Just as the upperclassman was about to speak.
"It's my turn."
The man who had been standing silently on stage for a long time suddenly spoke.
Upon recognizing the person, the upperclassman's expression clearly froze.
"Horikita-senpai."
He immediately bowed respectfully, his tone filled with awe.
"New student, please come down with me. It's the Student Council President's speaking time now."
Upon hearing this, Akira followed the boxing club president and slowly walked down the podium.
He suddenly turned his head, only then realizing—the person before him was none other than Student Council President Horikita Manabu, who had given the speech at yesterday's entrance ceremony.
He was also the older brother of his desk partner, Horikita Suzune.
"Senpai, it seems you're quite afraid of the Student Council President."
"Shimizu-kun, you don't know! In this school, the Student Council's power is limitless. If you offend Horikita-senpai..."
"Whew—" The upperclassman let out a long breath, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with lingering fear. "Fortunately, the President was lenient. Otherwise, I almost crossed the line just now."
"In any case, I have high hopes for you, kohai." The boxing club upperclassman patted Akira's shoulder, his eyes gleaming with admiration. "This point subsidy is a unique treatment—something no one else gets." He lowered his voice, adding mysteriously, "If it weren't for your special circumstances, plus your extraordinary talent..."
Afterward, the upperclassman walked toward the boxing club recruitment booth, but before turning away, he looked back and tossed out one more line. "If you're interested, you're welcome to report to the boxing club anytime, even next month."
Before his words faded, he was already seated steadily at the recruitment table not far away, looking utterly confident, as if certain that Akira would definitely come.
Akira simply nodded at him.
This upperclassman was quite interesting, generously offering a 10,000-point subsidy each month just because he was a Class D student.
Was his confident demeanor because he had anticipated that Akira would inevitably face a point crisis next month?
The Student Council President began to introduce the Student Council's overview on stage and announced the recruitment plan.
"Currently, we are recruiting provisional members." His voice was unhurried. "A stricter formal selection will follow."
The President's gaze behind his glasses swept across the entire venue, specifically emphasizing, "We do not welcome those with naive illusions, nor do we tolerate any blemishes."
Upon hearing this, Akira understood the implied meaning perfectly: probably only the elites from Class A and Class B would be qualified to enter the Student Council's doors.
As he was leaving, a familiar figure caught his eye—Horikita was staring motionless at her older brother.
However, the Student Council President merely glanced at her indifferently before quickly shifting his gaze away.
Between these siblings, there seemed to be a tragic, thick barrier.
Friday arrived in a flash.
The information refreshed these past few days was all trivial, worthless data. For example:
[Miyake Akito joined the Archery Club]
[Ike Kanji desperately yearns for romance in his high school years]
[Sudo Ken's entrance assessment: Intelligence - E | Academic Ability - E | Athletic Ability - A | Judgment - D+ | Teamwork - D]
It was all inconsequential personal privacy, offering no help to his current situation.
Information was, after all, just information.
Akira saw this very clearly—he never expected the daily updated information to be immediately useful.
After all, this was just the beginning. There were still three full years of high school ahead.
Information was merely a supplementary tool, a nice-to-have.
It was worth mentioning that he officially joined the boxing club on Wednesday.
Every day after school, Akira would consistently train for two hours at the boxing club.
The president indeed kept his promise, transferring 10,000 points to him on the day he joined the club as agreed.
The first week of training was somewhat unexpected—there were no anticipated ring matches. He didn't even get to touch a sandbag, nor did he wrap his hands.
Instead, it was tedious basic training:
Jump rope, jumping jacks—these were the most basic physical training exercises.
Footwork drills like forward and backward slides.
According to the coach, Akira was making rapid progress. If he kept training at this pace, he'd be able to spar next month.
The school bell rang, and Akira was stuffing textbooks into his bag when he suddenly heard light footsteps behind him.
"Shimizu-kun!" Kushida leaned over, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Have you bought your boxing gloves yet?"
"Not yet." Akira zipped up his bag and turned to answer. "I plan to buy them next month."
"Then, when you have your match next month, can I come to watch?" Kushida clasped her hands together, her eyes shining brightly. "I've never seen boys box in person before!"
"Of course." Akira nodded. "But I heard you need to use points to buy tickets."
According to the boxing club president, while boxing was relatively unpopular in other high schools, it was a hot club at this school. Not only did it have a professional-grade ring, but it occasionally hosted exhibition matches, and the stands were often full.
School authorities had tacitly approved of the boxing club's activities.
The president once told him that this was because a former boxing club president spent a large amount of points to specifically apply for exclusive privileges from the school authorities.
'Of course, all spectators need to pay points.'
As for the specific points distribution mechanism, Akira wasn't very clear either.
He only knew that boxers who competed on stage received a basic appearance fee, and if they won, they could get additional bonus private points.
Akira decided to join precisely because of this double benefit—it could strengthen his body and earn him points, killing two birds with one stone.
"Damn it! I really want to join the boxing club too!" Yamauchi thumped his chest and stamped his feet. "But the president said all the spots are full!"
"Exactly." Ike echoed, his eyes gleaming with longing. "Fighting coolly in the ring would definitely attract a lot of girls!"
The two whispered in a corner.
In fact, the current members of the boxing club were fewer than twenty.
The long-term exhibition matches by a fixed lineup had already caused severe aesthetic fatigue among the audience.
It was this sense of crisis that prompted the president to decide to scout for truly promising talents among the new students.
Of course, the selection criteria were very strict.
The primary condition was a long-term athletic foundation—those applicants with weak punches or who failed the physical fitness test were, without exception, politely rejected by the president on the grounds of "not needing anyone for now."