The gymnasium was buzzing with activity that afternoon.
When Mazumi Mami entered the First Gymnasium with the three maids, it was already packed with first-year students attending the club fair.
Recruitment booths lined the walls, decorated with colorful banners and posters. The air was filled with the excitement and anticipation unique to the start of a new school year.
"Thank you all for waiting, first-years."
A clear female voice rang out from the stage in the center of the gymnasium, carrying across the room through the microphone.
The speaker was a purple-haired girl standing onstage. She wore a neat school uniform, with an elegant Student Council badge pinned to her chest. She had a poised, capable air about her.
"I'm Tachibana Akane, the Student Council secretary. Next, representatives from each club will take turns introducing their clubs. Thank you for your attention."
She wrapped up her opening remarks crisply, then stepped to the side of the stage.
One after another, the club representatives filed onto the stage and lined up.
They came in all shapes and sizes.
One was an imposing upperclassman in a judo uniform, with bulging muscles and a piercing gaze.
Another was an elegant upperclasswoman in a gorgeous kimono, whose every movement carried a classical grace.
There was also an artsy-looking student in a beret, who seemed to belong to the art club.
Several other representatives from sports clubs wore sleeveless athletic shirts that showed off their toned arms.
Whenever a representative stepped up to the microphone and began introducing their club, the new students below would whisper to their friends, discussing whether it sounded interesting, how often it met, and whether any prior experience was required.
Mazumi Mami stood quietly amid the crowd, observing everything around him without drawing attention.
The gymnasium grew livelier by the minute, with noise rising and falling all around.
But neither the teachers supervising the event nor the representatives onstage seemed annoyed by the commotion.
They continued their presentations earnestly, even promoting their clubs with greater enthusiasm. After all, the upperclassmen were trying their hardest to recruit as many new members as possible.
As the fair progressed, representatives finished their introductions one by one and left the stage to take their seats at simple tables set up around the gymnasium.
Membership application forms had been placed on the tables, and applications would be accepted as soon as the presentations ended.
Several booths already had lines forming in front of them.
Mazumi Mami shifted his attention back to the three girls beside him. "What do you think? Is there any club you'd like to join?"
Chisato Nishikigi was the first to shake her head, sounding disappointed.
"None of them really appeal to me. They're all so ordinary, and I already know how to do most of the things they teach."
She pursed her lips. "I thought there'd be some kind of 'secret club' or 'hidden organization,' but they're all just regular sports and culture clubs... Boring."
Runa Inoue shook her head lightly too. "I'm not really into clubs that are too lively. But after looking around, I don't think there are any quiet, less popular clubs with only a few members."
"The clubs have too many members," Walnut analyzed coolly. "If we conduct our activities within a club, having too many members will compromise our discretion and efficiency. And the more people there are, the harder it'll be to handle confidential matters."
Mazumi Mami nodded thoughtfully. "Then I suppose there are only two options left: start our own club, or... join the Student Council."
He murmured to himself, his gaze returning to the stage.
Just then, someone with an unmistakable presence stepped onto the stage.
He was a little over 170 centimeters tall—not especially tall.
But the moment he stepped onto the stage, the atmosphere around him seemed to change.
He had a slender build and neatly combed black hair. A pair of finely crafted glasses rested on his face, and behind the lenses were eyes that seemed both intelligent and sharp.
He stood before the microphone, calmly surveying the first-year students below.
Yet he didn't say a word.
He simply stood there.
One second, two seconds, five seconds, ten seconds...
The noise in the gymnasium began to shift.
"Come on, you've got this!"
"Did you not prepare a speech?"
"Hahaha! Maybe he's so nervous he can't get a word out!"
Laughter and good-natured heckling rose from the first-years.
But the upperclassman onstage didn't move an inch.
He just stood there, as if all the commotion around him had nothing to do with him. The laughter and encouragement seemed not to reach his ears at all.
The laughter gradually peaked, then quickly faded away like the tide going out.
"What... is that guy even doing?"
Students began to sound confused and bemused. The noise rose again, this time tinged with clear impatience.
Even so, the man onstage remained unmoved.
He stood there in silence, without moving at all.
Then, an indescribable tension began to spread through the gymnasium.
It was as if an invisible hand were slowly squeezing everyone's heart.
The silence was so tense that it felt as if no one dared to speak, even without being told to keep quiet.
The first-years who had been heckling moments ago now fell completely silent.
