Of course Kushida has to work extra hard.
After all, she was suddenly told by Shirogane that she'd joined the student council. And unlike Ichinose, who has more of a chill position, Kushida actually has to learn and handle real responsibilities as part of the "General Affairs" team.
Kushida is great at talking to people, smart, and athletic—like a well-rounded all-star.
Back in middle school, some of her friends were also in the student council.
So she knows a little bit about how the student council works, but hearing about it and actually doing it are two very different things.
Because—
If she messes up something like paperwork or scheduling, it could turn into a big problem.
Not only that, but if the president calls her out in front of everyone… ouch.
Joining the student council would stop being something to be proud of, and instead become something embarrassing. And if she keeps getting scolded, her reputation might take a hit.
Just thinking about that is scary.
So when she noticed that Shirogane, another newcomer, had already left, she stayed behind in the student council room.
As a newbie, she understands that you're supposed to show up early and leave late.
Even if she didn't get to come early today, staying late to leave a good impression still helps.
Of course, there's also the fact that she *wanted* to stay, but ended up getting stuck on the difficult work left by the previous General Affairs member.
She had picked up one of the work logs from the 14th student council—the most recent one—and even though she'd been reading it for a while, there were still several pages left.
And this was just *one year's* log from *one* person in General Affairs.
No wonder Kushida feels a bit overwhelmed.
Getting into the student council definitely isn't easy.
So even though the president told her she could go home, she still felt kind of embarrassed.
"President, I probably won't be much help for a while. I couldn't even finish reading the log from one of the previous members today."
Kushida stood up, feeling a bit ashamed.
Getting into the student council is supposed to be a good thing, but now, she just feels stressed.
She can't help wondering why Shirogane even recommended her. But then again, this is a chance he worked hard to get for her, and being in the student council does have its benefits.
So if she's not good enough, that's on her.
"..."
"Kushida."
"You were specially recommended by Shirogane."
Horikita Manabu said, "So if you run into problems, he should be the one to help you."
"I'm planning to assign you to his team, so you'll be working with him."
"And also."
The student council president seemed to smile a little.
"Shirogane seems to have quite a bit of talent in this area."
Quite a bit of talent, huh?
Kushida had already left her own desk and walked over to where Shirogane was sitting at the secretary's desk. She saw that he had brought over two thick stacks of documents.
Unlike Kushida, who only brought the task logs from the 14th student council secretary, Shirogane had gathered the records from all the previous secretaries.
Then he started reading them at a speed that didn't seem human.
And somehow, he still managed to finish reading them all before the end of the day.
It was honestly kind of insane.
But still—
"Looks like Shirogane has already finished reading some of them."
Kushida said.
"Which means he might be ready to start helping with student council work soon."
"Not bad—you've got a good eye."
Horikita Manabu replied, "But it's not good enough yet."
*Knock knock—*
Just then, a voice came from outside the door. It was a handsome blond boy—Nagumo Miyabi, the student council vice president—who had come back after leaving.
"You're all still working?"
"It's dinner time already."
"Unless you're staying late again today… Should I order food for everyone?"
Nagumo Miyabi said.
"I brought some grilled meat with me. If you don't mind, you and Kushida can have some too."
Nagumo spoke with warmth, acting like the caring younger classmate.
"If you care that much, then—"
The secretary with the bun hairstyle, Tachibana Akane, was about to say something, but Horikita Manabu quietly raised his left hand.
"We'll be finishing up soon anyway."
"Nagumo, what do you think of Shirogane?"
Horikita Manabu asked.
"You mean Shirogane?"
As soon as Nagumo stepped inside, he had noticed that the president, Secretary Tachibana Akane, and the first-year Kushida were all gathered around Shirogane Miyuki's desk.
"Is Shirogane already off work?"
Nagumo asked.
"He left an hour ago."
Horikita Manabu replied.
"Oh."
