Sakayanagi Arisu's Decision

It was not just the students of Class B who were interested in Kujo; the students of Class A were as well.

The library, a place where few people usually passed by.

"Princess, as you commanded, here is the information on everyone in Class 1-C." Hashimoto handed over a booklet, his tone dripping with his usual flippancy. "I gathered it all from people in other classes; it took quite a few tricks to pull this off."

Taking the booklet, Arisu Sakayanagi began to review it.

The moment the paper brushed against her fingertips, her eyes locked onto the name "Kujo Makoto."

As the daughter of the school's board chairman, Advanced Nurturing High School was, to Sakayanagi, little more than her own backyard.

Many students in Class A chose to follow her, drawn by her beauty and leadership abilities.

Although they were all a dull bunch, they were enough to serve as a pastime for her during her spare time.

After the school year began, the first order Sakayanagi issued to test the capabilities of her subordinates was to investigate intelligence on the other classes.

The cause of this was the rumors circulating on the internet.

In just a few short days since the start of school, a strange rat had secretly appeared among the first-year students.

Not only did it like to make noise, but it also enjoyed banding together with other rats.

Sakayanagi took this situation very seriously.

She was not the type to wait until the enemy was at her doorstep before choosing to defend herself.

Because of this matter, Sakayanagi had already used her lackeys to conduct a comprehensive investigation of this year's first-year students.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka of Class D was the person she cared about most.

Back when they were children, Sakayanagi had seen him at the White Room, and ever since then, she had made up her mind to face him in a contest.

But a simple competition would not satisfy Sakayanagi.

What she wanted first was for him to acknowledge her existence, and then to have an equal competition in this school.

Before that, Sakayanagi would casually dispose of any rats standing in her way.

As for the rat who kept spreading school rules among the first-years and even attempted to threaten the status of Class A, he was her first target.

"Ryuen is not the mastermind behind the entire plan; he is just a front."

Sakayanagi held a chess piece in her palm, voicing her conclusion about the abnormal events of the first week of school.

The information Hashimoto provided was not dry data like physical ability or academic scores, but rather the daily chatter of the Class C students.

On the surface, they were respectful and ingratiating toward Ryuen, but in private, they harbored complaints, reverence, and fear toward him.

Whether it was people like Ishizaki and Manabe who were good at forming cliques, or the combat-oriented types like Ibuki and Albert, none could shake Ryuen's current ruling position.

However, the students of Class C rarely mentioned the name "Kujo Makoto."

This was abnormal.

Isn't it strange that a student who doesn't even attend class is someone no one dares to discuss?

Therefore, Sakayanagi believed that Kujo and Ryuen must have arranged for an internal and external leadership structure to lead Class C together.

The truth of the matter, however, deviated slightly from Sakayanagi's assumptions; Ryuen did not allow Class C students to interact with Kujo simply because he wanted to use cold violence to retaliate against him.

But Hiyori was a special case; Ryuen was not so tactless as to break up a young couple, and he even wanted to see if Kujo was the type to have a weakness once he had a girlfriend.

However, even if Sakayanagi knew this, she likely wouldn't care. She randomly picked up a knight piece, knocked over a white pawn on the opposite side of the chessboard, and murmured:

"The school rules have already been exposed by Class C. If we sit idly by, Class A could face the risk of being overtaken by other classes at any time within a month."

Hearing this, Hashimoto continued his report:

"According to the information captured from the outside, there are a total of three hundred and fourteen messages. Among them, there are three that, while coming from different accounts at the same time, explicitly or implicitly hint at the rules for the first month's exam."

"First: The school will conduct a special exam for the newly enrolled first-years, and the content of the exam will not be announced."

"Second: The special exam for the first month of last year's second-year students was a behavioral conduct exam, meaning that once a student performs an action inconsistent with their status as a student, the class points possessed by their class will be deducted."

"Third: Skipping class, playing with mobile phones during class, whispering during class, littering, damaging school property, etc., are all violations of school rules."

After finishing his report, Hashimoto looked back toward Sakayanagi.

"The person who spread the news is clever; they used this borderline method to disclose the school's rules, almost explicitly telling us the truth about the first month's exam. The school authorities haven't taken action yet, so it seems they intend to tacitly approve of the students' actions."

That said, in Hashimoto's view, this was not an unsolvable strategy.

As long as we start spreading the word that we first-years already know the truth about the school and that the exam questions for the first month have been leaked, the school might be forced to cancel the exam or change the questions, no matter how unwilling they are.

But doing so was not without risk.

The biggest beneficiary of such an action would be Class A.

Even without evidence, the mere suspicion that Class A was the mastermind could put Class A in a position of moral bankruptcy.

More seriously, it might even cause Class A to be besieged by other classes.

Hashimoto believed that his clever and beautiful Princess would surely answer his doubts, so he voiced his concerns.

Sakayanagi chuckled.

