Chapter 92: The presidential candidate has already set her sights on Noah.
Noah arrived at the high school earlier than usual, since he hadn’t slept poorly and that was the problem.
He had slept far too well considering what had happened the night before.
As he walked toward the main entrance, he was still remembering Iris’s kiss at the manga café, just as he remembered the conversation afterward, her invitation to visit her at her house, the computer list, and the slightly satisfied expression she had shown when he told her that his first kiss hadn’t been bad.
Noah brought a hand to his forehead.
’There’s no point in pretending these things aren’t happening anymore.’
He had accepted a long time ago that continuing to run from the magical girls’ feelings wouldn’t solve anything, but even so, that didn’t mean he was prepared for every new situation to get complicated so quickly.
When he reached the main avenue in front of the high school, he noticed something strange: there were more students than normal.
Many were holding flyers, others were wearing ribbons of different colors, several tables had been set up near the entrances, and large posters were distributed all over campus.
Noah slowed his pace.
"What’s going on?"
A teacher passed by him.
"The campaign officially starts today."
"Campaign?"
"For the student council presidency."
Noah’s eyes opened slightly.
’Right.’
He had forgotten.
In the original anime, the student council elections took place during this part of the year.
They didn’t usually take up much time in the main story, but they were important for several secondary characters and especially for one.
A group of students began gathering near the entrance and Noah heard the murmurs.
"She’s here."
"Her?"
"Yes."
"They say she hired a professional team."
"My sister says her family paid for the entire campaign."
Noah felt curious.
Then a black car appeared that at first glance looked expensive, and even Noah, who didn’t know much about cars, could recognize it.
The vehicle stopped in front of the high school and two people dressed formally got out first.
One opened the rear door and a young woman stepped out.
Noah froze.
’Aria Celestia.’
He recognized her immediately, since she had perfectly styled blonde hair, a straight posture, and a calm expression.
Her uniform was impeccable and she didn’t wear many accessories, but everything about her seemed carefully chosen.
Several female students began approaching, to which Aria smiled, but it wasn’t an exaggerated smile, it was just enough to show confidence.
A woman in a suit approached her with a tablet.
"Miss Celestia, the outreach team has already distributed the flyers for the north sector."
"Good."
"The audiovisual staff finished installing the equipment for the debate."
"Do the other candidates have access to the same system?"
The woman hesitated.
"We can reserve it exclusively for our campaign."
Aria shook her head.
"No."
"Miss?"
"If the other candidates don’t have access to equivalent equipment, the debate won’t be fair."
The woman nodded.
"Understood."
Aria continued walking and another person approached.
"The athletic association agreed to meet with you during lunch."
"Perfect."
"We also have confirmation from the literature club and the security committee."
"And the problem with the south building?"
"Administration is still saying the repairs can wait."
Aria stopped.
"They can’t."
Her tone remained polite, but it no longer sounded like a suggestion.
"There are leaks in two classrooms, a damaged staircase, and the electrical system on the second floor needs maintenance."
The assistant took notes.
"We’ll speak with administration again."
"No."
Aria looked at her.
"I want a meeting with the administration before Friday."
"Understood."
Noah watched everything from a certain distance.
’Exactly as I remembered her.’
Aria had always had an extraordinary ability to organize other people.
She didn’t need to shout or threaten; she simply spoke as if she expected things to get done, and normally they did.
A student approached with a flyer.
"Celestia, can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"Is it true you want to change the library hours?"
Aria nodded.
"The library closes too early during exam weeks."
"But the school said there’s no budget."
"That’s not entirely true."
The student looked surprised, to which Aria continued.
"The budget exists, but it’s currently distributed inefficiently, since there are funds allocated to activities that don’t use the full amount assigned, so a portion could be reallocated during specific periods without eliminating those programs."
The student’s eyes widened.
"You’ve already reviewed the budget?"
"Completely."
"All of it?"
"Yes."
Aria smiled.
"If I want to represent the students, I first need to know what problems they have."
Several people around them looked impressed, just like Noah.
’She was popular even before becoming president.’
In the original story, Aria had won the elections by a huge margin, not only because of her family’s money, but because she was competent, had connections, resources, experience, and knew exactly what to say in front of each group.
A first-year student approached timidly.
"M-Miss Celestia."
"You don’t need to call me miss."
"S-Sorry."
"No problem."
The girl gathered her courage.
"Is it true you want to create more escort routes for students who leave late?"
"Yes."
Aria answered without hesitation.
"Especially for students who leave labs, clubs, or nighttime activities."
The student glanced at Noah for a moment.
"For male students too?"
Aria did the same, since her eyes briefly met Noah’s, who felt like she was evaluating him before Aria looked back at the student.
"Especially for them."
The answer prompted some positive reactions among those nearby, so Aria continued.
"It shouldn’t matter how infrequent a situation is, because if a real risk exists, we should have measures to reduce it."
Noah raised his eyebrows slightly.
’Good answer.’
It was hard not to understand why she had so many followers.
A member of her team handed out several flyers alongside hired staff who were distributing them, while others set up small booths.
Someone was recording videos, two photographers were taking pictures, and there was even someone checking social media comments from a laptop.
Noah looked at all of it.
’This doesn’t look like a simple high school campaign.’
It looked like a professional campaign, and then he remembered something important.
Both Aria Celestia and Iris Valentine in the original anime had an extremely important relationship.
At first it was complicated, but later it became one of the central relationships of the story.
Noah had seen endless discussions among the series’ fans about them, but there was another detail that added spice to that relationship, and that was Ren.
Noah frowned.
’Aria also had an engagement related to Ren.’
He remembered perfectly that Ren was engaged to Aria in the original story.
That engagement was an important part of the drama, since the problem was obvious.
Noah looked toward the building where Ren probably was.
’Will anything change now that Ren is a guy?’
That’s what Noah thought.
Since he arrived in this world, he had always treated Ren as his friend and Ren also behaved like a guy, so the entire high school seemed to see him that way.
’So, what happened to the engagement?’
Noah looked at Aria again.
Maybe that part of the story had changed and it wouldn’t be the first thing the new world had modified, but something still didn’t quite fit.
’If Aria is here and the rest of her story seems to be preserved...’
Noah started walking.
’I have to ask Ren about it someday.’
He couldn’t do it directly.
’If I ask a question like "are you engaged to Aria Celestia," it would probably create more problems than answers.’
He entered the building and, when he reached his classroom, several female students were already talking about the elections.
’I hope I don’t get more problems than I already have.’