Seeing himself rejected, Ryunosuke didn't feel angry at all. He pulled his hand back.
In truth, he had only wanted to try; if they couldn't be good friends, then so be it — it didn't matter. However, he still left one warning for Honami.
"This person — you should consider nurturing her. She has talent. She shouldn't end up as just an ordinary person."
At his core, Ryunosuke didn't like holding grudges, because whenever he had one, he usually settled it on the spot. Based on his knowledge of this girl from his previous life, he knew perfectly well that she wanted to live an ordinary, unremarkable life — just like Hachiman from Oregairu.
A perfect copy of Hachiman.
(Because you want to live quietly as an ordinary person, that's precisely why I won't let you.)
(I'm not a villain either, right?~)
Himeno sensed a surge of malicious intent. Just as she suspected — this man was not a good person at all.
Honami let out a cute little sound. "Eh? Yuki-chan is really amazing?"
(Oh no.) Himeno cursed inwardly.
She immediately put on her usual act. Her body suddenly went limp and she slumped onto the table, speaking in a weak, sickly voice.
"My blood sugar is low again… hurry up and take me back to the dorm."
Everyone: "😐"
Could your acting be any less convincing? Who would actually believe that?
Honami believed it. She began pacing back and forth with worry. "What do we do? What do we do? Yuki-chan seems to be sick — quick, let's bring her to the health room!"
Without another word, she moved to carry Himeno on her back so she could bring her to the health room.
Everyone facepalmed.
There really was someone who believed it! X38.
(Note: One class has 40 students. Subtract Honami and Himeno, and 38 remain.)
The remaining 38 students felt so helpless that they couldn't even form words.
Their leader was far too naive — pure as a blank white sheet of paper; even acting that painfully obvious couldn't be seen through by her.
Himeno, receiving that much attention from Honami, began to feel a little guilty about continuing to lie…
At this point, Honami had already hoisted Himeno onto her back and was ready to carry her to the health room.
Himeno could no longer keep up the act. She quickly climbed down from Honami's back and said with a sheepish expression.
"Sorry, Ichinose-san… it seems like my blood sugar has already recovered."
"Eh?" Honami tilted her head cutely, looking confused.
Ryunosuke couldn't help but clap. "Himeno-san, so it turns out you really do have low blood sugar. By chance, I have some candy here — want one?"
As he spoke, he pulled out a lollipop.
"No thanks!" Himeno snapped back. She walked over to Chihiro and shot her a fierce, sharp glare.
"Move."
Chihiro was startled, but she made room so that Himeno could sit on Honami's left side.
Himeno crossed her arms over her chest, folded her legs, and stared straight at Ryunosuke.
"Are you satisfied now? Isn't this exactly the result you wanted?!"
Ryunosuke smiled thinly without answering her question. However, the slight upturn at the corner of his lips couldn't be hidden.
It was painfully obvious — Himeno had fallen right into this man's trap. She had been forced to surface in order to give Honami advice.
Everyone else could see it too. Even though the two of them spoke in riddles, every line revealed the fact that Himeno was a gifted person.
Honami and Ryuji exchanged glances and nodded at one another, silently beginning to pay closer attention to the girl named Himeno Yuki.
The two of them quietly decided that once this matter was settled, they would give this girl greater responsibilities.
Himeno swung her legs impatiently. "Why are we still wasting time? Just talk already — I want to go back and rest as soon as possible."
Ryunosuke dropped the pleasantries and began explaining the details of the cooperation with the current Class A.
After hearing the conditions, Himeno rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
"I see — so you want to gain a large amount of personal points through this exam. That's why you came to us for cooperation, right?"
"You must have already approached other classes too, and managed to convince one or two of them. If you hadn't, you wouldn't have come to Class A without absolute certainty."
Ryunosuke snapped his fingers. "Clever! Just as expected from Himeno-san — the one who loves pretending to be ordinary. You really are something."
"Tch." Himeno couldn't help but click her tongue. Faced with Ryunosuke's jab, she genuinely felt irritated.
The two classes quickly reached an agreement.
Unlike the former Class C, Class A agreed to a 50-50 split — but with one condition…
Ryuji raised one finger. "I hope this is the last time we cooperate like this."
Ryunosuke was momentarily taken aback, not understanding what he meant.
Ryuji explained: "Up until now, we've been relying on you too much… it's left the students in our class with no competitive mindset at all."
He said it with a tone full of resignation.
Ryunosuke recalled how the members of Class A had been back on the remote island, and he understood.
And so, the cooperation with Class A was finalized, and Ryunosuke intended to leave.
Seeing him go, Himeno followed after him as well. The two of them met at the front of the ship's deck, as though they were close friends.
Ryunosuke didn't show any surprised expression — this girl was smart enough. She surely knew he had been waiting for her to come out.
Himeno approached the railing with a cold expression, resting both hands on it, then asked in a flat tone.
"What do you actually want? You keep helping Class A maintain their position at the top — I don't believe you're doing it for Ichinose…"
Ryunosuke shrugged and answered honestly.
"It's nothing special. I'm simply using your Class A as a backup option… If my own class can't be relied upon, I can transfer over to your class at any time. And the cost of transferring won't come out of my pocket — your teacher will pay for it on my behalf."
Himeno's eyebrows rose. "Double insurance?"
Ryunosuke stretched lazily. "Yeah, more or less… I'm just not entirely satisfied with the current Class A, so I want to strengthen it a little…"
"So that's why you dragged me out?!" Himeno shouted in frustration. "My normal daily life is completely ruined because of you! You really aren't a good person at all!!!"
Ryunosuke burst out laughing.
"Hahaha, what can I do about it~ I don't want Class A to still be this pathetic by the time I transfer over."
"If Honami and everyone else don't make even a little bit of progress, I'll have to consider transferring to a different class instead."
Himeno didn't want to say another word. She lifted her leg, ready to kick Ryunosuke just to vent her frustration. It was because of this man that her peaceful life had been completely destroyed…
Unfortunately, perhaps because he was already used to being kicked by Shizune, Ryunosuke dodged with reflexive, impressive agility. It was painfully clear that this was far from the first time he'd had to dodge…
"Aha, I'm not the only one who wants to kick me, you know! Did you really think I couldn't dodge?"
Ryunosuke stood at a distance and hurled a high-level taunt back at her.
Himeno bit her lip, baring her small, sharp fangs, and furiously moved to chase after him so she could beat him up. She truly couldn't stand this man who kept provoking her anger…
Himeno marched toward him seething with rage. Ryunosuke immediately broke into a sprint. Either way, his goal had already been achieved — he was no masochist who wanted to get hit.
Seeing him run, Himeno immediately gave chase, shouting as she went.
"Don't run! Just let me hit you once!"
"Hah?" Ryunosuke called back without turning around. "You tell me to stop and I just stop? Catch me if you can~"
Himeno's face burned red with fury. "You bastard, stop!!!"
In the distance, many Class A students watched the two of them chasing each other around and felt bewildered.
Since when had their relationship become this close?
Honami watched them with a smile, turning to Ryuji beside her. "It seems like their relationship has become really good~"
Ryuji adjusted the glasses that weren't actually on his face, watching Himeno in the distance — her face flushed crimson with rage — and felt a little helpless.
"From what angle exactly are you seeing them as close?"
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