"That's basically it. I'll leave it to you to show Murakami around and get him familiar with things. Work hard together from now on, and come find me if anything comes up."
"Okay, Sakata-sensei."
After finishing his instructions to Anna Kinomiya, Sakata Gintoki turned and left the student council room, leaving the space to the students.
"Welcome to the student council, Murakami-kun."
Anna Kinomiya took a thermos from the storage table nearby and poured a cup of warm tea, placing it in front of Murakami Yuu.
"Is black tea okay? If not, we also have flower tea and coffee."
"Thank you, but you don't need to be so polite. This is fine. Also, I'm not officially a member of the student council yet, since the appointment notice hasn't been formally confirmed."
Murakami Yuu responded appropriately, then picked up the cup and took a light sip.
"Since Sakata-sensei said it's pretty much confirmed, I think the result should be as he said. Murakami-kun can already prepare yourself."
Anna Kinomiya smiled with squinted eyes, having an affinity that made people naturally relax.
"Kinomiya-san really trusts Sakata-sensei."
"Mm, although Sakata-sensei usually doesn't seem very dignified, he's actually quite capable. He's also very popular among the girls. Since he can assert it, then nine times out of ten, things will develop as he said, so Murakami-kun can already put yourself in the position of vice president in advance."
Murakami Yuu looked at her and nodded.
"Well then, that earlier one doesn't count. Now once more..."
She took a slight step back. The other two people in the student council room stood beside her, and all three bowed their heads simultaneously.
"Welcome to the student council, Murakami Yuu-kun. Let's get along well from now on."
"Thank you."
Murakami Yuu stood up and bowed slightly.
Setting aside what Sakata Gintoki had just told him, Anna Kinomiya's etiquette was actually quite thorough, maintaining neither too close nor too distant a distance, considerate and approachable, without a trace of the arrogance typical of children from wealthy families. She even naturally covered her mouth with her hand when smiling - the picture of a lady.
At least from Murakami Yuu's perspective, on the surface she was just a well-bred young lady with good upbringing. He could just relax and treat her as a normal female friend, no need to be particularly concerned.
He considered himself different from typical high school boys - he didn't have that "walking sex drive" label that all boys in puberty have. He had worldly desires, but not to the extent of expressing them toward a girl with a normal relationship. He should count as a harmless, safe type.
Following Anna Kinomiya's introductions, Murakami Yuu met the other two members of the student council.
Student council secretary Ibuki Yuki was a girl with slightly curled medium-length hair, imperceptible small freckles on her cheeks, petite in stature with an outgoing personality. From the moment Murakami Yuu entered, she'd been staring at him directly with eyes shining with light as if no one else existed.
Student council accountant Uchida Mitsuko wore thick round-framed glasses and had her hair in two braids. Her behavior was exemplary and proper. Overall, her personality was much more steady and reserved.
After the introductions ended, Ibuki Yuki and Uchida Mitsuko stood up, each holding a folder, facing Anna Kinomiya.
"President, then Mitsuko and I will go inspect the various clubs now."
"Mm, thank you for your hard work."
"You too, President."
Ibuki Yuki then faced Murakami Yuu with a familiar tone.
"You too, Vice President. Bye bye."
Murakami Yuu smiled and waved.
"Mm, bye bye."
The student council room quieted down again after the two left.
"Ibuki is mainly responsible for organizing various files in the student council and recording daily affairs. The secretary position requires frequent interaction with people, so she has a very outgoing personality. I hope Murakami-kun won't mind."
Anna Kinomiya withdrew her gaze from the door and explained.
"Of course not. I think that's an excellent personality trait. We'll be working together from now on, and such a secretary is very trustworthy."
After responding and indicating he didn't mind, Murakami Yuu asked.
"President, speaking of which, what kind of work will I need to do after joining the student council?"
"Simply put, you'll be responsible for managing and monitoring all the students in the school."
Anna Kinomiya took a sip of tea and smiled slightly, her brief explanation carrying weight.
"That sounds like it might not be too easy."
Murakami Yuu smiled wryly.
"It's not that bad. While we say we manage all the students, we don't actually have to do everything ourselves.
Club presidents manage their clubs and arrange daily activities. We just need to liaise with them. If any special situations arise normally, we just need to give instructions to the club leaders.
For student discipline, multiple discipline committee members will assist us with supervision. They'll handle problems promptly, and only report to us if they encounter situations they can't resolve. Then we make decisions for them to execute."
Anna Kinomiya's clear and organized explanation was easy to understand. Murakami Yuu nodded in comprehension.
"I see. I understand."
"Mm-hmm, the discipline committee chair position was previously held concurrently by the former student council vice president. Murakami-kun, you can consider it. If you're interested, you can take it over. This isn't mandatory - if you're not interested, you can appoint someone else."
"I'll think about it."
"That's basically it. Actually, talking about it verbally can't cover all the student council work items in detail. Let me get a written student council guide for Murakami-kun to take home and look at. It describes things in more detail."
Anna Kinomiya walked toward the file cabinet on the side, pulled open the glass door, stretched out her hand and stood on tiptoe trying to reach a folder lying flat on the top shelf.
Seeing her struggling, Murakami Yuu stood up and walked over.
"Let me help, President."
"No need, no need... no need to trouble Murakami-kun specially... hup!"
Anna Kinomiya did a small jump and successfully reached the folder, pulling it out.
What he hadn't noticed before - a large jar of bottled coffee sitting on top of the folder was also brought down, falling straight toward Anna Kinomiya's head.
Murakami Yuu's eyes sharpened. In the emergency, he took several large steps forward to close the distance, wrapping one arm around Anna Kinomiya's shoulders and pulling her toward him while his other hand caught the coffee jar.
The dangerous incident was stopped, but they fell into another unexpected situation.
Both lost their balance, and with Anna Kinomiya facing Murakami Yuu, the two fell backward together.
The folder in her hand flew out, papers scattering messily all over the floor.
A dull "thud" came from the rose-colored solid wood floor.
Anna Kinomiya's entire body lay sprawled on top of Murakami Yuu, her chest landing with pinpoint accuracy on Murakami Yuu's face position. The heat from his breathing passed through the thin summer shirt and reached her skin.
"Ngh—!"
Anna Kinomiya's face flushed red as she raised her head, breathing heavily in an uncontrolled manner, then as if losing her strength, pressed down again.
The student council room door was pushed open at this moment. It was the student council advisor Yukino Yukinoshita, followed by Eriri and Kasumigaoka Utaha.
The scene before them left all three frozen in place. The air fell into deathly silence.
The glass jar of coffee in Murakami Yuu's hand slipped free, rolling away with a "glug glug glug."
He caught the scent from Anna Kinomiya's body.
It was a faint rose fragrance.
.........