In Classroom of the Elite, I Only Want to Go All-in on My Love Stock Market Chapter 14

A gentle smile appeared on the pretty face of Ichinose Honami; she had put a great deal of effort into meeting with Ibuki Mio today.

Ibuki had not trusted Ichinose at first, and she had absolutely no intention of playing nice, but the pink-haired girl did not lose heart. Instead, she drew on her experience as a class representative to bridge the gap, and by repeatedly emphasizing that she had something of great importance to discuss, she finally managed to move Ibuki Mio and secure this opportunity for a conversation.

"The plan is for you to call Ryuen out, and then deliberately provoke him into attacking you so that we can record footage of him committing violence from the sidelines."

Ichinose Honami explained slowly, "As long as we capture the video and submit it to the Student Council for review, Ryuen will certainly be suspended."

"Will that really restrict him? It's not like it'll get him expelled."

Ibuki expressed her skepticism; this was merely a stalling tactic and would do nothing to truly cripple Ryuen.

"Of course it isn't that simple," Hashiba Hikaru interjected into their conversation. "The reason we want Ryuen suspended is that we have a very important matter to collaborate on with your Class C, but because we are aware of his actions, we came up with this method."

"If Ryuen isn't suspended, we cannot trust a person like him, so naturally, we have no way to move forward with our plan."

"Collaboration? What kind of collaboration?"

After hearing Hashiba Hikaru's explanation, Ibuki Mio seemed to grow interested, a glimmer of contemplation flashing in her eyes.

"That's a matter for later. Once Ryuen is suspended, Ichinose and I will personally head to Class C, and you will know then," Hashiba Hikaru said, opting not to explain directly and instead shifting the topic. "I can guarantee to Ibuki that this matter will absolutely not leave you at a disadvantage."

"...Hmph, heaven knows what kind of scheme you're cooking up."

Ibuki Mio remained noncommittal regarding Hashiba Hikaru's stance, but she truly did not want Ryuen to remain the class leader, so she looked at Ichinose and asked, "Is it enough if I just lure him out?"

"That's right. Although Ibuki is capable of defeating Ryuen, we don't want the footage to show you two fighting; we want it to look like Ryuen is bullying you one-sidedly," Ichinose added. "Ibuki only needs to dodge."

"I understand."

Ibuki Mio nodded thoughtfully. Her athletic reflexes were quite sharp, so simply dodging would not be much of a problem.

"Then it's settled. Have you two thought of a specific time?"

"Hmm..." Ichinose tilted her head and looked toward the boy, asking, "What do you think, Hashiba?"

"The sooner, the better."

Hashiba Hikaru checked the time in the cafe; it was about to close.

"My thought is that we can execute this plan tomorrow. We shouldn't give Ryuen any time to react. Can you manage that, Ibuki?"

"No problem. I can use the excuse of challenging him to get him out, saying I don't agree with him being the class leader."

"Good. Let's exchange contact information, Ibuki. Keep an eye on the class's movements tomorrow, and as soon as you find a suitable moment, you can reach out to him directly." Hashiba Hikaru's gaze was intense as he stared earnestly at Ibuki's face while giving his instructions.

The execution of any plan requires a firm grasp of timing; if it drags on too long, unexpected flaws might emerge.

"I know."

After Ichinose Honami and Hashiba Hikaru exchanged contact information with Ibuki Mio, the three of them left the cafe and parted ways.

Bathed in moonlight, the pink-haired girl's expression was somewhat melancholy. Hashiba Hikaru naturally knew what she was thinking, so he asked in a low voice.

"Is it because I asked you to help me lie just now, Ichinose?"

"Yes..." Ichinose's voice was a bit muffled, as if she were troubled. "Although I know you did it to make Ibuki trust us, I still feel like it wasn't quite right."

"Don't overthink it. You can try looking at it from a different perspective: we are doing this to reduce the occurrence of violence. As long as we restrict Ryuen's actions, the students of Class C won't suffer any more harm."

Hashiba Hikaru's tone was very gentle, hoping to keep Ichinose from letting her mind wander. "If you really feel bad about it, we can apologize to Ibuki together after the plan is completed."

"We can just explain everything clearly then, can't we?"

Hearing the constant explanations beside her, Ichinose Honami remained silent for a long time before suddenly looking up into Hashiba Hikaru's ink-black eyes and whispering.

"Hashiba, will you lie to me in the future, too?"

"..."

Chapter 24: Intertwining States of Mind

After finishing the planning meeting with Ibuki, Hashiba Hikaru returned to the dormitory. He sat at his desk, his mind unable to stop replaying the scene that had just occurred.

Ichinose Honami had stared intently into the boy's face with her azure eyes, questioning whether he would lie to her. Although Hashiba Hikaru had been startled by the sudden question, he responded quickly.

"Of course not. You and I will always be close comrades in the future; I would never lie to you."

"But even when you lie, Hashiba, you don't show any flaws at all."

