Suzune Horikita's mind entered a brief state of stagnation and confusion. The nearly one million personal points were like an invisible high wall, directly blocking every negotiation path she had predetermined. The plan to use her own personal points as bait for cooperation appeared so ridiculous and insignificant at this moment.
'If personal points don't work on Natsuki Subaru, what will?' Suzune Horikita thought frantically.
However, her understanding of Natsuki Subaru couldn't be called non-existent, but it was close to zero. Under these circumstances, she had no idea where to start.
At most, she knew he liked to hang out in The Library whenever he was free and enjoyed reading. Aside from that, she knew almost nothing; he looked listless all day, lacking energy.
If she had to say there was anyone similar... Subconsciously, Suzune Horikita turned her gaze to Kiyotaka Ayanokōji, who had been burying his head in his meal without saying a word. There were indeed some similarities between the two.
Both seemed uninterested in many things.
"Alright, I'm done eating."
Natsuki Subaru put down his silverware. Looking at Suzune Horikita, whose forehead was almost breaking out in a sweat, he said, "There's no need to rush, Horikita-san. You can think about it slowly."
With that, Natsuki Subaru didn't wait for a response from her; he simply turned and left.
Watching his retreating figure leave without hesitation, Suzune Horikita opened her mouth to say something but couldn't get the words out. In the end, she could only fix her gaze on Kiyotaka Ayanokōji.
"..."
'Ah, it's my turn.' Seeing Suzune Horikita refocus her attention on him, Kiyotaka Ayanokōji sighed inwardly.
Unlike Natsuki Subaru, who wanted nothing, Kiyotaka Ayanokōji was actually very interested in true normalcy and common sense. The past half-month had taught him a lot, but it also made him realize there were even more things he couldn't understand.
For these, he needed to rely on Suzune Horikita to clear up his confusion.
As for whether there were others who could do so? There certainly were, but Kiyotaka Ayanokōji didn't wish for more people to discover the irregularities about him.
"Let's forget about Natsuki for now."
"At his current rate of consumption, even one million points will only last him through the first semester at most."
Suzune Horikita took a deep breath, trying her best to calm herself down again. Looking at Kiyotaka Ayanokōji, she said, "What about you, Kiyotaka Ayanokōji? What are your views on Year 1, Class D going forward?"
"..."
...
"Oh, my."
"Good afternoon, Natsuki-kun."
Walking on the path to The Library, Natsuki Subaru ran into Arisu Sakayanagi, who had been quiet for a long time, and her little follower, Masumi Kamuro.
Looking at Natsuki Subaru, Arisu Sakayanagi revealed a formulaic smile and said, "What a coincidence."
It was not a coincidence. The reason she could 'coincidentally' run into Natsuki Subaru here was entirely due to the positioning feature between contacts on the student terminals.
This positioning could be checked by both parties and could not be blocked.
"If there are too many coincidences, they might not be coincidences anymore, Sakayanagi-san."
"Although the number of times Sakayanagi-san has appeared before me is still within a normal range..."
Hearing Arisu Sakayanagi's words, Natsuki Subaru smiled slightly. His gaze landed on Masumi Kamuro behind her as he said indifferently, "However, the frequency with which this student appears around me is a bit abnormal."
As one of the few characters in the entire academy he had interacted with, Natsuki Subaru had some impression of Arisu Sakayanagi and Masumi Kamuro. So when Masumi Kamuro was tailing him, Natsuki Subaru had noticed, he just hadn't cared.
It was one thing in a place like the cafeteria with many people.
But seeing Masumi Kamuro in places with few or even scarce people made the problem obvious.
Undoubtedly, it was Arisu Sakayanagi who had instructed Masumi Kamuro to track and observe him.
"I didn't expect to be discovered by Natsuki-kun."
"And here I was, so confident in Little Masumi's skills~"
Arisu Sakayanagi revealed an expression that suggested she had expected this.
Given Natsuki Subaru's unparalleled observational skills—having realized the school rules on the very first day—Arisu Sakayanagi didn't think Masumi Kamuro's tailing skills would be effective.
The reason she still had Masumi Kamuro tail him was entirely because she had seen through a bit of Natsuki Subaru's nature. That was: extreme confidence, or indifference.
Since Natsuki Subaru didn't care, Arisu Sakayanagi naturally didn't care either.
"So, after busyworking for so long, have you gained anything?"
Natsuki Subaru looked at Arisu Sakayanagi, who seemed to hold the winning ticket, and revealed a hint of a smile. "What method do you plan to use next to make me 'place a piece'?"
"As a reward for not coming to bother me out of boredom for the past half-month, I can give you a tiny bit of time." As he spoke, Natsuki Subaru made a gesture of a tiny amount at Arisu Sakayanagi.
"Gains? Naturally, there are some."
Arisu Sakayanagi tapped the dragon head of her cane lightly with her fingertip and chuckled softly, "Year 1, Class B."
"Natsuki-kun's trading partner was Year 1, Class B, correct?"
"910 class points. Only thirty points fewer than our Class A. A score far exceeding previous Class Bs."
The class point rankings for the first month were out. From high to low, they were 940, 910, 490, and 0. Year 1, Class B's score was biting tight on the heels of Year 1, Class A, causing immense pressure for Year 1, Class A.
According to what Arisu Sakayanagi currently understood, Year 1, Class B's total personal points were missing a portion of unknown points, and their performance was the strongest among all previous terms, almost on par with the Class A who knew the intelligence from day one.
And the most important point was that in the last few days, Year 1, Class C suddenly realized this and launched a collision-style attack on Year 1, Class B.
Even if Year 1, Class B also realized this, they would still lose some points.
In other words, if not for Year 1, Class C launching that collision-style attack, Year 1, Class A's position might not have been secure in just the first month of school.
"The best performance in history?"
"It seems Sakayanagi-san knows the approximate scores of different classes from previous years?"
Natsuki Subaru nodded, acknowledging Arisu Sakayanagi's analysis, and smiled. "As for the trading partner, it was indeed the students of Year 1, Class B."
"However, even with the same intelligence, they still fell quite short of Year 1, Class A."
___
🔥 New stories are available now! 🔥
✅ Access up to 40 advanced chapters of ALL stories!
✅ Receive exclusive content and updates!
Help us hit our community goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters of ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan