The Mysterious Love Letter Exchange (part 4)

“We’re facing a crisis, so I called in the big guns.”

Even though Mai intended to be humorous, the clubroom atmosphere was tense.

Sato’s expression remained blank as he observed Yuki, who appeared unfazed by his lack of reaction. She looked at everyone with a bright smile on her face.

“Okay, I’ll start,” Yuki said, standing up from her chair.

“The only crisis we face is Yuki’s presence.”

“Sato!”

Mai giggled, shaking her head.

“Okay,” she said. “So you know how Hashiba got in trouble for defending Izumi Tanaka? We should focus on that today.”

She glanced at Ryota, who was sitting next to her.

“Somehow, our club got dragged into this mess. Now we’re being blamed for it.”

“That’s absurd!”

“Come again?”

Ryota and Sato’s reactions were instant.

“Well, not to worry,” Yuki said. “For I am here!”

She gave a dramatic pose and a loud “Aha!”

“More like... we’ve another reason to worry...”

“Sato!”

Mai sighed, shaking her head again.

“I guess it’s hard for you guys to accept this,” Yuki said. “But the school believes you have something to do with it. The teachers asked the student council president to handle it. So, I am here on behalf of the student council.”

It wasn’t the first scandal the student council had dealt with. But Ryota knew they didn’t like it when it happened.

They were busy with their studies and other activities, so they preferred to focus on those. But when something happened, that couldn’t be ignored, they would step in.

It wasn’t fair to be treated as if they had something to do with the incident. It was wrong to accuse them with no proof.

But then again, it’s hard for them to argue with the teachers. They were in charge of the school’s image.

“What do you think we should do?” he asked, looking at Mai.

She thought about it for a moment, staring into space.

“Maybe we could meet with the principal?”

“What are we even blamed for?”

“The letters... the fight... and... everything else.”

Mai looked at everyone, her face expressionless.

They had nothing to do with the letter or the fight. It was clear they weren’t the culprits.

But. Everything?

Everything else?

Ryota didn’t understand what Yuki meant.

The others seemed to share his confusion.

“You guys are not familiar with this kind of situation?” Yuki asked.

“...”

Everyone was silent.

They looked at her, their eyes wide open.

“Um... so... what I’m trying to say is...” she said, shaking her head. “There’s a rumor going around the school that the Whimsical Matchmaking Brigade has something to do with the letters.”

Ryota looked at her. He was confused.

“Let me start from the beginning,” she said, taking a deep breath. “It all began when an anonymous sender sent a letter to Hatsumi.”

****

Slowly, Yuki’s words became clearer in Ryota’s head.

It wasn’t like the school wanted to pin the blame on the Whimsical Matchmaking Brigade.

But they had to investigate every lead, no matter how small it might seem.

They wanted to find the source of the letters.

The student council was in charge of the investigation for the interim.

But there was no way they could solve the case all by themselves.

They needed help.

And that’s where the Whimsical Matchmaking Brigade came in.

“Either we cooperate and help or we’ll get blamed for everything and get into trouble,” Mai said.

It was the idea of Yuuki, the student council president, to get the help of the Whimsical Matchmaking Brigade.

It was a lose-lose situation for Ryota, Sato, and Mai.

Especially for Ryota, who knew very well Yuuki’s idea was a way to force him to get involved.

He could only imagine the look on Yuuki’s face.

But that didn’t matter.

Mai’s brother, like Mai and Sato, was a childhood friend.

So it was obvious he was aware of Ryota’s unwillingness to help.

One could even call it Ryota’s energy conservation policy.

Did Yuuki and Mai speak with each other about this beforehand?

If that was the case, then they underestimated him.

“I think I will pass,” he said.

He glanced around the room, staring into each person’s eyes.

He felt like he was in the center of a large circle, and everyone was watching him.

His words fell flat with everyone except for one person.

“No, you’re not!” Mai yelled.

She cast a scrutinizing look at him with narrowed eyes and puffed-out cheeks.

The young man chuckled, shaking his head.

He didn’t know why, but Mai’s angry face was cute.

So cute that he couldn’t help himself and laughed.

“Oh... did I say something wrong?” Mai asked, her face expressionless.

She was faking it.

“N-no... It’s just you’re being cute...”

His words surprised her. She seemed confused.

“Did you just say cute?”

“Yes, I did.”

He waited for a reaction, but she didn’t respond.

“You’re going to help me.”

“Okay.”

And that’s how you successfully fail your mission.

Ryota was obedient for the first time ever.

It took everyone by surprise.

Even Mai was shocked by his willingness to help her. Yet, the most noteworthy aspect is that it came as a surprise to Yuki.

She leaned closer to Sato, whispering something in his ear.

“Hey, hey, Sato!”

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t worry. I’m not asking for a kiss.”

“...”

“Those two, Mai and Ryota, always act like that around each other?”

“They do. Every time they see each other.”

“Hmm...”

“Why are you asking me suddenly?”

“Interesting...”

“What?”

“N-nothing.”

“I hate it when you do that. Stop talking in riddles!”

“This is going to be amusing.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

A smirk large enough to split Yuki’s face was visible to Sato.

He stared at her, his eyes narrowed.

“You’re not gonna spoil my fun, right?”

“I don’t know... I guess it depends on you.”

Sato sighed, shaking his head.

It was a lost cause. It was unlikely that he would get any answers.