Demon Slayer: I was taken home by Shinobu Kocho at the beginning.

Clearly, Fujimaki disdains Nagumo's behavior.

If this behavior were applied to a first-grader, it would be something like this: Kamio Tatsuya is no match for Sakayanagi Arisu in chess, so he challenges Sakayanagi to a fight.

There's no way Sakayanagi would even acknowledge him.

That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but since Nan Yun dared to bring up the outcome of a certain contest, he naturally believed he had a chance of winning.

That's why his behavior was ridiculed by Fujimaki.

Nagumo's behavior is essentially avoiding his weaknesses, while Horikita Manabu never avoids anything, even things he's not good at.

On this point, Kamio Tatsu also disagreed with Fujimaki's statement.

While Horikita's approach is admirable, is it wrong to play to one's strengths and avoid one's weaknesses?

Nagumo ignored Fujimaki's mockery and instead turned his gaze to Horikita Manabu.

"So, Horikita-senpai, are you ready to accept my challenge?"

Faced with Nagumo's provocation, Horikita Manabu adjusted his glasses and stepped out from the crowd.

"Nagumo, do you know why I've always refused your challenges?"

"You're not afraid of losing to me, are you?" Nan Yun said half-jokingly. "Although I always hear people saying that, I don't think that's the case."

"Horikita-senpai is the most outstanding person I've ever met. You're not someone who's afraid of losing, so the answer is obvious: you just don't like pointless competition, right?"

“That’s only one reason.” Horikita Manabu nodded. “Another reason I’ve always refused your challenges is because the kind of fighting you enjoy causes misfortune to many innocent people.”

"Is that so? I think my approach is more in line with the school's practices, and that's how I can enjoy the school. What do you think, Kamio-kun?"

Nagumo refuted Horikita Manabu's statement, arguing that the two had different views, and he also asked Kamio Tatsuya for his opinion again.

"Yes, the theme of this school is struggle. Since they haven't chosen to drop out yet, they've implicitly agreed to participate in the struggle."

Everyone here has their own reasons for staying at the school.

Some people want to graduate from the class, while others want to use the school environment to do what they want.

Some people just want to enjoy the school's free room and board and high living expenses.

Even if there's no desire to fight now, who can predict the future? So for students who want to move up a class, everyone is a potential enemy.

Since they are enemies, it is only natural to be drawn into the battle. I think all the first-year students have already made up their minds about this.

Therefore, no one here is innocent. Even if someone is expelled for various reasons, it only means they lack the ability.

Kamio Tatsuya's words, though cruel, are an undeniable truth.

If this school is likened to a battlefield, then these students are the soldiers.

Whether you want to fight or not, there is always the possibility of being attacked by others.

Tatsuya Kamio saw this very clearly from the beginning.

Chapter 243 Class D is still exactly the same.

Kamio Tatsuya's words silenced everyone present.

Since things have come to this point, the meaning is quite clear: if you are expelled from school, please don't have any complaints; you have to choose your own path.

Horikita was unusually silent for a moment, then looked at Nagumo.

"How do you want to compare?"

Horikita Manabu's actions caused a stir among the third-year students, who probably never expected that Horikita Manabu would accept Nagumo's challenge.

Is it because of what Tatsuya Kamio just said?

Thinking of this, many third-year students turned their attention to Tatsuya Kamio, the first-year student council vice president.

Is this another case of Nagumo's performance?

Upon hearing these words, Nagumo immediately smiled with satisfaction. Kamio-kun had indeed not disappointed him.

My judgment was right; Tatsuya Kamio and Manabu Horikita are completely different.

"Let's see who can get more students to drop out of school, shall we?"

"Do not make jokes."

Horikita Manabu rejected Nagumo without hesitation.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Although it means more students will drop out, it's actually a competition to see who can better protect their classmates."

While the two were still discussing, Tatsuya Kamio immediately stepped in to fan the flames.

Horikita Manabu glanced at Kamio Tatsuya, then sighed.

"If I really agree, Nagumo will definitely abandon protecting his comrades and attack with all his might, right?"

Well, that's true.

"So, let's change the terms."

"Since Horikita-senpai isn't willing, let's compare which group got the higher average score in this exam. It's simple, but it's also very direct, isn't it?"

Horikita glanced at Nagumo, then nodded.

"Although I don't think this victory or defeat is meaningful, if that's all there is to it, I'm okay with accepting it."

"How could it be meaningless? This is one of my few chances to surpass you before Horikita-senpai graduates."

"Do as you please, but you have to promise me that this will only be a personal competition between you and me, and don't involve other people."

"As expected of Horikita-senpai, he used this move to block my movements. I was originally planning to attack Horikita-senpai's pieces in order to win."

"This test is only to assess the team's unity. It is definitely not a test to exploit the opponent's weaknesses or disrupt their strategy."

In exchange for accepting Nagumo's challenge, Horikita began imposing various constraints on Nagumo.

However, some people couldn't understand the meaning of their conversation, such as Ishizaki, who was in the same group as Tatsuya Kamio.

"Um, Kamio, what does this mean?"

