In Horikita Manabu's deep eyes, a flash of realization flickered. Clearly, he understood Sakayanagi Arisu's intent.
From her initial questioning of the obvious to her current solemn inquiry, every word and every gesture of hers pointed precisely toward a single goal—or rather, her ticulously planned objective was singular.
She wanted to secure the sa status as Hikigaya Hachiman: eligibility as a candidate for the next Student Council President.
Furthermore, she had laid out her bargaining chips.
It was the secret currently known by every second and third-year student: everyone was using "old questions" to prepare for the exam, intending to easily clinch perfect scores in the upcoming test and claim the generous reward points ripe for the taking.
This essentially ant every class in the upper grades could add a full 100 Class Evaluation Points out of thin air.
The timing she chose was nothing short of exquisite.
Today was the 12th.
If soone were to file a report at this critical juncture, the school would very likely change the exam papers at the last minute.
Therefore, Sakayanagi Arisu was essentially using the unspoken "tacit agreent" that the upperclassn relied on for their welfare as leverage. She was coercing Horikita Manabu into making a concession, thereby securing an entry ticket for Class A to compete for the next Presidency.
In doing so, first-year Class A could stand on the sa starting line as Class B, erasing that unsettling gap.
However.
While Hikigaya Hachiman earned Horikita Manabu's recognition and reward by providing key intelligence, Sakayanagi Arisu was coercing him by weaponizing the potential interests of the entire upper grade.
Her thods were so radical and aggressive that they were eye-catching.
Reflecting on this, Horikita Manabu slowly closed his eyes. It must be said that Sakayanagi was the first person brave enough to do this. Even Hikigaya had never launched such an attack against him.
"Does Sakayanagi-san an... she wishes to 'purchase' the candidacy from the President using so kind of price?" Katsuragi Kohei asked from the side, his brow furrowed as his brain worked at high speed, trying to keep up with this sudden escalation of the ga.
"As for the price..." He pondered. During their last eting, Sakayanagi had indeed ntioned a similar request, but it was flatly rejected by the President.
But since they now knew Class B had already stolen a march on them, Class A could not sit idly by. After all, every third-year Class A produced a Student Council President; only by having a President from their own class could one truly feel at ease.
At that ti, he hadn't joined the Student Council, but now he had.
Thus, he knew the President possessed certain privileges. The most important was that the Student Council does not participate in the monthly special exams, but the President can learn the results first. Furthermore, before the exam, the President can choose the direction of the month's special exam and determine the point values.
With this authority, one could make choices within the range of reward and penalty points provided by the school.
Taking this written exam as an example, Horikita Manabu could have chosen a maximum of 50 points, 100 points, or even 150 points. He chose the middle value of 100 points as the value for this exam.
Do not underestimate the gap in point values. If the President's class holds a massive lead over others, they can maintain their advantage simply by constantly choosing the smallest values. Even if other classes perform exceptionally in every special exam, they would need many exams to have a chance to climb up.
Therefore, having an unfair Student Council President would be incredibly beneficial for one's class.
Naturally.
The current President, Horikita Manabu, would not do such a thing, but there was no guarantee the next one wouldn't.
If the next President ca from first-year Class B, Katsuragi felt the sky would fall. Consequently, Class A had to fight for that next Presidential position.
But the President had made it clear last ti: only by gaining his recognition could one obtain that eligibility. Even if Class A offered points, the President wouldn't sell.
And if the President wouldn't sell, they had no way! It was truly a bitter situation!
Clearly, Katsuragi had not yet perceived the true trump card Sakayanagi relied on for this specific visit to the Student Council. He was still stuck in the simple mindset of buying authority with points.
At this mont, Horikita Manabu finally opened his eyes.
His gaze beca calm as it settled on Sakayanagi.
"So, you are here to report that the senpais have committed violations in this written exam?"
"Exactly so," Sakayanagi Arisu nodded gently.
"Speaking of which, perhaps I should thank Class B's Hikigaya-kun.
