Sure enough, no matter how fierce a girl tried to act on the surface, she still cared about things like this.
Uesugi Gen didn't care much about his style of dress, but he did have one or two unisex outfits.
They were a little big, but they'd be fine for Kushida Kikyo.
"Don't you dare peek."
Kushida Kikyo warned him from the bathroom.
"Then can you hurry up? I'm more interested in your grand revenge plan."
Bam!!!
The door slammed shut.
After her shower,
Kushida Kikyo picked up where she'd left off, cursing Horikita Suzune nonstop.
"So, your... (￣~￣) munch! ...goal is to defeat Horikita Suzune, right?"
"Stop eating!"
Kushida Kikyo snatched the snacks away and dumped them into her own mouth, speaking viciously.
"I can't do it. I can't. I hate to admit it, but she really is more talented than me."
Uesugi Gen comforted her,
"Talent comes in many forms. No one can match your social skills, Kushida."
"Of course not."
Kushida Kikyo said proudly, then deflated like a balloon with a hole in it.
"Except for that..."
"..."
Uesugi Gen really wanted to see just what sort of person Horikita Suzune was, to have tormented Kushida this badly.
But then Uesugi Gen thought about it,
He couldn't handle Ichinose, fine. But his accomplice couldn't even beat her nemesis.
Did that make sense? No, it didn't.
So Uesugi Gen decided to help her out.
"Kushida, I'll help you defeat her—with your talent."
"Hm? That's impossible. I can't beat her."
Kushida lowered her head in dejection.
"Don't worry. I promise you'll be interested once you've heard me out. But first, Kushida, you need to sign something."
The contract was a document guaranteed by Kōiku, meant to ensure she wouldn't reveal anything about the Special Exam.
While Kushida was taking a shower, he'd already asked Hoshinomiya-sensei to serve as guarantor.
After hearing his plan, Hoshinomiya seemed very interested.
On the phone, she'd said something like, "Gen-chan, you have to save that guarantor spot for me. It's the one thing I'm asking for in my life."
Kushida Kikyo looked suspiciously at the paper in her hand.
"A contract? Is this some kind of childish game?"
"Come on, don't ask so many questions. Sign it."
"Oh."
Kushida Kikyo obediently wrote her name.
"Since that's settled, I'll tell you something that'll make you happy. Now, listen closely."
Uesugi Gen leaned close to Kushida Kikyo's ear.
"Actually..."
"You mean the school sorted us into classes based on the quality of the students right from the start of the year, and our Class D is full of defective products."
Kushida Kikyo's expression darkened. No one would be happy to be treated as a defective product.
"Wait... So that means... that foul woman Horikita is a defective product too?"
Kushida Kikyo's smile immediately brightened.
"So, Kushida, don't you want to see Horikita's face when she's branded a defective product a month from now?"
Uesugi Gen continued to tempt her.
"More importantly, you'll be the one who made it happen."
A killing blow!
Kushida's eyes were already shining.
She couldn't resist the thought of Horikita Suzune looking completely shocked.
"Tell me, Uesugi. Whatever it takes, I'll do it."
Kushida Kikyo spoke with determination.
"It's super simple. Use your unbeatable social connections to make as many Class D students as possible let themselves go. A month from now, Horikita Suzune won't earn a single point."
"Then the value of a girl who thinks of herself as a model student will be zero. Don't you think that's interesting, Miss Accomplice?"
Uesugi Gen's suggestive voice whispered in Kushida Kikyo's ear.
"I'll do it. I absolutely will. I'll use my own power to drag her into the abyss."
Kushida Kikyo stood up, excitedly clenching her fist.
"Hahaha! I can't wait to see if that woman Horikita can still keep that deadpan expression on her face."
"Kushida, you really are a bad woman."
Uesugi Gen condemned Kushida Kikyo's wickedness from the side.
"Cut the nonsense. But if Class D has no points at all, won't I be left with none to use either?"
At last, Kushida Kikyo, whose intelligence dropped to rock bottom whenever Horikita Suzune came up, finally realized the problem.
"Don't worry about that, Kushida. Just give me the information, and I'll pay you a fee you'll be satisfied with."
"Deal!"
And so, two victims formed an alliance.
I Was Betrayed Three Times...
It was the weekend, in the boys' dormitory.
"Up top, Shibata, use the med kit. Get ready to take them out."
"Got it!"
Kanzaki Ryuji watched Uesugi Gen sitting on the floor playing a game with Shibata and reminded him helplessly,
"Uesugi, if you stay in your room all the time and don't exercise, your body's going to rust."
Uesugi Gen held the controller, his eyes fixed on the screen as he replied absentmindedly,
"Kanzaki, if you're always worrying about this and that, you'll age faster."
He went on to make a bold declaration,
"After sitting through classes for so long, can't I at least enjoy my weekend?"
"But this doesn't seem all that different from what you usually do."
Shibata, sitting nearby, was speechless. He tossed out the remark casually.
Though Ichinose had persistently tried all sorts of ways to straighten Uesugi Gen out over the past week,
thanks to his collusion with Hoshinomiya-sensei and his justified use of Student Council privileges,
Uesugi Gen still often found chances to skip class.
Ichinose was deeply resentful about it, but there was nothing she could do.
Kanzaki Ryuji sat on a nearby bed, poured himself a cup of tea, and took a small sip.
Ever since Ichinose had caught Uesugi Gen skipping class last time, she'd ordered him to change his room back.
"But as Class B's vice class representative, it's not great for you to lead the way in skipping class. I'm not asking you to help your classmates the way Ichinose does, but at least you could set a good example."
"Hm?"
Uesugi Gen's hands stopped moving on the controller.
"What?!"
A shout rang out from the boys' dormitory, startling birds and beasts into scattering.
"Vice class representative? How come I didn't know about this? As a member of Class B, you held a class representative election without me. Is there any democracy or law in this class?"
Uesugi Gen said in anguish.
His goal had never been to become vice class representative. The position he coveted was class representative, leading Class B against the other classes over the next three years.
He'd never imagined that while he was happily eating hot pot and singing, he'd be robbed by bandits.
Uesugi Gen grimaced in pain and launched a tearful accusation at the two of them.
Suddenly,
Uesugi Gen seemed to remember something. He turned around sharply and asked in a trembling voice,
"Then who's the class representative...?"
"Ichinose."
Kanzaki Ryuji calmly uttered the name.
Sure enough,
As Kanzaki said that name, Uesugi Gen felt the world grow dim.
You all lied to me. The entire class had joined forces to stab me in the back.
There was no love left. This world was no longer worthy of trust.
Even as Uesugi Gen swayed on the verge of collapse, Kanzaki Ryuji continued his attack, his expression unchanged.
"Actually, Shibata told you at the time. You were probably playing a game, so you just told him to decide for you."
Uesugi Gen's body stiffened. He recalled it and muttered,
"You mean that time on Wednesday?"
Back then, Uesugi Gen had thought Class B was voting on where to go for a get-together, so when Shibata called him, he'd told Shibata to vote however he wanted.
Uesugi Gen's face went pale. He suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Don't tell me I voted for—"
"Ichinose!"
Shibata Hayate flashed a dazzling white grin and gave Uesugi Gen a thumbs-up, looking as if he didn't expect to be thanked.
"Shibata, you bastard..."
Uesugi Gen was utterly devastated. He... had actually voted for Ichinose.
"Shibata, you and I are mortal enemies!"
Uesugi Gen tossed aside his controller, staggered to his feet, and pounced on Shibata Hayate like a hungry tiger.
Before you continue