Chapter 123
In this situation, no matter what he says, it will seem like he's talking without understanding the situation, right?
After all, Aragaki Shun had openly invited him to join Class A, and even though he refused on the spot, it didn't stop the other people in Class B from having some dark speculations.
So, is it the only option to follow Koenji Rokusuke's advice?
Recalling his face-to-face conversation with Koenji when he first returned to the cruise ship, Katsuragi sighed and finally stepped back, handing over all management authority over Class B.
"The competition between classes isn't over yet. I hope we can all graduate from Class A together, instead of being like this, sleeping in the same bed but dreaming different dreams. Let's openly and honestly resolve this issue now."
"Before we go on, I want to make one thing clear: from today onwards, I will no longer serve as the leader of Class B. All decision-making power in the class will be transferred to Koenji."
Upon hearing this, most of the students in Class B widened their eyes, and the members of the Katsuragi Faction were even more incredulous.
"Brother Katsuragi!!!"
Totsuka Yahiko exclaimed in surprise, and was about to dissuade him when he received a stern look from Katsuragi, leaving him standing there unwillingly.
"I support it. It's the popular choice for Prince Koenji to be the class leader. Only he can lead us to compete with Aragaki Shun from Class A."
Before anyone else could react, Hashimoto Masayoshi was the first to step forward and swear allegiance.
In the fabrication incident, he had thoroughly offended Aragaki Shun and everyone in Class A.
Although that person focused all their attention on Sakayanagi Arisu, he was an insignificant pawn, only good for extorting Private Points from Class B.
But no matter how he thought about it, he had no chance of getting an invitation to join the solo Class A.
Not to mention, because of the significant damage that incident caused to the class, he was forced to sign a contract that would allow him to be expelled from school at any time.
Therefore, if he wants to advance to Class A by accumulating Private Points, he must first endure the punishment of expulsion with 20 million.
So anyone can betray him, but he was tragically tied to Class B.
Now that there's an opportunity to curry favor with a chaebol heir, there's no time to hesitate for even a second.
"What do you say, Koenji?"
Morishita Ai, who usually maintains a neutral stance in class, suddenly spoke up, "Given your background and status, you should be like Sakayanagi, completely unconcerned about the resources the school promised, right?"
Does being in Class A not make any sense to a chaebol heir?
If it's pointless, then what's his purpose in trying to seize control of Class B?
The girl's meaning was clear: she suspected that the other person, like Sakayanagi Arisu, simply wanted to use everyone in Class B for their own amusement.
Fine, I'll take advantage of her, but the problem is she really won't give me any compensation whatsoever!
After the rumor-mongering incident, Class B, which was initially only slightly behind, was completely suppressed by Aragaki Shun, Hashimoto, was even reduced to the point of being expelled at any time.
However, it is rumored that Sakayanagi Arisu, the mastermind behind this incident, will transfer to Class A after her suspension from school ends.
The crucial point is that she even moved her dorm room to the apartment next to Aragaki Shun's rented place...
In short, the upper-class heiresses have it easy. Even if they lose, their family background provides a safety net, and they can simply walk away, leaving behind a classroom in ruins.
Moreover, they have sufficient value for united front work; if they don't want to drop out, they can still join Class A and easily switch sides.
Regardless of whether the rest of the class wins or loses, she is certain she won't lose.
Just as Sakayanagi Arisu like this, so too was Koenji Rokusuke. At most, because he lacked home-field advantage, this zaibatsu heir couldn't mobilize too much of his power.
No matter how much his power is restricted, his status is what it is, and he is definitely not on the same side as the others in Class B.
How could the members of Class B, Sakayanagi Arisu, feel at ease entrusting their fate to such privileged children once again?
Hearing Morishita Ai's question, the others present looked at Koenji, who seemed oblivious to everyone else and acted as he pleased, with complicated expressions.
For them, it's better to just side with Aragaki Shun than to gamble again.
At least the Leader of Class A truly kept his word, not only leading the class forward but also being willing to spend Twenty Million Personal Points for Shiina Hiyori of Class C and Wang Meiyu of Class D.
In the foreseeable future, Kamuro Masumi from their class, Ibuki Mio from Class C, and Karuizawa Kei from Class D —these three openly recognized representatives of the Aragaki Faction —will inevitably transfer to Class A before graduation.
Without a doubt, this is a path that has been identified and is truly viable.
Even if fewer people succeed by taking this route, they only need to compete with the rest of their class.
Koenji could perhaps make a grand promise of getting the entire class promoted to A, perhaps by referencing Sakayanagi Arisu...
