Chapter 24

!Infiltration a huge success! With Ichinose's permission, I, a high-ranking member of Class C, am sitting brazenly in the heart of Class B's territory. I'm thick-skinned enough that I won't be leaving until you drag me out! Of course, I didn't come here to study, and I'm definitely not here to... well, not to pick up girls either! That's right, first is simple intelligence gathering. Which students have good grades, which have bad ones, and even which subjects they struggle with—all this information is easily accessible. On a deeper level, thanks to their high attendance rates, the various cliques within Class B are starting to become clear. The core figure among the boys is a guy named Kanzaki who doesn't have many defining traits. Well, is being better-looking than me a trait? The elite boys of Class B, led by him, seem rather laid-back and lack any real desire for power. Unlike our class, the athletic boys in Class B seem to have a precarious status; that guy named Shibata is the strongest fighter in the class, yet he's treated like a lackey. As for the girls, they can be roughly divided into two categories: Ichinose's die-hard fans and the other girls who are suppressed by Ichinose's aura. Well, actually, there doesn't seem to be much difference, but looking at it this way, this class is truly bizarre. Everyone except Ichinose seems to have a faint sense of presence—perhaps because they are standing next to her? Or maybe they have been subtly assimilated by Ichinose's style? Even that Sakayanagi would find it hard to achieve this, right? As expected, pretty girls are never simple. To confirm if Class B is truly an impenetrable wall and to find potential weaknesses, I'm prepared to sacrifice my dignity and go undercover. You're the one I've chosen! Operating on the philosophy that if there are no weaknesses, I'll create them, I selected my target. Naturally, it wasn't a cautious and loyal guy like Hamaguchi, but a girl who didn't look particularly clever. Kobashi Yume, as one of those being tutored, doesn't have ideal grades. After over an hour of secret observation, I discovered she is in a group relatively close to Ichinose, and she has a good relationship with Ichinose's loyalists Shiranami Chihiro and Tsunakura Asako, but compared to them, she seems a bit more independent. Most importantly, she's quite pretty. She has short, capable-looking light blue hair like Ibuki, a figure that is just right and naturally well-developed, and her manner of speaking and behavior are generous and easygoing. That's right, I actually don't like introverted girls; such girls are often not very capable due to their personalities—fine as a girlfriend, but a bit of a trophy. Even if I'm only approaching her to extract information, my sexual orientation still subtly influences me. Here I go! The trope of flirting in a study room is always essential.

Chapter 1: First Glimpse of Talent : 13 Love at first sight is the only true emotion. Love at first sight is the only true emotion; any hesitation and it is no longer so. --Israel Zangwill

With a "whoosh," the pen I was spinning in my hand flew out and, as luck would have it, landed right at the feet of Kobashi Yume not far away. Even better, she was still focused on solving a problem and hadn't noticed. I pretended to scratch my head in a blunder, stood up amidst the gloating expressions of the Class B boys nearby, and tiptoed toward my target. Is this routine too old-fashioned? Hmph! Being old-fashioned just means it's a method that has stood the test of time! Besides, I've made slight improvements based on the current situation and prepared various contingency plans. All I have to do now is summon my courage, F2, A! My dad told me that the first rule of picking up girls is to have a thick skin, especially when there are acquaintances of the target nearby; you have to thicken your skin even more. I brought out my Oscar-winning (self-proclaimed) acting skills, calmly walked behind Kobashi, and after pretending to hesitate for a moment, decisively crouched down. I kept my upper body still while reaching out to pick up the pen, maintaining a low profile so as to only attract the attention of those around me for a split second. Then, my gaze happened to sweep over the fair, long legs under Kobashi's school skirt. I froze for a second, my hand slipped, and I knocked the pen further away, clumsily sitting down on the floor and firmly attracting the attention of everyone within a few meters.

"Um... do you need some help?" As I expected, regardless of whether Kobashi hadn't really noticed or was just pretending not to see my actions, she couldn't stand the shame of the situation now and asked with a slightly flushed face. "Uh... sorry to bother you, could you help me pick up my pen? I saw you were studying very seriously, so I didn't want to disturb you and tried to get it myself. But... it didn't seem to go very well..." I spread my hands awkwardly. "Haha!" The other party seemed to be successfully amused by me. "I'll help you... fellow student." "I'm Kitazawa Minya from Class C. I came to Class B today to visit an old classmate, and seeing that your class has such a great study atmosphere, I couldn't help but stay." I immediately seized the opportunity to introduce myself. "Kobashi Yume. Welcome to Class B." She nodded reservedly, taking the opportunity to pull her legs back from my line of sight, and then gracefully crouched down with her legs crossed to pick up the pen from the other side of the table. Having successfully passed the first hurdle by taking the pen from her hands, I immediately pressed on with the second phase of my offensive. "Thank you very much! By the way, you made a calculation error on the second problem on this page! Do you need me to help you solve it? It looks like Ichinose-san and the others are busy." I tried to make my performance as natural as possible—the "natural" here being to show that I wasn't just trying to explain the problem, but genuinely wanted to help her. "Would that be a bother to you?" Nice! My interest in her was successfully conveyed, and she didn't refuse immediately. It's working! "It's no trouble at all. I'm the top scorer of the Class C entrance exam, and I've already finished my review." I continued to promote myself; at this time, the more direct, the better. By acting like a young boy wanting to show off in front of her, she would feel a sense of pride in her own charm. Love me, love my dog—the more she looked at me, this "discerning" lecher, the more pleasing I became. Especially since I chose her among all the girls around, this move was a critical hit. "In that case, I'll have to trouble you, Kitazawa-san." Sure enough, Kobashi was a bit surprised at first, but that surprise quickly turned into interest. Soon, she invited me to sit beside her under the envious gazes of the nearby girls. Having successfully passed the second hurdle of blending into the girls' area and getting a seat, I smugly glanced at the Class B boys who were staring at me in shock from the direction I came. Hey, we're both Japanese high school students, why are you so outstanding!? Using the pen I had deliberately broken before throwing it over, I tried writing on the scratch paper (the pen seemed to say: You guy who kills the dog after the rabbit is dead, but the rabbit isn't even dead yet!), and I said with great regret: "Oh no, it seems it broke when it fell just now."

"Use this one! Kitazawa-kun." Completely deceived by my routine, Kobashi immediately took a pen from her bag and gave it to me. A pink one, really? I'll just have to make do! "What a cute pen, this is the one!" With honey on my lips, I solved the problem with reflex-like speed, and under her admiring gaze...