Arc 1 Chapter 3: Abydos Student Council

Hoshino-chan and I were preparing to move. When I say moving, I don't mean that Hoshino-chan or I are moving somewhere else, but rather that the school is relocating. The school we had been using until now had become unusable due to a sandstorm, so we needed to move all the necessary materials and documents to the new annex we were going to use. When I entered high school, I felt like the school looked different from how I remembered it in my previous life, and when I saw the annex, it all clicked. It seems that this new annex was Abydos High School, which appeared in the original work. After we were ready, we headed to the annex.

　

　

"Hoshino-chan! This is the new school building!"

　

"You say it's new... but it's just an annex."

　

"Well, that's true."

　

　Just because it's a new building doesn't mean the building itself is new.

　

"Now it's just us."

　

　Yes, She took the opportunity to transfer when the other first-year students moved to the annex. But I think it was inevitable. She had seen the school She had been attending being buried under sand with her own eyes. She probably couldn't see any future for Abydos.

　

"Let's forget about those who are gone. It was a waste of hope."

　

　Hmm. This isn't very good...

　

"That's not a good way to put it. It's the sandstorm that's at fault, not the kids."

　

"..."

　

"Besides, it's hard for everyone to leave their own autonomous region. Those kids looked apologetic and regretful."

　

　I suppose Hoshino's attitude is understandable for people who are happy to abandon school, but no matter how you look at it, those kids made a difficult decision. I don't want to leave, but I can only imagine a bleak future. I can't force them to stay in the autonomous district in that state.

　

"But in the end, everyone abandoned Abydos!"

　

"Not everyone, Hoshino-chan is still here."

　

"..."

　

"Besides, I'm staying, and even if I graduate, I have no intention of abandoning Abydos."

　

"senpai"

　

"Let's work hard together from now on, okay? I'll protect Hoshino-chan, so you protect me, okay?"

　

"...Senpai, please only think about yourself. You're weak."

　

"It's true that I'm weaker than Hoshino-chan, but I can put up a decent fight......Wait a minute".

　

"? Senpai, what's wrong?"

　I just realized, but I've never fought in front of Hoshino-chan. When we're together, even if some delinquents get involved, Hoshino-chan beats them all before I can do anything. Maybe she thinks I'm not very good at fighting? If this is the case, there's no point in getting stronger... Oh well. There's no point in fighting more than necessary, and the original story hasn't even started yet. There's no need to keep fighting unnecessarily.

　

"No, it's nothing. Actually, Hoshino-chan is too strong, isn't she?"

　

"...No. I need to get stronger."

　

　Eh, will I become even stronger than I am now? Even now, I'm so strong that I don't think I could win even once if we fought 100 times.　

　

"For that reason, senpai, please accept this first."

　

"Yeah·······?"

　

　What, what is this!　

　

"Hoshino-chan, you will join the student council?! Yay!"

　

　Hoshino-chan handed me the paperwork to become a student council officer. It was already filled out and ready for me to apply as long as I gave my approval.

　

"W-why all of a sudden?"

　

"I didn't think there was any point in being so hung up on whether I was in the student council or not... and besides, I'll probably be with you forever anyway."

　

　What a wonderful thing to say. It makes Me love her even more.

　

"Ah, but I won't accept that ugly notebook."

　

　But that doesn't matter. I can't control my emotions anymore.

　

"Thank you Hoshino-chan!!! I love you!!"

　

"What?!"

　

　I gave up trying to hold back and hugged Hoshino-chan with all my might.

　

"Am I dreaming? No, this is a miracle! This is a miracle, Hoshino-chan!!"

　

"Senpai, it hurts. This isn't a dream, if you hold me like that I'll die."

　

"What?! You can't die, Hoshino-chan!"

　

　I got away from Hoshino-chan at an incredible speed.

　

"I was just kidding. I won't die that easily."

"Oh, I see. That's right."

　

　It seems like you're a little too excited and out of your element. Let's calm down for a moment.

　

"Phew, oh, that's right, let's take a commemorative photo!"

　

"There's no need to take a photo."

　

"When you celebrate, you take commemorative photos!"

　

　This is what Yume-senpai said in the original work. Also, it's an opportunity to take a photo with Hoshino, so I can't miss it.

　

　I set the timer on the camera and hugged Hoshino-chan while making a peace sign.

　

"That's close, senpai. It hit me..."

　

　Her reaction was interesting. To be honest, up until now, the chest armor had always seemed too big and just got in the way, but it was probably there to be pressed against Hoshino. For the first time in my life, I was grateful for its size.

　

"Hey, don't be shy, come closer."

　

"No, no, it's painful."

　

"Hehe. Yes! Cheese!"

