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

However, if I just agree to it, it would seem like I'm being manipulated by Sakayanagi.

This guy, and Horikita too, have made some progress lately. What kind of medicine did they take?

“I can promise you that I will give you the general profits generated by these cards, but if half of the profits exceeds 165 million, then you will have to return the 165 million I lent you.”

"No problem, but if the earnings from these cards don't exceed 165 million, I won't pay them back."

"of course."

"Then it's a deal."

Sakayanagi raised her small hand and stretched it to the center of the chessboard.

Looking at Sakayanagi's hand, Kamio Tatsuya took it in his hand.

Ugh, it's already mid-June, and the temperature inside the library isn't cold at all, but Sakayanagi's hands are still so icy!

This must be a complication caused by insufficient heart pumping ability. Wouldn't she be very cold in winter?

For a moment, Tatsuya Kamio looked at Sakayanagi with a hint of pity.

"What's that look in your eyes?"

Sakayanagi's face darkened, and he withdrew his hand, clearly displeased.

"No, it's nothing."

Kamio Tatsuya shook his head. For the sake of Uncle Sakayanagi, he would help him take care of his beloved daughter.

At that moment, Tatsuya Kamio suddenly realized that Sakayanagi's assertiveness, which resembled an arrogant confidence, was probably all an act.

"Oh, right, I'll ask you to sign the contract after school tomorrow. Please have Ms. Majima stay behind as a witness. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

Watching Tatsuya Kamio's departing figure, Sakayanagi let out a soft sigh, then looked at the hand he had just clasped with Tatsuya Kamio's.

Unlike mine, his hands were very warm.

Chapter 323 Joining Forces, Determination

That evening, Kamio Tatsuya received a reply from the first-year students, who agreed to his request and were willing to offer two million private points in exchange for passing the exam safely.

Looking at the text message from the first-year students, Tatsuya Kamio sighed. These guys are really rich; they didn't even bother to haggle over the price.

Then Kamio Tatsuya told Horikita the news, since he wasn't planning on signing a contract with these guys.

If he signs, wouldn't he be putting his life in Horikita's hands?

All he needs to do is act as a middleman.

The first-year students had no objections to this, because the contract clearly stated that these points could only be used for assistance during this exam.

As long as Horikita doesn't want to drop out of school, he won't resort to tricks.

After the contract was signed with the first-year students, Nagumo also transferred the money to Horikita. With the 370 million yen given by Class B and Class C in the second year, Horikita's balance suddenly reached 1470 million yen.

Of the $6 million, $8.7 million was used to avoid offsetting withdrawal from school, while the remaining $8.7 million was for the living expenses of the 36 students in the class.

That's 24 per person, which isn't a huge amount, but it's definitely not a small number either.

With the assistance of Tatsuya Kamio, Horikita's plan was approved by everyone in the school and successfully implemented in less than two days.

As a result, students across the school began to form teams, either voluntarily or involuntarily.

Since there's no longer any fear of dropping out after this exam, some students are preparing to give it their all and try to earn the 50,000 private points reward for being in the top 30%.

Even those with less ambition plan to get into the top 50%. Ten thousand personal points may not seem like much, but even a small amount is still something.

Of course, besides these people, some others felt that since they wouldn't be expelled from school after this exam, they might as well just slack off and treat it like a camping trip.

Besides these teams, there are also teams aiming for the top three.

After school on Friday, Sakayanagi and Ichinose met at a coffee shop.

"You've arrived, Ichinose-san."

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Sakayanagi-san."

The two sat facing each other like old friends.

"I didn't expect you to actually come. I was prepared to be rejected by you, after all, I did some bad things to you in the past."

Sakayanagi was referring to the rumors she had spread about Ichinose at school.

"Well, I don't think it's a bad thing. I do need to reflect on what happened in the past, and I also think it was a shameful thing to do."

However, I didn't ask you not to tell anyone that secret, so it's wrong to put the blame on you.

At this point, a gentle expression appeared on Ichinose's face.

"And what you did, Sakayanagi-san, wasn't entirely a bad thing for me."

"You are undoubtedly a good person."

"Although everyone says that, I don't actually realize it myself." Faced with Sakayanagi's sincere praise, Ichinose scratched her cheek with her fingers, feeling a little embarrassed.

"By the way, is there something you wanted to see me about?"

"Of course it's about this exam." Sakayanagi didn't waste any more words. "You should know the current situation very well. Whether it's Class B or Class C, they are no match for Class A in a one-on-one situation."

“That’s true, after all, Kamio-kun is really amazing,” Ichinose also exclaimed. “So, are you planning to cooperate with me?”

"Oh? You saw through me?"

"Well, before our class was promoted, Kamio would often team up with lower-ranked classes to attack Sakayanagi's class."

Furthermore, he always said that only a class that can defeat a combined force of lower-ranked classes is a true class.

As she spoke, Ichinose's eyes shone brightly, making no attempt to hide her admiration for Tatsuya Kamio.

The three classes worked together to push Class D into a desperate situation. This was something that Tatsuya Kamio had done before. Moreover, to prevent this from happening again, Tatsuya Kamio took over Class D in advance.

So even if Sakayanagi wanted to cooperate with Class D, they probably wouldn't agree.

"You really think highly of him."

Seeing Ichinose's expression, Sakayanagi felt a little jealous, though she herself didn't realize it.

