Lucas Amaki had arrived at the classroom door.
The teacher was already in the middle of teaching.
Lucas turned and walked to the back door after noticing Gotoh Hitori being called to answer a question. He entered the class through the rear.
The teacher watched as Lucas stepped inside. Pushing up his glasses slightly, he said calmly,
"Student Amaki, it seems you've entered without reporting yourself."
Lucas had already returned to his seat. He smiled gently.
"Sensei, would you like me to ask my homeroom teacher to explain why I was late?"
The teacher looked at Lucas in silence and said nothing more.
He knew that Lucas Amaki hadn't joined any club or committee, that might've been the reason he was late today. He could follow up after class.
"Then please take your seat, Amaki."
But Lucas didn't sit down.
"Sensei, how about I answer in her stead and let Gotoh-san sit down?" Lucas offered.
Letting a socially anxious girl answer a question? That's just…
Why?
"Hmm? What are you talking about, Amaki-san?" The teacher was puzzled.
"I mean, please let Gotoh-san sit down. I'll take over." Lucas repeated.
Gotoh Hitori tugged gently at the corner of Lucas's shirt, clearly flustered.
"A-Amaki… It's okay… You don't have to…"
Lucas smiled silently.
"Shh. I can make it work."
The students, originally focused on their notes, began exchanging looks of curiosity and excitement. Then their eyes shifted between Lucas and Gotoh.
Watching other people fall in love is always more fun.
The teacher sighed and massaged his forehead.
"Fine. Gotoh-san, you may sit down."
But Gotoh Hitori didn't sit. She looked even more panicked.
"Sensei, I-I can answer instead…"
Now it was Lucas's turn to hold his forehead.
"Gotoh-san, please sit down."
Lucas gently guided Gotoh back to her seat.
The calm classroom stirred with murmurs and whispers.
"I didn't expect Amaki-san to be so bold, right in front of the teacher."
"Stop—look, the teacher's face didn't even change. Maybe he's used to this."
"No way, he's just pretending not to notice. If I had Amaki's charm, I bet he'd look the other way too."
The teacher cleared his throat.
"Ahem. Gotoh-san is seated now. Amaki-san, go ahead."
Just then, a voice came from the hallway.
"Excuse me, Sensei. I'm looking for Lucas Amaki. May I speak with him?"
The teacher turned to the classroom door.
"Ah, so it's Nagakuni Tomoki-san. What do you need Lucas Amaki for?"
Upon hearing the name Nagakuni Tomoki, Lucas silently curled the corners of his mouth into a smile.
The class buzzed instantly.
"Did you hear that? Sensei just said Nagakuni Tomoki—he's the top student this year."
"Yeah, I heard! But what does he want with Lucas Amaki?"
"What else? The first and second top students must be gearing up for the monthly exam showdown."
"Sounds about right."
Gotoh Hitori looked up at Lucas and asked softly,
"A-Amaki-san… N-Nagakuni Tomoki-san… why is he looking for you?"
Lucas responded with a light smile.
"Oh, this guy? Today my homeroom teacher said I need to choose a club. The Disciplinary Committee sounds good. And Nagakuni Tomoki—you know, the guy who changes moods faster than flipping a page—is the president. So I figured, why not?"
"He changes moods that fast? Is Nagakuni Tomoki really like that?" Gotoh asked, looking a bit unsure.
"He's probably here to introduce me to the other members. Don't worry. Just wait for me in class."
Lucas gently reached out and patted Gotoh's head. His smile was warm and comforting.
Gotoh Hitori's face flushed a soft pink, like a kitten basking in the sun—calm, cute, and still.
"Lucas Amaki, step outside for a moment," the teacher called.
"Sure thing!"
Lucas then turned to Gotoh. "Be good."
"O-Okay…"
After saying his final words to Gotoh, Lucas walked out of the classroom.
"President, what did you want to talk about?" Lucas asked.
"You can stop calling me 'President.' Just say Nagakuni Tomoki," he replied, clearly annoyed. It felt like Lucas was saying it just to get under his skin.
He was right—Lucas was doing it on purpose.
