Chapter 80
He suspected that these people were only paying lip service and were not actually following his instructions to vote.
Of course, Ryuen had no intention of helping Katsuragi.
After some consideration, he felt that option one seemed more interesting.
If Sakayanagi Arisu were transferred to Class D, the only outcome would be expulsion. Class D would then have 300 points deducted, and would no longer be a threat to Class C.
After Aragaki Shun is forced to go to Class B, the people in Class A will most likely pool together 20 million to buy him back. As a result, Class A will also lose a lot of Private Points.
As for the issue of Shiina Hiyori going to Class A, which means their class will lose a key strategist... it's really hard to judge whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.
As everyone knows, Aragaki Shun has a great influence in all four classes of first-year students, and students in the school can see Shiina and Shun treating each other with respect in the library every day.
Ryuen didn't think Shiina was a spy, since their relationship was so open and aboveboard, without any attempt at concealment.
But he really didn't want to guess which side, Class C or Aragaki Shun, was more important to Shiina.
This is really frustrating. A rare, intelligent talent in my class has been targeted by that bastard.
And then there's Ibuki Mio; Ryuen was speechless when she thought about how Aragaki Shun had pulled her into the Student Council.
He couldn't stop it, though. Rather than letting Aragaki Shun support a brainless idiot, it was better to let Ibuki power.
Given Ibuki's personality, it's unlikely that the other party would do anything that would harm the interests of Class C.
The only concern is that the other side might be misled by Aragaki Shun into thinking that eliminating him would be beneficial to Class C.
Sigh, I'm so tired!!
"Shiina, which option do you think Aragaki will ultimately choose?"
Suppressing his inner turmoil, Ryuen Kakeru suddenly looked in Shiina Hiyori's direction and asked a question that seemed to have a hidden meaning.
"... Naturally, it's option two!"
After a moment of silence, the Literary Girl gave her answer with certainty.
Shiina Hiyori didn't think Aragaki would be upset because she chose option one.
Ultimately, this is tantamount to harming the interests of everyone in Class A, just to give her a reason to go to Class A.
However, Aragaki-kun is not that kind of irresponsible leader.
"Option Two..." Ryuen Kakeru nodded, but was somewhat puzzled, "Then why did he deliberately keep the votes for both options at this level?"
"Perhaps they want to take this opportunity to negotiate with certain specific people again."
Class D, as an affiliated class of Class A which is dominated by the Aragaki Faction, naturally has no independent will and only needs to follow Aragaki Shun's instructions.
The few students who didn't join the Aragaki Faction, like the fools Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike, don't need attention, because as soon as the questionnaire was distributed, they couldn't wait to choose option two, which would give them more points.
Incidentally, Koenji Rokusuke randomly chose option one.
For him, there wasn't much difference between the two options, but because of his email exchanges with Dragon Boy, he wouldn't mind transferring to Class C for a while.
After all, he would be living at Kodo Ikusei Senior High School for the next three years. If he had the chance to spar with Aragaki Shun, Koenji thought it would be a good pastime to pass the time.
Unfortunately, that Dragon Boy clearly lacked the ability to accomplish what he wanted to do.
Since that's the case, let's just forget about it...
Back in Class A, Aragaki Shun looked at the two options with the same number of votes on the voting screen and smiled faintly.
He held the last vote yet, and could decide the outcome he wanted at any time.
"So, Aragaki, what exactly are you thinking?" Kanzaki Ryuji, his face full of confusion. "Are you really going to choose option one?"
"I just want people to know that I can choose option one at any time," Aragaki Shun shook his head. "As for which one to choose, let's wait and see."
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Aragaki Shun will ultimately choose option two.
After all, if he chose option one, he would not only have to pay 20 million in transfer fees, but also have to spend a large sum of money to compensate the students in Class A, and at the same time appease the people from the Aragaki Faction in Class D.
They all obeyed his orders, giving up their monthly 20,000 Private Points, and he couldn't just leave without giving anything in return.
"I suspect that although the Board Chairman arranged this vote, the attitudes of other senior school officials are different from the Board Chairman's; they probably prefer that I choose option one."
From a profit perspective, Aragaki Shun chose Option 1, where the Board Chairman would compensate all first-year students with over 100 million yen, and the school would only need to distribute a quarter of that amount.
Then the school's top management could openly include the remaining 80 million in the Advanced Nurturing High School budget. However, what happened to this extra budget later on was unknown.
From the perspective of class competition, Option 2 adds 200 Class Evaluation Points to all four classes, which is actually equivalent to no one adding any points.
However, if Option 1 is chosen, and the path of exchanging cash for senior students' Private Points is blocked by Miyabi Nagumo, then Koenji Rokusuke might be able to muster the fighting spirit in Class C and show his true strength.