Hehe~ Forget it, a pancake you can't have is useless.
"I am the heir to the Koenji Conglomerate, the man who will one day shoulder the fate of this nation!"
Seeing that the students in Class B had unfocused eyes and no motivation, Koenji Rokusuke finally put down the mirror in his hand and began to get serious.
Katsuragi is incompetent; he can't even unite the class internally. He has to step in personally.
"Sakayanagi Arisu, she's not qualified to make too many promises on behalf of the Sakayanagi Family, but I do need to recruit some people to prepare for taking over the zaibatsu in the future."
"How about we make a deal? For the next three years of high school, all students in this class must obey my command."
"On the other hand, whether I am expelled or fail to get into an A-level school, I will bear all the consequences. With the size of the Koenji Conglomerate, providing a well-paid job for more than thirty people is still very easy."
To repel external threats, we must first secure internal stability!
This Uninhabited Island Exam ended in defeat without a fight, which was quite an unpleasant experience for Koenji.
No problem, let's consolidate Class B first, then intervene in Classes Class C and Class D.
As handsome as he is, there is nothing in this world that cannot be accomplished if one puts his mind to it!
193. Installment payment for class transfer; then poaching people from Class B.
"So, Koenji has now preliminarily completed the internal integration of Class B?"
As evening fell, Aragaki Shun, who was attending a victory celebration, soon received an intelligence notification from Kamuro Masumi.
Upon learning from her that Katsuragi had completely stepped down and Koenji had officially taken power, the Leader of Class A was somewhat surprised by her enthusiasm.
But thinking about it, it doesn't seem like a problem.
For a chaebol heir like Koenji, the Advanced Nurturing class competition is just a game, but since it's a game, it should be played to the fullest.
"I'm happy, no amount of money can buy me happiness. If I'm unhappy after losing, I'll find a way to win it back..." For them, emotional value outweighs the wealth value in the eyes of ordinary people.
Anyway, he already knew that Koenji wouldn't accept his invitation to join Class A. This free-spirited and unruly son of a chaebol was used to doing whatever he wanted and wouldn't want to join another powerful entity and be bound by its rules and regulations.
"Koenji promised that if the class loses the competition, the conglomerate would provide a guaranteed, well-paying job for everyone in the class."
The meticulous voice of Kamuro Masumi came from the other end of the phone. The Class B party had just ended, and the girl reported everything that had happened.
"Furthermore, he specifically signed a contract in the presence of Ms. Mashima, stating that he would absolutely not run away from Class A by raising 20 million yen, and that if such a situation occurred, he would voluntarily accept the school's punishment of expulsion."
Upon hearing this, a playful smile appeared on Aragaki Shun's lips.
Clearly, Koenji did this to allay everyone's concerns that he might defect to the enemy halfway through the journey.
We were ready to fight to the death, why did Your Majesty surrender first...? This is something that Sakayanagi Arisu before.
Of course, even if such a contract is signed, it may not completely prevent such incidents from happening.
After all, in this school, the cost of breaking a contract is at most Twenty Million Personal Points.
But since the other party, as the heir to a conglomerate, has shown this attitude, even if they know that the other party is trying to win people over, the other members of Class B are unlikely to make any further demands.
"So how many people agreed on the spot?" Aragaki Shun asked calmly. "Katsuragi was so focused on uniting the entire Class B as one, he must have been the one leading the charge, right?"
Koenji's promise was exactly the same as the guarantee that Aragaki Shun made to everyone in Class A when he first became the class leader.
If nothing unexpected happens, the information from that time must have been leaked, and Koenji, upon hearing it, simply used it as well.
Whether it's a gimmick or not doesn't matter; the key is whether the person making the promise has the ability to fulfill it in the future.
And clearly, as the heir to a conglomerate, Koenji is one of the few people in the school qualified to fulfill this promise.
Just like the Aragaki Family, the only jobs that Koenji could arrange were within the businesses owned by his own family.
Compared to Advanced Nurturing who are supported by the government and can choose from prestigious universities and companies, the scope is relatively much smaller.
Therefore, both of them referred to this promise as a safety net, which would ensure they would get a good job after graduation and not be financially strapped.
A well-paying and respectable job may not be their current dream, so there is still a gap between their current situation and the treatment they receive after graduating from Class A.
To give a simple example, as a political achievement of the Prime Minister's faction, Advanced Nurturing can help all students in Class A enter the University of University of Tokyo Medical School, but even if Koenji Rokusuke is a zaibatsu heir, he certainly wouldn't do something where the effort and reward are disproportionate.
