COTE: Daily Intelligence System Chapter 14 131-140

6:00 PM in the First-Year Class B classroom.

The entire class remained in their seats, their eyes collectively fixed on Ichinose Honami standing at the front of the lecture hall.

Ichinose spoke in a brisk, cheerful voice: "I have so good news for everyone—the harassnt from First-Year Class C has been completely resolved."

Seeing so people quietly let out a sigh of relief, she added: "So, from now on, everyone can feel safe going to the cafeteria to eat. You don't have to worry about people following you or intentionally looking for trouble anymore."

The mont she finished speaking, a low cheer erupted in the classroom.

The girls in the front row bumped each other's arms, and several boys in the back started discussing with smiles—the hearts that had been hanging in suspense for days finally settled back into place following those few words.

"Ichinose-san is amazing!" Shiranami Chihiro's eyes were sparkling in the front row, her tone full of admiration.

"As expected, having you around makes everything feel so secure!"

"To be honest, our class really can't do without Ichinose-san now," a girl beside her added with a nod. "We've been living in fear all day; now we can finally breathe a sigh of relief."

"Exactly! Now we can finally eat dinner in peace without constantly worrying about soone following us from behind."

In truth, most of the students in First-Year Class B had been living quite uncomfortably these past few days. Although the harassnt from the Class C gang hadn't escalated into physical action—they just watched from a short distance without doing anything out of line—this kind of blatant surveillance was enough to make anyone feel ill at ease.

They would be followed on the way to the cafeteria, watched when returning to the dormitory, and sotis they would even see Class C mbers standing at the door the mont they opened it. That omnipresent sense of oppression felt like a damp rag stuffed in one's chest.

Consequently, so students had simply stopped going to the cafeteria altogether, switching to buying dango and bread from the convenience store in the morning and making do in the classroom at noon.

Of course, relying solely on bread and rice balls to fill one's stomach all day ant nutrition couldn't keep up, which wouldn't be good for the body over ti.

So, when Ichinose Honami said "the problem is solved," the feeling of relief almost overflowed from the classroom. The vast majority of students relaxed visibly. Soone reached out and pulled back the curtains—one had to realize that the Class C group loved to peer over even

during breaks for no reason, making everyone afraid to even keep the windows open. The mont sunlight flooded the classroom now, it felt as though they could finally get a good look at the sun again.

"How did Ichinose-san solve it?" Shibata Souta asked in a small voice, staring at the figure on the podium.

Ichinose Honami replied with a smile: "Actually, I know so senpais in the boxing club. This ti, they stepped in to resolve it."

"The boxing club?!" Soone's eyes widened in surprise. "Isn't that all boys?"

"Why would they be willing to help us?"

"Ichinose-san, you didn't suffer any grievances, did you?"

The expressions of many in the class changed. Everyone knew the boxing club was one of the top martial arts clubs in the school; getting them to settle the trouble from Class C was certainly effective. But there's no such thing as a free lunch, right? Everyone's heart started thumping: Ichinose must have paid so kind of price.

In the eyes of Class B, Ichinose Honami was like a ball of gentle light—beautiful, soft-hearted, and always speaking so tenderly, willing to listen patiently no matter who had a problem. Over half the boys in the class secretly harbored feelings for her. At the thought that she might have compromised herself for the sake of the class, the worry in their eyes couldn't be hidden.

"Ichinose-san, although we're really grateful for the boxing club's help... were you... by the senpais..." Shiranami Chihiro looked at her with a face full of worry, the second half of the sentence stuck in her throat, unable to be spoken.

Shibata Souta had also wanted to ask sothing similar but was still hesitating on how to phrase it; he hadn't expected Chihiro to ask for him. Despite Shibata's handso looks and status as a mber of the soccer club—which made him quite popular with the girls—his heart, like many boys in the class, held a secret affection for Ichinose.

He didn't think it was strange—Ichinose was such a good person; as a classmate, it would be abnormal not to have feelings for her.

At this mont, his worry was identical to Chihiro's: she wouldn't have made so kind of agreent with them just to get the boxing club to act, would she? Like promising a date or sothing. Doesn't that happen often in reality? Exchanging a date for a favor sounded almost too "reasonable." He gazed at Ichinose on the podium, his heart a mixture of complex emotions—the indescribable sense of loss made it hard for him to breathe.

"Hehe, it's not what you're thinking," Ichinose Honami shook her head with a smile.

"I know a third-year senpai sister whose boyfriend happens to be the Captain of the boxing club. This ti, the senpai helped out as a favor. And besides—basically all the senpais in the boxing club already have girlfriends."

As soon as she said that, whether they were boys or girls, the class let out a visible sigh of relief. Take Shiranami Chihiro, for example; though she was a girl, she had secretly developed certain feelings that shouldn't be there ever since she first saw Ichinose at the entrance ceremony. One could only say Ichinose's charm was truly incredible—her gentle and bright aura almost literally appealed to both genders.

However, just as Shibata was about to relax, his heart suddenly skipped a beat—Wait, the senpais have girlfriends, but what about the freshn who joined the boxing club this year? They wouldn't all have partners, would they?

This thought had just erged when he pushed it down himself. He shook his head, feeling he was overthinking things—how could Ichinose get involved with a new mber? That shouldn't be the case.

He composed himself and spoke as if suddenly rembering sothing: "By the way, Ichinose-san. Actually, I've discussed it with the class, and everyone has unanimously decided that from now on, we will give half of our personal points to you every month to serve as a public class fund."

Instead of worrying blindly here, it was better to bring up the official business. He thought to himself, his gaze unintentionally softening.

Ichinose Honami was stunned for a mont, then hurriedly waved her hands: "There's no need for that! The current class expenses are still sufficient. Everyone should just keep their points for their own use."

"Everyone discussed and agreed on this," Shibata said in a serious tone. "Taking the Class C harassnt as an example—you asked senpais for help and privately comforted everyone; you must have put in a lot of quiet effort and maybe even paid so points out of your own pocket. By giving you a class fee, everyone can also pay back the points owed to the senpais from last month."

Soone from the back imdiately chid in: "Right! Ichinose-san is always thinking of us; we should do sothing too."

"From now on, the funds for class activities and buying review materials for everyone will co from here. We can't let you worry about it all by yourself forever."

Looking at the sincerity in everyone's eyes, Ichinose—who hadn't felt she had done anything particularly special—suddenly felt a warmth in her nose from being held in so many people's hearts.

"Then... I'll look after it for everyone for now?" She curved her eyes and smiled.

"If there's a need, I'll discuss it with everyone before using it."

"No problem!" Seeing she didn't refuse again, the inexplicable anxiety in Shibata's heart finally dissipated a bit.

He sat in the back of the classroom, watching all the students willingly hand over half their personal points to Ichinose. He suddenly felt that his earlier worry about a boxing club freshman was truly ridiculous. Soone held in the palm of the whole class like this never lacked kindness or protection; it wasn't his place to worry blindly.

But then again, this ti he had taken the initiative to organize the class fees and had been busy running around for days; surely Ichinose-san would finally take full notice of him, right?

Of course, Shibata also knew that the reason this went so smoothly was largely due to Ichinose's credibility in the class—as long as it was for her, everyone was always willing to cooperate. He had barely spent any effort. But even so, this "initiative" should be seen.

He actually never dared to hope for a relationship with Ichinose. He just occasionally couldn't help but think: What if? What if one day she needs help and he's among the first people she thinks of; what if, during class discussions, she smiles and asks, "What does Shibata-kun think?"—that would be enough.

This was the small, humble wish currently in Shibata Souta's heart.

Ichinose Honami naturally did not notice the delicate thoughts of her classmates. After she finished collecting the class funds, she briefly ntioned the precautions for the midterm exam to everyone and distributed the review papers she had printed in advance to each person.

This month, Class B received 790 Class Points. Converted according to the rules, each student transferred 39,500 personal points to her. Combined with her own original points, she now had a total of 1.58 million in her account—a significant sum for any student.

"I wonder if this many points can break the rule of 'students must be expelled'." She gazed at her classmates who were seriously flipping through the exam papers; her thoughts were simple yet stubborn: she wanted to protect every single person in Class B and absolutely could not let anyone be expelled.

Perhaps this was the reason for these points to exist. Since the school rules stipulated that "points can buy anything," could they also buy an "avoid expulsion" opportunity?

