Half an hour later, Katsuragi and Nagumo met in a quiet place.
"This is our first meeting outside of class council, right? Katsuragi."
"We met before on Christmas."
"Ah, that's right."
Nagumo patted his forehead, as if just remembering.
"You came with Totsuka, representing him to tell me my proposal, correct?"
"If you're referring to the idea of having the entire class deliberately score low to get Vice President Kamio expelled, then yes, I knew about it."
Katsuragi nodded, immediately getting to the point of their meeting.
"So, what's your take? Should we get Kamio Tatsuya expelled?"
"President Nagumo, you must know that if the students in our class act carelessly during this exam and even if we successfully prevent the group score from reaching the average, with Vice President Kamio's personality, he'll definitely drag the entire class down with him."
"Of course, I know. That's why I can promise you, if you successfully make the group score fail, how about I support you with twenty million private points?"
Hearing this, Katsuragi immediately realized that Nagumo genuinely didn't know that Kamio Tatsuya had two scapegoats in Class 1-D.
It was understandable that he wouldn't know.
Although the matter caused quite a stir among the first-years, Nagumo's attention wasn't focused on the first-years at the time.
However, soon, the matter gradually faded from discussion.
Later, after Kamio Tatsuya joined the student council, Nagumo felt he had enough understanding of Kamio Tatsuya and didn't specifically gather information on Kamio Tatsuya from the first-years.
He only symbolically sent a few people to the first-years to inquire about Kamio Tatsuya.
Since over half a year had passed and no one had brought up the scapegoat matter, and it wasn't directly relevant to them, most people, except for those who paid close attention to Kamio Tatsuya, like Sakayanagi, had forgotten about it.
Of course, the parties involved, Yamauchi and Sudou, definitely knew about it, but they never went to ask those two, so it was natural that he didn't know.
Therefore, Nagumo unknowingly failed to get this crucial piece of information.
Additionally, Nagumo somewhat assumed that Kamio Tatsuya's abilities were just what they appeared to be.
Along the way, he first became the student council vice president, then led Class B to defeat Class A, and then ruled the second-year as student council president.
Looking around, except for Horikita Manabu's class in the third-year, which gave him trouble, he basically won wherever he went.
Because his path had always been smooth, he never took Kamio Tatsuya seriously, and it was precisely this arrogance that led him to make a fatal mistake here.
"Even with the twenty million from President Nagumo, our class will still lose four hundred class points. At that point, we won't be able to widen the gap with Class B, we might even drop from Class A to Class B."
"You don't need to worry about that." Nagumo seemed to have anticipated Katsuragi's concerns and remained calm. "After this is done, I can tell you a weakness of Honami. If you exploit this weakness, you can easily defeat her.
Once Honami is defeated, the rest of Class 1-B shouldn't be a threat, right?"
Katsuragi frowned, showing hesitation on his face.
"Furthermore, you probably still haven't realized it. Your class's biggest opponent isn't Class B, but junior Kamio."
"Think about it. Ever since the uninhabited island, you've had quite a few setbacks because of junior Kamio. During the Sports Festival, he joined forces with Class B.
During the Paper Shuffle, he chose to attack Class A and even found senior students to create difficult challenges for you.
In this forest training exercise, he almost got all the boys in your class expelled right from the start. Junior Kamio has made a significant contribution to Class A's current predicament.
Exchanging four hundred class points for his expulsion, isn't that a good deal?"
Nagumo's persuasion seemed to be swaying Katsuragi.
Katsuragi knew these things Nagumo was saying very well because he had been pondering them himself.
If Kamio Tatsuya could truly be expelled in this exam, then a mere four hundred points would indeed be worth it.
However, Katsuragi knew in his heart that this was impossible. With two scapegoats, Kamio Tatsuya couldn't be expelled so easily.
Hmm, I need to stall for more time, I can't agree too quickly, otherwise Nagumo will definitely get suspicious.
"Also, if you can eliminate junior Kamio, a major threat to Class A, classmate Katsuragi, you can also regain the prestige you lost in Class A."
"Wasn't the exam policy for Class A proposed by Sakayanagi? As a result, her plan almost led to Class A's downfall.
If you can seize this opportunity, defeat Sakayanagi, and regain your leadership of the class, it will be within reach.
Since that's the case, what are you hesitating about?"
Nagumo's seductive voice echoed in his ear, like a devil's whisper.
Just as Katsuragi was still appearing to struggle, Totsuka, who was looking anxious, suddenly spoke up, "Katsuragi, agree to it! Sakayanagi's actions this time have already displeased many people. Only you can lead Class A to victory!"
Totsuka's voice was like a thunderous wake-up call, and Katsuragi's eyes instantly cleared.
"I can agree to persuade the students in our class to deliberately score low, so that Kamio's group score falls below the average, but you must guarantee that you'll give us the twenty million private points."
Hearing Katsuragi's words, Nagumo's face broke into a smile.
"Of course, I won't go back on my word. If you don't believe me, we can sign a contract."
