"Well, look who it is. A rare visitor."
Kamio Tatsuya smiled as he looked at Horikita Suzune standing outside his door.
"What? Is it okay if you don't go back and prepare the test questions?"
"I have something I want to talk to you about."
Seeing Horikita Suzune's serious expression, Kamio Tatsuya let go of the doorknob.
"Come in."
"Thank you for letting me in."
It was only because Kamuro wasn't there today that Kamio Tatsuya definitely wouldn't have let Horikita in.
"What would you like to drink? I have black tea and cocoa."
Hearing this, Horikita Suzune was a little surprised. She hadn't expected Kamio Tatsuya to have things like black tea and cocoa, which girls tend to prefer.
Actually, the cocoa was for Kamuro, and the black tea naturally belonged to Shiina from the Tea Ceremony Club.
As for Kamio Tatsuya himself, he preferred soda pop.
Considering the conversation might take a while, Horikita Suzune chose a cup of black tea.
She wasn't quite skilled yet, but she had seen Shiina make it many times, so her technique was decent.
After taking a sip of what was in his cup, Kamio Tatsuya nodded silently.
"As the leader of Class D, you wouldn't be here to tell me to come back to Class D with some foolish idea, would you?"
Horikita's breath hitched, and then she sighed.
"If you were willing to come back, then even asking you to say foolish things would be fine."
Kamio Tatsuya didn't reply, just silently drank his tea.
"But even I can understand that this is impossible," Horikita shook her head. "So I'm here today for something else."
Something else?
Did she find out Karuizawa passed me information?
Did Hirata tell her?
Kamio Tatsuya had never intended to keep Karuizawa, his secret pawn, a secret. After all, Hirata knew Karuizawa's past and knew she chose Kamio Tatsuya to protect herself.
If any information from the class leaked, Hirata would definitely suspect Karuizawa.
And the incident during the sports festival easily pointed the suspicion towards Karuizawa.
After all, he didn't think that Ayanokouji would tell Hirata about actively leaking information himself.
But with Horikita's demeanor, had Hirata taken action and told Horikita about this?
"Go on."
Although he had some guesses, Kamio Tatsuya wasn't planning to reveal them directly. If what she wanted to say wasn't about this, wouldn't that be awkward?
"You have an informant in Class D, right?"
"Oh? Why do you think that?" Kamio Tatsuya certainly wouldn't admit it immediately. What he needed to do now was figure out how much Horikita knew.
"During the sports festival, the entry list for Class D was something I leaked myself. I gave it to Class C, and also to Class B and ."
You leaked it yourself?
Not Ayanokouji?
Seeing the surprised look on Kamio Tatsuya's face, Horikita Suzune felt she had gained a slight advantage.
"That's right, but when I passed this information to Class B and , I provided them with sufficient proof to believe it.
However, what I leaked to Ryuen was only that entry list. But judging by the outcome, Class C seemed very certain that the entry list was authentic."
Hearing this, Kamio Tatsuya smiled.
"I see. With Ryuen's personality, he wouldn't have easily believed an entry list of unknown origin. But based on the result, Ryuen did believe it.
From this, one can deduce that Ryuen obtained proof from somewhere else that the entry list of unknown origin was actually the entry list for Class D.
This leads to the conclusion that I have an informant in Class D."
Saying this, Kamio Tatsuya couldn't help but start clapping.
"Well done, Horikita. To have thought of such a method! I admit, I underestimated you. I initially thought Ayanokouji was the one who leaked the information."
Upon hearing this, Horikita felt secretly ashamed because she had indeed thought of this method with Ayanokouji's hint.
"So? Are you going to ask me who my informant is?"
Kamio Tatsuya picked up his teacup and took a tactical sip of tea.
"I have a lead on the informant."
I see. So Hirata was indeed involved in this matter.
"It's Kushida-san!"
That's right, it's the light…
Wait?
Who did you just say?
Kushida?
Kamio Tatsuya's thoughts stalled for a second at the name. Why Kushida?
No, rather, why would Horikita think it was Kushida?
