Student Council Members

"What the hell? Why am I getting expelled?!" Kanji Ike shouted, dumbfounded.

Judging by the results Chabashira Sae had posted, seven students in Class D had fallen below the passing line. Among them were Kanji Ike and Ken Sudō.

"What's so strange about that? The teacher's explanation was crystal clear. This class really did have a lot of idiots." Koenji Rokusuke casually cut in as he filed his nails.

"Hey, Koenji! You're an idiot too!"

"Look carefully."

"What am I supposed to look at? You're just like us... Wait, you got first place?!"

Kanji Ike was completely dumbfounded. He was rich and a top student—how were people like them supposed to survive?

"I thought he was an idiot too..." another student who'd failed said sourly. He was friends with Kanji Ike and Ken Sudō, and his name was Yamauchi Haruki.

Facing this scene, Chabashira Sae spoke unhurriedly. "I imagine you came to this school hoping to continue your education or find a job, but unfortunately, those things have nothing to do with you anymore."

"Not only that, but even the midterm exams are likely to be a problem for you." Chabashira smiled faintly. "I'll cheer you on, for what it's worth. I hope not too many of you get expelled."

With that, their homeroom teacher left the classroom, leaving behind a crowd of students with grim faces.

"Damn it, what kind of joke is this? There's no way I'm staying in Class D!" one student shouted angrily, slamming his desk.

"Everyone, calm down," Hirata Yosuke said promptly, trying to reassure the class. "Complaining won't do us any good. We should think together about how to work harder."

"Hey, hey, our points have all dropped to zero. How are we supposed to work harder? And if you ask me, you're the ones at fault!"

Someone began blaming their classmates, especially Kanji Ike and the others.

"If you hadn't been messing around in class, we wouldn't have lost all our points!"

"Hey, what does that have to do with us?" Kanji Ike immediately protested. "We weren't the only ones using our phones. I saw you doing it too!"

As they looked ready to start arguing, Hirata Yosuke felt a headache coming on.

Just then, Kushida Kikyo stepped in to mediate as well.

"Come on, both of you, calm down. We've only been here a month. It doesn't mean we'll have zero points forever. We can all work together to change things."

Perhaps not wanting to make a scene in front of a cute girl, Kanji Ike and the other student both snorted, but said no more.

Before long, though, someone else spoke up.

"It's a little late to regret it now. Why wouldn't you listen to me back then?" Horikita Suzune's voice was icy. She truly couldn't understand what these people were thinking.

At her words, the entire class turned to look at her, and the atmosphere suddenly grew tense.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka felt exasperated from the side. It was exactly because of your rude tone that Class D refused to cooperate with you.

No matter how right you were, nobody would want to listen to you.

How could she not understand? Even he knew this much. Why did Horikita Suzune seem completely oblivious?

Weren't Japanese people supposed to be born with the ability to read the room?

Could it be that Horikita Suzune had grown up overseas?

"I understand that Horikita is worried about everyone, but what's done is done. It's not too late to start working harder today," Hirata Yosuke said gently, easing some of the tension.

Horikita Suzune sighed deeply, then analyzed the situation. "I didn't have high expectations for you to begin with, but we'd better not have any more classroom disruptions this month. You need to keep an eye on one another and make sure nobody is late or using their phones, among other things."

To her, this was only common sense, but her words were immediately challenged.

"Why should we listen to your orders?" Kanji Ike said unhappily. "And even if we do, that doesn't mean our points will definitely go up!"

Horikita Suzune glared at him coldly, her voice tinged with anger. "Those behaviors were exactly why we lost points. Do you want to keep our score at zero?"

Kanji Ike opened his mouth, but couldn't think of how to argue back.

"Tch. I'm not taking orders from a woman, anyway. Do whatever you want."

Ken Sudō pursed his lips, then walked out of the classroom on his own.

At that moment, Horikita Suzune's face was expressionless. Only Ayanokoji Kiyotaka could see how tightly she'd clenched her fists, as if she were about to hit someone.

Chapter 46: Student Council Members

As it happened, today wasn't just the day the results came out. The Student Council had finally announced its list of new members, too.

Three first-years had been selected.

Well, strictly speaking, nobody had been rejected.

When Class A heard the news, the students in the Katsuragi Faction clearly felt a surge of vindication.

At any school, joining the Student Council made for an impressive résumé, especially at a high school of Advanced Nurturing High School's caliber.

With a little effort, they might even become Student Council President one day. For Class A, this was a considerable advantage.

However, when they saw Suzuki Toru's name on the list, some people looked puzzled.

Although Suzuki Toru rarely took part in class activities, everyone knew he had a good relationship with Sakayanagi Arisu. In some people's eyes, he was also a member of the Sakayanagi Faction.

At the very least, he seemed to lean toward the Sakayanagi Faction.

His selection for the Student Council inevitably raised suspicions that Sakayanagi Arisu was also trying to gain influence there, with the girl lending him her support.