Currently, Class A is dominant. If Koenji could take charge of Class C and Ayanokoji could control Class D, there might be a chance to make the competition among the first-year classes more intense again.
Even disregarding the two reasons mentioned above, for a considerable number of school officials, it would be good if they could get Sakayanagi Arisu to withdraw from school voluntarily by using a non-stick pan as a solution.
After all, she's the daughter of a big boss, and her health isn't good. If something happens to her, none of them will be able to explain themselves.
Therefore, if Aragaki Shun could get her to voluntarily drop out of school, some of the higher-ups who live in constant fear would definitely be very happy.
"Of course, I have no intention of being a trailblazer to relieve the burden on some of the higher- Advanced Nurturing."
"I was just thinking, since the Board Chairman loves his daughter so much, why not consider finding a more suitable living environment for Sakayanagi Arisu?"
One should be lenient when possible. The Aragaki Family and Sakayanagi Family are not large enough to escalate a playful conflict between two juniors into a life-or-death struggle.
To be honest, just because of Sakayanagi Arisu's unsuccessful attempt to spread rumors, Sakayanagi Narimori actually suspended him from his position Board Chairman and even supported Kanda, Acting Board Chairman who had personally joined the Aragaki Family, to become Director Kanda chairman... Even if there were probably other factors involved, this level of sincerity is still quite outrageous.
Compared to this price, the ten million yuan transferred privately by the Board Chairman, and the additional evaluation points added to the four classes, suddenly seem insignificant.
Face is something that needs to be given to each other. Sakayanagi Narimori has already so openly shown his friendly attitude, so Aragaki Shun naturally couldn't possibly remain completely indifferent.
After all, at the level of the Aragaki Family, one must maintain decorum when communicating with others, and it is impossible to tear off relations over some minor conflicts.
Judging from Director Kanda's attitude, the Aragaki Family and the Sakayanagi Family are not enemies; rather, they have a cooperative relationship.
He might hold a grudge in private and find an opportunity to annoy Sakayanagi Arisu, but he wouldn't go so far as to keep harping on this point after Chairman Sakayanagi personally intervened to compensate him.
Yesterday's struggle, today's reconciliation, tomorrow's cooperation... such things are not surprising to him.
However, while reconciliation is possible, it's still necessary to fight for the initiative.
So let's change Sakayanagi Arisu's class!
As for the conditions that Katsuragi sent over, which seemed very sincere... one can only say that the original Class A group were indeed pragmatic and able to make the right choice.
Unfortunately, Aragaki Shun goes to great lengths to collect Private Points simply because that's the school's rule, not because he's actually greedy.
The truth is, the greatest sincerity that Class B could offer held no appeal for him.
Unless they have the ability to bribe him with a large amount of Source Power, Aragaki Shun wouldn't bother wasting his time in Class B.
In the Board Chairman's office.
Not only is Sakayanagi Narimori here, but also Sakayanagi Arisu has been suspended from school.
Yes, after a student is punished and suspended from school, they are only prohibited from entering the teaching building area and attending classes; they can still move around in other places.
Otherwise, you can't just lock someone up in the dorm for three months, can you?
Undoubtedly, Sakayanagi Arisu was also paying attention to this vote that included all first-year students, since the result of this vote would ultimately determine her own fate.
Once she is transferred to Class D, knowing her father as she does, he will absolutely not leave her to live alone in this school.
Thinking of this, the petite girl with silver hair and purple eyes subconsciously bit her lip, and endless resentment and regret welled up from the depths of her heart.
I've actually fallen to this point, where even whether I can stay in Advanced Nurturing depends on the opinions of the other first-year students.
Not to mention, because of her foolish actions, she even tarnished her father's reputation, causing him to be temporarily suspended from his position as Board Chairman of the Advanced Nurturing Council.
For the first time, Sakayanagi Arisu deeply understood that her actions, which she found amusing, were not without cost.
It was only because she had the backing of the Sakayanagi Family in the past that the costs were either negligible or were passed on to others, which allowed the girl to achieve whatever she wanted.
However, once her competitors are replaced by those who are stronger and have a greater background, her strategies lose their intended effect, become easily crumbled, and she is easily defeated.
"Aragaki! Aragaki! Aragaki! Aragaki..."
Muttering the name of a certain man over and over again, the girl, who considered herself a true genius, gripped her cane tightly, her knuckles turning white.
How can there be such a person in the world?
With just a hobby, he can temporarily get serious and beat her chess skills that he's had since he was a child.
