“Leila, are there any people around you who are troubled?” (Louis)
The next day after school, I visited the student council room, which I had been frequenting lately. Leila was, as usual, working at her desk. However, today she was alone, and I didn’t see signs of the other council members around.
Well, there’s a reason for that, but I’ll leave that for when I need to save Leila. For now, let’s focus on Maria.
“A person who’s troubled…? Ah, right, you mean for Maria-san.” (Leila)
“Yeah. I’m looking for a lost sheep to connect with her.” (Louis)
I had properly informed Leila about the details of this plan, so she nodded in understanding almost immediately. Then, she tilted her chin a bit and began to think.
“Well… there are some, but… ” (Leila)
“Oh? What kind of troubles are they facing?” (Louis)
Even when I asked, Leila seemed a bit hesitant to speak. Was there something difficult for her to say?
…Huh!? Could it be that it’s a naughty conversation!?
I don’t even know what kind of conversation qualifies as “naughty,” but naughty stuff is a no-go!
“Naughty stuff is not allowed, you know.” (Louis)
When I said that, Leila shot me a sharp glare.
“Ani… What weird thoughts are you having?” (Leila)
“Oh, no, I’m not thinking anything weird.” (Louis)
“But you said naughty stuff is not allowed.” (Leila)
“It must be a misunderstanding. Yeah, that’s probably it.” (Louis)
Leila sighed as if she were annoyed with my nonchalant attitude. After that, she reluctantly told me about the person she was thinking of.
“I would prefer that you keep this confidential, but it’s about Yui-chan, who is in the same class as me.” (Leila)
With that preface, Leila began to share the details.
Apparently, this girl named Yui seems to be in love with a certain boy. At first, things seemed fine, but lately, the boy’s behavior has become strange, and he has become incredibly distant. When Yui asked her friends to investigate, they mentioned that the boy in question might be the son of a prostitute and could be sexually promiscuous1.
Due to this revelation, Yui finds it hard to trust the boy completely. Yet, she doesn’t want to doubt him either. That’s the source of her distress.
“…It’s quite a heavy story.” (Louis)
“Right? And there’s also the issue of privacy, so I was hesitant to bring it up.” (Leila)
Certainly, this isn’t really the kind of thing to share with others. Moreover, I wonder if Maria can resolve this issue…
But if things go well, I have a feeling that this might help put a stop to Maria’s indiscriminate acts of service.
Maria’s tendency to serve others stems from a lack of self-approval and a distorted perception of receiving love from others. In other words, she recognizes that her worth comes from being used by others.
So if this situation can help her learn how to build healthy relationships with others and understand her own self-worth…
Yeah, for now, I might have to investigate on my own, and if it seems like a problem that can be resolved, I could consider connecting Maria to it. If the situation is too complicated, I might just let it pass for now.
“Thanks for telling me this, Leila. I really appreciate it.” (Louis)
“No problem. I’m happy to see my Ani helping others.” (Leila)
Despite saying that, there was a shadow in Leila’s expression. However, I failed to notice it as I left the student council room.
＋＋＋
Now, whether the issue with Yui-chan can be resolved depends on the feelings the other person has toward her.
For example, if the other person is just messing with Yui for fun, it might not be possible to resolve the situation. Everything would be up to Yui’s state of mind.
On the other hand, if he genuinely wants to be in a relationship and there’s just a misunderstanding, it should be relatively easy to resolve.
For now, I decided to do some research on that guy—Cyrus.
Well, my bad reputation is still lingering around the school. If I confront him directly about the details of the situation, there’s a high chance that weird rumors will start spreading. While I don’t mind having strange rumors about myself, if it becomes known that I’m asking around about Cyrus, it might lead to unnecessary complications.
I’d like to avoid that, so I’ll take a more indirect approach.
“Hey, Sakura-chan, I’ve got something I’d like a little help with.” (Louis)
I called out to Sakura-chan, my first friend I made through Irina.
“Nani Nani!? What can I help you with!?” (Sakura)
She was an energetic, freckled girl with reddish-brown hair2. Considering the nature of the task, I felt it might be a bit too much to ask for help from her shy, glasses-wearing friend.
“Sakura-chan, you seem to have good social skills, so there’s something I’d like you to find out for me.” (Louis)
By the way, it seems that she’s aware of the truth from Irina and is one of the few allies I have in the school. The glasses-wearing girl, Mina, is also one of my allies.
“Eh~ I don’t think I have good social skills at all!” (Sakura)
“Oh come on~! You definitely do!” (Louis)
As I said that, she visibly lit up with joy. Despite saying otherwise, she’s an easy-to-read girl.
On the flip side, she’s almost too easy, which makes me a bit uneasy. However, it doesn’t change the fact that she’s the most suitable person for the task.
Leila, being a student council member, has a wide network, but she’s not good at casually extracting information with a friend-like approach. The goal this time is to investigate without being noticed, so I thought someone friendly and approachable would be better.
After buttering up Sakura-chan a bit, I explained what I wanted her to do. Essentially, I asked her to find out about Cyrus’s background and his feelings.
“Got it! That’s easy peasy! Leave it to me!” (Sakura)
She flexed her muscles as she said that.
Yeah, having reliable friends is definitely important.
And so, Sakura-chan and I began our investigation into the Yui-Cyrus issue.
TL notes:
Thanks for reading!
You basically asked her to do everything lol. Also, the amount of confidence she has to say that it was easy. She must have some incredible social skills, either that or she’s been buttered up too much.