The bell rang, and the students in the classroom began packing up to leave. Kanzaki stayed where he was, turning around to look sharply at Ichinose and Itozawa.
"Have you two been practicing some new move behind my back?" Kanzaki fixed his gaze on them. "How do you have a trick like that?"
Kanzaki's question left Ichinose completely confused. She blinked her big eyes and looked at him blankly, asking in surprise, "Huh, Kanzaki, what move are you talking about?"
Seeing Ichinose's reaction, Kanzaki immediately realized she didn't know anything about it. A look of understanding flickered across his eyes, and then he turned his burning gaze to Itozawa, clearly waiting for an explanation.
Ichinose didn't get an answer to her question from Kanzaki, but she soon figured out that Itozawa was the only one who knew what was going on.
So she turned her head too, looking at Itozawa with her clear eyes as she waited for his answer.
Under their gazes, Itozawa spoke calmly. "Actually, I only just found out myself. I can guide Ichinose's ability."
He hadn't revealed the whole truth. If they didn't know the nature of Ichinose's Passive Skill, they wouldn't know how to counter it.
Besides, maintaining a certain air of mystery would give him an advantage in this game.
Though Kanzaki was his teammate for now, Itozawa still remembered what he had done in the Original Work. He had to be wary that Kanzaki might sell them out in the future.
Kanzaki was a little stunned by his answer. He hadn't expected anything like that, but he quickly looked to Ichinose, concerned about how she would react.
After all, if someone told him out of the blue that another person could control his ability, he wouldn't feel too comfortable either.
But Ichinose's eyes sparkled with curiosity and surprise when she heard Itozawa's words. The corners of her mouth lifted into a cute smile. "Huh, Ito, you can really guide my ability? Does that mean we'll be able to work together better from now on?"
Her voice carried a hint of excitement. She was clearly delighted by the discovery. Her reaction eased the tension in both Itozawa and Kanzaki's expressions.
Kanzaki's brows relaxed slightly. He nodded, then turned to Itozawa. "If you really can do that, then our strength will improve considerably."
Itozawa looked at Ichinose, a hint of approval in his eyes. "That's right, Ichinose. We'll be able to work together better and bring out even more of our strength."
Once Ichinose understood what had happened, she quickly acted as though nothing was amiss and invited Itozawa and Kanzaki to have lunch with her.
Itozawa froze, only then realizing that Ability History Class had taken up the entire morning and it was already noon. It was indeed time for lunch.
The three of them went to the cafeteria together. Itozawa scanned the room and noticed a few empty seats near the front. He was about to lead them over and sit down.
But Kanzaki quickly stopped him. Looking grave, he warned Itozawa in a low voice, "Those seats are reserved for the powerful upperclassmen. Sitting there would be seen as a provocation. There's no way we could beat them, so don't sit there under any circumstances."
Itozawa took a look around and realized Kanzaki was right. Everyone was deliberately avoiding those seats.
Just then, he saw a few familiar faces swagger over and sit down there—the trio of idiots led by Sudo from Class D.
A few people had tried to warn them along the way, but Sudo's response had been to raise his fist, flames flaring around it as he threatened them. Naturally, no one tried to stop him after that.
Kanzaki led them to a table and sat down, then pointed toward the trio. "If you don't believe me, watch what happens when they get thrown out."
The tension in the cafeteria gradually mounted. Itozawa, Ichinose, and Kanzaki noticed several upperclassmen watching. They had been ready to step in after Sudo's trio sat down, but when they saw which seats the trio had chosen, their expressions turned strange. They returned to their own seats, eyes gleaming with schadenfreude as they seemed to wait for a show.
Before long, the two people at the center of it all appeared at the cafeteria entrance: a mature-looking young man with glasses and a cold expression, and a girl with purple hair tied in a bun.
Itozawa recognized them right away: Student Council President Horikita Manabu and his little secretary, Tachibana Akane. He couldn't help feeling sorry for Sudo's trio. They seemed to have no idea what they were about to face.
Horikita Manabu and Tachibana Akane noticed Sudo's trio sitting in their seats. Horikita's expression remained calm, but Tachibana's darkened. Horikita gave them a chance, his voice calm and firm. "These are our seats. I suggest you leave."
Sudo's trio didn't take him up on the offer. Sudo wore a defiant grin and replied dismissively, "Why should we? Your names aren't written here."
Horikita said nothing more. He merely gave them a cool look. But Tachibana couldn't hold back any longer. A flicker of displeasure crossed her eyes, and her voice turned cold. "You don't know the Student Council's rules?"
Sudo sneered and suddenly threw a Fire Fist at Horikita's face, flames blazing around his fist. Horikita hadn't even had time to fight back when Tachibana moved first. A layer of ice burst from her palm, and the chill spread rapidly, forming a perfect frozen field. The moment Sudo's flames touched Tachibana's ice, they went out like a candle snuffed in an instant, frozen into ice crystals.
Tachibana moved with swift elegance, flicking her hand through the air. Sudo and his companions were encased in a thin layer of ice. Her control was so precise that she didn't affect anything else. Horikita watched her, said nothing, and simply nodded.
Tachibana slid the three of them all the way to the cafeteria entrance. The three ice sculptures stood there, and anyone who didn't know better might have thought they were some new kind of door guardians. The students in the cafeteria were stunned. They stared at Tachibana with awe.
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