Ch 15

"Although it's not because I'm a complete idiot when it comes to mechanics, I genuinely lack familiarity with electronic devices."

"As for the reason, Minachi, you understand. Although my family background is not poor, I depleted most of our savings to attend this school."

"In my daily life, I still need to work part-time to support my living expenses. Even the phone I have in my hand was replaced recently because it couldn't keep up with others."

"After all, if two people don't have common topics to talk about, it's natural that they won't get along."

Currently, there aren't many people in the student council, only Minachi Shinya and Yu Ishikami, so Miyuki Shirogane openly mentioned his shortcomings in this aspect. After experiencing some social matters, Miyuki Shirogane no longer clung to superficial matters. After all, as long as his boss was satisfied, he could survive in his company.

"So, President, the reason you changed your phone recently was because of this. I thought your previous phone was broken."

"But it seems like you're not very familiar with your new phone, even though it's the latest model. I've seen you operate it in a rather clumsy manner."

"Most of the time, President, you use typing as a way to perform complex operations. Even adding someone's email is done through typing."

"President, did you perhaps not read the user manual after purchasing the phone? Or maybe you simply couldn't understand what the manual was talking about. After all, you don't have deep knowledge or interest in these things."

"You completely focused your talents on studying, resulting in a lack of proficiency in another area."

Yu Ishikami, living up to his reputation as the atmosphere killer and teammate basher, unintentionally delivered words that were quite hurtful. He didn't notice that the president was already squatting in the corner drawing circles.

"Yu Ishikami, you're not entirely correct with what you said."

"After all, in his daily life, President handles numerous tasks. He doesn't have the time to manage these things like the rest of us, who have plenty of time to spare."

"President, it's because he devotes most of his time to studying that he has achieved such good grades. And he still takes the remaining time to work part-time and earn money to support his family."

"President has already calculated his life schedule meticulously and strictly. You can't expect more from him, Yu Ishikami."

"However, as President's subordinate in the future, I suggest that he should reclaim the time spent on part-time work and allocate it for studying or other activities, so he doesn't have to tire himself out like this."

After listening to Minachi Shinya's account, Yu Ishikami felt a bit embarrassed about what he had said. After all, he had never truly understood the president's family situation and made assumptions.

"I'm sorry, President. I'm not very clear about your family background, so if I said anything inappropriate earlier, please forgive me."

"As compensation, would you like to play games with me?"

Perhaps this was the only thing Yu Ishikami felt could be used as compensation.

"It's alright, Yu Ishikami. It's not something you could understand if I didn't explain. So, it's normal to have misunderstandings in our daily lives. Don't worry about it."

"By the way, have you prepared for the upcoming mid-term exams? If I remember correctly, you almost failed the last entrance exam, almost not being able to enter high school."

It had to be said that even though Miyuki Shirogane said it was fine, he was still a bit petty behind the scenes. However, such things usually didn't cause any significant harm.

"President, if you don't bring up these things, we can still be friends."

"To be honest, I've already given up on studying. After all, I don't have many friends to interact with in this school. Most of the time, I attend classes and come to the student council to play games and take care of the tasks assigned by the president!"

"Moreover, my previous academic performance was not enough to enter this high school. But it seems like there were some other reasons that allowed me to continue my studies in high school."

"But for me, it's a burden. I'm not good at studying, and if there's anything worthy of praise, it's only my accounting skills."

"That's why the president, despite the difficulties, invited me, a mediocre student, to join the student council, right?"

It had to be said that Yu Ishikami's words were quite accurate. He was invited to join the student council by Miyuki Shirogane for this reason. However, Minachi Shinya, sitting beside them, couldn't tolerate it. After all, he disliked people who weren't willing to put in effort, especially when they had sufficient talent but lacked confidence.

"Yu Ishikami, I believe that if you possess accounting skills that can help the student council with their finances, it proves that your academic talent is not bad. It's just that you don't enjoy studying."

"And as for the reason, I can guess that it's because you don't have many like-minded people in school. Or perhaps, during the middle school period, you experienced some psychological trauma, like being considered childish for enjoying games and being excluded by your classmates."

