Chapter 397: The Orca Mystery
The final exams ended.
Shuchiin entered a short period of free activity.
There were no classes in the afternoon, but there were still two hours left before school ended.
The students started discussing their summer vacation plans.
"Eve-chan~ do you want to go to the beach together during summer break?"
"Fujiwara-san… don't hug me."
Sakurai's little sister was being wrapped up by Secretary Fujiwara.
"It's so hot. Why isn't the air conditioner on in the classroom?" Fujiwara Chika let go of Eve and muttered to herself.
"I heard the refrigerant ran out, they haven't called someone to replace it yet."
A female student answered.
After a while, Fujiwara Chika couldn't stand it anymore. She turned toward Kaguya and said:
"Kaguya-san, let's go to the student council room. Today is the last day, if we don't go now we'll have to wait another two months before we can enjoy the student council air conditioner!"
Shinomiya Kaguya checked her phone, and to the girl's sudden suggestion, she lightly nodded.
It really was hot.
Coupled with the sound of cicadas outside the window, it felt even hotter.
Most importantly, the window was half-open but didn't bring in any cool breeze at all—only hot air, making the heat worse.
"Ai-chan, do you want to come too?"
"Is it okay?" Hayasaka Ai had rarely gone to the student council room before.
Mainly because habits from her previous job made her avoid disturbing Shinomiya Kaguya.
"Umu!"
Chika finally turned her attention to Sakurai Saki, who was holding his phone, frowning as if thinking about something.
"Saki-kun, do you want to— eh? Saki-kun, you're dressed too warmly today! Didn't you switch to the summer uniform recently?"
"…Afraid of the cold." Sakurai Saki pulled his attention away from his phone.
Just now, in the study group Shijo Maki created, the Nakano quintuplets were sharing their test results and talking about their holiday plans…
Except for Ichika, all of them unexpectedly wanted to follow Miku back to Kyoto — which Saki didn't expect at all.
It seemed that because the anniversary of their mother's passing was near, the five sisters would return to Kyoto every summer.
"Afraid of the cold?"
Fujiwara Chika moved closer to Sakurai Saki and discovered that it was extremely cool beside him! Like an air conditioner was running!
She reached out and touched Sakurai Saki's head— a cool sensation spread from her palm through her whole body.
In this heat.
The sudden coolness made Chika involuntarily let out a soft sigh.
Today, Sakurai Saki happened to draw an ability that allowed him to control temperature, which conveniently fit the current situation.
"Let's go to the student council room together, Shirogane probably has something to hand over."
Today was the last day.
Also the last day Shirogane Miyuki would serve as student council president.
Sakurai Saki stood up. He lowered his head and checked his phone once more—
Nakano Itsuki: Do you want to go to the beach this summer vacation? The swimsuit I bought last year still hasn't been used.
Nakano Miku: Itsuki got chubby, she has to buy a new swimsuit…
Nakano Itsuki: How rude! I don't want to hear that from someone who never gets fat no matter what she eats.
Nakano Nino: That's because Itsuki eats a lot but doesn't like to exercise. Last time she said she'd jog every morning — she only lasted a month.
Shijo Maki: Going to the beach sounds nice~ eh, where's Ichika?
Nakano Yotsuba: She left right after finishing the exam, probably filming? She's been really busy lately. Compared to her, Sakurai-san doesn't have any scenes at all, even though he's the male lead. [puppy tilting head.jpg]
Shijo Maki: Huh? Saki-chan is filming too? Really? [cat scratching head.jpg]
Why is she suddenly using stickers…
After reading everything,
Sakurai Saki opened the sticker panel and sent a [orca licking.gif]
Ting—
Shijo Maki: So what does this sticker even mean?!
In the front row of the classroom, Shijo Maki tilted her face, glancing sideways at Sakurai Saki standing by the window.
Even now, she still couldn't decode the orca mystery. She knew Sakurai Saki liked orcas, but that charming sticker still confused her.
Its meaning wasn't clear.
Was it just because it was cute?
Shijo Maki: [orca tilting head.jpg]
Sakurai Saki: [orca like.jpg]
...
Arriving at the student council room.
Sakurai Saki glanced at Shirogane Miyuki — who had arrived earlier. He said he came to pack up his things, mainly documents.
"You all came just in time, I just finished cleaning."
Hearing the footsteps, the student council president Shirogane looked up, only to find that everyone was wearing expressions like they had just seen a ghost.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Shirogane, aren't you hot?"
"President, why didn't you turn on the air conditioner?"
"Miyuki-kun, it's 32 degrees today!"
Hayasaka Ai tilted her head and asked: "Is the air conditioner here broken too?"
They came here specifically to enjoy the AC. If it was broken here too, then coming was pointless.
"No, you're misunderstanding. Today is the last day, right? I thought I should save a bit of electricity for the student council."
Shirogane Miyuki was used to saving money. Recently, even with the heat, he rarely turned on the AC at home.
Kei-chan and Shirogane papa were the same.
All three of them were frugal, but Shirogane Miyuki was by far the strictest.
"The student council's budget from Shuchiin is basically impossible to use up entirely, right?" Sakurai Saki was truly helpless with this kind of personality.
Saving money wasn't a bad thing.
"Next semester Iino will be the president. If I help her save a bit, she'll have an easier time handling things."
In reality, during the previous club meeting, Shirogane Miyuki was isolated by the younger club leaders because he refused to compromise on budget allocation. Those immature Young Masters had never suffered losses like that, only to be pressed down by a president from a humble background.
As for what happened afterward… after being glared at by Sakurai Saki and Shinomiya Kaguya, they immediately behaved like obedient puppies.
"You can save on big event budgets, but something small like air conditioning is really unnecessary. Miko-chan isn't lacking money, her monthly allowance is 100,000 yen, and she saves most of it…" Sakurai Saki commented.
Don't compare your own salary to the allowance of a wealthy Ojou-sama.
"That much?"
Even Shirogane Miyuki was shocked.
"But her allowance has nothing to do with the budget."
"No, I'm just telling you that Miko-chan understands financial management, unlike Kaguya. Since she'll be president, you don't need to worry about her handling the budget. Not to mention she'll have Ishigami helping her…" Sakurai Saki spoke halfway, then muttered to himself, "Though honestly, I'm not sure Ishigami will still join the student council next year."
That kid, nourished by love, had been floating on clouds lately.
Before Sakurai Saki could think further—
He suddenly felt someone pinch his waist.
There was no need to guess — it was Shinomiya Kaguya.
"Who are you saying doesn't understand money?" she protested.
Sakurai Saki quietly asked: "How much is a pork cutlet sandwich at the cafeteria?"
"I usually eat the bento prepared by my personal chef, how would I know that?"
"Then, Kaguya Ojou-sama, do you know the largest bill a school vending machine accepts?"
"10,000 yen?" Kaguya said, then noticed Hayasaka Ai looking at her with a helpless expression.
Eh? That's wrong?
Previously, Hayasaka always bought drinks for her, so naturally Kaguya had no idea.
Besides, compared to drinks, she preferred brewing her own tea.
Kaguya was the type to prepare things herself.
"Alright, don't look at me like that. I still know some basic financial knowledge. For example, hotels near Minato station usually cost around 10,000 to 15,000 yen per night."
"Eh? Kaguya-san knows about that?"
But… does that really count as basic knowledge?
People who have never stayed in a hotel near Minato station wouldn't possibly know that, right?
...