Sakayanagi Arisu's Second Request

Hashiba Hikaru raised an eyebrow.

"This was given to me by their club president, who said he would definitely work hard this month and hoped we wouldn't give up on them."

Horikita Suzune's expression was indifferent. She had always disliked people who broke their promises and had no sympathy for this club.

"Really? No."

Upon hearing this, Hashiba Hikaru reached out and took the letter of commitment from the other person's hand. However, after reading the contents, the boy's expression immediately became subtle, because this club was quite famous.

"This seems to be Second Year club... How interesting!"

"What's the meaning?"

After noticing the boy's unusual expression, Horikita Suzune immediately asked her question.

"Approve this club's funding application directly; don't make things difficult for them for now."

"Why?"

"I can't explain the specific reasons to you right now. I'll explain them to you in detail later, okay?"

Hashiba Hikaru gently explained to Horikita Suzune that this club was a bit complicated, and it was best not to let them get involved.

"Is that so?"

After understanding the other party's hint, Horikita Suzune didn't foolishly continue to ask questions. She trusted Hashiba Hikaru now, so she immediately suppressed her doubtful expression.

"Now it's my turn, isn't it?"

Kushida Kikyo glanced at the black-haired girl beside her and immediately handed what she was holding to Hashiba Hikaru.

"What's this?"

"This is a joint letter of thanks from five clubs. They expressed that Vice President Hashiba's leadership is very wise and wanted to use this letter to express their respect for your hard work."

"Oh?"

Hashiba Hikaru's voice suddenly rose as he began to scrutinize the letter in his hand, word by word. After reading the last word, the boy immediately clapped his hands and burst into laughter.

"Well done, Kushida. Please tell them I'll keep up the good work."

"Uh-huh."

The girl's delicate face showed an expression of complete control, which only made Horikita Suzune next to her even more confused.

"Then you can go first."

Hashiba Hikaru waved to the two of them, and in a great mood, he decided to reward himself by slacking off for a while.

"Remember to check your messages."

After saying that, Kushida Kikyo turned and went back to her workstation, while Horikita Suzune wore a hesitant expression, wondering why there was a joint thank-you letter from multiple clubs.

"Are you curious, Horikita?"

"Yes."

The black-haired girl readily admitted her inner thoughts. Since the other person was her companion, it shouldn't be a problem to ask them some questions, that's what she thought.

"The reasons for this are complex, and they even share the same background as the problem Horikita just encountered."

"So what?"

"So now is not a good time to explain. I'll talk to you separately when I have time next time."

Hashiba Hikaru explained to her with a smile, "Horikita- san, there's only one thing you need to know: these are the things I've been working on. If you're willing to help me, that would be wonderful."

"Since we're comrades, if you ever encounter any trouble... I'm willing to lend a hand."

Horikita Suzune delivered these words quite fluently, which she considered to be a reflection of her personal growth.

"That sounds great! Let's have coffee together next time."

"Um."

After the black-haired girl left, Hashiba Hikaru's relaxed expression vanished abruptly. He fiddled with the joint thank-you letter that Kushida Kikyo had just given him, feeling a sense of satisfaction.

This was certainly not a letter of thanks to his clubs, but rather a signal of willingness to submit and take sides. Several of these clubs were led by Second Year students, which meant that his efforts to poach members had been successful.

"Miyabi Nagumo, the time for impeachment should be approaching soon. Let's wait and see."

A cold smile crept across Hashiba Hikaru's lips. He hadn't forgotten how he'd been tricked in the last draw, and the time for revenge wasn't far off.

361

Chapter 361 Sakayanagi Arisu's Second Request.

After the students were paired up, the first-grade students began preparing for the Final Exam. Now that the attack directions for the four classes have been determined, everything is geared towards victory.

Creating exam papers is not something that can be done overnight. Almost every class, led by its key members, began collecting questions from various sources. To ensure the smooth completion of the exam papers, those who were assigned tasks had to work together and pool their wisdom and efforts.

On the other hand, apart from those who made the exam papers, the rest of the students need to study hard, since there is less than a month left until the Final Exam, and then it will be winter break. They must make the most of their time.

In the classroom of Class A of the First Year, Ichinose Honami took the lead in establishing the "Final Exam Paper Production Committee." She will lead the core members of the class to produce the exam papers. After several rounds of meetings and discussions, everyone decided on the graded division of difficult questions.

A total of eight exam papers need to be made, with fifty questions for each subject, for a total of four hundred questions. There are two hundred questions of beginner difficulty, one hundred and twenty questions of intermediate difficulty, and eighty questions of the most difficult difficulty.

This is considered a reasonable difficulty curve, because this is the school's question-setting model. To ensure that the questions are difficult enough and will not be returned for revision due to exceeding the scope, everyone discussed for a long time before adopting this approach.

The pink-haired girl had been searching for all sorts of questions online and in the Library. As the top scorer in the entrance exam, Ichinose Honami had a pretty good grasp of the questions, which is why Hashiba Hikaru entrusted her with the task of leading the project.

"Ichinose, what do you think of this topic?"

Ando Sayo stared at a math problem she had just collected; it would probably take her five minutes to solve.

Let me see.

The pink-haired girl approached with a smile, and after confirming the question the other had chosen, she immediately agreed and was accepted as a member of the question bank.

This production process is everyone's main goal at this stage. In addition to studying hard, students sometimes send the questions they have collected privately to the class group chat so that the members of the Exam Paper Production Committee can consider whether they can be used.

After a busy period, Shibata Sou stretched and put the thick stack of Japanese language materials on his desk under his wrists, letting out a long sigh of relief.

"I'm so tired. I wonder what that guy Hashiba does in the Student Council?"

"Classmate Hashiba must have a lot going on in the Student Council, after all, she's the Vice President."

"Yes, Classmate Hashiba must be under even more pressure than us."

Hearing everyone discussing their boyfriends, Ichinose Honami didn't interrupt, but instead continued to carefully review the questions she had collected.

She didn't have time to date Hashiba Hikaru during this period, but the girl wasn't worried that he would slack off, since the boy's seriousness was evident to everyone in the class.

Ichinose Honami's only worry is that he's working too hard. He could relax a bit, since so many people are willing to share the burden with Hashiba Hikaru.

--

"General."

The silver-haired girl's calm voice rang out in the familiar Club Room. Hashiba Hikaru glanced at the current chess game and sighed softly.

"I lost."

"Thank you for your concession."

Sakayanagi Arisu smiled slightly. This was the third game of the day, and a familiar result appeared once again. She won the game with a 2-1 Lead.

"Classmate Sakayanagi must have been practicing secretly. I'm constantly improving too, so why can't I consistently secure victories?"

Hashiba Hikaru stroked his chin. Although he could sometimes beat his opponents, he always felt that luck played a big part, rather than true intellectual superiority.

"I feel like I'm improving as I play Go with Classmate Hashiba every day."

The girl's beautiful eyes sparkled with a clear, bright light, a feeling of contentment, because she knew she could see him every day.

"Alright, then let me clean up the chessboard."

As the loser of the day, Hashiba Hikaru took the initiative to clean up the game. He lowered his head and arranged the exquisitely crafted chess pieces, his emotions calm.

But just then, the silver-haired girl opposite them suddenly brought up a new topic.

"Classmate Hashiba, I've thought of a second thing now."

"Oh? What is it?"

After obtaining the votes of support from this representative of Class B, Hashiba Hikaru promised to do three things for her. The first thing was to play a game of Go with her every day, but the other party never brought up the other two things.

The fact that it was only revealed now naturally piqued the boy's curiosity.

"This is equally simple, even easier than playing chess."

Sakayanagi Arisu took a sip of the coffee that Kamuro Masumi had prepared behind her, a barely perceptible smile playing on her lips.

"Then please stop keeping Classmate Sakayanagi in suspense and just tell me."

Hashiba Hikaru's urging tone was obvious.

"The second thing is to eat one meal with me every day until the Final Exam."

"?"

Upon hearing the other party's request, the boy's expectant expression froze on the spot. He first repeated the other party's meaning in his mind, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't understand it.

"Does Classmate Sakayanagi mean... you want to have dinner with me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

After composing her initial surprise, Hashiba Hikaru asked a question in return.

"I can't tell you the specific reason right now, but having dinner with Classmate Hashiba shouldn't be too difficult, right? Is there some reason why Classmate Hashiba can't agree?"

Sakayanagi Arisu put down her coffee, her small face showing a determined expression.

"It's not that I'm in a difficult position, it's just that it feels a bit sudden."

Hashiba Hikaru stroked her chin. The second semester was almost over, and the power struggle within the class was now crystal clear. As a key figure in Class A of the First Year, if she ate with Sakayanagi Arisu, the leader of the largest faction in Class B of the First Year, every day, strange rumors might spread.

"Or... does Classmate Hashiba think that doing this would affect your relationship with Ichinose?"

Sakayanagi Arisu had once sent Kamuro Masumi to follow the boy, and knew that he was not a devoted person. That's why she asked him this question on purpose.

"Of course not. Classmate Sakayanagi and I are business partners. As long as I explain the reason, Honami won't think too much about it."

Hashiba Hikaru smiled slightly, revealing a confident attitude.

"What are you still hesitating about Classmate Hashiba? By the way, if we're going to have dinner together, I'd like to take turns paying."

Sakayanagi Arisu continued her advance, her tone resolute.

"Uh, can't we each pay our own?"

Hashiba Hikaru wiped non-existent sweat from her forehead.

"This is just a small wish of mine, can you grant it, Classmate Hashiba?"

"..."

"Let's split the bill, I promise to eat with Classmate Sakayanagi every day until the Final Exam. If I can do that, then I'll consider it as having accomplished the second thing, right?"

Hashiba Hikaru didn't intend to continue disliking haggling; he preferred to keep all risks within his acceptable range.

"Well then, that's a shame."

Slightly regretful, Sakayanagi Arisu nodded slightly, agreeing with Hashiba Hikaru's idea.

She had her reasons for making this request today, but the girl wouldn't reveal them herself, wanting the other person to guess the answer—that would be the most interesting development.

"Shall we begin today?"

Hashiba Hikaru frowned slightly. "If we're only eating one meal a day, we can choose any of the three—breakfast, lunch, or dinner—right?"

"Yes, since you're the Vice President of the Student Council Classmate Hashiba, you must have a lot to deal with every day. I can accommodate your rest time."

"That's so embarrassing."

"It's alright. After all, it's Classmate Hashiba who's indulging my whims, so of course I need to express my opinion first."

The silver-haired girl looked at Kamuro Masumi standing behind her and instructed, "Masumi, please make a reservation for dinner for Classmate Hashiba tonight. I'd like to eat paella."

"OK."

Like the other party's assistant, Kamuro Masumi obediently took out her phone to reserve a location.

"Didn't you say it was according to my schedule? I don't recall saying I was free tonight, did I?"