"How do you know that I was already unpopular in middle school?"

Yu Ishikami was greatly shocked because Minachi Shinya revealed all of his secrets with his words.

"It's not an uncommon thing. After all, during the middle school years, everyone goes through a rebellious phase."

"Everyone has their own judgments about their lives, thinking that only their way is correct."

"So, they often face rejection and exclusion from others. In fact, there's a term for this situation in society called 'chuunibyou' or 'eighth-grade syndrome'."

"It means that during the middle school years, people often fantasize about unrealistic things."

"There are various explanations for this situation, but most of the time, people tend to exclude those who don't fit in and form their own small circles."

"Although your situation, Yu Ishikami, doesn't fall within the scope of 'chuunibyou,' it can be considered a form of independence during the rebellious phase, resulting in the current situation."

_____

"The distance between you and your classmates kept growing, gradually isolating you from their circle, leading to everyone excluding you and resulting in your gloomy personality."

"Although based on the time we've spent together, your nature is not bad, and you simply have a liking for electronic games."

"In terms of your abilities, they are quite outstanding. Otherwise, the president wouldn't have entrusted you with the role of an accountant."

"And based on my speculation, the main reason you can't integrate with others is that you lack conversational skills and the art of social interaction."

"In other words, you have an issue with your eloquence and often offend people with your words."

Minachi Shinya's words in the first half of his speech were reasonable, even the president, Miyuki Shirogane, acknowledged Minachi Shinya's theory. However, as he continued, it became more far-fetched. Luckily, he summarized one of Yu Ishikami's flaws at the end, delivering a critical hit to Miyuki Shirogane.

"You're right. No wonder I always felt there was something wrong with Yu Ishikami in the past, preventing him from blending in with the student community. So, this is the reason."

"I couldn't come to any conclusion before, but I never expected Minachi to provide such an insightful summary. You truly deserve the title of the big boss! Your judgment of people is accurate."

"President, please don't flatter me. I'm not the kind of boss who enjoys flattering subordinates. I prefer subordinates who only focus on getting the job done."

"After all, I'm still young, and I don't need that kind of workplace experience."

Minachi Shinya retorted with a blank expression. Seeing the current situation, Yu Ishikami, who was playing games on the side, quickly interjected with a joke:

"Let's not talk about this topic anymore. Let's talk about something else!"

"For example, the relationship between Minachi and Fujiwara-senpai has been quite intriguing lately. Do you two have a secret between you?"

Miyuki Shirogane took the opportunity to continue the conversation.

"Yes, yes!"

"Since Secretary Fujiwara brought you into the student council last time, the dynamics between you two have become somewhat strange."

"It doesn't seem like an ordinary student relationship at all. Every time Secretary Fujiwara sees you, she runs away. I wonder what happened between you two."

"It's completely different from when Secretary Fujiwara brought you here last time."

As someone who couldn't read the atmosphere, Yu Ishikami finally did a good thing by diverting Miyuki Shirogane's attention. However, both of them were quite interested in this topic.

"So, you're asking about this!"

"Actually, it's not much of a secret. It's just that no one has brought it up, so I didn't mention it."

"In fact, Secretary Fujiwara and I have had a marriage contract since we were children. Until now, we have been in a relationship as engaged partners."

This statement from Minachi Shinya shocked everyone present. After all, no one could have imagined that Minachi Shinya and Secretary Fujiwara had such a relationship. Although they had imagined that there was something extraordinary between them, like a typical boyfriend and girlfriend, or perhaps one of them had confessed first, the current relationship between them was indeed peculiar. However, no one could have expected them to have this kind of connection.

Yu Ishikami spoke up:

"I never expected that Minachi and Fujiwara-senpai would have such a relationship. Were your families close since childhood? Were you childhood friends with Fujiwara-senpai?"

Minachi Shinya could imagine why they would ask such questions. After all, in a place like Neon, unless you truly meet someone you like, it's rare to confess and establish a marriage contract from a young age. It usually happens between families that have been close since childhood. Otherwise, there would be no reason to have a marriage contract from a young age.

