Arrangements

By the time school ended, the issue of Hirata resigning as class representative remained unresolved.

Although he genuinely wanted to step down, the opposition from his classmates was so overwhelming that Chabashira eventually threw up her hands and told them to decide for themselves.

The result was that Hirata, unable to withstand the repeated pleas of the crowd, had no choice but to put the matter aside for the time being.

And today was destined to be one of the darkest days for the first-year students...

"Thank you, Master~"

"Thank you so much. No one really came to find me today, not a single person~"

On the way home from school, as the girl, eyes shimmering with excitement, publicly rested her head on the boy's arm for the first time.

This moment left the surrounding passersby, including the loyal fans lurking in the back, completely dumbfounded and screaming incessantly.

"Wow~ My favorite goddess and god are actually public... Ahhh!"

"I witnessed it, I witnessed it! No, I have to take a picture~"

"Are they together now... No, I'm heartbroken, but why am I so happy? Wuwuwu~"

As the voices and camera flashes grew more frequent, Kushida, walking side-by-side with Rinya, suddenly realized how inappropriate her behavior was.

Shyly, she immediately turned back, head bowed, not daring to meet Rinya's gaze, which was filled with amusement.

"Geez, why have I been getting so impulsive lately?"

Kushida pouted, a trace of irritation she couldn't quite explain rising in her heart...

"Heh, do you really need me to teach you at a time like this?" Rinya couldn't help but chuckle as he looked at her.

"Ah, what~" Hearing this, Kushida looked up in a panic.

However, when she saw that they were about to be completely surrounded by a massive crowd, Kushida suddenly snapped back to reality, almost forgetting that she was also a major celebrity at school.

Just as she wanted to grab her master and run, she turned her head to pull him along, only to be left speechless...

"Master... you did it again~" A weak, mournful cry echoed.

Kushida pulled a bitter face; Rinya was nowhere to be seen in the crowd, leaving her with nothing but the endless, suffocating crush of fans...

On the other side, Rinya, who had escaped the crowd with lightning speed, received a call from Ibuki Mio.

"Master, my situation in class isn't looking very optimistic."

"Oh~ Tell me about it."

"After that incident with Koenji, Ryuen Kakeru's subordinates seem even more suspicious of me. Now, they look at me with hostility all day long."

"I was thinking about whether I should go to the hospital to visit those classmates and, while I'm at it, explain what happened that day to Ryuen Kakeru."

"No, don't go. If you go, you'll only invite more suspicion."

"Right now, you just need to act colder than ever. If those guys still dare to look at you with hostility, you can use the fact that Ryuen Kakeru is injured to teach them a lesson first."

"But... won't that cause problems~" Ibuki asked with some concern.

"Heh~ Trust me, those guys have all been beaten into submission. If you don't give them a good thrashing, they'll feel uncomfortable and only grow more suspicious of you."

"On the contrary~ Once you beat them into submission, even if Ryuen Kakeru questions you personally, they will definitely stand up and speak for you."

"Is... is that so? Then I'll give it a try~" Although Ibuki Mio didn't quite understand, since her master had said so, she was more than happy to vent the frustration she'd been holding in for the past two days~

"Click, click..."

The call ended softly with the sound of knuckles cracking on the other end~

As for Ryuen Kakeru, Rinya had long been prepared to prevent him from overthinking and guessing the truth. After all, upon learning that the two girls had joined forces to fight Ishizaki that night, he had no intention of letting that guy off so easily.

Although it was an agreement between Kushida and him, in Rinya's eyes, it would be more appropriate to turn this into a one-sided pact.

"Heh~ Dull loyalty. How laughable, how pathetic~"

Shaking his head, Rinya calmly made a call to Kushida.

"Hello, Master..." As soon as the call connected, Kushida's voice came through with a hint of grievance.

"Heh, this time it's important, so listen carefully."

"Mm." Hearing that it was important, Kushida's expression immediately became serious.

"Regarding that incident with Ishizaki, I need you to call him in a moment and use a recording to force him to clear Ibuki Mio's name at the hospital."

"Heh~ I believe that as Ryuen Kakeru's right-hand man, he'll know what to do."

"Ah, won't he..." Kushida's voice sounded hesitant.

After all, she also had dirt held against her in their agreement; if he were to be cornered like a dog, she would definitely be expelled.

