Chapter 332: I'm Going to Pull Nagumo Down and Replace Him / Asahina-senpai is Super Cute
It was true that Shimizu Akira had his own intelligence system. However, in reality, he also possessed a tool that was in no way inferior to a "cheat code."
After dinner, Shimizu sat in his chair, looking at the secret diary he had obtained from Kikyo. He decided to study it thoroughly tonight. The cover was pink, not pure black—thankfully, it wasn't a Death Note.
He casually flipped through the first few pages. Most of the content consisted of daily trifles recorded by Kushida Kikyo since before the school year started; he had seen these before, so he skipped them. He flipped the diary directly to the later sections.
Sudo Ken: Mother is a bar hostess, father is a janitor. Before enrollment, he received an admission notice from a sports high school based on his athletic talent, but was later forced to transfer to Advanced Nurturing High School due to a violent incident.
Sato Maya: Dislikes Onodera Kayano. A "fake" gyaru, has never had a boyfriend. Dream is to become a beautician.
Onodera Kayano: Related to the Class 3-B homeroom teacher, Onodera-sensei. Has a certain crush on Sudo Ken.
Hondo Ryoutarou: Privately spread negative rumors about Shimizu Akira. Has a preference for girls with fuller figures.
Shimizu Akira's heart skipped a beat. The entry regarding Hondo Ryoutarou was exactly the same as the intelligence he had received this morning.
'Kikyo already knew?'
He flipped through several more pages and found that more than half of the entries were indeed things that had appeared in his daily intelligence reports. Beyond that, there were the past histories of other students. Not just his own classmates, but even the "dark histories" of students from other classes were clearly listed.
Hiss.
Shimizu Akira couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air. Terrifying to such an extent. As expected of the woman who once single-handedly caused an entire class to collapse. Kikyo held so many secrets in her hands.
"Thank goodness she's my girlfriend..."
If she were an opponent, the consequences would be unthinkable.
"A few months ago, I was worried her dark history would be exposed and she wouldn't be able to stay in school... Now it seems that the ones who should really be sweating are others," he said, shaking his head.
Given his girlfriend's personality, even if there were a one-in-a-million chance that she was expelled due to her reputation, she would never leave quietly.
With the dirt she held, if she were to dump it all on the school forums or share it one by one before leaving, forget Class C—the entire first-year level would probably be paralyzed for days. It was essentially a nuclear weapon.
Joke aside... this time, it was actually the people of Class C who had narrowly escaped a disaster.
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Horikita Suzune and Kushida Kikyo walked one after the other to the entrance of the Student Council office, obediently taking their places at the end of the line. Being the first Monday of the month, there were many students coming to the Student Council for business.
"Horikita-san, you seem to be in a bad mood," Kushida Kikyo suddenly turned around.
"You aren't still blaming yourself for dragging the class down in the last Forest School exam, are you?"
"Don't take it too much to heart. Akira-kun and I led the teams together, and our two groups secured 220 Class Points. So, even if your side lost 5 points and you were almost selected for expulsion by the group leader because your group failed... the whole class and I will properly forgive you."
"Tsk..." Horikita Suzune's brow furrowed tighter, her mood instantly souring.
This woman was absolutely doing this on purpose! First, she flaunted her relationship with Shimizu Akira, then she took a detour to mock her for being a burden.
Suzune took a deep breath, suppressed the fire in her heart, and replied coldly: "It just happened to be a field you're good at. What's there to be proud of? The next special exam might not be the same."
"I'll definitely be stronger next time," Kikyo blinked.
"Because I have Akira-kun's help."
"Heh, relying on someone else's help and being so unashamedly proud of it? Your Akira-kun has already promised to give me hints next time as well." Suzune crossed her arms, meeting her gaze without flinching.
"Kushida, for the next round, your luck won't be so good."
She thought this news would at least disgust the other woman.
"Oh? Akira-kun promised you?" Kushida Kikyo's reaction was surprisingly calm. She just tilted her head slightly as if she had heard something interesting.
"That's good. However, there's a big difference between a 'hint' and being told exactly what to do, Horikita-san."
The line moved forward a bit. Suzune looked away.
"Relying on others is just an external factor; true strength comes from oneself."
