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@My Wife Is Kushida Kikyo, bro, this isn't right. Wasn't it My Wife Is Horikita Suzune just a couple of days ago? You change your mind that fast!
Chapter 18: Classes A, B, and C Are All Taking Action. What About Class D?
Ichinose Honami looked at him with curiosity and a desire to learn.
That meant she had noticed Shirogane's movements. She had even heard the click when he took a picture just now.
But.
First-Year Class B.
Shirogane's target was Class A, and to reach Class A, he would inevitably have to surpass Class B.
So this was a rival class.
As expected of a student from Class B. It was only the second day after enrollment, and she was already taking action.
"Before that, what information have you gathered here?" Classmate Shirogane seemed to be keeping her in suspense.
"About that." Classmate Ichinose took a small notebook from her pocket and stepped closer to him. "I already visited the third-year area, but the third-year students seemed completely unwilling to talk to me."
"However, I noticed that the third-year area also had these little blackboards. The numbers were different, but the ABCD letters in front of them caught my attention."
"Also, I found that except for Class 3-A, all the other third-year classes had fewer than forty students."
"Class 3-B had thirty-four students, Class 3-C had twenty-nine, and Class 3-D had the fewest, with only twenty-six."
"As for the second-years, I only just got here, so I haven't had time to count them yet." As she spoke, she looked a little embarrassed.
It made her seem very cute.
The little notebook she had opened listed the numbers of students in each third-year class, ABCD.
Class 3-A had forty students.
There was also a calculation written above: (40+34+29+26)x10. It had been crossed out.
She had probably been calculating how much the school would have to pay the third-years in living expenses if each student received 100,000 points.
But she had crossed out the calculation, which meant she didn't believe every student would be allocated 100,000 points in living expenses.
"Yesterday, when I was in the cafeteria, I saw some upperclassmen eating the free meals. They didn't have to pay, but I got a serving myself and found it hard to eat. It was almost impossible to swallow. And the upperclassmen clearly weren't eating those free meals just to save money."
"So I think the upperclassmen may not receive that much in living expenses."
"That means the school probably won't keep giving us new students 100,000 points each in living expenses."
Classmate Ichinose seemed to be doing her best to share useful information. But as she did, Classmate Shirogane noticed that she kept watching his face.
Was she trying to get information from his expression?
This girl was a little dangerous.
Shirogane realized that she seemed to have a sort of magic that let her quickly close the distance between herself and other people.
Just then, he heard a voice in his mind.
[Her gaze seems to linger on your face for quite a while.]
Yeah.
Shirogane had already noticed that.
He should thank Classmate Shiina. She had been sitting in front of him all day yesterday and all day today, which had helped him build up his resistance to pretty girls.
Now Classmate Ichinose was looking at him with curiosity and probing interest. She was still very cute, and she had even opened her notebook to show him what she had recorded. She seemed quite honest.
But.
Didn't that make her even more dangerous?
He had already started to think she was sincere.
She might have thought he was an upperclassman, but he wasn't. So Classmate Shirogane had essentially gotten a free look at the information Classmate Ichinose had gathered over the past day.
"It seems you've indeed figured out a few things."
Shirogane noticed that Classmate Ichinose was still watching him, so he spoke.
"Unfortunately, upperclassmen aren't allowed to reveal too much information to new students."
"And that includes the information on these little blackboards."
If Classmate Shirogane hadn't gotten information for free from Classmate Ryuen, who had coerced an upperclassman into giving it to him, then he would have gotten some information from Classmate Ichinose now.
If he also kept a skeptical eye on the school and observed it carefully, he could gather some clues.
But.
In reality, Classmate Shirogane had gotten a hint from Classmate Sakayanagi and had also gotten information for free from Classmate Ryuen.
Now, the information Classmate Ichinose provided could add to what he knew.
Could the different numbers of students in the four upper-year classes mean that the monthly Special Exams were tied not only to class evaluations but also to expulsion?
But students had been expelled from Classes B, C, and D, while Class 3-A, the class of the Student Council President, Horikita Manabu, had managed to keep all forty of its students. That was truly impressive.
Classmate Shirogane felt a little pressure about his upcoming visit to the Student Council.
After all, someone capable of doing this—of protecting so many classmates—had to be extraordinary in judgment, ability, and action.
But.
