Real teaching, hypocritical gray life

"..."

Ichinose didn't respond immediately. From the beginning, the tangled hair on her forehead made it difficult for me to see her true condition.

I slowly extended my hand to her, and although Ichinose was a little resistant, I successfully lifted her up with her head lowered.

"What happened?"

I was in a panic when faced with an unexpected situation. Ichinose looked like she was about to cry, and I couldn't understand the source of her emotion.

"..."

"No, nothing... I'm going back first."

The next moment, the sleeve that was pulled tightly was loosened, and because it happened suddenly, I couldn't call out to Ichinose who was running away.

"..."

It looks like some unexpected calculations occurred...

Because of this kind of thing, I also feel a little confused about what to do next.

However, when I met him by chance the next morning, Ichinose's attitude made me doubt the authenticity of what happened last night.

perhaps......

There really is nothing.

Chapter 100: Complete Self-Betrayal Gives Birth to Expectations

It was the afternoon of the second day of the special exam, and I went to the designated room of the Rabbit Team again with Hitonose and Hamaguchi.

Before we arrived, Karuizawa and Ayanokouji from Class D had already made preparations in the room.

"You two are here so early."

Ichinose greeted them with a smile, but only Ayanokouji responded to her, while Karuizawa was busy scrolling on his phone.

"It's actually not early anymore. There's not even ten minutes left."

"This is the time we will arrive, right? Anyway, please give me your guidance today."

Soon, all team members arrived within the specified time, and the situation on the scene was exactly the same as yesterday, with no change at all.

Ichinose also changed his tactical strategy. Since communication was impossible, at least he had to make sure that the one-hour gathering would not feel tiring and long.

So she suggested playing poker.

As expected, I expressed my participation. Hamaguchi, who couldn't find a suitable way to break the impasse, also joined in. Sotomura and Ayanokouji from Class D agreed at the same time, and the rest of the people were busy with their own things on their phones.

Poker tactics don't bring much benefit, at most they can only reveal a person's character and attitude towards things. I choose the mindless fighting type, playing the cards without considering the outcome of winning or losing. Even if this will earn me contempt from others, I don't intend to change this.

Soon an hour passed playing poker.

“Well then—I’ll leave for a while.” Ichinose dropped the cards in his hand and stood up.

"Excuse me, where are you going?"

"I can't just let Class A win like this."

"So you're going to meet Katsuragi-san, right? If possible, please allow me to go with you."

"That's no problem...Ayanokouji-san, are you going to look for Horikita-san?"

Ichinose's eyes flickered towards me for a moment, then immediately looked away.

"Ah."

"Then let's go together. As for Oku and Hamaguchi-san, we'll see you later."

After hearing Ichinose's words, the two of them left the Rabbit Group's room together, and Hamaguchi and I watched them leave.

"Do you want to continue? If there are three of us, we can play Landlord."

"Wow, come to think of it, I haven't played this type of card for a long time."

My proposal instantly aroused the fighting spirit of Sotomura, and Hamaguchi accepted my proposal after hesitating for a moment. There were only three of us left in the room, so we could play the game without restraint.

We spent a few minutes in bits and pieces, and when the time was right, I sorted the cards while asking people from the outside village.

"Sotomura-san, do you know the girl named Karuizawa in your class?"

"As a classmate, I certainly know a little bit about this... How come Your Highness wants to have an in-depth conversation with Karuizawa-san?"

"No, I didn't mean that... Don't you think she's a little weird?"

"What a sharp observation. I didn't expect you to have noticed this. Then I won't hide it. In fact, she has always been this strange."

"...Is there any difference between saying this and not saying it?"

"Well, this is just a general statement. It's normal that you don't understand. In this case, I will be more specific."

"I originally thought that Karuizawa would be more or less in control of the discussion of this exam, but now it seems that she has no intention of participating at all."

"Why do you think so?"

"That's because Karuizawa has a lot of say in the female group in the class, and her boyfriend is the very popular Hirata, who also has a certain leadership ability among the boys. With this comparison, doesn't it seem that her behavior in this exam is very abnormal? Right five."

"Maybe because we're not in the same class, my feelings aren't as deep... Check."

"Ring to the circle."

"Point to point."

"You just said that she has a boyfriend. Is progress so fast after only one semester? Two."

"Karuizawa and Hirata's developments are much faster. In fact, it was revealed that they were dating just a few days after school started. Although I don't take time that seriously. I can't afford it."

"I see... I wonder if you have a bomb in your hand."

"Your Highness Luo, are you trying to play a trick on me? Unfortunately, I won't tell you this easily. I've seen through your trick, so give up."

I played the scattered cards in my hand in distress, and as a result, Waicun, as the landlord, won the game without any suspense.

"Haha what a fun fight."

"Tsk, I lost. It would have been better if Hamaguchi had a bomb."

"Don't blame me if you mess up your cards."

"I'm sorry, I don't have any experience with this kind of activity, and the best I can do with my temporary understanding is to clarify the rules."

"Then don't suggest playing a card game that requires planning. It's better to just rely on luck to catch the joker cards... Well, we're almost there. It's time to meet up with Class Leader Ichinose."

"Are you not going to continue fighting?"

"Don't we still have an hour left in the evening? Let's leave some expectations."

