Meritocracy - Part 4

The room was silent—well, it was filled with a silent unrest.

But in reality, the tension was all fictional.

The result had been decided since the beginning.

Not the beginning of the meeting, but the beginning of the year.

***

"I vote for Furukawa."

It was that simple.

In reality, not even the bribe was necessary for her.

...

It's always easy to read people's body language. To be truly in disguise is to hide anything that gives away your intentions. It's not easy for normal people to control this, because it's something built so deeply in the subconscious.

But it's also hard for normal people to notice.

***

The room was filled with sudden chatter. Students rushed to talk with each other. The vote was hung once again.

"...surely Kaoru already won."

"...how long are we going to have to stay here."

There was a sigh of relief from Furukawa.