"There are more people here than I expected." I muttered as I looked at all of the students assembled in the gymnasium, nearly all of them being freshmen.
I stood near the back of the room with Ichinose, waiting for the fair to begin.
"Do you want to take a closer look?" I asked Ichinose, who seemed very interested, but she shook her head before looking at me with a smile.
"No, I'm fine staying here. I don't want to make you uncomfortable, especially since you seem to hate crowds."
"Good grief, you're going to make this old man cry." I said with a smile, pleased by her consideration.
"By the way, do you have a club you're interested in, Ichinose-san?" I asked her as I glanced over the pamphlet that students received upon entering the gymnasium, containing some detailed information about club activities.
"Hmm… I don't know, I'm still hesitating. That said, it seems like all the clubs operate at a high level here. I believe they say that many athletes and club members here are famous throughout the country."
Well, I guess that's what you'd expect from elite students. And the facilities seemed pretty substantial, which isn't really surprising since the school is government-funded, so they must be receiving high-level training. Perhaps there must be students who want to become professionals in the future and participate in the Olympics and the likes.
Looking at the list of clubs in the brochure, I was a bit disappointed that there isn't any karate club in this school, being personally familiar with the martial art.
What a shame. I had the idea of challenging all the club members, doing a Dojoyaburi and beating them for their points once my physical stats improved, but it seems I won't be able to do it... Nah, I think I could do something similar with the other clubs. So, we have... basketball, volleyball, soccer, swimming, tennis, tea ceremony, art, archery, and so on.
Besides the tea ceremony and volleyball, I could earn quite a good amount of Private Points by challenging them. I better work my ass out if I want to make this happen.
"Hey, look, Kokonoe-kun. Someone is getting on stage." Ichinose told me as she tugged on my sleeve, making me look up from the pamphlet and saw a young girl with purple hair that is tied in two buns, standing in front of the podium, a microphone in her hand.
"Thank you all for waiting, first-year students. We will now begin the club fair. A representative from each club will explain their function. My name is Tachibana, the student council secretary and the club fair's organizer. It's nice to meet you all."
After Tachibana delivered the opening remarks, representatives from each club quickly lined up on a stage. It was quite a diverse crowd. The club representatives included everything from burly athletes in judo uniforms to students dressed in beautiful kimonos.
"Her kimono is so pretty." Ichinose said, admiring the garment as I nodded.
"You're right. You know, if you join them, you may be able to wear a kimono too. I'm sure you'd look great in one." I said, looking at Ichinose with a small smile as she blushed slightly and gently slapped my arm.
"Don't tease me, jeez."
A girl dressed in archery gear stepped onto the stage. "Hello, my name is Hashigaki, the captain of the archery club. Many students may be under the impression that archery is an old-fashioned, simple activity, but it is actually a fun and rewarding sport. We welcome beginners with open arms. If you're interested, please consider joining."
"Hey, look, they seem to be welcoming newcomers. I thought they'd be stricter in their recruitment."
"It's probably because the more members a club has, the more funding it receives from the school. That's how they can get better training equipment."
"I guess there is a reason why they say the world runs around money."
As the seniors introduced their respective clubs one after the other, I blinked when I saw Horikita Manabu step on the stage before shrugging, as it wasn't all that surprising for the president to be present at such an event.
"Is he an acquaintance?" Ichinose asked as she looked at Horikita, seemingly following my line of sight while I nodded.
"He's the student council president."
"So, it's him. I wonder if he came to introduce the student council."
"Are you interested in joining in?" I asked Ichinose, who nodded at me.
"I was a member of the student council in middle school and I really liked that job. I thought about continuing here, at this high school, and now that we know things aren't so simple here, I feel like I would be able to help the class by joining."
"Sure, you might."
Given the nature of this school and the S-System, the student council must hold a lot of power. I don't know to what extent, but I'm sure it's not insignificant. But while I feel that joining the student council will be beneficial, it also sounds quite troublesome, not to mention that I may attract a lot of attention from the other classes, which I don't want.
So, the fact that Ichinose wants to join the student council is a blessing.
"Still, while it's good that you want to help the class, you should think about yourself first before thinking of others." I couldn't help but say, as I looked at Ichinose who shook her head, giving me a determined smile.
"Don't worry. Like I said, I was planning on signing up anyway, it's just that I have one more reason to do so."
