The winter dusk exuded a biting chill inside and out.
As nightfall approached, the mountains gradually darkened, their silhouettes merging with the faint glimmers of silver snow buried among the peaks.
In the vast mountain forest, only this place radiated light.
The cafeteria's glow spilled onto the snow-covered ground, shimmering brightly, occasionally accompanied by the distant sounds of chatter.
Tachibana Akane huddled in a corner outside, like a small animal afraid of the dark, her shoulders hunched and her cheeks flushed from the cold.
Half of her delicate face was buried in her knees as she sat dejectedly.
No one was likely to pass by here—after all, everyone was at dinner.
Yet the girl's ears suddenly perked up.
Panic flashed in her eyes, but before she could flee, a familiar figure appeared before her.
"Senpai, sometimes you really need to pay more attention to your own people."
Kaoru sighed as he watched Akane hurriedly rubbing her eyes.
Even while attacking him, Nagumo never forgot about Horikita Manabu—just what was going on between those two?
"I was being careful." Horikita looked somewhat awkward.
Horikita had asked him to find Akane, after searching for ages, he still hadn't located her.
Yet Kaoru had effortlessly discovered where she was hiding.
"It's because you didn't consider that Nagumo would collude with Ishikura, Senpai. Even though he's targeting me now, that won't stop him from taking a shot at you."
Kaoru hesitated for a moment. "Honestly, did you do something to him in the past?"
Horikita's lips twitched slightly. "No. I've always tried my best to avoid direct conflict with him."
"But it seems he holds you in high regard. You never acknowledged his philosophy of individual strength, and he never accepted your ideals either."
Kaoru felt that even without his involvement, Nagumo would have inevitably clashed with Horikita.
As the two exchanged words, Akane's face flushed red, and she couldn't hold back any longer.
"Why are you two here?"
Kaoru chuckled before crouching in front of her. "Senpai, were you dropping little pearls here?"
Akane didn't understand his words, but she recognized the teasing look in his eyes and snapped.
"I wasn't crying!"
Then, as she met Kaoru's gaze, her voice softened. "I didn't cry... I really didn't."
Kaoru patted her head.
Her small group happened to belong to the same larger group as Miki Yamamura's, and it wasn't anyone's core group—similar to Kaoru's situation.
The leader was a girl from Class D of the third year.
However, among the second-year groups, there were die-hard supporters of Nagumo.
"Wah! What are you touching me for?!"
Tachibana Akane felt utterly humiliated, being treated like a child—especially in front of Horikita Manabu.
She couldn't bear the embarrassment!
"Because you're kind of cute right now, senpai."
Kaoru smiled faintly. "And you're not crying. You've been working hard."
"Are you praising me or mocking me?"
As she spoke, Akane's grievances swelled.
Seeing him right in front of her, the emotions she had been suppressing surged like floodwaters.
She wanted to throw herself into his arms, and once she recovered, she'd definitely hit him.
But she still remembered their earlier conversation.
Sniffling slightly, she muttered, "Did you guys already know?"
"Sorry, Tachibana. That was my oversight."
Horikita Manabu was the one who answered. "Nagumo-kun approached Ishikura, and he also reached out to Class D. Nagumo-kun is responsible for uniting the three groups, and both Ishikura and Nagumo-kun will compensate Class D. That's why Class D is pushing for your expulsion."
Akane froze for a long moment before murmuring, "How did you know?"
At first, even she hadn't noticed.
But the students from Class 3-B and Class 3-D had been closing in on her—forcing her to wake up early to cook, and today, they deliberately left her behind during the long-distance run, leaving her exhausted.
"Because it's the same tactic."
Kaoru said, "Nagumo is trying to expel someone from Class A through me. He figured since we're all in the same large group, and you're here too, he might as well take you down with them."
Akane was too stunned to even feel upset.
She stared at him with a dark expression, as if he were some kind of mind reader who could decipher Nagumo Miyabi's every thought.
If Kaoru knew what she was thinking, he'd probably shake his head.
What a joke.
The entire school was under his watch now.
When it came to intelligence warfare, no one could match him.
"At least we caught it early, and the one responsible is from Class D."
Horikita pondered for a moment. "If it were Ishikura, things would've been much trickier."
