Karuizawa Kei: Speak Freely, but I Won't Take Any of It to Heart / Actually, He's the Biggest Bomb in Class D

"Furthermore—from now until the Student Council posts a notice resolving the matter, Class D is prohibited from discussing Sudo's issue and from taking any actions that could have a negative impact on any other student."

Her arbitrary remarks immediately provoked dissatisfaction among many people, but before they could speak out, the excited voice of Izawa Megumi immediately followed.

"This is an attack by Class C on our Class D. They took advantage of Sudo's hot temper and tried to steal our Class Points, and even our Private Points. This is undeniable robbery. If we don't want to be looked down upon by them like we did the previous two months, if we don't want to suffer like we did last month, we absolutely cannot afford to have internal strife again."

"Since the school conducts assessments on a collective basis, we can no longer work in isolation—we must unite, work together as one, and focus our efforts in the same direction. We cannot allow our enemies to find loopholes and strike at our vital points!"

Her impassioned speech ignited the passion of the students in Class D. Those who had previously expressed their grievances put aside their prejudices and seemed to have forgotten about Ken Sudō, who had caused the incident, and instead turned their anger towards Class C, who had set the trap.

Karuizawa is really amazing.

Sitting in a seat that gave him a panoramic view of the entire class, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka watched as Karuizawa Kei, who had seized leadership of the class with just a few words and unified the class's will, felt a pang of regret and helplessness.

First, she used up the popularity she had accumulated over the previous two months to speak up for Sudo. After Sudo returned, she deliberately drew the attention of the entire class to him by asking him questions, which angered him and induced him to speak ill of her. Given her popularity and her previous actions of speaking up for Sudo, this was bound to provoke public anger towards Sudo.

If she continues to speak well of Sudo at this point, she will become the [only] ally who still stands by Sudo's side in this situation, Sudo's loyalty to her will skyrocket, and he might even... no, he will definitely become her tool.

He glanced at Hoshino En, who was sitting at the far right of him.

With a friendly reminder from the side, Karuizawa would never let go of this opportunity to plant steel nails in the group of boys.

At the same time, she also threw out the bait of [Private Points] and [Class Points] - whether it was a [top student] who wanted to move up a class or a [poor student] who had lost their fighting spirit and just wanted to coast along, neither could resist these two things.

Her repeated emphasis on these two things will inevitably reinforce their impression that she [values numbers and considers the interests of the class as a whole], reducing their resistance to [being led by her], and thus enabling her to fully seize leadership of the class after this incident.

Finally, by creating an external enemy in Class C, she diverts the resentment towards Sudo from within the class, inducing everyone to unite at this critical moment. This, in turn, makes it easier for her to use Class D as a tool to resolve this crisis.

Karuizawa... this guy is a top-quality tool!!

Therefore, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka felt even more regretful. He knew very well that Karuizawa Kei was a tool carefully maintained by Hoshino En —he had seen Hoshino En Karuizawa Kei privately in the library several times, and the two were quite close—he would not risk being targeted by Hoshino En by putting his tool into his own toolbox.

What frustrated him was that Horikita Suzune, standing to the side, did absolutely nothing.

She clearly makes real contributions to the class, and she can clearly articulate sound arguments comparable to Karuizawa's, yet she does absolutely nothing.

She even followed Karuizawa's train of thought, clearly being led by the nose.

Sigh! Why are there such big differences between people...?

Moreover, based on his deduction of Yuan's daily behavior, the only time she could have contact with Horikita's brother was during morning exercise.

In other words, if Horikita goes for her morning workout, she might run into her beloved brother, and might even be able to ease the tension between them and get in touch with him—whether it's to defeat Hoshino En or to advance to Class A, the help this relationship would provide is undeniable.

As a result, upon hearing that she would have to face Horikita Manabu, Horikita Suzune immediately backed down—she had already tried to persuade him for three days, but to no avail.

With another sigh, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka felt a slight urge to retreat.

Maybe we should just forget about it. Training someone is too much trouble, especially Horikita right now.

Anyway, since there's still someone in the class, and Karuizawa is still there, it's not his turn no matter what.

Moreover, even if the assassins from [White Room] really came, they wouldn't be able to break the rules and forcibly take him away under the Chairman's protection; if they wanted to deal with him, they would inevitably interfere with the entire grade's exams, which would cause even greater trouble—undoubtedly, they would be walking right into Yuan's trap.

Although he will have to exert his full strength when the time comes, Yuan will also take action. The pressure he actually bears is not much. It's not too late for him to train another tool person at that time.

With this in mind, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka became even more determined to adopt a "give up initiative and enjoy life" approach.

Moreover, letting Horikita struggle alone for a while will help correct her troublesome personality, making it easier to adjust and educate her later.

All he needs to do is make sure Horikita doesn't get overwhelmed by the pressure.

First Semester of First Year:

Chapter 97, Section 91: Karuizawa Kei: Please speak freely, but I will not accept any of your opinions.

Just as Ayanokoji Kiyotaka quietly put aside his worries, in the classroom, the students who had been provoked by Karuizawa Kei began to speak enthusiastically, proposing various coping strategies.

"How about we ask Class B for help?"

Kushida Kikyo put forward her idea, and the suggestion was unanimously approved by the [Friend Group] led by her.

This is a school after all, and it's normal to ask classmates for help when you encounter trouble. Moreover, when they were preparing for the Midterm Exam, Class B helped them when they asked for help, instead of mocking them like the students in Class C and Class A did. From this perspective, this method is quite feasible.

If what Ken Sudō says is true—that he was framed by the students of Class C —then the students of Class B will certainly not stand idly by and will definitely be willing to help them.

"Should we ask Ichinose for help? Knowing her personality, she certainly won't refuse."

Karuizawa Kei Ekenko approved of Kushida Kikyo's idea, but she didn't actually agree with the method. 6·□4+⌒

"But Kushida, this is different from homework; it can't be solved by asking someone with better academic abilities for help."

"We've already troubled the students in Class B before. If we trouble them again this time, we'll owe Class B an even greater debt. How will we ever repay that?"

"Furthermore, if they get into trouble with Class C because of this and suffer even greater losses, how will that be compensated? We simply cannot afford to compensate them."

"So, Kushida, your method should only be considered as an alternative when there are absolutely no other options; in fact, it's not a good suggestion."

So what exactly do you mean?!

Although Karuizawa Kei on stage looked serious and focused, Kushida Kikyo sensed that she was being targeted; she was definitely still holding a grudge about what happened that day!

That damn thing!!!

"Furthermore, in my personal opinion, if our first thought after an incident is not to solve the problem ourselves, but instead to seek help from others, this behavior will make our enemies think that we are incapable of solving the problem, which will only increase their arrogance and damage our morale."

This principle stems from her own experience. She shouldn't have expected her teachers and parents to help her, and thus endured the first bullying. She should have directly knocked down those bastards who mocked her for not having indoor shoes on the spot, made them feel pain and fear, then taken their indoor shoes, wore one pair herself, and cut the rest into pieces with scissors and smashed them in their faces.

Although she wasn't as agile and skilled in fighting as she is now, because she was exercising and practicing sports, she could still manage to take out a craft knife and a pencil and stab them hard in the face.

However, to Kushida Kikyo, Karuizawa Kei's additional explanation was like a brutal slap in the face.

Is this sarcasm? You're mocking me, aren't you? You're saying I'm too conservative and compromising, that I don't genuinely care about my classmates... Karuizawa, that's exactly what you mean, isn't it?!

[What the hell do you mean by that?!] -- She almost stood up and shouted back like that.

But her eventual return to reason allowed her to suppress the impulse.

Oh no, this is school. And this is in front of the whole class... I can't ruin my image.

I almost got dragged into a ditch by this little brat again; I have to stay away from her.

"I see..."

So she said this dejectedly, then sat down and stopped talking.

Kushida Kikyo backed down, and the second person to make a suggestion was Hirata Yosuke.

Because of Karuizawa Kei's previous actions in protecting her classmate (Ken Sudō), he has absolutely no objection to her taking over the leadership position now, and is even a little excited—it's great that someone actually thinks the same way as him.

That's right. Since we're all classmates, we can't argue. We must get through these three years peacefully and without letting anyone fall behind!

