I'm in a real religion, why are all the people who confess to me girls?

"President Fujimori, I don't understand why the school made this decision. You know, the entire process was public before the results of the special exam were announced, and everyone isn't stupid. The results of the special exam are already in front of us, so how could they be easily changed? It wouldn't have mattered if the list had been changed before the results were announced, but now... what am I supposed to do?"

At this moment, Kiriyama had already cursed all the school's higher-ups in his heart. How could the results of the special exam be changed so easily? Moreover, Ichinose had said that he would specifically ask Amane to drop out of school. In addition, he had asked the first-year Class B if they wanted to rescue Amane. Unexpectedly, the first-year Class B refused to budge an inch and was unwilling to make any concessions, which led to the current situation.

Now, the school's higher-ups can just slap their heads and say they won't let someone drop out, and that's it. Giving orders is easy, just a few words, but in reality, it's Kiriyama Ikuha who has to carry them out. What can he do? Logically speaking, he only needs to carry out the school's decision, since it doesn't really concern him. In a critical moment, he can even use the school as a scapegoat.

The key issue is that the school doesn't seem to have any intention of stepping forward to take responsibility, which means Kiriyama Ikuha will be the one getting the blame!

The school chose this method of announcing the special exam results to ensure fairness, but it never expected that one day it would backfire.

"That depends on your efforts. In any case, Miyako Amane's name will inevitably appear on the list of those who drop out of school."

Chairwoman Fujiwara had no intention of explaining; she was even too lazy to explain the reasons to Kiriyama.

These are all basic things in her eyes. If Kiriyama is still fussing over them, it only shows that he is indeed not suitable for the position of student council president.

Chairman Fujiwara's answer completely broke Kiriyama's defenses.

Regardless of what actually happened, the actions of the school leaders alone made Kiriyama feel unprecedentedly angry. The entire process of the special exam's conclusion was normal, but when the results came, they said the results were unacceptable. Where were they before? Couldn't they have informed someone who couldn't withdraw from school beforehand?

Moreover, when asked for a solution, Chairman Fujiwara actually told him to figure it out himself. If he could think of a perfect solution, he would never have risked being dismissed by asking.

Although he knew it was impossible to go against the tide, Kiriyama still intended to try. After all, changing the results of the special exam was not a simple matter. He was just one step away from changing the name of the student who had dropped out. He would be lucky if he didn't get scolded to death. Even if it wasn't for the benefit of the school, Kiriyama still intended to try for himself.

“President Fujimori, while I am willing to accept the school’s instructions, the problem is that everyone was involved in the public process of this special exam. I can’t lie in front of so many people. Besides… isn’t the school’s behavior unfair to the other students who worked hard during the special exam? This school has come this far by adhering to meritocracy from the very beginning. If the rules are broken for the sake of a few individuals, I’m afraid that the school’s future arrangements will be hard to be convincing.”

The main reason why Kiriyama has persisted in his decision is that he believes he did not make a mistake in the results of this special forest training camp exam.

Actually, his thinking is not wrong, because this situation was deliberately created by Tenon to teach Ninomiya and Kiriyama a lesson.

As a result, Tenon didn't have to drop out of school, but Kiriyama and Ninomiya were completely disoriented by a series of blows. Kiriyama's situation was the most serious. On the one hand, he was very resistant to the school giving special treatment to certain people. He believed that since he had come to this school where merit was the most important, he should rely on his own abilities. What kind of school was it that was merit-based?

On the other hand, the reality is far more complicated than the school leaders imagined. Some things cannot be accepted simply by changing the results. Now, asking them to change the results while also making it appear to comply with the school's rules is somewhat unreasonable.

As for Ninomiya? She was already stunned when Ichinose was willing to drag Amane out of school rather than have anything to do with her anymore. Later, when it was about to be confirmed that Amane and Ichinose would both be expelled, Ninomiya was just experiencing an unprecedented wonderful feeling when she was interrupted by the announcement of the exam results by Chairman Fujimori's words.

From that moment on, Ninomiya knew that the despicable woman Amane was about to begin her own performance, and that she, along with everyone else present, were merely spectators responsible for witnessing her power.

When Chairman Fujiwara heard Kiriyama's question, he showed an expression that was both amusing and helpless. His gaze towards Kiriyama became somewhat subtle, as if he wanted to reassure Kiriyama so that he could focus on finishing up the matter.

