Student Council Recruitment

That should have been a day where everything went smoothly...

Afternoon.

Secretary Tachibana placed the resumes of the first-year students applying to the Student Council in front of Horikita Manabu.

Considering the decrease in the frequency with which he was drinking water, Secretary Tachibana also thoughtfully peeled an orange for him.

"Why is there not a single person from Class 1-C in here?"

To President Horikita's question, Secretary Tachibana did not know how to respond and could only choose silence.

It should be said... why would a mere Class C student apply for the Student Council?

Student Council recruitment is open to all. The timing coincides with the period when school clubs open for student enrollment.

The slogan of this school is "Freedom."

Very few students seriously look at the school's motto or anything of that sort.

But when this school offers full tuition waivers and guarantees a future, everyone is forced to agree with the so-called "Freedom" slogan that the school heavily promotes.

In previous years, incoming first-years would be obsessed with the linguistic traps woven by the school.

They only highlight the nearly one-hundred-percent graduation employment rate, but they do not explicitly state the school's dropout rate.

Even though they received 100,000 points in the first month, the next month might result in 0 points.

Such word games are extremely common throughout the three years of life at this school.

Moreover, this school is always talking about students getting along and everything being equal.

Yet, there is a strict division between the four classes: A, B, C, and D.

In the past, Student Council recruitment would even deliberately allow only Class A students to apply.

But this year is different.

This year's Student Council President is named Horikita Manabu, a person capable of making any correct decision; that is what Secretary Tachibana believes.

It appears that President Horikita attaches great importance to this year's first-years.

Unlike previous years, where the Student Council President would focus primarily on first-years from Class A, Horikita Manabu carefully reviewed the resume of every first-year student who applied.

In the end, Horikita Manabu picked out three resumes from the vast sea of applicants.

Horikita Suzune from Class 1-D, Ichinose Honami from Class B, and Katsuragi Kohei from Class A.

Their resumes were selected by Horikita Manabu from among dozens of others.

As Horikita Manabu's capable assistant, Secretary Tachibana would double-check the final results of his selection.

Who is this Horikita Suzune?

Secretary Tachibana was stunned when she saw the first student's resume.

There were only two girls from Class D participating in the election: one was Kushida Kikyo, and the other was this Horikita Suzune.

President Horikita chose a girl who shared his own surname.

Even in the photograph, one could vaguely see a resemblance in appearance between her and the President.

Secretary Tachibana swallowed hard, but in the end, the question in her heart remained unspoken.

Having accompanied the President for two years, she understood his personality better than anyone.

Secretary Tachibana would not ask unnecessary questions; she would only silently choose to support every word and action of the President.

Secretary Tachibana then opened the resumes of the other two students, Ichinose Honami from Class 1-B and Katsuragi Kohei from Class 1-A.

She quickly confirmed the contact information for the three students and deliberately staggered the arrival times of Ichinose and Katsuragi from that of Horikita Suzune.

The first to arrive at the Student Council was the student from Class A, whose full name was Katsuragi Kohei.

The moment Secretary Tachibana saw Katsuragi, she felt that his chances of being selected were quite high.

She led Katsuragi to the front of the conference room that had been specifically reserved in the name of the Student Council.

Based on the experience of previous years, being a student from Class A made one the most likely to join the Student Council.

For this reason, Secretary Tachibana arranged for Katsuragi to be the first of the three to be interviewed.

There were not many vacancies in the Student Council.

However, considering that the third-year students would eventually graduate.

Therefore, the replenishment of first-year students was necessary.

But as the person who makes all the decisions, President Horikita holds the final say.

This year, even if all three first-years joined the Student Council, it would not be impossible.

Everything respects President Horikita's choice.

"My name is Katsuragi Ko..."

Katsuragi sat in his seat, and just as he was about to introduce himself, Horikita Manabu quickly interrupted him:

"I have already reviewed your file, and it is truly excellent."

Katsuragi felt a surge of joy upon hearing this.

