Maybe they're aiming for something else entirely.
With that thought, Shirogane found himself looking at Ichinose Honami.
She really was cute. Cheerful and pretty, with deep blue eyes that seemed to pull people in.
And from the narrator's info, she wasn't just kind—she was a really good person.
But in a place like this school... could someone that honest and nice really survive?
"U-Um, Shirogane?" A moment ago, Ichinose felt like she was being ignored. Now, she suddenly felt like Shirogane's entire attention was on her.
The way he stared at her so seriously made her feel a little awkward, and her cheeks started to turn red.
"Could you please not stare at me like that?" Ichinose gave in quickly.
She was easygoing and friendly, had lots of friends, but none of them ever stared at her like that.
"Sorry. I was analyzing things. I was wondering why the president made that promise to me so easily," Shirogane said. "Sure, leading a class to A-Class would be a big deal in school history."
"But to earn a position as student council vice president just for that… something feels off," he added.
"Yeah… I think that's about right," Ichinose nodded. "So the president might have other things in mind?"
Last year, Nagumo-senpai moved Class B up to Class A and earned the president's approval, which got him into the student council and even the vice president spot.
So if things go the same way, and Shirogane's class makes it to Class A, he'll have pulled off the same kind of achievement.
That would explain why the president sees him in such a good light.
But—
Ichinose had been there too just now, and the president didn't say anything to her about her class possibly getting back to Class B or aiming for Class A—he didn't offer her any kind of promise.
Instead, he specifically gave that kind of promise to Shirogane.
So, thinking it through, there's one possible answer: the president might really want Shirogane in the student council… and maybe even as the next vice president?
And that idea doesn't seem far-fetched.
Right now, Shirogane's new Class B is less than 200 points behind Class A.
With just one or two wins, they could catch up or even pass them.
So overall, it seems doable.
"In the end, I can only come to one conclusion," Shirogane said. "The president might regret bringing Nagumo-senpai into the student council."
"Huh?" Ichinose quickly looked at him.
Shirogane kept talking.
"Like I just said, about Nagumo-senpai possibly cheating."
"Even if the president said Nagumo didn't cheat, I don't think he actually agrees with how Nagumo does things."
"So, maybe he's hoping someone can stop Nagumo-senpai."
"Horikita-senpai is the student council president, and people say he's the best one the school's had. But he's about to graduate. He wouldn't just leave without setting something up. So maybe he's making some moves before stepping down."
"That means even after we join the student council, things won't be simple," Shirogane said. "Because now we're tied to the president's fight against Nagumo-senpai."
"It's kind of a lot of pressure," Shirogane added.
Uh-huh.
Shirogane was talking, and Ichinose was listening—and thinking fast.
So that's how he sees it.
And honestly, it made sense. If the president was letting things slide on purpose, it could mean he was planning to help Shirogane rise.
Shirogane was just a first-year. Normally, he'd start off doing small tasks or maybe work his way up to secretary later. He still had plenty of time. But now, it felt like the president was in a rush.
Which means—
Shirogane's actions might be lining up perfectly with the president's plans.
Maybe, at first, the president only gave him a small role to test him out, since he was just a new student. Let him gain experience bit by bit.
And maybe the whole plan to deal with Nagumo didn't originally involve Shirogane at all.
But then—
Something about what Shirogane said or what he aimed for made the president change his mind.
Maybe now he's seeing Shirogane as the key to that plan.
If that's true… that's kind of scary, Shirogane.
Ichinose had started out getting turned down when she tried to join the student council. Then she proved herself and finally got in, even if it was just as a public morals officer. Still, that was something she was proud of.
After all, this was something not even a Class A student had gotten.
She had really been too naive. Shirogane was much scarier than she thought.
No wonder he was able to pretend to be a senior and trick her with a straight face when they first met.
Ichinose Honami had to admit it—she was impressed.
Then Shirogane continued speaking.
