Kikyo: I have to work hard too!

"It's really surprising how easily everything worked out. I'd been hoping to do you a favor, but it turns out all our efforts were unnecessary."

"No, Ichinose. The fact that Class B was willing to lend us a hand is more than enough for us to be grateful."

"So, what about the alliance between our two classes...? I've been waiting for Ju Fan to call me."

"Of course, it's a deal. It was a unanimous decision among our Class C classmates. And I'm sure your willingness to help us without holding back played a part. Everyone in our class thinks you're trustworthy."

The day after Sudo's trial, Ju Fan, Kikyo, and Ichinose gathered again. At Ichinose's request, they briefly recapped the incident involving Sudo, then discussed an alliance between their two classes. "Discussed" wasn't quite the right word, since the matter had already been settled. Otherwise, Ju Fan wouldn't have come. Hirata had represented the class, after all; he was Class C's public leader.

Of course, after everything that had happened, everyone probably believed Ju Fan was Class C's leader. In truth, he wasn't remotely up to the task. All he could do was resolve events from another timeline—the ones he'd read about in a novel in his previous life—in a better way.

"Is that so? I'm glad. Now I don't have to be enemies with little Kikyo and little Ju Fan. You'd be pretty tough to deal with if we became enemies."

"You're joking, Ichinose. This is only a temporary alliance. Since we're all aiming to advance to Class A, sooner or later we'll be opponents. For now, we're just joining forces."

As long as they were both aiming to reach Class A, it was only a matter of time before they became rivals. But that was probably still a long way off. Maybe Ju Fan wouldn't even be of any use by then. Besides, when the sky fell, the tallest person took the brunt of it. By that point, he probably wouldn't need to worry about anything.

"When that time comes, let's have a friendly competition that doesn't hurt our friendship."

"Of course. For now, let's get along."

Ju Fan reached out and gently shook Ichinose's outstretched right hand. The two classes had officially formed an alliance. It was only a verbal agreement, built on mutual trust, but that suited Ichinose just fine. She seemed to possess a special charm that made people want to trust her.

"Sorry, let's call it a day here. Something's come up with my class, so I'll head back. See you later."

Ju Fan and Kikyo had no objections to Ichinose leaving. They'd accomplished what they'd come to do, so there was no need to hang around and chat. Besides, she seemed to genuinely have something to take care of.

"Ichinose is really charming. She has this way of making people want to trust her. I wish I could be like that."

"There are no two identical leaves in the world. And you're just as charming as she is, Kikyo. Doesn't everyone in Class C trust you?"

"Do you trust me too, Ju Fan?"

"Of course. We're best friends, aren't we?"

"Good. Before we head back, want to walk around a bit? We haven't explored the school together, just the two of us, have we?"

For some reason, Kikyo seemed to be in a good mood. Her steps grew lighter, and an angelic smile spread across her face. Everyone knew that happiness was contagious. Thanks to her, his mood brightened too.

Kikyo was right. Since arriving at the school, she'd been busy with all kinds of social activities, while Ju Fan was either holding study sessions or playing games in his dorm. The one time he'd invited Kikyo out, they'd each brought a friend along. They'd hardly ever spent time alone together outside the dorm.

As they reached the Special Building, they ran into someone unexpected. The man had longish, dyed-red hair and was a little taller than Ju Fan. From his profile, they could see him wearing a chilling sneer.

As the two of them stopped, the man seemed to notice something interesting and walked toward them.

"You're Ju Fan Shinomiya from Class C, right? Installing surveillance cameras was a nice move. Next time, I'll be your opponent."

The man wasn't looking in their direction, but they could clearly hear what he said. As for how he'd recognized Ju Fan: with his short blond hair and burgundy eyes, he was probably the only one in the whole school who looked like that. And he was walking with Kikyo, one of the most famous students in the entire first year. It wasn't hard to figure out who he was.

It was obviously a declaration of war. But if the other guy didn't change his strategy, he had no chance of beating Ju Fan. That was the advantage of information asymmetry when it came to events that had already happened. Unfortunately, even though it was a novel, Ju Fan had only read the first year in his previous life. He had no idea what happened afterward.

"Who was that? He gave me the creeps."

"Don't you know, Ju Fan? That was Ryuen Kakeru, the leader of Class D. My friend in Class D says he's especially good at using violence. Be careful around him."

Their encounter with Ryuen Kakeru was only a brief interruption and didn't affect their mood. Still, the aura around him was like that of a snake, making them deeply uncomfortable.

"I can't believe we've already been at this school for over three months. When I think back to our first day, it feels like it was just yesterday. We've been through happy times and painful times together.

"When I look back, I feel like we've shared so many wonderful moments. I wish life could go on like this forever. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if time stopped right here. What do you think, Ju Fan?"

"It's nice to look back on the past, but there's no need to stand still because of it. We're still young, and there are plenty of interesting things waiting for us in the future. Wouldn't it be a waste if time stopped moving forward? We have to keep going."

He wasn't just saying it to Kikyo. He was saying it to himself, too. He'd worried and hesitated before. What would he do when something happened that he'd never seen before, something he knew nothing about? This was the answer Ju Fan had arrived at after thinking it over for days.

"Is that so? Then I have to work hard too. I can't just stay stuck like this."

There seemed to be something else hidden in Kikyo's words. Only she knew what it was...