"Deliberately provoking conflict? Matsushita-san, do you mean Class B is planning to play that low-level trick again, making us strike first?"
Horikita leaned against the wall, her gaze full of disdain.
This expression was not directed at Matsushita, but at Class B. If Class B was truly going to use such a strategy to annoy Class D, she wouldn't mind setting a trap to teach Class B a good lesson.
Seeing Horikita's arrogant demeanor, everyone remained silent. If it had been before, they might have thought Horikita was too arrogant, but after Amane explained to everyone that her actions were entirely in accordance with Horikita's plan, everyone looked at Horikita with a bit more awe.
An excellent lone wolf who never intervened in any class infighting, yet manipulated the other three classes in inter-class competitions.
Even without witnessing Horikita's activities firsthand, just from Amane's description, her ability was enough to make them feel incredibly shocked through imagination alone.
And the most compelling proof was that Horikita had brought over three hundred class points to the class in one go, making promotion almost a certainty.
Although everyone in Class D didn't say anything on the surface, there were still those with a strong desire for promotion. Those unwilling to be labeled as defective recognized Horikita's strength and quietly gathered around her.
Matsushita was one of them. Although she was very low-key, even often mingling with Karuizawa, Shinohara, and others, if it came to ability, she was confident that if she gave her all, she could rival Horikita in academic ability. No, it wasn't impossible to even surpass Horikita. She, who was so excellent, didn't understand why she was assigned to Class D, a gathering place for those considered defective.
Originally, she wanted to try harder, but after seeing Hirata and Karuizawa, the male and female class leaders, she decisively chose to give up.
Because the chances of winning were absolutely zero.
What Class D needed for a comeback was not an honor student, but an anomaly. Only an anomaly could break Class D's predicament.
So, after Ayanokoji and Horikita, two seemingly peculiar individuals, were brought to the forefront, she decided to fulfill her promise to Amane.
"Horikita-san, you don't need to worry about this at all. I think they are deliberately provoking disputes, but it's not organized. It's more like personal revenge."
Conversations between smart people are usually to the point.
Smart strategists do not try to steal the leader's thunder.
Horikita pondered for a moment, then looked up and met Matsushita's gaze.
In that instant, Matsushita confirmed that Horikita was not a puppet, but a genuine leader. At the same time, Matsushita showed a smile that they both understood.
Horikita returned a faint smile.
This was their initial understanding.
"What are you two smiling about?"
Hasebe was the first to notice the subtle interaction between them.
Shinohara also looked at Horikita and Matsushita with an inquiring gaze.
"Matsushita-san's meaning is simply that Class B is likely in a state of disarray, which is why those people are acting recklessly as they please, and it's not what we had guessed."
"Disarray? Although I don't participate much in social activities, I've certainly heard of Ichinose. Her reputation is quite well-known even among the second-years. With her around, it's hard to imagine Class B being so undisciplined."
Hasebe raised her point of confusion.
Ichinose's reputation at school was even more exaggerated than Kushida's.
Let alone the second-years, even third-year students had heard of Ichinose.
If Kushida was somewhat famous among the first-years, Ichinose's fame throughout the school could even be called the 'popularity queen' without exaggeration.
Under a great reputation, it's inevitable that some people turn out to be undeserving, but Ichinose is clearly not such a person. Otherwise, the Student Council would not have accepted her and eliminated Katsuragi in the first place. Would such a person really fall to the point where she couldn't even control her own classmates?
On the surface, Hasebe was expressing her confusion, but in reality, she was subtly questioning Horikita's statement.
Horikita understood and began to explain to Hasebe.
"Normally, Ichinose's ability is more than enough to keep Class B in line. However, the prerequisite is that Class B is still the united Class B it once was. After the last defeat and Kanzaki's rash behavior, Class B is probably no longer as united as before. Ichinose's attempt to reorganize the class will inevitably be interfered with by other competitors. Those competitors might even have their supporters go out and damage Class B's reputation."
"Damage their own class's reputation? Why would they do that? Even if someone wants to become Ichinose, if their reputation is ruined, it would be very difficult to survive in such a special exam, right? If such people really exist, they would undoubtedly be utterly foolish."
Shinohara found it hard to believe that anyone would be foolish enough to destroy the collective's reputation for the sake of power struggles.
"Why not? And such an approach isn't necessarily foolish. Because at this time, the other classes all think Ichinose is managing Class B. Everyone will implicitly assume this is Ichinose's disrespectful behavior towards other classes. And those competitors, through external forces, distract Ichinose's attention and energy to buy time for their own development... and then stab Ichinose at a crucial moment."
"After Ichinose falls, the new leader will surely visit each class to resolve conflicts. The classes that have been bothered to no end will readily agree to a reconciliation. This way, the newly appointed leader can use the credit of appeasing external pressure to solidify their position."
Amane's explanation left the other three dumbfounded.
Even Matsushita hadn't expected Horikita to think so far ahead. However, this also showed Horikita's excellent abilities, and Matsushita then decided to formally bet on Horikita.
"Ah, my head hurts so much! Do you monsters think about such complicated things all day long?"
Although Shinohara was also a leader of a small group, her group was only formed with a few friends she often hung out with, for the sake of enjoying life.
She had heard of scheming, but such profound things were clearly not something she could grasp immediately. Shinohara tried to sort it out in her mind for a long time but couldn't, then simply gave up, holding her head in pain and collapsing onto her bed.
"I can't do this. Forget it, I'll go wash my clothes first. These scheming things, I'll just leave them to you, Horikita-san. All we need to do is follow your instructions, right?"
Shinohara's words seemed to indicate an intention to give up her role as the leader of her small circle.
"I hope that when I need everyone's help, you will respond actively. Normally, everyone should just interact as classmates or friends. After all, everyone's goal is the same: to earn more class points, get into Class A, and receive the benefits promised by the school. Believe me, as long as everyone works hard together, getting into Class A is not an impossible task."
As Horikita spoke, her own emotions became excited.
It was as if she was only one step away from Class A.
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