In Classroom of the Elite, My Love Stock Market Only Wants a Full Position

A soft female voice drifted from behind the door. After exchanging a glance with Ibuki, Hashiba Hikaru pushed the door open and they stepped inside together.

Upon entering the student council room, the scene inside was not as solemn as the boy had imagined. The spacious classroom was furnished simply, with several red beechwood desks and chairs placed in the center. Multiple students were there, heads bowed as they processed various documents, and the tabletops were piled high with colorful folders.

At the very back of the student council room sat a set of distinct black wooden furniture. Seated in the chair was a man Hashiba Hikaru had met once before, Horikita Manabu, who was currently watching them.

"You are first-year students, aren't you? May I ask what business you have with the student council?"

At that moment, the same female voice that had just invited them in reached Hashiba Hikaru's ears. He turned his head to see a girl with purple hair standing beside him. She had a beautiful face, a petite figure, and her hair was styled into two buns on her head.

Judging by her attire, she was likely a senior, and she was holding a brown notebook in her hands.

"Hello, we are..."

Just as Hashiba Hikaru was about to greet her and explain his intentions, he noticed that her expression suddenly turned excited the moment she saw his face. She immediately exclaimed, "It's Hashiba-kun!"

"You know me, senior?"

The boy was exceptionally surprised by this reaction, as in his memory, this should have been their first meeting.

Beside him, Ibuki immediately furrowed her brows. She glanced at Hashiba Hikaru standing next to her, her mind racing as she tried to figure out what was going on.

"President, Hashiba-kun is here."

The purple-haired senior looked delighted to see Hashiba. She hurried over to the desk at the back and said to Horikita Manabu, "He must be here to join the student council, right?"

"Not necessarily."

Horikita Manabu looked at Hashiba Hikaru standing there, along with the short-haired girl beside him. Although he didn't know exactly what was happening, based on his only previous encounter with the boy, he knew things likely weren't that simple.

"Um, Horikita-senpai?"

Hashiba Hikaru decided to take the initiative, leading Ibuki directly toward Horikita Manabu.

"Hashiba-kun, is there something you need at the student council office today?"

Horikita Manabu adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose, his sharp gaze falling once again upon Hashiba Hikaru.

"It isn't my own business. I am merely accompanying this student here."

Hashiba naturally took a half-step back. After introducing Ibuki to Horikita Manabu, he explained slowly, "This is Ibuki-san from Class C of the first year. She has come to the student council to file a formal complaint."

As soon as these words were spoken, the purple-haired senior's expression changed instantly. However, she did not ask any questions, instead turning her gaze toward Horikita Manabu, who remained seated.

"A complaint? What kind of complaint?"

Horikita Manabu shifted his gaze to Ibuki Mio, who was standing nearby. After looking her up and down, he said, "Would you mind explaining the details?"

"Certainly."

Facing Horikita Manabu's powerful presence, Ibuki Mio couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. But since she had already come this far, she was not about to give up halfway.

"I wish to file a complaint against Ryuen Kakeru of my class. He attempted to use violence against me this afternoon to achieve his own ends."

The girl stated her accusation smoothly, then waited quietly for the man sitting before her to respond.

"An accusation of violence, then?"

Horikita Manabu's expression did not change in the slightest upon hearing her statement. He glanced at Hashiba Hikaru, who was standing silently to the side with his eyes lowered, and continued to address Ibuki. "If this is a complaint regarding violence, witnesses and testimony are required."

"Do you have these?"

"Of course I do."

Ibuki nodded, then signaled for Hashiba Hikaru to hand over the phone.

"Hmph."

Seeing their behavior, the corner of Horikita Manabu's mouth curled slightly as he reached out to take the phone from the boy.

"President, what exactly is going on?"

Tachibana Akane, standing to the side, watched Horikita Manabu examine the phone, her expression showing signs of anxiety. After all, incidents of violent assault were rare; the upperclassmen were well aware of the school rules and would not dare to cross that line so blatantly.

"It is indeed an act of violence."

After watching the video recorded by Hashiba Hikaru, Horikita Manabu nodded slightly.

The content on the screen was clear: a long-haired man was swinging his fists at the girl in front of him, while she was constantly dodging, narrowly avoiding being struck several times.

To better emphasize the impression of the assault, Hashiba Hikaru had trimmed the video significantly on the way over, leaving only about ten seconds of footage that looked quite impactful.

Although it was short, it was more than enough.

An act of violence does not require the assault to be successful to be judged as such. As long as you have raised your hand, you must be punished, regardless of whether you actually injured anyone.

"Tachibana-san, come take a look."

