I'm in a real religion, why are all the people who confess to me girls?

Sakayanagi's behavior was less of a playful fight with Amane and more of a display of muscle.

"Sakayanagi-san"

Katsuragi's voice interrupted the two who were still fooling around.

Tianyin was squatting on the ground with her head in her hands when she suddenly heard Ge Cheng speak. She looked up at Ge Cheng in confusion, only to have her eyes stung by the bald man.

"Have you figured out the answer yet, Katsuragi-kun?"

Sakayanagi's voice had also changed from a girlish voice to one with a certain calmness and dignity, completely different from the childish voice she had when she was playing around with Amane.

"I'm willing to give up my position as class leader, but you must promise not to harm anyone who has ever followed me."

I cannot guarantee that.

"Wh...why you..."

Katsuragi was momentarily speechless in the face of Sakayanagi's reply.

Katsuragi had considered various possible responses from Sakayanagi, but he never expected her to so decisively reject his surrender.

"Why did I refuse? The answer is simple. Whether you give up your position or not is irrelevant. You've already lost the most important thing for a leader in the class—their trust. There's absolutely no way you can turn back. But... how can I guarantee you won't be turned by other classes? I don't want any hidden dangers remaining within Class A."

Sakayanagi's words undoubtedly questioned Katsuragi Kohei's loyalty to Class A.

"I guarantee that while I won't cooperate with your actions in the future, I will never be used by anyone else."

Sakayanagi stared into Katsuragi's eyes for a good ten seconds.

Then he smiled and nodded.

"I believe in Katsuragi-kun's character."

"That……"

"What about them? Can you guarantee that Totsuka and the others will also stand firmly on Class A's side?"

They won't gain anything by betraying Class A.

"That being said, there are countless people in the world who disregard the collective interest for their own selfish gain. What do you think, Katsuragi-kun?"

Katsuragi Kohei was speechless. In truth, he also lacked confidence in Totsuka and the others. He was certain that he wouldn't be swayed by the benefits offered by people from other classes.

However, they could not guarantee to Sakayanagi that the others would not betray Class A.

"What do you want?"

Having no solution, Katsuragi could only throw the problem back to Sakayanagi. Since it was her who raised the question, there should be a solution.

"How about we make them drop out of school?"

"Absolutely impossible!"

"Don't get agitated, I was just joking. Anyway, Katsuragi-kun, you mean you're leaving them to me to handle, right?"

Katsuragi glanced at Totsuka and the others, hesitated for a long time, and finally nodded.

"I understand. Then, Katsuragi, you can go back now. I'll talk to them privately."

"No problem, but you..."

"They are all my dear classmates, how could I bear to hurt them?"

I hope so.

Katsuragi gave Sakayanagi a deep look, then walked alone toward the dormitory building.

Just as Totsuka and the others were about to give chase, Kito and Hashimoto blocked their way from the left and right.

What are you doing?

Totsuka looked at Hashimoto with some confusion.

"Did Sakayanagi say you could leave?"

Hashimoto's single sentence infuriated Tozuka.

Do I need your permission to go wherever I want?

Totsuka's angry shout scared away the birds that were hopping and foraging for food in Tenon's palm.

You're so noisy!

Amane didn't even glance at Totsuka, but with just one sentence, Totsuka felt as if his throat had been choked, and dared not utter a word.

It was only then that he realized something was wrong.

The students from Class A scattered, leaving only a few core members of the Sakayanagi faction who surrounded them.

"Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you. Your master has abandoned you and fled. Would you like to consider becoming my dogs?"

Sakayanagi's contemptuous and insulting words made the faces of the group turn red. One of them even stepped in front of Sakayanagi, intending to teach him a lesson.

"Don't be impulsive! This is a tactic to provoke you!"

Chapter Twenty-Five: Why Did I Have to Defeat Tianyin for No Reason?

"Don't be impulsive! This is a tactic to provoke you!"

Totsuka's reminder jolted the boy who was about to make a move back to reality. Seeing Hashimoto, Kito, and the terrifying Amane standing beside Sakayanagi, ready to attack, and also on Sakayanagi's side, he broke out in a cold sweat and involuntarily took a few steps back.

"What? You're not going to make a move?"

Sakayanagi frowned slightly as she watched the boy retreat. She had finally found someone impulsive, but Totsuka had ruined her good time.

