Friday, 19th June.

Only two days remained until our special exam.

Ever since I caught Imaishi spying on us, he hasn't come back to snoop around our classroom. Since there weren't any eyes on us, I felt safe to visit the last person I needed to talk to for my plan.

During break time, I headed to the student council room, which was located on the fourth floor of the school.

"I've never been up here before..."

Somehow, it felt like I was entering forbidden territory. Barely any students came up here. The only real reason you'd come up to the fourth floor is to visit the student council.

I looked out of the window, peering down on the rest of the school. Everyone looked tiny from up here. This view was definitely a lot more enjoyable than the one looking down from the school roof.

I walked up to the student council room and sighed.

To be honest, I don't know who exactly was on the student council. I knew there was Kishou, Kurosaki, Xuelan, Ichinose, and Isen, but other than those five, I had no clue who else to expect. In any case, I hope they don't mind my presence.

I knocked on the door and waited.

Answering it was Kishou, overshadowing me with his imposing height. At first, I was unnerved by his towering presence, but soon I relaxed, realising he was a familiar face.

"Good morning, Takanori-san. What brings you here?"

I shivered a little when he greeted me. Even though I know he's just like any other student, the way Kishou carries himself brings a cold air wherever he goes. I'm surprised he doesn't wear a jumper under his blazer just to keep himself warm...

"Kishou-sama... good morning. I'm here to speak with someone on the council."

"I see, come inside."

Kishou stepped to the side, letting me in. I have to say, I was impressed by how regal everything looked. The crimson carpet, the gold highlights, the mahogany wood; it all complimented each other very nicely.

It had a rustic, traditional vibe befitting of such an important council. If I didn't know any better, I might've even mistaken this for the Royalty room. That's how wonderful the decor looked.

"Would you like a drink?"

"No thanks. I'm good."

"Are you sure? I'm making coffee for everyone else."

As I looked around, I saw there were only two other people with Kishou inside the room. It was the vice president, Kurosaki, and secretary, Xuelan Lingling. Thankfully, the person I wanted to talk to was here.

"Yeah, you don't have to worry about me."

"Alright."

"Fu fu, if it isn't Takanori. What brings you to our humble abode?"

As Kishou went to the kitchenette to make the drinks for the ladies, Kurosaki called out to me with a mature smile. Xuelan paid no attention to me as she was quietly typing away on her laptop.

"Kurosaki-senpai... I'm here to talk to someone on the council."

"Oh? Well, don't just stand there. Come over here and take a seat."

Like last time, Kurosaki patted the seat next to her. Xuelan looked up at her before returning to her work.

"Right..."

"That's it, don't be shy."

As I sat down next to Kurosaki, I nearly sank into the sofa from how soft it was. Jeez, the student council have it good...

"Woah..."

"Easy there. If you leaned back any further, you might've been eaten up, fu fu."

Kurosaki laughed at my reaction. I can't lie, being around these two beautiful older women, I felt strangely tense and nervous. I couldn't relax at all, despite how comfortable these sofas were.

My thoughts scattered when Kishou returned to the table, three mugs in hand. He placed two mugs down on the glass table and kept the third for himself.

"There you go."

"Thank you, Kishou-sama."

Xuelan, prim and proper, picked up her plain mug of coffee from the table.

"Ah, thanks. You're so kind, Kishou."

Kurosaki smiled, but didn't pick up her drink. Xuelan stared at Kurosaki bluntly, making her laugh.

"You're welcome, Xuelan-san, Kurosaki-san."

Kishou nodded at the two of them before sitting across from me.

"So, Takanori-san, who are you here to talk to?"

I looked over to Xuelan, who seemed completely disinterested in the conversation.

"Let me guess, it's me?" Kurosaki joked.

"Didn't you give him your phone number? That'd be a more efficient way of getting in touch with you."

Kishou sipped on his black coffee.

"Fu fu, that's true. If he ever misses me, I'm only one call away."

I feel like she wouldn't pick up my call even if I tried.

"Uh... actually... I'm here to talk to Xuelan-senpai."

Xuelan stopped typing, looking up at me from her laptop.

