The Neighboring Aarya-san who Sometimes Acts Affectionate and Murmuring in Russian - Volume 3 - Chapter 8.2

I just had to be pushed into a corner like this to finally realize it…

It’s funny, but that is also part of what makes me who I am. I’m not good around other people, but my pride wouldn’t allow me to admit that was a weakness. On the other hand, having so much pride drove me to overcome my weaknesses, and that is also what makes me Alisa Kujou.

Before Alisa realized it, she was no longer afraid to show her true self, no matter how imperfect. No longer was she thinking about the speech she wrote. Her expression conveyed relief as she faced the audience to open up her heart to them.

“What I can promise you is this: I will continue to work hard to become the ideal student council president, and if I feel like I am not fit to become the president before next year’s election…then I will pull out of the race.”

She smoothly lowered her head.

“Therefore, please watch over my progress and feel free to point out whatever you think it is I may lack. I will use your input to become the president you want. Thank you all for listening.”

Her speech was followed by scattered applause after she removed herself from the podium. While it was far from enthusiastic, the applause was warm and encouraging. Alisa bowed deeply once more before exiting the main stage. Masachika breathed a sigh of relief as he watched and analyzed the situation.

It looks like they really liked her for the most part. She did very well, especially when you consider how Yuki instantly won over the crowd before Alya even got a chance. It looks like taking her speech in a completely different direction from Yuki’s really paid off in the end.

“Oh, hey. You did really well out there.” He praised Alisa when she returned.

“…You really think so?”

“Definitely. You were really cool,” he added, gently patting her on the shoulder until the emotions in her eyes suddenly caught his attention.

“You seem relieved.”

“I am… I feel a lot better now.”

“…? Really? …Oh, it’s my turn.”

Masachika looked up as his name was called. He didn’t immediately understand exactly what she meant, but the emcee called him to the podium before he could ask about it.

“I guess it’s my turn. Be back soon.”

“Good luck.”

“Yeah, I’ve got this.”

As he headed toward the podium, he glanced back once more at Alisa…and the other two behind her, and smugly declared:

“Time to win this show.”

Once he stepped into view, every student locked onto him, seeing as he was the last member of the student council to go. He took his time, slowly walking to the podium, and when he finally reached it, he gazed out over the crowd with a confident grin.

“Hey. I’m student council member Masachika Kuze, and I plan on running with Alisa Kujou during next year’s election. Oh, and one more thing…”

He paused, then dramatically swung his arms out and struck a pose. His left arm hovered under his chest with his left hand supporting his right elbow, and he held his right hand straight up in front of his face, closing his eyes. It was a pose only a narcissist with glittering eyes would make, and he was, in fact, sporting a leering grin like one before looking crookedly at the crowd.

“The vice president and true power behind the throne during Yuki Suou’s reign in middle school…was me.”

The crowd’s reaction to the long theatrical pause between sentences and the overdone acting was…

“Pfft!”

“…”

“Okay…?”

…varied. Some laughed and some wondered what was wrong with him, but most people had had no idea. “Oh, he was the vice president?” they said. Masachika blinked a few times in what appeared to be confusion, tilting his head at the lukewarm responses, which he’d actually expected.

“Hmm? Did I just bomb?”

His bold statement made even more people start to laugh. He then cleared his throat, put his puzzled feelings behind him, and continued:

“Anyway, I was Yuki Suou’s vice president in middle school and did a lot of work for her behind the scenes. Now, I know what you’re thinking: ‘Wait. Then why isn’t he going to be running with Yuki for next year? Is he cheating on her? He must be cheating on her!’”

The laughter continued to travel like a wave across the crowd.

“‘Why,’ you ask?!” shouted Masachika, slamming his hands against the podium and silencing every last bit of laughter. He then sharply observed the crowd as they stared, eyes wide.

“Because I dumped her! I dumped Yuki’s sorry butt, so it’s not even cheating!” he declared with a completely straight face. The audience exploded with laughter once again, and some even jokingly hurled insults at the stage: “You’re an asshole!” “Slow down there, man!” And just like that, the rising tension from moments ago had vanished. Masachika raised a hand to calm them, then lowered his voice into something more composed.

“Now, why did I dump Yuki and decide to go with Alya, you might ask? Well, before I answer that, I need to ask you all something first. My fellow students, what kind of person do you think deserves to be the president of the student council? The most gifted student? I don’t think so. I think you have to be someone who, above all, attracts others… Yeah, I know what you want to say. ‘That sounds like Yuki to me,’ right? I know, I know. Just hear me out first, okay?”

His playful remark brought some laughter back into the crowd in addition to dispelling any doubts that arose.

“First, we need to talk about what specifically makes someone magnetic, and that is someone who is genuine, someone who listens to others’ opinions, and someone who works hard. They’re the kind of person you look at and say, ‘Wow, they’re working really hard, so I should work harder, too!’ And most importantly, they have a pure heart. They will not hurt others to satisfy their own selfish desires. If anything, they will put others’ wants before their own. People tend to gather around selfless individuals like that, and I think people who are able to get along with most of their peers deserve to become the student council president.”