"I understand," Kikyo nodded agreeably. "But Akira-kun is my precious boyfriend. Who says he isn't part of my strength? Doesn't your brother, President Horikita Manabu, also have Tachibana Akane-senpai helping him handle affairs? Do you think your brother is also relying on external forces?"
Horikita Suzune's breath hitched, and she unconsciously gritted her teeth.
Regarding the fact that her brother had an assistant and wasn't alone, she had already been lectured about that by Shimizu Akira in the first month of school.
She didn't expect that eight months later, even Kushida Kikyo would use the same argument to shut her up.
This couple... were they really destined to be her nemeses?
"Fufu... Alright, alright, let's not continue this topic. If we keep going, Akira-kun might blame me for bullying you." Seeing Horikita Suzune frustrated, Kushida Kikyo finally laughed with satisfaction.
"So," Suzune suppressed her emotions and questioned coldly, "you're suddenly interested in the Student Council and actually plan to join? What exactly is your goal?"
"Oh my, that's quite a private question." Kikyo held up a finger.
"How about this: if you proactively greet me, I'll tell you. How about it?"
"...Just a greeting?"
"Mhm, it's simple, right? Because at the start of school, I proactively greeted you several times, but unfortunately, I was completely ignored. So this time, it's your turn." She leaned in slightly.
"That's the price for making me speak. Whether you do it or not is up to you."
'A greeting... it sounds simple.' But the recipient was this woman.
Horikita Suzune bit her lip, still hesitating.
Just then, the students in front left, and it was their turn.
"You really are awkwardly cute, Horikita." Kushida Kikyo stepped aside, ending the topic first. "Think about it later. First, come inside with me."
Horikita Suzune didn't respond to the teasing and pushed the door open. Kikyo followed behind her, gently closing the door.
The Student Council office was a scene of busy activity. Several students who looked like officers were discussing things in low voices. Nagumo Miyabi sat in the President's chair, resting his chin on one hand, his gaze sweeping over the two who entered. Upon seeing who it was, his eyes lit up with clear surprise and delight.
However, before he could speak, Ichinose Honami, who was organizing documents nearby, looked up and offered a warm smile.
"Kikyo, you're here. I received word earlier that you wanted to visit the Student Council and consider joining, but I didn't expect Horikita-san to come along as well."
"Yes, I brought Horikita-san along to observe and learn." Kushida Kikyo returned a flawless, friendly smile and walked forward naturally.
"We aren't interrupting Student Council work, are we, Honami? And President Nagumo."
Nagumo Miyabi had a smile on his lips as his gaze circled between the two, finally landing on Horikita Suzune.
"Welcome. The sister of Horikita-senpai, and..." He paused, "the Kushida-kouhai who made quite a splash in the last Forest School exam. What, finally interested in the Student Council?"
"I just feel that the work here is very character-building. I wanted to bring Horikita-san to see it; perhaps it will spark her interest in public affairs as well," Kikyo's answer was perfectly diplomatic.
Ichinose Honami put down her documents and stood up.
"I happen to be free right now. How about I give you two a brief tour? The scope of the Student Council's work is wider than you might imagine."
"Then I'll trouble you, Honami," Kikyo accepted readily, casting an inconspicuous glance at Nagumo Miyabi.
The latter was propping up his chin with an air of watching a play.
Under Ichinose Honami's gentle guidance, the tour began. The three girls walked slowly through the various areas of the Student Council. Along the way, Ichinose began to explain their duties—from daily discipline checks and budget approvals to planning authority for large-scale events.
"Actually, as a member of the Student Council, you can read the specific content and rules of special exams a few days in advance. Moreover, we have certain advisory and adjustment powers regarding the exam process and execution details."
Hearing this, both Horikita Suzune and Kushida Kikyo showed varying degrees of surprise.
"The authority is that large?!"
"Adjustment rights... to what extent exactly?"
"Yes. However, Student Council members must follow very strict internal regulations and oversight procedures when exercising these powers," Ichinose said with the seriousness typical of a council officer.
"For example, early viewing of exam details is usually restricted to the President, Vice President, and the officers directly responsible for coordinating that specific exam. Furthermore, any viewing logs must be recorded."
She walked to a desk, picked up a bound volume of the Student Council Special Affairs Execution Manual, flipped to a page, and showed it to them.
