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

Facing such a formidable opponent made Shiina somewhat unsure of himself, not to mention those guys who only had the desire but not the courage.

It must be said that, despite the element of chance, Horikita Suzune did indeed make a brilliant move.

"Shiina-kun, you look pale. Is it because you didn't sleep well last night? Why don't you go back and rest some more?"

Because Marina had been immersed in swordsmanship for many years, she was very sensitive to changes in her surroundings. Although Shiina was praising Horikita's strength, her worry was unconsciously revealed.

"Thank you for your concern, I'm fine, I rested very well yesterday."

"But your expression doesn't say that."

Generally speaking, when people see Shiina simply answering a question without throwing the topic back, which means she refuses to continue the conversation, most people will choose not to discuss the topic anymore.

But Marina clearly had no such concerns. She could clearly see the worry and unease in Shiina's eyes, as well as the faint expectation hidden deep within them.

"You noticed that. In fact... I was uneasy about the huge gap between myself and my peers."

Marina skillfully opened OAA. During her time replacing Amane, Marina learned how to use all the functions on OAA. She easily found Horikita Suzune's data on OAA, and then casually opened Shiina Hiyori's data and began to look at it carefully.

"From an ability standpoint alone, Shiina-kun, your scores are not that different from Horikita-kun's. The reason why your overall score is slightly lower than Horikita-kun's is due to your physical condition. And not everyone is suited to physical training... So Shiina-kun, you don't need to feel uneasy about the difference in physical ability."

Marina told Shiina Hiyori, who was standing next to her, about the results of her analysis, and then Marina saw a rare, bitter smile on Shiina Hiyori's face.

"It's not about physical ability, but... courage? If I were to answer Sakura-san's questions, even if I had made some kind of agreement with her, I would probably use up all my dodge chances before she could and lose the challenge. Those questions... are simply not questions that girls can answer with ease."

Shiina's cheeks began to burn. Just thinking about asking about the first time and how many times a night, Shiina felt her face burning and her head spinning.

She felt dizzy just from hearing the broadcast content before even answering the questions. What would Horikita Suzune, as one of the questioners, be like? Doesn't she feel embarrassed about these things?

“But Horikita answered correctly. I understand. You mean you feel you lack her kind of courage, so you're afraid of losing to her in some way, right?”

Although Marina was unaware that Shiina had secretly declared war on Horikita Suzune, she was able to deduce Shiina's possible psychological changes from his demeanor and snippets of conversation.

Shiina, caught red-handed by Marina, nervously twisted her fingers together, unsure whether she should confide such a shameful thing to this woman she had only spent one night with.

After all, the idea of ​​competing with Amane's lover for Amane made Shiina feel like she wasn't a good person, and she didn't want to risk offending or disgusting the other person...

"I guess so. In a certain competition, Horikita had a huge advantage, while I was just starting out. I originally thought that with my strength, as long as I got serious, it wouldn't be a problem to tie with Horikita. But it seems... I think I've been too naive. Horikita's performance today alone made me feel ashamed of myself. If I were to actually fight her, I'm afraid I wouldn't have much of a chance of winning."

Shiina could almost picture Horikita easily defeating her.

"Shiina, aren't you being too pessimistic? From what I've observed, you're an excellent girl. Even if Horikita false-starts, you might have a chance to overtake her if you catch up. Or, to put it another way, if you don't even intend to start, even if Horikita is just strolling along, you'll never catch up. To better address your anxieties and confusion, could you tell me what difficulties you're facing?"

Marina pressed for an answer.

After hesitating for a moment, Shiina still didn't want too many people to know about her private struggle with Horikita. In Shiina's eyes, people who fought to the death for a girl were no different from idiots. But when she became one of them, she realized how much courage it took to date a girl and... how much determination it took to dare to say "I like you".

She couldn't possibly tell Marina, whom she had only known for half a day, all of this. However, seeing Marina's sincere expression, Shiina knew that the other woman genuinely wanted to help her. If she simply refused her, Shiina would feel a little guilty. She had to think of a way that would satisfy both sides.

Just then! Shiina's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Since you're so interested in my match with Horikita, why don't you guess what kind of match it is?"

Shiina couldn't help but feel fortunate for her quick wit.

If Marina is stumped by this question, it means she has no ability to help her. But if Marina can guess her agreement with Horikita, then she won't need to say anything, and it can also avoid some embarrassment. It can be said to be a win-win situation.

