Chapter 26: Application to Establish a Club
"Knock, knock, knock..."
The door to the Student Council Office was knocked on on a Friday during the first week of May.
"Come in."
"Excuse us."
Two figures opened the door and walked into the office, one after the other. Hearing the footsteps, the two men processing documents in the room looked up simultaneously, showing a hint of surprise.
"Oh? Yukinoshita-san... and this must be Sakayanagi Arisu from Class A, right? Welcome to the Student Council."
Seeing the arrival of the two beautiful girls, Nagumo Miyabi's face broke into a gentle smile. Even though Sakayanagi rarely showed her face outside of class in Class A, Nagumo Miyabi accurately called out her name.
"Yukinoshita-san, and... Sakayanagi-san, is there something you need at the Student Council?"
Horikita Manabu, sitting behind the desk, glanced at Yukinoshita and Sakayanagi as they entered. His meaningful gaze, hidden behind his glasses, lingered on the latter for a second before he quietly asked the purpose of their visit.
"President Horikita, Vice President Nagumo, good afternoon. We're visiting suddenly for some reasons, so I apologize in advance if we've disturbed your work."
Sakayanagi did not immediately state her purpose but greeted them with a sweet smile, and Yukinoshita nodded along.
"No, it's no bother at all. Both of you are first-years from Class A, right? Your classmates have been quite active these past few days, contacting several second-year students... If you need some kind of walkthrough guide, as long as you negotiate with me properly, I will certainly provide you with satisfactory help." Looking at Sakayanagi's adorable smiling face, the smile at the corner of Nagumo's mouth grew richer.
"Thank you for your concern. We will seriously consider your proposal."
"Nagumo, what are you secretly plotting now? You're the Vice President of the Student Council now; you need to lead by example and not cause a bad impression for the Student Council." Horikita Manabu looked at Nagumo Miyabi with a somewhat sharp gaze.
"Don't be so serious, President Horikita. I haven't done anything, honestly. I'm just fulfilling the Student Council's duty of preventing students from cheating on this midterm exam." Nagumo Miyabi shrugged his shoulders, showing a carefree expression.
"Is that so... You must have business here at the Student Council?"
Horikita Manabu responded nonchalantly, ceasing his conversation with Nagumo Miyabi and turning to look at Sakayanagi and Yukinoshita. Sakayanagi still wore her sweet smile, while Yukinoshita beside her showed a thoughtful expression.
"It's like this, Yukinoshita-san and I plan to establish a club..."
"A club?" Horikita Manabu gave Sakayanagi a strange look. As the Student Council President, he knew Sakayanagi's identity, which is why he was surprised by her sudden idea to establish a club.
"Yes. Actually, I was helped by someone when I first entered school, and the feeling of being helped by a kind person warmed my whole body. Now that I've come to this school, I hope to pass on this warmth to others... Therefore, we plan to establish a club called the 'Service Club,' and its main activity will be for members to help out as volunteers, passing on this goodwill and warmth to others."
The petite Sakayanagi spoke with emotion and fervor, appropriately displaying a compassionate expression. Her tone and expression were incredibly infectious, and her acting was as superb as a child star performing on stage. Yukinoshita, who knew the truth, looked at the eloquently speaking Sakayanagi and suddenly felt that the other person's proficiency was somewhat unfamiliar.
"Oh?" Nagumo Miyabi showed a look of surprise. After thinking for a few seconds, he smiled in sudden understanding.
"Sakayanagi-san, if you want to use the club to get the school's point subsidy, I can have some second-year students join your club, and I can even personally arrange for this point subsidy to be given to you."
"We appreciate Nagumo-senpai's kindness, but we are serious. We truly hope to help more people and sincerely wish that more students can join the team to help others." Sakayanagi bowed slightly, expressing her thanks to Nagumo Miyabi.
Of course she's serious, after all, this way she can take a larger cut of the profits, Yukinoshita thought to herself. She stood quietly beside Sakayanagi, saying nothing.
"Is that so? It seems Sakayanagi-san is a... gentle girl."
