I Can Hear You

A certain distance exists between them; they only meet and spend time together in the library, their secret relationship linked by their Diary.

These unique feelings intertwined and overlapped, shaping the emotions in her heart.

If she transfers to another class, perhaps this sense of distance in her heart will be broken down, and her feelings won't change. But if this sense of distance disappears...

Shiina Hiyori felt she wouldn't fit in.

Moreover, a new environment inevitably leads to the establishment of new interpersonal relationships, while existing relationships will be diluted.

Shiina Hiyori had no intention of distancing herself from her friends in Class C, nor did she really want to build any close friendships with the other students in Class A.

Compared to Shiina Hiyori, she felt that most of the students in Class A would side with Ichinose.

It's not that socializing is completely impossible, but the difficulty doesn't justify the rewards.

Of course, this kind of thing shouldn't be said to someone's face.

I can just mention it to Ryuen later.

"If Shiina is planning to transfer to Class A, I'd be very happy to welcome her, okay?" Ichinose Honami said softly with a smile.

Ryuen Kakeru rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

He's been using his brain too much lately, and all sorts of schemes and plots have left him somewhat exhausted. He originally planned to do some planning and then take a break, but Asakusa Toru has thrown out this tempting suggestion.

It's a bit too much to let people rest.

However, it is this feeling of the brain being active that gives people the sense that they are gradually taking control of the situation.

"Just like Shiina said, I will give you an answer before the end of the month." He decided to postpone the decision.

He waved his hand and looked directly into Ryuen Kakeru Asakusa Toru's eyes:

"Going back to the previous topic, what are your plans?"

Speaking of Asakusa Toru, Ryuen Kakeru has always felt that he is quite a complex person.

He seemed to have no particular purpose.

On the first day of school, he sold him crucial intelligence, but then fell into a four-month-long silence, hiding, yet seemingly not really hiding, until he fully revealed his monstrous nature on the Uninhabited Island.

If you say he was lying in wait for the perfect opportunity to shine during the Uninhabited Island Special Exam, then he certainly did.

But to say that he was determined to graduate from Class A would be a joke.

Instead of creating a gap between themselves and other classes, some good students from other classes sell information to them, and even go so far as to help someone in Class D who is about to drop out.

Yesterday, he was perfectly content to just watch the show, but instead, he acted quite arrogantly, taking the initiative in front of Sakayanagi Narimori.

... It's a bit hard to figure out.

Suddenly, for no apparent reason, Ryuen Kakeru remembered what he had heard from Ibuki when he was trying to investigate Asakusa Toru not long after the start of the semester.

On the first day of school, Asakusa Toru did one more thing before coming to Class C to make a deal with him.

'Interview'

According to Ibuki, the question he asked Shiina Hiyori at the time was...

What are your thoughts on this school?

As if pressing for an answer, Ryuen Kakeru asked the question from his memory.

He seemed to have thought about this issue at the time.

From the perspective of someone who had just entered school, and who was aware of the existence of the Behavioral Norms Exam and the significance of Class Points and Private Points, Ryuen Kakeru's initial views were...

'Strength is paramount'.

There are many things that can be said, but in the end, they can be condensed into just one simple word.

His stage, his theater, his home turf.

And what about you, Asakusa Toru?

Having asked this question before, what is your understanding of it now?

"What do you mean by 'seeing' or 'not seeing'? I'm just looking at it like this." Asakusa Toru was a little confused. "A commoner's farm, a cattle and horse manufacturing machine, a privileged amusement park, a grand celebration of humorous games..."

Didn't I tell you?

"Oh right, I don't think I ever told you that." Somewhat belatedly, Asakusa Toru realized that Ryuen didn't have Diary.

Oh dear, this looks like some kind of event; he thought it was an unboxing ceremony.

On the left Ichinose Honami master of unpacking boxes; on the right is Shiina Hiyori, a girl who loves unpacking boxes.

On the contrary, it's you, Ryuen Shoko's in the front.

Speaking of Ryuen Shoko...

Without thinking, Asakusa Toru pulled the lens from his pocket.

'Feminization Filter'

He had actually used it before, on Ryuen and Koenji, and the images of the two young ladies in Little Alice's dream were contributed by them.

But having nothing else to do, I took another look.

Hey, that's more like it.

With alluring eyes and red lips, the long-haired beauty Ryuen Shoko.

"Pfft..." Unable to suppress a laugh, Asakusa Toru put the glasses away again.

This thing is really fun, but you can't play it too much. If you play it too much and accidentally start doing it wrong, you'll become weird.

"What's wrong with you?" Ryuen Kakeru, who had been pondering the meaning of his words, frowned. "Why do I feel like everything you're saying is derogatory?"

It's either from a farm or a manufacturing plant.

"Then why did you come to this school?"

The moment the question left his mouth, Ryuen Kakeru knew he had asked a stupid one.

If you were to ask all the first-grade students present again, "If you knew the true nature of this school, would you still choose to attend?"

I'm sure quite a few people will shake their heads and say they won't come.

Even with Advanced Nurturing techniques, the advantages remain significant.

The advantages and disadvantages of Advanced Nurturing are both obvious, but clearly, before enrollment, all that everyone can see are the advantages.

Just as Ryuen was about to withdraw the question, Asakusa Toru unexpectedly gave an answer, "Is there even a question? Of course it's interesting!"

"Look at Class D behind you. How can you find so many God-man outside?"

