Student Council Interview

At 8:00 p.m., in Shiraishi Makoto's room.

The core members of Class B had gathered there, preparing to hear Ichinose Honami recount what had happened in the Student Council office that afternoon.

As for why they were in Shiraishi Makoto's dorm room, it was because the school had a strange rule. The boys' and girls' dormitories were in the same building, with the girls on the upper floors and the boys on the lower ones. Girls could easily go down to the boys' floors, but boys generally could not go up to the girls' floors.

"So, a Student Council vice president named Nagumo Miyabi approached you and agreed to let you join the Student Council." After hearing Ichinose Honami's account, Kanzaki and the others were even more confused.

"Nagumo Miyabi is the leader of Class 2-A. He led what used to be Class B in overturning the original Class 2-A. And I think he's already consolidated the entire second year." Shiraishi Makoto took a bite of instant noodles and provided the information.

"How could you tell?" Ichinose Honami asked curiously.

"Here, these are this month's Class Points for the second years." Shiraishi Makoto set down his fork, found some paper and a pen, and wrote down the points for each second-year class.

Class 2-A: 1,200 points, Class 2-B: 950 points, Class 2-C: 700 points, Class 2-D: 350 points.

The moment they saw those numbers, everyone noticed the problem.

"The first three classes are all exactly 250 points apart, while the gap between Class D and Class C is only 350 points..." Kanzaki Ryuji's eyes sharpened. "Has the second year already begun controlling exam results and dividing the cake evenly?"

Compared to the uneven, irregular point totals of the third years, such a tidy distribution among the second years was obviously abnormal.

"Nagumo Miyabi has already conquered the second year. To make school life less boring, he's set his sights on the higher grades." Shiraishi Makoto had "seen through everything." "The current Student Council president, Horikita Manabu, is the perfect target. I imagine Nagumo has caused him no shortage of trouble."

"So he invited me to join the Student Council in order to compete with President Horikita?" Ichinose Honami's expression darkened slightly.

"Not just that. He probably intends to prop up a puppet leader and, through that, gain control over the first years." Shiraishi Makoto looked at Ichinose Honami. "It's fine to accept. He invited you without making you promise anything, so there's no need to worry about him sabotaging you."

The only thing they needed to worry about was Ichinose Honami's excessive conscience. It was what made her lovable, and also her greatest weakness.

"I'll be going to the Student Council interview tomorrow. Whether I get in or not, I'll bring this up and eliminate the potential impact." Shiraishi Makoto had already received notice from the Student Council to attend an interview in its office during tomorrow's lunch break.

"Then I'll leave it to you." Ichinose Honami let out a breath. After what had happened today, she had gained a deeper understanding of the situation within the school.

Thank goodness Shiraishi is here. Otherwise, it's hard to imagine...

As she watched Shiraishi Makoto continue making notes on his phone, Ichinose Honami felt a measure of reassurance rise within her.

By noon the next day, Shiraishi Makoto had finished lunch and arrived at the Student Council office.

"You're Shiraishi, right?" Outside the office, Tachibana Akane waited with a stack of documents in her arms. "There's still another student being interviewed inside. Please wait a moment."

"Of course, Tachibana-senpai." Shiraishi Makoto nodded and waited quietly outside the door.

As Tachibana Akane leafed through the documents in her hands, she occasionally glanced up at him, making Shiraishi Makoto suspect that the files might contain information on the interviewees.

To be honest, he was rather curious what kind of evaluation the school records had given him.

He did not have to wait long before the office door opened and a boy with an extremely distinctive feature walked out.

"That's Katsuragi Kohei from Class A..." Shiraishi Makoto looked at the bald head and deliberately studied his expression. As expected, Katsuragi's brow was tightly furrowed, as though he were agonizing over where he had failed to perform well enough.

"Shiraishi, it's your turn." Tachibana Akane reminded him.

"Alright." Shiraishi Makoto put away his phone and lightly knocked on the Student Council office door.

"Come in."

Horikita Manabu's voice came from inside. Shiraishi Makoto pushed open the door and walked in.

"Sit." Horikita Manabu, seated at the head of the table, gestured with one hand. Shiraishi Makoto naturally sat down across from him.

Over the past two days, he had specifically asked Ichinose, Kanzaki, and the others about the finer points of social etiquette. He had practiced everything from breath control to posture, and his last-minute preparation had produced some results.

"Shiraishi Makoto, tell me. Why do you wish to join the Student Council?" A file lay open before Horikita Manabu. Shiraishi Makoto had even caught a glimpse of his own ID photo, yet Horikita did not look at the file and instead asked directly.

"Because you once said that the Student Council has both the right and the duty to change the rules." Shiraishi Makoto met Horikita Manabu's gaze openly. He had anticipated this question long ago and had already prepared his answer.

"Is that so?" Horikita Manabu nodded faintly. "Then how much have you learned about the school's rules?"

After a brief thought, Shiraishi Makoto took out his phone and showed its screen to Horikita Manabu.

"1.65 million Private Points..." Horikita Manabu's brow lifted slightly before quickly returning to calm.

This was the total of Class B's Class Funds and Shiraishi Makoto's own points. After discussing it within the class, everyone had agreed that they would need to buy various daily necessities during the first month, making expenses higher, so they only needed to contribute 40,000 Private Points. After that, the provisional arrangement was to contribute 60,000 Private Points each month.

Although Horikita Manabu did not know where those points had come from, that quantity alone already explained many things.

"Then the next question. After joining the Student Council, what do you hope to do as a member of it?"

"Yesterday, after you rejected Ichinose Honami from our Class B, an upperclassman approached her and invited her to come to the Student Council office after school." Shiraishi Makoto suddenly brought up something that seemed unrelated. Horikita Manabu listened, his brow faintly furrowing.

"The person who invited her was Nagumo-senpai from Class 2-A, the Student Council vice president. He invited Ichinose to join the Student Council."

When Shiraishi Makoto finished speaking, the office fell silent.

A full half minute passed before Horikita Manabu lightly adjusted the glasses on his nose and spoke. "Final question. If you were the Student Council president and had the qualifications to make proposals to the school, what kind of proposal would you make?"

"I wouldn't make any proposals. I think things are already fine as they are." Shiraishi Makoto answered without the slightest hesitation.

Horikita Manabu rose to his feet and extended his right hand. "Very good. Welcome to the Student Council, Shiraishi Makoto."

"Thank you, President." Shiraishi Makoto stood as well, and the weight hanging over his heart finally lifted completely.