Classroom of the Elite, After the Intel Refreshed, They Always Want to Conquer Me! 32

Among them were girls close to Kushida, such as Inogashira Kokoro, as well as several boys who were regulars, like Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was also in the group.

But what surprised him was that Wang Meiyu was not among them.

In his impression, Inogashira Kokoro and Wang Meiyu were inseparable friends.

Kushida also frequently took the initiative to chat with them, and the three of them seemed to have a quite harmonious relationship.

Friendships between girls were truly more subtle than one might imagine.

At this moment, Kushida Kikyou sent two messages to the group:

"I'm really grateful for everyone's votes~"

"By the way, I'm planning to go to karaoke after school today. If you're free, why don't you all come along?"

At the same time, Kushida's crisp voice rang out from the other side of the classroom: "Everyone must come!" She was seen smiling and waving to several classmates.

(Our Class D is visibly improving, even starting to form little cliques.)

Shimizu Akira rolled his eyes inwardly.

Class D currently had two leaders, so it was inevitable that both would have their own little cliques.

Group messages popped up again.

Ike Kanji was already impatiently clamoring to pick songs, while Yamauchi Haruki was egging Kushida on to sing the latest popular love songs.

"I won't..."

Before Shimizu Akira could finish typing his refusal, he suddenly caught a faint scent of jasmine.

He turned his head abruptly and found that Kushida had appeared behind him at some point.

"Shimizu-kun, come along too~ It's only fun with more people." She tilted her head slightly.

"Sorry, I have things to do tonight!" Shimizu Akira shook his head, indicating his refusal.

He didn't have time to accompany her to karaoke right now.

Class B and Class C hadn't reached out yet, and negotiating big business deals with other classes was the priority.

"...Is that so?" Kushida's smile stiffened for a moment, "That's a real shame."

Shimizu Akira wasn't deliberately making excuses; he truly had other important matters to attend to.

He planned to pay a visit to the Student Council.

This idea stemmed primarily from the hint once given by Captain Sato of the Boxing Club—"Spend more time at the Student Council."

As a senior in Class A of the third year, Sato's words often held hidden meanings, and his brief, pointed advice was worth pondering.

Walking down the hallway, Shimizu Akira couldn't help but recall the special status of the Student Council in Japan.

Unlike what one might imagine, the Student Council here held real power; they not only handled all kinds of disputes between students but also possessed more authority than homeroom teachers in certain matters.

For instance, if students got into a fight or caused trouble, the school left the matter entirely to the Student Council to handle.

As for the homeroom teachers, they could only stand by their students and put in a few words for their own people.

Based on his impression from last night, Horikita Manabu seemed to be a rigid and serious type, which made him worry about whether the other party would agree to his request.

When he arrived at the Student Council office, he found several people already waiting in line.

A blue-haired girl stood in front of him—the aura radiating from her reminded Shimizu Akira of some kind of sharp cold weapon, but before he could think further, the line began to move faster.

It wasn't long before it was the blue-haired girl's turn.

Standing at the office door, Shimizu Akira vaguely heard intense voices coming from inside—"Violent incident!" "Does it have to be caught on surveillance to count?" "Many people have already been injured!" "You're not going to do anything about this? Is this even a normal school?"

Just a few minutes later, the office door was pushed open violently.

The blue-haired girl walked out with a gloomy face and slammed the door shut with a "bang," causing the bulletin board on the wall to tremble slightly.

"Next!"

A masculine voice full of authority rang out from inside the Student Council room.

Shimizu Akira withdrew his gaze from the blue-haired girl in the hallway, straightened his collar, and gently pushed open the doors to the Student Council.

Several Student Council officers were busy at their respective stations.

At the chairman's seat in the deepest part of the room sat a composed man wearing silver-rimmed glasses.

The person was none other than Student Council President Horikita Manabu, whom he had met briefly last night.

He deliberately scanned every corner of the room, but he never managed to catch sight of the vice president. According to rumors, Vice President Nagumo had blonde hair.

(It seems he isn't at the Student Council today.)

"Please close the door."

Shimizu Akira's attention was drawn by this voice.