Although it wasn't necessary to explain, Minachi Shinya decided to provide an explanation to avoid any surprises.

"Although we aren't childhood friends and didn't know each other from a young age, our parents arranged the marriage contract when we were little."

"You could say it's a form of political alliance!"

"At the time, our company group wanted to develop here and needed a certain political background. Fujiwara-senpai's parents were the ones we supported, so that's how this marriage came about."

Miyuki Shirogane suddenly gained a new understanding of the intricacies between the upper-class nobles.

"So, it's a political marriage."

"And how do both of you feel about this political marriage? After all, according to what we see on TV programs, such political marriages usually don't have good outcomes."

"And Minachi, I assume you don't need these things now, and you probably don't care about them."

Miyuki Shirogane's words indeed hit the mark because, for the upper-class elites, this kind of political alliance was quite common. However, Minachi Shinya, the party involved in the marriage, had his own views on it.

After thinking for a moment, Minachi Shinya believed that there was no problem with this political marriage. Moreover, his prospective spouse could be considered quite outstanding. So, he replied:

"Actually, I've always had a nonchalant attitude towards this marriage. I don't really care about it."

"Besides, no one from Fujiwara-senpai's side has contacted us, especially when our company was at its lowest."

"I only learned about this recently, and it was during this meeting with Fujiwara-senpai that I became aware of it after entering school again."

"Before that, I only received rough information from the butler at my home and had a basic understanding of Secretary Fujiwara."

"But now, I don't plan to give up. If my parents were still alive, I would be indifferent to this political marriage. If it happens, it happens, and if it doesn't, I don't really mind."

"But now, this marriage contract can be considered a precious gift left to me by my parents, and I don't want to give it up easily."

"If it's a matter of emotions, I believe I have ample time to cultivate them slowly until both of us are satisfied with each other."

_______

"After all, something like love requires a process; it can't happen overnight. So, I have already prepared myself."

"And I don't think my conditions are bad. After all, I have academic achievements, a career based on those achievements, and a spacious mansion estate. I also don't have any restrictions from elders at home. You could say I'm a real-life winner."

"With such favorable conditions, I don't believe there's any girl who would reject my pursuit."

"It's just that so far, I haven't expressed the need to find a girlfriend."

Minachi Shinya's words can be considered quite natural, and he possesses the conditions he mentioned, which allows him to speak in such a manner.

However, for the other two members of the student council, his words seemed unreasonable. After all, they didn't understand Minachi Shinya's current status and authority. So, they were somewhat repulsed by his arrogant and narcissistic words, finding them even a bit amusing.

Compared to Miyuki Shirogane, who had a better grasp of social situations, Yu Ishikami was still too young and didn't understand the current atmosphere, bluntly expressing himself.

"Minachi, it's not just about you. Even though you now have your own big company, and your current industry is thriving, it doesn't mean you can act recklessly or have your way at this school."

"And aren't you too narcissistic? Do you really think that no girl can reject your conditions just because you pursue them?"

"If that were the case, the president and I wouldn't still be single. I won't mention my own conditions, but even someone as outstanding as the president hasn't found their life partner. Let alone you."

Yu Ishikami's words hit Miyuki Shirogane hard, although Yu Ishikami didn't realize it. But for Minachi Shinya, these words were just a drizzle. They didn't understand him well enough, so they could only make such judgments.

However, for Miyuki Shirogane, Yu Ishikami's words were undoubtedly a critical blow.

In fact, Yu Ishikami was right. Miyuki Shirogane, even now, didn't have a girlfriend, and he didn't have many opportunities to interact with female classmates. Most of his time was dedicated to studying and working, and his relationships with his classmates were more in the context of being the president. So, his interactions with those girls were not deep. Apart from the two female students in the student council, Miyuki Shirogane didn't have much interaction with girls from a young age. Of course, family members were an exception. It was heard that Miyuki Shirogane even had a younger sister.

However, seeing that Yu Ishikami seemed intent on continuing the topic, Miyuki Shirogane immediately interrupted him.

"Yu Ishikami, if you can stop bringing up this topic, we can still be good friends!"

"Right, Yu Ishikami!"

Miyuki Shirogane used a commanding tone to address Yu Ishikami, who seemed a bit intimidated by his forceful presence.

"Okay, President. Let's drop this topic. Let's continue discussing something else, like the relationship between Minachi and Fujiwara-senpai!"

Yu Ishikami, with a sincere attitude, faced this question. Then he turned his head back to his game console, no longer looking into Miyuki Shirogane's eyes. After all, he felt that if he said too much, the president might shut him down.

"Since Minachi already has his own way of handling his relationship with Fujiwara-senpai, we outsiders don't need to get involved anymore."

"But, President, I'm still curious. Why does Fujiwara-senpai always blush and leave when she sees you lately? It seems like she doesn't want to talk to you."

"Although it could be because she's too shy to stay here, in the same place."

"But her behavior greatly affects our student council's work since she is a member of the council."

"However, the root of these issues lies between you two. So, can you tell me, after being open about your relationship, what exactly happened between you two?"

After learning about Minachi Shinya and Chika Fujiwara's engagement, and especially since it was the male side who broke it off, Miyuki Shirogane was incredibly curious about the future development. After all, Chika Fujiwara's behavior, even though she was a girl, why would she blush and leave every time? Wasn't once or twice enough? Was it necessary to continue for such a long time, almost half a Tsuki?

In fact, Minachi Shinya also had some doubts about this matter. After all, Minachi Shinya didn't have anything important going on at the moment. His works were being automatically updated every day. However, the release of new works had to wait until the old ones reached a certain stage and gained enough popularity to extract from them.

The current technology products of the Minachi Group were enough to generate significant profits for the company group. Moreover, the company's products hadn't truly spread worldwide yet, and there were still some rare areas where they hadn't been widely introduced for sale. So, it required some time for selling.

And if the tech tree climbed too quickly, the world couldn't keep up, and his approach would be considered monopolistic. If it weren't for partnering with the Shiju Group this time, the Minachi Group would have been divided among other company groups.

Minachi Shinya's current decision was to wait until their company's products were spread worldwide. Then, he would consider whether to launch the latest technological products. He also wanted to observe if any other companies could come up with something similar during the period when his company's products were being sold.

He only needed to maintain his company's technological products at the forefront of the world.

"If we're talking about what kind of contact or interaction caused the current situation after being honest and open about our relationship, I'm not really sure."

"Originally, Fujiwara-senpai didn't know about this marriage. She found out only after she went home and confirmed it with her family."

"After that, the only place where we had the most interaction and contact was this student council. As you know, every time she saw me, she would turn around and leave immediately."

"I didn't even have a chance to ask her anything."

_______

"But in my opinion, she probably received accurate information from her parents but found it difficult to accept. So, she has been avoiding me during this time!"

"But all of this doesn't matter. The inevitable will happen. Even if she tries to hide, someday she will have to face it."

Minachi Shinya, in fact, had a nonchalant attitude towards this. He took things as they came because he was completely different from his past self, and he had a broader future ahead of him.

"By the way, it's fortunate that Minachi's fiancée is Fujiwara-senpai. If it were Sisaki-senpai, things would have been disastrous."

Yu Ishikami made his own choice, and in his view, if he had to choose between these two as his life partner, he would definitely choose Chika Fujiwara.

"Oh, Ishikami, why did you make such a choice? Do you prefer Fujiwara-senpai more among the only two female students in our student council?"

"President, my decision is quite reasonable. After all, if I had to confess my feelings to one of them, I would definitely choose Senpai Fujiwara."

"Regardless, the personalities of Fujiwara-senpai and Sisaki-senpai are drastically different."

"I personally find it easier to get along with Fujiwara-senpai's personality and find it difficult to connect with Sisaki-senpai's cold personality."

"Moreover, judging from their everyday behavior, Sisaki-senpai is more dominant. If the two of them were to be together, it would inevitably result in a different kind of relationship, one where I would be more vulnerable."