"...I'm sorry?"

The two of us had never talked before, so this came as a surprise to her.

"Is there a problem with that...?"

"No, not at all."

Like Kishou, Xuelan was sharp and to the point. She closed her laptop and put it down on the table.

"What would like you discuss about, Takanori-san?"

Unsurprisingly, being the secretary of the student council, she already knew who I was.

"This is going to sound weird, but bare with me."

Xuelan raised an eyebrow. Kishou and Kurosaki listened in with mild interest.

"Do you know Chinese?"

Xuelan blinked owlishly. Kishou choked on his coffee. Kurosaki started laughing.

"Fu fu fu! Takanori, you're hilarious!"

"I-it's an honest question..."

Xuelan sighed, looking at me with a forced smile.

"Yes, I know Chinese."

Kishou cleared his throat, putting down his mug of coffee.

"Takanori-san... you do know that Xuelan-san is Chinese, right?"

"Yeah, I do. I just wanted to make sure she spoke it too."

It'd be embarrassing if I gave her my request and she didn't know the language.

"It's cute that you worry about such trivial things."

Kurosaki laughed, picking up her coffee and drinking it.

"Oh don't worry, I was born in China. I came here so I could study abroad in Japan."

I didn't know Xuelan was a foreign exchange student like Zyriot, John, and the others. It only made her high position in the school and fluency in Japanese even more impressive.

If it wasn't for her name being a dead giveaway to her actual nationality, I would've thought she was Japanese.

"Ah, I see. I guess you're going home when this year ends, huh?"

"Hmm, maybe. To be honest, I don't know yet. I wouldn't mind staying here for longer, but part of me is also feeling very homesick after being away from my family for nearly three years. Even so, I've become quite fond of this country, it's culture, and the people I've met too."

Xuelan looked at Kishou and smiled. Kishou looked back at her, clueless.

"Despite being here so long, I feel like there's still so much left for me to see and explore. It's like I've forgotten to enjoy myself in the midst of trying to survive all these exams, special exams, and wars. At the end of the day, my decision to go home or not all depends on how I feel at the end of this school year."

I didn't expect such a deep answer in response to my throwaway question. My respect for Xuelan grew after hearing that. She must've worked really hard to get to where she is now.

It reminded me of Zyriot a little bit. Honestly, some of my classmates could learn from both of their examples...

"But never mind me. What do you need, Takanori-san?"

"Well... the reason I asked if you knew Chinese was because of this."

After explaining what I was trying to do, Xuelan nodded in understanding.

"I see. In other words, you want me to translate this?"

"Yeah. Is that possible?"

Xuelan hummed and checked her schedule.

"...this is going to be a really tight squeeze. Why didn't you ask me sooner?"

"Someone was tailing our class. If I came here, I risked being followed."

"You 1st Years are getting more and more intense each year, I swear..."

Xuelan sighed. Kurosaki laughed.

"Fu fu. If my year is considered the generation of geniuses, then what would you consider Takanori's year?"

"It's hard to say. Perhaps the generation of strategists...? Not even we went as far as tailing others for information when we were 1st Years."

"Right, everyone was too preoccupied trying to beat Kishou. Trying to stop a menace like him from sweeping up first place must be exhausting."

"Even if they successfully stopped Kishou-sama, which they didn't, we still had Satsubatsu-sama and Mikazuchi-san as back up. It sounds unfair, but our A Class was practically unbeatable."

Come to think of it, Kishou and Kaido were in the same class. Why has this fact never occurred to me until now? The thought of having to face both of them together someday terrifies me...

"No wonder there's 72 people in E Class. They all gave up under your might, eh, Kishou?"

Kurosaki smiled, crossing her legs and leaning forward. Kishou took a sip of his coffee.

"The 3rd Year politics are none of your business, Kurosaki-san." Xuelan glared at her.

Once again, that phrase cropped up... seriously, what was up with the 3rd Years warning their underclassmen about this? First it was Kaido, next it was Isen, and now it's Xuelan. By telling us not to look into it, it only made us more curious as to what was going on.