"Because Kamio-kun is really amazing."

Ichinose looked at Sakayanagi, looked into her eyes and said seriously.

"So, Ichinose-san, would you be willing to cooperate with me?"

"Well, although I don't know if I can win, since no one is dropping out of school this time, I'm going to give it my all."

Ichinose readily accepted Sakayanagi's invitation to collaborate, intending to show Kamio Tatsuya his efforts.

Sakayanagi, on the other hand, simply wanted to participate in the deserted island exam to get closer to Ban.

As for why Sakayanagi sought out Ichinose, besides what I just mentioned, another reason is that Sakayanagi doesn't consider Ichinose a rival.

In her eyes, the only troublesome person in the second year besides Ayanokouji was Tatsuya Kamio.

In addition, another reason is that Ichinose has a recruitment card.

Because Sakayanagi is unable to travel long distances, she will probably have to remotely control this exam.

As a result, her group will likely fall behind the other groups, since there are no particularly outstanding individuals in the class.

Therefore, Ichinose's recruitment card is very necessary, since she is aiming for the top three, and the more people she has, the better.

And so, with different goals in mind, the two began to cooperate.

Meanwhile, after the cooperation was reached, Tatsuya Kamio and Ryuen discussed it and approached Class D of the first year again, offering them a deal they could not refuse.

That is to use the contract signed in April to exchange all the rideshare cards and add-on cards they have.

No one knows what the future holds for Class D in Year 1, but as things stand now, it probably won't be good. So even if you take their contracts, you probably won't be able to extract many points.

In that case, it would be better to withdraw the money all at once.

Class D has a total of nine combinations of rideshare cards and additional cards. If handled properly, that would amount to 18 million private points.

It's much better than slowly collecting hundreds of thousands of points from Class D every month.

Although it may not be successful, both Kamio Tatsuya and Ryuen are not lacking in adventurous spirit. So what if they fail?

It's just a matter of losing some points.

The class currently has no shortage of points, and Tatsuya Kamio is only accumulating these points to prepare for what happens after graduation.

"Although we've teamed up, Kamio-kun will be a really tough opponent."

"That's precisely why cooperation and challenges are valuable, isn't it?"

Afterwards, Sakayanagi and Ichinose exchanged a smile and reached an agreement.

Time passed day by day, and then in early July, Kamio Tatsuya received a message from Kushida.

There's something I'd like to talk to you about, about what we discussed last time.

Upon seeing this news, Tatsuya Kamio raised an eyebrow; it seemed there was good news.

Meet in a karaoke room after school, but remember not to let the other person find out.

"Someone from the first-year students contacted me."

As soon as Kushida entered the karaoke room, he immediately started a conversation.

"Oh? Really? Who is it?"

"That brat named Yagami Takuya!" Kushida said through gritted teeth.

Kamio Tatsuya also perked up, it was actually Yagami Takuya?

"It was him? I remember he seemed quite gentle."

"Yeah, but I didn't expect that guy to be a junior from the same junior high school as me. A few days ago, Xiaomei and I ran into him when we were out playing, and he called me by name right away."

Kushida's face was extremely pale.

"Later I confirmed with him, and it seems he really is a student at our school, because he also knows about what happened to me back then."

Are you sure you don't know him?

“I’m sure!” Kushida said with absolute certainty. “If I had ever met someone like him, there’s no way I wouldn’t remember him!”

"That can only mean that he was a very inconspicuous person before."

Tatsuya Kamio shrugged.

"Hey! You better think of a solution!"

Seeing Kushida's anxious expression, Kamio Tatsuya smiled nonchalantly.

"Don't worry, nothing will happen. Even if he tells you, probably no one will believe you. Even if Nagumo comes forward as a witness, Ayanokouji and Horikita will take the blame for you."

Two months have passed, and Tatsuya Kamio thought there were no more students in the White Room among the first-year students. Unexpectedly, Takuya Yagami appeared at this time.

Were the past two months spent verifying the authenticity of intelligence?

interesting.

"If I'm not mistaken, Yagami won't casually reveal your secrets. Since he's pretending to be your junior, you should pretend to be his senior."

First, calm him down, then you can subtly express your displeasure with Ayanokouji to let him know.

"You mean, his purpose in approaching me was actually for Ayanokouji?" Kushida's eyes flickered.

"Otherwise what? Don't forget, our basic information can be found on O, especially since we also had a joint exam with the first grade."

It's been several months since the start of the semester, and he still hadn't noticed you, his senior, until now.

There are only a few hundred students in the three grades combined. We see each other all the time; I don't believe you've never bumped into each other even once.

At this point, Kushida began to recall, then a wry smile appeared on his face.

"That's true. This seems to be the first time I've encountered Yagami since I enrolled here."

"That's quite a coincidence. Anyway, just do as I say, and the final payment will be transferred to your account immediately."

Despite what Kamio Tatsuya said, Kushida still had some doubts.

"But it's been almost two months since I told Nagumo about this. If he wanted to get close to me, he wouldn't have waited until now, would he?"

"Who knows what he's thinking?" Tatsuya Kamio shrugged. "Anyway, just get close to him and slowly probe him, but don't get caught."

"Hmph, who do you think I am?" Kushida snorted and stood up from the sofa. "If there's nothing else, I'll be going now. Xiaomei is still waiting for me."