Spying on Class D

Because of Ying's intervention, the students of Class D had obtained a certain amount of information, and they likely wouldn't be as prone to frequent tardiness or sleeping in class as they were in the original story. This couldn't help but make Ying feel troubled; he no longer knew if this version of Class D would still end up with a score of zero like in the original.

Consequently, Ying prepared to scout for intelligence on Class D to see if it was truly completely different from the original story, and if everyone in Class D was actually attending class properly.

"Ding-ding-dong-dong!"

The moment the bell rang for the end of the morning classes, Ying immediately stood up from his seat, bolted out of the classroom, and ran toward Class D.

"What is this guy up to again?" Kanzaki looked at Ying's retreating back with resignation.

"He probably had a stomachache and was holding it in for the whole period," Hamaguchi speculated.

Arriving at the entrance of Class D, Ying discovered that only a little over half the seats in the classroom were occupied. Calculating from the moment the bell rang, it had only taken Ying about 30 seconds to get there, and he hadn't spotted any other Class D students on the way.

Making a safe estimate, even if Ying had missed five or six people, it still proved that at least three or four students hadn't come to class at all. Ying breathed a slight sigh of relief; although he didn't know how many people skipped class in the original Class D, if three or four were skipping, then Class D's score shouldn't be very high either.

"Um, excuse me, is there something you need at Class D?" a lively and cute girl with short brown hair asked.

"Cough, cough... cough...! Kushida, long time no see? How have you been lately?" Seeing Kushida approach him, Ying couldn't help but choke on his own saliva.

"Uh... I'm very sorry, but I don't seem to have much of an impression of you. Have we met before? Could you please introduce yourself again? Let's exchange contact information this time and become friends," Kushida said with a smile, seemingly failing to recognize Ying.

Ying: ?

Right, I was wearing a disguise that day! I hope she never recognizes me in the future...

"Byakuya, long time no see. Thank you very much for your advice last time; it really helped me pull back from the brink. Otherwise... anyway, thank you." As luck would have it, Hirata emerged from the classroom at that moment and noticed Ying.

Even while maintaining her facade, Kushida's eyelids twitched twice. "Oh, so it's Byakuya. It's been a few days; why the big change? You aren't hiding from someone, are you?"

"How could that be... Hahaha..."

"Do you know Byakuya as well, Kushida?" Hirata asked with interest.

"Of course! Byakuya is a friend from Class B I just met a few days ago," Kushida responded cheerfully.

"Yep, yep, we're good friends. Hahaha..." Ying and Kushida shared a slightly awkward laugh.

"Is that so? Um, Byakuya, do you have time to talk alone later? I'd like to discuss that matter with you a bit more," Hirata said.

"Oh my! I just remembered I have plans with a friend, so you two go ahead and talk, I'll be leaving first. See you next time, Byakuya!" After saying that, Kushida left, showing she knew how to read the room.

Ying and Hirata walked toward the school cafeteria together. On the way, Hirata said, "I want to thank you once more for what happened that day. If you hadn't reminded me, I might never have realized that Karuizawa's true problem actually stems from her own inner inferiority."

"Eh, eh, it was just a small favor, a small favor." Ying's nose was practically pointing to the sky.

"But Karuizawa's problem seems to be much more serious than I imagined. Therefore, I wanted to see if Byakuya had any further insights."

"That's a bit..."

"Let this lunch be my token of gratitude to you, Byakuya. Let's have a good talk."

"Brother Hirata, that's being too formal. Your business is my business; I am willing to contribute my meager efforts for a brother. Let's have a heart-to-heart talk this afternoon! Remember to make mine extra spicy."

After a lunch of discussion, Hirata and Ying reached a solution: first, they needed to let Karuizawa feel the beauty of the world, realize her own strength, and build up some self-confidence, after which she could gradually become self-reliant. Although this was a massive project and might not necessarily succeed in the end, Hirata was determined to keep trying. This display of camaraderie moved Ying, and he promised that if there was anything he could do, he would definitely show up—provided he was fed...

After school, at the request of Horikita Manabu, Ying went to the store to purchase some document folders. Naturally, Ying wanted to decline, but since Horikita Manabu had given him 10,000 private points, if he bought cheaper folders, wouldn't the remainder be his?

After Ying's careful selection, he bought the most cost-effective folders and still had quite a bit left over, so he decided to buy some snacks and drinks.

"Hmm?"