But suspicion was only suspicion. With two students from Class A joining the Student Council, there was a two-thirds chance that its next president would be one of their people.

That afternoon, as soon as school let out, Suzuki Toru went to the Student Council office with Katsuragi Kohei.

Neither of them said a word along the way.

Finally, Katsuragi Kohei broke the silence. He looked at Suzuki Toru very seriously.

"Suzuki, why did you spend a million Private Points to help me?"

More than how Suzuki Toru had gotten a million Private Points, Katsuragi Kohei wanted to know why he'd been willing to spend them on him.

"Who told you about that?" Suzuki Toru asked curiously.

"Tachibana-senpai, who notified me. I asked her, and she told me. At first, she thought I already knew." Katsuragi Kohei recalled the moment Tachibana Akane had told him the truth. His feelings about Suzuki Toru were complicated.

"I didn't think my senior was such a blabbermouth." Suzuki Toru frowned, then nodded frankly. "I did spend a million Private Points, but I didn't set them aside specifically for you at first. I spent them on you later because I thought you'd be a good fit for the Student Council. That's all."

Katsuragi Kohei's expression was complicated. To be honest, they'd known each other for less than a month, and Suzuki Toru had already spent a million Private Points on him—the equivalent of a million yen.

There was no way he wasn't at least a little overwhelmed by it.

Whether he felt grateful or overwhelmed, he still couldn't understand why Suzuki Toru had picked him.

"You still haven't told me what your first request is," Katsuragi Kohei said quietly.

The only explanation he could think of was that Suzuki Toru needed him to do something he couldn't conveniently handle himself.

In other words, the million Private Points were simply part of a deal: each of them got something they wanted.

No, that wasn't quite right. Suzuki Toru had given him a place on the Student Council. The million Private Points were simply the price he'd paid.

But once that price was made concrete and easy to understand, Katsuragi Kohei started to feel a chill. He felt as if he'd taken on a debt, and it made him uneasy.

He wanted to do something for Suzuki Toru right away.

Otherwise, he'd feel he hadn't earned the Private Points.

A million... That was enough to keep him working part-time for ages. He could even take his little sister on a trip.

"You'll find out soon enough." Suzuki Toru had already spotted the Student Council office. "But before then, you need to pretend we don't know each other."

Pretend they didn't know each other?

Katsuragi Kohei froze, then couldn't help thinking that they hadn't known each other all that well to begin with.

Before he could say anything, Suzuki Toru suddenly smiled and waved to someone across the hall.

"Good afternoon, Ichinose."

A girl appeared in the opposite corridor, heading for the Student Council office as well.

"G-good afternoon, Suzuki-kun..."

For some reason, her otherwise flawless face had taken on an awkward expression. When Suzuki Toru greeted her, she looked away, as though she didn't dare meet his eyes.

The girl was, of course, Ichinose Honami.

She had no idea why Suzuki Toru's name was on the Student Council's list of new members, too.

If she hadn't still had a little courage left, Ichinose Honami wouldn't have dared come to the Student Council office at all.

"Ladies first. Go ahead." Suzuki Toru smiled faintly, his gaze roaming over the girl without restraint.

Although she was still growing, her chest was full enough to rival that of a mature woman. Even beneath her school uniform, its generous curve was plain to see.

Advanced Nurturing High School's uniforms weren't as conservative as those at other schools. Her skirt didn't reach her knees, revealing the pale, smooth skin of her thighs. Her slim, straight calves were pressed together and looked quite soft to the touch.

[Want to see Ichinose and Shiranami lying on top of each other], [Have Ichinose Honami sing a lullaby to help me sleep], [Teach her more things], [Take a look down there], [Help Ichinose Honami grow through suffering], [Escape the shadows of the past]...

Ichinose Honami lowered her head and knocked on the Student Council office door while he watched.

"Come in," Horikita Manabu's voice came from inside.

As the girl pushed the door open and entered, Suzuki Toru and Katsuragi Kohei followed close behind.

Quite a few members were gathered in the Student Council office.

When they saw the group enter, everyone's attention naturally turned to them.

"You're the only first-year newcomers for now. There aren't many of you, but congratulations," Horikita Manabu said steadily from the Student Council President's seat.

Meanwhile, Miyabi Nagumo, the Vice President, sat on the sofa, leaning back into its soft cushions as he watched Suzuki Toru and Ichinose Honami with a broad smile.

"Heh. Congratulations, congratulations."

With the two big shots having spoken, the other members gave them a brief round of applause.

Katsuragi Kohei and Ichinose Honami didn't dare act casually in front of their seniors. They quickly thanked them using honorific language.

However, Horikita Manabu didn't seem like someone who cared about such formalities.

"First, let me introduce everyone. This is Nagumo, the Student Council Vice President. The person next to me is Tachibana, the secretary, and we also have Fujimaki, the treasurer. These officers are the second-years Kiriyama, Tonegawa, and Mizowaki..."