By A Slight Mistake - Chapter 40

Chapter 40

The student council election is in utter turmoil .

Every faction wants Ookami to join them; on the other hand, they evade me like the plague .

Of course, they wouldn’t want to approach me, seeing as there is a fortification of girls that not even the current student council president can breakthrough you’ll have to be pretty brave to try to break through that .

To my surprise, it’s not only the first year’s girls but also the second and third years girls that have come to my defense .

Nevertheless, Ninomiya senpai still hasn’t retracted his request of me becoming his secretary, thus just adding fuel to the fire .

Ninomiya’s senpai faction has been trying to persuade him to have Ookami join them, but the man himself refuses to listen, thus causing friction within the group .

In as little as two weeks, we’ll go from electing candidates to voting for the election, but that’s still to weeks to far .

The once peaceful campus has now become a war zone .

I have grown tired of the clamorous campus; thus, I decided to flee the scene .

Where else to go but the library .

The library here has a vast collection of books that, by no means, should be looked down upon .

Some of the books here are rare because of this; some students come here seeking to read them .

To no one’s surprise, the rare books are prohibited from borrowing .

The only way to read them is to get authorization from the librarian .

Even then, the librarian has to hand it over personally to you, and it must be returned before you leave .

The main reason I come here is mostly to browse the history books .

Since there is a discrepancy between the history that I once knew and the history that we have here, I’m attempting to merge the two .

Even though I’ve been desperately reading a large number of books, I would never have believed there were many such pitfalls .

Who would have thought that the history books would possess so many traps?

Many of them don’t articulate a proper conclusion, therefore, blurring the lines of their findings, thus leaving me lost for thought .

I’m aware that I may have become a bookworm since I’m always heading towards the library, which has become like a second home since I could always be found there .

I wouldn’t say I dislike reading; in reality, I find it quite enjoyable .

The only thing that disheartens me is that I can longer read light novels .

There is no such thing as light novels in this library .

I also can’t go to a public library due to my social position .

I thought of ordering them online, but all of our packages are checked beforehand for suspicious items .

It may not be considered a suspicious object in that sense, but on the other hand, it may as well be .

Luckily, some history books indulge in their delusions, which I find the most enjoyable to read .

Now then, I was finally able to confirm history up to The Great Migration .

Did Emperor Charlemagne come after this?

The epic The Song of Roland was also written around this time .

I liked The Song of Roland quite a bit .

I cried a little towards the end of the story .

I liked Olivier more than Roland, though .

I hope the story hasn’t changed over here .

With these thoughts in mind, I pull out the book I’m after from the bookshelf and move on to my favorite spot .

It’s a chair next to a window towards the north side .

This is the seat that I have deiced to reserve for myself .

Since the brightness of the lighting is consistent, my eyes don’t get tired .

As I was flipping through the pages and about to begin reading, I realized that someone was standing nearby .

When I looked up, the person standing there was Ookami Guren .

“You’ve done it, Sagara-san . ”

While smiling, Ookami looks down towards me as his smile only gets more menacing .

“Whatever do you mean, Ookami-san?”

I know whats he’s talking about, but I’m playing dumb, of course .

“I’m talking about the student council officers . You were the one that nominated me, weren’t you?”

“No, it wasn’t me . I’ve only told the Student Council President that there are dozens of other influential students vying for the presidency, I haven’t said a word towards him on who will be the most capable candidate . ”

“Liar!”

“No . I don’t lie… …isn’t that right?”

Sealing the words of Ookami, I look straight at him in the eyes .

As we stared each other down for a while, it was Ookami that ended up giving in .

“That’s right . You don’t lie . ”

”It’s more advantageous to not lie in the first place if you’re going to be found out . I don’t like wasting my time . ”

“Yeah, that’s the type of personality you have . ”

“I’m glad you understand . Have we cleared up the misunderstanding?”

“I’m sorry . It seems I let the blood boil towards my head . May I Have a few words with you?”

He points to the seat in front of me and asks if he can sit down .

“By all means, it doesn’t seem like anyone else will come . ”

In fact, there was no one in the library but us .

So there was no need to worry about being a nuisance to others by us taking .

While thinking so, I nod my head .

“Pardon my intrusion . ”

Ookami was able to regain his usual calm composure and sat down in a relaxed manner .

“I’m sorry about earlier . That was uncalled for . ”

“As long as you realized it was a misunderstanding, then it’s okay . So what’s your story?”

Understanding that right now is not the time to be reading; he closes his book and places it back on the table .

“Do you know who it could have been that nominated me?”

“Unfouranly no as I wasn’t at the scene to witness who it was . ”

“I thought you would’ve known……”

“I’m afraid; I’ve been too busy taking care of my self . It’s not my intention to become the kindle for a fire, but the student council president doesn’t seem to want to give up on me yet . ”

“Indeed, to go through that every morning must be terrible . ”

“Yes, but that’s the least of my problems, it all the girls that crowd me . ”

“That’s true sometimes I see second-year girls and occasionally even third-year girls in the crowd . ”

“It appears that by going to the classroom of a first-year on a daily basis, the student council president has soured his public relations and has begun to face criticism . ”

“……by any chance, does the president admire you?”

“Come now, don’t tell me you believe those rumors . ”

To come to such a senseless conclusion, you must be a fool or going senile . (TN: Not sure)

“Sagara-san, are you really not interested in the position of student council president?”

