When I read the heart of the never-smiling princess, for some reason she had already fallen head over heels in love for me. - v1 Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Calling the Princess by her name and vice versa

After school on Monday, in other words, at the deadline for the task, members of the student council gathered in the council room.

Nozomi Saeki, seated at her usual spot in the council room, trembled as she held and checked the filed documents in her hands.

Her hands, which had been flipping through the papers fervently until just a moment ago, now paused, and her mouth contorted as if she were gritting her teeth.

“I also had a look at it earlier, and it was splendid. With these documents as a base, we can propose improvements and unique ideas based on the seniors’ initiatives.”

Katsuragi Minami spoke calmly.

Nozomi’s trembling seemed to have stopped, but she remained silent.

Taromaru and Hoshino watched the exchange between the two with surprised expressions.

“Seriously, Saiga. Did you really compile ten years’ worth of material?”

“Takagi.”

“Nn?”

“Call me Takagi. We’re in the same student council, after all.”

Taromaru Jiro said, his mouth half-open in surprise. He scratched his cheek awkwardly, then suddenly broke into a wide grin. After that, he raised his hand—then abruptly stopped.

Apparently, he had intended to pat my shoulder but refrained at the last moment.

“Alright, nice to meet you, Takagi! You can call me Jiro too!”

“Sure, but keep your voice down a bit.”

“Got it!”

“Yeah, you’re not getting it at all.”

Although I was bewildered, I just gave an awkward smile.

At that moment, I heard timid voice saying, “Uh, um…” and when I looked over, Hoshino flinched. She was the one who called out to me, why she was getting startled instead then?

Blushing, she avoided eye contact with me as she continued, “Um… me too, umm, is it okay if I call you Takagi-kun as well?”

[TL: There’s some Kansai dialect mixed in it, kinda cute xD.]

“Whichever you prefer is fine. I’ll call you Hoshino too.”

When I conveyed my prepared words, Hoshino breathed a sigh of relief. It was natural for her to be called by her name if she called me by mine.

But even for me, leaving aside MInami-san, it’s quite embarrassing to call Hoshino or Saeki by their names.

“So I’ll call you Myu-chan. Please feel free to call me Mii-chan.”

“Myu…! Mii…!”

You have suddenly forced your way even beyond the friendly stage, Minami-san,.

Hoshino turned bright red like a boiled octopus and froze.

It seems my consideration until now was all turned null and void.

“Then would President call me, Jii-san then? Calling me a Grandpa when I am just sixteen!”

“? Aren’t you Jiro-san?”

“That’s not at all in the same wavelength!”

He laughed heartily, but his voice abruptly stopped with a sharp sound.

Saeki, who had been tapping the table with a file she held, said, “This isn’t a casual gathering of friends. It’s unacceptable for the representative organization of the students to behave foolishly. If you’re just in the mood to play, do it somewhere else.”

“Smooth communication is a good thing I think. In my experience, its necessary for an organization to consciously build relationships for organizing things better than to their members at their own devices.”

Katsuragi MInami-san replied in a theoretical manner. I was taken aback at how quickly her change in attitude took place.

Perhaps even Saeki was surprised, as she could only look dumbfounded without being able to come up with an arguement.

“By the way, there was no response yet. You must understand that the document submitted by Takagi-kun is suitable for the secretary’s qualifications.”

“…”

“If you continue to give negative opinions even at this stage, I must question the vice-president’s qualifications.”

“…”

It was a de facto declaration of victory.

Saeki shifts her eyes and glares at me. I can understand the feeling of regret without even trying to read it.

Sorry, Saeki, but, SERVES YOU RIGHT.

“If you don’t have any complaints hereafter, I’m fine with taking that as your approval, Nozomi.”

“Nozo!?”

Saeki exclaimed with a hysterical voice.

Wide-eyed, she stared straight at Katsuragi MInami-san.

“What’s wrong? Did I say something strange?”

“……Once again.”

“Yes?”

“Call my …once more.”

“Sure, is something wrong, Nozomi?”

Saeki jumped like a shrimp. What’s with this girl?

Resting her elbows on the desk, and with both hands Saeki went on and covered her face in a posture like Suprme Commander Gendo Ikari while sending a serious gaze at Minami.

[TL notes: Gendo Ikari is a character from Evengelion.]

“Well, then, for the sake of organizational management, I’m fine with calling you that. Um, Minami?”

“Of course.”

“Nhuh…”

Saeki gave a creepy smile, her eyes filled with a look of ecstasy. What’s up with this guy?

As we looked at her in puzzlement, Saeki suddenly snapped out of it and crossed her arms, sporting a serious expression.

“Well, I understood okay. I’ll acknowledge the effort you’ve put into finishing this. Takagi is suitable for the secretary role.”

“Nozomi, it’s Takagi-kun, not ‘him.'”

“I’m not trying to be overly friendly. ‘Saiga’ is fine.”

“Even though you call the president by his name?” Jiro pointed out.

“A strong bond of trust is necessary between the president and vice president. Minami is the exception.”

Saeki replied stubbornly.

Her attitude had been strange for a moment now, it’s from the time when Minami called her by her name. But as per her inner voice, didn’t Saeki already know her name from before? Aren’t they already acquainted?

On the other hand, Minami interacts with everyone else normally, I can’t understand the relationship between them.

It bothered me a little. Even now, I feel like I might read the human relationships that are still of interest.

I held onto my reason to suppress that urge.