Motivated to be lazy

SS King's Gambit

I didn't feel alive, I just felt frustrated. Angry because the thing that I wanted to strive towards was recognition. Recognition from the people that I deemed worthy. No matter what I did, no matter what records I broke, no matter what I accomplished. Every single time, Horikita Manabu would simply look at me with disappointment.

That hunger for recognition turned to resentment. Now I wanted nothing more than to beat him. To show him that my way was the truth and that he was the one who was blinded by the Maya. A battle of kings would be historical.

Just as I chased after my war of the kings, another king emerged from the shadows.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, how I hate that boy with a burning passion.

At first, I looked at him like he was a waste of air. Appointed to the Student Council just by his name. For the first time since I'd met him, Horikita Manabu looked excited as he told us. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Nothing I'd done for two years had ever given me recognition by him. Simply by Ayanokouji Kiyotaka joining us, he was elated.

When Nazuna told me about him, my contempt for him continued to build. Yet another rich kid who rode on the coattails of his fathers' name. A handsome but mediocre student with an indolent attitude that only cared about maintaining his body for vanity. Then while interviewing first years for new slots in the Student Council, I saw her for the very first time.

It was instantaneous. Everything about Ichinose Honami was perfect and I knew I wanted her immediately. I'd already started to make plans on how I could get close to her and build a relationship with her from the ground up. I knew that everything would fall into place exactly how I wanted it, just like everything that I'd ever wanted all my life. Before I even had a chance, Horikita Manabu assigned her to Ayanokouji Kiyotaka as his secretary. My agenda had been thwarted before it even began. Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had yet again had everything fall right into his lap.

Time went on and everything that should have been mine became his. Then the Zodiac Special Test happened.

I knew I smelled a rat from the beginning. There were too many inconsistencies. There was just something about Ayanokouji, he always has this air of arrogance around him. I'll admit, I was naive. I allowed the mere mortals around me to poison my mind, to let my guard down. All because I refused to believe that this person was truly capable all this time. Even as I brushed Horikita-senpai off while the three of us were having dinner, even I could barely believe what was coming out of my own mouth. When Ayanokouji ushered me closer, saying he'd tell me how he did it, that was the genesis. The disrespect, the arrogance...

"I'm a wizard..."

Even Horikita-senpai's laughter was humiliating. It also made me realize that my succession was no longer guaranteed. The way that Horikita-senpai seems to be grooming Ayanokouji spoke volumes; there was a strong possibility that I would be passed over and Ayanokouji would be handed the reins to the Student Council.

That's when it began. I contacted my people and they all followed Ayanokouji around. None of them could spot anything remarkable about him. He never studied, wasted his time with friends and spent all of his other spare time with Honami inside his dorm. It made me envious, I didn't want to think about what was happening behind those closed doors. She was supposed to be mine.

There are experiments on animals that are conducted to measure how intelligent a species can be. At times, it's difficult to ascertain which is actual intelligence and what was sheer dumb luck. I won't lie, this discovery by one of my moronic followers was 100% pure coincidence. I don't care how it happened, only that it happened. One day, one of my Class D students reported what they'd found.