"So, Shiina-san was trying to test me? Well, let me analyze it then. First, since Shiina-san dared to make this challenge with Horikita-san, we can rule out the possibility that it was just a rash decision. This means that Shiina-san believed she could win, which is why she agreed to compete with Horikita-san. This eliminates the possibility of a physical competition, because no matter how much Shiina-san trains in a short period of time, she couldn't possibly surpass Horikita-san. So, the first thing to rule out is a physical competition. Then, the remaining..."

Marina's lips curled up slightly.

"That leaves only academic competitions, but I don't think there's any need for those. Secondly... you said Horikita jumped the gun in this competition, right? That means your competition with her has already begun."

"This eliminates all intellectual games where the outcome can be determined immediately, such as board games and other puzzle games. Finally... what kind of competition is currently underway that is neither physical nor intellectually stimulating?"

Marina's gaze fell on Shiina, and in that instant, Shiina felt as if she were being stared at by something terrifying, and a feeling of unease ran through her.

The feeling gradually faded as Marina's gaze shifted away from her.

"Since it's neither a sport nor a tangible intellectual game, there's only one thing left: the competition involves a third party. Perhaps it's someone else's evaluation or their favor. In short, the competition you're competing in can't possibly be decided by you two alone. Plus, Shiina-kun, you're worried about Horikita-kun jumping the gun... If I'm not mistaken, Shiina-kun, you're not competing against Horikita-kun for Miyako Amane, are you?"

Chapter 161: Hiyori Shiina Joins the Battle

"Huh? Eh!!! No, no, how could I, how could I have gone to compete with Horikita-kun for something..."

Shiina was quite surprised that Marina guessed the answer so quickly. Originally, she only hoped that Marina could deduce a logical answer herself, and then she only needed to deliberately induce Marina to believe that the result she deduced was correct.

But to everyone's surprise, Marina blurted out the truth. This sudden change made Shiina, who was completely unprepared, nervous and flustered, and instinctively wanted to deny Marina's answer.

But just as Shiina was about to say a negative answer to Marina, a finger quickly touched her lips.

"Never say anything negative when you are emotionally charged, otherwise it could lead to tragedy."

Marina's tone was serious and low, which made Shiina nervous.

"I'm sorry... I just..."

Marina withdrew her finger, and her serious expression vanished in an instant, as if it had never appeared on that mature face that bore an eight-tenths resemblance to Amane.

“You don’t need to apologize to me. You didn’t do anything wrong. I just wanted to remind you based on my past life experience. But our life experiences are different, so my experience may not be applicable to you. Just take it as a reference.”

Marina's tone was devoid of any emotion this time, but Shiina could sense an immense heaviness in it, a heaviness that felt like a heavy boulder pressing on Shiina's chest, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

While calming down, Shiina also began to ponder a question: why did she deny Marina's answer? She was the one who asked Marina to deduce the answer, and Marina's deduction was correct. So why did she deny it when the correct answer had already been given?

After calming down and reflecting on the situation, Shiina realized that she shouldn't have acted so abnormally, both emotionally and logically. If she had really rejected Marina's answer, Marina could have concealed her private competition with Horikita, but wouldn't that be 'lying'? Moreover, the whole process was so natural and seamless, as if rejecting the answer was perfectly reasonable.

When exactly did she learn to lie?

Or was she just shy? Ashamed to announce to more people that she liked Tianyin, who already had a boyfriend, ashamed to let others know that she was a girl who was completely different from her usual persona and would compete with others for a boyfriend?

Whatever the reason, she has undoubtedly chosen to run away.

She had acted as if she had overcome her shame when she was confronting Horikita Suzune, so why was she acting like this now...?

No, this can't go on.

Denying that answer is no different from denying your own liking for Tianyin.

Summon your courage! Hiyori Shiina!!

Shiina took a deep breath, and just as she was about to answer, Marina stopped her again.

"I think I already know your answer."

"But I haven't said anything yet."

While Shiina was struggling internally, her expression kept changing, and Marina took it all in. Especially when she saw Shiina let out a long sigh of relief, as if she had found the right answer for her, a smile quickly flashed across Marina's face. However, because it happened so fast and Shiina's attention was focused on confronting her own inner thoughts, she didn't notice the change in Marina's expression.

"Your expression has already told me your answer. As for what came after that... I'm too old to listen to things like what kids like or love. If you have the chance, you should go and tell Tianyin yourself."

"I...I didn't mean to say..."

"Ok?"

"...I will speak to Tianyin myself."

Shiina, who was about to deny it again, blushed and spoke after seeing Marina's amused gaze.

"That would be perfect."

As she spoke, Marina took out a small notebook from her pocket and continued to write on it.

