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

Seeing how eager Amane was to show off her strengths, Horikita, who was usually clueless about relationships, suddenly realized something.

"Tianyin, are you jealous?"

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Lies

"Vinegar, vinegar, vinegar, vinegar, and all that? I don't like vinegar at all. I only like candy. Hui, bring me another piece of candy, the sweetest one!"

Tianyin's somewhat guilty gaze darted around.

Horikita found this somewhat amusing, not expecting that Amane actually cared about such matters. However, she had never really cared about Ayanokouji; it was just an objective evaluation. Unexpectedly, it made Amane show an adorable jealous expression.

Should we make Tianyin jealous more often in the future, and then watch her cutely show off and roll around on the ground acting cute?

This tempting idea kept growing in Horikita's mind.

However, she was quickly abandoned by Horikita. Although Amane possessed wisdom and composure that surpassed ordinary people in many aspects.

But Tianyin's children are also quite stubborn, and sometimes they often do things that are hard to understand.

If Tianyin were to retaliate against a boy simply because she praised him, things would escalate dramatically.

"This should taste pretty good."

Karuizawa held a candy to Amane's lips, and Amane put it in her mouth without hesitation.

The next second, Tianyin's facial features almost scrunched up.

Karuizawa, however, clutched his stomach and burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha, that one's grape flavored, hahahaha, this one's way more sour than vinegar, hahahaha!"

"Tianyin, are you alright?"

"Rin, close your eyes first."

What are you going to do?

"Sweetie, close your eyes first."

"Okay, but you're not allowed to do anything naughty while my eyes are closed."

Don't worry~

Just as Horikita obediently closed her eyes, Amane grabbed Karuizawa, who was trying to escape, and returned the candy to him.

"Ugh! This is disgusting! Waaah, it's so sour, no, no, I want... I want..."

Karuizawa, feeling sour, got up and ran towards the bathroom. Amane, seeing Karuizawa's disheveled appearance, finally showed a relieved expression.

"Alright, Lingyin, you can open your eyes now."

"Hmph, so you're taking advantage of Karuizawa-san while my eyes are closed?"

Horikita was able to tell what Amane had just done to Karuizawa just by listening to her voice.

The gaze directed at Tianyin also turned hostile.

"I was just joking with Megumi, are you jealous, Suzune?"

As soon as Tenon said this, Horikita immediately knew that this was Tenon's way of deliberately retaliating against him, and he felt a little dumbfounded.

Who's so childish... Besides, it's obvious that Akane was already taking advantage of him, but Karuizawa didn't say anything. If she were to rush to stand up for Karuizawa, it would seem a bit strange.

Seeing Karuizawa return in a disheveled state, Horikita suppressed her anger and put on her usual formulaic smile.

Karuizawa slumped onto the table, looking utterly listless.

"No way, you're already past your prime?"

Please don't say it in such a strange way.

Hehe~

Faced with Amane's carefree, silly laughter, Karuizawa was completely at a loss.

"Alright, enough fooling around for now, our conversation isn't over yet."

Horikita tried again to get the topic back on track.

Now that they have information that Ayanokouji and Sato are dating, Horikita undoubtedly feels that the pressure on him has increased even more.

If Ayanokouji was assisting the other party in seizing power, then Sato's performance cannot be regarded as that of an inexperienced fool.

In other words, Ayanokouji's goal from the beginning was not to let Sato completely integrate Class C, but to use Sato to seize half of the class's voice and then undermine Sato's authority. In this way, Ayanokouji could truly gain half of the class's voice in one fell swoop.

Ayanokouji's fame soared after the sports festival and midterm exams, and many boys admired him, such as Yukimura.

In this way, Ayanokouji could personally win over some boys, eventually unifying the majority of the discourse power in Class C, and then force Horikita to peacefully transfer power by using the majority rule set by Horikita himself, just like the handover between Hirata and Horikita.

"Ayanokouji has grand ambitions. Before we understand his true intentions, it's best not to cooperate with Sato. So what should I do? Should I help Kushida?"

Tenon waved to Horikita.

Horikita hesitated for a moment, but still went over.

