And it wasn't only the students of Class B who were interested in Kujo. The students of Class A were interested in him as well.
The library, a place few people usually passed through.
"Your Highness, as you instructed, here's the information on everyone in Class 1-C." Hashimoto handed her the booklet, his words revealing his usual flippant manner. "I got it by asking around among the other classes. It took quite a bit of effort, too."
Taking the booklet, Sakayanagi began to review it.
As the pages brushed against her fingertips, her eyes landed on the name "Kujo Makoto."
As the daughter of the school's chairman, Sakayanagi saw Advanced Nurturing High School as something like her own backyard.
Quite a few students in Class A had chosen to follow her because of her beauty and leadership skills.
They were all a dull bunch, but they were still enough to keep her entertained in her spare time.
After the school year began, Sakayanagi's first order to her subordinates, intended to test their abilities, was to investigate the other classes.
The reason for it was the rumors spreading online.
In just a few days since the start of school, a strange rat had appeared among the students in their year.
It didn't just like to squeak loudly; it also liked to gather other rats into a pack.
Sakayanagi had taken the matter seriously.
She wasn't the type to wait until the enemy was at her doorstep before choosing to defend herself.
Because of this, Sakayanagi had already had her underlings investigate all the first-years.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka of Class D was the person she cared about most.
When she was young, Sakayanagi had met him in the White Room. Ever since then, she had resolved to face him in a contest and prove herself his equal.
But Sakayanagi wouldn't be satisfied with a simple competition.
First, she wanted him to recognize her existence. Then she wanted the two of them to compete as equals in this school.
Before that, she would deal with any rats that got in her way.
As for the rat who had been spreading the school rules among the first-years and even trying to threaten Class A's position, he was her first target.
"Ryuen isn't the mastermind behind the whole plan. He's just been put forward as its public face."
Rolling a chess piece in her palm, Sakayanagi voiced her conclusion about the strange events of the first week of school.
The information Hashimoto had gathered wasn't the students' physical abilities or academic performance—empty statistics like that. It was snippets of everyday conversation among the students of Class C.
To Ryuen's face, they were respectful and eager to please. In private, though, they complained about him, feared him, and stood in awe of him.
Neither the faction-builders like Ishizaki and Manabe nor the brawlers like Ibuki and Albert could shake Ryuen's grip on power.
But the students of Class C hardly ever mentioned the name "Kujo Makoto."
That was abnormal.
Wasn't it strange that no one dared talk about a student who didn't even attend class?
So Sakayanagi believed that Kujo and Ryuen must have arranged things long ago for there to be two leaders, one working inside the class and the other outside it, leading Class C together.
The truth differed slightly from what Sakayanagi imagined. Ryuen had forbidden the students of Class C from casually approaching Kujo simply because he wanted to give him the cold shoulder and get back at him.
Hiyori was the exception. Ryuen wasn't so insensitive that he would break up a young couple. In fact, he wanted to see whether Kujo was the kind of person who would develop a weakness once he got a girlfriend.
But even if Sakayanagi had known all that, she probably wouldn't have cared. She picked up a knight and knocked over one of the white pawns on the other side of the chessboard, murmuring:
"Class C has exposed the school rules. If we sit back and do nothing, then a month from now, Class A could be at risk of being overtaken by the other classes at any moment."
At that, Hashimoto continued his report:
"So far, there are 314 pieces of information that can be found online. Three of them, posted from different accounts around the same time, explicitly or indirectly hint at the rules for the school's first-month exam."
"First: the school will hold a Special Exam for the newly enrolled first-years, and the contents of the exam won't be announced."
"Second: last year's second-years had a conduct exam as their first-month Special Exam. In other words, if a student does something that doesn't befit their status as a student, the Class Points held by their class will be deducted."
"Third: skipping class, using a phone during lessons, chatting during lessons, littering, damaging school property, and so on all count as violations of school rules."
After finishing his report, Hashimoto looked toward Sakayanagi again.
"The person spreading the information is clever. They used this sort of loophole to make the school rules public, practically spelling out the truth about the first-month exam. The school still hasn't stepped in, so it looks like they intend to let the students do as they please."
That was what Hashimoto said, but he didn't think the strategy was impossible to counter.
If they started spreading the news that the first-years already knew the truth about the school, and that someone had leaked the questions for the school's first-month exam, then the school might cancel the exam or change the questions, even if it didn't want to.
But that wasn't without risk.
Class A would benefit the most from such a move.
Even without proof, merely suspecting Class A of being behind it could make the class look dishonorable.
Worse still, Class A might even provoke the other classes into ganging up on them.
Hashimoto believed that his clever and beautiful princess would answer his question, so he voiced his doubts.
Sakayanagi chuckled.
At the same time, she turned the chessboard completely around:
"So, you think Class C is our enemy?"
Hashimoto was confused. Did Her Highness mean they should befriend Class C? Why?
"Ever since this school was founded, no class has ever managed to rise from Class C and replace Class A. And no one has ever transferred classes by spending 20 million points, either. Now, someone this year wants to do something even more impossible. Should I really oppose them?"
Sakayanagi was a student in Class A, and she was also the daughter of the chairman of this school, which was based on the principle of meritocracy.
The school's rules meant nothing to her.
As far as Sakayanagi was concerned, whether or not she graduated from Class A, her future had already been mapped out.
But she hadn't expected...
Someone in this year's first-year class had already broken through the framework imposed on the students by the school, trying to unite everyone they could in order to declare war on it.
It was a very creative approach.
Sakayanagi didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
After all, it was easier to deal with enemies when they were all gathered together.
As long as she wiped out all those naive fools in one fell swoop, she could then focus all her attention on battling that person.
Hashimoto didn't understand Sakayanagi's obsession.
But before his eyes, Sakayanagi had clearly shown a friendly attitude toward Class C.
More accurately, she seemed to feel that the stronger her enemies were, the better.
"I understand, Your Highness. But there's still Katsuragi in our class..."
Hashimoto didn't finish his sentence, because it wasn't something to be proud of.
Although many people in Class A were willing to support all of Sakayanagi's decisions without question, the current situation was indeed far from reassuring.
The thing was, Sakayanagi wasn't yet the overall leader of Class A.
Before she could lead the class, her biggest obstacle was actually one of her own classmates.
His name was Katsuragi Kohei, and he was also a student in Class A.
He had a dependable appearance, along with excellent academic ability, physical fitness, and leadership skills.
Katsuragi had the support of quite a few students in Class A. To some extent, he threatened Sakayanagi's absolute leadership over the class.
If only Sakayanagi had a healthy body...
"Just keep watching him."
"Understood, Your Highness."
Sakayanagi propped her head up with one hand and felt around for a chess piece with the other. Her tone gradually grew languid.
"Also, the Student Council may soon open applications to first-year students. Spread some information among the third-years. Tell them that this year's Classes B, C, and D have formed an offensive and defensive alliance, and that Class 1-A's position is on shaky ground."
Hashimoto immediately understood: this was meant to make Katsuragi lose his composure at the Student Council.
Katsuragi, as the current leader of Class A, had already announced to the class that he planned to join the Student Council to learn more about the school.
Sakayanagi's move would make it extremely difficult for Katsuragi to pass the Student Council interview.
You could ask a question from just about any angle, and most people would struggle to answer.
For example, even a simple question like "How can you guarantee that you'll always be in Class A?" would leave an ordinary person stumped.
At least, Hashimoto couldn't think of how he would answer it himself.
Secondly, Sakayanagi's move would directly shut down the strategy that the lower-ranked classes might use.
Ichinose of this year's Class B was an exceptional girl. She was the most popular student in the entire year, and her striking appearance and leadership skills left a deep impression.
If Class B took the lead, then it wouldn't be impossible for the three lower-ranked classes to join forces.
But once this rumor spread, it would be like laying their potential strategy out in the open. And even if the lower-ranked classes really did plan to cooperate, they would have to wonder among themselves who had leaked the information.
Finally, if the older students believed the rumor and thought Class A's position was in danger, they might choose to negotiate and cooperate with Class A.
At that point, as long as Class A could demonstrate its ability to suppress the lower-ranked classes, it could turn the tables and increase its influence throughout the school.
Perfect.
What could those people in Class C possibly do against their princess?
Hashimoto thought it was as good as settled.
As expected, it took the princess herself to handle things.
After Hashimoto left,
Sakayanagi couldn't help thinking about Kujo again.
Why had he spread the school rules at the start of the school year?
Was he planning to cooperate with the other classes?
But any clever person who had the information in hand should have known that path wouldn't work.
At this point, Class D wasn't in a position to cooperate. They didn't even have a clear class leader yet.
But then again,
Just because Class B had a clear leader, did that mean they would readily cooperate with others?
Sakayanagi didn't think so.
And as she pondered, an interesting idea came to her.
She planned to give him a chance to challenge her.
After all, he was the first person to make contact with Ayanokoji.
Sakayanagi was curious about what kind of person he was.
Another bishop on the chessboard before her moved, which meant she had issued a new order to another one of her subordinates.
Come on. I've already made the first move and shown my goodwill.
What will your next move be?
I can hardly wait.
Kujo Makoto of Class C.
Before you continue