After deciding to give up, I became popular

164. Kaguya-sama Wants a Blessing

“Why are you here? What about the checkpoint you're supposed to be in charge of? Are you just abandoning it?” Natsukawa Kanade asked, puzzled.

“It's all the president's fault! He gave so many suggestions that I became timid and couldn't even say my lines properly! It wasn't fun at all, so I had someone else play my role,” Fujiwara Chika huffed, looking sulky.

“...But that doesn't mean you should just follow us, right? Don't you have anything else to do?” Natsukawa Kanade said, exasperated.

This idiot's mind is truly impossible to read. I can't just chase her away, she's really doing whatever she wants.

“I don't have anything to do, so I'm just wandering around, seeing if there's anything fun...”

“Then go find something, why are you following us?”

“You idiot president, I'm not following you! I'm following Kaguya-chan!”

“Isn't that the same thing...? Don't tell me you're trying to cause trouble?” Natsukawa Kanade suddenly realized, his face suspicious.

“What trouble would I cause? Besides, aren't you done with your challenge? It's time to switch people!” Fujiwara Chika protested.

“What are you talking about, 'switch people'...” Natsukawa Kanade felt confused. He couldn't understand what she was saying.

“Anyway, President, don't be so long-winded. I'm just here to watch, I don't have any ulterior motives...”

“Oh really? But what you're really thinking is—”

“To see if the idiot president will threaten my employees and use his power to achieve evil, self-serving goals!” Fujiwara Chika put her hands on her hips, striking a righteous pose.

Natsukawa Kanade couldn't help but roll his eyes at her. “Do I look like the kind of person who would abuse his power for personal gain?”

“It's just a 'Courage Badge,' it's not a big deal if I don't get it. The challenge itself is what I care about!”

“Liar, liar, pants on fire! The president is just saying nice things, but deep down he really wants it, right? Hmph, I've seen right through you!” Fujiwara Chika wagged her finger, acting like she knew everything.

Natsukawa Kanade: “?????”

So annoying!

Natsukawa Kanade simply ignored her, otherwise, he'd just get angry.

“Kaguya-chan, Kaguya-chan, come down here, I'll show you something good!” Seeing that Natsukawa Kanade didn't want to pay attention to her, Fujiwara Chika wasn't annoyed and went behind him to whisper to Shinomiya Kaguya.

“Something the president can't see~~~”

“...”

If you don't want him to see it, then don't say it here, you're just piquing his curiosity!

So Natsukawa Kanade said disdainfully, “It's probably just some prank toy, I won't fall for it.”

Looking around and not finding anything to lean on, Natsukawa Kanade simply ordered Fujiwara Chika to do some work.

“Stop standing there like an idiot, come over and lend a hand. Help Kaguya, her leg is injured and it's hard for her to walk.”

“Eh? Eh? Kaguya-chan is injured?!” Fujiwara Chika exclaimed, rushing over to help.

It was obvious that she and Kaguya were really good friends, this anxious look couldn't be faked.

On the other hand, Kaguya-sama seemed to dislike her closeness:

“Don't get too close, it's too hot...” After being silent for so long, Shinomiya Kaguya immediately rejected her.

“Waaah, Kaguya-chan must be in a lot of pain, right? It's all my fault for not being by your side, for not protecting you...” Fujiwara Chika wasn't affected at all and hugged her while crying.

Probably because the frontal buffer armor was too heavy, the airhead lady clearly couldn't resist.

“I told you it's too hot, don't get close!” Shinomiya Kaguya struggled to push her away, but she really couldn't compare in weight and couldn't stop Fujiwara Chika from charging in.

It sounded like a “poof” sound, and then Kaguya-sama completely stopped moving, as if she had been captured.

“...”

Natsukawa Kanade's expression was very subtle as he watched.

Girls sticking together is definitely a good thing, but for Shinomiya Kaguya, who was directly involved, it didn't seem...so good?

Anyway, he hoped she wouldn't have any psychological trauma because of this...

