You Are Not Allowed to Join the Student Council

"Please, come in!" A vibrant female voice called out from inside.

Amasawa Yuto immediately associated the voice with the upperclassman with the purple bun hairstyle who had been clutching a large stack of registration forms at the club orientation.

The three of them entered the room. The interior resembled a conference room, with three long tables arranged in a U-shape. Student council president Horikita Manabu sat in the center seat, with the purple-bunned upperclassman standing behind him.

"Hello, I am student council president Horikita Manabu. This is the secretary, Akane Tachibana."

Unlike the icy Horikita Manabu, Akane Tachibana greeted them with a gentle smile that made her very likable.

"I heard you were looking for me a couple of days ago. My apologies, I had some matters to attend to and only just freed up some time today."

Horikita Manabu sat in his executive chair, hands clasped and resting on the table, exuding the aura of someone in a position of authority.

"So, what is it you need from me?"

The serious atmosphere radiating from Horikita Manabu made Katsuragi Kohei and Ichinose Honami tense up, their bodies stiffening involuntarily.

They looked like elementary school students standing before a teacher.

Ichinose spoke up first: "President Horikita, I would like to apply to join the student council."

New member additions to the student council are usually announced publicly, and since there hadn't been any such announcements, it meant that not a single first-year student had joined the council yet.

"I am the same; I would like to join the student council as well," Katsuragi Kohei added with a nod.

The two handed over their registration forms. Akane Tachibana stepped forward to receive them and passed them to Horikita Manabu.

Horikita Manabu took the forms but didn't look at them immediately, nor did he say anything. His gaze remained fixed on Amasawa Yuto, who was standing behind Ichinose and Katsuragi.

Noticing Horikita Manabu's line of sight, Ichinose and Katsuragi turned to look at Amasawa Yuto as well.

Ichinose, in particular, had a look in her eyes that seemed to say: "Where is your application form, Amasawa-kun?"

Amasawa Yuto, hands in his pockets, finally realized that everyone in the room was looking at him.

Hey, hey, Horikita Manabu, don't mess with me.

He had no choice but to speak up: "Um... I'm not here to join the student council this time. You can just consider me as someone tagging along to look around."

"This student, speaking like that to the student council president is very rude!" Secretary Akane Tachibana scolded him with a serious expression.

"It is fine, Akane. I see, so that's how it is." There was a strange hint of disappointment in Horikita Manabu's tone—it must have been his imagination.

He finally picked up the application forms filled out by Ichinose Honami and Katsuragi Kohei to review them.

The two of them were as nervous as students waiting for a teacher to grade their homework.

Finally, Horikita Manabu set their registration forms down.

"Hmm, Ichinose Honami, and Katsuragi Kohei. Both of you have quite impressive resumes. Especially you, Katsuragi Kohei; it seems you have won awards in quite a few competitions."

"You are too kind. They were just minor local competitions," Katsuragi replied.

Ichinose nervously twirled her hair with her finger, terrified that Horikita Manabu would reject her the very next second.

"Regarding your reasons for wanting to join the student council, is this your true intent? To hone yourselves and grow alongside your classmates? If you have other motives, you can state them now."

Both Ichinose and Katsuragi nodded. "This is our true intent."

They seemed somewhat puzzled, unable to understand why Horikita Manabu would ask such a question.

"I see..."

Like a judge dropping a gavel, Horikita Manabu announced his ruthless verdict: "I am sorry, Ichinose Honami, Katsuragi Kohei. You are not suited for the student council."

It wasn't just Ichinose and Katsuragi; even Akane Tachibana, standing behind him, looked astonished. No matter how one looked at it, Ichinose and Katsuragi were impeccable, talented individuals among the first-year students.

"Why?"

"This is different from the student council of a regular high school. The student council is granted significant authority; it can even participate in the formulation of school and exam rules, determining the fate and future of the entire student body. Your thinking is far too naive."

Ichinose seemed to want to fight for it: "Please believe in us. We will constantly hone our abilities after joining the student council and grow together with everyone!"

"No. Those without strength cannot join the student council from the very beginning. Ultimately, your thinking is immature. What do you mean by 'honing yourselves'? Are you trying to use the future of the entire student body as a stepping stone for your own growth?"

Horikita Manabu's gaze was like an arrow, making Ichinose and Katsuragi feel as if they were sitting on pins and needles.

"This—"

Being cornered by the claim that they were using the fate of the entire school, even Ichinose could not confidently say, "Yes, I have that resolve!"

"This... this is too heartless..."

Tears shimmered in her eyes; she was likely hit too hard by Horikita Manabu's words.

"Thank you both for your interest in the student council's work. Please leave." Horikita Manabu gestured for Akane Tachibana to see them out.

Ichinose and Katsuragi had no choice but to leave the student council room with heavy hearts.

The current atmosphere did not seem suitable for him to remain behind.

Amasawa Yuto judged the situation and prepared to leave with the two of them.

"Where are you going, Amasawa Yuto?" However, Horikita Manabu did not seem to care about the atmosphere—or perhaps, he was doing it on purpose. "Stay here."

Ichinose's beautiful eyes, still shimmering with tears, looked at Amasawa Yuto in surprise.

The student council president had just criticized the two of them until they were utterly defeated, yet he had personally asked Amasawa to stay.

Ichinose was clearly aware of what this meant—the student council president believed Amasawa Yuto possessed strength far exceeding that of the two of them.

Leaving the student council room, Katsuragi let out a sigh and unclenched the fist he had been gripping tightly since just a moment ago. "We are pathetically alike in our misery, Ichinose."

"What?"

"We worked so hard to fill out those application forms, only to be flatly rejected by the student council president. Yet that guy Amasawa, who didn't prepare a single thing and acted so carefree in the student council room just now, is the one being valued by the student council president instead. By comparison, it makes me feel like a clown."

Ichinose remained silent.

"I'll be going now. Goodbye, Ichinose." After saying this, Katsuragi walked away.

"So, have you satisfied yourself, President Horikita, by ruining my social standing?" Amasawa Yuto sighed and found a chair to sit in.

"Student, you should show some respect for the student council president!" Akane Tachibana began lecturing again, seemingly annoyed by Amasawa's go-your-own-way attitude.

"Leave him be, Akane Tachibana. This guy is far more dangerous than you think," Horikita Manabu said, adjusting his glasses.

"President, how can I? Look at him—" Akane Tachibana pointed eagerly at Amasawa, who had just unscrewed a bottle of mineral water from the conference table and was taking a drink.

"Come to think of it, you two have a very good relationship. Are you two really not dating?" Amasawa Yuto said casually.

However, Akane Tachibana's reaction was a textbook definition of "flustered":

She instinctively tried to wave her hands to deny it, but her grip on the documents she was holding loosened, and they scattered all over the floor.

She hurriedly tried to pick them up, but she stepped on a sheet of paper, slipped, and bumped her head against a cabinet.

The vibration caused a ballpoint pen on the cabinet to roll off and drop onto her head.

Horikita Manabu looked at Amasawa Yuto with a sense of helplessness, while Amasawa Yuto simply spread his hands with an innocent expression.