Chapter 168: Contacting Katsuragi Kohei and Ichinose Honami!
Sakagami Kazuma then looked toward Tokito Hiroya, who had been voicing the strongest objections.
"Tokito-kun, if you replace Ryuen as class leader, do you have the determination and ability to lead this class past the one Shimizu Yuto leads and take everyone to Class A?"
Tokito immediately fell silent, his eyes beginning to wander.
'W-Who would want to go against Shimizu Yuto? Doesn't everyone know that guy is an unbeatable demon?'
Tokito wanted to become class leader, but not because he dreamed of taking everyone to Class A. He simply wanted to stand in the spotlight and enjoy having everyone listen to him.
In simple terms, Tokito wanted everyone's support without actually bearing the responsibility of leading them somewhere better.
"Tokito-kun, can you do it?"
Under everyone's gaze, Tokito could only force himself to answer, "Of course I can!"
Sakagami looked at the stubborn boy and secretly sighed. It would be better to wait until Ryuen's suspension ended and let him return to reorganize the class.
'Why does Chabashira's Class D have so many exceptional students?'
The midterm results had made the academic ability of the entire first-year grade relatively clear.
Sakagami's own students were generally weak academically, while Chabashira's class had nearly ten students with excellent grades.
At this point, Sakagami almost felt that the class Chabashira had been given wasn't truly a Class D at all. It looked more like a Class B.
'Especially that student named Shimizu Yuto. His abilities are far too ridiculous. He's practically a tiger.'
Sakagami thought helplessly of a saying attributed to Napoleon: when a tiger leads a flock of sheep, even the sheep become tigers; when a sheep leads a pack of tigers, even the tigers become sheep.
In other words, the outcome of a battle often depended heavily on its commander.
The students of the former Class D might have started as sheep, but under the leadership of the tiger known as Shimizu Yuto, they were gradually becoming tigers themselves.
Sakagami looked at his own class, which had turned into a scattered mess during Ryuen's suspension, and felt exhausted.
...
The bell rang.
Chabashira put away the class-point chart and left the classroom without wasting a moment. Class was beginning.
After genuinely earning class points from the midterm, Yuto's class showed a noticeably better study atmosphere and discipline.
None of them wanted to receive zero personal points again next month.
Yuto was very satisfied with the current state of the class. Ever since Ike, Yamauchi, and Sudo had been expelled, the whole group had begun moving rapidly in a better direction.
The future looked promising.
...
Before long, lunchtime arrived.
Yuto and Kei ate lunch together at the student cafeteria. Afterward, he used the contact information he had exchanged with Katsuragi Kohei and called him.
Inside the Class A classroom, Katsuragi looked at the incoming call displayed on his phone and frowned slightly.
"Why is Shimizu Yuto suddenly calling me?"
With some curiosity, Katsuragi answered.
What he failed to notice was Hashimoto Masayoshi quietly approaching from behind with a lunchbox in hand.
After Yuto exchanged contact information with Katsuragi, Sakayanagi Arisu had instructed Hashimoto to keep an eye on him and gather as much information as possible.
Perhaps because Hashimoto was particularly good at sneaking around, Katsuragi never noticed him approaching.
"Hello, Shimizu-kun."
"Hello, Katsuragi-kun." Yuto smiled into the phone and went straight to the point. "Do you still want to join the student council? I might be able to help you."
A trace of surprise appeared on Katsuragi's face.
"Shimizu-kun, are you saying you have a way to get me into the student council?"
"It's only a possibility for now. I can't guarantee anything yet, so I wanted to ask in advance whether you're still interested."
Yuto intended to remove all of Nagumo's remaining followers from the student council.
That included Secretary Mizowaki and three general affairs staff members—a total of four people.
If that many members were removed, the student council would become desperately short-handed.
Yuto therefore intended to bring in Suzune, Katsuragi, and Ichinose Honami.
Since Katsuragi and Ichinose weren't Yuto's classmates, Manabu would likely have no objection to either of them joining.
As for Kei and the others, Yuto would deal with that after he became student council president.
For now, he needed to confirm in advance whether Katsuragi and Ichinose were still willing to join.
"I naturally still want to join the student council," Katsuragi answered calmly.
"I understand. Then give me one week. Within that time, I'll give you a definite answer about whether you can join."
"All right. Thank you for your help, Shimizu-kun."
"No need to thank me. I'll hang up now."
"Mm."
After Yuto ended the call, Hashimoto quietly moved away.
While eavesdropping, he had vaguely heard Yuto's voice on the other end and clearly caught Katsuragi saying the words "join the student council."
That was enough for him to conclude that Yuto had been speaking to Katsuragi about student council membership.
'This is bad. If Shimizu Yuto pulls Katsuragi into the student council, those guys in the Katsuragi faction will go crazy with excitement. I need to tell Princess about this.'
Hashimoto walked away carrying his lunchbox.
Meanwhile, Katsuragi stared seriously at his phone.
From that brief conversation, he could more or less confirm one thing: despite only recently joining, Shimizu Yuto already possessed considerable authority within the student council.
Otherwise, how could Yuto possibly have the ability to arrange Katsuragi's admission?
Katsuragi was both pleased and worried by the situation.
