"Tachibana, take my place for now." Horikita Manabu rose from his seat and walked toward Aoyama. "As for you, Aoyama, come with me."
"Understood, President."
"I'm not your president yet."
"You will be in a moment." Aoyama followed Horikita Manabu with a smile.
After the two left the Student Council room, Miyabi Nagumo could no longer keep up his calm, confident expression.
I'll destroy you, Aoyama Shiki. Just you wait.
Using me as a stepping stone? Who the hell gave you the nerve? Who do you think you are?
Nagumo lowered his head and pretended to work as he cursed Aoyama relentlessly in his mind.
He wasn't an idiot. He could have dismissed Aoyama's first jab as youthful arrogance, but after one taunt after another, it was clear Aoyama was distancing himself from Nagumo and trying to earn the admiration of Horikita Manabu, who had never thought much of him.
Judging from Horikita Manabu's actions just now, Aoyama Shiki's plan had clearly succeeded.
You Can't Follow Nagumo
"If nothing unexpected happens, Nagumo will be the next Student Council President."
They entered a room much like a counseling office. Once Horikita Manabu sat down on the sofa, he spoke calmly.
"But you don't approve of Vice President Nagumo's methods, do you? That's why I came to offer myself."
"Rather than putting individual ability above all else, I prefer an approach that prioritizes the strength of the group. That is also the core principle behind Kouiku's educational philosophy."
Sitting across from Horikita Manabu, Aoyama gave the reason he had prepared.
Simply distancing himself from Nagumo and switching sides wouldn't be enough to make Horikita Manabu make an exception for him and appoint him the first student ever to become vice president immediately after joining the Student Council.
As an outsider in his previous life, he had developed his own unique perspective on Kouiku's existence.
"How did you reach that conclusion?" Horikita Manabu asked, surprised.
Few students knew about the conflicts within the Student Council. Though Nagumo might have told Asahina a little.
As for Kouiku's educational policy, hardly any students in the entire school understood it.
Not even Nagumo.
As he recalled the information he had gathered on Aoyama, Horikita Manabu continued to ponder. The more he thought, the more highly he regarded him.
From the moment this school was founded, its goal had never been to produce soldiers or anything of the sort.
From beginning to end, Kouiku had only wanted to cultivate outstanding leaders.
Whether it was a class, a company, or even an entire country, Kouiku's ultimate goal was to produce people capable of leading a nation.
"But what you've done doesn't seem to match what you just said." Before Aoyama could answer, Horikita Manabu continued.
From the information Sakagami Kazuma had turned in, he knew that Aoyama had seen through the school's rules—and had sold that crucial information to three rival classes.
The Student Council's estimate of next month's Class Points for the first-years was that Class A would lose virtually none, Classes B and C would each lose several hundred, and Class D would be left with nothing.
This year's first-year class placements were more extreme than usual.
If Aoyama hadn't stirred things up, the four classes' competition would have begun with Class A holding a huge advantage.
"Let's assume that Classes B, C, and D each have a smart, rational leader."
"When they realize on May first that only one class can win, wouldn't Class A—with its massive lead in Class Points and clearly superior students—become everyone's target?"
"If Classes B, C, and D form an alliance, then no matter how strong Class A is, it can't fight off three classes at once."
In response to Horikita Manabu, Aoyama demonstrated the hypothetical principle.
The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. If Class A was too strong and Classes B, C, and D each had capable leaders, Class A's huge early advantage could easily turn into a massive disadvantage.
"That's an interesting hypothesis, but it doesn't prove that you're different from Nagumo."
"But now you have no choice but to trust me, President. From what I've learned, Kiriyama Manabu is already doomed." To ease Horikita Manabu's disapproval of his selling the information, Aoyama revealed another bombshell.
In the original story, Nagumo used an unfair contract to gain control over most of the students in every class except his own.
In the end, even Kiriyama Ikuto, a devoted admirer of Horikita Manabu, submitted to Nagumo and worked for him.
The unfair contract had six clauses.
First, seventy-five percent of the Personal Points issued by the school each month had to be paid to Nagumo.
Second, signatories could not oppose Nagumo and had to follow his instructions.
Third, students earned a certain number of points for doing work for Nagumo. Once they reached a certain threshold, they would be granted the right to transfer to Class A.
Fourth, the two million Personal Points transfer fee had to be paid by the day before graduation.
Fifth, even if students didn't have enough points, Nagumo would provide several transfer slots before graduation. Students who signed the contract could obtain one through a lottery.
Sixth, they could not reveal the existence of the contract.
"That's more or less what the contract says. I won't tell you where I got it."
Aoyama opened the notes app on his phone and showed Horikita Manabu the contract.
It was obviously an unfair contract, but plenty of students would sign it for the chance to graduate from Class A.
People knew the odds of winning the lottery were tiny, but they still bought tickets, dreaming of getting rich overnight.
And compared to winning the lottery, the chances of winning Nagumo's draw were already incredibly high.
"I doubt any students in Second-Year Class B have signed it yet. But once the students in Second-Year Classes C and D start signing one by one, Kiriyama won't have any choice but to surrender."
"No class can take on the combined students of the other three classes alone."
Aoyama laid out the future he could foresee for Horikita Manabu, who sat in silence, his expression darkening.
Compared to Nagumo, who was skilled at manipulating people, Kiriyama, the former leader of Class A, was like a child.