She didn't think further and imdiately pulled up Hoshinomiya Chie's contact information to dial. The phone rang more than a dozen tis before it was picked up, and Hoshinomiya's lazy voice ca through the receiver, sounding groggy and sticky with sleep: "What is it~ Ichinose~ Sensei drank too much last night and finally struggled through my classes. Let catch up on so sleep..."

"Sensei, I have a very important question to ask you. Please wake up."

"What's the ergency this ti..." Hoshinomiya let out a long yawn.

"Was helping you handle that matter last ti not enough? This school always encourages students to solve problems themselves; it won't do to always rely on sensei..."

"Last ti's matter?" Ichinose furrowed her brows in confusion.

"I don't quite understand what you're saying. I only want to ask one question—"

"Ask away, ask away."

"Can personal points really buy everything?"

"Mm-hmm~ It is indeed written that way in the school rules." Hoshinomiya's voice suddenly perked up a bit.

"What? Has our honor student finally co around? Planning to buy sothing nice?"

"Then... can points prevent a student from being expelled?"

"Expulsion?!" Hoshinomiya's voice turned crystal clear instantly, with no trace of sleepiness left, yet she still answered slowly, "Actually, it's about the sa as the fee to transfer

classes—20 million points can forcibly make the school cancel one expulsion penalty. I see, is our class rep planning to use the class funds to buy insurance for her classmates?"

Ichinose's fingers tightened around her phone.

Based on the current growth rate of Class Points, Class B would need about 13 months to save 20 million. Of course, there would be fluctuations—if Class Points rose quickly, the goal could be reached earlier; if they hit an accident and lost points, progress would slow.

But as she looked at the figure of 1.58 million in her account, there was no hesitation in her eyes. From this mont on, "20 million" beca a long-term goal for her and Class B. Even if 20 million points could only save one person, for Ichinose Honami, this was already wonderful news—at least there was hope, which was better than watching a classmate be expelled while being powerless.

"By the way—" Hoshinomiya suddenly changed the subject, "Did you ever investigate the person who spent three million to rent the surveillance? Ichinose-chan?"

"No, Hoshinomiya-sensei." Ichinose's voice remained gentle. "After all, spending three million points in exchange for over a hundred Class Points is already very worth it."

She didn't actually care much about who rented the surveillance. To her, as long as the result was beneficial to the class, the small mysteries in the process didn't need deep investigation—there were more important things to do right now, like watching everyone prepare for the midterms and slowly saving points toward the 20 million goal.

"Eh? Ichinose-chan, you're so naive it's hard to describe! That's three million points—Sensei didn't even have that much in my hand after half a year when I started! Aren't you even a little curious who made such a grand gesture?"

"...Actually, it doesn't matter who the other party is, Sensei. The transaction is over."

"Baka! If 20 million can save soone, can't it also be used to poach soone? If the other party can produce three million, they must have a lot of points in hand—wouldn't poaching such a capable person to Class B be a smart strategy?"

"Hoshinomiya-sensei, I still want to keep this 20 million to use as much as possible to protect my classmates in the future."

"...Sigh, I should have known better than to tell you about this." Hoshinomiya sighed, her voice full of the annoyance of "bringing trouble upon oneself." "This is truly shooting myself in the foot."

"Oh, by the way—do you know if Class D rented the surveillance? They got 530 Class Points! That's way too fishy."

"That... I'm not sure." Ichinose paused, adding as she recalled, "But they probably did; everyone in Class B reached the sa conclusion."

"Then have you chatted with Shimizu lately?"

"Why do you ask that so suddenly, Sensei?" Ichinose's voice carried a hint of doubt.

"Hehe... just a sudden curiosity about what Shimizu has been busy with lately." Hoshinomiya's tone sounded like she was smiling.

"It's okay if you don't want to say—at worst, I'll just ask him myself. I'll let you get busy then."

The call was abruptly hung up.

"Sigh..." Ichinose sighed softly at the busy tone. Her horoom teacher's interest in Shimizu Akira was truly coming out of nowhere.

She thought for a bit—it was probably the incident last month when Shimizu Akira bought information from the senpai and sohow Hoshinomiya-sensei found out. Ever since then, this teacher had been acting like she had locked onto an interesting prey, ntioning him from ti to ti.

"Speaking of which, I wonder if Shimizu-kun has ready-made exam papers?"

Ichinose's gaze fell on the podium—the last exam paper was still sitting there. When she went to the print shop, she had sohow thought of how much Shimizu Akira had helped her recently and, for so reason, printed an extra copy.

She simply sent a ssage directly to him: Shimizu-kun, I printed an extra copy of the exam papers here. If you need them, can I bring them to you tomorrow?

The reply popped up quickly: Is it a printed physical copy? Thanks a lot.

Ichinose Honami: When would be convenient for you tomorrow? Is noon okay?

Shimizu Akira: That works. Also, I happen to have sothing I want to ask of you.

Ichinose was about to reply "See you after lunch then?", when another ssage popped up on her phone—it was from Sato-senpai's girlfriend, who had looked after her so much. She asked if Ichinose was free tomorrow, saying she wanted to introduce a very reliable male kouhai from the boxing club to her.

She looked at the screen, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Whether it was the mystery person who rented the surveillance or this boxing club kouhai she hadn't t, she had no idea who either of them was right now.

But since she had already made an appointnt with Shimizu Akira tomorrow, and that usually independent Shimizu-kun had actually taken the initiative to say he had "sothing to ask of her," that was far more important than any stranger.

Tapping the virtual keyboard on her phone, she first replied to Sato-senpai's girlfriend with "I have an appointnt tomorrow at noon, I'll have to trouble you next ti," before turning back

to Shimizu Akira's chat box and slowly typing: Sure, anyti at noon works for , whatever is convenient for you.

In the First-Year Class D classroom, Shimizu Akira stared at the contents of today's newly appeared intelligence.

[1. When First-Year Class D's Horikita Suzune was collecting free food ingredients last night, she accidentally took an expired item. She made a bento with these ingredients, and after eating it today at lunch, she will experience temporary diarrhea. During the first period in the afternoon, because Shimizu Akira hears the sound of her enduring the discomfort, he will be glared at coldly five tis by her.]

[2. Since the start of school, First-Year Class B's Shiranami Chihiro has harbored exceptional feelings for her classmate, Ichinose Honami.]

[3. At 7:00 PM tonight, Second-Year Class A's Nagumo Miyabi plans to purchase the third-year midterm exam papers from any third-year student. The final transaction price is 20,000 points.]

'No way? What does this have to do with ?!'

When he saw the first piece of intel, Shimizu Akira almost lost his composure—Horikita Suzune picked bad ingredients herself and got a stomachache, so why was she going to glare at him in the end?

Speaking of which, he had just given her 100,000 points on Monday. Why was she still being so frugal that she went to get free ingredients? He really couldn't understand her.

He suppressed his inner urge to complain and moved on to the second item.

This piece of intel was actually quite interesting. Although he didn't know Shiranami Chihiro, he could tell from the na that she was a girl, and Ichinose Honami was obviously a girl too—so Ichinose's charm really reached the level of appealing to both genders?

Can a girl be happy being with another girl?

But on second thought, if there is love, everything is probably fine. The key question, however, was whether Ichinose Honami would actually agree to the other person's confession.

The last piece of intel was much more important.

Shimizu Akira suddenly rembered what Nagumo Miyabi had said when he went to eat parfaits with Kushida Kikyo—at that ti, the other party wouldn't allow Second-Year Class C to buy exam papers, saying "leave this kind of thing to " and criticizing it as a "waste of points."

It seed that the "move" Nagumo ntioned referred to tonight's transaction.

Thinking logically, it was very clear: Nagumo Miyabi now controlled all four classes, and the students of these four classes paid him a tribute of points every month.

For him, there was no need for each class to buy papers privately and separately—as long as he obtained one set, everyone in the four classes could share them.

After all, they were all second-years using the sa exam papers.

This thod was indeed a way to save points.

More importantly, he could use this to further tighten his control—since everyone had to rely on him to obtain the papers uniformly, each class would naturally beco more dependent on him and easier to manipulate.

The 20,000 points ntioned in the intel was likely the flat rate for the papers.

Shimizu Akira even couldn't help but suspect: Had Nagumo Miyabi already issued a ban—strictly forbidding those four classes from purchasing papers privately, with the threat of punishnt for anyone who dared to disobey?

Given the other party's current style of operation, he was completely capable of doing such a thing. Rather than letting each class spend money to buy papers on their own, it was better to grip everyone's needs in his hand through a "unified supply"—it saved points and strengthened deterrence through "bans" and "punishnts," killing two birds with one stone.

