"President, I've placed this month's financial report here."
"Oh, thanks."
Takamine Rinji placed a USB drive on Miyuki Shirogane's desk. As the student council treasurer, monthly accounting was his main duty—one he'd always completed on time.
"Rinji-kun~"
Before he could leave, Chika Fujiwara popped out of nowhere with a mischievous grin.
"What do you want!?"
The moment he saw her, Takamine stepped back almost five meters.
He really wanted to avoid this woman who always hit him where it hurt.
"How'd you do on the midterms?" Chika asked with a grin.
"How I did has nothing to do with you."
"Oh, I was just asking~"
She patted her chest proudly. "This time I jumped from 96th place to 91st!"
"...Secretary Fujiwara, are you trying to avoid comparing yourself to Shirogane and Shinomiya and came to me to boost your confidence?"
"Aha~ No way~"
She totally was.
In the student council, aside from her, there was only Shirogane, Kaguya Shinomiya, and Takamine Rinji. The first two were top 1 and top 2 of their grade—no way she could compare. That left Takamine, who'd skipped a month and didn't even like studying.
"Hehe, tell me, Rinji-kun. I won't laugh."
"Your face says otherwise."
Just then, Shirogane plugged in the USB and smiled. "Rinji, I heard you ranked fifth in the grade this time. Impressive."
Chika: "...Eh?"
"Oh? The president even checked my scores?" Takamine grinned. "Actually, I checked yours too—of course you're still number one."
"Hahaha, it always feels like a weight's lifted when exams go well."
Shirogane beamed.
"That makes three of us in the top five."
"You can't say it like that, President." Takamine glanced at Chika, who was frozen in place. "It's more accurate to say one of us dropped out of the top five."
Chika: QvQ
"What were you going to ask me again, Secretary Fujiwara?" Takamine asked innocently. "You said you wouldn't laugh~"
Chika blushed.
"What were you going to laugh at, huh? Say it~"
"Waaah! Don't look at me like that! It's my fault—I said something weird!"
Overwhelmed by shame and Takamine's smug expression, Chika covered her face and ran out of the office.
'Nice. That dangerous woman finally left.'
Takamine, who'd long been oppressed by Fujiwara, finally scored one back.
Kaguya Shinomiya had been quietly sipping her hot coffee on the sofa. She turned with a smile and said, "Takamine-kun, don't get cocky just because you ranked fifth once."
"...Yeah, you're right."
"Oh?"
Kaguya was surprised. He often argued with her—but today, he didn't.
"Yes, you should be humble. Learn from the president and—"
"I'll learn from the president. What's the point of learning from you?"
Kaguya: "…"
Yep, he hadn't changed—still loved arguing with her.
Takamine leaned on Shirogane's shoulder and looked at Kaguya. "Why should I learn from second place? Especially someone who's always second."
"…"
Kaguya could feel her blood pressure rising.
"It's not like second place is bad. It's better than fifth."
"Then why not just learn from the person in first?"
"…"
"Honestly, your second place is just as meaningless as my fifth. Only number one matters. No one remembers who's second or third." Takamine said. "Like how everyone knows Mount Everest is the tallest mountain—but who remembers the second tallest?"
"K2 is the second highest peak."
"And that's exactly why you lose to the president—your brain's full of useless facts that don't show up on exams."
"…"
Fuming.
Absolutely fuming.
Failing to surpass Shirogane already had her on edge. Now Takamine kept rubbing salt in the wound—it was almost unbearable.
"Seems like you don't know this, Takamine-kun. I used to be number one in our first year."
Even though she'd mentally pounded him into a pulp, Kaguya still smiled gracefully.
"Don't brag about the past, Shinomiya. When you bring up old stuff like that, it just makes you seem hopeless."
'Why is this guy so infuriating?'
"Why don't you try learning from the president? Though honestly, even if you did, you still wouldn't beat him."
'I can't... I must not snap. The president is watching. I can't actually beat Takamine to a pulp.' Kaguya repeatedly told herself.
"That's enough, Rinji."
Shirogane tried to mediate, seeing how badly things were going.
"Shinomiya works very hard. You should learn from that attitude. There's nothing wrong with that."
"Oh, is that so?"
'Why do you only listen when he says it!?'
Takamine nodded and looked at the clearly-fuming Kaguya. "You really work hard, Shinomiya?"
"Of course…"
"And you still can't beat the president? Yeah, you're hopeless."
Shinomiya Kaguya's nerves finally snapped.
In the end, she stormed out of the student council room, puffing with anger. Of course, she wouldn't actually beat up the guy who drove her to mental breakdown—after all, she had to maintain her ladylike image.
But she was definitely going to go cry to Hayasaka.
At this moment, only Takamine Rinji and Miyuki Shirogane remained in the student council room.
"Takamine, I have a feeling..."
"I have my reasons for going after Shinomiya Kaguya like that," Takamine Rinji explained. "Remember what I promised you before?"
"You mean..."
"Helping you get together with the Shinomiya family's heiress. I haven't forgotten." Takamine Rinji said, "What I'm doing is partly lowering her and lifting you up in her perception, to bridge some of that gap. Also, I'm shifting suspicion away from me helping you."
"I see..."