"Stop using such despicable tactics; we won't fall for your tricks."

Totsuka responded to Sakayanagi with considerable confidence. To Sakayanagi, this behavior was nothing short of a provocation. Even a man as outstanding as Katsuragi was manipulated by her, so what were these few lackeys? They were beings she could crush with a flick of her wrist. Yet they dared to provoke her; they were truly overestimating themselves.

"Oh? I didn't expect you to be so confident, Totsuka-kun. Well then, I'll give it a try. Hashimoto, separate them; I need to question them individually."

Upon hearing this, Totsuka's face immediately turned pale. If everyone were together, Totsuka would still be confident that he could avoid Sakayanagi's trap. However, if Sakayanagi separated everyone and used provocation on them individually, someone would definitely be unable to resist being provoked and choose to solve the problem with violence. At that time, once the label of school bullying was attached to him, the perpetrator would most likely be expelled from school.

"Please wait a moment, Sakayanagi, what exactly do you want to do? Can you explain it to us clearly? The situation is already settled, do you really want to wipe us out?"

Totsuka's words made Hashimoto stop what he was doing and wait for Sakayanagi's next instructions.

Sakayanagi pondered for a moment, then put on an innocent expression.

"There's nothing I can do about it. Some of you have been turned and instigated by other classes to turn Katsuragi against me. I don't know which one it is, so I can only resort to some clumsy methods."

Sakayanagi was lying completely. Her initial purpose was to make an example of someone, but now that the chicken that was to be slaughtered dared not show its face, Sakayanagi had no choice but to kill them all with tears in her eyes as a warning to others.

"A mole? Do you have any evidence?"

"Not at present"

Totsuka glanced at the others. He knew these people, who were also members of the Katsuragi faction, very well. In fact, he had personally recruited and won over many of them into the Katsuragi camp. How could anyone become a mole in another class? Just as Totsuka was questioning Sakayanagi about whether he wanted to make an example of someone, a question suddenly occurred to him.

Since none of them are the mole...

Is Sakayanagi Arisu referring to Totsuka Yahiko as a mole?

Anyone else would have been furious at Sakayanagi's attitude.

But Totsuka felt a sudden sense of panic.

Because he wasn't sure what Sakayanagi's definition of the term "traitor" was, he did indeed maintain relatively good private relationships with Class C, Class B, and even Class D.

He even dared to swear that he had never betrayed the interests of the class, but Totsuka also knew that no leader wanted any of his subordinates to be fickle and opportunistic.

But what could he do? If he didn't explain, others might be implicated. In his eyes, Sakayanagi was a ruthless woman, and she might actually have a way to get someone expelled from school.

Now Totsuka is torn. If he steps forward to explain, it will certainly clear the others of suspicion of being the mole. But from today onwards, everyone in the class will know that he has connections with other classes, and they will definitely deliberately ostracize him. If it's just ostracism, Totsuka doesn't think it's a big deal. He can just endure it until graduation. What worries him most is that the network of people he has worked so hard to build will be abandoned because of his bad reputation.

He would be at a huge loss if he did that.

Everyone was waiting for Totsuka's reaction. Originally, everyone thought that Totsuka would definitely angrily accuse Sakayanagi. Even the Sakayanagi faction thought that Totsuka would do this, so they specially protected Sakayanagi in advance.

But something surprising happened: Totsuka chose to remain silent.

In other words, even though Sakayanagi Arisu couldn't provide evidence of an inside job, Totsuka was still feeling guilty.

"Totsuka! Say something! You wouldn't happen to be the mole, would you?"

How many of those who get assigned to Class A are idiots? Seeing that Totsuka's reaction was a bit off, I immediately guessed what was going on.

"How could that be... I was just thinking about whether there was a way to resolve the issue peacefully..."

Totsuka's tone clearly lacked confidence, and noticing something was wrong, one of the boys immediately went to Sakayanagi's side.

"Sakayanagi-san, I was actually misled by Totsuka into joining Katsuragi's side. Now that Katsuragi-san has relinquished power, there's no need for me to persist any longer. I'm willing to serve Sakayanagi-san."

"Miyagi, you!! I already told you I'm not a mole..."