A purple-haired girl with a fluffy bun hairstyle stood beside the Student Council President, looking at him with a somewhat cold expression.

"Understood."

The door lock gave a faint click.

The moment Shimizu Akira turned around, he recognized the person—this must be the rumored Student Council secretary, Tachibana Akane.

"Hello there," Tachibana Akane said, closing the file in her hands. "May I ask what brings you to the Student Council today?"

"I would like the Student Council to act as a third-party guarantor to ensure the safety of a transaction between myself and a student from another class," Shimizu Akira said, looking straight at Horikita Manabu with a crisp, decisive tone.

This unexpected request clearly caught Tachibana Akane off guard; her eyes widened slightly. "A... guarantor?"

Horikita Manabu maintained his signature composure. "Let's discuss this in the conference room, Shimizu."

After the president finished speaking, he turned and walked toward the Student Council conference room.

Tachibana Akane's footsteps suddenly faltered, and she turned back. "Shimizu... do you know the president from before?"

Shimizu Akira sensed the probing nature of her question. After a moment of thought, he met her gaze frankly. "You could say that. I sit next to his sister, Horikita Suzune, and have met him once before."

"So that's how it is..." Tachibana Akane murmured, falling into a brief moment of contemplation. "I never knew the president had a younger sister..."

A moment later, she returned to her usual indifferent expression. "My apologies, I've taken up your time. Please, follow me."

Shimizu Akira stepped slowly into the conference room and sat down calmly in the chair opposite Horikita Manabu.

The room fell into a brief silence, with only the rhythmic ticking of the wall clock audible.

"I am curious," Horikita Manabu suddenly broke the silence. "Why did you come to the Student Council?"

Shimizu Akira raised his eyes slightly. "I plan to sell information and equipment rental rights to other classes. Because the transaction amounts are significant, I need to ensure that the contract is properly fulfilled by both parties. Simply put—I need a guarantor that no one would dare to default on."

"So, you intend to strike a deal with Ryuen Kakeru of Class C, but you're worried he might resort to violence or refuse to pay the points, which is why you've come to the Student Council for help?" Horikita Manabu's gaze swept over his profile, his tone sounding more like a certainty than an inquiry.

"Strictly speaking, I'm only worried about him reneging on the points," Shimizu Akira paused. "As for the violence... I don't really take that to heart. President, can you accept my request? After all, in this school, points should be able to buy anything."

"I can..." Horikita Manabu tapped his fingertips on the table. "The Student Council can hide your identity and provide you with the appropriate standardized contracts and performance guarantees. To ensure the transaction proceeds normally, the condition is that 5% of the personal points from your transaction will be deducted—this portion will be turned over to the school, similar to a tax payment in society."

Shimizu Akira didn't hesitate and nodded immediately. "That is acceptable."

057 Actually, the weakest class is Class C; Ryuen Kakeru is a competent leader.

The fact that the president only charged a 5% fee, all of which went to the school, made Shimizu Akira feel that the president was treating him with special favor.

Although this was a high school that emphasized fostering student autonomy, compared to the 20% or higher commission rates common in society, the president's approach was practically generous.

(Charging like this, can the president really accumulate personal points?)

Shimizu Akira couldn't help but feel a bit skeptical.

Although the president's ability was beyond doubt, he didn't seem particularly keen on points.

Compared to the Student Council Vice President, Nagumo Miyabi, the two were like night and day—Nagumo Miyabi collected a fixed percentage of points from all four classes.

In terms of being "self-interested," Shimizu Akira felt the president was far less shrewd than Nagumo Miyabi.

He even secretly speculated that Horikita Manabu's personal point reserves might not be as substantial as Nagumo Miyabi's.

However, when it came to prestige and popularity, Nagumo Miyabi paled in comparison to Horikita Manabu—after all, he was the most renowned student council president since the school's founding.

Thinking of this, Shimizu Akira took the opportunity to ask, "President, what is your opinion of Vice President Nagumo Miyabi?"

