Gymnasium No. 1. After school.
Hikigaya followed half-heartedly behind Ichinose and the others to the gymnasium.
At this time, many people had already gathered inside.
Hikigaya's mouth twitched. He accidentally spotted that "crazy flying-fish head" (Ryuen) and the arrogant girl, Horikita Suzune, and chose to avoid them without hesitation.
Before long, a cute girl with purple hair tied in a bun appeared on stage.
She introduced herself as the Student Council Secretary, Akane Tachibana.
She started the briefing without any nonsense; her style was much more likable than that of the old-fashioned principal.
Subsequently, a group of people took to the stage, each introducing the charm of their respective clubs and the benefits of joining.
It was quite boring.
Shibata and the others from Class B were full of excitement. Even those who weren't interested were discussing various topics; no one came to bother him.
Below the stage, Student Council members were handing out club brochures.
Hikigaya also took a copy and flipped through it.
Its exquisite design, artistic quality, and layout made one marvel at the high capability of the people in this school.
Seriously, are you guys really students? If you're this excellent, you might as well graduate and become corporate drones already.
As he flipped through the brochure, Hikigaya raised an eyebrow.
The welfare and treatment at this school were far too good. The facilities were not only complete but almost all were at a world-class level.
For example, the fitness equipment for the sports clubs, the faculty, management, and catering were all top-tier.
Other schools couldn't possibly have this; they might not have even heard of it.
The most crucial point was that everyone received 5,000 points per month in departmental funds.
Since free food existed, these funds seemed to be prepared for sports club members who had lost their personal points.
After all, free food couldn't guarantee the daily physical exertion required for sports clubs. For the sake of fairness, other clubs were given them as well.
The more members, the more funding.
These funds were mainly used to restock small departmental items.
For instance, energy drinks and footballs for the football club—other training equipment, shoes, and uniforms were handled by the school.
Although there were restrictions on the direction in which the funds could be used, it was generally sufficient and very well thought out.
"Wait, doesn't this mean..."
Hikigaya's expression became excited.
While every club had restrictions on fund usage—for example, literature club funds couldn't be used to buy energy drinks or footballs, only books and stationery—to put it another way:
As long as the club's scope is broad enough!
One could use club funds to replace their own daily expenses.
In short, turning the funds into one's own money!
While it couldn't cover every aspect of life, it could cover more than half.
For example, establishing a gaming club would allow for free computers and handheld consoles.
However...
...others join clubs mostly out of passion.
They truly love the activity.
It would be almost impossible for them to agree to such a thing, and the school's clubs were all single-purpose, so the coverage was too small.
Only a club with a broad enough scope could fleece the school.
But Hikigaya was also somewhat puzzled; such an obvious loophole couldn't have gone unnoticed.
Advanced Nurturing High School had been established for over fifty years; it was impossible that no one had tried this.
Whatever, that wasn't important.
The most critical thing was that he had discovered a way to make the school add MAX Coffee.
"Don't be nervous, do your best, Senpai!"
"Hahaha, didn't you prepare a cue card?"
At that moment, the sounds of ridicule from the surroundings drew Hikigaya's attention.
He looked up.
On the stage, a senior in a school uniform stood before the microphone, gazing at the freshmen with a calm and composed posture.
Soon, the original ridicule reached its peak and then fell into silence.
The originally relaxed atmosphere in the gymnasium, like a chemical reaction, slowly turned into unbelievable tension and silence.
Anyone could feel that now was not the time to speak.
Hikigaya silently swallowed his saliva. Hey, hey, hey, did this guy use 'The World'? Is he some kind of esper?
Speaking of which, can I still move?
Thinking of this, Hikigaya twisted his head.
Oh, turns out I can still move. That's great!
"I am the Student Council President, Horikita Manabu."
The fake esper picked up the microphone. His gentle tone combined with a steady delivery allowed him to gradually take control of the others.
Could it be that he was the only one unaffected?
In that case, was he also an esper?
Hikigaya thought aimlessly.
However... Horikita?
Hikigaya glanced at the arrogant girl not far away, wondering if there was any relation between the two.
"Following the graduation of the seniors, the Student Council will recruit candidates from the first-year class. No special conditions are required for candidacy, but if you wish to join the Student Council, please avoid joining other clubs. Those who wish to join both the Student Council and other clubs will, in principle, not be accepted."
After finishing the fluent speech, the fake esper stepped off the stage and walked out of the gymnasium.
The freshmen could only watch him leave, as if the moment they spoke, their bodies would be twisted into pretzels by an unknown force.
Hikigaya clenched his fist and took a deep breath.
He never expected that the one holding the power of life and death over MAX Coffee would be an esper. It was truly terrifying.
However, whoever dared to prevent the birth of the God of MAX Coffee was his enemy.
As a faithful believer in MAX Coffee, he would never forgive them!
"Thank you for your hard work, the briefing ends here. We will now begin accepting club applications. Additionally, since applications will continue until the end of April, students who wish to apply later should bring their forms directly to the club they wish to join!"
Akane Tachibana finished speaking composedly, and the tense atmosphere in the venue dissipated.
Hikigaya asked someone for an application form and sat to the side to fill it out.
Even if the opponent was an esper, for the sake of MAX Coffee, he had to defeat him.
"What club does Hikigaya-kun want to join?"
At this time, Ichinose approached with her group of friends from Class B.
"Eh? Hikigaya-kun is filling out an application? What club is it?"
The group behind her chattered incessantly, as if he were some popular figure.
"Uh... the Wool-Pulling (Fleece) Club?" Hikigaya said uncertainly.
After all, since the original intention was to fleece the school, calling it the "Wool-Pulling Club" was reasonable, right?
His words instantly sent Ichinose, Shibata, and the others into silence. It took a while before Ichinose asked in confusion:
"I don't think I heard that club mentioned just now. What kind of club is it?"
"The same as the Going-Home Club?"
Hikigaya wasn't quite sure what the activities would be either.
Ichinose and the others fell into silence again. This classmate's personality seemed a bit abnormal.
"Then I'll go hand in the application first."
"Okay, then see you tomorrow, Hikigaya-kun!"
Hikigaya stood up to leave with the newly filled application; Ichinose and the others waved their arms with smiles.
When he reached the reception desk under the stage, there was already a small queue. He waited for a while before it was his turn.
"This is my applica—"
"If it's an application form, hand it directly to the club you wish to join; the club president is responsible for the review."
Before he could finish, the girl with the bun hair interrupted him—her name was Akane Tachibana, it seemed.
You won't become an excellent Student Council member behaving like that.
"This is my application to establish a new club and a proposal."
Hikigaya handed the two A4 sheets to her.
"Eh?"
Tachibana took them and looked, her mouth instantly twitching.
Then she nodded seriously and said:
"We have accepted your proposal. The Student Council will provide a response within three working days. Next!"
Hey. Little girl, don't think I can't see through that formulaic response.
It was way too perfunctory.
Hikigaya turned and left helplessly.
The MAX Coffee plan must not fail