You're Not Allowed to Join the Student Council

"Come in!" a lively female voice called from inside.

Amasawa Yuto immediately thought of the purple-haired upperclassman who'd been carrying a huge stack of sign-up sheets at Club Orientation.

The three of them entered. The room was set up much like a conference room, with three long tables arranged in a U shape. Student Council President Horikita Manabu sat in the seat at the center, with the purple-haired upperclassman standing behind him.

"Hello. I'm Student Council President Horikita Manabu, and this is our secretary, Akane Tachibana."

Unlike the stern Horikita Manabu, Akane Tachibana greeted them with a warm smile. She seemed very approachable.

"I heard you'd been looking for me a couple of days ago. I'm sorry, but I had some things to take care of, so today was the first time I could make room in my schedule."

Horikita Manabu sat in an executive chair, his hands clasped on the desk before him. He had an air of authority about him.

"So, what did you want to see me about?"

Horikita Manabu's serious demeanor made both Katsuragi Kohei and Ichinose Honami a little nervous. They tensed up without realizing it.

Like elementary school students standing before their teacher.

Ichinose spoke first. "President Horikita, I'd like to apply to join the Student Council."

New members of the Student Council were announced publicly. Since there hadn't been any announcements, no first-year students had joined yet.

"Me too. I'd like to join the Student Council," Katsuragi Kohei said with a nod.

The two of them handed over their application forms. Akane Tachibana stepped forward to take them and passed them to Horikita Manabu.

Horikita Manabu accepted their applications, but didn't look at them right away or say anything. His gaze remained fixed on Amasawa Yuto, standing behind Ichinose and Katsuragi.

Ichinose and Katsuragi noticed Horikita Manabu's gaze and turned to look at Amasawa Yuto, too.

Especially Ichinose. Her eyes seemed to ask, "Where's your application, Amasawa?"

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

Hey, Horikita Manabu, don't drag me into this.

He had no choice but to speak. "Um... I'm not here to join the Student Council this time. Just pretend I'm having a look around."

"Student, it's very disrespectful to speak to the Student Council President like that!" Secretary Akane Tachibana admonished him earnestly from behind.

"Never mind, Akane. I see." There was a hint of disappointment in Horikita Manabu's voice—or so it seemed.

At last, he picked up the applications filled out by Ichinose Honami and Katsuragi Kohei and looked them over.

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

Finally, Horikita Manabu set down their applications.

"Hmm. Ichinose Honami and Katsuragi Kohei—you both have impressive records. Katsuragi, especially, it seems you've won awards in quite a few competitions."

"You're too kind. They were just small local competitions," Katsuragi replied.

Nervously twirling a strand of hair around her finger, Ichinose feared Horikita Manabu would reject her at any moment.

"Are these your genuine reasons for wanting to join the Student Council? To challenge yourselves and grow alongside your classmates. If you have any other reasons, you can tell me now."

Ichinose and Katsuragi both nodded. "Those are our genuine reasons."

They seemed confused, unsure why Horikita Manabu was asking them that.

"I see..."

Like a judge bringing down his gavel, Horikita Manabu delivered his merciless verdict. "I'm sorry, Ichinose Honami and Katsuragi Kohei, but you're not suited to the Student Council."

Not only Ichinose and Katsuragi, but even Akane Tachibana behind them looked surprised. No matter how you looked at it, Ichinose and Katsuragi were two of the most outstanding first-years.

"Why?"

"This isn't like an ordinary high school student council. The Student Council has been given considerable authority. It can even take part in setting school and exam rules, determining every student's fate and future. Your thinking is too naive."

Ichinose still seemed to want to plead her case. "Please believe in us. We'll continue to develop our abilities as members of the Student Council and grow alongside everyone!"

"No. Those without the ability can't join the Student Council in the first place. In the end, your thinking is immature. You say you want to challenge yourselves—but do you intend to use the futures of the entire student body as stepping-stones for your own growth?"

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

"But—"

With the fate of the entire student body laid on the line like that, even Ichinose couldn't keep insisting, "Yes, I'm ready to take on that responsibility!"

"This... this is too cruel..."

Tears shimmered in her eyes. Horikita Manabu's words had probably hit her too hard.

"Thank you both for your support of the Student Council's work. You may leave now." Horikita Manabu gestured to Akane Tachibana to see them out.

Ichinose and Katsuragi had no choice but to leave the Student Council Room, weighed down by their disappointment.

Given the atmosphere, this didn't seem like the right time to stay behind alone.

That was Amasawa Yuto's judgment, and he prepared to leave with the other two.

"Where are you going, Amasawa Yuto?" Horikita Manabu didn't seem to know how to read the room—or perhaps he was doing it on purpose. "Stay here."

Ichinose looked at Amasawa Yuto in surprise, tears still glimmering in her beautiful eyes.

The Student Council President had thoroughly rebuked the two of them, yet had personally told Amasawa to stay.

Ichinose understood clearly what that meant: the Student Council President thought Amasawa Yuto was far more capable than the two of them.

After leaving the Student Council Room, Katsuragi let out a sigh and unclenched the fist he'd been holding tight since earlier. "We're both pretty pathetic, aren't we, Ichinose?"

"What?"

"We worked so hard on those applications, only for the Student Council President to reject us outright. But that guy Amasawa didn't prepare anything at all, and he was completely relaxed in the Student Council Room just now. Yet the Student Council President thinks highly of him. Seeing the contrast makes me feel like a clown."

Ichinose fell silent.

"I'll get going. Goodbye, Ichinose." With that, Katsuragi left.

"So, President Horikita, are you satisfied now that you've ruined my relationships with people?" Amasawa Yuto sighed and found himself a chair.

"Student, you should show the Student Council President some respect!" Akane Tachibana started lecturing him again, apparently irritated by Amasawa's habit of doing whatever he pleased.

"Don't mind him, Akane. This guy's far more dangerous than you think." Horikita Manabu adjusted his glasses.

"President, you can't just let him—look at him!" Akane Tachibana pointed helplessly at Amasawa, who had just opened a bottle of mineral water from the conference table and started drinking.

"By the way, you two seem pretty close. Are you sure you're not dating?" Amasawa Yuto remarked casually.

But Akane Tachibana's reaction was a textbook case of flustered chaos:

She instinctively tried to wave her hands and deny it, but the papers she was holding slipped from her grasp and scattered across the floor.

She hurried to pick them up, but stepped on a sheet, slipped, and slammed headfirst into a cabinet.

The ballpoint pen on top of the cabinet rattled loose, rolled down, and fell onto her head.

Horikita Manabu looked at Amasawa Yuto helplessly. Amasawa Yuto shrugged, looking completely innocent.