Er said, "How about we post a notice and ask anyone with information to contact us? I can borrow some points from the seniors in the Soccer Club as a reward."

In his excitement, he proposed a suggestion that, while seemingly effective, was in fact no different from Kushida Kikyo's proposal.

"Are you sure you can borrow it?"

Karuizawa Kei countered him with a single sentence.

"I'm not questioning your popularity, Hirata, but as far as I know, the upperclassmen spent a lot of their Private Points in last month's exams, and the Class Points were also significantly reduced. Hirata, are you sure they'll still be willing to lend you points now?"

"Let's put aside the question of whether any of those with leads are trying to take advantage of us. Just considering the repayment process—our Class D's current monthly net income is still negative, so we simply don't have the capital to repay the money. How can they have the confidence to lend us money?"

Upon hearing this, Hirata Yosuke fell silent.

Liu's proposal is based on the premise that they have money; without that premise, everything else is nonsense.

The repeated denials made the atmosphere in the class very strange, but Karuizawa Kei, who had been observing silently, probably understood Hoshino En Megumi's intentions.

She seemed to be collecting suggestions from her classmates, but in reality, she already had her own ideas. She just wanted her ideas to be accepted by the whole class without any obstacles, and for everyone to agree with her methods, so she went through all this trouble.

However, this plan requires a very important person: someone who will step forward and support you after your constant opposition, allowing you to logically express your own views.

From Hoshino En's observation, neither Karuizawa Kei's "Empress Group" nor any other group in the class was prepared to pass the topic on—in other words, Karuizawa Kei had not made thorough arrangements beforehand.

She's definitely not leadership material.

"So Karuizawa, what are your thoughts? Tell us!"

Thus, before the atmosphere became even stranger and was completely swallowed by silence, Hoshino En, sitting in the corner, became the hero who saved the [mistaken girl].

"Since you rejected Hirata and Kushida's methods, you must have a more complete and effective one, right? Then don't keep it to yourself, just tell us so everyone can rest assured."

Hearing his support, the blonde girl on stage showed a hint of gratitude and excitement, but she still maintained a serious expression as she spoke.

"I do have a solution, and it doesn't have any prerequisites or require our class to owe anyone a favor. However, this solution is very risky and requires the joint efforts of the entire class to achieve it, so I wanted to hear if anyone had a better idea first."

Her explanation for her previous pretentious behavior was so convincing that the students in Class D accepted it without a second thought.

First Semester of First Year:

Chapter 98, Chapter 92: Actually, he was the biggest bombshell in Class D.

"Karuizawa, it seems like we're all out of ideas right now. What do you think?"

Hirata Yosuke was the first to choose Karuizawa Kei.

"That's right. If we can withstand Class C's attack, preserve our Class Points, and ensure the distribution of Private Points this month, then even if it means some hardship for the classmates, I don't think anyone will have any objections." — Shan

Kushida Kikyo went up second, but her gaze lingered on Hoshino En in the corner for a moment.

This guy... Karuizawa's sudden sharpness, could it all be at his behest?

Wasn't it agreed that I'd get all the good jobs that boosted my reputation? Did that blatant flattery from that woman make Hoshino En, that womanizer who neglects his friends, let her have it? Ugh.

These two adulterers!!!

After saying her words of support, Kushida Kikyo lowered her head, her face as black as the bottom of a pot that hadn't been washed in a long time.

With the two pillars of the class speaking out in support, the rest of the class naturally had no objections.

"Alright. Since everyone wants to hear my solution, I'll explain it to you."

With that, Karuizawa Kei took a piece of chalk from the teacher's desk and turned around to write on the blackboard.

She drew two circles on the blackboard. The first circle—let's call it [Circle 1]—had the words [Class C] written inside, and the other circle—let's call it [Circle 2]—had the name Ken Sudō written inside. Between the two circles, she drew a square [Frame 1], which had the words [Three Class C members seriously injured] written inside.

After she finished writing, she turned to the whole class, pointed to the diagram on the blackboard, and explained.

"First of all, there is no actual evidence to prove the facts of this matter. The only information the Student Council currently has is the testimony of the two parties involved—the three students from Class C and Sudo —and the fact that the three students from Class C were seriously injured."

