Dirty Backroom Deal

At Horikita Manabu's cool gaze, Horikita Suzune felt utterly miserable.

For a moment, she even forgot why she had wanted to speak with him.

"I'm not the useless person I used to be. I came here because I've caught up with you."

Horikita Suzune's voice trembled.

She fought back her emotions, barely managing not to cry.

"Caught up with me... Is that what you wanted to tell me when you asked me to come out?"

Horikita Manabu's expression turned even colder.

After two years apart, his sister was still just as naive.

It was infuriating.

"No, that's not it. I heard you were having trouble in the Student Council, brother."

Only then did Horikita Suzune remember the real reason she'd come. She spoke in a timid voice.

Looking at her now, who would've guessed she was usually such an aloof beauty?

"Why would you believe a story like that?"

Horikita Manabu frowned, his imposing air softening somewhat.

"He's a really annoying guy, and he's good at making people angry. But he didn't seem to be making it up."

Horikita Suzune lowered her head, feeling extremely guilty.

She already regretted calling Horikita Manabu out over a baseless worry.

But for the past two days, she'd been unable to eat or sleep, constantly thinking about what Makoto Nishikado had said.

The expression on Makoto Nishikado's face as he spoke kept coming back to her, making it impossible to calm down.

[Stirred Horikita Manabu's emotions and gained 312 emotion points.]

"Is that annoying guy you mentioned the person behind you?"

Horikita Manabu looked at Makoto Nishikado again, this time with a more scrutinizing gaze.

"Huh?"

Horikita Suzune turned around in confusion, only then realizing that the person they were talking about was right behind her.

"Good evening."

Makoto Nishikado waved with a smile, as if he had no idea how awkward the situation was.

"Y-you followed me?"

Horikita Suzune was both embarrassed and furious, her face turning red with anger.

She'd nearly cried and made a scene just now because of Horikita Manabu's coldness. She'd acted nothing like herself.

It was bad enough that her brother had seen her embarrass herself, but now a classmate her age had seen it too... She, she was tainted!

"I wouldn't call it following you. I was just curious whether you were fooling around with guys."

"And at this hour, you were going out alone. I figured I'd make sure nothing happened to you while I was at it."

Makoto Nishikado spoke righteously, without the slightest hint of guilt.

At a time like this, a beam of justice should've been shining down on him.

"So that's your excuse for following me and eavesdropping?"

Horikita Suzune refused to let it go. She had no intention of sparing Makoto Nishikado.

Makoto Nishikado had suspected her of fooling around with guys. And so soon after the school year had started, wasn't he accusing her of hooking up...

How outrageous!

"With all those cameras around, if I actually tried anything, I'd be arrested."

"Besides, my concern was justified. You can't call it malicious stalking."

"As for eavesdropping, your brother saw me there. If you have a problem with it, take it up with him."

Makoto Nishikado spread his hands, wearing a grin that Horikita Suzune found incredibly obnoxious.

"You..."

Horikita Suzune had no answer.

If Horikita Manabu had allowed all this, his annoying little sister could only pretend nothing had happened.

She turned to Horikita Manabu for help.

But he paid her no attention, staring straight at Makoto Nishikado.

"You're Makoto Nishikado from Class B, first year?"

Horikita Manabu phrased it as a question, but his tone was certain.

"That's me. The Student Council really does have a lot of power."

Makoto Nishikado nodded, thinking that this was a good opportunity.

For Class B, getting connected with Horikita Manabu was a very good option.

"Why did you say I was having trouble in the Student Council?"

Even when speaking to an outsider like Makoto Nishikado, Horikita Manabu remained expressionless, though he showed no hostility.

Thinking of the information he'd gathered on Class B's overall approach, and knowing Horikita Suzune had believed what this boy said, Horikita Manabu was eager to hear his answer.

"Class B's goal is to rise to Class A while making sure no one in our class gets expelled."

Makoto Nishikado's answer seemed unrelated to Horikita Manabu's question, leaving even Horikita Suzune confused.

But Horikita Manabu smiled when he heard it.

This boy and the Class B behind him were natural allies.

"You're impressive. Join the Student Council. If you're talented enough, I'll make you one of the vice presidents while you're still a first-year."

Horikita Manabu made the offer without hesitation or testing the waters.

Makoto Nishikado's answer had told him that this was the person he'd been looking for.

"Brother, what makes him—"

Horikita Suzune stopped halfway through her sentence. As his younger sister, she couldn't question her brother's decision.

But what exactly was Makoto Nishikado capable of?

Why did her brother think so highly of him?

The girl was both envious and jealous.

"Wait, brother, are you really in trouble?"

Horikita Suzune was clever, especially when it came to Horikita Manabu.

After feeling a little envious, she quickly picked out the information she cared about most from the situation.

"I'm talking to him. Be quiet."

Horikita Manabu's expression, which had softened, turned cold again. He glanced at Horikita Suzune without a trace of feeling.

Of all the things, she had to be so perceptive about something this trivial.

He truly didn't know whether he should be pleased.

"..."

Horikita Suzune felt terribly aggrieved. She turned and sent all her resentment toward Makoto Nishikado through her eyes.

Meanwhile, Makoto Nishikado had been pretty happy when he first received the invitation.

But when he heard Horikita Manabu offer him a vice president position, he hesitated.

After pretending to think it over for a while, Makoto Nishikado turned his gaze to Horikita Suzune.

"President, your sister is clever and determined."

"If she could rein in her temper, she might become the leader of Class D."

The vice president position was important and hard to come by.

Horikita Manabu's power as Student Council president wasn't unlimited, after all.

Besides showing his sincerity, offering the position likely meant he wanted something in return.

Perhaps he wanted Makoto Nishikado to look after his sister.

Maybe he'd made that decision because he'd seen Horikita Suzune trust Makoto Nishikado's words.

But Makoto Nishikado didn't think he held that much sway with Horikita Suzune.

And the classes were competitors. Everyone in Class B already knew that.

If Horikita Suzune became Class D's leader, she'd eventually become an enemy of Class B.

Then Makoto Nishikado would be raising a tiger only to invite disaster.

By any measure, it wasn't a good idea.

"She's still far too immature. And you—would you really take Class D seriously?"

Horikita Manabu didn't think much of it.

Among the Class D classes in previous years, this year's group was quite "outstanding."

Considering what Makoto Nishikado had shown he could do, there was no reason for him to take Class D seriously.

"But there are several talented people in Class D. I wouldn't dare underestimate them."

Makoto Nishikado wasn't falling for it.

Taking on Class D was already a difficult task. If he also trained Horikita Suzune, wouldn't he just be making trouble for himself?

"One hundred thousand points a month."

Horikita Manabu held up one finger.

"No. I can't help a competitor of Class B."

"Two hundred thousand. You can train her however you like."

"President, this isn't about points."

"Three hundred thousand. I can't offer more."

"Deal!"

Makoto Nishikado walked over to Horikita Manabu and shook his hand with a smile.

Wasn't it just a matter of facing stronger versions of Horikita and Ayanokoji?

He loved making trouble for himself. He'd even taken on A8-40 difficulty in the currency wars!

And just like that, a dirty backroom deal was struck.

Accepting the money meant that Makoto Nishikado and Class B had become firmly aligned with Horikita Manabu's faction.

"Brother..."

In the end, Horikita Suzune was the only one left completely bewildered.

What had just happened?