COTE : Backed By Black Technology System-Chapter 192 - : The Student Council

Kanda Shuichi had thought his peaceful days would continue. Then, he received a message from Horikita Manabu, the student council president.

[Come to the student council office after school for a meeting. The student council is changing leadership.]

Kanda Shuichi stared at the message for a moment.

What does that have to do with me? It's not like I'm part of the—

Wait.

Kanda Shuichi suddenly remembered.

Wasn't I the vice president of the student council?

Since he never had any actual work to do, he had completely forgotten about it.

So, was Horikita Manabu planning to announce his position before stepping down?

That made sense. Given how upright he was, he wouldn't let Nagumo take over without knowing about the extra, randomly assigned vice president.

Kanda Shuichi replied with a simple "OK" to confirm he got the message.

After school, he packed up his bag and handed it to Ayanokouji. Since Ayanokouji was in no club and lived nearby, it was convenient.

"Take my bag for me. I have to go to the student council office later."

"...And why should I?"

Ayanokouji blinked, looking reluctant.

"Did you enjoy the beef on sports festival day?"

"...What are you getting at?"

"And Yamauchi and Ike haven't been bothering you lately, have they? You should be grateful that I'm willing to be friends with you, Ayanokouji!"

Can't I at least get my money's worth out of this accidental friendship?

With no other choice, Ayanokouji picked up Kanda Shuichi's bag and slung it over his other shoulder.

"What are you going to the student council for?" Horikita asked, looking at Kanda Shuichi.

Oh, right. She was still here.

"The student council is changing leadership. As a member, I have to attend the meeting."

"You're a student council member?"

Horikita's face showed pure shock.

"Yeah. Huh? I never mentioned it?"

No, you didn't, you bastard!

And stop trying to act cute!

"Do you want to come? You might see your brother."

Kanda Shuichi made a tempting offer to Horikita Suzune.

"Wouldn't a student council meeting be off-limits to outsiders?"

Horikita frowned.

"Then just join the student council."

Horikita simply shook her head without saying anything.

You really don't care about bothering your brother, do you? Were you just pretending to act tough in front of Ryuen before?

Since Horikita didn't want to go, Kanda Shuichi headed toward the student council room on his own.

"Yahallo, Kanda-kun!"

On the way, he ran into a first-year student council member—Ichinose Honami, the leader of Class A.

Naturally, she greeted him.

"Good afternoon, Ichinose-san."

There was no need to ask—Ichinose was obviously on her way to a student council meeting. After all, she was the only first-year member of the council.

"Are you heading to the student council, Kanda-kun?"

"Yeah, I have some business there."

Kanda Shuichi smiled, and an idea suddenly popped into his head.

"I see, so you have something to discuss with the council," Ichinose nodded in understanding. "But today might not be a good time."

"Not a good time? Why?"

Kanda Shuichi tilted his head.

"Because there's a meeting today. It's already October, so the student council elections are coming up soon."

That wasn't exactly a secret, so Ichinose was just being nice by giving him a heads-up.

She really is a kind person. I should get her a birthday present.

Oh, right. She seemed really interested in the hairpin I gave Kamuro before. Maybe I'll get her one.

Yeah, I'm such a good person.

"It's fine. I'll go check anyway—I don't have anything else to do."

"That makes sense," Ichinose nodded.

"By the way, congratulations on winning first place in the sports festival."

"Ahaha, that was all thanks to my classmates' hard work," Ichinose said with a sheepish laugh, scratching her head. "And we really appreciate Class D's help too."

She must be talking about the team competition.

Even though the boys' cavalry battle ended in a loss because Sudou wasn't there, I heard Karuizawa did really well in the girls' events.

Chatting casually, the two of them made their way to the student council room.

*Knock, knock!*

After Ichinose knocked, a voice from inside immediately granted permission to enter.

"Excuse us!"

With that, Ichinose pushed open the door and walked in, with Kanda Shuichi following right behind her.

"Oh, it's Honami. Grab a seat," said Nagumo Miyabi, the second-year student council vice president, when he saw her.

"Yes, Vice President Nagumo."

Nagumo then turned his attention to Kanda Shuichi, who was standing behind Ichinose.

"Kanda, what brings you here?"

"Something like that."

Before Kanda Shuichi could say more, Horikita Manabu, who was sitting in the main seat, spoke up. Clearly, he had no intention of letting the two of them start an argument here.

"Since you're here, take your seat."

"Alright, President Horikita."

Under the watchful eyes of all the student council members, Kanda Shuichi walked to the seat beside Horikita Manabu and sat down. His seat was directly across from Nagumo's.

Then, Tachibana Akane stood up, pulled out a nameplate from who knows where, and placed it in front of Kanda Shuichi.

Besides his name, the nameplate also displayed his position—Vice President. It was exactly the same as the one in front of Nagumo.

"Now, Nagumo-senpai, do you understand why I'm here?"

Of course, it was obvious. How could anyone not get it at this point?

Ichinose Honami, who had come along with Kanda Shuichi, was also stunned.

Kanda is the student council's Vice President?

What's going on here?

"Horikita-senpai, what is all this about?"

After seeing Tachibana Akane's actions and the nameplate in front of Kanda Shuichi, Nagumo immediately turned his gaze to Horikita Manabu, who was sitting at the head of the table.

Faced with Nagumo's question, Horikita Manabu remained completely unfazed.

"I invited Kanda from Class 1-D to join the student council during the summer break. Here are the documents."

As soon as he finished speaking, Tachibana Akane handed over Kanda Shuichi's student council application, along with other official paperwork.

Nagumo wasted no time in grabbing them and started checking through each page.

Unfortunately for him, everything was in perfect order. Kanda Shuichi had indeed become the Vice President during the summer.

Meanwhile, Kanda Shuichi took this chance to observe the student council members.

The council was basically split into two factions—Horikita's side and Nagumo's side.

Almost all of Horikita Manabu's supporters were third-years. Originally, once he stepped down, his faction would also lose its influence, leaving the student council completely under Nagumo's control.

But now, Horikita Manabu had quietly brought in a first-year. Was he planning to use him to counterbalance Nagumo?

While Kanda Shuichi was assessing the others, they were also sizing him up.

Clearly, when Horikita Manabu introduced him as a Class 1-D student, many people had doubts.

Can someone from D-Class really handle the Vice President's role?

But since neither of the two major figures had spoken further, the others kept their thoughts to themselves for now.

"Impressive move, Horikita-senpai. Could it be that you're grooming Kanda to run against me for Student Council President?"

Nagumo put down the documents and squinted at Horikita Manabu. Given the situation, it was only natural for him to assume this was a deliberate move to keep him in check.

As for Kanda Shuichi, Nagumo didn't see him as a threat at all. After all, considering the exams the first-years had been through this year, he was confident he could have handled them just as well.

"Nagumo-senpai, don't be ridiculous. I have no interest in the President's seat."

"Kanda is right. I have no intention of making him the next President. I brought him into the student council simply to prevent you from going out of control in the future."

Lies. You just want to keep your little sister safe.

Of course, Kanda Shuichi wouldn't say that out loud. It would only make them look like a joke in front of everyone.

"Oh? And you think he can stop me?"

"If he puts his mind to it, I believe he can."

Watching the tense standoff between the two, the rest of the student council didn't dare to speak.

This was a battle between giants—none of them could afford to get involved.

"So, can I ask what exactly the two of you disagree on? Depending on the situation, my stance isn't set in stone."

Kanda Shuichi's words made both of them turn their attention toward him.

Although Nagumo didn't think much of Kanda Shuichi—after all, the guy was from Class D—he had to take him seriously now that he was sitting in the position of student council vice president.

Nagumo knew very well how much power came with that title.

"It's simple. I want to turn this school into a place where only ability matters."

"Oh? Can you explain in more detail?" Kanda Shuichi was a little interested. This might actually be fun.

"First, I plan to reform the student council. I want to change the terms for the student council president and officers to be unlimited while they're still in school."

That wasn't really a big deal. Previously, the term ended around mid-October, which was only about six months anyway. Kanda Shuichi didn't see this as a major issue, and Horikita Manabu probably wouldn't try to stop Nagumo over something like this.

If a president wanted to step down early in the future, they could still change the rules. It wasn't a problem.

Seeing Kanda Shuichi nod, Nagumo continued.

"Also, I plan to abolish the general election system and remove the limit on the number of officers."

"You mean the next student council president will just be appointed by the previous one?"

So you're turning an election system into a hereditary system?

Taking a step backward in history, huh?

Follow current novels on ƒreewebηoveℓ.com.

"You could say that. A great student council president choosing their successor shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"But what if a president picks the wrong person? What happens then? Are you saying the school should just put up with an incompetent student council for a year or two, or even longer?"

Nagumo frowned at that. He was confident he wouldn't make a bad choice, but if he thought about the future, this was indeed a potential issue.

"I've considered that too. If someone is deemed unfit during their term, I'll establish a system where they can be removed through a majority vote in a council meeting. This won't apply only to the president but to all student council members as well."

Kanda Shuichi was speechless. This guy was clearly planning to put this rule in place just to kick him out right away.

And he even said it to his face. This was the best the second years had to offer? What a bunch of idiots.

"I don't think this is a good idea. Are you trying to turn the student council into your personal kingdom? Just getting rid of anyone you don't like? Nagumo, this will come back to bite you."

"If someone can be removed that easily, then they probably weren't all that great in the first place."

"In that case, I have a different suggestion. Instead of your method, how about this? Whoever brings a student into the council is responsible for them. Whether it's the president or the vice president, they have the power to recruit members, so if someone messes up, the person who brought them in should take responsibility."