"Going to a regular high school is nothing more than living a mundane, romantic comedy life and getting by. Going to Shuchiin as a model of commoners is nothing more than a battle of wits in love."

"But how many good shows can we see at Advanced Nurturing!" Asakusa Toru exclaimed. "I absolutely love Advanced Nurturing!"

He raised his hands.

Long live the school!

After a brief moment of madness, Asakusa Toru regained his composure and returned to the topic that Ryuen had originally intended to discuss.

"There's no rush for cooperation. While verbal agreements are meaningless, written contracts aren't all advantages either." He turned around, placed his hands on the railing, looked out at the sea, and said to the group with his back to them:

"As you said, the school's goal might be to make Class A model of the enemy. Although there seem to be different standards for class assignments, it's clear that it's not entirely like that. Each class has at least a few people who aren't really NPCs."

"To some extent, the school still wants to maintain 'balance'."

"So, either Class A completely crushes the lower-ranked classes, stopping the school from causing trouble, which leads to the current situation in the second year."

"Either Class A and the three lower-ranked classes appear evenly matched, and the school feels there's no need to arbitrarily follow the rules."

After a brief pause, Asakusa Toru turned around.

"If you're going to consider 'school' as a hypothetical enemy, then you have to think about this kind of issue."

Chapter 241 I Can Hear

Balanced.

It sounds far-fetched, but it seems to be something the school has to consider.

The distribution of Private Points is not unlimited, and the number of Class A graduates that can be recommended to others is also not unlimited.

Government connections are not a panacea, and schools have more to offer than just graduation and dropout opportunities.

Although the second year seemed to have taken such a turn under Nagumo's rule, it didn't mean the school would allow a second Nagumo to emerge.

A school's image is very important; it represents the school's authority, its efficiency in enforcing rules and regulations, and its future influence on its graduates.

However, school rules are also part of the school's image.

Therefore, the games played most often in Advanced Nurturing are still those within the rules.

As long as it is properly controlled, schools will not easily cross the line and resort to underhanded tactics.

Ryuen Kakeru fully understood what Asakusa Toru meant by his words.

Can...

"I can't get any guarantees." Ryuen Kakeru's expression darkened slightly.

Admittedly, not signing a contract and only making verbal cooperation can, to some extent, circumvent the school's rules, or even allow one to act as if the school is not there.

But he had no way of obtaining any guarantees.

Asakusa Toru can retract his verbal statements at any time, and even a recording cannot change that.

If he says he was just joking, what can Ryuen Kakeru do about it?

"That's right, but I still won't give you any written contract." He glanced at Ryuen Kakeru, then at Shiina Hiyori, and finally exchanged a look with Ichinose Honami. Asakusa Toru smiled and said, "Let me be a little clearer."

What I once said to Ichinose Honami, what I expressed, my most sincere and genuine feelings.

While sharing this with Shiina Hiyori, I'll also casually inform Ryuen.

"Class A or not is actually quite irrelevant to me."

"Because I'm in this class, it can be Class A. If I want to go to another class, I can turn that class into Class A." He shrugged. "It's not arrogance, just stating a fact. After all, the 'future' represented by Class A doesn't really exist for me."

Shiina Hiyori and Ichinose Honami were both aware of this.

But Ryuen Kakeru couldn't understand a word of it.

"... Whose young master or noble son are you?" That was the only understanding he could come up with.

Just like Koenji Rokusuke of Class D, as the sole heir of a conglomerate, he doesn't need to pursue graduating from Class A, so he can be so carefree and indulgent.

Could it be that you, Asakusa Toru, are actually the young master of someone's family?

If that's the case, then it doesn't seem so strange.

Most of Asakusa Toru's circumstances can be explained by his family background: the strong physique of a chaebol heir like Koenji, the perspective cultivated by being born into a higher position, and the Intelligence, observation, Judgment, and leadership skills created by carefully selected genes.

His expression hardened slightly, Asakusa Toru out a soft sigh.

"I'm a cheater," he said.

It's the simplest and most straightforward statement, yet it explains everything in a way.

However, whether Ryuen Kakeru could understand it or not, he didn't know.

He patted Ryuen Kakeru on the shoulder, then, too lazy to say anything more, Asakusa Toru walked past him, leaving behind his final words.

"Consider it an empty promise. If you end up down and out, I'll save you a spot in Class A. As for whether or not to cooperate, you can decide for yourself based on the exam results. I don't need to teach you how to maximize your benefits. I can only tell you not to limit your vision to the small-scale Advanced Nurturing."

Ryuen Kakeru is actually quite an interesting character; you could even say he's one of the most interesting male characters in Advanced Nurturing.

It's nothing short of a miracle that someone who started as a violent thug could evolve into the 'Ryuen Kakeru' he is today.

No wonder the greatest masterpiece, the one I like the most and the one I want to confront the most, is Dragon Boy.

He is indeed one of the most malleable and promising individuals in the entire Advanced Nurturing.

Unfortunately, he was ultimately just a student, and even a high school student like Ryuen Kakeru could only go so far, no matter how ruthless he was.

This is his limitation.

"Shiina Hiyori, let's find somewhere else to talk." Before leaving, he called out to Shiina Hiyori, "There are too many people around, and more and more are gathering. It's annoying."

No wonder the others gathered around; the scene between Shiina Hiyori and Honami not long ago was just too captivating.