"Amane-san, why did you come out so quickly?"
Horikita, who was sulking outside the door, was puzzled when she saw Amane-san leave the conference room just a few minutes after her.
A bad premonition followed.
"Shall we go back?"
Amane-san proactively took Horikita's hand.
Unlike Amane-san's warm little hand, which Horikita could touch anywhere, anytime in the past.
Horikita couldn't help but flinch after just one touch.
Amane-san's hand was very cold.
Only then did Horikita carefully examine Amane-san.
Although Amane-san had a faint smile on her face, her eyes were terrifyingly deep.
Her rosy cheeks had lost their usual color, and her lovely lips were also colorless.
Amane-san was not as accommodating as she appeared on the surface.
To Horikita, those things were simply unforgivable.
"Are you really okay with it?"
Horikita held Amane-san's hand and asked with some heartache.
She guessed that Amane-san might be pretending to be strong to reassure her.
After all, from the moment she met Amane-san.
Amane-san always seemed optimistic in front of her.
But this time... "Do you believe me, Suzune, if I say I don't mind?"
Amane-san sighed.
That heaviness also made Horikita breathless.
"I'm sorry, this was my oversight. I should have expected them to make a move, but I overlooked human nature. Hmm, I've been defeated by human nature again. It's truly laughable."
Amane-san smiled very brightly.
But Horikita always felt that Amane-san's smile was very sad.
Perhaps she wasn't sad about her own oversight.
But rather... she had been betrayed by someone she trusted.
Whether it was Airi or Ichinose.
This idiot, who was as innocent as a child.
Truly treated them as 'friends'.
She understood the value of interests better than anyone.
And she knew better than anyone that human nature cannot withstand tests.
Yet, she still chose to believe.
As expected, Amane-san suffered a crushing blow here.
"Let's go."
"Classmate Amane, please wait."
Just as Amane-san and Horikita were about to leave.
Ichinose chased after them.
"What are you still doing here?"
Horikita Suzune, fearing that Ichinose might provoke Amane-san again, immediately stepped in front of Amane-san.
With just one glance, Ichinose knew Horikita was skilled.
There was a hint of surprise in her eyes.
"I have something I'd like to discuss with Amane-san alone."
Despite being somewhat wary of Horikita, Ichinose still bravely stated her purpose.
"Hmph, what's there to say now? Are you planning to continue deceiving her?"
"Suzune."
Amane-san just called out Suzune's name.
Horikita's anger gradually dissipated.
"Do whatever you want, but Amane-san, you should also know that this person is not as innocent as she appears. Keep your phone recording on."
Horikita Suzune reminded Amane-san to turn on her phone's recording in front of Ichinose.
This clearly showed extreme distrust towards Ichinose.
What made it even harder for her to accept was that Amane-san actually turned on the phone recording.
"We are friends, aren't we?"
Ichinose eagerly wanted to hear Amane-san's answer.
"Perhaps, or perhaps not, Classmate Ichinose, shall we get straight to the point?"
Amane-san gave Ichinose an ambiguous answer.
Ichinose's face turned pale.
She knew that some things, once even a tiny crack appeared, could never be fully restored. Even if they looked perfect on the surface, like new, their essence had already changed.
They had become irrevocably altered.
"It's like this: the reason Shiraha-san changed her testimony this time was at my request, and it was also the collective idea of the entire First Year Class B."
Ichinose said, glancing at Amane-san's expression.
Even after bringing up Class B, Amane-san remained unmoved.
"You mean the entire Class B believes that changing the testimony is the right thing to do?"
"Of course not!"
Facing Amane-san's questioning, Ichinose immediately denied it.
There was no way she could admit to such a statement.
"We never believed that changing testimony was the right thing to do, but in the face of class interests, any personal grievances must be put aside first. Do you understand what I mean when I say this?"
Ichinose wanted to tell Amane-san as subtly as possible, without leaving evidence, that they were forced to make such a painful decision for the sake of their interests.
"As expected of Classmate Ichinose, you can make betrayal sound like such a reluctant act. I'll emphasize one point: the fact of betrayal has already been established, and I resorted to violence to protect someone from your class. I've helped you more than once, yet this is the outcome I receive. Since you've made such a decision, I think you should be clear... you are gambling with all of Class B's reputation for three years in this school."
Amane-san's words left Ichinose speechless.
Once the news spread.
Class B's reputation could be said to be like a rat crossing the street, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Someone who helped Class B twice, sold out for a mere profit. Who would dare to cooperate with Class B in the future?
So, Ichinose's action this time was undoubtedly a huge gamble.
Gambling on what?
Gambling that she herself could appease Amane-san!!
To make Amane-san accept reality.
"Amane-san, please listen to me first. If you can agree to just accept the new testimony, I have a small gift for you as compensation. Also, you won't be held accountable for hitting someone. How does that sound?"
Ichinose shed her gentle demeanor. Standing before Amane-san now was.
The leader of First Year Class B, Ichinose Honami.
"How generous. What I want to know is... if the gift alone for me is 500,000 points, what kind of benefits did you receive?"
Amane-san directly revealed the number on the anonymous white card.
Ichinose immediately showed an awkward expression.
Because Amane-san was recording, many things couldn't be said too explicitly. But if they weren't explicit, Amane-san wouldn't believe them.
This immediately put Ichinose in a dilemma.
After much hesitation, she still decided to tell Amane-san part of the plan.
"We gained 100 class points, and we also learned the truth about Sakura-san's confession letter. As long as you, Amane-san, are willing to accept Class B's small gift, you will be our friend in Class B. In the future, if you need anything, you can come directly to me, and we will do our best to help Sakura-san through this difficult time. How does that sound?"
Ichinose's tone of negotiation made Amane-san very uncomfortable.
However, the content of what she said made Amane-san somewhat admire Ryuuen's boldness.
100 class points?
It seemed Ryuuen really bled a lot.
Then those 500,000 personal points were probably Class B's hush money for her.
Don't underestimate 100 class points; it only means an extra 10,000 personal points per person per month.
But Class B has forty people, so that's 400,000 per month.
Conservatively, they could still receive it for thirty-two months.
This means that these 100 class points would allow one person to receive 320,000 personal points until graduation, increasing Class B's liquid points by 12.8 million.
What a terrifying number that was.
Moreover, with these hundred points, they were only a step away from Class A.
No wonder even someone like Ichinose would support betrayal.
Because the benefits outweighed her bottom line.
That was all.
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