Meeting Someone

Instead of directly predicting the outcome, it's better to be a little more restrained and not appear too confident, lest Miyabi Nagumo be scared into actually giving up on the betting.

Free Private Points, why not take them?

That's what they said, but most of them just suppressed their laughter and kept quiet.

They simply couldn't bring themselves to feign pessimism to deceive Miyabi Nagumo.

"You don't dare?" Faced with Miyabi Nagumo's 'retaliation', Asakusa Toru simply uttered this sentence lightly.

That was enough to ignite Miyabi Nagumo's emotions.

"--Fine!" Miyabi Nagumo said through gritted teeth, her throat feeling a little tight. "Since you're in such a hurry to give me Private Points, then I'll accept them without hesitation."

"... but."

The moment the words were spoken, reason returned to his mind.

"I will be responsible for setting the specific rules."

The initiative must be in my hands.

He glanced at him, Asakusa Toru nodded casually. "Okay."

"Whatever you want, whether you want to compare scores or specific events, I'm fine with it."

In the end, he'll just kick Miyabi Nagumo to death like he'd kick a stray dog to the ground.

Miyabi Nagumo: "..."

This guy is even more annoying than I thought; this is definitely part of the provocation tactic.

Do you want the scores and specific events?

But I won't... wait, thinking about it carefully, maybe this is to take advantage of my rebellious streak?

Miyabi Nagumo's brain is working at high speed. You have such a rapidly functioning machine entering Advanced Nurturing; please remember the principles I gave you...

... If the intention was to exploit his rebellious nature, it means that the two options he casually suggested were options to be eliminated.

The other party is actually trying to guide your choice.

It's neither the total score across all events, nor a specific score for a particular area where you have an advantage.

Instead...

That's right, the final event was a '1200-meter relay race involving the entire grade'.

Was it because he originally planned to challenge Horikita-senpai in this inter-grade competition that this guy chose to guide him to this project?

Indeed, after learning the specific details of the Sports Festival, the first thing Miyabi Nagumo saw was this 'All-Grade Joint Relay Race'.

In the Sports Festival, most events are limited to the student's own grade level. Students in the same grade compete against each other, and scores are only compared across grades when calculating the final score.

That's not fair.

The second grade was completely under his control; whatever outcome he wanted was something he could manipulate with a mere word.

Of course, he would never do such a thing. If he really wanted to use his power to force others to give up their victory, he wouldn't have been able to so easily take control of the entire grade within a year.

However, even without pressuring other students, based on his understanding of second-year students, he was confident of achieving the highest score.

Therefore, only this, only this 'all-grade' competition, could have something beyond his control.

Only then will he have the opportunity to directly compete against his respected Horikita-senpai.

I will definitely choose this competition—as long as the other party investigates how much I care about Horikita-senpai.

It's clear that given Miyabi Nagumo's personality, she would definitely make this choice.

Unfortunately, you miscalculated.

My competition with Horikita-senpai has no need for an outsider like you!

"Ha, alright then, let's compare 'total individual scores'." Miyabi Nagumo then sneered, "I will participate in all events and win first place in every single one."

To put it bluntly, this result sounds like a comparison of total scores, but it also feels like a comparison of the final relay race.

But in reality... it really comes down to the result of the final relay race.

But Miyabi Nagumo still chose this one.

Why?

Because of the barriers to entry.

There's no doubt he'll come in first place; he's absolutely confident in every test except the final relay race.

But what about Asakusa Toru?

As a first-year student, only one semester has passed. Even if you can control Class A and Class C, you may not be able to control the remaining Classes Class B and Class D.

In other words, there is a possibility that he will lose and drop points.

If Asakusa Toru loses first place in any competition, it means he is not qualified to challenge himself and can only obediently offer up his 20 million points.

"Well, that's settled then." Asakusa Toru seemed to have barely thought about it. He glanced at the Red Team members beside him, nodded, and said, "Although I don't think you'd go back on your verbal agreement, I'll have someone prepare a suitable contract and deliver it to your door."

"Or, you could draft a protective agreement for this bet and send it to my class for me to sign; that would also be acceptable."

"Thank you in advance for the twenty million. Goodbye."

Before Miyabi Nagumo could respond, Asakusa Toru led the two classes away.

Miyabi Nagumo: "..."

He seemed to have a feeling that he had fallen into a trap.

"So, the policy for this Sports Festival..."

Back in class, the atmosphere of discussion quickly began to spread.

The students pondered the Sports Festival materials that had already been distributed, then waited for Asakusa Toru to speak.