If someone like Kurosaki couldn't figure out what was going on by looking in from the outside, then what chance did I have at deducing what was going on between then? I can't help but think something nefarious is going on behind the scenes...

"Fu fu, that's what you always say."

"Anyways, I can get this done for you by Sunday morning at the earliest. Is that okay?"

Xuelan sharply changed topics, visibly unhappy that Kurosaki even broached the subject.

"That's fine. I'm sorry for asking such a huge favour on such little time."

"Don't be, the student council is here to help others out. I should be the one apologising for not being able to get it to you sooner."

"I understand if you're busy. Technically, the deadline for submission is at midnight, so as long as I get it before then, I don't mind."

"I'll do my best. It seems like your plan hinges on this, huh?"

Xuelan looked over what I had given her with intrigued eyes.

"Fu fu... it certainly is an interesting way to approach the special exam."

"An unorthodox method fitting of an unorthodox man."

Kishou finished the rest of his coffee.

"I'm looking forward to seeing the results of the 1st Year's battle."

"I'll try not to disappoint you, Kishou-sama."

Since break was going to end soon, I got up.

"I better be going now. Thank you for your time, Xuelan-senpai."

"No problem. It was nice meeting you, Takanori-san."

"You too. See you, Kishou-sama, Kurosaki-senpai."

"See you."

"Before you go, would you like the rest of my coffee?"

"...if you want."

"Fu fu, here. Think of it as me returning the favour."

Come to think of it, when we first met each other, I gave Kurosaki the rest of my coffee that I didn't finish. This time, she was the one giving me the rest of hers.

"So you were thirsty after all..."

Kishou muttered, watching me finish the rest of Kurosaki's coffee. I wasn't exactly thirsty, I just didn't want to waste food. There was only a little bit left anyways.

As I turned around to leave the student council room, I bumped into someone. We staggered back a bit, but neither of us fell down.

"Huh..."

"Sorry. Are you alright?"

The person I had bumped into was Masamoto Manabe, a student council member from 1st Year A Class. Following behind him was Ichinose, also part of the student council and the sole 1st Year candidate competing in the student council presidential election.

"I'm fine..."

"That's good. If you'll excuse me."

Masamoto then brushed past me, sitting down at the long table in the middle of the room alongside Xuelan and Kishou. Kurosaki remained at the sofa, playing on her phone.

One thing's for sure, I didn't expect Masamoto to be so tall... that guy was definitely above 6ft. I only really knew him for being the judge behind Yukimura's case back in May.

"Nyahallo, Takanori-kun! What are you doing here?"

Noticing my unusual presence, Ichinose came over to greet me with a wave.

"Hey. I was just sorting out some business here."

"Ooh, I see. Are you applying to join the council, perhaps?"

"Me? Part of the student council?"

I almost laughed at the thought. There's no way a guy like me was cut out for this kind of job, nor would I fit in with everyone else here.

I mean, if Shigeru was rejected, what's the chance I'd be accepted? It'd be way slimmer than his, since I'm from E Class and he was at least in D Class.

"What? I think you'd make an excellent member!"

"Sorry, but I'm not interested in that kind of stuff. Besides, aren't all the roles taken?"

"We still have two member slots open if you are thinking about it."

Overhearing our conversation, Xuelan chimed in. Being the secretary, she knew about these sorts of fine details.

"...I'll pass. I'd have a snowball's chance in hell trying to join anyways."

While I'd get more power from being part of the council, it wasn't worth sacrificing my freedom or taking up more responsibilities. Simply put, I'm fine with where I am right now.

"I don't know about that. You left quite a good first impression on Kishou, you know?"

Kurosaki laughed, offhandedly commenting on the situation.

"I did...?"

I looked over to Kishou, who was minding his own business by gazing outside at the doves flying past the window.

"I mean, if I was president, I'd definitely have you on my council. You're just that interesting, Takanori."

Kurosaki smiled.

"...ah, whatever. I'll take the compliment and leave. I'm late to class anyways..."

"Fu fu fu. See you around, Takanori!"

I finally left the student council room and headed back to class. I wonder what excuse I'll use this time... Chabashira-sensei surely won't mind, right?