The second day, Sunday, was a rare day off, but even so, Kamio Tatsuya and his group were told to wake up at six in the morning.
And although it was a day off, they couldn't leave the forest school, nor could they freely interact with the girls. So, overall, it was quite boring.
No wonder the school allowed students to bring entertainment items, and even computers weren't forbidden.
However, even if computers weren't banned, there was no internet at the school, so they couldn't contact the girls. They could only play the built-in mini-games on their computers.
Most people weren't interested in that.
Kamio Tatsuya had originally planned to work on his manuscript, but he couldn't get into it alone, especially with the guys from his group playing cards around him.
While he could technically work on his manuscript in such a noisy environment, Kamio Tatsuya didn't want these guys to know he wrote novels.
What if they ended up reading "Dragon Raja" later?
Thinking about the story ahead, Kamio Tatsuya could barely hold back his own excitement, let alone the readers in this new world who were experiencing it for the first time and being so distressed.
At that point, sending him hate mail with razor blades would be the least of his worries.
He was afraid of them showing up at his door to "check his water meter."
Public safety in Japan isn't necessarily good.
Besides, he had things to do today.
Yesterday in the bathhouse, Kamio Tatsuya had asked Kanzaki for the whereabouts of Senior Ishikura from Class 3-B, so he planned to pay him a visit today.
The third-year dorms were on the fourth floor, so Kamio Tatsuya left his room while his group was playing, intending to find an opportunity upstairs to talk to Ishikura alone.
However, it seemed like fate was on Kamio Tatsuya's side. Just as he stepped out, he saw Ishikura coming down alone from upstairs.
And there was no one else with him.
"Good afternoon, Senior Ishikura."
Ishikura, addressed by Kamio Tatsuya, seemed a little surprised.
"I believe you're Kamio from the first year, right?"
"Yes, I'm Kamio Tatsuya from Class 1-C. I didn't expect Senior Ishikura to know me." Kamio Tatsuya wasn't too surprised that Ishikura knew him.
That's because in addition to being a student in Class 1-C, he was also the vice president of the student council.
He had some level of recognition.
"Do you have some time? I'd like to discuss the current exam with you, Senior Ishikura."
Ishikura was a bit taken aback because they weren't even in the same large group, so he wasn't sure what Kamio Tatsuya wanted to talk about.
"Sure, I'm a bit bored too. Let's go for a walk outside."
A few minutes later, Kamio Tatsuya and Ishikura arrived at the warmth of the heater on the first floor.
"Senior Ishikura, if I recall correctly, the gap between Class 3-A and Class 3-B is only 312 points, right?"
"That's correct. I didn't expect you to care about the point differences between the upper grades."
"After all, I'm the vice president of the student council, so I occasionally see similar data," Kamio Tatsuya smiled. "I heard that in this exam, no one from Class 3-A became a group leader among the third-year groups.
I'm not just talking about the boys; it seems to be the same for the girls as well."
Ishikura furrowed his brow.
Kamio Tatsuya's words indicated that he not only had information about the boys but also about the girls.
"What are you trying to say?"
"Don't you want to take this opportunity of the exam to bring down Horikita Manabu, Senior Ishikura? Since no one from Class 3-A is a leader, they can't get many class points.
But conversely, your large group has President Nagumo. Don't you think this is a golden opportunity?"
Ishikura fell into a brief silence upon hearing Kamio Tatsuya's words.
"But even so, I'm not confident in winning first place. You're also in the student council, so even if you haven't spent much time with Horikita Manabu, you should understand that he has virtually no weaknesses."
Kamio Tatsuya knew very well that Horikita Manabu was indeed formidable, but to say he had no weaknesses was a bit of an exaggeration.
"How could he have no weaknesses? You're exaggerating. He's not a superhero," Kamio Tatsuya chuckled. "Even superheroes have weaknesses, let alone Horikita Manabu.
Besides, aren't you and President Nagumo already targeting Horikita Manabu's weakness?"
Ishikura's eyes widened, and he looked at Kamio Tatsuya in disbelief.
After a moment, Ishikura spoke in a low voice.
"Did Nagumo tell you?"
"How could President Nagumo tell me something like that? From his perspective, I'm on Horikita Manabu's side."
"So, you figured this out yourself?"
"I wasn't completely sure before, but now I am," Kamio Tatsuya smiled. "Because I noticed that Senior Tachibana Akane's group among the girls seemed a bit unusual, as if they were being deliberately ostracized."
"Just based on that?"
Ishikura felt a bit annoyed by Kamio Tatsuya's words. He had been tested by a junior student.
