After school in the student council room.

Hibari Houkobaru, the student council president, was meticulously wiping down her desk with a tightly wrung cloth. Behind her, Hiroto Sakurai—the treasurer, who’d been organizing the bookshelf—turned around. He had a slight smile on his lips.

"You’ve still got a month left on your term, Hiba-nee. Aren’t you being a bit hasty?"

"It’s not in my nature to be rushing to clean things up right before I leave. Respect is something you build up over time." She dipped the cloth in the bucket of water and rinsed it.

Sakurai watched her with a trace of concern in his eyes. Houkobaru caught this and simply gave a light shrug, as if to say, don’t worry about it.

"I’ve inherited many things from the senpai who came before me," she said. "It’s my duty to pass them on to the next generation."

She wrung the cloth tight again, then began wiping down the chair next.

"You’ve been in the student council for two whole years, huh, Hiba-nee? Must be full of memories."

Houkobaru smiled, a bit wistfully. "Yeah… the previous president was quite the character. No less formidable than Koto-senpai."

"Good thing I only joined this year," he said with a laugh. He paused, and his tone shifted. "Do you think Yumeko-san will be okay? Sounds like she made Basori-chan mad again."

"Oh, that’s just proof they’re getting along. Shikiya always livens up whenever Basori-kun is around her."

Tiara Basori, the current council vice president, had already declared her candidacy for the upcoming election. So far, no other candidates had stepped forward. As long as she cleared the confidence vote, she’d be the next president.

Once Hibari Houkobaru had stepped down, Sakurai had already made his decision—he’d leave the student council too. Without her, the student council simply held no interest for him. He reminded himself of that once more, silently, before letting his usual gentle smile return.

Houkobaru, apparently satisfied with her cleaning, draped the cloth over the bucket’s edge and gave her desk a final once-over.

"Oh, right. Before I forget." She picked up a file. "Here’s a summary of all the unresolved issues. The budget revision meeting always turns into a mess every year, so brace yourself."

Sakurai glanced at the folder she’d held out, then shook his head hesitantly. "Hiba-nee… I'm not staying in the student council."

"…Right. My bad, force of habit." Her smile turned wry as she ran her hand lightly across the cover. "Even now, I guess a part of me kept thinking you’d still take over. Though I know better."

She stared down at the folder in her hands, her eyes unmoving. A good moment passed, and she gently placed it back on the desk, as if letting go of the thought along with it.

"Anyway, that’s enough for today. Hiroto, is there anything else we need to help with?"

Crack.

The bucket’s handle snapped as she tried to lift it.

"Hiba-nee—!"

Sakurai instinctively reached out, but before he could grab it, Houkobaru swiftly caught the rim of the bucket with her free hand.

They both exhaled in unison.

"See?" she said. "I'm not always the one being taken care of."

"Yeah, that's a weight off my shoulders."

"Must feel a whole lot lighter now, huh?" The two exchanged a smile. The moment passed quietly between them.

Just then, Sakurai's phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen, and his smile faded.

"…It's Koharu, isn't it? Don't mind me, take the call," Houkobaru said.

Sakurai stared at the screen for a moment, then flipped it over and placed it face-down on the desk.

"I'll call her back later. If she’s calling at this hour, it’s not urgent," he said flatly.

Then, after a brief pause, he walked back toward her desk.

"Hiba-nee. About the file from earlier… mind if I take another look?"

She tilted her head. "What's wrong? Something catch your eye?"

Houkobaru handed him the folder.

And only then did Sakurai realize—he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off it.

So Sakurai reached out and took the folder, his expression serious. He’d made up his mind.

"—Yeah. I think I’m starting to get interested."