Basically, Kanda Shuichi was saying, *I'll be responsible for the people I bring in, so don't try to mess with me.*

"If that's how it works, then I wouldn't mind letting the president appoint their successor. After all, even if the president screws up, the vice president will be there to step in."

"And honestly, how likely is it that both the president and the vice president will be complete idiots? Even if that happens, I doubt the school would just sit back and let things fall apart."

Nagumo narrowed his eyes. He hadn't taken Kanda Shuichi seriously before, but now this guy was trying to challenge him head-on.

Still, even Nagumo had to admit—this guy was sharp.

And his idea actually made a lot of sense.

If the vice president could recruit members, they would naturally bring in talented students, since adding useless people would only hurt their own reputation.

Plus, if the vice president wanted to challenge the president's authority, they'd have to actively seek out strong students to bring into the council.

That meant the president would also be forced to compete for the best people, leading to all the school's top talent gathering in the student council.

The only downside was that if the president wasn't strong enough, the council could split into factions, or the vice president might even take over.

But was that really a bad thing? If a president was so weak that they got sidelined, then they probably deserved it. At least it wouldn't drag the school down.

As for Nagumo himself, he wasn't worried about being pushed aside. And as for future presidents? That wasn't his problem. If they couldn't handle it, they deserved to struggle.

Seeing Nagumo fall silent, Horikita Manabu glanced at Kanda Shuichi.

He had only asked this guy to look out for his little sister and keep her from getting caught up in Nagumo's schemes.

He hadn't expected Kanda Shuichi to come in and pull off something this impressive.

"Kanda, your suggestion is quite constructive. I agree."

Nagumo quickly accepted Kanda Shuichi's proposal. After all, he wasn't the student council president yet, so he had to appear generous.

No one knew what Nagumo was really thinking as he agreed so readily.

As for going back on his word, that wasn't something Nagumo would do—at least not in front of so many of his subordinates. The reason he could firmly control the second-year students was that, despite forcing many of them to drop out, he still kept his promises.

If he ever broke his word, there would definitely be students willing to rise up and take him down with them. That was something both he and all the second-years understood.

Now that he had publicly agreed to these terms, there was no turning back.

Nagumo then went on to talk about the reforms he planned to implement once he took over, while Kanda Shuichi simply listened without any objections.

He had already achieved his goal—to take back some power from the soon-to-be student council president. Since Nagumo had agreed, Kanda had no reason not to give him some face.

As he listened, Kanda also began to understand why Horikita Manabu and Nagumo Miyabi had such different views.

Horikita believed that a class should succeed or fail together, and that no one should abandon their group.

Nagumo, on the other hand, thought the school should focus on individuals. He believed that even if someone started in Class D, as long as they had outstanding personal achievements, they should be allowed to graduate as an A-Class student.

If Horikita Manabu's idea was followed, then in the end, only about 40 students would graduate from A-Class.

But if Nagumo's idea was implemented, then more than 40 students could graduate from A-Class.

At first glance, Nagumo's plan seemed pretty good.

But was it really?

If his system were adopted, then students who saw no hope of their class ranking up might turn their backs on their classmates and become spies for the higher-ranked classes.

Just like when school first started—Class D was already 1,000 points behind. No one would have thought they had a chance of making a comeback.

If Nagumo's policy had existed back then, those who saw themselves as talented might not have put in the effort to help their class move up.

Why struggle to improve the class when they only needed to focus on themselves?

If that happened, the competition between four classes could turn into a battle between three or even two. It might even eliminate competition altogether.

That was exactly what Horikita Manabu wanted to avoid, which was why he considered Nagumo dangerous.

But Kanda Shuichi actually thought the idea itself wasn't bad—it was just too rough in execution.

Or maybe... Nagumo was deliberately trying to create chaos?

Either way, Nagumo hadn't presented a concrete plan yet, and whether his ideas would even work was another question entirely.

As Nagumo explained his vision, there were occasional questions from other members. Time passed quickly, and before long, over an hour had gone by, making Kanda Shuichi a little sleepy.

"Kanda, introduce yourself."

Just when Kanda thought the meeting was about to end, Horikita Manabu suddenly made the request.

"Hello, everyone in the student council. I'm Kanda Shuichi from First-Year Class D. It's an honor to serve as the student council vice president. I look forward to working with you."

His introduction was formal, and his polite smile made it feel a bit perfunctory.

"You all heard the discussion just now. Kanda has no intention of competing for the student council president position. Therefore, the next president will be Nagumo Miyabi from Second-Year Class A. The inauguration ceremony will be next Monday—start preparing now."

After Horikita Manabu gave his orders, the student council members all acknowledged them, including Nagumo.

As for Kanda Shuichi, there wouldn't be much for him to do—he would just be standing in the background.

————— ----

You can read 10 advanced Chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu