After leaving the woods, the wind and snow seemed to have abated slightly.
The footsteps of the two people intertwined in the snow.
"I said, since you have become my 'student', shouldn't you call me teacher instead?"
Kazehara Tetsu broke the silence.
"... It's a beautiful thought."
Ibuki Mio rolled his eyes and buried the lower half of his face in Scarf, his voice seemed a bit muffled.
"I've never mentioned this before. Besides, if other people hear that kind of goosebumps-inducing name, how can I still get away with it?"
"Say no more."
She glanced at Kazehara Tetsu and raised the corners of her mouth in a somewhat provocative arc.
"The so-called 'teaching' hasn't started yet. If you can't come up with any practical information, I may default on those two conditions at any time."
"Are you defaulting on your debt? This is Nullify's threat."
Kazehara Tetsu chuckled lightly, not caring about this level of verbal resistance.
The two of them were teasing each other while walking along the main road outside the school towards the Dormitory area.
Just when they turned a corner and were about to enter the area near Teaching Building.
A figure suddenly appeared in the field of vision.
The student uniforms were taken care of meticulously, and even in the cold wind, they were not messy at all.
He just stood there quietly, exuding a powerful aura called "solemnity" all over his body.
Former Student Council President, Horikita Manabu.
"..."
Originally, according to common sense, if they met at this time, they would nod at most and then go their separate ways.
Just when the three of them were about to pass each other.
"Kagihara."
Horikita Manabu did not look at Ibuki Mio. His sight was accurately locked on Kazehara Tetsu through the lenses.
"It will take you a little longer."
The steps stopped.
The air seemed to freeze at this second.
Ibuki Mio glanced at Horikita Manabu, then at Kazehara Tetsu beside him.
Those eyes quickly captured the subtle atmosphere between the two people.
"Cut..."
Ibuki Mio clicked her tongue very lightly. Although she was a little curious, she obviously didn't want to get involved in trouble.
"I'm going to take the first step."
She didn't show any hesitation, she didn't even salute Horikita Manabu, she just quickened her pace and quickly disappeared at the end of the road.
Only two people, Kazehara Tetsu and Horikita Manabu, were left at the scene.
Kazehara Tetsu turned around and faced the man who once stood at the top of the students. There was not much awe for Senpai on his face.
"It's really strange."
His eyes glanced around behind Horikita Manabu, confirming that there was no one there.
"Senior Tachibana Akane, who follows you on weekdays, didn't follow you today? I thought you two were an inseparable 'combination'."
This slightly teasing opening statement, if it were someone else, I'm afraid they wouldn't laugh at it.
But Horikita Manabu was not angry, and his expression remained calm.
"Today is Christmas Eve, and the school has entered holiday mode."
Horikita Manabu responded calmly, with no fluctuation in his voice.
"Although Student Council's work is heavy, it is not a machine that does not know how to adapt. Most of the affairs have been processed, and I have also let others go to rest. After all, this kind of day still has special meaning for most Mathematics students."
"I see. It was a rare moment of humanity."
Kazehara Tetsu shrugged his shoulders and exhaled a white breath.
"So... at this moment when everyone is enjoying the festival or taking a break, the president stopped me here specifically. Is there any important business?"
"Or... just want to find someone to chat with?"
"We can't talk about official matters, and we can't talk about private matters either."
Horikita Manabu pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose.
"I just thought that since we happened to meet each other, it would be nice to take some time to talk about the things I had put aside before."
He went straight to the point without much foreshadowing.
"Kagihara, don't you plan to join Student Council?"
This sentence is not the kind of command from above, nor is it the kind of invitation with pleading.
It is more like an equal inquiry, a proposal based on recognition of a certain ability.
"Join Student Council?"
Kazehara Tetsu raised his eyebrows, seeming a little surprised by this topic.
"What? You ignored your sister who wanted to follow in your brother's footsteps, but instead you thought about inviting me, Outsider, in?"
He just threw out that sensitive name...Horikita Suzune.
"If it's to fill up the manpower, I think your sister would be very happy, even ecstatic about it."