Shiina's face started to burn as soon as she saw the little notebook. Even though she hadn't seen what Marina had written in it, just thinking about the contents of the notebook made Shiina blush.

Hopefully... the authorities won't mind recording anything strange related to her...

Inside a tent on the school playground, Hirata sat there with a smile on his face, sipping tea.

For him, nothing made him happier than class unity. Although others might see it as just an ordinary question-and-answer game, Hirata gleaned a lot of important information from the exchange.

For example, the relationship between Amane and Horikita remains very close. This seemingly normal thing, however, brought a sigh of relief to Hirata, who was already suffering greatly from Ayanokouji and Sato's breakup.

The mere breakup between Ayanokouji and Sato had thrown the class into chaos. Hirata couldn't even imagine what terrible things would happen to Class A, which had finally reached this point, if something were to happen to Amane and Horikita's relationship.

Fortunately, their relationship is still going well. If things continue like this, they might be able to maintain it until graduation. In that case... maybe they really can go from now on without losing either of them until graduation. Just imagining that scene makes Hirata want to smile.

If I really manage to do that, it would be a way of redeeming him from the past, right?

Besides learning from the Q&A that Amane and Horikita's relationship remained stable, Hirata also noticed that Horikita and Airi's relationship was warming up. Especially when Airi used the avoidance tactic three times in a row, Hirata concluded that this must be the result of Horikita and Airi's private discussion. Hirata had also heard a little about what had happened between the two before. Therefore, when Airi was being ostracized by the whole class, Hirata, who should have been the one to reject behavior that disrupted the unity of the group and framed classmates, did not reject Airi. Instead, he tried his best to protect Airi in private.

He was originally troubled about how to bring Airi back into the public eye, until one day he discovered that Amane was also secretly watching Airi from the shadows, and Hirata was relieved.

With Tianyin's protection, he didn't need to do anything extra.

Therefore, when he saw that Horikita and Airi's relationship was warming up, Hirata immediately thought of Amane. Apart from Amane, Hirata really couldn't think of anyone else who could make the two people, whose relationship had deteriorated to the lowest point, become like this.

'Luckily, we have Tianyin in our class.'

However, compared to Hirata, who was in a good mood, Sato, who was sitting opposite him, had an extremely unpleasant expression.

For a girl who has just broken up with her boyfriend, nothing is more painful than seeing others showing affection in public.

Horikita's public display of affection in front of the entire first and second grade made Sato's eyes turn red with jealousy, and her originally beautiful face became slightly ferocious as she clenched her teeth tightly.

Originally, the school had prepared two tents for this pairing of opposite sexes. However, after Sato's first failed confession to Hirata, she insisted on living with him. After being rejected and kicked out of the tent by Hirata several times, Sato, in a fit of rage, destroyed the tent that the school had given her, rendering it uninhabitable.

Then she lay down on the ground of the school playground, trying to force Hirata to agree to her request to live together.

Although it is summer, the temperature on the mountain at night is still colder than at the foot of the mountain. Seeing that Sato, who did not even go into his sleeping bag, was shivering and his face was turning a little purple from the cold, Hirata had no choice but to allow Sato to bring his sleeping bag into his tent.

Despite sharing a tent with someone of the opposite sex, Hirata used a clothesline and clothes to create a curtain between them to protect each other's privacy.

But this action only made Sato believe that only Hirata could give her a chance to turn the tide.

But before she could win over Hirata, she heard the special challenge broadcast. At first, Sato was secretly pleased, but Horikita, who was the most qualified among the girls, was made to look foolish by Airi's questions.

People's happiness is often built on the suffering of others.

Seeing Horikita, who possesses a heavenly voice, being teased by a girl who is usually invisible in class, Sato felt incredibly satisfied. However, Horikita soon seemed to have abandoned her reserve and answered Airi's questions without any hesitation. Rather than revealing her privacy, it was more like she was publicly showing how affectionate the two of them were.

Just as Sato, whose eyes were red with anger, was expecting Airi to throw a few more shameless questions at Horikita, Airi actually avoided the questions three times in a row and was disqualified from the competition. This made Sato even angrier and he exclaimed that the competition was rigged.

Hirata's gaze towards Sato at that time was somewhat complicated.

This challenge was originally a competition between two classmates, so isn't it normal for there to be some behind-the-scenes manipulation? And even if there is manipulation, so what? Their goal is probably just to end the competition as quickly as possible, so they must have already discussed the outcome before the competition started. This way, neither side will have any objections to the result, isn't that the best outcome?

'That good-for-nothing Sakura deserved to be bullied by everyone back then.'

