Chapter 23

It wasn't my first time visiting the school library, but being the lazy type, I didn't have the habit of coming here for night study sessions every day. Once I finished my homework and fully grasped the concepts in the textbooks, I stopped pushing myself. After all, the school's most important function is to teach us how to learn, so that when we step into society as blank slates, we know how to master new skills. Precisely because of this, the fact that my grades are at the top of Class C isn't necessarily a good thing. If a guy like me can act like a fox borrowing the tiger's might, then we'd be in real trouble if there were actual geniuses in other classes who could breeze through practice problems and derive formulas on the spot. Therefore, I decided to do a little reconnaissance to get a head start on understanding the strength of the other classes. Setting aside the elusive monster that is Arisu Sakayanagi, Honami Ichinose was easy to find, as she is always the central figure of Class B. Look, even though I didn't know her, that girl with long, gold-pink hair who was busy running around without a moment's rest had to be Honami Ichinose. Of course, I couldn't be too obvious while scouting. Class C and Class B are rivals, after all, and rumor has it that Class B, like us, has plenty of guys from sports clubs; I didn't want to be tossed out by a group of hulking brutes. Fortunately, I had a reason to visit Class B—the same reason as Sakayanagi: I have an acquaintance there. Tetsuya Hamaguchi, my junior high classmate, a black-haired, soft-hearted guy. He's cautious and methodical, and since our personalities are similar, we get along reasonably well. Perhaps brilliant minds think alike? He also applied and got into this high school. With the enthusiastic directions from the girls in Class B, I successfully found my old classmate. "Tetsuya, I didn't expect you to be at this school too. Why haven't you come to find me?" Calling him by his first name bridged the distance between us; meeting an old classmate again, such an intimate address didn't feel strange at all, but rather sparked a sense of connection. "Is that you, Minya? I heard you were here too, but unfortunately, I never had the time to meet up." Hamaguchi led me to the outskirts of Class B to ensure our conversation wouldn't disturb others studying. "You've got it much better than me! Being assigned to such a united class—things are still a mess over on our end..." I handed him a drink I'd specifically bought for him and said casually. "Thanks. I just got lucky; it's all thanks to Ichinose-san." Hamaguchi took the drink and shook his head, knowing full well his own ability didn't measure up to mine. "That girl with the great figure? I heard she's the top of the grade? Pretty impressive..." I teased. "She's not your type, so don't get any weird ideas about our class representative." Hamaguchi, knowing I'm a bit of a lecher, warned me. Hey, hey! How would you know what my type is? I don't remember ever telling you that in detail! This seems like a bit too much information. "Hehe, how could I... But you're really siding with them, aren't you? Did she win you over that quickly? Or do you have some shady agenda of your own?" "Don't mess around. You'll see once I introduce you later. Ichinose-san is truly a great, kind-hearted girl." "Is that so? I feel like your entire Class B is suffering from a serious illness—lovesickness, or perhaps unrequited love. Did you hand your points over for her to manage, too?" "As expected of you, you already knew about that... Does everyone in Class C know?" Hamaguchi didn't seem to intend on hiding it from me. "Not many people know, but I'm considered part of the upper echelon of Class C, so what do you think?" "Well, we didn't plan on keeping it a secret for long anyway. As you can see, that's just how united Class B is." Unity doesn't put food on the table, and it doesn't exactly hand out girls either! "Indeed, I envy you guys!" I said insincerely, though my tone sounded genuinely envious. "Who exactly is the leader of your Class C? I've heard some rumors..." Hamaguchi wasn't a pushover either and tried to fish for information from me, but I had already anticipated this. "Rumors? Haha! Then you might as well assume the rumors are all true." I dangled the bait; if I were too deliberate, he might not believe me. "Forget it. As future rivals, it's understandable that you wouldn't tell me." "Tetsuya, you don't actually think you're qualified to be my rival, do you?" I laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "How could I not? But this is a class battle, isn't it?" "That's right, it's a class battle..." I repeated his words, "The leader of our Class C is Kakeru Ryuen, a man who will crush your Class B. As an exchange for this information, remember to introduce a few beauties to me! We don't kill prisoners in our class." "Minya, you really are..." Hamaguchi gave a helpless smile; although he got the information he wanted, my words didn't sound very pleasant. "What? You don't trust my taste?" "I wouldn't dare. I just wanted to say, it remains to be seen who will emerge victorious." A dead duck with a stiff beak—he wasn't like this before, was he? "Hahahaha! If you ever want to surrender, remember to come find me anytime. You're my old friend and classmate, after all!" I continued, half-joking. "Stop kidding around. Let's go, I'll introduce you to Ichinose." Hamaguchi didn't mind my nonsense and dutifully fulfilled the principle of exchanging benefits. "Let me introduce you, my junior high classmate, Minya Kitazawa, a young master from a wealthy family." Knowing my personality, Hamaguchi joked like that. "And this is our Class B representative, Honami Ichinose, the top scorer on the entrance exam." "Don't listen to him... First-year Class C, Minya Kitazawa, nice to meet you." I'm always on my best behavior with women, especially since Ichinose was clearly the type of outstanding individual. "I'm Honami Ichinose, it's a pleasure to meet you. I heard Minya-kun's name when I was hanging out with Kaneda-san and the others last time, and I'm finally meeting you today." Ichinose seemed warm and easygoing with everyone; she looked me up and down without any defenses upon our first meeting, looking like she was genuinely curious. "I did have some private matters to attend to last time, so I apologize. Seeing is believing, and Ichinose-san is truly impressive! Keeping the class in such good order with such a high attendance rate for study sessions—I'm sure even Katsuragi from Class A would feel ashamed." "Not at all, Katsuragi-san is still very impressive. Class A doesn't have large-scale study sessions simply because they have more students with high grades." Ichinose waved her hand modestly. That's just empty talk... I'm buttering you up, so just take the compliment! Since she's this kind of person, I'll just change my approach. "But Class B is no slouch either, right? Not to mention anyone else, but Tetsuya here has good grades, and the fact that he's here says a lot. There must be some special charm to Class B's study sessions! Could I stay and observe for a bit?" "Of course! Minya-kun is Hamaguchi-kun's friend, which makes you my friend too!" Ichinose replied in a heartbeat. "Great, the exams are coming up soon, so Ichinose-san, you go ahead and get back to work. Don't worry about me." "Alright then, if you need anything, just call me, don't be a stranger!" Yes! I knew it—people like Ichinose are just too proud to admit when they're being taken advantage of.