Let go? Could she really let go?
After parting with Hoshinomiya, Sae Chabashira took another cigarette from the box and lit it.
Sometimes, a person cannot even empathize with their past self, so how could they expect others to empathize with them?
This current Class D was the class Sae Chabashira believed had the best chance of reaching Class A.
How could Sae Chabashira really give up just because of a few casual words from Hoshinomiya telling her to let it go?
Even if Hoshinomiya was speaking from her own perspective.
If Kiyotaka Ayanokoji alone is not enough, then what if I add Rokusuke Koenji?
If the White Room's perfect product could not bring her the victory she wanted, then Sae Chabashira would not mind striking a deal with Rokusuke Koenji.
With a status on par with Katsuragi Ren of Class A, the same genius, and the same arrogance,
Sae Chabashira had assumed Rokusuke Koenji would naturally stand against Katsuragi Ren.
Unfortunately, Rokusuke Koenji did not move according to Sae Chabashira's expectations.
...
At the cafe,
"Ms. Cold Shoulder, if you have something to say, say it. I'm very busy."
Sitting across from Sae Chabashira, Rokusuke Koenji crossed his arms and legs and looked arrogantly at his homeroom teacher.
The last time Sae Chabashira had approached him, it was because Chairman Sakayanagi had business with him. Now she had suddenly invited him out for coffee for no clear reason.
Rokusuke Koenji, who happened to have nothing better to do, accepted the invitation.
He also wanted to take this chance to see what Sae Chabashira was really capable of.
That man, Katsuragi Ren, was working closely with his homeroom teacher.
If Sae Chabashira could at least meet Koenji's minimum expectations, he would not mind doing her a favor.
"Koenji-kun, what do you think of Katsuragi-kun from Class A?"
Elegantly lifting her coffee and taking a sip, Sae Chabashira asked Rokusuke Koenji for his opinion of Katsuragi Ren.
Sae Chabashira knew that the betting pool on the website had been created through cooperation between Katsuragi Ren and Rokusuke Koenji, but that did not mean their relationship was unbreakable.
At most, it was just a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Politicians were never clean, and they would not trust each other just because they had worked together once.
The heir to a top conglomerate like Rokusuke Koenji would only be even more calculating than those politicians.
"Stop beating around the bush. You clearly have an ulterior motive, Ms. Cold Shoulder."
Rokusuke Koenji did not touch the coffee Sae Chabashira had ordered for him.
Without Sae Chabashira needing to say any more, Rokusuke Koenji already understood why she had come to him.
She wanted to set two sides against each other, but what she called a tiger was not a tiger, and what she wanted devoured was not a wolf.
Now,
the "tiger" Sae Chabashira had pushed forward was being completely suppressed by the "wolf," Katsuragi Ren.
So,
Sae Chabashira had set her sights on him.
Relying on Kiyotaka Ayanokoji alone, that fake genius raised by that man, posed no real threat to Katsuragi Ren.
And he himself,
Rokusuke Koenji.
The sole heir to the Koenji family, a true genius on the same level as Katsuragi Ren.
Had become Sae Chabashira's new target.
She wanted to use him to hold Katsuragi Ren back, then let Kiyotaka Ayanokoji strike at Class A.
Only a king could hold off another king.
At last, Sae Chabashira seemed to understand that he, Rokusuke Koenji, was the king.
"Koenji-kun, don't you want to go head-to-head with Katsuragi Ren?"
As the price for underestimating Rokusuke Koenji, Sae Chabashira had gone from someone seeking cooperation to someone pleading on her own.
"Of course I will face Katsuragi Ren, but not as a student of Class D."
"You are not attractive at all, Ms. Cold Shoulder."
"You wasted fifteen minutes of my time for nothing."
Rokusuke Koenji sneered, raised his wrist to check the time, and did not miss the chance to mock Sae Chabashira.
Sae Chabashira had taken too much for granted.
She actually thought that he, Rokusuke Koenji, would drag all of Class D along with him just to fight Katsuragi Ren.
A battle between kings was always solitary. The others were not even qualified to be weapons. At best, they were only spectators fit to cheer for the victor.
Ignoring Sae Chabashira's darkened expression, Rokusuke Koenji never touched the coffee on the table from beginning to end.
"Chabashira-sensei, you failed."
Kiyotaka Ayanokoji had been watching from a nearby seat the whole time. After seeing Rokusuke Koenji leave, he came over and sat in Koenji's seat.
Glancing at Koenji's untouched cup of coffee on the table, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji calmly pushed it a little farther away.
"What, are you happy that I failed, Ayanokoji-kun?"
Returning to her usual indifferent expression, Sae Chabashira looked at the second person she had invited.
Sae Chabashira had invited both Rokusuke Koenji and Kiyotaka Ayanokoji at the same time.
If Rokusuke Koenji had accepted her proposal just now, she would have called Kiyotaka Ayanokoji over, and the three of them would have discussed how to deal with Katsuragi Ren together.
Since Rokusuke Koenji had refused, Sae Chabashira had no choice but to put pressure on Kiyotaka Ayanokoji.
To force Kiyotaka Ayanokoji to stop hiding his abilities.
In Sae Chabashira's mind, the ideal outcome was for Rokusuke Koenji to lead the class openly while Kiyotaka Ayanokoji interfered with the other classes from the shadows.
Rokusuke Koenji looked down on cooperating with Sae Chabashira, crushing that fantasy of hers.
Unlike Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, Rokusuke Koenji would never accept threats, and nothing could be used against him.
He had come to this school for one reason only: to enjoy himself.
"My current identity is that of a peeping accomplice who everyone looks down on."
Kiyotaka Ayanokoji did not answer Sae Chabashira's question directly and instead pointed out the problem with his current position.
As for the label of peeping accomplice hanging over his head, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji felt...
it was actually quite useful.
At least with that label, he could not show himself openly in class.
"That is not a problem. I can pin all of those accusations on Haruki Yamauchi and the others."
As long as Class D could rise to Class A, Sae Chabashira was willing to sacrifice others without hesitation.
"?"
Kiyotaka Ayanokoji looked at Sae Chabashira in surprise, clearly not expecting her to be this ruthless. "I understand."
Seeing that there was no room to refuse, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji accepted.
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