Testing the Waters

Beihai sat down and casually glanced around. Good—everyone had already borrowed points, with only a few buying the mountain vegetable set meal. That meant his own side was blending in with the crowd.

Kiyotaka Kiyotaka had originally wanted to choose the same as Beihai, but Suzune Horikita decided to use her points to treat him to a nice meal.

Should he refuse? But this was the first time a girl had invited him, which made it a bit special. And if anyone asked, he could just push the responsibility onto her.

From every angle, there was no real issue with not refusing.

And so, carrying a hearty set meal, he sat down beside Beihai, making Beihai's eye twitch uncontrollably.

He had thought this guy was a gaming partner who would disguise himself like him to achieve some goal. Maybe he wanted to enjoy campus life.

Meanwhile, he himself was just here to study without conflict.

But he never expected that Beihai simply couldn't figure out what he was trying to do.

If you talk about disguise, don't make it so obvious when you're controlling your scores during exams. That's treating everyone like fools—scoring exactly 50 in every subject.

Any normal person seeing that would definitely say, "If you're not score-fixing, I'll eat my hat."

On the other hand, this guy kept dodging responsibility, and now he'd gone straight for a luxurious meal. What was he doing, bouncing back and forth?

Of course, Beihai was more worried that if this guy bounced around and dragged him along for the ride, who could handle that?

Beihai didn't spare the other a glance, instead idly looking around, and happened to lock eyes with a pink-haired girl.

It was Honami Ichinose.

At that moment, she was holding her tray, clearly intending to walk over to Beihai, but then she thought about reducing their public meetings and could only communicate through the Terminal.

Plus, with the class rivalry, Beihai was essentially a Joker for Class B now.

So Honami Ichinose, upon seeing Beihai, smiled at him. Her smile was very sweet.

No one would find it strange, since Honami Ichinose's persona in this school was perfectly set—kind to everyone, a true Little Angel. Greeting anyone was perfectly normal.

Honami Ichinose felt a little thrill inside. Sitting in her seat, she chatted with her companions while secretly greeting Beihai, full of stealthy delight.

This sense of uniqueness and secrecy was hard to describe. To put it in a metaphor, it was like an ordinary person stumbling upon Agent 17, who could summon the wind and rain.

When she left after the meal, Honami Ichinose was in such a good mood that she walked with a spring in her step.

This piqued the curiosity of her companion beside her.

"Ichinose-san, you seem really happy today."

Honami Ichinose's cheerful steps paused for a moment, and her face unconsciously flushed red. She hadn't expected it to be so obvious that someone noticed right away.

"Eh, really? I'm happy every day, being able to make friends like all of you."

Without realizing it, Honami Ichinose had pulled off an impeccable move, instantly winning everyone's hearts.

Just as the atmosphere was warm and harmonious, a third party suddenly cut in.

"Ichinose-san seems very happy, getting so close to everyone."

This sudden remark made everyone stop and look at the shorter girl before them.

Honami Ichinose recognized her. During the transaction with Class A, there had been two leaders—one was Kohei Katsuragi, and the other was Arisu Sakayanagi, whom she was meeting here.

Arisu Sakayanagi was a cute yet fragile-looking girl, not just in physique but in many other aspects.

She needed a walking cane to move, and her complexion was much paler than average. To put it nicely, it was a cool pale skin tone; to put it bluntly, she was in poor health, showing an unhealthy pallor.

Yet, she gave off a sense of arrogance, with that kind of aura, but her physical fragility made it feel awkward and contradictory.

To put it in a metaphor, it was like she would call people "small fry."

Arisu Sakayanagi hadn't come alone; she had a bodyguard following behind, though the female bodyguard wore a cold expression, seemingly reluctant.

Faced with this unexpected visit, Honami Ichinose recovered and put on a smile, but before she could speak, the other seized the conversational initiative.

"Last month's transaction with Ichinose-san was quite pleasant. And what happened between your class and Class C last month was also very interesting."

"Is that so? It's nothing really."

Honami Ichinose sensed the other's ill intent and didn't want to delve into the topic about Class C. Not only did it involve Beihai, but that move had been a bit dirty.

It was like using official authority to crush someone, nearly making Ryuuen Kakeru's temper explode. Though if it had exploded, it might have been even worse.

"I can tell. It doesn't seem like a tactic the Great Angel of Class B would come up with. So, Ichinose-san, can you tell me who thought of it?"

Arisu Sakayanagi cut straight to the point, even looking confident.

She enjoyed seeing through others' secrets, and she also liked controlling those secrets. It represented a genius's dominance over those beneath her.

Once she had control, many things could be done—whether using the other person or forcing them into a decisive battle and then crushing them, it would all be satisfying.

Honami Ichinose hadn't expected it to be exposed so quickly, but she still smiled sweetly and said, "Well, that's a secret, you know."

Honami Ichinose had considered hiding it, but a brief thought told her that plan wouldn't work at all. Not to mention everyone knew her personality.

And when the other party suspected and probed, the matter itself had already been seen through. It was like L suspecting Light Yagami and staring at him relentlessly.

To put it in a feeling, it was like a girlfriend suspecting her boyfriend of disloyalty and constantly testing him.

On the contrary, if she admitted it outright, even if the other tried to investigate, they'd be left in the dark.

Arisu Sakayanagi seemed a bit taken aback, not expecting the other to directly admit it without any intention of hiding it. It was a slight deviation from what she had imagined.

"But Classmate Sakayanagi, if you want to see him or find him, I have nothing to say to you. I'm sorry."

Honami Ichinose spoke these words with a certain sense of pride—this was a secret belonging to her alone.

"I see. But does that also mean that if I launch an attack on you, the one behind you will always protect you? I'm looking forward to that a little."

Arisu Sakayanagi showed no disappointment, nor did she follow the other's lead. She left a single remark and departed.

This irritated the students around Honami Ichinose. As they watched her walk away, they began to complain one after another.

But some were also curious, and came to ask who that person was.

In the end, Honami Ichinose just smiled and dealt with them one by one, changing the subject. Though everyone was a bit bothered by what had just been said, it didn't last long.