　

　The photo showed me smiling more than in the original, but still a little crying, and Hoshino, whose face was distorted by my chest armor, looked beautiful.

　

"I took some great photos, Hoshino-chan! I need to put them in a big frame!"

　

"Hey! What weird thing are you saying, senpai?"

　

"But this is a treasure! It's going to become our family heirloom! I won't accept any objections!"

　

"Please stop! It's embarrassing! And it's not a treasure!"

　

"No, it's a treasure! I would pay any amount of money to buy this photo."

　

"Y-yes. I understand now. At least stop treating it as a family heirloom."

"Yes. Thank you, Hoshino-chan."

　

"It's fine. It's not like senpai has been acting weird for a long time."

　

"What does that mean, Hoshino-chan?!"

　

　Isn't it a bit harsh to say that I'm a weird person all the time? ...No, sorry, if I think about it objectively, I might be really weird. Hoshino-chan's assessment was appropriate.

　

"Well, anyway, let's put that aside and go out to eat to celebrate! I'll treat you today!"

　

"That's fine, but I'll go get the paperwork first. You don't mean you forgot about the move, do you?"

　

　Well, I was so excited I completely forgot about it...

　

"Ah, ahaha. No way! I'm going to the student council room!"

　

"I guess you forgot about it!"

　

"Eeek!."

---

"Hoshino-chan! This is the new student council room!"

　

"...It's small."

　

"Well... but! Today, the Abydos Student Council will be reborn! It's just the two of us now, but someday..."

　

"...someday?"

　

　Well, I know that our juniors will come to us in the future, but maybe I shouldn't say too much about it. What do you think?

　

"I think that one day the juniors will join and it will become lively!"

　

"No."

　

"Ahh! You don't believe me, Hoshino! I'm sure they'll come!!"

　

"Sure. I'll get the paperwork in order."

　

　Hmm, they probably won't believe me. But my classmates have just passed away, so I guess it's understandable that they wouldn't believe me.

---

"Master! It's been a while since I last came!"

　

　

　After we finished cleaning up, we came to Shibaseki Ramen.

　

"Oh! It's been a while, Yume-chan, about a month?"

　

"It's been that long already....I can't believe how often it's happened compared to last year."

　

"Well, that's true. Last year you came here about four times a week saying you were lonely."

　

"Ah, ahaha."

　

"Oh, is that the junior girl we've been talking about?"

　

"That's right! This is my strong, cute, kind and reliable junior, Hoshino-chan!"

　

"Hey, Yume-senpai, please stop. It's embarrassing. What are these rumors about?"

　

"Hmm? Oh, Yume-chan over there, the other day when she came to eat, she was bragging about how cute and kind you were, and telling me stories along the way."

　

"What?! Yume-senpai, did you do that?!"

　

"Oh, Hoshino-chan's face is bright red!"

　

"Hahaha! I can see why Yume-chan wants to brag about this."

　

"If you keep going any further, I'm going home now!"

　

"Ahh! I'm sorry Hoshino-chan."

　

"Hahaha!"

　

　She really looked like she was going to leave so I tried my best to stop her.

---

"I'll have Shibaseki Ramen!"

　

"Then I'll have this special miso ramen, please."

　

"You can ask for more, right? I'm treating you today."

　

"Is that so? Then I'd like some roasted pork as well, please."

　

"Yes! Wait a moment."

　

　After receiving our order, the chef said this and returned to the kitchen. As it was a little after lunchtime and they were cleaning up the student council room, there seemed to be no other customers in the restaurant.

　

"Yume-senpai, is it true that you came here about four times a week last year?"

　

　There was something that I was curious about in the conversation between the chef and my senior earlier, so I decided to ask about it.

　

"Really?! In fact, there might have been more people there."

　

"I didn't know you liked ramen, senpai. That's surprising. But why haven't you come here much this year?"

　

"Oh, that's because Hoshino-chan came."

　

"Me? Why would that be a reason to stop coming to the ramen shop?"

　

　What does that mean? I can't cook ramen.

　

"I came here not to eat ramen but to meet Shiba Taisho."

　

"As I said before, I was alone for the whole of last year, and I was so lonely and anxious that I thought I was going to die."

　

　I was surprised. I have a bright image of you as a senior who is always smiling.

"Shiba Taisho listened to me and comforted me during those difficult times. If it weren't for him, I probably would have given up."

　

"Abydos is full of bad adults who try to deceive us, but I trust General Shiba. He helped me when I was in trouble."

　

"But now, I have Hoshino-chan. Thanks to her, I don't feel lonely, and I don't feel like giving up at all. Naturally, I've started coming less and less."

