Chapter 74

Aragaki Shun narrowed his eyes, looked up at the building where the faculty and staff were located, and reaffirmed Sakayanagi Arisu's position in the Board Chairman's heart.

People can't teach people how to learn; but experience teaches people in one go!

Some truths, unless you experience them firsthand and pay a painful price, you won't truly understand them no matter what you say.

This is the biggest difference between second-generation rich kids with family connections and ordinary people who start from scratch—they have the capital to make mistakes.

For ordinary people starting from scratch, mistakes are unacceptable, because once a mistake is made, there is no turning back.

Their business failed, leaving them either heavily in debt or unable to cope with the setbacks, leading them to end their lives. In short, very few were able to pull through and make a comeback.

But for the second generation, if their business fails, they can simply go home and inherit a fortune of hundreds of millions.

"So what is the message that the Board Chairman went to Sakayanagi Arisu?"

"Should we think thrice before acting, or should we be forgiving when we can?"

Aragaki Shun pouted, still somewhat annoyed at being used as a tool for education.

"Haha~ Who knows how that guy is going to talk to his daughter? I think it's a bit risky, after all, Arisu is already spoiled by him."

"Because of that child's childhood illness, Sakayanagi has always been reluctant to speak harshly to her, and has always used the term 'genius' to coax her. Now that he has discovered the problem and wants to correct it, he can only rely on you, the real genius, to give her a good beating."

Director Kanda's barely suppressed laughter came through the phone; clearly, he was thoroughly enjoying watching his colleague's antics.

"Don't flatter me with such empty titles as 'true genius.' Don't try to put such a lame label on me."

"Shun-kun, at your age and with such ability, it would actually be better if you were a little more impetuous."

Director Kanda's voice was very gentle, and Aragaki Shun seemed to be able to sense the elder's earnest expectations for the younger generation.

"Since its establishment, Kodo Ikusei Senior High School has cultivated countless talents, but none of them can compare to you. Your title of 'genius' is recognized by all of us on the board, and you can accept it with confidence."

"By the way, let me tell you something funny. That guy Sakayanagi was really envious that Aragaki -sensei found a successor like you. He even joked with me back then that it would be great if he could bring you back to the Sakayanagi family."

"... I see. It seems that Sakayanagi Arisu's heart condition is indeed difficult to cure. Has the Board Chairman already prepared to train a successor?"

Ignoring Director Kanda, Aragaki Shun immediately grasped the most crucial piece of information.

No wonder the Board Chairman gave his daughter such a lesson; it seems he wanted to temper the little princess's temperament before the future heir of the Sakayanagi Family was determined.

Otherwise, once the heir is determined, all of the Sakayanagi Family's connections and resources will be tilted towards him, at which point Sakayanagi Arisu's status will inevitably decline sharply.

"If it were curable, it would have been cured long ago. How could it have been left untreated until now?"

Since it is a congenital heart problem, even if a heart transplant is used, there will be many problems such as donor organ shortage, surgical risks, and long-term immunosuppression.

Director Kanda was also unaware of the more detailed medical condition.

However, he was certain that if there were a genuine chance of a complete cure, given how much Chairman Sakayanagi doted on his daughter, he would definitely ensure she recovered completely before being discharged from the hospital. How could he possibly delay her treatment for the sake of a so-called school experience?

"Forget about that. What I want to know now is, what exactly did the Board Chairman go to such lengths to get his daughter tutored?"

Skipping over Sakayanagi Arisu's illness, Aragaki Shun steered the conversation back to the final outcome of the rumor incident, which would determine how much Source Power he could extract from it.

"We won't discuss Arisu's situation yet; the school will release the information tomorrow. We can't tell you now."

"However, Sakayanagi has already decided to suspend his duties Board Chairman starting next semester. During the remaining time, the Board of Directors will assist him in handing over all the work he did as Board Chairman."