After hearing the result, Sato cursed Airi in his heart, and then turned his gaze back to Hirata in front of him.

If Horikita can use this competition to try something new, why can't she?

Sato recalled the slips of paper in her hand, three with the word "question". Although she didn't know what effect the three "question" slips would have, Hirata definitely did. Should she deliberately leak the contents of the slips to Hirata and have him challenge her as well?

Because Sato was distracted by other things while the rules were being explained to her, she didn't hear them clearly. She only learned the general rules and the purpose of the three pieces of paper from the people around her.

The person told her that she could apply for a special challenge by submitting three identical pieces of paper, and that there would be a particularly generous reward if she could win them all.

Thinking about this, Sato couldn't help but feel a little tempted. The reason why she was still hating Ayanokouji for dumping her a while ago, but is now busy looking for a boyfriend to take over, is not only to get revenge on Ayanokouji and to let others know that she is not unwanted and that she is actually a very excellent girl, but also because Sato's money is starting to get tight.

When Sato and Ayanokouji started dating, it coincided with the time when Amane and Ayanokouji formed a contract. To facilitate Ayanokouji's actions, Amane would regularly give him a considerable sum of money each month to infiltrate other classes. The reason why Amane is now able to establish a network of contacts with many students in other classes is largely thanks to Ayanokouji's activities behind the scenes at that time.

Therefore, with a huge amount of points to back him up, Sato was used to spending money lavishly. In addition, Tenon would ask them to complete some small tasks from time to time. The total amount of these small tasks alone was hundreds of thousands of points. So Sato never considered that he would one day encounter a crisis in terms of points.

Although the contract between Amane and Ayanokouji broke down later, and Amane stopped funding Ayanokouji's bribery activities, this did not affect Sato's standard of living. This was because Ayanokouji had already accumulated a huge amount of points, two million. Although this number was insignificant to Amane, it was undoubtedly an astronomical figure compared to the balances of the other students in the class.

Furthermore, in order to better observe Sato, Ayanokouji almost always granted Sato's requests, which resulted in Sato's quality of life never changing. She herself had no awareness of saving money until she broke up with Ayanokouji not long ago.

Sato completely lost her most important source of points, but at that time Sato was busy causing trouble for Ayanokouji and had no time to think about such things. Besides, they were Class A! In Sato's mind, how could Class A be short of money?

Even if she does nothing, she still gets over 100,000 personal points into her account every month. That's 100,000 points! There's no way she could ever accumulate 100,000 personal points.

So Sato hardly paid attention to her spending until last month when she saw a limited edition bag that Karuizawa had just bought for over 70,000 yen.

Sato had no idea whether the price was expensive or not; she just thought it looked nice and wanted to buy it on a whim. She even picked a more trendy style and a brighter color than the Karuizawa bag, and of course, it was significantly more expensive. However, Sato didn't care. The more heartbroken she was, the more she wanted to be high-profile in other areas. For example, this bag might just sit in her dorm collecting dust, and she probably wouldn't even wear it a few times until graduation. It was purely a status symbol. Only in this way could she prove that she wasn't like those young girls who were depressed and crying their hearts out after being dumped. She wanted to prove to those other women who wanted to see her fail that even after the breakup, she still lived a carefree life, eating, shopping, and socializing as usual, and that her quality of life hadn't changed just because she didn't have a boyfriend.

She could survive without Ayanokouji, but she had to find a way to get revenge on that despicable couple...

drip.

A voice he had never heard before rang in his ears, and Sato instinctively wanted to pick up his bag and leave, but was stopped by the shop assistant with a troubled expression.

"Hey! What are you doing?! I've already paid, why won't you let me leave? Also, please keep your hands away from my bag. If you get it dirty, it's not something a lowly shop assistant like you can afford to pay for."

The store has to pay a certain fee to convert the points earned into cash, so the goods in the school are generally more expensive than outside. But even after deducting the extra fee, this bag is still an expensive luxury item for a high school student.

Even if a clothing store cashier could afford this bag, they wouldn't spend so much money on something like this.

"I'm sorry, your balance doesn't seem to be enough to buy this bag, you see..."

The cashier, barely suppressing her anger, greeted Sato with a professional smile and said something that surprised her.

"Huh? You're not kidding, are you? Insufficient balance? This bag only costs 138000 points, how could I possibly have insufficient balance?"

Sato, perhaps because she had lost face in front of everyone by being told she couldn't pay, raised her voice to argue with the cashier. However, this only attracted the attention of Karuizawa and the others who were chatting.

"Maya, what happened?"