In the student council room of Shuchi'in Academy, the student council president, Kaguya Shinomiya, was reviewing documents.
As the daughter of the Shinomiya family, although Kaguya was almost destined not to become the heir of the Shinomiya family, she still strived not to bring shame to the Shinomiya name.
Perfectly completing the duties of the student council was the best she believed she could do at the moment.
Especially since the chairman of Shuchi'in Academy was none other than Kaguya's uncle, Un'yo Shinomiya, which made her even more determined not to make any mistakes in these matters.
Speaking of which, Kaguya Shinomiya originally had a competitor for the student council president position—a commoner who had passed the entrance exam based on academic merit.
However, for some reason, that commoner eventually withdrew from the race, allowing Kaguya to smoothly assume the position of student council president.
Such cases were all too common at Shuchi'in Academy. Many commoners managed to enter the academy through money or exams, only to be quickly crushed by the class hierarchy within.
Shuchi'in Academy was not a kind place, and it wasn't easy for commoners to blend into its social strata.
"Kaguya! The new board game has arrived! Want to play together!?"
Just as she was handling the documents, the student council room door was pushed open, and the student council secretary, Chika Fujiwara, barged in holding a box.
Yes, in Kaguya's eyes, Chika's actions couldn't be described as "walking in"—it was more like "storming in."
Her sudden movements and loud voice made even the usually cold-faced Kaguya twitch with irritation.
"Secretary Fujiwara, if you continue to disrupt my work like this, I will have to request the principal to remove you from the student council."
Perhaps because Chika's behavior had already built up a lot of frustration in Kaguya's mind, this time Kaguya couldn't hold back and issued a dismissal threat.
However, Chika wasn't fazed at all. She still wore her usual carefree expression and approached Kaguya with the board game in hand:
"If you keep frowning like that, you'll break one day."
"..."
Kaguya's mouth twitched, and she really wanted to push Chika away, but after a moment of hesitation, she finally sighed.
"Go play with your board game club members. Don't bother me. I'm in a bad mood and don't have time to mess around with you."
Although Chika seemed frivolous, her background was anything but small—her great-grandfather was a former prime minister, making her a member of a prominent political family.
It was precisely because of this status that Chika could become Kaguya's friend—one of the few people Kaguya could truly call a friend.
"Huh? Did something happen?"
Hearing Kaguya say she was in a bad mood, Chika was also surprised. She put down the board game and looked at Kaguya with a more serious expression.
"Tell me what's wrong. I'm your friend, after all!"
Seeing Chika's genuine concern, Kaguya felt both helpless and slightly moved.
She hesitated for a moment, then remembered that Chika wasn't the type to gossip about others' secrets, so she decided to share:
"My family has arranged a banquet in a few days, and they've demanded that I attend."
"A banquet that Kaguya must attend... Oh no, is it that kind of banquet?"
Hearing this, Chika also showed a surprised expression, covering her mouth with her hands in panic.
Kaguya nodded helplessly—although she wasn't involved in the Shinomiya family's affairs, she was well aware of the unspoken rules of such families.
As a young lady with little real power, being forced to attend a banquet... wasn't this a setup for an arranged marriage?
Although she had long prepared herself for this possibility, when the day finally arrived, Kaguya still felt lost.
She might have to marry someone she had never met before. Even the usually cold and composed Kaguya couldn't help but feel at a loss.
"Do you know which family the other party is from?"
Chika's eyes sharpened—she considered herself Kaguya's best friend, and seeing Kaguya so troubled, she naturally wanted to help!
There weren't many families that the Shinomiya family would value enough to arrange a marriage with, so Chika assumed the other party must be someone notable, likely a student at Shuchi'in Academy.
"I'm not sure of the details, but I heard the name 'Shin Ran'... and it seems they're not a student at Shuchi'in."
Kaguya shook her head. When she first heard the name from her maid, Hayasaka, she had used her authority as student council president to check the school registry.
She confirmed that there was no such person at Shuchi'in Academy.
"Not from Shuchi'in?"
Chika also furrowed her brow, thinking hard.
"That's strange. The name doesn't give any clues about which family they're from... but if the Shinomiya family is arranging a marriage, they can't be just anyone, right?"
"...Hayasaka seems to know who this person is, but due to family restrictions, she can't tell me the details."
Kaguya recalled the expression on Hayasaka's face when she mentioned this. It was clear that Hayasaka knew who Shin Ran was.
But when Kaguya pressed for more information, Hayasaka said the Shinomiya family had forbidden her from disclosing anything, so Kaguya was left in the dark.
"Hayasaka, huh?"
Chika rubbed her chin, then quickly straightened up and declared to Kaguya, "Alright, leave this to me! I'll definitely help you figure out who this person is!"
As she spoke, Chika even pulled out a Sherlock Holmes-style hat from somewhere and put it on her head:
"If this guy turns out to be a bad person, I'll help you chase him away!"
"Chika..."
Kaguya's icy expression softened, seemingly touched by Chika's enthusiasm.
Although Chika seemed unreliable, her genuine effort to help was undeniable.
Thinking this, Kaguya instinctively reached out and took Chika's hand, nodding to her:
"In that case, I'll leave it to you. But please be careful, and don't put yourself in any danger."
Entrusting this to Chika was the only option.
After all, if Kaguya were to investigate someone, she would have to use the Shinomiya family's resources.
But now that the Shinomiya family was deliberately keeping her in the dark, Kaguya had no way to conduct her own investigation. The people she could previously rely on would still ultimately obey the Shinomiya family.
Chika, on the other hand, wouldn't be controlled by the Shinomiya family, so Kaguya had no choice but to rely on her to investigate.
To be continued…
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