1.2
After school, I slipped out of the class where we had started discussing and arrived at my destination almost exactly on time. I thought I would knock on the door immediately, but I could hear loud voices from within the room as if people were arguing a little inside. However, since we were separated by a thick door, I couldn’t hear what exactly they were saying to each other.
If I kept my ears open for a while, I might’ve been able to hear them clearly, but the time of the appointment was approaching, so I quickly discarded the option of eavesdropping.
“...Thanks.”
It seemed that two male students were already sitting in the student council room, and one of them immediately stood up.
“I'm sorry for calling you out, Ayanokōji.”
“It's fine, but it makes me a little nervous when the student council president and vice president are so poised.”
I said something that a typical student might’ve said.
“I'm sorry, but you don't look nervous to me.”
Nagumo, still seated, crossed his legs and bent his index finger to signal the other to close the distance between them.
Kiriyama stood slightly behind Nagumo and moved into a position where he could be easily seen.
At that moment, he looked at the screen of the cell phone he took out of his pocket.
However, in less than a second, he turned off the screen light and put it back to where it came from.
The next person to open his mouth was not Nagumo, the student council president, but Kiriyama, the vice president.
“After this, we’ve also called up student council members Horikita and Ichinose,” he said.
“Horikita and Ichinose?”
It's either a coincidence, or they intentionally brought up the names of the two second-year students in the student council.
“There's no need to be so hasty, Kiriyama… Ayanokōji might want to have a little chat with you too...”
“I'm sorry, but it doesn't look that way to me.”
I felt gratitude in my heart for Vice President Kiriyama's sound judgment.
“Besides, I have some things I want to do to prepare for the next special exam.”
“Special exam? There will be no more special exams during the second semester for us third-year students. Besides, isn't this none of your business since I've already decided who’ll win?”
Nagumo looked at Kiriyama quizzically, not understanding why.
“Still. You always want to be prepared for the unexpected. More third-year students than you think are eagerly waiting for their ticket to the top. What if one of them tries to take your head off?”
“Those idiots have already fallen. There's no one left to fight.”
“I hope so.”
The third-year students didn't have much time left.
With Nagumo holding all the power, they must somehow get the ticket to 20 million points, and they were still fighting that battle.
It was no wonder that Nagumo was optimistic that he had no enemies. Since he had all the necessary tickets, it was impossible for anyone to go against him, including Kiriyama, who risked being deprived of his ticket to victory if he didn’t follow Nagumo’s orders.
In other words, those who hadn’t been given a ticket weren't bound by the same restrictions.
It’d be a bit of an exaggeration to say that they can expel Nagumo from the school and accumulate private points from there… No. Even if that were the case, I'm not sure that’s worth it.
If Nagumo was expelled from school, his huge sum of private points would probably go to the school's safe. Nagumo couldn’t protect himself without such a contract.
Except for Nagumo's private points, the number of private points collected in just the third semester would only be enough to save one or two people at most.
“Do you have any idea what you're talking about, Kiriyama? Kiriyama… you've been poking me all morning, haven’t you?”
“I'm not going to stop now, no matter what you say, because I'm keeping my stance on this matter.”
Nagumo seemed to have smiled and nodded at the confirmation that had such pressure in his voice.
“I'm sorry, Kiriyama, but this is a personal decision I have to make while I'm still in school.”
“Then I hope you can understand my desire to get this over with.”
There was a bit of arguing going on in the student council room before I entered.
Nagumo's comment about Kiriyama being on his case since this morning certainly indicated that this encounter wasn’t something that Kiriyama welcomed. No, perhaps it's the same for me.
“Okay, okay. I'll keep the chit-chat to a minimum. Is that okay?”
Nagumo confirmed with Kiriyama that there was no choice but to keep the conversation moving.
“I've got one more case regarding the student council to attend to after this, so just give me a minute.”
“You said you had something to tell me. All right, let's make this quick.”
In the end, Kiriyama agreed, and Nagumo began what he considered necessary chit-chat.
“You second-years seem to be in an unusually tight race, don't you?”
“It seems so.”
“In our generation and Horikita-senpai's generation, Class A stood as the sole winner by the middle of the second year. I'm a little envious that you can enjoy the battle all this time.”
In the past, it was said that the class battles were usually settled by the end of the freshman year to the middle of the sophomore year, with a large difference in class points.
The class that started the year in Class A graduated ahead of those in Class B and below.
There were some rare cases like Student Council President Nagumo and others, where Class B switched to Class A, but in any case, by the middle of the sophomore year, Class A was in a commanding position. On the other hand, there remains a point difference that allows for a comeback even for class D in our year.
“It looks like there's a chance for each of the four classes, but that'll probably only remain until the final exam,” he said.
“That's what I'm thinking too. Two or, at most, three classes will be competing for Class A seats.”
Nagumo and Kiriyama both made the judgment without hesitation.
“The final exam for the second-year students will be such a fierce battle.”
“Yeah. The exams are completely different, of course, but the results are almost always disastrous. Last year, I was in control of the second-years at the time of the finals and had control over the exams. I tried to keep the wounds to a minimum, but three students still dropped out.”
He said that despite his efforts to prevent it, there were unavoidable casualties.
“There was a way to prevent any expulsions, but we had to weigh the loss of class points and private points against the gain.”
This story may be true, but it may or may not be helpful.
It was unlikely that the end-of-year exams we’d take would be the same as those that Nagumo and the older generations experienced. However, the scale will be roughly the same. This was something that we could naturally see through our experience with our school life so far.
