105 The Beginning of the Great Bloom Festival
In the student council activity room.
The weekly executive meeting was proceeding as usual. The long, stately wooden table seated the student council executives on either end.
As usual, it was Igarashi Sayaka reading out the agenda:
"This year's Great Bloom Festival will be held later this month. During the event, we'll open up channels for interschool exchange, and each department head will be responsible for their respective programs."
"First off..."
Great Bloom Festival—
An annual grand event of the private Hyakkaou Academy, composed of multiple parts.
Prominent members of society and elite figures from politics and business are invited to tour the school—most of whom are the students' parents.
Additionally, exchange opportunities with other prestigious schools will be opened.
For example: The Advanced Nurturing High School—renowned across Japan—will send representatives. Even other famous schools from the Tokyo metropolitan area may be invited.
This is a celebratory event among elite schools.
During this time, all gambling activities at Hyakkaou Academy are suspended. It is considered a time of absolute peace.
Only once this phase is over does the real festival for Hyakkaou students begin.
All gambling activities are reopened, and during the gambling phase of the Great Bloom Festival, the individual or club that accumulates the most in gambling profits will be awarded a special prize by the student council.
In previous years, the prize had been a seat as a student council executive. But this year...
"President, what's the special prize this year?"
The pink twin-tailed girl with pentagrams in her eyes cupped her face and spoke in a sweet voice.
"Time sure flies. I remember last year it was Yuriko who won the prize~ Such a shame she lost to a freshman this year."
The subject of that jab, Nishinotouin Yuriko, clenched her silver-toothed jaw tightly, silently enduring her colleague's sarcasm.
Momobami Kirari, arms crossed, her pale blue eyes unreadable, glanced at Yumemite Yumemi and said:
"How about making the special prize the position of Student Council President?"
"Ha..."
Yumemi, who had just been lively, froze for a second before giving a nervous smile.
"Please don't joke like that, President. There's no way your position could be offered as a prize."
"As in previous years, the special prize will be a student council grant of one billion yen."
"Additionally, if the winner is an individual, they will be directly nominated as a new student council executive. If it's a club, they will internally select one representative."
Kirari confirmed the special prize for the Great Bloom Festival concisely and clearly.
"President, there's one more matter—what schools should we invite to the opening ceremony this year?"
Igarashi Seika leaned forward and asked in a low voice.
"Does anyone have any suggestions?"
Kirari didn't give an immediate order. Instead, she raised her pale blue eyes and looked at Juraku Sachiko.
Her fingers tapped the armrest rhythmically. Propping her head on one hand, she appeared thoughtful as she took the school directory passed over by Lilika.
Like flipping through a menu, her fair fingers began to point at the names of schools one by one:
"Tokyo area..."
"Advanced Nurturing High School(classroom of the elite), Shuchi'in Academy Academy(Kaguya-sama: Love is War)..."
"Outside Tokyo..."
"Chiba Municipal Sobu High School(oregairu), Kanagawa Prefectural Minegahara High School(Bunny Girl Senpai)..."
"Special performance schools..."
Igarashi Sayaka held her tablet, carefully listening and recording each school Kirari mentioned. As the student council secretary, it was her job to handle the invitations.
It seemed like this uneventful routine meeting would end on that steady note—
Until the loudspeaker suddenly came on, and the Ougatou sisters' voices echoed throughout the school.
Hearing the broadcast, Mibuomi Aoi's eyes shot open, a chilling gleam like a beast's flickering in them.
"...will unconditionally become Hikigaya Hachiman's personal livestock..."
"...That is all."
Mibuomi Aoi's handsome face turned grim, his facial muscles twisting with fury. The veins on the back of his hand bulged as he gripped the armrest tightly, and his fingers cracked under the pressure of his thumb.
Had it been any other executive who betrayed him and became Hikigaya Hachiman's personal livestock, he wouldn't have been this angry.
But it was the Ougatou sisters.
No man is without lust; the difference lies only in how deeply he buries it.
In Mibuomi Aoi's plans, once he eliminated Momobami Kirari and rose to power, then he would move on the Ougatou sisters—they were meant to be his toys!
And now, those damned women had become Hikigaya Hachiman's personal livestock?!
This was like stomping on his pride in front of the whole school.
His family's investigations had already gathered information on Hikigaya Hachiman. And now, he finally remembered who that person was...
Just a bug he could've squashed at any time back in elementary school—now it had the nerve to jump around in front of him?!
That damned thing.
Miharutaki Sakura, sitting beside Mibuomi Aoi, immediately noticed his abnormality. She assumed he was furious because a cadre of the Full-Bloom Association had lost their dignity and pride, and felt pity for her fiancé's reaction.
In her heart, she began to feel some resentment toward Hikigaya Hachiman, whom she'd initially found somewhat respectable.
When she met him in the office that day, she thought he was a proper and upright gentleman.
But now, it turns out he's just another pervert who turns girls into personal livestock.
Mibuomi Aoi's unusual behavior didn't escape the attention of the more observant members present, but surprisingly, not a single person pointed it out. Even Yumemite Yumemi, who had been the most animated before, had gone silent—after all, she wasn't part of the disciplinary committee, and it would be a problem if Mibuomi Aoi decided to initiate a gambling match against her.
All the executives recalled the rumors that had been circulating quietly:
Mibuomi Aoi and the Full-Bloom Association—and his treacherous ambitions.
"Oh?"
Sitting at the head of the table, Momobami Kirari seemed intrigued.
"Who would've thought—Hikigaya Hachiman actually taking the initiative to challenge someone."
"I heard the Ougatou sisters from the baseball club were quite close with you, Mibuomi?"
Mibuomi Aoi forced down the rage boiling in his chest, the muscles beside his mouth twitching slightly.
"Heh... Yeah. What a surprise indeed."
He suddenly stood up, ignoring the scolding from Igarashi Sayaka behind him, and walked straight out of the student council office.
A gentleman's revenge need not wait overnight.
Believing himself to be a heaven-ordained nobleman, Mibuomi Aoi no longer wished to play games with the bug named Hikigaya Hachiman.
Back in elementary school, he could crush him at any time. Now in high school? Nothing had changed.
"A lowborn commoner from a normal household dares to jump in front of me just because of Momobami's rules? Ridiculous."
Walking into an empty hallway and seeing no one around, he removed the mask of civility he always wore.
His face twisted and contorted, a sinister smile curling at his lips.
He took out his phone and dialed the butler's number:
"How's the search going for that assassin I asked you to find?"
There was a brief silence on the other end, then:
"That person from the assassin organization... may not accept a job targeting an ordinary civilian."
"Then offer more money." Mibuomi Aoi snapped.
"Whether it's by increasing the price or fabricating information about Hikigaya's family, get that ace to move."
"Whether it's an assassination or just an orchestrated 'accident,' I want that bug to feel the pain of crossing me."