Ichinose Honami's Curiosity

The main reason Ryuen had sent Ishizaki to Class B to request cooperation under Kujo's name was to get Class B to test Kujo.

It was the simplest and most effective way to make someone else do the dirty work.

Ryuen had never expected cooperation between the classes to succeed.

In fact, if the people in Class B really agreed to such an absurd request,

then Ryuen would simply start with Class B.

According to his plan, after Class B rejected the proposal, they would definitely try to test Kujo. The two sides would most likely end up mutually weakened, and then Ryuen could deal with either Class B or Kujo. Either option worked for him.

In a hallway not far from Class B.

A spot where it was hard for anyone to eavesdrop.

"So, what are the purpose, method, duration, and guarantor of this cooperation?"

As Kanzaki questioned him, Ishizaki remembered the long list of lines Ryuen had forced him to memorize before leaving Class C.

To prevent anything from going wrong, Ishizaki had even brought a cheat sheet.

"Ahem, ahem."

After coughing a few times, Ishizaki cleared his throat.

Then he immersed himself in the role with all his heart.

Ishizaki replied to Kanzaki:

"Right now, the gap in Class Points between Classes B, C, and D is very small. We hope that in future exams, whichever of us is in Class B or Class C can help the class currently in Class D. In return, the class in Class D would have to pay Personal Points as compensation."

Using Personal Points to get Class Points?

"Doing that wouldn't benefit Class B at all."

Kanzaki tried to explain with a gesture.

"I understand that you're doing this with Class A as your goal. In fact, even if our class agreed to your plan and you somehow managed to pull it off, the gap in Class Points between Classes A, B, C, and D would keep shrinking without limit. Are you planning to have us all move up together? I'm afraid our class won't readily put its trust in another class."

Kanzaki chose to reject Ishizaki.

If Ryuen had been there, he would certainly have mocked Kanzaki for being timid and conservative, and might even have threatened him.

But Ishizaki didn't do that. After all, he had a plan for what to do if Kanzaki rejected him, and it was all written on his cheat sheet.

What Ishizaki didn't know was that Kanzaki actually found the plan somewhat convincing. It wasn't very credible, but it wasn't impossible to discuss further. He had only refused as a test.

If Ishizaki backed down after just one rejection, then there would have been no chance of cooperation from the start.

It was a simple but effective negotiation tactic Kanzaki had learned as a child.

"Your name's Kanzaki, right? Well, our big brother Kujo said, 'Don't get the wrong idea about who our opponents are!' Do you understand? Our opponents as first-years should be the upperclassmen! You may not know this yet, but the Student Council actually controls most of the school's rules. As long as the Student Council comes up with a reasonable plan and proposes an exam to the school, it can change the landscape of the school's competition to some extent."

Imitating Ryuen's tone of voice, Ishizaki continued with a vivid flourish:

"Even if all the points we first-years can earn over the next three years aren't enough to let every single one of us graduate from Class A, it's entirely possible to give most of the elite students in the lower classes the privilege of graduating from Class A. And if Classes B, C, and D can suppress Class A in Class Points this month and force them to make concessions, then we can turn our attention to the upperclassmen and earn more points. In that case, it wouldn't be impossible for every first-year to graduate from Class A."

When he finished, Ishizaki threw both arms into the air, as if he had accomplished something great.

[The Student Council can change the landscape of the school's competition.]

[Make the upperclassmen our opponents.]

Summarizing Ishizaki's words, Kanzaki narrowed his eyes and mulled over the implications.

He needed to think carefully about the proposal. Was there a flaw he hadn't noticed? Or was it a trap?

Just as the two of them stood there, at an impasse,

suddenly,

a woman's voice came from behind Kanzaki.

There was a gentle warmth in her voice, along with a firmness that brooked no argument.

"If this is such an important cooperation, has the Kujo you mentioned already convinced Class D to join our alliance?"

The person who had arrived was Ichinose Honami, the true leader of Class B.

When Ishizaki had come to the door and asked to speak with Class B's leader, Ichinose had sent Kanzaki out to meet him.

While Kanzaki spoke with Ishizaki, she had listened closely to their conversation from inside the classroom.

Now that she had heard something unexpected, Ichinose decided to step in herself.

She would protect everyone in Class B.

Graduating from Class A would of course be ideal, but Ichinose wouldn't allow anyone to disrupt her classmates' school lives.

After all, Class C's proposal would most likely lead to a situation where Class D used points to make deals with Classes B and C.

Could Class C use that as leverage, turn around and tear up the agreement, then cooperate with Class A before attacking Classes B and D?

Ichinose had seen through the trap in the plan.

It looked as if several classes were working together, but in reality, the other side was trying to cloud the issue by using the very tactic they were best at: forming alliances.

Facing Class B's leader, Ishizaki felt sweat trickle from behind his ear and slide into his collar. His fingertips brushed the voice recorder in his pocket, which he had prepared in advance, and switched it on.

Ryuen had made him bring it along. It was also a way to assess the Class B students' communication skills.