"That means that Horikita-senpai does not intend to accept Nagumo-senpai's challenge unless it is a fair and square contest."

"Oh, that's how it is."

Ishizaki scratched his head.

Meanwhile, the conversation continued. Horikita Manabu made a demand of Nagumo that only fair and square moves could be used, and if he discovered that Nagumo had attacked anyone else, then the bet would be immediately void.

Nagumo seemed to take the bet very seriously and readily agreed.

"I understand. After all, it seems like I'm the only one who's eager for the competition, so I'll accept your condition, Horikita-senpai, and have a fair and square match."

But let me make this clear first, there shouldn't be any penalties for winning or losing this time, right? In other words, this will be a match where only dignity matters.

dignity?

Kamio Tatsuya scoffed inwardly, wondering how many points that thing was worth.

I sold it to you.

Originally, Tatsuya Kamio thought that Nagumo really wanted to defeat Horikita Manabu this time and prove his strength to him.

However, when he suggested that there was no need to impose penalties for winning or losing, Kamio Tatsumi felt that something was amiss.

Nagumo is definitely not honest; he's probably trying to say something he shouldn't be doing.

For example, Nagumo seemed to honestly agree to the conditions that Horikita Manabu just proposed, but he had no intention of traveling at all.

What he needs is not a victory acknowledged by Horikita Manabu, but to inflict substantial damage on Horikita Manabu in the confrontation.

if it is like this……

This betting contest is a trap from the start; isn't this just bullying honest people?

After glancing at Horikita Manabu, who was staring at Nagumo, Kamio Tatsuya felt he could lend him a hand, since Horikita Manabu had been quite considerate of him.

During the second semester, when Horikita Manabu trained him, he didn't complain at all and was very responsible.

Kamio Tatsuya was not an ungrateful person.

Although Nagumo had been kind to him, that kindness vanished when Nagumo pressured him.

I can always pay him back later.

Since Nagumo has made that decision, Kamio Tatsu doesn't intend to be polite to him anymore.

By this time, Nagumo and Horikita had also reached an agreement.

"So, Kamio-kun, are you interested in joining us?"

“No, I have absolutely no interest.” Tatsuya Kamio immediately refused with a smile. “I’ll just enjoy this delicious meal.”

Since you see this conversation as a trap for Horikita-senpai, there's no reason why I can't use it. I did say I wouldn't participate, but whether that was true or not is another matter.

Besides, I'm not like you; I didn't swear on my dignity.

"Hehe, that's true. After all, your team has a weirdo that even I find troublesome."

"A weirdo?" Tatsuya Kamio looked at the group members. "You're not talking about Koenji, are you?"

"Looks like you know a lot about this. That's right, it's him. He betrayed all of you first-year students right at the start of the semester."

Nagumo's words were truly shocking, and all the first-year boys looked at Nagumo, and then at Koenji.

"Hey! What's going on here, Koenji?"

Yukimura from the next group immediately questioned Koenji.

Although Koenji hadn't really contributed much in previous exams, such as the deserted island and the sports festival, Yukimura had mostly just grumbled.

Now, after learning that Koenji had betrayed the entire first-year class, they immediately became restless.

"Hehe, that's utter nonsense. I didn't do anything."

Koenji stood with his arms crossed, unmoved.

Kamio Tatsuya glanced at Yukimura and shook his head inwardly.

Is this guy only good for reading books?

Regardless of whether Koenji has betrayed the first-year students, the one who should stand up and question Koenji at this moment is definitely not Yukimura, who is in the same class as him, D.

Even as Koenji's classmate, Yukimura had to protect Koenji.

If he still wants Class D to have any hope of advancing to the next rank.

As a result, with just a slight provocation from Nagumo, Yukimura immediately questioned Koenji.

Instead of trusting his classmates, he trusted a stranger whose background he knew nothing about.

Tsk tsk, after being away for so long, Class D really hasn't changed at all.

Chapter 244 Tatsuya Kamio: I will fulfill my responsibilities as the person in charge

Seeing that Koenji refused to admit it, Yukimura turned to look at Nagumo.

"Senior Nan Yun, what were you talking about just now?"

Tsk tsk tsk, hopeless.

They actually intend to get to the bottom of this. What is this guy thinking?

Nagumo was not stingy with his questions about Yukimura.

"It's very simple, Kamio-kun. You should already know, right? It's about where the private points held by third-year students go after graduation."

this?

Kamio Tatsuya looked at Nagumo with some surprise, then at Koenji. It seemed that this guy had mentioned during his self-introduction on the first day that he was the next heir to the Koenji Zaibatsu.

At the time, Tatsuya Kamio even did some research, since being able to befriend a rich person would save a lot of trouble later on.

However, Koenji's later performance directly discouraged Tatsuya Kamio.

"I see," Kamio Tatsuya nodded, now understanding Koenji's actions.

"It seems you understand now, so could you please explain it to your 'old classmates'?"

Nagumo seemed unwilling to waste any more words.

"But is it alright? Tell the first-year students about this."

"They'll all find out by second grade anyway, so it's nothing."