While wandering through the beverage section, Ying noticed a purple-haired girl circle the area and leave without taking anything. But had she really taken nothing?

Ying walked over to the shelf and saw a clear gap in the beer section. Kouiku students generally didn't drink much alcohol, so could it be... damn, this Kamuro is a real pro!

Outside the store, Ying intercepted Kamuro: "Hey, you're a real pro!"

Ying held up a beer in front of Kamuro and gave her a thumbs up.

Kamuro was startled. That was... the beer I just stole! "When did you...!" she said, quickly checking her pockets. "Huh? It's still there?"

Ying was a bit confused. Wasn't that the one he had just bought himself? She was overthinking this way too much...

"What do you want! Are you going to report me to the school!?" Kamuro glared at Ying, gritting her teeth.

Ying covered his left eye with his right hand and let out a cackling laugh: "Classmate, you wouldn't want the school to find out about your little theft, would you? Heh heh heh..."

"You... what are you trying to do!?" Kamuro hugged herself and took two steps back.

At this moment, Ying suddenly realized a problem: it was only the first month of school, so how could a first-year student have any savings?

Thinking this, Ying put the student terminal he had just pulled out back into his pocket. But this insignificant action made Kamuro...

"W-what! You actually dare to do this here... No, I'll come to your dorm tonight, not here!" Kamuro said, closing her eyes and squatting down.

Ying: ? What is this girl thinking?

"Sigh... you can't satisfy me yet. Once I've fattened you up, I'll come find you myself. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about this, but if you keep doing this, you'll definitely be caught by others eventually. Turn back before it's too late." After saying this, Ying turned to leave.

"What!? You're actually looking down on me! Pervert! Lecher! Scum! Ant! Cockroach! Maggot!..." Hearing Ying's words, Kamuro suddenly stood up in a rage, pointing at Ying and unleashing a torrent of abuse.

Ying: ...? No? She shouldn't be cursing him, right? After all, it didn't seem to fit.

So, Ying ignored the cursing Kamuro and walked away...

Returning to his dorm at night, Ying suddenly remembered that Ayanokoji lived right next door to him. If he wanted to gather intelligence on Class D, wouldn't it be better to just ask him?

In Room 401, Ayanokoji was watching television when he suddenly heard a knock at the door.

Could it be Ike and the others? Ayanokoji wondered.

"Yo! Ayanokoji, this is the first time I've ever visited you like this. Look, this is a game console I just bought recently; it cost me 50,000 private points. Let's play together." At the door, Ying held a large bag of gaming equipment, smiling at Ayanokoji.

"Alright..."

After playing for a while, Ying asked, "By the way, Class D should already know about it, right? That information."

"Are you talking about the points and the class rankings? Hirata did indeed inform the whole class this past Monday."

"Exactly, exactly. Everyone in our Class B takes it very seriously; we discuss countermeasures whenever we have time," Ying said while operating the controller in his hands.

"As expected of Class B. It feels like most of the students in Class D haven't changed at all."

"Haven't changed... huh..." Ying murmured.

"Ayanokoji! Take this!" Ying suddenly shouted.

Following that, the word KO appeared on the game screen.

"Hahaha, Ayanokoji, you're nothing special after all," Ying said triumphantly.

Ayanokoji, however, thought expressionlessly: Since he was the one who invited me to play, and I haven't won a single round until now, I feel a bit bad for him.

"Knock, knock, knock."

At this moment, three new visitors arrived at Room 401: Ike, Yamauchi, and Sudo.

"Whoa! Is this that popular game—Water Shadow Ninja: Brainstorm! Ayanokoji, when did you buy this? And who is this student?" Ike said in shock.

Ying introduced himself, and after getting to know the trio of idiots, he let them join in to play the game together.

"Check out this move, Sassaru! (Susanoo)" Yamauchi shouted.

"Watch this! Talk no Jutsu: Bond Technique!" Ike didn't fall behind.

"Ying! Hold on! Castling!" Sudo yelled at Ying.

"Strategy Card, Nullification! Ayanokoji, how will you respond to this!?" Ying laughed twice and looked at Ayanokoji.

"Trap Card activation, Goblin Cage," Ayanokoji said calmly.

Afterward, their gaming session lasted until late into the night, and the trio of idiots even borrowed the game console from Ying, which directly led to the trio of idiots being late every morning and sleeping through class in the days that followed. Hagi-Ying, was this also within your calculations?

Ying: What on earth should be done about the situation in Class D?