Chapter 166: You Want Me to Share the Blame?
"..."
Nagumo made no attempt to stop Yuto from leaving. With a gloomy expression, he simply remained seated and watched him walk out of the student cafeteria.
"Shimizu Yuto clearly agreed with my view of this school, but he has absolutely no intention of working with me. If anything, it sounds like he's planning to move against me."
"I think so too," Mizowaki replied with a serious nod. "Boss Nagumo, Shimizu Yuto threatened me earlier too. He said he intends to remove every one of our people from the student council!"
"When I asked what he planned to do, he gave me the same answer—'You'll find out in a few days.'"
Nagumo frowned deeply. "So Shimizu Yuto intends to target us within the next few days?"
"That's probably right."
"We don't know what he's planning, so stay alert. Mizowaki, you and the others need to keep a close eye on him inside the student council."
"I will!" Mizowaki immediately promised.
Nagumo rubbed his aching temples with a frustrated expression. Tonight had been an enormous loss. Not only had he spent six hundred thousand points buying Yuto dinner, he had also failed to convince him to support his vision for the school or help return him to the student council.
Most unsettling of all... Shimizu Yuto seemed to be preparing to cause trouble for him again within the next few days.
...
Carrying the packaged Wagyu set meal, Yuto headed back toward the detached apartment. While walking, he took out his phone and called Student Council President Horikita Manabu.
The ringing phone caught Manabu's attention while he was relaxing in his student dormitory, and he answered.
"Shimizu, what do you need this late?"
"Senpai, I discovered a certain illegal practice involving clubs exploiting the school for personal points. I thought I should inform you before I deal with it," Yuto replied with a perfectly serious tone.
Manabu immediately became interested. "Tell me."
Clubs.
That single word was enough for Manabu to understand. He fell silent for a moment before replying, "I'm aware there have been problems surrounding the clubs. However, Nagumo and his people have always handled that area, so it wasn't easy for me to interfere directly."
"Exactly. Which means now is the perfect time to fix it." Yuto continued confidently, "I'll take over the club-related work Nagumo used to handle and completely eliminate the illegal practices being used to drain points from the school."
His voice was filled with sincerity and righteous determination, as if his only concern was protecting the school's interests. Manabu knew better.
'Fix the club problem...? No. Shimizu is probably targeting Nagumo.' Manabu naturally assumed Yuto wanted to cut off one of Nagumo's main sources of influence.
After becoming vice president, Nagumo had used his authority and the club system to win over large numbers of second-year students.
He was correct. Just not completely.
Yuto's plan was aimed not only at Nagumo, but also at Mizowaki and the three general affairs staff still loyal to him inside the student council.
Yuto intended to remove every one of Nagumo's people, eliminating any chance of Nagumo returning while also clearing the way to recruit Kei and the others later.
If the plan Yuto had just devised worked properly, those four student council members would probably be forced to resign.
Even if they somehow remained, they would likely become hated among the second-years. Either result suited Yuto.
"Nagumo's leftover problems with the clubs really should be dealt with," Manabu admitted. "So, Shimizu, what exactly do you plan to do?"
"I have a plan. If it works, resolving the club issue should be easy, but I need your approval."
"Why do you need my approval?"
"Because this will probably cause a fairly big disturbance, and I don't want to take all the responsibility by myself."
"..." Manabu fell silent.
So what this boy really meant was— 'You want me to share the blame with you?'
"I'll cooperate in dealing with the club issue, but you need to explain your plan first. Otherwise, I'm not approving anything," Manabu replied cautiously.
He had every reason to be cautious. Everyone who knew Yuto understood how much he enjoyed setting traps for people.
Hearing that Manabu was willing to cooperate, Yuto smiled and explained the plan he had just come up with.
After listening to the entire proposal, Manabu thought it over for a while before nodding. "I approve. Afterward, submit a written plan to me so I can keep it on record."
"Sure," Yuto replied readily. "Then I'll see you tomorrow, Senpai."
"Mm."
The call ended. Manabu looked at his phone and muttered to himself, "Shimizu only became vice president today and is still being trained by Tachibana, yet he already discovered a problem involving the student clubs."
"His observation skills are almost too sharp."
In reality, Yuto's observation skills were not the reason. He had simply interacted with the school's clubs frequently ever since enrollment and had already learned several secrets about how they operated.
...
Yuto returned to the detached apartment with the Wagyu set meal. Although Airi had already eaten dinner, Yuto eventually persuaded her to try a few pieces of Wagyu anyway.
A little over an hour later, Yuto gently covered Airi with a thin blanket before leaving the apartment and heading toward the first-year student dormitory.
He had already promised Kikyo they would spend the evening together there.
Yuto's nights were truly simple, ordinary, and remarkably fulfilling.
...
Time passed, and morning soon arrived. When Yuto opened his eyes, he saw Kikyo's beautiful face still carrying traces of satisfaction and happiness. Her breathing was steady as she slept sweetly.
Yuto admired Kikyo's tranquil sleeping face for a moment, then carefully moved her off of him—she had been clinging to him like a koala—and changed into the sportswear he had brought from the detached apartment.