Tenon gently cupped Horikita's face and examined her closely, causing Horikita, who was rather shy, to blush.

"Tianyin, there are still outsiders..."

"My Lingyin is so adorably clumsy."

"Huh? Stupid...?"

If she remembered correctly, this seemed to be the first time Tianyin had seriously evaluated her, but the result was that she was stupid.

"You're too straightforward. That's not how you use strategy. Since you won't benefit from helping either side, why don't you just choose not to help at all?"

Tenon's words startled Karuizawa, who had just looked weak, so much so that he sat up straight.

"Wouldn't that cause trouble? Absolutely huge trouble!!! Kushida only spread rumors about Onodera and Sato this time? Lies? Anyway, that's about it... But what if it's someone else next time? When Kushida realizes she can't defeat Sato with the information she has, she might actually start spreading rumors. Given everyone's trust in her, her rumors could very well be taken as the truth and spread widely..."

"This is Kushida's ultimate weapon! I understand! Kushida's trump card isn't a lie or a rumor at all, but trust! She uses people's trust in her to collect other people's secrets, that is, the 'truth,' as a weapon. At the same time, she can also use trust to turn a casual lie into the 'truth.' In this way, she only needs to release a few 'truths' that others can verify, and then no matter what she says afterward, people will believe her..."

Horikita Suzune's eyes widened. At that time... Class C would probably immediately fall into a state of collapse. In that case, the rumors about Kushida from junior high school would be easier to explain. Kushida used the truth and lies to take advantage of everyone's trust in her and continuously drove the class to collapse, eventually forcing the class to stop operating.

This is the truth that Kushida considers a secret.

It's also a scar that Kushida doesn't want to be exposed.

Kikyo Kushida is a whistleblower and a fraudster.

While the truth alone can be devastating, it can't compare to the destructive power of a lie disguised as the truth.

But what if Kushida really wants to cause Class C to collapse?

"You're only realizing Kushida's methods now? Your reaction is way too slow."

Amane happily pinched Horikita's cheek. Although she complained about Horikita's slow reaction, her eyes showed a sense of relief that her Suzune had finally figured things out.

"But wouldn't things be worse if I remained neutral?"

Click.

Tianyin's heart sank again.

For Tenon, this was tantamount to Horikita finally opening his second aperture. Just when Tenon thought Horikita's future was promising, Horikita himself closed his first aperture.

Is there anything wrong with what I said?

Horikita asked in a low voice, sounding somewhat unsure.

From Amane's words, it can be inferred that Amane probably knew about Kushida's most prized weapon from the beginning, but was waiting for her to realize it.

Even now that they've figured out Kushida's trump card, the problem remains unresolved: who is she going to help? And if she's not going to help anyone, why not help no one at all?

"Sigh, looks like I'll have to help you figure it out. Only I care about your pain... Hui, can you at least give me some face here?"

"You were the one who started spouting nonsense."

Horikita saw Karuizawa's blank expression and quickly withdrew his hand.

Horikita thought to herself that it shouldn't have been her "violent acts" that frightened the other party.

"Ahem, now Suzune, you need to remember everything I say. First of all, your perspective is too limited. If Ayanokouji just wanted a voice, he certainly wouldn't do anything to harm the class. Kushida's goal is to retaliate against Sato, and he might also launch an indiscriminate attack on you. So from the class's perspective, the most threatening person is Kushida."

Tianyin immediately grasped the key point: the angle from which one looks at a problem. Just as a mountain range appears differently from different angles, different perspectives and positions can lead to different causes, processes, and results.

Since that's the case, let's find the common ground among the three parties, which is the interests of the class. Using the class as a reference, it's easy to see who poses the greatest threat.

But does that mean we should deal with Kushida now? On the contrary, the most threatening one is the one we should not act rashly against.

"While only a few people know that Kushida leaked the secret, quite a few know about the conflict between Kushida and Sato. All we need to do is announce it publicly in class, making Sato suspect Kushida himself. In front of everyone, Kushida will definitely have to defend himself. Even if everyone trusts Kushida, given the previous example, they'll only believe half of what he says. When trust is weakened, the power of the truth will diminish."

At this moment, Tianyin revealed a slightly cruel smile.

