Three-Way Game

Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School, Student Council Office.

"Turns out I have to fill it out myself after all."

Amasawa Reigetsu felt like he had been overusing this meme lately; he decided that when he got back, he would reward himself by replaying that game.

Standing to the side, Nagumo Miyabi's signature bright smile cracked noticeably for a split second. His eyes were a mix of shock, gloom, and a hint of forcibly suppressed irritation. Clearly, this move by Horikita Manabu had completely exceeded his expectations.

Where on earth did Horikita Manabu find this Pokémon?!!

Horikita Manabu: I chased my sister until she bit, then caught it with a 10-million-point Master Ball. Jealous?

As for Ichinose Honami, who stood beside Nagumo Miyabi, her clear eyes were filled with surprise and confusion. She didn't seem to fully grasp what this sudden turn of events meant, though she did recognize the person who had just walked in.

Amasawa Reigetsu from Class 1-A. Why was he here? And what did filling out a form mean—

"This is Amasawa Reigetsu. I, Horikita Manabu, have personally appointed him to the Student Council. His position is—Vice President."

As Horikita Manabu's resonant words fell, the air in the Student Council office seemed to freeze instantly.

Tachibana Akane, standing behind Horikita Manabu, widened her eyes slightly. As his most trusted secretary, she had been completely unaware of this personnel appointment.

I was the one who came first...

Ichinose Honami was completely out of the loop. She blinked, looking from the gloomy Nagumo to the confident Amasawa and Horikita, finally realizing that she had been dragged into the internal factional struggle of the Student Council—

Or perhaps she didn't even have a seat at the table to begin with?

"Heh, that's truly surprising. President, I didn't expect you to be hiding such a trump card right before your retirement."

"However, taking the position of Vice President as a first-year... I wonder if you can command the respect of the others?"

Nagumo Miyabi crossed his arms and took a half-step forward, radiating the pressure of a superior.

"The Student Council isn't a place just anyone can walk in and out of. After all, the President is stepping down soon. When that happens, you, as Vice President, will have no legitimate standing."

A naked attack.

Amasawa Reigetsu looked at Horikita Manabu, signaling that it was time for him to fulfill his promise.

Nagumo Miyabi caught this, shocked that Amasawa wasn't Horikita Manabu's pawn, but a player who had stepped directly onto the chessboard.

Horikita Manabu remained seated in the main chair, his tone brooking no argument.

"This is an appointment by the Student Council President, Nagumo."

It seemed there was a significant power gap within the Student Council as well. But such a reason clearly couldn't fully convince Nagumo Miyabi, even though Nagumo himself couldn't force Ichinose Honami into a position either—

But Horikita Manabu had taken a step forward; if he couldn't sink his teeth into Horikita's ambition, the balance of power would tilt in his favor.

Just as the two were deadlocked, Amasawa Reigetsu interrupted them:

"In my capacity as the first-year Vice President,"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Ichinose Honami, a meaningful curve touching his lips:

"I appoint Ichinose-san as my personal secretary."

Ichinose Honami pointed at herself in surprise: "Eh? Me, me?"

"You really aren't to be underestimated, Amasawa."

This situation was within Horikita Manabu's projections, but Nagumo Miyabi had suffered from an information gap. Thus, Nagumo could only seize the initiative, interrupting Amasawa Reigetsu's speech to posture for himself.

Nagumo Miyabi had originally intended to use Ichinose as a secretary to place her by his side, but he also harbored intentions toward Ichinose herself, and was willing to make concessions if necessary.

Amasawa Reigetsu's strategic value had already surpassed Ichinose Honami's. Now, he could only gamble through concessions, hoping Amasawa wouldn't attach himself to Horikita Manabu but would instead act as an independent player.

Nagumo Miyabi admitted he had underestimated this variable from the first year.

"Honami is a talent I personally brought here, intending to make her my secretary. And now you're trying to NTR me right to my face... It seems you don't hold me, your senior, in very high regard."

"Is that so? But given your power, Senior, it wouldn't be that easy to recruit Ichinose-san into the Student Council, would it? Especially not when there's already a first-year student like me here."

"If Ichinose cannot join the Student Council, that's a situation neither I nor you would want to see, right?"

Amasawa Reigetsu was unbothered. He didn't care whether Ichinose Honami joined the Student Council or not, and the current situation was indeed forcing Nagumo Miyabi into a position of weakness.

Nagumo Miyabi narrowed his eyes, staring fixedly at Amasawa Reigetsu's calm face.

He was rapidly weighing the pros and cons: forcibly detaining Ichinose would only make him look petty and might even prevent her from joining the Student Council, causing her to resent him. If he went with the flow and agreed, while he would lose direct control over Ichinose, he could at least maintain a facade of harmony. Besides...

Ichinose was a kind and simple girl; if he operated correctly, he might still be able to influence her from the sidelines.

Nagumo Miyabi chose to trust his own hand-eye coordination, starting to steam from the 0.5 option given by Amasawa Reigetsu, between his own 1 and Horikita Manabu's 0.

After a moment of silence, the gloom on Nagumo Miyabi's face dissipated, replaced once again by that bright yet hypocritical smile:

"Hahahaha! Good! Amasawa-kun, you truly have a unique eye. Since you value Honami so much, I have no reason to stop you. After all, for the development of the Student Council, talent should indeed be placed in the most suitable position."

"But to snatch someone right in front of me—isn't it a bit arrogant to expect to pay no price at all?"

Nagumo Miyabi changed his tone, closing the distance to Amasawa Reigetsu once more—

The confrontation had reached its final act.

"But considering you're only a first-year... No, you didn't hand in an application form at the start; Horikita Manabu must have reached some agreement with you... that's why you came out to wade into these muddy waters."

"Five million points—I assume you can accept that, Junior?"

"Nagumo, that's enough. I've already agreed to help him clear the obstacles for his enrollment; you know the consequences."

"Oh? Hahaha, so that's how it is. Very well, one million points. As for the remaining four million, I'll just have to slowly deduct them from President Horikita's hands bit by bit~"

"Hmph."

It was not the first time Horikita Manabu had been provoked by Nagumo Miyabi, and his expression remained completely unchanged.

"Deal."

Amasawa Reigetsu pulled out his terminal and transferred one million private points to Nagumo Miyabi.

As the matter came to a close, the muscles throughout everyone's bodies visibly relaxed, and the tense, sword-drawn atmosphere all but dissipated.

Nagumo Miyabi patted Ichinose on the shoulder.

"Honami, did you hear that? Vice President Amasawa truly admires your abilities. Make sure to assist him well in the future; don't let me down."

"O-oh, okay!"

Ichinose Honami was completely lost as to what was happening.

After the meeting ended, Horikita Manabu kept Amasawa Reigetsu behind under the pretext of discussing work details.

"You didn't use that strange ability."

There was a hint of inquiry in Horikita Manabu's tone.

"Are you dissatisfied, Senpai?"

"No, your decisions were almost beyond my calculations, but they completely disrupted Nagumo's rhythm. It's hard to imagine these were all impromptu decisions made after you saw Ichinose."

"Some things are more interesting when done without using supernatural powers, aren't they?"

"Heh..."

"Pleasure doing business with you."

"Pleasure doing business with you."