Chapter 212: The Four Person Team’s Celebration Plan

Faced with Fujiwara Chika’s sudden and direct question, a trace of panic flashed through Kaguya Shinomiya’s red eyes. She involuntarily stammered.

"Um... I... well... I just wanted to confirm that he didn’t die in the Dungeon. If he had, we would have needed to make other arrangements for next Monday’s election speech."

After saying that, Kaguya Shinomiya nodded vigorously, as though she were trying to convince herself even more than Fujiwara Chika. She repeated with emphasis,

"Yes. That’s right. That’s exactly it."

"Oh, so that’s how it is."

Fujiwara Chika nodded in a noncommittal way, then suddenly leaned in close to Kaguya Shinomiya’s face, studying her eyes as she slowly said,

"You... stayed up late last night, didn’t you?"

"I..."

"Alright, let’s stop there."

Fujiwara Chika did not continue pressing her. Instead, she held the pipe shaped candy in her mouth, crossed her legs, and adopted the air of someone who had seen through everything.

"Heh heh. As the love detective, I have already uncovered the truth! Utsunomiya didn’t come to school because he didn’t want to rest. He came specifically so you could personally confirm that he wasn’t hurt in the Dungeon. That awkward and shy feeling between young boys and girls... this is love!"

One glance at Chika was enough to confirm it. She was hopelessly love brained.

"Honestly, no matter what it is, you always connect it to love..."

"Well, we’re high school students. Everything is about love!"

"You sound strangely self assured about it..."

Kaguya Shinomiya shook her head and sighed lightly.

"Don’t overthink it. Utsunomiya probably just came to discuss something with Ashikaga sensei. He may not look serious on the surface, but since he said he would win the speech, then I... will trust that he really can."

...

Meanwhile, inside Ashikaga Miwa’s office.

"Let’s hear it."

Ashikaga Miwa sat behind her large desk with a cup of black coffee in hand. She gently blew across the surface, watching the dark liquid ripple, but did not drink it. Instead, she set the cup down, looked at Asagiri seated on the large leather sofa, pushed up her glasses, and said,

"What exactly is your plan for next Monday’s speech? Based on what I know about you, you are not the type to relax and do nothing just because you have special abilities. Tell me. Is there anything you need me to do?"

Asagiri did not answer immediately. Instead, he asked in return,

"Ashikaga sensei, what do you think the students of Shuchiin Academy think of me?"

"Hm..."

Ashikaga Miwa thought about it seriously for a moment before replying.

"Highly aggressive. Dislikes unspoken rules. Outstanding talent. Arrogant. A genius who ranks first in the grade. Of course, that is only the impression most people have of you. You also have many strengths that people who do not know you well would never notice..."

"Alright, I’m not here to listen to compliments. Let’s get to the point."

Asagiri cut her off with a smile.

"In this election, whether it’s me as the vice president candidate or Kaguya Shinomiya aiming for the position of student council president, both of us clearly have talent. But what is even more obvious is that although our popularity in school is high, our relationships with others are not especially good, and neither of us comes across as approachable to ordinary students."

"True."

Ashikaga Miwa nodded in agreement.

"The student council is in a special position. Although it carries a certain degree of authority, it is ultimately meant to represent the students and help solve their problems. If the president and vice president are both viewed as unapproachable, that will indeed affect how willing students are to vote for them."

"That is why we need an enemy."

Asagiri lightly tapped his fingers against the glass coffee table as he slowly continued.

"Once an external threat appears, students become more willing to vote for someone with talent rather than fixating on whether or not they feel approachable. The previous student council president and vice president were capable, but neither of them can compare to Kaguya Shinomiya and me. On top of that, once an enemy appears, my aggressive personality stops being a flaw and becomes an advantage that makes students more willing to support me. And in terms of stirring up emotions with words, I have an absolute advantage."

Ashikaga Miwa silently considered his words before speaking.

"So where does this enemy come from? Shuchiin Academy’s position among high schools cannot be shaken by any other school in Tokyo, let alone in all of Japan."

"You don’t need an evenly matched opponent to create an enemy."

Asagiri waved a hand and explained with a smile.

"In fact, being mocked by someone you see as clearly weaker than yourself is even more likely to provoke anger. After all, the students of private Shuchiin High School are still just high schoolers. This is exactly the age when self respect is strongest."

"Then which schools do you think would be suitable as enemies?"

Without hesitation, Asagiri answered,

"Private Daikoku Academy High School and Private Toyosaki Academy. Those two are the best options. They are both top ranked schools in Tokyo, so bringing them up will not sound too farfetched."

"Private Daikoku and Toyosaki, hm... Yes, those two are indeed excellent schools. Many outstanding students who failed to enter Shuchiin end up there instead."