He suddenly felt that Nagumo Miyabi's thods were truly cold—or rather, this person had co to this school with "acquiring more points" as his ultimate goal. All his instructions and actions were like satellites orbiting a star, precisely revolving around this core.

Shimizu Akira didn't think Nagumo Miyabi was soone who did useless work. Ordinarily, points should only be valid within the school, but the other party was so obsessed with hoarding points that there had to be a reason.

'Could it be that even after graduation, points still have so major use?!'

If that were true, then all of Nagumo Miyabi's current calculations would have a more plausible explanation.

At this thought, he simply took out his phone and sent a ssage to Chabashira Sae.

He quickly received a reply, which started with a hint of impatience: "Why do you always like to ask questions after 8:00 AM? Have you tid it to my working hours? Do you think I'm the kind of person who just clocks in for work?"

Directly following that was the answer regarding points: "I can tell you that so 'rich second-generation' students use cash to buy points. If you really have so many points that you can't use them up, you could try looking into off-campus transaction channels."

Shimizu was stunned, unable to figure out the path for off-campus transactions. Since students couldn't contact people outside the school, did the school provide so kind of third-party trading channel? As for rich second-generations? Who would spend huge amounts of cash to buy points?

However, he also realized how obvious his actions were—because the daily intelligence refreshed at 8:00 AM, he had indeed been asking Chabashira questions at exactly that ti for the past few days. No wonder she was suspicious.

Chabashira Sae quickly sent another ssage: I'm not blaming you, I just wanted to say—you can also ask questions during my off-hours in the future.

Shimizu was stunned again, even more confused.

What was going on? He could actually ask questions during off-hours?

Shimizu: Then, what is the price?

Chabashira Sae: There is no price. I am your horoom teacher, after all. You proposed last month that you didn't want to interfere in class affairs, and I agreed. These past few days, aside from the information that is required by regulation to be paid for, I've told you everything I can. I just want you to know that, compared to others, you can try to trust .

Shimizu Akira stared at the text on the screen.

He had thought that the teacher's "extra help" would always co with conditions, just like the clearly priced transactions in the school. But there was no probing in Chabashira Sae's words, only a straightforward statent of "wanting him to trust her," which actually left him montarily at a loss.

The feeling was very foreign, like suddenly being handed a piece of candy without an expiration date; it was both unexpected and a bit awkwardly uncomfortable.

'But, "compared to others"? What does that an?'

Shimizu Akira stared at the text on the screen, suddenly feeling that Chabashira Sae's words contained sothing she hadn't fully revealed.

Who did "others" refer to? He clearly hadn't sought out anyone else these past few days. The only thing that could be called an "exception" was probably last month—he didn't rent the surveillance through Chabashira Sae, but went directly to the Student Council President, Horikita Manabu.

Did she already know about that?

Then again, what Chabashira Sae said was indeed the truth. Since then, she had never proactively asked about class affairs, and in the face of his questions these past few days, she was almost answering everything she could, being patient in a way that wasn't like her—acting like a truly steady and responsible horoom teacher.

Since the other party had said so, perhaps he could try trusting her once. Whether it was politeness or sincerity, he'd accept this gesture for now.

Shimizu Akira replied: Then thank you, Chabashira-sensei. I understand.

If Chabashira Sae could really keep acting like this toward him—not looking for trouble or causing ss—then staying in Class D wouldn't be so bad.

But once he sensed sothing was wrong—

At worst, he'd just prepare to pack his bags and run.

In the world of 2D dia, there is an old saying: beautiful girls don't go to the bathroom.

However, in Shimizu Akira's view, no matter how good-looking a person is, they are ultimately just ordinary humans—it is perfectly normal to occasionally have an upset stomach and need a restroom. Take Horikita Suzune and Sakura Airi sitting next to him, for example; during breaks, they occasionally stand up and head toward the restroom at the end of the hallway. Of course, they always return with a faint, fresh fragrance on them, likely from using the hand soap.

There is so truth to the claim that beautiful girls always carry a pleasant scent.

But right now, Shimizu Akira had a more practical problem on his mind—how to kindly warn the girl who had just sat back down: "There is sothing wrong with your bento today; you'll get a stomachache if you eat it." After all, he didn't want to be glared at five tis for no reason.

If the warning was too subtle, he feared she wouldn't take it seriously; if it was too blunt, it would seem intentional. He glanced at Horikita Suzune to his front-left. He couldn't really just wait for her to finish eating, get a stomachache, and then silently endure those glares, could he?

"Uh... have you been going to the cafeteria less lately? Why are you still using free ingredients to cook?" Shimizu Akira spoke as if casually.

Horikita Suzune turned her face to look at him, her tone flat: "Because I have debts to pay back next month."

Five simple words, yet they made the reason for her "frugality" crystal clear. Shimizu Akira only then belatedly rembered—everyone in Class D had to pay him back a significant amount of points next month. Horikita Suzune probably didn't know he was the one pulling the strings behind that, right?

He composed himself, trying to make his tone sound natural: "I went to the convenience store yesterday and saw that so of the free ingredients were past their expiration date. Since you brought a bento, if you used those ingredients, it's probably best not to eat it."

She turned her head, her brow arching slightly, her eyes filled with undisguised suspicion: "? Given your personality, if you saw expired free ingredients, would you just leave them there? Wouldn't you have inford the clerk to handle it on the spot?"

"..." Shimizu Akira raised his eyebrows.

He hadn't expected her to have such an accurate grasp of his behavioral style.

Horikita Suzune, however, seed to have "seen through" sothing and let out an inexplicably soft sigh: "...I understand. I'll share a portion of my bento with you at lunch; I won't charge you points this ti."

"That's not what I ant, okay!" Stunned, Shimizu Akira said, feeling speechless.

"...Still playing tough."

"You've really misunderstood."

"...Heh." Horikita Suzune gave a light snort, a sound that contained the realization of "I saw through you long ago." After speaking, she turned back to continue reading her book, clearly not intending to argue with him further.

"Fine, you're not listening? Don't bla when your stomach starts acting up." Seeing her like this, Shimizu Akira imdiately gave up the idea of further persuasion.

He was sincerely trying to warn her, so how did he end up being treated like a "little glutton craving a bento"? This person is exactly like her brother; sotis her stubbornness is truly exasperating.

.

.

.

When lunch break arrived, Shimizu Akira got up and went to the cafeteria. He had just sat down with a bowl of tomato and egg over rice when he saw Horikita Suzune walking over with a al tray—she seed even more decisive than him, walking straight to the opposite side and pulling out a chair gracefully. Then, she took out her bento box, placed it gently on the table, and opened it.

Shimizu Akira couldn't help but steal a glance.

To be fair, Horikita Suzune's bento was very neatly prepared: the left half was distinct grains of white rice, while the right side featured neatly arranged slices of sausage, stir-fried cabbage, and chicken chunks. In the corner sat a few bright red cherry tomatoes, looking fresh and crisp.

"Push your rice over a bit." Noticing his gaze, Horikita Suzune looked up, her chopsticks already gripped firmly in her hand, her tone not exactly gentle.

Shimizu Akira retracted his gaze and took a bite of his own tomato and egg rice: "No need."

In his mind, however, he was privately pondering—the ingredients in the bento looked quite fresh, the rice grains were distinct, and the colors of the sausage and chicken were normal. But this was "Intelligence" after all, and it had never lied to him from the start.

"Why are you being so hesitant today?" Horikita Suzune frowned, her eyes flashing with obvious displeasure. "It's not like I'm not letting you eat."

In her impression, Shimizu Akira was always soone who spoke his mind directly and never beat around the bush like this. It was the sa at the BBQ restaurant last ti; almost all the at she grilled ended up in his stomach.

Shimizu Akira was startled. Seeing the persistence in her eyes, he suddenly changed his mind. Besides, if a bento is being offered, might as well eat it; anyway, his own constitution was excellent, so he didn't have to worry about an upset stomach at all.

"Fine." He pushed his tray toward the middle. "Then give a bit. But let's be clear: I have a strong physical constitution; even if I eat sothing that isn't fresh, I can handle it. You... might be a different story."

These words were half-teasing and half-warning. He stared at Horikita Suzune's open bento box, waiting to see if she would pay more attention because of this "warning."

Horikita Suzune's fingertips paused with the chopsticks. She glanced at him as if looking at a tsundere.

"So you're saying you want to give you a bit more?"

