In Horikita's view, most people in Class D were just a pack of wild dogs driven by hunger and extremely short-sighted. One could not be too idealistic about them.
Wild dogs chase prey to eat immediately, not for some distant, magnificent blueprint of the pack's prosperity.
Yes, this was a truth Horikita realized herself after chatting with Ayanokoji several times.
Subaru looked at Horikita and asked with a smile, "So, is it already confirmed with Ichinose's side?"
"Not at all."
Horikita glanced at him, the expression on her face taking it for granted. "I did have a brief contact with Ichinose. It was in the cafeteria two days ago; I probed her with a few words, and Ichinose did not resist."
Faced with Horikita's probing, Ichinose was unexpectedly patient. She also understood Class D's current state of having 'no scruples' very well, seeing it as merely the final struggle of drowning people.
Moreover, strictly speaking, Ichinose was actually somewhat grateful to Class D. Although Class D's racketeering behavior caused Ichinose's class to lose quite a few class points, unexpectedly, because the original Class A lost even more, Ichinose's class ultimately became Class A.
No matter how much of a coincidence it was, Class A is Class A. It is a milestone achievement. Even if they fall from the position of Class A someday in the future, it can still be considered pretty good.
Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School has been established for so many sessions over decades. Even if it is just Class B temporarily climbing to the position of Class A, it cannot be said to be terrible.
"I see."
Subaru nodded knowingly. He understood that things were not as smooth as Horikita claimed. The contact with Ichinose was merely maintained at the most initial stage; there was a high probability that the matter of the transaction hadn't even been brought up yet.
After all, Horikita herself had only just realized that the people in Class D were already somewhat overwhelmed. When she met Ichinose before, it really was just a superficial chat.
Only after understanding Class D's situation now did Horikita formally consider negotiating with Ichinose.
"What, Subaru, you seem very interested in this matter?"
Horikita looked at Subaru, who rarely initiated a conversation with her. Usually, Subaru basically didn't care about these things much, so his initiative today was somewhat unexpected. This gave Horikita some ideas.
Basically everyone knew that Subaru's first pot of gold was obtained through a transaction with Ichinose's class. Although Subaru had basically never been seen in contact with Ichinose since then, it had to be better than her own standing.
Since Subaru looked interested now, perhaps she could let Subaru conduct the negotiations...
"If you want to dump the negotiation with Ichinose-san on me, forget it."
Horikita closed her eyes, and Subaru knew exactly what she was going to say.
Looking at Horikita, Subaru smiled and said, "I only have an interest in watching."
"An expected answer."
Horikita had no special reaction to Subaru's answer. Although she had gradually figured out some of Subaru's behavioral logic, at this current stage, Horikita didn't care much about whether Subaru participated or not.
It was best if he was willing to participate in class affairs, but it didn't matter if he wasn't.
"If Horikita-san wants to negotiate with Ichinose-san, it's best not to drag it out too long."
Ayanokoji, who had been pretending to be transparent the whole time, spoke up at this moment. Looking at Horikita, who was preparing to end the topic, he said faintly, "The class's momentum has already decayed rapidly today. Although Horikita-san barely managed to pull the morale back up, it's better not to harbor wishful thinking."
The expectation of points Horikita just created in the class was, in Ayanokoji's view, a double-edged sword.
Although it temporarily stabilized Class D's situation, it also set a rough time limit for herself. If Horikita did not produce even a little result within a reasonable time—even if not the agreed-upon personal points, but some insider news, such as saying that negotiations with Ichinose were underway and favorable—then the dissatisfaction and fatigue that had just been suppressed would rebound geometrically.
The class, which had barely banded together due to various interests, would completely fall apart in an instant.
This was something even Ayanokoji did not want to see. That would put Ayanokoji in a completely passive state, which would be very unfavorable for his life in the next three years. Class D had to be a whole, an aggregate of interests, even if only on the surface.
Thinking of this, Ayanokoji turned slightly sideways and glanced at Horikita. In Ayanokoji's mind, Horikita was someone who would do risky things out of wishful thinking. The enthusiasm that Class D burst out with just now would cause Horikita to make a wrong judgment.
"Hmm, I understand."
Horikita went silent for a moment. Undoubtedly, Ayanokoji guessed correctly; Horikita had been misled by Class D's performance just now.
Originally, Horikita prepared to dawdle for another two days, taking advantage of this high-spirited momentum to grind a few more class points off the other three classes, and then consider negotiating with Ichinose. Now, since Ayanokoji said so, it was better to be safe.
Three years... it hasn't even been three months yet. There is still a long time. There will definitely be many opportunities to obtain class points in the future, and eventually surpass the other three classes to become Class A.
'What a pity. Such a good opportunity...'
Horikita sighed slightly in her heart as she looked at the classroom where the atmosphere had become relaxed. After Class D obtains class points this time, it will be really difficult, perhaps even somewhat impossible, to get Class D to act in such unity again.
In Horikita's view, it was clearly agreed upon to act at least until the next time Class D obtained class points, but as a result, they couldn't stand it after just half a month. It really made Horikita feel somewhat helpless.
It was just spending a little time camping for people, and then sending someone to provoke them—such simple, brainless tasks. If they couldn't even do such simple things, she really couldn't carry them. Clearly, controlling the overall situation from behind the scenes was much harder, okay?
Ryuen: [Do you have time this noon? Want to grab a meal together?]
Just as Horikita was lamenting that Class D was impossible to carry and that no one understood her difficulties, Ryuen sent a message to Subaru.
