Chapter 188: Delivering the Collective Complaint from Three Classes!
With a cheerful smile, Yuto led Suzune and the others away under the resentful gazes of Totsuka and the Katsuragi faction, heading toward the Class D classroom.
"Damn Shimizu Yuto! He's just the student council vice president. What's he showing off for?" Totsuka complained.
"Why did someone who only recently joined the student council immediately become vice president? If you ask me, Katsuragi should be the vice president!"
"Exactly!"
The other members of the Katsuragi faction repeatedly agreed with Totsuka.
Katsuragi remained silent.
Now that he had joined the student council and aligned himself with Secretary Kiriyama Ikuto, he knew far more about Yuto than they did.
For example, Yuto had been responsible for driving Vice President Nagumo, Secretaries Mizowaki and Tonokawa, and three general affairs staff out of the student council.
Exceptional academics, outstanding political ability, and a reputation known throughout the school...
From a purely rational perspective, Katsuragi considered it perfectly reasonable for a student like Yuto to be appointed vice president the moment he joined.
Emotionally, however...
Katsuragi found it difficult to accept that another student from his own year held a much higher position than him inside the student council.
"That's enough. I have work to do at the club building. Are you all still coming with me?" Katsuragi asked.
"Of course!"
"Then let's go."
...
"Vice President~ Are you sure it's okay to treat Katsuragi-san like that?" Ichinose asked while carrying the stack of written complaints. "You've basically made your disagreement with him public now, haven't you?"
"Katsuragi already intends to align himself with someone else. There's no reason for me to keep pretending we have a friendly relationship," Yuto replied.
Kei and Kikyo nodded approvingly.
If that traitor wasn't taught at least a small lesson, how would he ever understand the consequences of betraying Yuto?
"Oh, and one more thing."
Yuto glanced back toward Ichinose.
"Didn't we already agree that when we're outside the student council, you don't need to call me Vice President?"
"But isn't it part of the student council regulations?"
"Everyone knows those rules are mostly decorative. People who are close don't need to rigidly follow them."
Yuto himself was a perfect example.
Inside the student council, he sometimes called Manabu "President," sometimes "Senpai," and occasionally even teased him by calling him "Horikita's brother."
Manabu never cared.
Hearing Yuto describe their relationship as close, a bright smile immediately spread across Ichinose's face. Her brows lifted slightly, and her eyes seemed to sparkle with undisguised happiness.
For some reason, she found herself unable to suppress how pleased she felt.
Ever since Ichinose chose to tell Yuto about Katsuragi's planned "betrayal," Yuto had begun treating her as one of his companions and friends.
And between friends, there was no need to use formal titles that deliberately created distance.
Kikyo glanced toward the beaming Ichinose and felt a faint sense of danger.
This Class B woman's figure was far better than Kei's. Her full, firm breasts were almost on par with her own!
Then she reconsidered.
Why was she worrying about this?
Worrying about her boyfriend being stolen away by Ichinose... that was something Kei should be worrying about!
'I should find a chance to remind Kei to keep a closer eye on Yuto, so other vixens don't seduce him.'
...
After leaving the first-year school building, Katsuragi sighed.
After thinking through the details, he said helplessly, "That was a miscalculation. I didn't expect Ichinose Honami of Class B to have no real hostility toward Shimizu Yuto. Instead, she told him everything I said to her."
Judging from Yuto's attitude toward him, Katsuragi had already guessed that Ichinose had revealed their earlier conversation.
"At the beginning of the school year, Class B lost more than seven hundred thousand points because of Shimizu Yuto. As Class B's leader, Ichinose's relationship with him should've been terrible..."
"Boss Katsuragi, do you think Ichinose likes Shimizu Yuto? Maybe that's why she informed on you," one member of the Katsuragi faction speculated.
"Likes him? How could that be?" Totsuka waved dismissively. "Everyone knows Karuizawa Kei is Shimizu Yuto's girlfriend. Who would fall for a guy who already has a girlfriend?"
(Kikyo: ...Why are all of you looking at me? I like a guy who already has a girlfriend. Is that a problem?)
"I don't think it's romance," Katsuragi said calmly. "Ichinose probably just believes following Shimizu is better than following someone else."
Katsuragi and Ichinose were both general affairs staff, so they had spent a fair amount of time working and interacting together.
Ichinose treated practically everyone with the same bright warmth.
Because of that, Katsuragi didn't believe she had betrayed his confidence simply because she liked Yuto.
...
Meanwhile, Yuto entered the Class D classroom with Ichinose and Suzune.
Kei and Kikyo remained outside.
"Holy crap, it's Shimizu Yuto!"
"Why is that demon here?! Wait, isn't that Ichinose from Class B? Why is she with him?"
Most Class D students reacted to Yuto like rabbits spotting a hawk, trembling with fear.
Only Hiyori was an exception.
She glanced at Yuto once, then quietly returned her attention to the book in her hands.
Standing at the front of the classroom, Yuto looked over the students and let his gaze pass almost imperceptibly across the soft-spoken girl.
Hiyori kept her head lowered and remained absorbed in her classic novel as though she couldn't care less that Yuto had entered the room.
Yet only a few days earlier, she had enthusiastically discussed the plot of classic novels with him through messages.
Girls really could be surprisingly good at hiding things.
Yuto looked around and noticed three empty seats.
Ryuen, Ishizaki, and Albert were all absent.
It didn't matter.
Under the varied gazes of the Class D students, Yuto spoke.
"Everyone in Class D, let me first explain who we are and why we're here. I'm Shimizu Yuto, and I'm here representing the student council. You two should introduce yourselves as well."