“That’s correct; I find too tedious being part of the student council . ”

At the sincerity of my words, Ookami began to smile .

“Ahahahaha… …you truly are something . Well, that’s to be expected since we are under your protection . ” (TN: No idea if this is correct)

“I was honestly quite surprised when you unexpectedly flared up on me . What’s more, your plan of attack was full of holes with no solid proof; it honestly was a nightmare . ”

“Thank you for pointing out my flaws, cause of this I feel I have grown a little . ”

“Is that so? Well, as long as you’re aware of your shortcomings and strive to improve your self, that’s all that matters . ”

“What if you were to acquire documentations intend for the secretary . Wouldnt that help you to find out what’s going on behind the scene? (TN: Probably wrong)

“If you would like to try by all means . However, the student council documentation isn’t available for the general public to view, so it will be difficult to obtain . But I’m also not encouraging you or inciting you to do so . ”

“… … … … … … yeah . You’re not one to do that . ”

Satisfied, Ookami nodded his head in agreement .

For Ookami to be so effortlessly deceived, shows he hasn’t investigated enough .

Yes, I won’t lie, but I make sure to deceive my opponents thoroughly when I do .

If you were not aware of this fact, it just means you still haven’t gathered enough intel .

“……You really don’t have any motivation . ”

“It’s not that I’m not motivated; it just that I have no interest in such matter . ”

Well, I suppose that what everyone would believe .

“What do you believe I should do in this situation?”

“What do you desire? Whether or not you want to become the secretary or run for the presidency, that’s entirely up to you . As long you keep me out of it, I’ll secretly support you behind the scenes . ”

As he honestly conveyed his feelings in a straightforward manner .

Ookami’s smile turned into a wry smile .

“Only in secret, does that mean you won’t openly support me . “

“You and I both know if I were to move now, it would only cause chaos . Besides, it seems that not everything has come out to the surface yet . ”

“Oh, that’s right; Sagara-san it rather unusual for you to express your intentions so clearly, also it appears that the first year’s girls have become the anti-student council president faction . ”

“It’s something that I never desired … … but its a fact that in reality, that is what saved me . ”

As I continue to answer on an honest basis, it appears as if Ookami’s wry smile only deepens .

“I heard from the girls Sagaran-san that you are considered their ideal prince . You are a kind and gentle woman but at the same time, reliable . A girl from my class told me that she wanted to protect you because she knew you would do the same for her . ”

“I see . I’ll find it troubling if they think too highly of me . ”

I’m far from their idealized views of me . I’m just human . Seeing my troubled expression, Ookami tilts his head .

“In reality, what they’re saying isn’t that far off from the truth . You give off this feeling that you lack what makes one human . ”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It’s as if you’ve come out of a fairytale or a dream . It feels as if you can never be reached even if you’re in arms reach . All one can do is make sure you’re real and not a figment of their imagination . ”

“……I apologize for my rude behavior towards you, but I just had to make sure you weren’t behind this . I’m a cowardly person at heart . But at the stage, we’re in now the fewer people I come in contact with the safer it is . ”

It seems our game of wordplay has come to an end .

Ookaim understands that by shrugging his shoulders, he’s implying that he no longer wants to associate himself with any longer . (TN: Probably wrong)

“You’ve misunderstood me . Sagara-san, the reason I approached you was by doing so I believed that the person responsible for this would show up . ”

“Looks like my judgment was wrong . I was just beginning to understand their train of thought; it seems me assuming someone would approach was naive . ”

Since I know, I’ll be honest with you .

Chiaki would never approach anyone .

“It’s vexing . This time they may have been able to carry out their plan to trap me . But I’ll definitely drag them out next year and show them . ”

“I see . I wish you the best of luck . ”

Feeling indifferent, I returned him some half-hearted words .

“By the way, Sagara-san . ”

Standing up, Ookami unexpectedly looked at me and asked .

“Who do you believe should be elected to be the next Student Council President?”

“……The would-be the winner, of course . ”

When I replied I didn’t care who won, Ookami laughed bitterly .

“It next-to-impossible to get you to take something seriously . ”

“Thank you; I’ll take that as a compliment . ”

.

.

Reaching my arm out, I pull a book closer to me .

As I look at the cover, flip through the pages, and expel the words, I felt the sign of the Ookami leaving .

For the time being, it seems that they have succeeded in bringing Ookami onto the center stage .

From now on, all Chiaki has to do is figure out the way he thinks and his next course of action .

However, she can’t make any careless contact .

The fact that he was able to figure out that I would always come here, in most likely hood means that he has someone to keep an eye on my movement .

“Ah! Wait, that’s wrong!”

As I was reading the book, a new fact came before me .

It should have been Emperor Charlemagne = Charles the Great, but now it has become Charles the Bold .

It may seem that only the name has changed, but its still a name .

I once read an outrageous version of The Song Of Roland that claimed that Charlemagne was said to be a woman .

That one was quite out there but, at the same time, quite fascinating .

Maybe next year, I should join the library committee and look for some outrageous books and purchase them for the library .

A person who belongs to a committee is expected not to become a student council officer .

Yes, that might just be a good idea, after all .

In a slightly better mood, I began to absorb myself into reading .