“That's enough of this idle talk. It's time to get down to business, Nagumo.”
Kiriyama urged him calmly, and Nagumo shrugged his shoulders and showed his white teeth.
“It's time for me to finish my role as the student council president. But before that, we need to decide who’ll be the next president.”
“In terms of office length, you've already been in office longer than the previous presidents, haven't you?”
Manabu Horikita to Nagumo Miyabi. The student council president’s baton should be passed a little earlier this time. Although I also remembered that Nagumo himself said that he would extend his office’s term.
“We were going to have the term extended, but ended up being approached several times by the school. They said that if we put it off too long, we'd be denying the juniors the opportunity to get some experience. Well, they have a point.”
“All the third-year students have already completed their roles in the student council, except for me and Nagumo, and all the procedures have been completed.”
So all that was left was to decide who would be the next student council president and then these two would be out of office.
I see. So Nagumo has decided to give up his position as the student council president.
That would explain why he was calling both of the names mentioned earlier.
Horikita or Ichinose. They had to decide who was more suitable to be the next student council president.
“You have the authority to appoint the student council president, Nagumo, don't you?”
“Yes. I have that right.”
“Then shouldn't you be talking to Horikita and Ichinose instead of me?”
I told him the obvious, but he seemed to be well aware of it since he didn't seem surprised by my response.
“It would be a waste of time to make a decision like that, wouldn't it?”
“Considering I was invited here… Well, I can guess.”
“You and I are going to decide who's going to be the next student council president.”
“It’s going to be more than just cheering them on, isn't it?”
“I've been thinking about various ways to compete with you, but this should work. Horikita and Ichinose have been here for two years, like you. I'm sure you have as much information as we do.”
It was understandable that Nagumo, who didn’t have much time left, would like to see the fight settled as soon as possible.
Nagumo didn’t believe that this was the ideal way to fight.
Still, he must’ve decided that it was better than no showdown at all.
“There’s still a way to postpone it. I wouldn't be surprised if there’s a special exam like last year's mixed training camp, where students are paired with and compete against other grades.”
“Well, when the time comes, we can call this a preliminary encounter.”
Not one to put things off, Nagumo tried to keep Ichinose and Horikita in a tight circle so they couldn't get away.
“I agreed to compete in the match, but I didn't agree to compete more than once.”
I had a certain interest in the Nagumo in front of me, but I couldn't spend all my time on him.
I had some things I wanted to do in the future.
“You think you have veto power?”
“I don't want you to challenge me to a match just for the fun of it. If you want to have this battle with me to decide the student council president, you'll have to be prepared to have a real fight here.”
“I'll do that, but it's a fight you're likely to lose. You know that, right?”
“Since the current students will be allowed to vote, all votes cast by third-year students will be at your discretion, the student council president. So one-third of the votes have already been cast, is that what you're saying?”
“Yes. If you assemble the entire second year together, we'd barely be even. Well, that's not going to happen either.”
As the opponent is Ichinose from the same year, the second-year vote would inevitably split.
“If you could do me one favor, I think it would be a good match.”
“Interesting. Say it.”
“The voting will be anonymous, that's all. If only the school knows who voted for which candidate, I think we'd be evenly matched.”
“I don't get it. So the third-years won't vote for the candidate I'm supporting?”
“You can imagine how the chances of that happening would increase, can't you?”
If anonymity was ensured, there was no need to follow the rules.
Even if he promised some kind of reward such as private points, it was impossible to prove unless Nagumo's side got close to zero votes.
“Even if that were the case, how do you expect half of the third-years to be on your side? That's impossible.”
“You won't know until you try.”
Kiriyama watched silently as Nagumo and I argued.
“So, you're willing to play as long as I add that condition, is that it?”
“Yes, it’d be no problem.”
“You're still showing a strange kind of confidence, but that's all right. If you're confident that you can compete with us on that basis, then I have no complaints. But before we finalize the matter, let me just say that I would like to see some stakes in the game.”
I guess if there was nothing to bet on, it wouldn’t hurt or itch to lose.
For Nagumo, avoiding being outdone by me was an absolute must.
It was inevitable that Nagumo would make a bet that there were no alternate possibilities other than his victory.
“Can you bet on anything, Ayanokōji?”
“Can I repeat those words back to you exactly as they are? Even if it means getting expelled.”
“I'd like to say yes, but it's a difficult question.”
“I'm sure you're right. No one would accept the risk of expulsion at a place like this. I'm willing to bet on expulsion, but in that case, let me demand a commensurate quid pro quo.”
“Quid pro quo?”
“If I win, I want to get some private points from you. Preferably enough money to buy a ticket to move to the next class. Even under the rules of special exams, you need that many private points to prevent expulsion. It's not too much to ask.”
“Well, it's worth it to risk expulsion, isn't it?”
Since both parties' interests were aligned, a consensus on the direction of the game can be reached.
However, Kiriyama, who was listening to the conversation, put a stop to it.
“I was told in advance that you were going to play with Ayanokōji, but I don't agree with the terms of the bet, and I can't let you bet such a large sum of money on a game you've never played before.”
“Wait a minute Kiriyama… You think I'm going to lose under these rules? Ayanokōji said we'd be even by being anonymous, but he's wrong.”
“I don't think you'll lose, but it's still not a zero percent chance. The probability changes depending on whether you choose Horikita or Ichinose. Above all, 20 million points is too large. If you're fine with paying Ayanokōji, then use the money to save one of the third-year students instead.”
It was no wonder Kiriyama strongly discouraged him from doing so, but Nagumo showed no signs of backing down.
“I’m free to do whatever I want with the money I’ve obtained through my real power. It always has been and always will be.”
“...You insist?”
“By all means. I'm going to win this war and kick Ayanokōji out of school.”
“Let's just leave the second year alone. I don't agree with that approach.”
Kiriyama retorted, but Nagumo wasn’t going to listen to him any longer.
“I'll grant your wish, Ayanokōji. If you beat me, you'll be in Class A.”
“Thank you, President.”
“Are you sure about this? If the bet was small, all you'd have to do is get down on your knees, but with 20 million, I'll have to ask you to keep your promise regarding the expulsion from school, even if you don't want to. If you want to lower the weight of your offer, now's the time to do so.”
“Is that what you want?”
“Ha. I thought you'd be a little freaked out if I threatened you like that, but you didn't seem upset.”
“I've already accepted the risk that comes from procuring a lot of money from you from the very beginning.”
“I'll get you the contract. It's one of two things: expulsion or 20 million.”
All that was left was for both parties to decide which they would support, and then the match setup was complete.
“I know we’re going to play, but I don’t know whether it will work or not.”
Just as Kiriyama was about to make his last stand to stop the game, in which a huge amount of points would be at stake, a knock on the student council room’s door was heard.
“Nagumo-senpai, this is Ichinose.”
A clear voice. It seemed that both candidates had arrived.
“...Nagumo, if you can, don't tell them about the match. And of course, don't talk about the bet.”
Kiriyama had a good point, and it wasn’t something we should be telling Horikita and Ichinose. No doubt they wouldn’t feel good if they knew that they were the target of a game or a bet.
“You have no objections to this proposal, Ayanokōji?”
“No, I don't have a problem with that.”
“But… Are you sure about this? If we bring those two in here, the game’s basically begun.”
Kiriyama looked at me and stopped me, saying that this was the only point I could turn back.
“You don't have to risk your expulsion to play along with Nagumo's game.”
“But it's not easy to get a Class A ticket, isn’t it? Then, isn't it natural to take a reasonable risk?”
“It seems that you’re no longer hiding your true nature.”
Kiriyama was beyond angry and looked at the cell phone screen again.
“All right. Do what you want… Come on in, both of you.”
Kiriyama urged as he approached the entrance and opened the door.
Nagumo's position as president was likely to cause him a lot of trouble since he always acted as he pleased as an individual. In that sense, it wasn’t a bad idea to bring forward the switch of student council president.
The two students noticed my presence as soon as they entered the room. It was obvious that I was an outsider who wasn’t a member of the student council, so there was no need to make a special mention of it.
“Come sit next to Ayanokōji.”
“Excuse me.”
Horikita sat down next to me and Ichinose next to Horikita.
For a moment, Horikita's sideways glance expressed, ‘Are you involved in something strange again?’
The conversation resumed again when everyone except Kiriyama, who had returned behind Nagumo, sat down in their chairs.
“I'm asking you two to hold an election to decide who will be the next student council president.”
“Election?”
“Isn't that a common practice in junior highs? I'll give a speech and let the students decide which of you is best suited to be student council president and cast their votes. The student who acquires the most votes is the next student council president.”
“I see. But I don't recall any such election last year.”
“Yes. In past years, the seated student council president, which would be me, decided who would be the next student council president. As long as the person who I passed the baton to agrees, they’ll be the next student council president. Of course, I won't nominate anyone other than those who have achieved results that satisfy the people around them.”
The student council president wasn’t decided at random but based on a sound basis. Nagumo added that he wouldn’t forget this point.
“However, the situation is a little different for you second-year students. Only Honami served on the student council last year, and Suzune, who joined in during her second year, hasn’t been a member for a year.”
“I understand that there were no other students who joined the student council at the same time. I believe that Ichinose-san would be a good choice for student council president. I don't think she has any faults.”
Although she was giving the student council president position to her opponent, Ichinose, Horikita had no hesitation in her decision. She didn’t originally join the student council because she wanted to be the student council president.
“Do you not feel like becoming the student council president?”
“No, not at all. I feel positive about following in my brother's footsteps. I’m willing to run for election if that’s what the current students want, but at the same time, I’m perfectly fine with it being Ichinose-san.”
“Certainly, Honami has no shortcomings. It would be the expected choice. But there’s something else that makes me uneasy.”
Ichinose reacted with a slight tremor in her shoulders.
“At this point, Honami's chances of graduating in Class A has dropped dramatically. This is a problem. All of the student council presidents in the past have graduated within Class A. This isn’t an official tradition, but an unspoken one. Of course, I will be one of them.”
Indeed, Ichinose's position was in jeopardy depending on whether or not she will graduate in Class A was taken out of the equation. Horikita, on the other hand, was in the chase for Class A as a Class B student, so she was probably close to that tacit assumption.
“There’s Honami, who has a perfect track record, and Suzune, who doesn’t have a solid track record but is close to Class A. After taking various factors into consideration, I decided that you two are almost evenly matched at this point in time. That's why we decided to hold an election campaign.”
Since Nagumo has the authority to decide the student council president, we have no choice but to accept the decision if clear evidence is presented, albeit to a different degree.
All that remained was for the students themselves to decide whether or not to accept the position.
“I understand. If that's the case, I'll run for the office.”