To be called excellent by the student council president of this meritocratic school carried a weight that spoke for itself.

"However."

Horikita Manabu watched Katsuragi, whose face was lit with delight, and shifted his tone.

"I have a question for you."

"What is your opinion of Kujo Makoto from this year's Class 1-C?"

Katsuragi was stunned.

He had never heard the name "Kujo Makoto" before.

Katsuragi could not answer Horikita Manabu's question.

But since this was, after all, an interview, Katsuragi would not choose silence or admit ignorance; instead, he began to analyze:

"According to my investigation, the most dangerous person in this year's Class 1-C is Ryuen Kakeru. I learned from students in Class A that he was a notorious delinquent leader before entering this school. Since enrolling, he has also used violence to restrict the lives of his classmates. As for Kujo Makoto, my personal assessment is that he belongs to Ryuen's faction..."

Katsuragi adopted a standard, textbook approach to his argument.

As an honor student, even though he had never met Kujo, he was able to begin an analysis based solely on fragmented information.

After all, the most dangerous person in Class C was Ryuen Kakeru.

Therefore, anyone in Class C must be connected to Ryuen.

What Katsuragi said wasn't exactly wrong; in a sense, the current interests of Ryuen and Kujo did not conflict.

Although the two did not have a good relationship, they could by no means be considered enemies.

Calling him a helper was perfectly acceptable.

But these were not the answers Horikita Manabu wanted to hear.

Secretary Tachibana had been listening from the side, carefully observing the changes in the president's expression.

Secretary Tachibana also did not recall the name "Kujo Makoto" that the president had mentioned.

However, it was clear that the president was very concerned about the students in this year's Class 1-C.

Secretary Tachibana understood the president's personality. After the meeting ended and Katsuragi walked out of the room, Secretary Tachibana smiled and said to Katsuragi:

"You may return for now and wait for further news."

"If there is any update, we will notify you immediately."

Such a statement was essentially equivalent to announcing that Katsuragi's interview had failed.

The second person to arrive before Secretary Tachibana was a student from Class B, Ichinose Honami.

Based on past experience, it was quite difficult for students from Class 1-B to join the student council.

However, it was not impossible.

Although this school was based on meritocracy, the work of the student council was quite busy, and they were often short-handed.

If the student council were composed entirely of students from Class A, it would cause various problems in terms of organization and public opinion, so sometimes the student council president would specially invite one or two students from Class B to help.

Secretary Tachibana would not look down on Ichinose just because she was a student from Class B.

On the contrary, Ichinose was a cheerful girl whom everyone loved; it was hard not to like her.

The two girls were both quite talkative, so Secretary Tachibana revealed a secret to Ichinose.

President Horikita was very concerned about this year's first-year students.

Especially those in the lower-ranked classes of this year.

Perhaps Secretary Tachibana would never have guessed that this tiny hint would directly change the outcome of Ichinose's subsequent interview.

The meeting room.

The same seating arrangement.

"What is your opinion of Kujo Makoto from Class 1-C?"

It was the same question, and Secretary Tachibana was still watching from the same spot.

As President Horikita mentioned the name for the second time, Secretary Tachibana blinked, looking at Ichinose with a worried expression.

What a pity for this underclassman.

Secretary Tachibana felt sorry for Ichinose in her heart.

Because she did not believe that a first-year student from Class C was worth the attention of someone from Class B.

But the words that followed from Ichinose left both Horikita Manabu and Secretary Tachibana stunned.

"It is precisely because of Kujo Makoto that I came to the student council."

The meaning Ichinose wanted to convey was simple.

Because Ishizaki from Class C had come to their Class B on behalf of Kujo to talk about the student council excluding first-years.

That was why Ichinose had come to the student council because of this remark from Kujo.

However, seeing the reactions of the two, combined with what Secretary Tachibana had just said about Horikita Manabu being concerned about the lower-ranked first-year classes this year.

