Chapter 142: The Student Council!
A wide sunhat covered her head, revealing the azure eyes beneath it. Beautiful golden waves of hair cascaded from the hat, while a white bell-shaped dress concealed her voluptuous figure.
Dressed like an elegant noblewoman, Totokubara Kanata was understandably flustered after seeing her roommate behave so boldly inside the contestants' lounge.
To spare Touka any embarrassment, Kanata recalled the lessons of her family's elders and formed what she believed was a graceful smile.
She placed the bag on the floor and slowly backed out of the room.
"Wait, Kanata! It isn't what you think! Shiro, hurry and stop her!"
Kanata's expression just now clearly meant she had misunderstood them.
Touka climbed off Shiro, grabbed him, and hurried after Kanata.
"Kanata, wait for me!"
"You don't need to explain, Touka. I understand. That boy is merely an ordinary friend."
Kanata stopped and looked at Touka with an expression that practically said, 'Keep making excuses. I'll lose if I believe you.'
"Shiro is the person I told you about before—"
Just as Touka began explaining, the corridor outside suddenly became noisy.
Disordered footsteps mixed with people's shouts, echoing through the narrow space.
"It ran this way!"
"Everyone ahead, move aside!"
"Why is that thing inside Hagun Academy?!"
A small creature was desperately sprinting around the corner of the corridor.
Its body was covered in thick, double-layered fur of dark brown and black. The outer layer consisted of coarse bristles, while soft hair grew beneath it.
Its four short, powerful legs charged straight toward them.
"Is that... a wild boar?"
The stray lock of hair atop Touka's head bent into the shape of a question mark.
Leaving aside Hagun Academy's location in the city center, how had a wild boar entered an academy filled with Blazers?
She turned a suspicious gaze toward the awkward-looking Shiro.
"Um... Weren't you the one who told me to stop her?"
Shiro avoided her gaze as he answered awkwardly.
He had merely selected one of the futures in which Kanata stopped walking.
Who could have known that choice would summon a wild boar?
While they spoke, the boar rapidly approached the three of them.
"Snort! Snort!"
Despite only producing a few sounds, the three in the corridor could almost hear what the boar was shouting.
It sounded something like, 'Get out of my way!' or 'Boar Rush!'
"We should stop it first. It would be troublesome if a student were injured."
Kanata calmly watched the boar rampaging through the corridor.
Just as Shiro wondered how she planned to fight in that outfit, she gracefully stepped forward.
Immediately afterward, something seemed to spread through the air around her.
"Snort—!!!"
Seeing Kanata's movement, the boar did not slow down. Instead, it charged even faster.
'I finally escaped! A mere human dares block my path? Die! Boar Rush!'
It released a piercing squeal and charged toward Kanata.
When it came within five steps of her—
Slash—!
Blood erupted.
The boar's black fur was instantly dyed crimson, and its body collapsed heavily before Kanata's high heels.
Kanata maintained a gentle smile as though nothing had happened.
However, the blood mist swirling around her exposed what she had just done.
"Thank you so much! We had no idea what to do until you stopped it."
Not long after the boar collapsed, a woman dressed as a staff member repeatedly thanked Kanata.
According to her, the boar had escaped from a nearby zoo.
Based on its natural habits, it should have fled toward a forest. Yet for some unknown reason, it made a huge turn during its escape and charged into the crowded Hagun Academy.
Fortunately, Kanata had stopped it.
Otherwise, some of the lower-ranked student knights might have been injured upon encountering it.
While the staff member explained the situation, Touka changed clothes in the contestants' lounge and returned to Kanata.
"Shiro is the person I mentioned before—"
"I know. He's your childhood friend, correct?"
"Your student handbook wallpaper is a photograph of the two of you. I wouldn't fail to recognize him."
"Eh? Then what was that reaction earlier?"
"Oh, I simply haven't seen Touka make such an adorable expression in a long time, so I wanted to tease you."
Her prank successful, Kanata showed a devilish smile at Touka's bewildered expression.
...
