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

“I know I’ve made mistakes, so I want to make amends for them.” Ichinose finished her summary, then turned to her classmates, “I’m sorry, everyone, I’ve kept these things from you.”

I'm sorry, I'm such a useless leader..."

"That's not true, Ichinose."

"After hearing what you just said, I'm even more certain now that Ichinose is indeed a good person! Right, everyone?"

"Hmm! Maybe Honami-chan did something bad in the past, but as long as she does now—"

Ichinose's honesty did not disappoint the students in the class; in fact, it boosted the class's cohesion to a new level.

Tsk, if only Longyuan could achieve this level...

Well, then he's not Ryuen anymore, he has to be Ryuen Shoko.

It's a bit of a shame that the plan to transfer Ichinose to Class C has to be put on hold for now.

Chapter 261 The Aggressive Ichinose

boom!

Just as all the students present were immersed in a touching atmosphere, a sharp sound rang out, the sound of Sakayanagi's cane hitting the ground.

Judging from the volume of the sound, it must have been a sound deliberately made by Sakayanagi.

"Everyone, can you please stop fooling yourselves? Classmates, can you stop making me laugh?"

"What a boring farce, bringing up even unnecessary details of the past in an attempt to elicit sympathy? Regardless of circumstances, theft is theft, and there is no room for sympathy for crimes."

Faced with Sakayanagi's accusations, Ichinose did not avoid Sakayanagi's gaze; instead, she met his eyes and smiled.

“You’re right, Sakayanagi-san. A mistake is a mistake, and that won’t change because of any reason.”

"Since you have admitted to the crimes you committed, it also means that it is very likely that you will steal the large number of personal points you currently possess when you are close to graduation."

It is common knowledge that Ichinose possesses a large amount of private points. Everyone even knows that this money was actually pooled together by the students of Class B and entrusted to Ichinose for safekeeping in case of emergency.

"Indeed, there's no way to refute what you said, Sakayanagi-san, because I've made mistakes in the past, so there's no way to prove that I won't make mistakes in the future."

Ichinose accepted Sakayanagi's accusation with a smile, but just as Sakayanagi was about to continue pressuring Ichinose, Ichinose suddenly tilted his head.

"But what does all this have to do with Sakayanagi-san? Even if I do betray my classmates, the victims will only be the students in my class, and it shouldn't have anything to do with Sakayanagi-san from Class B, right?"

"Hehe, I was just worried that the classmates would be fooled by you." Sakayanagi seemed surprised that Ichinose would retort like that. "After all, you are a criminal, everyone in the class, I think you understand, right?"

As long as someone like Ichinose remains the leader, your class has no chance of winning.

Upon seeing this, Tatsuya Kamio's lips curled up slightly.

Sakayanagi has started relentlessly pursuing the criminals, which means he's basically run out of tricks.

Although she considers herself a genius, it seems that's all she's capable of.

"Yes, but Sakayanagi-san, we're the class now. Even though I'm someone who has committed crimes, I still led Class B to be promoted to Class 1."

This really left Sakayanagi speechless. She really wanted to retort to Ichinose, "You got promoted because of your own abilities."

He only got promoted because of some troublemaker!

Hahaha, upon hearing Ichinose's answer and seeing Sakayanagi's expression, Kamio Tatsuya burst into laughter in his heart.

This is practically the most powerful rebuttal to what Sakayanagi just said.

Didn't you say I had no chance of winning?

But we're in the class now.

At the same time, I was surprised and pleased by Ichinose's transformation.

Hmm, this version of Ichinose is better. Ichinose Kamio Tatsuya, who used to smile ingratiatingly all the time, actually felt there was something wrong with her.

However, Kamio Tatsuya could sense that Ichinose was putting on a brave face. She probably felt extremely ashamed and wanted to escape immediately.

Even so, she still stood there, facing her companions, facing Sakayanagi, and facing most of the first-year students.

The onlookers around seemed surprised that Ichinose, who usually seemed so amiable and easygoing, could be so aggressive.

"Hmph, it's just a temporary victory. Don't forget, there are still two years until graduation."

Sakayanagi can only resort to such harsh words now.

"Then please wait and see. And Sakayanagi-san, you've got one thing wrong. My wish isn't to get promoted to a higher class. I just hope to graduate from this school with everyone in the class."

With that, Ichinose turned around and faced the students in her class.

"Everyone, although it's incredibly shameless, are you willing to help me fulfill this wish?"

Upon hearing Ichinose's petition, the students in the class immediately began to respond in various ways, although a few of them looked a little unnatural.

Clearly, even in Ichinose's class, not everyone shares Ichinose's ideas.

That's right.

It's perfectly reasonable for humans to have desires.

"Ichinose, do you mean you don't want to compete for the class's throne?"

Just as the atmosphere in the class was gradually becoming harmonious, a sudden voice rang out from the crowd, serious yet tinged with dissatisfaction.

"Kojima-kun?"

At this moment, the person who stepped forward to ask, or rather question, Ichinose was a girl with a high ponytail and a strand of dyed hair.

Those around her were surprised by her remarks, because in the students' impression, this girl from Kojima was the kind of student who was usually quiet and reserved.

"No, I didn't say that. I don't intend to give up my dream of graduating from class, and I will work hard to achieve it."

What I mean is, given the choice between graduating from class and protecting my comrades, I would choose to protect my comrades, and for that, it wouldn't matter if I didn't get promoted to a higher class.

Ichinose briefly explained her point of view, and Kojima on the other side nodded in agreement.

