Scheming in the real world? I can also do a little.

Just like in the morning, the afternoon classes were as leisurely as ever. At least, that's how it felt to Hoya Chukai.

He was a university student; although his peak intellectual performance had been during his high school graduation, reviewing high school material was incredibly simple for him, especially given that the high school curriculum in China was significantly more advanced than in other countries.

Therefore, from his perspective, there was nothing difficult about this at all.

However, that only applied to him. To many others, this stuff wasn't quite a "heavenly book" of incomprehensible gibberish, but it was certainly on par with a tightening headband.

In some respects, a tightening headband was more agonizing than a heavenly book. If it's a heavenly book, you just don't understand it, and that's that—you remain blissfully ignorant. But a tightening headband is something you can understand just a little bit, while the rest remains a mystery, which is incomparably frustrating.

Were they suffering? At least in Hoya Chukai's eyes, some of his classmates were indeed in a state of distress.

There was no helping it. After all, this was Class C. While they were better than the slackers in Class D, their grades weren't exactly stellar; they were mostly students hovering right around the passing line.

And so, during the break, the three big shots of Class C huddled together to conspire once more.

"So, I think we absolutely must organize a study session. We need to get them to study hard now, while they haven't joined any clubs yet, to avoid failing the exams later."

As Hoya Chukai said this, he looked toward Shiina Hiyori, and Ryuen Shoko followed his gaze.

"Why are you both looking at me?"

"I think you're the one who can pull this off, Shiina-san."

"Indeed, Hiyori is a very good candidate."

Ryuen Shoko also felt that Shiina Hiyori was a good choice. She was easy to talk to and knowledgeable, so she would surely have a great advantage when it came to tutoring others.

"Eh? Me? But... is that really okay?"

Shiina Hiyori hadn't expected to be entrusted with such a heavy responsibility out of the blue. It was only the second day of school, and she was already being asked to lead a study group?

If this were back in China, they would have just made her the study committee member regardless of her input.

"Shiina-san, let me ask you: you said you don't like conflict, right? Well, tutoring classmates in their studies certainly doesn't count as conflict. In fact, it's not just not a conflict—it's a good thing. A very good thing. It's beneficial for class unity, so I believe you are trustworthy."

Hoya Chukai patted Shiina-san on the shoulder, his eyes filled with trust.

Nonsense, if he didn't trust her, who would he trust? Ryuen Shoko, who had an Intelligence stat of B?

Ryuen Shoko didn't have the sharp intuition of Sakayanagi Arisu; she didn't sense that Hoya Chukai had insulted her internally. She sat with her legs crossed, nodding along: "Indeed, if it's you, I think it's very fitting."

As the big sister of Class C, she knew that students studying was only natural. Not to mention anything else, Sakagami-sensei had already said that if they failed, they would be expelled.

Not only would that student be kicked out, but the entire class would also suffer a penalty of 200 points. That was something she couldn't tolerate.

200 points—out of the 800,000 points the whole class received each month—what a massive amount of wealth to just throw away?

Oh, wait, it was 780,000, since the expelled student wouldn't be counted anymore.

"So, is it settled then?"

"Mm, I approve."

Hoya Chukai and Ryuen Shoko hit it off immediately, and the study session was set in stone.

"Eh? Hey! At least listen to my opinion! You two are making me look like I have no say in this!"

Once the last class of the afternoon ended, Ryuen Shoko naturally announced the study session.

Some in the class might have been unhappy about it, but they didn't dare to speak up.

After all, Ryuen Shoko's attitude toward them was completely different from her attitude toward Hoya Chukai.

In terms of loyalty, Hoya Chukai was the first to take the lead in calling her "boss."

In terms of capability, he was the one who dug up many of the clues and pieces of information that helped everyone overcome their difficulties.

Therefore, everyone understood and accepted why Ryuen Shoko treated him differently than the rest of them.

If nothing else, look: when discussing the student council, all 39 people in the class were present, except for one. Can you guess who was missing?

Of course, it was Hoya Chukai.

So, where did he go? To slack off?

Of course not. He went to gather intelligence.

Although he knew many things in his heart, he still needed a reason to reveal them, right? He couldn't exactly say he was capable of divination and fortune-telling.

He'd be arrested for feudal superstition if he did that.

Chapter 20: But, She's a Gal!

Hoya Chukai had thought about how to deal with Class A. Before that trial island—pfft, uninhabited island—he had already planned to sabotage Class A twice.

He hadn't shown much of a reaction to what Sakayanagi Arisu said to him earlier, but in reality, he was unhappy—very unhappy.

Those detestable bastards, so what if they were Class A? Was Class A really that great?

Admittedly, they had excellent students like Katsuragi, but that didn't mean everyone in Class A was good. There were plenty of bastards in there who just had high stats.

Sakayanagi Arisu's words only served to strengthen Hoya Chukai's resolve to ruthlessly sabotage Class A. What he planned to do was similar to Ryuen Shoko's original methods, but compared to Ryuen Shoko, who was easy to catch in the act, his choices would be more subtle and much harder to counter.

But the prerequisite was exactly what he had told Ryuen Shoko: she needed a loyalist, a loyalist who trusted her implicitly.

If that plan could succeed... hehe.

With these thoughts gradually taking shape in his mind, he cast his gaze toward the situation in Class D.

To be honest, the plan to lure the prey into the trap was mostly ready, but the strategy of using someone else's blade to kill still lacked a crucial element.

He needed a blade, so where would be the best place to find one?

Class D.

Class D was a notoriously problematic class, so naturally, there were plenty of "pigs" in that pen. For instance, the "Three Stooges" of the pigsty.

To be frank, if the Three Stooges were to be expelled, the first person to object would be Hoya Chukai. You ask why? Heh, if the opposing camp has incompetent teammates, would you want them gone? You don't fear a god-like opponent, you fear a pig-like teammate; the enemy's incompetent teammates are our allies, so how could he let them leave the stage so easily?

With fewer pigs in his own class and more in others, the balance shifts, and the advantage remains with him.

Sitting in his chair, Hoya Chukai was currently contemplating which students in Class D were easy to control.

If his relationship with Class B was one of cooperation, then Class D was the opposite. Class D was a scattered mess, so cooperation was useless and would only lead to being dragged down with them.

Therefore, rather than cooperation, control was the better approach. Controlling one or two pawns would be the most convenient way to utilize them when the time came.

However... which girl should he control?

Hoya Chukai felt no moral conflict about sabotaging Class D. If Class B was full of little angels, then most of the girls in Class D were just "ugly people making trouble"... oh, there are no ugly girls in anime? Then it's just "women making trouble."

So, since he only had technique and no feelings, being heartless after the deed was the best choice.

So, who were the candidates in Class D? There was Kei, who looked like a gyaru but was actually dependent on others; Kushida Kikyo, who looked very enthusiastic but had a hidden side; Sakura Airi, who looked like an ordinary student but was secretly an idol; and Matsushita Chiaki, who looked like a poor student but was actually intentionally suppressing her grades to blend in with her classmates.

There was also Onodera Kayano, who had decent athletic ability; the Chinese exchange student Wang Meiyu; Shinohara Satsuki, who was always at odds with Ayanokoji; Hasebe Haruka, who liked giving people nicknames; and Sato Maya, who was quite calculating, among others...

After discarding the female characters who were more trouble than they were worth or simply useless, Hoya Chukai found that he was left with only the four he had considered at the start.

Of these four, the first to be crossed off was Sakura Airi. She was an honest girl, and honestly, while the fact that she was an idol was a handle he could easily grasp, she didn't hold much status in Class D, so controlling her wouldn't be very useful.

Why did Hoya Chukai want to control a girl in Class D? Because Class D had simps!

Controlling one girl meant indirectly controlling several boys, but if you only controlled a boy, you only controlled that boy. It was obvious which choice to make, right?

Next to be excluded was Matsushita Chiaki. She didn't have much influence within the girls' group and mostly just echoed others, so controlling her wouldn't grant him any real authority.

So, was the best choice Kushida Kikyo?

Rubbing his chin, Hoya Chukai began to think about how to handle her.

In Class D, who was the leader of the girls? Horikita Suzune. And the second-in-command? Kushida Kikyo.

Kei was slightly better than Matsushita Chiaki, but her status relied heavily on Hirata, the visible leader of the boys. Her actual ability wasn't strong, and she paled in comparison to Kushida Kikyo. Not to mention, she was one of those "women making trouble."

Then why was Hoya Chukai torn between her and Kushida Kikyo at this moment?

Because... she was a gyaru!

Damn, a sexy gyaru. Since he was looking for a puppet anyway, who cared about her personality? If her personality was bad, it might actually be easier to control, and besides... a slightly tanned little gyaru with a tough-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside personality really made Hoya Chukai want to fantasize a bit. Moreover, compared to Kushida Kikyo, controlling her would be very simple; overall, she was a very easy-to-use puppet.

