Chapter 139: Treasure
Translator: imperfectluck Editor: vb24
What was with this terrifying yet immature-sounding nickname!?
"‘In this school, the only person that I’m truly afraid of is the ‘Smiling Executioner’ Mai Houjou-sama.’ This was something that the drama club president personally told me," Chiaki stated.
The drama club president... that legendary weirdo who was basically a kidnapper, the one who debated against the school morals committee and won was actually addressing someone the same age as her with an honorific like -sama!?
No, wait, that wasn’t the important part! He should have been paying attention to the contents of that quote!
"The only person she’s truly afraid of..." Mika repeated dazedly.
Chiaki nodded. "You guys know that our club president is an idiot who isn’t scared of anything. That’s why when she said that so seriously, it gave me such a deep impression.
"Later, I checked it out due to my own curiosity and found out that President Mai Houjou... Houjou-senpai was active last year, which was right before the three of us entered Genhana High School, when she was still a second-year high school student.
"As the student council president, she ruled with an iron fist and eliminated half the clubs in this entire high school!"
Seiji’s and Mika’s eyes widened in surprise upon hearing this.
"Half the clubs... so Genhana High School used to have twice the number of clubs as it currently has?" Seiji asked.
"That’s right, and Houjou-senpai was the one who eliminated them... She didn’t lead the student council in doing this; she did it entirely by herself!"
"This... is that even possible?" Mika asked in confusion.
Chiaki sighed. "There’s no need to even talk about possible or not possible, because it’s an indisputable fact."
"I know it’s difficult to believe, but the facts are there. Houjou-senpai used various methods to... eliminate, or perhaps I should say delete, all those clubs that she believed shouldn’t exist."
"The scenes from that time sounded rather brutal... all the third-year high school students I asked didn’t want to tell me the specifics, and the drama club president only used one word to describe that time period—bloodbath."
Seiji and Mika were rendered speechless.
"Houjou-senpai earned her nickname of ‘Smiling Executioner’ during that time. In combination with everything I found out about her, it gave me the impression that she was a truly frightening third-year high school student senpai."
"I didn’t expect to hear about her from Seigo just now..." Chiaki smiled wryly as she looked back at the lunchbox.
Seiji and Mika also followed her line of sight.
The fine, exquisite food was still sitting inside, giving off a tantalizing aroma.
All three of them were lost for words.
Seiji kept looking at these delicacies while thinking back to the time he spent together with Houjou-senpai. He recalled her gentle smile, then thought about everything that Chiaki had just recounted.
Erm... just what was it, this indescribable feeling he currently had?
He didn’t understand.
It was probably best not to understand.
Some things in this world were better off left alone, and it would be foolish to pay too much thought to these things.
At least he should probably leave it alone for the time being.
Chiaki and Mika also wisely chose to avoid thinking too much about this topic.
There was a lengthy period of silence between the trio.
"Seigo, how is our junior Kagura-san doing?" Chiaki asked.
Seiji blinked in surprise.
"She’s already recovered her memories," he stated lightly.
"Oh? That’s great news!"
"But she forgot everything about what happened while she had amnesia," he continued in a light tone.
"Oh..." Chiaki paused.
She exchanged glances with Mika before looking back towards Seiji, who seemed calm on the surface.
"Seigo... are you mad?"
"Hrm? Why would I be mad?" Seiji seemed confused.
"It feels like... something’s off about your emotions," Mika said in a tiny voice.
"...Maybe something’s a little off." Seiji nodded in acknowledgment. "I’m slightly... sad, that’s all."
Mika and Chiaki exchanged awkward glances.
Yet another period of silence fell between them.
Seiji sighed after a while, breaking the silence.
"It’s a wonderful thing for her to recover her memory without any mishaps. I’m also happy for her."
"But... how do I put it? For her to have forgotten what happened while she had amnesia... it gave me a greater impact than I expected."
"I also feel that me being this way... is rather unseemly, but there’s no helping it. I can’t force myself to suddenly be happy."
He was unable to ignore or instantly seal off those memories of a mere one and a half days.
That girl who kept calling himself "brother," as well as the young Shika’s smile were difficult for him to forget.
...Was he awakening to the path of a sis-con?
No, no, that couldn’t be! It wasn’t the case!!
He wasn’t a sis-con; instead, he was... er... this... seemed like...
Seiji’s cheek twitched as a strange light flashed in his eyes.
"I admit it then! I’m actually someone who’s awakened as a sis-con but I just lost my younger sister character so I’m feeling awful right now! Ahhh!!!"
