How Infuriating

Yagami Shizuka's score put her in a difficult position, leaving her confused.

If she had taken the test, she would never have been able to score one point lower than him.

And it wasn't just her. No one else could have done it either.

"Am I dreaming? Am I still asleep? It was a coincidence, that's all! I'll expose your trick on the next test."

Inside the Student Council Room.

When Horikita Manabu saw Sakayanagi Arisu and Katsuragi Kohei, he frowned. Tachibana Akane also gave Sakayanagi Arisu a resentful look.

After glancing at Tachibana Akane, Horikita Manabu understood. He didn't believe that Akane, who had followed him for years, had misunderstood. The only explanation was that the other person had run away.

"Why isn't Yagami Shizuka here?" Horikita Manabu asked bluntly.

"He said he had something urgent to take care of. If you need anything, you can talk to me. He's left everything in my hands, so just tell me what you want to say." Facing Horikita Manabu's icy demeanor, Sakayanagi Arisu didn't so much as blink.

Katsuragi Kohei, on the other hand, felt a little intimidated. The student council president was terrifying.

Was this the kind of person you had to be to join the Student Council? Then he really wasn't qualified.

"Hmph!" Horikita Manabu snorted, suppressing his feelings. "I'd originally planned to commend your class. Your results are unprecedented in this school's history, but I don't think you've earned that commendation."

The person he considered worthy wasn't there, so what was the point of praising them?

The room fell briefly silent.

Then Horikita Manabu changed the subject. "Sakayanagi Arisu, you think you can speak for Yagami Shizuka. So tell me, can you get him to join the Student Council?"

Sakayanagi Arisu couldn't very well say yes. Yagami Shizuka had already made his stance clear, so her claiming she could speak for him would be meaningless.

She couldn't do it.

"He won't agree," Sakayanagi Arisu answered honestly.

"Can I ask why?"

"I think he probably finds it too much trouble. He isn't interested in gaining power. After school, he spends all his time in the library. His ambitions in life are eating, drinking, and sleeping..." Sakayanagi Arisu's voice grew weaker and weaker.

Based on what she knew, that was more or less the truth.

Even though he'd said he liked her and would do anything for her, he wasn't eager to go on dates with her. He could barely be bothered to look at her, and he'd never shown anything like deep affection. It was as if she mattered less to him than a library book.

Was that normal?

If he cared so much about eating and drinking, his expenses should have been high. But he was easy to satisfy, cherished his food, and didn't spend much at all.

What left the strongest impression on her was that Yagami Shizuka could polish off even a free meal and still want more. "It's free, so why not?" he'd say.

Where could you even find a flaw in someone like that? He was practically flawless.

All in all, he didn't need points, didn't need women, wasn't interested in power, and didn't care about honor. He didn't even mind losing face, and he just laughed off other people's gossip.

The only thing that seemed like a weakness was his love of reading. Should she use that to force him onto the Student Council? Refuse to let him read unless he joined?

That might actually work a little.

No, that was impossible.

It would be inhumane for the school to stop students from reading.

But he was so casual about what he read, too. He'd read anything, so there was no way to stop him. It was impossible to deprive him of every book.

He'd even borrowed books meant for second- and third-years from upperclassmen so he could read them early.

He'd said that when he was in elementary school and couldn't find anything to read, he'd squat in a bookstore and read there.

Could anyone understand that kind of dedication?

Horikita Manabu pondered for a while, playing with the pen in his hand. After listening to Sakayanagi Arisu's explanation, he took a sip of tea. "If he wants to join the Student Council, he's welcome anytime. Pass that along to him."

"Okay." Sakayanagi Arisu got up and left, feeling utterly exhausted.

Katsuragi Kohei still wanted to ask whether he could join the Student Council, but Horikita Manabu's gloomy expression and silence stopped him. He knew there was no chance.

Why were people so different from one another?

They were all human, yet some got invited by the student council president while others weren't even qualified to join.

"How infuriating!" Outside the student council building, Sakayanagi Arisu leaned on her cane and grumbled.

"Are you angry at Yagami Shizuka for not showing up?" Katsuragi Kohei asked. He would have been angry too. The Student Council had wanted to see him, but he hadn't come.

He'd snubbed the Student Council, yet they were the ones left to bear its wrath.

"No." Sakayanagi Arisu glanced back at the Student Council Room. "As if everyone wants to join. Even if they asked me, I wouldn't go.

"And now the student council president is trying to tell my person what to do.

"Didn't he already refuse? That's what I want, too. I just don't want him joining the Student Council. So what?"

She didn't care that Student Council members had already seen her ranting. Once she'd finished, she stormed off.

She'd decided that no matter what the Student Council said from now on, she would insist that she was the one who didn't want him to join.

When Tachibana Akane told Horikita Manabu about it, he remained silent and showed no reaction.

Katsuragi Kohei caught up with Sakayanagi Arisu and heard her muttering nonstop. "What was that supposed to mean? That we weren't worthy of praise? Unbelievable.

"I could... probably get that information, too.

"I could... could unify Class A, too.

"So what if he stole the spotlight from me? Just you wait. There's no way I'll lose to him!

"Just watch. On the next test, I'll... I'll..."

Sakayanagi Arisu had never felt so powerless over Yagami Shizuka's strategy of scoring one point less than her.

What if it hadn't been a coincidence?

He hadn't even tried to win. No matter what score he got, it would mean nothing.

She felt like he'd been playing her for a fool.

While Sakayanagi Arisu clenched her little fists, determined to confront Yagami Shizuka, he was busy in his dorm room.

The ingredients were incredibly precious, and he didn't want to waste them. He had to make sure he succeeded on the first try.

He'd even made a special trip to the convenience store to buy a few glasses, some test tubes, and a syringe.

After laying everything out in the kitchen, he wrote down all the steps from the instructions, then reread them several times to make sure he hadn't missed a detail.

The medicine couldn't be stored for long. It had to be used within thirty minutes of being made, and the longer he waited, the less effective it became.

Using it also required a specific heart rate. The body-enhancing medicine had to be injected into the heart so it could travel throughout the body in the bloodstream. One mistake could cost him his life.

[Heart rate: 98. Please lower it to below 70 to increase the success rate.]

[To ensure success on the first try, you may experiment using ordinary tap water in different colors to improve your proficiency.]

That was a good idea. Yagami Shizuka immediately went out and bought several bottles of differently colored drinks.

That would let him accurately simulate the process.

Following the system's instructions, he practiced until he'd mastered the technique to a satisfactory degree. Finally, he decided to experiment with the real ingredients.

Unlike the drinks, these ingredients would give off a pungent smell as soon as they were mixed, so he had to put on a mask.