By the time Shimizu Akira left the student council room, it was already 6:30 PM.
Overall, this visit to the student council—much like the last—had left him quite satisfied, especially the final "deal" he'd secured.
He had originally intended to use this opportunity to repay the debt he owed Horikita Manabu from last month. He hadn't expected the president to insist on giving him a cut of three million points.
(The President's favors are endless...)
Even more surprising was the additional 500,000 points transferred to his phone by the president, with the memo: "For looking after Horikita Suzune."
This was probably a "caretaking fee."
(Nagumo Miyabi is in for a rough time.)
Shimizu had never believed Nagumo Miyabi stood a chance against Horikita Manabu.
Just think about it—Horikita Manabu had legitimately defeated all the second and third-year students as a first-year to claim the student council presidency. Even the teachers hailed him as the "strongest senpai." Could Nagumo, for all his boasts, really compare?
Moreover, Nagumo Miyabi was someone Horikita Manabu had personally brought into the student council.
It was safe to say Horikita had simply been ignoring him, not even considering him a threat. Otherwise, with the authority of the president, he had countless ways to deal with Nagumo.
Just like this time. Shimizu could sense the president was... annoyed.
This time, it seemed the president was finally going to act.
He wasn't specifically targeting Nagumo Miyabi; he'd just devised this method to repay a favor.
(If I recall, Nagumo comes to buy the papers at 7:00 PM, right?)
Shimizu glanced at the third item in his daily intel again, confirming his memory was correct.
Earlier, Horikita Manabu had already notified all third-year classes via his phone, right in front of him.
With the president's direct order, it was unlikely any third-year would dare sell exam papers to any second-year student now.
On one hand, Horikita Manabu's excellence and authority as student council president were deeply respected.
On the other hand, Nagumo Miyabi's reputation was probably in the gutter—last month, Chabashira-sensei mentioned he'd tried to meddle in third-year affairs, attempting to control a class there like he did in the second year.
Given that, it made sense for Class A to refuse selling to him.
(Honestly, whether Nagumo gets the papers or not isn't really my concern anymore. I've done my part.)
Strictly speaking, Shimizu had provided Horikita Manabu with the method.
Whether the third-years ended up selling to Nagumo at an inflated price, refusing outright, or if the papers were "accidentally" leaked by a third-year student—none of that was his problem anymore.
For Horikita Manabu, this was a clear win-win: selling the papers would net him a huge sum of points; not selling would severely damage Nagumo's influence among the second-years.
For Shimizu Akira, it was a triple win: if the papers were sold, he got a hefty commission; if not, he successfully repaid last month's favor; and even if the intel leaked, Horikita Manabu had promised him 3 million points regardless.
Overall, Shimizu Akira and Horikita Manabu couldn't lose. The only one who might get hurt was Nagumo Miyabi—either forced to pay a fortune or have his reputation ruined.
(Wasn't he always begging the president to get serious and fight him properly? In a way, I'm granting his wish.)
Shimizu even felt that if Nagumo ever figured out his role in this, the guy might actually "reward" him out of sheer twisted appreciation.
After all, according to that "Himawari-senpai," the guy was obsessed with facing Horikita Manabu head-on.
And now? The president's counterattack was coming. He wondered if Nagumo could handle it.
(Wait? Those two aren't actually dating?)
It finally clicked—that seemingly decent senpai, despite being in the student council, had just let Nagumo hit on Horikita Suzune.
They probably weren't in a relationship, then.
But what was her relationship with Nagumo Miyabi?
That remained a question mark.
A cool evening breeze blew past, and Shimizu decided to stop pondering student council affairs.
Horikita Manabu would notify him if anything new came up.
"Speaking of which, I should thank one more person."
Thinking of this, Shimizu logged into his alt account and sent a thank you message to Sakayanagi Arisu.
Yue Qing:Thanks for the intel.
Thinking it over, his plan had progressed so smoothly largely thanks to her line: "Students can only buy exam papers from other students."
If students could buy papers directly from teachers, his entire proposal to Horikita Manabu would have collapsed.
Deep down, the young lady Sakayanagi was quite kind.
On the first day of school, she'd given him 100,000 points and created the opportunity for him to meet Kamuro Masumi. This second month, she'd practically delivered Kamuro to his doorstep with benefits, and even indirectly advanced his plan against Nagumo—though she certainly hadn't intended to do the latter.
Shimizu suddenly felt a twinge of concern. If she ever accidentally pieced all this together… would she get so angry she'd need a trip to the nurse's office?
Her health wasn't the best, after all.
Yue Qing:Little Princess, pay more attention to your health. Try to drink less coffee in the future.
...
Sakayanagi Arisu frowned at her phone screen, the words "Little Princess" glaring back at her.
???
Sitting by the window in the café, she was utterly baffled. Why this sudden, nonsensical advice? Had he lost his mind?
She was the one who had stopped him from reselling the exam papers, yet he was thanking her? The logic was absurd.
Sakayanagi took a sip of coffee, trying to quell her irritation.
The warm liquid slid down her throat, yet her heartbeat inexplicably quickened.
It had to be because of that bizarre message.
As she silently grumbled, her gaze inadvertently swept nearby and landed on a boy with conspicuous blond hair striding directly toward her, a cocky smirk playing on his lips.
"Hey there, kōhai. Interested in getting to know me?" He stopped at her table, introducing himself with full confidence. "I'm Nagumo Miyabi from Class 2-A, currently the Student Council Vice President."
Sakayanagi looked up, a polite yet distant smile gracing her lips. "My apologies, but I have no interest in you whatsoever."
With that, she picked up her cane from the table and turned to leave without a second glance.
Student Council Vice President? So just a deputy. And weren't there several vice presidents in the student council?
If it had been the President, she might have shown a sliver of interest.
But a mere Vice? Hard pass.
Her mind was completely occupied by that mysterious "Yue Qing" person. She had no energy to spare for some deputy.