"There sure are a lot of people."
Inside the First Gymnasium, Ayanokoji looked at the crowd around him and marveled.
At a glance, more than a hundred people were already waiting there.
Although school let out early on Sakurajima, most students still chose to join a club. Those who went straight home were in the minority.
Yeyue and the others were standing a little farther back.
Ayanokoji was also leafing through the booklet he had received at the entrance, looking somewhat uneasy.
"Every club seems to be really good. Would they even let someone like me join?"
He was deliberately handing the initiative to the other person. That would make it easier to draw out information.
"As long as you take it seriously, Ayanokoji, you have a good chance."
Yeyue was also leafing through the booklet and replied with a smile.
The clubs at this school really were impressive. Most were at the national level, and some students could even compete in the Olympics.
That meant that even if they couldn't graduate from A Class, students with special talents could still fulfill their dreams.
Only Horikita Suzune had fallen silent the moment she entered the gymnasium, staring at the stage without saying a word.
After hearing Yeyue's response, Ayanokoji decided to press further. With a hint of disappointment, he said, "Thanks for trying to cheer me up. Unfortunately, I don't have much confidence in myself. It's not as if I have any talent."
"You can't get anywhere without putting in the effort. Why not give it a try, Ayanokoji?"
"That's true. I'll give it some serious thought. Thanks, Tenyo."
As though Yeyue's words had moved him, Ayanokoji nodded.
He felt a little helpless, too.
Everything Yeyue said was vague nonsense, utterly useless. He couldn't glean any information from Yeyue's words.
If he kept thinking about it,
he would only get caught in a spiral of suspicion over whether the other man was doing it on purpose. Ayanokoji gave up thinking about it at once.
Onstage,
girls from the Archery Club, Swimming Club, and Basketball Club took turns giving rousing speeches.
Soon,
the man Horikita Suzune had been watching stepped to the center of the stage.
Horikita Manabu!
He wasn't particularly tall, standing a little over 170 centimeters. He wore simple glasses, and his sharp eyes swept over the somewhat noisy students below.
Horikita Manabu stood onstage without saying a word or offering any explanation.
The students who had been chatting among themselves began to notice something was off.
"What's wrong? Did he forget his cue cards?"
"Don't be nervous. You've got this!"
"Hahahaha!"
The first-year students called out encouragement and laughed good-naturedly, but Horikita Manabu remained completely still, standing ramrod straight as he coldly watched those who had spoken.
Gradually, the laughter died away, and the gymnasium suddenly fell silent.
"What's that guy doing?"
Someone quietly asked the person beside him, instinctively sensing that this wasn't the time to talk.
The students who had been chatting casually fell silent, too. The gymnasium was filled with an almost unbelievable tension and stillness.
This was Horikita Manabu, the student council president hailed as the best in Koudo Ikusei High School's history!
In a matter of moments, he had created the perfect setting for a speech.
"Could it be the upperclassman is angry? This is kind of awkward. Don't be mad, senpai. Just hurry up and tell us what's going on."
Suddenly, Yeyue broke the silence with a laugh. Everyone in the gymnasium turned to look at him in unison.
Ayanokoji looked at Yeyue in confusion, too. Was this guy an idiot? Had he been wrong about him earlier?
Yeyue immediately felt a bone-chilling killing intent.
He didn't need to turn around to know.
Horikita Suzune was glaring at him with a look that could kill.
Horikita Manabu onstage hadn't expected things to unfold this way, but he reacted quickly.
After fixing Yeyue with a sharp gaze for a moment, Horikita Manabu asked coldly,
"Name?"
"Tenyo Yuyuki."
Yeyue knew without being told that the man was asking him.
"I see."
Horikita Manabu pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, nodded, and said in a cold voice,
"This school does not require students to join clubs. If you have something important to attend to, you may leave now. Alternatively, you can ask your classmates about this meeting later. Any other questions?"
"Understood. Please continue, senpai."
Having accomplished his goal, Yeyue nodded with a smile.
After watching him for another moment, Horikita Manabu—still somewhat puzzled—looked back at the students.
"I'm Horikita Manabu, and I serve as the student council president."
"The School Authority has granted the Student Council the power to change school regulations, so a great deal is expected of us. That makes us different from student councils at other schools. As a rule, we will not accept students who join both the Student Council and another club."
Gradually, even students who had no interest in the Student Council began listening attentively. That was the influence Horikita Manabu commanded.
"Also, the Student Council has no interest in candidates with naive expectations. This school is different from others. We welcome only those who understand that."
After speaking, Horikita Manabu walked straight off the stage and left the gymnasium.
Yeyue and the others lost interest and left with Horikita Suzune. Only Ayanokoji stayed behind, still intent on "making friends."
"President, should I go warn that Tenyo Yuyuki guy?"
Beside Horikita Manabu, Tachibana Secretary asked with a displeased expression.
"No need."
"But that guy caused trouble for you, President. He nearly embarrassed you."
At Tachibana's complaint, Horikita Manabu stopped and fixed him with a sharp stare.
"Tachibana, do you think that guy is an idiot?"
"No..."
Tachibana lowered his head and replied timidly, clutching the folder in his hands.
Anyone sensible would have kept quiet in that situation, but Tenyo Yuyuki didn't seem like an idiot.
"Tachibana, your weakness is that you look at things too narrowly."
Horikita Manabu's voice was cool as he explained, "Since he doesn't seem like an idiot, don't waste time wondering whether what he did was reasonable or what the consequences might be. Think about why he had to do it."
"You mean that Tenyo Yuyuki guy had some motive for causing trouble for you, President?"
Horikita Manabu had inferred so much from just one remark. Tachibana couldn't help but look at him with stars in his eyes.
"Exactly." Horikita Manabu nodded and started walking again. "Tenyo Yuyuki—what an interesting guy. Tachibana, he seems to be a first-year. Which class is he in?"
"I think..." Tachibana flipped quickly through the documents in his hands as he walked. "First Year D Class. I believe he's also part of the Tenmyouin Zaibatsu."
Horikita Manabu stopped again and nodded. "I see..."
"So his target is Suzune..."
He couldn't help murmuring to himself.
He was in D Class, and he was connected to Horikita Manabu. Suzune was the only possibility.
The moment he saw Suzune in the gymnasium, Horikita Manabu knew she still hadn't grown at all over the years.
Well,
perhaps it was good for her to take a few knocks.
Though he felt disappointed and guilty that Suzune hadn't grown,
Horikita Manabu still believed in the dazzling, uncut-gem talent he had seen in her as a child.
If she went through a few more hardships,
he believed Suzune would grow quickly at this school.
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