Ichinose Takes the Initiative / Kushida's Past

"He shouldn't have seen the Key Card." Aoyama didn't believe Sanada would let the Key Card leave his side.

Horikita nodded. "Yes, but the trader guaranteed that if it goes wrong, they would be expelled from school. I believe that's true."

"I'll test the waters first, and then we'll talk about it."

The only ones who would want Katsuragi to suffer a crushing defeat are Sakayanagi, Kito Hayato Nishikawa Ryoko, Nishikawa Machida Koji.

While pondering who Sakayanagi Faction make the deal with Horikita, Aoyama leisurely returned to the three members of Kamuro.

The fishing rod that was originally in Kamuro's hands is now in Ichinose's hands.

As soon as he stood behind Ichinose suddenly lifted the fishing rod, and the loose fishing line instantly tightened.

A short while later, Ichinose, whose forehead was covered in Ichinose of sweat, caught a carp the size of a boy's palm.

"More powerful than Kamuro."

Kamuro pouted. "Still better than you."

Just looking at the size of Ichinose's two legs, which are equivalent to hers, the small plastic bucket immediately seemed to be full.

"It was Kamuro taught me how to bait the bait. I just got lucky, Aoyama -kun." With a beaming smile, Ichinose squatted down by the river to wash her hands before standing up. "Have you finished talking with Horikita -kun, Aoyama -kun?"

"Yes, we've finished talking for now."

As expected of Ichinose gave me two eggs.

Aoyama nodded, Ichinose's good fortune.

Looking somewhat apologetically at Kamuro and Yamamura, Ichinose spoke again, "Then please come with me, Aoyama. I have something to ask for advice about regarding Class D, and it might take a while."

"We don't need to go anywhere else, since he's not having lunch with us anyway, so we'll just leave now."

Kamuro rolled his eyes at the bastard who had just been praising Ichinose, then pulled Yamamura along to pack their things and leave.

Chapter 98 Ichinose

"Please sit down, Aoyama -kun."

After saying goodbye to Kamuro and Yamamura, Ichinose sat down at the spot where she had been fishing and gestured for Aoyama to sit down in front of her.

Thinking that it had been a long time since she had spent time alone with Aoyama, she became quite excited.

Having no reason to refuse his lucky charm's invitation, Aoyama sat cross-legged and waited for Ichinose to speak. If he was right, Ichinose was going to talk about the sale of the Class D exam leader's property at Ryuen.

And the result was as he expected.

After hearing Ichinose's words, Aoyama smiled faintly and said, "Bought with two million personal points? Not sold to Class A? Ryuen really knows how to lie."

Selling to Class B A would maximize Ryuen's profits compared to selling to Class A B.

After all, Class C is above Class B, not Class A.

The purpose of approaching Ichinose was probably to set their sights on the untouched class funds of over four million yen belonging to Class B.

"The exam leader for Class C is Yamada Albert, the exam leader for Class A is Sanada Kosei, and the exam leader for Class D is Suzune for now, but I will replace her on the last day."

According to Kushida, Class C should have 280 exam points remaining.

As expected, Sakayanagi will also send someone to Ryuen to sell the fact that Sanada is the leader of the exam.

Even without calculating the Base from capturing strongholds, Class C would still have 330 exam points. After deducting the points for guessing Class D incorrectly and for being guessed correctly by Class D, they would still have 230 points left. Even if Class B guessed correctly, they would still have 180 points.

If Class A is correctly guessed by three classes and also incorrectly guesses Class D, they will lose 200 exam points, leaving them with only 100 points.

Those in Class D who correctly guessed Class A and Class C, plus those who occupied the Base, will ultimately be between 120 and 130.

Ichinose looked puzzled. "What do you mean by 'replace'?"

She was already quite surprised to suddenly learn who the leaders of Class A and Class C were, and her mind was a little slow to process it.

The meaning of "replace" is quite clear: it means changing the person in charge of the examination.

"It means changing the exam leader. I want to involve Class B in my plan, replace Shiranami, and then trick Class C as well."

Sakayanagi's sudden outburst disrupted Aoyama's plans.

Letting Ryuen escape unscathed is not to his liking, so he plans to further cooperate with Class B to achieve his goal of tricking Class C again.

Ichinose was still puzzled. "What method does Aoyama -kun plan to use to change the exam leader? Ordinary methods won't work, will they?"

After understanding that Aoyama planned to trick Class C again, she, like Horikita Suzune, also thought about this issue.

"Don't worry, the method is relatively gentle." Aoyama smiled slightly.

In addition to his Multifunctional Glasses, he also has a special piece of equipment from Professor Agasa.

After working 24 hours straight and becoming exhausted, and then taking a half-shot injection, Horikita Suzune and Shiranami will soon find themselves on a cruise ship after a good night's sleep.

Beside the calm river, through a series of questions and answers, Aoyama and Ichinose quickly finalized their collaboration.

In exchange for the names of the leaders of Class A and Class C in the exam, Class B would risk cooperating with Aoyama's plan and give up a portion of the profits to Class D.

"On the way here, I chatted with Horikita, and she said that Aoyama wouldn't be eating dinner at her place anymore soon."

"Aoyama -kun, are you planning to eat at the cafeteria then?"

How did you two end up talking about this?

Aoyama looked at Ichinose, who had brought up the topic of casual conversation, with some surprise. Then he thought of his contract with Horikita Suzune, which he had indeed completed and even managed to mooch off her a few more meals.

Should he keep finding excuses to extend the contract? Or should he just go to Kushida for a free meal? After all, she'll be his girlfriend in name only.

By the way, how good is Kushida's cooking?

Aoyama stroked his chin. "The cafeteria... I probably don't plan to go."

Having eaten with such attractive young women for so long, he immediately rejected the idea of going back to the past, where he wasn't lonely but rather isolated.

"Would you like to come to my place, Aoyama- kun? I cook for myself every night, so consider it repayment for all the help Aoyama 've given me."

Suppressing her shyness, Ichinose extended an invitation to Aoyama.

She has been receiving care from Aoyama recently, which is undoubtedly a very reasonable reason.

"When my mother wasn't home, I was the one who cooked for my younger sister. I'm very confident in my cooking skills."

"I shouldn't let Aoyama -kun down."

Meeting Aoyama's somewhat surprised gaze, Ichinose spoke again, a little awkwardly.

Although she had been sidelined for half a year due to an accident she'd rather not talk about, she was confident that she could make a dish that would satisfy Aoyama after she picked up her cooking skills again.

Seeing Ichinose's shy yet expectant expression, Aoyama nodded. "Then let me look forward to it, Ichinose."

Between Archangel Ichinose and the false angel Kushida, he made a decision based on his heart.

Afternoon.

After returning to the Wooden Cabin and Aoyama several hours with Karuizawa, Aoyama went to the Class C camp as promised.

After being bombarded with questions by the students who stayed behind in Class C, he finally met his first target, the adorable Shiina.

Compared to yesterday, Shiina, who had rested for another day, looked noticeably better.

He sat upright under the tree roots, completely absorbed in his book, so engrossed that he didn't even notice that he had sat down next to her for quite some time.

When will you find me?

Smiling, he gazed at the delicate profile half-hidden by the silver hair, Aoyama began his pleasant wait.

One minute, three minutes, five minutes.

It wasn't until almost ten minutes later, due to the stiffness in her neck from not moving for so long, that Shiina finally took her attention away from the world in the book and cutely tilted her head to the side.

"Ah!" Shiina's cute little mouth opened slightly.

Aoyama also pretended to be startled, "Ah!"

"You didn't imitate it at all." Shiina pouted. "Why didn't you say a word when you arrived?"

"That's because Shiina is so adorable when she's completely focused; I want to keep watching even after an hour."

"They're just glib and smooth-talking."

Slowly closing the book, Shiina unconsciously wore a faint smile.

A happy expression also appeared in her beautiful purple eyes beneath her silver bangs.

Shiina looked up slightly at the Aoyama, "They probably didn't just come to see me, did they?"

If they were planning to visit him, they wouldn't choose a time close to dinnertime, as Ryuen's personality makes it unlikely they would invite Aoyama to stay for dinner.

The food stored by Class C will only last until the evening of the sixth day.

The exam ended at noon on the seventh day, so we skipped breakfast.

"I'm here to pick up Suzune. She's not staying at Class C's camp anymore starting today. I have another task for her."

"Could it be that, Aoyama, you already know who the exam leaders for Class C are?"

After listening to Aoyama's words, Shiina slowly spoke while keeping a close eye on Aoyama's face, as if trying to catch any changes in his expression.

"I guess it's the lovely Shiina- san."

"Openly and honestly admiring Shiina's cute face," Aoyama replied calmly.

Chapter Ninety-Nine: Kushida's Past

"Unfortunately, I guessed wrong." Shiina smiled faintly, turning her gaze away.

Given that she was frequently at the camp during the check-in period, it was clearly impossible for her to be the leader of the Class C exams.

Setting aside any probing thoughts, she began chatting with Aoyama about her reading experiences, happily sharing her feelings until it started to get dark, at which point she reluctantly said goodbye to Aoyama.

Horikita Suzune frowned slightly. "I've been waiting for you for half an hour."

"I'm testing your patience."

To Horikita, who had just left Class C's camp and was already complaining, Aoyama lied without thinking.

Deciding to leave the conversation until they reached their destination, he quickly led Horikita to the front of the Wooden Cabin.

It's me.

Looking around, and under Horikita's questioning gaze, Aoyama took out his key, unlocked the hanging U-lock, and pushed the door open to enter.

A smiling girl soon appeared before them, but froze upon seeing Horikita.

"I thought you would choose between Kushida and Onodera." After the initial surprise, Horikita quickly understood why Karuizawa was there.

"A change of leadership so soon?"

After receiving a nod of approval from Aoyama, Karuizawa also asked a question.

With two and a half days left before the exam ended, she felt that Horikita had arrived a bit too early.

Aoyama stood outside the door. "I've reached an agreement with Ichinose. Suzune, you'll be coming here every day to check in. Starting tonight, you'll be staying at Class B's camp and checking in three times a day from there."

Ichinose will surely handle the matter of letting Kaneda 'accidentally' confirm that Shiranami is the leader of the exam.

However, for Class D to surpass Class C, it's not enough for Class C to make mistakes; the missing points can only be made up for with Base points.

Now he intends to win decisively, with both Class A and Class C falling to Class D, which he controls.

Karuizawa smiled. "I see."

For a moment, she thought Horikita was going to stay too, and that made her feel bad.

Given Horikita's personality, nothing good is likely to happen after he settles in.

"You should have let me clock in earlier." Horikita walked up to the clock-in machine, took out his Key Card, and claimed the Base.

"My initial plan was only to ensure that Class D didn't come in last place. I was originally going to bring you here the day before the exams ended."

Class D had ten or eight more Class Points, which was nothing to Aoyama.

Horikita still occasionally treats him like one of his own, so he can only helplessly remind him.

Horikita's face stiffened for a moment. "Oh, really?"

"Pack some food from the counter for Class B, and you can have your backpack too."

With its hoarding nature, Aoyama has stockpiled enough food for three people, so giving some to Horikita wouldn't be a problem.