Despite her words, she used a spoon to scoop several pieces of chicken, cherry tomatoes, and so cabbage, placing them steadily on his rice. She gave away a full third of her al.

The oily aroma of the chicken mixed with the heat of the rice wafted over. Shimizu Akira looked at those plump cherry tomatoes—the skins were smooth, and the stems still had a fresh green tint. They really didn't look like they had any problems.

"The ingredients in your bento, were they all free items from the convenience store?" He shoveled so rice into his mouth, asking casually.

"Where else?" Horikita Suzune picked up a piece of cabbage from her bowl. "It's more cost-effective than you eating at the cafeteria every single al."

"Oh?" Shimizu Akira looked up, catching her gaze just as she looked away. "Then the sausage in this bento, did you get that for free yesterday too?"

She didn't answer, simply stuffing a large mouthful of rice into her mouth.

Shimizu Akira didn't press further. He lowered his head and finished all the chicken, tomatoes, and cabbage in his bowl, thinking that if he really heard sothing in the afternoon, at least he could be certain it wasn't his imagination.

As lunch break was ending, Horikita Suzune packed her unfinished bento into the box. Her steps seed to falter for a split second as she stood up, but she quickly straightened her back and walked out, her back looking no different from usual.

Shimizu Akira watched her figure, couldn't help but narrow his eyes, and hurried to catch up, walking side-by-side with her.

"Does your stomach feel a little uncomfortable?"

"...You're seeing things." Horikita Suzune's tone was very steady; she really did look as if nothing were wrong.

"Really? If you need to go to the bathroom, go now." He pressed her again.

"It is absolutely impossible for there to be a problem with the bento I made! I won't go to the bathroom over such a trivial matter." She raised her volu slightly, as if emphasizing the point or perhaps encouraging herself, though her pace subconsciously quickened a few notches.

Shimizu Akira wasn't in the mood to fret over whether Horikita Suzune was going to the restroom or not—he had an appointnt to et Ichinose Honami at the school building entrance at noon, and he had already received a ssage from her saying she had "arrived."

After finishing his al, he headed straight for the eting place.

Co to think of it, he had received a ssage from Sato-senpai yesterday afternoon. Sato ntioned that regarding the date he brought up yesterday, his girlfriend had already helped ask about it. Unfortunately, the girl was busy lately and couldn't be asked out for the ti being. However, in the end, Sato-senpai still patted his chest and guaranteed that he would definitely arrange a date for him.

But Shimizu knew in his heart that the girl was Ichinose Honami—he just didn't know if she chose to refuse because she knew it was him, or if she simply didn't realize who the person behind the invitation was. Regardless, he couldn't bring it up to ask. No matter which answer it was, ntioning it would only result in mutual embarrassnt.

When he reached the school building entrance, Ichinose Honami was standing under a cherry blossom tree waiting for him, a few strands of her long pink hair lifted by the wind. Seeing him approach, she smiled and waved: "Shimizu-kun, sorry to keep you waiting."

"I'm the one who's late." Shimizu Akira stopped in his tracks.

"These are the printed exam papers. Please take them, Shimizu-kun."

Ichinose Honami handed over the papers in her hand, her fingertips pressing lightly against the edges to prevent the sheets from scattering. Shimizu took them and did a cursory flip-through, finding that all the blanks were filled with the correct answers in handwriting as neat as a printed font.

These papers were far more thoughtful than the set Sakayanagi Arisu had given to Class D—in Sakayanagi's papers, so questions only provided the answer, leaving even simple steps blank. In contrast, Ichinose Honami had not only completed all the problem-solving logic but had also clearly annotated several complex math problems: derivation formulas were written on the side, corresponding textbook page numbers were noted, and she even drew small reminder symbols next to steps where mistakes were easily made.

"Did you organize this specifically?" Shimizu looked up and asked. He could tell that Ichinose had spent a lot of ntal effort organizing this set.

"Yes, it took a bit of work. I felt that so parts of the papers from Sakayanagi-san were a bit difficult to understand," Ichinose Honami replied with a smile.

"These were actually organized for the students of Class B; this is an extra copy."

She paused and then added: "If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask anyti. By the way, I plan to go to the library over the next few days to explain these papers to the Class B students. If you have ti, you're welco to join the study session."

"Oh right! Shimizu-kun, how is the progress on investigating the 'surveillance rental'?"

"Currently, we've reached the computer phase. We've obtained the list of everyone who has purchased a computer since the start of school!"

"Eh? Computers? I see!" Ichinose Honami's eyes suddenly widened.

"When I went to the Student Council before, the President specifically reminded —one must have a laptop to install the surveillance system. Thinking about it now, that's clearly a vital clue! Did you or Shiina-san co up with this angle?"

"It was actually ," Shimizu Akira replied.

"...Shimizu-kun really has the potential to be a detective."

"...Uh, it was just a sudden inspiration." Shimizu Akira suddenly felt a bit awkward.

How did he have detective potential? If anything, it was quite the opposite. If it weren't for Shiina Hiyori investigating the matter, he wouldn't have beco her assistant in the first place.

But then again, Ichinose Honami was truly good at praising people. In this regard, she was sowhat similar to Kushida Kikyo from his own class. Both loved making friends and had near-maxed social skills, though one was sincere while the other was a facade.

He could tell that Ichinose's comnt about "detective potential" was heartfelt; she truly thought his line of thinking was impressive.

No wonder she was a presence that appealed to everyone in the school—Shimizu Akira even ntally dubbed her the "Strongest Succubus of Advanced Nurturing High School."

Sato-senpai's girlfriend was a pri example; whether it was being "naturally attracted" or moved by her innate charisma, she was simply willing to help her.

Thinking about it this way, if Shiina Hiyori radiated a " 1 1" aura of tranquility, then in his eyes, Ichinose Honami probably possessed a " 1 1" favorability aura. The two were equal in brilliance, each with their own unique rits.

"Actually, that's why I ca to find you for this," Shimizu Akira organized his thoughts and said. "On the list, there are four students from First-Year Class B who purchased computers."

"I see—you want to help ask those four students about the specific purpose of their computer purchases?" Ichinose Honami reacted quickly, then, as if suddenly realizing sothing, she gave an awkward smile.

"But speaking of which, one of those four people is . I bought a computer specifically to install the surveillance system. Do you believe , Shimizu-kun? By that logic, I seem to have beco one of the suspects myself."

"How could that be!" Shimizu Akira responded without a second thought, his tone carrying an undisguised certainty.

"Of course I believe you—you would never do such a thing."

In his heart, he knew perfectly well: he was the one who rented the surveillance, so how could it possibly be Ichinose?

Hearing this response—given almost without hesitation and practically blurted out—Ichinose Honami couldn't help but steal a glance at him. She wasn't unfamiliar with his personality. Shimizu Akira gave her the impression of a rational and calm type who was accustod to calculating everything clearly in his mind first. Yet this ti, he didn't have even half a second of doubt and chose to believe her directly?

Being trusted felt truly good, especially when the person trusting her was Shimizu Akira.

The slight awkwardness in Ichinose's heart stemming from her status as a "suspect" vanished completely. She looked up at him, her tone carrying a hint of cheerful testing: "I understand, then leave this matter to ! Oh—I thought of a way. Should I call those students right now? Tell the questions you want to ask quietly, and I'll ask them. This way we can avoid unnecessary probing and be more efficient. What do you think?"

"Sure, of course," Shimizu Akira agreed without thinking twice, even feeling that this idea was exceptionally appropriate.

"Or rather, this is indeed more efficient. Thank you, then."

If he were the one to ask, it would inevitably require so irrelevant preamble to introduce himself; Ichinose, being the Class B representative, was clearly the optimal choice to speak.

As he thought this, a thought suddenly crossed Shimizu's mind—Ichinose Honami was really being very considerate of him.

Before the two of them could take action, many passing students began greeting Ichinose Honami one after another.

It was Friday, and with people constantly coming and going at the entrance of the school building, standing in such a prominent spot naturally drew attention. Soon, several boys who were clearly from First-Year Class B walked over.

Their gazes swept over Shimizu Akira with a hint of subtle, hard-to-detect wariness as they naturally surrounded Ichinose, as if silently protecting her.

This girl, who was quite popular throughout the entire school, naturally knew a lot of people. Seeing the situation, Shimizu Akira knew it wasn't convenient to keep chatting, so he took out his phone and sent her a ssage.

Shimizu Akira: You go ahead and get busy. This matter isn't urgent; we can do it later.

