The Vice President's Invitation

Akane Tachibana scrambled to her feet, rubbing the spot where she had just bumped herself. "How can you just guess at someone's relationship like that!" she said, flushed with shame and anger.

"My apologies, Secretary Tachibana, Horikita-senpai."

"Forget it, Tachibana. Now you see what a nasty man he is, don't you?" Horikita Manabu shook his head, then looked at Amasawa Yuto. "However, since we're chatting like ordinary students for once, let me ask: do you have a girlfriend?"

"Not at the moment."

Akane Tachibana wore a smug expression. "I knew someone like you wouldn't be able to find a girlfriend."

"What about Suzune? My sister is at least considered a beauty, isn't she?" A white glint flashed across Horikita Manabu's lenses.

"Spare me. I couldn't handle her."

Amasawa Yuto slumped in his chair, closing his eyes and shaking his head.

Listening to such an explosive conversation, Akane Tachibana's jaw nearly hit the floor.

"Come to think of it, doesn't Secretary Tachibana need to go comfort those students from earlier? I feel like you were a bit too harsh with them."

Of course, this wasn't what Amasawa Yuto truly thought.

He was asking Horikita Manabu if what he was about to say was suitable for Akane Tachibana to hear.

Horikita Manabu naturally understood his intent. "It's fine. They'll get used to my style sooner or later anyway. Now, let's talk about you, Amasawa."

"I'm curious about the student council president's proposal." Amasawa Yuto assumed a posture of listening intently.

"How about you join the student council?" Horikita Manabu said.

Akane Tachibana was somewhat surprised; she hadn't expected the arrogant Horikita Manabu to take the initiative to extend an olive branch to a first-year student.

"What's in it for me?" Amasawa Yuto remained calm.

Although he had originally intended to join the student council, agreeing too readily here was clearly not the most advantageous option.

"As I just mentioned, the student council has significant power; we can even participate in the formulation of the school's exam rules."

"Are you saying that by joining the student council, I can set the exam rules myself?"

"That's correct," Horikita Manabu affirmed.

"Don't joke around. I wouldn't be able to set the rules for my own grade, would I?"

It was obvious that the school would impose restrictions; the student council's power couldn't possibly exceed that of the school administration.

"You're right. According to the regulations, while student council members can organize discussions to formulate exam rules, they are prohibited from participating in discussions concerning their own grade."

After saying this, Horikita Manabu shifted his tone. "However—the president and vice president of the student council are the exceptions."

"Are you stepping down, President?" Akane Tachibana asked in a panic. "Isn't it a bit too early?"

"No, I mean giving him the vice president position. Isn't there a vacancy right now?" Horikita Manabu looked somewhat speechless.

It seems Akane Tachibana is a bit of an airhead.

"This doesn't sound like you at all, offering me a vice president position right off the bat," Amasawa Yuto said.

"How about it? You would become the first student in history to serve as vice president while still in their first year," Horikita Manabu said. "Don't worry, the student council president has the authority to directly appoint a vice president. If I say you're going to be it, you will be."

His tone carried an unquestionable dominance.

"I'd like to ask, why are you being so harsh on this year's first-year students?" Amasawa Yuto asked.

Ichinose and Katsuragi are clearly among the top talents in the first year, yet Horikita Manabu rejected them without mercy.

As for the excuse that "the student council only allows the strong to enter," it sounded more like a pretext.

Although he couldn't deny Akane Tachibana's professional competence entirely, Amasawa Yuto really didn't think she was any better than Katsuragi or Ichinose.

It's like recruitment: if you were a table tennis champion and one day you saw a good job posting that said "priority given to top eight finishers in the prefectural table tennis tournament."

Do you think they'd hire you just because you're a champion? In reality, they only wanted the person who placed eighth.

And if that person who placed eighth had actually placed ninth at the time, the requirements would have just been changed to "priority given to top nine finishers."

The holes are dug specifically for the radishes.

Horikita Manabu was silent for a moment before speaking: "How much do you know about the second-year students?"

"Vice President Nagumo's second-year class? I only know that their Class A is terrifyingly strong."

"So you have already met Nagumo. That's right, he is currently the only vice president in the student council.

He was originally in Class B, but through his own efforts, he successfully led his class to Class A by the end of the first semester. Afterward, he established absolute dominance over the second-year level. You've seen their points, haven't you?"

When Horikita Manabu mentioned Nagumo, he looked somewhat worried:

"Nagumo believes in absolute meritocracy. He thinks that there are people currently who have the ability but, for various reasons, haven't been able to enter Class A, and are forced to compete between classes while carrying a group of dead weight."

That makes sense. Amasawa Yuto thought of Yuki, but he listened silently without refuting him.

"He wants to turn this school into a place of pure meritocracy, where as long as you have the ability, you can break free from the shackles of your class and ascend to Class A on your own. And the useless dead weight should leave this school. But this is undoubtedly wrong, or at least, it is not what this school encourages."

Horikita Manabu's tone carried a solemn gravity: "No one is a superman. Society is definitely not something that can be solved by fighting alone.

What this school wants to cultivate are young people who will lead the country and possess a sense of national responsibility, not some egoists."

Amasawa Yuto finally understood where the disagreement between Horikita Manabu and Nagumo Miyabi lay.

Horikita Manabu believed that a class was a single entity; the strong had an obligation to look after the weak, and everyone had to advance and retreat together, sharing in both glory and disgrace.

Nagumo Miyabi, on the other hand, believed that if a class was failing, it was because the weak were dragging down the strong, and the strong deserved better resources.

From the perspective of grand ideals, Horikita Manabu undoubtedly stood on the moral high ground.

But for the capable individuals in Class B, Class C, and Class D of this school, it was clear that supporting Nagumo was their shortcut to Class A—far easier than leading their own classes to rise in rank.

"So, you want to use me to keep Nagumo's influence in check?"

It was obvious that while Horikita Manabu's policy could gain the support of the vast majority of lower-level students, it would offend those capable individuals who held real influence.

"It's not that I expect a first-year student to go up against Nagumo." Horikita Manabu sighed.

"It's just that if I let ordinary students into the student council, they would easily be swayed by Nagumo and become his supporters among the first years. But at least you, Amasawa, would never submit to him so easily."

"Don't make it sound so compassionate. You're clearly using the conflict between two student council vice presidents to make me draw Nagumo's hostility."

Amasawa Yuto had already seen through Horikita Manabu's intentions.

"I know, it's a bit unfair to you. But as I said, joining the student council has its benefits. Besides, a student council vice president can directly appoint a student council member. If you want to appoint Ichinose and Katsuragi, whom you just mentioned, I wouldn't be able to object."

Amasawa Yuto and Horikita Manabu locked eyes.

He was thinking about the real reason why the man before him was doing this.

Judging by his attitude toward Horikita Suzune, Horikita Manabu should have been very welcoming of Nagumo's reforms, yet the reality was the exact opposite.

This made Amasawa Yuto unable to fully read the man.

After much deliberation, Amasawa Yuto felt there was only one possibility.

"Are you that worried that your sister will be expelled under Nagumo's reforms?"