Chapter 225: Let Shuchiin Academy Become the Strongest Again

Hearing Asagiri’s words, some of the students in the audience were already showing signs of excitement, but most still remained noncommittal.

After all, ever since Shuchiin Academy had been founded, it had never stood on the same stage as any other high school. It simply did not need to. It had always been recognized as the strongest high school by default, whether in prestigious university acceptance rates, average scores, or every other measurable standard.

The flyers at the school gate this morning were certainly an insult to Shuchiin Academy, but was it really necessary to lower themselves and compete with those schools on the same stage just because of the one sided opinions of a few media outlets?

"It is necessary."

Asagiri seemed to have seen straight through the thoughts running through most of the audience and spoke again.

"Perhaps some of you think those flyers this morning were nothing more than a case of outsiders underestimating us because they do not understand the true strength of Shuchiin Academy. But there is one fact no one can deny. The number of top ranked students choosing to enroll here from the joint entrance exam is dropping at a cliff like rate."

"This year, only four of the top ten enrolled here. Next year, what will it be? Three? Two? And the year after that?"

"That alone is enough to prove that, in the minds of many people, Shuchiin Academy is no longer the strongest high school. Or at the very least, they no longer believe the gap between Shuchiin and other schools is so overwhelming that they must choose us. That is underestimation."

He paused briefly, then continued in an even calmer tone.

"If one day none of the top ten, or even the top twenty, of the joint entrance exam choose to enroll in Shuchiin Academy, will this school still deserve to be called the strongest?"

The moment those words fell, the expressions of many students in the audience subtly changed.

Because what Asagiri said was true.

A school’s reputation did not only affect the students currently attending it. It also affected those who had already graduated, and even after they themselves graduated, they would still carry the name of Shuchiin Academy for the rest of their lives.

Did they really want that someday, when they mentioned having graduated from Shuchiin Academy, others would merely look a little surprised and say:

"Oh, so that is that pretty good high school in Tokyo. Your school was decent."

"Pretty good."

"Top ranked."

"Is that really enough for you?"

Asagiri’s tone suddenly rose by several degrees as he sharply changed the flow of his speech.

"However, as long as every student sitting here, as long as all of you and I stand together, and once more prove the strength of Shuchiin Academy, a level of excellence greater than any other high school, a level they can never hope to catch up to, then Shuchiin Academy can become the strongest again!"

"And this time, that title of ’strongest’ will not simply be something handed down from the past. It will be something seized back by all of us, by me and Shinomiya, by every student here, through head on victory!"

"It will be a title all of us stole back with our own hands!"

"Every freshman who enrolls in Shuchiin Academy from this point onward will know that the name ’strongest’ for this school was rebuilt by us!"

At this point, the atmosphere in the auditorium had already changed completely.

The expressions on the students’ faces were no longer skeptical or indifferent. Their eyes were lit with emotion. Their breathing had unconsciously grown heavier.

Asagiri did not stop there.

"School trip reform? Extra classes with excellent teachers? Revising school rules?"

"Put all of those boring things aside."

"A true Student Council President should lead the students to achieve something no one in this school’s history has ever done before."

"When you graduate five years from now, ten years from now, or even twenty years from now, and you talk about your high school days with others, they will look at you in shock and say:"

"’So you were one of the students who helped rebuild Shuchiin Academy’s reputation as the strongest.’"

"And those who have already graduated from Shuchiin Academy, along with those who enroll here in the future, will never forget that it was ’us’ who made Shuchiin Academy the strongest again."

Then, in front of the entire auditorium, Asagiri spoke with absolute certainty.

"I will make that happen."

"Because I have never failed."

"And I will not fail in the future."

"For me, victory is the only possible path."

The students in the audience were already visibly excited. Some had even clenched their fists without realizing it.

Only then did Asagiri slowly lower his voice again.

"Those who want to engrave their names into Shuchiin Academy’s history forever, together with me and Shinomiya..."

"Vote for Kaguya Shinomiya."

"Moo."

The instant he finished speaking, Asagiri turned and strode away from the podium without a trace of hesitation.

For a brief moment, the entire auditorium fell silent.

Then the next second, thunderous applause and deafening cheers erupted all at once.

The entire hall shook.

Listening to the uproar of applause and cheers, and seeing the excited, nearly fanatical expressions on the students’ faces, Ashikaga Miwa raised a hand and adjusted her gold rimmed glasses. She could not help but smile to herself.

"That brat... he really is something."

At the age of high school students, almost no one could resist the cool, passionate idea he had just painted for them. To carve their names into the history of Shuchiin Academy by making it the strongest once more. That kind of vision was simply too intoxicating.

And most importantly, Asagiri’s speech was not merely good because he could stir emotions.

The content itself had also been perfect.

