If Sakayanagi Arisu hadn't interfered, Katsuragi Kohei would have essentially been the leader of Class A.
"That's an astonishing assessment, but my view differs slightly from yours." Sakayanagi Arisu pondered for a moment. "He is excellent, but he is not suited to survive in this school. If left unchecked, he will lead Class A to lose the competition."
"Is that why you stepped forward?" Suzuki Toru asked.
"I have many weaknesses myself, such as athletic ability; I can't compare to anyone. Therefore, I need strength beyond myself to achieve more."
Sakayanagi Arisu didn't seem to feel the slightest bit of inferiority about her body. Taking her cane should be fine.
"If that's the case, I hope you can move faster."
"Hehe, is it because Suzuki-kun doesn't want to see infighting within the class?"
"No, my meaning is if you don't hurry, I'll make a move."
As his words fell, the atmosphere became heavy and silent, and everyone reacted differently.
Kito Hayato showed little change in expression, Kamuro Masumi had an expression that seemed to say, "What are you talking about now?", and Hashimoto Masayoshi glanced at Sakayanagi Arisu, who still wore a faint smile on her face.
"Hehe, it seems to be my regret, not being able to see Suzuki-kun serious." Sakayanagi Arisu seemed genuinely regretful, but her eyes were filled with dangerous light, a feeling that she would definitely compete with him in the future.
"Do you want to play a game?" Suzuki Toru asked abruptly.
"Please tell me." Sakayanagi Arisu said seriously.
"As students of Class A, we will face encirclement and annihilation by three classes. With the slightest carelessness, the class will fall to the bottom." Suzuki Toru paused. "Only the most excellent leader can prevent this from happening, and I don't think you can do it."
"Hehe, I'm really being underestimated. I can't take those words as a joke, you know?" The smile on Sakayanagi Arisu's face grew more dangerous.
"Suzuki, do you favor Katsuragi more?" Hashimoto Masayoshi interjected.
"My opinion is the same as Sakayanagi's." Suzuki Toru shook his head.
Kamuro Masumi seemed to realize something and couldn't help but say, "You're not talking about yourself, are you?"
Connecting it to his previous words, Kamuro Masumi found this idea truly astonishing.
Having two leaders in Class A was already serious enough; was a third leader about to appear now?
"Before Class 1 ends, I will take control of the entire class and make Class A stand at the highest point." Suzuki Toru ignored Kamuro Masumi's words, as if stating a conclusion. "Before that, Sakayanagi, you can try to stop me, and you'd better be quick, or I'll be very disappointed in you."
As his words fell, the atmosphere suddenly solidified.
Suzuki Toru's words once again took everyone by surprise.
Under his gaze, Sakayanagi Arisu was silent for a moment, then the corners of her mouth slowly curled up, and she began to emit a strange laugh as if she had broken down, her whole body trembling uncontrollably, her eyes sparkling.
"Hehehehe... I really didn't misjudge him... This is wonderful... I haven't felt this kind of excitement in a long time... I've never been this excited..."
Kamuro Masumi was dumbfounded: "You actually broke Sakayanagi in one go?"
No, compared to her words, he preferred to call it 'prescribing the right medicine,' hitting exactly Sakayanagi Arisu's sensitive spot.
"Hehe, what if I can stop you?" Sakayanagi Arisu quickly returned to normal, though a smile still lingered on her face.
"If you can do it, I'll be your dog and call you master every day." Suzuki Toru said shamelessly. "If you can't, you'll have to wear cat ears, a maid outfit, and call me master every day, obeying my every command."
Hmm, no matter the outcome, he could fulfill a certain wish.
In a sense, Suzuki Toru had nothing to lose.
"How disgusting." Kamuro Masumi reacted the quickest. "Are you a lolicon, after all?"
Even Hashimoto Masayoshi had a strange expression; it was the first time he had heard such a blatant request.
Sakayanagi Arisu, however, smiled slightly: "It's alright, Suzuki-kun is also a boy in puberty, I can understand your perverted thoughts about girls, but only if you win."
At this moment, the girl bravely met Suzuki Toru's gaze, completely fearless.
"Hehe, I accept your invitation. Please perform well from now on, and please don't disappoint me."