Horikita did not jump to a conclusion immediately but handed the phone to Tachibana Akane. The purple-haired senior's face turned ghastly pale after watching the video. As a woman herself, she could empathize with the situation Ibuki had faced.

"Ibuki-san, are you alright?"

Tachibana Akane leaned in with concern to ask about Ibuki's condition, her demeanor very gentle. The short-haired girl simply shook her head and said slowly, "My athletic reflexes are quite good, so I was able to dodge his violent behavior."

Following the story she had just coordinated with the boy, she explained in detail, "Hashiba-kun happened to be in the nearby science classroom. He saw this scene and recorded it with his phone."

"I see."

Horikita Manabu nodded, but quickly followed up with a question: "Then how did this matter end? Why did this Ryuen-kun stop?"

"I sent a message to the other students in Class B and had them rush over," Hashiba Hikaru replied to the student council president's question, his gaze meeting Horikita Manabu's eyes without a hint of hesitation. "Because I knew I couldn't beat Ryuen, I called for backup."

"Once he saw that several of us had arrived, he gave up on the idea of continuing to use force against Ibuki, and only then did he agree to leave."

"Why would Ryuen resort to violence against this student, Ibuki?"

"He wants to be the class leader, but I disagreed, so he asked me out to try and persuade me. Once we arrived at the location, he tried to use violence to coerce me into voting for him."

"He even said that if I didn't agree, he would keep hitting me until I did."

This part was actually the truth, so the expression on Ibuki's face remained perfectly natural.

After the two finished their coordinated explanation, Tachibana Akane, who was standing to the side, could no longer hold back. Usually calm and composed, her inner fire had been completely ignited upon hearing that a boy had used violence against a girl and forced her to do something against her will.

"President, I believe this egregious act of violence requires the most severe punishment. This is a complete violation of school regulations, and I request that we summon Ryuen."

"Very well."

Horikita Manabu nodded, and just as he was instructing the student council members to carry out the order, a flippant voice suddenly drifted in from the doorway.

"Horikita-senpai, I heard there was an accusation of student violence here. Such an extraordinary matter—I'd like to help out as well."

The next second, a boy with blonde hair walked into the student council room. He was handsome, and a look of keen interest played on his lips as he surveyed everyone standing there.

"It seems quite a few freshmen have arrived. Let me introduce myself: I am the vice president of the student council, Nagumo Miyabi."

"What are you all discussing? Can you let me listen in, too?"

Chapter 28: The Person Known as Nagumo

As the man who called himself the student council vice president walked into the room, Hashiba Hikaru noticed that the purple-haired senior holding the notebook beside him became visibly tense.

Horikita Manabu, sitting at his desk, also had a reaction, though it was subtle; he simply fixed his sharp gaze on the approaching Nagumo Miyabi.

"Why is everyone looking at me like that? As an officer of the student council, I naturally have to help my dear juniors resolve their troubles." A gentle smile appeared on Nagumo's face as he walked enthusiastically over to Ibuki and said, "Is this the junior who was bullied?"

"Nagumo-kun, this matter is already being handled by the president, so it should naturally be processed by him." The hostility on Tachibana Akane's face was obvious; she clearly did not want him interfering.

"How can you say that? Horikita-senpai has too many things to worry about every day. Wouldn't it be better for me to handle this case of violence involving first-year students?"

"It would also make things easier for Horikita-senpai."

"But..."

Tachibana Akane wanted to continue arguing, but Horikita Manabu stopped her with a look. The bespectacled man paid no mind to Nagumo's actions, instead turning his gaze toward Hashiba Hikaru.

"Hashiba-kun, this is Nagumo-kun from the second year. He is also a vice president of the student council."

"Nice to meet you, Nagumo-senpai."

Hashiba Hikaru had been observing the situation ever since the blonde boy entered. After hearing Horikita Manabu's introduction, he quickly bowed to Nagumo Miyabi, his manners impeccable and beyond reproach.

Not only that, he tugged on the sleeve of Ibuki, who was standing next to him, signaling for her to react as well.

"Nice to meet you... Nagumo-senpai."

Although the girl was caught off guard by his action, she still cooperated and greeted him.

"Nice to meet you, nice to meet you. What earnest juniors," Nagumo Miyabi said, looking satisfied as he signaled that the matter could be left to him. "Since you are filing an accusation, I can handle it."

"This..."

A look of hesitation appeared on Hashiba Hikaru's face. He certainly wasn't afraid of offending the person who claimed to be the student council vice president; rather, he wanted to test Horikita Manabu's attitude.

"We have already handed the video over to Horikita-senpai. Perhaps we should let him decide?"

"Fine. I, too, would like to know what Horikita-senpai intends to do."