"Now that Lucas Amaki is out, please resume class, Sensei. Thank you for your time," Tomoki added politely.
"Mm." The teacher nodded and went back inside.
"So, Nagakuni Tomoki, what do you actually want from me?" Lucas asked.
"As Vice President, you should at least meet the rest of the Disciplinary Committee." Tomoki glanced at his watch.
"Alright. If I've got the title, I might as well do the job."
"Let's walk."
***
In the Disciplinary Committee.
"Who's the vice president?"
A girl asked curiously to the person beside her.
"I don't know. Don't ask me."
"All I know is that when we were trying to recruit someone for the Disciplinary Committee earlier, the Student Council suddenly showed up and snatched them. Besides, our committee really needs someone who's good at calculations."
The student being asked looked visibly troubled.
Since the Disciplinary Committee was still short on someone with strong academic skills, they had gone out early to recruit a top-performing freshman. Unfortunately, the Student Council intercepted them halfway.
"Ah… seriously?"
The girls around were left speechless.
At that moment, Lucas was walking and chatting with Nagakuni Tomoki.
"Hey, Nagakuni, how many people do we have in the Disciplinary Committee?"
Lucas asked.
"Four. Including you and me, that makes four."
Nagakuni responded.
"Only four? That's barely anything."
Lucas was clearly surprised—he hadn't expected the committee to be so understaffed.
"Yeah,"
Nagakuni nodded slightly.
"Did you hear the president's voice?"
Another girl whispered.
"What? The president?! Where is he?! I need to tell him something!"
The girl who had looked worried just moments ago suddenly jumped up from her chair in excitement.
"I think he's close by. Should be arriving soon."
Her friend said.
"Great, I'm going to talk to him right now!"
The girl rushed toward the door.
"We're here. Let's go in."
Nagakuni said.
Just as he pushed the door open, they were greeted by a shout.
"President! The Student Council is trying to steal our recruit!"
Lucas, who was standing next to Nagakuni, was stunned for a moment.
What the hell? I just got here and there's already drama?
Nagakuni walked into the room and looked directly at the girl.
"Sato, what did you just say?"
Sato Koharu quickly explained,
"President, since we're still missing someone good with numbers, I went to scout the freshmen today. I found someone perfect, but the Student Council showed up halfway and took them instead."
Lucas listened in silence.
Wow, things really are lively here…
He turned to Sato.
"Sato, right? You said the Student Council snatched someone from us?"
"Yes!"
Sato immediately confirmed.
Lucas then looked at Nagakuni.
"Nagakuni, I didn't expect to run into a turf war the moment I joined."
Nagakuni ignored Lucas's sarcasm and asked Sato,
"Sato, did you say or do anything that might've started trouble with the Student Council?"
Suddenly, Sato fell silent, unable to answer.
Seeing her reaction, Nagakuni sighed and rubbed his forehead.
Seriously…
"President, didn't you say you'd introduce us to the new vice president? Where is he?"
One of the girls asked.
"Oh, right. Almost forgot,"
Nagakuni cleared his throat.
"Let me introduce him. This is Lucas, from my class. He ranked second in the entrance exams and is now our vice president."
He gestured toward Lucas.
Lucas rolled his eyes.
"Nagakuni, if you're going to introduce me like that, just don't bother."
He stepped forward.
"Hey everyone. I'm Lucas, a freshman. You might've seen me during the entrance ceremony."
"A-Are you that Lucas?!"
One girl stared at him in awe.
"What is it?"
Lucas tilted his head.
"No, it's just… I'm kind of starstruck!"
"?"
Lucas was puzzled.
"Vice President, weren't you in that debate competition before? I saw you there!"
The girls looked at him with admiration.
"Oh… right, I think I remember. Yeah."
Lucas recalled.
When he was fourteen, his father had made him return to Japan just to enter a debate competition hosted by the Japanese Political Academy, which only allowed junior high school students. The whole thing was a test to see if Lucas had picked up any useful political or legal skills abroad. And somehow, despite not trying too hard, he got second place. If he hadn't been so dehydrated that day, he probably could've taken first.