After offering a coherent explanation, Masachika slightly changed his tone and asked:

“With that in mind…how did you all feel about Alya’s speech? I hardly had any say in it, by the way. Oh, except for the Russian bit in the beginning. I put her up to it because I honestly thought it’d be hilarious.”

His confession was immediately followed by voices of surprise mixed with laughter in the crowd. “Was it really necessary to admit that?!” “That was your doing?!” Masachika waved his hand dismissively.

“There’s no way Alya would have done something like that on her own… Anyway, back on topic. When I heard Alya give her speech from the stage wing, I was honestly like, ‘Wow, awkward…’”

The crowd began to buzz somewhat after he criticized his own partner’s speech.

“But at the same time, I felt she was genuine and extremely straightforward. Wouldn’t you all agree?”

After a good portion of the audience nodded in agreement, he approvingly nodded back and continued.

“Alya is an honest person. She’s genuine. She isn’t going to present herself as something she’s not or claim she can do something she can’t just to get people to like her and vote for her. And she’s a hard worker, as she mentioned herself. She’s extremely flexible and willing as well, to the point that she used the ridiculous hook I suggested to get the crowd laughing,” he said in a joking manner, but his gaze narrowed seriously after that.

“Those are the traits that drew me to her and the reasons I want to support her. That is why I chose Alya over Yuki, and that is why I want you all to do the same as well.”

He looked at the crowd before almost immediately adding:

“But, well, I guess it is pretty hard to put your trust into one guy’s personal opinion. I’m sure some of you are thinking, ‘Sounds like a matter of taste, if you ask me.’”

He shrugged and nodded at them as though these hypothetical skeptics had a point, then raised an index finger into the air.

“But let me tell you something. Not an opinion. A fact.”

After pausing and waiting for everyone to focus on him…he played his trump card.

“Once Alya becomes student council president…Sayaka Taniyama and Nonoa Miyamae will be joining the student council as well.”

The hard-to-believe announcement was followed by a brief moment of silence until a stir quickly rippled through the audience.

“We have already received their firm commitment. Can you all believe it? Once rivals during a fierce debate, and yet they are now talking about creating a new student council together. Alya has done something that Yuki and I couldn’t back in middle school.”

Masachika glanced over at Yuki in the wing as the audience sat in bewilderment and doubt.

“Yuki mentioned a few moments ago that she would be the only one who could change the school thanks to her experience over the years in the student council, but is that even true? In addition to Alya, you get Sayaka and Nonoa, two talented former members of the student council who were Yuki’s most formidable opponents in middle school, and you get me—someone who has just as much experience in the student council as Yuki. So I ask you: Do you really believe she is the only person who can change this school?”

Students in the crowd exchanged glances as though he had a point, but Masachika wasn’t done yet.

“Think back to what Yuki said during her speech: We don’t have enough first-year students working in the student council this year, so we are severely limited to what we can do. But how does a lack of first-year students even limit us this much? The answer is simple: Any second-year student who could have helped already dropped out of the student council after losing in the election. Only one pair of talented individuals running for student council president and vice president ends up staying in the student council while first-year students, who lead the next generation, slowly drop out after each debate. This has been true every year there has been a student council as far as I know, and this is why the student council always suffers from short-staffing.”

It was a hard truth known by all, but it was so normal to them that nobody actually thought deeply about it.

“But if we had more second-year students contributing in the student council, then surely we could stably manage it without being influenced by uncertain factors like first-years, right? And only a student council centered around Alya can do that. As student council president, she will be able to create a dream team of former presidential and vice-presidential candidates, and to me, that is the ideal student council.”

Numerous students expressed excitement over his plan of having former rivals join and run the student council together. Their eyes sparkled at the dreamlike idea, which had never been done before. And yet Masachika still wasn’t finished.

“Of course, Yuki and Ayano are no exception. When Alya becomes president, I am going to have them join us as well. After all, you heard Yuki. You saw how passionate she was about reforming the school. Even if Yuki did lose the race, I am sure she would be thrilled to help us if it meant making the school a better place!” he suggested with a smirk, bringing not only laughter but also assurance, since people now knew that no matter what happened, Yuki would be on their side. In the midst of their laughter, Masachika overdramatically bowed humorously one last time.

“I apologize for how long that was, but we need your help if we are going to make this the best student council you’ve ever seen. Thank you all for listening.”

But the final surprise occurred the moment he stepped down from the podium. While he began his journey back to stage right, Alisa emerged from the wing…with Sayaka and Nonoa in tow.

“Hmm? Is that…? What the…?!”

“No way?!”

“Hey, look!”

“Whoa! Seriously?!”

The biggest surprise of all was proof of what Masachika had claimed. Alisa, Sayaka, and Nonoa stood together side by side before bowing once more to the crowd. They were instantly showered with explosive applause and cheering. The students had no idea what the agreement between Alisa and Sayaka actually had been like, but that didn’t matter. Two candidates who they believed would never work in the student council had now joined hands with Alisa and Masachika, and that fact alone was enough to get people excited.

“Alya, you earned this applause,” he said to Alisa by his side.

“…!”