　

"I, I see."

　

"Hmm, Hoshino-chan is really cute when she's embarrassed."

　

"It's annoying!!"

　

　Why does this senior always say things like this...

　

"Sorry to keep you waiting! Here's Shibaseki Ramen and our special miso ramen!"

　

　While I was thinking about this, the chef brought me some ramen. I ate it with my senior.

　

"Hmm? Ah."

　

　My senior, who had finished eating earlier, heard a notification on his smartphone and shouted.

　

"What's wrong?"

　

"S-sorry Hoshino-chan, I forgot I had a part-time job scheduled at this time, so I have to go now or I won't make it."

　

"Well...please remember that."

　

"Sorry about that? I'll take care of the bill, so Hoshino-chan, you can eat at your own pace!"

　

"Boss! Please give me the bill."

　

　With that said, my senior hurriedly left the restaurant. I was eating while watching her.

　

"Hey, Hoshino-chan, was it?"

　

　The general spoke to me

　

"Yes. Is there something wrong?"

　

"Well...I just wanted to say thank you."

　

"Thank you?"

　

"Yeah. Yume-chan seems full of energy now, but last year she always seemed a bit cheerful. She seemed cheerful, but with a gloomy aura."

　

"All I can do is cook, so I wasn't able to help much with the reconstruction efforts. I was a little worried about that girl who was working hard all by herself."

　

"So I was surprised when Yume-chan came to visit for the first time in a while about a month ago. She looked more energetic than I'd ever seen her before. When I asked her why, she said she'd made a new, important junior colleague."

　

"Well, it's a shame, but I couldn't cheer her up."

　

"But Yume-senpai said she would have given up if it weren't for the master."

　

"How can I put it, I wasn't able to help her at her core. To put it in perspective, what I did was symptomatic treatment, and what Hoshino-chan did was fundamental treatment."

　

"So, thank you. It's definitely thanks to you, Hoshino-chan, that that child is smiling."

　

"...I didn't actually do anything special."

"Well, even if you don't realize it, you're definitely helping her out. It might sound weird for me to say this, but please continue to help her out. All I can do is give her a little something extra."

　

　As he said this, the chef handed me a bunch of discount coupons. I felt like I understood a little bit more what my senior had meant by "a trustworthy adult."

　

"Please come again anytime. I'm confident in my ramen-making skills."

　

"Yes, thank you. It was a delicious meal."

　

　So I said goodbye and went home.

---

　Today I'll invite Hoshino-chan to join me on a treasure hunt. It's been quite a while since she joined the student council, so I'm sure she'll even wear a school swimsuit. With that determination, I headed to the student council room.

　

"Hoshino-chan! Today we're going on a treasure hunt! Hoshino-chan..."

　

"Oh, senpai. What's up today?"

　

　It was so shocking that I was speechless. For some reason, Hoshino-chan was already wearing her school swimsuit.

　

"...Eh? H-Hoshino-chan? Wh-why are you wearing a swimsuit?"

　

"Th-this is..."

　

"Huh? Huh? Ah, maybe you've mistaken yourself for a fish?"

　

"That's not true!"

　

"Well, then why?"

　

"Well, um... I got wet while fixing the plumbing, so I just had to change my clothes! It's not a weird reason!"

　

　Oh, that's right

　

"Did you fix that thing on the ground? Thank you."

　

"No, I haven't fixed it yet. It's harder than I thought..."

　

"Oh really? There are some things that even Hoshino-chan can't do."

　

　Oh, come to think of it, there was a scene like this in the original work, right? This might be a line that needs to be said.

"She's like a clumsy old man, and it's kind of cute."

　

　If I don't say this line, there's a chance that she won't become a Uuuuuu oji-san in the future. I wonder where Hoshino-chan's uncle came from... I'm already used to seeing the current Hoshino-chan, so I have no idea.

　

"Ah, more importantly, what about the treasure hunt?"

　

"Oh, that's right. Look at this, Hoshino-chan."

　

"It seems the old student council buried something amazing in the Great Oasis of Abydos!"

　

"Is it amazing?"

　

"That's right! It seems to be a firework that contains rare minerals, and when stimulated, it turns into plasma and creates fireworks that light up the sky!"

　

　Actually, unlike the treasures we've seen so far, this one really does exist, based on the description in Abydos Chapter 3. I don't know where it is, though...

　

"Apparently, they were originally going to use it for some kind of festival, but it didn't work properly, so they dumped the excess in the oasis!"

　

"·····I see"

　

"That's amazing. They're throwing away something that contains minerals worth over 1 million yen for 100g?"

