Ibuki Mio: What Exactly Are You Trying to Do? / Ibuki Mio: Is This About Shiina?
"Good morning Classmate Hashiba."
Shiina Hiyori gazed at the boy who often appeared in her dreams, and her mood improved considerably. Since the start of the Third Semester, she hadn't been able to find a suitable opportunity to meet him privately. Hashiba Hikaru was busy with Student Council matters at the time, a fact the girl knew.
"Ibuki".
"What's wrong?"
Looking at Ibuki Mio's raised eyebrows, Hashiba Hikaru chuckled inwardly. Although the other girl had clearly stated that she didn't like him, he had asked her to meet today to talk about the additional Additional Exam. The short-haired girl, who cared a lot about the Special Exam, couldn't possibly be indifferent.
"Classmate Hashiba, just tell me what's on your mind."
Looking at the boy's face, Ibuki Mio, though still wary of Hashiba Hikaru, recognized his outstanding abilities long ago, as did the short-haired girl.
"Alright then, I was planning to exchange pleasantries, since we haven't met privately in a long time."
Hashiba Hikaru smiled slightly, not caring at all about Ibuki Mio's somewhat impulsive tone. She was a very suitable female companion and Shiina Hiyori's best friend.
"No need for pleasantries, just get straight to the point."
Ibuki Mio had always been against Shiina Hiyori Hashiba Hikaru. After all, he already had a girlfriend, yet he still had ambiguous relationships with several other girls. In her opinion, he was definitely not a suitable partner.
"Okay, okay."
Hashiba Hikaru glanced at Shiina Hiyori, whose gentle face always wore a smile. Knowing that the issue to be discussed today was important, she wouldn't show her personal feelings at this time.
"I've come to see you today, naturally, about this Additional Exam. After the rules were announced yesterday, has your class come up with a plan?"
Hashiba Hikaru proceeded cautiously, starting with the most basic questions.
"What are we going to do? We're not like your Class A; we simply can't scrape together 20 million Private Points. We'll have to expel one student."
When Ibuki Mio brought this up, she clicked her tongue. She had been the class representative for a few months and didn't want anyone in her class to drop out.
"Is this the plan approved by Ryuen?"
Hashiba Hikaru stared into her eyes, her tone slightly somber.
"That guy doesn't care about any of that. He plans to just pick one person and then have everyone cast all their Criticism Vote votes at him."
Ibuki Mio remembered Ryuen Kakeru's plan and looked somewhat displeased.
"It's that simple?"
Hashiba Hikaru thought of the long-haired man who had suffered several defeats at her hands. Given his shrewdness, it was impossible that he hadn't realized the opportunity that this exam presented.
"Otherwise what?"
Ibuki Mio rolled her eyes. "Ryuen Kakeru is the class representative, and his plan is to decide who drops out by drawing lots. That's very fair."
"Draw lots?"
Hashiba Hikaru was slightly taken aback, then immediately pressed for an answer.
Who was the winner of the lottery?
"It's Yamada -kun."
Chapter 587 Ibuki Mio: What exactly do you want to do?
"It's Yamada -kun."
Upon hearing Ibuki Mio's answer, Hashiba Hikaru burst out laughing.
Yamada -kun is Yamada Albert, that tall and strong mixed-race boy who decided to side with Ibuki's faction a long time ago. He is also one of the people that Ryuen fears the most. If he were to drop out of school, Ryuen Kakeru would be able to control the class even more recklessly.
If Ibuki Mio's statement was not a lie, then Ryuen Kakeru definitely rigged the lottery for everyone; that's the boy's intuition.
"Why are you laughing?"
When Ibuki Mio saw Hashiba Hikaru smile, her expression immediately turned ugly.
"Don't rush, Ibuki. Have you already accepted this outcome?"
Hashiba Hikaru's smile faded, and her expression became more serious.
"Of course not. Yamada is an outstanding person, and his athletic ability is indispensable to our class."
Ibuki Mio was well aware of this; if Yamada were to be expelled from school like this, Ryuen would only become more arrogant.
"That's right."
