Looking at Sakayanagi in front of him, with Kamuro Masumi standing beside her, Kamio Tatsuya immediately shot back.
Kamuro had become Sakayanagi's complete lackey.
But that was fine.
She might be your lackey, but I can still make use of her!
So what if you're Class A? You'll still have to pay up!
Seeing the confusion on Kamio Tatsuya's face, Sakayanagi Arisu smiled brightly.
"May I sit here?"
Sakayanagi pointed at the seat across from him. Kamio Tatsuya twitched his lips in exasperation.
Nobody's sitting there. It's not like I own the school. Sit wherever you want!
Besides, if I said no, would you actually get up and leave?
No. You'd probably insist on talking to me even if you had to stand there, and then I might get a reputation for bullying little girls.
And you've already sat down, haven't you?
Why even ask?
What a pain!
"Go ahead." After saying that, Kamio Tatsuya turned to Kamuro Masumi. "Aren't you going to sit down?"
Kamuro felt relieved, then sat down beside Sakayanagi.
They had arrived at the cafeteria before Kamio Tatsuya and had already eaten lunch. They were just getting ready to leave when they spotted Kamio Tatsuya sitting alone in a secluded spot.
So Sakayanagi had decided to say hello. First, she'd sent Kamio Tatsuya a message on her phone to get his attention.
Then she'd used the cafeteria's somewhat noisy atmosphere to approach him without being noticed.
As a result, Sakayanagi had seen the conflicted look on Kamio Tatsuya's face just after he'd refused the deal.
But just as she'd expected, Kamio Tatsuya hadn't readily admitted that he'd been conflicted.
She didn't mind, though. Once she sat down, she went straight to the point. "So, Kamio, have you thought about my offer?"
"I'm turning it down."
At that, Sakayanagi's face immediately lit up with a brilliant smile. Kamio Tatsuya's refusal was exactly what she'd expected, but...
"So you're admitting that you're the Anonymous who made that post."
"Of course I'm not admitting that. What are you talking about?"
"If you won't admit it, then why are you refusing my offer on their behalf?" Sakayanagi mused with a smile. "If you weren't the Anonymous, Kamio, you'd have said something like, 'I told you, you've got the wrong person.'"
Hearing her mimic his tone of voice left Kamio Tatsuya speechless.
Damn, I really am not cut out for working behind the scenes. She saw right through me at a glance, and even managed to test her way into the truth.
"You've got the wrong person. I swear on the life of the Japanese prime minister—if I'm lying, may he die a horrible death."
Hearing Kamio Tatsuya make that oath and seeing his righteous expression, Kamuro Masumi felt that something about it wasn't quite right.
Sakayanagi Arisu was the only one whose lips twitched.
"Do you hate the current prime minister that much?"
Kamio Tatsuya gave a cold smile. Anyone who'd worshipped in that toilet deserved to die, didn't they?
Only after hearing Sakayanagi's question did Kamuro realize she'd been had.
Who swore on someone else's life? Honestly!
But did that mean Kamio Tatsuya really was the Anonymous who'd made the post?
His scheme had even stumped the conniving Sakayanagi. He was incredible!
People admired strength. Without even realizing it, Kamuro Masumi had begun to feel a trace of admiration for Kamio Tatsuya.
After that round of probing, Kamio Tatsuya still hadn't admitted to being the Anonymous, but both of them knew the truth.
Kamio Tatsuya wasn't worried at all about Sakayanagi spreading the news that he was the Anonymous.
She had no proof, so any accusation would be slander.
If she dared to slander him...
Kamio Tatsuya would go straight to a teacher.
In a business war, when you discovered that a rival company was using substandard materials, the most straightforward move was to report them.
And if the school ignored the matter, Kamio Tatsuya would have plenty to say about that.
As if he were the only one who could spread rumors.
After finishing his meal and returning to the classroom, Kamio Tatsuya immediately used his anonymous account to post on the forum: Class A was to provide every student in Class D with 20,000 Private Points as assistance. Otherwise, who knew what the students in Class D might do?
That was twice as much as the other two classes.
When the students in Class D saw the post, those who'd been planning to accept Ryuen's offer were a little confused.
"Uh, it looks like the mastermind in Class D doesn't want us taking Ryuen's offer."
"So should we still do it?"
"What does it matter? Class A hasn't given us any Points yet."
Ever since Ike learned that his buddy Yamauchi had extorted 100,000 Points from Ryuen, he'd become extremely interested in Ryuen's job offer.
So he'd immediately organized a group to get things moving.
But after Kamio Tatsuya's post went up, the students hesitated.
Seeing that, Ike grew anxious.
"Think about it. Class A looked down on us first. If we don't teach them a lesson, how are they ever going to pay us protection money?"
