A gentle smile appeared on Ichinose Honami's pretty face. She had gone to a lot of trouble to meet Ibuki Mio that day.
At first, Ibuki hadn't trusted Ichinose at all. She hadn't even intended to be civil with her. But the pink-haired girl refused to give up. Drawing on her experience as a class leader, she worked to build a rapport with Ibuki. She also kept emphasizing that she had something very important to tell her. In the end, she managed to move Ibuki Mio and earn a chance to talk with her.
"The plan is for Ibuki to call Ryuen out, then deliberately provoke him into attacking her. We'll film him using violence from nearby."
Ichinose Honami explained slowly, "Once we have the video, we'll submit it to the Student Council for review. Ryuen will definitely be suspended."
"Will that really restrict him? It's not like you're getting him expelled."
Ibuki didn't understand. This was nothing more than a stopgap measure; it wouldn't truly hurt Ryuen.
"Of course it's not that simple." Hashiba Hikaru joined the conversation. "The reason we want Ryuen suspended is that there's something important we need to work with your Class C on. But after learning about what he's done, we came up with this plan."
"If Ryuen isn't suspended, we can't trust someone like him, so naturally we won't be able to move our plan forward."
"Work together on what?"
After hearing Hashiba Hikaru's explanation, Ibuki Mio seemed interested. A thoughtful glimmer flashed in her eyes.
"That's for later. Once Ryuen's suspended, Ichinose and I will go to Class C in person. You'll find out then." Hashiba Hikaru didn't explain directly, instead changing the subject. "I can promise you, Ibuki, this won't put your class at a disadvantage."
"...Hmph. Who knows what you're scheming."
Ibuki Mio didn't comment on Hashiba Hikaru's assurance. But she really didn't want Ryuen to become the class leader, so she looked at Ichinose and asked, "All I have to do is lure him out?"
"That's right. Although you could beat Ryuen, we don't want to film the two of you fighting each other. We want Ryuen to be the one bullying you." Ichinose added, "You only need to dodge his attacks."
"I understand."
Ibuki Mio nodded thoughtfully. She was quite athletic, so dodging shouldn't be a problem.
"Then it's settled. Have you decided on the exact time?"
"Um..." Ichinose tilted her head toward the boy. "What do you think, Hashiba?"
"The sooner, the better."
Hashiba Hikaru glanced at the time in the café. It was about to close.
"I think we can carry out the plan tomorrow. We shouldn't give Ryuen any time to react. Can you do that, Ibuki?"
"No problem. I can challenge him and say I don't accept him as our class leader."
"Good. Let's exchange contact information, Ibuki. Tomorrow, keep an eye on what's happening in your class. As soon as you spot the right opportunity, you can talk to him." Hashiba Hikaru fixed his gaze on Ibuki's face and spoke earnestly.
Any plan depended on choosing the right moment. If they waited too long, some unforeseen problem might arise.
"Got it."
After Ichinose Honami, Hashiba Hikaru, and Ibuki Mio exchanged contact information, the three left the café and went their separate ways.
Basking in the moonlight, the pink-haired girl looked a little troubled. Hashiba Hikaru knew what was on her mind, so he asked quietly, "Is it because I asked you to lie for me just now, Ichinose?"
"Yes..." Ichinose's voice sounded muffled, as if something was bothering her. "I know Hashiba was trying to make Ibuki trust us, but I still don't think it was right."
"Don't overthink it. Try looking at it another way, Ichinose. We're doing this to reduce the amount of violence. If we restrict Ryuen's actions, the students in Class C won't suffer any more harm."
Hashiba Hikaru's tone was gentle as he tried to keep Ichinose from worrying too much. "If you really feel bad about it, we can apologize to Ibuki together once the plan is complete."
"We can explain everything then, right?"
After listening to his repeated explanations, Ichinose Honami fell silent for a long while. Then she suddenly looked up into Hashiba Hikaru's dark eyes and asked softly, "Hashiba, will you lie to me someday, too?"
"..."
Chapter 24: Crossed Feelings
After finishing his planning meeting with Ibuki, Hashiba Hikaru returned to his dorm. Sitting at his desk, he couldn't help recalling what had just happened.
Ichinose Honami had stared intently at the boy with her clear blue eyes and asked whether he would lie to her. Though Hashiba Hikaru had been caught off guard by the sudden question, he quickly gave her an answer.
"Of course not. Ichinose and I will always be close allies. I'd never lie to you."
"But even when you lie, Hashiba, you don't let a single crack show."
