The Student Council

"Uh..." Yamamura Miki glanced furtively at Kijima Tsukur and said quietly, "Kijima asked me to carry it for him. I'm not really sure."

"Uh..."

As soon as she said that,

Katsuragi Kohei glanced at Kijima Tsukur and frowned slightly.

It was a bit much to call this bullying, but from what he had observed over the past two days, Kijima Tsukur really did order Yamamura Miki around without a second thought.

He didn't want anything like bullying happening in his class!

For now, he'd just give him a reminder.

"Kijima."

Katsuragi Kohei crossed his arms over his chest, his voice turning serious.

"Yamamura looks like she's having a hard time carrying that. In the future, you should handle things yourself if you can. I don't know what your circumstances were before, and maybe you're not used to taking care of things on your own, but if you need help with anything, you can always come to me."

Hmm?

Ichinose Honami's gaze moved between the three of them.

Katsuragi's words were fairly tactful, and he had offered to help, but there was also an unmistakable warning not to keep bothering Yamamura.

Was this bullying?

It was only the second day of school, and something like this was already happening. What a disaster for the class.

But when she thought back to Yamamura Miki's response just now, it didn't sound like something a student being bullied would say.

"Hm?"

Kijima Tsukur turned to look. Yamamura Miki's slender arms were trembling slightly.

For a girl, carrying a folding chair wasn't much of a burden, but keeping it up for a long time was bound to get tiring.

From the school building all the way here,

Yamamura Miki had carried it the whole way, so it was only natural that her arms were getting sore. She was just too embarrassed to say so.

"That's true..."

Kijima Tsukur wasn't heartless. He nodded and said,

"For a girl like you who isn't used to exercise, carrying something for a long time must be exhausting. Sorry, I didn't think it through. I'll buy a camping chair tomorrow. That way, it'll be easier for you to carry it on your back."

Carry it yourself!

Yamamura Miki gave a resentful little "oh," but nearly shouted the words in her heart.

At first, she'd been delighted, thinking Kijima Tsukur had finally started showing concern for her. Who could've guessed he'd end up telling her to go buy him a camping chair? What was wrong with him?

Ichinose Honami, standing nearby, felt awkward too.

She genuinely hadn't expected Kijima Tsukur to be so self-centered, thinking only of himself and acting as though it were perfectly natural.

Still, Yamamura Miki's attitude left her puzzled as well, and she wasn't sure what to say.

"Let me take it. You can rest for a bit."

Katsuragi couldn't say much more. He reached for the folding chair in Yamamura Miki's hands.

"If you're having any difficulties, you can always talk to me. I won't let anyone in our class get bullied."

"No, it's fine..."

Yamamura Miki shook her head and softly refused, taking half a step back with the folding chair in her arms.

???

Katsuragi was completely baffled.

A string of big question marks seemed to flash above his head.

What was going on?

I'm trying to help you so you don't get bullied!

Fine, if you don't need help!

But you're struggling so much, and you still won't let me carry it for you?

Were you a masochist?

Had he misunderstood?

Was she willingly letting Kijima Tsukur order her around, or had she grown attached to being ordered around?

But how was that possible?

It was only the second day of school, and Kijima Tsukur and Yamamura Miki clearly didn't know each other.

Was this a handsome guy privilege?

Katsuragi Kohei was completely at a loss, so he decided to leave the two of them alone from now on.

Yamamura Miki rolled her eyes too. There was no way she'd let Katsuragi help.

What if Katsuragi took the chair away and the student council seniors mistook her for someone who'd come to join the Student Council?

Once she put the chair down, she'd just be an insignificant nobody.

Then surely no one would hold it against her!

Kijima Tsukur didn't care about her little thoughts. He turned to look at Ichinose and Katsuragi.

"Are you two planning to join the Student Council?"

"Yeah, that's right."

Ichinose Honami answered frankly. "I only just found out that Katsuragi had Student Council experience too. I thought I was the only one. By the way, I don't think I saw you at the gym earlier. Did you come to join the Student Council too, Kijima?"

"I'm not sure yet. We just came over from our class."

"That's a shame. You missed it earlier—the student council president at this school was amazing. He silenced everyone in an instant, didn't he, Katsuragi?"

"Yeah, absolutely."

Katsuragi nodded admiringly and remarked, "So that's what a high school student council president is like. Seeing him made me realize how much I still have to learn."