"Looking at the exam results, even if Nagumo-senpai didn't use his position as student council vice president to cheat, he still managed to control the entire second-year group."
"So we're going up against a whole year."
"It's going to be a tough and complicated fight. That's why I'd like your help, Ichinose," Shirogane said.
Oh.
So that's how it is.
Ichinose understood.
So Shirogane was trying to recruit allies.
But wouldn't that mean she'd be standing against Nagumo-senpai? Right now, even though she joined the student council, she was just a low-ranking discipline committee member. Normally, she wouldn't need to get involved in any power struggle.
However…
If Shirogane had already gotten a verbal promise from the president that he would become vice president if he moved up a class—and if the odds weren't low—didn't that mean he might really become the vice president this year?
And if she became his ally, wouldn't that mean when he became vice president, she might also get promoted?
Even though Ichinose had mostly stayed on the sidelines, she still understood one thing: being in the student council gave real benefits to your class. And the higher you climbed, the more it helped—not just in attacking others, but in defending yourself too.
"Well… let me think." Even though she had already made up her mind, Ichinose gave a casual laugh and said, "Alright, I'll help you, Shirogane."
"Great." Shirogane reached out his hand.
Was this a handshake to seal the deal?
Ichinose looked at Shirogane's long, slender hand.
Without hesitating, she reached out too.
But the moment they shook hands, they both paused for a second.
This was just a verbal agreement. They didn't sign anything, so was the handshake really necessary?
Still, Shirogane's hand was really big. His fingers were thin and long.
As she lightly held his hand, Ichinose felt something hard on one of his fingers.
"You've got some serious calluses, Shirogane," she said.
"Probably from studying twelve hours a day," he replied.
Wow.
Shirogane had ranked first in the written exams, and now it really made sense. Ichinose didn't think she could ever study as hard as he did.
So losing to him didn't feel bad. She truly accepted it.
[…]
But in Shirogane's mind, a voice echoed.
[Ichinose Honami is a really good person, but she's way too easy to fool.]
To fool, huh?
The wording really was a bit much.
But Ayanokoji couldn't deny it.
Because he really *was* tricking Ichinose a little.
Even though he invited her to work together against Nagumo, that only made up about half of his real reason. The other half was that he wasn't the vice president of the student council yet—he had to bring his class up to Class A first.
In other words—
If Ichinose wanted to team up with him, she'd have to watch his class climb up to Class A first.
And that might mean, when things get tense, Ichinose's class would need to hold back and help *his* class move up.
So even though it looked like a partnership, it was more like he got Ichinose to help his class for free.
That's why the narrator said she got tricked.
Still, a girl's hand really is something—when he held it, he could feel her warmth. And her hand was so soft.
"..." Ayanokoji felt a little shaken inside.
After all, he didn't have many experiences holding a girl's hand. It wasn't easy to stay calm.
But even though he felt a bit flustered inside, his face didn't show any emotion.
He looked completely calm and cool.
Ayanokoji suddenly thought maybe he had a talent for acting.
[Another loss for Sakayanagi today, huh.] The narrator suddenly muttered.
"What?"
Ayanokoji had already pulled his hand back, now free, and pulled out his notebook.
[Nothing, nothing at all,] the narrator quickly said.
…
Meanwhile—
After Ayanokoji and Ichinose left, the student council president didn't turn his attention back to the unfinished documents on his desk.
Instead, he said to Tachibana Akane,
"Handle the paperwork for Ichinose and Ayanokoji joining the student council today. Bring it to me when it's done."
"Then, President, do you approve of Kiriyama's application to join the student council?" Tachibana Akane brought up another new member.
Earlier in the day, the president had met with Kiriyama, and Kiriyama submitted his application.
Kiriyama was the class rep of 2nd-year Class B, which used to be Class A before Nagumo overtook them and they dropped down.
"Change Kiriyama's position," Horikita Manabu said. "Nagumo and I have very different views on how things should be."
"If we don't step in now, the next student council president will pretty much have to be him."