The bell signaling the end of school rang on time, declaring the conclusion of the day's classes.
Shikime Natsu turned his head and spoke to Kamuro Masumi, who was organizing her notes.
"Masumi, you don't need to wait for me this afternoon. Go ahead and study on your own; I have an appointment with someone else."
Kamuro Masumi's hands paused slightly as she packed her notes. She then nodded slightly, her purple eyes sweeping a shallow glance over Shikime Natsu.
"Got it."
The girl didn't ask further, simply giving a concise reply. Those purple eyes were already very good at concealing her emotions.
However, Kamuro Masumi still felt somewhat dissatisfied in her heart. Recently, Shikime Natsu's time after school had always been fully booked, and then in the evening, there would be Horikita Suzune and Kushida Kikyou.
The time the two of them could spend alone together was left with only nine to nine-thirty. Mm, class time didn't count.
Although Kamuro Masumi could go see Shikime Natsu at night, the thought that Shikime Natsu was planning to see other girls right now brought an inexplicable emotion to her heart—a bit of sourness.
There really were so many girls around Shikime Natsu. Not limited to just their class, but also Class B, Class C, and Class D. Even last night, Shikime Natsu had gotten to know an upperclassman girl, Asahina Nazuna from Class 2-A.
As for how she knew, one shouldn't underestimate a girl's intelligence network.
After bidding farewell to Kamuro Masumi, he followed the address sent by Ichinose Honami and quickly arrived at the designated location.
It wasn't the karaoke bar, nor was it the coffee shop in Keyaki Mall, but a bench in a secluded corner of the school.
It was currently the peak time for school dismissal. Most students were flooding toward club activity rooms or the commercial street, making this place appear exceptionally deserted, with almost no one in sight.
"Shikime-san, over here!"
Seeing Shikime Natsu's figure appear, Ichinose Honami, who had been waiting there for some time, immediately stood up, a surprised smile revealing itself on her face.
She maintained that energetic appearance today as well, her strawberry-blonde long hair fluttering gently in the breeze.
"Sorry for asking to meet you in a place like this."
Ichinose Honami felt somewhat embarrassed.
"I just felt... some things are better said in a slightly quieter place."
"It doesn't matter. The scenery here is quite nice too."
Shikime Natsu smiled and walked to the bench.
With this atmosphere and this opening line, if an unknowing person were to see this, they would definitely think this was the buildup to a confession.
However, Shikime Natsu knew very well that things weren't that simple.
Although Ichinose Honami indeed had some favorable impressions of him, their relationship hadn't progressed to that step yet, and the number of their interactions wasn't particularly high either.
"Please, sit."
Ichinose Honami scooted to the side, signaling for Shikime Natsu to sit down.
The two sat side-by-side on the same bench, separated by roughly one person's width. It didn't appear distant, yet it maintained a polite distance.
After sitting down, Shikime Natsu didn't rush to speak, but quietly waited for the girl beside him to break the silence.
"Um... Shikime-san."
After a moment, Ichinose Honami finally spoke, her voice somewhat soft.
"Regarding yesterday, thank you so very much."
"Yesterday?"
Shikime Natsu turned his head to the side.
"Mn, it's about Yuki-chan."
Ichinose Honami said earnestly.
"Thanks to you escorting her back yesterday."
"Oh, that..."
Shikime Natsu waved his hand, speaking in a casual tone.
"That isn't something particularly worth thanking me for. Seeing a classmate in difficulty and lending a helping hand is a very normal thing."
In fact, he hadn't escorted Himeno Yuki to the dormitory downstairs at all. He had merely chatted a few sentences with that beautiful girl who liked to call herself a gloomy person, and after exchanging contact information, she had left.
The one he had truly escorted to the dormitory downstairs was the second-year Asahina Nazuna.
Of course, there was no need to specifically explain such things.
"No, what Shikime-san did is very worthy of gratitude. Both Yuki-chan and I are very grateful for your help."
Ichinose Honami shook her head and revealed a smile as she spoke.
Himeno Yuki was grateful for his help? Impossible. Clearly, just last night she felt he was threatening her, saying that if she didn't agree to exchange contact information, he would shatter Himeno Yuki's current situation.
However, Shikime Natsu didn't refute it too much. Since she said so, he could only accept it.
"However, Ichinose-san calling me specifically to this place today shouldn't be just for this matter, right?"
