Chapter 3: A New Student Council Member

Chapter 3: A New Student Council Member

Chapter 3:

A New Student Council Member

W HILE THE FINAL SPECIAL EXAM of the second semester was just around the corner, Horikita had a problem that needed to be solved right now. Namely, the job that she needed to do in order to officially take over the position of student council president from Nagumo, who was retiring from his role. The day after being appointed the new president, she seemed to decide to take action immediately after class.

As expected, I was called on, and I awaited Horikita’s arrival in the hallway outside the classroom. She was the one who had called me to meet her, but she was currently in the middle of a small meeting with other students gathered in class.

The student council business was an issue that she needed to take care of, but of course, she couldn’t neglect preparations for the new special exam right now. I figured that if I quietly left without a word, I’d have to be prepared to pay double for it later. I preferred avoiding that. After I’d spent close to ten minutes thinking about all of that, Horikita finally showed up, without really offering any kind of apology.

“Well then, let’s have a change of venue, shall we?” she said.

“You already done with your strategy meeting?” I asked.

“Yes, because I already had a thorough discussion with Hirata-kun and some others just yesterday. Today I was just listening to progress reports. Fortunately, the majority of our classmates are quite motivated. Even if they dislike studying, they’re taking the initiative in approaching this matter. The fact that Sudou-kun, whose grades were once the lowest in the class, has risen in the ranks, along with the mental pressure over Sakura-san’s expulsion and how close our point score is to that of Class A—all of those things are evidence that everything is moving in the right direction.”

As she mentioned Sakura Airi’s name, Horikita briefly shot me a look, as though she were trying to examine me.

“Does it still bother you?” I asked.

“I’m…not so insensitive that it wouldn’t bother me,” she said. “Even if what I’m saying is completely true.”

“That’s not very admirable. You should stand tall.”

With time, Horikita should come to terms with things more fully deep down inside. As I started to walk away, Horikita followed after me, somewhat hurriedly.

“To be honest, it feels very encouraging to hear from Nagumo-senpai that you’re willing to cooperate with me,” she said.

“Sounds like you only heard the good parts,” I replied. “I just want you to know and really understand that, personally, I am not on board with this at all.”

It’d be difficult later if there was a misunderstanding or disagreement on the idea of motivation. But, well, I was sure that the student standing in front of me understood that quite well, without me needing to expressly say that aloud.

“I’m sure,” she said. “Apparently, you decided to keep quiet about the fact that you were told to help. You were planning on feigning ignorance about this if I didn’t approach you, weren’t you?”

Apparently, she had known what I was doing, and now she was deliberately saying things to try and provoke me.

“If you cared about me, you could’ve just let that slide,” I said.

“No.”

My attempts to find a way out were dashed by Horikita’s immediate, blunt response. Recently, she had been refining her crudeness in dealing with me quite a lot, though in a good way… Actually, no, in a bad way.

“But don’t worry,” she went on. “I don’t intend to drag this out spending several days finding new members for the student council. I already found some candidates yesterday, so I’d like to make a decision today. The student council is important, but we have a special exam coming up, and I’d like to focus on that right now.”

It sounded like Horikita was determined to decide quickly, so that was a relief.

“You need one person from the second-years and one from the first-years, right?” I asked.

“Yes. Also, after I met with Nagumo-senpai once again, I got a little more specific information about his preferences. He said that students should have an Academic Ability score of B or better in OAA as a minimum requirement.”

“Academic Ability score restrictions, eh? Well, I suppose if they’re going to be on the student council, it’s not surprising that there’s a minimum requirement.”

Since Societal Contribution didn’t seem to be regarded as important in this choice, I figured that meant a wide range of selections would be possible.

“Come to think of it, someone somewhere has improved their Academic Ability score and has a B. I wonder where that certain someone is,” said Horikita.

“I’ve suddenly got a stomachache. I think I’m going to head out,” I replied.

“Can’t you even take a joke?”

“No, because you were serious when you said it.”

“I intend to fill the second-year-student vacancy left by Ichinose-san when she resigned right now. And I’m picking someone other than you.”

“That makes sense. You said that you’re deciding on a candidate.”

“Yes. The only other requirement to become an officer of the student council is that you’re not registered with any clubs,” Horikita said. “As long as a student has a score of B or better in Academic Ability, the rest can be decided by the person who will become student council president, at her own discretion and judgment.”

Which meant that as long as that person fit the criteria, Horikita was free to seek out basically anyone she wanted, with whatever abilities they possessed.

“Just because someone has an Academic Ability score of B or better doesn’t mean they’ll do well, though,” she added. “It’s not like just anyone can do the job. If someone is going to be helping to run the student council, things would go more smoothly if they had a variety of proficiencies.”

The student council would definitely be in jeopardy if its members were a motley crew of randomly selected people with no motivation, for sure.

“I intend to tackle this aggressively,” she said. “I don’t want to bring in someone from a strong rival class, like Class A, since you can earn more than a few benefits just by being a part of the student council.”

Apparently, that was a stance she wanted to stick to, no matter how small the advantage it granted.

“In that case…ideally, it’d be a student from your own class then, huh?” I said.

