When Kamio Tatsuya saw Nagumo's signal, he also came near the old heater. While it looked worn out, it was actually quite effective.
He had noticed the heating pipes in the dorm earlier; they were what kept the rooms at a comfortable temperature.
"How is it? Are you getting used to eating here?"
"It's alright. I eat the school's free wild vegetable set meals now and then too."
Although Kamio Tatsuya enjoyed good food, he wasn't that picky.
"That's good." Nagumo smiled and nodded, then looked at Kamio Tatsuya. "By the way, who do you think will win the bet between me and Horikita Manabu?"
Tsk, so it really is about this.
Honestly, Kamio Tatsuya didn't want to answer. He had a pretty good idea of what Nagumo was up to.
But if he said it directly, it would be too rude, which made Kamio Tatsuya feel a bit speechless right now.
Still, he couldn't not answer because Nagumo had already set his sights on him. Whether he answered or not, the outcome would likely be the same.
Besides, he suspected Nagumo had only come to see how much he had figured out.
"Who knows? If it's just about average scores… I think both Nagumo-senpai and Horikita Manabu-senpai have a chance."
Nagumo raised an eyebrow and smiled.
"The way you put it makes it sound like I'm not really serious about competing with Horikita Manabu on average scores."
"Aren't you? I really don't think you're genuinely aiming to settle things with Horikita Manabu-senpai." Kamio Tatsuya shrugged. There was no point in playing dumb now.
As for Nagumo's tendency to play dirty, it wasn't just Kamio Tatsuya who saw it; Horikita Manabu certainly did too, and he would be keeping an eye on Nagumo's tricks.
This was either within Nagumo's expectations, or he had deliberately proposed the bet to make Horikita Manabu focus his attention on him.
"What basis do you have for saying that?"
"Because Nagumo-senpai's group is filled with students from Class C and Class D. If Nagumo-senpai truly wanted to compete head-to-head with Horikita Manabu-senpai, he wouldn't have formed his team so casually."
"Horikita Manabu-senpai is the same, though. His group also has quite a few students from Class C and Class D. How do you explain that?"
Kamio Tatsuya sighed, feeling a bit annoyed. This was precisely why he had avoided talking to him too much in the past.
You're underestimating me, aren't you?
"Because Horikita Manabu-senpai didn't expect you to issue a challenge at this time in the first place, or rather, he didn't want to accept your challenge initially.
Also, your bet is based on the average scores of the larger groups. If you truly wanted a fair competition, you should have removed external factors and only compared the average scores of the smaller teams.
So, Nagumo-senpai, are you satisfied with that explanation?"
This was something Kamio Tatsuya didn't understand either. Wasn't this pretty much telling Horikita Manabu that he was going to stir up trouble?
Was he doing it on purpose?
Was it also a way to draw the other person's attention?
Nagumo's gaze towards Kamio Tatsuya grew more appreciative as he spoke.
"So, you think I'm going to break my agreement with Horikita Manabu-senpai?"
"That's right, I do. That's why Nagumo-senpai proposed not setting any penalties."
"If that's the case, what do you think I'll do?"
"Didn't I say it at the beginning? Whichever of us can make more students drop out." Kamio Tatsuya sighed. "There's no need to test me on this, is there? And it's not just me; Horikita Manabu-senpai has probably seen through this as well, which is why he made that request."
"Heh, that's indeed how it is. So, for the next few days, Horikita Manabu-senpai should be keeping a close eye on my actions."
Nagumo smiled nonchalantly.
" however, Kamio, you really are quite capable. I was right about you."
"Thank you for the compliment."
"So, who do you think I'll go after?"
Tsk, this guy, is there no end to it? Although Kamio Tatsuya wasn't very familiar with Horikita Manabu's personal relationships, if anyone dropping out would deliver a blow to Horikita Manabu, there was only one person.
Tachibana Akane, the former student council secretary, Horikita Manabu's right-hand person.
"I'm not very familiar with Horikita Manabu-senpai's third-year class, so I'm not sure." Kamio Tatsuya really didn't want to answer this.
If he knew Nagumo's objective now, he could secretly take action to prevent the worst from happening.