Could there be some misunderstanding here?
"Why do you think it's Kushida?"
"After the mid-term exams last semester, Ayanokouji saw something happen between you and Kushida by the lake. I probably don't need to explain further, right?"
Horikita looked at Kamio Tatsuya with a serious expression.
"I see," Kamio Tatsuya said with a feigned 'aha!' moment. "So you think I threatened Kushida to get the real entry list?"
"Wouldn't that be the case?" Horikita retorted.
Then, Kamio Tatsuya smiled. In Horikita's eyes, it was a classic villain's smile.
"What if I say yes? What will you do?"
"Of course, I'll ask you to let Kushida-san go." Horikita Suzune's eyes were very serious; she didn't look like she was joking at all.
"Why should I let her go? Or rather, what price will you pay for me to let her go?"
Kamio Tatsuya looked at Horikita with interest. At this moment, he really wanted to laugh.
Kushida, the person you hate, Horikita, is actually going to plead with me to let you go. Although her initial motive might be for the class, isn't that hilarious?
"I can pay all my private points, including all the private points the school will give me before graduation."
Kamio Tatsuya curled his lips in disdain, and found it somewhat amusing.
"Class D's current class points are zero, and I think it will be difficult for Class D to earn class points in the future. Isn't this just trying to get something for nothing?"
In fact, Horikita was trying to get something for nothing, because she had already used up her points when settling the debt with Ryuen.
After all, the reason Class D owed Ryuen five million was actually her fault.
This was somewhat of a handle. If Kamio Tatsuya were to expose this, Class D would probably fall into chaos again.
So, when settling the debt with Ryuen that day, Horikita had informed the Class D students about it and apologized. Although some students in Class D had complaints, they still accepted it.
After all, she was also working hard for the students of the class, just a step behind.
There was even a conspiracy theory that it was a trap set by Kamio Tatsuya, who had colluded with Ryuen to deliberately harm Horikita.
In short, Horikita currently had less than ten thousand in her account, all from rewards during the sports festival.
If she could use these points to get Kamio Tatsuya to let Horikita go, it would be a complete win.
It was just that Kamio Tatsuya didn't care about her meager offerings. Even if she had fifty thousand left, Kamio Tatsuya probably wouldn't agree.
"Then what do you want?"
"Heh heh." Kamio Tatsuya wagged his finger left and right. "It's not about what I want, but about what you have."
Kushida's matter certainly couldn't be exposed, and couldn't even be told to the general public. Therefore, Horikita couldn't get any help from the Class D students.
To make Kamio Tatsuya give up his hold on Kushida, she could only find a way to pay a price that satisfied Kamio Tatsuya herself.
And she had to do it in a way that involved as few people as possible knowing about Kushida's secret. Otherwise, it would be a definite loss.
"Alternatively, you could try a mutually destructive approach. Publicly announce Kushida's matter, and then I won't be able to threaten her."
Looking at Kamio Tatsuya's teasing expression, Horikita Suzune glared at him. If this method were usable, she would have used it long ago.
After her contemplation, she could roughly guess how Kushida might cause a class to collapse.
That is, as a fake do-gooder, Kushida must have possessed many secrets of the class students, and these secrets were not something that could be revealed.
If they really chose to sacrifice Kushida, Kushida would inevitably make these secrets public.
At that time, Class D would be in an uproar, completely losing hope of advancing as a class.
Therefore, they would rather let Kushida keep providing information to Kamio Tatsuya than expose Kushida's true face.
Thus, Kamio Tatsuya was sitting pretty, not in a hurry at all.
"Sakura-san."
"Sakura? What happened to her?"
"If you agree to let Kushida go, I guarantee that I will take care of Sakura-san in future exams." Horikita finally revealed her trump card.
If there was anyone in Class D that Kamio Tatsuya was slightly concerned about, it was definitely not the wicked Kushida, nor Karuizawa who sought his protection, but this harmless Sakura.
However, that Horikita could strike such a precise nerve was quite skillful.
"Sakura is a student of Class D. Taking care of her is your responsibility as the leader," Kamio Tatsuya said indifferently.
