A Few Days Later

"Ring, ring—"

The alarm clock rang out. Drowsy, Hoshino fumbled around until he managed to shut it off.

"One, two, three..." he muttered, sitting bolt upright without even opening his eyes.

Since there were classes today, Hoshino had no choice but to get up.

Still groggy, Hoshino washed up and changed into his school uniform; only then did he finally feel somewhat awake.

After grabbing some bread and milk from the fridge and quickly finishing a simple breakfast, Hoshino picked up his bag and sauntered out of the dormitory.

"What exactly are these people looking at?"

On the way to the classroom, Hoshino could clearly sense that the people around him were glancing his way, whether intentionally or not. Some were huddled together, seemingly pointing at him and whispering, but whenever he looked over, they would reflexively avert their eyes and start loudly discussing the day's lessons with clumsy acting that lacked any shred of credibility.

He felt a bit awkward. Could my clothes be messy, or is my zipper down? Or is there something on my face?

Hoshino quickly checked his bag and his attire, then touched his face, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Being stared at didn't feel good at all. What were these people looking at? Hoshino quickened his pace and hurried toward the classroom.

"...Congratulations, Hoshino..." As soon as he entered the classroom, Sotomura's voice reached him. Along with it, Hoshino noticed that the gazes of many people in the room suddenly shifted toward him, which startled him a bit.

"...Congratulations for what?" Under the scrutiny of everyone, Hoshino felt the pressure mounting and asked weakly.

Sotomura, who had apparently been talking to Sudo and the others, hurried over and blocked Hoshino, who was trying to return to his seat, his face full of admiration.

"...Didn't you join the Student Council?" Sotomura asked, looking at the bewildered Hoshino with some confusion.

"Yeah, so?"

Was this something worth celebrating? Wasn't it just joining a club? Didn't you, Sotomura, join the Computer Club or something? Hoshino thought to himself, rolling his eyes.

"Huh? What do you mean 'so'? Do you have any idea? You're the only first-year who joined the Student Council!" Sotomura's voice rose significantly, and Hoshino noticed many more eyes gathering on him, making him feel truly awkward.

"Mm, and then?" Lowering his voice, Hoshino looked at Sotomura.

To each their own. The Student Council has so much work; isn't it normal that no one else wanted to join?

"And then..." Sotomura looked stunned, left speechless. "The rumor going around is that you defeated Katsuragi from Class A and Ichinose from Class B..."

"Huh? How come I didn't know that? And who are these two people you're talking about?" Hoshino was completely lost; he didn't even know who those two were.

"They're the leaders of Class A and Class B! They also applied for the Student Council... You didn't know this, Hoshino? These two are very famous! Not to mention Katsuragi, but Ichinose is a real beauty!" Sotomura suddenly grew excited and began to "enlighten" Hoshino.

Wasn't the leader of Class A Sakayanagi? Given Sakayanagi's personality, Hoshino suddenly understood the current situation in Class A. It must be "split" right now, which was indeed an opportunity for the lower-ranked classes.

"Oh, I see!" Having finally figured out what was going on, Hoshino breathed a sigh of relief.

"...Is your reaction a bit too dull?" Looking at the calm Hoshino, Sotomura didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Uh... what kind of reaction should I have?"

"..."

"By the way, how did you guys find out?" Suddenly thinking of the crux of the matter, Hoshino, who had intended to leave, stopped in his tracks again.

"...The Student Council notice! It's on that electronic bulletin board where we post our second-hand trades..."

"Oh..." With that, Hoshino bypassed Sotomura and headed toward his seat.

"Hey, hey, Hoshino, did you really defeat Katsuragi and Ichinose?" Sotomura didn't seem ready to let Hoshino go and followed him with great enthusiasm.

"...I don't think so."

Hoshino really didn't know how to answer that question. It was a fact that he had joined the Student Council, but he hadn't gone through the formal process! He hadn't even faced them, so how could it be considered a defeat? He could only brush it off.

"That's so amazing!..." Sotomura ignored Hoshino's words and began to marvel to himself.

"Isn't it just joining a club like normal?" Hoshino gave Sotomura a side-eye, not knowing how to respond, and decided to just let it be.

Hoshino pulled out his chair, put his bag away, and plopped down.

"What do you mean 'joining a club like normal'? The Student Council is different from other clubs!" Sotomura looked "fanatical," his tone tinged with a bit of dissatisfaction.

"By the way, now that this has happened, can't you just relax? Moving up in class rank will be easy now, right!..."

He seemed to have fallen into a "frenzy" again. Hoshino didn't know what this guy was imagining and felt a mix of amusement and frustration.

"...You're overthinking it. I don't have that much power; I'm just a gopher. The Student Council has power, but I don't."

"No power? You were promoted to secretary right after joining! With the President's favor, you'll at least be promoted to vice president sooner or later! Maybe one day you'll even become the president!..."

Hoshino could only smile at that; it was a lovely thought, but far too optimistic.

Appointments in the Student Council depended on ability! It wasn't just talk; for all he knew, he could be "fired" from this secretary position any day.

Besides, Hoshino felt no sense of belonging to the class, nor did he want to secure any "benefits" for them. He only thought about things occasionally because he wanted more private points. If all the private points were his, he would put in the effort, but as it stood, the current amount wasn't worth it. Furthermore, no one would listen to him anyway.

After chatting for a bit, the bell rang, and Sotomura reluctantly returned to his seat.

Chabashira-sensei walked onto the podium with a light step and began the morning homeroom.

Only then did Hoshino have time to think about a few things: what was President Horikita's intention?

He didn't know much about Katsuragi, but as for Ichinose, he had met her a few times and had his own opinions. There was absolutely nothing wrong with Ichinose joining the Student Council—she was a good student, kind to others, and had leadership skills! She looked like a prime candidate in every way.

Why would President Horikita turn away such talent? Was he planning to put Hoshino through a grueling trial?

Hoshino had originally thought there might be some newcomers, which would have allowed him to take it easy, so it was a real shame; he had actually been looking forward to it for the past few days.

Putting those thoughts aside and watching Chabashira-sensei talk about various academic matters on the podium, Hoshino suddenly remembered the mountain of work in the Student Council room yesterday and felt a bit sentimental, thinking that perhaps attending class was the best time to slack off right now.

With piles of work waiting after school, why did it feel like he was getting the short end of the stick? But after thinking about those 100,000 points every month, Hoshino finally relaxed; it was barely acceptable!

There hadn't been anything special lately that would allow Hoshino to find an opportunity to make a profit, which was a pity, and his points had been dwindling rapidly, leaving him with only about 900,000.

Furthermore, that one condition from Chabashira-sensei didn't seem to have any use at the moment. He wondered if he could find an opportunity to do something with it?

Hoshino fell into deep thought...