President Horikita himself was from Class A. The lower-ranked classes could be B, C, or D, but since she was from Class B, she figured Senior Tachibana was trying to hint that the president was concerned about the first-year classes C and D.

Faced with President Horikita suddenly asking about Kujo's name.

Ichinose quickly reached a conclusion: Kujo and the President Horikita before her knew each other.

Horikita Manabu adjusted his glasses and asked a second question with keen interest:

"Come to think of it, there has been a rumor circulating between our grade and the second-years recently. I heard that the first-year Class B intends to unite with Class C and Class D to challenge the status of Class A. Can you clear this up for me?"

Listening to this question, Ichinose became even more certain of her thoughts.

The President Horikita before her and Kujo definitely knew each other.

Ichinose was not completely ignorant about Kujo. In fact, she had been speculating about him since the start of the school year, and it wasn't until Ishizaki appeared that her previous thoughts were confirmed.

Should she follow "Kujo's" suggestion at this moment?

What if "Kujo" and President Horikita were not on good terms?

Ichinose's mind raced, and she quickly arrived at the best plan.

She wanted to test President Horikita.

Her idea could be described as extremely bold.

The person opposite her was the student council president at the very top of the school's pyramid, while she was just a first-year Class B student who had only recently enrolled.

But even so, Ichinose did not want to back down; she still wanted to give it one more try.

Because behind Ichinose were the expectations of all the students in Class B.

"Yes, and this proposal was also put forward by Kujo, but Kujo doesn't seem to trust the student council very much. I came here this time because I wanted to witness the truth of this school with my own eyes. I want to protect the students of my class."

"Kujo" had originally provided two pieces of information to Class B: 1. He hoped that classes B, C, and D would cooperate in future exams. 2. The opponents of the first-years were the upperclassmen, and the student council would refuse the participation of first-years.

Ichinose deliberately revealed "Kujo's" plan, wanting to see the relationship between the President Horikita before her and the other party.

Horikita Manabu clearly pondered for a while when he heard that "Kujo does not trust the student council."

This was very much in line with the kind of thing Kujo would say given his personality.

Moreover, the girl's earlier statement that she "chose to join the student council because of Kujo" was also intriguing.

Horikita Manabu had not originally thought highly of Ichinose.

Because his only criterion for recruiting freshmen into the student council was whether they could stand up to the second-year, Nagumo.

Nagumo was different from him; he came from Class B and, relying on talent and obsession, had gained the opportunity to rise to Class A, controlling most of the second-year students to serve him within a year.

Such a person had too much ambition and a competitive spirit that was too strong; any target he set his sights on would not have a good ending.

"Let me ask you directly. I gave Kujo a chance to join the student council. I limited him to a reply within one week, and today is the last day. Ichinose Honami, are you someone sent by him?"

"Yes."

For the sake of her class, Ichinose decided to lie.

Horikita Manabu saw through it.

This was a girl who was good at reading the room and who could force herself to do things for the sake of her class.

Horikita Manabu had noticed the girl's exhausted state from the very beginning; one could imagine the considerable amount of class work she had been shouldering.

Horikita Manabu came from Class A and carried the responsibility and mission of protecting his class.

Later, when he became student council president, he gained another set of shackles: protecting the school.

Restricting Nagumo required someone who could compete with him, someone who could satisfy his desire for competition.

And to restrict the first-years, all that was needed were shackles called trust.

Using Ichinose to restrict Kujo, and then using Kujo to restrict Nagumo—this was the best strategy Horikita Manabu could think of at the moment.

"You've passed. Find a time to report to the student council. In principle, I will be here. Later, you can choose to follow the second-year Nagumo, or you can follow Tachibana; it's your choice. Tachibana, go and notify everyone directly."

After saying this, Horikita Manabu stood up and left the conference room.

Ichinose hurriedly stood up and bowed in thanks.

Meanwhile, Secretary Tachibana on the side was stunned.

What?

What?

What just happened?

Someone tell me! What on earth were you two just talking about?!