In front of the student council office—
"This is where we usually work."
Touka pointed toward the thick wooden door before them and introduced it to Shiro.
Shiro should have been training at this hour.
However, Kanata insisted on showing him Touka's working environment, so she had dragged him here.
"Then please come inside."
Touka spoke while pushing open the door.
In the next instant—
"Eh?"
The moment she stepped inside, Touka tripped over something and fell toward the floor.
Fortunately, Shiro reacted quickly.
He gathered magic beneath his feet and accelerated forward, catching Touka before she hit the ground.
Her ample chest was compressed against him in the process.
"Oh, the president is back. Welcome."
A short boy with messy silver hair and a feminine appearance cheerfully greeted Touka.
However, his eyes remained fixed upon the television screen before him, which displayed a recently popular single-player game.
"Uu... What happened...?"
Touka's face flushed because of their overly intimate position.
She placed a hand against Shiro's chest and pushed herself upright.
The moment she saw the condition of the student council office, she released a scream.
"Wait! What is all this?! I was only gone for a short while! Why has the student council become like this?!"
The relatively small room was filled with all kinds of objects unrelated to student affairs.
Manga, game consoles, and countless other items lay everywhere, making it difficult to tell what kind of room this was supposed to be.
Even the documents issued by the academy had been scattered across the floor.
It was no wonder Touka had cried out in despair.
Within the large student council, only the secretary, Saijou Ikazuchi, was working honestly.
Everyone else was either reading manga or playing games.
"Honestly, Misogi, how many times must I tell you not to leave your belongings everywhere?"
"And Tomaru, put the dumbbells away after using them. What will you do if one of them hits someone?"
"Couldn't you learn from Saijou and help review documents when you have free time instead of always hiding there and playing games alone?"
Once Touka recovered, she cast aside her earlier embarrassment and entered full motherly-scolding mode against the two people slacking off.
"Uu, President, why are you only blaming the two of us?"
"Isn't it possible that this mess wasn't created by only two people?"
"Stop making excuses. Tomaru is the only person who uses dumbbells here, and you're the only one who leaves belongings wherever you please."
"It can't be helped. I suddenly wanted to reread all those old books."
"Taking them out one at a time is inconvenient, so I piled them together and planned to return them after finishing."
"Besides, while you were gone, Saijou and Tomaru completed their work properly."
"Then what about your work?! Why did you deliberately leave out your own work?!"
"Don't tell me you pushed everything onto Saijou again!"
As Shiro watched them argue, a cup of black tea was suddenly placed before him.
"You seem quite familiar with this side of Touka."
"That's because she used to lecture me exactly like this."
When Shiro first met Touka, he often stayed up late playing with his phone and had no energy during training the next day.
Touka had scolded him countless times because of it.
However, after every lecture, she would quickly make him stop training and rest.
With her help, Shiro gradually corrected those bad habits.
"I've known Touka for years, but I rarely see her act as playfully as she did in the lounge today."
"Perhaps that was always her true personality."
...
"U-Um, I'm Toudou Touka. I became Master's disciple today. Please take care of me."
Those were the first words Touka spoke when Shiro met her.
At the time, she had seemed timid, yet the childishness expected of someone her age had already faded from her face.
During the period when she trained under Torajirou Nangou, she spent every day either practicing or writing letters.
Once, Shiro became curious and asked what she was writing.
"I'm telling Rika and the others not to run around and cause trouble for the director."
"They also need to eat fewer sweets, or they'll get cavities."
Whenever Touka spoke about the orphanage children, she counted on her small fingers and seriously considered whether she had forgotten anything.
"Oh, right. I also need to remind Erika, Rina, and Shouko that Mama's birthday is next week."
"They should prepare the gifts they promised in advance."
She immediately picked up her pen and added those points.
"What about you? Don't you want to return for your mama's birthday?"
"I can't. Mama would become angry if I went back now."
Touka clearly felt tempted.
She had not seen the orphanage director in nearly a year and did not know how the woman's health had been lately.
However, after remembering the instructions given before her departure, she abandoned the idea of visiting.
