Chapter 4

Mmm… The more I think about it, the stranger it is. Look, there’s still tea and half-eaten snacks left out…

I don’t believe Eichi is the type of person to leave without cleaning up after himself.

Hm? Then those were all left out by President-sama?

Oh, can you not tell from the lingering scent? Don’t you realize?

Well, I can tell as much that my master was here until a short while ago.

Look here… He’s a picky eater, see? He tends to avoid biting into any sour parts when he’s eating sweets.

Hm, as far as I can tell from this information, it certainly seems that Eichi was here reading over the proposal that the Princess presented to him…

However, it does strike me as odd that neither of them are anywhere to be seen.

Yes, I wonder if something happened…? I’m getting worried.

I’ve been trying to contact the master on his phone for some time now, too, but he hasn’t responded.

Oh? I did receive a reply from Eichi, saying he was on his way.

I see, and those footsteps do indeed sound like President-sama.

Wataru! Yuzuru! Huff… huff, have you seen Tori anywhere?

Please breathe, President-sama.

…If you’re asking that question, does that mean he’s not with you?

Correct… Give me about fifteen seconds, and I’ll explain everything. I’d like to sit down and rest first.

Here, here~ Please, sit here ♪

I don’t recognize this chair. Where did it come from?

Sigh… In any case, I’m sorry for making you worry so much. I’d like to explain everything from the very beginning—

But Tori has been missing for a while now, so we should go look for him first.

I tried to chase him after he ran away, but I lost him in the storm…

Oh, I made such a big mistake. I’m no good at dealing with people; I can’t even laugh at that vampire for it.

…Hm. My top priority is my master, so if he’s missing then I’d like to search for him as soon as possible.

Do you have any ideas as to where he could have gone?

None… It looked like he was heading toward the gate, so in the worst case scenario he might even have left school.

Toward the gate. Understood; then I shall head that way now. Let me know if he returns, and if you can confirm he’s safe.

Hibiki-sama, please take care of President-sama. He seems to have worn himself down completely.

You can leave him to me. Come now, Eichi, you’re hyperventilating. Put this bag over your face, please~… ♪

…I’m sure you don’t want your kouhai to see you with tears in your eyes.

Hm? Did you say something?

It was nothing. Go on, now. There’s a storm out there—Anything can happen.

Of course, it would be a tragedy for another disaster to occur, so if it truly gets bad, please turn back.

Yes. And make sure to keep in touch with us, too. If worse comes to worst, I’ll have all the rescue squads in the world work together to find and rescue Tori.

Sigh… Well, I would prefer to think that the situation won’t get to that point.

Unfortunately, time is of the essence, so I’ll ask you to forgive me for leaving the conversation here. If you’ll excuse me.

See you later~ ♪

…Now, Eichi. Why don’t you explain what’s going on?

Your tone is scaring me, Wataru… You’ve taken a liking to Tori as well, haven’t you?

Sigh… Truly, though, this isn’t anything to make a big deal over. I assume you heard that Tori presented a proposal to me?

I did. Butler-san gave me a rough explanation earlier.

I see. Let’s see… It seems Tori took the actual proposal with him, so I’ll give you a brief rundown instead.

Originally, fine was only meant to play a small role in Star Fes…

And so his idea was to make a massive display, set of fireworks to surprise all the others.

That’s essentially it. If only you’d have seen it, Wataru…

The proposal was like a toy box that every little boy has, filled with everything he loves.

I’m sure Yuzuru helped him, and Tori himself is familiar with proposals due to his work in the student council…

It was in the proper format, and it was written up quite nicely too.

Had someone else given me that proposal, I surely would have picked it apart for the budget estimate…

But, well, in the end I would have just told them to go for it.

However, I rejected his proposal and pointed out in minute detail everything wrong with it…

And halfway through, Tori started crying and ran off, as if he were trying to escape.

That kind of reaction wasn’t very like him, so I chased after him… But as you can see, he shook me off his trail, and now we’re here.

Hm. From what I’ve heard, it sounds like it would have been fun, and I believe it would have been realistic to pull off, as well…

Your deteriorating health is a cause for concern, but other than that we do have plenty of free time on our hands.

With our current standing and strength, not to mention our abundance of resources, nothing in this world is impossible for us.

…So then, why did you reject his proposal? What was so utterly egregious about it?