He heard her breath catch in her throat and made a conscious decision not to look at her. The four of them began to return to the wing, but the applause and cheering did not end, and it was just as impressive as the reception their rivals received.

“Good work, guys.”

“…Thanks.”

“That was pretty dope, Kuze.”

“…”

While most of them shared praise for one another, Sayaka, on the other hand, was wearing a complex expression and looking away. She resettled her glasses in silence, then stated in a flat voice:

“We’re even now, right?”

“…Yes, we’re even. Thank you,” replied Alisa, bowing in gratitude as Sayaka’s eyes wandered uncomfortably.

“As I told you all before, I have no intention of cheering either of you on, let alone supporting your campaign. While I will keep my promise of joining the student council if you become president, I will not help you during the election any more than this.”

“I know. But I am going to continue to work hard…until I win you over as well.”

“…You don’t say,” Sayaka bluntly replied before turning her back on Alisa and heading toward the side door in the rear. However, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

“I’m looking forward to it,” she muttered over her shoulder before promptly heading out the door.

“Good luck, you two. Like, I can’t promise I’ll vote for you, but I’ll definitely help out if Lissa becomes the student council president,” commented Nonoa cheekily, and she followed after Sayaka.

“Oh, cool. Thanks.”

“‘L-Lissa’?”

After watching in bewilderment as they left, Alisa’s expression relaxed, and she looked over at the other stage wing, staring at Yuki with a fierce gaze. This is why I want to become the student council president. That was what her eyes were telling Yuki.

It might have started as a personal goal for only myself, but now I have to do it for Masachika, Sayaka, Nonoa—for the people who believe in me. That’s why I can’t lose, and I won’t let your determination discourage me any longer.

Yuki confidently smiled back. You can’t afford to lose? Well, neither can I. That’s the spirit. Now come at me.

They stared each other down for another few seconds until Maria spoke up, snapping Alisa out of it. Yuki watched Alisa talk with Maria and Masachika with Touya as her lips twisted into a bitter smile.

“You got me,” she muttered.

It was a battle she could have won. The disparity between their achievements and popularity alone was enough for Yuki to win, but she still went out of her way to crush Alisa in their skirmish during the afternoon announcements. It was only natural that she would win, and yet it somehow ended in a draw. No. While they received essentially the same amount of applause, Masachika’s and Alisa’s speeches had better hooks and were something people would be talking about the next day. So even if it sounded like a draw right now, Yuki, in reality, had just suffered a loss.

“Wow, I honestly wasn’t expecting them to get those two to help out,” muttered Chisaki in admiration.

“…Yes, that was definitely unexpected,” agreed Yuki. It was completely unexpected…and it was most likely a consequence of Yuki’s actions as well. The afternoon announcement—the battle she dragged Alisa into to break her mentally and hurt her chances in the election—ended up becoming what led Masachika and Alisa to asking those two for their help.

I went too far…and it ended up highlighting her integrity…

To make matters worse, her brother was now serious about this because of what she’d done. So this is what they mean when they say, “Too much scheming will be the schemer’s downfall,” huh? thought Yuki, grinding her teeth when Ayano suddenly bowed before her.

“You have my deepest apologies, Lady Yuki. If only I had done a better job of—”

“You didn’t do a single thing wrong, Ayano. This is on me. I went overboard with my schemes and ended up misreading my brother.”

She shook her head, cutting Ayano off.

Yes, I should have chosen to go after Alisa instead of reading too much into it. If I had done that, none of this would have happened. I assumed she would have passively gone for a draw. No… My overconfidence tricked me into believing that was her only option. I thought I would be able to win if we fought head-to-head, even if I was up against my brother. And my arrogance led me to believe his threats were merely bluffs, which made me confident I could easily crush them.

He saw right through me…and correctly predicted every single move I made.

He’d seen it all coming and still purposely made a big deal about threatening them. Yuki most likely would have been extremely wary of him if he hadn’t had done that. “Strange. He’s acting far too calm. What is he scheming?” she wondered.

It appears my dear brother was one step ahead of me the entire time… Ha-ha-ha. He really is amazing.

And yet, despite losing, Yuki felt oddly refreshed. Of course, she wanted to win, but at the same time, she didn’t want him to lose. She wanted the brother she’d looked up to and respected since childhood to be just as amazing as she remembered him.

Ack. I can’t be thinking like this.

She wanted to defeat her brother, but she didn’t want him to be defeated, either. Though her feelings contradicted each other, this was how she truly felt. However, feeling this good about losing would surely cause her to lose again. That was why she had to seal those feelings away once and for all.

“You may have won this time, but you won’t be so lucky next time.” She grinned with confidence that she was going to win.

Chisaki’s eyes wandered like those of someone who saw something they weren’t supposed to as she quietly slipped away. Ayano watched the other girl leave out of the corner of her eye, then whispered to Yuki:

“Lady Yuki.”

“Yes?”

“You really sounded like one badass last boss just now.”

Ayano held her hands together in front of her chest, her eyes sparkling as if to say, “I finally get it!”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. The one time I wasn’t even trying to…,” mumbled Yuki, rolling her eyes at her partner.