"...You're actually concerned about second-year affairs?" Horikita Manabu glanced at him with slight surprise, then replied after a moment of deliberation: "I personally selected him; his ability is beyond doubt. It's just..." The president's voice paused. "Our philosophies are drifting apart. His focus is currently on the third years. As a first-year, you don't need to worry too much about these things; I will handle them accordingly."

"I see." Shimizu Akira nodded slightly. The president's subtext was identical to that of Chabashira Sae.

It seemed the vice president really had no interest in first-year affairs. Since even Horikita Manabu had stated as much, he could finally set his mind at ease.

At this moment, Tachibana Akane walked in gracefully, carrying two cups of black tea.

Shimizu Akira stood up politely to thank her and took a small sip of the amber tea.

"You intend to sell classified information, don't you?"

"I suppose I couldn't hide it from you."

Horikita Manabu picked up his teacup, took a light sip, and continued his questioning: "Then, having understood these inside details, what is your opinion on the school's class system?"

Shimizu Akira thought for a moment. "I think this concept of sorting classes is quite novel and fair."

He paused and added, "This is the first time I've seen a school that doesn't use academic performance as the sole criterion for evaluation. The competitive mechanism between the four classes is also very profound."

"But—" Horikita Manabu keenly captured his hesitation, his gaze fixed on him like a torch.

Shimizu Akira decided to be blunt. "The evaluation criteria are too vague. We have several students in Class D who, in my opinion, are in no way inferior to those in Class A, yet they were all assigned to the very bottom." He frowned slightly. "Is the school putting too much weight on 'dark history'? By this standard, Class C is actually the class with the weakest overall strength."

These words had been bottled up inside him for a long time.

Ever since enrollment, he had struggled to find a suitable person to confide in, and now, facing this trustworthy student council president, he finally let it all out.

(Hirata Yosuke's leadership, Kushida Kikyou's social skills, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's unfathomable nature... these people are undoubtedly top-tier talents.)

He really couldn't understand why such students would be assigned to Class D.

(When it comes down to it, the ones who should really be worried aren't Class D, but Class C.)

Looking at it this way, Class D was definitely not the weakest, but rather the most "lopsided"—a gathering of students who were exceptionally outstanding in specific fields but possessed glaring weaknesses.

In contrast, Class C's surface-level overall strength might actually be the most mediocre.

However, what he found strange was that Class C had actually earned 490 class points in the first month of the school year.

It didn't look like the level of the weakest class at all.

Shimizu Akira recalled the scene he saw at the entrance ceremony—there were even foreign students in that class.

(If I were in Class C...)

Just imagining it gave him a headache.

So, how exactly did Ryuen Kakeru manage that? One had to admit that the person who used force to threaten upperclassmen in the cafeteria truly had some real ability.

Setting aside the methods, the other party was indeed a capable leader.

In this environment where ability was paramount, any method that could effectively solve problems was a good one.

A flash of surprise crossed the eyes of Horikita Manabu. After a moment of silence, he showed a rare look of appreciation: "...A good insight."

This Student Council president revealed a rare trace of confusion: "In fact, even I have not fully grasped the essence of this class placement mechanism."

He acknowledged: "Your analysis regarding the strength of Class D and Class C is very accurate. From a certain perspective, Class C is indeed the class with the lowest overall strength."

Changing the subject, the tone of Horikita Manabu returned to being steady: "But the class placement system is still reasonable in most cases. Although the individual quality of Class D is superior to Class C, it is difficult to unite due to having too many problem students, which instead becomes a double-edged sword."

He paused meaningfully, "However, in terms of overall strength, Class D is still the weakest, yet it is the class most likely to pull off an upset."

Upon hearing this, Shimizu Akira immediately found it interesting.

What was this? A case of "not making a sound until one lets out a roar"?

After all, students with lopsided strengths could, in a sense, truly shine in their own fields—let alone Class B, even Class A might not be a match for them.

But the problem was that such students were often thorns who wouldn't listen to instructions and did as they pleased.

Just like his classmate, Kouenji Rokusuke.

Although the words of the president sounded stirring, Shimizu Akira felt no waves in his heart.

He always felt that this Student Council president seemed to have inadvertently given him a shot of adrenaline.