Then it was decided.
This meant that Horikita and Ichinose would be competing against each other for the position of student council president. All that remained was for Nagumo and me to decide which of the two we’d support.
“Ayanokōji, I'll let you choose which one you want to back up.”
“Are you sure?”
“I'll at least give you that much.”
“Horikita or Ichinose. To be honest, for me, it doesn't make a difference which one I back… If you’re going to give me the right to make a decision, I might as well choose the one that will be more beneficial in the future.”
But Horikita stood up faster than I could name names.
“Wait a minute, President. Ayanokōji-kun is here because...”
“I'm going to have a contest to see between you and Honami who will be elected student council president.”
He wasn't supposed to talk about that in front of them.
Kiriyama seemed to be holding his forehead, but there was no way Nagumo would’ve listened to Kiriyama.
“...You're also...”
“No, I didn't bring this up, okay?”
“Even so, there must’ve been a problem with the course of the conversation that led up to it.”
That was right. I couldn't deny that. Nagumo had a conscience and didn’t mention the bet.
“Come on, choose whoever you like better.”
“Then—”
I was about to mention the name that I settled on when again I was interrupted by a voice saying, “Wait. This is an unprecedented endeavor. I should probably add a few more things.”
Kiriyama, who had been listening, interrupted at this point.
“What? Are you still dissatisfied with the flow of the conversation?”
“This is a student council election. I want to make sure that they really want to run and that they have the right qualifications.”
“You've made sure enough.”
“No, it’s not enough. I've heard back from Horikita, but not from Ichinose.”
“You don't have to ask her that.”
“I disagree.”
Kiriyama turned to look at Ichinose, and without warning, the door to the student council room opened forcefully.
“Let me interrupt you, Nagumo.”
As if she was visiting a friend's room, Kiryūin, a student in the third year Class B, entered the room without permission. It was the first time I had seen her in such close proximity since the summer, but she didn't have her usual easygoing smile on her face and seemed to be in a rather bad mood.
“You’re an unexpected guest. Can’t you think of knocking at least once?”
The student council election was about to be discussed, and Nagumo wouldn’t have welcomed this guest.
“I'm busy right now. You can come back later.”
Nagumo tried to get rid of her, but Kiryūin wouldn’t listen.
“I had asked Kiriyama to make time for me in advance, and you put me off?”
“I'm sorry, but I didn't hear anything about you.”
Nagumo looked annoyed at Kiryūin's appearance and glanced at Kiriyama for confirmation.
“I'm sorry Nagumo, but what Kiryūin is saying is technically correct. It was my fault for the time accommodation.”
“It was a careless mistake on your part.”
“I can't explain myself. She's involved in another matter that I was hoping you could help me resolve today.”
I didn’t know the details of what they were talking about, but such an exchange took place between Nagumo and Kiriyama.
“That's what I was talking about. Do you mind listening to what I have to say, Nagumo?”
“I understand the situation, but I'm having an important discussion with these guys about the student council.”
“I can see that you’re busy, but I don’t have much free time either. I have made an appointment at this time, so you’re going to have to deal with it.”
Certainly, Kiryūin had no reason to back down. It was Kiriyama's fault for making a mistake in arranging the time of the appointment.
“For now, my priority is to talk with Suzune and Honami. If you insist on coming early, just sit there and wait in silence.”
Nagumo tried to explain that Kiryūin's appointment was only known to Kiriyama at this point. Nagumo tried to make a pass at Kiryūin, but she seemed a little different and didn’t hide her irritation.
“I refuse.”
Kiryūin replied with a slightly stern tone and put her foot on one of the empty seats in the student council room.
“What are you imitating?”
“First of all, I'm going to ask you a question right now. Depending on your answer, you will be sacrificing this chair.”
Will she kick it away or destroy it?
It seemed certain that the fate of the chair on which Kiryūin had placed her foot was at stake.
Kiriyama looked at Kiryūin, who showed no sign of leaving and again apologized to Nagumo.
“If it’s Kiryūin, it may be counterproductive to turn her away. It would be safer to let the second-years wait temporarily and listen to what she has to say.”
Even though Horikita and Ichinose have priority, if Nagumo asked them to wait, they would. On the other hand, it was clear here that Kiryūin, who seemed to be in a bad mood, wouldn’t do so.
If you couldn’t turn someone away or make them wait, it'd be quicker to ask them first.
“Never mind about us, let's talk about Kiryūin-senpai first. Is that alright with you, Horikita-san?”
“Yes, that would be better.”
Since both parties came to this conclusion without waiting for direct confirmation, it seemed that Nagumo had no choice but to take on Kiryūin's issue.
“Oh dear… All right, let me ask you. What is it that you came here for?”
“You didn't tell Nagumo that either, did you, Kiriyama? That really isn’t a good arrangement.”
“I understand your desire to blame me, but I'm in the middle of a lot of things. Besides, we decided that it would be better for you to tell him about your messed up story as it is.”
He had deliberately left the reason for her visit unannounced.
Kiryūin looked at Kiriyama with cold eyes, but she had to let it go.
“Now, let me cut to the chase. I don't want to be so judgmental yet. So, I dare to ask you this. Who’s the one who’s decided to harass me in such a malicious manner?”
“Harassment? That doesn't tell the whole story.”
“Then let's be more specific. Did you orchestrate a despicable and malicious act, trying to frame me as a shoplifter and forcing your friends to carry out the plan?”
