"Since you have so much free time, why don't you spend it reviewing? How about I make the exam more difficult?"
"I can do that as Vice President of the Student Council."
According to Uesugi Gen's intel, that ridiculously incompetent homeroom teacher of Class D hadn't even told his class what score they needed to pass.
At those words, the faces of the Class D students changed, and they immediately grew restless.
Kanji Osamu: "Hey, hey, can you really do that?"
Yamauchi Haruki: "Sudō, you'd better apologize already!"
Kushida Kikyo: "Uesugi, please don't do that. He knows he was wrong."
By now, Ken Sudō was sweating profusely. He was reckless, not stupid. If Uesugi really did that, there was a 99 percent chance he'd be expelled.
With no other choice, Ken Sudō lowered his head and gritted out,
"Sorry... I know I was wrong. Please... don't do that."
"Louder. Did you leave your vocal cords at home? Where'd all that attitude go?"
Ken Sudō shut his eyes, bowed his head, and spoke loudly.
"I'm sorry! I know I was wrong. Please don't do that!"
That day, the athlete Sudō experienced the dark side of society for the first time in his life.
"That's more like it. Next time, remember not to do that in the library. If you want to settle things, go outside and handle it yourselves."
"Yes, I understand."
Horikita Suzune watched Uesugi Gen with a complicated expression. The guy she couldn't deal with no matter what had been put in his place like a scared rabbit after just a few words from him.
And he was the Vice President of the Student Council... Which meant he was her brother's...
The Class B students, who had been there the whole time and knew what had happened, saw that the matter was settled and gradually dispersed.
With her hands behind her back, Ichinose smiled at Uesugi Gen.
"That's unusual, Uesugi. You're always avoiding trouble, yet you actually stepped in to stop them. I was about to come over myself."
Uesugi Gen spread his hands helplessly.
"What can I do? If I saw a fight and didn't stop it, that thickheaded president would find out and come bother me again."
Hearing Uesugi Gen's words, Horikita Suzune silently clenched her fists.
Watching Uesugi Gen walk farther away, Horikita Suzune turned to ask Kushida Kikyo,
"Kushida, do you know him? The person who was just here."
Kushida Kikyo was initially taken aback, then nodded emphatically and said proudly,
"Of course! He's Uesugi Gen from Class B, the vice class representative of Class B and the Vice President of the Student Council. He's an outstanding student."
"The Vice President of the Student Council..."
Horikita Suzune murmured.
Seeing how unwilling Horikita Suzune looked,
The Accomplice Lady was laughing hysterically inside...
A Shocking Scene: The Student Council President Publicly Beats Up a First-Year Girl on the Street
"Leave this school immediately..."
"I-I can't... I absolutely..."
"How foolish. I'll make you suffer like you did before..."
"I..."
That had to be bullying. It definitely had to be bullying.
Hearing the intermittent voices coming from the corner, Uesugi Gen scratched his head in dismay.
Why did he keep running into this kind of thing? The Thief Lady, The Accomplice Lady...
Could he have the legendary constitution that guaranteed he'd stumble into trouble?
But why did those two voices sound so familiar?
Whatever. He'd deal with the sadistic pervert inside first.
Uesugi Gen glanced at the surveillance cameras nearby. If he couldn't beat the guy, he'd run for it.
Uesugi Gen whipped out his phone, opened the camera, and dashed into the alley, snapping a picture of the people inside.
"Ha! Surrender, pervert! Your wicked deeds end here, at the hands of Uesugi Gen, the Vice President of the Student Council!"
Then he saw it.
Student Council President Horikita Manabu was gripping the hand of his nemesis, Horikita Suzune, and forcefully pinning her against the wall.
"..."
The air seemed to go still in that instant.
Uesugi Gen stared at the scene, at a loss for words.
Horikita Manabu awkwardly opened his mouth, as though he wanted to explain something to Uesugi Gen, then swallowed his words.
Suddenly, Uesugi Gen hurriedly opened his phone and made a call.
"Hello, Chairman Sakayanagi? I've discovered the secret that the current Student Council President, Horikita Manabu, is a pervert. He might kill me to keep me quiet, so hurry and save me. I'm in the alley next to the dorms."
"Make sure you bring lots of people! Hurry, hurry!"
Click!
"Beep... beep... beep..."
Sakayanagi Narimori hung up with a dark expression. Was this guy his enemy from a past life?
Torturing him during the day wasn't enough; now he was harassing him with calls at night, too.
Uesugi Gen stared blankly at his phone screen, then stubbornly shouted at the person on the other end.
"No, you have to believe me! Seriously, believe me! The Student Council President, Horikita Manabu, really is a despicable pervert!"
Faced with the situation, Uesugi Gen quickly rallied.
It was fine. He could still call someone else.
Hoshinomiya-sensei, come save your favorite student!
"That's enough, Uesugi. She's my younger sister. I wasn't trying to hurt her."
Horikita Manabu pushed up his glasses and tried to reason with Uesugi Gen.
His instincts told him that if he didn't stop him soon, Uesugi Gen might actually summon the entire school to watch.
Stare... Suspicious!
Uesugi Gen eyed Horikita Manabu dubiously, then shifted his gaze to Horikita Suzune.
"N-no, it's true. I'm his... younger sister."
Horikita Suzune said it in a dejected tone.
"Siblings? You two?"
Uesugi Gen stared suspiciously at them and pointed.
So they really were siblings?
It looked like his earlier deduction had been right.
The Student Council President as the older brother and the defective Class D student as the younger sister. What a dramatic turn of events.
"That's right. She's my good-for-nothing younger sister, stuck in the worst Class D. It's a disgrace to me as her older brother."
"Brother, I'll—"
"Quiet. I'm talking to Uesugi. You have no place in this conversation."
Under Horikita Suzune's resentful, slightly jealous gaze, Uesugi Gen looked teasingly at Horikita Manabu, who stood nearby with a stern expression.
By now, he'd more or less figured out what Horikita Manabu was trying to do.
Would a Student Council President who even considered the entire student body in class competitions really be willing to beat up his own younger sister?
So Uesugi Gen decided to play along with Horikita Manabu.
"Oh? Normally, going to the same school as your younger sister should be something to celebrate. Why are you treating her this way, President?"
Horikita Manabu immediately caught on and continued coldly,
"Going to school with a sister like her would only disgrace the Horikita name. So, Suzune, drop out immediately."
"No... Brother... I won't drop out. I came to this school to follow in your footsteps."
Horikita Suzune, who had been silent until then, made the rare move of defying her older brother.
"In that case, Senior, let me help you expel her."
Uesugi Gen suddenly spoke up, shocking them both.
"Oh, Uesugi. It's rare to see you so motivated. In that case, I'll leave this to you. Get her out of this school, quickly and cleanly."
"I..."
Horikita Suzune opened her mouth, unwilling to accept it.
"Suzune, Uesugi isn't like a defective student like you. He has talent that surpasses mine, so I'm sure it won't be long before he gets you expelled. You'd better enjoy your remaining time at Kōiku."
While Horikita Manabu was busy crushing his younger sister's confidence, out of the corner of his eye he seemed to see Uesugi Gen opening his phone and calling someone.
Horikita Manabu's mind cleared in an instant, and he hurriedly asked,
"Uesugi, what are you doing?"
Uesugi Gen turned around, grinning happily at Horikita Manabu.
"Didn't you want her expelled? I was about to call Senior Nagumo and tell him you have a younger sister at this school. If he gets her expelled, you'll definitely agree to his duel."
"What do you think? Pretty clever, right?"
A guileless smile appeared on Uesugi Gen's face.
As if. I haven't even settled the score with you for making Ichinose cry last time. You want me to help you? Keep dreaming.
Damn it, he'd joined the Student Council in the first place to bring Ichinose under his thumb, but Horikita Manabu had gotten in the way. He'd ended up with neither the girl nor the money, and had to work like a dog for him on top of that.
At the thought, all Uesugi Gen's old and new grudges came rushing back.
Now that he'd unexpectedly gotten hold of Horikita Manabu's weakness, there was no way he'd let him off so easily.
So, what would you choose? If you chose your younger sister and fought Miyabi Nagumo, you'd break the rules you'd sworn to follow, and the ideals you'd stuck to all this time would crumble.
If you refused to fight Nagumo, you'd be letting him target your younger sister, even expel her.
Or were you going to try to persuade me not to tell Miyabi Nagumo?
Horikita Manabu fell silent. This impossible dilemma left him at a loss.
Until now, no one had ever pushed him into such a corner.
There was no denying it: Uesugi Gen had perfectly seized upon his two weaknesses at this school—his school and his younger sister.
Horikita Manabu sighed and turned to Horikita Suzune.
"Suzune, go back for now. I'll come see you again in a few days."
"Okay, I understand."
Horikita Suzune didn't understand why her brother's attitude had changed so drastically, but she obediently nodded.
Then Horikita Suzune glared fiercely at Uesugi Gen before turning and leaving.
And someone else left along with her—a guy who'd been crouching in the back, eavesdropping the whole time.
That was some perfect presence-hiding. As expected of an artificially created genius, developed through a great deal of manpower and resources.
Before you continue