Without waking Kikyo, Yuto left the student dormitory and headed out for his daily morning run.
More than half an hour later, Kikyo gradually woke from her deep sleep. Yawning, she rubbed her sore waist and glanced at the empty space beside her.
"Yuto went running again... He really is full of energy," Kikyo muttered. She had been on private dates with Yuto enough times to already know about his morning running habit.
Kikyo truly had no idea where Yuto's physical limits lay. Even though he had been so vigorous last night, he didn't seem tired at all.
After marveling at her boyfriend's incredible stamina, Kikyo—with a happy expression on her face—tightened the blanket around herself, then padded barefoot on her slender feet toward the dormitory room's bathroom with an unsteady, swaying gait.
...
At the track, Yuto spotted Suzune's figure radiating her usual cool, refined presence. She was going through her warm-up exercises, her slender, attractive figure being outlined by the movements, exuding a youthful aura unique to a young girl.
The moment Suzune noticed Yuto, she stopped and walked toward him.
"Shimizu, good morning."
"Morning, Horikita," Yuto replied with a smile.
Suzune immediately asked, "How did things go with the student council?"
"I'm already vice president. Give me a few days, and then I'll bring you into the student council."
"Good."
A pleased expression appeared on Suzune's face. Yuto smiled at her reaction. "But I should warn you. I can only bring you in as general affairs staff for now, and that position has a lot of work. You'll probably be exhausted."
"I don't mind hard work," Suzune answered without hesitation.
Yuto smiled. He really liked that attitude. What an excellent tool— Ahem. What an excellent helper!
Suzune watched Yuto begin his own warm-up, and her heart gradually became peaceful.
For some reason, whenever she stayed near Yuto, she felt unusually calm and comfortable, as though an indescribable sense of ease settled over her.
She had begun to enjoy spending time around him.
Suzune realized that her desire to join the student council was no longer only about showing Manabu how much she had changed. Part of her also wanted to spend more time beside Yuto.
Yuto noticed her staring but paid little attention to it. Suzune had been watching him with those cool eyes for a long time now. He was already used to it.
"Let's go, Horikita. Time to run."
"Mm."
Today, Yuto did not encounter the confident and free-spirited Kiryuin Fuka. Without that senpai appearing to challenge and annoy him, the morning run actually felt slightly boring.
...
After finishing his run, Yuto said goodbye to Suzune and returned to the detached apartment.
In a warm and comfortable atmosphere, he and a sleepy, relaxed Airi ate the generous breakfast Chabashira had brought over.
Afterward, the two left together and headed toward the first-year building.
As they approached the main path leading to the classrooms, Airi slowed down as usual and let a small distance form between herself and Yuto. That way, other students who saw them would not assume they were an inseparable couple.
Yuto had long since grown accustomed to Airi keeping that distance in public. The two entered the first-year building one after the other, then walked into the classroom.
Once they entered Class D, it became his girlfriend Kei's territory. She greeted Yuto with a sweet smile, immediately wrapped herself around his arm, and walked with him back to his seat.
After Yuto sat down, Kei naturally moved her own chair closer and settled beside him with her shoulder pressed against his.
Looking at Yuto with bright, curious eyes as lively as a newborn fawn's, she asked, "Yuto, tell me what happened with the student council."
"Hmm. I'm vice president now. If nothing unexpected happens, once the current president steps down, I'll probably succeed him. When that happens, I'll arrange for you to join the student council too."
"Mm~" Kei smiled beautifully and slipped her hand into Yuto's.
Yuto casually played with Kei's white, soft hand while continuing, "But Kei, I'll be busy with student council work for a while, so I probably won't be able to go shopping with you much in the afternoons."
"Ah... Oh." Her cheerful smile immediately turned gloomy.
Yuto laughed at her pitiful reaction and gave her hand a firm squeeze. "Don't look so disappointed. I'll only be especially busy for a while. Give it ten days or two weeks and things should calm down."
"Mm..."
Ten days or two weeks? Kei did not even want to spend one day apart from him. She wanted to go on intimate shopping dates with him, to be kissed, hugged, and fondled by him!
At that moment, Suzune entered Class D with her usual dignified, composed steps. Her cool eyes instinctively glanced toward a certain person.
When she saw Kei leaning intimately against Yuto's shoulder, Suzune simply withdrew her gaze and returned to her seat as usual, taking a classic novel from her school bag and beginning to read.
In the past, seeing those two act so affectionately had inexplicably irritated her. Now, however, she no longer felt that way.
Perhaps, like the rest of Class D, Suzune had simply become accustomed to seeing Kei and Yuto together. It had become normal.
...
More than ten minutes later, the warning bell rang.
Chabashira entered the Class D classroom carrying a rolled sheet of paper, walking forward on her black-stockinged legs with her usual dignified stride.
She first glanced toward a certain troublesome brat on the left side of the classroom, then shifted her attention toward the right.
Since Ike, Yamauchi, and Sudo had all been forcibly expelled, that entire section of Class D looked noticeably emptier.
Although everyone already knew the three were gone, the reality of those vacant seats still felt difficult to believe.
…
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