Hashiba Hikaru nodded, then continued, "Since you decided who would drop out by drawing lots, who prepared the lot-drawing container?"
"It's Komiya-kun. He's a member of the Handicraft Club Komiya, and he quickly prepared the tools for the lottery."
"Didn't you suspect that the lottery process was rigged?"
"There were doubts, but once the results were drawn, everyone immediately accepted them, and no one raised any objections to Ryuen."
Have you spoken with Ryuen?
"We talked about it, but that guy wasn't going to explain anything. He just said it was the fairest draw and told me to accept the result honestly."
When Ibuki Mio talked about this, she sounded a little impatient. In order to become the class representative, Ryuen Kakeru had recruited many people to join his faction, and he had a lot of supporters.
"I see."
Hashiba Hikaru nodded. Now that he had figured out the ins and outs of the matter, the boy instantly realized that this might be a good opportunity, because Ryuen Kakeru's move might help him complete his plan.
"What exactly is the plan you wanted to discuss with us here?"
Looking at the smile on Hashiba Hikaru's face, Ibuki Mio, "If you have any thoughts, please speak up."
"Um."
After glancing at Shiina Hiyori, who was listening attentively, and smiling at her, Hashiba Hikaru slowly explained her plan.
"My idea is actually very simple. Now that the rules for the Additional Exam have been announced, Ibuki should understand that each class has one Praise Vote of a student from another class, right?"
"Know."
"The final individual score is the number of Praise Vote minus the number of Criticism Vote, which means that the existence of a Praise Vote becomes very valuable."
Hashiba Hikaru looked at Ibuki Mio's face and said seriously, "Does Ibuki understand what I mean?"
"You're not planning to use these extra Praise Vote for some kind of transaction, are you?"
Ibuki Mio wasn't stupid; she immediately understood what the other person was thinking.
"That's one way to put it, but what I'm more concerned about is how many Class C students Ibuki is currently confident in having?"
Upon hearing this question, Ibuki Mio fell silent.
Since Ryuen Kakeru took power, many people have switched sides. The number of people who initially supported her has gradually decreased. If you had to count them, there are probably only twelve or thirteen left.
"Classmate Hashiba, are you planning to buy our class's Praise Vote?"
At this moment, Shiina Hiyori spoke up, staring intently into Hashiba Hikaru's eyes, asking about her deepest suspicions.
"No decision has been made yet. I'm just sharing my thoughts with you for now. The final outcome will depend on the specific implementation of the plan."
Hashiba Hikaru smiled slightly and explained slowly, "Ibuki, do you think the students in your class chose to follow Ryuen because of his abilities or because of his personality?"
"Um?"
This is a crucial issue. When faced with a choice, the students in Class C all wanted to gain more Class Evaluation Points and Private Points because Ryuen Kakeru showed greater value than Ibuki Mio, which naturally led to a bias in the voting.
"Ryuen Kakeru has only shown his abilities. His violent methods and forceful control style will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among everyone, but this dissatisfaction will not disappear; it will continue to accumulate in people's hearts."
"You want me to secretly rally everyone to cast their Criticism Vote against Ryuen Kakeru?"
Upon hearing this, Ibuki Mio had already realized that this Additional Exam, on the surface, was just a simple test. However, compared to the Special Exam that tested physical strength and Intelligence, the mechanism that could determine the fate of others simply by filling in a few names was far more cruel.
"You'll have to handle this yourself, but the way I'm asking you to cooperate is very simple."
Hashiba Hikaru snapped her fingers, her tone confident.
"The more people you can win over, the more worried Ryuen Kakeru will become. He absolutely does not want to drop out of school, and at that time, that Praise Vote from another class will become crucial."
"You're trying to lure him in?"
Ibuki Mio raised her delicate eyebrows, her tone somewhat doubtful, "Aren't there Praise Vote for three classes? How can you guarantee he'll definitely approach you?"
"Because I plan to eliminate the other two options beforehand, leaving him with no choice but to choose me!"
A cold smile curled at the corner of Hashiba Hikaru's lips.
"What will I get in return?"