“Exactly right. Even if people see that I have ulterior motives in selecting someone from my same class, it’s still not a violation of the rules.”

I thought I could see the answer to the question of why we hadn’t been walking away and instead had just been standing here outside the classroom.

One of our classmates, Kushida, left the classroom and called out to Horikita. “What did you want to talk to me about, Horikita-san?”

It was only a brief instant, but Horikita shot me a signal with her eyes, asking me, “What do you think?”

It was certainly true that Kushida was a student who was highly regarded by those around her, and her looks were included in that. Her Academic Ability score was B or better, and her stats compared favorably to even those serving on the student council. But that was just looking at things from the outside. Horikita and Kushida were like oil and water.

“To tell you the truth, I have a favor to ask of you, Kushida-san,” said Horikita.

This was the dangerous act of pouring a large amount of water into a pot of oil.

“This is still off the record, but it’s been decided that Ichinose-san will be leaving the student council,” Horikita went on.

“Huh? Is that so? Was there some kind of problem?” asked Kushida.

“It’s just for personal reasons,” Horikita replied.

Kushida hadn’t yet grasped the situation, but the oil was beginning to heat up. However, it had yet to reach a high temperature.

“So, because we have an open position due to someone leaving the student council, I was wondering if you could fill the vacancy, if at all possible.” And with that brief statement, Horikita had conveyed the decisive bit of information. The temperature of the oil was rising; it was starting to make popping sounds, causing the water to jump.

“So, is President Nagumo still going to continue in his role on the student council?” asked Kushida.

“No, so I’ll automatically move up into the position. I’m the only remaining member on the student council out of the second-years,” Horikita said.

“So, in other words…you’re going to become student council president, Horikita-san,” said Kushida.

“That’s the plan, as long as no problems arise from here out,” said Horikita.

While Kushida did seem a little surprised over the sudden shakeup in the student council presidency, that likely wasn’t the crux of the matter here. It had already been established that either Ichinose or Horikita would become president originally anyway.

“Which is exactly why I’ve decided to select people personally,” Horikita continued. “I’m required to find people who have the requisite abilities to meet the minimum posted requirements for the council, and knowing you, I’m sure you’ll meet those without any issues.”

A large amount of water and oil had already begun jumping out of the pot; you’d need to worry about being splashed if you got too near. You’d probably suffer burns if you stayed close by.

“So, supposing I did join the student council… Would you make me your secretary or something, Horikita-san?” This point seemed to bother Kushida more than anything else, so she came straight out and asked.

“I still haven’t decided on a position yet, but probably,” said Horikita.

“Ah ha ha ha! That’s a funny joke.”

Kushida was laughing aloud, and she had the right facial expression to match, but Horikita and I knew exactly what was going on. We could both feel, very strongly, that she was saying, “Who the hell would want to work for you, idiot?!”

“Depending on how motivated you are, I could also immediately make you vice president,” said Horikita.

“Um, you do understand that’s not the issue here, right?” said Kushida. Her answer was intimidating, essentially telling Horikita, “Don’t bother coming to me with something that there’s no way I’ll accept. You’re just wasting your time.” That was an impressive feat on Kushida’s part, since she was able to convey it with her usual smile. She added, “I mean, I’m not so sure someone like me would be fit to serve on the student council.”

Since we were standing out in the hallway, with students coming and going, the only reason that Kushida could push to refuse Horikita’s offer was that she was lacking in ability.

“That’s not true,” Horikita said. “You’re highly regarded, even in OAA, and you’re respected by a considerable number of peers in our grade, as well as our kouhai. And, knowing you, I’m sure that the first-year students who start school here next year would be able to open up to you right away, so you could easily become friends. I’ve scouted you because I value that kind of ability.”

Horikita strongly emphasized that she wasn’t just trying to give Kushida the job so that she could order her around and lord over her. She was expressing how she genuinely felt. But I figured that, from Kushida’s point of view, something like that wouldn’t make much of a difference. There was no way she could accept an arrangement where she’d be working under Horikita.

“It makes me happy to hear that you feel that way,” Kushida said, “but I still really think it’d be difficult for me. I don’t have any student council experience or anything…”

Horikita had persisted, but it looked like it wasn’t going to be that easy after all. The fact was that the idea of working under Horikita was especially hard for Kushida to accept.

“Our class will get a slight advantage just by having you join, though,” Horikita argued. “The added bonus of having a student on the council is a weapon in our arsenal when it comes to getting to Class A.”

“That’s true,” Kushida admitted. “I understand what you’re trying to say, but…I really don’t think it’s possible. I’m sorry.”

Horikita had deliberately gone after Kushida as she was leaving class, probably so that she could make her continue to play the good girl. If they were having this conversation with no one around, in an empty dormitory room, Kushida would have wasted no time in flat-out refusing.

“Please, Kushida-san. I need your talents.” Horikita, pleading strongly, reached for Kushida’s hand as she made her appeal. The students passing by casually looked over, wondering what was going on.

“…………”

Kushida continued to feign surprise and bewilderment. I supposed this had to be painful for the outer version of Kushida, since she couldn’t bluntly refuse Horikita, who wanted her help.

