A Tyrant's Will

Volume 1: Chapter 2.3 - Silencing the Outcries of Dissent

"Yo, Kaneda. Did anything interesting happen at the club fair yesterday?"

I relaxed in my chair and called out to the bespectacled boy as he walked into the classroom. Like usual, I decided to get to class early to inspect the situation and observe my peers. Today was only the third day of classes, but to me it already felt like a week. All that running around and fighting I've been doing was certainly taking a toll on my energy.

"The club fair? I can certainly tell you all about it, Ryuuen-shi. There were around 100 students present, and we all received a detailed pamphlet containing all the information about the clubs and their activities. Next, a short girl with purple hair tied in two twin buns who introduced herself as the student council secretary made an announcement starting the club fair. Next, all the club representatives lined up on stage. The first one to start was the judo club, followed by the tennis club, and then the—"

"Alright, alright, I get it!" I interrupted his rambling and gave him a glare. "Cut all the useless crap. Did anything else happen after all the representatives introduced their clubs?"

"Oh, of course. I sincerely apologize. After all the regular clubs were introduced, there was one extra person that came up on stage. He donned an attitude and aura worthy of respect. It was none other than the student council president, Horikita Manabu."

"The student council president was there as well? What did he say when he got on stage?" I asked, slightly intrigued.

"Nothing."

"What? The heck does that mean?"

"I mean exactly what I said, Ryuuen-shi. When he went up to the microphone, he didn't say a word. Instead, he calmly looked over the crowd, almost as if he was analyzing each and every one of us. Some of the students hurled insults and laughed at the man's behavior, but he was unfazed. Soon, the laughter stopped completely, and all that remained in that large gymnasium was complete silence."

"How interesting. Keep going, then. What happened next?"

"The tension became so thick that one could almost cut through it with a knife. No one dared to say a word. It was like this for 30 seconds, before he finally introduced himself and stated his purpose for coming was to recruit potential first-year candidates for the student council. He mentioned that anyone looking to join shouldn't be involved in other clubs."

"I see. And the rest was just people signing up for the clubs, right?"

"That is correct. Nothing noteworthy happened other than that little affair. The representatives started taking applications, and everyone left soon after."

So, that's the student council president, huh? Commanding a group of 100 students just from his presence alone – it's clear that he was a powerful and influential individual worthy of respect. If he could actually impress me was an entirely different story, though. 

My classmates arrived, either alone or in groups, and sat down in their seats. Of course, many of them were still nervous when they saw me. Ishizaki and his two simpletons glared at me like usual, but at least Ibuki just straight up ignored me instead of twisting her face in disgust like she did yesterday. Progress is progress, at the end of the day.

As classes started, I again noticed that around 10 students in the back were talking with each other and using their phones. Some of the people in the front decided to join in too when they realized that I wasn't doing anything to reprimand the troublemakers. I had originally planned to just let them be, but I had a slight suspicion that doing so would be a mistake. It was just my intuition speaking, though.

Whether my worries were justified or not, it didn't really matter right now. I planned to find out for myself next week. Even though Sakagami refused to give me any information on the nature of classes in this school, I still had other means at my disposal. I was confident that in the end, I would get the information I needed.