"You're overthinking it, Ichinose. I'm only doing this for the sake of the class competition."
"But I suddenly have a feeling that if you really did lie to me someday..." Ichinose Honami looked at the boy pretending to be at ease, her tone strangely uncertain. "I wouldn't be able to tell."
"..."
"That's just your imagination. I wouldn't lie if it weren't for Class B. You can think of it as a tactic."
"All right, I'll walk you back to your dorm. Don't think about it too much."
"Okay."
The girl nodded, but her expression still seemed a little off. Hashiba Hikaru didn't try to explain further. Instead, he urged her along and walked her to the elevator.
"Something feels off. Did I say something wrong?"
Hashiba Hikaru thought back over what he had done that day. For some reason, he couldn't figure out what had prompted Ichinose's reaction. He remembered that the risk warning for the Ichinose Honami Stock had indeed mentioned that lying to her would lower its price.
"But I haven't lied to her. That much is beyond doubt."
The boy opened the system's Stock Interface. The Ichinose Honami Stock was still priced at 120, which meant that today's incident hadn't affected Ichinose's opinion of Hashiba.
Besides, if Ichinose Honami really were the kind of person who never wanted to lie, she wouldn't have covered for him earlier. When it came to class competition, the girl wasn't someone who stuck rigidly to her principles.
"Could it be... that she was testing my attitude?"
He couldn't help thinking of the notification that had appeared when the stock price increased: [Ichinose Honami was deeply moved by your plan to earn twenty million points, and new feelings for you arose in her heart.]
Ever since the system appeared, Hashiba Hikaru had always been clear about his own priorities. Everything he did now was to ensure that he could graduate from this school successfully.
Of course, the boy didn't dislike Ichinose. She was gorgeous and had an incredible figure. She was gentle and always thought wholeheartedly of others. If he could date her, he'd probably wake up smiling.
But Hashiba Hikaru had too much to do right now. He not only had to think about how to help Class B rise through the ranks, but also train his body, discover more stocks, and use the system's power to transform himself. That was the only way to make the most of this second life.
When the system had first appeared, he had planned to cash out as soon as a stock price rose, then wait for it to fall so he could avoid a battlefield of romantic rivals.
After using the Stock Analyzer, the boy understood very clearly that if he really wanted a stock's price to fall, he would have to do something that hurt the person in question.
At this school, where the classes weren't reshuffled, Hashiba Hikaru would certainly spend a long time with Ichinose Honami. If, over the course of that time, their feelings grew into something more than friendship, would he really be able to deliberately upset her just to make her stock price fall?
The answer was no.
Hashiba Hikaru's attitude toward his own feelings was clear: if he liked someone, he liked them; if he didn't, he didn't. If he really fell for Ichinose Honami someday, he would never hurt her. That was a man's bottom line.
But then again, it was too early to think about all that. For now, the boy had to focus on the class competition and earning more system funds. He couldn't afford to make room for romance.
"Let's take things one step at a time. For now, being friends is good enough."
Hashiba Hikaru summed up his review of the day, then shook his head and cast aside his distracting thoughts. He continued thinking about the class competition plans ahead, since those were what he should really be worrying about.
Early the next morning, after finishing his now-daily morning workout, Hashiba Hikaru took his breakfast and entered the Class B classroom. His classmates greeted him warmly as usual.
"Good morning, Hashiba!"
"Morning, Hashiba."
"Morning, everyone."
After taking his seat, Hashiba Hikaru saw that Ichinose Honami had already arrived. The girl was bent over her notebook, writing something down.
"Morning, Ichinose." Hashiba Hikaru decided to greet her first.
"Good morning, Hashiba."
The pink-haired girl wore her usual bright smile. After greeting Hashiba, she immediately said, "I'm writing down some of the information everyone's gathered about Classes C and D over the past two days. You'll be able to use it directly on Friday."
"Thanks for all your effort, Ichinose. I could have done this myself."
"It's no trouble, Hashiba. You've been coming up with plans for the class these past two days, so you must be even more tired than I am." A look of concern appeared on Ichinose Honami's face as she spoke softly. "I'm the class leader of Class B, but I keep relying on you."
"All right, then. Since you're so eager to help, I'll shamelessly take the chance to slack off a little."
Neither of them mentioned their conversation from the previous night. It was as if it had never happened. That day, Hashiba Hikaru and Ichinose Honami were still working hard as leaders of Class B.
As for what that conversation had changed, perhaps only the two of them knew deep down.
