Chapter VIII: Determined, Yukihara Mikoto Makes a Decision (3/3)

9:55 AM

And so, my earlier thought came back to bite me.

"Johann, our meeting will begin shortly. I just came to ensure you had not forgotten."

President Mikoto herself took the trouble to remind me about it personally. How could I have predicted this situation? Considering my streak of bad luck, it could not have been any other way. I can already feel the volcano preparing to erupt beside me.

"Oh, yes. Don't worry; I've not forgotten the meeting. I'll meet you all in the council room in a few minutes," I reply.

I glance to the side and see Shou, visibly upset, with clenched fists.

"See?! Even Johann managed it, and I failed miserably! This proves it—I'll end up alone for the rest of my life," he grumbles, arms crossed.

Shou's hysteria piques Mikoto's curiosity. She can barely fathom his childish behavior.

"What is he talking about?" Mikoto asks, hesitant at witnessing such a ridiculous scene.

Miyu grabs Shou by the hair and yanks him down, preventing him from further embarrassing her in front of the student council president.

"Nothing at all, Kaichou. Shimizu-kun never makes sense, so please don't take anything he says seriously. He makes a mountain out of a molehill. Just ignore him," Miyu replies, forcing a laugh.

Mikoto smiles slightly as she glances at me. I imagine she has already connected the dots. Just imagining the scene gives me chills—nothing good comes of it when she is this pleased.

"Hmmm. I see... He thought I was interacting with Johann for reasons beyond professional matters. Is that correct?" Mikoto says with a superior tone, adjusting a strand of her hair.

This is getting dangerous. It's not hard to deduce that a diabolical plan is forming in her mind.

"Exactly. He's an idiot, I repeat—just ignore him. Believe it or not, he thought the same thing about me and Manabu-kun," Miyu adds, laughing forcibly.

Mikoto touches her lips thoughtfully, then looks at me with a sly gaze and says:

"Johann, from what we have discussed in recent days, I thought you wanted to keep things confidential at first. I have no objections if you have changed your mind and decided to share our relationship with your friend. After all, I see no issue with it. However, I only expected you to notify me of such a change in plans. Due to this oversight, we now find ourselves in this awkward situation," she says with her faint smile, delivering her speech.

It's worse than I imagined. Her sly way of delivering this absurd fantasy could make any fabrication seem believable.

What a mess. How am I supposed to explain this? I'd have preferred if she tried to humiliate me directly rather than this.

I glance to the side and see Miyu, blushing and wide-eyed, with her hand over her mouth.

"Huh? So, you and Ka-kaichou are really...?" she stammers, trying to confirm what she just heard.

I try to think of a way to explain to them that Mikoto is just joking. However, I doubt she'll let me off the hook that easily; she'll continue lying, as she did yesterday at lunch. For every lie I manage to refute, she'll have time to plant three more. It's a mathematically unwinnable battle.

"Well, it is time to go," Mikoto whispers in my ear.

Moreover, you chose such a convenient time to prevent me from explaining myself to them, didn't you? You must have had this entire diabolical plan in mind all along.

10:12 AM

After that turbulent conversation with Shou and Miyu, Mikoto and I head to the student council room to meet Haruki and Natsuki to discuss our strategy against Ailiss.

As expected, our options are limited. To counter Ailiss's firepower, we'd need an overwhelming numerical advantage to overpower her with sheer numbers. However, even that has been exhausted by her. Our only weapon—the council's authority over the student body—has been destroyed, leaving us like a clawless, fangless animal.

"Even with the disarray we have faced, we still have enough people to confront her. No matter how small our chance, we must invest in it," Haruki declares, determined.

At the moment, Haruki and Mikoto are debating the possibility of a direct offensive. Our lack of time is a valid argument for Haruki's idea—after all, we've no alternative to combat. However, I still believe the odds of victory are so low that attacking her this way would not be worth it. It'd merely deplete all our resources in an ineffective assault.

"And how exactly does that help us? Look at the circumstances—she is a player. Who in their right mind would agree to help us in a direct attack? Killing her would be suicidal, according to the game's mechanics. Even if someone agreed, they would instinctively hesitate at the moment of attack. And capturing her alive makes everything even more difficult. It is not pessimism on my part; unfortunately, with this approach, our chances of success are nonexistent," Mikoto explains.

I thought this "player" property would be advantageous in avoiding conflicts for myself, but in the end, it only serves the purpose of the active player initiating aggression. While it prevents direct confrontation between players, it incites attacks on third parties. Everything is conspiring against us.

"All right, Kaichou. I understand your point perfectly. However, how will we proceed if we can't kill her directly? I can't conceive another way out. Either we face the improbable, or we accept certain defeat."

"I have thought extensively about this, and unfortunately, I have not reached a definitive solution. However, there are approaches that may be more suitable for combating her," Mikoto says, crossing her legs with a pensive expression. "First, we need to increase our number of militants, even slightly. Then, we will use someone who, like her, cannot be killed. This way, the battle will at least be minimally balanced, allowing for a significant probability of victory."

Someone who can't be killed. In other words, a player. Is she suggesting she will use me as a shield? In the end, I'll just be a pawn.

I suppose I should feel angrier, but it is not something difficult to accept. In a way, I don't have many complaints about the matter. If this is her decision, I'll conform to it.

"What do you mean? Someone who, like her, can't die? Are you implying we have a player on our side?" Haruki asks.

Mikoto directs her gaze toward me before answering. She is probably ensuring I will fulfill this role; if I die, everyone will be free. This way, it becomes a foolproof plan—after all, everyone benefits from it.

She continues to stare at me intently. Is she waiting for me to speak up? To make it seem as though I am volunteering rather than being ordered to my death?

Her sharp gaze shifts to Haruki, and she concludes:

"Yes. I am a player, and I will fulfill this role."