"Yeah, yeah! I knew it! You really were my idol!"
Lucas looked at the starry-eyed girl and quickly changed the subject.
"Nagakuni, you've already introduced me. Now, can you introduce these two?"
"Sure,"
Nagakuni pointed to the excited girl.
"This fangirl of yours is Kuriyama Shia. She's a second-year. We technically should call her senpai, but for some reason, I ended up becoming the committee president even though I'm a freshman."
He then pointed at the other girl.
"And this is Sato Koharu, she's in the same class as Kuriyama."
Lucas nodded politely.
"Got it. Hello, Kuriyama-senpai. Sato-senpai."
"No, no, no! Just call me Kuriyama!"
Kuriyama practically begged.
"Vice President, you can just call me Sato!"
Sato chimed in.
"That feels a bit disrespectful…"
Lucas scratched his head awkwardly.
But then he got serious again.
"Anyway, Sato-senpai, did you actually have a dispute with the Student Council?"
Lucas felt he had to step in as the vice president.
"It's not that I started anything, Vice President! It's just… the Student Council deliberately picked a fight with us!"
***
"Um?"
Lucas Amaki looked a little confused.
Could it be that students actually take initiative on their own?
That seemed unlikely.
"So, Sato-senpai, can you tell me what happened?" he asked.
"Yes, Vice President."
Sato Koharu took a deep breath.
"Our Discipline Committee is short a member who can handle calculations. I went to your first-year class to find someone, and I came across two students. But then the Student Council showed up out of nowhere and started belittling us—saying we can't even manage ourselves, so how could we manage the school? A girl said she wanted to join the Discipline Committee, and they immediately started criticizing her too."
Sato Koharu clenched her fists in frustration.
Lucas stayed silent for a moment, then turned to Nagakuni Tomoki.
"So, President, how do you plan to handle this?"
"Do we bring it up to the school, or settle it ourselves with the Student Council?"
Nagakuni Tomoki glanced at Koharu and Lucas, then replied casually.
"Handle it ourselves. No need to report something this petty. They're not worth the school's time."
Hearing that, Lucas silently clapped in his heart.
He didn't expect Nagakuni Tomoki—with his big eyebrows and serious face—to be so decisive.
But this would make things easier.
If the school got involved, he wouldn't have been able to act freely.
"Alright. I'll follow your lead," Lucas replied, then turned to Kuriyama Kiya and Sato Koharu.
"Come with me. If that girl was bullied by the Student Council because of us, then it's our duty to back her up."
"Okay!" Kuriyama Kiya replied immediately.
"Okay," Sato Koharu agreed.
"And what about you Nagakuni Tomonori?" Lucas asked.
"What else? I'll wait for your glorious return," Tomonori replied.
"…"
Lucas was speechless.
"Alright, let's go."
After leaving the committee room, Sato Koharu led the way to the student's classroom.
Since class was in session again, Lucas wore an armband to show his official status.
When they arrived at the classroom door, Lucas cleared his throat and walked in.
"Excuse me, teacher. I'm Lucas Amaki. I'm here to see one of your students."
The teacher paused the lesson and looked at him.
"Lucas Amaki? You're the second-highest scoring first-year this year, right?"
"Ahem, yes."
Being called second all the time made Lucas feel a little awkward.
"Who are you looking for?" the teacher asked.
Lucas turned to Sato Koharu.
"Sato-senpai, what's the name of the student?"
"Her name is Sato Shia."
Lucas blinked.
Wait—wasn't that a mix of her and Kuriyama's names?
"Teacher, her name is Sato Shia," Lucas repeated.
"Alright then. Sato Shia-san, could you come up here for a moment?"
Sato Shia, seated quietly, looked confused.
Why would the second-highest freshman in the school be asking for her?
But when she saw the Discipline Committee armband, everything clicked.
"Shia, what does Lucas Amaki want with you?" the girl beside her whispered.
"Probably about the Student Council incident today."
"Huh? Is the Discipline Committee gonna fight the Student Council?"
"Shhh, don't start rumors. I'm going."
Sato Shia stood up and walked to the front.
"Are you Sato-san?" Lucas asked.
"Yes."
"Alright. Please come with us for a bit," Lucas said.
"Sensei we'll be going now. Thank you for your time."
"Thank you, sensei," the committee members said in unison.
Outside the first-year building:
"Sato-san, allow me to officially welcome you to our team, courtesy of that sly fox Nagakuni," Lucas said as they walked.
"Huh? Amaki-san, by 'sly fox Nagakuni'… do you mean Nagakuni Tomoki? Our top freshman?"
"Yep. Nagakuni Tomonori." Lucas nodded.
"Wait—so you're the Vice President?"
"Mhm."
Hearing that, Sato Shia looked stunned.
She hadn't expected Lucas to call the president a sly fox so casually.
"Oh, and Sato-san—keep what happened today between us," Lucas reminded her.
"Y-Yeah, of course!" Shia nodded firmly.
"You two wait here. I'm going in to talk to the Student Council," Lucas said with a grin.
"Got it!" Kuriyama Kiya said at once.
Seeing Lucas enter the Student Council room, Sato Shia asked,
"Um, may I know your names?"
"The last two characters of your name match mine—Kuriyama Kiya. Nice to meet you, Sato Shia."
"My last name matches yours. I'm Sato Koharu. Welcome to the Discipline Committee. And… I'm really sorry for dragging you into this today."
She bowed deeply.
"It's really okay, Sato-senpai!"
Shia waved her hands to show she didn't mind.
Inside the council room, Lucas sat at the long meeting table, smiling.
"So, senpai, mind telling me what your issue is with our committee?"
"Lucas Amaki, I have no problem with your committee. But please get off our council's meeting table," the student council member said with a scowl.
"I'm good here. Since you've got no issues, why did you humiliate our Sato-senpai?"
"Because she stole our people!"
"Stole? Recruiting students is fair game. It's the student's choice in the end. That's no excuse to insult our committee."
"Excuse me? The Student Council oversees all school events. We have the right to criticize the committee's actions!"
He got up and stood next to Lucas.
"Oh, I see. Then I guess the Discipline Committee has the right to discipline you. Let me list some things for you:"
"One: Verbally insulting a student."
"Two: Intimidating first-years without proper authority."
"Three: After Sato Shia expressed interest in our committee, you bullied her. That qualifies as harassment."
"Anything to say?" Lucas smiled calmly.
"Y-You're trespassing in the Student Council!"
"Trespassing?" Lucas replied.
"I'm here for discipline matters."
He pulled a notebook from his bag and began jotting things down.
"If I hand this to the school, you might be suspended."
He showed the notes to the student council member.
The blood drained from the latter's face—everything listed was true.
"Lucas… Amaki, how dare you?!"
"Put your finger down," Lucas said coldly, his smile fading.
"No!"
Lucas jumped off the table and walked toward him.
The student council member instinctively backed away, but didn't lower his hand.
Lucas kicked him to the floor.
He winced in pain.
"You… you hit me?!"
"I told you to put your finger down." Lucas's tone was icy.
"Y-You…!"
"Relax. I won't report this notebook to the school. Nagakuni also agreed we'd handle this quietly. But next time, if you mess with us again, it won't be just a kick."
"Oh—and have your council members apologize to Sato Koharu and Sato Shia. That's an order."
Lucas tossed the notebook onto the meeting table, walked out, and shut the door behind him.
"Alright, Sato-san. Just wait for your apology tomorrow."
"Yeah! Thank you, Vice President! You were seriously cool back there!"
Sato Shia beamed.
"Yeah, you looked so awesome!"
Kuriyama Kiya grinned.
"They're right," Koharu added.
"It's nothing. Anyway, class isn't over yet, is it? I've gotta head back. Let that sly fox Nagakuni know for me."
"Okay!"
Lucas turned and left.
He had promised Gotoh Hitori he'd be back soon… but half the class had already passed.
Ugh…
Sorry, Gotoh-san.
***
This might actually be poison ☠️
This chapter just felt wrong