Just then, I directed my gaze in the other direction for a moment.

“What’s wrong?” asked Horikita.

“Nothing,” I replied.

Horikita, standing next to me, seemed to notice me reacting to something, and she seemed concerned about it, but I didn’t want to derail the conversation by mentioning something irrelevant at the moment. There was a slight pause in the conversation, but Horikita then turned back to Kushida, who remained silent.

“I’m not telling you to come work for me,” Horikita said. “I just want you to help me get to Class A.”

“But…it could be someone other than me,” Kushida protested. “I’m not very confident I can do this.”

“You would get the most benefit out of accepting the position, Kushida-san,” argued Horikita.

“Hm? What do you mean by that?” Kushida asked.

It wasn’t surprising that she wouldn’t understand what Horikita meant.

“Well, that’s obvious, isn’t it? It means that by joining the student council, Kushida-senpai, even if there’s someone out there who haaaates you, they wouldn’t be able to carelessly raise a hand against you!”

It wasn’t Kushida herself who answered her own question, nor was it Horikita—instead, it was a third party, a female student named Amasawa Ichika. She had been stealthily closing in for a little while now, but I hadn’t expected her to suddenly involve herself in the conversation.

“…Why are you here by the second-year classrooms, Amasawa-san?” asked Kushida.

Kushida seemed to feel that Amasawa, who’d just suddenly appeared, was even more of a natural (?) enemy.

“It’s fine for me to go where my senpai are, isn’t it?” replied Amasawa.

“We’re kind of busy right now,” Horikita said. “Who do you want to speak with?”

“Hm, well, it isn’t like I came for anyone in particular or anything,” said Amasawa. “But if I had to say, I guess Kushida-senpai.”

“Me? I-I see. What on Earth do you want?” Kushida was clearly angry, a vein on her face visibly bulging.

“Hmm? What was it? What do you think I want?”

“I don’t know that. I have no idea what you’re thinking, Amasawa-san.”

To my eyes, Kushida looked incredibly uncomfortable from any angle, but that was probably because I was seeing her through a filter. Perhaps Horikita sees it in the same way? I wondered.

“I’m having an important conversation with Horikita-san and Ayanokouji-kun right now, so I wonder if we could perhaps talk later?” said Kushida.

“No way,” said Amasawa. “If you and I are all alone, I bet you’ll be scared for sure, Kushida-senpai.”

Amasawa obviously didn’t care about Kushida at all. She was just coming out and saying exactly what she thought. I was sure that even Horikita, seeing how these two were together, probably fully grasped what was going on—at least that there was something hidden. Of course, it was entirely possible that she already knew everything. But why did Amasawa purposely come all this way to see Kushida? I looked at Amasawa, trying to rein her in with my eyes.

“That was a lie!” Amasawa said quickly. “It was a lie, Senpai. The truth is, I actually came here to see Ayanokouji-senpai. And when I got here, I noticed that he was talking to you and Horikita-senpai. You know, Kushida-senpai, that’s why I was secretly listening in.”

She had no shame in openly admitting that she had been eavesdropping.

“How much of the conversation did you hear?” asked Kushida.

“How much? I just started listening a little while back. From the part where Horikita-senpai said, ‘I’m not telling you to come work for me.’ Really! It’s the truth, y’know?”

Although Amasawa was telling the truth, she clearly doubted that Kushida and Horikita trusted her. That was exactly why I decided to cut in to assure them that Amasawa was telling the truth.

“It’s true,” I said. “She heard nothing more and nothing less. I saw her approaching.”

“I see,” said Horikita. “So, what’s why you looked away for a moment.”

“Right, see?” said Amasawa. “I’ve only been telling the truth, right?”

“Oh, so then, where did the lie about you coming to see Kushida-san go?” Horikita argued. “Actually, scratch that. We don’t even know if it’s true that you came to see Ayanokouji-kun in the first place.”

As soon as you started doubting one thing, other things started to look suspicious too.

“Come on now, let’s not worry over all the tiny details, shall we?” Amasawa blustered. “Enough about that, anyway. Please continue with your recruitment efforts!”

Amasawa then pointedly took a step back, as if to assure the two of them that she wouldn’t interfere anymore.

“…All right then,” said Horikita. “Putting the matter of Amasawa-san aside for now, I’d like to hear your answer.” To turn a bad situation around for the better, she had settled on disregarding Amasawa and continuing her attempts to persuade Kushida.

“I think that I just gave you my answer earlier, though. I can’t accept,” said Kushida.

“Why not?” asked Horikita.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t live up to your expectations. Someone like me isn’t right for the student council, and—”

“Why don’t you just join the student council instead of saying that?”

After insisting that she wouldn’t interfere, Amasawa didn’t even make it ten seconds before she broke her promise and interrupted.

Actually, because she was convinced that Kushida couldn’t do anything to directly counterattack, Amasawa was now getting carried away, standing directly behind her. She started touching Kushida to mess with her, clinging to her all over. And to top it all off, she began playing with Kushida’s cheek, prodding it with her index finger, poke poke .