Join the Student Council, Ayanokoji

In the incident, Ryuen Kakeru had a fractured left arm and bruises on his body. Kanzaki Ryuji didn't even have a single scrape, and neither did Yabuna Nanami.

Class 1-B's account was that Kanzaki had gone there because Yabuna had invited him, possibly to confess to him. When he arrived, he saw Ryuen hitting Yabuna.

After trying and failing to stop him verbally, he had stepped in to intervene.

But with Ryuen hurling insults and throwing the first punch, he had no choice but to fight back.

As for Ryuen's fractured left arm, that definitely had nothing to do with him. Once he realized Ryuen's attacks barely hurt, he'd held back.

Class 1-C's account was completely different from Class 1-B's.

First, it was true that Yabuna had invited Kanzaki over. But this time, she'd wanted him to know that she had someone she liked, and to stop bothering her.

But when Kanzaki saw Ryuen standing with her, he'd become jealous and started an argument. In the end, it had turned violent.

"Class 1-B claims that Kanzaki was framed, and that Ryuen broke his own left arm to frame him. Is that true?"

"Heh heh. Kanzaki, you look so upright and honorable, but you can't own up to what you've done. My arm still hurts, you know."

After Kamuro opened the meeting by asking Ryuen about the accusation, he immediately denied it.

"Please stop lying, Kanzaki." Wearing a tearful expression and the look of a well-behaved girl, Yabuna spoke as soon as Ryuen finished.

With a round, somewhat cute face and smooth green hair that wasn't overly styled, Yabuna gave the impression of a gentle, well-behaved girl.

What a good actress.

Seated at the head of the table, Aoyama had to hand it to Ryuen for his choice.

He knew that Yabuna, who looked so gentle and harmless, would become the leader of Class 1-C's gyaru in their second year. She had a very forceful personality.

"Does Class 1-B agree with Class 1-C's account?"

After repeating Ryuen's claim that Kanzaki was entirely to blame, Kamuro looked toward Kanzaki, who had kept a cold expression and said nothing.

"My account hasn't changed."

"I stepped in to stop Ryuen from hitting someone, and that's why we got into a fight. And I'm sure I didn't cause his injuries."

Class 1-B and Class 1-C both stuck firmly to their stories and refused to give an inch.

Since the incident had happened somewhere without surveillance cameras, the school couldn't hand down a ruling lightly.

"Seems both sides are sticking to their stories. That means one side is telling a malicious lie." With the matter at an impasse, it was time for Aoyama to step in.

"It's obvious that Kanzaki's the one lying. A broken bone hurts like hell. Only a lunatic would break his own arm to frame someone."

"The Student Council deals in evidence. Without decisive proof, we can only rule based on what we have."

Leaning back casually in his chair and lightly tapping the table with his fingers, Aoyama replied to Ryuen without a hint of concern.

The facts they had were these.

They had come out of a place without surveillance cameras. Kanzaki was completely unharmed, Ryuen had a temporarily broken arm, and Yabuna had no injuries.

"Usually, the Student Council gives you seven days to gather evidence."

"But since this affects the distribution of personal points, and considering the students' complaints, I've decided to reconvene in three days."

"I'll make a ruling that day based on the evidence we already have and anything new you submit."

With an offhand remark, Aoyama had cut the seven-day grace period down to three.

That was clearly bad news for Class 1-B.

Hoshinomiya spoke with a playful grin. "Isn't that a little unreasonable, Vice President Aoyama? I think sticking to the usual seven days would be fairer."

"I'll give Hoshinomiya-sensei's suggestion serious consideration. If I change the date, I'll let you know in advance."

Aoyama replied casually, then waved to Kamuro. She understood at once and announced that the meeting was over, ushering everyone out of the Student Council room.

Soon, only the two of them were left in the room.

"Did Class 1-C pay you?"

Back at her seat, Kamuro leaned against the backrest and asked without much concern.

"Is that really what you think of me?"

"What else would I think?"

Most first-year students knew Aoyama was a miser. He was always going on about taking money to get things done.

That was one reason so few girls approached him, despite his good looks.

"Don't worry. I haven't gotten so carried away that I'd take money and judge with my eyes closed." Aoyama rubbed his chin.

Leaving aside the fact that the class teachers were watching, another vice president on the Student Council was keeping an eye on him too.

Put yourself in his place.

If Nagumo dared to make a reckless ruling, Aoyama would immediately challenge him and do everything he could to get him kicked off the Student Council.

If there was a good reason and it wasn't excessive, fine. Anything else was out of the question.

"Get me a copy of the list of Class 1-D students attending the meeting later. Ask Tachibana-senpai for it."

Compared to the cases involving Class 1-B and Class 1-C, Aoyama cared more about the one involving Class 1-D and Class 1-C.

If a certain someone's name really appeared on the list, he'd have to bring out his precious trump card.

Chapter 36: Join the Student Council, Ayanokoji

Once again, there had been a violent confrontation in a place without surveillance cameras.

And once again, only students from Class 1-C had been injured.

At a disadvantage, Classes 1-B and 1-D quickly reached an agreement to help each other.

Early on the morning of June 2, new notices appeared on the bulletin boards in every grade. They offered a reward for witnesses to the first-year altercations.

"Good morning, Suzune."

In the crowd in front of the bulletin board, Aoyama spotted his rumored girlfriend and went over to greet her.

