Sakayanagi Arisu Changes Her Perfume. / Analyzing the Information and the Difficulty of Finalizing the List.

After thinking about it, Amasawa Ichika realized that she had developed a strong interest in Hashiba Hikaru. If she could spend more time with her, it would definitely be more fun than being a messenger in Tsukishiro.

This was the first lesson she learned from the [White Room]: if mutual exploitation could be a shortcut to success, why couldn't she exploit Tsukishiro in return?

She wasn't worried about what Tsukishiro would do to her, because the person who issued this mission was that Professor Ayanokoji.

Regardless of whether the final outcome is success or failure, Tsukishiro will not stay at the school, after all, that man did not come here for the purpose of educating and nurturing talents.

"Follow my instructions?"

Hashiba Hikaru frowned slightly, but after a while, he seemed to have thought of something and suddenly became interested again.

"You mean, I can pair you up with whoever I want?"

"If it's what Senior Hashiba wants, I'll agree."

Amasawa Ichika still had a smile on her face. Seeing that the boy was interested, she knew that her plan had succeeded.

"If that's the case, what do you intend to get from me?"

Hashiba Hikaru gazed at her pretty face and asked solemnly, "If we want to cooperate, naturally both sides should benefit."

"My thinking is simple: there are so many people in this school, I want to find someone to rely on."

Amasawa Ichika's eyes crinkled into crescents, as if her thoughts were truly that naive.

"Backing?"

Upon hearing this, Hashiba Hikaru immediately realized that she was lying and that it was just an excuse.

But then he thought, if the other party is operating right under his nose, he doesn't need to worry about them causing any trouble. In fact, he can have an extra little inside man in the first year. It's a win-win situation.

"Yes, after all, she's just an ordinary young girl. If she were to encounter someone like Senior Hashiba, wouldn't she be at his mercy again?"

Amasawa Ichika suddenly took a step forward, her pretty face very close to Hashiba Hikaru's chest.

"With a big shot like Senior Hashiba as my backer, no one else will dare to bully me."

"Hehe."

Looking at Amasawa Ichika's bright expression, Hashiba Hikaru suddenly understood the deeper considerations behind the other party's proposal of this cooperation plan.

If she intends to lie to Tsukishiro, she can use the pretext of "finding a backer" to show that she has already reached a cooperation agreement with him.

This way of speaking makes the lie more convincing, not only increasing its credibility but also giving you the upper hand.

"I think your suggestion is good, Amasawa, junior."

Hashiba Hikaru extended her right hand. "Then it's settled. Let's help each other and enjoy school life together."

"Certainly!"

The junior with pigtails gripped Hashiba Hikaru's large hand tightly, a more captivating smile spreading across her face.

"Looking forward to working with you from now on, Senior Hashiba ~"

"Good."

Chapter 723 Sakayanagi Arisu Changes Perfume

After Amasawa Ichika skipped and hopped away from the alley, Kushida Kikyo slowly approached.

"Hikaru-kun, has the matter been resolved?"

"Of course, although there were some minor setbacks, I have achieved all the goals I wanted to achieve."

Hashiba Hikaru glanced at the short-haired girl's face, which was filled with curiosity that she couldn't hide.

"That really gave me a fright! Hikaru-kun actually grabbed her by the neck, how scary!"

Kushida Kikyo nestled into his arms and asked with a smile, "What are you interrogating me about?"

"These things are actually quite complicated, and involve many people."

Hashiba Hikaru didn't want to drag Kushida Kikyo into the countermeasures against the [White Room]. Although she knew many people in her first year, that wasn't the key to success.

Why can't you tell me?

Kushida Kikyo was genuinely curious. Just moments ago Hashiba Hikaru had been all menacing, yet that junior was smiling as she left. That was just too strange.

"Yes, but I can tell you something right now. Do you want to hear it?"

Hashiba Hikaru smiled gently.

"I want to hear it!"

"Has Airi never registered a partner?"

The boy suddenly mentioned Sakura Airi's name. He had immediately thought of her after Amasawa Ichika made his demands, since her current personal rating was quite low, making it difficult to form a suitable team.

"Sakura?"

As the most popular girl in Class D, Kushida Kikyo knows everything about the class.

In addition, she had previously experienced several Three-Person Walk with Sakura Airi and Hashiba Hikaru, which made the short-haired girl quite interested in that beautiful [Blog Idol].

"She doesn't seem to have taken any action in this regard; she's been studying with Hasebe these past few days."

If we're talking about the only person Sakura Airi can actually talk to in Class D right now, it's Hasebe Haruka.

"Is that so?"

Hashiba Hikaru hasn't been able to find time to spend with Sakura Airi lately. Since the start of the Second Year high school, he's been so busy that he hasn't had any free time at all.

"Is this what Hikaru-kun was planning to tell me?"

Kushida Kikyo frowned slightly, somewhat displeased, "You were holding me, but suddenly you asked about Sakura?"

"Hehe, what I really wanted to say is that I just reached a cooperation agreement with that junior student Amasawa."

Hashiba Hikaru patted her back reassuringly. "I can assign her to a Second Year student as her partner."

"Um?"

Kushida Kikyo immediately understood what he meant and quickly asked, "Is Hikaru-kun planning to team up that junior with Sakura?"

"Yes, Amasawa's academic ability is A. If she teams up with Airi, she'll definitely be able to pass smoothly."

"... snort!"

After hearing Hashiba Hikaru's plans, Kushida Kikyo inevitably felt a pang of jealousy. Although the girl wasn't worried about her team composition, she was still a little annoyed that the boy was so considerate of Sakura Airi.

"How can you be jealous of this?"

Hashiba Hikaru smiled and hugged her waist tightly, saying softly, "After all, failing means expulsion, and of course I don't want Airi that kind of pressure. Kikyo's grades are so good, do I really need to worry about her?"

"You're being biased!"

Kushida Kikyo grabbed the boy's waist, angrily snapping, "I'm not in the mood today! I don't want to do it with you later! Go find Sakura!"

"Real?"

Hashiba Hikaru immediately showed an eager look, which instantly made Kushida Kikyo even more annoyed.

"You dare!"

"Haha, I was just kidding. Let's have dinner together tonight."

"Snort!"

Kushida Kikyo actually calms down quickly; this is a common tactic girls use—to get over Hashiba Hikaru's temper by throwing a tantrum. Among these girls, she's the best at this.

"You're going to feed me later!"

"Okay, okay."

Three days after the announcement of the Special Exam, Hashiba Hikaru took the initiative to meet with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Sakayanagi Arisu one afternoon. After gathering information over the past few days, the trio wanted to review and discuss the results.

To maintain secrecy, the meeting took place in a private room at a restaurant. The boy, holding a printed document, pushed open the door and found that only Sakayanagi Arisu inside.

Where is Ayanokoji?

"He hasn't arrived yet, good afternoon Classmate Hashiba."

A gentle smile graced Sakayanagi Arisu's delicate face; seeing her lover made her very happy.

"He shouldn't be late; we're probably just too early."

Hashiba Hikaru was about to sit down, she noticed that Sakayanagi Arisu, making it clear that the boy had to sit next to her.

"... Thank you Classmate Sakayanagi."

After sitting down, the delicate fragrance Sakayanagi Arisu wafted over. Although she was naturally beautiful, wearing perfume was a good social etiquette that would make the young man like being with her more.

"Has Classmate Sakayanagi changed her perfume?"

Taking a gentle sniff, Hashiba Hikaru could tell that Sakayanagi Arisu had changed her scent today. Previously, she always had a faint citrus fragrance, but today it was a rich fruity and floral scent.

"Classmate Hashiba is really perceptive; she reacts very quickly."

Sakayanagi Arisu nodded with great satisfaction, then offered her small hand to him. "You can smell it carefully; I've been quite fond of this one lately."

"Yeah?"

Hashiba Hikaru naturally held the girl's soft little hand, lowered her head to smell the fragrance on Sakayanagi Arisu's wrist; the scent was rich and refreshing.

Squeak--ya.

Just then, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka suddenly pushed open the door and walked in.

When he saw the situation inside the private room, his expression didn't change much; instead, he calmly greeted them.

"Good afternoon, Classmate Hashiba and Sakayanagi Arisu."

"Uh... Good afternoon, Ayanokoji."

Hashiba Hikaru paused for a moment, because Ayanokoji Kiyotaka wasn't a gossip-loving person, so it wouldn't be a problem for him to see this.

However, Sakayanagi Arisu was, after all, a girl, and a faint blush appeared on her delicate face, but she still did not pull her hand back.

Once Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was seated, Hashiba Hikaru released Sakayanagi Arisu's hand and handed her the menu.

"Let's order first, then we can talk business."

"Can."

After the waiter left with the menu and closed the door, Hashiba Hikaru spread out the stack of documents on the table and announced the official start of the meeting.

"Let's begin. First, let's talk about what we've learned these past few days."

"Have you made any discoveries or set any goals?"

Chapter 724 Intelligence Analysis: The Difficulty of Determining the List.

"Well then... let's start with Ayanokoji."

Hashiba Hikaru poured herself a glass of water and gave the opportunity to speak first to this "native" who had left the [White Room].

"OK."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka nodded, cleared his throat, and began to recount the intelligence he had gathered over the past two days.

"First, let's look at the current partnership situation. Since the OAA System officially launched, a total of 62 partnerships have been formed. According to the rules of this Special Exam, the maximum number of partnerships that can be formed is 157, and we're already close to halfway through."

"It seems everyone is quite efficient."

Hashiba Hikaru already knew this information. After all, the first and second-year students took this exam very seriously, and from the first day, many people had been sending out various team invitations.

"Classmate Hashiba, the exchange organized by your Class A has had a significant impact. Judging from the current results, many people have formed teams through the exchange. Because it was their first meeting, some people probably only had ideas in mind but didn't act on them directly."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't bring any notebooks or anything like that; he memorized everything.

"Besides that, I've memorized the entire list of first-year students. There are still some freshmen with an A grade who haven't formed teams yet; I guess they're hesitating."

"Hehe, Ayanokoji is really amazing, you actually memorized all of it?"

Hashiba Hikaru smiled and offered a compliment.

What about Class D of the First Year?