"Is that so? But Sakura-san has an unusual relationship with you. If I were to say now that Sakura-san is the informant you left in Class D, what do you think would happen?"
Confirmed. The person who thought of this must not have been Horikita Suzune. That idiot Horikita couldn't come up with something like this.
"Horikita, relying too much on Ayanokouji's power will cause you to be consumed by that power."
Since the other party had already said it to this extent, there was no point for Kamio Tatsuya to deny it any further.
Although he didn't believe she would actually falsely accuse Sakura of being a traitor to the class, he himself wouldn't publicize Kushida's matter.
It wouldn't be beneficial for anyone.
"There's no way. I can't convince you to stop threatening Kushida with my own strength." Horikita's face showed no sign of guilt.
Looking at Horikita like this, Kamio Tatsuya decided to give her some respect. It wasn't good to keep tricking her all the time.
"I can agree, but I have a condition."
"What?"
"In the final exam, Class D must designate Class C as the target of attack, and give me the questions Class D submitted to the school."
"What are you talking about?"
Horikita was stunned for a moment. Good heavens, you're not threatening Kushida anymore, you're threatening me now!
"Class D is already behind by several hundred points with two missing students. I really can't imagine how Class D is going to win.
Since this exam is going to be a loss no matter how hard you try, it's better to give up early. Of course, if you don't plan to submit questions, I can provide you with them."
Kamio Tatsuya wore a nonchalant expression.
Initially, he hadn't planned how to persuade Class D to attack Class C in this exam. Now, someone had come knocking on his door.
And they were bringing him a gift on a platter. Kamio Tatsuya hadn't even thought the other party would do something like this.
Also, Kamio Tatsuya had never threatened Kushida to get her to provide him with information.
So, even if he agreed to Horikita, it wouldn't have any effect on Kamio Tatsuya.
However, if he agreed directly, it might seem suspicious, so he added the true objective as an additional condition.
And he did add an extra condition.
And he knew that the more time like this, the less he should rush. So he didn't urge Horikita, just waited quietly for her to think.
"I need to consider it."
"No problem, I'm not in a hurry."
Kamio Tatsuya put down his teacup, looking calm and collected.
As for Horikita's consideration, it would definitely involve consulting Ayanokouji, because judging from the recent conversation, Ayanokouji was certainly an insider.
However, he needed to tell Kushida about this. He wondered what Kushida's reaction would be if she knew about it. No, he felt like laughing just thinking about her bearing the blame for no reason.
"I will give you a reply as soon as possible."
After Horikita left, Kamio Tatsuya contacted Kushida on his phone.
[Are you free? I have something I want to discuss with you.]
Kushida, who was playing at a friend's room, felt her phone vibrate and took it out. Seeing the message, she immediately broke into a smile.
[You're actually asking me out? That's quite rare.]
"Wow, Kikyo, you were smiling so happily just now. Is it a boyfriend?"
"No, no, I don't have a boyfriend."
"Really? That's suspicious."
…
After finally managing to fend off their banter, Kamio Tatsuya sent another message.
[Horikita just came to talk to me about you. Don't you want to know?]
Seeing this, Kushida couldn't sit still. Although she could still maintain a smile, her heart was filled with shock and anger.
I've been helping the class reduce its dropout rate so well, and you, damn Horikita, still want to do what?
Because of this, Kushida spent most of her remaining time placating her friends, losing all desire to play initially.
"I'll be going now."
After saying goodbye to her friends, Kushida immediately slipped away unnoticed and went to Kamio Tatsuya's doorstep.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
When the door opened, Kamio Tatsuya saw a face that, despite its smile, could no longer suppress its anger.
"I thought you weren't coming," Kamio Tatsuya yawned and checked the time. "Next time, be earlier."
Normally, Kamio Tatsuya would be lying in bed at this hour, trying to fall asleep.
But he knew Kushida would definitely come, and he'd have to get up for her, so he hadn't gone to bed.
However, he was curious to know what Kushida would do when she found out about Horikita's actions.
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