After silently praying for Kaguya-sama in his heart, Natsukawa Kanade stopped paying attention to the two of them and turned his attention to the staff member who had led them here.

“Is just looking at this enough? Don't you need anything else?” Natsukawa Kanade asked, puzzled, after handing over the card.

“Yes, President. As long as you get all the stamps on the card during the Test of Courage, it doesn't matter what order you challenge them in.”

The staff member didn't even look up, just casually took the card, glanced at it, and stamped the last empty space, his movements smooth and seamless.

“...Okay, thank you,” Natsukawa Kanade could only nod.

The other party's movements were too fast, they didn't even need to show any proof. He even suspected that if they had used the student council's seal in advance and tried to trick them, would the other party simply ignore it and count them as having passed?

It wasn't that they were blind, this was clearly a matter of human relations!

But these were all small matters. In reality, something more important had taken his mind—even though this journey could be considered to have overcome many obstacles, he still had a sense of unreality at the final confirmation, as if he had done something less.

But after thinking for a long time, he still couldn't come up with an answer. After all, reality isn't a game, where you can always refer to your taskbar.

But if he couldn't figure it out, then he wouldn't think about it for now. He didn't need to force himself. Although he always liked to think about all problems thoroughly, he couldn't do anything about roads that didn't lead anywhere.

After thanking him again, he took the two “Courage Badges” that the other party had given him, and then put away the useless card as a souvenir. He walked towards Shinomiya Kaguya and the others.

After some time alone, Fujiwara Chika seemed to have calmed down and wasn't as crazy as she had been just now, but even so, she was still hugging Shinomiya Kaguya and wouldn't let go.

She was even saying some aggrieved words, while Shinomiya Kaguya was constantly comforting her in a soft voice.

Natsukawa Kanade thought this was—very normal.

These two good friends had always been like this. Sometimes, he even wondered if it was because Kaguya had always been too nice to this idiot that she had gradually developed this carefree personality.

He had originally worried that the “young Kaguya” state might cause some misunderstandings with Fujiwara Chika, but now it seemed that Shinomiya Kaguya had returned to her normal personality? She no longer felt dazed, and her face had her usual smile.

“I'm back,” Natsukawa Kanade reminded them.

“President, did you get the prize?” Shinomiya Kaguya looked up at him.

“Yes, I got it.” Natsukawa Kanade nodded and handed the badge and the card over together. “Do you want this card?”

“Can I have it?” Shinomiya Kaguya looked a little happy. “Aren't you going to keep it for yourself, President?”

Natsukawa Kanade shook his head. “Of course not, this experience is enough for me...”

After all, he could be said to have participated in the whole process with weights. It was quite a challenge for him, and it was impossible to forget tonight's experience in a short time.

“Besides, I have this too.”

Then Natsukawa Kanade shook the “Courage Badge” in his hand, indicating that he also had a souvenir.

“It's a pair with mine...” Shinomiya Kaguya was even happier.

This was proof of their sincere feelings!

Even in that situation, the president never thought about giving up on her. It was clearly true love!

Not only that, but they also received a bracelet from Fujiwara Chika that also symbolized a pair—a blessing from a close friend!

Wasn't this a match made in heaven?

...

Just as Shinomiya Kaguya was happily thinking about what to do alone with him next, Fujiwara Chika suddenly interjected.

“I have this too! And there are so many different styles!”

This idiot didn't know what the atmosphere was and took out several different styles of “Courage Badges” in front of them to show off.

“Look, look, there's this kind too...”

It wasn't enough for her to enjoy them alone, she also wanted to drag Kaguya and Natsukawa Kanade to admire them together.

“But I still like this one the most, because it's so funny.” Fujiwara Chika pointed, and Kaguya and the others looked over.

It was a rather unique style. The front of the badge had a monster mask painted on it. He remembered it was called a Hannya.

Natsukawa Kanade didn't think anything of it, after all, Fujiwara Chika's hobbies had always been quite unique.