Hearing Nagumo voluntarily bring up signing a contract, Katsuragi's heart skipped a beat. Everything he had guessed was correct; he had even predicted Nagumo's offer to sign a contract so accurately.
Then, Katsuragi nodded with a grim expression.
"I only guarantee that they will score low, not that the average score will fall below the school's standard." Katsuragi continued. "Of course, if others perform too well and the score reaches the standard, we naturally won't accept the points."
"That's natural. After all, my requirement is for junior Kamio to be expelled."
"Then what if Class C offers enough points to prevent Kamio's expulsion?"
"You don't need to worry about that. As long as Kamio's group's average score doesn't reach the passing line, and as long as junior Kamio is still the group leader at that time, I will pay you twenty million as compensation.
Of course, what you do with that twenty million afterward is your freedom. Even if you don't help classmates, I won't interfere."
To get Katsuragi to agree, Nagumo had practically relaxed the terms as much as possible.
At this point in the conversation, Katsuragi had nothing more to say.
"Alright, I agree."
Not long after, the two signed the contract with the witness of -sensei.
The contract stipulated that Katsuragi would only receive the twenty million private points if all six students in Class A deliberately scored low, causing the group's average score to fall below the school's standard.
If the group's average score was above the passing line, Nagumo would incur no loss.
It was quite a calculated move.
After parting ways with Nagumo, Katsuragi immediately took Totsuka to the room where Kamio's group was located.
Since the afternoon was free time, Kamio Tatsuya was the only one in the room at the moment. He showed no surprise when Katsuragi and Totsuka entered together.
"It's all taken care of."
Katsuragi handed the contract in his hand to Kamio Tatsuya.
Seeing the contract in Katsuragi's hand, a smile appeared on Kamio Tatsuya's lips.
"Good, I've long been eyeing Nagumo's private points. I've finally managed to get a sum from him."
"According to our agreement, after this is done, aside from the two million for transferring the expulsion consequence, the remaining eighteen million will be split, with one hundred and thirty million for me. Of course, I will honor my word and not drag the students of Class A down with me."
For this matter, Kamio Tatsuya paid one scapegoat, and Class C would also have one hundred class points deducted, so he naturally deserved the larger share.
Katsuragi had no objections to this, as for Class A, this five million could be considered pure profit.
"Of course, I won't go back on my word. However, I am a little surprised that President Nagumo doesn't know you have two scapegoats."
"Even the wisest can make a mistake. Since senior Nagumo looks down on me so much, I will naturally take advantage of it. This will serve as a small lesson for senior Nagumo."
If he's going to mess with me, why should I be polite?
However, there's one problem...
Is Nagumo's target supposed to be me this time?
Was my previous assumption wrong?
When Katsuragi successfully obtained this contract from Nagumo, Kamio Tatsuya knew he had indeed been targeted.
He just wasn't sure if Nagumo's initial target was him, or if his target shifted to him after their conversation.
It was probably after the conversation. As student council president, he should have known about this exam from the beginning, so if he wanted to deal with someone, he would have prepared beforehand.
Rather than impulsively seeking out Totsuka.
Speaking of which, at least Totsuka has improved by seeking counsel from Katsuragi rather than agreeing unilaterally this time.
At least he has some self-awareness now.
But then again, Nagumo really has a lot of points.
Somehow, I'm tempted...
As for why Katsuragi collaborated with Kamio Tatsuya, it all goes back to half an hour ago. Katsuragi learned from Totsuka that Nagumo was going to make a move against Kamio Tatsuya and immediately sought out Kamio Tatsuya to discuss the matter.
Perhaps, in Nagumo's eyes, Kamio Tatsuya was not only the culprit behind Katsuragi losing his leadership position but also roped him into the student council as labor.
Although Katsuragi didn't say it on the surface, he should have been quite annoyed with Kamio Tatsuya.
Therefore, he assumed Katsuragi would never expose this to Kamio Tatsuya, but the reality was the opposite.
Kamio Tatsuya didn't force Katsuragi to join the student council and do his work; he merely offered an idea that would allow Katsuragi to celebrate his sister's birthday.
This was Katsuragi's way of repaying a favor, and joining the student council wasn't without benefits for Katsuragi himself.
However, Nagumo missed one point.
That is, if his plan could genuinely lead to Kamio Tatsuya's expulsion, Katsuragi would not hesitate. He also knew very well that Kamio Tatsuya was the biggest enemy of Class A.
Favors were personal, and Katsuragi would repay them, but he wouldn't be ambiguous in class competition.
However, Katsuragi had his own ideas. If it really came to that point, he would negotiate with Kamio Tatsuya to use the twenty million points obtained from Nagumo to prevent Kamio Tatsuya's expulsion, in exchange for Kamio Tatsuya not dragging down Class A students.
As for class points, he expressed his inability to help and only hoped that Class C could earn more than 81 class points this time.
However, since Kamio Tatsuya was destined not to be expelled in this exam, Katsuragi, who had been influenced by Kamio Tatsuya for a long time, naturally had a way.
His method was to have Kamio Tatsuya figure it out.
