After the meeting ended, Miyabi Nagumo and Kiriyama Iki left one after the other. Tachibana Senpai had told him that they both worked outside the Student Council, so usually only Tachibana Akane and Horikita Manabu stayed in the Student Council Room each day.
Maybe it was just his imagination, but Konoe felt an intense gaze fixed on his back.
Thump... Tachibana dropped a small mountain of A4 papers in front of Konoe.
"Since I'm in charge of you, look through all these documents first. If you don't understand something, ask me. Finish reading them today. You're not allowed to leave the Student Council Room until you do." For some reason, Konoe felt that Tachibana Senpai was being hostile toward him.
"...Can I ask whether you've forgiven me for what happened earlier?" Konoe meant the time he'd casually given Tachibana a nickname and said it to her face.
"I've forgiven you for now, but that doesn't mean I approve of you joining the Student Council, even if you are quite smart." After speaking, Tachibana glanced casually at Horikita Manabu, who was working. Seeing no reaction from him, she finally relaxed.
"I see... I have to go back to the classroom at five to tutor my classmates. Could I leave early today?"
"I already told you, didn't I? Finish reading everything today. Don't try to cut corners. If you're confident, I'll ask you a few questions when you're done. If you answer them all correctly, I'll let you leave early."
"Letting me leave early sounds good... Then pour me a cup of hot tea first. The President invited me here, after all. It's not too much to ask for a cup of tea, is it?"
"What an arrogant underclassman. Still, it's only proper for a senpai to show a little consideration." With that, Tachibana Senpai went to make tea.
Seeing Tachibana Senpai go to make tea, Konoe was a little surprised. He turned to the stack of documents in front of him. Just reading through them once would take quite a while. Sighing, Konoe got to work and started looking through the documents.
"...This won't do. Going through them one page at a time is too slow. At this rate, I might not finish until tonight." Konoe sighed and activated his Mind Palace.
This time, Konoe didn't imagine anything in his mind. He focused on the documents in front of him. First, he flipped through them page by page, trying to read as quickly as possible while gradually adjusting his posture and the way he turned the pages to save time.
Then his posture stiffened into place. His reading speed grew faster and faster, but his hand turned each page with pinpoint accuracy. He read through the documents at an almost eerie pace, the sound of pages flipping growing more and more frequent.
"Hey! Didn't I tell you not to cut corners? You're..." Tachibana Senpai had returned with the tea she'd made. But Konoe seemed not to hear her. His movements weren't affected in the slightest; he didn't even slow down.
"Tachibana, wait a moment." Horikita Manabu interrupted her, and Tachibana set the tea aside.
In just over ten minutes, Konoe had finished reading the stack of A4 documents, which had stood nearly two decimeters high. He immediately closed his eyes, and only opened them again a minute later.
"Phew..." Konoe took a deep breath, then picked up the tea and took a sip. It was the perfect temperature. "Let's begin, Tachibana Senpai."
"...Begin... Begin what? Were you counting the pages just now?"
"You have a talent for humor, Senpai. If I were counting pages, why wouldn't I just measure the height of the stack? They're all A4 paper, after all."
"What..." Tachibana Akane clearly hadn't understood what Konoe meant, so Horikita Manabu took over and began asking the questions.
"How many members are on the School Board?"
"Twelve."
"What was the Kendo Club's most recent expenditure?"
"21,000 points, for buying Bamboo Swords and maintenance tools."
"What's the monthly income and expenditure of the nearest convenience store down the road?"
"A deficit of 35,424 points, mainly because of insufficient customer traffic and too many goods piling up and expiring."
"...You can leave. You need to attend Student Council meetings after school every Monday. I'll contact you by Text Message if anything comes up, so make sure to reply promptly. If any other members ask you to do something, report it to me immediately." Horikita Manabu then returned to his work.
Konoe finished the tea in one gulp and prepared to take his leave. "Then I'll be going. Goodbye, President, Tachibana Senpai."
"...What?" Tachibana Senpai still hadn't come around. She stared blankly at Konoe, while Horikita Manabu merely nodded behind her. Seeing that, Konoe left.
"Tachibana, come over here. There's something I need to discuss..."
Konoe pulled out his phone to check the time. There were only a little over ten minutes left until five. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. It looked like he'd have to cancel the Study Group every Monday; his schedule was a bit too tight.
Checking the messages on his phone, Konoe headed toward the classroom.
Ayanokoji: "I got the exam questions. You were right—the Mini-test questions are exactly the same. Kushida has the test papers now."
Ayanokoji: "Is something up? I'm planning to have Kushida bring them out on the last day. What do you think?"
Konoe checked the timestamps on the messages and realized they'd all been sent an hour ago. He'd been in the meeting then, so he'd put his phone on silent.
Konoe: "Sorry, Ayanokoji. I had something to take care of at the Student Council. Let's do what you suggested with the test papers. How's Horikita's Study Group going?"
Ayanokoji: "Horikita came up with a plan. She said she canceled the after-school Study Group and seems to have gone to find Sudo. What's going on with the students?"
Konoe: "I've temporarily joined the Student Council. Are you coming to see the Study Group this afternoon?"
Ayanokoji: "I see. I'll pass, but you can invite me to eat."
Konoe: "Got it. See you later."
Konoe realized he was about to pass a corner, but he heard a strange sound.
'Tap... tap... tap...'
'It doesn't sound like footsteps, but it's very rhythmic and getting closer. What could it be?' Konoe was curious, but he was also afraid he might bump into whoever was coming if he stepped out.
All he had to do was step sideways and out from the corner before leaving, but perhaps curiosity got the better of him, or perhaps using his Mind Palace had left him exhausted. For some reason, he found himself pressed against the wall at the corner, slowly poking his head out.
"...What are you doing, Konoe?" a sweet voice asked.
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