After Horikita Manabu finished speaking, he gave the students no chance to ask questions. His expression remained cold as he walked straight off the stage and left the gym through the main entrance.
His figure disappeared beyond the doors. Inside the gym, the ice covering everyone slowly melted away after he left, as if his ability were closely tied to his will.
After Horikita Manabu left, Tachibana Akane noticed the atmosphere had grown subdued, but she seemed accustomed to this sort of thing.
She spoke gently. "All right, everyone, thank you for your effort. The Interest Club Briefing Session is now over. Anyone who wants to join a club can line up at its booth below and submit an application. The booths will remain open until six this evening, so if you'd like to join one, please don't wait too long."
Her voice was soft and clear as she continued, "Of course, if you can't make it in time, don't worry. Applications will be accepted through the end of April. After that, anyone who wants to apply can take an application form directly to the club's activity room. The address is listed on the sign in front of each booth, so please make sure you check the right one."
Standing nearby, Itozawa reflected to himself. He thought that people needed a point of comparison. If he had only seen Tachibana Senpai at noon, he might well have thought she was cold and heartless. But compared to what Horikita Manabu had just done, she seemed so gentle and sweet.
The gym gradually came back to life. Students began heading to the booths, talking and laughing.
Itozawa, Ichinose, and Kanzaki walked around the gym as they discussed their options. Their eyes roamed from booth to booth as they talked about their interests and what they might choose.
Kanzaki suddenly suggested an idea. "How about we start a new club ourselves?" There was a playful note in his voice, as if the thought excited him.
Itozawa shook his head, his expression serious and calm. "Starting a club is too much trouble. Besides, if there isn't a club that suits us, we might as well apply to join the Student Council."
But he had more than that in mind. From Horikita Manabu's explanation, the Student Council seemed to wield even more power than it did in the Original Work. Of course he wanted to try joining.
Besides, he was worried that if Miyabi Nagumo could stand up to Horikita Manabu as he had in the Original Work, responsibility for overseeing the clubs would surely fall to him.
Given Miyabi Nagumo's style, Itozawa couldn't be sure a new club would be able to thrive.
Naturally, he couldn't say any of this out loud. Otherwise, there would be no way to explain how he knew so much.
When Ichinose heard Itozawa's suggestion, her eyes lit up, and her smile carried a hint of excitement. "I think joining the Student Council is a great idea."
Her voice conveyed a desire for a challenge. It seemed that, just as in the Original Work, she really wanted to join the Student Council.
Kanzaki looked at Ichinose and Itozawa, a playful expression on his face. "Then you two go join the Student Council. Once you get in, don't forget to look out for me."
His words were teasing; he clearly had no interest in joining.
Itozawa looked at Kanzaki, amusement in his eyes. "Are you sure you don't want to join? The Student Council has plenty of resources and opportunities."
Kanzaki shrugged, looking relaxed. "I'm not interested in power games. I'd rather be free to do as I please. But if you two join, I can help you find out what's going on."
Ichinose patted Kanzaki on the shoulder, her smile touched with gratitude. "Thank you, Kanzaki."
Itozawa, Ichinose, and Kanzaki made a round of the gym, but they never found the Student Council's booth. Their eyes swept over the crowded room, yet they couldn't spot the Student Council emblem.
"It looks like the Student Council didn't set up a booth," Itozawa said thoughtfully. His gaze searched the venue, but he still found nothing.
Kanzaki shrugged casually, his hands in his pockets. "Maybe they have another way to sign up, or maybe they don't need a booth at all."
Ichinose's expression was resolute as she proposed a direct solution. "We can just ask the host, Tachibana Senpai, the Student Council secretary, how to join the Student Council."
Itozawa nodded in agreement. "That's a good idea, Ichinose. You can ask her."
Ichinose walked over to Tachibana Akane with a smile, her steps light and confident. Tachibana was standing nearby, observing the gym. Ichinose stopped in front of her and politely said, "Tachibana Senpai, we'd like to ask how to join the Student Council."
After hearing what Ichinose wanted, Tachibana Akane smiled faintly, as if she had expected the question. As though performing a magic trick, she produced two application forms from behind her back and handed them to Ichinose. "Here are the forms. You'll need to fill in this information."
Ichinose looked surprised. "Huh? We haven't even said how many of us want to join. How did you know it was two, Senpai?"
Tachibana Akane smiled faintly. "It's a secret."
Unable to get anything out of her, Ichinose and Itozawa took the forms. Ichinose asked curiously, "Do we hand them directly to you once we've filled them out?"
Tachibana Akane shook her head. "No. Once you've filled them out, you'll need to take them to the Student Council Office yourselves. It's on the fourth floor of the administration building. You'll see it as soon as you get upstairs."
Ichinose thanked Tachibana Akane politely. "Thank you very much, Tachibana Senpai."
Tachibana Akane looked at Ichinose, admiration flickering in her eyes. "You're welcome, Ichinose. But I should warn you to prepare for an interview before you turn in the forms. If I don't think you're suitable, you won't even qualify for an interview with the President."
Ichinose nodded, determination in her expression. "We'll be ready. Thank you for the warning."
Tachibana Akane smiled and nodded, then turned her gaze to Itozawa and Kanzaki, as if assessing their resolve and ability. Itozawa and Kanzaki nodded to her as well, expressing their thanks.
After getting the application forms, Itozawa, Ichinose, and Kanzaki didn't hurry to leave the gym. They decided to stay and observe what the other students chose, while also getting a sense of the students in the other classes. This would help them better understand the school's atmosphere and learn about potential rivals and allies.
They looked around and noticed that the Body Ability and Object-type Ability club booths were packed with students. Everyone seemed enthusiastic, asking questions and signing up.
By comparison, the Spirit Ability booths had fewer people, while the Mind-Type Ability and brain-type booths were practically deserted. As for the Spacetime-type booths, there weren't any clubs at all.
It seemed there really weren't many Mind-Type Ability Users. No wonder there was only one Mind-Type Ability club, and it had to adopt a Body Ability label to attract members.
As they watched, Itozawa's attention was suddenly caught by a familiar figure. He saw Ryuen Kakeru heading toward a Spirit Ability club booth, which surprised him.
Itozawa had known for a long time that Ryuen Kakeru wasn't a Body Ability User, but he had never imagined that Ryuen Kakeru might be a Spirit Ability User. Ryuen Kakeru was known for his forceful style and direct actions, and Itozawa had always been curious about his ability type.
Ichinose had also noticed Ryuen Kakeru's movement. She quietly said to Itozawa, "I didn't expect Ryuen Kakeru to be a Spirit Ability User."
Itozawa nodded, a thoughtful look in his eyes. "Yeah. I always thought he'd be an Object-type Ability User. Some Object-type abilities can strengthen the user's body, after all."
Kanzaki silently observed from the side. His gaze shifted back and forth between Ryuen Kakeru and the other students, as if he were searching for something. He suddenly spoke up. "Most of Class C are Body Ability Users, and they all look so unruly. For a Spirit Ability User like Ryuen Kakeru to bring them under his control, his ability must be something special."
Itozawa and Ichinose both agreed with Kanzaki. They knew that understanding how abilities were distributed among the classes was essential to establishing themselves at the school.
It didn't take long for them to reach a new conclusion.
Itozawa's gaze roamed over the students of Class D. Ayanokouji was still in Class D, after all, so it was important to observe them.
He noticed that many of them had gathered around the Object-type Ability club booth. It seemed Class D had a lot of Object-type Ability Users.
Meanwhile, Ichinose focused on the students of Class A. She observed that when choosing clubs, Class A students tended to favor those related to Spirit Ability.
It seemed most of them were Spirit Ability Users.
Itozawa and Ichinose exchanged their observations and gained a deeper understanding of how the school had divided the classes. It seemed the school had already sorted them somewhat by ability type and strength.
Did that mean there would be more assessments related to Spirit Ability later on?
That would put Class B at a disadvantage.
Before you continue