"Akane, come in," Horikita Manabu called, raising his voice slightly.
At the sound, Tachibana Akane pushed open the door. Her gaze fell on Shiraishi Makoto, who was seated inside, and a flicker of surprise crossed her face.
"Shiraishi will be joining the Student Council," Horikita Manabu said, turning to introduce him. "This is Tachibana Akane. You met her during the club recruitment fair. She's our secretary, and her main responsibility is helping me with Student Council work. She'll usually be the one conveying our instructions to you."
"Hello, Tachibana-senpai." Shiraishi Makoto faced Tachibana Akane and bowed slightly.
"Hello, Shiraishi." After responding, Tachibana Akane instinctively looked toward Horikita Manabu.
"Shiraishi is quite capable. He met the requirements for admission." Horikita Manabu offered a calm explanation, then turned to Shiraishi Makoto. "I'll accept Ichinose as well. I hope you'll pass that along to her."
"I'll make sure she gets the full message," Shiraishi Makoto replied with a nod.
"Good. Let's exchange contact information. There'll be a formal induction ceremony later, and I'll let you know when it's scheduled." Horikita Manabu was clearly dismissing him, evidently wanting to speak with Tachibana Akane in private.
"Of course. Goodbye, President. Goodbye, Secretary." Shiraishi Makoto exchanged contact information with Horikita Manabu and Tachibana Akane, then left the Student Council Office.
As he walked down the hallway, Shiraishi Makoto patted his chest lightly. Horikita Manabu had spoken in riddles the entire time, and Shiraishi Makoto had been forced to do the same just to keep up. Still, things had worked out well: he and Ichinose had both successfully joined the Student Council.
After Shiraishi Makoto left the Student Council Office, Tachibana Akane finally voiced the question on her mind. "Didn't we say we wouldn't recruit any first-years for now, to keep Miyabi Nagumo from targeting them?"
"Shiraishi told me that yesterday afternoon, Miyabi Nagumo met privately with Ichinose Honami, whom I'd turned down, and invited her to join the Student Council." Horikita Manabu paused briefly. "He's already figured out what I was trying to do, so that strategy has lost its effect."
"Besides, Shiraishi is quite exceptional in his own right. Didn't you notice yesterday?" Horikita Manabu reminded her, his thoughts drifting back to a moment in the gymnasium the day before.
At the time, he had been speaking from the podium. When he said, "We only welcome those who can understand this," several first-years in the audience had looked toward Shiraishi Makoto at the same time. The scene caught his attention, so once he returned to his office, he used his authority as Student Council President to access the student's records.
"On paper, Shiraishi's scores are unremarkable, but he's already made history." Horikita Manabu explained slowly. "I asked the school to let me review the security footage. He started deliberately gathering information on his very first day, and by the second day of school, he'd deduced the entire set of rules and unified his class. They might become the first class in the school's history to overtake another within the first month."
"That's incredible," Tachibana Akane said in surprise.
Horikita Manabu gave a slight nod, a hint of approval flickering in his eyes. The hidden exams at the start of the school year were the same for everyone: with teachers and upperclassmen forbidden from revealing the rules, the first-years were tested on whether they could discover them for themselves. Plenty of students had uncovered hidden rules during their first month, but no one had ever figured everything out in just two days, as Shiraishi Makoto had.
"At least those two students from Class 1-B have already figured out how the school really works, and they're capable of protecting themselves from Miyabi Nagumo's pressure. I'm still the Student Council President, and until we graduate, Miyabi Nagumo will probably keep most of his attention on me. With me shielding them, giving them a chance to gain experience and grow sooner might not be a bad thing." Horikita Manabu tapped his fingertips lightly against the desk as he spoke.
During the interview, he had gotten a general sense of Shiraishi Makoto's personality. Unlike Miyabi Nagumo, who was both capable and extremely conceited, Shiraishi Makoto seemed to carry a trace of self-doubt.
Shiraishi Makoto had handled the interview smoothly, but the small, unconscious movements of his fingers, his occasional wandering gaze, and the deliberate way he regulated his breathing as he spoke all revealed his lack of experience in situations like this. That also explained why Ichinose Honami had been the one to come for the interview in the first place.
The weaknesses Shiraishi Makoto had revealed actually reassured Horikita Manabu. They showed that Shiraishi Makoto wouldn't become another Miyabi Nagumo.
"What about Katsuragi from Class 1-A?" Tachibana Akane suddenly recalled Katsuragi, who had interviewed earlier, and asked quietly.
"Katsuragi... He's still too naïve." Horikita Manabu's brow furrowed slightly at the name, suggesting he hadn't been impressed with Katsuragi's interview.
Listening to Horikita Manabu's assessment, Tachibana Akane couldn't help stifling a laugh. She had looked into all the candidates beforehand and knew that Class 1-A had already split into two factions, each secretly struggling for control of the class.
Once the Student Council's recruitment results were officially announced, everyone would discover that two students from Class 1-B had been accepted, while Katsuragi, a central figure in Class 1-A, had unexpectedly been rejected. The reaction would surely be entertaining.
After leaving the Student Council Office, Shiraishi Makoto hurried back to class and immediately told Ichinose Honami and the others what had happened.
"But this means we've openly fallen out with Vice President Nagumo," Kanzaki Ryuji said, carefully assessing the situation. His expression grew grave.
"Vice President Nagumo doesn't know what you and President Horikita discussed today, but he's bound to find it suspicious. First, he already confirmed through Ichinose that President Horikita wouldn't let any first-year join the Student Council. Ichinose was someone he invited himself, essentially one of his own people. But now someone else has suddenly joined the Student Council. There's no doubt you're on President Horikita's side."
What's more, Ichinose and Shiraishi Makoto were both from Class 1-B, and unlike Class 1-A, Class 1-B wasn't constantly torn by infighting. Miyabi Nagumo would be able to piece things together with just a little thought.
"It's not a big problem. We probably won't cross paths with him anytime soon." Shiraishi Makoto wasn't worried about falling out with Miyabi Nagumo. He knew perfectly well that working with him would be like making a deal with a tiger.
Miyabi Nagumo believed in putting individual ability above all else and advocated stepping up efforts to expel students who weren't capable enough. His principles were incompatible with Horikita Manabu's, Shiraishi Makoto's, and Ichinose's—and with those of Class 1-B as a whole.
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