"That's right! We're not doing this to take Ryuen's job. We're just trying to get something for our class and make sure our classmates have living expenses!"
Ike and Yamauchi played off each other, and the group settled down at once.
They'd been scheming loudly enough for several girls in the class to hear them. The girls looked at them with disdain, especially Yamauchi.
Kamio Tatsuya shook his head again.
They were beyond saving.
The bunch in Class D really were hopeless.
Leaving aside the two boys' motives, if they went and stirred up trouble, Class A really would be more likely to pay protection money.
And that protection money would be your living expenses. What gave you the right to look down on them over this?
Besides, honestly, although Kamio Tatsuya was the one pulling the strings, Ryuen's Class C and Ichinose's Class B wouldn't have handed over their Points so readily without Yamauchi's reckless raid.
No matter how unreliable Yamauchi's move had been, those idiots in Class D owed him some credit for it.
And now they were looking down on him? What the hell was wrong with them?
They took the money, then turned around and cursed the person who gave it to them. If they had any nerve, they could refuse to take Points from Hirata.
A bunch of idiots, every bit as bad as Yamauchi. No, worse than him!
Kamio Tatsuya wasn't sticking up for Yamauchi, but seeing this scene had made him lose all faith in Class D.
Meanwhile, in Class A, Sakayanagi noticed the post on the forum and simply smiled.
You really are childish, Kamio.
After school, before the students of Class D had left the classroom, Katsuragi from Class A arrived at their door with another student from his class.
The matter on the forum had been causing a huge stir among the first-years over the past two days. Even the teachers had heard about it.
The teachers had even taken an interest in betting on whether Class D's plan would work.
Now, seeing Katsuragi from Class A arrive at Class D's door, Chabashira Sae knew she'd won her bet.
Before leaving the classroom, he glanced at Kamio Tatsuya, who was packing up to go, and couldn't help thinking that Class D had struck gold this time.
The Meeting in the Library
Kamio Tatsuya had no interest in listening to Katsuragi and Hirata talk, but since Katsuragi had backed down, that meant the harassment from Yamauchi, Ike, and the others had worked.
And after Classes B and C, Kamio Tatsuya had now received a total of 800,000 Private Points from Class A.
It had to be said: naming Hirata Yosuke as the point of contact had been exactly the right call. There was no chance he'd pocket any of the money.
Days passed, and Kamio Tatsuya's life had recently settled into a steady routine. He listened attentively in class, then Horikita helped him go over anything he hadn't understood after school.
After that, he read the book he'd borrowed from the library earlier.
The book wasn't long, but Kamio Tatsuya read carefully and took time to think about it, so he didn't finish until Friday.
No wonder it was a work known throughout the world. It was truly excellent!
Closing the book, Kamio Tatsuya headed to the library's checkout desk to return it.
"So you had it! I've been looking for it these past few days."
As Kamio Tatsuya was checking out the book, a girl with long, silvery-gray hair suddenly spoke to him.
Not only that, she even picked up the book he'd set on the table.
Kamio Tatsuya turned to look at her. She had an ethereal air about her, and her eyes were clear and bright.
Were there really girls like this at the school?
Even Kamio Tatsuya found it hard to believe.
"Sorry for barging in. I'm Shiina Hiyori from Class 1-C. Nice to meet you."
"Kamio Tatsuya, Class 1-D."
After introducing herself, she immediately started chatting with him.
"Do you like mystery novels too, Kamio? I wanted to look for this book a few days ago, but the librarian told me someone had borrowed it."
"I just read novels to relax when I'm tired from studying, but this one was really good," Kamio Tatsuya replied.
Shiina Hiyori smiled. "I actually love mystery novels, but there's no one else in Class C who does. It's wonderful to meet someone at school who shares my interest.
"If you don't mind, could we talk about what we've read?"
Kamio Tatsuya really hadn't expected that the first time a girl he didn't know had approached him in this world would be because they both liked reading novels...
What?
You say Horikita approached me too?
That doesn't count!
Besides, that wasn't approaching me. She was interrogating me.
As for Kamuro, Kamio Tatsuya had been the one to make the first move.
A girl he didn't know had approached him, and she was beautiful, too.
Even Kamio Tatsuya couldn't help feeling a little better.
As for whether she might be someone Ryuen had sent to get close to him, Kamio Tatsuya wasn't worried in the least.
Who would use a beauty trap on a slacker?
What a waste!
So Kamio Tatsuya nodded at once.
"Sure, but I should head back today. We can talk about our impressions another time."
Shiina Hiyori smiled and nodded, then took her phone out of her pocket.
"Oh, let's exchange contact information."
Before you continue