"You're overthinking it, Ichinose. I only did that for the sake of the class competition."

"But I suddenly have a premonition that if one day you really do lie to me," Ichinose Honami said, looking at the boy who was feigning ease, her tone carrying an inexplicable weight, "I wouldn't even be able to tell."

"..."

"That's just your imagination. If it weren't for Class B, I wouldn't lie. You can think of it as a tactic."

"Alright, let me walk you back to your dorm first. Don't think too much about it."

"Mm."

Although the girl nodded, the expression on her face remained off. Hashiba Hikaru did not continue to explain, instead urging her along until he reached the elevator.

"Something feels wrong. Did I say the wrong thing?"

Hashiba Hikaru recalled the things he had done today. He didn't know why it had suddenly triggered such a reaction from Ichinose. He remembered that the risk assessment for [Ichinose Honami Stock] did indeed mention that lying to her would lower her stock price.

"But I haven't lied to her. That much is certain."

The boy opened the system's Stock Interface, where the share price of [Ichinose Honami Stock] remained at 120, indicating that today's events had not affected Ichinose's inner perception of Hashiba.

Moreover, if Ichinose Honami were truly the type of person who could never tell a lie, she wouldn't have covered for him just now; when faced with class competition, the girl was not someone who clung stubbornly to rigid principles.

Could it be... that she is testing my attitude?

He couldn't help but recall the notification that appeared when the stock price rose: [Ichinose Honami is deeply moved by the 20 million point plan you proposed and has developed new feelings for you.]

Since obtaining the system, Hashiba Hikaru had maintained a very clear sense of his own positioning; everything he was doing now was to ensure he could successfully graduate from this school.

The boy certainly didn't dislike Ichinose. In terms of appearance and figure, she was a top-tier beauty, and her personality was gentle and genuinely considerate of others. If he could date her, he would likely wake up from his dreams with a smile.

But Hashiba Hikaru had too many things he wanted to do right now. He not only had to think about how to better help Class B climb the ranks, but he also had to train his physique, uncover more stocks, and borrow the power of the system to transform himself, so as not to waste this second chance at life.

When the system first descended, he had originally planned to cash out and run as soon as the stock price rose, then wait for the price to drop to avoid a "shura field" of romantic complications.

However, after using the Stock Analyzer, the boy knew very well that if he truly wanted to make a certain stock's price drop, he would have to do something that would make the other person miserable.

In this school where classes didn't mix, Hashiba Hikaru would inevitably spend a long time with Ichinose Honami in the future. If, during this process, feelings beyond friendship truly developed between them, would he really be able to intentionally provoke her just to lower the stock price?

The answer was no.

Hashiba Hikaru's own attitude toward his feelings was clear: like is like, and dislike is dislike. If he were to truly fall for Ichinose Honami in the future, he would absolutely never do anything to hurt her; that was his bottom line as a man.

However, thinking about it again, it was still too early to say these things. The boy's current focus had to be on class competition and acquiring more system funds; there was no room for him to be distracted by romance.

"Let's leave it at that. Being friends is fine for this stage."

Hashiba Hikaru summarized his review of the day, then shook his head to cast aside the distracting thoughts, continuing to ponder the subsequent class competition plans. This was what he should be worrying about right now.

Early the next morning, after finishing the morning exercise that had become a daily task, Hashiba Hikaru walked into the Class B classroom with his breakfast. The students of Class B greeted the boy with their usual enthusiasm.

"Good morning, Hashiba-kun!"

"Morning, Hashiba-kun."

"Yeah, good morning everyone."

After Hashiba Hikaru sat down at his desk, he noticed that Ichinose Honami had already arrived, the girl currently looking down and recording something in her notebook.

"Morning, Ichinose-san." Hashiba Hikaru decided to initiate the greeting himself.

"Oh, good morning, Hashiba-kun."

The pink-haired girl's face still held a vibrant, energetic smile. After greeting Hashiba, she immediately said, "I'm recording some information about Class C and Class D that everyone collected over the past two days. You can use it directly on Friday."

"Thank you for your hard work, Ichinose-san. Actually, I could have done this myself."

"It's no trouble at all. Hashiba-kun has been brainstorming plans for the class for the past two days; you must be even more exhausted than I am," Ichinose Honami said softly, a look of concern appearing on her face. "Even though I'm the class leader of Class B, I've been relying on Hashiba-kun quite a bit."

"Alright then. Since Ichinose-san is so proactive, I'll take the liberty of slacking off a bit."

Both of them tacitly avoided mentioning the conversation from last night, as if it had never happened at all. Today, Hashiba Hikaru and Ichinose Honami remained the class leaders striving for the sake of Class B.

As for what that conversation had actually changed, perhaps only the depths of their own hearts knew.

When the time reached around two in the afternoon, Hashiba Hikaru, who was working hard on solving problems, was suddenly tapped on the shoulder by Ichinose beside him. He turned his head to find her handing him her phone.

