Chapter 20: Nagumo Miyabi
The carefully prepared application was bluntly rejected by the student council president, Horikita Manabu. The three looked at each other, realizing that everyone's expression was somewhat unnatural.
"May I know the reason for your rejection, President?" Yukinoshita frowned, clearly wanting a reasonable explanation.
"Um… President, I also want to know how you evaluated us." "Yes, we hope you can point out our shortcomings."
Ichinose and Katsuragi also nodded seriously.
Horikita Manabu paid no attention to the other two, but focused his gaze on the black-haired girl in front of him. On her delicate face was a look of stubborn defiance, her bright eyes staring at him intensely. For a moment, Horikita seemed to see the shadow of a determined figure.
He shook his head, casting away the chaotic memories from his mind, and laid bare his doubts.
"Hmm. Katsuragi and Yukinoshita, both of you are from Class A. However, as far as I know, it's been nearly a month since the start of the school year, and your class is still divided. This is not conducive to your class's future growth. That's why I reconsidered whether you truly have the necessary capabilities. As for Ichinose, if you wish to improve your skills, there are many other ways. Your understanding of the school's rules is still insufficient."
Horikita paused, then added:
"This student council is not the same as those of ordinary high schools. Members of the council are granted considerable authority—they participate in the cultivation and management of students by the school, and even have the power to set parts of the examinations, indirectly determining the future of all students. This is a school based on meritocracy. If people without ability join, it would only stain the school's reputation. Or are you intending to trade the future of all students for your own growth?"
"Therefore, from my perspective, none of you are currently suited to join the student council."
After hearing Horikita's explanation, the three thanked him with thoughtful expressions and left the student council office one after another. At that moment, a handsome, carefree young man with short blond hair walked quickly toward them.
"I'm the vice president of the student council, and also the representative of second-year Class A—Nagumo Miyabi."
Nagumo Miyabi—a man with a sunny, handsome appearance, excellent academic performance, and outstanding athletic talent.
He had been assigned to Class B upon admission, but in his first year, he led his classmates to a dramatic comeback and rose to Class A. Afterward, he earned a large number of private points through a special exam and forced several opponents and class representatives from other classes to drop out of school. Then he made an agreement with the second-year students: as long as they regularly submitted a certain amount of points and obeyed his rule, they would have a chance to be transferred into Class A. Conversely, if someone dared to oppose Nagumo Miyabi, as long as they weren't a pretty girl, he would show no mercy and have them expelled.
Eventually, with his strength and that agreement, Nagumo Miyabi became the ruler of the entire second-year cohort.
After that, the second-year special exams became completely different from those of other grades. Every time a special exam's rules were announced, Nagumo would arrange a detailed counter-plan in advance, coordinating the four second-year classes to cooperate, always opting for the plan that would extract the most points from the school.
Yes—under Nagumo Miyabi's command, the second-year students formed an alliance and turned the school into their personal ATM.
Later, Nagumo, whose strength had been recognized, was invited to join the student council. There, he met a powerful man:
Horikita Manabu—one year older than Nagumo, a man respected by countless others. He possessed both wisdom surpassing Nagumo and a grounded belief system. He had led his class to firmly hold onto Class A, and not a single student had dropped out so far.
Though Nagumo believed that his own accomplishments were no less impressive than Horikita's, a lingering sense of discord occasionally crept into his thoughts—was his strength truly genuine, or was it merely because he'd never encountered a worthy opponent, a case of a swan standing among ducks?
So when he heard that a student was undergoing a personal interview by Horikita, Nagumo couldn't sit still and rushed to the student council office.
He was eager to see the person who could earn Horikita's approval.
Nagumo carefully examined the first-years in front of him—a bald, irrelevant guy; a breathtakingly beautiful black-haired ice queen; and a sweet, angelic beauty.
Nagumo had a well-known weakness across the second-year—he was a hopeless romantic, or to put it bluntly, a flirt.
He liked pretty and cute girls very much. Although he already had a childhood friend, Asahina Nazuna, she didn't seem to reciprocate his feelings and had rejected him multiple times, much to his frustration.
And now, unexpectedly, there were such beautiful and outstanding girls among the first-years, and they were about to join the student council and work alongside him.
"I heard that the president personally interviewed new applicants for the student council today, so I came to welcome the new members. May I ask who was accepted into the student council?"
Nagumo already felt a little excited, but his face maintained a gentle smile.
"Hello, Nagumo-senpai. I'm Katsuragi Kohei from Class 1-A." "Hello, Nagumo-senpai. I'm Ichinose Honami. Um… it seems we weren't approved by President Horikita, so we didn't get to join the student council."
Katsuragi and Ichinose greeted Nagumo somewhat stiffly, while Yukinoshita only gave a slight nod.
"Ah? Is that so? What a shame. I was really looking forward to working with a girl who's both adorable and capable like you. Why don't you tell me the details? Maybe I can figure out what went wrong."
Nagumo completely ignored the bald one, smiling as he stared at Ichinose. Ichinose shrank back half a step like a frightened rabbit, but pursed her lips as if she wanted to say something.
"Nagumo-senpai, would you mind stepping aside? I have something I need to take care of."
Yukinoshita's face was cold as she interrupted the conversation, clearly uninterested in Nagumo.
"Come on now, there's no need to leave so quickly. As your senior, I can still share some valuable experience with you."
Although Yukinoshita's tone and attitude were a bit rude, Nagumo didn't seem to mind and tried to keep them there.
"No need. I'll be leaving now."
"Ah, um… Yukinoshita-san, I'll go with you. Goodbye, Nagumo-senpai!"
Ichinose, who was about to say something, looked at Yukinoshita, then at Nagumo. She gave a small bow to Nagumo and ran off to catch up with Yukinoshita.
Nagumo watched the two girls' retreating figures, a look of interest appearing on his face.
"Nagumo-senpai, I have a few questions I'd like to ask…"
Just then, a steady voice interrupted Nagumo's thoughts.
"Huh? Baldy… Katsuragi, you haven't left yet?"
"Yes, I still have a few questions I'd like to ask…"
"Uh, well, Katsuragi, I've got something to do right now. How about this—you add my contact info, and we'll talk later."
Nagumo, who had just been playing the part of a helpful senior, immediately turned perfunctory once the beautiful girls were gone.
He casually gave out a number and, without even a proper farewell, hurried into the student council office, seemingly to discuss with Horikita the potential of the two first-year students joining the council.
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