Chapter 53: The Student Council President

In the afterlife, within an office on the first floor of the teachers’ building...

Yechen and Kanade Tachibana, who had been summoned together, stood before a beautiful young woman—their homeroom teacher. In their hands, each held a report card, but the grades could not have been more different: Kanade’s was filled with dismal marks, while Yechen’s was a perfect sweep of top scores. The stark contrast was almost unbearable to witness, compelling one to avert their eyes. The blow was especially hard on Kanade; unable to comprehend how she had ended up this way, she lowered her head in dismay and grasped Yechen’s arm—at her core, she was still just an ordinary girl, longing for someone to lean on in this moment of distress.

Afterward, the NPC teacher delivered a stern lecture to Kanade and informed her that she had been stripped of her position as student council president. To Yechen’s surprise, once the admonishment was over, the teacher proceeded to offer him the vacant role. Worried that accepting might upset Kanade, Yechen discreetly glanced at her, only to find her nodding in eager anticipation. Relieved, Yechen accepted the position without hesitation.

As they left the office, Yechen asked with concern, “Are you upset, Kanade?”

“Not at all. I’m happy you’ll be the student council president. I know you’ll bring happiness to everyone,” Kanade replied, shaking her head. Her enchanting smile showed she truly wasn’t saddened by the turn of events. For someone as earnest as her, the burden of the presidency had been overwhelming, but with Yechen taking over, she could finally feel at ease.

“Exactly! Someone as clumsy as you isn’t cut out for the presidency, so better leave it to me. I was actually thinking of cheering you up with some mapo tofu, but it seems there’s no need now!” Yechen teased, patting her head playfully, reassured by the newfound brightness in her demeanor.

“Yechen, you’re being mean!” In Kanade’s mind, Yechen’s words meant only one thing—she wouldn’t be treated to mapo tofu. And to Kanade, denying her that was tantamount to bullying. Her large, glistening eyes fixed imploringly on Yechen, with Bai Ji joining in for good measure.

“Heh, alright, I’ll take you both for some later!”

…

A few days later, in the gymnasium, the entire school had gathered. Yechen and Kanade stood on stage as an elderly, bespectacled teacher energetically announced, “From today, Kanade Tachibana will step down as student council president! The position will be filled by Yechen, who scored first in the entire school on this exam.”

“Host has become the student council president of the afterlife, gaining absolute command over all NPCs. Everything done in the afterlife is now defined as just. 100 points each awarded to both good and evil metrics.”

Upon hearing this, the battlefront members at the back of the crowd nearly erupted in cheers. This operation had been their most successful yet—toppling Kanade from the presidency, inflicting the greatest blow she’d ever suffered. The hardships endured during the exams had all been worth it.

Yechen also received some rewards, but compared to the full set of Geass powers granted by C.C., these were somewhat superfluous. After all, Geass surpassed any absolute command authority.

“Now that she’s just an ordinary student, shorn of her righteous mantle, can she still stand in our way? We’ll soon find out if the ‘Angel’ can be unmasked!” Yuri said expectantly, planning to flagrantly break school rules in front of Kanade to observe her reaction.

While the battlefront celebrated, one person was far from pleased. After Kanade lost her position, he had been certain that only he was fit to become student council president. Yet, the role had been snatched away by a newcomer. Fuming with rage, he found an NPC, hypnotized him, and beat him mercilessly.

This was none other than Naoi Fumito, the current vice president. He pummeled the NPC’s face again and again, the NPC rising each time, expressionless, only to be knocked down anew. As Naoi raged, he shouted, “Damn you, Yechen! How dare you steal my position? How dare you defy me, the god? I’ll find a way to teach you a lesson!”

When he’d finally exhausted his fury, Naoi left the hypnosis in place. If he couldn’t command all NPCs as president, he’d just use hypnosis to control them one by one. He also resolved to secretly observe the new president and Kanade, believing that if his hypnotized NPCs locked them away, they’d no longer pose a problem.

In the cafeteria, after a resounding victory, the battlefront members were preparing to celebrate with a feast when, by chance, they spotted Yechen entering with Kanade.

“It’s the Angel!” Takamatsu, Hinata, and the others tensed, worried she’d come to cause trouble. And with Yechen now student council president, no one knew how he’d treat those who broke the rules.

Under the gaze of all the battlefront members, Yechen and his group each ordered a serving of mapo tofu—famed for its mouth-numbing spiciness that even the bravest needed rice to temper. Bai Ji, of course, had her ice cream. Hinata and the others were stunned: “That’s the legendary spicy mapo tofu! Even the toughest guys need rice with it! And they’re all eating it? Even Shiina’s joining them?”

Carrying their trays, Yechen and his group sat nearby. The battlefront members kept their heads down, ears pricked to eavesdrop on their conversation. Calmly tasting the mapo tofu, savoring its lingering flavor, Yechen turned to the now-cheerful Kanade and asked, “Feeling better after some mapo tofu?”

“Mm!” Kanade replied, eyes squinting in bliss as she quickly polished off her plate. Soon, her amber eyes were locked onto the remaining half of Yechen’s mapo tofu.

“Do you want more, Kanade?” Yechen smiled, catching her gaze.

“Yes!” Kanade’s usually cool voice now sounded adorably earnest.

“Open up, ah~!” Yechen scooped up some tofu and fed it to her. Watching Kanade’s happy expression, Yechen was reminded of feeding Bai Ji when she was very little—how her face would light up and she’d lick her own paws after each bite.

The gentle nostalgia of childhood filled Yechen’s heart. Suddenly, an ice cream appeared in his line of sight—Bai Ji, smiling sweetly, chimed, “I want you to feed me too!”

So, with ice cream in one hand for Bai Ji and chopsticks in the other for Kanade, Yechen found himself feeding both of them like two adorable kittens—though Bai Ji was, in fact, a fox. Shiina, meanwhile, ate her own mapo tofu intently, but her gaze never strayed from Yechen.