Nagumo nodded casually, like it didn't mean much.
"That's honestly a little too casual. Even though our president is pretty open-minded and lets us go do our own things once we finish our work,"
"new members usually have a lot of material to go through—stuff you can't just finish in a day or two. And yet, he left early on his first day."
"That's kind of... questionable."
"He's definitely not like Kushida."
Nagumo said that, then smiled when he noticed Kushida looking at him.
Even though he said it like that, Kushida had her own thoughts.
Was Nagumo-senpai trying to teach her how things work in the student council?
And also…
Was he complimenting her?
Kushida felt that President Horikita came off as cold and serious, while Nagumo-senpai seemed easier to get along with. But—
her experience from having so many friends told her that Nagumo-senpai wasn't as easy to deal with as he looked.
At that moment, an online onlooker passed by,
dragging along his "Kikyo waifu."
"I don't have any strict rules about this. I'm not forcing new members to stay,"
Horikita Manabu said. "As a newcomer, Shirogane's job is to get used to the secretary's duties."
"And since he's already done that part, I don't see a problem with him leaving early."
"And Kushida, if you can do the same, I'll let you leave early anytime too,"
Horikita Manabu added.
"Oh?"
Hearing that, Nagumo Miyabi started walking toward Shirogane Miyuki's desk.
There were two stacks of documents on it.
They were work logs from all the past secretaries.
From the oldest records available all the way to the most recent student council.
It looked like Shirogane Miyuki planned to go through everything the past secretaries had done.
Nagumo had done the same.
He was a capable and determined person, and after joining the student council, he spent three and a half days reading through all the past vice presidents' work logs.
Kushida was also listening from the side. Good at reading the room, she felt things getting awkward—she only stayed longer to be polite on her first day, but now it seemed like… there was some tension between the president and vice president.
And somehow, she'd been dragged into it.
"Shirogane left early because he already finished reading all 22 of these records,"
Horikita Manabu said.
"Eighteen of them have already been returned to their shelves, and the remaining four are stacked neatly on the desk."
"Don't you think they look a little thicker now?"
As he said that, Horikita Manabu opened the first log sitting on the desk.
It belonged to a secretary from the 11th student council.
Some pages had bookmarks made of cardstock, with extra notes written on them.
[There's a calculation mistake in this part. The numbers are a bit off—could be a recording error. Since it's from so long ago, the records aren't clear enough to figure out the correct data.]
[The math here is too complicated. It can be simplified. The simplified version goes like this: blah blah blah.]
In other words, Shirogane Miyuki wasn't just flipping through the logs quickly or pretending to read them fast—he was actually reading and even found mistakes in the notes left by earlier student council members.
Seeing this, Nagumo Miyabi picked up another logbook after looking at Horikita Manabu.
[Regarding the punishment for these two students, I think there are more effective ways to handle it—]
[This answer is correct, but the person who recorded it seemed to have personal feelings involved. Even though the student council is made up of students, and each student represents their own class, I think when using the student council's power, we should focus more on the council's goals.]
"..."
Nagumo put down that logbook and looked up at President Horikita.
"Are you sure Shirogane Miyuki wrote all of this himself?"
Before leaving the student council, Nagumo had already been keeping an eye on Shirogane. Back then, Shirogane had been skimming through all the logbooks like he was flipping through a comic.
It looked like he was just messing around.
At the time, Nagumo hadn't seen him make any notes.
And definitely not leave behind detailed corrections or advice for future members.
That's just crazy.
After all, Shirogane Miyuki was probably Horikita Manabu's secret weapon to balance things out against him.
So of course, Shirogane must have been someone Horikita recognized as capable.
But the way Shirogane had read those records so fast—those were official documents, not just a regular book.
They required thinking and understanding.
And yet—
That guy… he actually understood all of it at that insane speed?
"This handwriting doesn't match any of ours. You should be able to tell that."
Horikita Manabu said.