Stubborn Koji (3K)

"Thank you for the offer, President."

You En politely declined, explaining that the Kyudo Club hadn't asked him to come by yet. Until he understood how clubs at this school worked, he wasn't going to sign up for too many at once.

Horikita Manabu didn't seem disappointed after being turned down twice. He simply nodded.

"Good. Very sensible."

He turned the conversation back to the matter at hand. "There's something I wanted to ask about what you just said.

"Based on your own judgment, how do you think the Student Council should rule on this matter?"

You En glanced at Horikita Suzune and gave his honest opinion.

"I definitely don't want my friend to be set up or to have anything bad happen to her.

"So, when it comes to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, I have just two words: expulsion."

Horikita Manabu nodded, then turned to Horikita Suzune.

"Do you understand?"

Horikita Suzune didn't understand. Confusion showed on her face, along with a hint of apprehension—the sort of emotion she only felt in front of the older brother she had always admired.

Horikita Manabu didn't say anything more to Horikita Suzune. Instead, he looked at You En.

"So, what have you decided?"

You En didn't say anything further. Horikita Manabu's stance was already clear; he had his own plans.

"We'll leave it entirely to the Student Council."

Horikita Manabu nodded. "All right. But we can't simply take your word for it.

"The Student Council will investigate and gather evidence. Come back in a while."

You En excused himself and left.

Horikita Suzune wanted to say something, but in the end, she stood up, politely said goodbye, and followed You En.

"Why did things turn out like this?"

"It's because there's a process to follow," You En replied. "The Student Council is an organization, so it has to have a structure and rules. Things might get chaotic under certain presidents, but that definitely won't happen while your brother is in charge."

"Of course."

Horikita Suzune nodded in agreement, then seemed to have something to say but couldn't quite put it into words.

You En smiled. She was easy to read, after all.

"Do you think that because you're his biological younger sister, he should make some allowance for your feelings?"

"..."

Horikita Suzune felt as if he had seen right through her. She had, in fact, vaguely thought something along those lines.

"There's nothing wrong with feeling that way, but Horikita Manabu is handling this as Student Council president, so he doesn't want to do that."

You En recalled the president's speech urging the new students to leave during the opening ceremony, as well as how he had knocked Ayanokoji out for following his younger sister. He said, "And it's not as if he hasn't helped you as your brother, or that he doesn't care about you. He probably just draws a very clear line between public and private matters. So, from a family member's perspective, it might be a little hard to accept."

Horikita Suzune's expression returned to normal.

"After hearing you say that, I actually feel a lot better. I don't need special treatment from the president. What my brother did was only natural."

"This matter isn't over yet."

You En smiled at Horikita Suzune's puzzled look.

"Even though it looks like we're letting the matter go, we haven't forgiven him. We're showing respect for the Student Council.

"Until it can be sure it has grounds to judge the matter, the Student Council, as a nonofficial organization, has to protect its influence with both the school administration and the student body. It won't take on a case lightly."

Horikita Suzune still didn't quite understand.

"Why? Isn't the Student Council supposed to handle matters like this?"

You En patiently explained, "Because there isn't enough evidence, the matter will end up going nowhere. That would undermine the Student Council's credibility. Whether it succeeds or fails, it would suffer for it."

Horikita Suzune thought it over and realized he was right.

If the Student Council disciplined Ayanokoji without enough evidence and succeeded, people would say Horikita Manabu had abused his authority.

If it failed, people would think the Student Council couldn't protect victims.

Horikita Suzune didn't want to become a burden to her brother.

"Then let's leave it at that."

"Leave it at that? How could we?"

You En flashed a brilliant smile. Horikita Suzune felt a little uneasy as she looked at him.

"Picking a fight with the organization that oversees you is a foolish choice. Ayanokoji still has a lot to learn about how society works."

The school and Student Council here were nothing like their counterparts in the original story. The people were the same, but the structure, framework, and nature of things were completely different.

By the rules, it was entirely possible they wouldn't find evidence to handle the matter. In principle, the accused was innocent until proven guilty.

But he had picked a fight with someone's older brother and sister-in-law.

If he humbly admitted his mistake and accepted the punishment, that would be one thing.

But if he went up against the Student Council, he'd have a rough time. There were countless ways for people within the system to make someone's life miserable without leaving anything to criticize.

As for You En, he'd definitely make a note of Ayanokoji in his little black book, too.

The main reason he wasn't taking action right now was that he lacked the ability. That was simply a fact. He was no match for Ayanokoji, and there was no need to feel embarrassed about it.

It would be hard for a former ordinary grad student and office worker—now a light-novel master—to take on a young urban action hero.

He might as well go fight Sukuna.

