Chapter 465: The Two in the Student Council Room

Chapter 465: Chapter 465: The Two in the Student Council Room

Chapter 465: The Two in the Student Council Room

The next morning, at the gates of Shuchiin Private Academy.

"Utsunomiya-san! Shinomiya-san! Good luck!"

Hearing the enthusiastic cheers from a male student, Asagiri smiled and nodded with equal enthusiasm.

"Don’t worry. Leave everything to me!"

"Utsunomiya-san, you absolutely have to win the election! We’re all supporting you!"

"Of course!"

Asagiri raised a fist confidently.

"Victory is already assured!"

"Utsunomiya-san!"

"Vice President Utsunomiya!"

By the time the two of them finally entered the school building, Kaguya Shinomiya couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

She glanced toward Asagiri walking beside her.

"Everyone has been cheering for you since we arrived."

A trace of helplessness entered her voice.

"Your popularity at Shuchiin is almost ridiculous."

"What?"

Asagiri looked amused.

"Is the President jealous?"

He reached out and casually ruffled Kaguya’s hair.

Then, with the expression of someone presenting an entirely rational argument, he continued,

"Their support for me is also proof that they’re satisfied with our Student Council."

"In other words, it’s an indirect endorsement of your work as President."

"As for why fewer people approach you..."

Asagiri smiled.

"You look too unapproachable."

"Most students are probably too intimidated to casually walk up and cheer for you."

"Hmph..."

Kaguya puffed her cheeks slightly.

The small gesture made her usual dignified appearance look unexpectedly adorable.

"I also want people to enthusiastically cheer for me."

She murmured,

"It sounds... surprisingly fulfilling."

"Then I’ll cheer for you."

Asagiri stopped walking.

Before Kaguya could react, he reached out with both hands and gently squeezed her cheeks.

Kaguya frowned slightly in protest, but she didn’t actually stop him.

Asagiri spoke solemnly.

"You’re receiving the personal support of the Great Demon King of Shuchiin Academy."

"The genius who ranked first in the Sakura Province joint examination."

"The strongest Player of the Death Game."

"The great savior who destroyed Nyx."

"The Persona user blessed with unrestricted talent."

"The stepbrother of the powerful and mysterious Alice."

"The savior of the Mita World."

"The conqueror of Mount Massive Asylum."

"The natural enemy of the Forbidden Ancient Dragon."

"The chosen one who regenerated through the Cosmic Brand."

"The founder of SAO."

"The greatest talent of the Ashikaga Budo Association."

"The champion of the Tokyo Scramble."

"The lover of Flash Blade."

"The boyfriend of the God of Wisdom."

"The non protagonist male lead of the background female lead."

"The savior of the terminally ill girl."

"The Vice President of Shuchiin Academy’s Student Council."

"The suppressor of Earth Cancer."

"The unmasker of the blonde evil padded maid."

"And finally..."

Asagiri raised his chin proudly.

"The highest mountain and longest river of the H game world."

"Utsunomiya Asagiri."

He looked directly into Kaguya’s eyes.

"With a man like that supporting you, are you still not satisfied?"

Kaguya stared at him.

For several seconds, she was completely speechless.

Then she burst out laughing.

"When did you even come up with all of those titles?"

She covered her lips, still unable to stop smiling.

"Don’t tell me you’ve been secretly memorizing that speech at home and practicing in front of a mirror just for a moment like this."

"Heh."

Asagiri crossed his arms confidently.

"You underestimate me."

"That entire performance was improvised."

He nodded as though explaining an obvious truth.

"For someone of my caliber, that level of verbal performance is effortless."

"You still have much to learn, Kaguya."

"Uh..."

Kaguya’s expression became complicated.

"It certainly is impressive..."

A normal person could not possibly rattle off such an absurdly long list of titles without pausing, stumbling, or even stopping for breath.

But whether that counted as a genuinely useful talent...

That was another question entirely.

"Let’s go!"

Asagiri suddenly waved one hand with tremendous momentum.

"We’ll crush our opponents and continue our legendary reign over Shuchiin Academy!"

Kaguya sighed.

"What opponents?"

She looked at him helplessly.

"No one’s running against us this year."

"The election ceremony is basically being held because the students and teachers want to hear you give another speech."

"Huh?"

Asagiri looked genuinely disappointed.

"No opponents?"

He shook his head.

"Then what’s the point?"

"I enjoy applause as much as anyone, but nothing compares to completely crushing an opponent and watching them fall into despair after realizing resistance is meaningless."

He sighed dramatically.

"That’s the kind of thing that truly invigorates the soul."

Before Kaguya could respond, Asagiri suddenly looked at her with a serious expression.

"Since I don’t have any opponents to crush..."

"I suppose I’ll have to thoroughly bully you instead."

"You..."

Kaguya’s face instantly flushed.

She gently pushed his shoulder.

"Why are you saying things like that at school...?"

Her voice lowered.

"At least wait until after the election."

"Be mindful of appearances."

"Shinomiya is correct."

A familiar voice came from behind them.

