Student Council Room,
Akane Tachibana brought the freshly brewed green tea to Manabu Horikita. She looked at Manabu Horikita, who had been absentminded every day recently, and asked with concern: "President, did something happen?"
Akane Tachibana had noticed since a while ago that Manabu Horikita, whom she secretly admired, seemed preoccupied, lacking his former efficiency and decisiveness, even zoning out while reviewing simple documents.
As the Student Council Secretary, she felt it was necessary to show concern for the President's well-being!
It's definitely not because of any personal feelings. It's purely because I want the President to focus on the documents.
Yes, that's it.
Akane Tachibana silently encouraged herself.
Isn't that how stories go? When the male lead is troubled, the female lead's silent presence means more than any confession, and they end up together.
"Thank you, nothing happened." Manabu Horikita, returning to reality, took the green tea Akane Tachibana offered him.
He drank the slightly bitter tea, feeling slightly refreshed.
The recent days were too calm, just like usual, yet terrifyingly calm.
Manabu Horikita felt extremely uneasy that Ren, having obtained the leverage to threaten him, could remain so calm every day.
An abnormal event indicates something sinister...
To prevent Suzune Horikita's reputation from being harmed, Manabu Horikita had already devised many solutions, just waiting for Ren to make his move.
But Ren seemed to have forgotten about the incident that night, making no trouble at all.
Passively waiting for the opponent to attack was always the inferior strategy. Manabu Horikita decided to act before Ren.
"Miyabi Nagumo, your second year doesn't seem very peaceful lately, does it?" Manabu Horikita placed the teacup back on the desk, looking at Miyabi Nagumo beside him.
Manabu Horikita couldn't act personally; he was afraid Ren would expose him immediately. Conveniently…
Ren's betting had previously disrupted all of Miyabi Nagumo's plans in the second year.
Seeing Manabu Horikita ask about the second year's situation, Miyabi Nagumo immediately refuted: "President Horikita, I don't know what you are talking about. The second year is completely peaceful right now."
Everyone clearly knew the situation, but admitting it publicly was unacceptable to Miyabi Nagumo.
No strong rebuttal? It seems my idea is confirmed. Manabu Horikita confirmed his next plan: "The Student Council hasn't recruited any new first-year students this year, has it? I'm giving this task to you, Nagumo."
"?"
Manabu Horikita's assignment confused Miyabi Nagumo. He didn't understand how such a desirable task could fall to him.
It was less about recruiting new students and more about recruiting first-year confidants for himself.
He didn't give this task to Ikuto Kiriyama, the other Vice President, but to me...
Is he considering letting me succeed him as Student Council President later?
"Alright, President Horikita, I'll go," Miyabi Nagumo readily accepted, regardless of any potential traps.
He didn't rush to complete the task Manabu Horikita assigned him. Instead, Miyabi Nagumo began to ponder his current situation and which first-year class to recruit from.
Since Fūka Kiryūin of Class B gained power, she had been relentlessly challenging his Class A, acting as if she would overthrow Class A.
Miyabi Nagumo felt that Fūka Kiryūin was truly crazy. He hadn't seen her care so much about her class before.
Classes C and D seemed to be firmly held in his grasp again, but Miyabi Nagumo's intuition told him that those two classes were feigning obedience.
He couldn't blame himself for thinking this way; it was mainly because those two classes were too fake... so fake that he could see through them immediately.
But he didn't know what their purpose was.
This was also why Miyabi Nagumo hadn't rushed to take revenge on Ren.
Through his observation during this period, Rokusuke Kōenji didn't seem like the type to cause trouble actively, so the mastermind could only be Ren.
Miyabi Nagumo had initially planned to pick on the weakest, intending to suppress Class D severely, but now his attention was entirely focused on Class A.
Miyabi Nagumo vaguely suspected that the feigned obedience of Classes C and D was related to Ren, and that Ren might even control those two classes.
If so, the reason Ren let him go previously was obvious: the young man wanted to use him to suppress Class D.
Still too naive, Katsuragi.
"President Horikita, should I go try to recruit people now?" Miyabi Nagumo informed Manabu Horikita before leaving the Student Council.
...
First Year Class B,
"Sakayanagi, what are you doing now?"
Arisu Sakayanagi had initially agreed to merge the two factions in the class, but after a short period, she started attacking the defense faction again.
Kōhei Katsuragi, finally unable to tolerate it, questioned Arisu Sakayanagi.
"Katsuragi, please mind your tone when speaking to the Princess."
Masayoshi Hashimoto would not miss any opportunity to ingratiate himself with Arisu Sakayanagi and immediately confronted Kōhei Katsuragi.
Arisu Sakayanagi, who felt no sense of breaking her promise, spoke calmly: "after thinking it over, I still believe Class B needs only one voice."
After playing the second game of chess with Ren, she understood the meaning of the third chessboard Ren had set up, and she also understood the "ticket" he mentioned.
Ren's side having full pieces meant the young man completely controlled Class A, while her half-full board meant she only controlled the aggressive faction in Class B.
The opponent's meaning was clear: even with Ren willingly giving up a rook and a knight, she could only win with difficulty.
In the third game, this board named "The Class," she was the one with fewer pieces. This meant she wasn't qualified to confront him now.
This was unacceptable to Arisu Sakayanagi. For that "admission ticket" that would allow her to confront Ren, she didn't mind breaking the verbal agreement with Kōhei Katsuragi.
The King piece Ren placed in front of the pawns also had profound significance in reality.
Ren was telling her that a "King" in reality would not allow other pieces to execute it. In this game, the "King" might be the most terrifying piece of all.
Reality was not a game; it did not have the conventional rules everyone adhered to.
The King, the least and most concerning piece on the chessboard, would become a piece even more terrifying than the Queen when replaced by Ren.
"It's impossible for one of us to defeat Katsuragi Ren alone." Kōhei Katsuragi used the argument that had initially convinced Arisu Sakayanagi.
Looking up and staring directly at Kōhei Katsuragi, who was much larger than her, Arisu Sakayanagi's small frame seemed to harbor infinite determination: "I know, but the chessboard must not have a third person interfering!"
Her current record against Ren was one win and one loss. And this third game.
No matter what, the winner must be me.
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