The discussion about the social event has come to an end and the meeting was dismissed today.
Emilia and Shallot said, āExcuse me,ā and left the room first.
The only two people left in the room were me and Natalie.
Natalie follows the papers on the desk with her eyes and writes something using a pen.
āItās already late, letās go home together for the first time in a long time.ā
I looked outside and saw that the sun was setting and the sunset was reflected outside the window.
The sun sets earlier in the season.
Itās time for most of the students to leave the school building.
āIāve still got things to do, but I think you should go home first.ā
Natalie replied as she looked over the papers in her hand.
āDonāt boil it down so much, thereās still time for the social event.ā
āThereās more to do than just socialize, and ā¦time flies by quickly.ā
There are definitely times when I canāt leave because of the workload.
To begin with, she often stays late.
Recently, it has become a tradition that Natalie is the last one to leave the student council room.
āDonāt worry, weāll figure it out tomorrow.ā
If you donāt relax when you can, you wonāt last, I think so.
āThatās not going to happen in time. ā¦ā¦Besides, the social event was my idea, so Iām responsible for getting it done.ā
I know Natalie is a responsible girl.
Because itās always been that way.
Even when we first met, she said, āI have a responsibility as a nobleman.ā
There are surprisingly few people who are truly fulfilling their duties as nobles.
Pretty much everyone is working for their own personal gain.
I honestly think Natalie is amazing for trying to fulfill her duties without being overly concerned about her family or title.
Thatās why sheās trusted by teachers and students alike as student body president.
There is no one to complain about Natalieās work.
āNatalieās doing well, so why not cut yourself some slack?ā
I saw Natalieās eyebrows twitch in response to my words.
āI want to give it my all, and I donāt want to cut corners.ā
āThatās admirable,ā¦ā¦, but in moderation; at worst, you can rely on someone else to do it for you.ā
āNo, ā¦well, to the other members of the student council, Iād do it too if they asked me.ā
I have some knowledge from my previous life as a businessman, and I think I can do the job reasonably well.
The other members of the student council, ā¦even Shallot, who is not on good terms with Natalie, would not refuse a job if asked.
āIām just doing my job, thatās all.ā
āI know Natalieās good and she can do a lot, but she canāt do it all by herself.ā
I just said it in a strong way.
And Iām a little remiss, but I donāt think what Iām saying is wrong.
Natalie stops her hand from holding the pen.
Then she put the pen on the desk and looked me right in the eye.
āI know, thereās not much I can do, so Iām doing the best I can.ā
Natalie tried to make her point that itās her responsibility and sheāll do it herself.
I donāt know what youāre trying to work up to there.
I donāt want to say itās only a student council, but Natalie has changed a bit since joining theĀ student council recently.
I get the impression that she is being chased by something, something like that.
She seems to feel more responsibility than she should as student body president.
So I suggested a picnic to help Natalie feel better.
āToo much work is bad for you, so letās go home.ā
I shouted brightly again.
āIf youāre leaving, youāre on your own.ā
Natalie said in a shushing voice.
And I was a little annoyed.
āYou donāt have to say it like that. ā¦ā¦ā
āItās a bit of an understatement, but since you donāt seem to understand, Iāll make it clear: youāre in my way.ā
As you can imagine, Iām a little pissed off at the way she said that.
Iām saying this for Natalieās sake, and I donāt like it when you say it like that.
āOh, ā¦well, Iāll just go home then.ā
I lifted my bag roughly and opened the door and left the student council room.
And to Natalie, who is still in the room.
By then she was already preoccupied with the papers in front of her.
Natalieās attitude was getting on my nerves and I shut the door as hard as I could.