Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Kiro
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 21
The restaurant was crowded with students from each class.
I looked around to see whether there was an empty seat.
Then I found a group of new Class A students, including Honami-san.
“Ah, Arisu-chan! Over here!”
Honami-san guided us to nearby seats and we decided to use the two seats that were vacant.
As soon as I opened the menu, the girl’s group surrounded us.
As always, the momentum of the girls in this class was amazing.
“Arisu-chan, I heard about yesterday, you know? It sure is too terrible isn’t it?”
“I’ve always thought that Totsuka was weird, but maybe I was right?”
“Transfer to our class soon~”
Eeih, you people are noisy!
…Anyway, Arisu-chan was admired by the students of this class.
Four months have passed since we enrolled in this school. Aside from our own class, we went to Honami-san’s class the most. It was especially the case since the atmosphere of our class was terrible recently, so we visited their class practically every day.
Since Arisu-chan had a good appearance and behaved with a gentle demeanor here, she was very popular with both men and women. I was troubled by her popularity with men, though.
Somehow, I also had favorable impressions of these girl groups.
There was no way I would dislike people who respected Arisu-chan.
For example, if we happened to be members of this class instead and I said I wish to drop out of the earlier exam for the sake of Arisu-chan, there was no doubt they would be supportive instead.
That was what made them different from the people in our class.
“I also heard about Haruto-kun! You were cool back then!”
“That’s right, both of you make a single existence after all. That boy is unforgivable.”
“Totsuka ought to die.”
I also heard voices praising me which made me feel a little ticklish.
Above all, if something like yesterday happened, they would definitely stand on our side.
…I was really thankful for that, but please let me choose from the menu soon.
“Thank you very much, everyone. We came here today to say something to Honami-san.”
“Eh, what is it?”
Arisu-chan started talking with a sudden change of atmosphere.
Honami-san tilted her head cutely.
“Congratulations on your promotion to Class A. Honami-san, you have worked hard.”
The thing that was said was a simple congratulatory message.
Honami-san kept her mouth shut and showed her surprise.
I just recalled that. Now that I think about it, we were looking for Honami-san for that purpose originally.
“Thank you, Arisu-chan!”
“Fufu, I actually intended to say it yesterday, but I forgot to say it.”
Honami-san gave a big smile.
That beauty mesmerized everyone including me.
I couldn’t help but be fascinated and dazed.
It made me understand a little why everyone did their best for this person’s sake.
Applause erupted from the surrounding.
Some even stood up and shed their tears.
I also… huh?
Ah, as expected, this wasn’t it. This seriously felt like a cult…
That was close. I almost got caught in Honami-san’s cult.
I wasn’t that hungry, so I ordered a small pasta dish.
I observed my surroundings while waiting for the food to arrive.
I found Horikita sitting alone in the window seat.
As usual, she still maintained her isolation. How long would she insist on doing that?
It seemed that she didn’t get along well with Kiyotaka because they were rarely seen together recently.
When I saw such a figure, I wanted to send some help, but I knew well that Horikita herself didn’t wish for it.
If I get myself involved, it would only make things troublesome, as she’d get angry. Nobody liked being insulted.
I felt like our gazes met for a moment, but I turned my gaze back without being particularly conscious about it.
“Come to think of it, you were talking with Ayanokouji-kun and Karuizawa-san earlier, right?”
Honami-san said that as if she just recalled.
Apparently, she saw our previous exchange.
“We indeed talked. Well, it might be seen as a hindrance for Karuizawa, though.”
“I see. I considered calling you earlier, but since your expressions were serious, I had a hard time doing so… It turns out Karuizawa-san and Ayanokouji-kun were that close.”
Well, they were dating after all.
But since I doubt Kiyotaka wanted to mention it, I chose to keep it a secret.
Huh?
“Honami-san, have you met with Karuizawa before?”
“Yes. Her behavior made it easy to be misunderstood, but she’s a good girl at heart.”
“…Can I ask you why you think so?”
“Ah, I see. Both of you are unrelated to that matter after all.”
After saying that, Honami-san told me about Karuizawa.
They first met at the beginning of last month.
It was during the dispute between Sudou of Class D and students of Class C.
It was said that Kiyotaka and Karuizawa were conducting an investigation into that matter.
“Even though she was harsh toward others, she was just silently following Ayanokouji’s words, so it makes me wonder what the relationship the two had.”
