YES! President!

"Oh, right, if you feel your points are running a bit tight, you might want to consider joining a club during the upcoming recruitment drive.

The school allocates a certain amount of points to clubs as activity funding based on their size and achievements; you can earn some living expenses through such means.

Once you head back, pass this information along to the others in your class. If anyone still hasn't been accepted by a club by the end, my Traditional Literature Club can take them in.

However, my members won't see a cent of that activity funding, as it will all be confiscated by Ryuen. As the club president, the most I can do is ensure my members are fed enough to avoid having to eat the free mountain vegetable set meals at the cafeteria."

"Understood, we'll definitely pass on Sima's message!"

In the afternoon, after tidying up the club room, I had Ishizaki and the others help spread the word.

Come to think of it, Chairman Sakayanagi did grant my newly founded club quite a few privileges. Aside from not capping the number of members, he privately informed the student council to increase my club's activity budget for the first three months.

Before producing any results, I can receive 200,000 private points in activity funding for the first month, with a 50,000-point reduction each subsequent month, until the third month concludes and we are evaluated by standard club criteria.

For a club that started with only one person, this is an unprecedented level of favoritism.

The tone Horikita Manabu used when complaining to me about this last night was quite helpless; perhaps it was because this made the student council's budget for this quarter a bit tighter.

By evening, Hiyori and I, exhausted from the day's work, were sitting on lounge chairs, enjoying the tea Hiyori had brewed while quietly reading the books in our hands.

We both knew it was getting late, the sunset's afterglow having already draped over us like a garment through the glass, yet neither of us was willing to be the one to break the silence.

It wasn't until a series of urgent knocks sounded at the door that I reluctantly set down my copy of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

"What happened to you all?"

Upon opening the door, I saw a bruised and battered Ryuen, Albert, who was hunched over and twitching every so often, and Ishizaki, who had been helping me out earlier today.

Judging by their appearances, Ishizaki was the only normal one among the three.

Compared to their condition, I was more concerned about the massive pile of things they were carrying.

"Don't ask, just let us in, it's heavy!"

Ryuen's disheveled state stood in stark contrast to my current leisurely demeanor.

Ryuen, blocked at the door by me, didn't bother with pleasantries; he simply shoved me aside with his shoulder and walked in with Ishizaki and Albert, carrying six large bags of groceries.

"These are all yours now."

After piling the bags onto the kitchen counter, the three of them walked over to the U-shaped desk I had chosen to use as an office desk, pulled open the drawers, and took out three application forms.

"I have to ask, is there not a single one of you three who knows how to shop for groceries?"

I stood before the kitchen counter and dumped all the ingredients they had brought out of the bags.

Not to mention the fact that there wasn't a single trace of green vegetables in the entire haul, they could have at least brought back a bag of rice. At the very least, they could have done what I did at noon and scrounged some rice from the cafeteria's mountain vegetable set meals.

No vegetables, no staples, nothing but meat—it was enough to give me a headache.

"Isn't shopping for groceries just buying whatever is in the supermarket?"

Ryuen, who was filling out his form, remained silent. Albert, also filling out his form, remained silent as well. Only Ishizaki, who hadn't found a pen yet, responded to me.

"Yo, so the school supermarket actually has sales?"

I had only learned about this through videos from overseas bloggers sharing their experiences of buying discounted bento boxes and snapping up marked-down ingredients; I usually don't pay much attention to such daily expenses.

Besides, I wouldn't even look at those discounted bento boxes; they simply don't fall within my range of choices.

But if the school also marks things down at certain times like places outside, it seems like it could save quite a few points over time.

"Of course! We bought up all the discounted ingredients under Boss Ryuen's leadership!"

Ishizaki told me of their glorious achievement with a look of pride.

I finally understood why they had bought nothing but meat. In Japanese supermarkets, the items marked down at certain hours are usually deli items and meat. While discounted vegetables and fruits aren't rare, the discounts are usually small, and those items are often placed in a different corner.

Given how Ryuen and his group shopped, they likely never even found the discounted produce.

"You at least have a conscience for remembering to buy seasonings, but why is there so much sweet sauce? What kind of weird thing is this sweet soy sauce?"

I rummaged through the pile of meat and dug out the small amount of seasoning. During my time in Japan, I've gained some understanding of the local palate, but I still can't fathom why they love sweet-flavored food so much.

Could it be that the "sweetness" from lead pipes has affected their sense of taste?

"That brand of sweet soy sauce is amazing! I used it last time I had barbecue!"

Looking at the energetic Ishizaki, I no longer had the strength to complain about their life experience.

"Thank heavens, I've found a savior. As long as it attacks the ingredients, everything will be fine!"

After organizing the seasonings and meat, I was pleasantly surprised to dig a large bag of Chinese-style hot pot base out from the bottom of the pile.

Since there was a pot here that could be used for hot pot, everything was going to be alright!

"Are the application forms all filled out?"

Having figured out what to make for dinner, I looked up at the three of them and found that each had pulled up a lounge chair, retrieved a large bottle of cola left over from lunch from the fridge, and were all lounging in a state of total relaxation.

"Yes, President."

Ryuen, sprawled on his chair, responded while holding a paper cup of cola high with one hand.

"Then, as your president, I'm assigning you a task: go to the cafeteria and get five free mountain vegetable set meals. If you think the rice won't be enough, get a few more. You need vegetables and staples; otherwise, if you just eat this pile of meat, your jaws will be ruined before long!"

"Ishizaki, Albert, you two go get a few extra sets so we don't have to go back for more tomorrow."

"Yes, Boss!"

Ryuen certainly knew how to order people around; he only needed to issue the commands. But there were no "buts"—Ishizaki and Albert didn't need to overthink things, as simply obeying was enough.

"Masaryu-kun, let me help you."

After setting the dining table, Hiyori came to my side to assist as well. Compared to Ryuen, Hiyori truly understood the human heart!

Once we finish eating, I'll just have Ryuen wash the dishes—it's decided, just like that!