I Don't Want An Ordinary Life

Chapter 26: Ronan Is Just as Shameless as Ever Today

"So, President, you shouldn't confess yourself, nor should you wait for Miss Shinomiya to confess. Neither option has any real meaning. The best outcome in a normal romance is to naturally end up together."

"I see..."

"So I don't understand why you're so hung up on who should confess first. It's pointless. Whoever does it is just asking for trouble... Though, I wouldn't mind if Miss Shinomiya ended up being the unlucky one."

"Oh..."

"If we compare confession to warfare, it's an asymmetric game. To win, you must suppress information. With the Shinomiya Group backing Kaguya Shinomiya, the average person would be completely overwhelmed by her access to information—unless they had my help."

"Uh... Ronan, have you ever considered a special case?" Shirogane Miyuki asked hesitantly.

"Huh?"

"Like... if two people already have mutual feelings, wouldn't it be possible for one of them to confess first?"

"You have feelings for Miss Shinomiya, President?"

"N-No, no, no! I just admire her, that's all! Haven't I told you this already?"

Even at this point, Shirogane refused to admit it, stubbornly sticking to his denial.

"Feelings are too vague. They vary from person to person. There's no concrete formula to calculate them, and each individual case is unique. It's impossible to analyze definitively."

"...You really love analyzing romance with a scientist's mindset."

"Because I'm not good at humanities. I can't use something I'm bad at to analyze things, can I?" Ronan said. "Back when I confessed, I failed precisely because I didn't analyze the situation case by case. I couldn't confirm the other person's feelings. If they don't like you in the first place, what's the point of confessing?"

"...That does make some sense."

"And if both sides truly have feelings for each other, why even wait for one of them to confess? It makes it feel like a competition with a clear winner and loser."

"…Well… it's a matter of power dynamics between the two."

"Huh?"

"The one who falls for the other first ends up in a passive position once they become a couple… at least, that's how I see it."

"That's ridiculous. Why not just sit down somewhere and have a proper discussion about how to balance the relationship dynamics? Back then, I was even willing to take the loss myself, and—damn it, why do I always end up dragging my own heartbreak into these conversations with you guys?"

Ronan couldn't help but cover his face with his hand.

Even he was getting frustrated. Every time he talked to the president, he would bring up his own failed romance as a cautionary tale, yet the president never seemed to take the lesson to heart.

"I'm a living, breathing case study right in front of you, and you still don't believe me. But you're willing to put faith in a few simple words of confession?"

"I believe you, I believe you. I promise I won't confess first. You can trust me on that."

"…Alright, just keep an eye on things in the coming days. I'll support you, but don't even think about confessing. It's pointless and completely illogical."

"Got it, I'll follow your lead."

"Then that's settled. I'll message you later."

With that, Ronan picked up his backpack from the couch, ready to leave the student council office.

"So in the end, President, you're planning to pursue Miss Shinomiya as part of your research for handling students' relationship consultations, right? In that case, the Shinomiya heiress is just a test subject—a tool for the experiment. Since she's a tool, you should make full use of her. Starting tomorrow, I'll gradually provide you with intelligence."

"Ah… okay."

Even as Ronan stepped out of the office and closed the door behind him, Shirogane still hadn't admitted that his desire to be in a relationship with Kaguya was real. He wanted her to confess to him.

The difference in their social status made Shirogane's "make her confess" plan seem even less realistic than Kaguya's. But with Ronan's help, things might improve a little.

…Probably.

...

The next day, school proceeded as usual.

Classes were the same as always, but when lunchtime arrived…

The students around him deliberately avoided Ronan.

The reason was simple—yesterday, while carrying out his duties as a public moral committee member, Ronan had used methods that were both baffling and excessively forceful. As a result, he had already gained notoriety among the first-year students.

Everyone now knew that this guy was most likely an impulsive fool who acted without thinking.

Ronan, however, paid no attention to them. He simply grabbed his red bean bread, which served as his lunch, and headed straight for the public moral committee office.

Knock, knock!

"Come in."

Hearing a response from inside, Ronan opened the door and stepped in.

Inside, the familiar faces of Miko and Kobachi greeted him. Miko's bento box, as always, was noticeably larger than the average student's.

Noticing Ronan's gaze, Miko hurriedly covered her bento box and anxiously explained, "T-This is just because my mom accidentally mixed up my dad's and my lunch boxes! I don't usually eat this much!"

"Wasn't your mother working for an international humanitarian aid organization? Did she manage to come home yesterday?"

"Ah… She comes back from time to time."

"I see."

Ronan didn't pay much attention to the size of her bento box. Instead, he sat down in front of the two girls and began tearing open the wrapper of his bread.

"So, Iino, I had a chat with the student council president yesterday."

"I see. What kind of person is President Shirogane?"

"He's someone who truly cares about his fellow students. He's even willing to make himself a test subject just to help solve their problems. He's a president worthy of admiration, and I respect him greatly."

"I see… So there's still quite a gap between me and him, huh?"

Hearing Ronan's words, Miko lowered her head.

The gap between them in terms of popularity at school was obvious.

"But honestly, I don't think the disciplinary issues can be solved through the student council president."

"Eh? Why not?"

"I talked with him for quite a while yesterday, and it turns out he also offers relationship counseling… While I do admire his dedication to helping students, at this rate, the number of couples in Shuchiin will only keep increasing."

"That's outrageous!"

Miko slammed the table, her voice filled with indignation.

"The student council president is actually encouraging this kind of behavior?!"

"That's why I think if we want to improve school discipline, we can only rely on ourselves as the public moral committee. The student council is pretty much a dead end for this."

Sure, Ronan was planning to help Shirogane pursue Kaguya.

Sure, he had spent a long time discussing romance-related topics with him.

However—

That didn't mean he was going to let the couples at school shamelessly flaunt their love in front of him.

He would help where he needed to help, and he would break up what needed to be broken up.

Today, Ronan was just as shameless as ever.

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