This was the contact information added through Hiyori during Ryuen's first operation against Class D, when Sudo provoked Ishizaki and Komiya. They hadn't spoken since adding each other; today was the first time.
Subaru: [Is something the matter, Ryuen-kun?]
Subaru replied with a message casually. Ryuen was a decent person, relatively pure. Subaru could choose whether to have lunch with Ryuen depending on the situation.
Ryuen: [Hehe, just a normal meal and chat. You shouldn't be out of time, right?]
Ryuen: [Last time, you squeezed that guy Ishizaki's wrist quite painfully.]
Subaru: [I hope next time, Ishizaki-kun can control his distance a little.]
Subaru: [If people without character get too close to me, I might not be a very patient person.]
It was good that Ishizaki was slightly tactful. If he were like Yamauchi, Subaru really couldn't guarantee that Ishizaki would ultimately be as lucky as Yamauchi to leave this academy safely.
Ryuen: [People with character?]
Looking at the message Subaru replied with on the student terminal, a somewhat disdainful smile appeared on Ryuen's face.
Ryuen was disdainful of Subaru's so-called 'character'. What character or no character? For Ryuen, people were divided into only two types: useful and useless. Or more precisely, those Ryuen could control and use, and garbage with not even utility value.
For example, Ishizaki and Komiya. Perhaps they weren't smart enough and acted roughly, but they were useful. They hit where he pointed. They were Ryuen's capable claws and teeth for ruling Class C and conducting external operations. This was their greatest value and character.
Obviously, the so-called 'character' in Subaru's mouth didn't refer to this.
Ryuen recalled the intelligence regarding Subaru. A guy who seemed to see through the school rules on the first day of enrollment, possessing a huge amount of points from unknown sources yet remaining excessively low-key. There were very few people he interacted with; that is, he interacted relatively closely with Hiyori from his own class.
In other words, Hiyori should count as someone with character...
Hehe...
Ryuen laughed again, this time at himself. Ryuen felt that thinking so much here was completely meaningless.
Ryuen: [Noon, cafeteria, second-floor private room. I'm eating here. It doesn't matter if you come or not.]
Ryuen: [Of course, if you're a bit worried about being alone, you can bring someone you think has character.]
Sent.
Ryuen put down the student terminal and leaned back comfortably in his chair. Having observed Class D for half a month, it was about time for Class C to make a move.
Ryuen didn't quite believe that the leader of Class D's plan this time was Horikita. Ryuen had observed Horikita for half a month and finally came to the conclusion that Horikita couldn't be the one making such a plan. Horikita was simply too 'pure'.
Class points had already returned to zero, yet she was still so timid.
Originally, Ryuen had some expectations watching Sudo's initial actions. Based on Sudo's level, in half a month, they should have been able to knock at least two hundred class points off each class. This was even with Ryuen factoring in that Class C would face the lowest frequency of attacks.
As a result, Class D actually completely crapped the bed.
It was truly disappointing to the extreme. Either don't do it, or do it absolutely. Being timid makes it hard to achieve great things.
Of course, Ryuen also knew that this was a school after all, not some dark corner of society. There was a ceiling, a limit to Class D's so-called 'no scruples'. It didn't mean there were really no scruples at all—for example, going up and beating someone directly would absolutely be suicidal behavior... but these referred to those truly extreme behaviors.
Anyway, if it were Ryuen operating, if Class C also had zero points, Ryuen wouldn't be this gentle. Therefore, Ryuen believed that Horikita couldn't be the one proposing this plan. The person who proposed this plan wouldn't possibly use this 'weak' racketeering method.
There must be someone else behind Horikita. Ryuen thought there was a high probability that Subaru was leading from behind. Currently, only Subaru had this ability.
But, if it wasn't him... then Ryuen would be somewhat concerned. This would mean that Class D was hiding another character who was equally not simple.
This was somewhat terrifying to think about carefully. If such a person really existed, how could Ryuen rest assured letting Class C sprint towards Classes A and B with full force? He had to test the quality.
On the other side, Subaru saw the message Ryuen sent him but didn't reply. Because Sakayanagi had received news here and came to chat with Subaru. Where to eat lunch at noon didn't matter, right? He could just see what Ryuen wanted to say when inviting him to eat then.
Sakayanagi: [Oh my, truly saddening.]
Sakayanagi: [If you want personal points, Class B can also pay personal points. Why not cooperate with Class B~]
Sakayanagi, who had a good friend in Class D, knew about it not long after Horikita mentioned negotiating with Ichinose.
However, Sakayanagi didn't care much and didn't plan to interfere with Class D's actions. Her view was similar to Ryuen's; Class D's action this time really had a bit of 'loud thunder, small raindrops' to it.
Originally, Sakayanagi thought Class D could inflict heavy damage on the original Class A, knocking off at least three hundred class points. As a result, one hundred and forty points was about the limit.
In this case, even if Class A had fallen to Class B, there was no way to shake Katsuragi's position too much. This made Sakayanagi feel it was boring. She originally thought she could properly play with Subaru in the true sense during this semester's special exams...
Subaru: [Sakayanagi-san shouldn't be looking for me to talk about this kind of thing, right?]
Sakayanagi: [Subaru-kun really has no sentiment.]
Sakayanagi: [I'm really envious. Kushida-san can address Subaru-kun so intimately~]
Sakayanagi: [Actually, I can also let Subaru-kun call me 'Arisu'-san~]
____
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