For once, Horikita Suzune wasn't alone.

Sudō, who'd also been framed by Class 1-C, and a handsome boy with an expression as blank as a robot's stood behind her like a pair of sentries.

"It's not a good morning at all." Horikita looked a little frustrated.

Not long ago, resolving the Midterm Exam issue had earned her some recognition from her classmates.

Before she'd even had a chance to announce that they'd be collecting class funds, Ken Sudō had caused another mess.

"Class 1-A, Aoyama Shiki."

Turning toward the handsome boy who was studying him, Aoyama held out his hand.

"Class 1-D, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka."

Ayanokoji glanced down at the hand hanging in the air and replied in a completely flat tone. Then he held out his own hand.

Their large hands clasped together.

His body temperature really was noticeably higher than an ordinary person's.

They shook hands briefly and let go. Aoyama recalled Koenji Rokusuke, the extraordinarily capable student from Class 1-D who was on a similar level to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

Just from shaking hands with Ayanokoji, Koenji had judged that his physical abilities were comparable to his own.

"Join the Student Council and work for me. I can take care of Sudō's problem." Smiling slightly, Aoyama made what he considered a "sincere" offer.

Sent to a laboratory called the White Room by his father right after he was born, Ayanokoji had begun Spartan training at the age of one. The experiment had continued for more than a decade.

He had been filled with an immeasurable amount of knowledge and ability. Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was an all-rounder in every sense of the word.

The only problem was that the experiment had broken his mind.

His emotions—hatred, anger, sadness, happiness, and the like—had all been reduced to almost nothing.

The best way to describe him was a monster of reason.

"I don't understand why Aoyama would think so highly of me. My academic and physical abilities are average. There's nothing outstanding about me."

"Besides, this is the first time we've spoken, isn't it? I'm not interested in the Student Council either."

His tone remained flat. Even as Sudō stared at him in surprise, Ayanokoji kept his expression calm.

"An ordinary student would be surprised like Sudō is."

"I suppose I was born this way."

"I'll take your word for it." Aoyama looked at Sudō, who was watching him in confusion. "I can solve your problem. You heard the condition, right?"

Ayanokoji was friends with the Three Idiots from Class 1-D. That was why he was here.

That was what friends were for, after all. What was the point of having friends if you didn't help each other?

"See you, Suzune."

Aoyama smiled at Horikita, who seemed lost in thought, then headed toward the Class 1-A classroom.

Ayanokoji was currently pretending to be a nobody in Class 1-D, hoping to stay behind the scenes and avoid drawing attention. There was no guarantee he'd help Sudō get out of this mess.

Aoyama wouldn't let Ayanokoji be the kind of guy who won without lifting a finger.

Since Aoyama had made his offer, Sudō would treat getting Ayanokoji to join the Student Council as his last resort.

Under pressure from a friend, Ayanokoji wouldn't be able to stand by and do nothing.

[Ayanokoji Kiyotaka may be capable of detecting surveillance. Just follow him from a distance. Your task is to find out who he meets and where he goes.]

Back at his seat, Aoyama sent Yamamura a task to follow Ayanokoji.

After confirming that Ayanokoji had gotten involved too, Aoyama caught a whiff of dirty money in the dispute.

Class 1-D might be full of broke students, but Class 1-B, which had just agreed to cooperate with them, was loaded.

As expected, the reward notice on the bulletin board had probably been put up by Ichinose or Kanzaki.

That fit with their current mindset as well-behaved students.

But if they were going to play so nice, how was he supposed to get an opportunity to blackmail them into coughing up money?

Yamamura Miki: [Understood. I'll be careful.]

[If anything goes wrong, tell me immediately. That's a top-priority order.]

Thinking about how Ayanokoji had also studied ways to manipulate people, Aoyama came up with the melodramatic phrase "top-priority order."

He had absolute faith that Yamamura wouldn't betray him.

But Yamamura looked like the kind of girl who could be tricked with a line like, "You wouldn't want something to happen to XXX, would you?"

If she really did get tricked, he'd be devastated.

"I didn't get any decisive information." Sitting bolt upright against the backrest, Ichinose Honami let out a faint sigh.

It had been more than an hour since school ended. After searching the scene and looking for witnesses without success, the students from Classes 1-B and 1-D had regrouped.

The four of them sat at the rest tables provided outside a supermarket, none of them looking happy.

Ryuen had been a notorious gang leader in his area back in middle school, with plenty of fights under his belt.

Ishizaki Daichi, who had been beaten up by Sudō, also had plenty of experience with fighting.

Those were the only things they'd learned today.

They could be certain that the students from Class 1-C whom they'd beaten up without getting hurt were no weaker than they were in a fight.

Since the incident had been a deliberate frame-up, Ryuen wouldn't have left out students to keep watch.

The chances of finding witnesses were slim.

"If only we could see the surveillance footage near the site of the fight," Ayanokoji Kiyotaka said, fiddling with the drink in front of him and pretending to mutter to himself. "Then we could confirm whether there were any witnesses."

Sudō had gone to practice with his club, and as his friend, Ayanokoji had been forced to come along to help.

"We thought of that too, but the school won't let students see it." Ichinose pressed the cold drink can against her cheek.

Because of global warming, the weather was already getting hot even though it was only early June.

It was past five in the afternoon. Even walking just a little made them feel like they were starting to sweat.