She slightly emphasized her tone at the end of the sentence; this guy seemed to hold a grudge.
At this moment, Sakayanagi Arisu didn't believe she would lose at all; she just saw it as an interesting game.
Chapter 21: I Hope I Didn't Guess Right, Senior
In Class A, the current Student Council President, Horikita Manabu, was observing the new student before him.
The other party had a handsome, star-like appearance, black hair and black eyes, with clear, shining eyes. His developing body showed few traces of immaturity or naivety. Compared to Nagumo, he might even be superior.
Although he thought so, Horikita Manabu could feel that their temperaments were different. Nagumo had a cynical, carefree feeling, and his usual actions were like those of a playboy.
The other party, however, made him feel as if he were facing a boundless ocean; his first impression was that he couldn't fathom what this new student was thinking.
Since the start of school, this was the second new student to knock on the Student Council's door, and he was also a student from Class A.
Nevertheless, Horikita Manabu's face showed no expression.
Beside him, Akane Tachibana, the Student Council secretary, was also silently observing Suzuki Toru.
Akane Tachibana had been present when Horikita Manabu rejected Ichinose Honami last time. She had seen Ichinose Honami go from confident to nervous, then to disappointed and dejected, from start to finish.
This new student from Class A would probably show the same expression later.
"Suzuki Toru of Class 1-A, what is your reason for applying to join the Student Council?"
With the same opening, Akane Tachibana shifted her gaze from Horikita Manabu back to Suzuki Toru. Next, it should be some kind of self-introduction.
Akane Tachibana found it a bit boring.
"As your support, after you retire, I will help you deal with Nagumo, and we can also make a deal."
"Cough, cough, cough—"
As soon as the words fell, Suzuki Toru saw Akane Tachibana suddenly cough violently, as if she had choked.
Strange, had she drunk something?
"Akane, what's wrong?" Horikita Manabu asked.
"Nothing, absolutely nothing, I just accidentally sneezed!" Akane Tachibana hurriedly covered up her Gaffe, she couldn't believe what she had just heard.
Horikita Manabu withdrew his gaze from her and calmly looked at Suzuki Toru.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Literally. I saw information about you and Nagumo on the school forum. Nagumo seems very keen on challenging you, but you haven't responded once. Some people are still looking forward to your duel."
"He is my Vice President, and also my junior. On what basis do you judge us to be enemies?"
"Because you rejected Ichinose."
Horikita Manabu fell silent, but Akane Tachibana beside him spoke up: "It was just rejecting a new student. She didn't meet the Student Council's requirements, so of course she couldn't join the Student Council."
"What are the Student Council's requirements, please?" Suzuki Toru looked at the girl with the bun. "Is it because she's not a Class A student?"
"I'm sorry, junior of Class 1, whether or not someone meets the requirements is judged by President Horikita and us, not based on your thoughts." Akane Tachibana said stiffly.
"So what are the Student Council's requirements? That you don't accept non-Class A students?" Suzuki Toru was not led astray by her words.
Akane Tachibana was a bit annoyed. What was wrong with this Class 1 kid?
To start with such a tone was truly infuriating!
"Akane, let me talk to him." Horikita Manabu stopped Akane Tachibana. "The Student Council's selection criteria are not based on class status, but solely on the student's own excellence. Ichinose is a very excellent student, which is why I rejected her."
Faced with such contradictory words, Suzuki Toru directly asked: "Do you think she is not suited to survive in this school?"
Ichinose Honami's own abilities were excellent. In a normal high school, she might have naturally become the Student Council President.
Unfortunately, she was now at Advanced Nurturing High School.
Ichinose Honami's personality was destined to be somewhat incompatible with this school, as mutual competition itself was a cruel and ruthless act.
"She is not suitable now." Horikita Manabu implicitly agreed with Suzuki Toru's words. "I believe she will grow after some time."
"What if you still haven't found a suitable candidate?" Suzuki Toru asked.
Horikita Manabu did not answer his question, but instead asked: "It seems you know the school very well now. Have you already learned the rules?"
"At least I've learned one thing that I think is very meaningful." Suzuki Toru took out his phone and then showed Horikita Manabu his personal balance. "I currently have one million personal points, and I hope to buy a spot in the Student Council."
