Suzuki Toru ignored Totsuka Yahiko and said to Katsuragi Kohei, "The Student Council's list of new members will be announced next month. Give me your answer by the end of this month at the latest."
He'd expected Katsuragi Kohei to take a long time to think it over, but the moment he finished speaking, Katsuragi made up his mind.
"No, I'll give you my answer now." Katsuragi Kohei looked Suzuki Toru in the eye, his expression serious. "I accept your terms, Suzuki."
Suzuki nodded without asking why.
He operated his phone and sent Horikita Manabu a message. Before long, he got a reply.
"You're in, Katsuragi." Suzuki turned the chat screen toward Katsuragi Kohei. The most prominent text on it said exactly what he'd just told him.
"It looks like it's real..." Totsuka Yahiko leaned in and saw it clearly, completely dumbfounded.
Katsuragi Kohei had seen it even more clearly. He stared at the screen for a long time without saying a word.
In yesterday's class, Suzuki Toru hadn't stood out much. He'd seemed more like a student called on by the teacher, with an air of helplessness about him.
When Suzuki explained Private Points, Katsuragi had thought he was a fairly perceptive student with quick reactions and sharp thinking.
But Suzuki Toru had completely shattered that impression.
If Katsuragi hadn't happened to go to the Student Council, he might still not have known that Suzuki Toru had joined.
Not only could he join the Student Council, he could get other people in, too.
He wasn't an ordinary student by any means. Wherever you found him, he'd be exceptional and stand out!
More importantly, Katsuragi Kohei suddenly realized there was an even more frightening question.
"Suzuki, can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"How many Private Points did you have before?"
"Over a million."
"..."
It was clear now: Suzuki was a man who surpassed him.
And he might even be better than Sakayanagi Arisu, in every sense of the word.
Katsuragi Kohei felt a surge of ambition. With a monster like this in their class, he couldn't imagine any way Class A could lose.
It wasn't as if Suzuki Toru was going to get expelled, right?
That same day.
In Class D's classroom.
During the teacher's lesson, most of the students were busy with their own things. There were too many people playing on their phones, sleeping, and whispering to count.
The teacher seemed to turn a blind eye to what was happening below and carried on with the lesson.
Horikita Suzune thought these people were beyond saving.
But no matter how hopeless they were, she wasn't about to get involved.
When class ended, Horikita Suzune took out a book by Dostoevsky, opened it to the page she'd marked the previous night, and continued reading as if no one else were there.
"Hey, Horikita, want to have lunch together today?" a boy beside her asked.
"No thanks. Your group is vulgar." Horikita Suzune answered without looking up.
"I won't deny that, but are you eating a bento today, too?" he pressed.
"There are free ingredients at the supermarket. I can use them to make a nutritious bento." Horikita Suzune sounded as though she were reciting a formula.
The school had given them a hundred thousand Private Points, but Horikita Suzune wasn't the kind of girl who spent much.
If there were free ingredients, why not use them?
The boy watched her reaction and seemed to look envious.
"That expression of yours is disgusting, Ayanokoji." Horikita Suzune shot him a thoroughly icy look.
The boy's name was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. On the first day of school, she'd ridden the same bus with him to Advanced Nurturing High School, so they had a small connection.
Since they were in the same class and sat beside each other, Horikita Suzune sometimes answered him with a couple of words, but that was all.
Seeing her reaction, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka immediately looked away and said nothing more, afraid she'd stab him with a compass again.
Just then, a girl suddenly came up to Horikita Suzune, making her frown without thinking.
The girl was Kushida Kikyo, an inexplicable person who'd announced on the first day of school that she wanted to be friends with everyone, and had been pestering Horikita Suzune ever since.
Not long ago, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Kushida Kikyo had tricked her into going to a café. They'd said she was always on her own and looked too lonely, and they wanted to be friends with her.
Horikita Suzune didn't think being alone was lonely at all. Friends, as a rule, had very little meaning.
Before entering this school, she'd never made a friend, exchanged contact information with anyone, or hung out with her classmates.
