COTE: Starting With Love Stock Market System

After Ichinose confirmed her decision to take one of the available student council positions, Hikaru shifted his gaze toward the rest of the group.

Class A, under his and Ichinose's efforts, had already formed a strong sense of unity. Everyone was fairly close-knit, so sharing this information with them posed no issue.

That said, some of those present were merely there to round out the numbers. Take Shiranami Chihiro, for example—a member of Ichinose's inner circle. Her overall abilities were nothing special, but given her close relationship with the pink-haired girl, allowing her to sit in as a listener was fine.

As for the others, they were quite capable. Among the boys, Kanzaki and Shibata, and among the girls, Ando and Himeno Yuki, all stood out as exceptional members of Class A. One of them would need to be chosen as Ichinose's assistant in the student council, helping her carry out her duties.

"Well then, would anyone like to nominate themselves?" Hikaru asked with a faint smile, his eyes scanning the group. "We need to select the second candidate from among you."

"Uh…" Shibata looked as if he had thoughts on the matter but was more inclined to hear what others had to say first.

"We're all fairly similar in ability, but if I had to choose, I think Kanzaki and Ando would be the best options," Himeno remarked, her gaze sweeping over the group.

Her keen observational skills allowed her to pinpoint two clear candidates. If they were to select a second-tier leader within Class A, aside from Hikaru and Ichinose, the naturally sociable and academically strong Kanzaki and Ando were ideal choices.

"You think I'd be a good fit?" Ando blinked, her large eyes shimmering. She was quite attractive—not on Ichinose's level, but still a striking girl.

"What do you think, Ichinose-san?"

Hikaru turned to the pink-haired girl beside him. After deciding to join the student council, she had remained quietly listening, a gentle smile on her face.

"I think everyone here is great. If I had to choose, I wouldn't be able to say who's better or worse," Ichinose replied.

Besides Hikaru, she saw every member of Class A as equally important classmates. She didn't want to show favoritism.

"So how should we decide? Should we vote?" Kanzaki suggested, though his hesitation was evident.

In moments like this, no one wanted to create awkwardness. The class had a strong bond, making it difficult to make an outright choice.

Hikaru took in everyone's expressions and sighed inwardly. This was a problem he had noticed early on.

Class A was united and trusted one another deeply. Their relationships were amicable, which was a good thing.

However, when it came to situations requiring singling someone out—whether for competition or exclusive choices—the class would fall into a state of passive indecision, reluctant to disrupt the harmony.

As everyone hesitated over how to vote, Hikaru decisively spoke up. "How about this? I'll decide. Since I was the one who secured these two spots, it makes sense for me to handle communication with Horikita-senpai."

"Sounds good. Honestly, we wouldn't know how to vote anyway."

"Yeah, just tell us your pick, Hikaru. We'll accept it no matter who it is."

The group let out a collective sigh of relief.

Letting Hikaru make the decision was the best option.

"Who do you have in mind?" Ichinose leaned against him, her eyes shining with anticipation.

"Hmm… Let's go with Ando."

After a moment of thought, Hikaru decided a female candidate would be the better choice.

Girls found it easier to bond, which meant fewer barriers in communication.

He also had another consideration—Tachibana Akane, the student council secretary and Horikita Manabu's close aide. If their chosen candidate was a girl, it might be easier to establish rapport with her.

And if that worked, they might even extract information from her. Two birds with one stone.

"What do you think, Ando-san? Would you be willing to join the student council alongside Ichinose?" Hikaru asked, directing his gaze at the girl who had organized their class's first gathering.

Ando looked surprised, as if she hadn't expected to be chosen. "Me? Are you sure?"

"Of course. Everyone recognizes your abilities, Ando-san. If you and Ichinose-san work together, you'll serve as our eyes and ears in the student council, gathering valuable information for the class."

"What do you think, Ichinose-san?" Hikaru turned to her.

"I think it's a great idea! Ando and I are already close friends, so if we work together in the student council, we'll probably become even closer," Ichinose said, her smile bright.

"Oh, don't say that, Ichinose-san." Ando's expression turned teasing as she glanced at Hikaru. "If we're talking about closeness, aren't you way closer to Hikaru-kun?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Ichinose's face turned crimson, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. She was momentarily speechless.

After all, deep down, she did consider Hikaru the most important person to her. She simply couldn't bring herself to deny it outright.

The rest of the group chuckled knowingly. Ichinose's feelings were obvious to everyone.

After spending so much time together, those who were close to Hikaru and Ichinose knew one thing: if their relationship were to change, it would depend on Hikaru.

The moment he decided, they could become a couple immediately. Ichinose's efforts were crystal clear to all.

Just as everyone was about to observe Hikaru's reaction, he calmly pulled out his phone and placed it on the table.

"Alright, let's focus on the main topic. This is information regarding the student council."

"Now that we've chosen our representatives, I need to brief you on some key details. The rest of you should listen as well—this is important for Class A."

Hikaru's serious tone shifted the atmosphere. He was about to introduce a hypothetical enemy to motivate the two newly appointed student council members to take their intelligence-gathering responsibilities seriously.

"Yes, please explain, Hikaru-kun. We'll listen carefully," Ichinose and Ando said, both sitting up straight with focused expressions.

"First, let's go over the key student council members I know about. The first is, of course, Student Council President Horikita Manabu. He holds the highest authority in the student council and has access to a vast network of information."

"Next is his aide, Tachibana Akane."

Hikaru pulled up the school's online forum on his phone, displaying official student council announcements. The posts bore signatures from various council members.

"She currently serves as the student council secretary and works as Horikita-senpai's assistant. Once you're in the student council, try to build a connection with her. Do you understand what I mean?"

His gaze fell on the two girls, who immediately caught on and nodded.

"And now, we get to the key figure I want to talk about."

Pausing for a moment, Hikaru pointed at a name on the screen, his voice taking on a heavier tone.

"The current student council vice president—Nagumo Miyabi. He's also the leader of Class 2-A."

As Hikaru's expression darkened, the group grew curious about this unfamiliar name.

"What's wrong? Hikaru-kun, your face looks scary…"

"Is he hard to deal with or something?" Ichinose, sitting closest to him, sensed his shift in mood but didn't fully understand why.

"Because once Horikita-senpai graduates, Nagumo-senpai is very likely to become the next student council president."

Hikaru's expression grew more serious as he explained to the others. "And unlike Horikita-senpai, his philosophy is completely different. He intends to implement a true meritocracy."

"A true meritocracy?"

"Does that mean changing how class competition works? Would that affect us?"

The group struggled to grasp the significance of Hikaru's words.

"Heh. A true meritocracy is easy to explain. Have you all forgotten why we're collecting private points?" Hikaru's tone carried a trace of amusement.

"You mean…"

"He wants people to drop out!?"

Shibata's face twisted in realization.

Everyone else quickly caught on to Hikaru's implication.

"How does he plan to make students drop out? Is it through exam results?"

Ichinose's expression turned particularly grim.

"That part is still unclear. But I heard about this from Horikita-senpai, so it's definitely credible."

Hikaru's gaze swept over the group, satisfied that his plan was working.

To truly consolidate his control over Class A, he needed to give his classmates a target—an enemy.

An adversary to rally against. A reason to push forward.

~~~

Read 30 Chapters Ahead!

> patreon.com/HudaLin