The absurd competition in the bathhouse was over, but to everyone's surprise, Ayanokouji had actually won the final championship, stunning almost all the first-year students.
You really can't judge a book by its cover, or a person by their looks.
Kamio Tatsuya regretfully landed in the third tier, slightly behind Koenji, who had white ancestry, and Yamada, who had Black ancestry.
Upon returning to the dormitory, Kamio Tatsuya found a note under his pillow with "01:00" written on it.
Needless to say, this was definitely a time, and most likely for today.
Since tomorrow was a rest day and the first-years weren't responsible for breakfast, staying up a little later tonight was no big deal.
The back of the paper had a meeting invitation, but no name was written.
Judging by the situation, it wouldn't be a first-year student arranging this.
It was because first-year students wouldn't need to find him in this way.
So it had to be an upperclassman.
That night, Kamio Tatsuya lay in bed, lost in thought until one o'clock. This wasn't easy for him.
He usually went to bed quite early.
But just then, he noticed a sliver of light peeking through the gap under the door connecting his room to the hallway, and it was flickering, as if sending a signal.
Though he didn't know the exact meaning, Kamio Tatsuya still sat up in bed and put on his shoes.
This was the advantage of sleeping in the lower bunk. When going out at night, he didn't have to worry about being discovered.
Grabbing the flashlight hanging on the door, Kamio Tatsuya left the room and walked outside. The moonlight outside cast a glow, allowing Kamio Tatsuya to clearly see the person's face.
"It really is you, Horikita Manabu."
Seeing Horikita Manabu, Kamio Tatsuya wasn't surprised at all. If an upperclassman were to seek him out at this hour, it could only be Horikita Manabu.
If it were Nagumo or another upperclassman from the same group, they would have definitely approached him during the day, no need to wait until night.
This left only Horikita Manabu.
"You want to ask me about Nagumo's movements, don't you?"
"That's right, which is why you're not the only one I invited."
Not just me?
As Kamio Tatsuya thought this, he heard footsteps from behind him. Then, under the moonlight, a familiar poker face appeared.
"Ayanokouji," Kamio Tatsuya wasn't too surprised. "Well, Ayanokouji and Nagumo-senpai are in the same large group."
"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. Nagumo hasn't made any strange moves so far."
Ayanokouji said this.
In reality, it wasn't quite like that. Nagumo truly hadn't made any strange moves.
But his lack of action was strange in itself.
This was because Nagumo had challenged Horikita Manabu many times before, and each time he was rejected.
Yet this time, he had surprisingly succeeded.
So if Nagumo truly wanted to defeat Horikita Manabu head-on, he should have taken some measures, such as strictly managing the class attendance for the large group.
But in reality, Nagumo hadn't done that. He just let the students do as they pleased, and wouldn't actively help even if the first-years encountered difficulties.
He showed no desire to win this match.
That's why Nagumo, who had done nothing, seemed so strange.
"Based on the current situation, our large group has the superior overall ability."
Horikita Manabu analyzed the current situation.
"Horikita Manabu-senpai, do you think Chairman Nagumo will keep his promise?"
Kamio Tatsuya suddenly asked.
"Nagumo is indeed ruthless towards those who resist, and has engaged in actions like Ryuen's, which skirt the rules, more than once.
However, that guy has never broken his word or gone back on his promises."
Kamio Tatsuya fell silent. This was bad. Horikita Manabu was too upright.
"Horikita Manabu-senpai, I have another question."
"What is it?"
"Class three... or rather, do you have twenty million private points on hand?"
"Why are you asking this?"
"Nothing really, I just feel that you trust Nagumo a bit too much," Kamio Tatsuya shook his head. "Ayanokouji, are you really not going to say anything?"
"Alright, I admit I'm a bit confused. Nagumo-senpai directly proposed a duel, yet I don't feel any desire to win from him."
Upon hearing Ayanokouji's words, a hint of disappointment appeared on Horikita Manabu's face.
"What's wrong?"
"I just thought of a worst-case scenario... Never mind, forget I said anything."
Seeing Horikita Manabu's expression, Kamio Tatsuya understood.
Having worked together in the student council for nearly two years, Horikita, while disagreeing with Nagumo's methods, still held a certain level of trust in Nagumo.
But this trust would likely vanish in this upcoming exam.
Horikita Manabu had definitely figured out Nagumo's intentions. Even if Nagumo had never broken a promise before, this time he probably would.
Even if it meant betraying his word, Nagumo would do whatever it took to defeat him.
It was precisely because he saw through this that Horikita Manabu felt a sense of dejection.
However, even though he saw through it, he couldn't do anything. Nagumo's scheme against Horikita Manabu had been in motion since the group assignments were completed.
Tachibana Akane, who had been placed in a different group alone, had fallen into the trap set by Nagumo.
So all he could do was trust that Nagumo would keep his word, and conduct defensive operations solely based on trusting the enemy's promise.
Not only Kamio Tatsuya, but Ayanokouji had also seen through this.
"Aren't you planning to do anything?"
Horikita Manabu remained silent.
If he wanted to, he could certainly foil Nagumo's plan. However, doing so would inevitably pull more people into the conflict.
This was a situation Horikita Manabu did not want to see.
All he could do was prepare the 20 million private points and sacrifice the class's 400 class points.
After receiving Horikita Manabu's answer, Ayanokouji looked at Kamio Tatsuya.
"What are you looking at me for?"
"Aren't you going to do anything?"
Kamio Tatsuya was a little curious.
"Do you think I can stop Nagumo?"
"I don't know, but I hope you can."
Hearing Ayanokouji's words, Kamio Tatsuya felt like he had heard something similar somewhere before.
Kamio Tatsuya glanced at Ayanokouji without speaking.
If he could, he would also want to stop Nagumo. Because Horikita Manabu had been very good to him.
He also wanted to help Horikita Manabu, and at the same time, put that guy Nagumo in his place.
In reality, if he truly wanted to, it wasn't impossible.
Although for Kamio Tatsuya and the others, the Ikari group was like an impenetrable fortress, it wasn't impossible to break through.
As the saying goes, no matter how strong a thing or structure is, it cannot withstand disintegration from within.
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