On the second day of the voting exam for the first-years, someone reported Nagumo Miyabi's negligence to the student council and the school, hoping to have him removed as student council president.
The reasons varied widely: some claimed Nagumo Miyabi misused student council funds, others accused him of unfair handling of disputes, and some said he abused his presidential authority.
Normally, Nagumo Miyabi wouldn't care about such complaints.
However, when Horikita Manabu advised him that, as president, he must lead by example and not frequently delegate his duties to others, it put him on high alert.
Though Horikita Manabu wasn't directly involved, Nagumo Miyabi sensed trouble brewing from his words.
Sure enough, over the next two days, public opinion among the students gradually turned against him.
Initially, criticism focused on his promotion of reforms that showed no tangible results, while he simultaneously exploited exam rules to target other classes within the second-year cohort.
Later, pent-up dissatisfaction toward Nagumo Miyabi erupted, with students questioning why someone like him had been elected as student council president.
Nagumo Miyabi dismissed these concerns outright, declaring that this was a school where strength spoke for itself—his position as president was earned through his own capabilities.
This response only intensified the conflict.
Those already discontent with his so-called "individual strength supremacy" continued attacking his actions through forums and the student council mailbox.
Unnoticed, the controversy grew increasingly fierce, eventually evolving into a major debate over whether reforms should even be pursued.
The second-year students were particularly vocal.
Having lived under Nagumo's rule for a considerable time, some had abandoned their classes to collaborate with him for advancement, plunging their classes into chaos and distrust.
Naturally, they could not tolerate this situation.
Some firmly supported Nagumo's stance, while others upheld the tradition of class-based advancement.
Soon, the entire grade split into two clearly defined factions.
Among Nagumo's supporters, dissenting voices emerged—some believed he was on the verge of failure and suggested switching allegiance to Kaoru to lead the reform efforts.
Unaware that the situation would spiral in this direction, Kaoru, who had instigated the public discourse, had merely intended to keep Nagumo occupied with handling the fallout.
Nonetheless, his initial objective was achieved: Nagumo was indeed troubled by the controversy targeting him, which even reached the school administration.
The newly appointed acting principal summoned Nagumo specifically to inquire whether he could maintain control over the student council.
Even the student council had requested a change in leadership, leaving the school administration bewildered.
Under normal procedures, such demands wouldn't warrant Nagumo's removal, as he hadn't committed any outrageous acts, and the school had no grounds to intervene in student affairs.
However, the sheer volume of discussion forced the school to view Nagumo with suspicion.
Even if the accusations were false, the school began to question his competence.
In the school's eyes, Nagumo's failure to manage student affairs and his creation of such a mess were clear indicators of incompetence.
Should the school really need to step in? Was this the kind of incompetent president they had?
Thus, on the first day the controversy erupted, Nagumo had already anticipated this.
He stormed into the student council office and found Kaoru, Ichinose Honami, Tonokawa, and others working.
"Oh? The president gracing us with his presence today? What brings you here?" Kaoru looked pleasantly surprised at Nagumo.
Since their relationship had soured, Nagumo rarely visited the student council.
The reason was simple: Nagumo feared he might lose his temper and argue with Kaoru.
At the same time, he didn't want to replace the student council executives arbitrarily, so he avoided the place altogether.
Nagumo thought to himself, once he found capable and loyal students, he would replace all the student council executives.
"I heard you're planning to replace me as president?" Nagumo stared expressionlessly at everyone in the office.
"Tonokawa, even you're involved? Heh."
Tonokawa steeled himself and whispered, "This semester, you've been constantly pushing your work onto others. As the president..."
"I've been recruiting new executives."
Nagumo said coldly, "For example, Ryota Iijima is more clever and capable than you."
Kaoru suppressed a laugh, while Tonokawa's expression visibly darkened.
"It's strange—I don't feel the slightest bit of anger now. I should have realized this earlier."
Nagumo turned his gaze to Kaoru. "Now, I should thank you. Once I calmed down, your weaknesses became glaringly obvious."
"Aren't you going to dismiss me from my position?" Kaoru said calmly.
The student council president had the authority to appoint and dismiss any executive, much like a cabinet.
In fact, this term's student council was essentially Nagumo's cabinet.
However, the cabinet had sidelined the president.
"If it were useful, I would have removed you long ago and appointed Ryuen or Sakayanagi in your place. Unfortunately, they weren't willing."
Simply replacing Kaoru wouldn't be enough.
Unless he could replace the entire student council, Nagumo would remain constrained.
That's why he had genuinely been scouting for executive candidates this semester.
Ryuen was unwilling, and Sakayanagi wasn't an option either.
The second-year students had already been filtered by him—there were no suitable candidates before, and even fewer now.
Moreover, Nagumo held the same stance as Manabu Horikita: only capable students could serve as student council executives.