Akane Tachibana's eyes widened, and she couldn't help but say, "Wait, how could a Class 1 student possibly have one million personal points right now?"
Unless Suzuki Toru collected points from his classmates, there was absolutely no way he could have one million personal points!
This school strictly prohibited part-time jobs, and even if one could work, no one could earn a million within a few days of school starting!
Akane Tachibana was very suspicious of the source of these points, scrutinizing Suzuki Toru from head to toe, intending to find any possible flaws.
Horikita Manabu was also slightly surprised, but he quickly returned to normal: "If I recall correctly, new students receive one hundred thousand personal points a month. Did you do something?"
"A reward I got from a senior, it has nothing to do with the class." Suzuki Toru said, "If this price isn't enough, I can add more."
A certain senior, Horikita Manabu mused.
"Didn't you say you wanted to help me deal with Nagumo? Why are you spending points to buy a spot then?"
"For the appropriate person, I believe one should display appropriate strength. Facts are more convincing than powerless words."
"You are a very interesting new student." Horikita Manabu rarely showed a trace of a smile. "However, I am still curious how you discovered these clues?"
"Although the school forum allows communication with older students, the Class 2 students are very cautious about Nagumo's personal information and won't reveal too much. In fact, I still know nothing about Nagumo."
From the Class 2 rankings, it was actually clear that Nagumo's Class A had absolute dominance over the entire grade.
The class points of the four classes were too obvious, clearly decreasing in order. No one controlling the situation could achieve such a thing.
"The information I was able to gather is that Nagumo is about to take over your position, a future Student Council President, and a student from Class A. I think he has reached the pinnacle of this school."
Not only that, Nagumo also had a huge amount of personal points; he would probably have an astonishing twenty million personal points by Class 3.
"If one loses the goal of striving in their current grade, it's normal to look elsewhere out of boredom. Class 3 is more challenging than Class 1, and Nagumo seems very interested in you. If you get entangled with someone like that later, it will definitely be troublesome."
Horikita Manabu had just rejected Ichinose Honami, and Nagumo immediately sought out Ichinose Honami. It was hard not to believe that Nagumo had done it deliberately.
"Not only do you face other classes in your own grade, but you also have to watch out for a junior. I think you're having a tough time, senior, so I took the initiative to help."
Because he felt it was difficult, he rejected Ichinose Honami; otherwise, Horikita Manabu would have no reason to reject a student who ranked first in the entrance exam.
Having said that, Suzuki Toru made his final summary.
"I hope I didn't guess right, senior."
There is an accompanying image here, which can be viewed after the version update.
Chapter 22: Nagumo, the Dominator of Class 2
Akane Tachibana was expressionless. What did he mean, 'I hope he didn't guess right'? Such a tone was truly arrogant!
Although she had seen his one million personal points and his seemingly reasonable analysis, she could barely look at him with a higher regard.
But he couldn't say such disrespectful things to the esteemed Student Council President, could he?
"You surprise me. To dare to appear before me with such few clues, aren't you afraid I'll reject you?" Horikita Manabu looked at Suzuki Toru with sharp eyes.
"Sorry, I didn't see any intention of rejection in your eyes, senior." Suzuki Toru replied calmly.
Even Horikita Manabu, as calm as he was, couldn't help but be speechless at this moment. This new student had an extraordinary confidence, even overwhelming him in terms of aura.
From Suzuki Toru's analysis of Nagumo just now, he keenly captured Nagumo's psychological changes, believing that someone like Nagumo, once he reached the top prematurely, would start looking for amusement out of boredom.
The key was that Suzuki Toru guessed correctly.
He was both the future Student Council President and a member of Class A, seemingly able to control the entire grade, and also had nearly ten million personal points.
The current Nagumo could be said to have speed-run Advanced Nurturing High School. The next two years would likely be a boring and tedious life for him.
Of course, Suzuki Toru couldn't completely know what Nagumo was thinking.
He merely put himself in his shoes, and combined with having a similar guy in his own class, he came to this conclusion.
As for why it was Horikita Manabu.
To be honest, Suzuki Toru didn't know either; he just vaguely felt that Nagumo was very attentive to Horikita Manabu.