Chapter 51: Looks Like You're Out of Luck
"President, I've left this month's accounting report here."
"Oh, thank you."
Ronan placed a USB drive on Shirogane's desk. As the student council's accountant, it was his responsibility to handle the monthly bookkeeping, and he always completed it on time.
"Ronan-kun~"
Before Ronan could leave, Chika appeared out of nowhere, walking up to him with a mischievous grin.
"What do you want!?"
The moment he saw Chika, Ronan immediately took a step back, maintaining a distance of nearly five meters between them.
He really didn't want to interact with this woman who always seemed to deliver emotional blows.
"How did you do on the midterm exams?" Chika asked with a smile.
"What does my performance have to do with you?"
"Just asking~"
As she spoke, Chika patted her chest proudly and said:
"This time, my ranking improved from 96th to 91st."
"...Fujiwara-san, are you too scared to compare yourself to Kaguya-senpai and the president, so you're coming to me to boost your confidence?"
"Ah~ How could that be~"
She was indeed here to boost her confidence.
Because, aside from her, the only other members of the student council were Shirogane, Kaguya, and Ronan.
Miyuki and Kaguya were the top two students in their second year—there was no way she could compete with them.
That left Ronan, who had been absent for a month and didn't seem to care about studying, as the only person she could use to feel better about herself.
"Hehe, tell me, Ronan-kun. I won't laugh at you."
"Your expression says otherwise."
At that moment, Miyuki plugged the USB drive into his computer and, looking at Ronan, suddenly smiled. "Ronan, I heard about your exam results. You ranked fifth in the first year—that's an excellent score."
Chika Fujiwara: "...Huh?"
"Oh? Did you go out of your way to check my results, President?" Ronan chuckled. "Actually, I checked yours too. As expected, you're still in first place."
"Hahaha, it's such a relief to do well on exams," Miyuki said happily.
"That makes three of us in the student council who are in the top five of our respective grades."
"President, I wouldn't say that," Ronan said, glancing at the frozen Chika beside him. "It's more accurate to say that there's one person who fell out of the top five."
Chika Fujiwara: QvQ.
"Fujiwara-san, what was it you wanted to ask me earlier?" Ronan feigned surprise. "I believe you said you wouldn't laugh at me~"
Chika Fujiwara's face turned red.
"Laugh at me about what? Go ahead, say it~"
"Wah!! Don't look at me! It's all my fault for saying something weird!"
Unable to withstand Ronan's subtle gaze and feeling ashamed of her own behavior, Chika covered her face and fled the student council office.
'Nice, that dangerous woman is finally gone.'
Ronan, who had long been at the mercy of Chika's antics, had finally turned the tables.
Kaguya had been sitting on the sofa in the student council office the entire time. She elegantly blew on her hot coffee, then turned her head with a smile and said, "Ronan-kun, you mustn't become complacent just because you ranked fifth in your grade."
"...Hmm, you're right."
"Oh?"
Kaguya gave Ronan a curious look. Ever since he joined the student council, he had rarely missed an opportunity to argue with her. It was unusual for him not to retort today.
"That's right, stay humble. Learn from me and the president..."
"I'll learn from the president. What's the point of learning from you?"
Kaguya: "..."
This guy really hadn't changed. He still loved to talk back to her.
Ronan walked over to the president, slung an arm over his shoulder, and said to Kaguya, "I'll learn from the top-ranked student. Why would I learn from the second-ranked one, especially when it's a perpetual second place?"
"..."
Kaguya felt her blood pressure rising again.
"You shouldn't say that. After all, second place is still better than fifth..."
"So why learn from second place when I can learn from first place?"
"..."
"To be honest, Miss Shinomiya, your second place and my fifth place are about the same in terms of significance. Only the first-place student gets the real attention. No one cares who's second to fifth," Ronan said. "It's like how everyone knows Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world, but who knows what the second tallest is?"
"The second tallest mountain is K2."
"It's precisely because your brain is filled with useless knowledge like that, which isn't even tested on exams, that you can't surpass the president."
"..."
Infuriating!
Absolutely infuriating!
Not surpassing Shirogane in the midterm exams had already left Kaguya feeling slightly defeated, and now Ronan's constant rubbing of salt in the wound was pushing her to the brink of losing her composure.
"It seems you don't know this, Ronan-kun, but in my first year, I was always ranked first in my grade."
Even though she had already mentally pummeled Ronan into a pulp, Kaguya maintained her elegant smile.
"A true hero doesn't dwell on past glories, Miss Shinomiya. Bringing up the past just makes me feel like you've lost hope."
'Why is this brat so infuriating?'
"Why don't you learn more from the president, Miss Shinomiya? Although I doubt you'll surpass him even if you try."
'No... I have to hold back. The president is here. I can't actually beat Ronan to a pulp.' Kaguya kept reminding herself.
"That's enough, Ronan."
Shirogane, seeing that the tension between the two was still high, stepped in to mediate.
"Kaguya works very hard in her studies too, Ronan. What you should learn from her is her diligent attitude. There's nothing wrong with that."
"Oh, I see."
'Why do you understand when the president says it!?'
Ronan nodded and looked at Kaguya, who seemed to be holding back the urge to hit someone. "Miss Shinomiya, do you really study hard every day?"
"Of course..."
"Even after all that effort, you still can't surpass the president. I think you're out of luck."
Kaguya's patience snapped.
In the end, she stormed out of the student council office, fuming. She wouldn't actually hit the guy who had driven her to the brink of losing her composure—after all, she had to maintain her image as a proper lady.
But she absolutely had to vent to Hayasaka.
Now, only Ronan and Shirogane remained in the student council office.
"Ronan, I feel like..."
"There's a reason I've been targeting Kaguya Shinomiya like this," Ronan explained. "Remember what I promised you before?"
"You mean..."
"Helping you get closer to the Shinomiya family's young lady. I haven't forgotten," Ronan said. "By belittling her and elevating you, I'm trying to bridge the perceived gap between the two of you. Plus, it makes her less likely to suspect that I'm assisting you."
"I see..."
--------------
If you want to read 10 advance chapters ahead.
Visit my patreon: patreon.com/EggZy