The Vice President of the Student Council…
How did he just casually run into a random person who was a member of the Student Council? And even the Vice President, second only to the Student Council President.
This was the fifth Student Council member he had encountered after Sachiko Juraku, the Student Council Disciplinary Committee Chairman, Yomotsuki Runa, a member of the Student Council Election Management Committee, Miharu Taki Sakura, the Beautification Committee Chairman, and Mibuomi Aoi, the Student Council Accountant.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka quickly began to ponder.
Why did she show him a photo of the Student Council President and ask him to identify her? This photo, no matter which student in this school looked at it, was clearly Student Council President Momobami Kirari.
Did her action have some deeper meaning?
"Regarding the girl in the photo, do you really have no memory of her at all?" The other party's tone was filled with disappointment, seemingly dissatisfied with Ayanokoji's answer.
"Sorry, if the person in the photo isn't the Student Council President, then I truly don't know her. If I had met such a cute girl, I would definitely have an impression."
Ayanokoji shook his head regretfully, then hesitated for a moment and said, "Could it be… that the person in this photo is you?"
"...You don't need to know that." The girl refused to answer the question.
Why did she stop him and make him identify the person in the photo? Why did she act as if she knew him?
Ayanokoji had a flash of inspiration—was there a possibility that she knew him before his "amnesia"?
Ayanokoji asked somewhat uncertainly, "…Did I meet you when I was a child?"
The other party reacted strongly, suddenly turning around, placing her hands on Ayanokoji's shoulders, pushing him forcefully against the wall, and shouting excitedly, "Kiyotaka, have you remembered who I am!?"
Her reaction was too strong… Ayanokoji had completely underestimated how much she would react to his casual remark. She even "wall-slammed" him, and she seemed so shocked that her slender fingers were even embedded in Ayanokoji's shoulders.
Sure enough, he hadn't guessed wrong, she knew him from before he was ten years old.
Moreover, she directly called him by his given name, "Kiyotaka." Had they been so close before that they called each other by their given names?
"Sorry, I haven't remembered…"
Although he thought so, Ayanokoji still shook his head and slowly said, "I had an accident before and was seriously injured, completely losing my memories from before I was ten years old. Even if I knew you before, I can't remember at all…"
"Amnesia, huh…"
Although Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had never told anyone in this school about his "amnesia," the Student Council member in front of him showed no surprise upon hearing the word, but rather a sense of "as expected" disappointment.
"Since you have amnesia, then let's pretend I didn't ask."
Ayanokoji was still being "wall-slammed" by the girl. He awkwardly cleared his throat: "Since you knew the old me, can you tell me about our past experiences?
To be honest… I'm also very curious about the part of my memory that I lost. If you know, can you tell me?"
When Ayanokoji first arrived in this world several years ago, he didn't inherit any memories, and he knew nothing about the experiences of this body for the past ten years. The only thing he inherited was a body full of injuries.
He was very interested in his past experiences, but whenever he asked his brother, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, he would always change the subject and remain silent.
Now that he had finally met someone who knew about his past, Ayanokoji didn't want to let her go easily.
The other party was wearing a mask, so Ayanokoji couldn't see the changes in her emotions beneath it.
Her hands were on Ayanokoji's shoulders, and after a few seconds, she withdrew them, speaking in a cold tone: "…Since you've forgotten everything, it's best not to remember. It wasn't a good memory anyway."
After saying this, the other party was about to leave.
"…Wait a moment!" Ayanokoji called out to her: "We're friends, aren't we? Between friends, at least leave a name, right? I don't even know what your name is now."
The other party looked into Ayanokoji's eyes, then, after a moment of silence, spoke her name: "My name… you can call me Ririka."
"…Ririka, that's a very nice name. I think our relationship must have been very good before."
Ayanokoji smiled and handed the bottle of wine in his hand to the other party: "To celebrate our reunion, let this bottle of wine be my welcome gift. If you ever want to chat with me, I'm available anytime."
The bottle in Ayanokoji's hand was red wine. Although this wine was taken from the wine cabinet in the Cooking Room, it was actually an N-card item he had drawn.
He had put all the wine he had drawn onto the wine cabinet yesterday, and there were no more in his inbox.
Originally, Ayanokoji had wanted to take this bottle of wine back to enjoy with Ikishima Midari, but now it just happened to be given as a gift to this Vice President.
If Ririka was indeed his friend from the past and knew about his experiences before he was ten, then he would definitely have more contact with her in the future. This bottle of wine could serve as a bond, allowing him to find more excuses to interact with her.
"…I'll take it." As Ayanokoji expected, the other party did not refuse.
Holding the wine in her hand, she suddenly said to Ayanokoji before leaving: "Ayanokoji, when we meet in private, you can call me by my name, Ririka, but in public…"
"I understand, call you Vice President, right?"
Ayanokoji replied with a smile: "Since you're wearing a mask and a voice changer, it's clear you don't want to reveal your identity. I'm not someone with low emotional intelligence, so don't worry, I won't tell anyone else."
"…It's good that you understand." The other party nodded slightly at Ayanokoji and turned to leave. This time, she didn't look back.
Watching her back, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka rubbed his temples, feeling a little troubled.
"I didn't expect to meet someone from my past. That's too much of a coincidence… What exactly did I go through before?"
Perhaps for Student Council Vice President Ririka, encountering Ayanokoji, a friend from her past, but having him not recognize her, would make her feel very disappointed amidst her surprise.
But Ayanokoji thought about more things.
First, Student Council Vice President Ririka holds a high position in Private Hyakkaou Academy, a prestigious school, second only to the Student Council President. Her identity is definitely not simple; she must come from a wealthy and noble family.
He was actually good friends with her in the past, and their relationship was quite good. If nothing unexpected happened, he should have attended the same school as her during elementary school, and it should have been a prestigious school where all his classmates were rich.
Just like this Private Hyakkaou Academy.
Is there a possibility that, besides her, there are other former classmates of his in this school?
Secondly, she wasn't surprised when he mentioned "amnesia."
It seems she is also aware of what happened to him. Perhaps… she might even know why he lost his memory.
This point is very important to Ayanokoji.
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