But if he revealed it, Nagumo might come up with some new tricks.
"Just guess, you won't lose anything if you guess wrong anyway."
"Horikita Manabu-senpai's group is perfectly formed, so it should be hard to target his group. Let me just pick one randomly, how about Fukumaki-senpai? He was quite disrespectful to you earlier."
Fukumaki and Horikita weren't in the same group, and there were other students in his group, so there was an opportunity.
Nagumo's smile widened.
Seeing this, Kamio Tatsuya couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. My, this guy is really easy to read. He becomes compliant as soon as you stroke him the right way.
Kamio Tatsuya's real answer was, of course, not this person named Fukumaki.
If you were to ask who dropping out from the third year would hurt Horikita Manabu the most, it would naturally be Tachibana Akane-senpai. Although the two didn't have an open relationship, anyone could see their closeness. It wouldn't be unbelievable if someone said they'd get married right after graduation.
Given Nagumo's personality, if he does something, he does it thoroughly. Therefore, his target this time must be Tachibana Akane.
It's just that Kamio Tatsuya didn't understand one thing: how could he interfere with the girls' side?
To make Tachibana Akane's group fail this exam and drop out, the group's average score would have to fall below the school's standard, and Tachibana Akane would have to be the person in charge.
Besides that, there was only one other way: when the person in charge of Tachibana Akane's group was to drop out due to insufficient average scores, they would actively take Tachibana Akane down with them.
However, this would require activating another rule, which was that the school itself must deem Tachibana Akane as one of the reasons for the group's failure.
In other words, as long as Tachibana Akane fulfilled her duties diligently, she wouldn't be at risk of dropping out.
Unless everyone else in that group besides Tachibana Akane were her enemies.
Only then could Tachibana Akane be falsely accused by everyone, making her one of the reasons for the group's failure.
But would the group assignments for the girls really go as smoothly as Nagumo imagined?
No…
Kamio Tatsuya felt he was overthinking. Perhaps the target wasn't Tachibana Akane.
To maximize their scores, the third-year students would surely use an N+1+1+1 grouping method.
This meant that there would inevitably be one third-year girl who would join a group dominated by students from other grades, alone.
No matter who that person was, they would become Nagumo's target.
So, the truth was that Nagumo had allied with other third-year classes to set a trap for the third-year students to fall into.
No matter who stepped into it, Nagumo would make them drop out.
As for how to persuade the group leaders and students from other classes to go down together, that's where money power would come in.
"Is that so? That's what you think? Do I really seem like someone who holds grudges?"
"Don't you? I heard that quite a few senpais in the second year who were Nagumo-senpai's rivals have dropped out."
"I didn't expect you to know something like that. You really are impressive."
"Because Nagumo-senpai warned me. To prepare for the attacks that senpai might launch at any time, I've also made a lot of preparations."
Kamio Tatsuya's replies were as reasonable as possible, at least without making Nagumo suspicious.
"Then do you know why I want him to drop out?"
What does it have to do with me why you want him to drop out?
Kamio Tatsuya was confused.
"Because it's interesting?"
Kamio Tatsuya tentatively offered an answer.
Nagumo immediately shook his head, a disappointed expression on his face.
"Kamio, I greatly admire Horikita Manabu-senpai. That's why I desperately want to prove my growth to him before he graduates."
Looking at Nagumo, who suddenly started to reveal his inner thoughts, Kamio Tatsuya didn't know what to say.
If you want him to see your growth, then go defeat him fair and square! Why are you telling me this?
"But there's one thing I can't stop worrying about."
"And what is that?"
"It's simple: Horikita Manabu-senpai is too upright!" Nagumo suddenly became impassioned. "Horikita Manabu-senpai is different from me. I'll do anything to achieve my goals, but Horikita Manabu-senpai has always fought honorably since his first year."
So you know, Kamio Tatsuya always thought Nagumo had a high opinion of himself, but he didn't expect him to have such self-awareness.
"Because our methods are different, I can easily see Horikita Manabu-senpai's weakness, which is his lack of defense against attacks from the shadows!"
As the saying goes, it's easier to dodge a spear than an arrow from the dark, unless you're also in the dark.