Shikime Natsu's gaze landed once again on the girl's beautiful cheeks. If he stared too much into the girl's eyes, it might make her somewhat averse.
"Mn..."
Having her thoughts hit the mark, the smile on Ichinose Honami's face retracted slightly, revealing a somewhat bitter smile.
She lowered her head, looking at the tips of her shoes, and asked somewhat hesitantly:
"Shikime-san... do you think I am a qualified class leader?"
"Of course you are."
Shikime Natsu answered without hesitation.
"This point can be seen just by observing the situation in Class B a little."
"Your classmates all admire you, and it's that kind of unreserved trust. To be able to gain the support of so many people and unite the entire class within just one month of school starting—based on this alone, you are already a qualified leader that countless people can only hope to emulate."
This was not flattery, but a fact.
Ichinose Honami's charisma was indeed very strong. That warm radiance, like the sun, could easily attract the people around her to gather by her side.
"But..."
Ichinose Honami sighed softly, her voice carrying a few hints of self-blame.
"Even though everyone trusts me very much, I... seem to haven't properly understood the feelings of everyone in the class.
"For example... Yuki-chan."
When the name Himeno Yuki came out of her mouth, Shikime Natsu's heart moved slightly.
Had Himeno Yuki been exposed?
However, on the surface, he didn't show any abnormality, still maintaining that calm expression.
"What's wrong with Himeno-san?"
He asked back.
"I... always feel I have no way to truly understand her feelings."
Ichinose Honami lifted her head, her eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment.
"Every time the class organizes an outing to play, I also invite Yuki-chan. Although she agrees every time, she... often chooses to leave halfway through.
"Every time I see the back of her leaving silently alone, I wonder... is she not happy staying with us?
"But, if she isn't happy, why did she choose to participate in the first place? If she really hated this kind of activity, wouldn't it be fine to just refuse directly?"
This contradictory behavior left Ichinose Honami puzzled no matter how much she thought about it.
She had always strived to create a class atmosphere where everyone could be happy and united, not wishing for anyone to fall behind.
But Himeno Yuki was like an unsolvable riddle, making her feel powerless.
"So yesterday..."
Ichinose Honami looked at Shikime Natsu and said somewhat apologetically.
"Yesterday, I agreed to let you go find Yuki-chan. Actually... I had a selfish motive.
"I wanted to try and see, if it were Shikime-san, would there be any different result?
"After all, Shikime-san is very popular with everyone, and since you are from another class, perhaps... Yuki-chan might open her heart to you."
Speaking of this, she lowered her head again.
"I'm sorry, Shikime-san. Clearly you were helping out of kindness, yet I utilized you."
"Utilized?"
Shikime Natsu couldn't help but laugh.
"Ichinose-san, this doesn't count as utilizing anything.
"After all, I was the one who actively proposed to go find Himeno-san at that time; you just went with the flow."
If he were to evaluate her, this girl Ichinose Honami... was truly too kind.
Kind to the point of being a bit silly.
Himeno Yuki didn't hide it very deeply. Her attitude of drifting outside the group, as well as that contradictory sense of 'clearly not liking to follow the crowd yet being forced to follow the crowd'—anyone slightly sharp could detect it.
And Ichinose Honami had actually discovered this long ago. It was just because she was too kind, didn't want to pierce that layer of paper, and didn't want to force Himeno Yuki to change, that she kept pretending not to know, attempting to use her own way to warm the other party.
She had definitely said things like "If you need any help, feel free to find me" to Himeno Yuki more than once.
And with Himeno Yuki's personality, there was a high probability she only answered with perfunctory words like "It's nothing" or "Don't worry."
This led to the two sides being fundamentally unable to conduct effective communication.
One was a lone wolf who didn't want to be paid too much attention, had her own independent thoughts but didn't want to destroy the atmosphere; the other was an enthusiastic class leader who hoped for everyone to be together, with not a single one missing.
When these two diametrically opposite values collided, it was actually a form of torture for both of them.
"So then..."
Ichinose Honami took a deep breath, asking as if she had mustered up enough courage.
"Shikime-san, did Yuki-chan... say anything to you?
"For example... her views on Class B? Or... her views on me?"
Looking at the girl's eyes filled with anticipation yet carrying a few points of anxiety, Shikime Natsu weighed his words in his heart.