However, Shinomiya Kaguya was stunned after just one glance—the style that Fujiwara Chika was pointing at was exactly the one she had in her hand.

“...”

This isn't a blessing???

Shinomiya Kaguya was a little dazed.

“Hmph, I did my homework this time!” Fujiwara Chika began to talk eloquently, “This monster is called a Hannya. It symbolizes jealous and vicious female monsters. Because it looks very cunning when it smiles, it looks really funny! I really like this one.”

Then she wanted to drag the two of them to start popularizing it, causing Natsukawa Kanade to roll his eyes.

“Okay, okay, I know you did your homework.” After perfunctorily saying that to her, Natsukawa Kanade said to Shinomiya Kaguya, who was silent for some reason, “Kaguya, I have something to do, I have to leave for a while. If there's anything important in the student council, just decide.”

After saying that, Natsukawa Kanade didn't forget to tell Fujiwara Chika, “Don't mess around, take care of Kaguya, don't let her leg injury get worse.”

“I know, I know, President, you're so long-winded. I'll definitely take good care of Kaguya-chan!” Fujiwara Chika waved her hand dismissively, pushing Natsukawa Kanade away.

“Okay, then I'll go first.” Natsukawa Kanade nodded.

After saying goodbye to Kaguya, Natsukawa Kanade turned and left.

The time spent clearing the game earlier was too long. The Test of Courage was only halfway over, and time didn't allow him to waste any more time. In order to fulfill his promise with Eriri and the others, he had to hurry over even if he was tired.

After hearing Natsukawa Kanade's farewell, Shinomiya Kaguya belatedly came back to her senses. She just wanted to ask him where he was going, but Fujiwara Chika grabbed her.

“Kaguya-chan, let's go too. Don't pay attention to that idiot president. He's probably going somewhere to mess around.”

“...!!!”

Then shouldn't I stop him even more?! Shinomiya Kaguya was frantic.

However, it was too late. Natsukawa Kanade's figure had completely disappeared from her sight. Even if she shouted loudly now, he probably wouldn't hear her.

“...”

You earth cancer, let go! Let go! Let me go find the president! Let me go, Waaah ┭┮﹏┭┮.

165. From Livestock to Good Friends

He seems like a scumbag, Natsukawa Kanade suddenly realized something.

He really didn't think anything of it when he agreed earlier, but now that he was actually doing it, he felt a little unnatural.

Of course, this wasn't referring to his feelings about participating in the game, but rather that he was going to quickly “abandon” Kaguya after participating in the game and getting the badge and run to meet Eriri...

This looked like a time management master, right?

Not to mention whether others would misunderstand him like this when he was clearing the game later, he himself was starting to doubt whether his approach was really appropriate.

Indeed, he had initially agreed to form a team as a friend and had never considered whether there would be any other meanings involved, but after being influenced by the atmosphere just now, he felt that this might be more than just a friendly invitation.

Not to mention anything else, just Kaguya's attitude towards him made him feel a little abnormal.

Because that was Shinomiya Kaguya, after all?—The aloof, proud, ice queen whom no one could get close to.

Unlike Yukinoshita Yukino's half-baked high-altitude flower, Shinomiya Kaguya was truly difficult to approach.

Whether from the way she usually treated people or from her social circle, Yukinoshita was still too inexperienced. She didn't have that truly cold feeling at all. Her so-called aloofness was just a disguise she used to protect herself.

Not to mention anything else, just from the perspective of looking at others, they were completely different levels.

Yukino would at most think whether this person was an idiot and whether she could get along with him, but for Kaguya, who had received a true imperial education, whether they were idiots or even human beings made no difference to her. There was only one option when looking at them—whether they could be used.

And he didn't know if it was Natsukawa Kanade's illusion, but he even felt that Kaguya's situation in this regard had become more and more serious recently. In the past, she at least looked coldly at them, but recently, she would even look at Chika with a look of livestock sometimes...

Logically speaking, weren't they good friends who had been together since elementary school?

Natsukawa Kanade was very puzzled.