“Unlike your indecisiveness, Suzune, Ayanokouji is a vicious wolf, and a wolf king at that. When he sees Kushida weakened, he will definitely bite his prey and try to kill him in one blow! So he will definitely spread rumors that are bad for Kushida, making him someone that no one trusts. At this time... hehehe, Suzune, you will personally ignite this hidden danger of Kushida and plunge the class into chaos…”

"Wait a minute, Amane, something's not right with this plot. I'm going to such lengths to unify Class C, but why are you veerging towards making the class collapse? If Kushida really knows a lot of people's secrets, even if his influence is weakened, some people will still believe him, right? Even if I defeat Kushida, what will I gain? A class that's mutually destructive and distrusted by everyone, then that class has lost its value to me as well."

Horikita's clear-headedness made Amane nod in satisfaction.

"How about we abandon this place and get promoted to Class A together?"

"Don't say that again... Tianyin, I have a question for you, and you must answer me honestly."

Horikita seemed to have thought of something, his expression turned serious, and he stared directly into Amane's eyes.

"Why are you being so harsh? Just ask if you want to. I don't lie."

Seeing that Amane had agreed to tell the truth, Horikita finally spoke up and asked.

"Could it be that the battle between Ayanokouji and Kushida was a setup you orchestrated beforehand, with the aim of destroying Class C in one fell swoop, leaving me with only the option of advancing through points to prove my excellence, instead of graduating from Class A? And then you took me away from here... right?"

Gurgle.

Horikita swallowed hard, his gaze filled with indescribable emotions as he looked at the calm-faced Amane in front of him.

Tianyin did not deny it immediately!

Amane's silence gradually made Horikita uneasy.

"As expected of Suzune, once you grow stronger, even Arisu might not be your match."

"Was everything I said true? Miyako Amane, you..."

"Unfortunately, you're still far from it. What nonsense are you guessing? Didn't I tell you I spent 20 million points on Ichinose's item, so it's only enough for one person to advance to the next class? Using the item requires the consent of everyone in the class. You haven't forgotten that condition, have you? Besides, you don't really think the school won't interfere in class disputes, do you? So, Suzune, you're overthinking it."

Horikita breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Amane's expression was very natural. Thinking about it, it made sense. If the class really collapsed, the school couldn't just ignore it. It would be quite troublesome to find out what happened. Moreover, the promotion item required the whole class to use it. But Ichinose dared to ask for 20 million points for such a limited item? Hmph.

As Horikita gradually calmed down, Amane revealed a meaningful smile.

"Tian Yin, you're not planning to wait for the class to collapse and then let the school clean up the mess, are you?"

"Why not? Then you can act like a savior and ask the school to intervene. If everyone doesn't want to be expelled, they'll have no choice but to follow your plan, pin the blame on someone, and then..."

Horikita immediately understood what Amane meant, but the last bit of morality deep in her heart prevented her from going to such extremes.

But... is there a better way than Tianyin?

With Tianyin's intellect, this was the only method she could come up with. Did she have any other choice?

Horikita closed her eyes in pain, and after a long while, she opened them.

Those eyes, once filled with pain and tenderness, turned cold and resolute.

"I will not allow anyone to try to ruin this class. Kushida is guilty."

A single sentence, "guilty," set the tone for the conversation and its future outcome.

"Tsk tsk tsk, as expected of Suzune. Don't worry, I'll help you... Even Ayanokouji can't bother you. Have fun."

In front of Karuizawa, Amane once again lifted Horikita Suzune's face, which possessed a certain intellectual and mature quality, and then gently kissed her.

Horikita Suzune was overwhelmed with mixed feelings.

It was something perfectly normal, so why did she want to cry? Was it moved? Absolutely not! Was it sad? Perhaps... no, either?

what is that?

She, Horikita Suzune, seems to have lost something important.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Kiss

"While I appreciate that you two don't treat me like an outsider, but... shouldn't you remind me before doing something like this next time? Why should I just stand there watching you two being all lovey-dovey?!"

Karuizawa's complaining voice made Amane turn around in surprise.

"Huh? Hui, you're still here? I thought you'd left since you weren't saying anything... Where are you going?"