A word too unexpected popped up— shoplifting.
It was Ichinose who reacted to it before anyone else.
Although she tried to keep her composure, it was obvious that she must’ve been nervous inside. It wasn’t a surprising reaction when one had a history of criminal behavior, even if it was for the sake of their family.
“Shoplifting? I’m missing the point more and more.”
“Kiryūin was almost accused of shoplifting at the Keyaki Mall after school the other day. While shopping at a cosmetics store, Yamanaka, a third-year Class D student, approached Kiryūin from behind and tried to slip lipstick into her bag. When Kiryūin noticed this and confronted Yamanaka, she told her that you had ordered her to do it, Nagumo.”
Kiriyama made Kiryūin's words of condemnation easy to understand.
“I see. So that's why you came to me so boldly.”
“The reason I didn't tell you directly what I was talking about was because I knew you’d never order someone to do such a thing. Am I right?”
Kiriyama implied that he trusted Nagumo on this point.
Nagumo responded to both Kiryūin's and Kiriyama's questions with a noncommittal attitude.
“Can you say for sure you’re not involved?”
Obviously, Kiryūin suspected that Nagumo was involved.
“I don't know. At least you seem to think it was my order.”
“Yamanaka, the perpetrator, testified as much. Is that not enough?”
“She might’ve just used me to get away with it, right?”
To Nagumo's reply, Kiryūin shook her head lightly.
“If she mentioned your name, Yamanaka wouldn’t be able to get away with this. It would be less trouble for Yamanaka if she puts the blame on someone else. Am I wrong?”
Kiryūin's point of view certainly made sense.
Nagumo has almost complete control over the entirety of the third-years. It didn’t matter if you had a ticket or not. I couldn't immediately think of any advantage to lying about being ordered by Nagumo like this. If she fell out of Nagumo’s favor because of this incident, it would be a major stumbling block for the student Yamanaka. That's why it wasn’t unreasonable to suspect that Nagumo was the real culprit since his name came up.
Even if I went through the same thing, Nagumo would still be the first person I would suspect.
“Even so, you seem to be very angry over a single shoplifting incident. It's not like you.”
“You don't understand me well enough to say ‘it's not like me.’ Unfortunately, I have a great dislike for acts like shoplifting. If I don't get caught, it's not a big deal, but I hate to see people hurting others just for their own sake.”
From the way Kiryūin spoke, it seemed as if she was unaware of Ichinose's past. While Kiryūin was openly expressing her dislike, Ichinose's expression darkened. Nagumo noticed this change in attitude and interrupted her, perhaps because he was aware of the situation.
Nagumo seemed to have tried to treat the shoplifting act lightly in front of Ichinose, but it seemed to have the opposite effect.
“Do you admit it? You tried to frame me for it.”
“That's another matter, isn't it?”
When Nagumo refused to acknowledge this, Kiryūin added, as if sensing.
“You can rest assured. If I can hear an apology from you, I promise you that this matter will be put to rest.”
If Nagumo gave the order, he was the instigator.
In a case like this, he would obviously receive a heavier punishment than the perpetrator.
Even if Nagumo was a representative of the third-years, Kiryūin seemed to be against trying to avoid making a big deal out of this scandal.
“On the other hand, what if I don't apologize? Will you be satisfied with breaking the chair?”
“I don't think I'll get an apology.”
“I see. Well, then...”
Nagumo broke off from Kiryūin and turned to us.
“I'm done talking with you, Kiryūin.”
Nagumo didn’t apologize, didn’t admit it, didn’t even acknowledge it, and simply let the conversation drift away.
“This is something I never thought I'd see coming.”
Nagumo coldly told Kiryūin, who was stunned.
“You said you forced the truth out of Yamanaka, but how much credibility do you have in that statement when you got it out of her with threats? Even if you skip the student council and report it to the school, do you really think they’ll take it seriously?”
“At the very least, Yamanaka's attempt to frame me for shoplifting is likely to have been caught on camera in the store. It's not a problem that can be ignored.”
“Then pull up the footage first. But that's it. If you don't come up with something that directly links me to Yamanaka, it's a meaningless story.”
Yamanaka was the only one who would be punished. There would never be any evidence of Nagumo's involvement.
He exuded such confidence.
The school would do its utmost to investigate Kiryūin's complaint, but there would be limits.
Yamanaka's lie was targeting Nagumo’s downfall, the student council president and the leader of the third-year students.
Unless definite evidence was found, such an outcome was obvious.
“I'm sorry for interrupting, but I want to talk about what you said earlier. Are you sure you don't disagree with me about the election?”
Nagumo started to get the final confirmation as if he really wanted to ignore Kiryūin.
“Yes, President. I'm fine.”
Horikita agreed, although she was concerned about Kiryūin's legs still on the chair.
I thought she was about to kick the chair out of the way, but Kiryūin continued to observe as if trying to see into Nagumo's mind.
Soon after, Nagumo moved on to Ichinose's response.
If everything went smoothly, she should give an immediate response but…
The expression on Ichinose's face still wasn’t clear, as if Kiryūin’s shoplifter words were still in her mind.
“Honami, you're going to run for election too, right?”
“...Well, about that... May I have a word with you, Nagumo-senpai?”
“What?”
“I'm—not going to run for the student council this time.”
At this point, Ichinose made a statement that I hadn’t expected to hear.
“You don't want to be the student council president?”