"Just fill in my name for all the entries on the registration form first," Asakusa Toru said, then placed his fingertip on the form. "Then, rank you according to your scores, those with lower scores..."

"Those with poor grades should just attend study sessions to prepare for the midterm exams; don't bother with all this messy registration stuff."

"Those with poor grades will be put into a group with Class D, and we will hold regular study sessions together."

The ten Student Council with the lowest scores in the first grade will have ten points deducted from their next written test. This is a severe punishment that could easily lead to failing and expulsion.

However, the lowest score can be controlled.

Just skip the exam.

Anyway, he planned to have Class D students selectively skip the exam. He would pick ten students from Class D who had excellent grades, or even those who didn't need to be excellent, as long as they could still pass safely after losing ten points.

"Contact Class D; we'll decide on their entry form."

"And then... um." In front of Ichinose Honami, Asakusa Toru paused slightly, lowering his voice a few decibels. "I'll go see Airi alone."

We had originally planned to transfer her over this month.

In that case, she'll have to stay in Class D until the Sports Festival ends.

Although her grades would be in serious danger if she skipped the exam.

But...

"We need to set aside specific time to give extra lessons to the struggling students."

Sakura Airi, Karuizawa Kei, Shiranami Chihiro were not particularly outstanding Academic Ability.

Kushida Kikyo, Ichinose Honami, and Shiina Hiyori are safe.

But it's obviously impossible to tutor someone all by myself.

If we divide the work, it's actually just right.

But it wasn't quite perfect.

Shiina Hiyori's relationship with them wasn't exactly harmonious. Her acceptance of her own feelings didn't mean Asakusa Toru could casually let her mentor other women.

Possessiveness can arise.

So, let's leave Ibuki to her tutoring.

As former classmates, Shiina Hiyori and Ibuki Mio are probably closer than Sakura Airi and Karuizawa Kei Ibuki Mio.

After briefly outlining the key points, Asakusa Toru left the remaining time for the students to discuss on their own.

All he needs to control is the direction, just like during the Uninhabited Island Special Exam. He will be responsible for capturing the most important outposts and reminding them of the secondary key rules.

The rest, of course, is left to them to handle.

The general direction has been outlined; with a little collective effort, the problem can be solved quickly.

After all, Class A is different from Class D; brainstorming can still yield good results.

"Um... is Asakusa Toru here?" As the class became noisy, Asakusa Toru was about to leave.

A head suddenly popped out from behind the classroom door.

Her long orange hair was adorned with a sunflower-like hair accessory, and her purplish eyes were full of sunshine.

A woman named Asahina Nazuna greeted them, holding up a 'contract'.

"I've come to deliver the contract!" she said.

Chapter 266 Meeting a Person

"Uh-huh."

Asahina Nazuna handed the contract to Asakusa Toru, who had approached and extended his hand, letting out a soft hum before looking him up and down.

Asakusa Toru didn't have much of an opinion about her gaze; he had encountered many people who had observed him with a scrutinizing or appraising attitude.

This is something that's typically done when meeting someone for the first time.

Based on the information gathered through eye contact, one judges the other person's personality and other characteristics, and selectively places the other person in a position preset in one's own social pattern.

What should be despised, what should be respected, and what should be ignored.

So, while the other person was sizing him up, Asakusa Toru also glanced at the girl in front of him.

Asahina Nazuna.

Miyabi Nagumo's childhood friend, a blond-haired girl who has ate a lot of second-year students, is someone Miyabi Nagumo cares about but has never managed to win over.

She has a great temperament, looks, and figure; she's a rare beauty among second-year students.

Unfortunately, as a 'senior', her role and character development are somewhat underdeveloped.

His appeal to Asakusa Toru is... so-so.

In addition, to be honest, he has already provoked quite a few women in the Advanced Nurturing, so Asakusa Toru has no intention of having more contact with Asahina Nazuna.

After admiring her figure for a brief moment, he turned his attention back to the contract that Miyabi Nagumo had prepared.

No problem.

At least in this kind of matter, Miyabi Nagumo wouldn't be so despicable as to set up any small traps in the contract.

He's not Ryuen Kakeru.

The more someone like him has won smoothly all the way from childhood to adulthood, the more he looks down on so-called underhanded tricks and schemes.

So.

It's signed.

Confirmed.

It's been notarized.

The moment the Sports Festival ends and the results are announced, the ownership of those 20 million points will inevitably be transferred.

The school will freeze these points until then.

"..."

Before turning back with the signed contract, Asahina Nazuna hesitated for a moment.

She looked at Asakusa Toru and said softly: