All students were told to gather in the gym.
For the first-years, it wasn't unfamiliar since they had just gone through the entrance ceremony last month, so they made their way to the gym without much trouble.
Still, this time felt a bit different.
Because last time it was only the first-years, but now the whole school was gathering together.
Everyone quickly understood why there were taped-off spots with class names at the front rows of the gym.
It was to keep order during big events like this.
This month, two first-year classes had switched their spots.
First-Year Class B and First-Year Class C swapped places. At the front of Class B's group, a boy stood there with a proud look on his face.
Even though he looked super arrogant, the tall, dark-skinned boy standing behind him gave off a strong sense of pressure, so even though other students were curious, no one dared to get too close.
"Damn Ryuen."
Of course, there were some who wanted to pick a fight with Ryuen.
Those were students from Class D, but even they knew better than to mess with Ryuen right now.
For the upperclassmen, it was a little surprising too.
It was rare to be called for a big meeting like this, which made everyone wonder—was there some major news?
Was there major news to announce?
Probably something about the new student council members. Thinking this, a second-year student from Class B straightened up a little.
Just like the entrance ceremony before, today's gathering was held under the name of the student council, so only student council members and the homeroom teachers were present. The school's higher-ups didn't show up at all. It showed how much independence the school gave to its students.
...
"I'm a little nervous," someone said.
In the first-year Class C area, students stood neatly in two lines—boys and girls separated.
A shy-looking girl spoke to Ichinose.
Since there was no behavior rules exam this month and the student council president hadn't started speaking yet, it was still considered free time for the students.
The girl talking to Ichinose had light green hair and looked a bit shy. She seemed like a little bird who wasn't ready to leave her parents yet.
Her name was Shiranami Chihiro.
She was shy and a little timid, the kind of person who made you want to protect her, so her classmates naturally took care of her.
Shiranami seemed to get along really well with Ichinose. When she was with Ichinose, she looked more relaxed.
Ichinose herself thought that Shiranami's small and delicate look reminded her of her own younger sister, so she didn't mind being like an older sister to her.
Of course.
For Ichinose, no matter which friend needed help or was troubled, she would always lend a hand.
After all, that's just the kind of good person she was.
"Today, the student council should be announcing the new council members," Ichinose said.
"Then congratulations, Ichinose!" The girls around her also started chatting with her.
It was clear how popular Ichinose was.
Last night, Ichinose had shared in the class group chat that she had been accepted into the student council and given the position of Disciplinary Committee Member. Even though it wasn't a very high position, everyone knew just how strict and serious this school was.
First of all, just getting into the student council is already a big deal, no matter what the position is.
Especially since it's been said that Katsuragi from Class A also tried to join, but he was rejected right away.
For the students from Ichinose's class, who had a grudge against Class A since last month, this was something to celebrate.
"Tch!"
A sound came from next to Ichinose's group.
It was Ryuen.
Even though he had already climbed up to Class B, he could still feel that annoying atmosphere coming from the class next door.
Normally, since Ryuen used to be from Class C, you'd expect him to try to go after Class B, the class just above his old one. But he didn't.
One reason was that last month's exam was about behavior rules. If he got caught trying anything shady, he could have lost a lot of points.
If that happened, all the effort he put into pulling his class together would've been wasted. He might have even lost his chance to climb higher for good.
Ryuen likes excitement, but not *that* much.
So he chose to stay put.
Besides—
He didn't think he needed to make a move himself.
Class C wanted to go after B Class because they were right above them. But there were others who were already keeping an eye on B Class.
That would be the students from Class A.
Sure enough, at the end of last month, Ichinose's class got into a fight with students from Class D and lost a ton of points.
Now looking back, it's not surprising at all that their class would get hit with dirty tricks.
After all, that class gave off a warm, goody-two-shoes vibe.
And people like that don't survive long in this school.
...
"Looks like this school is still as lively as ever."
In the area for First-Year Class A, a silver-haired girl spoke.
It was Sakayanagi Arisu.
Today, Sakayanagi was wearing the standard school uniform like everyone else, but she also had on a black beret. Just adding that one accessory somehow made her look about 30% cuter.
Unlike the other classes that lined up boys and girls separately, Class A had mixed lines, split into two columns.
At the front of one line was Katsuragi Kohei, with his follower Totsuka Yahiko standing behind him.
At the front of the other line was Sakayanagi Arisu, and right behind her was her loyal Kamuro.
This showed the split between the Katsuragi group and the Sakayanagi group. Their followers stood neatly behind them.
You didn't even need the student council president to point it out — anyone could see that Class A was clearly divided.
"Today's supposed to be about announcing the new student council members," Katsuragi said. "But even just for that, they're making every student show up, and even all the homeroom teachers are here too."
"Looks like the student council has more power than we thought," Katsuragi said. "Yesterday, Byakugan Miyuki from First-Year Class B got a spot doing odd jobs. It seems like President Horikita had decided that from the start."
"That's probably his reward for leading Class C up to Class B," Katsuragi said.
He said that because he didn't see Byakugan standing among the B Class students. When he looked toward the stage up front, he spotted Byakugan there instead.
Byakugan seemed to be talking with Tachibana Akane, the secretary who led the entrance ceremony last month.
It was clear that Shirogane had officially joined the student council and started working.
As expected from a student council's general affairs position, you had to do a bit of everything — and be good at it too.
"Speaking of which," Sakayanagi didn't respond, but a blond boy standing two spots behind Kamuro suddenly spoke up. "Katsuragi, didn't you also apply to join the student council yesterday? But now you're still here. Does that mean you didn't get accepted? You're from Class A too!"
"Or was it because you weren't strong enough and the president didn't approve you?"
This boy was tall and thin, excellent in both academics and sports, and very skilled at gathering information and tailing others.
Because of his tracking skills, Sakayanagi had given him a lot of responsibility, and he was now one of the top students in her faction.
His name was Hashimoto Masayoshi — though, honestly, there was nothing "just" or "righteous" about him at all.
Yesterday, while following Shirogane, he noticed Katsuragi also went to the student council. But Katsuragi never mentioned it afterward, clearly meaning he failed to get in. Now, with just a few words, Hashimoto had exposed Katsuragi's rejection.
And right now, he was mocking him, trying to provoke Katsuragi.
Unfortunately for him, Katsuragi was known for being calm and steady, and wouldn't fall for such cheap tricks so easily.
But his follower wasn't so patient. Totsuka Yahiko immediately spoke up, "Yes, Katsuragi did get rejected when he applied to the student council. But it's not because he wasn't strong enough. It's because our Class A is split into two factions. Even if Sakayanagi herself applied, she would have been rejected too."
So not only Katsuragi, but even Sakayanagi would've been turned down?
It sounded like he was trying to defend Katsuragi.
But.
With that one comment, he accidentally revealed that Class A was divided.
And not just that.
Now it wasn't only Katsuragi looking bad — he had dragged Sakayanagi down with him.
"..." Shiina.
Since she had moved up to Class B, she was now standing among Class A students.
But from Hiyori's point of view, this Totsuka Yahiko from the neighboring Class A didn't seem very smart.
"Idiot," Ryuuen said without holding back.
"What did you say?"
It had been just a normal class dispute a moment ago, but after Ryuuen mocked him, the already annoyed Totsuka snapped and glared over.
"Enough, Yahiko. Calm down," Katsuragi finally spoke. He stared straight at Hashimoto. "Class A is strong, but I don't think it's wise to show outsiders that we're fighting among ourselves."
"Our goal is to secure an overwhelming advantage."