"You mean the president you were just talking about, Horikita?"

"Yeah."

Kijima Tsukur watched the scene in front of him without trying to hide it.

Three of the four people present were from Class A; the only one from Class B was Ichinose Honami.

And yet, without anyone noticing,

Ichinose Honami had taken charge of the conversation. She wasn't trying to manipulate Katsuragi at all, and was smoothly guiding everyone to keep the discussion going.

Unfortunately, Yamamura Miki was still being left out.

Just then, the door to the Student Council Room opened from the inside, and a girl with purple hair tied in a bun appeared before them.

She wore a serious expression on her cute face, like a little girl deliberately pretending to be an adult.

Her eyes immediately fell on Kijima Tsukur, and she said sternly,

"Another one, huh? Then I'll introduce myself again. I'm Tachibana Akane, the Student Council secretary from Class 3-A. If you want to join the Student Council, come on in. President Horikita is waiting for you, so don't be rude."

With that,

Tachibana Akane returned to the Student Council Room, and Kijima Tsukur and the other two followed close behind.

So she'd forgotten about her after all...

All four of them had been standing together, and somehow no one had even noticed her...

Yamamura Miki followed behind Kijima Tsukur with the folding chair, unsure whether to feel disappointed or relieved.

Chapter 14: The Student Council

The door opened.

Ichinose Honami and Katsuragi Kohei followed inside, and

both of them froze.

What greeted them wasn't a simple student council room like the ones at their middle schools. Instead, they saw a polished wooden desk, as if they'd stepped into an executive office.

Horikita Manabu sat coldly behind the desk, while two other boys sat at another desk beside him. Tachibana Akane walked over and stood behind Horikita Manabu.

When Ichinose Honami and Katsuragi Kohei came to their senses, they instinctively straightened up, hoping to make the best possible impression on their seniors.

"You..."

Horikita Manabu interlaced his fingers and rested them beneath his chin. Just as he was about to speak, he noticed Kijima Tsukur and Yamamura Miki following behind the two of them.

In an instant, Horikita Manabu shot to his feet.

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead as he stared in shock at Kijima Tsukur approaching him.

The other Student Council members immediately noticed something was wrong. They'd never seen Horikita Manabu lose his composure like this. A blond boy turned his head and smiled.

"President Horikita, what's the matter? Is he someone you know?"

"N-no, it's nothing."

Horikita Manabu sat back down, his voice still trembling slightly.

Since he was a child, he'd had a rather unusual ability. Put simply, he could see things other people couldn't, and could roughly judge someone's strength from the aura around them.

But when Kijima Tsukur entered the Student Council Room,

it was as if a terrifying presence had swept over him. Horikita Manabu felt as though he could barely breathe under the pressure. That was why he'd lost his composure.

He'd never seen anyone with strength this terrifying before.

The man was stronger than any adult he'd ever met!

He even began to wonder

whether the person standing before him was human at all.

Before today, no matter how powerful his opponent was—even if they were one of those adults—Horikita Manabu had never thought he would lose. Even if he couldn't win, he'd at least have the courage to fight.

But today, he finally realized just how naive he'd been.

In front of this man,

Horikita Manabu didn't even have the courage to fight.

The moment he saw Kijima Tsukur, Horikita Manabu knew he would lose. There was nothing he could do that would let him reach this man's level.

Still,

Horikita Manabu quickly pulled himself together and recalled the man's enrollment information.

Kijima Tsukur, Class 1-A.

He had ranked first on the entrance exam with perfect scores in every subject. The teachers' comments had apparently described him as self-centered, concerned only with himself and utterly indifferent to how others felt.

At that, Horikita Manabu frowned almost imperceptibly.

Normally, someone with that sort of evaluation would be placed in Class D. How had he ended up in Class A? But considering the strength he sensed from Kijima Tsukur, perhaps it wasn't so strange.

Well, none of that mattered right now.

What mattered was what this man wanted.

Was he here to join the Student Council?

At that thought,

Horikita Manabu discreetly glanced at the blond boy to his right, vice president Miyabi Nagumo.

The two of them had always been at odds because they disagreed on policy.

To be honest,

Horikita Manabu had always hoped to find someone strong enough to keep Miyabi Nagumo in check. Naturally, having someone capable join the Student Council would be a good thing.