Chapter 1

This is seriously way worse than I thought it’d be.

S3, huh… I’m sure it’s easy for the President to wave his hand and declare there’s a new Dream Fes rank.

But for those of us working on the frontlines, there’s just so much we’ve gotta do to even get a handle that kinda idea.

There’s so many S3 proposals, both big and small, that we’ve got our hands full just looking them over. And then on top of that, we’re supposed to be in charge of prep work and operations? We don’t have the time or manpower for that.

But it was a necessary undertaking.

The student council has brought B1s—all of the Dream Fests which we’ve left alone until now as unauthorized, unofficial matches—under our control.

In doing so, we can incorporate and retain all of the advantages of B1s as the outlets for students’ discontent, and as a space for their free expression.

If we had continued to leave everything to the students, it would become a breeding ground for disorder and reckless behavior.

Next year will be the official start of the producer course, so the burden on the student council will decrease then.

We should take this year as a test run and try to experience as many failures and holdups as possible.

Those experiences will become valuable assets next year. Through repeated trial and error, we will figure out how to use S3s effectively.

Right now, we’re in a transitional period. We’ll just have to push through it and give it our all to handle our workload.

The establishment of new departments will change our situation drastically, starting next year.

We won’t be able to keep the same structure and system that Eichi and I created. We have to adapt to the changing times.

Failure is the mother of success, and necessity its father. We have to do all we can today for the sake of tomorrow’s successes.

Turning away and letting the world pass you by won’t get you anywhere.

I know, I know… But can’t I at least complain about it? Aside from me, I swear everyone in the student council’s about to throw in the towel.

‘Cause the truth of the matter is, these S3s are just going to keep increasing.

I guess everyone wanted to do what they wanted to do, not what the student council said they were allowed to do.

But they didn’t have the guts to stand up to us and host a B1.

Which is why they can’t help themselves now that we’re letting them host whatever Dream Fes they want as an S3.

They’re so excited they’ve lost all self-control, it feels like.

When I’m looking over one proposal, a second or even third adds itself to my pile.

Unless you’re a psychic and know how to stop time, it’s gonna be physically impossible to deal with all of them.

Hmm, it feels like there’s a structural issue in this setup. At this rate, the whole thing could collapse before the producer course even gets its feet off the ground next year.

We need to drastically change how we’re thinking about this.

We could announce that we’re cutting off proposals for the time being to buy us time… Do you think we could come up with a game plan in the meantime?

No, we should be grateful that everyone is taking the initiative to submit their own proposals.

It’s not our intention to stifle their motivation, so we’ll continue to take proposals for S3s.

At the moment, only the producer or the leader of a unit can submit proposals.

So there has to be a physical limit to the number they can send our way.

The problem is only that we aren’t equipped to handle it.

We could set up a committee that acts as a subsidiary under the student council to review the proposals, perhaps.

So it’d be like there’s two screenings? Kinda like an audition.

If we do that, the number of proposals that make it into our hands will go down, and we might be able to handle the influx.

But if we speed up the process too much, it could become rife with scandals.

For example, it would be all too easy to bribe or negotiate with those in charge of the preliminary screening.

As long as the guys in charge of it are reliable, we should be okay for now at least.

Like, maybe we can pick a representative for each type of project and leave it to their expertise in the area.

If the proposal puts emphasis on fashion, we can get Kiryu-senpai or Itsuki-senpai to take a look, since they take so much pride in their sewing… something like that.

If you leave it up to someone who’s really particular about their work, they’re only gonna let the good stuff go through.

And it’d ruin their rep, too, if anyone tries to bribe their way through a crappy proposal.

And you could send someone you trust to oversee it, Vice President.

Hm. Well, we only have to get through this until next year, so we can probably deal with things that way for now.

I’ll start organizing a proposal review committee right away.

If this is effective, you can reuse the review committee system next year.

But let’s just start with the trial run for now.

Got it~ I’ve gotta supervise the S3 today though… So I’ll have to leave it here.

Right. Report to me if there’s any trouble, Isara.

It’s a little late to say this, but… I’m sorry to make you work on your day off. Your capabilities really help me out.

I’m gonna be the next president, right? So I’ll work as much as you need me to.

Mm. I really am glad you’re on the student council, Isara. Genuinely.

…By the way, what was that S3 you’re supposed to supervise?

Sorry, I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t been able to keep an eye on every little thing.

Oh, it’s a Dream Fes called Setsubun Festival. It’s pretty large-scale for an S3 and it’s gonna last a good while, so I’ve got a feeling it’ll be rough.

But I’ve got our producer, Anzu, in charge of it with me, and I trust her to handle everything.