At those words, Sakayanagi Arisu began to think.
She had used the class's overall standing to pressure him, while he had handed over his own classmate's leverage.
The school had yet to lay out its rules plainly, and few people could truly understand her actions. In terms of morality, the two of them were probably about evenly matched.
He should have understood that, which was why he dared to speak to her like this.
"Phew—you really are interesting. But even if you and I both go down now, I'll be the one who wins in the end."
As time passed, the veil of mystery hanging over the school would gradually lift. Sakayanagi Arisu was confident that everyone would come to understand her.
It was only right to work for one's class.
But Toru Hasegawa, who had chosen to hand over a classmate's leverage to protect himself, was different. His moral standards were definitely lower than hers.
"But your time must be precious, shouldn't it?"
To her surprise, Toru Hasegawa only smiled faintly before striking directly at Sakayanagi Arisu's current weak point.
"If I'm not mistaken, you noticed the hidden meaning in the teacher's words yesterday, but you didn't say anything at the time."
"And everything changed after you met that boy named Ayanokoji yesterday. You just asked me to gather information on Class D, so I assume he's there, right? You were the same this morning. You're being a little too hasty."
"...You're clever, but that only makes me even less inclined to let you go."
Sakayanagi Arisu fell silent for a moment, then spoke softly.
"So how about we both take a step back? I'll gather information on Class D for you, but only for a week—and I'll do it with all my effort, of course. After that, Kamuro can take over. In return, you'll give up using this to attack me. I know you've been recording, too."
Toru Hasegawa proposed a reasonable compromise.
"Keep in mind, I could have told you about the recording before showing you the photo, but I didn't. You should understand what that means, shouldn't you?"
In other words, he did care about Sakayanagi Arisu.
Don't misunderstand—it wasn't romantic. He simply had a feeling that Sakayanagi Arisu's life would become very inconvenient without someone to do things for her, and Kamuro Masumi, being a girl, could help with a lot of things.
As a boy, there were ultimately many things Toru Hasegawa had to be careful about.
"...All right. I agree."
Whether Toru Hasegawa had persuaded her or she was moved by the thought that he was considering her even as he sold out his classmate, Sakayanagi Arisu accepted his proposal. Then she took out her phone and stopped the recording.
"Then, let's work well together."
Toru Hasegawa held out his hand.
"Let's work well together. But be careful—I'm not the type to give up easily."
Sakayanagi Arisu held out her hand as well.
With Toru Hasegawa's help, she got up from her seat and left without a moment's hesitation.
Phew, finally got rid of that force of nature.
Toru Hasegawa glanced at Kamuro Masumi, who hadn't noticed the dirty deal involving her that had just taken place right beside her.
Hope you enjoy your time with Sakayanagi Arisu.jpg
After a brief prayer to himself, lunch break ended and afternoon classes began.
Five in the afternoon, First Gymnasium.
Toru Hasegawa counted roughly a hundred first-year students who had shown up.
Each year was divided into Classes A, B, C, and D, with exactly 40 students in each class.
In other words, at least half of them had come here hoping to join a club.
"There sure are a lot of people!"
For the record, Sakayanagi Arisu and Kamuro Masumi were standing beside him, and the latter was glaring at him with fury.
Toru Hasegawa could only pretend not to notice.
"Looks like there isn't a Gaming Club here."
Flipping through the booklet they'd received upon entering the gymnasium, Sakayanagi Arisu remarked casually.
"But didn't you say earlier that three people are enough to start a club? If you two join, I can fill the gap at this school by starting a Gaming Club."
Toru Hasegawa spoke with a perfectly serious expression.
"I'm absolutely not joining!"
Before Sakayanagi Arisu could say anything, Kamuro Masumi answered through gritted teeth.
"Looks like your plan fell through, Hasegawa, you friendless loser~"
The silver-haired girl piled on.
"You have no right to say that when you're using someone's leverage to make them work for you."
"That's right. Hasegawa, who sold out his classmate just because it was convenient for him, is the best~"
Damn it!
Toru Hasegawa felt a surge of indignation. He had been thinking of Sakayanagi Arisu, yet she'd used that very fact against him.
He'd never consider her again! Nobody could stop him!
"Yaho! First-year students, sorry for the wait! The club representatives will now begin their introductions. I'm Tachibana, a secretary of the Student Council, and I'll be hosting today's event. It's nice to meet you."
The purple-haired girl with her hair in a bun introduced herself as Tachibana and spoke from the stage. The three of them stopped bickering.
< src="https://e1.kuangxiangit./uplos/chaptersnew/964/264132/250327/1743047632-100434764-113156670.jpg" alt='Akane Tachibana'>
After her opening remarks, the club representatives lined up on the gymnasium stage. Some looked like formidable upperclassmen; others were beautiful, flower-like upperclasswomen.
I didn't need to tell you who to look at, did I?
People had appreciated beautiful things since time immemorial, and Toru Hasegawa openly admired the upperclasswomen onstage, all made up.
"Looks like there are a lot of nationally ranked clubs and athletes."
Kamuro Masumi, who hadn't wanted to join a club, looked at the booklet in her hands and said.
As long as she immersed herself in it, time would pass quickly. That was the method she'd chosen.
"Really? Is the Chess Club nationally ranked?"
Toru Hasegawa perked up.
Since the three of them had entered together, there was only one booklet, and it had been passed between Sakayanagi Arisu and Kamuro Masumi. He hadn't even had the chance to look at it.
"...It seems so."
Kamuro Masumi glared at Toru Hasegawa, then answered honestly.
It was reasonable for her to refuse to join the Gaming Club, but she couldn't refuse to answer his question.
Classmate Sakayanagi had said he was a very useful person, so if there was information he needed, she should do her best to provide it.
"I see..."
In other words, Sakayanagi Arisu herself was nationally ranked at chess? No, maybe even at the world level.
Seeing the smile spread across her face, Toru Hasegawa felt in his heart that she really was a little brat.
"What a coincidence. You guys here to join a club, too?"
A familiar voice reached them. It was Ayanokoji and Horikita, and the former was the one who spoke to them.
"Yeah. Want to join the Gaming Club?"
"Is there one?"
"No, but doesn't it say right there? You can start a club with just three people."
Toru Hasegawa hadn't given up on starting the Gaming Club.
"So, don't you already have three people, counting the two beside you and yourself?"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka asked, puzzled.
At that, Toru Hasegawa could only sigh.
"They don't want to join my club. Would you be my first member? Then we'd only need one more person."
As he spoke, he looked at Suzune Horikita beside Ayanokoji, his meaning painfully obvious.
Join! Join!
"I refuse."
Suzune Horikita had no intention of joining a club, let alone one as obviously frivolous as a Gaming Club. She spoke coldly.
At the same time, Toru Hasegawa saw the number above her head drop from 70 to 65. Did his invitation just annoy her?
"As you can see, I have no intention of joining the Gaming Club either."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka declined as well. He had no experience playing games. If they were experimental games, though, he'd personally experienced plenty of those.
Still... the other guy probably really didn't know about his past.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka made a preliminary judgment, but what had that look in his eyes meant?
"I see. Never mind, then. Besides, I don't think I'm the first person to come up with this idea. But there still isn't a Gaming Club, so the school probably won't approve a request to start one."
Toru Hasegawa shrugged, finding an excuse for why he hadn't managed to establish the club.
It wasn't because he couldn't find enough members. The school just wouldn't approve it.
"True. You can actually figure out what a student's proper role is, can't you?"
The progress above Suzune Horikita's head returned to 70.
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