After the class points system was officially introduced, the atmosphere in each First Year class quietly changed.
The morning classes ended in this new atmosphere.
When the dismissal bell rang,
the air in the classroom seemed to flow instantly.
Katsuragi Kohei hardly hesitated.
His burly figure rose from his seat, his gaze directed straight to the window seat.
All morning, Class C's bizarre 910 points were like a thorn in his back,
preventing him from fully immersing himself in class.
He needed answers, or at least, a direction.
And in the entire Class A, the one most likely to know the truth,
was undoubtedly the person who first revealed the rules—Sakamoto.
To his slight surprise, Sakamoto did not, as usual,
leave the classroom the moment the dismissal bell rang with his precise and efficient demeanor to rush to the cafe for work.
He was simply calmly tidying up the stationery and textbooks on his desk, his movements elegant and unhurried,
time seemed to flow exceptionally slowly for him.
Kamuro Masumi, sitting not far away, glanced at Sakamoto.
Kamuro Masumi knew the reason.
At this moment, Kamuro Masumi was pretending to organize her schoolbag, but in reality, she was watching everything that had just happened out of the corner of her eye.
She was not surprised to see Katsuragi go to Sakamoto to discuss.
She had asked about the reason why Sakamoto was no longer rushing to the cafe a few days ago in a phone chat.
At that time, she mustered her courage and asked several questions all at once, including this one.
She found that whenever she asked, Sakamoto always seemed to answer patiently,
completely unlike how distant he appeared on the outside.
Sakamoto told her that his contract with the cafe only covered the first month of work after school started.
Furthermore, he had reached a new agreement with the manager:
he would no longer receive a fixed "salary," but would instead receive personal points as a reward, proportionate to the increase in turnover he brought during his shifts.
Kamuro calculated briefly, and with the customer flow effect Sakamoto brought, the personal points he had accumulated this month
were probably already a considerable sum.
She then took the opportunity to ask how to specifically deal with the matter of Sakayanagi and Ryuuen joining forces.
Sakamoto's reply was still full of his style,
roughly meaning "observe the changes and act accordingly," and did not provide any specific action plan.
However, it now seemed that Sakayanagi's side had indeed quieted down, at least on the surface.
Kamuro herself also decided not to delve deeper into this matter, as bringing up old issues at a time when the class had just achieved the glory of a perfect score would only disrupt morale.
It was just that Class C's 910 points,
were indeed like a thorn, stuck in her and many Class A students' hearts.
Kamuro retracted her gaze, put on her schoolbag, and walked out of the classroom.
She was not worried that Sakamoto would be unable to cope with these things; he always managed to solve problems in a way that left people bewildered yet unable to refute him.
Katsuragi Kohei walked to Sakamoto's desk and stopped.
His tone was steady, with due respect:
"Sakamoto-kun, do you have time? Regarding the ranking on the blackboard, especially Class C's score, I have some questions I'd like to ask you."
He got straight to the point, without unnecessary pleasantries.
Sakamoto had just closed the cover of his last book.
He looked up, his gaze behind his black-rimmed glasses calmly meeting Katsuragi's doubtful eyes:
"Katsuragi-kun, please speak."
"Class C, 910 points."
Katsuragi's voice lowered slightly, ensuring that the surrounding students would not easily hear him,
"This is highly unreasonable. Given Class C's demeanor at the beginning of the school year, it's impossible for them to reach this height on their own. I suspect..."
He paused, his gaze sharp,
"They knew the rules in advance. And the source of the rules is in our Class A."
He didn't directly say the words "mole," but the meaning was already clear.
Sakamoto listened quietly to Katsuragi's words, his expression unchanged.
After a few seconds, he slowly spoke:
"The operation of rules always leaves traces. Class C's ability to achieve a high score must have its internal logic."
This answer was still ambiguous.
Katsuragi frowned, about to press for more, but Sakamoto continued.
"Katsuragi-kun,"
Sakamoto's gaze seemed to penetrate his lenses, falling on Katsuragi's face,
"Overly focusing on a single internal 'channel' might make us overlook the broader competitive landscape. Anomalies in information are sometimes just a prelude to larger changes."
Katsuragi was slightly taken aback.
Sakamoto's words... seemed to be guiding him not to focus too much on internal investigations.
"The essence of competition lies in the rise and fall of strength."
Sakamoto seemed to be expounding a fundamental principle,
"When internal noise that is difficult to clarify immediately arises, turning our attention outward to clarify the true opponents and allies might be a more prioritized choice."
True opponents and allies.
Katsuragi's mind quickly flashed through the rankings on the blackboard: Class A 1000, Class C 910, Class B 820, Class D 0.
Class C was coming on strong, their scores close behind,
and their leader, Ryuuen Kakeru, was ruthless and ambitious, undoubtedly the biggest threat and opponent.