After closing his eyes for a long while, Horikita Manabu opened them again and fixed Aoyama with a sharp gaze. "I can give you the vice president position, but you have to promise me one thing."
"Go ahead."
"You can't imitate Nagumo and use that contract."
As the Student Council President, elected in his first year, Horikita Manabu quickly understood the danger posed by Nagumo's contract—and the advantage it would give a Class A leader.
If, during the first year, Class A's Class Points had pulled far ahead of Class B, and its leader had drawn up this kind of contract, then Class A would have secured victory before the first year even ended. Students in Classes B, C, and D would have been left to drift aimlessly until the graduation lottery more than two years later.
"That's no problem. I'm not so shameless that I'd take away my classmates' chance to grow." Aoyama nodded without much hesitation.
The contract would have been very useful to a Class A leader, but Aoyama had no intention of becoming one. At least, he had no such plan before reaching his third year.
Since he had no choice but to accept Aoyama, Horikita Manabu cautioned him, "Becoming Student Council President in your first year will be difficult. I can't help you much."
Kiriyama Ikuto was a lost cause. Now Horikita Manabu could only put Aoyama forward to challenge Nagumo.
"Don't sell yourself short, President. You can help me right now, and it would help you too."
"Since Nagumo is abusing his authority by creating this kind of contract, why don't you make a proposal to the school to cap the number of graduates from Third-Year Class A at forty?"
"After all, if the school's graduates aren't up to par, it'll damage Kouiku's reputation."
Aoyama smiled and handed Horikita Manabu the perfect weapon.
Only an Idiot Would Choose Horikita
[Something good happened today. I'll buy some nice ingredients.]
Has someone else asked me to help them? Aoyama Shiki?
And he couldn't have told me a little earlier?
The small grocery store was quiet, with few students shopping.
Horikita Suzune had just finished choosing ingredients and was about to pay. She looked at the message on her phone and grumbled under her breath.
Along with it came five thousand Personal Points for groceries.
She put the discounted lean meat back in her basket. Under the envious gaze of a senior student nearby, she boldly picked up a beautifully marbled cut of beef—though its price was anything but attractive—and placed it in her basket.
Even a small portion cost nearly two thousand Personal Points.
After shopping, she returned to her dormitory. Weighing the pros and cons, Horikita Suzune decided against cooking the food and delivering it to Aoyama's dorm in a lunchbox.
Dropping off the lunchbox and leaving wouldn't give them much chance to talk.
If they ate together, she might be able to pick up useful information while chatting with Aoyama Shiki—for example, what had made him happy enough to order an extra dish today.
Since she had no friends, Aoyama was her only source of information about the other classes.
[I'm starting to cook now. You can come over in about half an hour.]
Horikita Suzune sent the message, tied on an apron, and began washing the rice.
Meanwhile, at the school library.
By appealing to Horikita Manabu's emotions and reason, Aoyama Shiki had secured his promise before leaving the Student Council.
Horikita Manabu had given him authority over one secretary position and one regular member position, letting him choose the candidates and build his own team.
"Just as I thought, you're here reading, Shiina."
Aoyama sat cross-legged a short distance from the silver-haired girl and spoke softly.
After messaging Horikita Suzune about the extra dishes, he had also asked Shiina Hiyori to meet him, but she hadn't replied even after some time.
He figured that, being the bookworm she was, Shiina was probably at the library with her phone on silent.
So Aoyama had come to the library.
"Aoyama?" Shiina pushed her silver hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear, her expression showing a hint of surprise.
"I managed to get two positions on the Student Council by paying a little price. The first person I thought of was clever Shiina."
With a chuckle, Aoyama came straight to the point and explained why he was there.
The secretary position was naturally reserved for Kamuro. At first, he had considered selling the other position to Class B, but after weighing the pros and cons, he decided against it.
Although Class B could raise the most Personal Points at the moment, the only students in the class who impressed him were Ichinose and Kanzaki, and both had fatal flaws.
They were too moral and too justice-minded.
That was a chasm between the two of them and Aoyama: they weren't compatible.
He was looking for a capable partner who could join him in underhanded schemes, not a weak ally who might switch sides at any moment.
"You really are impressive, Aoyama." Shiina smiled as she praised him, then her expression turned a little helpless. "I suppose you've already worked out how to rob me blind, Merchant-kun."
A week earlier, Shiina's strong performance had earned Ryuen's approval, and he had promptly assigned her work by force.
Through that work, information about students from Classes A, B, and D had steadily flowed into her hands.
Ichinose Honami and Katsuragi Kōhei, the two students hailed as the leaders of Classes A and B, couldn't even get through the Student Council's front door.
"How is that robbing you? I'm not forcing you to buy anything."
Aoyama chuckled at Shiina's adorable, helpless expression.
Talking with a clever person was easy. A single short sentence was enough for Shiina to understand what he wanted.
Among the first-years, Aoyama felt that Shiina Hiyori was the partner most suited to him.
There was no need to mention how cute she was. Her judgment was also among the best in the school.
Most importantly, Shiina could accept a tyrant like Ryuen ruling Class C, and even help him come up with plans.
She wasn't exactly a bad kid, but she certainly wasn't a good one, either—not like Ichinose, who was exceptionally kind.
"Then, Merchant-kun, please give me a proper introduction to your product." Shiina closed the book in her hands and smiled back at him.
With the rows of bookshelves as their backdrop, the perfectly matched pair looked like a talented scholar and a beautiful woman in a painting.
Before you continue