First Steps into the Student Council

Starting from the second day, Hoshino began a new daily routine: every day after school, he had to head to the Student Council to learn how to handle various affairs.

After school, Hoshino arrived at the Student Council room and pushed open the door. He was immediately met with a sense of "sweltering heat." President Horikita, Secretary Tachibana, and another unknown Student Council member were busy dealing with the work in front of them, the atmosphere heavy and tense.

"Don't just stand there like a fool, get in here!"

Secretary Tachibana looked exhausted. She glanced up at Hoshino standing at the door, urged him impatiently, and then immediately lowered her head to continue writing. The other unknown Student Council member also just looked up at Hoshino once, his face full of weariness.

As for President Horikita, he remained as calm as ever, his hands showing no signs of stopping the work he was doing.

"Oh, oh! Right..." Hoshino walked in quickly and closed the door. He felt a bit at a loss—what exactly was he supposed to do?

Everyone in the office was silent, with only the sound of scratching pens and turning pages. Hoshino didn't feel any sense of calm; instead, he felt as if the office held the momentum of a thousand troops.

In the past, Hoshino had never joined the Student Council, so he had never seen such a formation. It really gave him quite a shock!

"Hoshino, come over here. I'll tell you about some simple things first. Help me handle the work at hand, and we'll talk about other things later..." Just as Hoshino was at a loss, a serious voice rang out. President Horikita didn't even look up, his hand still writing on the paper.

He walked over quickly and looked at the desk full of documents. Hoshino was stunned: it was truly exaggerated. The table was covered in all sorts of files, with not even a single empty spot!

"Do you know how to do simple reviews? Here are some budget requests from clubs that have already been processed. See if they have been stamped by the Student Council; if they haven't been approved or reviewed, set them aside separately. There are a few places to pay attention to, and some parts need to be cross-referenced..." Putting down his pen, President Horikita pulled a few files from the pile and began to explain to Hoshino what needed to be done and the differences in the documents he needed to watch out for.

"Should I separate them here?"

"Yes."

"And here..."

"..."

After asking a few questions, Hoshino more or less understood. He sat down at the desk to the side and began to handle the tasks the president had assigned.

The work didn't seem difficult, but the volume was huge, and everything needed to be checked and cross-referenced one by one. It was truly quite tedious!

Two hours passed quickly.

"Phew—"

After finishing the last document in his hand, Hoshino finally let out a long sigh, dropped his pen, looked up, stretched, and loosened his neck.

Looking around, all the work had been mostly completed. The files in front of the other three were also down to the last bit, in the final stages. The individual files didn't actually take long to process, but the sheer volume was indeed massive.

Hoshino was finally able to take a good look at this Student Council office.

Overall, the layout of the Student Council room was very different from a teacher's office. Perhaps because there were more people, the Student Council room was much larger than a teacher's office. There were more desks arranged, about six or seven of them, all covered in files, pen holders, and scratch paper.

There was a small reception area at the entrance with a low coffee table. On the tea tray were a few small cups. The rest of the space was filled with neatly arranged files, and even the sofas on both sides were covered in sorted documents. A white water dispenser stood next to the reception area.

At the back of the Student Council room were several cabinets for storing files, which were full of documents visible through the glass doors.

It didn't feel like there was anything particularly special; it was all a bit too simple.

I don't know if the schedules were staggered, but right now, only President Horikita, Secretary Tachibana, and one Student Council member were present.

"I originally intended to introduce you to the Student Council members today, but the timing isn't great; they aren't all here. The one present right now is the Vice President, Kiriyama." President Horikita, having finished his files, looked up and happened to see Hoshino looking around, so he began to introduce him.

"Please take care of me." Hoshino was surprised by President Horikita's voice. He stood up and bowed slightly to the Vice President, who was writing documents.

"I am Kiriyama. Please take care of me." Vice President Kiriyama looked up, examined him for a moment, smiled, and nodded.

He then lowered his head again to finish his final tasks.

"As for Tachibana, you should already know her."

"Yes, please take care of me."

"Please take care of me." Although she looked a bit dissatisfied, Secretary Tachibana still stood up, straightened her clothes, and bowed slightly. Hoshino felt a bit flattered.

"Let's stop here for today. Everyone has worked hard." Seeing that the other three had finished their work and were organizing their drafts, President Horikita offered his condolences and signaled that they could leave.

"See you tomorrow, then!" The Vice President, who had finished organizing first, greeted them and hurried out of the Student Council room.

"See you tomorrow!" Secretary Tachibana also bowed slightly to President Horikita and left with light, quick steps.

"See you tomorrow..."

"Hoshino, aren't you leaving yet?" Watching the two leave, President Horikita sat back in his chair and began to organize his files.

"Uh, I have some questions I'd like to ask..." Hoshino didn't quite know how to start.

"Hmm? What is it?" His gaze shifted over, and President Horikita looked a bit puzzled.

"President, I'm a bit curious... that is... the President and that Horikita from our Class D...?" Hoshino spoke hesitantly.

He had been curious about this for a long time. Ever since he found out that the two shared the same surname, Hoshino had wanted to ask, but he never found a good opportunity.

The way these two people carried themselves... it was very strange.

On one hand, Hoshino seemed to see many similarities in them: diligent, serious, wise, opinionated—they were just too much alike.

But on the other hand, they didn't seem to have any interaction at all. Hoshino had never really seen them interact, as if they were complete strangers.

"Yes, Suzune is my younger sister." The tone was flat, so flat that Hoshino wondered if he had misheard.

Although he was surprised that Hoshino would ask such a question, President Horikita still gave an answer.

"Are you sure?" Hoshino asked subconsciously.

"Yes..." President Horikita confirmed, his tone changing slightly.

Are these two siblings not on good terms? If he hadn't heard it with his own ears, Hoshino would have thought they were talking about total strangers!

"Our relationship... is somewhat distant. At the very least, I don't wish for Suzune to be the way she is now..." Seeming to see through Hoshino's thoughts, Horikita's voice carried a hint of regret.

"Alright, you should head back soon as well; it's getting late."

As if he didn't want to continue the conversation, Horikita urged him on, tidied up his things briefly, and stood up, making a move to leave.

"Oh, oh... right." Hoshino sensibly stood up, gave a slight bow, and then walked out of the Student Council room.

He still felt a bit of emotion in his heart: these two siblings really are strange!