"Amane, don't you think this leverage came a little too easily?"
Horikita Manabu's lips curled into a pleasing arc.
It made Amane feel a bit...
Well, it made her miss Suzune.
'I'm definitely going to pay back everything Manabu did to her, right back to him once we're back.'
"A trap? If it was a trap from the very start, then that means specifically targeting Hirata-kun for cheating was just a coincidence, right? If not Hirata, it would have been someone else. They might even openly make a scapegoat of someone to force a chance for a retest?"
Ayanokouji figured out all the connections in an instant.
But what he couldn't understand was...
If Amane hadn't stepped forward, if no one had pleaded for Hirata, wouldn't that leverage have been solidly confirmed?
What other methods did that man, Horikita Manabu, have prepared?
"What if I hadn't spoken up for Hirata?"
Amane voiced the doubt in her heart; this was the one point she simply couldn't figure out—what backup plan Horikita Manabu had.
"I would have called Suzune. In that case, you still would have stepped forward to plead for Hirata."
Horikita Manabu's answer made Amane puff out her cheeks in anger.
Wasn't this just plain cheating?
If Amane didn't take the bait, he'd switch to the little sister offensive.
Once Suzune learned that Hirata, one of the few capable people in her class, was about to be abandoned, she would definitely try every means to contact Amane, who was still in the meeting room, and beg her to intervene and save Hirata.
And if Suzune asked personally, Amane would have no choice but to agree.
Everything would still fall right back into Horikita Manabu's plan.
Amane felt a wave of rueful admiration.
In her previous encounters with Horikita Manabu, she'd always come out significantly ahead.
So this time, seeing him presiding over the student council meeting, she hadn't taken it entirely seriously. She never expected that a moment of carelessness would lead to both her and Ayanokouji being outmaneuvered here.
Feeling a bit unable to swallow this frustration, Amane decided she wanted to see what Horikita Manabu looked like when he was flustered.
"Then what if I insist on reporting President Horikita for abusing his authority to wrongfully rule an innocent student like Hirata as a cheater?"
"Miyako-san, please don't do anything rash!"
Seeing Amane ready to fight Horikita Manabu to the mutual end, Chabashira Sae felt a shiver run down her spine.
She had just witnessed Amane's formidable skill in negotiation and debate, but she had also seen that Amane held no reverence or fear for anyone.
Such a person was undoubtedly the type most prone to causing major trouble.
The entire Class D was already teetering on the brink of collapse.
If she let Amane cause more chaos, there was a real chance Horikita Manabu would stubbornly force nearly half the class to drop out.
"Amane, have you forgotten my introduction of the student council during the club orientation?"
Horikita Manabu adjusted his glasses and was about to continue when he heard words from Amane that made his blood pressure spike.
"Can't say I paid much attention, honestly. I was busy talking with Suzune at the time."
Horikita Manabu looked at Amane, speechless.
She said 'Suzune' with more familiarity than he, her own brother, did.
But then, considering he might need to rely on Amane to look after Suzune in the future, he decided not to press the issue.
"The student council has been granted significant authority by the school, and the council president especially so. If I exercise my presidential authority, I can finalize your class's expulsion issue today."
"Even with complaints and demands for accountability, I have ways to ensure the expulsion procedures for your classmates are completed before my term ends."
"Once it's a done deal, the school won't revoke the expulsions no matter what. At worst, I'd just bow in apology and be removed from the president's position. So... you have no grounds to bargain with me."
Having said that, Horikita Manabu stood up, looking down at everyone present.
"Perhaps some of you will become leaders in your class, pillars of your grade, or even figures known throughout the school in the near future."
"You might even sit in this very student council president's seat. In short, you are a group filled with limitless potential... However, right now, in this meeting room, what I say goes. I will now announce the final ruling for Class D."
His imposing declaration left both Amane and Ayanokouji with no choice but to listen quietly.
For no other reason than that Horikita Manabu currently had the right to speak such words.
"From now on, a review team led by Nagumo Miyabi will be formed to conduct a secondary review of the grades determining expulsions for Class D. The criterion for expulsion this time will be the overall subject average. I must have your answer by 5 PM this Saturday. Understood?"
"I will begin preparations immediately after the meeting adjourns."
Before Horikita Manabu, even Nagumo Miyabi could only lower his head respectfully and obey the order.
A genius toying with another genius wasn't particularly surprising.
But if an ordinary person toyed with a genius, they would become the center of attention.
But what if an ordinary person simultaneously toyed with two monstrous geniuses?
Nagumo Miyabi didn't dare to imagine.
Horikita Manabu was often joked about as the solitary, aloof president because he never displayed his full capabilities in front of the student council members.
Thus, people quipped that the reason he didn't show his strength was that, in Horikita Manabu's eyes, no one worthy of his seriousness had yet appeared.
But today, he had made an exception for Amane and Ayanokouji.
"Does anyone else have any objections?"
Horikita Manabu's gaze was directed towards the wall at the back of the meeting room.
Yet the pressure emanating from him forced everyone to uneasily lower their heads, avoiding his line of sight.
"No objections."
"Then, this meeting is adjourned."
Having said that, Horikita Manabu led the way, hands clasped behind his back, and strolled leisurely out of the classroom.
Tachibana Akane, seeing this, hurriedly scurried after him.
The oppressive atmosphere in the meeting room vanished in an instant.
"Dammit! You! Do you only get happy if we get expelled?!"
Yamauchi grabbed Amane by the collar, shouting his question. His bloodshot eyes made him look like a gambler who had lost everything.
"Yeah, pretty much."
Yamauchi seemed not to have expected Amane to answer his question so directly.
He was just about to say something more when he felt a sharp pain on the back of his neck. Then, he gradually began to lose consciousness.
"What a waste of my time."
After complaining, Amane stepped right over Yamauchi's prone form and headed for the door.
Kushida, who had been crying for what felt like ages, her eyes now red and swollen from the effort, had initially thought about joining Yamauchi in confronting Amane.
But after seeing Yamauchi get taken down by Amane in one move...
She abandoned that idea.
She just wanted to earn others' trust; she wasn't stupid. What kind of friendship was worth going that far for?
Horikita Manabu and Tachibana Akane arrived at the student council's private terrace.
From this spot, they could take in the entire view of the sports grounds.
Tachibana Akane stole glances at Horikita Manabu's profile, several times on the verge of speaking but stopping herself.
Though her actions were subtle, Horikita Manabu noticed nonetheless.
"Did you want to say something, Secretary Tachibana?"
"Manabu... I mean, President... why did you say those things at the end that are so easy for people to resent you for?"
Tachibana looked puzzled at Horikita Manabu's silhouette, stretching longer and longer in the setting sun's afterglow.
"Because... occasionally, even I want to show off my cool side in front of my juniors..."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.