Chairman Fujiwara intends to have a serious talk with Kiriyama.

"Kiriyama-kun, what exactly is strength in your opinion?"

Chapter 148: Getting Something for Nothing

What is strength?

If they are clueless newcomers, they may only have a vague concept of the word "strength". If you ask them to explain it, they will probably focus on their own strength and advantages when explaining the word "strength".

But Tongshan, after all, was a veteran student council member who had been through thick and thin for two years, and he knew very well that the word "strength" didn't actually have much meaning.

"In my view, power is strength. As long as I have power, I can solve many things without doing them myself. Even some outstanding talents who are far more capable than me will be willing to work for me if I have power."

After listening, Chairman Fujiwara nodded.

Power is indeed a form of strength, and it is a domineering form of strength.

“You’re right, but power is only one part of strength. Some people can use power very well, but for others, even if power is in their hands, it’s only slightly better than nothing. Besides power, violence, strategy, wealth, background, connections, social skills… are all the most direct factors that can reflect strength.”

Upon hearing this, Kiriyama began to understand what Chairman Fujiwara wanted to talk to him about.

"Then let me ask you another question, Kiriyama-kun. Do you believe that people are equal?"

Compared to the previous question, Kiriyama's answer was much more hesitant. After thinking for a while, Kiriyama answered somewhat unconfidently.

"Shouldn't people be equal to each other?"

It should be?

The fact that Kiriyama could give such a vague answer shows that he himself was quite unconfident about the answer.

Perhaps when people are born, they are all equal as new life entering this world, but from the second second onwards, the gears of their lives begin to turn in different directions.

Although people often shout for equality for all, and even the country consciously promotes equality.

But whether people are equal is a question that everyone has their own answer to.

Having experienced the fierce competition during his first year and the backstabbing within the student council, Kiriyama naturally understands that there are differences between people; otherwise, no one would be called a monster.

The reason why Kiriyama had to answer in this way was that as long as he admitted that inequality existed between people, all his previous insistence would be null and void. What fairness or rationality? He himself admitted that inequality existed, so what was he still insisting on?

So even though he himself didn't believe that true equality could be achieved between people, he still had to bite the bullet and answer Chairman Fujimori's question.

However, since President Fujiwara also came from this school, she was naturally familiar with Kiriyama's current situation. A similar thing had happened when she was in school, but unfortunately, Kiriyama was the one who encountered this situation. What could she do even as the president of the board? Although she was already married, she couldn't just ignore Amane, after all, she had made a vow in front of the old man.

"It seems you already have the answer in your heart, so let me tell you why this 'unreasonable' thing happened. It seems that forcibly keeping Miyako Amane is nothing more than the operation of power, but in reality, this is only a part of the power you mentioned. Behind Miyako Amane is a power that is more powerful than the student council president of this school, or even more powerful than me. That kind of power is unimaginable to you. It is so powerful that the big shot behind her can shut down this school completely with just a word. It is so powerful that the founder of this school was just a promising young talent under her grandfather."

Fujiwara's seemingly indifferent words caused Kiriyama Ikuba, who was in the audience, to break out in a cold sweat.

"You...you mean Mr. Oni Island..."

"That's right. Onigashima was just a henchman of Miyako Amane's grandfather. Perhaps you can understand it better if I put it another way: the establishment of this school is inseparable from that person's approval. He is the true creator of this school. This school is nothing more than a product of politics that has been brought into the arms of capital. Whether it is the top students who go on to pursue higher education or the unsuccessful graduates who choose to enter the corporate world early after graduation, it is essentially just a screening process by capital."

President Fujiwara stretched out one hand and hovered in mid-air, then suddenly made a grabbing motion on something.

This action made Kiriyama's face turn pale. He then realized that the essence of this school was nothing more than selecting, optimizing, and training talents to supply certain specific places with the talents they needed.

This is not a paradise for achieving dreams, but rather a place for cultivating the cogs that society needs.

Unfortunately, he realized this a little too late.

"Why are you telling me all this? Even if... you shouldn't have known that I would still follow the school's decisions..."

Kiriyama was genuinely scared at this moment. He understood the principle that some things could be heard and some things couldn't be heard. Since Chairman Fujiwara had let him know so much, it meant that there must be a way to shut him up.

