January 12, 3068
Razak hastily rushed out of the general lab building. Advanced practical classes had just ended, and now it was time for the club activities. But since Razak had signed for the apprentice laboratory assistant training, he had to attend two extra classes. One was after the end of the theory classes while the other was after the end of the advanced practical classes.
"Man, you are late as usual."
Razak looked behind, and there Kat was leaning on the wall at the exit of the general lab building.
"I thought you would be there already, and"—Razak looked at his watch— "we still have five more minutes left."
"Naa, what would I do by going there early."
After saying that, Kat walked to Razak. Both of them then started walking towards the club building. The club building was exactly opposite to the general lab building.
The hall was on the first floor of the club building, and its public entrance was from the right side of the main building. But today they weren't entering through the public entrance, they were entering through the guest entrance directly.
As they were walking through the garden in between the buildings, Kat spoke.
"Hey, how big do you think the crowd is going to be?"
"They posted about this in the school blog, so the front rows will probably be full."
"Man, I hate those eyes filled with expectations."
"I'm not too sure about that. Student council has a strong reputation among the second and third years."
The door slid open when they reached the building's front door. On the walls inside, many trophies earned by the academy throughout the years were being displayed. But they had no time to pay attention to any of them, so they walked straight towards the hall.
When they entered the hall, all the eyes of students sitting in the audience were fixed on them. The second-year and third-year had a look of anger in their faces while the first year simply looked curious. But there was a face among the crowd that looked worried. It was Yasumi.
Like Razak predicted, the front rows were filled but more than two-thirds of the hall was empty. This was because the reputed clubs couldn't bother to disrupt their activities for something as trivial as this.
Razak and Kat slowly walked to the stage. On the stage, five members of the student council were seated at the desk in front of the monitor. The stage was already fitted with an advanced microphone and the slides could be changed by the speaker using the swipe gesture.
Vice president Akane looked a little annoyed at the late entry of the presenters. For a straightforward person like her, it didn't take long to change that annoyance into words.
"Tch! Showing up late like some kind of hotshot."
"Akane, calm down!"—Kenji looked towards the stage— "Now, why don't we begin with the introduction. I am Kenji Monku, Eastern Academy student council president."
His tone and gesture as he introduced himself was befitting of someone in his position. His slight smile supported his confident look and charisma. He was ranked #1 in the 3rd year ranking and #9 in national under 20 rankings.
"Hmph! Akane Hoshu, Vice president."
Following him, Akane who was sitting to his Right introduced herself. Her displeasure could be felt in her tone as she spoke. She was ranked #6 in the 3rd year ranking and #64 in national under 20 rankings.
"Hey, I am Kaito Suna the secretary. Nice to meet you."
A cheerful grin on his face was reflecting his easy-going personality, but he was, by no means, that simple. In recent news, an article about him was published where his mysterious ability to see the future was discussed. He was ranked #7 in the 2nd year ranking and #134 in national under 20 rankings.
"I-I am Asami Mokuzai, student council treasurer."
Even though she was usually nervous around people, her wood magic was definitely a very valuable support to have on the side. She was ranked #38 in the 2nd year ranking and #420 in national under 20 rankings.
"Itsuki Kori, Second-year representative."
Despite the childish appearance and cold voice, his popularity because of his artistic skills was undeniable. He was ranked #1 in the 2nd year ranking and #42 in national under 20 rankings.
"Hello, I am Asa Hira, First-year representative."
Her beauty and politeness weren't the only thing that people admired and longed for. Her healing abilities combined with the advanced medical knowledge of the Hira clan could make the impossible possible. All these merits combined with her wisdom was what compelled Kenji to invite her into the council. And judging this presentation was going to be her first task as the council member.
Now that the introductions from the student council side were over, it was their turn. Kat looked towards Razak to see if he was taking the initiative. But when he realized he wasn't, Kat introduced himself first.
"I'm Kat F. Nerdy. I will be introducing the topics here."
Kat's tone was casual, and an evident lack of interest could be felt on it. This was one of the reasons why Razak didn't introduce himself first. Before the audience could start booing, Razak picked up from where Kat left.
"And I am Razak Grace. I will be explaining those topics and answering the questions raised."
His voice was a bit louder than usual and his tone sounded confident. The smile on his face indicated that he was unaffected by the surrounding and could deal with the situation calmly.
"Boo!"
"Who do you think you are?!"
Even though most stayed quiet, there were few wild ones among the audience like in almost every crowd. But both Razak and Kat paid no mind to them.
"Okay, you can start. But before you do, let me explain how it works. To be approved, you will at least need the approval of 4 of the 6 student council members. Also, Akane and I, as the elected members of the council, hold the veto."
'President looks like a reasonable dude, but she will be a tough nut to crack. Good luck buddy,' thought Kat as he turned towards the screen. And on the screen, the first slide was being displayed which—as in any other presentation—was the topic written in bold letters: Mana research club.