Crossover: After deciding to give up, i became popular

"Is she a colleague from the student council?" Shiina Mahiru asked casually, though the faint tightening of her hand on the spoon betrayed her inner unease.

It wasn't as if she had deliberately eavesdropped, but the room was small. No matter how far away she sat, she couldn't help overhearing their conversation.

More importantly, Kanade didn't seem to be making any effort to hide it from her.

"Yeah, Shinomiya Kaguya, the student council vice president." Natsukawa Kanade nodded, confirming her assumption. "She's probably looking for me because of some urgent student council matter she couldn't decide on her own."

Shiina Mahiru let out a breath of relief but quickly remembered something. Hadn't Kanade mentioned earlier that he had resigned?

"You really resigned?"

"Yeah…"

"Why, though?" Seeing Kanade glance at her, Mahiru hastily added, "No, don't get me wrong—I'm just curious."

Even if she wasn't particularly well-informed, Mahiru had heard rumors about Kanade. She couldn't help but wonder if…

"No special reason, really. Maybe… I was just tired," Kanade said, shaking his head lightly and offering no further explanation.

After a few days, he had more or less moved past the heartbreak that had weighed him down.

Still, it was annoying how everyone who learned about his resignation felt the need to interrogate him about it. Was resigning really such a big deal?

"I see…" Mahiru nodded in response.

To her, it didn't matter if he was the dazzling student council president admired by all or just a brooding, self-pitying slacker in the shadows. Kanade was someone who mattered to her—a person she held dear above all else.

"Would you like some more?" Mahiru raised the bowl in her hand and gestured toward Kanade.

Her cheeks were tinged with a rosy hue, her thoughts straying to the bold move she had made earlier—interrupting his phone call with an impulsive kiss that poured all her tangled emotions into him.

Now that she had calmed down, she was mortified by her actions. Why had she done something so easy to misinterpret? Didn't it make her look like a jealous girl who couldn't handle Kanade talking to another woman?

Though, she supposed being misunderstood wasn't the worst thing. But if Kanade thought she was an overly impulsive girl who didn't know her boundaries, that would be disastrous.

"Y-You haven't eaten all day. You should eat more…"

"Guuuu…"

A strange noise interrupted her, drawing their attention. The comforting aroma of porridge had stirred a protest from the angelic girl's stomach—how could you prioritize a man over your own hunger? Bad master!

"N-No, it's not like that! I just… I just…"

Facing a very conscious Natsukawa Kanade, Mahiru knew there was no wriggling out of this one.

She silently cursed herself for not eating something before rushing over. But she hadn't wanted to miss the moment Kanade woke up.

"D-Don't look at me…"

She crouched down, covering her face with both hands as a deep blush spread across her face.

"Uh…" Kanade averted his eyes, looking slightly awkward. He wasn't sure how to comfort her in this situation.

Her adorable behavior made his heart, which had only just settled, stir with a faint flutter of excitement. Thankfully, his rationality still held firm.

"If you don't mind, would you like to share?"

"…?" Mahiru looked up with misty eyes, sniffling slightly before giving a soft hum of agreement.

Kanade's physical condition was surprisingly robust, and after a full day and night of rest, he was mostly recovered.

"Good day, President."

"Morning, President!"

"Good morning."

As he walked down the hallway, people greeted him incessantly, and Kanade responded to each one in turn.

Entering his classroom, his eyes immediately landed on the serene, radiant smile of Shiina Mahiru. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but her smile seemed even more genuine and beautiful after he arrived.

It was a silver lining to his recent illness. Their relationship had warmed slightly, and they were becoming closer again—though not yet to the point of walking to school together.

Not even in the past had they managed that.

"How are you feeling, Natsukawa?"

The question came from Shirogane Miyuki, a fellow classmate, who appeared utterly exhausted, with deep, dark circles under his eyes.

"I'm fine…" Kanade replied, tilting his head slightly as he noted how Miyuki looked even worse than he did after being sick. Was he about to keel over?

"Glad to hear it. I'll go catch up on some sleep." Miyuki nodded before heading straight to his seat, slumping over to rest.

It was clear he had pushed himself to his limits in Kanade's absence. In addition to covering Kanade's student council duties, he had likely poured his energy into maintaining his grades.

Kanade couldn't help but feel a bit conflicted. He remembered his own struggles when he first became the student council president. The endless late nights and constant fatigue had left him just as drained. But over time, he had grown accustomed to it.

The morning passed quickly, and soon it was lunchtime.

As agreed, Kanade brought his homemade bento to meet Shinomiya Kaguya. Cooking was a skill he had reluctantly picked up after Shiina had stopped making food for him. He had grown too accustomed to her cooking and couldn't go back to bland meal substitutes.

The memory of Mahiru's resentful gaze from last night lingered in his mind. Even though she loved sharing her cooking, forcing it on him felt… excessive.

"Good afternoon, President."

"Good afternoon, Shinomiya."

Their meeting place was the student council room, which reaffirmed Kanade's belief that Kaguya's business was indeed official.