Those two interviewed all the students of Class D and managed to find out that Sakura had witnessed the scene. There were many students who didn’t see Karuizawa in a good light, so it seemed to be quite difficult.
After a lot of hard work, they finally succeeded in getting Class C to withdraw their complaint.
“There was a period of time when she looked really gloomy, which made me wonder whether she was alright… but she still worked hard for Sudou’s sake, so I think she’s definitely not a bad girl.”
That gloomy period was most likely not long after Kiyotaka did “something” to Karuizawa.
I’m sorry for the gentle Honami-san but she overestimated Karuizawa too much. Karuizawa definitely didn’t move with Sudou’s sake in mind. She was someone who would extort points from her classmates, you know?
Was the reason she obediently followed Kiyotaka solely because he had her weakness?
Or was it… she was already in Kiyotaka’s hands at that point?
Either way, it turned out Kiyotaka had been eyeing Karuizawa for quite some time.
I had no regret about prioritizing my time with Arisu-chan, but it seemed I was too indifferent to Sudou’s incident. I didn’t even realize there was such a difference until now.
“Thank you. I had no idea at all.”
“…What kind of relationship will it become for those two?”
“Well, what do you think?”
Those two seemed to officially become lovers today.
However, my hunch as a man said they seemed to have already crossed the line in their relationship.
That kind of thing was surprisingly easy to spot. From Karuizawa’s sense of distance with Kiyotaka, her hostility toward us who disturbed them, her desire to monopolize him… it was hard to think they have a platonic relationship.
Since it was Kiyotaka, I think even that must be part of his strategy.
“By the way, Honami-san. I have another thing to tell you.”
Arisu-chan continued our conversation.
Honami-san seemed to sense something and switched her expression to a serious one.
“…Okay. I’ll visit your room later.”
The pasta seemed to fill my stomach too much. I guess I will order a sandwich next time.
Just like yesterday, Honami-san visited our guest room.
It was the time after filling my stomach that should make one feel sleepy, but the thing that Arisu-chan said was something that blew away the drowsiness.
“Honami-san, I’d like you to take control of Class B.”
There was a clause about points transfer in the contract between Katsuragi and Ryuuen.
By taking over, the points that Class B has to pay to Ryuuen and the students of Class B would be under Honami-san’s control.
Arisu-chan recommended Honami-san to make such a contract.
Intuitively, I think most Class B students would agree.
It still felt weird since they had recently been demoted to Class B, but the class had already collapsed.
It was to the point where, except for Totsuka, who disputed yesterday, and a few stubborn people who remained in Katsuragi’s faction, everyone else would definitely bite the bait of 20,000 points.
In addition, Arisu-chan recommended the contract be a signature type.
The 20,000 points would be paid monthly to the students whose names were listed in the contract. Those who didn’t follow Honami-san’s instructions would have their names erased from the contract. Arisu-chan seemed to have made this contract before I knew it.
The scary thing was Honami-san already proved that she was capable of fulfilling this contract.
It was her terminal screen that displayed over 8 million points the other day. There was nothing more reliable than that.
…Today was the day when I kept getting surprised by two geniuses.
Seeing it from a normal environment made me reaffirm that I was an ordinary person.
“I think everyone will be happy, right?”
“Except for Totsuka-kun, I think everyone would eventually sign the contract.”
“…Isn’t this contract practically purchasing class points with private points in a sense?”
She was sharp. Splendid, Honami-san.
It seemed one’s position would shape a person, but her recent growth was remarkable.
“It’s just as you said. As expected of Honami-san. It might be fun to one-sidedly terminate the contract after making a big difference in class points. I’m sure you’ll see something interesting.”
“Nya, I won’t do something that cruel!”
“Fufu, I guess so. Honami-san is that kind of person after all.”
Now it came to this, I guess it was just a matter of timing?
And one more thing. The result of one more test carried out on this ship was also important.
By making an even bigger gap, the despair of Class B’s students would deepen even further.
…There was something I had been thinking about for some time.
With Class A’s Honami-san and Class D’s Kikyou-chan completely on our side, would it be possible for Arisu-chan to not realize the rule that governed that exam?
No, it was impossible. This would definitely lead to something terrible.
The exam itself would become Arisu-chan’s plaything.
Everyone in the first grade, I’m sorry.
I inwardly apologized to the students who would likely scream later.
Author Note:
Karuizawa replaced Horikita’s role in the original story.
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