The vast gymnasium sank into thirty seconds of suffocating silence.
And just as those thirty seconds threatened to make the air solidify, the upperclassman finally looked slowly around at the students and began to speak.
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to every corner of the gymnasium.
"I am Manabu Horikita, the Student Council President."
His voice was gentle, yet had a sharpness that seemed to pierce the skin.
Every one of the hundred-plus first-years in the gymnasium fell silent.
"The Student Council is recruiting candidates from among the first-years again this year, as our upperclassmen are graduating. There are no special requirements for candidates, but anyone considering running for a position on the Student Council should avoid joining other clubs. As a general rule, we will not accept anyone who wishes to join both the Student Council and another club."
His tone remained steady, yet the atmosphere grew even heavier.
On his own, he had silenced more than a hundred first-years in the vast space.
Of course, it wasn't merely because he held the title of Student Council President.
Mazumi Mami narrowed his eyes slightly, silently assessing the man onstage. This was the force that Manabu Horikita possessed in his own right.
The presence and pressure that seemed to emanate from his very bones had brought the entire room under his control.
"Furthermore..."
Manabu Horikita continued, his tone still calm and clear.
"Our Student Council has no place for candidates with naive ideas. People like that would not only fail to get elected, but would likely bring shame upon the school. Our Student Council is entrusted by the school with the power and responsibility to change its rules, which is why it is held in such high regard. We welcome only those who understand this."
After delivering his speech smoothly, he said nothing more. He didn't answer any questions that might have been asked, but turned and walked offstage, leaving the gymnasium without looking back.
His silhouette disappeared in the backlight at the gymnasium entrance.
The suffocating pressure in the room only began to fade after the door had closed completely.
"Thanks for your hard work, everyone! That concludes the fair!"
Fortunately, Student Council Secretary Tachibana Akane hurried onto the stage to break the silence, her clear voice restoring the crowd's attention.
"Applications are now officially open. Since clubs will be accepting applications through the end of April, anyone who decides to apply later can take their form directly to the club they wish to join. Someone there will assist you!"
At her words, the atmosphere in the gymnasium gradually returned to normal.
But the first-years' whispers were unmistakably full of discontent.
"What was that about...? That Student Council President sure thinks he's something, doesn't he?"
"Seriously. You'd think he was some big shot. He's just a Student Council President, but look at him, acting all high and mighty..."
"He definitely has presence... but he's so full of himself."
Quite a few students looked annoyed.
After all, most people in the audience were around the same age as Manabu Horikita.
It was only natural to be irritated by such a condescending attitude.
"That guy really comes off as full of himself."
Chisato Nishikigi crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks slightly, clearly annoyed by Manabu Horikita's attitude.
"But what he said was worth thinking about," Runa Inoue replied calmly. "And weren't we just discussing the Student Council? They're recruiting new members right now. Isn't this a perfect opportunity?"
She turned to Mazumi Mami. "Young master, should we go take a look?"
Mazumi Mami thought for a moment, then nodded. "We can consider that."
But he wasn't looking directly toward the Student Council booth. Instead, his gaze shifted elsewhere—to a boy at the edge of the crowd who barely seemed to register, almost blending into the background, and the girl standing beside him.
"But more importantly..."
Mazumi Mami lowered his voice and spoke to Walnut. "Walnut, look into someone for me."
"Who?"
"The girl standing beside Kiyotaka Ayanokouji."
Mazumi Mami's eyes settled precisely on that inconspicuous corner of the crowd. "I remember she's been by Kiyotaka Ayanokouji's side since yesterday. And the way she looked at Manabu Horikita just now... there was something strange about it."
He paused slightly, his tone tinged with amusement. "Look into her background. We might... find something interesting."
A sharp glint flashed in Walnut's eyes. "Understood. I'll gather the relevant information as soon as possible."
Mazumi Mami's lips curved into a faint smile.
The Student Council's recruitment information was certainly one thing he'd gained from today.
But the undercurrents at this school clearly ran much deeper than the rules and rankings on the surface.
Kiyotaka Ayanokouji—his classmate, who seemed more ordinary than anyone else, so ordinary it felt unnatural—and the mysterious girl at his side might become another interesting key player.
As the fair officially ended, the crowd in the gymnasium began flowing toward the club booths around the perimeter.
The bustle and noise returned, but beneath the lively surface, undercurrents were already stirring.