Classroom of the Elite, I Really Just Want to Collect All the CGs

Is she really going to spill it?

Shikime Natsu, who had been watching the scene unfold, was completely stunned. Nagumo Miyabi's line of reasoning wasn't even particularly clever; was she really going to believe him just because he claimed to be a commoner?

And all that talk about Class A and Class B was complete nonsense. It wasn't as if every single person in Class A was eligible to join the Student Council.

"Vice President Nagumo, that's not quite right. Student Council President Horikita has never said that only students from Class A are allowed to join. Even Katsuragi from our class was rejected, after all."

Shikime Natsu decided to intervene directly. If he let this bizarre atmosphere continue to fester, there was a real chance Ichinose Honami would actually spill her secrets.

"Shikime-kun?"

"Why are you here?"

Both Ichinose Honami and Nagumo Miyabi looked at him in disbelief. Nagumo Miyabi, in particular, had a look of intense displeasure on his face; his plan had been on the verge of success, only to be derailed by Shikime Natsu.

[Ichinose Honami.jpg]

He hadn't even realized when Shikime Natsu had arrived.

Nagumo Miyabi was furious, but he quickly forced a smile back onto his face.

At the very least, in front of Ichinose Honami, he couldn't let his image as a benevolent vice president crumble.

"I've been here from the very beginning. And besides, Nagumo-senpai, isn't it a bit excessive to pry into other people's secrets using methods like this?"

Shikime Natsu continued, rising from the sofa and slowly walking over to Ichinose Honami's side.

"What is Shikime-kouhai talking about? I was merely trying to understand the root of Ichinose-san's problems so that I could help her correct her shortcomings and join the Student Council. That is what she wants, isn't it?"

Nagumo Miyabi feigned ignorance, quickly putting on an act of being concerned for Ichinose Honami's well-being.

"On the contrary, Shikime-kouhai, you have already received the President's permission to join the Student Council. By standing up and saying these things now... are you trying to prevent Ichinose-san from joining?"

Nagumo Miyabi shifted his tone, turning the spearhead toward Shikime Natsu.

Hearing this, Shikime Natsu couldn't help but laugh. As expected, a vice president is just a vice president; his intelligence network was completely out of the loop. He didn't even know who the upcoming Student Council members were. Based on that alone, Nagumo Miyabi was already out of the game.

"The vice president doesn't have the authority to approve a new member, does he?"

Shikime Natsu spoke without a hint of concern.

"In this Student Council, the only person who can approve a new member is the Student Council President. So... what exactly are you planning to do by digging into Ichinose-san's past? Are you going to tell the President that she actually has no issues, and then he'll just accept her and let her join?"

"Ichinose-san, revealing the secrets of your heart to someone you've barely met is a very poor decision."

After saying this, Shikime Natsu turned his head to look at Ichinose Honami. This beautiful girl was surprisingly naive; she was a bit of a pushover.

It was fortunate she had run into him, otherwise... she really would have been manipulated by Nagumo Miyabi.

"By the way, Ichinose-san, do you know why Vice President Nagumo invited you, who failed the selection, instead of inviting Katsuragi, who also failed?"

"I... I don't know."

Ichinose Honami wavered. Nagumo Miyabi's previous words had reminded her of some very painful memories, and her complexion didn't look good.

Ichinose Honami had genuinely believed that Nagumo Miyabi was being sincere, thinking he had approached her because he himself was from Class B. Now, it seemed that wasn't the case at all.

"Because Nagumo-senpai is a playboy."

Yes, a very straightforward statement.

This was information Shikime Natsu had asked Hashimoto Masayoshi and a few others from Class A to dig up. In fact, he hadn't just looked into Nagumo Miyabi; he had also gathered intel on Horikita Manabu and Tachibana Akane, whom he had seen in the Student Council yesterday. Nagumo Miyabi's case was just a bit more interesting, though he lacked the depth—he was no master of dating sims.

Nagumo Miyabi's expression changed drastically upon hearing this. This guy actually knew his true intentions. He was right; Nagumo Miyabi had only chosen to meet with Ichinose Honami because she was beautiful.

His plan was to learn her secret and then use it as leverage to force Ichinose Honami to become his girlfriend in exchange for a spot on the Student Council.

Of course, he couldn't actually spread her secrets around. He was, after all, the vice president of the Student Council. If such a thing were discovered, he would certainly lose his position and likely face disciplinary action, especially since the current Student Council President was Horikita Manabu.

Such low-handed tactics would absolutely not be tolerated.

"Is it not excessive for Shikime-kouhai to maliciously speculate about his own senior?"

Even if that were his true intention, Nagumo Miyabi would never admit it.

"If I am indeed maliciously speculating, then I apologize to Nagumo-senpai."

Shikime Natsu chuckled, his eyes full of disbelief, as if he had already concluded that this was exactly what Nagumo Miyabi was thinking.

"Does Nagumo-senpai have anything else to say? I will remain quiet from here on out. Please, go ahead."

Shikime Natsu sat back down on the sofa with complete ease, a sight that made Nagumo Miyabi's eyes burn with rage.

He was truly worthy of being someone handpicked by Horikita Manabu. He had ruined his plans the moment he arrived, and what's more... Shikime Natsu had been here the entire time without him noticing once. This guy's capabilities were somewhat terrifying.

In this school, gathering intelligence through surveillance was essential; one might even stumble upon something unexpected.

"My apologies, I think I'll head back for today."

Ichinose Honami stood up. With Shikime Natsu having spoken so bluntly, even if she didn't believe every word he said, it had at least planted a seed of doubt in her mind.

