"Amane!!!"
Horikita was the first to rush over, gripping Amane by the shoulders and shaking her back and forth.
"Why did you say I was about to cry?"
Horikita's face seemed to be flushing a little. Was it really that embarrassing to be seen as crying in front of Horikita-senpai?
But even if it was embarrassing, blushing this much was just too much.
Amane reached out and pinched Horikita's cheeks.
Hmm.
Seemed like they turned even redder.
"Miyako! I never expected you to be such a snake!"
Ike pointed at Amane, loudly scolding her. Back in school, there were always those kids who loved tattling to the teachers.
If it was just simple tattling, fine. But some just had to go and exaggerate everything when they snitched. Like if you brought a phone to school against the rules.
If one of those exaggerating tattletales happened to see it by accident?
When they reported it to the teacher, it'd probably turn into: 'So-and-so was playing games during class, and even boasted that they bring their phone to school every day and the teachers would never find out.'
Once it reached that point, the teacher would hardly give the phone-bringer a chance to explain.
The matter would be decided right then and there.
In their eyes, Amane had used the most despicable method—snitching, and with heavy exaggeration to boot.
Th-this… it was like she was making sure they got expelled.
"Save your breath. Have you thought about what you'll say when you call your parents? I gave you a chance and you blew it—is that my fault? You could've snitched on me too, you know."
Amane shrugged like a shameless brat, even throwing in a mocking face.
Ike was so angry he looked like he was grinding his teeth, even clenching his fists like he was about to teach Amane a lesson.
Right then, Amane started stretching. A series of sharp pop-pop cracks from her joints made Ike think that maybe reasoning was the better option here.
He suddenly remembered that girl who'd used Sudo as a punching bag.
Gulp, gulp.
Ike kept swallowing hard. But by now, Amane couldn't even be bothered to glance his way.
--+--
Meanwhile, Horikita-senpai carried his tray to the drop-off area.
He happened to run into Tachibana, who had also just finished her meal.
With just a quick glance at his tray, a surprised expression appeared on Tachibana's face.
Horikita-senpai was known for being frugal; he rarely wasted food and usually cleaned his plate spotless. But this time, he'd left quite a bit.
"Manabu, is your appetite off today?"
"Yes. Certain matters have robbed me of it. But now… I need you."
Horikita-senpai looked seriously at Tachibana.
"Huh? Wh-what's so sudden? I'm not prepared at all…" Tachibana was flustered and nervous, but a hint of happiness showed on her face.
"Sometimes things happen suddenly, catching you completely off guard."
"Yes, fate really is like that, isn't it? So unpredictable." Tachibana hurriedly agreed with him.
But Horikita-senpai looked puzzled.
"Fate? What are you talking about, Secretary Tachibana? I just need you to call a temporary student council meeting for 1:30 PM."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Tachibana's expression immediately fell.
"Oh."
"Oh?"
"Understood, President!"
--+--
1:30 PM.
Every student council member—whether they'd eaten their fill, hadn't eaten enough, or had eaten way too much—had gathered.
Since Horikita-senpai hadn't told Tachibana the reason for the meeting, she had only summoned the core members serving in the council.
"President Horikita, what's the emergency that made you call us here so urgently?"
As soon as he saw Horikita arrive, Kiriyama immediately asked.
Recently, there'd been issues with the sports event promotions under his charge, so he was worried this impromptu meeting was targeting him.
Horikita-senpai didn't explain much. He simply copied the message the school had sent him and posted it in the student council work group.
Everyone lowered their heads, reading the message carefully.
Before long, Kiriyama's expression relaxed. "Is this small matter really worth your personal attention, President Horikita?"
As soon as Kiriyama finished, he heard someone beside him sigh.
"Nagumo, do you have something to say?"
The one who sighed was the school's designated successor to Horikita-senpai.
Nagumo Miyabi.
So even Horikita-senpai couldn't ignore Nagumo's opinion.
"Kiriyama is oversimplifying things. Why did the school dump this on the student council? Because they find it troublesome, that's why. If expelling them is so easy, why would the school feel it's troublesome?"
Nagumo glanced at Kiriyama beside him.
"Is it because the number is too large?"
Secretary Tachibana answered Nagumo's question.
"Exactly. It's just too many."
Nagumo snapped his fingers and leaned back fully in his chair. "So here's the problem: we need to reduce the number of expulsions without changing the rules, while also upholding the school's authority and saving face. This… is no easy task."
Nagumo was deeply dissatisfied with the school's wishy-washy approach.
In his view, no matter how many there were, purging them all was the best solution.
A school that champions merit, yet has students failing exams left and right—wouldn't that be a joke if it got out?
"Nagumo makes a valid point. But this time, we must face the challenge head-on. I intend to resolve this matter by tonight."
Horikita-senpai's tone left no room for doubt.
Under the immense pressure from Horikita-senpai, Nagumo reluctantly sat up straight again.
If there was anyone in this school he feared, Horikita Manabu was undoubtedly number one. In terms of ability, Nagumo didn't believe he was inferior to Horikita-senpai. But he could never gauge Horikita-senpai's true depth.
That made Nagumo hesitant to act recklessly.
Anyway, he was already the designated next student council president. There was no need to oppose Horikita-senpai directly.
Once the student council's direction was set, the next step was to start gathering information on the failing students.
And at that moment…
"A little to the left."
"Here?"
"Yes, a bit harder… mmm, ah~ just… just a little harder, that feels good. Amane, a little more pressure."
Amane beside her increased the strength in her hands. Amane, who was giving Horikita a shoulder massage, glanced at the time.
"It's almost time for the meeting President Horikita scheduled. Are we going?"
Since Class D had the afternoon off, almost everyone had chosen to return to their dorm rooms for now.
And right now, Amane was being subjected to Horikita Suzune's form of physical… ahem.
Her form of compensatory service—a shoulder massage.
"They probably won't let both of us attend, right? After all, we've managed to offend practically the whole class."
Horikita gave a wry smile.
Originally, Amane didn't have to get involved. But when most of the class was attacking Horikita, Amane had still chosen to stand by her. Even if they ended up needing outside help in the end.
Still, without Amane, she really didn't know how she would have handled it.
Now, those facing expulsion saw Amane the same way they saw Horikita.
Or rather, Amane wanted them gone even more than Horikita did.
No matter how you looked at it, it was unlikely they'd allow Amane to attend the meeting.
Horikita herself still had some chance.
After all, Horikita Manabu was Horikita Suzune's brother. Bringing her along might have some unexpected effect.
"Not necessarily."
Right after Amane spoke, she received a message notification. It instructed Amane to come to the student council office for the meeting.
They called Amane, but not me?
Horikita Suzune looked at the sender's name, her eyes full of suspicion.
"Brother… he's not really involved with Amane, is he? …This brother cannot be allowed to stay."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.