Cough, cough, focus, focus.

Putting those messy thoughts aside, if he really had to choose, it had to be one of these two... wait a minute?

Why do I have to choose? Only children make choices.

"Tsk, it feels like the workload just increased."

Hoya Chukai couldn't help but click his tongue. He rubbed his forehead, forcing himself to calm down.

Calm down, calm down, don't let your lust take over. I know there are many beautiful girls in this school, but we're talking about serious business now. If you want to date, at least get through the current crisis first.

I survived being single after graduating college in my past life, so being single for a while longer here is no problem. Come on, you're the best.

Repeating these words in his heart, Hoya Chukai finally calmed down.

It couldn't be helped; he had let his thoughts wander too far. After all, "control" in some sense also meant manipulating the other party at will, and the idea of a weak little girl being manipulated at will meant...

So, it was better to stay calm and let his "little brother" take a break; it wasn't his turn to step onto the stage yet.

After regaining his composure, Hoya Chukai looked toward Class D again.

At this moment, Class D hadn't sensed the crisis; they were still doing their own things. Hoya Chukai began observing the situation in Class D, searching for the figures of Kushida Kikyo and Kei.

He hadn't watched the anime or read the original work, and the information about them in fanfiction only gave him a rough idea of what they looked like.

He knew Kei had the appearance of a gyaru, but Kushida's appearance... it didn't seem to be described in detail in the fanfictions, did it?

"Excuse me, classmate?"

While lost in thought, Hoya Chukai suddenly heard someone calling him. He looked at the person who had approached, and his eyes lit up.

Although I don't know what Kushida looks like, I believe you must be her.

Chapter 21: Fingerprint-chan, you're here?

Kushida Kikyo, nicknamed "Fingerprint-chan." She and Ichinose were similar yet fundamentally different existences.

She claimed to want to be friends with everyone, but her heart wasn't that of a little angel; she was a little devil, a wolf in sheep's clothing.

She hated girls who were more outstanding than her, so as Horikita gradually gained popularity in Class D, she grew to loathe Horikita even more. Therefore, before this black-hearted girl revealed her claws, her attitude toward others was exactly the same as Ichinose's.

Thus, as he watched the brown-haired girl with a temperament very similar to Ichinose's looking at him with wide eyes, Hoya Chukai could be certain that she was definitely Kushida Kikyo.

After all, those losers in Class D definitely wouldn't have this kind of temperament; it could only be Kushida.

"Cough, is there something you need, classmate?"

"Excuse me... are you a student from Class C?"

"Yes, so is there a problem?"

"Actually, it's like this. I wanted to learn a bit about the situation in Class C, but it seems like you guys are having a class meeting right now... By the way, don't you need to attend?"

Kushida asked with a gentle tone. Hmm, this facade looked so real; if I hadn't read the script, I really wouldn't have been able to tell she was that kind of woman.

"Ah, I don't need to. The class is just discussing study groups."

"Study groups?"

"Yeah, we still want to work hard on our studies, so we're currently looking for top students to tutor the ones who are struggling. Maybe everyone's scores will go up a bit?"

Hoya Chukai rubbed his chin. "I'm different, though. My scores are average—neither high nor low. I'm not qualified to be a top student, but I'm not a struggling one either, so I just got left out. So, who from my class do you want to call? I can help you get them out here."

"Ah, no, no, there's no need for that much trouble."

Kushida waved her hands hurriedly, indicating that Hoya Chukai didn't need to do that. "I just wanted to understand the situation a little. After all, I think your class monitor looks quite scary."

Does she look scary? Oh, she definitely is quite scary.

Hoya Chukai looked at Ryuen Shoko, who was sitting on the podium with her legs crossed, and realized she did indeed have a lot of presence.

Hmm, as long as I'm not around, she's the queen. But whenever I'm there, she seems to turn into a bit of a joke?

It must be my imagination, right?

"That's our Class C boss, Ryuen Shoko. How about it? Pretty cool, right?"

"Cool... is she?"

Hearing Hoya Chukai's words, Kushida couldn't help but blink. She felt like she couldn't quite keep up with his train of thought.

I mean, we're students, right? Not gangsters? You're saying with such pride that she's your class boss... what is there to be proud of? Doesn't your homeroom teacher do anything about it?

Oh, it seems the homeroom teacher really doesn't care.

Recalling how she had barely seen her own homeroom teacher, Kushida more or less understood that the Class C homeroom teacher must also be a laissez-faire type.