Hearing this, Akane only looked more guilty.
In the end, she was still causing trouble for Horikita.
"Senpai, are you blaming yourself again?"
Kaoru chuckled. "Actually, Nagumo and the others didn't necessarily have to target you. They had plans for the boys' group too."
"Someone in the boys' group is also being targeted?!"
Akane was shocked.
Did that mean two people from Class 3-A were now at risk of expulsion?
"It's Shimamura-kun's group. But both Mitoma-kun and I believe it's just a smokescreen—an attempt to pressure me into lowering my own points to protect Shimamura-kun's group."
Horikita paused. "Since Shimamura-kun already told me yesterday, we should be able to resolve this by today."
The unspoken implication was: Even Shimamura spoke up. Why didn't you?
Akane's face burned red.
After a long silence, she finally mumbled, "I didn't want to trouble you."
But Horikita's expression turned stern. "There's no such thing as 'trouble.' We're all classmates. If you're struggling, you should speak up. That's only natural."
Akane lowered her head and let out a soft, barely audible "Mm" through her nose.
"Senpai." Kaoru spoke again. "Sometimes, staying silent only puts you in greater danger."
Akane stole a glance at him, her lips moving slightly as she silently mouthed a few words—no sound escaping.
Kaoru was stunned for a long moment—this girl was simply too outrageous!
Tachibana Akane subtly averted her gaze, remaining silent.
"Horikita-senpai, how do you plan to resolve this now?"
Kaoru had no choice but to steer the conversation back on track.
"Fortunately, Ishikura didn't use his own people, which makes the problem much easier to solve."
Horikita Manabu's approach was simple and direct—if they could bribe Class D, so could he.
"Probably because they didn't want to spend their own points," Kaoru mused. "Besides, Nagumo doesn't have enough points to let them sacrifice their own people either."
Nagumo had to allocate his limited points to Kaoru's side, leaving no room to support Class 3-B.
If Class 3-B were to engage in a point-draining battle with Horikita, both sides would lose roughly 400 Class Points, effectively canceling each other out.
Thus, they had no choice but to rely on Class 3-D, a class that had already given up.
Offering them some Personal Points to sacrifice one student wouldn't make much difference anyway.
After all, the third-years would graduate in just two and a half months.
"What about your situation?" Horikita asked, having already heard the details from Katsuragi.
"Do you want me to help lower the scores together?"
"Nagumo is definitely on high alert against my moves right now, so it's best if we stay inactive. Instead, I'd like to ask for your help with something else."
"Go on."
"I want you to step in and persuade the second-years for me."
"Persuade them?"
"Yes. Their grade has that agreement with Nagumo, right? The lower-ranked classes don't dare disobey out of fear of his retaliation. But if you intervene, I think they might agree."
Horikita frowned.
He didn't believe his influence was strong enough to dispel their concerns with just a few words.
Then it suddenly hit him.
Kaoru must have already secured half the battle—now he just needed Horikita's name to bolster the lower-ranked classes' confidence.
"I'll help, but are you sure about this?" Horikita said. "That man doesn't care how many losses his subordinates suffer unless you target him directly."
Nothing would rally morale more than defeating Nagumo head-on.
"No, times have changed, senpai," Kaoru shook his head. "Now Nagumo has to consider his class's feelings, or they'll abandon him."
Saving someone required not just Personal Points—using Class Points needed the class's approval.
In other words, Class 2-A now had Nagumo Miyabi in their grip.
If Class 2-A decided Nagumo was nothing but trouble, his actions could easily ignite long-suppressed resentment.
It wouldn't be strange to see an ostracism play out.
Horikita fell silent for a moment.
Was Nagumo about to be expelled?
"Akane, let's go."
But when he turned, he noticed Akane hadn't moved, which struck him as odd.
"I... I'd like to stay here a little longer," she murmured, her fair neck flushing crimson. "I'll update you about the group situation tomorrow."
Horikita seemed to realize something and left without another word.
Seeing this, Kaoru started to rise, only for the girl to suddenly clutch his sleeve.
"You—you stay too!" Akane blurted out, then immediately seemed to regret it as her entire face burned red.
"I-I have something to say to you. You're not allowed to leave!"
Kaoru's expression darkened.
He still hadn't eaten dinner.
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