Defense and Attack, Which is More Important?

Although everyone's points had some merit, Suzuki Tsubame's desired effect didn't materialize.

"You still hold to your own view?"

Suzuki Tsubame's gaze returned to Horikita.

"Of course."

Her tone carried an air of self-evidence.

Horikita's nature was already one of high self-regard, and the crowd's arguments clearly favored her even more.

She grew increasingly convinced that her thinking was sound.

Looking at the immensely proud Horikita, Suzuki Tsubame felt helpless.

No wonder her task was called [Solitary Maiden] instead of Lonely Maiden.

It turned out that what she needed to help change wasn't just her view on friendship, but also her arrogant and haughty disposition.

...A long and arduous road lay ahead.

In other worlds without supernatural forces, Horikita's steady and methodical approach might have been fine.

But Advanced Nurturing was different—here there was Sakayanagi, skilled at manipulating rumors; Dragon Boy, who liked dosing opponents with drugs; Nagumo, who controlled the entire grade; and one White Room monster after another.

Every single one of them excelled at what Horikita called "cutting corners."

Take this midterm exam, for example.

If Suzuki Tsubame wasn't mistaken, Class B's strategy was to let the strong yield to the weak.

For instance, Ichinose had ranked second in the entire grade during the first month's exam.

But in this midterm, she had dropped straight out of the top ten.

Class C was even more ruthless.

Ryuen clearly knew that if they let everyone go wild, a large number of them would end up expelled.

Even he himself might not be safe.

And so... the zero-score strategy was born. This would no longer test the students' academic ability, but the cohesion of the entire Class C.

Or rather—Ryuen Kakeru's commanding power.

Under Ryuen's coercion and bribery, and with their stationery destroyed in advance, the strategy perfectly exploited a loophole in the school's system.

"Suzune, I have a somewhat different view."

His tone was unhurried and composed, and this carefree attitude successfully angered Horikita.

The girl furrowed her brows slightly—if he couldn't produce something worthwhile, she'd punish him by withholding his late-night snack!

"If we were Class A, no... even if we were just Class B."

"With a steady, step-by-step strategy, we might have a fifty percent chance of rising to Class A."

Suzuki Tsubame's words drew the attention of the sharp minds present.

Yes... the quality of Classes A and B was naturally a cut above Classes C and D.

If they played it safe without major mistakes, the final victors would certainly come from those two classes.

"But... we're different from them. Our talents are inherently a step lower."

That was a lie.

In terms of pure talent, Classes A and B might not actually surpass Class D.

They only had the edge in discipline, or rather, academic ability.

Take Professor, for example—his computer skills had won him a pile of awards.

It was just a pity that his mind wasn't on the straight path; all that great talent was wasted on shady dealings.

"If our class also chooses to play it safe, we'll probably exhaust ourselves and end up stuck at Class C at best."

Horikita's face grew serious as she murmured to herself:

"How can that be?"

Was it impossible to lead her class to Class A with her own strength alone?

But... she had a reason she absolutely had to reach Class A.

Even if only to prove to her brother how much she had grown in these three years since he left.

She absolutely had to reach Class A!

[Ding! Long-term quest: Solitary Maiden, completion: 60%. Reward: Beginner's Creation Notes, Notebook Said Let There Be Light, And Then There Was Fire. (Note: Wait! Didn't I write 'Let there be light'? Why did fire appear instead? Well... it turns out this notebook isn't omnipotent—it can only create simple objects.)]

Whoa!

A golden legendary drop!

Horikita's drop rate was really high!

And this notebook felt super practical, didn't it?

Although writing "braised pork rice" directly probably wouldn't make it appear.

But it seemed to have no cooldown. Suzuki Tsubame could write down pork, rice, oil, salt, and so on.

Conjuring the ingredients and cooking them himself—at least he wouldn't have to worry about starving to death.

And the notebook's prefix was "Beginner," which meant there were likely Intermediate and Advanced versions.

When the time came, directly manifesting planes and tanks shouldn't be a dream either!

Just as Suzuki Tsubame was letting his imagination run wild, Hasebe beside him asked curiously:

"Speaking of which... if playing it safe doesn't work for our class, then what exactly should we do?"

Horikita also snapped back to reality, frowning as she waited for Suzuki Tsubame to continue.

Since she couldn't figure it out on her own, she might as well stop trying and borrow Suzuki Tsubame's perspective.

Cheating off his test?

"No! Playing it safe is still very useful. The study sessions have to keep going."

Suzuki Tsubame shook his head and explained seriously:

"Personal ability is like defense in a game, while cutting corners is the attack method. If you don't add any defense and always rely on luck to clear the stage..."

"Then you're like a cannon made entirely of glass—before the enemy even attacks, you blow yourself up the moment you light the fuse."

He had made it simple enough. These two mindsets weren't in conflict at all.

It was like before the college entrance exam, when your teacher tells you that if you don't study hard now, you'll be doomed on exam day.

But the day before the test, he'd say: "If you don't know an answer, you can sneak a peek at the person next to you. As long as you don't get caught, whatever you see is yours."

That's called vigorously developing defense... while also having offense.