Student Council Invitation (2)

After Horikita Manabu departed, Kitahara and the others sat down nearby.

Thump. After taking the drink handed to her by Ayanokoji, Horikita spoke up.

"I apologize for the scene earlier."

"If anything, I'm relieved to know that Horikita is just a normal girl..." Before Ayanokoji could finish, a sharp look from Horikita silenced him.

"I didn't say anything."

"Are you really as you were described by Kitahara?"

"I already told you, that was just a coincidence."

"Forget it. Everyone has their own secrets. Whether it's you or Kitahara, whom I haven't really interacted with, I don't really understand either of you."

"Do you truly feel there's no need to hold study sessions anymore?"

"Yes. I don't see the point in wasting time on people who only ever fail their exams. There's simply no benefit to it."

"Then Sudo and the others will be expelled."

"What happens to the others has nothing to do with me. If anything, those who remain will be the superior students, which will make it easier to promote to a higher class. As far as I'm concerned, that's exactly what I want."

"Isn't that way of thinking wrong? Your greatest flaw is assuming that everyone else is a hindrance, even going so far as to kick them away from the start. Isn't this condescending attitude of yours the very reason you were placed in Class D?"

"I..."

Watching this scene, Kitahara Seiichi roughly understood what had happened today. It seemed she had tried to organize a study session, only for it to fall apart.

"Ayanokoji is right. That is indeed your greatest flaw. Only when you truly understand the meaning of the 'aloofness' and 'solitude' your brother spoke of will you truly grow."

Horikita Suzune then shot a cold glare over and said, "Who gave you permission to speak in my brother's tone?"

The corner of Kitahara's mouth twitched slightly. He hadn't expected Horikita to be such a brother-complex.

Just like that, although Horikita stopped holding study sessions, it was clear she was a little different than usual.

The exam date was fast approaching, yet some in Class D remained self-absorbed, showing not a shred of crisis awareness.

[Though, it seems that because of Ayanokoji's advice, Kushida Kikyo will purchase the past exams from the upperclassmen, allowing most of them to pass. It's through this incident that Kushida Kikyo's popularity within the class will skyrocket.]

[However, I intend to intervene in this matter. This is another opportunity to earn a massive amount of points.]

[It's just that if I follow my own plan, I fear it might provoke a backlash from the school, so I need to find a "like-minded" partner.]

[Hehe, sorry about this, Sakayanagi. Who told you to be the chairman's daughter?]

Thinking this, Kitahara grew increasingly cheerful, never noticing that Kushida Kikyo had been observing him the entire time.

Soon, the final bell rang. Just as Kitahara prepared to get up and find Sakayanagi, he didn't notice when Kushida Kikyo had already arrived in front of him.

"Um, Kitahara-kun, do you have some time this afternoon? There's something I'd like to talk to you about."

"Sorry..." Before Kitahara could finish, the classroom suddenly erupted into noise.

Standing at the classroom entrance was a beautiful girl with flowing purple hair and long, straight legs—Kamuro Masumi.

"Hey, miss, are you looking for someone?" asked the narcissistic Ike Kanji.

"I'm looking for Kitahara Seiichi."

Kamuro then walked up to Kitahara, though she didn't dare look him in the eyes.

"Let's go. Sakayanagi already told you, right?"

He nodded and said, "Let's go. Lead the way, Kamuro-san." He emphasized the last few words heavily.

Perhaps feeling a bit embarrassed, she grabbed his arm and led him out of the classroom.

The rest of the class wailed in despair:

"Why would such a beautiful girl come looking for that guy Kitahara?"

"What exactly am I lacking compared to Kitahara?"

"The point is, it's not just one beautiful girl looking for him."

"Even if Sakayanagi has a heart condition, she's still so cute."

"..."

Watching this, Horikita said to Ayanokoji, "She's from Class A, isn't she? And that Sakayanagi mentioned earlier seems to be a key figure in Class A. How did he get involved with Class A?"

"I'm not sure about that myself."

Walking down the hallway, Kitahara said to Kamuro, "How much longer do you intend to hold onto me?"

Hearing this, Kamuro snapped back to reality and immediately let go.

Perhaps due to the lingering awkwardness, Kamuro Masumi's face was flushed with red. Kitahara looked at her face for a moment and thought, I never expected this one to be the shy type.

"Why are you staring at me?" With those words, Kamuro's face turned even redder.

"Oh, that? I'm just looking at the mastermind behind this whole situation."

"You..."

Before she could finish, Kitahara cut in, "Didn't I tell you to stop doing things like that? How did you let someone like Sakayanagi get a hold over you?"

"This... how should I put it? I just couldn't help myself at the time."

Hearing her concise and blunt reason, Kitahara fell into a momentary silence.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore. Do you know if Sakayanagi has any other business besides asking me to play chess?"

Looking at Kamuro's ignorant expression, he knew everything he needed to know.

"I didn't expect that even after being by her side for so long, you still have no idea what her goal is. Should I call you naive, or just innocent?"

"You..."

"You, you... you what? I don't want to talk about this anymore right now."

"Hmph..."

Following her lead, Kitahara arrived at the door of the conference room. After pushing open the Space Gate, the same attire came into view: thin legs wrapped in white garter stockings, topped with a beret. At the same time, a chessboard was already set up before her.

"Good day, Kitahara-kun, good afternoon." Seeing Kitahara-kun enter, Sakayanagi stood up from her seat and bowed.

But...