The President's Younger Sister

As the midterm exams drew near, facing the pressure of expulsion, students in every first-year class were scrambling to review, hoping to pass the tests. Of course, not everyone thought that way.

"Study group? We already have the answers, so why go through all that trouble?" Faced with an invitation from Hirata, the most popular handsome guy in the class, Ike refused without a second thought.

"Exactly. Even without the answers, I could pass if I just put in a little effort before the test. It's totally unnecessary," Yamauchi boasted confidently, even though his last monthly exam score had been in the bottom three of the class.

"Hah, I've got training to do. Don't waste my time," Sudo said impatiently before walking straight out of the classroom.

Seeing this, Hirata wore a helpless, bitter smile, but he didn't pay it much mind. After all, just as Ike said, since they already had the answers, there was naturally no need to worry about this midterm exam.

In the seat by the window in the back row of the class, a girl with long, straight black hair asked her somewhat gloomy-looking desk mate.

"Do you think those answers are real?"

"They should be. Is there something you're doubting, Horikita?" the gloomy boy, Ayanokoji, replied. He had already found upperclassmen to verify the test papers, and they were indeed authentic.

"Nothing. I just find it disappointing that it's so easy to pass the exam," Horikita replied. Or rather, she felt dissatisfied that she hadn't thought of this method herself.

"Do you really think this is a good thing?" Ayanokoji asked suddenly.

"What?" Horikita didn't quite understand what Ayanokoji meant. Although she looked down on this approach, was there anything wrong with everyone being able to pass the exam smoothly?

"If we just coast along like this, we won't have any growth, will we?" Ayanokoji said, his words seemingly hinting at something.

"You mean..." Horikita pondered for a moment, as if she had grasped something.

Ayanokoji didn't continue. His calm eyes observed the changes in the class. From time to time, someone would approach Hirata, and it was clear that after receiving the papers, many members who had originally joined the study group chose to quit.

However, at the very least, they would be able to pass this midterm exam... right?

"I'm so looking forward to it."

"Me too!"

In the afternoon, Ishizaki and a few others cheered excitedly, causing the girls in the class to look at them with disgust.

The weather was getting hotter, and the content of the physical education class had changed slightly; the afternoon session had been moved to the swimming pool. The implications of this were self-evident.

"Are you looking forward to it too, Sagara?" Shiina blinked, a faint, inexplicable blush on her face.

"It would be impossible to say I'm not looking forward to it at all." No matter what, he was still a normal boy, and it was perfectly natural to have some longing in this regard.

"However, I don't really want to get in the water."

"Oh?"

During the afternoon PE class, Sagara found a shady spot to sit, draped in a jacket, watching his classmates swim under the teacher's guidance. Shiina sat beside him, showing little interest in swimming—or rather, she had always been like that when it came to exercise.

Sagara sized Shiina up. Just as he had observed before, although Shiina's figure couldn't compare to Ichinose's, it was quite well-endowed for a high school student. Perhaps because she often sat indoors reading, her skin was as white as frost, her legs were slender, and her pair of delicate feet were as exquisite as porcelain, making her all the more endearing.

Noticing Sagara's scrutinizing gaze, a flush crept onto Shiina's cheeks. She wrapped her arms around her calves and buried her head down. "Sagara, don't stare at me like that."

"Sorry, sorry. You're just too beautiful, Shiina, and I got a bit lost in thought." Sagara realized his behavior was inappropriate and couldn't help but apologize.

"Wu, actually I don't really m..." Shiina whispered into her knees.

"Next, Sagara Zoya." The PE teacher suddenly called his name. Although he was curious about what Shiina had said, Sagara stood up and walked to the edge of the pool.

"Heh, I didn't expect to be in the same group as you," Ryuen said, looking at Sagara. He wasn't exactly muscular, but he had well-defined muscles.

Of course, what Ryuen was more concerned about wasn't that, but the spot on Sagara's left shoulder, where there was a clear scar.

"So it's true, you guy."

Ryuen looked at the scar. It was a very obvious knife wound. A knife wound on the shoulder? That strike was clearly aimed at the neck... Just who was this guy?

"That's why I said I didn't want to get in the water," Sagara sighed. This wasn't something worth exposing.

"Teacher, is the reason we're starting swimming lessons now because it will be useful later?" Sagara turned his head to look at the teacher holding the stopwatch.

"Eh... ah, this." The teacher didn't react for a moment, but the expression on his face confirmed Sagara's guess.

"Thank you for the answer, I understand now."

"?" The teacher was a bit confused. Did he say anything?

"How many students from Class D came to the library to study today?" Sagara asked Shiina. Originally, this wasn't something Shiina needed to do, and her personality wasn't really suited for it.

However, because most of the students in the class needed to study hard, he could only have the high-achieving Shiina collect the information.

"Hmm, a few more than before," Shiina replied. "But those people had some arguments later on, and they left not long after."

"Is that so." Sagara pondered for a moment. So, Class D wasn't entirely made up of fools. "Do you know their names?"

"Sorry, I'm not very sure." Shiina shook her head. She wasn't very familiar with the people in Class D; she had only received some incomplete information from Ryuen. The only reason she could recognize them as Class D students was thanks to the presence of a certain someone. "But Kushida-san should have been among them."