"As for partial modification rights," Honami explained, pointing to the clauses, "it mainly refers to the execution process of the exam, the specific interpretation of non-core rules, and the right to suggest temporary adjustments in consultation with teachers when emergencies occur.
For instance, if extreme weather occurs on an exam day, the Student Council can propose changing the order or form of outdoor items according to the regulations. But the core rules of the exam and the win-loss criteria are determined by the school and the exam committee; it's very difficult for Student Council members to change those."
Horikita Suzune's gaze was fixed on the rigorous terms in the manual. Although the restrictions sounded significant, being able to master special exam information in advance and influence execution details was already a massive advantage.
"Also, one more thing," Ichinose added after a moment of thought.
"In principle, disputes and disciplinary issues occurring within the school are first handled by the Student Council. The school usually does not intervene directly. So, joining the Student Council in a sense... means participating in adjudication, and even influencing the severity of final punishments."
As Kushida Kikyo listened, her eyes grew brighter. "I see. That's very good. For example, during Sudo-kun's fighting incident last year, under this authority, the Student Council actually had the right not to deduct so many Class Points, right?"
"Yes," Ichinose explained. "Regarding the rules involving Class Points, President Nagumo has not been that strict since taking office. Since he took power, similar conflicts usually only result in suspensions for the individuals involved; they generally no longer involve deducting points from the classes of both parties."
That's an unexpected gain, Horikita Suzune thought.
In the future, if she wanted to deal with those eyesores, she wouldn't have to worry as much about dragging down the class points.
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The tour concluded in a harmonious atmosphere. Ichinose Honami had other business to attend to and left first. Nagumo Miyabi then called the two into the President's office.
"How was it, Horikita-kouhai, Kushida-san?" Nagumo leaned back in his wide chair. "Does the scenery of the Student Council meet your expectations?"
"..." Horikita Suzune was too lazy to talk to him.
Kushida Kikyo returned her usual smile: "It's very nice. The authority is even greater than I imagined. Actually, I tried applying when school started, but unfortunately, I was rejected. Is the Student Council still recruiting?"
"Of course I'm willing to recruit new members now," Nagumo laughed warmly. "I'm not like former President Horikita; I'm not that strict. However, there are conditions for joining."
"What conditions?" Suzune was immediately alert. "Nagumo Miyabi, you aren't planning to abuse your power, are you?"
"Nonsense." Nagumo waved his hand. "I just want to teach you a principle: I need people who are honest. Both of you were assigned to Class D... I want to know why.
Tell me the reason you entered Class D without hiding anything. As long as you can do that, it proves you are qualified to join the Student Council. How about it? It's simple, right? Just one sentence."
"Is this a Student Council tradition?" Kikyo asked thoughtfully. "Did President Horikita ask you this before? Was Honami asked the same thing?"
"Naturally," Nagumo nodded. When mentioning Ichinose, a trace of imperceptible regret flashed in his tone. "As for Ichinose-kouhai, I'm not sure; she was recruited personally by President Horikita back then."
His gaze fell back on the two of them, and that very interested smile appeared on his face again. The message he had sent to Shimizu Akira last time was like a stone dropped into the ocean—it had been completely ignored. Now, the two parties involved had proactively presented themselves to him. He had no reason to let them go.
He threw out his next question: "I'm suddenly a bit curious... what is your relationship with Shimizu-kouhai? I seem to have seen you two walking with him separately."
"Mhm... just ordinary classmates!" Kushida Kikyo replied almost without hesitation.
Horikita Suzune turned her gaze away coldly.
"None of your business."
"Is that really so?" Nagumo's gaze swept over their faces.
"Why do I feel... like you're lying? You two are actually very close with Shimizu-kouhai, right? Just like the relationship between President Horikita and Tachibana-senpai."
Kushida Kikyo's expression and movements were flawless, but she had answered too quickly. As for Horikita Suzune, the moment she heard Shimizu Akira's name, her body had tensed slightly.
Nagumo himself was a veteran in the field of romance; did these two really think they could hide it from him?
"We just went out once, that's all," Kikyo added with a smile after a few seconds of thought. "How could Shimizu-kun only have eyes for me? During the Sports Festival, Shimizu-kun was running with Asahina-senpai. According to your logic, President Nagumo, aren't those two already together?"
