A soldier who doesn't want to be a general isn't a good soldier.
So does that mean a student council member who doesn't want to be president isn't a good member?
"Are you trying to take my place?" Horikita Manabu asked. His eyes turned sharp and serious.
"Not exactly," Shirogane said. "I want to take over your position — when you step down, I want to become the next student council president."
"Still way too bold," Tachibana Akane-senpai said.
Ichinose, who hadn't left yet, also looked surprised. Just now, when President Horikita mentioned the secretary spot, she already thought that was a big deal.
But now, Shirogane — you're aiming straight for the top?
"Let him finish," Horikita Manabu said, calming down. "Tell us what makes you qualified."
"Just like you said — I believe in judging people by their ability. That's not only my standard, it's also this school's."
"So."
He paused, then added, "If you want to be the next student council president, then show me your ability!"
"You need at least five reasons that can convince me," said Horikita Manabu.
"…" Shirogane.
And Shirogane started putting his thoughts together.
Wanting to become the student council president wasn't some sudden decision—it came with real benefits.
The student council, especially the president, holds a lot of power in this school. And in past years, all the presidents came from Class A.
In other words, having a classmate become the president gives that class a strong chance of staying on top.
Of course, that doesn't mean the president should abuse their power, but if you're in control, you can stop others from abusing it.
One thing's for sure—getting the position is definitely a good thing.
It would also be a way to stop Nagumo's strange ambitions and protect the students Shirogane cared about from getting dragged into trouble.
"In terms of class performance, my class moved up from Class C to Class B in just one month. I don't think any class has done that before," Shirogane said.
"Alright," Manabu replied, resting his chin on his hand as if approving.
"And in terms of personal results, I scored first on the entrance exam."
"The entrance exam you took wasn't that hard," Manabu replied. "So getting first or second place in it isn't something to be too proud of."
"Ugh." Ichinose, who hadn't left yet, felt like she just took a hit to the knees.
She made a sound, and everyone turned to look at her.
"N-no, it's nothing," Ichinose quickly said, trying to keep things moving.
But deep down, she felt a little sad.
She had done pretty well on that test, getting second place. She thought that was a big achievement—but now the president just brushed it off like it wasn't a big deal.
Still—
"Even if I said that, getting first or second place on any test is still impressive, no matter how easy it is," Manabu continued. "After all, you were competing with many other students."
"You stood out among thousands of applicants."
Even though the president said that, Shirogane still felt something was off.
A lot of students had taken the entrance exam, but in the end, only 160 got accepted—divided into four classes.
But Shirogane didn't think those 160 students were all that amazing compared to the rest of the test-takers.
Take his own class, Class C, for example. He didn't know much at first, but after spending a month with them, it was clear… about 90% of them were bad at studying.
Some of them could barely get scores in the twenties.
Could people like that really beat out 800 other students in the entrance test? This school, Advanced Nurturing High, was famous. Since the number of spots was limited, most people who applied were probably confident in their skills.
So, in the end, the school probably didn't just look at test scores when picking students. If they did, there's no way some of these classmates would have made it in.
But this wasn't the time to think about that.
"There's another reason why I want to run for student council president."
At that moment, Shirogane took out a small notebook he always carried with him.
On it were two sets of numbers:
A1210
B780
C430
D200
and
A1400
B780
C500
D350
As members of the student council, both Tachibana Akane and Horikita Manabu knew exactly what these numbers meant.
They showed the class point rankings for the second-years over the past two months.
"The first number is each class's score when the new first-years enrolled. The second number is after the special exam in April."
"Nagumo-senpai is the student council vice president," Shirogane said. "And after that special exam, every second-year class except B gained points. A, C, and D all improved. A Class even pulled way ahead of B Class—by over 600 points."
"And Nagumo-senpai was only invited to join the student council by the president when we freshmen entered the school, right? With that timing and those results, I strongly suspect he used his vice president powers to cheat."
The room fell silent again.
Ichinose, who had been slacking off, looked curiously at Horikita. He didn't speak right away.
"I thought you'd bring up something else," Horikita Manabu finally said after thinking for a few minutes.
"So that's the point you chose," he said, tapping the desk three times with his finger.
"Nagumo Miyabi from second-year A Class led his class up from B Class last year. And according to what you're saying, he's kept A Class at the top."
"But whether their exam results count as cheating or not…"
"That's not something you need to worry about."
"If there had been any cheating, the school would've handled it right away. So the results we're seeing now have already been approved by the school."
So basically, if the school hasn't said anything, then it means Nagumo Miyabi didn't break the rules?
Horikita Manabu continued.
"I believe in strength above all."
"It's perfectly fine if you want to join the student council, and wanting to be the student council president is a natural goal."
"I'll tell you this—every graduating third-year A Class in the past has had someone become student council president."
"Your class went from C to B in just one month, and your next goal is probably A Class, right?"
"That's a good goal, but you're still not qualified yet."
"I gave Nagumo Miyabi the vice president role because he successfully led his class to A."
"If you can do the same—if you get your class to A—"
"Then I'll give you the role of vice president too."
"Only the vice president has the right to run for student council president. That's the minimum requirement."
"So before you move your class up to A, the most I can offer you is the secretary position," Horikita Manabu said.
In other words, Shirogane's dream of becoming student council president was denied—for now. But it wasn't a full rejection. If he can get his class to A, Horikita will reward him.
"Any objections to that?" Horikita asked.
"No," Shirogane replied quickly.
"Then you can leave for now," Horikita said. "Be sure to report in tomorrow morning."
"Alright!" x2
This time, neither Shirogane nor Ichinose tried to argue. They just quietly left like they were told.
As they reached the main entrance and were about to walk out, they could still hear a voice from inside.
"Tachibana, draft the list of new student council members and make it public."
...
After leaving the student council office,
Neither Shirogane nor Ichinose said anything, but after walking for about five or six hundred meters, Ichinose finally couldn't hold it in.
"Shirogane," she suddenly said, "you're really amazing."
"I thought being the secretary was already a high position, but your goal is to become student council president."
"..." Shirogane.
"..." Shirogane.
"Shirogane?" Ichinose noticed he seemed deep in thought.
"Huh? Were you talking to me just now?" Shirogane said.
"Nyah…" Ichinose looked a little hurt. She thought she was at least kind of cute—did she really have zero effect on him? Was he just going to ignore her even when she was right next to him?
"I was thinking about the student council stuff," Shirogane said. "About what I mentioned earlier, the idea that Nagumo-senpai might've cheated—what do you think? Does it seem believable?"
"B-Believable?" Ichinose still looked confused.
Shirogane continued, "I don't have any proof that Nagumo-senpai cheated. I just noticed how the second-year class points changed over the past month, and the fact that Nagumo was promoted to vice president, giving him the chance to cheat, so I thought it was possible."
"But what the president said in response was pretty interesting."
"She said, 'If the school didn't punish him, that means he didn't break any rules.'"
"In other words, this school might be more complicated than we thought."
Breaking the rules doesn't depend on whether you *did* something wrong. It depends on whether you *got caught*.
So maybe even if Nagumo *did* cheat, as long as no one reported him and there's no solid proof, he gets away with it.
And if you make it far enough up the chain, you get more power.
Like—
The student council president has the power to expel students. If that president was from A-Class and decided to expel a B-Class rep, the school might actually approve it.
So maybe the school isn't looking to raise "good, kind, justice-loving students."