"Ibuki-san said she has already finished talking with Ryuen. Four-thirty, meeting on the second floor of the Special Building."

"The second floor, I understand."

Hashiba rubbed his eyes, which were a bit tired from focusing on the problems. He remembered that there were many special classrooms on the second floor. If they wanted to go there to film secretly, they would need to get the key to one of the classrooms.

"Are just the two of us going later? Or should we call a few more classmates?" Ichinose Honami asked next.

"Hmm... let's call Kanzaki-kun and Shibata-kun. The other girls don't need to come."

"Okay."

"Actually, maybe Ichinose-san shouldn't go either," Hashiba Hikaru said, somewhat tentatively. "After all, we are baiting Ryuen-kun into hitting someone. We can't predict what he might actually do; it could be dangerous."

"That won't do."

The gentle Ichinose Honami immediately rejected Hashiba Hikaru's suggestion, her expression firm. "Since this matter was planned by me and Hashiba-kun, I must be on-site to confirm the results."

"Even if Ryuen-kun acts recklessly, isn't Ibuki-san there? I believe she can subdue him."

Seeing that Ichinose had no intention of backing down, Hashiba Hikaru could only nod helplessly, hoping that the plan would proceed smoothly.

Before the bell for the end of the school day rang, Hashiba Hikaru found Chie Hoshinomiya during the break, borrowed the key to a science classroom from her, and then informed Ibuki of the specific location.

After confirming the intelligence with her, Hashiba called Kanzaki Ryuji and Shibata Sou over and explained the arrangements for later.

"I understand," Shibata said, looking eager as if he were rubbing his hands together, seemingly excited about executing the plan. "We'll lie in ambush nearby and secretly film the evidence of that guy Ryuen making a move."

"However, I think I understand Hashiba-kun's concerns. After all, Ryuen is a dangerous man. If he really does something too extreme, I will stop him."

Kanzaki Ryuji's demeanor appeared quite confident, prompting Shibata beside him to immediately clap his hands and laugh. "Hashiba-kun and Ichinose-san might not know this, but this guy is actually quite good at fighting, you know."

"Oh?"

Ichinose Honami and Hashiba Hikaru immediately locked their gazes onto Kanzaki. The purple-haired boy faced everyone's attention and simply nodded slightly, indicating that he was truly fine.

"I see. Then Kanzaki-kun will serve as one of our hidden reinforcements."

"Then let's set off. The plan against Ryuen begins now!"

Chapter 25: Cunning Ryuen

After the group from Class B walked out of the classroom, their destination was the address sent by Ibuki, the second-floor hallway of the Special Building.

This was a very secluded area because the Special Building housed many specialized classrooms, and when there were no scheduled lessons, basically no one would come here, making it perfect for hiding.

The group of four arrived earlier than the time Ibuki and Ryuen Kakeru had agreed upon; they needed to scout the area in advance and set up the position for the camera.

The Science Classroom for which Hashiba Hikaru had obtained the key was located on the left side of the hallway near the stairs, and after successfully opening the door, he beckoned everyone to hurry inside.

After trying several times at the doorway, the boy finally chose the angle for the mobile phone recording, then left the door slightly ajar, holding the phone while waiting for the arrival of Ibuki and Ryuen Kakeru.

"They should be here any moment now. The time agreed upon by Ibuki is four-thirty, so we have six minutes left."

Inside the Science Classroom, Ichinose Honami glanced at her phone and announced the time to everyone. Once these words were spoken, the four of them couldn't help but feel a bit nervous; after all, such an event was something they would never have encountered in their previous academic lives.

"Tap, tap, tap."

The sound of footsteps hitting the stairs reached everyone's ears, and immediately after, they saw a slender girl's figure on the screen of Hashiba Hikaru's phone—it was Ibuki Mio from Class C.

Following behind her was a man with a cold, stern expression. His attire was nothing like that of an ordinary student; not only did he have long hair, but he also wore his school uniform wide open in a very casual manner, a look of contempt playing on his lips as if he held no one in his eyes.

"Ryuen Kakeru, this is the place I've chosen for you. Today, we will decide the winner."

Following the plan, Ibuki Mio began to provoke the man opposite her, her tone extremely arrogant: "Don't you want to be the leader of Class C? Beat me today, and you can do it!"

"Heh, although I don't know what you're thinking, since you've put it that way, I'll just take it as the truth."

The man named Ryuen Kakeru slowly rolled up his sleeves, the fierce look on his face growing increasingly intense.

"I've said it before, I don't go easy on women. If you surrender now, I can accept you as my subordinate."

"Keep dreaming. Don't forget that you were my defeated opponent last time!" A mocking expression appeared on Ibuki's delicate face. "You say you don't go easy on women, but it seems like I was the one who went easy on you last time."

"You bastard!"

Flames of anger rapidly rose on Ryuen Kakeru's face. Without the slightest hesitation, he reached out with both hands at high speed, lunging straight at Ibuki.