"Yes. I'm here to report something," Classmate Shirogane said. "Yesterday, I went to an electronics store to buy some appliances, and I found that the clerk at the first store wasn't honest. He'd placed a camera near the register to secretly film people."
"Whenever a girl entered the store, he would turn on the camera."
As he spoke, Classmate Shirogane took out the SD card he had found. Then, as if remembering something, he added,
"Although I was the one who found this SD card, I think a girl had discovered the clerk's secret filming earlier and taken the camera's SD card. I eventually found it afterward."
"I don't know the girl, but I remember she was quite tall, with long purple hair and two hair clips," Shirogane said. "Would this information be useful?"
"..."
"..."
Would this information be useful?
Useful?
Horikita Manabu was at a loss for words.
Did he seriously think he'd get a reward for reporting something like this? And was he also being considerate enough to make sure the purple-haired girl got a reward?
But in this case,
Shirogane Miyuki really hadn't misunderstood.
During their first month, new students were evaluated on their conduct.
The core of the evaluation was whether they could be good students at Ikusei High School.
Any behavior that went against that standard would cost them points.
But if the evaluation was based on whether a student met the standard, wouldn't particularly outstanding behavior earn them points?
That had never happened before.
But,
no new student had ever made a report like this, either. If the clerk was found to have done it, he would undoubtedly be a stain on the school's reputation.
And dealing with the matter promptly could also prevent students from suffering consequences that couldn't be undone.
So,
if the report checked out, the school would very likely give them a special reward.
At least, the Board Chairman Horikita Manabu knew was someone who rewarded and punished fairly.
So, although it was unusual, this year's new students might see more than just points deducted. They might also earn points.
Chapter 21: Shirogane Miyuki Stands Firm!
What Sakayanagi Arisu wanted was the school-wide student directory.
But getting the full directory cost 300,000 points, which meant printing just one year's directory would cost 100,000.
Setting aside the fact that 300,000 points was an astronomical sum for a newcomer, even the 100,000-point price tag gave her pause. After all, everyone had only just received 100,000 points upon enrollment.
So she sensibly chose to print the directory for just the first-year students. Then she paid the 100,000-point fee.
The printing was quick. It took about five minutes, and the Student Council President had finished handling it.
So by the time Sakayanagi Arisu left the Student Council, she was carrying a bag full of documents.
As for Classmate Shirogane, his request to join the Student Council had been rejected.
It seemed rather cold, but Classmate Shirogane understood that the Student Council President hadn't completely turned him down.
The reason he'd given was that he needed to observe him for a month.
But it was only the second day after enrollment. What was there to observe?
Still,
the one-month period was significant. After enrolling, new students would take their first Special Exam, which lasted a month and tested whether they could behave like proper students at Ikusei High School.
Then, on the first day of the second month, the school's true nature would be revealed, as was customary.
So when the Student Council President set that one-month deadline, it meant he didn't want the observation period to overlap with that first month at school.
If a new student joined the Student Council, they would gain access to a great deal of information. That could lead to exam leaks.
So he needed to avoid that risk.
Still, it was surprising that Shirogane had been rejected because of the timing, rather than being completely dismissed.
It showed that the other party judged people primarily on their abilities and wouldn't deny someone a chance just because they belonged to a Lower Class.
In a way, it also showed that Horikita Manabu acknowledged students from the Lower Classes who struggled to climb higher.
But, as expected, the siblings were alike.
Both of them were very aloof.
Still,
her brother was so outstanding, so why had his younger sister ended up in Class D?
"Then we'll be going," Shirogane and Sakayanagi said to Horikita Manabu.
"Mm."
Horikita Manabu nodded.
The two headed toward the door. Sakayanagi held the bag in her left hand and her cane in her right, which made it difficult to open the door.
Shirogane noticed and stepped forward to push it open for her.
Sakayanagi looked up at him.
But the moment he opened the Student Council's door, he saw two students standing outside.
A man and a woman, both good-looking.
The boy was tall, with short blond hair and regular features. The muscles in both his legs were well-developed, so he was probably the athletic, physically strong type who trained often.
But he wore a smile, giving him a cheerful and elegant air. He had the aura of an elite.
As for the girl, she was rather petite, though she was a head taller than Sakayanagi, who stood beside Shirogane. Her hair wasn't very long, but it was carefully styled into two **shapes.
She looked pretty cute.
This girl had stood beside Horikita Manabu during the entrance ceremony, and seemed to be the Student Council secretary.
"President," said the purple-**haired secretary standing in the doorway.
"Move aside," Horikita Manabu said.
The two students stepped aside, allowing Shirogane and Sakayanagi to pass.
Only after watching the two underclassmen walk away did Miyabi Nagumo look away.
The purple-**haired secretary had already come over to Horikita Manabu. Her name was Tachibana Akane. She was in the same class as Horikita Manabu, and after he became Student Council President, he had appointed her secretary to help with Student Council affairs.
"I went on patrol with Senior Nagumo just now, and we noticed that there seems to be a problem in Class 1-C,"
"There was a fight between students," Tachibana Akane reported, holding a notebook.
"It was probably just a little friction between new students," the blond boy who had entered with Tachibana said. "I don't think there's any need to crack down so hard on fighting. After all, violence can be a means to an end sometimes."
"Your way of thinking is dangerous, Senior Nagumo," Tachibana Akane said quickly. Although she'd just been on patrol with him, it was clear they disagreed.
More precisely, Senior Nagumo and President Horikita had different ideals.
"Well... I'm just making a suggestion," said the boy called Nagumo. "Also, Senior Tachibana, you should be calling me Vice President."
He was the current representative of Second-Year Class A, Nagumo, whose full name was Miyabi Nagumo. After Horikita Manabu had recognized his abilities and brought him into the Student Council, he had appointed him Vice President. He was a highly popular underclassman.
He wielded considerable influence among the second-years.
"President, what were those two underclassmen here for?" Nagumo asked, seemingly unwilling to continue their earlier discussion.
"Did they think the school was treating them too well, and they couldn't believe it, so they came to the Student Council to check?"
Mm.
That was a reasonable guess.
They'd arrived at the school only to discover that it provided free accommodations and gave them a full 100,000 points for living expenses.
It was like a windfall from heaven, so they would surely want to confirm that it was real.
And if they thought a little further, they would wonder whether they would receive that much money next month, or what they would have to do to keep getting that much.
Those were the sorts of ideas they'd had when they were new students themselves.
"This year's students are a little different from previous years," Horikita Manabu said, without answering Nagumo's question. He even gave them a fairly high appraisal.
"Is that so?" Miyabi Nagumo said. "They're pretty cute."
"Uh, I mean, it's certainly surprising that the two of them came to the Student Council on their second day."
"Their quick response is pretty cute," Nagumo said.
Nagumo had been last year's first-year representative. Recalling his own first year, he hadn't reacted that quickly. It had taken him about a week to start thinking about what made this school different, and half a month to figure out the school's true nature.
Then he'd explained the rules to his classmates in alarming terms, but they hadn't listened to him. So when the first month ended, the class realized he'd been right.
That was how he'd gradually built up his influence, eventually leading the class to defeat the former Class A. Even now, they still held the Class A position.
That was his experience, and part of his record.
"Since you're back, there's another matter I need you to verify," Horikita Manabu said, taking out an SD card. "A student reported that an employee at an electronics store may have been secretly filming people."
"And this is evidence of the filming."
"If it checks out, I'll submit it to the school."
The Student Council at Ikusei High School had more independence than student councils at other schools. Even the entrance and graduation ceremonies were organized by the Student Council without the school's involvement. It was a sign of how much authority the school had handed over.
However, in unusual or exceptional cases, they still had to report to the school.
So when President Horikita said this, it meant that the school might give the student who reported it some kind of reward.
"Then which student made the report?" Nagumo asked.
"The one you just ran into," Horikita Manabu said, without specifying which one.
Oh.
Nagumo nodded.
So, Nagumo decided to first spend 100,000 points to print out the first-year student directory.
A student with that kind of instinct who could take such action was worth recruiting.
PS: First update.
Chapter 22: Narrator: I'm Telling You, She's a Little Devil!
After leaving the Student Council office, Classmate Shirogane and Sakayanagi were students from different classes, and each had basically accomplished what they'd come to do.
So, in theory, they should have gone their separate ways as soon as they left.
In theory, anyway.
"Does Classmate Shirogane know who those two standing at the door were?" Sakayanagi suddenly asked, holding her cane.
"The blond boy was Miyabi Nagumo, a student in Class 3-A and the current Student Council Vice President. As for the girl, if you paid attention during the entrance ceremony, you'd know she's Tachibana Akane, the Student Council secretary. She's in Class 3-A with President Horikita."
"Senior Nagumo is a difficult person to deal with. The students I sent to ask the second-years for information reported back that even when they raised the price to 500,000 points, the second-years still wouldn't reveal anything."
"The school forbids it, and Nagumo does too."
Sakayanagi's voice was lovely, and as she spoke, she smiled at Classmate Shirogane.
"..." Shirogane kept a straight face.
Classmate Shirogane didn't answer immediately. Wasn't Sakayanagi pretty capable?
He'd assumed she wanted to print out the student directory because she knew about the class competition and was planning ahead.
But now it seemed she'd actually hit a wall.
Before you continue