"In that case, I support you."

Kojima's words brought smiles to the faces of most of the students in the class.

"Thank you, Kojima-kun."

With Kojima's speech, the atmosphere in the class stabilized again, which was not what Sakayanagi wanted to see.

"It's a touching scene, but I hope you won't forget that Ichinose is a thief, and she could betray you at any crucial moment."

"Even so, we will still choose to believe in Ichinose until she betrays us."

Kanzaki stepped forward at this moment. Ichinose had done what she needed to do, and now it was up to her companions to take on the responsibility.

Not only Kanzaki, but everyone in Class B stepped forward and shielded Ichinose behind them.

No, it wasn't just the students in Class B; even a significant number of the students in Class C and Class D who were watching were moved by the scene before them.

"Hehehe." Sakayanagi laughed. "Hehehe, I see. You successfully fooled Class B. However, as you said before, a criminal's past will not disappear."

"Yes, I don't intend to run away from this."

"Really? Maybe one day in the future, rumors will circulate at school that 'Ichinose is a criminal'."

“Even so, I will not make any changes.” Ichinose’s eyes were firm.

"In that case, I won't be polite."

A cold smile appeared on Sakayanagi's lips.

"Regarding this, Sakayanagi-san, I have already explained it to the student council."

"Explanation? Explain what?"

Sakayanagi sensed something was wrong.

“Recent rumors about me have been disrupting my life, so I sought help from the student council.”

Ichinose calmly offered an explanation.

Sakayanagi looked towards Tatsuya Kamio on the outskirts of the crowd, hoping to get an answer from him.

"That's true. Although the scale of this rumor is not large, if it is not stopped, there may be even more outrageous rumors to follow."

In that case, the school's order might be disrupted, something that neither the school nor the student council would want to see.

Therefore, I suggest that the rumors about Ichinose stop here. Of course, you can also ignore them, since no official announcement has been made yet.

Tatsuya Kamio did not strictly require those present to continue spreading the story about Ichinose; he simply told them the student council's stance from a third-party perspective.

He didn't make this up; he had informed Nagumo of Ichinose's request for help around noon.

Yes, he did it on purpose.

Because it's obvious that Nagumo was behind this. He wanted to use Sakayanagi to defeat Ichinose, and then step in to comfort Ichinose and act as his savior.

Unfortunately, Tatsuya Kamio had already thwarted his idea.

In addition, Kamio Tatsuya openly told Nagumo about this, his purpose being to tell him that he had once again ruined his plans.

Since we've already chosen to be enemies, let's not show any mercy.

Indecisiveness will only make you a laughingstock.

What could Nagumo do?

Kamio Tatsuya had already made it very clear in the message that if Ichinose's request was ignored, more rumors might spread at the school.

This is not speculation, but a threat.

If Nagumo dares to disagree, Kamio Tatsu will be able to order the students of Class C to spread more rumors around the school.

For example, the student council president, Nagumo, had many lovers at school.

For example, Nagumo, the student council president, has a childhood friend who doesn't like him at all.

For example, the school's chairman's surname is Sakayanagi, and Sakayanagi Arisu was assigned to the class through nepotism; she didn't actually have the qualifications to be in the class.

Strictly speaking, Sakayanagi, being partially disabled, is a defective product and should have been assigned to Class D.

The first two points are fine; Nagumo probably doesn't care. But the third point is what Kamio Tatsuya really wants to spread.

To prove this point, the only way for Sakayanagi to refute the rumor against him is for the school to come forward and clarify it.

However, since this itself raises doubts about the school, the students certainly won't easily believe the school's so-called testimony.

In order to maintain the school's reputation, there is only one thing the school can do: make its class assignment rules public.

This is actually what Tatsuya Kamio wanted to see.

So he originally intended to spread this rumor, but Ichinose acted too quickly. Before he could even begin, he decided to confront Sakayanagi head-on.

As for why schools need to maintain their reputation, it's because all of the school's rules are built upon that reputation.

Imagine if a school lacked credibility, students would doubt whether they could truly choose the job and school they wanted after graduating from school.

Once such doubts arise, if even the school becomes untrustworthy, the S system may collapse instantly.

The students' conflicts will disappear, and everyone will unite to resist the school.

This is just the mildest consequence; it could even escalate into a more difficult situation to manage.

This school was built with government funding, and if this situation occurs, those who operate the school will inevitably be punished.

As for why he did this, it was because he received a message from Sakayanagi Narimori, who is also Sakayanagi Arisu's father, a couple of days ago.

It was said that he was being investigated for certain reasons and had temporarily lost his position as chairman. The implication was that his political enemies had taken action.

The newly appointed chairman is his enemy.

Therefore, Tatsuya Kamio wanted to use this method to give the new chairman a big gift first.

As for whether this matter would implicate Sakayanagi Shigemori, Kamio Tatsuya was not worried at all.

He had confirmed that Arisu Sakayanagi had indeed been placed in the class after a rigorous review by the school.

Sakayanagi does indeed possess unparalleled expertise in certain areas, so assigning her to the same class is actually quite reasonable.

For example, chess.

If Sakayanagi is willing to develop in this area, she can undoubtedly become a top Go player in Japan and even the world.

However, she was completely outmaneuvered by Tatsuya Kamio at this school because Sakayanagi's mistake was that she was not actually suited to be a leader.

At least not suitable for the school's leaders.

"This might make you angry, but I still want to say that if I am guilty, please let the law punish me, not you act as the enforcer."