Around two in the afternoon, Hashiba Hikaru was working hard on a problem when Ichinose suddenly tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to see her holding out her phone.
"Ibuki says she's arranged to meet Ryuen. Four thirty, on the second floor of the Special Building."
"The second floor? Got it."
Hashiba rubbed his eyes, tired from concentrating on his work. He remembered that there were many specialized classrooms on the second floor. If they were going to film from there, they'd need to get a key to one of the rooms.
"Are just the two of us going later, or should we bring a few more classmates?" Ichinose Honami asked.
"Hmm... Let's ask Kanzaki and Shibata. The other girls don't need to come."
"All right."
"Actually, maybe you shouldn't come either, Ichinose," Hashiba Hikaru said tentatively. "We're trying to provoke Ryuen into hitting someone. We can't predict what he might actually do, so it could be dangerous."
"That won't do."
Gentle Ichinose Honami immediately rejected Hashiba Hikaru's suggestion. Her expression was resolute. "Since Hashiba and I planned this together, I have to be there to see how it turns out."
"Even if Ryuen really loses control, Ibuki will be there, won't she? I believe she can restrain him."
Seeing that Ichinose wouldn't budge, Hashiba Hikaru could only nod helplessly and hope the plan went smoothly later.
Before the dismissal bell rang, Hashiba Hikaru went to see Chie Hoshinomiya during break. He borrowed the key to a Science Classroom and then told Ibuki where it was.
After confirming the details with her, Hashiba called Kanzaki Ryuji and Shibata Sou over and explained the arrangements.
"Got it." Shibata looked as if he were eager for a fight, apparently excited about carrying out the plan. "We'll hide nearby and secretly film Ryuen in the act."
"But I can see why Hashiba is concerned. Ryuen is a dangerous man. If he really does anything too extreme, I'll stop him."
Kanzaki Ryuji seemed quite confident. Shibata immediately clapped his hands and laughed. "Hashiba and Ichinose don't know this yet, do you? This guy's actually pretty good at fighting."
"Hm?"
Ichinose Honami and Hashiba Hikaru immediately turned their attention to Kanzaki. Faced with everyone's gaze, the purple-haired boy simply nodded, indicating that he really would be fine.
"I see. So Kanzaki will be one of our hidden aces."
"Then let's go. The plan to deal with Ryuen starts now!"
Chapter 25: Cunning Ryuen
After the Class B group left the classroom, they headed for the location Ibuki had sent them: the second-floor hallway of the Special Building.
It was a very quiet place. The Special Building had many specialized classrooms, and when none of them were scheduled for lessons, hardly anyone came by. It was perfect for staying out of sight.
The four of them arrived a little earlier than Ibuki and Ryuen's appointed time. They needed to check the area and find a place to hide the camera.
The Science Classroom Hashiba Hikaru had borrowed was on the left side of the hallway, near the stairs. Once he managed to unlock the door, he ushered everyone inside.
After trying several positions at the doorway, the boy finally found a good angle for filming with his phone. He left the door slightly ajar and waited, phone in hand, for Ibuki and Ryuen to arrive.
"They should be here soon. Ibuki arranged to meet him at four thirty, so six minutes from now." Ichinose Honami checked her phone and announced the time to everyone in the Science Classroom. Her words made all four of them nervous. They had never encountered anything like this in their school lives before.
"Tap, tap, tap."
The sound of footsteps climbing the stairs reached their ears. Then, on Hashiba Hikaru's phone screen, they saw the slender figure of a girl. It was none other than Class C's Ibuki Mio.
A cold-faced man followed behind her. He looked nothing like an ordinary student. His hair was long, his uniform hung open carelessly, and a contemptuous smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, as if he looked down on everyone.
"Ryuen, this is the place I picked for you. Today, we're settling this."
Ibuki Mio began provoking the man as planned, her tone extremely cocky. "Don't you want to be Class C's leader? Beat me today, and you can have the job!"
"Heh. I don't know what you're thinking, but since you've made such a bold claim, I'll take you at your word."
The man named Ryuen Kakeru leisurely rolled up his sleeves, his expression growing more menacing by the moment.
"I told you before, I don't go easy on women. If you surrender now, I'll let you become one of my subordinates."
"In your dreams. Don't forget, you were the one who lost to me last time!" A mocking smile appeared on Ibuki's delicate face. "You say you don't go easy on women, but wasn't I the one who went easy on you last time?"
"Damn you!"
Anger flared across Ryuen's face. Without hesitation, he shot both hands forward and lunged straight at Ibuki.
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