Ordinary I and Extraordinary Them

It’s not the result, but the process that matters.

These would be the words of a passionate teacher or a teenage superhero.

However, in my case, the result is everything that matters.
Without results, there won’t be any meaning to it, and results are the best proof of victory.

Winning the election against Ogiwara Yuuto is an necessary, so I don’t care if I am called cowardly, despicable, or shameless in the process.

I got up from my seat to substitute for the president and wrote down the figures on the whiteboard set up in the student council room.

There are about 450 students in the school.
The number of first-year and second-year students alone is about 300.
Add the teachers add to the total of 330 votes.

This is the total number of votes cast in our school’s student council member election.
Against Yuuto, simply winning most of these votes would mean a clear victory.

This result is absolute, and if I manage to get those numbers, it is my win, simple.
That is why, above all, we must gain the interest of the students and the support of the faculty.

The biggest challenge now is to find the conditions necessary for this and the strategy itself…

“….Let’s drop the straightforward approach.”

Standing in the front, on the stage, making a speech, attracting the attention of those around, gaining popularity, and getting votes.

This is a simple, straightforward, and truly orthodox approach, but it can’t be used here.

There were several reasons for this, but the first of the three reasons who everyone will be convinced of is.

“As soon as Yuuto and I clash head-on, it’ll be a game over.”

“It’s true that the attention given to Shinra-kun and Ikemen-kun will be like heaven and earth.

Whether she was agreeing with me or teasing me, Kirasaka told this as a matter of fact.
President and Shizuku nodded in agreement.

“Given Yuuto’s personality, he will probably perform his campaign grandly, talking about his ideal school life and gathering students who agree. Naturally, he will have a lot of supportive students from our and the other grades too.”

The number is too unpredictable.
There is too little information to indicate how popular he is in the other grades.

However, if we assume that the students who surround him regularly will join, the number of students will be more than 10 to 20.

On the other hand, the number of people on my side is less, but their abilities are at the highest level in the school year.

No matter how many helpers my opponent needs and gathers, that’s not the point.

“The reason why I said earlier that I would ask Shizuku and Kirasaka to work behind the scenes ….is because they are indispensable in order to gather as many teacher votes as the president has said.”

This is an election of students, but teachers will also be voting.
It’s contradictory, but the school’s intention is clearly visible.

After all, high school students are nothing more than a group or community of underage children.

They need to be guided by someone with experience and lead them in the right direction.

The president said that the faculty vote is valuable because it has the indirect effect of giving students a bigger hold on their influence by letting them know who they trust and value to lead them.

So, how can I, who does not have a high student profile, win the maximum number of votes from the students?

The quickest way is to get the support of the teachers.

Ogiwara Yuuto is needlessly talented, well-liked, and has no problems with associating with others.

Shinra Minato, on the other hand, is an unremarkable student, with few areas in which he excels in be it in terms of grades or athletic ability.

This is how the teachers evaluate us.

They do not include our appearance, but just our qualities as individuals.

That’s why there is still room for me.

“Honestly, I wonder what a charismatic personality is from a teacher’s point of view.”

This was a question directed at Shizuku and the president.
The reason one of them is not included is because she has a problem with human interactions.

Don’t worry, it’s not that big of a reason.

“When asked what it is …hmm…”

“That’s a question I don’t really want to answer.”

Shizuku puts her hand on her mouth and looks as if she is thinking, and the president giggled.

It must be tough to be popular.

If I was to give my opinion, I have one.

“I think student charisma is tricky nowadays. It’s tough for them when they are looking out for their students’ and parents’ interests.”

If I were a faculty member, assuming I were in a position to vote, I would not vote for Yuuto.
That is without any bias as Shinra Minato.

He is a charismatic student among the students, and his academics and behavior are excellent.

He never turns down a request for advice or a favor, accepts it with a smile, and is truly a central figure in the school year.

Normally, this would seem to be the best choice.
However, it comes with risks.

He is a major figure among the students, he is someone loved by everyone and he acts accordingly.

He may take on the problems and even the dissatisfaction that students have with the school and its teachers, and act on them.

He does what is genuinely good.
He is so disgustingly righteous and straightforward that it is alarming.

No matter what place it is, as long as it is a place where many people gather, they tend to hide their mistakes and problems trying to live normally.

Ogiwara Yuuto is the one who points them out and works to improve their situation.

For the students, that should be what he should do.
Not for the sake of the faculty, but for the students, the people with whom he is most closely associated.

I am not denying that.
However, there are those who disagree.

There are people who don’t want that to happen.
So, that’s where I come in.

Certainly, as a student, I don’t have a high opinion of myself.

It is neither good nor bad.

However, I think this means that the faculty can entrust me to be a member of the student council with almost no risk.