"Yes, just based on that," Kamio Tatsuya smiled. "That group consists mostly of students from Class 3-B.
Logically, they should be a strong contender for the top three. Yet, there's disharmony within the group.
And as far as I know, Senior Tachibana isn't a dominant personality. She could even tolerate a strange person like Horikita Manabu, yet she's having conflicts with over a dozen people at the same time.
It's hard not to suspect that there's a problem within the group.
So, I came up with a bold guess: you're probably collaborating with President Nagumo to try and force Senior Tachibana to withdraw from school during this exam.
And you're doing it by taking others down with you. Of course, you, as the leader of Class 3-B, wouldn't agree to something that offers no benefit.
Therefore, I deduce that President Nagumo's prerequisite for you to cooperate is to cover all the private points incurred from canceling the withdrawal."
Ishikura looked at Kamio Tatsuya, and suddenly he found this guy incredibly frightening.
"Are you really only a first-year student?"
Tsk, can't you see through my true intentions so easily?
"Completely genuine," Kamio Tatsuya said with a smile.
"Tell me, what is your purpose in telling me all this? You're not planning to persuade me to give up the plan, are you?"
Ishikura's mood became calm again. By now, he was starting to become interested in Kamio Tatsuya.
"Since the point difference between Class 3-A and Class 3-B is only 312 points, it means that over these three years, the exams between the two classes have probably been back and forth, right?"
"That's right."
"So, the private points accumulated by the two classes are probably similar?"
"You could put it that way."
"Then, Senior Ishikura, haven't you considered abandoning Senior Ikari? If you abandon Senior Ikari, you'll save 300 points.
If Horikita Manabu abandons Senior Tachibana Akane, the gap between the two classes can be instantly closed, and you, Senior Ishikura, can also gain 20 million private points more than Horikita Manabu.
This large sum of private points will surely be useful in subsequent special exams."
Ishikura glanced at Kamio and then sneered.
"I will not abandon a comrade at this critical juncture, even if it means immediately leveling the playing field with Class 3-A.
Besides, we're already struggling against Horikita's class. If we abandon a comrade at this time, it'll be even less likely for us to graduate from Class 3-A."
"Then haven't you considered the possibility of Horikita Manabu abandoning a comrade?"
Ishikura answered this question almost without thinking.
"Indeed, abandoning Tachibana Akane at this moment would instantly widen the gap between us to 600 points. If he really chooses to do that, I'll likely lose my chance forever.
But based on my understanding of him, he would never abandon Tachibana Akane at this time. Precisely because he's my adversary, I can say this with certainty."
Ishikura's reply was firm as iron, and he was very confident in his judgment. In fact, his judgment wasn't wrong; Horikita Manabu had already mentally prepared himself to use points to protect his comrade.
"So, the goal of this operation for you, Senior Ishikura, is essentially to put Class 3-B ahead of Class 3-A by twenty million private points."
"That's right."
Ishikura looked at him. There was no point in lying about something like this.
Besides, this was all within Kamio Tatsuya's predictions. Ishikura's cooperation with Nagumo was merely to widen the gap in private points between the two classes.
If things continued this way, after this exam, the difference in class points between the two classes probably wouldn't change much.
That's because neither class intended to abandon their comrades.
And since no one from Class 3-A became a group leader, they wouldn't gain many class points even if they came in first in this exam.
Therefore, the class points of the two classes wouldn't widen or narrow because of this. Ishikura's goal was to deplete Horikita Manabu's twenty million private points.
Although the role of private points in the current exam for Kamio Tatsuya and his group didn't seem particularly significant, it was by no means useless.
It just required them to discover its purpose in later developments.
"So, Senior Ishikura, you believe that being twenty million private points ahead of Class 3-A will allow you to catch up to the 300-point gap in class points in subsequent exams?"
"How will we know if we don't try?"
"I know, of course," Kamio Tatsuya looked at Ishikura. "You're already scared. You're afraid to fight Class 3-A on equal footing at this moment.
In this exam, if Senior Ishikura tried hard enough, it's not impossible to catch up to Class 3-A in terms of class points.
But the exam hasn't even started, and you've already given up on the girls' exam. You don't believe you can win this exam at all, so how can you succeed?
If you're filled with fear, how can you possibly win?"
Kamio Tatsuya's words struck Ishikura to the core.
Filled with fear, how can you win.
"I'm not afraid; I'm doing this to win!"
Ishikura's emotions flared slightly.
"Senior Ishikura, you can deceive others, but don't deceive yourself."
In reality, the moment Ishikura chose to team up with Nagumo, he already had the thought that he couldn't beat Horikita Manabu.