“No, I think it's not so much that I don't want to be the student council president, I believe it's a problem that goes beyond that. I have always believed that belonging to the student council and becoming the student council president was for my own good and for the good of those around me. But now I realize that it was just my own conceitedness. As you’ve mentioned, Nagumo-senpai, the fact that my class is far away from Class A is also proof of this.”
So she was declining the award in light of her undeserving class standing.
“Besides, a person like me can’t be the student council president. A criminal, that's why…”
Kiryūin's unintentional words had casted a large shadow over Ichinose.
“Criminal?”
Kiryūin, who didn’t know what was going on, muttered curiously, but I couldn’t explain the reason at this moment.
“That's a different story. It has nothing to do with you right now.”
“I don't believe so. No matter how much time passes, the sins of the past will not disappear.”
After answering, Ichinose continued before Nagumo as if she still had something on her mind.
“Before the election, I would like to resign from the student council today.”
“Wait, Ichinose-san. I think that's too hasty a decision. You haven’t…”
“No, it's nothing to do with today. It's something I've been thinking about since a little before the trip.”
Ichinose smiled and confessed that she hadn't made her decision in the moment.
“You know as well as I do that service in the student council isn’t just a burden for the students. There are some tedious chores, but basically, it can only be a positive thing in this school. You've benefited from it, too, even if it's not as visible as you'd like.”
Nagumo was right, being a member of the student council wasn’t a bad thing. If you’ve been in this school for any length of time, you’d know that being a member of the student council contributes to your class points, even if only a little.
For Ichinose’s class, being in the tight spot it was in, it was like throwing away one of their weapons.
“I'm sorry, but I'm not going to change my mind.”
Not only did she not want to run for student council president, she also wanted to resign from the student council.
Kiriyama seemed surprised by such a statement.
“You seem to be serious about this, Ichinose.”
“You’ve helped me a lot... I'm sorry I couldn't help you until the end.”
“No, of course it's the person's decision whether or not to continue. I have no right to stop you...”
Kiryūin seemed to have guessed this to some extent, but it would be more unreasonable not to connect Ichinose with the shoplifting issue. I could only resent my bad luck that the subject came up coincidentally and in a timely manner. No, even without the shoplifting incident, Ichinose's will to quit was firm.
“I apologize for not being able to live up to your expectations.”
Ichinose got up and bowed deeply to Nagumo and Kiriyama.
“I’m sure you’ll be a wonderful student council president, Horikita-san. I'll be rooting for you.”
“Ichinose-san…”
Ichinose, who was supposed to be her rival in the election, smiled and gave her a pep talk.
“I'm feeling a little under the weather, so I'll leave you here now. If there are any forms that need to be filled out, please give me them later. See you later, Ayanokōji-kun.”
With a small wave of her hand, Ichinose left the student council office without hesitation.
The shoplifting incident may have definitely caused some emotional scars, but she showed no signs of changing her mind about quitting until the very end, nor did she seem to have any lingering regrets.
It was probably something she was really thinking about, not something she just sprouted from her mouth.
Nagumo and I weren’t the only ones who felt that this was an unexpected turn of events.
Horikita, who announced her candidacy for student council president, felt the same.
“Ichinose-san has left the student council, what should I do?”
Ichinose leaving the student council seemed to have automatically ended the match that I had been carrying out up until now.
But now that this happened, there was nothing even Nagumo could do about it.
“It was impossible to replace Honami now.”
I didn’t know about other schools' rules, but at least in this school, a student who wasn’t in the student council may not be qualified to be the student council president.
“I don't like the way this is going, but you're going to be the student council president, Suzune.”
The most important thing to avoid would be the absence of the student council president. It would be too much of a stretch to suddenly appoint a second-year student with no experience as student council president.
“I'm a bit distracted because I thought it was going to be an election, but... I understand.”
With her unopposed victory, Horikita would be elected student council president in no time at all.
“Before that, I have a job for you.”
“What is it?”
“Fill in the vacancy left by Ichinose as soon as possible. Bring in at least one new student council member from the second-years.”
Indeed, Ichinose's departure left only Horikita as a second-year.
If something unforeseen happened, the student council may become dysfunctional.
“Are there any conditions for recruitment?”
“There is only one thing—whether or not people around you think you’re worthy of being a member of the student council.”
“I see, that makes perfect sense.”
Although it may be inappropriate to bring up, it was likely that the discussion was about how someone with a reputation like Ryūen’s couldn’t be allowed to join the student council.
It seemed to me that there were no restrictions on the number of students from one's own class or another…
“So anyone can move to join the student council as long as they meet these conditions?”
“Plain and simple. You’re free to bring in anyone from your own class. Even your predecessor, Horikita-senpai, had a member of the student council from the same class, didn't he?”
“Yes, I understand.”
“And one more thing… Appoint a member of the student council from the first year as well. Yagami unexpectedly dropped out of school and we have a vacancy.”
Nagumo gave what seemed to be a very difficult order, and Horikita's expression hardened.
“It makes no difference whether I need to recruit one or two people. I'll do my best.”
There was no way she could refuse, so she answered honestly.
“It looks like we've come to an agreement.”
Kiryūin, who had been watching over the meeting, called out to Nagumo again.
Maybe they were thinking that they couldn’t tell the truth in the presence of second-year students.
Horikita, who had been given a new assignment, read the room and stood up.
“I'll leave you to it. I will report back to you as soon as I have two new members.”
“Yes. At that time, I will officially hand over the position of student council president to you.”