However, if one only thinks about making progress without having a specific dream, then for many Class B students, all they need to do is get close to Koenji and become one of his trusted confidants before he inherited the zaibatsu.
Ultimately, even if an average student graduates from Class A, they can only become a mid-level manager in society. Only a very few outstanding individuals can go through the Advanced Nurturing program and become a member of the "Kijima" faction in politics.
To have the opportunity to directly join the Koenji Conglomerate now would, in many people's eyes, mean saving at least twenty years of hard work.
"Yes, under Katsuragi's leadership, the entire Katsuragi Faction and most of the Neutral Faction accepted his leadership immediately."
"At the same time, also at Katsuragi's suggestion, these people signed a contract similar to Koenji's, declaring that they would absolutely not run away from Class A by raising 20 million yen."
As soon as Kamuro Masumi finished speaking, Aragaki Shun immediately understood Class B's plan.
This is an attempt to forcibly increase the cost of betrayal by using both carrot and stick tactics.
Koenji's promise is a guarantee, while the contract is a constraint. Under these circumstances, if anyone still wants to betray Class A as an inside agent, they will have to first use 20 million to break the contract and then use another 20 million to transfer to Class A.
The transfer fee has doubled, and both the traitor and Class A must consider whether this cost is worthwhile.
"That's interesting. The remaining members of Class B who haven't signed contracts are probably waiting for my opinion, right?"
For an average student, the conditions offered by Koenji were already quite generous.
The reason why a small number of Neutral Faction and the entire Aragaki Faction have not yet expressed their opinions is simply because they want to see if Aragaki Shun's side can offer better conditions.
To put it bluntly, most of the people in Class B are opportunistic; they are very pragmatic workers who have no pressure to switch jobs as long as the salary is high enough.
"Well, there are probably about 15 people in the class who are still observing."
Kamuro's voice was devoid of any emotion; he was simply stating the objective facts. "If you can offer better terms, they will stand firmly with me and continue to maintain the division within Class B despite the pressure."
What are better conditions?
The only solution, of course, is to transfer them to Class A.
Besides, even if Aragaki Shun offered the same guaranteed minimum, it wouldn't have mattered.
After all, if they stand with Koenji, they are fighting for the class openly and honestly, while if they stand with Aragaki Shun, they are doing the work of traitors.
If both sides can only offer the same reward, aside from those specifically seeking thrills, most normal people would probably choose the former, right?
"Never mind then," Aragaki Shun said nonchalantly, "I have no intention of competing in this area."
They're a bunch of opportunists; they're not worth his time and effort.
Even if Koenji manages to unite the rest of Class B, so what?
The momentum he has built up this semester is not so easily shaken!
Glancing at the Class A members at the celebration banquet, they were undoubtedly the strongest group of the first year, completely unafraid of any challenge.
To put it more arrogantly, no matter how much trouble Ren Koenji, how much pressure can he or Class A really put on them?
"Tell them that my conditions remain the same: only those who make sufficient contributions to Class A are qualified to join us."
"If anyone is unhappy about this, let them be."
After a pause, Aragaki Shun continued, "If the rest of Class B are brought under Koenji's control, then your job is done, and you'll join Class A directly."
Koenji is no pushover; leaving Kamuro in the open, he wouldn't even know when he'd be expelled.
Instead of using Private Points to win her over later, it's better to transfer her to Class A first, and use this method to further widen the gap in the number of students and the gap in overall strength between the two classes.
"I understand," Kamuro said without objection, only offering a reminder, "In that case, the remaining people might be recruited by Koenji before summer vacation is even over."
"It's alright. The split Class B is indeed easier to deal with, but even if they reunite, they're really not a big deal."
The conversation concluded with the boy's confident response.
"I really didn't expect Class B to change like this."
Literary Girl with long silver hair handed over a glass of juice from the side, her soft voice revealing no surprise whatsoever.
Not being used to lively Matoba, Shiina Hiyori and Aragaki Shun sat in the corner of the gathering and heard everything clearly.
"During the Uninhabited Island Exam, Koenji managed to secure Point 208s, which means his abilities are still quite respectable in the eyes of the students in Class B."
"He has the ability, the background, and he's willing to make promises... If he really wanted to unify Class B, it wouldn't be difficult at all."
Perhaps in the eyes of the other first-year students, Aragaki Shun's strength and prestige far Koenji Rokusuke's.
However, as the leader of the other classes, most people in Class B do not expect to be able to get in touch with him.
In the past, they only considered vying for the opportunity to become an inside man because they had no other choice. Now that there's a safety net, why not follow Koenji and give it a shot?