Chapter 1 Part I

There was only a little time left for us as first-year students.

I used the time between classes to take a quick bathroom break.

On the way back to class, I happened across two familiar upperclassmen in the midst of a deep conversation.

The first was the current student council president, 2nd-year student Nagumo Miyabi. He was accompanied by his predecessor, 3rd-year student, Horikita Manabu.

It was probably by sheer coincidence, but Nagumo spotted me immediately.

The moment he waved at me, it seemed like I had lost the opportunity to pretend I hadn't noticed and head back to class.

"Yo Ayanokōji. Did you manage to pass the end-of-term exam?"

In contrast to Nagumo's direct question, the elder Horikita just calmly looked in my direction.

"Somehow."

He had engaged me with a meaningless conversation.

"How cold. I don't think that's the right attitude to have when the student council president is right in front of you."

"…Is that so?"

I straightened up a little bit. I wasn't sure if it was enough for him, but it should be somewhat less objectionable.

"Well, whatever. You've come by at just the right time. There's something I've been wanting to ask you."

Before he continued, Nagumo let show a delighted expression, as if he was glad that the three of us were alone.

"In order to divert attention away from the slander that had been going around about Ichinose Honami, it seems that someone went and posted a bunch of rumors about various first-year students on the school forums. Now, I wonder, just who would do such a thing?"

He was testing me with his words. No, it was entirely possible that he had already seen right through me.

It didn't matter how much information he had, my attitude wouldn't change.

"Well, I have no idea. But at the end of the day, they've caused me nothing but trouble."

"Oh yeah, you were a victim too, weren't you? What happened with that again…?"

"The school's announcement made it pretty clear that we shouldn't be talking about that. I don't think even the student council president is an exception to that."

Due to the warning, this sort of inquisitive behavior should be avoided.

"It's as Ayanokōji says, Nagumo. You should refrain from saying anything too carelessly."

With the elder Horikita backing me up, Nagumo immediately backed down. It didn't seem like he was particularly interested in touching on the subject.

"So, what have you two celebrities been talking about?"

"Just having a little discussion with Horikita-senpai. Ain't that right?"

Seeking confirmation, Nagumo looked to the elder Horikita, who responded with a simple nod.

I was slightly concerned about the location they were holding their conversation. The two of them had gathered in the hallway near the first-year classrooms, so there was a lingering feeling that something was out of place.

"Tomorrow, a step ahead of the other school years, the third-year students will begin a decisive battle that will determine whether Horikita-senpai will successfully graduate from Class A or not. So I wanted to hear about it from him personally. Are you interested too?"

Unlike the rest of the student body, the third-year students still had to take more than one special exam.

The fact that it was starting so soon wasn't that surprising.

I didn't know what Nagumo wanted me to say, but I responded to him honestly anyway.

"I'm not particularly interested. Ultimately, I don't have the time to be worrying about my upperclassmen."

Toward my complete lack of interest, Nagumo let show a somewhat dissatisfied expression.

"How cold. You're acting like that just because you're Horikita-senpai's favorite, aren't you?"

I couldn't remember ever being particularly favored by him.

In fact, over the past year, I could probably count the number of times I had gotten involved with him on one hand.

"Don't delude yourself, Ayanokōji. All that preferential treatment doesn't make you special. You just got lucky with the environment you were placed in. That's right… It's all thanks to that watchful, anxious classmate of yours right over there."

Confused, I looked over my shoulder and saw the figure of Horikita, watching us from a distance.

It was too much of a coincidence for this selection of people to have gathered here by chance alone.

"Are you the one who called her here, Nagumo?"

"It's only natural for me to reach out to the younger sister of my senpai. I'll be leading the younger generations as the student council president next year, after all."

Somehow, Nagumo seemed to have orchestrated everything in order to get both of the siblings to show up here.

I seemed to be the only person who was present by mere coincidence.

"Come here."

Nagumo bluntly called out to the younger Horikita.

"…The one who sent me this email… Was it you, president Nagumo?"

"Well, not exactly, but close enough. You're Horikita-senpai's little sister, right?"

"Yes… my name is Horikita Suzune."

Due to her older brothers presence, Horikita was reserved with her response.

"I didn't expect my predecessor's little sister to get placed in Class D after enrollment. I was surprised."

"What's your goal here Nagumo?"

Without so much as a glance at his sister, the elder Horikita pressed him for an answer.

After all, Nagumo probably had a reason for why he called them here in the first place.

However, Nagumo simply shook his head, as if to claim he had no ulterior motives.

"I just wanted to meet with you and your little sister."

His objective here was probably to evaluate her.

Coming to the same conclusion, the elder Horikita took the initiative.

"I'll say this now just so we're clear, but you had better not be thinking that you can use my sister to force a concession from me."

"Concession? Certainly not! Do you really think that I'd ever make a move on her? Such a cute underclassman and moreover my senpai's precious little sister?"

"For the sake of getting what you want, I think you'd do anything."

Nagumo didn't affirm the elder Horikita's cold words, but he didn't deny them either.

"Even so, you don't have to be so distant do you? If only you had told me about your sister earlier. If you had, I would've been able to invite her to the student council much sooner."

"What?"

Hearing something unexpected, both siblings were surprised.

"If it's my senpai's little sister, I can have her take over as the student council president after I graduate. The fact that she's the sister of a man who's done so much for our school makes her more than qualified enough."

"Don't use blood relationships as a means to evaluate somebody's capabilities. My sister has nothing to do with how well I performed as president."

"…That's right. I am not fit to be a member of the student council."

Horikita rejected Nagumo's invitation to join the student council. She just didn't have the self-confidence to be a part of it, given how her older brother had also dismissed the idea.

After all, when I had alluded to her about joining the student council in the past, her reaction had been just as negative.

Nagumo seemed to see something in Horikita's humble attitude.

"This meeting is just for introductions. I'll invite you again another day."

Whether or not Horikita actually wanted to join the student council was another matter. It was as if Nagumo was declaring that he would be actively involved with Horikita moving forward. By doing something so disruptive, he was probably searching for her brother's weak points.

"…Well then, um, I'm-"

Horikita attempted to get out of the conversation. Rather than wanting to get away from Nagumo, Horikita seemed as though she wanted to get away from her brother.

"The third-years aren't going to be here for very much longer, you know. Don't you think it'd be nice to be spoiled a little?"

"I'm sorry. If you'll excuse me."

Horikita, judging that any further conversation would be uncomfortable for her brother, quickly hurried back to the classroom. Given Horikita's reactions, anyone would've been able to see how bad a relationship the two siblings had with one another.

"It seems the two of you have a wonderful relationship, don't you Horikita-senpai?"

"Are you satisfied, Nagumo?"

No matter what scheme Nagumo was up to, the elder Horikita didn't seem concerned.

"I would cherish the time I have left with my little sister if I were you."

Even though Nagumo was partially trying to get a reaction from him, it was true that Horikita had come to this school to follow after her brother, and yet she had only been able to meet with him a couple of times so far.

"Anyways senpai. Please, do your best to instill a feeling of presence in the student body by graduating as a member of Class A. If you just so happened to demote down to Class B before graduation, even you won't be able to laugh it off, if you know what I mean?"

If that were to happen, he would probably be thought of as a failure. One who betrayed the expectations of the school and the students around him.

He was probably under quite a bit of pressure… No, he isn't the type of man who would be concerned about such a thing.

The elder Horikita sensed that the conversation had reached its conclusion and left without saying another word.

"Good grief. Of course this isn't enough to get him to take me seriously."

It seemed that Nagumo intended to obsess over his predecessor until the bitter end.

"Is it really so important for you to compete with the former president like this?"

During the training camp a while back, in order to deal with the elder Horikita, Nagumo had opted for a shameless strategy that dragged in the rest of the third-years as well.

"Of course. Taking down Horikita-senpai is the only objective I have left at this school."

After all, there are effectively no opportunities for second and third years to face off against each other.

Yet, it seemed that he intended to make it happen regardless of what forcible means he had to come up with.

"Well, what I do will depend on the details of the exam and Horikita-senpai himself."

It seemed that no matter how many enemies he makes, Nagumo intended to make things clear with the elder Horikita before graduation. Despite claiming otherwise, Nagumo would surely be deeply involved no matter what the details of the exam turned out to be.

After all, there was almost no time left for him to settle things with his senpai.

"Will there be any problems with next week's special exam on your end, president Nagumo? I wouldn't expect the second-years to have it easy either."

"Well, I wonder. Just carry on, hoping for my inevitable failure."

As the break was about to end, Nagumo wrapped up the conversation and took his leave.

Shortly after I returned to the classroom, my neighbor Horikita looked over at me.

"President Nagumo and my brother… what were they talking about?"

"If you were interested, you should've stayed until the end."

"That's…"

Well, it was a difficult conversation for her. She becomes docile and meek like a lamb when she's in front of her brother, after all.

"It's unusual that you stuck around and listened to their conversation in the first place. You've sure become someone who's attracting attention from all sorts of people, haven't you? I wonder if it's thanks to that relay race you had with my brother at the athletics festival?"

Her words were beautifully laced with a sarcastic irony. To be fair, it's not like I'm able to predict the future.

Everything doesn't always go the way I expect it to.

"It doesn't seem like there were many chances for you to get closer to your brother this past year."

"…So what?"

Horikita's mood got worse as soon as I brought up her circumstances with her older brother.

That being the case, it would've been better if I didn't get unexpectedly dragged into Nagumo's conversation.

Her concern about what had been discussed earlier with Nagumo was written all over her face.

"Don't you want to try and face him at least once before he graduates?"

"You don't understand anything. There's no way that my brother would look after me. Going out of my way to approach him when I know I would be treated cruelly is just plain stupid."

So you enrolled in the same school, satisfied with just watching over him instead?

"If my brother's interested in anyone… it's unpleasant, but he's only interested in you."

I was about to tell her that she was wrong, but I ended up stopping myself.

At the moment, Horikita wouldn't believe me even if I were to go into the details.

More than anything, it would be meaningless if she didn't have the courage to face him herself.

"Really? Well, maybe you're right."

I responded, cutting the conversation short.

While I think Horikita still had complaints, she didn't say anything else.