Shimizu Akira: I owe you a favor this ti. If you need anything in the future, just let know.

Not far away, Ichinose Honami felt the vibration in her pocket. She looked down at the ssage, hesitated for a mont, then looked up and gave him a light nod before turning back to respond to the classmates gathered around her.

Shimizu Akira didn't linger. He turned and headed toward the classroom. By the ti he returned, it was almost 1:30 PM.

His seatmate, Horikita Suzune, was holding an extracurricular book, but her expression didn't look good. Her movents as she flipped the pages were much faster than usual, and the pressure of her fingertips on the paper betrayed a sense of unnaturalness.

'This girl... could it be that she still hasn't gone to the bathroom even now?'

Shimizu Akira felt a surge of speechlessness. He had warned her so clearly, yet she insisted on not listening! Just to prove that there was nothing wrong with her bento, was it really worth forcing herself to endure this much?

Soon, the first period of the afternoon began: Mathematics.

Shimizu Akira had a solid foundation in math, so he didn't need to focus entirely on the blackboard. His peripheral vision involuntarily drifted toward his seatmate.

He saw Horikita Suzune's back arching slightly as she subconsciously shrank into her chair. Her face looked even worse than before, and her jawline was clenched tight—she was clearly in a state where she wanted to endure but found it unbearable. One of her hands under the desk had already begun to move; her fingertips were curled slightly over her knee, as if she were massaging sothing.

Shimizu Akira figured it out after a mont's thought: she was most likely rubbing her stomach. Given that look of forced endurance, she must have eaten a problematic bento at noon; it was only normal to feel uncomfortable enough to want to massage her abdon.

'He's looking at again!)

Could he have noticed that my stomach is upset?'

Horikita Suzune had actually noticed Shimizu Akira's gaze long ago. She had always been exceptionally sensitive to the stares of others; otherwise, she wouldn't have directly questioned Shimizu Akira and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka on the first day of school about why they were staring at her.

However, at this mont, she truly didn't have the ntal energy to care about his gaze. The griping pain in her stomach ca in waves, each stronger than the last, making her so uncomfortable she nearly clenched her fists under the desk.

Thinking back carefully, the discomfort hadn't stopped since she finished the bento. That's right—Shimizu Akira was right. There was indeed sothing wrong with the bento she made. Among the free ingredients she collected at the supermarket yesterday were sausage, cabbage, and tomatoes. For today's bento, aside from the rice and the chicken chunks she bought separately, all the other ingredients were those free items.

She felt an inexplicable surge of annoyance: she should have listened to his warning.

Horikita Suzune secretly bit her lower lip. At first, she thought he was just saying alarmist things because he wanted to eat her bento—after all, when he ate BBQ last ti, that look of enjoynt was sothing he couldn't have faked.

'If only I had gone to the bathroom once at noon.'

Regret washed over her again. The pain hadn't been this bad earlier, but it had grown increasingly intense during class. Her body was protesting bluntly, and she could barely suppress the urge to go to the restroom.

But she couldn't move. The reason was simple: she had told Shimizu Akira that she "wouldn't go to the bathroom because of a bento issue." If she stood up now, wouldn't that be equivalent to admitting he was right and breaking her own word? It would also be a passive admission that the bento she made was problematic.

'He clearly ate my bento too, and he ate it with quite an appetite. How is it that nothing is wrong with him at all?'

Horikita Suzune couldn't help but steal a glance upward, quickly shooting a glare at Shimizu Akira. He was looking down at his textbook, the profile of his face looking perfectly calm. It seed he wasn't lying; his physical constitution was like a monster's, completely unaffected by the bento.

Her fingers gripping her pen tightened further, and fine beads of cold sweat broke out on her forehead. Suddenly, there was a stir in her stomach, and a "gurgle" sounded. The sound wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet classroom.

Horikita Suzune froze instantly. Her ears turned red in a flash, followed by a light flush spreading across her cheeks.

Embarrassing—too embarrassing. She could feel that while the sound wasn't loud, the people at the neighboring desks must have heard it.

Subconsciously, she first glanced at Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. He was staring at the blackboard, his posture motionless; it seed he hadn't noticed. But when she turned to the other side, she crashed right into Shimizu Akira's gaze. He had already turned his head, his eyes carrying a hint of obvious surprise. He had clearly heard it.

She quickly turned her head back, making her breathing even shallower. She felt the back of her neck burning.

"...I'm hungry," she mumbled lowly toward the desk, trying to act as if nothing had happened.

"Then you really are a little glutton—did you think I would say that?" Shimizu Akira looked at her reddened ears, his tone carrying a bit of helpless teasing.

"Stop faking it and go to the bathroom."

"...You!" Horikita Suzune snapped her eyes up, wanting to retort but being choked by a surge of abdominal pain.

"Don't 'you' , just go!" Shimizu Akira leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice even further. "If you don't go, when I see your brother after school, I'll tell him all about how you were stubbornly refusing to go to the bathroom. Horikita-san, you wouldn't want your brother to know about sothing this embarrassing, would you?"

"..." Horikita Suzune's eyes widened. She looked at him with irritation, but finally squeezed a sentence through her teeth.

"I get it! Do not tell my brother! I'll do as you say."

Saying this, she grabbed the tissues on her desk with almost maximum speed and stood up abruptly. Her voice carried a hint of subtle tension: "Sensei! I need to go to the bathroom!"

As soon as the words fell, she didn't even wait for the teacher to fully nod before she lowered her head and rushed out of the classroom.

'Why did you have to shout so loudly?'

Shimizu Akira watched her back, which could almost be described as "hurried," then glanced at the teacher and the surrounding students who were stunned by that sudden shout. Usually, even her speech carried a cold, detached air, but right now, it was as if she were afraid others wouldn't hear her clearly.

In the end, she had pushed herself to the limit and couldn't even manage a proper cover-up.

Shimizu Akira subconsciously scanned his surroundings and happened to catch the gaze Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was sending his way—there was actually a hint of subtle "admiration" in that look, as if he were looking at so impressive figure.

'This guy... he's probably misunderstood sothing.'

When Horikita Suzune returned to the classroom, the bell ending the period had only just finished ringing.

As soon as she settled into her seat, she turned to look at Shimizu Akira, her brow not yet fully relaxed. "Don't ntion this to my brother."

Looking at the lingering embarrassnt in her eyes, Shimizu Akira suddenly understood—Horikita Suzune's Achilles' heel was, without a doubt, her older brother. In a sense, as long as he brought up her brother, even soone with such a stubborn personality would beco incredibly compliant.

Shimizu Akira glanced at her.

"That depends on whether you listen to advice from now on, Horikita."

Horikita Suzune imdiately glared back. "When have I ever not listened to advice?"

Although her words sounded tough, she was inexplicably lacking in confidence—likely because she recalled her display of forced endurance in class just now. A thought suddenly flashed through her mind—Shimizu Akira had indeed warned her at the very beginning.

Thinking about it this way, it seed that from start to finish, the problem lay in her own refusal to listen. Yet, she felt it wasn't entirely her fault. From childhood until now, aside from her father, she had only been willing to follow her brother's arrangents. Now, an opposite-sex peer suddenly appeared out of nowhere telling her not to eat her own bento; how could she possibly obey so readily?

She stole a glance at Shimizu Akira, who was packing up his textbooks. No matter who it was, they probably wouldn't easily take orders from soone their own age. However, rembering how the pain had made her unable to stand steadily in the bathroom stall earlier, she couldn't help but purse her lips—next ti... perhaps she could listen just a little bit?

"By the way, throw away those free ingredients you collected yesterday when you get back," Shimizu Akira remarked flatly, glancing at her.

"After all, you got a stomachache today; there was definitely sothing wrong with the ingredients."

"...I understand," Horikita Suzune replied in a low voice.

"When you were gone just now, the math teacher explained a new problem." He suddenly pushed his notebook over.

"I took notes on this page. The steps are written in quite a lot of detail, take a look for yourself."

The handwriting in the notebook was neat, and the problem-solving steps were clearly listed point by point.

Horikita Suzune stared at the handwriting for a few seconds, then suddenly looked up at Shimizu Akira, her tone exceptionally decisive: "Give your hand."

"?" Though filled with confusion, Shimizu Akira complied and reached out his hand.

In the next second, Horikita Suzune extended her own palm flat toward him, her fingertips curling slightly, yet she did not flinch. "You may hold my hand for ten seconds."