After hearing Hashiba Hikaru's plan, Ibuki Mio immediately asked for the key reason. Since it was a win-win cooperation, she naturally wanted to know her own benefits.
If this plan continues to move forward, the short-haired girl wants to increase her say, since Ibuki has witnessed firsthand how Hashiba Hikaru can lie without batting an eye.
"If you can recruit more people, I'm willing to share half of the Private Points you earn with you."
Hashiba Hikaru smiled slightly, "Because Ryuen Kakeru is the class representative, he should have control over that large sum of points your class earned before, right?"
The "teenager" refers to the VIP Exam on the summer Cruise Ship. Class C's earnings were second only to Class A, earning a total of seven million Private Points. This money was not distributed to each student but was instead deposited directly into the bank.
"Wait a minute, if we calculate it this way, won't the final loss still be our Class C's Private Points?"
Ibuki Mio thought about it and realized that if they followed Hashiba Hikaru's plan, Class C would still be the ones who suffered.
"Yes, but this is a very important opportunity for you to become the class representative again."
Hashiba Hikaru smiled slightly, "Do you really want Ryuen to continue acting recklessly in class? Yamada -kun supports you so much, do you want him to be expelled?"
"..."
"Understood? As long as we can get through this crisis safely, Ibuki will be able to lead the class better after entering the Second Year. Private Points can be earned again, but once a student is expelled, there is no second chance."
Hashiba Hikaru patiently persuaded her, confident that he could obtain a large sum of Private Points from Ryuen Kakeru if Ibuki Mio agreed.
Chapter 588 Ibuki Mio: You did this for Shiina?
In the quiet Library, after Hashiba Hikaru finished explaining her thoughts, she gave Ibuki Mio ample time to think.
He picked up a science magazine and started flipping through it; there was still an hour before lunch.
"Classmate Hashiba, if we agree to cooperate, what are your plans?"
Seeing her friend's pensive expression, Shiina Hiyori decided to ask a question at this moment.
"It's simple. Our class can produce forty Praise Vote. As long as Ryuen isn't stupid, once he realizes he might become the target of Criticism Vote, he will definitely try his best to win Praise Vote from other classes."
Hashiba Hikaru placed the magazine face down on the desk and looked into the girl's eyes as she explained.
"Because I had to negotiate with both Class B and Class D, he had no choice but to select us as his partners."
"Even if we force Ryuen to pay for Praise Vote, someone from our Class C will still have to drop out in the end, right?"
Ibuki Mio figured out the key point: Yamada Albert was a very important asset for Class C, and she couldn't give up on him, otherwise she would be at a disadvantage in the subsequent exams.
"I can't help you with that. My solution is for you to undermine Ryuen's authority and increase your own influence within the class. That way, Ibuki can protect her classmates."
Hashiba Hikaru shrugged, her tone utterly helpless. "It's impossible to avoid expulsion. Our class has prepared 20 million Private Points as a price. Do you think I wouldn't choose any other option if there were?"
"..."
Ibuki Mio was well aware that the situation was irreversible. The school's purpose in designing the Additional Exam was to cause dropouts among the first-year students. Even the boy in front of her couldn't change that and could only obediently pay the huge price of 20 million points.
"I see."
After pondering for a long time, Ibuki Mio seemed to have made up her mind. No matter what, she could not let Yamada drop out of school. This was not only a matter of the class's immediate fighting strength, but also because Yamada was her very loyal subordinate who had protected many people from being bullied by Ryuen.
We must save him!
"I agree to cooperate with you. I will use my personal connections to contact the students in the class."
Ibuki Mio made a decision; she couldn't just watch Ryuen Kakeru complete his plan, otherwise Class C would be completely out of control.
"No problem, let Shiina go with you to handle this. I'm sure she'll be helpful."
Hashiba Hikaru smiled gently, her expression tender as she looked at the gray-haired girl. "Once Ryuen Kakeru compromises, I will transfer half of the Private Points he paid to you."
"I'll help."
Shiina Hiyori nodded, indicating that she would definitely help Ibuki Mio complete this plan. Although the girl was quiet, she was very intelligent and had considerable influence in Class C.
What will the future hold for this class...?