Miyabi Nagumo's Challenge

After school, Makoto Nishikado arrived at the Student Council door right on time.

He raised his right hand and rapped his knuckles against the door three times, the rhythm steady and the force moderate.

Almost the instant he lowered his hand, a deep, authoritative male voice came from within: "Enter."

The voice was not loud, yet it carried an unquestionable aura.

Makoto Nishikado pushed the door open and walked in. There were quite a few people inside the Student Council, and he recognized three of them.

Student Council President Horikita Manabu, Vice President Miyabi Nagumo, and Secretary Akane Tachibana.

"Sit. From now on, you are a member of the Student Council."

Horikita Manabu sat in the main seat and spoke in a low voice.

As he spoke, he remained focused on the documents on his desk, not even looking up at Makoto Nishikado.

This was not a sign of disrespect, but rather that he trusted Makoto Nishikado enough.

"Is today just for getting acclimated, or is there work you need me to do?"

Makoto Nishikado didn't stand on ceremony and found an empty seat to sit down.

He didn't treat himself as an outsider from the moment he arrived, and his tone was notably relaxed and casual.

Such an attitude made certain people unable to stand it.

"Before you have a sufficient understanding of the Student Council's work, please do not interfere without authorization."

"For now, you only need to watch."

Akane Tachibana placed the document in her hand gently onto the table, producing a crisp sound.

Her gaze was fixed tightly on Makoto Nishikado, carrying a trace of hostility she tried but failed to hide.

Within the Student Council factions, she was a supporter of Horikita Manabu.

Or rather, she was essentially Horikita Manabu's little follower.

Her ability might not be the strongest, but she was absolutely the most loyal.

Her status was similar to that of Yuki Himeno, who stayed by Makoto Nishikado's side.

Logically speaking, since she supported Horikita Manabu and Makoto Nishikado also supported Horikita Manabu, the two of them should have been on the same side.

"What's wrong, Senior? Are you worried that I'm going to steal Horikita-senpai away?"

Makoto Nishikado keenly captured the antagonism in Akane Tachibana's eyes and deliberately used a teasing tone.

[Triggered Horikita Manabu's emotions, obtained 122 emotion points.]

"Y-you, what kind of nonsense are you spouting!"

Akane Tachibana panicked instantly, her voice even cracking slightly.

She directed this at Makoto Nishikado, but her eyes had already shifted toward Horikita Manabu.

Seeing that Horikita Manabu had no reaction, Akane Tachibana didn't know whether to feel relieved or disappointed, but she calmed down regardless.

"Junior, you should call me Senior from now on. Not everyone is indifferent to honorifics."

Akane Tachibana instructed coldly, though she wasn't actually that angry.

In fact, compared to the obvious hostility from before, her attitude had softened quite a bit.

Although Makoto Nishikado was teasing her just now, he had projected goodwill.

"Understood, then I'll call you Senior Tachibana from now on."

Makoto Nishikado smiled and nodded in response, then casually picked up a document from the table and began to carefully examine the processes and methods the Student Council used to handle affairs.

He didn't need anyone to explain it to him; a few glances were enough for him to understand.

Akane Tachibana nodded, accepting the title "Senior Tachibana," though she felt Makoto Nishikado's tone was a bit strange.

Before she could turn to leave, another person approached Makoto Nishikado.

Seeing this person walk over, Akane Tachibana frowned subconsciously.

But she didn't say anything, turning away to busy herself with her own work.

"Junior, my name is Miyabi Nagumo. Once your talent is recognized by everyone in the Student Council, you will be a Vice President just like me."

Miyabi Nagumo, with his blonde hair, didn't know the meaning of reserve; he sat directly in the seat next to Makoto Nishikado and cast an intrigued look his way.

Horikita Manabu was a formidable rival he acknowledged, and Makoto Nishikado was the successor Horikita Manabu acknowledged.

If there were no surprises, once Horikita Manabu retired from the Student Council, his opponent would be Makoto Nishikado.

Although they were political rivals in theory, Miyabi Nagumo still held Horikita Manabu in high regard.

Consequently, he was also full of interest in Makoto Nishikado, whom Horikita Manabu acknowledged.