"? What is this for?" Shimizu Akira's hand hung mid-air, his face a picture of total bewildernt.

"Equivalent exchange," Horikita Suzune's voice was even softer than when she had thanked him. "I don't know if your kindness toward is because you intend to pursue —but I have no plans to get a boyfriend right now."

She paused, her fingertips curling quietly in her palm.

"But I rember you said last ti that you like holding hands... this is the response I can give you."

Sensing the surprised look from Shimizu Akira, she quickly added: "Don't take for a loose person. I just can't think of any other way to repay you for the ti being, and owing a favor makes very uncomfortable."

She wouldn't actually act like this with just anyone. But this was Shimizu Akira—the person her brother acknowledged, and one of the few boys she didn't find annoying in all her years.

Furthermore, she rembered clearly: during the swimming lesson last ti, he had said he was very interested in the bodies of girls. When he went on a date with Kushida before, the two of them seed to have had even more intimate interactions.

Thinking of it this way, if it was just holding hands, she should be able to do it. Moreover... she vaguely felt that doing this might make Shimizu Akira trust her a little more. If there were matters requiring cooperation in the future, things might go more smoothly. Even now, she was still set on inviting Shimizu Akira to be a partner. She had no intention of giving up on that idea for the mont.

"...Did you wash your hands?" Shimizu Akira asked casually.

"You—!" Horikita Suzune snapped her eyes up, her eyes nearly overflowing with shy indignation. Her hand hanging in the air subconsciously curled, as if she were about to withdraw it.

"Don't get angry." Shimizu Akira gave a low chuckle, his fingertips lightly brushing the back of her hand.

"It was just a joke. You look as tense as a string; you need to loosen up."

By the ti he retracted his hand, his tone had returned to calm: "So you think I'm pursuing you? Rest assured, the things I've done for you are perfectly normal behaviors between friends. Since you have no intention of getting a boyfriend, I naturally respect your decision."

He tapped the notebook he had pushed over earlier, his voice carrying a natural frankness: "For example, taking notes for you or reminding you to throw away bad ingredients—these have nothing to do with 'pursuing' you; I just feel it's what a friend should do. After all, you've tutored before, and your brother has looked after quite a bit. Isn't it only logical to help take care of his sister?"

After a pause, Shimizu Akira added: "As for treating you to a al last ti, it was actually because the Student Council President did a huge favor, and I wanted to use the opportunity to say thanks."

Horikita Suzune stared at his frank eyes. The anger sparked by the joke was quietly smoothed over by the warmth of his fingertips. However, when she heard "treating to a al was because of my brother," her brow subconsciously furrowed—so it wasn't specifically to treat her?

Wait! Could it be that the reason Shimizu Akira was so good to her was entirely because of her brother? As this thought erged, the emotions in her heart grew inexplicably more complex.

Before this feeling could spread, she heard Shimizu Akira suddenly laugh: "However, since you've said I can hold your hand, I naturally won't be polite."

As soon as he finished speaking, her hand was gently grasped.

"Wait a mont!" Horikita Suzune yanked her hand back as if scalded.

"Oh? If it's no good, then—" Before Shimizu Akira could finish, he was cut off by her.

"Hold it under the desk." She lowered her voice, her eyes darting quickly over the classmates playing around them, the tips of her ears turning even tighter.

"It's a break right now. If soone sees... they'll misunderstand our relationship."

"..." Seeing her turn her face away while quietly reaching her right hand under the desk, Shimizu Akira suddenly found it a bit amusing.

Cooperating, he reached his hand under the desk. When his fingertips touched her slightly cool knuckles in the shadows, he could clearly feel the almost imperceptible trembling of her fingertips.

"Is this okay now?" Horikita Suzune's voice ca from above, carrying a bit of deliberately feigned composure.

"Yeah, it's quite okay." Suppressing a smile, Shimizu Akira gently held her hand.

"Then I'll start counting—One."

His palm was slightly warr than hers, and his finger pads had so thin calluses, but he didn't use force, only loosely cupping her fingertips.

Horikita Suzune stiffened. She was just about to pull her hand back when she heard him counting: "One, two, three..."

He really was seriously counting out ten seconds.

She suddenly felt her cheeks getting hot. Why was it that these ten seconds were passing so slowly!

The after-school bell had just rung, and the classroom gradually grew lively.

The two of them packed their schoolbags, preparing to head to the Student Council together as previously agreed.

At his seat, Shimizu Akira seed to suddenly rember sothing. He turned his head toward Horikita Suzune beside him and asked casually, "If I can help you say a few words to your brother, or even ease the tension in your relationship, how do you plan to reward ?"

"If you can really do that..." Horikita Suzune hardly hesitated and nodded imdiately.

"I can shake hands with you again."

After saying it, as if feeling it wasn't enough, she added, "Ahem... of course, not just shaking hands. As long as you can improve my relationship with my brother... you can make any request of you like. As long as it's not too excessive, I can agree to it."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she herself was stunned.

But looking at Shimizu Akira's eyes, her gaze was rare in its trace of anticipation—she had always harbored such a deep longing for the matter of "improving her relationship with her brother." After all, the relationship between Shimizu Akira and her brother was truly good. In all her years, this was the first ti Horikita Suzune had seen a boy only two years younger than her brother—soone her own age—be able to interact with him so naturally and closely.

Shimizu Akira looked at her as she turned her face away and couldn't help but laugh.

"That's what you said. Don't go back on your word when the ti cos."

"I won't go back on my word," Horikita Suzune imdiately turned back to retort, her chin lifted slightly.

"When I give my word, it's as good as gold."

"...Wait for for about half an hour. I need to prepare a bit." Horikita Suzune suddenly frowned, her voice carrying an unnatural stiffness.

"Sure, go to the bathroom. I'll wait for you in class." Shimizu Akira looked at her slightly tensed profile, and he already had the answer in his heart—most likely her stomach was acting up again and she needed to hit the restroom. Co to think of it, including this ti, she had gone at least three tis today.

"!" Horikita Suzune snapped her head around to glare at him, her eyes filled with the shy indignation of being seen through.

Sotis she really wondered if Shimizu Akira had X-ray vision; otherwise, how could he see every little thought in her mind so clearly? What was even more annoying was that he wouldn't say it explicitly; he would just look at you with that "I know everything" gaze, and he happened

to guess correctly every single ti without fail. Fortunately, she didn't plan on getting a boyfriend during high school; otherwise, being with a person like this, wouldn't she be unable to hide even what she was thinking, getting squeezed tightly in the palm of his hand?

"Rember to take toilet paper." Seeing her stand up in a daze, Shimizu Akira added another sentence, "By the way, when you get back to the dorm, throw away those free ingredients imdiately. Don't keep them anymore."

"...I know." Horikita Suzune responded almost subconsciously. She took two steps out before she realized—how did she listen to him so smoothly this ti?

Her footsteps paused, and she turned back to shoot him another quick glare before clutching the toilet paper and walking briskly toward the end of the corridor.

Shimizu Akira naturally caught that glare. Speaking of which, the number of glares this seatmate had given him over a single afternoon had likely exceeded five long ago. At eight o'clock this morning, he had acted proactively because he wanted to "change the future." Yet as the afternoon passed, he had received far more glares than anticipated—it seed the direction of this future was deviating even further than he had planned.

'I have a strangely bad premonition.'

As soon as this thought erged, he imdiately recalled the events of last month—originally, Shiina Hiyori would have discovered his identity in May. To avoid that future, he had specifically made many preparations in advance. Thinking carefully, this situation was remarkably similar to the last one: both involved taking the initiative to intervene in order to avoid a certain established developnt.

'Could it be... that the Steins;Gate is narrowing?'

The more one deliberately tries to change things, the more one seems pushed by an invisible force toward an even more unpredictable direction. In the end, perhaps one will step bit by bit into a world line where the future is completely immovable.

But Shimizu Akira was not Okabe Rintaro, after all—he did not have the status of an "Observer," much less a Phone Microwave capable of sending D-Mails. If he truly encountered a future that "could not be reversed no matter what," he might not have the ability to struggle like that mad scientist.

However... even things that seed set in stone like Class D's Class Points could be changed, from 0 to 530. This indicated that intelligence from the future could indeed be altered. It was probably just his imagination.

But while he was thinking, the phone in his pocket vibrated a few tis, with successive ssage notification sounds. Both his main account and his alt account had new ssages. Shimizu Akira scanned the screen and first opened the chat box of his main account—it was from Ichinose Honami.