After realizing that his hesitation had cemented his reputation as a mole, Totsuka hurriedly tried to defend himself, but by then everyone had clearly stopped believing him.

One by one, people approached Sakayanagi, expressing their willingness to join his camp and serve Class A together. They sang praises of Sakayanagi, who held great power in Class A, like lost lambs who had found their way back.

"Since you have abandoned your evil ways and embraced the light, I will not pursue your responsibilities. You may leave now."

After saying that, Sakayanagi asked Hashimoto and the others to make way.

"Thank you, Sakayanagi-san."

After thanking them, the group quickly left, leaving only Horikita, the students of the Sakayanagi school, and Totsuka, who was alone, still watching the show.

As for Amane... she was so bored that she hung herself on Horikita's body and started taking a nap.

Anyway, she had absolute confidence in Sakayanagi. If Sakayanagi couldn't even handle Totsuka, then there was no way he could fight her.

"Totsuka-kun, it seems no one is willing to stand with you through thick and thin."

Sakayanagi shrugged. She had thought about what methods to use to expose Totsuka, but due to the difficulty of obtaining evidence, Sakayanagi only intended to give Totsuka a warning. However, what she thought was just a casual remark turned out to be an unintentional blow to Totsuka's vital point.

Totsuka, who was already feeling a bit guilty, actually gave himself away.

This made things much easier for her.

"I absolutely did not betray any information about Class A, nor would I ever betray Class A's interests."

Totsuka said earnestly to Sakayanagi.

Sakayanagi believed him, but what good did it do? Would others believe him?

"So you're a mole from another class, planted among our Class A?"

Sakayanagi's persistent questioning turned Totsuka's face completely ashen, and his teeth clenched so hard they crunched as he gritted them, but after a moment, it all turned into a heavy sigh.

What do you want me to do?

Seeing that Totsuka was so sensible, Sakayanagi smiled happily.

"I need you to go..."

……

After seeing the changes in points on the bulletin board, Kushida's bad mood was swept away, and a rare smile finally appeared on his face.

Her class, Class B—or rather, Class C—had its class points reduced by 500 points in one go.

Although all classes in the school were reduced, Kushida was still happy because she knew Horikita was in big trouble.

Unlike Horikita, who claimed to value the Sports Festival but actually focused on the One-on-One Tournament, Kushida knew from the beginning, through her allies, that the One-on-One Tournament would inevitably end in Ryuen's victory. Therefore, when discussing which aspect the class should focus on, she fully utilized her strengths, easily gaining everyone's trust, and confidently told everyone that participating in the Sports Festival normally would be the safest way to get points.

The rules for the one-on-one duel added on the spot are bound to be imperfect. If something goes wrong and the result is canceled, there will be no one to blame but yourself.

Unfortunately, Horikita, who had just taken power, was unlikely to listen to her advice. Instead, she became rebellious. The more Kushida emphasized the importance of the sports festival, the more Horikita wanted to take a gamble. In her opinion, even if she didn't get first place, earning more TV appearances was better than participating in the sports festival in a proper manner.

The result was a dramatic defeat. Due to the absence of three key players—Ayanokoji, Koenji, and Amane—the Sports Festival finished second with a slight disadvantage of 15 points, which became the reason why Ryuen surpassed them.

Longyuan's Class C took first place on the grade leaderboard, earning an extra fifty class points. Without those fifty points, Longyuan would never have been able to surpass them.

This was undoubtedly a decision-making mistake by Horikita!

Seeing Horikita's exasperated expression, Kushida was overjoyed. Without Amane's help, what difference would Horikita make from an ordinary student?

While her physical abilities couldn't match those of the boys in her class, there were five or six others whose academic qualifications and abilities were on par with or comparable to hers.

To be honest, Kushida really couldn't see any good points about Horikita. If he had to find some good points for her, it would probably be that she was one of the better fighters among the girls besides Amane, had good overall abilities, and was pretty... that's about it.

But what does being pretty have to do with being able to become a class leader?

This was a problem that had been puzzling Kushida. Kushida couldn't understand why Amane had pushed Horikita to the forefront. If Hirata were the class leader, he would have chosen to listen to the majority opinion instead of going his own way during the sports festival.

Forget it.

None of these things mattered to her; all she wanted was for Horikita to drop out of school. Only Horikita dropping out would make her feel at ease.