Opportunity and difficulty went hand in hand.
Only Class A among the four third-year classes was at full strength. Could that mean Class A was the most united, the class least likely to let anyone get expelled?
Unity was a good thing, but too much unity could also become a shackle and make it harder to respond to exams in the best way.
According to the upperclassmen, once the new students' first month was over, the school would tell them what this school was really like.
So.
After that, they would be competing in the Special Exams held every month.
With that in mind.
Maintaining the aloof demeanor of an upperclassman, Classmate Shirogane left the second-year building under Classmate Ichinose's curious gaze and headed straight for the Student Council Office.
Classmate Shirogane didn't hesitate. He went straight to the Student Council Office.
The Student Council Office was in a large classroom beside the indoor swimming pool provided by the school.
Of course, that didn't mean Student Council members could take a break from work and sneak peeks at students during swimming lessons.
The school had probably run out of space, so it had designated this room as the Student Council's workplace.
And all the students knew about this place. Anyone could come by.
Now Classmate Shirogane had arrived at the Student Council's door. He had two reasons for coming today. First, he wanted to gain an advantage in the class competition by trying to join the Student Council. Second, he wanted to hand over the SD card he had found yesterday.
The card contained a secretly recorded video.
And the longer he waited, the worse it would be for the person who had been filmed.
As he thought about this, Classmate Shirogane noticed someone standing at the Student Council's door, leaning on a cane.
Unlike yesterday, she was wearing a black beret today.
It was only a beret, but it seemed to make her at least twenty percent cuter.
The moment he saw the girl, Classmate Shirogane knew this visit to the Student Council might not be so simple.
"What a coincidence. Did Classmate Sakayanagi find something to hand over to the Student Council too?" Classmate Shirogane asked, taking the initiative to strike up a conversation.
At the sound of his voice, the silver-haired girl in the beret standing by the Student Council's door turned around. "Well, if it isn't Classmate Shirogane from Class 1-C."
"Are you here for the Student Council today too?"
"But you don't seem to have brought a girl with you." Sakayanagi Arisu said.
What did she mean by bringing a girl with him?
Had she seen him talking with Classmate Ichinose in the second-year area? If she had, she could have just said hello at the time.
However, this time Classmate Shirogane noticed that he hadn't even said anything yet, and the Narrator System had already replied.
[I don't know, but she seems a little displeased.]
"--"
So the Narrator System couldn't always help him. At first, Shirogane had thought it was all-knowing and all-powerful, but things were different once he realized it might be someone from the future.
It seemed to analyze things and provide information only when he encountered them.
But now it had concluded that Classmate Sakayanagi was displeased?
Shirogane had no idea when he had offended her.
"Classmate Ichinose and I parted ways in the second-year area," Classmate Shirogane said. "It seems she doesn't have any reason to come to the Student Council right now."
"..." Sakayanagi.
Classmate Sakayanagi seemed a little puzzled, but she remained polite. "I thought it was already quite remarkable that you'd gotten along with Classmate Shiina, who's in your own class. But now you're getting along with students from other classes too."
"It seems you haven't taken my words to heart at all, Classmate Shirogane."
"You're still enjoying a fulfilling school life."
Though she remained polite to the very end, Classmate Shirogane also found himself agreeing with the Narrator System: Classmate Sakayanagi seemed a little angry.
"Did you spend yesterday with your classmates, Classmate Sakayanagi?" Shirogane asked.
"Hmm?" Classmate Sakayanagi tilted her head as if listening.
"Yesterday, I saw you with your classmates in the Shopping District," Shirogane said. "It seemed like they'd accepted you."
Wait a second.
Classmate Shirogane suddenly realized that Sakayanagi Arisu had just mentioned how well he got along with Classmate Shiina. So she must have seen him too.
"You know that my body isn't very strong, and even being independent is a great deal of pressure for me," Classmate Sakayanagi said. "So I can only rely on other people's help."
"So I shared some of my observations about this school and gained the support of a few students."
"They volunteered to become my right-hand women." Sakayanagi spoke lightly.
I see.
So she really had won the acceptance of some of her classmates.
But hey, hey, hey, your way of thinking is dangerous.
You called those students your right-hand women, but it sounded more like you were treating them as tools.
But Shirogane felt that Sakayanagi had already grasped some of the truth about this school.
Before you continue