He looked toward Ichinose and Suzune.
"I'm Ichinose Honami, a member of the student council's general affairs staff. It's nice to meet everyone."
"I'm Horikita Suzune, also general affairs staff."
Compared with Ichinose's brightness, Suzune's introduction was noticeably cooler.
Once both had finished, Yuto continued.
"The three of us came to Class D today to convey a collective complaint from Classes A, B, and C."
"A collective complaint?!"
Ibuki frowned.
"Shimizu Yuto, what does that even mean? Aren't you here because of those club challenges?"
"The club challenges can wait. Right now, the student council is handling the collective complaint."
Yuto gestured toward the stack of written complaints in Ichinose's arms.
"Every one of those documents was written by students from Classes A, B, and C. Together, they formally complained to the student council about Class D's harassment."
Hearing that, the Class D students finally understood why Yuto had come.
Ibuki immediately objected.
"It wasn't harassment! Those were accidents!"
"One or two incidents can be called accidents," Yuto replied. "But Komiya Kyogo has 'accidentally' fallen into other students in the cafeteria and knocked them over seventeen separate times."
He looked directly at Komiya.
"Can seventeen incidents still reasonably be called accidents?"
The moment Komiya noticed Yuto looking at him, he immediately lowered his head and avoided eye contact.
Komiya had once followed Ryuen's instructions and participated in the plot against Yuto.
Instead of successfully framing him, Komiya had ended up trapped by Yuto and forced to betray Ryuen.
Ever since then, just like Ishizaki, Komiya had developed a strong fear of Yuto.
"The actions of certain Class D students have seriously disrupted other students' studies and daily lives, and they're now affecting preparation for the final exam in mid-July."
Yuto continued calmly, "The student council has officially accepted the collective complaint submitted by more than sixty students across three classes. Therefore, I'm here on behalf of the student council to convey our decision."
"If any Class D student continues harassing other students, they will receive severe punishment."
The words severe punishment immediately made the Class D students nervous.
They had personally watched five classmates get expelled after failing to reach the passing mark on the midterm exam.
Could "severe punishment" mean expulsion?
"Shimizu-san..." one student asked timidly. "When you say severe punishment, do you mean expulsion?"
"Not directly. The situation isn't serious enough for that. At most, you'd probably receive a three-day or one-week suspension."
Yuto gave them a refreshing smile.
"However, I'll use every bit of authority I have in the student council to make sure that suspension overlaps with the final exam in mid-July."
"If you miss the final exam because you're suspended, then you can get expelled afterward."
The entire classroom froze.
The Class D students stared at Yuto in horror.
This guy really was a complete demon!
"I hope you possess the same determination Ryuen did and can happily kneel before the school administration to beg for permission to take the final exam during your suspension."
"Otherwise, you can wait for expulsion."
"..."
Several students visibly shuddered.
Yuto smiled pleasantly.
"So I sincerely suggest that everyone stop obeying the orders of a certain delinquent and causing trouble for other students."
"But we don't dare refuse Ryuen!" Tokito shouted. "I opposed him, and he broke my arm!"
"That's easy enough to solve. I'll give you a method."
Yuto smiled.
"Whenever Ryuen approaches you in the future, turn on your phone's video or audio recorder. If he orders you to do something wrong, submit that recording to the student council."
"The student council will punish Ryuen for threatening other students."
"You all know about my history with Ryuen, don't you?"
Yuto's smile deepened slightly.
"As someone who has been targeted by him several times, I promise I'll do my best to get Ryuen expelled. I imagine none of you particularly enjoy having a delinquent violently controlling your class either."
"Damn right! I want that bastard Ryuen expelled!" Tokito immediately shouted.
The others didn't dare openly agree, but several expressions clearly showed temptation.
They really did want Ryuen gone.
Nobody wanted to continue living under his violent oppression.
That was the consequence of ruling through violence. Cohesion suffered terribly, and eventually even the leader's own people would turn against him.
Yuto looked at their reactions with mild satisfaction.
"The student council exists to support the students and protect everyone's ability to live peacefully at school. We won't ignore anyone who deliberately destroys that peace."
"That's everything the student council came to tell Class D today."
He smiled.
"So please stop 'accidentally' knocking other people over."
"And anyone who already agreed to participate in a club qualification test can head to the club building now. The student council will go there afterward to determine whether you still qualify to remain in your clubs."
With that, Yuto left the Class D classroom.
Ichinose and Suzune followed him out.
The moment they were gone, the classroom exploded with noise.
But instead of complaining about Yuto, the students were actually cheering.
Through the classroom window, Ichinose saw the Class D students celebrating and looked confused.
"Shimizu, why do they look so happy after learning that three classes filed complaints against them?"
Being warned by the student council shouldn't have been something worth celebrating.
"It's simple."
Yuto answered casually.
"Other than a few actual delinquents, normal students don't enjoy harassing and disgusting everyone around them."
"Oh!"
Ichinose immediately understood.
That was right.
The people in Class D were students, not a gang of thugs who enjoyed making everyone miserable.
Now that Yuto had issued an official warning on behalf of the student council, they finally had a legitimate excuse to refuse Ryuen's orders.
Who would risk suspension—or even expulsion—just to do Ryuen's dirty work?
Kei and Kikyo came over to meet them.
Kikyo smiled sweetly.
"Yuto, now that Class D has been formally warned, they probably won't harass everyone anymore, right?"
"Mm. Probably."
Yuto nodded, though his expression showed that he was thinking about something else.
Kei noticed immediately.
"Yuto, what are you thinking about?"
…
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