Horikita Suzune was still looking down, trying to figure out how to counter Nagumo, and completely didn't expect Kikyo to suddenly throw out Asahina's name.
'Could that be useful?'
She subconsciously looked up.
Bang!
Nagumo Miyabi's face instantly turned ashen. His lips twitched violently, and his palm slammed heavily onto the desk uncontrollably.
'It actually was useful! And it looked like it hurt!'
Suzune then remembered. Last time in the Student Council office, she seemed to have heard her brother mention by chance that Nagumo Miyabi and that second-year Asahina-senpai were childhood friends.
"Ahem... sorry!" Nagumo suddenly snapped back to his senses, quickly withdrawing his hand. He forced a smile that was barely composed.
"My hand suddenly felt an itch. Nazuna... and Shimizu-kouhai have nothing to do with each other. During the Sports Festival, she just ran out of breath, and Shimizu-kouhai did her a small favor. They are not in a relationship."
He seemed intent on burying the topic entirely, coughing a few times.
"I was out of line. Let's get back to the point: do you two have intentions of joining the Student Council?"
Kushida Kikyo deliberately remained silent for a few seconds before slowly speaking: "I feel that no matter which class one is assigned to, everyone has a past they find difficult to talk
about. To have to confess inner secrets just to join... for me, it's still too early. Well then, excuse us."
With that, she turned and walked out. Horikita Suzune cast a glance at the visibly uncomfortable Nagumo and left the office without a word.
The door closed gently behind them. She suddenly quickened her pace, catching up to Kikyo in the hallway.
"What, you aren't planning to join the Student Council anymore?"
"Hehe! I truly do want to join, but does that guy Nagumo think I'm a three-year-old child?" Kushida Kikyo glanced around. Since no one was around and the person in front of her was one of only two people who knew her true face, she dropped all pretenses, her voice low.
"I have to expose my secrets to join? Isn't that just begging to give someone leverage? Only an idiot would do that!"
"Hmph, the whole class really should see you like this." Suzune made an expression of annoyance. To this day, she didn't understand what Shimizu Akira saw in this woman.
"So you should give up. Someone like you could never just casually expose secrets from your past. This trip was a waste of time."
She knew Kushida Kikyo too well. This woman would at most proactively open her wounds in front of Shimizu Akira. As for anyone else, they were dreaming.
"Hehehe... who told you I have to rely on speaking out to join the Student Council?" Kikyo suddenly laughed, pulling her phone from her pocket and waving it in front of Suzune's eyes. "The Vice President also has the right to approve new members. Besides, who said today was a waste?"
"First, I recorded it. That President clearly required non-Class A members to reveal secrets; that's blatant class discrimination. It'll be one of the pieces of leverage to use when I take him down later.
Second, I've scoped out the specific authority and benefit details of the Student Council.
Third, I confirmed that this piece of trash likes Asahina Nazuna-senpai. As long as I build a good relationship with senpai, I won't have to worry about this guy coming to find trouble again."
'This woman... her mind is way too meticulous. Does IQ increase after being with Shimizu Akira?'
However, Horikita Suzune was actually more concerned with another point.
"You want him to step down?"
"Correct. That guy has been targeting my boyfriend lately, and I find it very eyesore," Kikyo put away her phone, her tone flat.
"Furthermore, after hearing about those permissions, I'm getting a bit greedy for the position of Student Council President. Those are the two reasons I want to join the Student Council. Understand?"
She turned to leave, then as if remembering something, looked back.
"I gave you my answer. So... tomorrow morning, I want to hear you greet me."
With that, she walked away without looking back. Horikita Suzune stood frozen, watching her silhouette disappear around the corner of the hallway. After a few seconds, she muttered quietly, "That woman's ambition is certainly not small—she even wants to be Student Council President!"
She wondered what Shimizu Akira's reaction would be when he heard that. Just as she was about to leave, she subconsciously glanced at the Student Council office behind her.
Wait?!
She saw a familiar duo. One was a girl with purple hair, and the other was a frail girl leaning on a cane and wearing a beret.
That was Sakayanagi Arisu and Kamuro Masumi?! Were those two also here for Student Council business? Could they also be looking for the President?
