Chapter 34

At this moment, a crowd of onlookers from various grades and classes had gathered at the entrance of the cafeteria. As I swaggered away, a wave of discussion immediately broke out. "Karuizawa-san, you were too impulsive. You shouldn't have made a bet with someone from Class C on your own... especially with that kind of stake..." Matsushita said, looking somewhat worried. "It's fine! Yosuke-kun will definitely find a way. I don't believe he could have done something bad without leaving any trace behind." Karuizawa was unexpectedly assertive, which was a bit hard to fathom. But as long as she had taken the bait, the plan to sow discord within Class D could continue.

"Finally here! Honor student, we've been waiting for you for a long time." As soon as Yamada opened the door to the extra-large private room for us, Ryuen's voice drifted over. "Sorry to keep you waiting; I was held up by a group of losers on the way." Sitting down across from Ryuen, I scanned the room for little Hiyori Shiina. "Losers? Hahahaha... No way? You've already been targeted by them?" I nodded: "That Suzune Horikita from Class D really has a nose for trouble; she even guessed something like this, though she doesn't have any evidence." "She came to find you without evidence? She's quite anxious, then... I thought she would be a bit calmer." "It wasn't her; the one causing trouble was Hirata's girlfriend, Karuizawa. This time, I managed to trap Hirata quite badly, but I've also thoroughly offended Class D." I spotted Shiina in the corner and beckoned to her; she reluctantly and obediently sat down next to me. Honestly, how can one slack off and not participate in class discussions! "This Horikita is that impressive? Interesting..." Ryuen looked as happy as if he had found a new toy. "Yes, she's a very interesting girl; you'll like her. Shiina-san, help me analyze where exactly my plan was exposed?" I asked Shiina, who had participated in the creation of the fake test questions. "I think any girl would definitely be wary of you... Kitazawa-kun." Shiina glanced at me and said flatly. "So I'm such a dangerous person (○ °△ °)っ! No wonder Honami Ichinose didn't keep my secret and even provided information to Class D... Ryuen-san, we must be careful. I feel like an alliance between Class B and Class D is gradually forming." "What's there to fear? Everyone in Class D is trash except for Horikita, and wasn't Hirata played like a fiddle by you? Horikita alone can't hold up an entire class... Though I thought they would just sit by and watch the failing students drop out. Now, it cost over a million points to settle it; it's really annoying that I have to step in personally." Ryuen said he was annoyed, but his smile never faded. I suspected he was secretly cheering for Horikita in his heart. "It seems you already have a plan, Ryuen-san." "Just wait and see. I heard you've been investigating information on the whole grade; bring it out and share it. I have plenty of interesting intel on my side as well." Ryuen said, signaling the leadership of his class to move closer. "Mm. Let's start with Class D. The scattered Class D should have started to unite a bit after this exam. But they've also racked up quite a bit of debt, so they won't have many points to live on next month. Someone will definitely be unable to hold out and come to me for a loan, so I'll slowly develop my informants within Class D." "Forget the small fry, tell us about their leaders?" Ryuen took a gulp of his drink and said. "First is Kikyo Kushida. She's a narrow-minded girl. She likes making friends and enjoys the process, and she has a bad relationship with Suzune Horikita behind the scenes. But for the sake of the class, Suzune Horikita cooperates with Kushida on the surface; after all, Kushida is the person with the widest network in Class D." I looked up at the thoughtful Ryuen and continued: "Yosuke Hirata, the second-ranked handsome guy, has a huge fan base in the class. He's easygoing, gentle, in the soccer club, an honor student, and a total nice guy. He's currently dating Karuizawa, one of the leaders of the girls' group. In my opinion, he's a bit lacking in intelligence for falling for the trap so easily; he trusts others too readily. With so many friends, his emotional intelligence should be quite high." "To not even spare someone like that, Kitazawa-kun really is a villain!" Shiina teased. "Thanks for the compliment! Kei Karuizawa, a very assertive girl who doesn't really listen to reason. She possesses the largest girls' group in Class D. She herself seems to have the same questionable intelligence as her lover, but her emotional intelligence isn't low." No one interrupted, so I continued: "Rokusuke Koenji, the heir to the famous Koenji family, a genius who is both scholarly and athletic. Unlike the previous two, he has no idea how to communicate or interact with others, and there are currently no signs of him intervening in class power struggles." I openly brought Koenji into the light; this was also part of the plan. Anyway, with me around, as long as he doesn't provoke Ryuen, he'll be fine. "Is this guy worth paying attention to?" Kaneda asked. "That's right. If he wanted to, he could use his own strength to organize Class D into a fighting force. However, he doesn't seem to have that intention, so let's put him aside for now." "Finally, there's Suzune Horikita. A classy beauty who is also very capable, so she's somewhat ostracized in class and doesn't have many friends. The only person she's known to talk to is the gloomy pervert Ayanokoji at the next desk. You could say she's fighting a lone battle in Class D. She is also our primary enemy right now." "Horikita-san is so pitiful..." "Yeah, yeah, being assigned to such a class." Nishino and other girls expressed their sympathy. "Next is Class B. The only one worth noting is Honami Ichinose. She can unite Class B through her own efforts; her personal charisma is very strong. She possesses a large amount of points, and they have a mechanism similar to class funds where all students entrust about half of their points to her for safekeeping. They likely contributed points to save Class D this time, so we can use that to disgust them further... In a world of survival of the fittest, I don't know what they're thinking by allying with the weakest. I can't rule out the possibility that Ichinose wants to use soft tactics to control Class D." "Hahahaha! Foolish people..." Ryuen laughed heartily. "Leave this matter to me; I'll take the opportunity to test this Ichinose." "Mm, but if most people have handed over their points, those who don't will be ostracized by the class." I added, "Ichinose's biggest problem is that she's too perfect. It's incredible that someone like her was assigned to Class B, so there must be a secret that no one knows about. By the way, there's one more piece of news, you must keep it confidential and not spread it." I lowered my voice and said: "The ruler of the second years, Student Council Vice President Miyabi Nagumo, seems to have taken a liking to Ichinose. I've inquired about Nagumo-senpai; he's a ruthless character who rose from Class B to Class A and now controls the entire second year, and he seems to have toyed with quite a few girls." "Do you have the nerve to say that about others?" Shiina whispered. "I'm a gentleman, alright? I never use force (because my combat power is low and I might not be able to beat a girl), nor do I use these despicable methods to pick up girls. But this Nagumo can be described as quite despicable, and his ability is not below mine. He'll probably be the future student council president. Don't spread these words; after all, I'm on good terms with him right now, and it's not good to speak ill of him behind his back." Ibuki had an expression that said, "As expected, you guys are wolves."