Ichinose, Do You Want to Join the Student Council?

"So, does that mean Masaryu and Classmate Sakayanagi are also going to compete?"

Ichinose was very interested in the matter and, unusually, started asking questions in detail.

"We're going to Tokyo University in Sendai, then we'll ask a professor there to put us in touch with a publisher."

"I see."

Once Ichinose heard that Hiyori and I were heading to Sendai, she lost interest and stopped asking questions.

"Then, are you giving the application to Classmate Sakayanagi instead of the Student Council for the sake of efficiency?"

This time, Sakayanagi looked at Sakura with an approving expression, as if she were pleased that Sakura had caught on.

Ever since the incident, Sakura had become much more perceptive about the way these things worked.

She'd learned to get to the heart of the matter, and she turned out to have quite a knack for it.

"That's right, Sakura. Finals are coming up soon, so the Student Council will be getting busy. They're also short-handed, and who knows how long it would take them to arrange everything."

Come to think of it, this was pretty awkward. Katsuragi and Ichinose had both applied to join the Student Council, but Horikita Manabu had rejected them.

Nagumo had first tried to win Ichinose over, but failed. After that, he tried his luck with Katsuragi and failed again.

Now the first term was almost over, yet Manabe was the only first-year student to have joined the Student Council. And she wasn't even doing clerical work like taking minutes.

As a result, the Student Council was seriously short on workhorses.

Among the third-year Student Council members, only Horikita Manabu, the president, and Tachibana Akane, the secretary, were still doing any work. The others were all preparing to "retire" quietly from the Student Council, and even if they wanted to help, Horikita Manabu wouldn't let them interfere with its management.

Among the second-year Student Council members, Nagumo was basically a hands-off boss. He did nothing but purge his rivals, leaving the actual work to his two loyal lackeys.

Kiriyama was still busy trying to lead his class back to Class A, and the second-year Student Council spent more time fighting among themselves than getting anything done.

The first-years who should have joined the Student Council and become workhorses had all been rejected by Horikita Manabu, while Nagumo still hadn't found anyone he liked.

By the second term, Horikita Manabu would probably have no choice but to open the doors to first-years. At most, he could screen for people who might become Kiriyama's supporters in the future.

After all, by the third term, he wouldn't have time to find a successor among the first-years.

"Ichinose, do you still want to join the Student Council? I remember you telling me before that you wanted to build up your abilities by joining."

Ichinose was going to end up as a workhorse sooner or later, so it made little difference whether it happened now or later. I might as well do her a favor.

"Do you have a way to make it happen, Masaryu?"

It was obvious that Ichinose had been distracted ever since she learned that joining the Student Council could give her a chance to go outside.

"I do. In fact, everyone on the Student Council except the president is eager for some new people to come in and take on a few tasks."

There weren't many ways to get into the Student Council, but Nagumo could certainly make it happen. I also had something he wanted. The problem was that the price he'd ask made me hesitate. There was no way I'd get Ichinose in for free.

"Here's the deal. In the next Special Exam, I need your class to do me a favor. It won't cost your class anything, and you won't be doing anything morally questionable."

The Uninhabited Island Exam was a great opportunity. I could let Ryuen keep selling those temporary points to Katsuragi, and I wasn't about to pass up the extra points we could get by checking in at the designated spots.

This was a rare chance to inject points, so I had to expand the total pool as much as possible.

When the time came, I'd need a completely trustworthy ally to help me hold on to our victory.

"The next Special Exam? Have you already figured out what it'll be, Masaryu?"

Ichinose didn't rush to accept my offer. Instead, she asked me about the next Special Exam.

"I don't know what the next Special Exam will be. But as long as it's an exam involving all four classes, there'll be cooperation and competition. Finding a suitable ally ahead of time will keep you from scrambling once the exam starts."

During the Uninhabited Island Exam, Sakayanagi wouldn't be there. The Sakayanagi Faction within Class A wouldn't be able to do anything except make things difficult for Katsuragi.

There was no need to worry about Class D. Just surviving in the wilderness for seven days would push them to their limits.

Class B had chosen to turtle up, just like the other classes.

No matter whom I chose as an ally, it would be a waste of time—but who could say what would happen later? At least Class B was completely united and wouldn't sell out its allies.

"I'll do it. But aren't you worried that Classmate Sakayanagi and Sakura will tell everyone about our alliance?"

"No, I won't!"

Sakura reacted strongly. She didn't really feel any attachment to Class D anymore.

Her only real connection in Class D was Haruka. The study group she and Haruka had joined was completely different from the one in the original story.

Ever since they got their hands on old exam papers, the group had stopped studying seriously. Its leader was Wang Meiyu, who was good at studying but didn't have any other particular strengths.

She couldn't keep the other members in line, so the group had fallen into a state of neglect. At most, they'd get together before an exam to memorize the old papers and cram a little.

"Now that Katsuragi is leading Class A, I have no reason to help my rival."

Sakayanagi also made it clear that she didn't care about the private alliance between Classes B and C.

As far as she was concerned, Class C would never truly form an alliance with another class. At most, they'd make use of each other.

What she cared about now was how well Katsuragi would lead Class A in the upcoming Uninhabited Island Exam.

Class A had won first place in the last Special Exam, but it hadn't awarded many points.

Even though Class B had come in last and lost 50 Class Points, Class A was ahead of it by less than 150 points. A gap that small could easily be reversed by a single Uninhabited Island Exam.

If Katsuragi kept winning, she wouldn't mind handing him the reins and simply enjoying school life.

If he were crushed in the next two consecutive Special Exams, she'd take control of Class A herself.

And if Katsuragi became nothing more than a punching bag for Class C, she'd consider stepping in and taking over the class's leadership.

"Then the deal between our two classes is settled. I'll have Manabe print out a contract at the Student Council and bring it over."

I walked over to the window and took out my phone. The first person I contacted wasn't Manabe. Instead, I sent Ryuen a shopping list and transferred some points to him.

As for Manabe, I asked her to print the contract and find Nagumo, then show him a video.

It was something I'd found on Sakura's digital camera during the Sakura incident.

At the time, I'd only been curious—truly just curious, and with a critical eye.

I hadn't expected to find something I'd wanted for a long time. Sakura hadn't captured any evidence of the Sudo Incident, but she had caught Nagumo in an improper relationship.

How did President Nagumo manage to get around so much~