"Are you worried about yourself~"

"Heh, you've developed some basic awareness, but your insight into human nature still isn't deep enough."

"Trust me, he probably wouldn't dare to do that even if he were dying." Rinya's tone was filled with mockery.

Hearing this, Kushida chose to believe him one hundred percent, though unlike Ibuki Mio, she was more eager to understand the logic behind it.

The only thing that depressed her was that when she asked why the other party didn't dare to go for a mutually destructive path, Rinya didn't offer much of an explanation, simply saying indifferently.

"It's just some boring human nature; you'll understand when the time comes."

"Mm, got it~"

Although she felt a bit disappointed, Kushida didn't take it to heart. After all, she understood perfectly well that there was a chasm-like gap between her and her master.

Furthermore, on the night after the battle with Koenji, her master had specifically tailored an exclusive development blueprint just for her.

And in that precise diagram, what still made Kushida tremble with shock even now was that in the future, not only the student council but even people with the status of Class 3 homeroom teachers would logically become stepping stones for her to continue moving forward.

This was something she hadn't even dared to imagine before, yet now, she actually had a direction...

And this was merely a design tailored specifically for her alone~

It was from that moment on that she suddenly realized her master might have been playing through his days using only the tip of the iceberg of his true strength.

As for how far that true strength, which had never been revealed from beginning to end, would actually go, Kushida couldn't imagine~

It was simply because, even now, she still hadn't seen anyone appear who was truly qualified to make her master take them seriously.

Night fell, inside a single room for female students.

A girl with a yellow high ponytail let down was curled up on the bed, her face numb.

Scattered all around her were clear photos and profiles of everyone in Class D of the first year.

"Who else can I even rely on..." the girl's dazed and helpless voice drifted out.

Thinking of the mysterious figure who had appeared suddenly that night, she still felt a lingering fear.

Her trusted boyfriend had only been spoken to quietly by that person for a few sentences before he knelt down and begged for secrecy.

"And what about me, heh..."

The girl laughed at herself. At this moment, she finally understood that the so-called protection she sought was nothing more than empty talk~

"Ding~"

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Karuizawa-san, sorry to bother you, are you home?"

Hearing the voice, Karuizawa couldn't help but shudder subconsciously, but after hearing that it was Horikita Suzune outside, she calmed down quite a bit.

"Oh, is that you, Horikita Suzune? Please wait a moment~"

After pulling herself together, Karuizawa tidied up briefly and went to open the door.

However, to her surprise, before she could even ask a question after opening the door, she was blocked right at the entrance by a question from the other party.

"You were just crying, weren't you~" Horikita Suzune's gaze was like a torch.

"Ah, that... I was actually just~"

Karuizawa wanted to explain, but before she could finish, Horikita Suzune blocked her off with another sentence.

"No need to explain, it's obvious you've been crying for a long time." Horikita Suzune's gaze was sharp.

"..." Hearing this, Karuizawa was left at a loss for what to do, and for a moment, she found the other party's intentions strange.

"No... what exactly are you here for? Can you be clear?" A look of annoyance had clearly appeared on her face.

"I just wanted to understand if you and Hirata have encountered something recently."

"No... nothing~"

"I'm tired, let's talk another time."

Saying this, without waiting for Horikita Suzune to continue, Karuizawa slammed the door shut.

"Hey, you~"

Seeing the other party suddenly close the door in such an agitated state, a thoughtful look appeared in Horikita Suzune's eyes.

On the way back, she immediately arranged to meet Ayanokoji, hoping to discuss it together.

Although he didn't really want to come out, he couldn't withstand Horikita Suzune's logic and met her at a park.

"Ha~ it's so late, you're really dedicated." Ayanokoji looked at her with a slightly speechless expression.

Having long been accustomed to his casual demeanor, Horikita Suzune didn't waste words and went straight to the point.

She laid out all her analyses of the two of them from various aspects today.

Especially the fact that both of their emotional states were abnormal, which always made her feel as if they were under some kind of threat.

After listening to Horikita Suzune, Ayanokoji just replied indifferently: "Didn't Hirata say the answer you want during the day?"

"Ah? What do you mean?" Horikita Suzune was a bit confused.

Ayanokoji seemed not to want to say anything more, only adding one final sentence: "Think carefully about who wants that fund project to close the most. I'm leaving."

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