The Protagonist's Sister Loves Me, But She's Definitely a Yandere. - Chapter 24: Assigning Departments

Chapter 24: Assigning Departments

For organizing and running the sports festival, several departments had been set up.

There was the Public Relations Department, Equipment Management Department, Accounting Department, and a few others. I didn’t have any strong preferences, so I figured I’d just go with the flow and pick a department based on how the conversation went.

Right now, it seemed like the Public Relations Department was short on people.

Their tasks involved putting up posters, making signs, and distributing information to the local community. Our school’s sports festival was open to the public, and last year, it was pretty lively.

We were allowed to decide our departments by discussing with our friends. Because of that, a lot of students were signing up for the same departments together.

I also got pulled into one of these discussions.

“Why don’t we just go with the Public Relations Department?”

“…As long as I’m in the same department as you, Shin-nii, that’s fine with me. Right?”

“I’m good with anything. …Alright, Public Relations it is.”

There was a rule that the two committee members from each class had to be in the same department. It was fine if multiple people joined the same department, but both partners had to agree.

This rule was supposed to make it easier to coordinate things.

It made sense —if the committee members from each class joined different departments, things could get messy later. I decided to ask Kusunoki for her opinion.

“Kusunoki, are you okay with the Public Relations Department?”

“Yeah, I’m fine with whatever. I’ll leave it up to you, Usui.”

“Alright, got it. Public Relations it is, then.”

Kusunoki waved her hand lightly and agreed.

Honestly, from what I’d heard, the easiest department was Equipment Management, and the hardest was Public Relations. That seemed to be true —there was a crowd of students in front of the student council member handling Equipment Management. Meanwhile, Public Relations was practically empty.

I stood up and walked to the front.

“Uh, I’d like to sign up for the Public Relations Department. And the members are—”

As I was giving our names to the student council member in charge of Public Relations, someone suddenly spoke to me from the side. And the person was… quite unexpected.

“Sorry to interrupt. Do you have a moment?”

“Oh, Himeno-senpai! Good work today. Sure, go ahead!”

I instinctively took a step back. Standing in front of me was someone with sleek, jet-black hair and sharp, intense eyes.

Yuri Himeno stood there with a blank expression. It was hard to believe this was the same person who smiled so warmly at Hinata.

“You’re Usui-kun, right? It’s been a while since we’ve talked directly.”

“Yeah, that’s true. We usually talk through Hinata.”

“…Why are you here?”

Her blunt question made me freeze. This was her real personality.

A lone wolf who kept everyone at arm’s length. Someone too talented to be easily understood.

Her words were impossible to read. I let out a small sigh.

“Hinata backed out of being a committee member. You can probably guess why.”

It was the same explanation I’d given multiple times today. Himeno-senpai gave a slight nod.

“Yes, I have an idea. I assume Sakuragi tricked him into it.”

“Tricked is a strong word… but I won’t deny it.”

Hinata and Rika were probably out on a date right now. I didn’t want to add fuel to the fire, so I kept my thoughts to myself. Between Mimi and Himeno-senpai, their intensity made it tricky to choose the right words.

And yet, she had no problem asking me this question right here, in such a public place.

“…As long as you can do the work, that’s all that matters. I’ll ask Hinata directly about the details.”

Wow. Her expression softened just by saying Hinata’s name.

Seriously, what kind of magic did that guy use to win over Himeno-senpai? When I first started at this school, I heard that there was an incredibly beautiful second-year student.

That turned out to be Himeno-senpai, who honestly stood out quite a bit.

Given her difficult personality, it kind of made sense.

“Usui-kun, I want to ask you something.”

“…That’s rare. You asking me a question?”

“Tell me how to win over Hinata-kun. You know he’s indecisive. I think that’s cute, but I want to move forward and be more than just friends.”

That was another straight-to-the-point question. I felt like it might leave a hole in my chest.

Since she was asking me directly instead of going through someone else, it showed how serious she was. If I had to guess who was ahead in the harem race right now, it was probably Rika.

“‘Win him over,’ huh? …What exactly do you want to know?”

“Like, what would a guy be happy to get as a gift? Or things he’d want someone to do for him?”

The other day, Hinata jokingly told me he didn’t really understand love.

I didn’t know if he was serious or not, but if he was serious, then it might be hard for any of these girls to become his girlfriend. He even said he didn’t plan on dating anyone.

“His birthday is coming up soon. But I don’t know many guys I can ask for advice. When I search online, I can’t be sure what’s reliable.”

“So that’s why you came to me.”

“Yes. What do you think?”

I understood what she was getting at.

“…Alright, I’ll help, but it seems like we’re short on time right now.”

“You’re right. Then I’ll ask you again sometime soon —before his birthday.”

I had completely forgotten about Hinata’s birthday.

We stopped exchanging gifts a long time ago when we were kids. As I agreed to Himeno-senpai’s request, I glanced at the wall clock. It really did seem like we were running out of time.

It looked like most of the other students had already decided on their departments.