At the same time, the chessboard on the table was completely flipped over by her:

"So, do you consider Class C to be our enemy?"

Hashimoto felt puzzled. Did Her Highness mean to befriend Class C? Why?

"Since the founding of this school, there has never been a single class that successfully rose from Class C to replace Class A, let alone anyone who managed to transfer classes by spending 20 million points. And yet, in this year's cohort, someone actually wants to attempt something even more impossible than that. Should I really oppose it?"

Sakayanagi is a student of Class A, and at the same time, she is the daughter of the chairman of this meritocratic school.

The school's rules are meaningless to her.

For Sakayanagi, her future is already mapped out, regardless of whether she graduates from Class A or not.

It's just that she didn't expect...

That someone among the first-years has already broken through the framework imposed on the students by the school, attempting to unite every force possible, all just to declare war on this institution.

A very creative approach.

Sakayanagi felt there was nothing wrong with that.

After all, it is easier to deal with enemies when they are gathered together.

As long as she wipes out all the naive fools in one fell swoop, she will be able to go all out and battle that person later.

Hashimoto did not understand Sakayanagi's obsession.

But in front of him, Sakayanagi had indeed displayed a friendly attitude toward Class C.

Or rather, what Sakayanagi displayed was a feeling similar to 'the stronger the enemy, the better.'

"I understand, Your Highness. However, that guy Katsuragi in our class is still..."

Hashimoto did not finish his sentence, as it was not a glorious matter.

In Class A, although many are willing to unconditionally support all of Sakayanagi's decisions, the current situation is indeed not optimistic.

That is, Sakayanagi is not yet the absolute leader of Class A.

The biggest obstacle to Sakayanagi leading the class is, surprisingly, a student from her own class.

That person is named Katsuragi Kohei, a fellow student of Class A.

He carries a reliable appearance and possesses excellent academic ability, physical strength, and leadership skills.

Currently, Katsuragi holds the admiration of many students within Class A, and to a certain extent, he affects Sakayanagi's absolute leadership status in the class.

If only Sakayanagi had a healthy body...

"Just continue to monitor him."

"I understand, Your Highness."

Afterward, Sakayanagi propped her head up with one hand and fumbled with a chess piece with the other, her tone gradually becoming lazy:

"Also, the student council might open applications for first-year students soon. Spread some information among the third-years. Say that the first-year Classes B, C, and D have formed an offensive and defensive alliance, and the status of Class A is teetering."

Hashimoto understood instantly—this was to force Katsuragi to lose his composure during the student council proceedings.

As the current leader of Class A, Katsuragi had already publicly stated in class that he intended to join the student council to learn more about the school.

Sakayanagi doing this would directly cause Katsuragi to face insurmountable difficulties during the student council interview.

If they just find any angle to ask a question, it would be hard for an average person to answer.

For example, even a simple question like "How can you guarantee that you will always remain in Class A?" would choke a normal person up.

At the very least, Hashimoto couldn't imagine how he would answer such a question himself.

Secondly, by doing this, Sakayanagi is directly blocking the potential strategies that the lower-ranked first-year classes might employ.

Ichinose from Class B this year is a special girl; she possesses the highest popularity in the entire grade, and her outstanding appearance and leadership skills are particularly impressive.

If Class B were to take the lead, it would not be impossible for the three lower-ranked classes to unite.

But once this rumor of cooperation is spread, it is equivalent to laying out their potential strategies for all to see. Even if the lower classes were truly planning to cooperate, they would first have to harbor suspicions toward one another: who exactly leaked this information?

Finally, if the upperclassmen hear the rumors and truly believe that Class A's status is in jeopardy this year, they might even choose to negotiate and cooperate with us.

At that time, as long as they can demonstrate the strength to suppress the lower classes, Class A can turn the tables and increase their own influence throughout the school.

Perfect.

What do those guys in Class C have to fight our Her Highness with?

Hashimoto felt confident.

As expected, it still takes Her Highness to make a move.

And after Hashimoto left.

Sakayanagi couldn't help but think about Kujo.

Why did he choose the start of the school year to spread the school's rules?

Could it be that he intends to cooperate with other classes?

However, anyone with a bit of intelligence and access to information should know that this path is a dead end.

At this point in time, Class D lacks the fundamental prerequisites for cooperation, as they still do not have a clear class leader.

However.

Even if Class B had a clear leader, would they just casually cooperate with others?

Sakayanagi did not think so.

While lost in thought, an interesting idea crossed Sakayanagi's mind.

She intended to give the other party a chance to challenge her.

After all, he was the first person to take the initiative to approach Ayanokoji.

Sakayanagi was very curious about what kind of person he was.

The bishop piece on the chessboard in front of the girl moved once more, which meant she had issued a new order to another one of her subordinates.

Come now, I have already extended the first gesture of goodwill.

What will your next move be?

I am looking forward to it immensely.

Kujo Makoto of Class C.