"Be mindful of appearances."

Miwa Ashikaga approached from the hallway.

Seeing Kaguya and Asagiri standing together in the middle of the corridor, she rubbed her forehead and sighed.

"Enough flirting."

"Hurry up and give your election speech, followed by the victory speech everyone already knows is coming."

"The entire school is waiting for you."

...

After school that day, inside the Shuchiin Private Academy Student Council room.

"How does this work...?"

Kaguya Shinomiya sat at the table with an expensive looking DSLR camera in her hands.

An instruction manual lay open beside her.

With an expression more serious than the one she used during Student Council meetings, she carefully studied every dial and button.

"Is that the camera Ai gave you?"

Hearing Asagiri’s question, Kaguya looked up.

She tucked a loose strand of black hair behind her ear.

"Yes."

"She said that even though my phone already has an excellent camera, a proper professional camera is still much better."

Kaguya glanced down at the device.

"So I want to learn how to use it properly."

She hesitated.

Then, with a trace of embarrassment, she lightly twisted a strand of hair around her finger.

"I’m..."

"Quite interested in photography."

"Then show me your pictures."

Asagiri immediately stood and walked toward her.

Kaguya became even more embarrassed, but she still unlocked her phone and opened the gallery before handing it over.

"I’m warning you."

Her cheeks were faintly red.

"You’re not allowed to laugh."

"Look at you saying that."

Asagiri accepted the phone with a righteous expression.

"Don’t I make fun of you all the time anyway?"

"You...!"

Ignoring Kaguya’s offended reaction, Asagiri looked down at the screen.

Kaguya had created several separate albums.

Asuna.

Kotoko.

Ai.

Chika.

Yamauchi Sakura.

Megumi.

Sister Rikka.

They were the people who had survived the Death Game alongside her.

Her companions.

Her friends.

Asagiri opened Yuuki Asuna’s album.

There were several photos of Asuna with her hair tied into a high ponytail, wearing an apron while cooking.

Hayasaka Ai’s album contained pictures of her standing in front of a glass display case while carefully comparing phones.

Fujiwara Chika’s folder contained photos of her pretending to be a Love Detective with a candy pipe between her lips, along with various pictures of her enthusiastically playing board games.

The other albums were similar.

Ordinary moments.

Quiet moments.

The kinds of moments Kaguya had decided were worth remembering.

However...

There was no album labeled with Asagiri’s name.

He scrolled farther down.

Then he found one marked only with a heart.

Asagiri tapped it.

He almost laughed.

The newest picture showed him standing behind the podium that very morning, giving his election speech before the students of Shuchiin.

The next photo showed him washing his face in the morning.

Another had him walking down the street in his Shuchiin uniform with his schoolbag hanging over one shoulder.

Then came photographs of him sitting on a sofa using his phone.

Putting on his jacket.

Staring quietly out a window.

Looking half asleep.

Reading.

Walking.

Smiling.

Asagiri kept scrolling.

Several pages later, he still hadn’t reached the bottom.

There had to be hundreds.

He slowly lowered the phone.

"Why are there so many pictures of me?"

His eyes filled with amusement as he looked toward Kaguya.

"All the others combined don’t even have a third as many."

He smiled.

"I never realized you were this emotionally attached."

Kaguya didn’t fully understand what he meant by that phrase.

But the teasing tone was obvious enough.

Her face turned bright red.

"I wasn’t deliberately taking pictures of only you!"

She stumbled over her words.

"It’s just..."

"When I’m with you, there happen to be more moments that feel worth recording!"

Her embarrassment rapidly transformed into indignation.

"So ultimately, this is your fault!"

"Oh?"

Asagiri smiled.

"Then why are you suddenly raising your voice?"

Kaguya froze.

Asagiri chuckled.

Then his expression softened slightly.

"But I think you’re still missing the most important album."

Kaguya blinked.

"What?"

"Pictures of us together."

Kaguya fell silent.

"Pictures... together."

She repeated the words softly.

A gentle smile slowly appeared on her lips.

Her crimson eyes rippled as she looked at Asagiri.

"Mm."

"There are still many things I want to do with you."

She carefully set the camera aside.

"But first..."

"I should fulfill the promise I made."

Kaguya stood.

"Let’s go somewhere and..."

"I think here is fine."

Asagiri interrupted immediately.

Kaguya stared at him.

"Here?"

She glanced around the Student Council room.

Her cheeks slowly reddened.

"This is the Student Council room."

"And the door isn’t even locked..."

Before she could finish speaking, Human Asura appeared beside the entrance.

Click.

It calmly locked the door.

Then vanished.

Kaguya stared at the empty doorway.

Then back at Asagiri.

"You..."

"Are you really using Persona for something like this?"

Her voice carried equal parts embarrassment and disbelief.

Asagiri smiled as though there were absolutely nothing unusual about it.

Kaguya could only sigh.

Her face remained red, but the tension gradually faded from her shoulders.

She stepped closer.

"Fine."

"But you really are impossible."

Asagiri reached out and took her hand.

For a moment, neither spoke.

....

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