Joining the Student Council

"Kamuro, tell me. Wouldn't it be interesting if I took him in as a pet, too?"

"Besides, wouldn't a pet get lonely if it were the only one?"

When she heard Sakayanagi Arisu's words, the girl standing beside her, Kamuro, visibly froze.

Sakayanagi picked up a piece of candy and watched it with interest. In the end, Kamuro didn't say anything; she simply stood silently at Sakayanagi's side.

"An Xiao... is that right? I'm actually looking forward to seeing you again."

Knock, knock, knock!

"Come in."

Horikita Manabu sat at the center of the room. When he heard the knock, he looked up, set the thick stack of documents in his hand aside, and said coldly,

"You're... a little late."

"I-I guess so?"

"You only told me to come by today."

An Xiao walked into the Student Council office and answered Horikita Manabu in a timid voice.

"Come on, President, you don't have to be so strict. He's just a first-year, after all."

The blond man sitting beside Horikita Manabu chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. Then he turned to An Xiao, who was walking over, and spoke with interest.

"Still, this is the first time I've seen the president personally invite a first-year to join the Student Council."

"Looks like there's something special about you."

"Even so, you should be mindful of the time. If you'd arrived any later, everyone in the Student Council would've left."

On Horikita Manabu's other side, a purple-haired, purple-eyed girl with her hair tied into two buns held a stack of documents. She spoke with evident annoyance.

"Sorry, sorry."

"All right, enough chatter. Sign this first."

Swish!

Horikita Manabu pulled a contract that had already been prepared from a nearby drawer and handed it to An Xiao. Then, without looking up, he went back to his paperwork.

"I've prepared the contract. If you have no problems with it, just sign."

"This is so formal. I have to sign a contract?"

An Xiao muttered, but his hands moved quickly. His eyes swept over the contract he'd been handed.

"Strictly speaking, the agreement we reached earlier won't be recognized by the school unless you sign the contract."

"Oh, I see..."

He quickly finished reading and didn't notice anything suspicious. He was just about to sign when his hand, holding the pen, suddenly stopped.

"Hmm? Is something wrong?"

"Ah, no. It's just that this is my first time joining the Student Council, so I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"Is that really okay?"

"You don't need to worry about the rest. Tachibana will show you the ropes." Horikita Manabu looked up from his documents again, his tone still cool. "What did you think I made you a clerk for?"

All right, then!

If the president said so, it probably wouldn't be a disaster even if An Xiao didn't know what he was doing.

With that in mind, An Xiao quickly signed his name on the contract.

"I'm going to put you through your paces." The purple-haired upperclassman stepped forward, took the contract from An Xiao, and said sternly.

"My name is Akane Tachibana. I'm from Class A, third year, and I'm the Student Council secretary."

"I'm Miyabi Nagumo, from Class A, second year. I'm the vice president of the Student Council." The handsome blond from earlier stepped forward as well.

Seeing that everyone else in the office had introduced themselves, An Xiao said, "I'm An Xiao, from Class B, first year."

"Class B, huh..." Miyabi Nagumo looked at An Xiao and smiled. "What a coincidence. I was in Class B, too, before I got promoted. If you have any questions, junior, come ask me."

"By the way, how did you catch Horikita-senpai's eye and get invited into the Student Council? Can you tell me about it?"

As he spoke, he walked over and patted An Xiao on the shoulder.

But An Xiao noticed that after Miyabi Nagumo said this,

Horikita Manabu and Akane Tachibana frowned behind him.

"All right, Nagumo-kun, you still have things to take care of, don't you? You can talk about that another time." Akane Tachibana stepped forward and stood between them.

Noticing what Akane Tachibana was doing, Miyabi Nagumo shrugged and said no more. He returned to his seat.

After Miyabi Nagumo sat down, Akane Tachibana breathed a sigh of relief. Then she turned to An Xiao and said, "If you have any questions about the Student Council, you can ask me."

"Uh, all right, Tachibana-senpai."

Though he didn't know why the atmosphere in the office felt so strange, An Xiao obediently agreed.

"All right, Tachibana." Horikita Manabu checked the time, then said to An Xiao, "Now that you've signed the contract, you can leave for today. I'll have Tachibana teach you the Student Council's duties next week."

"Okay." An Xiao visibly relaxed at those words. After a brief goodbye, he left without looking back.

Watching An Xiao hurry away, Miyabi Nagumo's lips curled into a smile.

"Quite an interesting first-year."

"I'll have to keep a closer eye on him."

"Looks like things aren't exactly peaceful, even inside the Student Council."

After leaving the Student Council office, An Xiao didn't head straight to the cafeteria. Instead, he wandered aimlessly around campus.

He couldn't help replaying the scenes from the Student Council office in his mind.

For some reason, even though Miyabi Nagumo had been very friendly, An Xiao always felt uneasy around him.

It was hard to describe. If he had to explain it, it was like running into a delinquent with bleached hair...

An Xiao stopped in his tracks, suddenly amused by the thought.

Could that blond really be a delinquent with bleached hair?

"Forget it. I'll stop thinking about it for now. There's plenty of time; I can figure it out later."

He turned toward the cafeteria, but his gaze was drawn to a brightly lit building.

"Come to think of it, what was that place again?"