"Phew! Maybe this school's student council really is different. The president said I wasn't capable enough.
"But don't worry, everyone. I'll work hard this semester and try applying to join the student council again next semester." Katsuragi Kohei tried to reassure his classmates.
In truth, he was the only one who felt hurt.
Besides that, he knew that Ichinose from Class B had also been turned away by the president at first, only to be inexplicably accepted later. No matter what, he himself still wasn't allowed in.
It made him feel humiliated in front of the class.
Now, whenever he spoke in class, it seemed to carry no weight. Many people weren't listening, as though they didn't want to deal with him.
Some even seemed to doubt that he had once been student council president, thinking he was a liar.
During the break, Sakayanagi Arisu found a topic to bring up. "I thought about it after I got home yesterday. Whether or not you want to join a club is up to you, so if you want to, that's fine. You don't have to worry about me."
"Huh? Didn't you disagree yesterday?" Yagami Shizuka grumbled inwardly. Women really were fickle.
Was the legend true? That women had evolved from monkeys and possessed seventy-two transformations?
A woman's heart was impossible to fathom, all because she had too much meat on her chest!
"Yesterday was yesterday, and today is today. Today's an auspicious day, you know? It's the perfect time to sign up for a club."
Sakayanagi Arisu snorted inwardly. That was what he got for saying yesterday that he'd cook for her.
"I'm not going." Yagami Shizuka flatly refused. If he went just because she told him to, he'd lose all dignity.
"Didn't you say yesterday that you wanted to go?"
"Yesterday was yesterday, and today is today. I think using my limited free time to sleep is better than cooking. Let someone else cook. I can enjoy good food just as much when someone else makes it."
Yagami Shizuka's twisted reasoning won Sakayanagi Arisu over once again.
Knock, knock!
A girl with her hair tied up in cute little buns knocked on the classroom door.
Many of the students already knew her.
She was the student council secretary, Tachibana Akane.
She had hosted the club orientation yesterday, and she was also the one who had made the announcement over the broadcast system.
Standing behind her was a gloomy-looking man wearing glasses. He was the student council president who had appeared at the very end yesterday to recruit new members.
"What's she here for?" Sakayanagi Arisu muttered.
When Tachibana Akane spotted Yagami Shizuka, she said, "Yagami Shizuka, could you come outside for a moment? The president wants to speak with you."
"He wants to see me?" Yagami Shizuka wondered as he walked out.
He wasn't the only one who was confused. Quite a few others were, too.
Outside, Yagami Shizuka got a close-up look at the imposing student council president.
"Hello. May I ask what you wanted to see me about?" Yagami Shizuka asked politely.
"Would you be interested in joining the student council?" Horikita Manabu directly invited him.
"Huh? Join the student council?"
Yagami Shizuka wasn't the only one surprised. The Class A students inside were even more astonished.
Now someone was receiving a direct invitation from the president to join the student council—the very same council that Katsuragi had applied to several times without getting in.
Katsuragi Kohei found it the hardest to accept. He was beginning to believe the rumor that bald people couldn't join the student council.
[Your outstanding performance has attracted the student council's attention. You've received an invitation to join the student council. You're entering a path that will let you clear the game faster. You've received the following hints.]
[1. Join the student council. You'll enter Miyabi Nagumo's field of vision, and Horikita Manabu will help you compete for the position of student council president. You'll make your mark in the student council, and the conflict with the second-years will begin sooner. Your class will be caught up in it.]
[2. Refuse to join. With your hints, you can lead your class to achieve even more without joining the student council.
Heh heh heh. The student council will only become a burden to you.
Think carefully, young man.]
"Oh, I see. Actually, I've already decided to join a club, so the student council..." Yagami Shizuka tried to turn him down politely.
What was the value of the information the student council could provide?
Did he need it?
No, he didn't.
He thought student council work was thankless, exhausting, and hard work for little reward.
In short, it meant devoting yourself to the job until you dropped dead, only to be called a "good person" afterward.
Whether he could benefit from it depended on his character, and Horikita Manabu had come precisely because he believed Yagami Shizuka had a good character.
He could earn more points there... But if he really wanted to use any means necessary to earn points, Yagami Shizuka had plenty of ways to do it. He didn't have to join the student council.
For instance, he could simply extort Nagumo. That would be much easier than joining the student council.
"What club?" Horikita Manabu smiled. He decided he'd go warn them later: if they dared accept Yagami Shizuka, he'd disband the club on the spot.
"It's a cooking club. My Arisu asked me to go, and if I don't, Miss Arisu will be upset."
Sakayanagi Arisu's ears twitched. Resting her chin on her hand, she decided Yagami Shizuka was at least sensible. He said he wouldn't go, but he was actually quite obedient.
"I'll allow you to join both the club and the student council," Horikita Manabu said.
"Is that all right? You're making an exception for me?" Yagami Shizuka asked again.
Horikita Manabu fell silent. After all, that club wouldn't agree to let Yagami Shizuka join.
Of all the clubs he could have picked, he'd chosen cooking. Horikita Manabu now understood one more way to keep the talent he'd discovered hidden.
"But wouldn't that be exhausting, senpai? How about this: I'll ask my Arisu first. I work under her, so I need to get her approval." Yagami Shizuka turned as if to head back.
"Your relationship with Sakayanagi seems rather unusual."
"Not really. I just don't have much of an opinion, so I want to hear what she thinks."
"She won't object."
"I object!" Sakayanagi Arisu had already made her way to the doorway, leaning on her cane.
"See? My Arisu doesn't agree, so you should head back, senpai..."
"Yagami," Tachibana Akane interrupted. "If you join the student council, you'll become vice president right away. The president and I will help you grow as quickly as possible, so you can take over as president next year."
"Huh?"
The Class A students let out cries of surprise. Sakayanagi Arisu's hand trembled slightly, and her gaze flickered as she wondered what to think.
She wanted her loyal subordinate to grow stronger and do well, but she was also afraid he might slip out of her control.
"What you're offering is tempting, but if my Arisu doesn't agree, there's nothing I can do." Yagami Shizuka looked at Sakayanagi Arisu as if he wanted to go but didn't dare.
Tachibana Akane looked at her, too, having already labeled Yagami Shizuka a lovesick fool in her mind. "Arisu, will you agree?"
"Huh? I..." Sakayanagi Arisu came back to herself. "If he wants to go, I won't stop him. It's his choice, and he can decide for himself."
"I want to go." Yagami Shizuka gazed at Sakayanagi Arisu pleadingly.
"Then go..."
"Arisu." Yagami Shizuka grew serious. "Don't deceive yourself. You don't want me to go, do you? I'll definitely support what you want. I don't even care about becoming student council president."
"Sakayanagi Arisu, you should know what it means to be student council president." Horikita Manabu gave Sakayanagi Arisu a cold look.
"That's right, Arisu. Just let me go." Yagami Shizuka asked again.
But I never said no... Sakayanagi Arisu was dumbfounded once more. Did this guy want to go or not?
Before you continue