Maybe it’s the negative image I get from hearing about my overvaluation and the unfavorable position of teachers that makes me think that, but it is what I think.

On the contrary, there are rare cases, like Akane Hiiragi.

She has overwhelming talent, charisma, and consideration for those around her, and is able to execute all of these perfectly and completely, while at the same time remaining neutral and not letting her personal feelings get in the way.

It is this overwhelming ability that makes President, the president, and Yuuto is no exception.

Another scary factor is not the president’s position, but those around it.

It is wrong for an organization to operate if the president becomes a mere decoration and the assistant positions run the organization.

Well, that’s just a theory and a possibility.

I can’t make a judgment on this until I actually try to have a talk with her and see how she responds.

“For the time being, today I came to the president to receive the documents, to negotiate for help, and to explain my thoughts on the two. …Full-scale activities will come after the presidential election, as president said.”

Moreover, we need to get the next one to agree to come over to our side today.

The sooner the better, and since the campaign for the presidential election is in its phase, we need to get a move on, today.

Not to sound ungrateful, but the likelihood of her being on the other side after the presidential election is over, and still being excellent at it, will be a problem later on.

I told the three of them and stood up. They stood up as well.

“I’ll go tell the teachers in charge that Ogiwara and Shinra want to run for a seat. Rest assured, I’ll also see how the staff members react.”

“I haven’t said it yet …but please.”

Apparently she knew what I wanted her to do.
President waved her hand and walked out of the student council room.

The three of us are now together. Shizuku and Kirasaka looked at me as if to confirm our next move.

“…I think I’ll go and see how our juniors are doing.”

When I said this, Shizuku and Kirasaka looked blatantly disgusted.
It’s been easy to understand lately.

The two still seemed to be uncomfortable with Shiraishi as they started to walk along me with heavy footsteps.

“Do we really need that girl too?”

Kirasaka asked me as we were moving down the corridor.
I nodded in reply, and Shizuku then spoke up.

“Sure, in terms of getting first-year students to vote, we want a student who is the center figure to follow us, but …is that okay?”

“…”

The girls have a negative image of the ideal student council that Shiraishi first told them about.
Naturally, they’re still holding onto that, so it’s normal for her to be Yuuto’s side.

I don’t understand Shiraishi well enough to say that bringing such a person over to our side won’t cause some kind of problem.

“Well, we’ll see how it goes.”

If something goes wrong, it’ll be my fault in terms of choosing the right people, and it won’t be their fault.　
I answered with a sense of optimism, a deep sigh could be heard after that.

“Thank you! I’m Momiji Shiraishi, please take care of me.”

I was wondering about my next action in front of the school gate, watching a girl who approached each student from a bit of a distance.
Talking to her normally would be disturbing, but waiting until is over would also be a hassle.

If that were the case, we would inevitably have to take action now.
However, the two girls behind me were completely distracted.

In fact, the two of them were observing the flowers in the ikebana arrangement and competing with each other to see who could take the best picture with their smartphone.

“You don’t have a shred of sense.”

“It’s that kind of useless knowledge that makes for weird photos.”

“…”

Really, you guys have no interest in the elections.

Well, I can’t complain about since I was just like you.

The only way is to talk to Shiraishi about it directly.
So I decided to go ahead and approach her.

My aim is to go straight for her amongst the group gathered in front of the school gate.

Several people were forming a messy line, shaking hands and cheering her. I decided to join that line as well.

“Thank you! I’ll do my best!”

The girl, who clenched her fists in encouragement from one of the boys, then turned her attention to the next in line.

“…Please do your best”

“Tha— What are you doing here?”

“No, I’m just here to encourage you.”

You don’t have to look so blatantly disgusted.
You’re also using honorifics like Hino-kun.

Shiraishi hesitated as she shook the hand I was offering, but then changed her expression as the gazes of those around her began to gather.　

Now, Shiraishi’s face that should have been perfectly calculated and smiling most prettily at me.

“Thank you soooo much.”

“What’s with that ‘soooo’, you don’t normally speak like a cute little character, do you?”

“…You didn’t even catch it until I emphasized it…”

No, I’m sorry.
I ain’t uninterested!

She was going to get angry if I told her, so I decided get past it and simply tell her what I wanted to talk.

“I need to talk to you about the election… so meet me at the cafe in front of the station after you’re done with this.”

“Eh, eeh! …Hmm? Election? W-wait, senpai — Oh, thank you very much!”

I walked away, leaving Shiraishi, who couldn’t reply properly, as she was dealing with the student who had offered words of support to Shiraishi after me.

I interceded appropriately for Shizuku and Kirasaka who were still arguing about their competition, and then walked away from the school.

The next is the second most important phase for the day.

I started walking towards the station, which is in the opposite direction than I usually go, hoping that these two wouldn’t say something strange.