During the training sessions that followed, Touka appeared increasingly exhausted.
"Touka, your sword has become slower recently."
"I'm very sorry! I'll correct it immediately!"
"Have you not been resting properly? Your dark circles are terrible."
"I couldn't sleep well last night. I'm fine, so please continue."
The rigid swordsmanship training continued, but Touka could no longer conceal the exhaustion in her eyes.
Eventually, her body reached its limit, and she collapsed.
"Uu... Where am I...? What happened...?"
"You fainted during the old man's swordsmanship lesson and slept for almost an entire day."
"The doctor said you've been suffering from severe sleep deprivation. You'll recover after resting for a while."
Dazzling sunlight streamed through the hospital window.
Shiro used a technique he had learned that day to slice an apple into equally sized pieces and arrange them neatly upon a plate.
"The old man also gave you several days off. He told you to remain in the hospital and rest properly."
"Eh? That isn't necessary. I appreciate Master's kindness, but I can still continue..."
Touka tried to sit up, but every part of her body transmitted exhaustion.
Her muscles ached, and her limbs had no strength.
'It seems I pushed myself too far.'
However, she believed there was still some time.
"Shiro, could you pass me the unfinished doll, needle, and thread beside the bed?"
Supporting herself with one hand, Touka turned sideways and made the request.
"Is it something important?"
"Mm. It's the present I'm preparing to send Mama."
"Please. There are only four days left. If I wait until I leave the hospital, it will be too late."
It was a small cloth doll modeled after Touka.
The fabric was rough and had clearly been purchased from a cheap market.
The words "Happy Birthday" had been clumsily sewn onto it with white thread.
Shiro learned that Touka had stayed awake every night to make it.
That was why she had become so exhausted that she fainted during training.
"Thank you!"
After accepting the doll from Shiro, she immediately resumed working on its lower half.
...
Another three days passed.
During that time, Touka did nothing except rest and work on the doll.
Then the final day arrived.
The sun was hidden deep behind the clouds, while the sky had abandoned its usual blue and turned the color of water used to soak a filthy rag.
"Touka, how is the doll?"
"There's no point... It's already too late... I miscalculated the date..."
Her expression was gloomy, as though she were desperately suppressing something.
She tightly gripped the small doll in her hand.
When calculating the remaining time, Touka had forgotten to include the day she had spent unconscious.
The orphanage director's birthday was not tomorrow as she believed.
It was today.
A delivery required collection, transport, distribution, and confirmation of receipt.
Even if she sent it immediately, it could no longer arrive on time.
"It's fine... Tomorrow is almost the same."
"Thank you for accompanying me through this foolishness these past few days, Shiro."
Touka pressed a hand against her eyes, desperately preventing her tears from falling.
She knew she was the hope of the other children.
Only she could not cry at a time like this.
However, the sorrow in her heart refused to stop.
Large tears slipped through her fingers and struck the white hospital bed one after another.
"Uu... S-Sorry. Could you leave me alone for a little while...?"
Even now, she tried to suppress her increasingly hoarse voice.
"There's still time."
Shiro held his phone and searched for the fastest train route to the orphanage.
"It only takes three hours to reach Tokyo from here."
"So there's still time."
"Eh...? B-But..."
"No buts."
"Just tell me whether you want to return, meet the orphanage director, and give this doll to her yourself."
He pulled Touka's hand away and forced her to look directly into his eyes.
"Uu... I-I do! I really want to go back!"
"I truly want to give this to Mama with my own hands!"
As she stared into Shiro's eyes, all the grievances Touka had endured seemed to finally find an outlet.
No one was born knowing how to care for others.
Countless times during the night, she had convinced herself that she was the children's hero and carried their hopes upon her shoulders.
Gradually, the children at the orphanage truly began to worship her as their hero.
She genuinely became the hope within their hearts.
But who remembered that before becoming a hero and a symbol of hope, she was merely a little girl who had been forced to grow up?
At last, the young Touka threw her arms around Shiro and cried without restraint.
…
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