Horikita Manabu's Reminder

"Just as I thought, Vice President Nagumo has a strong grip on the entire second-year class," Shiraishi Makoto said.

Though he had been gathering information on Nagumo Miyabi, this was his first direct encounter.

The second-year student council members around them outwardly followed Horikita Manabu's work arrangements, but in their expressions and responses, they clearly moved to Nagumo's rhythm.

Horikita Manabu pulled a document from his bag.

"This is a general overview of the second-year class. You can look it over first." Horikita handed the file to Shiraishi Makoto. "Next semester, we third-years will step down from the student council. By then, the council will become Nagumo Miyabi's one-man show, so you'd better prepare in advance."

Shiraishi skimmed through it briefly. The document mainly recorded Nagumo's activities on campus, including who his close confidants were and which classes the second-year officers belonged to.

"There should be people in the second year who aren't satisfied with Nagumo's rule, right? None of the three lower classes dare to stand up and fight back?" Shiraishi passed the material to Ichinose Honami beside him while raising his own question.

"This year's second-years have already lost the ability and courage to resist, because they lost too thoroughly before." Horikita explained, adding some details about what Nagumo had done during their first year.

Nagumo's method of winning over the entire grade was simple: ruthless tactics. In every exam, he would do everything possible to force dropouts from opposing classes. Amid his fierce offensive, he also employed a carrot-and-stick policy, claiming that after unifying the grade, he would pool everyone's personal points and, before graduation, use those points to transfer high-contributing students to Class A to enjoy graduate benefits.

Under this combination of coercion and bribery, many students lost their fighting spirit out of fear of being expelled. Once some began thinking, "Even if I can't get into Class A, I don't want to be expelled," the lower classes couldn't unite. The few still resisting were picked off one by one—either expelled by Nagumo or thoroughly defeated in subsequent exams.

"That's too much." Ichinose Honami frowned slightly. She always adhered to the principle of not abandoning anyone, even students from other classes, and didn't want them expelled due to class competition.

"But don't worry. I'm still the student council president for now. You have enough time to prepare." Horikita suddenly broke into a smile.

The timing of this statement was subtle—it seemed Horikita had deliberately said it.

Shiraishi immediately picked up on it: "You mean that in the first semester, we won't have contact with upperclassmen, but in the second semester, there will be exams where we clash with them?"

"Correct." Seeing his hint understood, Horikita nodded in satisfaction.

To prevent first-years, who were complete rookies, from being completely crushed and controlled by upperclassmen, the school had certain protections in place for first-years within the rules.

But in the outside world—whether on campus or in the workplace—seniors targeting juniors was an unavoidable phenomenon. So in the second semester, first-years who had already gotten to know the school would have to face challenges from upperclassmen head-on.

"That means we need to solidify our position in the first year during the first semester, even unify the entire grade like the second-years did. Only then can we spare the energy to deal with the second-years' harassment in the second semester." Ichinose also grasped the situation.

"Exactly. I hope you'll do your best." Seeing his message received accurately, Horikita said, "That's all the advice I have. If there's nothing else, you can go."

"Thank you, President. We'll take our leave." The two left the student council office.

After they exited, they found not only Tachibana Akane waiting for Horikita at the door but also another girl.

"Shiraishi-kun, do you have a moment?" asked the girl with long purple hair.

"Kamuro-san, what's the matter?" Shiraishi recognized her and replied.

"It's like this. Classmate Sakayanagi from our class wants to meet you, but she's not physically well enough to come herself, so she asked me to relay the message." Kamuro Masumi explained her purpose.

"Sakayanagi Arisu?" Both Shiraishi and Ichinose clearly knew the two leaders of Class B. After a brief hesitation, Shiraishi nodded and accepted the invitation.

"Then I'll head back first. I'll explain things to the class." Ichinose said goodbye to Shiraishi. Today, with results announced and points distributed, everyone had already planned to gather for a party tonight to celebrate the class promotion. As the class leader, she needed to host the event.

Watching Ichinose leave, Shiraishi turned to Kamuro Masumi. "Let's go, then."

Under Kamuro's guidance, they arrived at the café. Sakayanagi Arisu sat in a corner seat, two cups of coffee on the table.

"Shiraishi-kun's here. Please, have a seat." Sakayanagi Arisu gestured for Shiraishi to sit across from her. Shiraishi looked at the coffee before him, hesitated, then asked, "Kamuro-san doesn't have one?"

Kamuro Masumi, standing behind Sakayanagi, was momentarily taken aback, showing a surprised expression. Sakayanagi Arisu let out a light laugh.

"Heh, I didn't expect your first words to be about that." Sakayanagi Arisu studied Shiraishi with interest, while Kamuro Masumi shook her head. "I'm not really into this kind of thing... forget it."

"Alright, then, Sakayanagi-san, what did you want to see me about?" Shiraishi took a small sip of coffee and asked.

"Naturally, I wanted to see with my own eyes the Shiraishi-kun who solved the school's puzzle on the second day." Sakayanagi Arisu rested her elbows on the table, elegantly folding her fingers over her chest, a standard, polite smile on her face that revealed nothing of her true thoughts.

"I've also wanted to meet you for a long time, Sakayanagi-san," Shiraishi said honestly.

"Oh? Unlike a big star like you, why would you want to see me?" A flicker of interest lit up Sakayanagi's eyes.

"After all, our school's chairman is named Sakayanagi. I couldn't help but be curious." Shiraishi gave a faint smile.

At these words, the strongest reaction came from Kamuro Masumi standing behind Sakayanagi.

"Your observational skills are indeed sharp. That's right, Chairman Sakayanagi is my father. But don't underestimate me—I didn't get into Class A through connections." Sakayanagi Arisu was completely unruffled, openly acknowledging the relationship.

She paused, her smile deepening. "As expected, you have to meet someone in person to judge whether they live up to their reputation. Shiraishi-kun, it seems campus life from now on will be very interesting. Please take care of me in the years ahead."