The day begins early for a Negative Campaign Craftsman.
Rintaro Asahi was up with the sun, arriving at Kikou Academy a full hour before homeroom began. It had been some time since he had started circulating negative campaigns to secure an election victory—and, more importantly, to instill a fighting spirit in Ren Joto. Encouraged by the success of his tactics, Rintaro wandered the campus grounds in search of further inspiration.
(My intuition was correct.)
Rintaro took a moment to admire his own keen insight.
He hadn’t been entirely sure how well the students of Kikou Academy, in all their supposed purity and innocence, would handle a scandal, but the rumors had taken root and spread far more rapidly than he had anticipated. Upper class or not, people were still people. Even the students here possessed a certain nature that made them gravitate toward gossip, a trait Rintaro identified as the commoner nature lurking within them. He felt a renewed conviction that whether someone belonged to the upper, middle, or lower class, they were all the same creatures once you peeled back that thin layer of skin.
Now, what should his next negative campaign be? As he walked, lost in thought, he passed a cafe. He had spoken with Itsuki Tomonari here once before.
He had heard the rumors about The Noble Tea Party. To his surprise, his older sister, Karen, was among its members.
In all honesty, that Tea Party likely represented the current top caste of Kikou Academy. After all, it boasted the daughters of both the Konohana Group and the Tennoji Group. On top of that, it even included Narika Miyakojima, a girl standing at the pinnacle of a completely different industry.
It was a gathering that drew the attention of everyone from underclassmen to seniors. If they were so inclined, they could steer the future of the academy however they wished. It was humiliating beyond words, so he had never told a soul, but an ambitious classmate had once begged Rintaro to put in a good word with his sister. Apparently, they wanted to use Karen as a bridge to get close to Hinako Konohana. Since Rintaro had no desire to even speak to his sister, he had naturally refused. Karen didn't know about it, and he had no intention of telling her. Judging by her behavior, they likely viewed themselves as nothing more than a group of friends. They were more than welcome to remain complacent in their little peace for all he cared.
Among those members, four names came up most frequently: Hinako Konohana, Mirei Tennoji, Narika Miyakojima, and Itsuki Tomonari. He had heard the names of his sister, Karen, and Katsuya Taisho a few times during the Management Game, but the first four were the ones that truly dominated the conversation.
The boy named Itsuki Tomonari, whose name rang out as though he were competing on equal footing with those three young ladies, was, frankly, an anomaly.
(If those three young ladies were actually fighting over Tomonari-senpai, I could really stir things up with some rumors...)
He dismissed the idea as impossible, yet a thought struck him.
Wait... isn't that guy constantly surrounded by women?
It hadn't even been a year since he transferred in. It might have just been a coincidence that the first group he fell in with was predominantly female, but even so, the ratio felt incredibly skewed.
Itsuki Tomonari had a respectable character. He could understand why people were drawn to him, but...
(...It's worth a shot. Let's see what happens.)
Rintaro, the Negative Campaign Craftsman, was struck by a new flash of inspiration.
Itsuki Tomonari is a womanizer.
With that, he set the rumor in motion.
◆
"Hey, have you heard? That rumor."
"Yes, it's quite the fascinating topic..."
The following day, Rintaro overheard a group of female students talking in the hallway. It was clear that his latest negative campaign had successfully permeated the academy.
The new rumor was being embraced by the student body.
Though not in the way he had intended.
"I wonder who he's actually serious about!?"
The negative campaign he had launched to undermine the opposition had been completely reinterpreted by the students as a juicy romance. The rumor was proving to be a massive hit, particularly with the girls.
"It has to be Konohana-san, right?"
"But I also heard he was dancing with Tennoji-san..."
"Don't you think there's something special about his dynamic with Miyakojima-san?"
Clearly, everyone had been curious about their relationship for a long time. Their excitement hadn't been manufactured by the rumor; rather, the rumor had acted as the spark that caused a long-simmering interest to explode.
"Speaking of dynamics, I heard he's also on very intimate terms with Suminoe-san..."
"There's even a rumor that President Minato has his eye on him..."
They kept coming—one rumor after another.
(...This isn't just my doing anymore.)
As a professional, Rintaro knew that a rumor with absolutely no basis in reality would burn out quickly. This meant that his "womanizer" claim actually had some legs to stand on.
Just how many women is this guy keeping around him?
Rintaro felt his sense of guilt diminish slightly.
"Lately, I've heard he's been getting quite close with Asahi-san, too."
Rintaro nearly spun around at the mention of his own surname. He realized a moment later that they were referring to Karen, but he was so shaken by the way the rumors were spiraling out of control that he couldn't keep his composure.
"Wait a second. If that's the case, then what about Taisho-kun...?"
Then, the speculation took an even stranger turn.
"Wait... what!? You mean that's an option, too!?"
"I suppose that's just another form of diversity."
Maybe this academy really would be better off if it just underwent commoner-ization as soon as possible.
His plan had technically succeeded, but Rintaro decided that the moment he got home, he was going to go straight to bed and stay there.