"If you say so." I said, scratching my head, before I turned my attention back at the stage where the baseball club was currently being introduced.
And as I watched all the clubs being introduced one by one, I took note of the ones I could potentially challenge, aside from the sport ones, like the chess club or the shogi club.
Well, I'm not so sure about the latter, as I've never played shogi before and, for chess, I'm not a pro, so it will depend on the level of the club members.
Once their club introductions were over, the seniors left the stage and headed to an area where simple tables had been set up, appearing to be a reception area designed to accept new members as I saw some students, a handful being from my class like Shibata, receiving brochures and signing papers.
And eventually, everyone walked off until Horikita Manabu remained, with everyone focusing their attention upon him, and I realized that Horikita had been staring at that specific person this whole time.
I followed his gaze and saw a young girl who looked similar to him, with long black hair and gradient red eyes.
Perhaps she's his little sister? Still, I wonder why he's staring at her so sternly. Is she perhaps a troublemaker? She doesn't really give me the vibe of one. Well, there's so much I can deduce from a person with just one look. And I don't believe I'm that good at reading people.
Now that I think about it, the school must have investigated all the students before they enrolled them. I wonder if I could get this information from Hoshinomiya, or better yet, their entrance exam results.
"Kokonoe-kun, the president is looking at you." I heard Ichinose whisper, prompting me to look back at the stage and saw Horikita gaze in my direction.
Oh... Hi. Yes, I came but can you not look at me, please? Thank you.
"Nah, he must be staring at your pink hair. It's rather flashy." I whispered to Ichinose, who let out a giggle before looking at me with a teasing smile.
"Your white hair is no better, they seem to shine under the lights."
While we were teasing each other, some first-year students grew impatient as they started to hurl comments at him and laughed.
"Do your best!"
"Did you forget to bring your notecards?"
"Ha ha ha ha ha!"
Glancing at them, I couldn't help but wonder if such behavior would result in a decrease in their class points, seeing as they were behaving like monkeys... I meant, uncivilized people.
But despite the comments thrown at him, Horikita stood on stage, calm and motionless, like a robot. I was sure that even if someone threw a firecracker at him, he wouldn't flinch at all.
He was too busy aura farming to do that.
He kept staring down at the students with an apathetic expression, which quickly extinguished the laughter, unsettling the freshmen as a heavy silence imposed itself in the gymnasium for about thirty seconds or so.
"I'm the student council president. My name is Horikita Manabu." He finally said, after slowly scanning the entire crowd.
"The student council is looking to recruit potential candidates among the first-year students to replace the graduating third years. Although no special qualifications are required for candidacy, we humbly ask that those considering application not be involved in other club activities. We generally do not accept students involved elsewhere. Furthermore, we in the student council do not wish to appoint anyone who possesses a naive outlook. Not only would such a person not be elected, he or she would sully the sanctity of this school. It is the student council's right and duty to enforce and amend the rules, but the school expects more than that. We gladly welcome those of you who understand this." Horikita said, not pausing even once during his eloquent speech.
And immediately after finishing, he hopped off the stage and left the gymnasium, not caring that he stunned the near majority of the first-year students as they couldn't utter a single word as they watched him go.
I'd love to do that one day. Making a speech before leaving, not giving a fuck to anybody else. And bonus point if the speech is puzzling as fuck.
"Thank you all for coming. The club fair has ended. We will now open the reception area to anyone interested in signing up. Also, registration will be open until the end of April, so if any student wishes to join at a later date, we ask that you please bring the application form directly to the club you wish to join."
And when I heard the organizer speak, I sighed as the event was finally over.
"Hey, Kokonoe-kun, what do you think he meant by a naive outlook?" Ichinose whispered as she tugged on my sleeve, trying to bring herself closer to my ear, because of our difference of height.
"I guess he wouldn't accept people who haven't yet discovered the truth about the system. That, or the fact that the student council might have more power than it seems." I whispered back, leaning down next to her ear and when I leaned back, I blinked when I saw that Ichinose's face was slightly red.
"I... I see. Well, I'll go apply then. See you later." She hurriedly said as we quickly went to the stand, leaving me confused.
Why is she getting embarrassed when she just did the same thing? If that's all it takes to throw her off, I'm a bit scared of what'll happen if we ever really get close.