Seiji suddenly started shouting, startling Mika and Chiaki.
Since he was speaking too quickly and didn’t even use commas properly as punctuation, they didn’t hear every word too clearly.
But since "sis-con" was a word that stood out too much, this was a word they both heard.
"Seigo, you..." Chiaki’s expression changed drastically.
Seiji slowly looked at her, a serious expression on his face.
"From now on, you may address me as the ‘fallen sis-con gentleman.’"
What the hell!?
"Don’t give yourself strange nicknames like that, idiot!" Chiaki had a forceful retort at the ready.
"This is the name of my soul."
"What the hell’s with saying it’s your soul’s name!!? Don’t even imagine that people will be able to accept it just because you say it’s your soul’s name!!!"
‘Breathe...’ Chiaki had used too much oxygen with her angry retorts, so she was forced to take a deep breath.
Mika was in a total state of shock now.
Seiji scratched his face.
"Then I’ll change it to..."
"No changing! No nicknames, period! Otherwise I’m going to kick you to the curb like you’re an actual pervert!" Chiaki warned with a strict expression.
"Fine." Seiji gave up on the idea and averted his gaze, a melancholy look in his eyes. "I shall be the nameless sis-con then."
"Why do you keep insisting on calling yourself a ‘sis-con!?’ Although ‘nameless’ sounds a little cool, it’s actually meaningless!!"
That was enough out of him! The tomboy really did end up giving Seiji a good kick.
The pigtailed girl was beginning to blend into the scenery.
Although the atmosphere may have become awkward, at the very least he was able to explain the situation.
Chiaki sighed. "So basically, you’re feeling disappointed because Kagura-san forgot about the time she spent together with you."
Seiji nodded honestly.
"She... does Kagura-san know that she treated you as her brother and acted all spoiled with you while she had amnesia?"
"I didn’t tell her... I didn’t want her to know."
Chiaki frowned. "Why not?"
"It would only bother her," Seiji said lightly. "That time is meaningless now. If I bring it up again, it would only be bothersome for her. That’s why I decided not to mention it again."
‘I’m the only one who needs to remember it and feel bad about it. Even though it’s saddening, I’ll get over it eventually. I won’t always be steeped in sadness.‘
‘That’s why I’ll just allow this short yet beautiful memory to disappear with the wind.’
Seiji felt like his melancholia was almost poetic.
His poetic musings were interrupted by yet another vicious kick from Chiaki!
"Stop acting like you’re actually some sort of free-spirited depressed poet! Do you think you’re being cool right now!? Idiot!!"
The tomboy even stood up and placed her arms on her hips. There was a condescending look in her eyes.
"It’s obvious that you’re only disappointed, yet you have the gall to act immature and pretend to think of others! You’re too unseemly, you idiot!"
"Er..." Seiji was stunned.
"Just tell her what happened! Let Kagura-san know what went on between you! Even though it was only for a short period of time, but since you care so much, then it’s something important to you!"
"Even though Mika and I only saw it for a few moments, the two of you really were like real siblings! She was acting spoiled towards you, and you cared about her; isn’t this a warm and beautiful story? Tell that warm and beautiful story to her!"
"Tell her how much you valued your time together, and that you’re incredibly sad about her having forgotten it! Perhaps she’ll be bothered and confused by it, or maybe she’ll find you disgusting, but... she deserves to know!!"
Seiji felt like he had come to a realization as he listened to Chiaki lecturing him.
"Since that time was so important to you, do something about it! Don’t just arrogantly decide on your own that you’re acting cool by burying it forever!"
"Saying that you’re thinking of others, while you’re trying to hide the truth and suppress your feelings. Although it seems correct on the surface, you’re actually nothing more than an idiotic coward!"
"Go tell her the truth! Tell her your feelings! Even if you end up completely being rejected, that’s still much better than arrogant idiocy or cowardice from trying to hide the truth, and at least you’ll look cool, even if you fail!!"
Shika Kagura deserved to know that there was someone who cared about her like a real brother.
Seiji Haruta should have told her how much he liked that temporary, cute little sister.
No matter how short the time, no matter if it was only an illusion, as long as it was warm, beautiful, and valued... then it was an irreplaceable treasure!
Treasures shouldn’t be buried like this.
That was what Chiaki Wakaba believed.
Seiji... accepted it.
He understood it.
‘Yeah, she’s right. I... was wrong. The time we spent together definitely wasn’t meaningless, since it was beautiful and precious. At the very least, I viewed it as precious.
‘I should let her know, and she has the right to know.’
Even if it was only for a day and a half.
We were... siblings.