"When he transferred to your school he was placed in Year 2, but here at Shuchiin he's in Year 1. After returning, he continued in Year 1," Shirogane explained. "Of course, with Rinji's grades, he could pass the promotion exam any time."

"Is that so..."

"By the way, since you all came from Hyakkaou Academy, the atmosphere here at Shuchiin is definitely different from your old school. You might need some time to get used to things..."

"You don't need to worry about that, President Shirogane," said Kaede.

"Back at Hyakkaou we were members of the Anti-Gambling Club. Now that we're at Shuchiin, we're starting a new school life, and we won't be doing anything like gambling again."

"Then—"

"Huh? That's such a shame!"

Before Shirogane could finish, Fujiwara jumped in with a disappointed look.

Having been in the student council this long, Shirogane already knew exactly what Fujiwara was thinking.

"If you're planning on having a few 'friendly matches' with the transfer students from Hyakkaou, I'd suggest you drop that idea right now. Your cheap tricks can't even fool me—there's no way they'd work on actual experts."

"Ehh—! I just wanted to play a little, that's all!"

"When have you ever played without saying, 'Why don't we bet something' first?"

Shirogane was already used to Fujiwara's troublemaking and scatterbrained tendencies.

He had a feeling that with Fujiwara's self-destructive personality, she'd probably go out of her way to challenge the three transfers and just end up being schooled by them.

Just then, the office door swung open.

Rinji walked in and immediately saw the group.

"Oh? You're here already?"

"Takamine-kun."

"Hello, Takamine-kun."

"President, you came."

When they saw Rinji, everyone greeted him one after another.

Rinji waved his hand dismissively. "I told you, once I left Hyakkaou, I wasn't the president anymore. Right now I'm just the student council treasurer."

Saying that, Rinji looked at the three in front of him.

"So, how's your first day of school been?"

Nanami: "The classmates have all been very friendly."

Ayame: "This place really is nice."

Kaede: "It's alright."

Nanami and Ayame had transferred not only to see Rinji again, but also because they genuinely disliked gambling as an activity.

Kaede's reason for transferring was much more straightforward.

Observation.

Dedicated to becoming a 'king,' Kaede wanted to stay by Rinji's side and learn. After all, Rinji was the person he had met who most resembled someone who controlled everything like a true 'king.'

At the same time, he wanted to observe the mysterious Shirogane, who in his eyes was steadily becoming a mastermind on a global scale.

The reason he had given such a vague response—'It's alright'—was because he hadn't ended up in the same class as either Rinji or Shirogane. That meant he couldn't interact with them regularly.

Only by being closer to them could he observe and learn.

"President Shirogane," Kaede said, adjusting his glasses and looking at Shirogane seated at the desk.

"There's something I'd like to ask of you."

"Uh… what is it?"

Seeing Kaede's serious expression, Shirogane wasn't sure what he was about to say.

"I'd like to join the student council."

After saying that, Kaede bowed deeply to him.

"This…"

Seeing him bow, Shirogane looked troubled.

Although the student council members were directly appointed by him as president, all the seats were already filled.

If Kaede were to join, someone else would have to be kicked out. But after spending so much time together, the current members had built real friendships, and he didn't want to split them apart.

"Sorry… the student council is full for now…"

"No, it was presumptuous of me."

Kaede replied stiffly.

Inside, he thought, 'So at my current level, President Shirogane thinks I'm still too weak? That makes sense. Someone with such obvious ambition would definitely see me as lacking in ability.'

He didn't believe Shirogane's excuse about the student council being full.

To him, Shuchiin's rules were surely decided by Shirogane himself. The only reason he wasn't accepted must have been that he wasn't trusted or simply wasn't capable enough.

"Now that you mention it, not all the council members are here today," Ayame said, glancing around.

"Vice President Shinomiya and the General Affairs Director Iino aren't here?"

"Oh, Iino's probably busy with disciplinary committee duties right now, and Shinomiya should still be in class… Wait, you already know them?" Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs novelꞁire.net

"Yes, after we arrived some classmates told us about the student council," Nanami explained. "There's a classmate named Kose who always comes up to me after class and tells me all about Vice President Shinomiya's exploits."

"Ah… well, Shinomiya certainly has plenty of achievements. She is a genius, after all…"

"I even heard she's called the 'Ice Princess of the Second Year,'" Nanami said with a smile. "And then there's the 'White Swan of the Third Year' (Koyasu Tsubame), and the 'Fairy of the First Year' too."

"In a closed school environment, it's only natural for students to give nicknames to the most prominent figures," Shirogane said with a smile.

"Oh~ speaking of that," Fujiwara suddenly chimed in with a grin,

"Rinji-kun has a nickname at school too."

"Eh?"

The three Hyakkaou transfers all turned to stare at Rinji.

Rinji turned his head away, refusing to meet their eyes.

"Ah… I do have a nickname, something like 'Shuchiin's Schwarzenegger.'"

"That's not true at all," Fujiwara cut him off mercilessly. "His nicknames include 'Full of Sin,' 'Shuchiin's Dictator,' and 'Stupid Bastard.'"

Rinji: "…"

"Now that you mention it, I think I remember that," Ishigami suddenly said, lifting his head from his handheld console on the couch.

"At the end of last term, Rinji even got a new nickname."

"Oh right, he did," Fujiwara beamed. "It was something like 'The Mona Lisa of Shuchiin.'"

Rinji: "…"

It was almost universally accepted that the Mona Lisa depicted a woman, but later scholars had compared the skull structure and facial features and suggested the figure might actually be male. Comparing it to Da Vinci's self-portrait, some even concluded that the Mona Lisa was Da Vinci himself.

So the reason Rinji had been given that nickname was basically saying he was 'gender ambiguous.'

"I think it really suits you, Rinji-kun—your beauty transcends gender and all that…"

"Shut up."