Ashikaga Miwa picked up her coffee, took a sip, then looked at Asagiri and slowly said,

"I understand. I will contact a few media outlets and news agencies and arrange for related reports to appear. However, the students in the high school division need to hear about it first so that you can use it as a topic during the speech on Monday."

"That won’t be a problem. I’ll stir up some hostility when the time comes. I’m very good at that."

"Indeed."

Ashikaga Miwa gave a faint smile.

"And doing this does not break any rules. After all, I am not directly helping you. I am simply creating conditions that allow you to perform more effectively. Even if Oto Shinomiya finds out, he won’t say anything. He may have serious male chauvinistic tendencies, but he would never openly sabotage Kaguya, who still bears the Shinomiya family name."

After saying that, Ashikaga Miwa sighed.

"Kaguya Shinomiya, Fujiwara Chika, and you. With a lineup like that, this election should have been an easy victory. The only problem is that, as first years, you still haven’t built enough popularity and reputation yet. Otherwise, we wouldn’t need to go to all this trouble."

"That’s about it, then."

Asagiri stood up and said casually,

"I’ll leave the rest to you. Covering tracks, preventing obvious flaws, making sure the school higher ups do not cause trouble for the media. You know what to do, so I won’t waste words."

"Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing. Don’t underestimate adults."

"Alright."

Asagiri waved his hand, then said one last thing before leaving the office.

"Oh, right. I’m taking the afternoon off. I’m heading out now. Bye."

Watching him open the door and leave just like that, Ashikaga Miwa helplessly shook her head.

"This kid really respects me less and less as his homeroom teacher..."

...

That afternoon, in the shopping district of Shibuya, Tokyo.

"Ice cream, woohoo! Ice cream!"

Seeing Hat Mita happily licking a triple scoop cone, Yuuki Asuna could not help reaching out to stroke her head and saying with a gentle smile,

"Don’t eat too much ice cream. We’re having dinner later."

Hat Mita obediently nodded.

"Okay!"

"Good girl."

Seeing Yuuki Asuna radiating gentle maternal warmth, Asagiri, who stood beside her, could not help laughing as he teased,

"This suddenly feels a little like married life."

Yuuki Asuna’s pretty face instantly turned red. She twirled her flaxen hair with her fingers and shyly replied,

"That’s still too early... We’d have to at least wait until after high school graduation before getting married, right...?"

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing? What are you doing? Flirting right in front of me, huh? There’s flirting going on! There’s flirting going on!"

Seeing Iwanaga Kotoko’s indignant reaction, Kato Megumi, who was also eating a triple scoop cone in small, neat bites, calmly said,

"Do you also want to become Asagiri and Asuna’s daughter?"

Iwanaga Kotoko froze.

"...I am the main wife! The main wife!"

Yuuki Asuna smiled helplessly.

"Alright, alright. If you say so, then you are. Is that enough?"

"That’s right."

Asagiri nodded from the side and said seriously,

"Kotoko is already like this, so why not just indulge her?"

Iwanaga Kotoko puffed up her soft pale cheeks and muttered unhappily,

"What do you mean, ’already like this’? Why does that sound like I’m physically weak but stubbornly determined...?"

Kato Megumi glanced at Iwanaga Kotoko beside her, her gaze lingering on the girl’s chest for a few seconds before calmly saying,

"Mm. Pretty much."

"Hey, hey, hey, what exactly is that look supposed to mean? Besides, you aren’t much bigger than I am, are you!?"

Iwanaga Kotoko instantly flared up. She grabbed Asagiri’s arm and indignantly demanded, 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"Tell me, aren’t Megumi and I about the same size!?"

"Damn, how would I know?"

Asagiri looked shocked as he retorted,

"I’ve never seen Megumi’s. How am I supposed to compare?"

"Then look now... Mmph..."

Before Iwanaga Kotoko could finish, Kato Megumi calmly covered her mouth with one hand and said in a gentle but utterly undeniable tone,

"Kotoko, could you please stop saying weird things? You’re making me uncomfortable."

After Kato Megumi let go, Iwanaga Kotoko puffed her cheeks out again. Then she suddenly seemed to remember something and eagerly said,

"Oh, right. I don’t have any exorcism requests this weekend. Are all of you free? Since the second phase is over, let’s all go out and celebrate together this weekend."

Yuuki Asuna thought for a moment before replying,

"Mm, I’m free this weekend."

Kato Megumi nodded and gently said,

"I don’t have anything scheduled either."

Iwanaga Kotoko’s reaction, however, was unexpectedly strange. She muttered under her breath,

"Tch... Why is everyone free...? I was planning to spend some alone time with my adorable boyfriend..."

"You want to spend the whole weekend with me?"

Hearing Kotoko’s complaint, Asagiri turned to her with a smile and asked,

"Are you sure? Are you trying to die?"

.....

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