“Geez! Because you did that back there, Tomoki-kun, now we’re barely going to make it to the class representative meeting!”

“M-My bad, Haruto.”

“Hurry, hurry!”

I’d tried to smooth things over by doing that friendly-act routine with Haruto, but instead it just threw everything further into chaos. So I apologized honestly to both Haruto and Tatara-hama-san.

We were now speed-walking toward the meeting room. Running in the halls was against school rules, after all and class reps weren’t allowed to be the ones breaking rules.

We could probably be a minute or two late without incident, but both Haruto and Tatara-hama-san were naturally serious types, so they were especially anxious, leading the way with brisk steps.

“Um… Tachibana-san.”

“Hm? What is it, Ena-san?”

At the very back of the group, Ena-san, the class rep from Class 1, pinched lightly at the hem of my blazer and spoke to me.

“Um… thank you very much for earlier.”

The very picture of a model honor student, she offered her thanks with a faint blush.

“Hm? Thanks for what?”

“For stepping in to resolve the commotion in Class 1’s room. Thank you.”

She bowed again, faultlessly graceful.

“Oh, that. Don’t worry about it. In that situation, I figured a complete outsider like me stepping in would cause the least trouble.”

If Haruto tried to intervene in that girl-on-girl clash within their class, it could easily leave lingering resentment. That’s exactly why another-class male—like me—was the best option to force an end to things without collateral damage.

“…Tachibana-san, despite looking frivolous, you actually think deeply, don’t you.”

“What, do I really look that flirty?”

“Yes. You did pat me on the head on our very first meeting, after all. That seems lightly behaved enough.”

“Ahaha, true. I guess to someone like you—heir to a distinguished family of traditional flower arrangement—I must look pretty frivolous.”

“…So you know about my family.”

“Well, yeah. Must be tough for you, Ena-san.”

As one of the game’s main heroines, I knew quite a bit about her background.

Her family was a long-standing lineage of kadō masters and her mother was the current head of the school.

Because of that, Ena-san had been subjected to strict discipline and training since childhood—no wonder she grew into the perfect, faultless honor student. Naturally, she was appointed class rep in Honey Academy as well.

“It’s nothing special… I’ve been in that role since elementary and middle school too…”

“But being the perfect student at home and at school must be exhausting, right?”

“That is…”

“And since you’re the class rep, you can’t really show weakness in front of your classmates, can you? If things get rough, just come to me. I’ll listen to your complaints.”

I laughed and patted her head again.

“Saying things like that smoothly to girls is exactly why you seem frivolous…”

“Ahaha! Guess you don’t like me much, huh?”

As she touched the spot I’d patted and lowered her gaze, I gave her a wry smile.

Offering to be her emotional vent was half apology—my interference early on had altered the game’s flow, making Haruto the male class rep and unintentionally increasing the hostility she was receiving from her classmates.

Well, Ena-san, who falls for a sincere guy like Haruto, would definitely reject someone flirty like me.

“Tachibana-kun, Ena-san! What are you two doing stopping to talk? We’re in a hurry! Come on!”

“Ah—sorry, Tatara-hama-san! Coming!”

Startled by her scolding, I rushed forward.

“Impossible… at this rate, I’ll end up… liking him…”

Left alone for a moment because she hadn’t resumed walking yet, Ena-san whispered something under her breath—just barely too soft for me to hear.