But just as Nagumo said, Horikita Manabu was used to fighting honorably, so his defenses against sneak attacks were indeed weak.
"And I intend to use this opportunity to make Horikita Manabu-senpai realize this!"
Nagumo's eyes were filled with determination and fervor.
Kamio Tatsuya was speechless. If it were really as Nagumo said, then he was indeed great. While his methods might be extreme, if they succeeded, they would definitely be effective.
People can't teach people everything; life teaches you. One experience is enough.
At that point, Horikita Manabu would probably never forget this incident.
However, Horikita Manabu would certainly be very displeased with Nagumo then. If Nagumo was truly acting for Horikita Manabu's sake, then being resented by Horikita Manabu would surely make Nagumo very sad.
He might even hide under his covers and cry at night.
Is that why Nagumo said this was a battle for his dignity?
Wow, what a noble goal!
No, the more I think about it, the more I want to laugh.
The reason Nagumo told Kamio Tatsuya this answer was probably to shut him up and prevent him from telling Horikita Manabu.
If Horikita Manabu knew about this in advance, the effect might not be as good.
That's why Nagumo came to test Kamio Tatsuya's attitude. If Kamio Tatsuya hadn't figured it out, Nagumo would just pretend nothing happened.
If he had figured it out, then he would use these words to placate him for now.
As it turned out, Nagumo succeeded. His words had truly convinced Kamio Tatsuya.
Because Kamio Tatsuya shared the same view as Nagumo: Horikita Manabu lacked experience in dealing with sneak attacks and would surely suffer disadvantages in the workplace in the future.
So, it would be better to train him now and give him some immunity.
"I understand. I won't tell Horikita Manabu-senpai." Kamio Tatsuya nodded. "However, Nagumo-senpai's real target probably isn't Fukumaki-senpai, right?"
"Oh? You think so?"
"Yes, but I still don't know who Nagumo-senpai's target actually is."
That's right, since he didn't know the group assignments for the girls yet, he naturally wouldn't know who it was. This wasn't a lie.
Nagumo looked at Kamio Tatsuya with a deep gaze for a while before suddenly laughing.
"Alright, it's getting late. I should be going back. See you later, Kamio. Oh, and don't tell Horikita Manabu-senpai about this."
"Don't worry, I won't tell Horikita Manabu-senpai."
After Nagumo left, Kamio Tatsuya curled his lips. This guy…
After finishing his conversation with Nagumo, Kamio Tatsuya returned to his dorm, intending to take a nap.
While Kamio Tatsuya was napping in his dorm, Totsuka Yahiko from the same group, Class B, approached Katsuragi. Since the afternoon was free time, the two went outside the building.
"Katsuragi-kun, the student council president just contacted me."
"The student council president? Nagumo?" Katsuragi frowned. "What did he want with you?"
"He wants us, the six students in our group from Class B, to intentionally underperform so that our group score doesn't reach the average, and then have Kamio, who is the group leader, drop out."
Totsuka honestly relayed the matter to Katsuragi.
Upon hearing this, Katsuragi's face showed surprise.
"Doesn't he know that Kamio has two decoys he can use in exams?"
"We've also considered that, so we haven't agreed yet."
Many first-year students knew about this matter. It was almost a crucial way for most first-year students to get to know Kamio Tatsuya.
So, Totsuka and the others naturally knew about it, which was also one of the reasons why few people tried to plot against Kamio Tatsuya.
But now, there was someone who wanted to make Kamio Tatsuya drop out through a normal exam, and they were using a mutual destruction method.
So, Totsuka and the others instinctively refused. Although they really wanted Kamio Tatsuya to drop out, they still hadn't agreed.
What if they couldn't get rid of Kamio Tatsuya and one of them ended up being sent away? That would be too terrible. Even with 20 million private points and 400 class points for Class B, it wasn't something to be wasted like this.
For a moment, Katsuragi couldn't figure out Nagumo's intentions.
Did he not know this information and was genuinely planning to target Kamio Tatsuya?
Or was he pretending not to know this information and just wanted to use this opportunity to strike Class B?
Katsuragi felt that no matter which it was, it was necessary to talk to Nagumo in person. Perhaps he could gain some benefits from it.
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