"President, here's the full club budget breakdown. Please review it."
"Oh… oh! That was fast…"
Shirogane Miyuki was surprised at how quickly Takamine Rinji had completed the work. He'd only assigned it after classes ended, and Rinji had already surveyed every club and filled out the report before school closed.
He skimmed over the form and quickly noticed something off.
"Why is the total budget so much higher than before?"
"Didn't you say that the OB association cut their donations due to the economy? I thought I'd symbolically reduce some clubs' funding."
"Symbolically? Are you sure this is just 'a bit'!?"
Shirogane was sweating as he checked the specifics. His eyes nearly popped out.
"Why did you cut the Kendo Club's budget by 50%!?"
"Because they suck."
"How is that a reason!? They're not bad at all—their captain even placed at nationals!"
"I fought him. He's trash. Probably just got lucky at nationals."
"…He's not that bad. Wait, you know kendo?"
"I dabble."
Rinji said this while looking nostalgic.
"When I was little, I had an aunt who taught me. She was in high school at the time. But the kendo she taught was meant to fight monsters as tall as buildings."
"…That makes no sense."
Now Shirogane wondered if Rinji had a severe case of chuunibyou.
"The Kendo Club captain is part of the joint club union committee. If you cut his budget like this—"
"Don't worry. I increased funding for most of the other committee members, except judo. Even if he complains, he won't cause much trouble," Rinji said, unconcerned. "And I gave him a clear reason. He'll understand."
"…I really hope this doesn't blow up."
Shirogane continued reviewing Rinji's budget form with concern.
"5% cut for the Judo Club—still acceptable. But why 10% for the Rugby Club?"
"Because they haven't made it to the national tournament. No need to allocate them too much."
"…You're practically a tyrant."
Shirogane Miyuki had some idea of what Takamine Rinji was like. When he saw that the soccer and baseball clubs hadn't received budget cuts, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.
At least Rinji wasn't slashing funds just because those clubs had lots of couples.
"Wait… the Occult Research Club got a 10% increase? That's unexpected. And… the Tabletop Gaming Club… why is it zero!?"
"Because it's a fake club."
"Huh? How did you figure that out?" Miyuki was utterly confused.
Since Shuchiin was founded, no club had ever had its entire budget revoked. Even failing clubs were usually disbanded first.
"I took a look around the Tabletop Gaming Club. Fujiwara was there too. It looked like the members were having fun, bonding over board games."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"Which is exactly why it's fake."
"Huh?"
"A real board game club should be full of mind games, backstabbing, and plotting to win. Maybe even real-life King of Fighters breaking out…"
"Stop projecting your dark worldview onto others!!"
"Anyway, they weren't happy about the 50% cut I initially suggested, so they challenged me to a game of blackjack and cheated. That's basically illegal gambling and fraud. After I beat them, I zeroed their budget as punishment."
"…In that case, they really can't complain. But wait—you still managed to win even though they cheated?"
"They cheated, but so did I. I never told you this before, but I'm actually incredibly good at sleight-of-hand."
Rinji chuckled, thinking back.
"With my skills in gambling and cheating, I could clean up in Vegas… if only they'd let me into the casinos. But I'm underage."
"…Maybe try a more normal way of making money."
Miyuki gave a helpless smile.
"Though now that you mention it, I do remember there was one high school that allowed students to gamble…"
"If you forgot the name, never mind. Anyway, making money like that is boring."
Rinji waved dismissively while Miyuki kept reviewing the form.
"…You didn't fill in the Archery Club's budget?"
"That case is a bit special. I figured I'd leave it to you."
"Oh?"
"The Shinomiya heiress is in that club. Ever since entering high school, she hasn't participated in the national archery competition. I was going to cut their budget by 50%, but she strongly protested."
"Well of course she did. The Rugby Club hasn't even been to nationals in years and only got a 10% cut. No wonder Shinomiya objected," Miyuki groaned, rubbing his temples.
The relationship between Rinji and Kaguya Shinomiya had always been tense. This was one of Miyuki's ongoing headaches.
"So I figured I'd let you decide."
"You want me to decide? What's your take?"
"My take is—you should visit the Archery Club yourself, get familiar with them, then raise their budget."
"Wait, raise it?"
Miyuki was confused. Rinji had just said he'd slash it by half, and now he was recommending increasing it?
"President, you haven't forgotten our earlier talk, right?" Rinji whispered. "About helping you get closer to the Shinomiya heiress."
"…Oh, right."
"Exactly. I'll be the villain who slashes the budget, and you can be the good guy who swoops in to restore it. That way, she sees you as her ally. Plus, she'll think highly of your capabilities—after all, you managed to rein in the 'budget-slashing machine.' It's a good way to raise her affection for you."
"…You've really thought this through, huh?"
"Of course. At the same time, you can restore part of the Kendo Club's budget. As a member of the Club Union, their captain will also be satisfied."
"…"
"If someone wants to play the good guy, someone else has to be the bad guy. That's the simplest and most effective 'balance.' I'm just playing my natural role."
"I see… then the Tabletop Gaming Club's budget—"
"Gone. Without their 'donation,' you wouldn't have the funds to raise other clubs' budgets. They're the sacrifice."
"…You really need to work on your outlook."