Chapter 9: Competition with the President of the Public Morals Committee

Translator: Soafp

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After school that day, at the end of class.

Sousuke once again checks the thumbtack that was in his slippers this morning.

He could wait until tomorrow to see how the situation develops, but someone has suddenly come to injure him, and he has no intention of leaving it at that. As was the case at his part-time job, these things get worse the longer they are left unattended.

　First he needs to find out who did it.

“Oi, they’re here.”

　Masaki, sitting in front of him, said. She looked up to see Yuto Asahiga, the head of the Public Morals Committee, walking toward Sousuke with an air of dignity. The classroom is quiet. Usually, after classes are over, almost half of the students go home or to club activities, but today, almost all of them are still there. It was probably because Asahiga had announced yesterday that the game would be played in this classroom.

“Hey there, Sugaya-kun.”

　Asahiga greeted with a smile, but the female student following behind him was quite unhappy. She is wearing an armband, so she must be a member of the public morals committee.

“Hello, Asahiga-senpai.”

　Sousuke stood up from his chair.

“Have you seen this?　The letter.”

“I saw it, but why me?　There are many other people who are suitable to be a member of the public morals committee.”

“Of course, I’ve been trying to win over every single student that I think is suitable, you see?　I’ve got all the talent I want at the moment. I’m trying to take on the nefarious student body president at the next student debate.”

　Apparently, this situation is not unusual.

“By the way, you’re the first one I’ve had a public match with,”

　He says with a fresh smile.

“At the very least, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t make it public.”

“Isn’t is okay. I like to stand out.”

　The atmosphere of the room was completely taken over, even though he wasn’t being pushed around by the momentum and the groove of the game.

“I’m sorry, can I borrow your seat?”

　Masaki, who was completely amused, gave up her seat in return. Sousuke was also asked to sit down, and they took their seats facing each other.

　Surrounded by onlookers, he felt very uncomfortable.

Well, then, let’s check it out. If I win, you will join the public morals committee. If you win……what do you want?”

“Not particularly, on the condition that I don’t join the public morals committee.”

“If it’s okay with you, I’ll do it. Shall we play cards, if you like?”

“Cards ……”

　It was getting more and more ridiculous. After school, he was going to find out who had injured him and punish him/her. Sousuke let out a sigh in his heart.

“Hashirama, playing cards.”

“Yes.”

A female member of the public morals committee who came with him put a deck of cards on the desk. Judging by the color of her shoes, she appeared to be a first-year student.

“You can decide the rules and the content of the game. You can choose whatever you are good at.”

He thought about choosing an game that he could finish quickly, but if he lost, his school life would become a tremendous hassle.

So he decided to play something that would involve as little luck as possible.

“Memory”

“I see.”

An entirely game of memory.

“What about rules?　Any restrictions?”

“Just the usual. If two identical cards are found, they are yours. You can keep flipping.”

“Okay.”

The cards are well cut and laid out on the table.

　The classmates begin to rustle.

“What do you want to do first or second?　You can decide.”

Perhaps it was because the game was one-sided, but to some extent, he seemed to be trying to give him the upper hand. On the contrary, it is scary.

“I’ll go first.”

“Then, let’s start.”

　As a result, the game was decided in about thirty minutes.

　In the first half of the game, the two players were in a close battle, but once all the cards were opened, the game was over. With both players holding five sets of matching cards, Asahiga turned the cards in order, but Sousuke did not turn any. He kept guessing the same pattern at that one time, and even the last two cards were won by him, and the game was over.

　In the second half, Sousuke could only watch. Hashirama, standing behind Asahiga, gave him a cold stare.

“I won. Good game”

　Needless to say, his classmates were excited. It was an impressive win. They kept saying how great it was, how cool it was, and so on.

“Tsu, ……”

“I’m looking forward to working with you from now on.”

　Sousuke stared at the smiling Asahiga for a while, but then dropped his shoulders as if he had lost all strength.

“Right. As promised, that’s fine.”

“You can rest assured that it won’t be that strenuous work. The next gathering is in …… three days, so I’ll introduce you to everyone then. Thanks, everyone, till the end.”

　The classmates dispersed as if they were satisfied.

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