Ichinose Honami: Shimizu-kun, I'm truly sorry about noon. Everyone was so enthusiastic and kept coming over to say hello, I accidentally wasted too much ti.

Ichinose Honami: Next ti let's find a quiet place to chat, so we won't be interrupted.

Shimizu Akira tapped his fingertips on the screen and replied: Okay.

A reply ca almost instantly.

Ichinose Honami: Then tomorrow... how about we go to a cafe? That might not be good; cafes should be very crowded on weekends too.

Ichinose Honami: Um... please give a little ti. I'll think about whether there is a place private enough that we won't be disturbed by anyone.

Shimizu Akira looked at the line of slightly hesitant text on the screen, imagining her currently frowning slightly and thinking seriously. He thought for a mont; he really didn't have any plans for tomorrow, so he replied:

Shimizu Akira: Ichinose-san can decide. I'm free tomorrow.

After sending it, he finally opened the ssage notification for his alt account. He didn't use this account often; it was only used for hiding those ten million points and buying intelligence. His friend list had only five people at most—Hirata Yousuke and Kushida Kikyo from Class D, Ryuen Kakeru from Class C, Ichinose Honami from Class B, and Sakayanagi Arisu from Class A. They were all core figures who had a say in their respective classes.

The one who sent the ssage this ti was Sakayanagi Arisu.

Sakayanagi Arisu: Hehe, throughout the day yesterday, I already notified all four classes and made the intelligence about the exam papers public for free.

Sakayanagi Arisu: Oh dear, I'm truly sorry—I accidentally ruined your business.

This student moved fast. It seed Class B and Class A had both been fully notified. Shimizu Akira estimated that she had probably notified everyone during the noon break yesterday.

But still! Sakayanagi Arisu was really taking the opportunity to act smug in his face! Was forcing her to cough up three million in surveillance fees really worth holding such a grudge?

Yue: Oh? Is that so? As long as you're happy.

Sakayanagi Arisu: Not angry? I don't believe it! I think you're pretending to be unbothered while your heart is already exploding with rage!

Sakayanagi Arisu sat in her seat in Class A, her fingertips lightly tapping the phone screen as a pleasant smile spread across her lips.

Her logic in doing things was actually very simple: she would rather suffer a small loss herself than let her opponent have their way. In her view, causing the opponent's plan to fail was a "massive profit," even if she had to pay a price for it.

Just like yesterday—even though she could have held onto the intelligence regarding the exam papers to exchange for profit, she chose instead to publicly disclose it to all four classes for free. In the end, it was nothing more than an attempt to ruin the other party's business.

At the thought that the person might have failed to make a deal because of her, she couldn't help but let out a light hum. Yes, she had won this round.

Without even realizing it herself, she had quietly begun to treat the person behind the scenes as a rival. Although deep down, she still hadn't fully confird: was the opponent she was going back and forth with truly Shimizu Akira?

But one thing was certain: the other party was definitely using an alt account. Doing business on a main account would make exposure far too easy.

'I really am curious about his true identity.

Don't the other classes care about this point?'

Since the other party had conducted transactions with all four classes, Sakayanagi Arisu didn't believe no one was investigating. Especially Ryuen Kakeru—that vengeful fellow who had 3 million personal points taken from him; how could he be content to remain indifferent to the identity of the person who "rented out the surveillance intelligence"?

However, she was different from Ryuen Kakeru. She did care about the other party's identity and disliked being calculated against from the shadows, but compared to those things, she valued the ga against the opponent itself more.

It was like a ga of chess; rather than rushing to see the opponent's face, she enjoyed the back-and-forth of placing the pieces. Most people who play gas frequently share this psychology.

Therefore, she planned to wait and see. If others remained inactive, then eventually, she would have to step in personally.

'Let's wait a few more days, no rush.'

The most important thing right now was to enjoy the taste of being the "victor"—for instance, by taking the opportunity to squeeze the opponent with a few words. Otherwise, wouldn't the effort spent this week be in vain? Having spent so many brain cells on the layout, she ought to find so fun.

Sakayanagi Arisu's fingertips tapped light and fast on the screen, and the ssage was sent quickly:

Sakayanagi Arisu: How regrettable. It seems you won't be able to earn a single cent of points this month.

Sakayanagi Arisu: You won't be able to sell the exam paper intelligence at all—after all, right now that stuff is sothing no one would want even if it were given away for free.

She looked out at the sky through the window, a smile on her lips. Since all the students in all the first-year classes had the exam paper information, this intelligence naturally beca a worthless toy.

Intelligence is a peculiar thing: sotis it is worth a fortune, driving people mad for it; at other tis, it can devalue instantly and beco worthless. And she happened to have personally pressed the switch to make it devalue.

This feeling of controlling the overall situation gave her more pleasure than imdiately uncovering the opponent's identity. That sense of relaxation and satisfaction from within was almost better than the comfort of slowly sipping a cup of coffee in an afternoon cafe, watching the sugar bubbles slowly dissolve in the cup.

Her smile reached her eyes—after all, this was a "victory" earned through a week of effort, so this was naturally the deserved result.

Yue: Is that so? By the way, you sent a ssage before saying you asked a teacher, and they refused to tell you the exam information? Is this intelligence true?

Sakayanagi Arisu looked at the ssage on the screen, feeling a bit surprised—the other party hadn't taken the bait from her previous comnt.

'Is he admitting defeat?'

However, seeing as the other party proactively changed the subject, her mood was quite good. Her fingertips leisurely tapped on the screen:

Sakayanagi Arisu: Teachers are school staff; they naturally won't disclose exam paper information, let alone allow students to purchase it.

This sort of thing can only be traded between students; otherwise, what would be the point of the school setting up this special exam? She didn't believe the other party hadn't thought of that layer. To put it bluntly, things like exam papers could never be placed out in the open.

Just as the school never explicitly stated that the midterm exams would use old questions; these were things students derived themselves through analysis, investigation, and asking senpais—it was more like a "hidden rule" that everyone understood internally.

A teacher would certainly never sell intelligence related to exam papers; that would be equivalent to openly violating the rules, and even this school wouldn't dare do that. What the

school truly wanted to test was never "whether you can get the answers from the teacher." Instead, it was the thinking ability after discovering clues, the ability to negotiate with upperclassn, or the team collaboration ability to make intelligence public.

Asking the teacher directly for answers? That was far too naive. She rembered what her father often said—so things can be done behind the scenes, but they are a different matter once brought into the light. She was well aware of her own old man's behavioral style.

After sending the ssage, her fingertips lightly tapped her knee. Did the other party change the subject because they truly admitted defeat, or were they up to sothing else?

Yue: As expected then? That's great, thank you for the intelligence.

Sakayanagi Arisu suddenly found it a bit incomprehensible. At this point, why was the other party still asking such trivial questions? The path regarding the exam papers had been blocked by her; logically speaking, the other party should be completely out of options.

As she was thinking, a new ssage popped up:

Yue: Speaking of which, you were wrong again. Who told you I wouldn't be able to earn a single cent of points?

Sakayanagi Arisu: ? What intelligence do you plan to sell? Aside from the special exam, there's nothing else to trade this month, right? Let's hear it.

Yueqing: What I'm selling is naturally what you ntioned—the exam papers.

'Still talking about exam papers?!'

She truly didn't understand. Given that all classes had received the free intelligence and the papers had long since beco common items, he was saying he wanted to sell them? What on earth did this an?

But the other party's confident manner didn't look like they were bluffing.

Yue: As a return gift for the intelligence you just provided, I can share a piece of news with you.

Yue: The "exam papers"—I plan to sell them for at least five million points.

"Exam papers for five million points?!"

Sakayanagi Arisu looked at that string of digits and almost thought she had misread it. When she bought those damn papers from a second-year senpai, she had only spent 20,000 points. This person actually dared to hike the price by 250 tis?

What nonsense was the other party talking about! Clearly, the first-years...

'Wait...'

A thought suddenly slamd into her mind, and the confusion in her eyes was instantly replaced by clarity. The claim that "the exam papers are worthless" applied, at the end of the day, only to the first-years.

In this school, there were more than just first-year students.

'Could his target for this transaction be the second-years? Or perhaps the third-years?'

But new doubts imdiately arose—the senpais in the upper grades had already mastered their own grade's exam information; there was no need to buy them. Furthermore, this price was too ridiculous! It was too expensive!

Five million points for just five exam papers? That worked out to one million per paper. This was no longer sothing that could be explained by "price markup"; it was an obvious losing bargain.

Could soone really be willing to be such a sucker?

As soon as Shimizu Akira put down his phone, Horikita Suzune walked over from the end of the corridor. The two said nothing more and walked side-by-side toward the Student Council office.

However, since today was Friday, there was a fairly long queue at the Student Council entrance; it seed many people were taking care of business before the weekend. They stood quietly at the back of the line and waited for over ten minutes before it was finally their turn.

The mont they stepped into the Student Council office, Shimizu Akira's gaze swept across the room. In addition to the Student Council President Horikita Manabu and the Secretary Tachibana Akane, there was another familiar figure sitting on a sofa not far away.

It was none other than Nagumo Miyabi.

Shimizu Akira had crossed paths with him once before when he went to that parfait shop with Kushida Kikyou. Right now, the blond senior was leaning over, talking to a girl beside him. The senior girl next to him wore a sunflower-shaped hair ornant; she had a gentle aura and a cute appearance. However, compared to Nagumo Miyabi's attempts at conversation, she mostly just listened quietly, nodding occasionally in response, looking sowhat low-spirited.

"Shimizu-kun, good afternoon." On the other side, Tachibana Akane walked over quickly from nearby. She first nodded to Shimizu Akira, but her gaze imdiately landed on Horikita Suzune beside him. Her expression froze for a mont—because this face looked far too much like the President's.

Out of a sense of "love , love my dog," she asked quite warmly: "Hello, fellow student. I am Tachibana Akane from Third-Year Class A. My position is Secretary, assisting the Student Council President. Could you tell your class and na?"

But Horikita Suzune didn't hear her at all.

From the mont she stepped into the Student Council office, her gaze had been locked onto Horikita Manabu like a magnet. She didn't even notice Tachibana Akane walking up to her, let alone answer the question.

"Horikita." Shimizu Akira lightly nudged her arm and reminded her in a low voice, "Stop staring at your brother. Tachibana-senpai is asking you sothing; answer her quickly."

These words seed to startle her awake. Horikita Suzune snapped back to reality. When she looked at Tachibana Akane, her voice was sowhat tight, carrying an undisguised unnaturalness: "I am Horikita Suzune, from First-Year Class D."

"And? Rember what I told you?" Shimizu Akira followed up.

Horikita Suzune shot him a glare, and only then did she speak in a stiff tone: "Tachibana-senpai... I heard... you are my brother's collaborator. Thank you very much... for your support of my brother."

As she said this, she felt incredibly awkward.

She wasn't the type to indulge in polite flattery upon a first eting. However, while they were queuing earlier, Shimizu Akira had specifically instructed her—only by being polite to others could she earn her brother's recognition. He had even prepared the scripts for her in advance regarding who to talk to and what to say. At this point, she could only follow through.

Tachibana Akane looked at her features, the surprise in her eyes gradually turning into realization—she was indeed the President's younger sister; her eyes and deanor were almost identical. Naturally, she didn't mind the girl's initial slight lapse in manners. As the biological sister of the Student Council President, even if her attitude was cold, it was reasonable.

However, she hadn't expected the girl to use such social pleasantries.

Upon first sight, she had thought this girl lacked emotional intelligence entirely, having eyes only for her brother while ignoring everyone else.

Furthermore, these words were particularly pleasing to her ears—she took great pride in being the President's assistant, so being recognized by his sister was truly a happy occasion.

Only... if she wasn't mistaken, it seed like the words just now were prompted by Shimizu-kun next to her? Thinking of this, her gaze toward Shimizu Akira also softened involuntarily.

Tachibana Akane nodded gently and made an inviting gesture with her hand: "Then Shimizu-kun and Horikita-san, please have a seat over on the sofa for a while. The President just received a call from the school administration and might be busy for a bit. Please wait a mont. I'll go brew so tea for you."

This was only their second eting, yet Tachibana Akane was going out of her way to brew tea for them?

Shimizu Akira glanced at the desks in the office area; there were no ready-made tea sets on them, aning she had to prepare it specifically. When other students ca to the Student Council for business, they mostly stood and waited or sat down briefly; he had never seen this kind of treatnt.

Perhaps the President was temporarily busy and wanted them to wait comfortably? But on second thought, as his gaze inadvertently swept over Horikita Suzune—who was still quietly pursing her lips—it was most likely for her sake and because of those few kind words. She was the President's sister, after all; the treatnt was naturally different.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Tachibana-senpai," Shimizu Akira replied politely.

"Please rest assured, I will not disturb my brother's work. I can wait as long as it takes," Horikita Suzune emphasized her tone.

Despite saying that, she couldn't help but subconsciously steal another quick glance toward Horikita Manabu—he was sitting behind the desk, looking down at docunts while on the phone. It wasn't until Shimizu Akira lightly touched her arm that she snapped out of it, shifted her gaze unnaturally, and followed him to sit on the sofa.

However, even when she sat down, her entire body remained tense. Only a tiny portion of her bottom dared to touch the edge of the sofa, and her spine was ramrod straight like a fully drawn bow.

Shimizu Akira looked at her tense posture and found it truly incomprehensible.

"What exactly are you nervous about? Your brother isn't a man-eating beast; is there any need to sit so stiffly?"

Horikita Suzune was choked by the question, replying with a hint of defiant stubbornness: "I am not nervous. Maintaining a proper sitting posture in an unfamiliar place is basic etiquette."

-

-

-

Inside the office, Nagumo Miyabi, though sitting on a nearby sofa, had intentionally or unintentionally scanned this pair of boy and girl several tis—especially the beautiful girl with long, straight black hair and captivating fox-like eyes. He had a natural preference for beauties, not to ntion when he heard her introduce herself earlier, he had pricked up his ears to listen; she was actually the President's sister.

He had always viewed Horikita Manabu as a rival, but unfortunately, the man rarely paid him any mind. If he could win over his sister, he really didn't know how ugly Horikita Manabu's expression would beco—just the thought made Nagumo Miyabi feel an itch of excitent in his heart.

"Nazuna, I'm going to check on those two cute kouhais. You go ahead and get busy on your own."

At this thought, he imdiately terminated his chat with his childhood friend, Asahina Nazuna.

"Heh," Asahina Nazuna rolled her eyes as usual.

Nagumo Miyabi chuckled, not bothered at all. His childhood friend had always disliked this side of his personality, and he was long used to it.

"But those two look like they're dating, right? It's fine if you go after girls who don't have partners, but don't go tearing apart this cute kouhai couple's relationship!" Asahina Nazuna looked at him, her tone carrying a hint of seriousness.

"If there really are such pure feelings, naturally no one can drive a wedge," Nagumo Miyabi responded without a second thought.

"I'll just take the opportunity to test exactly how firm their relationship is. I'm doing this for their own good."

"What kind of twisted logic is that!" Asahina Nazuna frowned.

"Pure love isn't ant for you to use as a test subject. Besides, that girl looks like she's not to be trifled with, and she's the President's sister. Don't end up losing the bait along with the fish; be careful not to actually make the President angry."

The corner of Nagumo Miyabi's mouth hooked into a nonchalant smile: "Not being easy to trifle with is what makes it interesting. Look at the awkward, reluctant vibe in her eyes when she was talking to him just now—it's this kind of relationship that makes it easiest to find a crack."

He looked toward the corner of the office. Horikita Suzune was whispering sothing to the kouhai nad Shimizu, her expression clearly much softer than when she first walked in. It was hard to say if the two were dating, but that raw, green feeling couldn't be hidden—even if they were together, it likely hadn't been for more than a few days. After all, the freshn had only been enrolled for a little over a month.

Nagumo Miyabi withdrew his gaze, his lips curling into a smile of ambiguous intent: "Rather, I want to make the President angry. I want to see if he can finally bring out his full strength and have a proper ga with ."

Nagumo Miyabi certainly liked being close to beautiful girls, but in his heart, he hungered more for a clash with an interesting opponent. From childhood to now, almost everyone he t was a diocre talent, which occasionally made him wonder: was he actually a genius? If he could completely defeat other so-called "geniuses," then he would undoubtedly be the true genius.

Asahina Nazuna looked at the calculating light in his eyes and sighed helplessly: "Fine, whatever. But if the President catches you bullying his sister, I'm not going to speak up for you."

"Don't worry." Nagumo Miyabi stood up and straightened the collar of his school uniform.

"I have always preferred 'fair competition' out in the open."

With that, he walked slowly toward Horikita Suzune and Shimizu Akira.