While Yu Ishikami was enthusiastically talking about the differences between these two individuals and sharing his thoughts, at that very moment, Chika Fujiwara and Kaguya Shinomiya arrived at the student council.

It seemed that they usually came to the student council at this time. They coincidentally encountered this situation. However, Minachi Shinya and Miyuki Shirogane, who were sitting opposite them, could clearly see a slight change in their expressions, especially regarding Yu Ishikami's opinions about them. They seemed particularly concerned.

"You see, Fujiwara-senpai, although she has a somewhat quirky personality and tends to cheat when playing games, she's still someone easy to get along with in terms of personality."

"But the other person, Sisaki-senpai, her personality always makes it difficult to connect, and working together with her feels like a lot of pressure. Looking into her eyes feels like she wants to kill someone."

"Besides, there's a huge difference in their figures. I personally prefer Fujiwara-senpai's physique."

Yu Ishikami didn't notice at all, but behind him stood the two people who should never have appeared there.

And at this moment, his words were already heading in the worst possible direction. Even though Miyuki Shirogane was sitting across from him, desperately giving him a signal, he didn't notice.

However, Minachi Shinya found it rather entertaining. He wanted to see how this situation would unfold in the end.

"You see Fujiwara-senpai's figure, it can be described as super hot. Her physical development is nothing like that of a high school student. She has the perfect figure."

Upon hearing Yu Ishikami's evaluation of her, Chika Fujiwara's face became quite displeased. She even crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Yu Ishikami with increasing disdain, feeling more like a bug.

On the other side, Kaguya Shinomiya became even more interested in this topic, and her expression turned colder.

"Hmm, how should we describe Vice President Kaguya's figure? Maybe it's because she hasn't reached the developmental stage yet!"

"Overall, it's a bit disappointing. After all, someone as exceptional as Sisaki-senpai still has such a flaw."

"Fortunately, the activities Sisaki-senpai participates in are not archery, or else with Fujiwara-senpai's figure, the bowstring would hit her chest."

While talking, Yu Ishikami even gestured with his hands, completely unaware of the fact that the two people were standing behind him, their faces becoming quite unsightly. It seemed that if Yu Ishikami said a few more words, things that shouldn't be said, they would immediately react.

"Oh, Sisaki, I apologize for having such a flaw!"

With an eerie tone, Kaguya Shinomiya spoke from behind Yu Ishikami.

"It's over, there's no saving it."

Miyuki Shirogane also muttered to himself with a regretful expression. Even though he had given so many hints, Yu Ishikami, unexpectedly, didn't notice this situation.

It served him right for encountering this calamity.

"Yu Ishikami is truly useless, a perverted NEET loser."

Chika Fujiwara's tone was not good, and she somehow produced a piece of paper from somewhere, relentlessly smacking it against Yu Ishikami's head. However, the attack didn't seem to have much force, but the effect was quite satisfactory.

"It's great, this is just Fujiwara's punishment. If it were someone else, it wouldn't be this simple."

As she said this, Kaguya Shinomiya's eyes sparkled with crimson light, casting a chilling atmosphere over the student council. Everyone present couldn't help but feel a chill, especially Yu Ishikami.

"President, I suddenly feel a bit unwell. I've decided to go back early and write my will. Please grant me permission..."

Before Miyuki Shirogane could say anything, Yu Ishikami immediately picked up his bag and walked towards the student council's entrance, leaving the school.

"Take care, Yu Ishikami. If I don't see you again, I'll consider today as the most unforgettable day of my life, and I'll burn paper money for you every year on this day."

Minachi Shinya silently thought in his mind, but he couldn't say such words out loud. Besides, such a thing would never happen.

After all, it was just a slip of the tongue, even if these two were a bit petty. Chika Fujiwara had already punished Yu Ishikami.

Yu Ishikami, as the helmsman of a large company, would never be so petty as to target Yu Ishikami.

However, giving him a taste of hardship could still be done. It was clear that Yu Ishikami shouldn't leave his house in the next few days. If he did, who knows what might happen.