When he mentioned his sister, Horikita Manabu's cold face finally showed a micro-expression that was extremely difficult to detect.
"If Suzune has that consciousness and dares to stand directly in front of me and apply, I will definitely agree."
Horikita Manabu's voice was a bit colder.
"But for now, she can't do it."
"She still doesn't dare... or in other words, she doesn't want to face me now. She doesn't have the consciousness to be able to stand alone."
As an elder brother and also as the president, Horikita Manabu's evaluation of his sister can be described as cruel.
"It's really troublesome..."
Kazehara Tetsu shook his head helplessly and sighed.
"Brother and sister are always at odds with each other, and they get so tense that they involve us bystanders. I don't want to get involved in this kind of family ethics drama full of tangles."
"So..."
Horikita Manabu didn't pay attention to this complaint. He stared at Kazehara Tetsu with burning eyes.
"Kagihara, do you plan to join Student Council?"
"Now Student Council needs people like you. Not only because of your ability, but also because of... the next situation."
"Situation?"
Kazehara Tetsu narrowed his eyes slightly and restrained his playful expression.
"Is it because...Miyabi Nagumo?"
"That's right."
Seeing Kazehara Tetsu's clear words, Horikita Manabu nodded, a hint of appreciation flashing in his eyes.
"Your insight is really sharp."
"Now that guy Nagumo... is no longer just ambitious. He is creating an extremely dangerous atmosphere in This School."
Horikita Manabu's brows wrinkled slightly, and this was the first time he showed obvious worry today.
"From the time he entered the second grade until now, the number of students who have been Expulsion directly or indirectly because of him... is already 17."
"17 people..."
Kazehara Tetsu repeated this number in a low voice.
In this school, which has only about 160 students in each grade, more than one-tenth of the students were Expulsion due to one person in just a few months. It was almost like a planned purge.
"After I graduate, the power of Student Council will completely fall into his hands."
Horikita Manabu's tone became a little heavy.
"In that case, this kind of atrocities for the purpose of 'purging' will become more serious. What he wants to establish is not a competitive Campus, but an environment dominated by his own dictatorship."
"This is devastating to the foundation of the school."
However.
Faced with this statement that was enough to make the protagonist's blood boil with a sense of justice, Kazehara Tetsu just watched calmly.
"Might Makes Right."
He suddenly spoke and read out the core slogan of This School.
"Since it's survival of the fittest, isn't it reasonable that the weak will be eliminated?"
Kazehara Tetsu turned his head and looked at Horikita Manabu.
"If those students are strong enough and smart enough, they will naturally not fall into Nagumo's trap, nor will they be Expulsion. Since they have been eliminated, it means they are not suitable here."
"Although Miyabi Nagumo's approach is radical, to a certain extent, isn't it also accelerating the 'selection' process?"
"..."
Horikita Manabu was silent for a moment.
He did not refute the seemingly cold-blooded view of Kazehara Tetsu, because in This School, this is also a default rule.
"Indeed."
He admitted.
"If it's just Survival Game, your logic is impeccable."
"But..."
"A truly good leader... should not climb to the top alone over the corpses of his peers."
"But we should be able to integrate all resources and lead everyone to the end."
"If you just randomly discard those who are slightly behind in order to select the elite, that is not strong, that is the laziness of the rulers."
These words were resounding.
This is the creed of Horikita Manabu.
"Heh..."
"Horikita President's ambition is so noble that it makes people dazzling."
"But unfortunately, I won't be that person."
"I don't have that much sympathy to share with everyone, nor am I interested in shouldering the fate of an entire grade. I'm just a slightly greedy layman who wants to live a more comfortable life."
"I know."
Horikita Manabu seemed to have expected this answer, and he did not show any disappointment.
"Asking you to think like me is a form of arrogance."
"But I'm not asking you to inherit my will. I'm just making a request to you as a retired president, or... a Senpai."
"Request?"
"Yes."
"I hope you can at least stop Miyabi Nagumo from going on a rampage."
"You don't need to save everyone, nor do you need to fight against the entire system. But at the critical moment, when that man's madness is about to touch the This School bottom line..."
"Be the wall that can stand in front of him."