Horikita Suzune looked worried. "Won't this affect them?"

"Don't worry. If they made it to those positions, they're sure to understand how things work better than you do."

Horikita Suzune relaxed, though she was still a little confused. The other person was her age, after all, and only a few years younger than Horikita Manabu.

"How do you know so much?"

"I read a lot."

You En made up an excuse. He couldn't very well tell her that in his previous life, he'd encountered plenty of situations like this.

"Ding—"

His phone rang. It was probably Ichinose.

You En took out his device and, sure enough, it was her.

"Let's go. She's already waiting for us."

Meanwhile, in the Student Council Room, after a brief silence, Tachibana Akane couldn't help speaking up.

"Wouldn't handling it this way be unfair to her?"

"What of it?"

There was no expression on Horikita Manabu's face.

"If she isn't planning to drop out, she'll face even more viciousness at this school. This is a good chance to get her used to it ahead of time. It'd be best if she decided to drop out before the end of the month."

Tachibana Akane didn't comment. "Then how are we going to handle this?"

She and the president both knew the truth. They could tell at a glance whether something was true or not.

"The first-years don't have the means to investigate this matter or gather solid evidence,"

Horikita Manabu said. As president, he had already reviewed the personal data and general backgrounds of all the new students.

"At the moment, Ayanokoji still seems to have the highest combat ability—or the strongest overall capabilities. But if things continue like this, it's only a matter of time before someone catches up to or surpasses him."

Tachibana Akane knew that, too, but it was the truth. "With his foundation, shouldn't he improve faster than the others?"

"Pride and complacency lead to stagnation. They're the greatest enemies. He thinks he's reached the pinnacle of human ability, but he hasn't even considered that this is only a small part of it."

Horikita Manabu continued, "In a society built by an intelligent species, getting things done takes more than individual skills. Two other things are extremely important, and Ayanokoji has major shortcomings in both."

Tachibana Akane remembered the test she had given You En earlier.

"Maybe by second year, You En will have caught up to him."

"Akane, you've got it backward."

Horikita Manabu said, "Ayanokoji only has this one term. Once it's over, it'll be very difficult for anyone to threaten him again."

Tachibana Akane could see that You En was exceptional, but she didn't think quite that highly of him. She had spent three years at this school and been through countless things. She had a "legend" of her own, so to speak.

But compared to Horikita Manabu and Qiao Heng, she was worlds apart.

Perhaps they had some quality that only they themselves understood. Maybe they were simply alike.

Tachibana Akane thought that, then brought herself back to the matter at hand.

"How are we going to handle this?"

"Let's call Ayanokoji in and ask him about it."

Horikita Manabu's face revealed no anger or joy. He always looked indifferent.

"Understood, President."

Tachibana Akane worked at the computer.

In his dorm room, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka received a rather unofficial message.

"Dear Ayanokoji Kiyotaka,

"Hello.

"I am the secretary of the Student Council at Advanced Nurturing High School. According to our investigation, you are suspected of drug abuse, deliberately poisoning someone, and inciting a fellow student to commit a crime, among other things.

"To ensure a fair and thorough investigation, we need you to provide relevant information and documents for verification."

He checked the sender again. It really had come from the Student Council.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was prepared, and he went to the Student Council Room.

In response to questions from Tachibana Akane, the Student Council secretary, he answered smoothly. Most of his answers amounted to "I don't know" or "I wasn't aware of it." In any case, he denied doing any of it.

Even when presented with evidence that had some basis to it, he could defend himself by arguing that it wasn't reliable. He hadn't done any of those things; he had merely bought the drugs. He didn't know how they had ended up in the cafeteria.

Tachibana Akane asked him several times, but Ayanokoji gave the same answers each time. She maintained a civil-servant's composure and wasn't too harsh with him, but she certainly wasn't going to be friendly.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka figured he probably wouldn't receive a severe punishment, unless Horikita Manabu or someone nearby abused their authority.

If they did, he could report them to the school and get to meet the people actually in charge.

"That's enough. You can go."

Horikita Manabu nodded.

"Okay."

Ayanokoji walked out of the Student Council Room, feeling that he might have gotten something wrong. Why wasn't he being punished at all?

Was it because Horikita Manabu didn't care about Horikita Suzune, or because the Student Council's rules mattered far more than she did?

Back in his dorm room,

Ayanokoji opened the door and tried to turn on the lights, but the switch did nothing no matter how many times he pressed it.

He took out his phone and saw a notification that had just arrived: there was a power outage in the student dorms. Most students' power had already been restored, but a few would have to wait a while longer.

"Twenty-four third-years without power, seven second-years, and one first-year?"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka looked at the name of the sole first-year student affected.

It was his own.