Yes, ever since kindergarten.
Just as Horikita Suzune was about to turn Kushida Kikyo down, she heard Kushida say a little sheepishly,
"Horikita, I ran into someone you know on the way here. We talked for a little while, and he wants to see you. When are you free?"
Horikita Suzune's whole body stiffened in an instant.
Could it be her brother?
[An illustration appears here. Update to the latest version to view it.]
You've Disappointed Your Brother So Much
Although she'd never told anyone, she had a brother, and he happened to attend Advanced Nurturing High School, too.
At the club orientation, Horikita Suzune had kept her eyes fixed on her brother.
A third-year student, the Student Council President: Horikita Manabu.
He was flawless, beyond reproach. Watching Horikita Manabu onstage had made Horikita Suzune feel inferior for a time.
But the siblings hadn't met here by chance.
Ever since she learned Horikita Manabu had gotten into Advanced Nurturing High School, Horikita Suzune had sworn to catch up with him.
As expected, Horikita Suzune had successfully enrolled at Advanced Nurturing High School that year, becoming a schoolmate of Horikita Manabu.
And so, Horikita Suzune was satisfied. She couldn't be bothered to think about joining the Student Council or anything else.
If Ayanokoji Kiyotaka hadn't had some sense of self-awareness, Horikita Suzune wouldn't have bothered with him, either.
Socializing was an incredibly boring and tiresome activity. No matter how unforgettable a friendship might seem, it was ultimately only a moment in one's life.
She had plenty to do and needed to devote her precious energy to herself.
So Horikita Suzune didn't need friends.
When Kushida Kikyo came over with a big smile, Horikita Suzune turned her down without a second thought.
She'd even warned Ayanokoji Kiyotaka not to count her among his friends.
No matter what happened, Horikita Suzune didn't think there was any chance she'd waver in her feelings toward either of them.
Yes, that should have been the case.
"Honestly, I'm a little surprised. I didn't know you had someone you knew at this school, Horikita." Kushida Kikyo smiled warmly as she studied Horikita Suzune's reaction.
"You saw him?" Horikita Suzune tried hard to hide her expression. "When did this happen? What did he say to you?"
That reaction was easy to read. Kushida Kikyo smiled brightly.
"Yesterday, after I went shopping for clothes with Komi and the others, I ran into Suzuki on the way back to the dorms. I wouldn't have known you knew each other if he hadn't told me."
Huh? Suzuki?
Horikita Suzune's tense expression faltered. Who was that? Wasn't she talking about her brother?
"I don't know him."
In an instant, Horikita Suzune returned to normal, her expression turning icy.
"Huh? Isn't he your friend?" Kushida Kikyo looked surprised.
"I've always been on my own. I don't have friends." Horikita Suzune spoke coolly. "If you run into someone like that again, assume he's a liar. Please don't bother me about it."
"But Suzuki said he's friends with your brother, and that he knows you, too."
As soon as she said that, Kushida Kikyo noticed Horikita Suzune stiffen again, even more than before.
"...Do you know who my brother is?"
"Suzuki said the Student Council President is your brother. Is that right?"
Horikita Suzune fell silent, unconsciously gripping her book tighter.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka beside her seemed to have heard something, too. He glanced over discreetly, his thoughts unclear.
"Horikita?"
Kushida Kikyo called out cautiously, but Horikita Suzune suddenly shut her book and looked up at her expressionlessly.
"If I heard you right, you said he wanted to see me? When? Where? Did he say anything else?"
Kushida Kikyo was startled by her questions. She hesitated before answering, "Suzuki didn't tell me anything else, but he said if you were free, you could meet him after school today. He'll be waiting behind the gym."
"Fine. Tell him I'll be there." Horikita Suzune answered, convinced that she sounded calm.
Kushida Kikyo gathered her courage and asked, "Horikita, could I go with you?"
"No." Horikita Suzune rejected her without a moment's thought.
Kushida Kikyo didn't get upset. Instead, she kept smiling.
"All right. Let's go out together sometime when you're free."
Before you continue