"She indeed chatted a bit with me."
Shikime Natsu spoke slowly.
"Himeno-san feels that Class B is a very united, very warm class. And regarding you, the class leader, she doesn't have any negative views either. She even feels you are very hardworking and very dazzling."
"It's just that she isn't good at expressing herself."
This was the truth.
At least half of it was the truth.
Himeno Yuki indeed didn't hate Class B, nor did she hate Ichinose Honami.
But this didn't mean she liked that kind of collective life where everyone was stuck together all day.
The remaining half of the truth was that she preferred to stay alone, hoping even more that Ichinose Honami wouldn't interfere too much in her private space, and wouldn't always try to pull her into that circle which didn't suit her.
However, saying such words now wouldn't do any good; it would only make Ichinose Honami feel even more struck down.
Sometimes, white lies are necessary.
"Really?"
Hearing these words, Ichinose Honami's tense body finally relaxed, and a smile appeared on her face again.
"That's great... I thought Yuki-chan hated our class..."
She patted her chest, as if relieved of a heavy burden.
Shikime Natsu didn't see any falseness in Ichinose Honami, so she had believed Shikime Natsu's words.
She believed it that simply?
"I'm really sorry, Shikime-san."
Ichinose Honami apologized again.
"Clearly handling Class A's matters is already not easy for you, yet I still troubled you to worry about these trivial matters of our Class B..."
"It's nothing."
Shikime Natsu shrugged, speaking with a relaxed face.
"Actually, handling Class A's matters isn't troublesome.
"On the contrary, you, Ichinose—I feel you would be the more tired one."
"?"
Ichinose Honami froze for a moment.
"Why?"
Shikime Natsu looked at her and explained seriously.
"Because our management styles are completely different.
"In Class A, I basically only take charge of providing a general goal and direction. The remaining matters are handed over to others to execute. As long as everyone can advance toward that goal, I usually won't care about whatever small interludes happen in the process.
"To put it plainly, I'm a hands-off boss. Unless someone actively comes to the door to ask for help, I rarely take the initiative to interfere in other people's private matters."
Speaking up to here, he paused, looking at Ichinose Honami pointedly.
"But I see you are different. You seem to always be thinking about taking care of every single person thoroughly. Whether it's studies, life, or psychological state, you want to cover every aspect.
"Forgive me for speaking bluntly, but that is too difficult.
"Everyone has their own thoughts and way of life. You cannot possibly satisfy everyone's needs. If you insist on doing so, aside from exhausting yourself, I'm afraid it will be hard to achieve any substantial effect.
"So, I'll give you a piece of advice."
Shikime Natsu held up a finger.
"Try handing more time back to the other classmates. There is no need to frequently organize various activities to force the cultivation of feelings. Aside from necessary collective activities, leaving a little private space for everyone might be better.
"Also, don't try to be everyone's nanny, wanting to take care of everything well. Sometimes, letting go appropriately can actually allow everyone to grow faster."
This was Shikime Natsu's true thought. If one wanted to grow, there was no way to grow by relying on others all the time.
That was why Shikime Natsu had never let Horikita Suzune rely on him.
Ichinose Honami listened in a daze, a gleam of contemplation flashing in her eyes.
After a long while, she nodded gently.
"Thank you for your advice. I will try to adjust a bit."
Ichinose Honami nodded slightly, revealing a smile. However... within the short term, there was probably no way to change.
"After chatting with Shikime-san, I feel my whole mood has lightened up a lot."
"You're welcome."
Shikime Natsu smiled and leaned back against the chair.
"I am very happy to act as a listener. If you have any troubles in the future, you are welcome to come find me anytime."
"Really?"
Ichinose Honami turned her head, looking at Shikime Natsu's side profile, her gaze becoming somewhat complex.
"Then... Shikime-san, could you... listen to me say one more thing?"
Her voice suddenly became low, and a layer of faint haze seemed to cover her originally bright eyes.
"It is about... my own matter."
This script isn't right, is it?
Shikime Natsu pondered; he hadn't used a bewitchment skill on Ichinose Honami, right?
Why was the girl suddenly putting on a stance of pouring her heart out?
His charisma was indeed quite good.
Shikime Natsu knew that this should be the words the girl hadn't managed to say in the Student Council that day—the past that entangled the girl.
____
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