Bowing to Kiryūin, who was watching the situation, Horikita left the student council room.
With the student council elections out of the way, the battle between Nagumo and me should’ve naturally drifted away.
This would be the best time to leave.
“I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to leave now.”
“Wait a minute, Ayanokōji, I'm not finished talking with you yet.”
Nagumo stopped me with a biting look as if he wasn’t going to let me go so easily.
“Don't hold up the matter any longer. The conversation with Ayanokōji ended with Ichinose's refusal. I think it's best to back off and get the Kiryūin thing out of the way as soon as possible.”
Kiryūin agreed with Kiriyama that the problem couldn’t be left unaddressed.
“You are full of faults, but I appreciate what you said. I hope you’ll make a wise decision, Nagumo.”
“Damn it…”
Nagumo clicked his tongue in frustration, but the circumstances forced him to admit it. However, he added this at the very end, probably because he didn’t want to let me go.
“You’re a student in Suzune’s class. Please help me gather members for the student council.”
“Me, huh?”
“In the second year, there are no other student council members. Besides, the student council president will be unconditionally elected from Class 2-B. I can’t let them without any work to do.”
I think you could say that to any of our classmates... Besides, that has nothing to do with whether or not I'll help him.
It seemed to me that he was just taking it out on me, but I didn’t think it was worth it to argue with you here.
“Well, I don't know how much help I can be, but I'll do my best. Maybe.”
Nagumo didn’t let me off the hook for leaving for an escape route.
“I'll make sure to let Suzune know that you'll help her after this. Don't skip work, okay?”
I was considering not going along with him, but he beat me to the punch.
“Okay, I'll help you. Are you satisfied with that?”
At this point, Nagumo finally understood, and his resistance to letting me go disappeared.
“That's right. Here’s a souvenir for you from after our trip.”
I took out a few extra souvenirs I bought in Hokkaido and handed them to Nagumo, bag by bag.
“You’re very disciplined in a strange way, aren't you?”
“I'm meeting the president of the student council, after all. I thought it would be a good idea to at least bring a souvenir.”
I didn't know when to give him this kind of gift, and it was a mistake to do so at the last minute.
“I don't get one?”
“I didn't expect you to be here, Kiryūin-senpai. If you want it, please ask Student Council President Nagumo to share it with you.”
Nagumo gave a souvenir to the close Kiriyama and muttered something as if he just remembered it.
“Speaking of after the school trip… it's about time the next special exam is announced, isn't it?”
He was still talking to me as if he didn’t feel comfortable talking with Kiryūin.
“It was announced just today.”
“I heard that it’s customary for a special exam to be held after the school trip. So that would mean that the opponent would be Sakayanagi from Class A.”
“I didn't know that much could be predicted.”
From the way Nagumo’s speaking, I wonder if it’s an annual event and if the matchups between the top and the bottom teams are also decided.
“Last year, did you, the student council president, and Kiriyama, the vice president, fight each other?”
“I guess so.”
“What was the result?”
“I think it was your class that won, Kiriyama.”
“...Yeah.”
Kiriyama answered without any particular pleasure.
Kiryūin, who was also in Class B, didn’t seem to have any particular thoughts on the matter, and quietly let it pass.
“It's tough to win against Class A normally, but I think you have a good chance, don’t you?”
“I guess it depends on how you look at it.”
“I think that the special exams held at this time of the year are designed to give an advantage to the lower classes in order to make all the classes more competitive. It also means that the lower the starting class is, the easier it is to win.”
Certainly, the main-players of this special exam are Horikita and Ryūen’s classes.
Both of which were originally lower-ranked classes.
This meant that Nagumo also allowed Kiriyama and the other Class B students to win.
“I thought Nagumo, the student body president, would win under any circumstances.”
“Don't say that. I can't even take it seriously if it doesn't affect the outcome, regardless of who wins.”
Nagumo's class was already in a position to run alone and wasn’t concerned with trivial victories.
“In Horikita-senpai's time, as was the custom, Class A ran alone from the start and rushed away with the victory. I was in Class B, but I moved up to Class A early and ran alone. As a result, the gap between A and below was huge during this period. Class A’s definitely in the lead, but it's not in an absolute safe zone like it has been in the past.”
Certainly, Horikita’s class’s motivation was high right now because they could clearly see Class A's back. I wonder what would’ve happened if the difference between Class A and Class B had been closer to 1000 points at this point in time. Even if we won, we couldn't catch up to Class A's back.
“Do your best.”
“Yes. We'll be in touch.”
After saying so, I was finally allowed to leave the student council room.
“I was finally released.”
With Ichinose's withdrawal, the student council election was canceled and the 20 million point contract was also lost, but that was fine with me since it wouldn’t interfere with my plans.
Such relief was short-lived, however, as a person who had been watching from a distance approached.
“You didn't get released right away, did you?”
“You were waiting for me...”
“It was a discussion with a lot of things on my mind. Did they give you any orders?”
“No, he said he's done with me.”
“They seemed to have been talking for a long time though.”
“I was giving him souvenirs from the school trip and doing other unrelated things.”
I wasn’t going to mention now that I was asked to help.
The idea was to get away with it until Nagumo actually passed the message on to Horikita, that he want me to help.
“For you, Horikita, it's just a part of his job to make you the student council president.”
“I never thought that Ichinose-san would resign or even leave the student council.”
“I agree. I thought she’d be a member of the student council until the end, regardless of whether I won or lost the competition for the student council president's position.”
