Shut Up, Menial Affairs

"Then why now?" Shiina asked, puzzled. She wondered if this couldn't be done in their second year, by which time they should already be Class A. Wasn't it a bit too early to be considering this now?

"Don't you get it yet, Shiina?" Ryuen had snuck up on them at some point, his face full of excitement. "How interesting. Is that what you're planning? I truly look forward to the ugly expressions on the faces of the school board and those corporate bigwigs once your plan succeeds."

"The reason he's bringing this up now is to make those useless pieces of trash serve a purpose."

Ryuen had already grasped Sawahara's intent—using the waste, essentially. While he personally felt that ignoring such losers was the correct path, Sawahara's rebellious way of thinking sounded far more interesting.

"Most people in our class have terrible grades. Even if they study as hard as they can, they won't catch up to the top students. They know it themselves, so aside from a few with good grades, no one wants to keep studying. Most of them will choose a career path. If they can turn their desired professions or interests into skills over the coming time, they can bring value to our class in the various exams to come."

"You're no different from those guys, either."

"I never said I was any different from them." Sawahara had an extremely clear understanding of himself. Manipulating power, bullying the weak—he would do those things too. He never denied his own ugliness.

"But at the very least, I will give them the chance to choose for themselves."

Even if that choice was the only one they could make when he had driven them into a corner.

"Hmph, say whatever you want." Ryuen curled his lip and didn't say anything more.

"Speaking of which, Ryuen, what do you plan to do in the future?" Sawahara was curious about the answer Ryuen would give. Would he start his own gang and be a boss? Or join some syndicate and become a leader?

"I want to start my own company." Ryuen gave his answer, a thought that left Sawahara stunned.

"Cough, wait, let me ask—are you planning on running a legitimate business? The school won't give you any support for illicit trades, you know." Sawahara gave a dry cough; he had guessed wrong.

"Heh, you probably thought I wanted to be some kind of yakuza boss, didn't you?" Ryuen looked at Sawahara with a sneer. So, even a guy like you judges people by their appearance.

"I'm going to run a legitimate business. I plan on doing logistics."

"Ha, haha, that's a great idea." Sawahara gave a dry laugh to cover his embarrassment. "Shiina, what about you? What are your thoughts for the future?"

This time, Sawahara didn't make any wild guesses, lest he get slapped in the face again.

"Well, I want to be a writer or a novelist, to do some kind of text-based work," Shiina said, sharing her thoughts.

"That suits you, Shiina." There always seemed to be an aura of books surrounding her; literary work was indeed the most suitable job for her.

"Then I'll be waiting to read your masterpiece." Sawahara smiled and offered his well-wishes.

Hearing Sawahara's words, a blush suddenly appeared on Shiina's face. She didn't want Sawahara to read her work at all, because what she intended to write about was Sawahara himself.

Just a moment ago, she had seen the flame flickering in Sawahara's eyes. She knew he would definitely be an extraordinary person in the future, and she wanted to record his story bit by bit. How could she let the subject himself know about that!

"Heh, you offer your blessings for Shiina's dream, but for me, it's just a 'great idea.' You really are a bastard..." Ryuen scoffed inappropriately from the side.

"Then I wish you great success in your business as well, Ryuen." Sawahara was a bit speechless. Are you a child fighting over candy?

"Tch, why does it feel like my business is going to be cursed after hearing you say that?" Ryuen clicked his tongue, feeling an inexplicable sense of annoyance at Sawahara's blessing.

"..." Why are you so hard to please?

"Morning, President, Secretary." Sawahara got up early and headed to the swimming pool, where he saw Manabu Horikita and Tachibana already dressed in staff uniforms, waiting there.

"Morning."

"Morning." Tachibana looked at Sawahara with hostility. Why are you still calling the President 'President'! And why did you suddenly call me Secretary? Didn't you call me Senior Tachibana before?

"Why the sudden change in address?"

"Oh, because the President kept emphasizing that you are the Student Council Secretary, so I changed how I address you." Sawahara didn't hesitate to push the responsibility onto Manabu Horikita.

"Perhaps in the President's eyes, the Secretary is just a secretary."

Visibly, Tachibana began to look dejected. Does the President only see me as a secretary?

"Enough, General Affairs." Manabu Horikita glared at Sawahara, while also changing how he addressed him. "Tachibana, don't mind what this General Affairs member says. He's just teasing you."

"Eh, eh, eh!" Senior Tachibana looked up, first in shock, then glared indignantly at Sawahara.

"Seriously, didn't the President just have me acting as the Student Council Secretary?" Sawahara said with a smile, complaining as he spoke.

"You've been dismissed."

"There really are a lot of people." Sawahara looked at the increasingly long line at the pool and sighed.

"The second and third years didn't go to the beach for their special exams, so naturally, people would think to come here to swim." After all, the cool feeling of a pool in the summer is wonderful.

"Not everyone in the first year got to enjoy the pool or the ocean, either." After all, Class A and Class B didn't dare to go into the water on the island; it would be troublesome if they caught a cold. Then the second special exam came quickly, so very few actually got to enjoy it.

"You performed well in the summer vacation special exam." Manabu Horikita praised Sawahara for the results he achieved in the two exams on the cruise ship, but added, "Don't get too proud. There are many more exams like this to come; you won't be able to laugh until the end every single time."

He not only gave praise but also offered a warning. Should one expect anything less from the President?

"What about Horikita's performance? She suffered quite a bit in these two exams." Sawahara brought up the subject of Horikita.

"I don't have a complete understanding of your exam situations." A faint smile appeared on Manabu Horikita's face. "But Suzune must have given it her all, and in the end, she lost completely."

He knew his sister's personality well; it wasn't hard to guess her approach.

"Hmm, the President doesn't seem sad about it, though." Sawahara looked at Manabu Horikita; the other party didn't look hurt at all, and even seemed quite pleased.

"Of course. It's not a bad thing for Suzune to encounter some setbacks at this time. As long as she can learn something from it and make some changes, that would be for the best."

"Oh my, that's great then. I was worried you might make things difficult for me because of this, President." Sawahara acted as if he were relieved. Manabu Horikita knew he was joking, but played along anyway.

"Of course not, General Affairs."