'Did he badmouth me at the president's place… Ugh! I'm so anxious! But I can't just ask directly…'
Kaguya regained her calm and began scheming again.
'How can I indirectly find out what Rinji told him? If he did badmouth me, then my image in the president's mind must've taken a huge hit… Damn it! Why does it have to be Rinji!?'
If it were any other guy, she wouldn't worry at all. But Rinji had been hostile to the Shinomiya family for four years. Even if he promised not to mess with her at school, there was no way he hadn't talked behind her back.
"EHH!! Rinji-kun stayed at the president's house on Saturday!?" Fujiwara shouted.
"Going to a classmate's house is normal, right?" Rinji replied.
"I guess so. Still, I didn't expect you to be able to cook, Rinji-kun."
"Rinji is really talented," Miyuki added with a smile. "His cooking is on a professional level. I was shocked the first time."
"Really? That's amazing!"
'So he won the president over with cooking? Not bad.' Kaguya narrowed her eyes and thought, 'Maybe I could use this method too—learn a few dishes, then make dinner at the president's house… that would…'
Her cheeks turned bright red.
'That would be just like a newlywed wife!!'
The sudden embarrassment caused her brain to freeze. All her prior strategy vanished in a puff of steam.
"My family runs a farm, so we always have fresh ingredients. Cooking naturally came with it," Rinji said.
"Then…" Fujiwara tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"Can you make ramen?"
"I can."
"Ehehe~"
"What is it you want to say?"
"Can you cook for me?" Chika asked with a smile.
"No."
"Eh!!? Why can you cook at the President's place but not for me!?"
Faced with Chika Fujiwara's emotional outburst, Takamine Rinji replied calmly:
"That's because…"
"Because…"
"Washing dishes is too much trouble."
"…"
"I usually just eat red bean bread for lunch. I don't normally cook. Stuff like this has to depend on fate."
"Che~ Stingy," Chika pouted.
"It's just that the timing isn't right. Nothing I can do."
After rejecting Fujiwara Chika's request, Takamine Rinji continued eating his bento.
Kaguya had also recovered from her earlier embarrassment and resumed thinking through her strategy.
'Right now, I need to figure out whether he talked bad about me in front of the President. But if I ask directly… that would just be admitting that I care about what the President thinks of me. No way I can let that happen. I need to go about this indirectly… ideally, I should find someone else to ask for me…'
"Hey, Rinji-kun."
Chika suddenly spoke up.
"What now?"
"Have you always had a bad relationship with Kaguya?"
"It's not exactly with her personally. I just have a grudge against the Shinomiya family."
"Eh? Like a family feud?"
"Not quite. My old man wouldn't even know small fries like them. It's a personal matter between me and their whole family."
When Rinji casually called the Shinomiya family "small fries," Kaguya's eyebrows twitched.
"I see..."
Chika furrowed her brows, then leaned close to him.
"Then you didn't secretly talk bad about Kaguya at the President's house, did you?"
'Nice! Secretary Fujiwara, as expected of my good friend~'
Just as the situation was at a standstill, Chika's direct question gave Kaguya a ray of hope. The question she wanted to ask most was finally voiced.
"You shouldn't think like that. We should trust our fellow Student Council members. I believe Rinji-kun wouldn't talk behind others' backs."
This was a lie.
No one believed more than her that Rinji would do exactly that. She said it mainly to observe his reaction and also to present herself as someone who trusts her comrades in front of President Shirogane.
"Hah? You think I'm that petty?"
Rinji looked at Chika with disdain, as if she'd asked something incredibly stupid.
"Ahaha, I figured…"
"If I talk bad about someone, I say it to their face. Secretary Fujiwara, if you want to hear bad things about Kaguya Shinomiya, I'll tell you all of them right now."
Kaguya: "…"
He clearly didn't care that the person in question was still right there.
"Come on now, you should get along in the Student Council! As the treasurer, how can you say something like that?" Chika crossed her arms in disapproval.
"Everyone should be friendly!"
"Secretary Fujiwara is right."
Shirogane, who was already back at his seat, spoke up.
"Since we're all gathered in the Student Council, we're all working together. Let's try to avoid resentment."
"Yeah…"
Rinji looked at Shirogane, then at Kaguya.
He had a task—to matchmake these two. That way, when the Shinomiya family makes their move, he'd have enough justification to act. If he stayed on bad terms with Kaguya, he might ruin things between her and the President.
"Don't worry. I'm just an ordinary student here at Shuchiin. I'll get along well with my classmates."
"Yup yup, very obedient~ Rinji-kun's such a good kid~"
Hearing that made Rinji want to punch Chika, so he ignored her and kept eating.
Kaguya, now more at ease, glanced at Rinji's bento.
Truthfully, she really wanted to taste the President's cooking, but she couldn't bring herself to ask.
The President's own lunch was definitely off-limits. She couldn't bring herself to ask for a bite. But Rinji's bento…
'If I trade one of the lobsters from my bento for a piece of fish, that should be fair, right?'
"Um, Rinji-kun…"
"All done. The President's cooking wasn't bad."
"Hahaha, thanks for the compliment, though it's nothing compared to your own cooking."
Kaguya: "…"
Looking at the now-empty bento box, Kaguya couldn't fathom how it had all disappeared.
He ate way too fast!!