"Huh?" Aragaki Shun was genuinely shocked by the news. "Chairman Sakayanagi has stepped down?"

This is a matter that could have been resolved by simply expelling Sakayanagi Arisu, how did it escalate to the point where Sakayanagi Narimori down?

Why won't he believe it!

No matter how they look at it, the Sakayanagi Family would never easily give up the position of Board Chairman of the Advanced Nurturing Institute.

To put it bluntly, the importance of the Board Chairman himself is far less than the significance of this position to the Sakayanagi family, not to mention Sakayanagi Arisu virtually no chance of inheriting the Sakayanagi family business.

"Could this be the Prime Minister Kijima's intention? Otherwise, I don't believe the Sakayanagi Family would willingly abandon their core base."

But why would the Prime Minister Kijima go to such lengths to harass his own confidants?

Director Kanda: "..."

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone. Aragaki Shun waited patiently, and finally heard a voice on the other end say, "... I can't tell you the specifics right now. Just know that this matter is related to the White Room."

"Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, is that right?"

Director Kanda only gave a slight reminder, but Aragaki Shun immediately understood that the power struggle among those in power was definitely involved.

This is probably one of the reasons why it's so easy to acquire Source Power after arriving at Kodo Ikusei Senior High School.

Because the school's background is truly outrageous, it frequently attracts the attention of some of the highest-ranking members of Sakurajima.

"That child has been keeping a low profile since starting school, how did you even know?"

"The White Room is the Masterpiece, I don't pay much attention to it, but I still have some impression of it."

"You can have your own ideas. Anyway, starting next semester, I will temporarily take over Sakayanagi's work and become the Acting Board Chairman of this school."

"That's great. It seems I can also do whatever I want at Kodo Ikusei Senior High School, just like Sakayanagi Arisu."

This was somewhat unexpected, and Aragaki Shun couldn't help but make a joke about it.

"Haha~ It's just temporary, I won't be in this position for long. Besides, even Sakayanagi is bound by the school's rules and regulations, so it goes without saying that I, as the substitute, am bound by them as well."

"Shun-kun, if you're like that girl Arisu, always causing trouble and deliberately creating a lot of problems, then I'll be very troubled too."

"Hmm..." Aragaki Shun hesitated, but finally couldn't help but remark, "Given the current situation among the first-year students, I don't think I'll end up in that situation."

"Actually, I'm puzzled by Sakayanagi Arisu's methods. She has such a huge advantage, so why does she always like to resort to such underhanded tactics?"

Regardless of the circumstances, when the classes were initially divided, the overall quality of the original Class A was superior to that of the original Class B. In addition, with the Board Chairman of the board behind her, Sakayanagi had many more bargaining chips than he did.

As for why Class A, with so many advantages, has fallen to such a half-dead state... well, that can only be attributed to the difference in leadership between the two classes.

"Given Arisu's physical condition, isn't it just making things difficult for her by asking her to fight you head-on?"

"Heh~ If that's the case, then why did she enroll in such a highly competitive school like Advanced Nurturing? The Board Chairman doesn't seem to have any sense of discretion at all, and brazenly sent her to the original Class A."

Because of the unique nature of Kodo Ikusei Senior High School, the school's Board Chairman cannot have absolute power.

However, for ordinary students, the fact that she is the daughter of the Board Chairman still carries considerable intimidation.

Regardless of whether the Board Chairman himself abuses his power for personal gain, even if he is truly fair and just and acts in accordance with all rules and regulations, there are still a large number of faculty members and ordinary students who want to curry Board Chairman with him.

There is never a shortage of people in this world who secretly try to figure out what their superiors are thinking. The Board Chairman doesn't need to say anything; he just needs to sit there, and the other self-proclaimed smart people will naturally make their own choices.

The most obvious example is Hashimoto Masayoshi, who voluntarily became a front man.

"Under normal circumstances, as long as no one brings it up, the Board of Directors won't deliberately stop it, since it's a thankless task."

"Sakayanagi's idea is probably to let his daughter stay in the original Class A for a few months. As long as she can demonstrate her abilities during this period, even if someone questions the class assignment later, the school can provide some explanation."

In other words, let Sakayanagi Arisu take control of the original Class A, and then make some contributions to the class so that Class A can maintain its leading position... In this way, even if some people think that Sakayanagi Arisu should sit at the same table with the flawed ones in Class D, the school can emphasize that she entered Class A with her intelligence that is enough to make her flaws negligible.

However, the reality was that, under Sakayanagi Arisu's leadership, the original Class A dropped in the class rankings in the first month of school, setting an unprecedented record for Kodo Ikusei Senior High School.

In this situation, the Board Chairman's abuse of power for personal gain becomes completely inexplicable.

Even many high-ranking officials at the school believe that it was the Board Chairman's personal motives that led to this absurd situation where Advanced Nurturing made a mistake in the initial strength assessment.

Therefore, Director Kanda had always suspected that the reason why Sakayanagi Narimori so decisively handed over the Board Chairman was probably not only because of Ayanokoji Atsuomi, but also because he wanted to take advantage of the current situation while it was still under control to detonate this bomb and prevent anyone from using this as leverage against him in the future.

After all, Sakayanagi resigned from his position as Board Chairman because of this, so the matter has been officially closed. Anyone who causes trouble because of this is simply being unreasonable.

"So it really was me who ruined the Board Chairman's arrangements?"

Aragaki Shun chuckled and casually kicked a couple of pebbles on the road, seemingly oblivious to their presence.

If the Board Chairman can abuse his power for personal gain, why can't he step in to restrain the other party?

This rumor incident was also Sakayanagi Arisu being bored and deliberately stirring up trouble. Shouldn't he be allowed to retaliate in kind?

"Sakayanagi probably never imagined that someone from a family like yours would be so actively involved in class competitions, right?"

"In previous years, the students Kodo Ikusei Senior High School Education High School included many children of wealthy and powerful families from all over the country, but most of them were loners and not interested in class competition."

In fact, in this year's class, Koenji Rokusuke and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka were in similar situations, while Kiryuuin Fuuka was in the second year.

All three of them possessed backgrounds that commanded the attention of the Board Chairman, but if they were in Aragaki Shun's position, they would never have tried to limit the Board Chairman's power because of class competition.

Aragaki Shun smiled without saying a word. Could he possibly say that his main motivation for doing this was actually to better obtain Source Power?

"Alright, that's enough for now. Does Shun-kun have any other opinions? Tomorrow, the Board of Directors will announce the final results of this matter, and you are a crucial link in the chain."

"My opinion is this: I won't go into the other minor details, I trust the school will handle that. There's just one thing," Aragaki Shun paused to make sure the other person heard him clearly, "Since the Board Chairman has voluntarily suspended his duties, it seems that Sakayanagi Arisu shouldn't be expelled."

"So my request is that since the Board Chairman won't leave the school until next semester, let Sakayanagi remain suspended until next semester."

"Isn't this a reasonable request? Sakayanagi can come back to school after the Board Chairman leaves, so everyone won't have to worry about the Board Chairman showing favoritism."

If she returns after a few months of suspension from school, there won't be a place for her in the first year. Even Kamuro Masumi has been recruited by Aragaki Shun.

The thought of Aragaki Shun Sakayanagi Arisu Shun want to laugh...

137. The aftermath of the rumor incident; Ichinose Honami.

After reaching a consensus with the Board of Directors, it was decided that Sakayanagi Arisu would be suspended from school until the next semester, and could only return after the Board Chairman was suspended.

Based on this, the results of other investigations will not be made public until tomorrow.

Aragaki Shun had some guesses about this, and if nothing unexpected happened, it would probably be some kind of compensation measure, after all, it would also be necessary to appease the emotions of the other students in the next year.