"Hmm." Sagara nodded and then ruled out Kushida. As a social butterfly, she was likely just acting as a bridge and a channel; she wasn't that smart. "Thank you for your hard work."

"It's nothing... but, Sagara, do you really not need any help?" Shiina shook her head. Compared to Kaneda, who was being driven crazy by Ishizaki and the others, this wasn't hard work at all.

Regarding this operation against Class D, it was carried out entirely by Sagara alone, and she didn't even know the specific details of the plan.

"No need. Everything is prepared as of now." Sagara shook his head. All the preparatory work had been completed. "I just need to wait for the results."

"I am no longer the useless person I was in the past. I came here specifically to catch up to my brother." The girl's voice trembled slightly. Did the student council president have a younger sister?

"Catch up... is that so?" Manabu Horikita chewed on those words. "I heard you are in Class D. Three years have passed, and you still haven't made any progress. You only look at my back, yet even now, you haven't seen your own problems. You failed the moment you entered this school."

Manabu Horikita's tone was undoubtedly harsh. However, hearing this, Sawahara could only think it was very much in the president's style. Couldn't he just say something nice like "I'm worried about you"?

Yet, the president's sister seemed completely unable to grasp the meaning behind Manabu Horikita's words, her tone filled with panic and unease. "Th-this must be some kind of mistake. I will definitely be promoted to Class A soon."

"Impossible. You still haven't realized the crux of the problem. This school isn't that simple. With your abilities, it's fundamentally impossible."

"I will, I absolutely will be promoted to Class A!" The president's sister's voice became even firmer than before, as if she were clinging to some kind of unshakable obsession.

"Didn't I tell you? It's impossible. You really are a disobedient sister."

Then came a thud. Was the president cornering his sister? Sawahara speculated, looking at the gloomy boy standing next to him.

"You must know that girl, right? Don't you plan on doing something?" Sawahara asked flatly. This person's body had tensed up for a split second just now; he must have intended to do something, but for some reason, he stopped.

"Logically speaking, this should be the perfect moment for a hero to save the damsel. If you stepped out now, you'd probably gain quite a bit of favor."

"Perhaps, but I think it's more likely that seeing my own pathetic state would lower her opinion of me instead." The gloomy boy sighed. "Besides, I don't have those kinds of thoughts. I just want to be friends with her."

"Is that so?" Sawahara didn't believe that for a second. If they were just ordinary friends, would he have researched her personality so thoroughly? And sneaking around in the middle of the night wasn't exactly something a friend should do, either.

"Ugh." Hearing a girl's pained cry from the alley, Sawahara started walking forward.

"Well, you have a second chance to be the hero now."

Sawahara then pulled out his phone. After a violent flash of light, the scene in the alley was captured on his device.

"Good evening, President. Do you like my way of saying hello?" Sawahara greeted the president, who was in the middle of some "family education," with a polite, slight bow.

"Not at all." Manabu Horikita let go of his grip and turned to look at Sawahara. He had been careless; he hadn't expected someone to follow him, and a troublesome one at that.

"Then I'll use a normal greeting next time." Sawahara's expression was so earnest it looked as if he had genuinely considered it. "However, just as you said earlier, I have come to attack you—by way of your sister."

Sawahara's words carried a hint of mockery; by his own standards, he probably considered it a joke.

However, to the person involved, it was a different story.

The president's sister was clutching her abdomen, biting her lip, and looking at him with unconcealed resentment. Sawahara couldn't understand why she would make such an expression.

"It's all because of me..."

Are you actually buying that? Why would you think it's your own fault? Sawahara couldn't understand her train of thought.

Regardless of the situation, the trouble caused by the president's domestic violence was, both socially and legally, the president's fault.

"It seems we need to have a proper talk later." Even with the sudden turn of events, Manabu Horikita remained calm.

The thought of using force crossed his mind, but he dismissed it immediately. On one hand, he resisted such methods, and on the other, he didn't think Sawahara would be so easily dealt with.

"Of course, there are many things I need the president's help with as well." Sawahara smiled. "Though, perhaps you don't just need to talk to me."

"Hm?" Hearing Sawahara's words, Manabu Horikita frowned. Was there someone else here?

"Actually, you don't need to worry about me at all." Hearing Sawahara's words, Ayanokoji's tone carried a sense of helplessness, but his face remained unchanged, still wearing that same expressionless, gloomy look.

"You..." The president's sister looked at Ayanokoji in surprise, never expecting to see him here.

Manabu Horikita's scrutinizing gaze landed on Ayanokoji. "Are you also from Class D? Suzune, I never imagined you would have friends."

"He is not my friend... just a classmate." Hearing the president's words, Horikita Suzune, who had collapsed on the ground from exhaustion, looked up at her brother to defend herself.

"Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. I happened to see Horikita-san walking this way while I was buying a drink at the vending machine, so I was curious and came to check." Ayanokoji answered Manabu Horikita's question, ignoring Horikita Suzune's somewhat hurtful words.

"You are still the same, misunderstanding the difference between being aloof and being alone." Hearing her words, the president felt nothing but helplessness. He had hoped she had grown...

"If you want to be promoted to a higher class, then struggle with all your might. There is no other way." Manabu Horikita left behind those final words and turned to leave.

"Let's meet again if there's an opportunity, Horikita-san, Ayanokoji-kun." Sawahara said politely, then left the scene as well.