Macho Man Doesn't want a Slice-of-Life

To the students, the student council election was still a big deal. In the closed-off world of Shuchiin, something like this only happened once a year.

Occasionally, one could overhear speculation in the classrooms about who the next president might be.

"Ishigami, how's that thing coming along?"

"You mean the summary of the president's achievements? I've already made a PowerPoint."

Ishigami handed Rinji a USB drive.

"Unless something unexpected happens, it'll be the president's win again. Almost everyone knows he was acting president of the Dainippon Bank over the summer. It's proof of his abilities, and he already had popularity among students. His chances are at least 90%."

"90%, huh? Until it's 100%, we can't let our guard down."

Rinji placed a document on Ishigami's desk.

"What's this?"

"Detailed plans about inviting university professors to lecture at Shuchiin. The president arranged something like this before, but it was usually just lecturers giving half-hearted talks. This time, it's actual professors. Plus, there will be field trips to different universities and Q&A sessions with professionals in various industries. I've arranged it all."

"...That's insane efficiency. But is this really necessary?"

"It's essential for victory."

Rinji was firm.

"We can't just make students think he wants to maintain the status quo. We need to show that he's planning to go even further. That's the key."

"Got it." Ishigami placed the documents in his bag. "Leave this to me. I'll compile it into a proper presentation."

"Good. By the way, what's the secretary up to during all this?"

"Drafting post-election strategies and canvassing. Fujiwara-senpai is pretty popular, especially with the boys."

"I see."

"Since it's a school-wide vote, club members are a major factor. Especially—"

"The Shuchiin Club Union, right?"

Rinji already knew what he meant.

The Club Union acted as a kind of watchdog over the student council. The club presidents each had many members, so their votes were significant.

"Yeah, those guys..."

"No need to worry about them," said Rinji. "They're all on my side."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because I told them. If something goes wrong with the vote count, some people—and even their families—might be in trouble."

"Did you just threaten them!?"

"As long as they cooperate, we'll all get along fine," Rinji said calmly. "We need to use every method available to push the odds to 100%."

"..."

Rinji leaned back in his chair, looking out the window across the desk.

Iino was still out there, handing out flyers. No matter how ignored she was, she didn't give up.

"She's got guts. But the outcome is already set."

"You really do drop rebellion lines at every turn," Ishigami said with a wry smile. "Still, yeah… with rules like Iino's, the students probably won't accept her. I doubt she'll last."

"No."

Rinji smiled.

"I actually kind of like her rules. If I were running for president, my policies might be even stricter—and I wouldn't ask for anyone's opinion."

"..."

"Too bad. She's trying to do the same thing I would. But she doesn't have the tools. She wants to go against the crowd without having the power to make people submit. In the end, she's just a passionate amateur."

"...Rinji, do you hate Iino?"

"Not at all. She was my comrade in the Public Morals Committee. That's why I'm warning her. Whether she listens or not is up to her."

With that, Rinji stood up and walked to the classroom door.

"Where are you going?"

"To the Mass Media Club. I'm having them publish some of the president's achievements—get some votes before the election."

---

Student Council Election Forecast Express—this was a bulletin written by the Mass Media Club and posted on the student board for everyone to read.

It recorded information about each candidate on the paper's layout, using bar graphs to display the support rate of every candidate across different school years.

There were three candidates running for student council president:

Miyuki Shirogane (2nd Year): Support Rate 71%

Miko Iino (1st Year): Support Rate 16%

Hayato Hongo (2nd Year): Support Rate 13%

From the newspaper, it was easy to see that Shirogane had an overwhelming lead. However, whether this advantage would last until the final vote was still uncertain. There could always be unexpected developments.

"No surprise there, it's President Shirogane after all—such a dominant lead."

"Iino's working really hard too."

After posting the bulletin, Mass Media Club members Karen Kino and Erika Kose were about to leave when a male student approached them.

"At least show some concern for your classmate's campaign."

It was Hayato Hongo, a student from Class 2-C and one of the candidates.

"Ah, it's Hongo—the one in dead last."

"Could you not say it like that? Even if you're not wrong…"

Scratching his head with a wry smile, Hongo spoke to the two clubmates. "Even though I'm trailing now, there's still a chance to turn things around before the official vote."

Karen Kino: "No, you don't. Shirogane's leadership is simply on another level."

Erika Kose: "Get real. The moment Kaguya-sama stood by his side, the election was already over."

Hongo: "...Don't you two have any sense of objectivity?"

He didn't press the matter and instead tapped the paper posted on the board with a grin. "Don't you think it's strange? Sure, Shirogane's excellent. But for an external student to hold such high support rates for two consecutive terms—doesn't that seem suspicious?"

"…"

"What are you trying to say?"

"This reeks of an inside job," Hongo said, eyes narrowing. "You're the Mass Media Club, right? A hidden scandal in the student council election would be big news."

His plan was simple: create negative press for Shirogane so his votes would split between him and Iino. Defeating Iino at least might be possible.

But what he didn't know… was that Rinji and Kaguya were hidden just around the corner, having listened to every single word.