บท 790: When I Type a Question Mark, It’s Not Because I Have a Problem, But I Feel It

Interested in what he could exchange in the end, on his way to the student council room with a scented tissue in his hand, Shinichi began thinking about the next exchange candidate.

Although there were no principles at all, as the protagonist in Straw Monopoly did not repeatedly exchange with the same person, Shinichi first eliminated Nino and the others.

Moreover, the chances of exchanging items with strangers in modern society are relatively small, and Shinichi himself is reluctant, so he will limit his scope only to the group of people he knows.

"Uesugi, I am the only male friend. Excluding... Ichika is not here, excluding... There are still Rizu and Hayasaka left in school..."

As the idea formed in his mind, Shinichi saw Rizu coming from the opposite corridor.

He muttered to himself, "It's okay, no coincidences can make a book, just consider life as a novel..."

The more he got used to developments like this, Shinichi felt that he was progressing to become a stronger person.

"Reason..."

As he was about to greet her, he stopped and frowned slightly. Most of Rizu's face was covered by a mask, while the frame and bangs covered the rest, leaving only a pair of clear eyes.

"Rizu, do you have a cold?"

"Yes." Rizu nodded and entered the student council room with him.

"The temperature dropped sharply last night, and the blanket rolled off for some reason, so I caught a cold."

Don't know why it rolled off?

Shinichi fell silent for a moment, then suddenly a suppressed sneeze was heard from the side.

Shinichi turned to look, and Rizu responded to his gaze with confusion.

"What's wrong?"

"That sneeze just now was cute..."

"I didn't hear it," Rizu replied instantly, her voice loud and clear, but the upper edge of her ear turned slightly red.

"Shinichi-san, auditory hallucinations are the beginning of many illnesses. Please pay more attention to your body movements."

"Ah-choo!"

Before she could finish her words, the last tone kept rising. In the end, she couldn't hold it back and sneezed loudly.

Shinichi looked at her hidden face behind the mask and, instead of smiling, said something concerned.

"Are you okay?"

"...It's okay. Thank you for your concern," Rizu turned awkwardly and flipped her bag.

"Shinichi-san, please don't look here anymore."

"It's okay."

Shinichi walked to his desk, very carefully and without asking why, just paying attention to the movements behind him with his ears.

Then, he heard Rizu trying to suppress several sneezes forcefully, but it seemed cuter, and her worried murmurs as she opened her school bag and said, "Strange, why is it not here... When did I run out..."

As if doomsday had arrived, Shinichi suddenly realized that now was the time for him to appear!

He glanced at the shared tissue paper on his desk, discreetly hid it under the table, and apologized to Rizu in his heart.

"If you need tissue, use the ones from the student council room... Why are they missing? Shinichi-san, have you seen the tissue?"

Shinichi usually wouldn't lie to a woman unless necessary.

So he ignored Rizu's question, took out the scented tissue given by Itsuki from his pocket, and handed it back without looking back.

"I have it here; do you want to use it?"

"Yes, thank you."

This thank you was not just for the facial tissue but also for his carefulness in keeping promises and not ignoring her.

With a slight smile behind Shinichi, Rizu took off her mask, squeezed the used tissue and mask, threw them into the trash bin, and put on a new mask.

She sighed in relief.

"This tissue smells so nice; I can smell the scent of chemicals in it... Ah, Shinichi-san, I'm ready; you can turn around now."

Shinichi turned around and looked at Rizu, who was no different from before, except for feeling refreshed, and said with a smile:

"I will give you the tissue. Take care of yourself. If you feel very uncomfortable, just go home and rest. You can do your work tomorrow."

Rizu shook her head and said sensibly: "I'm not too sick, just a little cold! Please let me stay here, and I won't infect you."

"Okay, then I will ask everyone to wear masks. Anyway, this is a confined space."

Of course, Rizu wouldn't mind.

As instructed, Shinichi took out a box of masks given to the student council members from the cabinet and placed them in the cabinet next to the door. He would inform them about it when everyone arrived. At the same time, he locked the windows and turned on the air conditioner for air circulation.

After doing these things, Shinichi sat back in his office chair, pressed the backrest, and looked at the ceiling, with other important matters swirling in his mind.

The tissues had been distributed; how could he get the exchange item from Rizu?

Just like when facing Mafuyu, narrate the Straw Millionaire story directly?

But...

"Shinichi-san."

Rizu's voice suddenly sounded in front of him, interrupting his thoughts.

Before he could sit up straight, an object was placed on the table.

"It's impolite not to return the favor. This is udon as a thank you gift. Please accept it."

There was a bit of hidden pride in her innocent expression, and she seemed proud of herself for being able to say an old saying.

Shinichi took the udon – or cup noodles, with a strange expression on his face.

"I won't complain about why the thank-you gift is udon, and why you brought something like this with you... Aren't udon usually in soup or bamboo basket? Why does it become cup noodles?"

The girl raised her glasses and explained with a serious look:

"Because I caught a cold today."

"..."

Question marks slowly appeared in Shinichi's head.

What was the connection between the two of them?

△

Shortly after, the other delayed members came to the student council room, all wearing masks and starting to work today.

Thanks to Mafuyu, everyone was ready to work hard with Ichika until late tonight. They were surprised to find out that they completed their tasks faster today than before.

When they hesitated whether they had completed the evolution without realizing it, Shinichi directly revealed Mafuyu's efforts behind the scenes. Even if he didn't exaggerate, the girls were still quite moved, and they all praised Mafuyu as a tsundere.

Itsuki even planned to treat Mafuyu with a luxurious dessert buffet, then asked Nino to make a more luxurious cake, but Shinichi tried hard to stop her.

Not hiding Mafuyu's efforts did not mean Shinichi wanted to create trouble for her. Even if he told this issue without permission, Mafuyu might not be too happy about it.

Who told him not to issue a gag order? Shinichi himself did a good deed unknowingly, but not so for others.

As the night approached, he locked the student council room door and instructed everyone to return early and stop wandering outside. However, he didn't leave the school. Instead, he walked around the school with his udon noodles and checked on the third-year students.

At this point, the only person who could exchange items was Hayasaka. Shinichi didn't want to bring home Cup Noodles and hastily conclude today's adventure.

But he didn't want to send a message and ask Hayasaka to come and barter with him; that would be too intentional.

From an observer's perspective, not knowing who the person was and not knowing what they would exchange with him was the most anticipated aspect for Shinichi in this plot.

Unfortunately, as the school gate was about to close, he still didn't see Hayasaka.

"Forget it, that's it..."

With a sigh, he left Shuchi'in Academy and went to the nearest store to buy a drink to quench his thirst.

Later, he saw Hayasaka standing in front of the instant noodle shelf, furrowing her brow while thinking hard.

"..."