Especially when it came to the dark history of her past, she really shouldn't have opened up so easily to someone she wasn't familiar with, no matter how gentle, kind, or powerful Nagumo Miyabi appeared to be.

To be honest, Ichinose Honami had initially held a great deal of respect for Nagumo Miyabi, who had managed to lead Class B to Class A. If it were her, she really wouldn't have been confident in her ability to defeat the Class A led by Shikime Natsu.

"Then I shall take my leave as well."

After seeing Ichinose Honami leave, Shikime Natsu turned to Nagumo Miyabi and offered his farewells.

The matter was concluded, so there was naturally no need for him to remain here any longer.

As for the fury in Nagumo Miyabi's eyes, Shikime Natsu simply ignored it. And as for the possibility of being given a hard time within the Student Council?

First, Shikime Natsu had Horikita Manabu backing him now; even if Horikita Manabu hadn't made a clear declaration, the simple fact that he had entrusted Natsu with the task of properly educating his sister was enough to bridge the gap between them. Second, Shikime Natsu didn't work for the Student Council, so if anyone were to be given a hard time, it would be Katsuragi Kohei.

The complex relationships within the Student Council were not interesting at all; they were far inferior to a complex Asura field.

"Take care."

Nagumo Miyabi spat the two words at Shikime Natsu, suppressing his rage. The target he had finally managed to corner had just slipped through his fingers.

"Thank you, Shikime-kun."

Once Shikime Natsu stepped outside, he found Ichinose Honami waiting for him. She smiled when she saw him emerge.

Shikime Natsu wasn't entirely sure what she was thanking him for, as there seemed to be too many things he had done that might warrant gratitude—well, perhaps that was a bit narcissistic.

"You're welcome."

Even though he didn't know why Ichinose Honami was thanking him, Shikime Natsu decided to accept the gratitude anyway.

Ichinose Honami's expression was much better than it had been inside.

"Ichinose-san, you really are too easy to trust others. Handing over your own leverage so casually is fatal, especially just now—I noticed your complexion wasn't very good."

Shikime Natsu spoke up. It was a good thing he had interrupted the process; otherwise, if Nagumo Miyabi had found out, who knew what might have happened? Of course, it didn't matter if he himself knew, as Shikime Natsu had great faith in his own character. In short, he was a hypocrite.

"Yes, I'm sorry. Thank you for worrying about me. I'll keep that in mind."

Ichinose Honami replied to Shikime Natsu with an apologetic smile.

"Good, just remember it."

Shikime Natsu nodded. However, Ichinose Honami's tendency to trust others likely stemmed from the innate, heartfelt kindness she held for everyone around her, which prevented her from doubting what others said, leading her to interact with people with genuine sincerity.

To be honest, Shikime Natsu didn't dislike this personality, but... as the saying went, one must always be on guard. If one were too naive, it would be very easy to be destroyed.

Chapter 60: Bet Everything You Have

"Then... can I consider Shikime-kun someone I can trust?"

Ichinose Honami paused, looking at Shikime Natsu, her blue eyes filled with an unreadable emotion.

[Ding~]

[CG21: Can I trust you? (Ichinose Honami)]

[Can I consider you a friend I can trust?]

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the skill card: Forced Truth (After use, you can force the target to tell the truth once. Cannot be used on the same target within three days. "I consider you a friend, so you cannot lie to me.")]

Ichinose Honami.jpg

Another rather useful trick. It was somewhat different from the Insight skill; while that could judge truth from falsehood, it couldn't force the other party to spill the truth.

But... why did the note on this skill card feel a bit strange?

"Of course you can."

Shikime Natsu gave his answer quickly. Trusting Nagumo Miyabi? No. Trusting himself? Yes.

That was Shikime Natsu's answer.

"Really? That's great! By the way, is there anything you like to drink, Shikime-kun? My treat, as a thank you for helping me keep my secret."

Ichinose Honami chuckled, her complexion having mostly recovered. Shikime Natsu had a feeling that if he had let Ichinose Honami continue to trace the past in her mind, she might have had a breakdown.

It seemed Ichinose Honami was also a troubled girl. Of course, her troubles were different from those of Horikita Suzune and the others; it wasn't a problem with her personality, but rather the secrets she carried.

Shikime Natsu didn't intend to ask about it proactively. After all, Ichinose Honami had just asked if she could trust him; if he turned around and asked for her secrets, that would be wrong in every sense.

Development was never something to be rushed, and Shikime Natsu understood this well. This was their third meeting, and Ichinose Honami was already able to consider him a friend—and a relationship of the sort that might lead her to share her secrets in the future was already quite good.

"Then let's just get a juice."

Shikime Natsu looked at the vending machine not far away. He had instinctively wanted to say coffee, but he drank coffee almost every day, and he felt that too much of it wasn't good.

"Is juice really enough?"

Ichinose Honami looked at Shikime Natsu with some uncertainty. It wasn't that juice was bad, but... she had offered to treat him, so even something more expensive would have been perfectly fine.

Even though she had already spent half of her private points on purchasing school information and daily living expenses, Ichinose Honami was still quite frugal in her daily life.

To protect her classmates from being expelled, they needed to save up twenty million private points, so everyone in the class was working hard toward that goal.

"Yeah, since coming to this school, I've been drinking coffee almost every day, so I thought I'd change it up for once."

Shikime Natsu nodded. He didn't mention buying water from the vending machine because the school's water was essentially direct-drink quality, so there was no need to specifically buy bottled water.

"Okay."

Hearing Shikime Natsu say this, Ichinose Honami didn't press the matter further. She walked up to the vending machine and turned to look at him.

"What kind of juice would you like, Shikime-kun?"