Chapter 10: I Have a Question (Patreon)

Chapter 10: I Have a Question

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The three of them entered the student council room together and were met at once by a scrutinizing gaze.

Honami Ichinose froze on the spot. Kohei Katsuragi, the biggest of the three, instinctively took a step back. Even Satoru Ajimu himself found the sudden pressure enough to stop him in his tracks.

The black-haired young man sitting ramrod straight, his presence as towering as a mountain, was none other than the Student Council President of Advanced Nurturing High School — reputedly the strongest one in decades.

Through sheer personal effort, he had carried thirty-nine classmates all the way to third year without losing a single one along the way.

Now he had even awakened "Limitless," the technique of the Gojo family, one of the Three Great Families — though without the accompanying Six Eyes, or he'd truly have been unbeatable.

That said, he also held a fifth dan in karate and a fourth dan in aikido — ranks most people didn't reach until their thirties, giving the distinct impression that someone had gone overboard filling in his stats.

"Not bad,"

After a moment, the silent pressure dissipated.

The bespectacled black-haired young man studied the three newcomers with a pair of red eyes.

"I didn't expect the first to arrive would be you three — Kohei Katsuragi and Satoru Ajimu of Class 1-A, and Honami Ichinose of Class 1-B."

The Student Council President, who had already memorized the entire first-year roster, went on in a flat voice.

"So, what business do you have with the student council?"

"Naturally, we're here to ask about whatever information the council provides free of charge."

Satoru Ajimu glanced at Katsuragi, who was still struggling to catch his breath and swallowing hard, utterly cowed by the Student Council President — and yet it was Katsuragi who spoke up first, on his behalf.

After all, it was the bigger-built Katsuragi who had borne the brunt of that pressure earlier.

It wasn't that the Student Council President hadn't meant to intimidate him too — Satoru Ajimu just seemed strangely insensitive to that kind of presence.

Besides, he remembered this guy was something of a sister-complex case — so bad at handling his own sister that he'd once clumsily tried to run away from her.

Later, when he found out she'd chased him all the way to this very school, and saw her losing herself trying to imitate him, he hadn't quite managed to keep his composure.

For some reason, that gave Satoru Ajimu an inexplicable sense of superiority whenever he stood in front of the man.

With that impression fixed in his mind, Ajimu naturally felt no awe toward the Student Council President.

Especially since, at the entrance ceremony, the man had stood on stage looking every bit as imposing, leaving a terrifying impression on all the students below — but at the time... he'd actually been checking out other girls.

Which was exactly why Ajimu wasn't buying any of it.

Satoru Ajimu asked his question with a smile, earning a flicker of newfound respect from the Student Council President.

"I've already printed out all the information available free of charge."

As he spoke, the Student Council President pointed to four thick stacks of documents on his desk.

"Anything else?"

the Student Council President asked again, his voice growing steadily sterner.

Satoru Ajimu turned his head and saw Katsuragi looking like a fish out of water, mouth opening and closing without a sound coming out.

Beside him, Honami Ichinose's face had gone rather pale too.

Clearly, the pressure the Student Council President had unleashed earlier wasn't just ordinary presence — there was probably a touch of cursed energy mixed in.

"All right then, I still have a question," Satoru Ajimu said, pressing on.

Katsuragi immediately shot him a grateful look, still working to calm the fear inside him — he'd need a bit more time to fully recover.

Though he was recovering more slowly than Ichinose.

"Since the first month's special exam is based on the code of conduct, is there any reward for exceeding the standard?"

"Exceeding it?"

"For example, actively investigating whether the commercial center is selling counterfeit goods, or reporting staff — even faculty — with poor conduct."

"After all, Advanced Nurturing High School exists to train jujutsu sorcerers for the nation. Students' mental well-being and physical safety both matter a great deal."

"Also, would volunteering for community service earn extra Class Points?"

Satoru Ajimu wanted to know whether doing so would actually count for anything.

He still remembered a certain electronics store in the commercial center with a staff member who liked to secretly take photos — and who happened to be an obsessive fan of a dowdy girl from Class D.

Just having that creep around the commercial center was enough to psychologically scar decent high schoolers.

And he could easily hurt that "dowdy girl," who in truth was secretly working as a print model.

"If you report a store selling counterfeits, or staff or faculty behaving improperly, the school should reward you with Private Points."

"As for Class Points, the reward probably won't be much... but during the code of conduct exam period, that kind of behavior should count for double."

"As for the volunteer work you mentioned, that requires confirmation from 'the school.'"

The Student Council President thought it over before giving his answer.

Honami Ichinose's eyes widened — she hadn't imagined there was such an angle to the first month's special exam that her homeroom teacher had described.

She'd only been thinking about how to minimize her daily deductions, not how to actively rack up points.

Katsuragi felt more and more grateful that he'd invited Satoru Ajimu along to the student council.

As for the Student Council President's answer, Satoru Ajimu wasn't particularly surprised.

Both then and now... student safety came first. Conflicts between students were kept in check by extensive on-campus surveillance and student council arbitration, so nothing too serious ever really happened.

But the staff at the commercial center were adults.

The harm adults could inflict on minors was sometimes simply irreparable.