Seeing Sakayanagi's sincere attitude, Nagumo smiled with a relaxed expression.
Nagumo Miyabi hesitated for a moment and ultimately decided not to use the word "naive," after all, this is a school where merit is everything, and showing inexplicable kindness over a small matter would only affect himself and his class.
However, he didn't plan to remind Sakayanagi. In his view, he could wait until Sakayanagi-san and Yukinoshita-san's club encountered difficulties and setbacks, and then approach them as a sunny, cheerful young man, offering advice and help to get closer to them.
At this moment, Nagumo Miyabi's phone, placed on his desk, gently vibrated. A few seconds later, it vibrated two or three more times in quick succession.
He picked up the phone and glanced at it, showing an apologetic look to those present: "Sakayanagi-san, your idea is excellent. I believe President Horikita will surely approve your application. If you need help, you can contact me anytime. You underclassmen can ask any second-year student for my contact information... I apologize, but something has come up suddenly on my end, so I won't talk any longer. President Horikita, two underclassmen, I'll be leaving now."
After a brief farewell, Nagumo Miyabi gathered his things and left in a hurry.
Watching Nagumo leave, Horikita Manabu adjusted his glasses, ultimately swallowing his doubts and addressing the two in an official manner: "Then, did you bring your application form?"
Yukinoshita nodded and took a piece of paper filled with various information from her bag, handing it to Horikita Manabu. The content on it had been carefully polished by Sakayanagi, Yukinoshita, and Hikigaya—three students with top scores in liberal arts. It was not only written in a righteous and reasonable manner but also fully embodied harmony and friendship, making it impossible to find fault with.
Horikita Manabu's brow slightly furrowed as he carefully reviewed the content on the paper. The club's name, purpose, activities, and schedule were already written on it. However, two points on the paper concerned him: one was the specific restrictions placed on the duration of club activities and the club funds, requiring that the volunteer work time not exceed twenty-eight hours a week and that two-tenths of the funds be taken to maintain the club. The other was the club's large membership, which included not only a large number of first-year Class A students but also several upperclassmen who agreed to join and left their class and name on the paper.
"Sakayanagi-san, may I ask how you convinced those upperclassmen to join?"
Yukinoshita could answer this question, as she was the one responsible for stating the pros and cons to the upperclassmen and getting them to agree to join the club. She not only obtained the test papers from them for free but also made them sign a non-disclosure agreement.
"Who knows? Perhaps they are all just very, very good people." Sakayanagi smiled slightly, avoiding Horikita's question.
"With so many members in your club, and requiring them to do volunteer work, the points subsidized by the school alone won't be enough at all."
"You don't need to worry about that. A club that serves people will naturally be welcomed and supported by everyone."
"Is that so..."
Horikita Manabu closed his eyes in deep thought. After a long while, he suddenly opened his eyes and quietly sighed: "As expected of Director Sakayanagi's... ahem, Sakayanagi-san. I didn't expect you to come up with such a method to bypass the school rules. It's a truly interesting idea. If you are willing to join the Student Council, I will offer you a Secretary position. If you demonstrate strong enough ability within the Student Council, I might even promote you to Vice President. What do you say?"
Hearing Horikita Manabu's sigh and promise, Yukinoshita's eyes widened slightly in surprise. She hadn't expected that President Horikita, with just a few words, could see through the essence of this club and even offer the position of Student Council Secretary.
"That's truly kind of you, but unfortunately, this method was not my idea. Furthermore, in my opinion, having this club is already enough to gain the support of many students."
"It's not your work? I really want to see who came up with this plan..." Horikita Manabu took out his signing pen. "After the school finds out about this club, I don't know how they'll handle it."
"Indeed. I also want to know how my father... ahem, how the school will view this club." For some reason, Sakayanagi showed an expectant look like a little girl.
"Well, regardless of how the school handles it for now. In any case, I have no reason to stop it... Therefore, in my name as the Student Council President—"
"I approve the application to establish the 'Service Club'."
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