Some students might not care about prestige. Some might only want to focus on studying. But the fact that they had chosen Shuchiin Academy in the first place already meant that, on some level, they had once longed for the title of "strongest." And if Shuchiin Academy truly declined into merely a first class school instead of the top school, even after graduation, they would still suffer from that diminished prestige.

As for the students whose parents had graduated from Shuchiin Academy, the idea of restoring the school’s glory and earning their parents’ approval and praise was already more than enough reason to be moved.

Most critically of all, when Asagiri stood there just now, with that expression, that posture, that aura, he made everyone believe that as long as they followed him, as long as they voted for Kaguya Shinomiya, then he truly could fulfill every promise in that speech and lead Shuchiin Academy back to the position of "strongest."

The next person to speak was the former Student Council President himself.

But by the time he took the stage and began his speech, the students below were still immersed in the excitement and heat stirred up by Asagiri’s words. Hardly anyone was truly listening anymore.

The promises he had prepared, deciding the next school trip destination, increasing club funding, arranging extra classes with outstanding teachers, all the things that would have been highly persuasive in previous elections, were now almost completely ignored.

Just as Asagiri had once said:

Once his speech ended, it no longer mattered what the Student Council President said afterward.

No one would care.

...

After the speeches ended, in the backstage corridor, Asagiri, Kaguya Shinomiya, Fujiwara Chika, and Yuuki Asuna encountered the former Student Council President and his vice president.

"Congratulations. You won."

Hearing the Student Council President say that with a smile, Asagiri smiled back.

"The voting results are not out yet, are they?"

"Do they need to be?"

The Student Council President shook his head lightly.

"From the moment you finished your speech, I already knew I had lost."

"Then why didn’t you simply abstain? Wouldn’t that have been easier to accept?"

"How could I do that?"

The Student Council President removed the gold chain ornament from his collar and handed it to Asagiri as he replied with the same easy smile,

"As your and Shinomiya’s opponent, how could I stain the victory you earned through your own strength by refusing to fight and admitting defeat in advance? Even if I lose, I should still maintain the basic dignity of an opponent, shouldn’t I?"

Asagiri nodded, took the gold chain ornament from him, then extended his hand.

"The winner has been decided, former Student Council President."

"Yes."

The Student Council President reached out and shook his hand.

"The winner has been decided, Utsunomiya." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Then he glanced once at Kaguya Shinomiya standing beside Asagiri before looking back at him.

"With people like you entering the Student Council, Shuchiin Academy will probably become much more interesting from now on."

...

Half an hour later, the final voting results were announced.

Ashikaga Miwa, Class A’s homeroom teacher and a member of the school’s board of directors, stepped onto the stage and opened the slip containing the results.

But the moment she read it, she frowned.

Seeing that expression, Kaguya Shinomiya, who had been standing behind the curtain beside the podium and had originally believed victory was certain, felt her heart tighten.

Did I... lose?

"The voting results are as follows. The former Student Council President received... forty eight votes."

Hearing that number, Kaguya Shinomiya finally let out a breath of relief.

After all, there were more than a thousand students in Private Shuchiin Academy. Forty eight votes could only have come from his close supporters and classmates. With that number, victory was impossible.

However, the next words from Ashikaga Miwa left both Kaguya Shinomiya and Fujiwara Chika stunned.

"Year 1 Class A, Kaguya Shinomiya... three hundred and seventy four votes."

At once, Kaguya Shinomiya and Fujiwara Chika exchanged glances, both of them looking completely baffled.

There were only two candidates.

Yet the combined total so far was barely over four hundred votes.

Did that mean a huge portion of the students had abstained?

Then Ashikaga Miwa continued, her own expression still strange.

"Also... Year 1, Utsunomiya Asagiri... five hundred and ninety three votes."

"Huh?"

Both Kaguya Shinomiya and Fujiwara Chika were dumbfounded by the result. Even Ashikaga Miwa on stage looked equally at a loss.

There had only been two options. So how on earth had five hundred and ninety three people voted for a third option?

And not just any third option. The one with the highest number of votes.

They knew perfectly well that Utsunomiya Asagiri was not a candidate for Student Council President, yet they had still voted for him?

Was this not far too fanatical?

"Ahem, well..."

Ashikaga Miwa cleared her throat twice, forced herself to calm down, and finally announced in a composed tone,

"Since Utsunomiya Asagiri was not a candidate in this election, those five hundred and ninety three votes are invalid."

"Therefore, based on the valid vote count, Year 1 Class A’s Kaguya Shinomiya will, from this moment onward, assume the position of the 66th Student Council President of Private Shuchiin Academy."

.....

[If you don’t want to wait for the next update, read 50 Chapters ahead on P@treon.]

[[email protected]/FanficLord03]