Not to mention that these students weren't just future talent Advanced Nurturing High School would send out into society — they were the jujutsu sorcerers the nation needed most right now...

Satoru Ajimu nodded at Katsuragi.

By now, having recovered, Katsuragi took over and started asking the Student Council President about how the council operated.

After all, he wanted to understand the full scope of the council's authority.

Not to be outdone, Honami Ichinose joined in with her own questions for the Student Council President.

After all, she herself had served as student council president back in middle school.

The exchange dragged on for over ten minutes, and as Satoru Ajimu listened, his expression grew increasingly strange.

"As for joining clubs, the student council will hold a club orientation meeting tomorrow at five in the afternoon — though the council currently has no plans to recruit first-years."

"I'll make a final decision based on how you all perform over the coming month. So — anything else?"

The Student Council President's tone was cold, almost unfeeling.

"Nothing else," Katsuragi said slowly.

"Nothing from me either."

Honami Ichinose felt a twinge of regret, but since the council had no plans to recruit for now, she had no choice but to let the idea go.

"President, I still have a question."

Satoru Ajimu's words drew another curious glance from the Student Council President.

"You never mentioned what the student council's compensation is. Is that because the current arrangement is a bit unusual?"

"You have a strange way of looking at things."

The Student Council President didn't try to hide anything, and went on.

"Council members used to receive a set amount of Private Points every month, but now they can choose between Private Points and Class Points."

"The president gets ten Class Points a month, the vice presidents get five, and positions like secretary, treasurer, and general affairs officer get three each..."

"Originally, the president received one hundred thousand Private Points a month, the vice presidents fifty thousand, and everyone else thirty thousand."

It might look like Class Points were the lesser deal, since ten Class Points in a fully-staffed class only worked out to about forty thousand Private Points a month.

But Class Points kept accumulating, so the amount earned each month only grew larger.

Three months in, the Private Points converted from those Class Points would already reach one hundred twenty thousand, and the number would keep climbing every month after that.

Hearing that council members could take Class Points as their pay, both Katsuragi and Ichinose found themselves wanting to join the student council even more.

Even an ordinary position earning three points a month would add up to thirty-six points a year.

If three students from Class B joined the student council, that would be one hundred eight points...

"Are the council's seats limited? And there's no way to fill them all with third-years?"

Satoru Ajimu pressed.

"That's right, there's a cap on seats. Besides the president, there can be up to two vice presidents, three secretaries, three treasurers, five general affairs officers, five discipline committee members, and so on."

"Third-years can only hold half the seats. The other half is split between second-years and first-years."

The Student Council President explained patiently.

He hadn't meant to stir up trouble between the first-years and second-years, but the seeds of conflict over council seats had already been planted between the two classes.

"Will you be joining the student council, Ajimu?"

Earlier, while explaining things to Katsuragi and Ichinose, the Student Council President hadn't shown the slightest interest in recruiting either of them.

Yet now, he was inviting Satoru Ajimu to join instead.

"Tch, tch."

A laugh escaped Satoru Ajimu.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, President — but let's wait until I've awakened a cursed technique first. If what I awaken suits my class better, I won't be joining the council."

His attitude was easygoing enough — after all, it was only the first day of school.

Satoru Ajimu had no intention of making a hasty decision.

The Student Council President didn't seem bothered by that in the least — if anything, there was a note of appreciation in his voice.

"That's a level-headed way to think about it. I'll keep a seat open for you."

Once the Student Council President fell silent, Satoru Ajimu traded a glance with the other two, then picked up all four documents from the desk and headed out.

Watching this — Ajimu walking off cradling two of the documents in his arms — the Student Council President let out an involuntary laugh.

"Eh?" Beside him, the girl with twin hair buns looked startled.

Even Honami Ichinose widened her big, round, pretty eyes a little.

The four documents the Student Council President had prepared were plainly meant for the four first-year classes, one each.

"This..." Katsuragi hesitated, unsure whether he should say something.

"Let's go, quick."

Satoru Ajimu, the two documents still cradled in his arms, hurried them along.

The three of them left the student council office, and on their way downstairs soon ran into Satoru Kaneda of Class 1-C.

He glanced at the three of them, suddenly grew flustered, and quickened his pace up the stairs.

"Looks like Class C has caught on too."

Katsuragi said, lowering his voice.

After all, at Advanced Nurturing High School, teachers didn't get involved in managing students — conflicts between students and competition between classes were all handled by the student council.

The council even had a certain degree of authority to intervene in some special exams, originally.

Exactly how much of that power remained now was probably something only the Student Council President knew, but either way, the council had access to information ordinary students couldn't easily get their hands on.

"Katsuragi, take one of the copies and go negotiate with Class C when the time comes. Whatever you get out of it is yours to keep."

Satoru Ajimu, apparently having just remembered something, shoved both documents from his arms into Katsuragi's hands and made a run for it.

"Oh, right — could you fill the rest of the class in on what happened at the student council for me?"

"Huh?" Katsuragi's eyes went wide.

Honami Ichinose looked a bit dazed too. Watching his retreating back disappear, all she could do was sigh.

"Ajimu really is one of a kind."