Although Class B was temporarily behind, their atmosphere was united, and their leader, Ichinose Honami, had an excellent reputation, making their potential not to be underestimated.
They were a potential ally that could be won over, or a subsequent competitor to be wary of.
Class D... currently seemed negligible, but had the most variables.
Sakamoto was implying that instead of spending a lot of energy now on an internal investigation to find a possible "leak" that might not be immediately caught,
it would be better to first address the clear external class competition, to gain greater strategic space and advantage for Class A.
This shift in thinking made Katsuragi feel enlightened.
Indeed, internal investigations were time-consuming, labor-intensive, and prone to internal strife,
while in the early stages of class competition, quickly establishing an external advantage, uniting with or suppressing other classes,
seemed to be a more urgent and beneficial strategy for Class A.
"I understand..."
Katsuragi's voice became steady.
Sakamoto nodded slightly, acknowledging his understanding.
"Thank you for the guidance, Sakamoto-kun."
"You're welcome."
Katsuragi turned and left, his back carrying a new determination.
Internal investigations could be postponed, but externally, Class A's sharpness could not be dulled.
The classroom gradually emptied, and the last few students also left one after another,
leaving only Sakamoto by the window,
and... Sakayanagi Arisu, who had quietly remained in her seat.
She did not leave immediately like the others, but sat there at her leisure,
her fingers gently resting on her cane, her gaze directed at Sakamoto, who was about to get up.
"What a clever deflection of conflict, Sakamoto-kun."
Sakayanagi Arisu's clear voice rang out, breaking the silence of the classroom.
A playful smile played on her lips.
Sakamoto's movements paused slightly, then returned to normal.
He turned to face Sakayanagi,
seemingly unsurprised by her statement, having already anticipated that she would make her move at this moment.
"I'm not surprised that Katsuragi-kun could guess that there might be an internal problem."
Sakayanagi Arisu continued, her tone relaxed,
"After all, Class C's score is indeed strangely high. And it's also expected that there's no evidence pointing to me."
Her gaze swept across the empty classroom,
"The only two people who know, Kamuro-san and you... one is a 'whistleblower' who values class honor greatly, and the other is the core that maintains a certain balance in the class. Neither of you would, or rather, would not be willing to directly accuse me without evidence, causing internal strife in Class A."
She leaned forward slightly, smiling:
"But what I didn't expect was that you would actually... 'protect' me? Or rather, protect this temporary peace. There's an old saying, 'To repel external threats, one must first pacify internal unrest,' but you, on the other hand, directly jumped to 'stop internal conflict, unite against external threats'? What a surprising choice."
She felt a hint of surprise that Sakamoto did not take the opportunity to direct suspicion towards her, but instead guided Katsuragi to focus on external competition.
She should have been grateful to Sakamoto.
But at the same time, a stronger urge to explore surged within her.
This always composed and seemingly flawless Sakamoto would actually choose a method that was almost "sheltering" a potential problem in order to maintain the superficial stability and unity of the class.
Was this a kind of "white lie" made for a greater goal?
"Really..."
Sakayanagi Arisu's voice lowered, a joy like she had discovered a treasure.
"Have I found your weakness, Sakamoto-kun? You are not truly unburdened; you also have concerns, you have desires."
Facing Sakayanagi's almost provocative probing and sharp questioning, Sakamoto's expression remained unchanged.
He neither admitted nor denied, nor did he utter a single word in response.
He merely turned slightly, performing an incredibly fluid and unexpected action—
His arm seemingly casually lifted, his fingertips tracing an elegant and precise arc in the air,
Lightly brushing the brim of the decorative beret Sakayanagi Arisu wore on her head.
It was just a very slight adjustment, so quick that one might almost think it was an illusion.
The beret, which originally showcased its owner's meticulousness,
had its brim tilted less than a millimeter due to Sakayanagi's leaning forward movement.
Now, Sakamoto's fingers gently and accurately straightened it, restoring it to a perfectly symmetrical and upright position.
The entire movement was fluid and natural, carrying an indescribable elegance and composure,
as if he wasn't performing a slightly offensive action, but rather completing a work of art.
"Secret Technique—"
"Not At All."
He did not look at Sakayanagi Arisu's momentarily stunned expression, his gaze calmly passing over her, directed towards the distant view outside the classroom window.
He no longer lingered, nor did he give Sakayanagi Arisu any time to respond.
He picked up his school bag and walked out of the classroom with composed steps, leaving Sakayanagi Arisu standing rooted to the spot.
Sakayanagi Arisu was indeed stunned.
She subconsciously raised her hand, her fingertips touching the beret that Sakamoto had "corrected."
The brim was impeccably straight, as if silently mocking her earlier self-congratulatory "discovery of a weakness."
This was not a threat.
This was more like a,
condescending reminder and warning.