"They've set their sights on the president?"

Rinji frowned slightly.

"Why? Just because he once served as president of the Bank of Japan?"

"That reason alone is already significant, but the bigger issue is what came after," Kaede said seriously. "A while back, a newspaper tried to interview him, but for some reason a gag order was issued at the same time, and related reports were deleted shortly afterward."

"Oh…"

That was all done by Rinji himself, so he wasn't surprised.

"And then there's his father's company, Amano Pharmaceuticals. A corporation of that size supposedly has no banking relationships at all, yet its assets are massive. They must be running on cash flow. But with funds that vast, without any loans from banks, given the Shirogane family's background, it should have been impossible. Which likely means behind it all…"

"Hey, you didn't go digging into the president, did you?"

"No."

Kaede spoke calmly.

"To be honest… if even someone like you, President, is willing to work under him, I don't have the guts to investigate him. It feels like I'd touch something dangerous."

You'd only touch me, Rinji thought to himself.

"Normally such a situation would demand investigation. The Financial Services Agency and various banks would get involved. But almost all the big business groups and zaibatsu are turning a blind eye."

"…Oh."

"President, you're not surprised?"

"Surprised."

Not.

Rinji had already guessed the reason.

Amano Pharmaceuticals was a company he founded with money, and that money came from the Kengan Association.

The Kengan Association was a massive organization formed by hundreds of top Japanese enterprises, essentially a financial game of another kind. Since the funding came from Rinji, the business world saw nothing wrong with the company.

And in Japan, if the business world sees no problem, the higher-ups won't interfere.

"Isn't your father in the Ministry of Economy? Doesn't he know the truth?"

"Father seems to know some of the inside story, that's why he allowed me to transfer to Shuchiin."

At this point, Kaede's voice trembled a little.

"This might be even more dangerous than Hyakkaou Academy. No matter what means he used, President Shirogane did defeat Momobami. There must be an oppressive aura around him even stronger than hers."

"No, no, no. What are you taking the president for? He's easy to talk to."

"Huh? A smiling-tiger type?"

"…."

Rinji grimaced as he listened. Kaede's suspicions about Shirogane were something he couldn't refute, because being guessed about this way was tied to Rinji's own actions.

"Even though I don't dare investigate President Shirogane, I did at least look into the rest of the student council…"

"Oh, the council members are all good people…"

"The beloved great-granddaughter of a former prime minister (Fujiwara Chika), the daughter of a Supreme Court justice (Iino Miko), the daughter of the Shinomiya conglomerate head (Shinomiya Kaguya)… has President Shirogane already tied together government, business, and the judiciary?"

"Wait, I think…"

"Even someone like you is willing to serve him loyally, President. This is… Please don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Even if President Shirogane has some massive scheme, I'll pretend not to see it."

"No…"

"Anyway, that's it. I'll be reporting to school tomorrow, and I'll explain the details then."

"…."

Seeing the call ended, Rinji darkened his expression and silently returned to the student council office.

Shirogane looked at Rinji's troubled face with concern. "Rinji? What's wrong? You look pale."

"Nothing, I just got a call from a transfer student."

"Oh? That's good…"

"It is good." Shirogane smiled. "So, are the new classmates easy to get along with?"

"Other than being a little unhinged, I think they'll be fine." Rinji covered his face.

"I see, then…"

Clap.

Rinji walked up to Shirogane and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"What's wrong?"

"Um… President."

"Huh?"

"I think I might've done something that wronged you."

"?"

"But it shouldn't be anything bad." Rinji averted his eyes.

"If it's not bad, then it's fine."

---

"School starts sooner than I thought."

"Yeah."

Outside the student council building, Ishigami tossed Rinji a can of cola and himself cracked open a bottle of some strange-looking drink.

Popping the tab, Rinji glanced at Ishigami's bottle. "What are you drinking?"

"This? It's high-protein stuff I bought at the gym."

"Oh, so you've been training at the gym."

"Yeah. Training with Machio-sensei really built me up. Good thing I had a foundation from middle school club activities, so I can keep up with the routine."

Ishigami did look a bit more solid than before, though barely noticeably. Training hadn't been going on long yet. This text is hosted at novel•fire.net

"Looks like you've prepared well."

"Mm…"

Ishigami clenched his fist.

"Sports, grades, everything has to improve. Only then can I get Tsubame-senpai's attention."

"Conservatively speaking, that should work."

"What do you mean conservatively?"

"Objectively, Ishigami, if you clean yourself up a bit, you're actually decent-looking. If your grades improve and you're good at sports, that makes up the three big points that attract girls. Of course, that's just theory. Girls' preferences vary wildly, sometimes other factors matter." Rinji said. "Like Karura, for instance. She confessed to me not because I had good grades, but because seeing me beat everyone down with blood on my face was attractive to her. Fighting isn't good, but it does draw in the less normal types."

"We don't know Tsubame-senpai's tastes, what kind of person she likes, so our info gathering is incomplete." Rinji continued. "Information is the basis of any operation. Boosting firepower without intel is a war you can't win."

"Eh…"

"For now, don't rush. Figure out Koyasu-senpai's preferences first."

Rinji couldn't help but think of his own parents.

"The more perfect a woman is, the stranger her tastes might be. Sometimes not the gentle type, but the fool."

"Rinji, you were just thinking about yourself, weren't you?"

"Ishigami, do you want a beating?"