He was pleased because Yuto might be able to help him enter the student council, but worried because Yuto holding so much authority there could become a threat to the other first-year classes.
After all, every first-year already knew that Yuto's goal was Class A.
The more influence he possessed in the student council, the greater the danger to everyone else.
Katsuragi quickly suppressed that concern.
For now, the most important thing was defeating Sakayanagi Arisu's Sakayanagi faction and securing complete control over Class A.
...
After Yuto finished speaking with Katsuragi, Kei, who was beside him, asked curiously, "Yuto, are you planning to bring Katsuragi Kohei from Class A into the student council?"
"Yeah. I'm going to clean out Nagumo's people, so I need to prepare replacements who can actually do the work."
Suzune, Katsuragi, and Ichinose were the three replacements Yuto already had in mind.
"But is that really okay?" Kei asked while holding his arm. "Katsuragi Kohei is one of Class A's leaders, right? Won't bringing him into the student council cause trouble for us later?"
Yuto looked at his sweet girlfriend with mild surprise. He hadn't expected Kei to already be thinking that far ahead.
"Don't worry. I have plans for that. Once you guys join the student council, I'll think of a way to have Katsuragi and the others leave."
Katsuragi was one of Class A's leaders, while Ichinose led Class B.
Both were ultimately destined to become Yuto's opponents as he led his class toward Class A.
Naturally, Yuto had no intention of allowing either of them to remain in the student council forever.
For now, because the council needed manpower, he intended to have Katsuragi and Ichinose work as general affairs staff.
Once Manabu retired and Yuto became president, he would bring Kei and the others into the council and turn it into an organization where his word was final.
At that point, Katsuragi and Ichinose would undoubtedly understand what he was doing, leaving them only two choices: resign from the student council or remain indefinitely as general affairs staff.
"But Yuto, do we really need to go through all that?" Kei asked. "You only need people to help with the work, right? Why not invite someone else instead of Katsuragi and Ichinose?"
"I'd like to," Yuto replied with a helpless expression, "but this school has certain rules for student council recruitment. One of them is that when the council suddenly needs new members, it selects from students who previously applied and were rejected—people like Katsuragi and Ichinose."
That was the main reason Yuto was inviting two people who would eventually become his opponents.
If his plan succeeded and Mizowaki's group left, the student council would recruit from previously rejected applicants anyway.
Since Katsuragi and Ichinose were almost certain to receive invitations, Yuto might as well invite them personally.
At least then, they would owe him a favor.
Kei no longer had any questions. Still holding Yuto's arm, she narrowed her eyes contentedly and relaxed against him.
Yuto found Ichinose's contact information and called her.
...
"Huh?"
Ichinose looked at the caller ID on her phone in surprise. She covered the screen with one hand and glanced around at her classmates.
Once she confirmed nobody was paying attention to her, she quietly slipped out of the Class B classroom with her phone.
There was something oddly similar about the scene to a girl secretly avoiding everyone so she could talk to her boyfriend.
After reaching a quiet section of the hallway, Ichinose answered.
"What a surprise, Shimizu. You actually called me."
Her cheerful voice carried an unmistakable sense of closeness.
Kei, who could faintly hear the sweet female voice, opened her eyes slightly and quietly perked up her ears.
'Why does this Ichinose Honami sound so familiar with my boyfriend?'
'Could the scent I noticed on Yuto before have belonged to her?'
No, no.
The fragrance Kei had noticed on Yuto previously had come from Hiyori, not Ichinose.
"Surprised? I've got some good news that might surprise you even more," Yuto replied teasingly.
Ichinose's lips curved upward.
"What good news?"
"The student council may be recruiting soon. Ichinose, are you still interested in joining?"
"Of course I am!" Ichinose blurted out before immediately sounding embarrassed. "Sorry, Shimizu. I got a little too excited."
Yuto chuckled. "No need to apologize. I don't mind."
Ichinose was an excellent student who had always wanted to join the student council to develop her abilities.
That was why she had submitted an application during the club information session, only to be rejected.
Now that Yuto was offering her another opportunity, she accepted without hesitation.
The thought of being able to work together with Yuto in the student council filled Ichinose with an inexplicable sense of excitement and anticipation.
'This makes me so... so happy.'
'Why am I this happy? Is it just because I might finally get another chance to join the student council and improve myself?'
Ichinose convinced herself that must be the reason. What else could possibly make her feel this way?
Yuto glanced toward Kei beside him and noticed her small ears practically twitching as she listened in.
He didn't care that she was eavesdropping and continued speaking into the phone.
"Let me clarify something in advance, Ichinose. Right now I'm only confirming whether you still want to join. I'm not certain yet whether I can actually get you admitted. But you won't have to wait long. I'll give you a definite answer within one week."
"Mm. I'll wait for you."
Ichinose's reply was unusually soft and gentle.
Kei pursed her lips slightly.
Just from the way Ichinose had said those words, Kei felt certain that girl had some kind of feelings for Yuto.
What girl would speak to a boy in that tone otherwise?
"Then I'll hang up."
"Okay..."
After Yuto ended the call, Ichinose remained standing in the hallway, staring blankly at her phone.
For reasons she couldn't explain, a faint sense of emptiness settled over her heart now that the conversation had ended.
…
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