Hello everyone! It’s time for our lunchtime radio. Let’s have another lively session today. We have a new personality joining us starting today, so let me introduce her. Yuina Izumi-san!”

The president gave a signal, and Yuina, looking nervous, gave her first line.

“H-hello everyone. I’m Yuina Izumi, and I’ll be serving as a new personality starting today. Please call me Yuinyan.”

Yuina read the script in a cheerful, engaging tone. The nickname Yuinyan was probably thought up by the broadcasting club president. Seems like the plan is to make Yuina the mascot of the show.

“So, let’s jump right into today’s advice corner. Since it’s a special occasion, let’s have Yuinyan answer them.”

Apparently, the advice corner was based on submissions sent to an official suggestion box run by the broadcasting club. Still, I doubted they got enough questions every day to sustain a segment like this. My guess is that some of the “submissions” were made up by the club members themselves.

“Alright, the first one. I have someone I like, but since we’ve known each other for a long time, I’m not confident they see me as someone of the opposite sex. How can I make them more conscious of me romantically? So, a love-related question. Yuinyan, what do you think?”

The president tossed the question to Yuina, who furrowed her brows in nervous thought. During the pre-show meeting, they mentioned that the questions would be read at random. In other words, the answers had to be ad-libbed on the spot. Honestly, I was nervous about having an inexperienced Yuina handle a live broadcast, but since she said she was fine with it, I gave the okay.

After a brief hesitation, Yuina brought her mouth close to the mic and began to answer.

“It depends on whether the person asking is a boy or a girl. If it’s a boy, maybe going to a haunted house together and showing how dependable you are would be good. If it’s a girl, maybe making him a bento lunch? They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, right?”

Fluent and confident, Yuina’s answer left me impressed. Her shoulders were still tense, but from how smoothly she spoke, there was nothing to worry about.

“I see, I see. As a guy myself, I definitely find it charming when a girl cooks for me. Not that I have any girl friends who’d cook for me… Anyone interested?”

The president tied it up comically. As expected from the head of the broadcasting club.

“Next up, another love question. I had my heart broken. But I still like the person. Should I just give up completely? Yep, another romance-related dilemma. As expected from high school students in such an emotionally charged time. What do you think, Yuinyan?”

“Hmm, heartbreak is tough. I’ve been through it, so I get it.”

“Huh? Yuinyan, you’ve had someone you liked?”

“That’s a secret. I’ll just say I’ve been heartbroken before.”

“Oooh, now I’m curious. The face of the villain who dumped a cute girl like Yuinyan!”

Talking about love probably wasn’t ideal for building up Yuina’s presence among the students. Some boys might still be hoping they have a chance with her. If she’s going to be marketed like an idol, love talk is bound to cause a stir. But Yuina dodged the question well. She admitted she’d experienced heartbreak—that much I’d heard before. And from the way she answered, it’s clear that she’s currently single. That alone is enough to spark hope in a lot of boys.

“As for the question, I don’t think you have to give up. It’s okay to still like someone. Even if things aren’t working out now, the future might be different. Until then, you can work on improving yourself and make them fall for you.”

“Yeah, putting in effort to get the person you like to notice you—that’s a good approach.”

“Exactly. So don’t give up. Let’s all work on ourselves for the ones we love.”

“Thank you! That was a wonderful answer. Man, with all this love talk, I’m starting to feel like falling in love myself. What do you say, Yuinyan, want to fall in love with me?”

“Sorry.”

“That was fast!”

The president slumped his shoulders in exaggerated defeat. I thought he was joking, but maybe he was actually a bit serious. Still, the room was filled with laughter.

“Alright, next question. I work hard in my club activities, but there’s someone I just can’t seem to beat. What can I do to win? That’s a tough one. Yuinyan, your thoughts?”

“Hmm. One thing I’d like to say is that even though you’re trying your best, your opponent is probably working really hard too. So if you want to win, you’ll just have to work even harder.”

“True. Even geniuses have to put in the effort.”

“I’m cheering for you, whoever you are.”

“Alright, you’ve got Yuinyan’s support! If you don’t give it your all now, you’re not a man!”

