"The student council of our school is highly anticipated precisely because it has been entrusted by the administration with the authority and mission to reform regulations. We only welcome those who can understand this."
Facing the voice recorder, Horikita Manabu calmly spoke these two sentences, then pressed the stop button.
Originally, he had planned to say more.
But since Asakusa Toru had already loudly replayed that earlier recording, there was no need to be so long-winded.
After recording his words, Horikita Manabu turned around and looked at the noisy first-year students below the stage.
After Asakusa Toru's stunt just now, they had lost most of their respect for the student council.
To be honest, for most students, the student council really didn't seem very powerful.
—If this weren't Advanced Nurturing High.
But Horikita Manabu didn't care much about that anymore.
What interested him more was the freshman behind him who had openly walked up and tried to sell him a recorder.
Setting ability aside, at least in terms of guts, he qualified.
He casually turned on the recorder's playback function, set it to loop mode just like Asakusa Toru had done, and gently placed it next to the microphone.
Thus, under stronger amplification, his calm and clear voice began looping through the gym.
"Student council recruitment…"
"Student council recruitment…"
"Student council recruitment…"
After finishing this, Horikita Manabu turned to Tachibana Akane.
"Turn it off in three minutes."
"Y-Yes, President!" Tachibana Akane nodded vigorously.
Then, after giving the instruction, Horikita Manabu turned toward Asakusa Toru, who was gazing at the freshmen below.
"Are you interested in coming to the student council office with me?"
Asakusa Toru withdrew his gaze from Horikita Suzune in the crowd and replied flatly,
"I'm not taking disciples."
Horikita Manabu: "...?"
"Hehe." The corners of Asakusa Toru's mouth lifted slightly.
Horikita Manabu's expression was wonderful.
That unexpected answer made his face far more entertaining than the earlier "recycling appliances" recording.
Still, if he kept fooling around, it might go too far.
It's better to stop while you're ahead.
Asakusa Toru restrained himself a little and said,
"Alright, I've had my fun. Let's go."
"Whether you want to talk about life, dreams, the future, or your sister, I'll go along with it."
The first three didn't matter.
The last one did.
Controlling Horikita Manabu meant controlling Horikita Suzune.
That was how easy it was to handle an obsessive big brother.
Asakusa Toru believed she would definitely follow.
"You…" Horikita Manabu hesitated.
Why did he suddenly bring up his sister?
"Don't think too much too. You'll get a headache," Asakusa Toru said, patting his shoulder.
Horikita Manabu frowned slightly but didn't say anything more, turning toward the exit.
His work for today was done.
Leaving now wouldn't cause any complaints.
Better to leave the rest of the team to other clubs.
Seeing that Horikita Manabu was finally leaving, Asakusa Toru glanced once more in Horikita Suzune's direction, then lazily followed.
She was just a "budget Yukino," but surely she wouldn't be so shy that she couldn't even face her own brother, right?
"Whoosh, whoosh—"
The April wind rustled fallen leaves.
Even though this was a vocational-style school, the greenery was actually quite good.
Asakusa Toru walked leisurely, counting down in his head.
Three.
Two.
One.
"-One!"
Right on cue, a voice came from behind.
With a slight smile, Asakusa Toru and Horikita Manabu stopped and turned around.
Without question, the one who had followed was Horikita Suzune.
"..." Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but her gaze kept drifting toward Asakusa Toru.
Clearly, she was still wary of him being there.
Horikita Manabu noticed it too, and a trace of disappointment flashed in his eyes.
Suzune, who had been watching both of them, quickly caught that hint of disappointment.
"Come on, Horikita," Asakusa Toru spoke up before she could panic.
He took a recorder from his pocket, grabbed her hand, and placed it in her palm.
"A meeting gift. Take it."
Suzune instinctively tried to refuse.
"I don't need—"
"Your brother just bought one."
That single sentence stopped her.
Her hand froze.
"Three thousand personal points, please."
Smoothly, Asakusa Toru also held out his terminal.
Dazed, as if being manipulated, Horikita Suzune subconsciously took out her own terminal and transferred three thousand points to her account.
"Ding."
With the transfer complete, ownership of the recorder was finalized.
Asakusa Toru thoughtfully helped her put it away, then patted her shoulder.
"Do your best, okay?"
"Today's a bit inconvenient. I'll visit the student council office myself next time."
After encouraging her, he waved at Horikita Manabu, who had silently watched everything.
"Anyway, have a pleasant talk."
With that, he disappeared around the corner.
"..." Horikita Manabu fell silent.
He wouldn't even complain about the paid "gift."
He could have stopped Asakusa Toru.
He could have exposed him for using his name to trick his sister.
He could have made him stay.
But…
Forget it.
She was his sister, after all.
He would remind her later.
If this let her learn a lesson, then three thousand points was a cheap price.
"Sigh..." He exhaled softly.
"Go on. What did you want to say?"
After checking around to make sure no one else was nearby, Horikita Suzune took a deep breath and finally spoke.
"I'm not the useless person you used to know anymore."
"I've already found the answer to the trial."
She blurted out the name she believed in.
"It's… Haruki Yamauchi, right?"
Would this earn her brother's approval now?
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