"You can ask our big brother Kujo about the details. What I want to say is that Class C is sincere. But if you have more specific questions, you'll have to ask our big brother."

Ishizaki went on:

"You've seen the rules posted online, right? Our big brother Kujo from Class C gave the orders to publish them. He did it so that everyone in the first year could hold on to more Class Points. You know that Class Points affect how many Personal Points everyone gets each month, right? So the more Personal Points we have, the better our chances will be when we go up against students from other years."

At that, Ichinose fell silent.

She realized Ishizaki was talking about information that couldn't be casually shared.

With that in mind, Ichinose cautiously looked around.

Thankfully, no one else was there.

Ichinose breathed a sigh of relief.

After hearing Ishizaki say so much, Kanzaki began to have doubts about the whole thing.

If Kujo really knew all this, why wasn't he keeping the information secret?

Why reveal so much and then try to unite Classes B, C, and D to pressure Class A into joining them against the upperclassmen?

Was this person really a first-year?

Or, for that matter, did he even exist?

Maybe Ishizaki was exaggerating. Maybe he had just picked the name of some harmless classmate at random.

Then Kanzaki asked Ichinose what she thought, and, after she agreed, he continued:

"What exactly are we supposed to do about the upperclassmen?"

"Throughout the school's history, the Student Council President has always come from Class A. But with this year's first-years, thanks to what our class has done, the gap between the classes in the first month should be very small. Class A could be replaced by any other class at any time. That's never happened before."

Ishizaki paused, rolled up his sleeves, and continued:

"The more points all the first-years have, the more we can do. Then the upperclassmen will see the first-years as rivals and won't let us keep growing unchecked. Our big brother even said that maybe not a single first-year will be able to join the Student Council led by Horikita Manabu this year."

In fact, Ishizaki hadn't directly answered Kanzaki's question.

He was just repeating the information Ryuen had given him. When it came to class competition, he really didn't understand anything.

By now, he was running low on lines from his cheat sheet.

The confidence and composure in Ishizaki's words began to give way to stammering, but at least he managed to get his point across.

Kanzaki's brow furrowed into a knot.

There was no way he could process so much information in such a short time.

But as Class B's decision-maker, Ichinose didn't need to think through all the cause-and-effect relationships in Ishizaki's words.

It was quite simple.

They had only just started school, yet the students in Class C already had far more information than the other first-years.

Under the circumstances, they clearly couldn't make a sound, rational decision in such a short time. Responding blindly would only lead their class into an irreversible situation.

So Ichinose said solemnly to Ishizaki:

"I understand. Please tell Kujo that Class B will give his proposal serious consideration. As for whether we'll agree... well, I'll meet with Kujo in person later."

After Ishizaki had left,

Kanzaki turned around and asked Ichinose, "What should we do?"

Ichinose rubbed her forehead and leaned her slender shoulder against the wall. The resolve in her eyes from earlier had completely vanished.

"Did you record that just now?"

Kanzaki nodded.

He had recorded everything they had said from the very beginning.

Every word.

Kanzaki said he would send the recording on his phone to Ichinose in a little while, and then they could review it together.

After confirming that, Ichinose still couldn't help sighing.

"I thought that if we made Class A our goal and worked hard for three years, we might be able to achieve it. But maybe we're still nowhere near determined enough?"

According to what people said, the Classes A, B, C, and D rankings were based on the students' abilities.

Class A was first, Class B second, Class C third, and Class D fourth.

Now Class C, a lower-ranked class, had already begun to act. What were they in Class B supposed to do?

The pressure on Ichinose was enormous.

With her classmates' trust and smiles all around her, Ichinose had clearly been overworking herself lately.

As Class B's leader, she was helping her classmates almost nonstop. When they had worries, they went to Ichinose. When they had problems, they went to Ichinose. When they had something nice to share, they went to Ichinose, too.

Some even kindly asked her, "Ichinose, you're so capable. Why didn't the school put you in Class A? That's just too unfair."

Ichinose could only brush those questions off as best she could each time.

She didn't dare tell everyone the truth. Why was she in Class B instead of Class A?

If this school really judged students by their abilities and past, then Ichinose could understand why she was in Class B rather than Class A.

The guilt she felt under the trust others placed in her, combined with the physical exhaustion of constantly helping people, weighed on her.

Kanzaki tried to comfort her:

"We don't know yet whether what he said was true. There's no need to get so discouraged."

Ichinose gently tapped the wall with her fingertips.

"I'll go to the Student Council later. While I'm gone, keep an eye on everyone."

Kanzaki nodded to show he understood, but there was still one problem:

"What if Kujo from Class C comes in person?"

Ichinose patted her cheeks, and her usual sunny expression returned. She pointed her index finger at herself.

"Just tell him to come see me."

Ichinose Honami would protect Class B.

No matter what it took.

She would protect Class B.

And what Ichinose had to do now was run for the Student Council.

The most important information from "Kujo" was that the Student Council would refuse to let first-years join this year.

Ichinose wanted to find out whether that was really true.