It wasn’t in my mind that she’d give up her position voluntarily.
One of the reasons for the tears she showed during the school trip may’ve been related to this incident.
“Is Kiryūin-senpai going to stay behind and continue the discussion with Student Council President Nagumo after all?”
“You could tell she was pretty pissed off, couldn't you?”
“Yes. I don't know much about her, but it would be troublesome to make enemies with her. I got the impression that Student Council President Nagumo was having a hard time.”
From the student council members' point of view, they usually only saw Nagumo always in a dominant position, so it was understandable that they would have such an impression.
“Student Council President Nagumo instructing a fellow third-year student to frame Kiryūin-senpai for shoplifting—how much of it do you think is true?”
“I don't know. But it’s at least true that Yamanaka tried to frame Kiryūin for the crime.”
It remained unclear whether another third party was involved.
“Nagumo or not, I don't see any reason or purpose for trapping Kiryūin.”
“Could it be revenge for a dispute she previously had with her?”
“Of course, there’s a possibility. It's not unusual for a person to be disliked by an unspecified person.”
But there was no point in us thinking about it.
“Shouldn't you be focusing on the student council instead?”
“If you could be a member of the student council, that would solve half the problem, wouldn't it? I'm sure you would fulfill all the requirements that President Nagumo wants.”
“I'm not so sure about that. At least, I'm not Nagumo's favorite.”
“It's not a matter of like or dislike.”
“It must be unpleasant for Nagumo.”
“It's just that you don't want to join the student council.”
“That's what I mean.”
If you join the student council, you’ll have much less free time. That's what I wanted to avoid.
“Then, at least you can help me find people. I trust you won't turn me down, since you’re responsible for bringing me into the student council in the first place.”
She said this quickly as if to block my escape route.
“No, I'm not really into that kind of thing. Sorry, but I'll pass. Student council matters are for you to solve since you're involved in the student council.”
Horikita sighed and withdrew as if she was used to me being uncooperative.
“I'd like to bring in one of our classmates, after all. As the student council president himself said, joining is a positive thing for the class.”
“I'm sure Yōsuke would be willing to help with most things at a time like this.”
“I agree, but it would be a shame to take club activities away from him.”
Yōsuke was a member of the soccer club and had achieved a certain amount of success in it. There wasn’t much benefit to be gained by taking his club activities away from him.
“I'm leaving.”
I tried to get out of there, but before I could do so, Horikita turned around and blocked my way.
“Ayanokōji-kun, about the special exam...”
“I'm sorry, but there's nothing you can do to make me take the initiative either.”
“‘The student council’s problem is the student council's responsibility to solve,’ is what you're saying. But the special exam is a class issue. Shouldn't classmates cooperate with each other here?”
“There are other people to turn to. There are almost 40 classmates.”
You don't have to target me.
“Not at all. You don't want to help me, after all.”
“I'm not going to change things drastically if I cooperate.”
“I think you're being too modest. I'm glad you're helping us. The enemy is Sakayanagi-san. If you lend me a hand right from the planning stage, we have a better chance of outwitting them like in the Sports Festival.”
If we lose, the gap with Class A would increase by 100. We couldn’t lose.
But even if we did, we could still make up for it.
“I don't have any advice to give. However, as a classmate, I will follow your instructions. If you order me to answer a difficult question correctly, I will do so.”
I wouldn’t lend a hand in strategizing at the preliminary stage, but I would say that I’d cooperate with the exam.
“...You mean that you’ll solve any problem, regardless of subject or difficulty level?”
“Yes. My rating is B on the OAA as of December. I can't get a high score, but I can certainly answer correctly if I want to, whether it’s the lower limit of two questions or the upper limit of five questions required to clear the exam.”
This would be an important score for Horikita. I could assure that.
“You don't mind being relied on as an individual, but you can't lend a hand in the preliminary stage. That's what you mean, right?”
“That's right.”
“What’s the possibility of you being wrong?”
“It's as close to zero as possible.”
Unless there was some trivia that had nothing to do with the basic subject matter, there wouldn’t be a problem.
“So you say, but I was told that the only thing you're really good at is math.”
“I don't remember that.”
I don't remember. She mumbled something like that, then nodded back at me as if accepting my proposal.
“I'll take care of it. The burden will definitely be reduced if a student with an OAA academic rating of B is able to answer five questions correctly, especially if they’re high difficulty.”
This was one of the most important experiences for Horikita as a leader.
I hope she’ll learn something more important than winning or losing in this special exam.
“I sympathize with you. You’ve been appointed student council president at a very difficult time.”
It was a problem you would’ve preferred solving at a less busy time of the year.
“It can’t be helped. When you decide to join the student council, this kind of thing is bound to happen.”
If you traced it back to its origins, it was because someone like me, (not actually me) influenced the student council’s path.
Although there were some concerns, Horikita, walking next to me, seemed relatively positive.
“There's no use thinking about it in a negative way. Let's take a positive view. If I become the student council president, the school will give me a higher evaluation than what I have now, and I’ll be given some authority. I'm not going to abuse my authority, but I'm willing to go as far as doing gray area things that may be close to abusing it.”
She was determined to do whatever it took to get to Class A.
In Horikita's case, it might be better to be more greedy.
“You can help me too, you know? With the new student council member selection.”
“Don't repeat yourself so many times.”
“I thought you might’ve forgotten.”
“I'll keep my distance.”
I hope you can make a selection before realizing that Nagumo asked for my help.
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