"What good would it do to tell you? I believe many people in the school understand this. The reason everyone has chosen to remain silent is simply because they share common interests. It may seem like you're being used, but you have to have value to be used before you can be used. Besides, the original purpose of this school is to provide society with outstanding talents who can perfectly fit the workplace, so we have nothing to hide."

"In other words, you can think of this school as a large workplace, where everyone has their own place. But I believe that no company on the verge of bankruptcy would choose to fire the prime minister's granddaughter, right? Kiriyama-kun, do you think I'm right?"

Chairman Fujiwara explained the basic logic of this matter.

First of all, it's a matter of perspective. From the point of view of a middle manager, it's not a problem to fire an employee for making a mistake. However, the problem is that Tianyin was 'fired' in a rather special way, similar to being fired due to joint liability. Tianyin's business capabilities are arguably among the best in the company, so it's completely illogical for him to be fired like this.

No company would let go of one of its best employees over some ridiculous claim of joint liability.

From the perspective of senior management, this matter is even more dramatic and absurd. A manager hired by a company actually fired the prime minister's granddaughter who was just there to gain seniority. What difference is there between this and the sky falling down?

Not to mention that this company is an investment of the other party's family. Isn't this like choosing the path to hell when there's one? Even if the other party doesn't do anything and just leaves the business there, it will still attract attention from above. Otherwise, how could the funding be several times higher than in previous years? To take it to an extreme, even if the company goes bankrupt, it won't matter to them. They can just start another one. As long as Tianyin is still around, what kind of company can't they build?

But if you fire them, their future will be bleak, or at least they'll be despised and rejected by everyone, even if they have to beg on the street.

Under such circumstances, the higher-ups would certainly not consider fairness or inequality. The best solution would be for Tianyin to pack her bags and get out of there, since she was the one who made her leave.

It's fair to say that if Kiriyama hadn't held the title of the longest-serving member of the student council, his fate wouldn't have been much better than Nagumo's. Even if he graduated from Class A, probably no one would have dared to write him a letter of recommendation.

So if Kiriyama still doesn't cooperate after all this has been said so clearly, even if some discordant voices arise, not to mention Chairman Fujii, the other directors, eager to curry favor, will urge Chairman Fujii to take action and get rid of this bastard who is ruining their future.

This seems to confirm Kiriyama's initial answer regarding power: power is power.

Just as Chairman Fujiwara had predicted, Kiriyama finally accepted reality and began preparing for what was to come.

It was already 7 p.m. when Chairman Fujiwara informed the students that the results of the special exam would be announced the next day.

In other words... he only has one night tonight to deal with this troublesome matter.

The thought that he might have to put on a smiling face and beg for Tenon's forgiveness made Kiriyama feel as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a fly, but under pressure from Chairman Fujiwara, he could only take it one step at a time.

I just don't know if he has enough time...

"President Kiriyama, you look rather pale. Have you encountered some difficult problem?"

Kiriyama hadn't gone far when he encountered Sakayanagi Arisu, who seemed to have been waiting there for a long time. In the dark corridor, Kiriyama could only vaguely see Sakayanagi's annoying smile and her eyes that sparkled in the moonlight.

"You seem to have been waiting for a long time?"

"Hmm? I didn't expect President Kiriyama's attention to be so sharp. I have indeed been waiting for a long time."

"Tell me, what's the price?"

"everything."

Kiriyama had now figured out why things had developed to this point. Hmph, it wasn't because the second-year students were disobedient or the first-year students weren't attending the meeting. If he wasn't mistaken, it was all Sakayanagi's doing.

Although Sakayanagi seemed to only want to test Kiriyama's abilities, she did not expect that such a test would make Kiriyama feel a sense of crisis and launch a desperate counterattack.

It's roughly similar to how Sakayanagi's basic attack completely fooled Kiriyama, leaving him with nothing.

Is it necessary for someone like that to be her opponent?

the answer is negative.

In Sakayanagi's eyes, the only person who could be her rival was Miyako Amane.

So she started by bribing the people around Kiriyama to persuade him. Finally, Kiriyama decided to use the influence of expelling the first-year class leader to intimidate those who were disobedient. Then, at the crucial moment, she appeared as a savior and told Kiriyama that she had a well-prepared plan that could easily take everything that belonged to Kiriyama without any effort when he was in dire straits.

As for why she chose Ichinose? Because from the very beginning, Sakayanagi was certain that Ichinose was definitely a potential enemy, but it was just an enemy from another aspect that she could conveniently eliminate.