　

　I really don't understand it. They should have just left it there even if it didn't work properly. I wonder how rich the student council was back then. Also, in the original story, Hina says that it was worth 10 million yen in two years...

　

"That's just what you'd expect from the Abydos Student Council. They're using feathers on a simple gymnastics mat."

　

"I wish you'd left us some, even if it was just a little bit."

　

"But that oasis dried up a long time ago, didn't it?"

　

"Yeah, that's right."

　

"Right now it's just a sandy plain and there's nothing like that anywhere."

　

"Hehehe. Hoshino-chan is so sweet. This was back when the lake was still around, so it must have been a long time ago, right?"

　

"In other words····?"

　

"So that means the fireworks are still buried under that dried-up oasis!"

　

"Does that mean there are rare minerals buried beneath the Great Oasis?"

　

"That's it! As expected of Hoshino-chan."

　

"Do you know what you're saying right now, Yume-senpai?"

　

"Huh?"

　

　Maybe that didn't sting that much?　

　

"We don't have time to do this! We'll go look for it right now!"

　Oh no, it's actually too piercing. Her eyes are sparkling.

　

"Uhehe, let's go, senpai!"

　

"Yes! Now we're millionaires too, Hoshino-chan!!"

　

　Yes yes, full of energy and cute...wait wait

　

"Hoshino-chan, it's really not good to go out in your school swimsuit!!"

　

"Oh, I'll go change."

---

"Hoshino-chan, you see..."

　

"Please don't say any more! I have a vague feeling about it too!"

　

"Right? I'm not the only one, right? Maybe it's time to give up..."

　

　I can't find it anywhere. That's strange... Judging from the Abydos Chapter 3, it should be pretty full... Is it in the wrong place?　

　

"I-I'll just try a little harder..."

　

"That's right... Even if everything seems pointless, you shouldn't give up."

　

"Isn't the scale of this story getting bigger?"

　

　Ah, the thought in my heart came to mind.

　I continued digging for a while after that.

　

　

"Sorry Hoshino-chan, I think I've reached my limit."

　

"Ugh, ugh."

　

　I mean, I've been training a lot, so why did I retire before Hoshino? Hoshino's strength is just amazing...

　

"Hey, Hoshino-chan... I wonder where we went wrong."

　

"I guess it started when Senpai brought up that strange plan."

　

"Ahhh... Hoshino-chan was so happy too. Is it my fault? Is it?"

　

"I-I know that too! Don't say that!"

　

"Plus, I feel like it would have been fine if I hadn't been wearing a swimsuit."

　

"So you really hadn't thought anything of it!? I mean, we were forced to change into our uniforms at school, so why did you say you wanted to wear your swimsuit again?!"

　

"I thought that since we had dug so deep, groundwater might suddenly gush out."

　

"In the first place, did such a probability even exist?!"

　

"And so desertification was solved, and all was well."

　

"That's not true!"

"Eeek!."

　

　Honestly, when I looked at my notes, I thought this was a no-go for Yume-senpai. I used it to hide the real reason that I wanted to see her in a swimsuit, but... I owe it all to my knowledge of the original work.

　

"Hmm... I should write down today's events in my diary as a reflection."

　

"Hey, what are you writing, senpai? Stop recording blunders like this!"

　

"But they say failure is the mother of success, right? So I guess it's my duty as student council president... and I think it'll be useful to Hoshino-chan in the future!"

　

"But that's just a record of your failures! And who wants to have a tattered notebook like that?! I'll just buy a new one!"

　

"Eeeh!."

　

　I've only been using it for a year, but it's already worn out because I carry it around with me all the time, even in the desert...

　

"...I mean, Yume-senpai is surprisingly muscular."

　

　I was also wearing a swimsuit so it seems Hoshino-chan finally noticed my muscles.

　

"That's right! I'm still training hard, you know? That's why I'm not happy about retiring before Hoshino-chan! What's really going on with your body, Hoshino-chan?"

　

　Seriously, what's going on? How does she have such power when her arms are clearly thinner than mine? Is it the greatest mystical power in Kivotos?　

　

"I mean, senpai said she was training, but can she fight? I can't imagine it at all."

　

"I can fight pretty well too! Hoshino-chan is so strong that I don't have a chance to play..."

　

"Sorry about that... I just assumed you weren't good at rough work or anything."

　

"Well, I've never fought in front of Hoshino-chan before... I guess it can't be helped."

　

"Besides, Hoshino-chan is so cool when she's protecting me, so it's fine the way it is."

　

"Hmm..."

　

"What's wrong, Hoshino-chan?"

　

"No, I'm just surprised, so don't worry about it."

　

"Why, Hoshino-chan?!"

　

　No matter how many times I asked after that, she never told me the reason.