Her family background was better than hers, her strategies were no less than hers, she was better at uniting subordinates, and she even had enviable physical abilities... It shouldn't be like this. If a true genius is like this, then what is she?
Why has she clung to the title of "genius" for over a decade?
The pampered young lady, who had never suffered a loss since childhood, was now lost and confused, feeling as if everything she had done in the past had become a joke.
"Arisu ..." Seeing his daughter's changing expressions, Sakayanagi Narimori a pang of heartache, but he suppressed his emotions with reason. "Take a look at the votes from Class B. Your classmates have already made their choices."
Before officially suspending his duties next semester, Sakayanagi Narimori will still retain the authority of the Board Chairman. Although he cannot interfere with the first-year students' exams, he can still check the voting details without any problem.
To be honest, even the Board Chairman never expected that something like this would happen—all the students in Class B actually reached a consensus and chose to abandon their daughters.
Faced with this situation, Sakayanagi Narimori didn't know how to describe his feelings.
145. Sakayanagi Arisu, who was kicked out of Class B, was taken in by Aragaki Shun and brought back to Class A.
"Class B?" Sakayanagi Arisu stared wide-eyed at the voting details on the Board Chairman's screen, uttering incredulous words, "I... I was actually abandoned by them?"
Is she, a genius, going to be driven away by a group of mediocre people?
What kind of international joke is this?!
"Sigh~" The Board Chairman sighed, a helpless expression on his face, "Arisu, you've been at school for two months, and it seems you haven't made any real friends."
Sakayanagi Narimori suddenly realized that his decision to send his daughter to the former Class A was ill-considered.
Upon closer examination, most of the students who were reassigned to the original Class A were sophisticated egoists.
They know when to advance and retreat, understand boundaries, have their own ideas, and are self-aware enough to be willing to humble themselves and follow the commands of those they perceive as powerful.
In other words, students from the original Class A are often able to make the most advantageous choice for themselves when faced with a decision, rather than being self-centered and acting willfully and recklessly regardless of reality.
In the eyes of the then Board Chairman, the original Class A possessed the qualities that were indeed most suitable for his daughter to experience school life.
After all, they are all Akito. As long as Arisu can show some special qualities, the students from the original Class A will naturally flock around her.
But looking back now, the original Class A students were able to follow Arisu for profit, and naturally they could also abandon her for profit.
To reiterate, the students in the original Class A are all very pragmatic people. They are very good at adapting to their environment and making choices that are most beneficial to themselves.
Therefore, now that Arisu has caused significant losses to the original Class A, they can decisively abandon this failed leader and try to welcome the strongest uncrowned king among the first-year students.
"Friends..." Sakayanagi Arisu suppressed her anger, forcing herself to regain her composure. "I don't think I need that kind of thing."
"Thinking about it carefully, it's normal that I'm being abandoned by my classmates, after all, I'm just a loser right now."
Compared to the students in the other three classes, the original Class A students cared more about the school's recommendation three years later. They would obey whoever could lead them to victory.
Undoubtedly, in the school's eyes, these are indeed the qualities that outstanding students should possess, which is why they were initially assigned to Class A.
Therefore, according to the principle of Meritocracy, the students of Class B did not make the wrong choice. The only one who made the mistake was Sakayanagi Arisu Aragaki Shun, only to suffer a crushing defeat.
The students in Class B were qualified chess pieces, but she was not a good player, so it was only natural that she was discarded.
No one can be successful forever...
Seeing his daughter's expression—clearly feeling wronged and disappointed, yet stubbornly refusing to admit it— Sakayanagi Narimori's face showed a troubled look.
Previously, he was only focused on treating Arisu's mental illness, neglecting his daughter's education, which led to her shortcomings in interpersonal skills and the ability to recruit and utilize people.
But thinking about it, this was inevitable. After all, he was the Board Chairman of Kodo Ikusei Senior High School and the head of the Sakayanagi Family. He couldn't possibly go to the hospital to take care of Arisu every day.
Therefore, feeling guilty, Sakayanagi Narimori could only try his best to meet his daughter's various needs in daily life, so that she could be happy every day.
Growing up in this environment, Arisu inevitably lacks many insights that can only be gained through personal experience.
The most striking point is that Arisu always assumes certain success in everything she does; in other words, she never considers the consequences of failure.
This leads girls to often resort to unconventional tactics when competing with others, sometimes even leaving themselves no room for maneuver.
This is not good, it's extremely bad!
Sakayanagi Narimori his mouth, ready to impart some of his past life wisdom to his daughter, but before he could react, Sakayanagi Arisu uttered a single sentence that immediately shut him down. "No one can succeed forever."
"Yes, I've never seen Aragaki Shun fail since we enrolled."