The Student Council and Tutoring Classmates

After school, Konoe greeted Hirata and headed towards the door with the Student Council Signboard, feeling a little uneasy.

"Knock, knock, knock." He knocked lightly, then twice more. Konoe tried to be as polite as possible, hoping to appease the Bun-haired girl inside... Tachibana Senpai.

"Please come in." A clear Male Voice, likely the Student Council President.

Konoe entered the room. The space was surprisingly large, with a Sofa Desk Computer and everything else he needed. There were two small rooms beside it, possibly a Pantry or an Archive Room.

Inside were only two students. One was Horikita Manabu, sitting in the center by the window, seemingly processing some documents. The other was standing beside him, handing him some papers – it was Tachibana Senpai.

"Good afternoon, Horikita Senpai, Tachibana Senpai."

"Konoe-kun, please, have a seat. Tachibana."

The last word was directed at Tachibana, who merely glared at Konoe and went to pour tea without a word.

"Konoe Hirakawa, I heard your Mini-test results were quite good. Do you have any particular insights on studying?" Horikita Manabu stopped his work and looked intently at Konoe.

"It was a misunderstanding, Horikita Senpai. I had simply encountered similar problems before. Rather than insights, it was luck." Konoe smiled and scratched his head, displaying an innocent expression.

"Heh... luck? Since our school opened, many have achieved Full Marks on their first Mini-test. I was one of them. But for Class D Students to get Full Marks, that's unheard of." Horikita Manabu scoffed, clearly not believing Konoe's explanation.

"...It seems my luck is quite good then."

"Let's assume it is, Konoe-kun. Would you like to join the Student Council?"

"Huh? Uh... I don't quite understand what you mean." Caught off guard by the unexpected invitation, Konoe was bewildered.

"As I mentioned at the Club Fair, the Student Council needs Fresh Blood."

"...I don't understand what makes me special enough to be chosen. Even if my academic performance is good, it doesn't mean I can handle Student Council affairs, does it?"

"Firstly, your understanding of the difficulty of those three questions on the Mini-test was mistaken. The last question was not something one could solve simply by being good at academics. Secondly, I chose you not just because of the Mini-test, but because you saw through the school's rules on the very first day."

It seemed Chabashira had informed Horikita Manabu, or perhaps Chabashira was also tasked with identifying 'Excellent' students during the First Month Assessment.

"Despite that, our Class D only managed to get 110 Points, so..." At this moment, Tachibana Senpai brought over the tea she had prepared. Konoe took a sip.

"We don't need your leadership, but your comprehension and execution abilities. Of course... if the day comes when you truly need to lead, I will personally guide you."

"...Just as Horikita Senpai said at the Club Fair, I'm not confident I can bear the mission of the Student Council or the expectations of others, so this matter..."

"30000 Points. That's the monthly salary for the Clerk position the Student Council is recruiting for. You can be responsible for the points. By the way, if there's nothing important, you only need to complete the assigned tasks and you're free to act. You only need to follow my orders and work."

It seemed Chabashira had told Horikita Manabu everything.

"..." Konoe was still hesitant, using the time to drink his tea and weigh the pros and cons.

"This is your only chance, Konoe." Horikita Manabu's words made Konoe recall the initial deal with Chabashira and what she had said when he left the Guidance Room.

"...I haven't forgiven you for what happened before. You're still hesitating even after being personally invited by the President!" Tachibana Senpai, who had been silent until now, also began to pressure him.

"...Fine, I'll join. But let me be clear, I'm not good at serving tea."

As soon as he finished speaking, Tachibana Senpai's eyes shot daggers at him.

"Heh heh, you just need to follow my orders. Tachibana, is that alright?"

"Of course, it's fine. The President's decision is always correct. Hmph... Since you're joining the Student Council, I'll generously forgive you then." Tachibana Senpai said the latter half with a completely different tone than the first, feigning anger.

"Although it's already decided, you still need to go through the process. Fill out an application form, and then come for an Interview where you'll complete a test. Don't worry, you can leave it blank."

Unless a candidate significantly more outstanding than Konoe appeared, Horikita Manabu would not easily change his decision.

"Understood, President. Due to the special nature of Class D, I need to tutor them a bit. So, please allow me to take my leave for today. Once I officially join the Student Council, I will serve you."

After bidding farewell to the President, Konoe prepared to leave.

"And Tachibana Senpai, I'm truly sorry about today." Konoe ran off without waiting for Tachibana's reaction.

"Tachibana, what happened?"

"President, let me tell you, this junior is really impolite..."

Konoe fled back to the classroom. It had only been thirty to forty minutes, and most of his classmates were still there.

"Konoe! You're here!" Hirata greeted him happily. "Did anything happen?"

"Nothing much, just cleared up a small misunderstanding. By the way, are all the people who failed the last Mini-test here?"

"Uh... actually, it's just Sudo and two others... I'm sorry, I couldn't get those three to come."

"It's not your fault, is it? Let's do what we can first!"

"You're right. But what are you going to do next?"

Konoe first understood the countermeasures the students with good grades had come up with: dividing study time by the number of subjects, with each time slot dedicated to one subject. Students would study independently in groups, led by those with better academic performance. Since some students had weaknesses in certain subjects, the groups were quite flexible.

"You've done well. Let's proceed with this plan?"

"Yes, I think this is good. This plan was made by Yukimura and the others."

Hearing his name, Yukimura pushed up his glasses. "Please guide me, Konoe-kun."

"Please guide me too, Yukimura-kun. I'll proceed according to your method. Since we're studying in groups, I'll go to my acquaintances first."

With that, Konoe walked towards Hasebe.

Last time, her score on the mini-test was 52, nearly twenty points above the passing line. By rights, she shouldn't have needed remedial classes, but she was weak in certain subjects, with very low scores in language arts and social studies. Plus, she heard Konoe would be helping, so she decided to stay.

"Gaga, let me tutor you!"

Ignoring the surprised looks from her female classmates in the same group, Konoe felt happy, just as she'd imagined. "Sure, I'll count on you, Hirata!"

"Do you and Konoe have a good relationship?" the girl who spoke was Matsushita Chiaki. Besides her outstanding beauty, she had a very mature aura, giving off the impression of a well-bred young lady. She often acted with Karuizawa, forming a small clique.

"It's... alright, I guess," Konoe replied. "By the way, aren't your grades pretty good? Even though your mini-test score was mid-tier, I felt you were quite good at studying."

"Not at all. Actually, I wanted to study with Megumi, but she went to find Hirata."

"Yeah, yeah, she ruthlessly abandoned us here," interjected Sato Maya. Her score was only slightly above the passing line, and she was also part of Karuizawa's group, a "gyaru" type girl just like Karuizawa.

"It seems I'm the only one in this study group who failed. Sorry..." This was Mori Nene. She had tea-colored hair and looked like a quiet girl.

"It's okay, leave it to me! I'm in first place, after all. And Mori-san's grades aren't bad; you'll catch up quickly," Konoe encouraged her. It seemed the four people in front of her had formed a group. Since Karuizawa wanted to be with Hirata, Hirata had added Hasebe to this group.

"Huh... Konoe-san seems easier to get along with than I thought. We'll be counting on you, then," Matsushita said, surprised.

"Matsushita-san, could you help out too? Once things are settled here, I'd like to check on the other groups," Konoe still wanted to check on the other students who had failed.

"Hmph, do you want to be a slacker?" Sato teased.

"Ahem... What are you saying? This is called 'conveniently helping other classmates.' Alright, let's start studying quickly!"

After an awkward cough, Konoe quickly began the tutoring session.