On this point, he was unyielding.
"Heh, I've seen through your bluff anyway."
Nagumo had calmed down considerably, even managing to smile again. "I've prepared a gift for you. I hope you'll like it."
Kaoru furrowed his brows, watching Nagumo's retreating figure.
In truth, Kaoru had received a report from Ryota Iijima indicating that Nagumo had recently been gathering information on first-year students, especially those connected to him.
It seemed this turmoil hadn't affected Nagumo's resolve.
Kaoru was puzzled—was the president truly unafraid of the school stripping him of his position?
For instance, someone could spend tens of millions to buy the presidency.
Neither Kaoru nor Nagumo knew that the acting chairperson was preparing to protect Nagumo.
"Kaoru?" Ichinose called his name, pulling him back to reality.
Kaoru said he was fine and continued handling the documents in his hands.
With the president absent, the vice president, secretary, and treasurer had to manage the work.
After finishing these tasks, Kaoru asked Ichinose to stay behind alone.
Tonokawa tactfully closed the office door. In an instant, the spacious room held only Mitoma and Honami, gazing at each other.
"There's something I want to discuss with you."
Kaoru was the first to break the silence.
Honami sighed deeply, as if resigning herself. "If it's about the voting, Kaoru, you really don't need to worry so much about me. Even though our class can't compare to yours, I've been saving points."
"I know, but didn't your class give points to Ryuen at the start of the semester?"
Kaoru paused. "And later, you insisted on repaying the points you owed me."
"That's true, but Kaoru, you're underestimating me!" Ichinose Honami seemed to be angry, puffing her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
"We've already saved fifteen million!"
Kaoru was taken aback for a moment, then remembered that Class B's approach was similar to his own—they preserved half of their personal points every month.
Over the course of a year, accumulating fifteen million wasn't an impossible feat.
"But you're still short of five million, aren't you?"
"No, no, no. If we include everyone's personal savings, we should be able to scrape together another one or two million."
"Your class is truly united."
"Of course!"
Ichinose Honami beamed with pride.
These were the people she cherished the most—no one was willing to abandon any of their comrades.
"Even so, even if you scrape together one or two million, you still won't have twenty million."
Kaoru had no choice but to dampen her spirits.
Ichinose Honami fell silent for a moment. "Actually, I already have an idea. Sakayanagi-san contacted me—she can offer assistance."
Kaoru asked in confusion, "She gave you several million in aid?"
Ichinose Honami looked troubled, stealing a glance at Kaoru's expression with a glimmer in her eyes. "I have to keep it a secret from you for now. It's part of our deal."
"Alright, I understand it's your private matter, but since when did she have millions?"
Kaoru was puzzled.
Sakayanagi didn't seem like someone with that kind of money.
"I thought you already knew."
Ichinose Honami seemed surprised, then lowered her head in embarrassment. "She said Class A can make deals with Class B. For example, Class B borrows 3 million from Class A and has to repay 6 million within the next six months."
As she finished speaking, Kaoru's face darkened.
Aren't these conditions practically slavery?
Seeing his expression, Ichinose Honami subtly turned her head away.
"Wait, you agreed to this?"
Kaoru found it absurd, and her reaction didn't bode well.
"The only classes we can borrow from are yours in Class A or Class C. Unless absolutely necessary, we won't work with Class C. That's what everyone thinks."
Kaoru grew a bit irritated and gritted his teeth. "Couldn't you have asked your boyfriend for help?"
Unexpectedly, Ichinose Honami stubbornly refused. "This is a class matter, not a personal issue between me and Tetsu. If I could just casually rely on Tetsu to help my class, how would Tetsu's own class view him?"
Kaoru fell silent.
He knew Ichinose was right.
Since their classes were rivals, he had no reason to help his opponents.
Doing so would only make Ichinose Honami unhappy—as rivals, how could she accept his help?
"Alright, let me rephrase." Kaoru said, "I'll exchange 3 million for Class B's praise votes. Is that enough?"
"Eh? Praise votes?"
Ichinose Honami was clearly taken aback.
"Each class has the right to cast praise votes for students in other classes. I want to buy that right from Class B. You'll vote for whoever I tell you to."
"Is Kaoru aiming for protection points?"
"Not for me. Anyway, as the leader of Class B, is 3 million enough?"
Kaoru stared expressionlessly at Ichinose Honami, who began to fidget.
"Is it too little?"
"No, it's... it's too much, isn't it?"
"Fine, I'll add another condition."
Ichinose Honami nodded.
The praise vote condition was already sufficient, but Kaoru had always been helping her, making him seem overly generous, which left her slightly dissatisfied.
"I want to teach my girlfriend a lesson here. Is that acceptable, Ichinose-san?"
As if reminding her, Kaoru placed his hand on his belt.
The girl's face immediately flushed bright red.
---------
Read 50 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator