Chapter 339: Stirring the Fire

"Not bad, President. That's a really good start."

"…I feel like the pressure on me just increased again."

In the student council office, Shirogane sat at the desk reading books on business and management, already feeling overwhelmed.

"Don't stress too much. You'd have to learn this sooner or later anyway."

After Rinji's 'persuasion', Shirogane agreed to intern at his company. Before heading over, he was brushing up on some fundamentals to avoid crashing and burning later.

"How many people are in your company right now?"

"Fewer than a hundred."

"How much movable capital do you have?"

"1.3057 trillion yen. That's the usable funds, excluding a high-rise office building, three factories, and several patent licenses."

"…"

"President, do you think that's not enough for you to go wild?"

"I'm terrified!!"

Shirogane grabbed his head in despair.

"How do you have such a massive operation and fewer than 100 employees!? And why do I have to be the chairman of this company? Wouldn't a small workshop be enough for training!?"

"A small workshop wouldn't suit your status."

"What status!? I'm just a poor scholarship student who transferred into Shuchiin!"

"No, you're the student who served as the Dainippon Bank's president, twice elected student council president, and who defeated the Hyakkaou Academy's student council president to become the next one… all while being a 'poor' student at Shuchiin."

"…Suddenly, I feel like I have too many titles… Wait a second!"

Shirogane jolted.

"When did I become Hyakkaou Academy's student council president!?"

"A few days ago."

"Huh?"

"Remember the chips that Kirari Momobami gave you? And the ones I gave you?"

"…Yeah, but weren't those just toys?"

"Of course not. Those were actual votes used for the Hyakkaou Academy student council election," Rinji explained. "Since you got over half the votes and never returned there, a few days ago their election concluded, and they announced you as the new student council president."

"We need to return those votes right now!!"

Panicking, Shirogane opened a drawer and pulled out a whole bag of chips.

"President, once the election ended, those votes became worthless. Even if you return them, it's useless."

"Huh? Then I…"

"You're now the dual student council president of Shuchiin Academy and Hyakkaou Academy," Rinji said. "You can also freely command the Momobami Clan. Oh, and these are things Kirari asked someone to pass along to you."

"…Rinji, can I ask something?"

Shirogane's face was filled with terror as he sweat and forced a smile.

"Um… what exactly does the Hundred Devouring Families do?"

"Not much. Pretty useless."

"Oh…"

"They hold massive influence over Japan's financial world—about on par with the Shinomiya family."

"Why are you only telling me this now!?"

"A small matter."

"This is not a small matter!!"

"Relax, President. This is your publicly known trump card."

"I really didn't expect to have turned into a big shot already."

Shirogane slammed his forehead onto the desk with a thud.

"Are you unhappy being a big shot now?"

"How should I put it… it's complicated," Shirogane said weakly. "Thinking about it, aside from grades and being student council president, every other achievement I have now was given to me by you."

"No, becoming the president of Hyakkaou Academy's student council was your own achievement. I don't know what you and Kirari gambled on, but the fact is you won. That's yours."

"…"

"All in all, you've come this far, so you should at least have some confidence in yourself," Rinji said with a smile. "I told you before, didn't I? It's not that you're unworthy of Kaguya Shinomiya."

"…Fine, I'll give myself some motivation."

Shirogane ruffled his hair. His eyes sharpened once again as he resumed his studies.

While he was reading, Rinji lounged on the couch playing on his phone.

The student council room fell silent.

Until the sound of the door opening broke it.

Kaguya walked in, followed by a short-haired girl Rinji had seen before.

It was Nagisa Kashiwagi, girlfriend of Tsubasa Tanuma.

"Huh? President, Rinji-kun, are you the only ones here?"

"Yeah."

Rinji glanced up at the two of them.

"Here for a consultation?"

"Yes. Kashiwagi-san said she had something to consult about, so…"

Kaguya trailed off mid-sentence, just in time to see Shirogane seated at the desk, completely engrossed in a book on business management.

"Why's the President suddenly studying business management?"

Rinji: "Because he's about to manage a large corporation."

"Eh… EHH!?"

Kaguya stared at Shirogane in disbelief, but he seemed too absorbed to notice.

"The President's going to a large corporation!?"

"Yeah."

"As an executive?"

"As the chairman."

"..."

Kaguya was stunned into silence, then turned with a blank stare toward Rinji.

"Don't tell me you arranged that too?"

"Yep."

"…Do you seriously think the President can manage a company?"

"He can try. It's about the experience."

"..."

Kaguya had noticed that ever since Rinji arrived at this school, Shirogane's status seemed to rise with him.

Spending the summer as the head of the Dainippon Bank had already been outrageous. Now he was becoming a corporate chairman. Judging from Rinji's scale, it clearly wasn't a small company either.

And with Shirogane's growing status, Kaguya's sense of crisis deepened.

As a successful man, he'd inevitably meet more excellent women. What if he started looking elsewhere…

"Rinji-kun. Have I ever done anything to offend you?"

"What do you think?"

"…I don't think you should confuse me with the main Shinomiya family. Didn't you say during the sports festival that you saw me as an ally?"

"I did. So I haven't done anything to wrong you."

"Then… don't you think making the President a corporate chairman is a bit too…"

"How is that wronging you? You just can't stand seeing the President doing better, can you?"

"That's not what I meant!!"

Kaguya was dying inside. Rinji had now become an expert at stirring things up.