She connected circle 1 to frame 1, and extended an arrow 1 from circle 2 towards frame 1, and put a question mark on arrow 1.

"Although the three people involved in Class C are all seriously injured, neither we, nor they, nor the Student Council witnessed what happened that day; moreover, there are a lot of blind spots in the Special Building's surveillance cameras. Since the Student Council hasn't made a decision immediately, it means they haven't found any evidence to substantiate Class C's claim that no surveillance cameras captured what happened that day."

9. "No one saw it, and there was no surveillance footage, which means that from the beginning, the facts could not be proven. The Student Council made demands on Sudo only because the students in Class C were injured while he was not, and also because the complaint was filed first by the students in Class C. Therefore, they had to go through the process of speaking up for the [weaker party]."

Although Karuizawa Kei explained in detail, and there was clearly a twist at the end, many people in Class D panicked when they heard "[the testimony cannot be proven]" and completely missed the second half of her sentence.

Eight, and some people even immediately began to criticize.

"Sudo, it's all because of you! We're going to be broke again this month! I told you your personality was bound to cause problems!!"

Upon hearing the accusation, Ken Sudō's first reaction was not anger or annoyance, but rather disbelief—because the person blaming him was none other than Yamauchi Haruki, whom he considered a friend.

3. "Yamauchi, you..."

"What did I do wrong? Isn't that the truth? Last time you dragged the class down because of your slackness, and we went to great lengths to save you. We were hoping you could do well in the Midterm Exam, get Class Points, and then get even more Private Points this month; and now you've messed up again, forcing us to keep struggling... How far do you intend to hurt us before you're satisfied???"

Yamauchi Haruki's words were quite blunt, but based on Hoshino En's analysis of him over the past two months, this guy probably felt that Ken Sudō was beyond saving and would inevitably become the target of the class's complaints. As Ken Sudō's "friend," he would also inevitably be implicated. That's why he wanted to cut ties with Ken Sudō in front of the whole class as soon as possible.

Moreover, his rhetoric was quite interesting; every sentence was pushing Ken Sudō down the path of a "sinner." Coupled with his highly inflammatory tone, some students with weak wills who were easily swayed by others were now glaring angrily at Ken Sudō in line with his intentions.

Nakako... but... Yamauchi... do you know?

A hint of gloom settled in Hoshino En Eno's eyes. Her eyes, hidden by her bangs, were fixed on Yamauchi Haruki, the stars in them twinkling.

If I had to choose one person to eliminate, I would definitely choose you over Ken Sudō.

N originally thought that eliminating Yamauchi would provoke Hirata's hostility, causing far more trouble than Yamauchi's [sudden inspiration] would—for this reason, Hoshino En didn't plan to do anything to him...

But, Yamauchi, you know what? I'm in a really bad mood right now. I hate it when you treat everyone else like fools!

So, before Ken Sudō erupted in fury... before the incited classmates began to denounce Ken Sudō... before Karuizawa Kei spoke up to stop them... before Yamauchi Haruki's smug smile appeared... Hoshino En exploded first.

Bang--

The emotions that were gradually building up were interrupted by this sudden sound. They looked towards the corner of the classroom and saw Hoshino En slam her fist on the table in front of her, making a loud noise.

What's even more astonishing is that the desk, made of some unknown alloy, has been dented in the shape of a fist; and faint white smoke is rising from where Hoshino En's fist collided with the desk.

Now everyone fell silent. The whispers in the classroom instantly subsided, and even Ken Sudō stared dumbfounded at his deskmate on his left.

He kicked the desk on the first day of school. It didn't feel like a piece of wood covered with a layer of iron; it felt more like a metal plate welded to the legs underneath.

This guy actually bent the tabletop with his bare hands... That's terrifying!!

Ken Sudō felt a sense of relief, but also a lingering fear: he was relieved that, although he had a fiery temper, he had never lost his temper with Hoshino En, otherwise his fate would have been unimaginable; he was afraid that he had once felt annoyed by Hoshino En's scrutinizing gaze, but he had held back his anger because there seemed to be no disgust or contempt in her eyes as others did.