Lately, life had become more leisurely for Kaoru.
Aside from Student Council work, he had little else to do.With
Yagami Takuya's expulsion, the White Room finally shifted its focus away from Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
They likely wouldn't make any major moves until they figured out how to deal with Kaoru.
Amasawa Ichika had also become much quieter, though Kaoru knew she would eventually come knocking again—after all, she had gathered plenty of information from Horikita Suzune.
On another front, the first-year students faced yet another Special Exam, with Class C and Class D engaging in fierce competition.
Riku Utsunomiya remained deeply troubled by his friend's expulsion.
Under normal circumstances, Utsunomiya would have merely felt regret, but Hosen Kazuo had employed underhanded methods, sparking conflict between them.
As a result, Utsunomiya—newly joined the Student Council—had no time to settle in before throwing himself into the new Special Exam.
He wasn't the only one; Kaoru noticed even Komiya Kaho had grown busier.
Yagami's expulsion dealt a significant blow to Class B.
The gentle, handsome persona he crafted had been remarkably successful, leaving many students mourning his absence.
With him gone, Class B couldn't remain leaderless forever, so some students began gathering around Komiya Kaho.
This adorable girl possessed social connections rivaling even Yagami's.
Though Kaho might lag slightly in individual capabilities, nobody particularly cared—everyone enjoyed her company and trusted her naturally.
More importantly, someone recognized Komiya Kaho as an idol from the 283 Agency, triggering an explosive wave of fan enthusiasm across the entire grade.
Daily, crowds gathered outside Class B's door, peering inside with intense curiosity about their adorable idol.
Soon, even upperclassmen joined the spectacle. In terms of popularity, she nearly rivaled Kaoru, the notorious Harem Overlord.
Perhaps benefiting from this attention, Komiya Kaho now found herself as Class B's central figure—everyone wanted to be close to this charming kouhai.
Consequently, Kaho had to focus on handling the Special Exam, leaving little time for Student Council visits.
In contrast, Tsubasa Nanase proved surprisingly impressive.
While Kaho and Utsunomiya were frequently absent, she visited the Student Council daily, staying close to Kaoru.
"President, these documents require your review."
Within just a week of joining, Nanase had rapidly adapted to her role.
With Ichinose Honami, Katsuragi Kohei, and Sosuke Tonokawa absent, she served as Kaoru's assistant—or more precisely, his dedicated helper.
Kaoru picked up the neatly organized files containing feedback about the forum redesign.
A quick glance revealed widespread complaints about the school's excessive control—even regular SNS apps were restricted, forcing everyone to rely on the forum's chat function.
While the school's forum lacked the polish of external SNS platforms, it contained all essential features.
Kaoru had no intention of addressing these complaints.
Restricting students' social apps aimed to prevent another incident like Sakura Airi's case while containing rumor proliferation.
Kaoru had never understood why the school didn't strictly manage this area—perhaps they found it too troublesome.
Since the school had even developed the OAA system, they might as well control everyone's communications, turning it into a genuine intranet.
Well, even Ichinose Honami was affected. H
er younger sister often sent her messages, but as long as she read them without replying, the school couldn't do anything about it.
The reason she wasn't angry was that Kaoru could take her out to meet her sister.
This privilege surpassed that of all other students, leaving Ichinose Honami satisfied and unwilling to ask for more.
Aside from these complaints, Kaoru also noticed some students showing curiosity about the revamped forum and starting to experiment with posting.
That said, only the literature club members were enthusiastic about submitting posts. The others were cautiously testing the waters with the mindset of earning Personal points.
Kaorudidn't care about their motives; his initial goal was just to lure Shiina Hiyori in.
Once Shiina Hiyori got hooked, she wouldn't be satisfied with just posting here. She'd likely want to submit to publishers, but school rules prevented her from contacting the outside world.
However, Kaoru hadn't seen any submissions from Shiina Hiyori yet.
Could she be too intimidated?
[Sorry, I still think it's better to remain a pure reader.]
Kaoru could easily imagine the expression on Shiina Hiyori's face when saying this.
Now he could only hope this literary girl had a strong desire to share—to show her world to more people.
"President, is there a problem?"
Tsubasa Nanase had been watching Kaoru's expression and noticed him lost in thought while reviewing documents, prompting her to ask.
"No, nothing's wrong."
Kaoru absentmindedly stamped the documents with his seal and comments. "By the way, what are your impressions of the Student Council these days?"
After a brief hesitation, Nanase replied: "Compared to my middle school's student council, it seems somewhat... leisurely."
Aside from assisting Kaoru in the office, she had been accompanying Ichinose Honami and others on patrols to check for rule violations.
But with the school's extensive surveillance system—further expanded under Kaoru's proposal—how could they possibly spot any violations?
Even conflicts between students, which typically arose from inter-class competitions or club disputes, were quickly resolved before the Student Council needed to intervene.
The logic was simple: causing trouble risked punishment, so students naturally avoided such elementary mistakes.
As for people like Ryuen Kakeru and Hosen Kazuo, they would only approach their targets in areas without surveillance or bystanders.
Since Kaoru strengthened the school's monitoring system, Ryuen now felt watched by Kaoru whenever he stepped outside.
He'd probably have to disable cameras before making any moves.
For these reasons, Nanase couldn't help feeling the job was somewhat leisurely.
"Your perception is correct. The Student Council was always meant to be this relaxed."
Kaoru smiled. "Don't be fooled by whatever authority the school grants the Student Council. In reality, we rarely have decision-making power—at most, we have participation rights."
The Student Council at ANHSi may seem impressive, but in such a school, it is actually a weakened version of a student council.
For example, common events like the sports festival and cultural festival, which are typically organized by students themselves with the student council as the natural organizers, are handled differently at ANHS.
Here, only the school itself can organize such large-scale events, while the student council is responsible for handling miscellaneous tasks.
Like during the previous sports festival, the school assigned trivial tasks to the Student Council for handling.
Since the Student Council lacks the authority to organize events, their workload naturally appears minimal
Moreover, with so many surveillance cameras installed throughout the school, even routine disciplinary supervision has become largely redundant.
"So, you actually don't need my help, do you?"
Tsubasa Nanase slightly furrowed her brows.
She had already formed some unfavorable conjectures but hesitated to voice them due to certain reasons.
Kaoru remained oblivious and instead explained, "It's just relatively relaxed at the moment. Things will change soon though. The third-year executives will retire next semester, so the Student Council genuinely needs fresh blood."
"I heard that during President Nagumo's tenure, he announced that Student Council members could serve unlimited terms."
Tsubasa Nanase remarked neutrally.
"That was his idea. He just wanted to keep his position a bit longer."
Kaoru shook his head. "The situation with the third-years is quite complicated now. The reason Senior Tonokawa has been rarely seen lately is because they're facing a brutal Special Exam."
While first and second-years were conducting the joint Partner Exam, third-years were undergoing their own Special Exam, now nearing its conclusion.
Sosuke Tonokawa and others couldn't afford to take it lightly, which is why they've seldom visited the Student Council recently.