"Huh?!"
The sudden voice startled Ichinose Honami so badly that she nearly dropped her notebook.
She spun around. Once she saw who it was, her tense shoulders relaxed, and her trademark smile appeared.
"Good afternoon, Shiba."
Then she noticed the girl hiding behind Tatsuya Sakuya and gave her a polite nod.
"This is Ichinose Honami from Class 1-B, and this is Airi Sakura from our class."
Before Ichinose Honami could ask, Tatsuya Sakuya introduced them.
"Um..."
Airi Sakura's cheeks reddened. Her voice was barely audible. "G-good afternoon."
After they had greeted each other, Ichinose Honami turned back to Tatsuya Sakuya.
"Please don't tease me, Shiba. If I said that in front of the president, he'd probably throw me out of the Student Council Office."
"Not necessarily."
Tatsuya Sakuya stopped in front of the bench and looked down at Ichinose Honami as she tilted her face up toward him.
"President Horikita is completely rational. Maybe he doesn't like people who just copy what everyone else does. Maybe he'd prefer a surprise."
"..."
"So instead of feeding him empty platitudes, put your trump card on the table."
"My trump card?"
"Class 1-B's unity. Maybe that's exactly the ability the Student Council needs."
The Student Council at Advanced Nurturing High School was different from those at ordinary schools. It wielded considerable power, including the authority to handle disputes on campus and oversee school clubs.
Most importantly, it could even get involved in Special Exams. It was no wonder so many people wanted to join.
But the Student Council's standards were fairly high.
Horikita Manabu had even made it clear that students who joined a club could not interview for the Student Council.
Although the Student Council had recruited at the start of the school year, no one had yet heard of a first-year