After these matters were discussed and resolved, the two naturally ended their conversation.

By this time, it had become quite dark outside, and since he had nothing else to do outside, he decided to turn around and go back to his dormitory.

Only--

"Why are you all gathered in front of my dorm? If you really have nothing better to do, can't you go back to your own dorms and finish a few more assignments?"

After opening the dormitory door with his room card, a large group of students from Class A surged in right behind Aragaki Shun.

Ichinose Honami, Shiranami Chihiro, Yuki Himeno, Himeno Yuki Kobashi Yume, Kanzaki Ryuji, Shibata Sou... Regardless of gender, all the students with high status in Class A came, totaling more than a dozen.

Aragaki Shun noticed that his once spacious dormitory room had suddenly become extremely crowded, and he sat on his bed with a headache.

He's now considering whether to use his Private Points to apply for a larger apartment from the school tomorrow, otherwise he feels like the current dormitory space might not be enough in the future.

A faint fragrance wafted over, and Aragaki Shun snapped out of his reverie to find that Shiranami Chihiro had somehow already sat down beside him.

It's not surprising, since there really weren't any seats available. Didn't you see Kanzaki Ryuji, Shibata Sou, and the other guys just standing with their arms crossed, leaning against the wall?

"Why can't you say it in the classroom or a club? Why do you have to squeeze into my little dorm room? What kind of hobby is that?"

"Uh~"

Kanzaki and the other boys looked a little embarrassed, exchanging glances before instinctively looking towards Ichinose Honami.

"Haha~ um..." The pink-haired girl's eyes darted around, seemingly unsure how to express herself. In the end, she could only manage a dry laugh and say, "After all, this rumor incident was quite serious, and everyone is concerned about Aragaki-kun, so we thought we'd come and check on things."

Ichinose looked somewhat uneasy, which was probably a very rare sight for the members of Class A.

However, this time, Kanzaki Ryuji were not surprised to see this scene.

Starting at noon, rumors about Aragaki Shun on the School Forum intensified, but much of the content veered into various scandalous rumors.

Among the many rumored romantic partners in the first year, the pairing of Ichinose and Aragaki Shun has the highest support rate throughout the entire Advanced Nurturing.

It was precisely because of this strange occurrence that the students in Class A noticed Ichinose's odd behavior but didn't think there was anything wrong with it, after all—

Despite not communicating privately, the members of Class A all tacitly turned their gazes to Shiranami Chihiro, who was sitting next to Aragaki Shun.

Apart from a few students who genuinely lack common sense and emotional intelligence, most people in Class A know that Shiranami Chihiro has always harbored romantic feelings for Aragaki Shun.

After all, the other party was being too obvious and had no intention of hiding anything; they even actively asked their close female friends for help.

Now the problem is--

Ichinose Honami is also part of Shiranami Chihiro's group of best friends, and is the closest among them.

In the past two months, Ichinose, Kobashi Yume, and others repeatedly used various excuses to invite Aragaki Shun out shopping together, all to create opportunities for Shiranami Chihiro to pursue him... But now, the rumors on the forums tell everyone that Ichinose is actually Shiranami Chihiro's biggest rival?

Regardless of Ichinose had those feelings for him or not, at least in most people's eyes, the two were indeed a perfect match, a match made in heaven, completely crushing Shiro-nami's approval rating.

That's... pretty funny!

Although they felt a little bad for Shiro-nami, Kanzaki Ryuji were definitely more interested in Aragaki Shun's fun.

After all, their class monitor has always presented himself as a strategist since entering the school, seemingly unconcerned about anything. It would be quite interesting to see him in Shuraba situation.

Sensing a subtle malice, Aragaki Shun glared at his friends Kanzaki and Shibata with annoyance.

Even if Shibata Sou, Kanzaki, don't you already have enough work to do?

"I've just been informed by the school's higher-ups that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the school should have resolved this issue by tomorrow evening at the latest."