Should they treat this as if it never happened and proceed with the exam normally, or use up one scapegoat to obtain twenty million points from Nagumo.
Therefore, Katsuragi immediately had Totsuka take him to see Kamio Tatsuya.
Kamio Tatsuya was a bit bewildered when Katsuragi woke him up. How could someone disturb his nap?
Grumpy +1!
"A twenty-million-point deal, are you interested?"
At Katsuragi's words, Kamio Tatsuya's eyes immediately became sharp.
"Let me wash my face."
A few minutes later, Katsuragi had explained the current situation to Kamio Tatsuya.
"You're saying Nagumo is spending twenty million to have the students of Class A deliberately score low to get me expelled."
While saying this, Kamio Tatsuya couldn't help but laugh.
"How interesting. Doesn't he know I have two scapegoats?"
"It's also possible he's testing me," Katsuragi offered.
"Possible," Kamio Tatsuya nodded. "For now, let's assume he knows I have two scapegoats. If that's the case, what he's likely trying to do is sow discord, causing Class A to eliminate one of my scapegoats through self-destruction.
If so, he'll use all sorts of sweet talk to trick Totsuka and the others into deliberately scoring low.
For example, he could fabricate things like student council authority to make you believe you won't be expelled for deliberately scoring low.
Or, he might say that Class A has twenty million private points saved from special treatment exams, as well as a large amount of class points, so they don't have to worry about expulsion.
And Class C's points were already used up when I transferred classes. Even if they luckily win this exam and accumulate enough class points, they won't be able to gather twenty million private points.
Spending twenty million private points plus four hundred class points to remove this major threat to you is very worthwhile, isn't it?"
And his ultimate goal is for us to both suffer losses, with you losing 400 class points and 20 million private points, and me losing a scapegoat.
This outcome is not worth it for either of you, is it?"
Katsuragi nodded, agreeing with Kamio Tatsuya's analysis.
"What if he genuinely doesn't know you have scapegoats?"
"If he doesn't know about it, then he'll offer tangible benefits to get you to act. For example..." Kamio Tatsuya paused for a moment. "For example, he'll promise to give you twenty million private points afterward to reassure you.
In this way, if you succeed, then he will have spent twenty million private points to eliminate me, and you will have lost four hundred class points.
If you fail, he will have incurred no losses."
Katsuragi nodded. "It seems the basis for judging whether Nagumo knows about this matter is whether he is willing to pay a price."
"Exactly," Kamio Tatsuya nodded. "However, since you've found me, you want to ask for my opinion, right?"
Katsuragi nodded.
"What's your take?"
"My take is... if he's just trying to trick you, you definitely won't agree, right? So, you should just stall him or flat-out refuse.
If he's genuinely willing to pay twenty million, and is willing to sign a contract, remember, he must be willing to sign a contract for it to represent that he doesn't know I have scapegoats.
Furthermore, no matter how nicely he promises, even with a teacher as a witness, you absolutely cannot believe him!
And when signing the contract, the witness must be a teacher we trust. We absolutely cannot trust anyone else. It's not impossible that teachers have been bribed by Nagumo.
Mashima-sensei would be best; I trust Mashima-sensei.
If he's willing to pay twenty million private points, then we can cooperate. I'll provide one scapegoat, and you'll negotiate with Nagumo.
From the points obtained from Nagumo, besides the two million for transferring the expulsion, I'll give you five million from the remaining eighteen million. After all, I'm providing a scapegoat, and you're just speaking a few words. How about it?"
After hearing Kamio Tatsuya's answer, Katsuragi fell into thought, then nodded, and looked at Totsuka Yahiko.
"Yahiko, I'll need your help later. When I'm hesitating whether to agree with Nagumo, I'll need you to push me. Don't say anything else at other times, or Nagumo might find a flaw. "
Totsuka Yahiko nodded solemnly.
It proved that this guy had grown a lot during this period. His anxious expression had even fooled Nagumo.
However, this way, Nagumo doesn't come back empty-handed. At least when dealing with Kamio Tatsuya in the future, Kamio Tatsuya will only have one scapegoat left.
Wait, Kamio Tatsuya suddenly thought of another possibility: Nagumo did it on purpose.
He deliberately offered twenty million private points and pretended not to know that Kamio Tatsuya had two scapegoats.
He probably knew about his and Katsuragi's cooperation. If that's the case, his objective is a bit hard to figure out.
Assuming everything is within Nagumo's calculations, what would Nagumo ultimately gain?
Let's first talk about the final outcome: Kamio Tatsuya's group's average score fails to reach the passing line, and Kamio Tatsuya is expelled.
Then Nagumo pays twenty million private points, and Kamio Tatsuya uses the scapegoat contract to have someone else expelled in his place.
The result is that Kamio Tatsuya loses one scapegoat and gains 13 million private points, while Katsuragi gains 5 million private points.
And then...
And then Katsuragi returns to the sight of Class A students.
His real goal is to incite internal conflict within Class A?
That doesn't seem to align with his interests either. What exactly is this guy trying to do?
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