He just wasn't willing to admit it.
Over these three years, he had tried every method he could think of, but even so, he had never managed to make Class 3-B's class points surpass Class 3-A.
It was precisely because of this that he readily agreed to Nagumo's plan when he approached him.
It was because he lacked confidence that he sought change.
In fact, Ishikura's approach wasn't wrong; as long as it led to victory, what did it matter if he used external assistance?
Kamio Tatsuya didn't think he could convince him to abandon his cooperation with Nagumo so easily. He was just here to test Ishikura's attitude.
"Senior Ishikura, there's nothing to be ashamed of," Kamio Tatsuya began to comfort Ishikura. "Given your current position and the current situation, it's normal to feel pressure.
It's also normal to be afraid when you think about the final outcome. So, feeling fear isn't something you have to hide.
Rather, I deeply admire that you immediately cooperated with President Nagumo after realizing you couldn't defeat Horikita Manabu."
Ishikura fell silent again. In reality, he was well aware of his own fear. He even felt a sense of guilt about cooperating with Nagumo to plot against Horikita Manabu.
This was because for the past three years, Horikita Manabu had always fought fairly and never resorted to such underhanded tactics.
Even when he became student council president, he hadn't used his authority to manipulate exam rules to benefit Class 3-A.
Therefore, Ishikura felt ashamed of himself for being the first to resort to dishonorable means, and naturally, guilt arose within him.
"However, all of this has now been revealed," Ishikura sighed. "Do you plan to tell Horikita about this?"
"Do you really think Horikita Manabu wouldn't have seen this coming?"
Kamio Tatsuya's expression was strange.
The disappointment on Horikita Manabu's face last night wasn't just disappointment towards Nagumo; it was likely partly due to Ishikura.
They had fought honorably for three years. It would be strange if they hadn't developed some sort of bond.
Ishikura blinked, then a wry smile appeared on his face. He sighed deeply.
"That's right. If even you can see it, it's not surprising that Horikita can see it too. It seems I've lost again this time."
Now it was Kamio Tatsuya's turn to be speechless.
What do you mean "even you can see it"? How much do you look down on me, you jerk!
Or is it that in your mind, Horikita Manabu is simply the strongest?
How much faith do you have in him?
"You're giving up so easily?"
"Since the scheme has been exposed, there's no point in saying anything else."
Seeing Ishikura's straightforwardness, Kamio Tatsuya couldn't help but laugh.
"So, do you think Horikita Manabu will be able to avoid this situation once he knows about it?"
"Isn't that the case? Although I can't think of a way, if it were him, he might just find a way to dismantle this strategy in an unexpected way."
Ishikura's question made Kamio Tatsuya laugh again. How highly did you rate Horikita Manabu?
He wasn't a superhero.
"Of course not. If this matter were targeting Horikita Manabu himself, perhaps he would have a way. But it's targeting Senior Tachibana right now, so that's a different story.
No matter how powerful Horikita Manabu is, it's difficult for him to influence the girls' side."
Ishikura was silent for a moment, then frowned. He didn't quite understand what Kamio Tatsuya was getting at with all this explanation.
"So, what exactly do you mean?"
"I came to persuade you to abandon your plan with Nagumo," Kamio Tatsuya said, shrugging indifferently. "After all, Horikita Manabu has taken quite good care of me."
Ishikura suddenly found it amusing.
"You said all this just for that?"
"Yes."
"I won't give up. Even if I cooperate with Nagumo, even if I follow his arrangements, I want to defeat Horikita Manabu in this final moment of our three years."
Ishikura's resolve was strong, and Kamio Tatsuya hadn't expected him to give up so easily.
"Alright, but Senior Ishikura, you should think carefully. Your plan with President Nagumo isn't foolproof."
"What did you say?"
Ishikura's heart tightened, and he asked.
However, Kamio Tatsuya just smiled slightly and left. He still needed to find Senior Yoshida Shinta.
Oh, Yoshida Shinta was the third-year Class 3-D student from whom Kamio Tatsuya had extracted information at the beginning of the school year.
He was now in the same large group as Kamio Tatsuya.
They had greeted each other during group assignments and had become quite familiar over the next two days.
The key to breaking this situation...
Of course, it wasn't with him, but with his girlfriend.
During classes together these past few days, Kamio Tatsuya had inadvertently learned that Yoshida Shinta's girlfriend was also from Class 3-D and was currently in Senior Tachibana Akane's group.
This time, she was the one who would foil Nagumo's scheme.
Hopefully, everything would go smoothly, or else it would be as Nagumo wished.
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