"So you are Vice President Nagumo. I heard that you also entered Advanced Nurturing as a student of Class B, and now you have led your class to become Class A."

"In that regard, you are a goal for me to learn from."

Makoto Nishikado appeared polite on the surface, but his words carried a hidden meaning.

Everyone in the room could tell that he was drawing a clear line between himself and Miyabi Nagumo.

"Don't waste time with such boring talk; for people like you and me, controlling an entire grade is merely the beginning."

"Being directly appointed as Vice President by Horikita Manabu, Class B has performed exceptionally well this year; you must be quite capable yourself. Would you like to compete with me?"

Miyabi Nagumo had no intention of playing mind games and issued a challenge head-on.

If he defeated Makoto Nishikado, he might finally earn the chance to challenge Horikita Manabu.

Horikita Manabu glanced up at him but did not intervene.

As someone about to step down from the Student Council, he could not protect Makoto Nishikado forever.

Since Makoto Nishikado had accepted his points to join the Student Council, he should have realized that such situations would arise.

"Fine, let's make it a friendly wager—how about 100,000 private points?"

Makoto Nishikado set down the documents in his hands and accepted with a smile.

"Your style is completely different from Horikita-senpai's. Since we've come to this school, we should enjoy ourselves to the fullest!"

Miyabi Nagumo couldn't help but burst into laughter, his interest deepening.

Although Horikita Manabu was strong, his personality was too steady, and he had never once accepted a challenge.

Makoto Nishikado, this underclassman, was entirely different—refreshing and confident; he was truly a likable junior.

Before challenging Horikita Manabu, he would finally have some fun.

"I am the senior, and since I issued the challenge, I'll let you decide the terms of the competition."

Miyabi Nagumo was satisfied and acted with great magnanimity.

Of course, behind this generosity lay his absolute confidence in his own strength.

In his view, no matter what challenge Makoto Nishikado proposed, he was confident he could win.

"Then let's do this: I have a matter to report to the school administration."

"If you can figure out the purpose behind my actions before the results are out, Miyabi-senpai, you win."

After speaking, Makoto Nishikado took out a blank sheet of paper and began to write.

Miyabi Nagumo realized he was writing down the answer in advance to ensure fairness, so he turned his head away to avoid looking.

Once Makoto Nishikado finished writing, he immediately stated the content of the challenge.

"Based on the mock exam results and the intelligence I've gathered, seven students from Class D will be expelled in the next exam. Across all four classes, conservatively speaking, ten people will be expelled."

"Yet, even for the second-year students, it took a full year for the number of expulsions to reach double digits."

"Therefore, there must be a shortcut to this first expulsion exam for the first-years, right?"

Makoto Nishikado's words made Miyabi Nagumo frown; he thought carefully for a moment before shaking his head.

"You aren't asking about the content of the shortcut, are you? That would be too boring."

For students in Class D, this question might be difficult to conceive.

But for other students, especially members of the Student Council, this question was far too simple.

"Since it's a shortcut, it's bound to be easy; it's likely just buying past exam papers from upperclassmen."

"If I were to make this information public now, and then fully expose the secret of the exam papers in the final seven days, supplemented by public opinion pressure, would the school administration change the exam papers?"

Makoto Nishikado continued his inquiry.

"That question is actually quite interesting... If they don't change the papers, the exam itself becomes meaningless."

"If they do change the papers, with only seven days left—some of which would be spent waiting for the administration to react—it would be a disaster for the students of Class C and Class D."

"Are you using this method to test the administration's reaction?"

Miyabi Nagumo found the question intriguing and pondered it for a moment.

Hearing this, Makoto Nishikado smiled without saying a word.

That answer was close, but not quite accurate.

"Also, are you really serious about asking this question?"

Miyabi Nagumo looked back and forth between Makoto Nishikado and Horikita Manabu, especially wanting to see Horikita Manabu's reaction.

He almost thought that Makoto Nishikado was planning to defect to his side.

On the other side, Makoto Nishikado realized he had misunderstood and couldn't help but shake his head.

"Miyabi-senpai, you must not take the initiative to push this matter forward; it is a trap."