Looking at Shibata's fervent attitude, Amane snorted coldly.
"Your idea is certainly beautiful, but Classmate Shibata, have you not considered what would happen if you failed?"
Amane pointed out the danger of Shibata's risky approach. Shibata smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"I knew the dangers from the beginning, but there really isn't a better opportunity than now. Ichinose's continuous failures have made her unable to control all of Class B. Externally, there are disputes from other classes. As long as I achieve some results internally, the tortoise shell defense built around Ichinose will immediately be crushed into powder. But if Ichinose uses external forces to reunite everyone around her, her prestige will quickly be re-established, and by then... defeating her will be impossible."
Shibata paused, and seeing Amane nod in agreement, indicating for him to continue, Shibata finally breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as Amane could accept this step, then Amane should be able to accept what came next.
The most urgent task was to clear his name, otherwise, if Amane took her anger out on him to help Ichinose, he wouldn't even have a place to cry.
"In short, I must take a gamble. If my plan fails, the consequences will be quite severe. My supporters will choose to abandon me, and those wavering people will return to Ichinose's embrace. When she returns, Kanzaki will definitely help Ichinose again. With Kanzaki's help, without external forces, it would be impossible for me alone to seize power from them. And if I spread that news before failing... do you know how I would be treated after losing everything? There are no secrets that time does not reveal."
"Moreover, there's an even more unacceptable possibility for me: spreading news about Ichinose at this time, causing her reputation to suffer greatly, and then I also lose this special exam. Then the victory would be monopolized by that guy Kanzaki. I cannot accept someone who did nothing but reaps all the benefits leading Class B. Can you accept these reasons of mine?"
Shibata's words were all on point. Regardless of whether his plan succeeded, trying to sideline Ichinose at this critical juncture did seem somewhat illogical.
Not to mention, there was a significant chance his plan would fail.
"I can accept it, of course... But then, who would be behind the chessboard?"
Amane felt confused for the first time.
The beneficiaries of this incident were clear: Nagumo Miyabi, Shibata, and Amane herself.
But apart from Nagumo Miyabi who had taken action, everyone else was in a state of tension, because such sudden changes made people wary. No one knew the intention behind such a large-scale public opinion attack on Ichinose.
There's no such thing as a free lunch; not only Amane but also Shibata was very clear about this. So it seemed only Nagumo Miyabi was the most suspicious.
Only he had taken corresponding actions immediately after this incident occurred, looking as if he had been prepared.
But Amane was certain that Nagumo Miyabi was just an opportunist.
People's mouths can lie, but their eyes cannot.
Moreover, Nagumo Miyabi deliberately targeted Ichinose for a bit of prestige, which also seemed somewhat inexplicable. If it were to casually gain some prestige, Nagumo Miyabi certainly wouldn't mind. But to make him actively instigate such a major incident just to gain a little prestige, Amane concluded that Nagumo Miyabi didn't have such courage.
The closer to the handover, the more careful and cautious one should be.
If he had initiated this matter, then if he accidentally exposed himself, the position of Student Council President would certainly not be his, and even expulsion would be possible.
Taking such a big risk just to gain some first-year prestige, and possibly even get scolded, he wouldn't do it unless he had a serious illness; no normal person would.
After a brief chat with Shibata, Amane chose to leave.
Before parting, Shibata gave Amane several alternative suspects.
They were Horikita, Ryuuen, Kanzaki, Katsuragi, and Shiina.
These five were all the people Shibata could think of who might be involved in this incident.
Amane jotted them down on a sticky note, but quickly crossed out Ryuuen, Horikita, and Shiina, then added Sakayanagi Arisu and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's names.
In her opinion, the final search scope should be among these people.
However, Amane hit a snag right away. She wanted to meet Katsuragi, but he refused, apparently still angry about Amane's actions on the Uninhabited Island.
It must be said that Katsuragi still had some ability. After collecting testimony from many people, he officially confirmed that the arsonists were from Sakayanagi's faction.
So he lied, claiming that he used points to make Amane betray them, and showed them the points transferred to Amane in installments. Finally, he managed to pry open the mouth of Tsukaji, who had low trust in Amane. She confessed that Amane was also among the arsonists at the time.
She saw Amane acting with Hashimoto.
After obtaining this crucial testimony, Katsuragi remembered Amane burning down his camp, deducting all his points, and tricking him into debt, and he became furious. Just as he was about to submit evidence to the school to have that scoundrel Amane expelled, Sakayanagi approached Katsuragi and asked him if he intended to have Hashimoto and the others expelled.
The reason was simple: once the arson incident was exposed, at least seven or eight people from Class A who participated in the arson would be expelled, because some people, though not directly involved in the arson, knew about the plan but did not stop it, like Kamuro.
In the end, Katsuragi, to protect his classmates in Class A, could only give up pursuing Amane's responsibility, but it was also impossible for him to give Amane any good treatment.
After being rebuffed, Amane went to Sakayanagi's room.
Perhaps due to special consideration or something, Sakayanagi's room was a double, with Kamuro occupying the other bed, which conveniently allowed her to look after Sakayanagi.
Of course, Kamuro herself had protested this and applied to the school to change rooms, but her request was rejected.
She had thought that living in the same room as Sakayanagi and being constantly manipulated by her was already bad enough.
But what she never expected was that something even worse was waiting for her.
"Amane, open wide, ah~"
"Ah~ Hmm? The taste is actually quite good. I want that one, I want that one, and I want Arisu to feed me."
"No problem, is it this one? It seems to have some filling, be careful not to spill it on yourself. Come on, open wide."
...Although she had covered her ears tightly, those two rascals next to her were shamelessly playing such an embarrassing game as if she didn't exist... Kamuro secretly glanced back.
Amane leaned on Sakayanagi's shoulder, enjoying Sakayanagi's careful feeding.
That doting gaze was like looking at a beloved pet.
That scoundrel Sakayanagi had never looked at me with such doting eyes!!!
No, ptooey, ptooey, ptooey, who cares about being Sakayanagi's pet?
"Classmate Kamuro, are you not feeling well? Why is your face so red? Would you like some sweets?"
Amane pointed to the table laden with various snacks and desserts.
"Hmph, since you put it that way, I can't refuse such hospitality, so I'll reluctantly let Sakayanagi feed me once."
Kamuro said, then sat down opposite Sakayanagi and pointed to a strawberry-decorated dessert.
"I want to eat this one, ah~"
Kamuro opened her mouth, expectant and a little shy.
Come to think of it, it was her first time being fed, and by a girl no less. Just thinking about it made her feel a little embarrassed.
Kamuro, immersed in the sweet atmosphere, never imagined that in the next second, she would be severely struck by Sakayanagi.
"Classmate Kamuro, can't you pick it up yourself?"
Sakayanagi said, pointing to the disposable gloves nearby.
"That's not fair! Why does this guy get fed?!"
"Because she's Amane, it's that simple. Classmate Kamuro, could it be that you're... jealous?"
Sakayanagi's purple eyes, similar to Amane's, were now full of mischief.
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