The only loophole was that Amane also happened to sneak in. The crisis created by Sakayanagi actually benefited Amane and Ichinose, which was why Sakayanagi was a little angry.

If Kiriyama hadn't chosen a girl like Ninomiya, how could the relationship between Amane and Ichinose have developed so much?

That's why Sakayanagi approached Amane and deliberately guided her to think about teaching Ninomiya and Kiriyama a lesson.

In the end, it turned into the current situation. Kiriyama, who originally planned to use a decisive move to eliminate both Ichinose and Amane at the same time, realized that he had become deeply trapped in Sakayanagi's game and could not extricate himself.

Upon hearing Sakayanagi's confident reply, Kiriyama couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.

"Vice President Sakayanagi, you're really asking for the moon. Since you want everything, how about I give you my title as student council president as well?"

"Oh my, this is quite a generous gift. If Kiriyama-kun doesn't mind, I'd be willing to reluctantly take over the student council. In return, I can clean up this mess you left behind for free~"

Kiriyama remained indifferent to Sakayanagi's seemingly soliloquy conversation. He knew Sakayanagi wasn't the kind of fool who wouldn't hear the sarcasm in his words, and Sakayanagi's actions were clearly intended to provoke him.

The most urgent task now is to resolve the issue. There are three main people he needs to negotiate with: Ichinose, Amane, and Horikita. He must complete negotiations with all three before 10 o'clock, because the doors to the male and female dormitories will close at 10 o'clock. Cell phones haven't been issued yet, and there are very few ways to contact each other. If he can't complete the negotiations in the next two hours, a real nightmare awaits him.

As for whether Sakayanagi was genuinely interested in making the deal or was deliberately stalling for time... it's hard to say. Kiriyama maintained a rare composure at the most crucial moment.

He will soon be glad that his composure saved him.

"You're not angry?"

Seeing Kiriyama's indifferent attitude, Sakayanagi's smile gradually faded. She was not very willing to let others see her smile, and she would not have shown a smile to such a person if it were not to provoke Kiriyama.

However, Kiriyama didn't seem to fall for it at all.

It was only at this point that Sakayanagi began to understand Kiriyama's personality. He was actually quite conservative, and his timidity and fearfulness were evident in this seemingly ordinary person.

However, the more timid and fearful a person is, the more careful and vigilant they will be. This left the strategist Sakayanagi at a loss for what to do. If it were Amane, who is good at manipulating people's hearts, she would have broken Kiriyama's defenses with just a few words.

The thought that Amane might be having a passionate encounter with Ichinose made Sakayanagi's face even darker.

“My time is precious, and I don’t want to waste it on something like this. If you’ve had your fun, Vice President Sakayanagi, could you please move aside? I have other things to do.”

"My time is also very valuable. Since President Kiriyama is in such a hurry, I'll just ask directly: how about 25 million personal points to help you resolve this matter?"

Sakayanagi's words caused Kiriyama's expression to change slightly.

"You're really asking for the moon. Do you even know what 25 million personal points can do?"

After shouting at Sakayanagi, Kiriyama walked past her with a furious expression.

In the instant he passed by, the anger on Kiriyama's face vanished completely.

It seems that Sakayanagi really does have a way to solve the problem, otherwise...

"Fifteen million points."

"That's not enough. Twenty million points are needed to save lives, and five million points are needed to smooth things over. My kickback is only three million points, no less."

When Kiriyama saw Sakayanagi and immediately offered the kickback, he finally believed her.

"How can I give it to you? There are no cell phones around now..."

"I have prepared the points transfer agreement for you. You just need to sign it."

As Sakayanagi spoke, he clapped his hands lightly. Katsuragi walked out from around the corner of the stairs, holding a handwritten contract and an inkpad he had somehow obtained. It was clear that he had come prepared.

"It seems that you were confident you could defeat me before you even came, Vice President Sakayanagi."

Such thorough preparation not only demonstrates Sakayanagi's meticulousness but, more importantly, reveals his confidence.

She had the confidence that Kiriyama needed her to solve his problems.

"Besides commissions, I need the power to make all my own decisions."

Taking advantage of the situation, Sakayanagi made what could be described as an outrageous request. If Kiriyama agreed, it would mean that Sakayanagi's power was now on par with Kiriyama's.

"No problem, but I need a good result, otherwise... everything on this piece of paper is just empty talk, you understand?"