The president took Yuina’s words and hyped them up perfectly. I couldn’t see how the listeners were reacting, but it seemed like things were going well.

“Alright, that’s it for the advice corner. Next, we’ll play a requested song.”

They played a song requested by a student, and the mic was turned off for now. At that moment, Yuina slumped forward like all her energy had been drained. The president scratched his cheek with a wry smile. From here on, the MC would just speak between songs and then close out the show. The biggest hurdle had been cleared. I could understand why she’d relax now.

“That was great. Izumi-san, you spoke so fluently it didn’t feel like your first time at all. Great diction too. I hope you’ll keep doing this.”

A broadcasting club member working on the soundboard said that to me.

Honestly, Yuina lived up to expectations as a personality. She had good chemistry with the president, and I felt confident she could keep it up going forward.

After that, the radio program ended smoothly, and Yuina came out of the booth.

“Good job.”

I handed her a paper cup filled with water.

“Thanks.”

Yuina took the cup and drank it all in one go.

“You two can use the broadcasting room for lunch. We’re heading to the cafeteria, so just make sure to lock up afterward.”

The president said that, and the broadcasting club members left the room. Now it was just me and Yuina. With just the two of us, we wouldn’t raise suspicion even if we had the same lunch. I let out a breath of relief and unwrapped my bento.

“How was it?”

“I think it went really well. You spoke fluently. Sure, you were nervous, but for a first time, you did great.”

“Good. Knowing Hotaka was watching over me helped calm my nerves.”

“Then I’m glad I came along.”

With that, we both started eating. I popped a piece of egg rolls into my mouth and slowly chewed. Yuina stared at my face.

“What is it?”

“I was wondering… how’s the egg roll?”

“It’s good.”

“Really? I’m glad.”

Yuina let out a relieved breath. When I tilted my head in confusion, she smiled.

“I made them today.”

Yuina said, a little bashfully.

“I see. That’s why you were watching me so closely.”

“I did taste-test it myself, so I figured it’d be okay, but still… it’s nerve-wracking to have someone else eat what you made.”

“I’ve never cooked anything myself, so I think it’s impressive.”

“It was my first time too. But I’m glad it turned out well.”

Satisfied, Yuina took a bite of the tamagoyaki herself.

So Yuina cooks, huh? That’s pretty feminine of her. I found myself admiring her a bit.

While we were eating, my phone buzzed with a notification. When I checked, it was a reply from Ikki about the matter I’d asked him about yesterday.

“What’s up? You’re staring at your phone.”

“Oh, I asked Ikki to look into the campaign pledges of the Kuze–Madara pairing. He says he found out.”

Ikki used the baseball team’s network to investigate what pledges Kuze and Madara were planning. Apparently, one of the team members is in the same class as Madara and got the info from there.

“Let’s see… raising the average test scores, expanding the cafeteria menu, banning romance…”

“Banning romance? That’s messed up!”

This could be our chance. A lot of students would probably be against a romance ban. I’m not sure how many of the advice submissions are legit, but the fact that so many of them are about love shows that students are pretty interested in romance.

“But the cafeteria menu expansion is appealing.”

The majority of students rely on the cafeteria. Ours is notoriously limited in options. Improving that would be a huge plus. The ones we should aim for are the students who want to experience romance. Yuina, who answered romance questions during today’s broadcast, would probably get their support. The problem is the more serious students who aren’t interested in romance. They’ll undoubtedly support the Kuze–Madara pair. Those who want to raise the school’s academic level will vote for them. Yuina also has a pledge to hold study sessions to raise the average scores, but compared to top-performing students like Kuze, her plan lacks impact.

Still, I think Yuina should position herself as the opposition to the romance ban.

“The direction’s clear now.”

“I’ve got one more reason I can’t lose. That romance ban is a terrible policy. I have to stop it.”

Yuina was fired up. That was good. Honestly, I personally wouldn’t mind a romance ban. If students ended up getting physically involved and someone got pregnant, that’d be a real problem. Though I’m probably the last person who should be saying that, considering I had a sex-friend.

“In any case, we can’t afford to lose.”

While Yuina sat beside me brimming with motivation, I sent Ikki our next plan of action.