After Shion and Roa were done.
While still excited, I was told that Shiko and Shinpo were at the library.
“Then I’ll go see them.” “Yeah, they’ll be happy to see you.” “Have a nice time.”
Shion and Roa sent me off with flushed faces.
As I was about to leave the living room and head upstairs, I ran into my childhood friend, Chiyu.
More like, she was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs.
My childhood friend, with steam rising from her bath, gave off a different kind of charm than usual.
“Cute bathed childhood friend, did it make your heart flutter…?” “Yeah.”
I nodded honestly, and Chiyu covered her cheek, saying she was blushing. Her expression didn’t change. “Intermediate Healing,” “Purification.”
Chiyu cast healing and purification magic on me.
It seemed like she knew what was going to happen next. “Thanks.” “Mm.”
Chiyu nodded and headed back to the living room.
I went up the stairs and headed to the library.
The library was a room open to everyone, so I went in without knocking.
If you imagine a school library, it should be about the same size.
There were many bookshelves and several desks, and at one of them, two people had something spread out. “Ah, Souzou!” “Oh, Souzou-san”
The combination of the blonde girl Shouko and the class president Shinpo is quite rare. In the Earth era, this would have been an unusual sight.
“I heard you two were here.”
As I approached their table, I spoke to them. “Souzou! Look at this!”
Shouko held up a piece of paper to me.
On it was an illustration of a quadruped with wings.
It looked somewhat like a griffin, but its entire body was covered in something like feathers.
This must reflect Shouko’s preference for her “fluffy summoning ability.”
“Did you come up with a new candidate for a phantasmal beast?”
「Yeah! While Mashiro is faster on the ground, Mikuron is better at flying, but this one is amazing because it can do both!」 Shouko’s eyes are shining.
「That’s true. Being able to choose between land and air depending on the situation is a huge advantage.」
「I did consider summoning Fenrir to protect your group, but today made me change my mind. First things first, we need to prioritize our friends.」
Shouko’s voice becomes serious.
Today’s incident was a shock for everyone, I understand that now.
「This is Shouko’s power, Shouko gets to make the choice.」 「Yeah. So, I’m doing this.」 「Got it. Thanks.」
「With this one around, I won’t have to make Tsukasa do that again!」 「I’m counting on you.」 「Indeed, feel free to rely on me.」 Shouko nods dramatically, and I smile.
「What are you standing around for? Come on, sit down.」
Shouko pulls me by the arm and sits me next to her.
Even after sitting down, Shouko doesn’t let go of my arm.
It’s rare for Shouko to be this affectionate in public.
「…………Ahem. I, I’ve been thinking about a lot of things too.」
The two had been sitting across from each other, but Shinpo stood up and moved to sit next to me.
Her face was a bit red, perhaps embarrassed by her actions.
She didn’t wrap her arms around me, but instead tugged on the hem of my shirt.
That endearing gesture was very characteristic of Shinpo, and it was cute.
“So, you’re going to tell me?”
“I wanted to think about a plan for if something like this happens again.”
“Yeah. Today, we realized how dependent we are on Saosuke.” “That’s not true.”
“It is. I didn’t realize the weight of the responsibility Saosuke was carrying. He’s been taking the responsibility of making decisions as our leader. It was only when I saw you act without hesitation when our comrades were in danger that I truly understood that.”
We’ve overcome many crises in the past.
We’ve encountered beasts, fought monsters, and participated in events.
But we’ve managed to overcome them all without much trouble, thanks to our comrades and their abilities.
Even today’s incident, if you look at the result, everyone is safe and we even earned points for defeating the monster…
It must have been quite a shock to everyone that we could have died if things had gone wrong.
“I’ve been helped by everyone too.”
“True, we’ve managed to stay together because you’re the leader. But that’s also made us rely on you for everything. At that time, I was so panicked that I didn’t know what to do until you ran out.” ”…”
It doesn’t seem like what she needs right now is comfort.
“I want to be someone who can support you.”
Saying that I’m already supported would be meaningless right now.
That’s not what she means.
“Is that like being a deputy leader?” She nods at my words.
“That’s right. It could be vice president or vice commander or anything you like.”
“That’s… a good idea.”
Everyone respects me as the leader, and that’s working out well.
But it’s possible for me to be absent temporarily. It happened twice today.
Shouji wanted to strengthen the party to avoid falling into such a pinch again.
Deepfoe thought about it so that everyone could make the best moves even if I was temporarily unavailable in case of an emergency.
Their approaches were different, but both of them had considered the party.
“Yeah, but it’s probably better if I don’t have control during normal times. If it’s just a temporary leader when I’m separated from you, I think everyone will be more accepting.”
“Oh, I see. If I were to clearly be the number two, it might create a hierarchy.”
“Exactly, Souta. So, if we have someone like Shion for cooking, Roa for the household, and Shouji for summoning beasts, we can divide the work according to their expertise and specialties without disrupting the party’s atmosphere.”
Not only for incidents like today, but this approach could also be used when splitting the party.
One side would follow my direct orders, while the other would follow Deepfoe’s…
“Thanks for thinking about all this.” “That’s all I can do.”
“I don’t mean that. I’ve received a lot of help from you, Deepfoe.”
“Really? Am I really useful to you?”
Deepfoe looked up at me with a worried expression. “I’d be lost without you.”
I smiled, and she responded with a faint, happy smile. “I’m glad that’s true.”
“Um, I’m here too.”
I could hear Shouko’s sulky voice.
“Of course, Shouko is also indispensable.” “Well, if that’s the case.”
Her voice sounded sulky, but her face was beaming.
I felt grateful for both of them once again. “By the way, Souza.”
“…What were you doing with Senyuu-san just now?”
Both of them shot me a reproachful look.
“I’m not trying to scold you.”
“Yeah, I just… felt a bit lonely.”
“We’re girls too, you know.”
“…Does that mean it’s okay for us to want to be with you too?” “Of—of course.”
「Good. Actually, while you were gone, we had a little chat as a couple.」
「…So, before you came here, you and Shion-san and Rora-san… you did it, right?」
I see, they had a talk beforehand.
There’s no point in denying it, so I just nodded. 「Ah, yeah.」
「See, that’s why we’re…」
「We thought we’d do it together…」
Shouko and Shinpo. The girl and the class president. In the library.
They both blushed and leaned in closer. Thanks to everyone,
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