Kiriyama's Growing Confidence

"Hey, Hiyori, did your homeroom teacher tell you that the scope of this exam had been changed?"

"Teacher Sakagami announced it at this morning's assembly, so we'll have to make some changes to our study plans."

In the Traditional Literature Club's Activity Room, Ichinose, the leader of Class B, was working with Hiyori to create study plans for the Class C students.

If you were wondering why Ichinose was here, it all went back to the conversation the two of them had that afternoon.

Ichinose was eager to make amends to the victims in Class C, so Hiyori had decided to let her bring along the other students who felt guilty and help tutor the Class C students for a good while.

In a way, it was also Hiyori's way of venting her frustration with me. Ever since I'd brought the Class C students into the club, she'd been solely responsible for tutoring them.

The workload had been a bit much, so Hiyori had simply decided to find some help and free herself up. As a result, our progress on the performance had surged over the past month.

"Good thing they changed it at this point. Otherwise, the timing would've been a real problem."

If I remembered right, one class hadn't heard the news from their homeroom teacher. I wonder which one that could be~

"Hiyori, Ichinose, I have something to take care of, so I'm stepping out for a bit. I'll leave lunch to you today."

"Sure thing, Masaryu."

"Don't worry about us, Masaryu. Just focus on what you need to do."

After leaving today's cooking duties to the two of them, I left the Activity Room and headed to the place Kiriyama and I had agreed to meet.

The Palette Cafe, the most popular hangout among the students.

"About time you got here, underclassman."

The moment I opened the door, Kiriyama stood up from his seat to welcome me.

"Was all this really necessary? I thought this place was pretty expensive."

I stood in the doorway and looked around. The Palette Cafe was practically booked out.

Everyone here was a second-year student who supported Kiriyama. The group included most of Class B, along with more than thirty students from Classes C and D.

If Nagumo suddenly went off the deep end and threw a bomb in here, the Kiriyama Faction would be wiped out.

"Looks like your class isn't that united, either. Not everyone's here."

I sat down beside Kiriyama and casually ribbed him.

"That's my strategy. Every class has 'traitors.' If there have to be traitors, why not keep them under my control?"

From what Kiriyama said, he'd already found the traitor Nagumo had bought off in Class 2-B and gotten rid of him. Now he was planning to bring that student over to his side.

"So? You've gone to all this trouble to gather everyone here for a meeting. Have you made your decision?"

Ryuen cut off my conversation with Kiriyama, looking impatient as he urged him to get to the point.

"That's right. I've learned through some confidential channels exactly what Nagumo's planning for this Special Exam. We're already guaranteed to win this exam.

"But the rewards and penalties for this Special Exam are too meager. We can't use it to take Nagumo down in one fell swoop, so I've set my sights on the Uninhabited Island Exam after the end of this semester.

"The island exams have always been major Special Exams. All we have to do is land a decisive blow against Nagumo there, and we can drive him out for good."

Kiriyama was clearly a master of saying nothing at all. He'd managed to spout nothing but fluff without offering a single concrete plan.

"So it's the Uninhabited Island Exam. No wonder our swimming instructor was so strict during the first month. They must be worried we'll drown."

My smile was all teeth and no warmth.

Before I came to this meeting Kiriyama had arranged, I'd already gotten the news from Ryuen.

Kiriyama had made this whole show of a meeting specifically for me.

In this second-year battle, Class C couldn't throw all its weight behind either side to grab a share of the spoils.

If we did, Class C would be branded as belonging to one faction or the other. Neither the Nagumo Faction nor Kiriyama's was any good, so there was no right choice.

The plan Ryuen and I had come up with was for him to take most of Class C to meet with Kiriyama and become his mercenaries.

As for me, I'd use the access Horikita Manabu had given me to have Manabe, my proxy in the Student Council, get in touch with Nagumo.

At first, Nagumo didn't believe I'd join his faction. But it was easy enough to convince him—or rather, there was no need to spend any effort winning his trust.

Even the conservative camp had conservatives and radicals within it. People came together because their interests or beliefs aligned, not because they liked one another personally.

Class C was divided, with two factions fighting for power. Horikita Manabu couldn't give me the support and help I needed, and my rival within the class had received a hefty sum of points from Kiriyama.

And you happened to be competing with Kiriyama for leadership of the second-years. The enemy of my enemy was my friend.

Our interests aligned in this matter, so that was the reason I gave for joining forces with Nagumo.

Our earlier unpleasantness had only been verbal. Put it on a scale, and it wouldn't even weigh two ounces.

While I was still figuring out how to let Kiriyama discover my betrayal without making it look deliberate, Manabe made her move. Her awkwardness neatly made up for the weak spot in my plan.

The expressions that naturally crossed her face when Kiriyama spoke to her, and the pauses in her speech, had all been perfect assists.

The fool Kiriyama even thought he could threaten Manabe with words.

He could've used any excuse, but he chose to threaten her with expulsion from the Student Council.

And after Manabe supposedly "switched sides," he really believed her!

That was why he'd said all that irrelevant nonsense in front of me today, hinting at what was going on. Why did villains in TV dramas lay out their whole plan for the hero just before it succeeded? Because savoring victory was part of the fun. It gave them the satisfaction of feeling like everything was under control.

That worked out just fine for me. He believed Manabe had switched sides, and I knew he believed it. That meant I could spread false information through Manabe, Ryuen, and other channels.

And since Kiriyama thought I didn't know Manabe had betrayed us, he'd keep acting like a fool, putting on this little show in front of me with all these people.

I almost felt sorry for him. He'd spent all this money on the act, invited me to watch, and in the end, Nagumo would crush him.

Ryuen and I weren't going to help either side strategize in this second-year battle. We were here purely as hired muscle. We'd do whatever our backers told us.