Nagumo Miyabi didn't care about Hashiba Hikaru passing the buck; he didn't intend to take a first-year brat seriously at all.

"Since Nagumo-kun is so eager to help me share the burden, I will leave the deliberation to you." Horikita Manabu's expression remained calm as he spoke to the two student council members he had just called over. "Go to Class 1-C and bring Ryuen-kun here."

After the task was assigned, the student council president looked at Nagumo Miyabi, who still wore a smile, and said with a generous attitude, "However, as a vice president of the student council, I am sure Nagumo-kun has a very clear understanding of school rules. Please do not make a faulty judgment during the deliberation, or it will affect the authority of the student council."

"Please rest assured, Horikita-senpai. I will definitely make a fair and just judgment, and I guarantee I will not live up to your expectations."

After accepting the proposal, Nagumo Miyabi immediately turned his gaze to Hashiba Hikaru and Ibuki, seemingly wanting to check the phone they were holding.

"Nagumo-senpai, this is the video we recorded, documenting Ryuen-kun's act of violence against Ibuki-san."

Hashiba Hikaru handed over the phone at the right moment, his tone suddenly filled with righteous indignation.

"Ibuki-san didn't do anything wrong; she just didn't want to vote for Ryuen-kun. I never expected him to resort to violence. Furthermore, for a boy to bully a girl is an utterly despicable act. Please, Nagumo-senpai, you must help us seek justice!"

"...Rest assured, I will make the most impartial judgment."

After taking Hashiba Hikaru's phone, Nagumo carefully watched every detail of the video. Immediately afterward, a flash of suspicion crossed his eyes.

Although it looked like the man in the footage was using violence against the woman, judging by the woman's expression and her specific movement patterns, she appeared far too composed, as if she wasn't afraid of the other party's fists hitting her at all.

No, this is fake. The content of this video must be problematic!

This is a premeditated frame-up.

Nagumo Miyabi reached a conclusion in his heart, so he looked back at Horikita Manabu, who was sitting in his chair. The latter was looking down at the documents on his desk, as if he didn't care about any of this at all.

I see. He wants me to be the scapegoat.

The blonde man's face darkened, but he didn't react, silently filing this away in his mind.

"What's wrong, is Nagumo-kun unable to handle this task?" Horikita Manabu looked up, his sharp gaze landing on Nagumo Miyabi. "If you have other pressing matters, I can take over right now."

As soon as these words were spoken, the student council members whom Nagumo had previously recruited immediately looked over, staring at him to see what kind of decision he would make when faced with Horikita Manabu.

"Of course not. Since this is a task entrusted to me by Horikita-senpai, I will certainly complete it flawlessly; otherwise, wouldn't that tarnish the reputation of the student council vice president?"

A confident expression immediately appeared on Nagumo's face. He looked at Hashiba Hikaru and Ibuki, who were standing there, and said solemnly, "Rest assured, since this student truly dared to commit such a violent act within the school, I guarantee that he will receive the punishment he deserves."

"Then we thank you, Nagumo-senpai. We trust that you will be able to make the most correct judgment."

Hashiba Hikaru quickly bowed to thank him, his demeanor humble, leaving even Ibuki standing beside him somewhat dumbfounded.

In her heart, this Hashiba-kun, who looked like a pretty boy, was nothing but a liar full of nonsense. Since meeting him yesterday, the girl hadn't heard a single word of truth come out of his mouth.

"Rest assured, I will make the most impartial ruling," Nagumo said, staring at Hashiba Hikaru's face with an arrogant expression. "However, when it comes to the deliberation, for the sake of fairness, I will also allow this Ryuen-kun to explain himself. At that time, you will need to debate with him."

"Otherwise, if I were to wrong an innocent person, that would be a great sin on my part."

The blond man looked at the first-year boy before him. The other party had an exceptionally striking face, and although he looked harmless, it was clear that he was the mastermind behind this frame-up.

Hmph, the freshmen this year are truly not simple. To bring me such a big surprise only a few days after school started?

"Understood. We will provide all the information, ensuring that Nagumo-senpai will not make a misjudgment." Hashiba Hikaru's expression remained respectful, as if he held this second-year student council vice president in the highest regard.

"Heh."

Sitting to the side, Horikita Manabu watched Hashiba Hikaru's performance and added another note to his assessment of him.

Resourceful, but thick-skinned. Must be treated with caution.

Chapter 29: The Deliberation Concludes

After Hashiba Hikaru and Ibuki had waited in the student council room for five or six minutes, the door opened once again. The two student council seniors who had carried out the task walked in front, followed by a long-haired man—it was Ryuen Kakeru.

"Vice President Nagumo, Ryuen-kun has arrived."