If he hadn't asked that extra question to confirm with the President whether the senpais were also taking written exams—unintentionally allowing the first years to obtain the [old questions]—I wouldn't have realized that the senpais follow the exact sa examination pattern as us."
Her implication was crystal clear—she had co to the Student Council to report them. And her target was not the first year, but... the upper grades!
Katsuragi Kohei only now experienced a mont of enlightennt.
Yes!
The entire school was exploiting the "old questions" loophole.
Everyone knew the answers by heart, just waiting for the end-of-month exam to pass with ease. But how could reporting the upperclassn force Horikita Manabu to submit? How could it win his recognition?
Perhaps... this move really was effective.
The reason was simple.
Although the school granted the Student Council imnse power, if this tacit exam mode shared by teachers and students was exposed, a sudden change in exam papers while the upperclassn were unprepared would inevitably lead to a tragic scene of mass failures in Classes C and D.
As the Student Council President, if he failed to handle this properly and it led to severe consequences, the responsibility would lie squarely on his shoulders.
From this perspective.
Sakayanagi's strategy was certainly eccentric and aggressive, but if successful, Class A would get their wish of participating in the election.
Furthermore.
Sakayanagi Arisu's attack was locked onto the upper grades, allowing the first year to be preserved. Thus, her move didn't count as betraying the collective interests of the first-year grade.
Moreover.
Katsuragi had already investigated and found that competition existed almost exclusively between the four classes of the sa grade; cross-grade exams were extrely rare. Therefore, even if they offended the upperclassn, Class A had no need for excessive fear. If it could be traded for the trump card of election eligibility, enduring a little pressure was absolutely worth it.
Thinking of this.
Katsuragi Kohei's gaze involuntarily shifted to Horikita Manabu, his eyes carrying a trace of urgency and expectation.
"..." Horikita Manabu naturally did not miss Katsuragi's burning, even expectant gaze.
But when he spoke, his voice remained as calm as a deep pool.
"Your thinking is unique. However," he paused, his tone becoming serious, "if your intention is to coerce the Student Council into a compromise, it will be in vain.
However," he shifted slightly, returning to an official tone, "if exam violations are discovered, it is a student's right to report them to the Student Council. Once verified, the Student Council will handle it according to the rules."
And those were the rules.
So, did his statent count as agreeing to Sakayanagi reporting the upperclassn's "cheating"?
Not exactly.
Because even if soone reports it, the Student Council holds the initiative on when to handle it—or even whether to handle it at all.
Just like last month when Katsuragi reported the Class C fighting incident, the punishnt results only arrived belatedly a month later.
Therefore.
Even if Sakayanagi reported it now, the Student Council had the full capacity to suppress it.
Looking at it this way.
This confrontation seed to end here.
A flash of undeniable disappointnt crossed Katsuragi Kohei's eyes.
Yes. Sakayanagi was challenging Horikita Manabu's authority to win recognition from the President's hands. But Horikita Manabu was also the President.
A reporting strategy like Sakayanagi's could easily be suppressed by him.
After all, how could an ordinary student shake the "cheating" that the President himself tacitly approved of and perhaps participated in?
Especially since the school also defaulted to it.
"It seems the negotiations have broken down." Sakayanagi Arisu shook her head gently. A hint of regret appeared on her exquisite face, but there was no sign of defeat.
"I thought President Horikita would be more forward-thinking."
Having said that, she stood up gracefully, her slender white fingers tightening around the cane that never left her side, and turned to walk toward the door.
With the negotiations declared a failure, Sakayanagi had no desire to linger. The sound of her cane hitting the floor was crisp and rhythmic as her figure disappeared outside the Student Council office.
"President—" Katsuragi Kohei watched Sakayanagi's retreating back and hurriedly turned an inquiring gaze toward the unmoving Horikita Manabu.
But he found that Manabu was rely staring silently at the door, deep thought gathered between his brows, failing to respond to his call.
Ti flowed on to Monday morning.
Hikigaya Hachiman had just stepped into the Class B classroom when he heard rumors of Sakayanagi Arisu's lone "raid" on the Student Council yesterday.
Unfortunately, the outco was a return in defeat.
Although it was still early and the classroom was sowhat empty, Hikigaya had already arranged for Ichinose Honami to distribute the prepared old test papers to the arriving students.
Naturally, to ensure safety, when he had Ichinose photocopy the papers, he changed the title to [Review Materials]. It's quite reasonable to organize and distribute review materials from past seniors' exams, right?
Only.
"I just feel—" After Hikigaya took his seat, Ichinose Honami, who was radiant as ever today but currently shrouded in a layer of faint worry, whispered to him, "I just feel Sakayanagi-san is doing sothing very dangerous."
Clearly, Sakayanagi's act of provoking the Student Council was far too shocking.
"Don't worry," Hikigaya reassured her.
"Since she clearly stated she wouldn't target the first year, then we first-years will be fine."
It was normal for Ichinose to be this nervous.
After all, the news of Sakayanagi's suspected report to the Student Council coming out right after the old questions were distributed was indeed heart-tightening. Especially since Ichinose had put a lot of heart and soul into organizing the old materials.
However.
A flash of surprise also crossed Hikigaya's mind.
Because yesterday he was equally busy to the point of exhaustion—but he was busy "misleading" the little Horikita. anwhile, Sakayanagi seed to have gone to "solo" the big boss Horikita-nii by herself.
As the girl recognized as the physically weakest in the school—perhaps the entire school—she actually dared to challenge Horikita Manabu, whose stats were at the peak. That courage was indeed jaw-dropping.
It seed Sakayanagi Arisu was indeed a quite dangerous and unrestrained individual.
Yet what was interesting was that she chose almost the exact sa ti as him to solo a "Horikita."
Hikigaya suddenly realized that between himself and Sakayanagi, there might exist so strange, indescribable tacit understanding.
This was probably... due to that challenge letter Sakayanagi had sent. The two sides had beco opponents who needed to clash. And now, they acted at the sa ti.
This sense of destiny made him indulge in so wild thoughts for a mont.
Only. Compared to the highly aggressive Sakayanagi...
'Ichinose is still better. Ichinose is truly reassuring; she basically won't do anything highly aggressive.
Also, what perfu is she using today? It feels a bit different. But I feel the previous scent was better. I don't like this one as much.'
Ugh.
Ichinose Honami had intended to listen to Hikigaya-kun's in-depth analysis of Sakayanagi's move, but she accidentally caught this jumping inner voice of his.
This caused Ichinose's fair cheeks to flush slightly, and she blinked her eyes in confusion.
She had clearly never used perfu... she had simply tried a new shower gel sample recomnded by Amikura-san yesterday.
Now it seed she should switch back to the original one.
After all, she was now Hikigaya-kun's desk mate; although she had originally sat there with the intention of helping him with his studies—even though he didn't need it—since they were desk mates, she should consider his sensory experience to so extent.
Thus, because of Hikigaya-kun's distraction, Ichinose also felt much more at ease.
And since that Student Council visit on the 12th where her report was unsuccessful, Sakayanagi Arisu had indeed made no further moves.
This left Katsuragi Kohei feeling both the regret of failed expectations and a hidden sense of unease. He knew Class B had already taken the lead; if they couldn't close the gap soon, Class A's status would be precarious. However, he also told himself he couldn't be as radical as Sakayanagi.
So for the past few days, the Class A students often saw Katsuragi sighing. But when asked for details, Katsuragi prioritized the big picture and chose to keep the secret that Class B had already obtained the next Student Council election rights.
However, as ti quietly slid to the 18th, everything suddenly took a dramatic turn.
Hikigaya Hachiman got up early, finished washing up quickly, and hurried toward the elevator, preparing to head to the cafeteria.
As it turned out, the elevator doors slowly opened to reveal a passenger already inside—a familiar face, for it was the purple-haired girl, Kamuro Masumi.
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