Duel Academy, Student Council Office.
"Huh? Senpai?"
Kira looked a bit surprised upon entering.
"It's you?" The rather attractive upperclasswoman in front of him was surprised, too.
She was Seika Kohinata.
Duel Academy's Miss Contest winner for two years straight—only to be dethroned in her third year by the freshman Alexis Rhodes, which seemed to awaken some strange new attributes in Yuri.
Kira nodded in understanding. "So you're a student council officer, too."
"Of course, I'm the president of the Student Management Committee. Who could be better suited for management than the Academy Queen herself?" Seika brushed her hair back. "So, what brings you to the student council?"
She had a bad feeling.
Kira was surprised. So this senpai was the student council president…
And an old acquaintance, too.
"Oh, nothing much, just wanted to ask if the student council is recruiting," Kira said.
Seika frowned.
Technically, they were still recruiting. This year the student council was short-staffed.
But that was only for staff, not monsters.
They'd heard about the Duel Club's situation this semester: ever since a certain freshman joined, things had gotten… difficult to describe.
The new members of the Duel Club were all grumbling; there seemed to be an unusual aversion to club duels. For a club known for the strongest card addiction in the academy, this was unprecedented.
Ironically, the other clubs' students were showing more interest in the Duel Club's matches. Even Seika knew some student council members who loved to go watch the Duel Club duels and return in high spirits.
As one of the earliest members of the Kira's Victims Club, Seika could understand why this was happening.
And now, the culprit himself was standing in front of her, wanting to join the student council!
What was this—was he going to turn the student council into the next Duel Club?
Just the thought made her shiver—the trauma of being crushed by Lava Golem and Nightmare Wheel came flooding back.
No, sorry, but the recruitment window is closed.
That's what she wanted to say.
But just then, another council member cheerfully spoke up: "Huh? This student wants to join? That's great, we're short-handed right now!"
Seika: "..."
She glared at them.
You talk too much.
Council Member: "?"
What? Weren't we recruiting?
"That's great," Kira smiled. "I look forward to working with everyone."
With that said, Seika couldn't say anything more. Besides, she'd heard of Kira's reputation—supposedly even the notoriously strict Academic Affairs Office gave him special treatment. The student council was nothing; if he wanted in or out, so be it.
"Fine… Then welcome to the student council, Fujiki Kira," Seika said weakly.
Her tone was completely devoid of welcome.
The other officer immediately started clapping, but as he did, he was trying to recall—Fujiki Kira, where had he heard that name before…
Council Member: "!"
His smile vanished. He suddenly realized why the president had been so opposed to letting new recruits in.
A chill ran down his spine.
It was over.
He'd just made an irreparable mistake.
"Oh, by the way, isn't there a tradition that new members have to duel as an initiation?" Kira grinned, showing his Duel Disk to Seika.
"Senpai, how about a rematch?"
Seika flinched. For a moment, Kira's sunny, handsome face overlapped with the memory of Lava Golem. She waved her hands desperately.
"N-no, I'm not feeling well today, so maybe not. Besides, I'm rebuilding my deck, it's not ready yet. Next time, next time for sure."
So Kira turned to the council member who'd spoken up.
He felt a chill.
He was doomed.
Seika looked coldly at him. "Well then, Satou, why don't you handle the welcome duel?"
As if to say, "You let this troublemaker in, so you can deal with the consequences."
Satou grimaced, wishing he could slap himself for speaking out of turn.
But just then, he had a brainwave: "Oh, right! President, that 'thing' we've been too short-handed to handle—maybe Kira's the perfect candidate?"
"Oh?"
Seika considered.
"You might have a point."
She turned to Kira to explain.
"The student council does have a troublesome task. It's not a huge issue, and it's not that urgent.
There's a club that failed multiple reviews, and the academy decided it's no longer necessary. It's been ordered to disband, but the members won't comply and are still occupying their clubroom."
Kira understood immediately.
The classic "disbanded club refuses to leave"—he could name ten anime with this plot.
So the job was to persuade the students to vacate the room.
"It's pretty simple. This is Duel Academy, after all—strength in dueling decides everything." Seika said. "So, if you beat the club president in a duel, they agreed to give up the room."
"So what's the problem?"
"The club president is tough," Satou said. "And we're short-handed lately. The last strong seniors just graduated, and none of us feel confident beating him."
"I see."
Kira didn't know which club it was, but the club president sounded like a worthy opponent.
He was here to duel anyway, and if he could earn some rewards along the way, all the better.
"Alright, so where's the clubroom?" Kira stood up. "I'll go take a look."