She stood straight and directly faced him Mutsuki was fully awake now but still weary She however exuded motivation and eagerness from her entire body
Are you ready Fujita Mutsuki
Show me more energy than that
3 days had passed
Mutsuki was being punished for his deviant sexual behavior on campus but for Machina’s sake they could not make a big deal out of it and so President Shirohara was personally overseeing the punishment Plus Machina had not been all that angry in the first place so it was more an issue of Ren’s feelings
The personal punishment given to Mutsuki was to assist with Student Council business until the cultural festival
Basically he did odd jobs to prepare for the festival
It seemed simple but it was rough Mutsuki alone had to take over all the help for a festival held by the entire gigantic school
Ren had made a number of comments
Listen Fujita Mutsuki I once monitored you so I don’t think you are a vulgar person to the core I think you merely lost your way in the 5 months I was gone
You hold an important position as the bearer of the Serpent’s Eye I understand how finding yourself in that position during adolescence can blind you to what is right But that is why I wish to guide you to a pure and wholesome life A wholesome mind is built upon wholesome deeds Regain your pure self with volunteer work
Don’t worry I will work with you
It was unclear how she viewed this but Mutsuki had never been able to say no and this was Shirohara Ren-senpai He could not defy her
Today we will be weeding the area around here I want the lawn to look nice for the festival
He was entirely unable to complain as she had him wake up at 5 in the morning to do all sorts of odd jobs
Today it was weeding The schoolyard and edges of the sports ground had not been maintained over summer break so there were plenty of weeds growing
Even if it was still cool so soon after sunrise it was heavy labor He was sweating after only 15 minutes Sweat stained his work gloves and some rough dirt got inside them
At the very least this was not a job for a normal student to be doing at this hourHe frowned while the smell of the weeds pricked at his nose
But this was the 3rd day Mutsuki was more or less voluntarily participating in this harsh early-morning work
He was not obligated to do this so he could skip it if he wanted
Then why was he doing it Part if was his easily influenced personality Part of it was self-punishment because he felt bad for what he did to Machina even if she was not saying anything about it Part of it was Shirohara Ren’s charisma that allowed her to force through some fairly ridiculous demands Oh Look Fujita Mutsuki
Ren called him over while crouched down next to the school building
Her work gloves were even muddier than Mutsuki’s and she pointed at a pale crimson color mixed in with the green summer grass
It’s a cosmos In Japan it’s also calledan autumn cherry blossom isn’t it
Yes I see it’s still a bud
It must have wandered in here from somewhere It would be a shame to uproot it There’s a flower bed in the courtyard that isn’t in use so let’s move it there
She smiled happily and carefully dug around it
And part of it was because she would spend time with him
President Shirohara Ren had a strong sense of responsibility so she had begun monitoring because she had ordered him here in the name of providing guidance
Just as she had said she performed all of the odd jobs alongside him from weeding to cleaning the school building She was always here early in the morning
She had no obligation either but she put in the same work in the name of providing guidance He could hardly complain about that
And there was one last part of it
Time to carry it overOh the dirt is falling away Fujita Mutsuki hold it in
Oh yes yes
Ren made a bowl out of her hands and tried to carry the cosmos and the root ball below it
Mutsuki wrapped his hands around hers from below to catch any dirt that fell out
They were wearing work gloves but he still felt his cheeks grow hot from holding her hands Fortunately he was sweating so she did not notice
The last part was of course that he had feelings for her
He heard a cute scream
Wondering what it was he realized Ren was acting oddly
Her eyes were as clear as the September sky and they were opened wide
Her usually intelligent face looked more like a puppy now He tilted his head wondering what had happened
Eek
She tensed up and let out another cute shriek
Her shapely chin was pulled all the way back to her throat to look down at something her own clothes
Then he realized that a 5cm object the color of a dead leaf had hopped from the cosmos and onto her clothes Specifically onto the nametag on her chest
Oh a grasshopper They’re pretty common this time of year
It was fairly big but not a big deal It was only a grasshopper
He did not often come across bugs at his age so he smiled at it
But the girl with it on her chest was not smiling at all
Uh uhh um Fujita Mutsuki Sorry but
Hwahit’s crawling up