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Having spent nearly an hour flipping through most of the diary, Shimizu Akira's head was now thumping with a dull ache. There were secrets of all kinds.
From trivial daily chores to transgressive behaviors that almost touched the limit... some of the content probably wouldn't even pass the filters of his intelligence system.
If you could imagine it, they had done it. No wonder Kikyo felt so much pressure in her social circles all day. After reading all this, he felt as if he was becoming a stranger to his own classmates.
He immediately went to the bathroom and splashed his face with cold water. He then did 10 minutes of push-ups before finally managing to calm down a little.
"I have to seal it... it must be sealed away."
He returned to the desk and, without hesitation, stuffed the diary into the bottom drawer, covering it tightly with several heavy textbooks. This was no longer a Death Note. It was a forbidden book that needed to be permanently sealed. Too dangerous!
Just then, his phone on the desk rang. Shimizu picked it up and saw the caller ID: Asahina Nazuna.
"Good evening, Asahina-senpai."
"Good evening, Shimizu-kouhai!" Senpai's usual cheerful voice came through the receiver.
"You performed quite well in the last Forest School exam! I didn't expect you to really beat Miyabi and take first place in the large group... hmph, you're quite capable!"
"Senpai is overpraising me. It was just luck," Shimizu maintained his usual tone.
"Ugh... has anyone ever told you that sometimes being excessively humble makes people find you quite irritating?"
"That..."
'It seems Horikita Suzune said something similar after a few previous exams.'
"For things like this, you should boldly admit it was your own effort!" senpai said as if it were obvious.
"You clearly made a lot of plans for this exam, didn't you? Silly kouhai!"
"...Thank you, senpai. I stand corrected."
"Hmph! Boys your age still have a lot to learn. But anyway, humility is much better than arrogance. I've had quite enough of Miyabi's haughty attitude. I actually don't hate this part of you at all."
Shimizu responded silently in his heart. Actually, he hadn't put in much effort. In the last exam, aside from spending a bit of thought on the first and last days, he had basically been slacking off.
"I didn't expect that besides President Horikita, someone who could actually rival Miyabi would appear in the first year. I could tell from the Sports Festival—your physical constitution is also insanely strong... truly a master of both pen and sword. Hehe, maybe I really found a treasure this time!"
The usually bright and lively senpai didn't hide her somewhat mischievous giggle.
"Oh, right, right!" she suddenly remembered.
"Since you really did beat Miyabi last time, Shimizu-kouhai, have you thought about what reward you want from me?"
"Reward?"
"Yes! Anything is fine~ Even if kouhai makes some... excessive requests, your reliable senpai will find a way to satisfy you!"
"Uh..." Shimizu felt a line of sweat on his forehead. This person was teasing him on purpose again.
"What, haven't thought of it? Or is it..." Asahina Nazuna let out a light laugh. "Is kouhai thinking about some things unsuitable for children and is too embarrassed to say it out loud?"
"Well, I did subconsciously imagine certain scenes," Shimizu didn't deny it completely.
"After all, senpai, you really are very charming."
"Ugh..." A tiny gasp came from the other end of the line, as if she had been hit unexpectedly. Her previous composure clearly faltered.
"K-Kouhai, you, you really..."
"However, since you're a reliable senpai, a big sister a year older than me..." Shimizu said with mock seriousness, "even if kouhai occasionally has some fantasies in his head, you probably wouldn't take it seriously, right?"
"Ugh... ahem!" Asahina Nazuna cleared her throat, trying hard to regain control.
Her voice was several degrees softer than before, yet she pushed through.
"T-That, of course! A boy your age having some messy thoughts in his head... as your senpai, I can handle it with absolute composure!"
"Pfft..." Shimizu couldn't hold it back and let out a light laugh.
Between the lines, there wasn't a hint of "absolute composure" at all.
'How... how can this senpai be so cute?'
Putting aside her usual clumsiness with losing her charms and being scatterbrained, how could she still be so dazed as to take such obviously mischievous words seriously?
"Shimizu-kouhai... you did that on purpose, didn't you! Fine! I see you aren't as honest as I imagined! You just wait and see!" A huffy voice came from the phone, followed by a crisp click as the call was hung up.
'Oops, I went a bit too far.' The offline revenge was likely on its way.
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