"That's true...it seems we can only meet again in the evening."

After that, we each withdrew from the Rabbit Group's battlefield.

"To be honest, the way he speaks really gives me the creeps. Don't you feel the same way? You're still chatting with him."

“I’m trying my best to adapt.”

"What on earth is going on, Sotomura? Is he obsessed with anime?"

"..."

"Tsk, it took so long... I'm going to the bathroom, you go first."

"Ah."

Since all the groups were on the same floor, I quickly arrived at the designated room for the Dragon Group.

The students of Class A had already left early, and it seemed that Katsuragi, as the leader, was also sticking to his own fighting style when facing the other class leaders. The three parties who remained in the room sat opposite each other, with a sense of restraining each other.

"What a variety of people have crowded into the Dragon Group's room."

As soon as I met him at the door of the room, Ryuen glanced at me with boredom. Fortunately, this sentence was just a complaint interspersed in the important discussion items. After seeing the visitor, all parties continued the previous proposal dialogue.

"In fact, it's enough for Class B to cooperate with us. After all, only Class C and Class B can be united. It shouldn't be difficult for you to get the status of the class's favored student, Ichinose."

"I don't really agree with this approach. Everyone has their own ideas. In addition, if Class C suddenly betrays the contract, it won't have much of a restrictive effect. Considering the people in Class B who will be hurt by your actions, I can't easily reach a cooperation intention with you if this is your only reason."

"Won't you give it some more thought? Although I proposed a joint operation, the fact is that I will soon master the rules of this exam. In this way, not only Class B, but also Class A and Class D will be naked under my gaze. If you form an alliance with me, I can share a piece of the pie with you."

"If the facts are really as you said, then why don't you send a text message directly to the school to get the highest benefit?"

Ryuen's words were not groundless, nor were they pretentious. If he really knew the identities of all the favored people in Class C, then with a little help, he would be able to see through the rules.

This help could be the conspiracy of another leader of Class A, Sakayanagi, or it could be the identity of a favored person from another class...

So no matter which side I am on, I must be clear about his attitude, otherwise my plan may be jeopardized by him.

"Highest interest? If you don't have a good brain, don't speak carelessly. What you call victory is probably achieving result three. Think carefully about other factors of victory besides personal points and class points."

"Although I'm sure that betrayal text messages can bring huge benefits, but after fully controlling the rules, we should also consider some more interesting results, right? For example, leaving you with one last glimmer of life or something like that."

So that's how it is. There's no need to make any advance adjustments to the plan.

"..."

"Tsk, what a boring bunch of people."

Ryuuen stood up and walked past us and out of the room. His eyes met mine for a moment, but he didn't react.

"Ah, I'm almost leaving too. I'm asked out by a friend."

Kushida apologized briefly and left the room, and Hirata, who was known to be very popular, also made his choice.

The ones that remain until the end are all familiar combinations.

"It really is a very tiring thing to talk to Ryuuen."

Ichinose sighed softly.

"It seems that Class B will be in a very difficult position, whether it is Class A's one-sided vigilance or Class C's Ryuen's persistent hunting. If we were to reach your current position, I don't know if we could handle it."

"It's not that bad actually, because Horikita's outstanding performance in the uninhabited island assessment has actually relieved some of our burden, and Ryuuen's attack on you was just witnessed by everyone. It seems that your class is in a more dangerous situation now."

"Maybe." Horikita responded nonchalantly.

"Horikita-san, Ayanokouji-san... Everyone who knows about our cooperation is here, so I'm asking, do you think we'll be able to form a cross-class cooperation relationship in this exam?"

It might be my illusion, but when I said this, Ichinose looked at me with a complicated expression.

"It would be difficult to propose cooperation. Because even if the two classes cooperate, it will be incomplete in the structure of the exam. Moreover, the unshakable cooperation of all D and B classes is a necessary condition. You know the current situation of the environment within our class. If there are any major changes, we cannot control it. I don't think this will work."

"I think so too. It would be great if we could really join forces... But Horikita-san also has a deep understanding of the exam, and it's not just the paper talk of Ryuen-san. This way, I can rest assured."

"Ryuen-san's operation has failed, so we can relax a little. But the most critical issue is Katsuragi-san's silence. Do you have any other reactions?"

Ichinose then asks Horikita and Kanzaki about Katsuragi's situation.

"My words are exactly the same as what I asked Luo to tell you. You should also be aware of the situation of the other groups. Their attitudes are exactly the same."

"I tried to attack, but all I got was a cold response. If you can't break through, then it will be troublesome."

"I just talked to Katsuragi-san, but it didn't seem to work." Ichinose responded to Horikita's expectations with a wry smile.

"Then we can only find other ways to get closer... Then I'll go back to my room first."

After Horikita suggested going back to the room, everyone left the Dragon Group's room and disbanded. Hamaguchi also arrived at the scene at this time.

"If possible, could you stay with me for a while?"

After watching Horikita leave, Ichinose invited Ayanokouji.

"Yeah, that's no problem."

"Then please let Luo and Hamaguchi-san come with us."

Then we separated from Kanzaki, walked out of the deck, passed through the students who had switched to play mode, and stopped at appropriate locations.

Hamaguchi and I looked at each other and tactfully left them some space to talk, but Ichinose grabbed hold of my clothes at the last moment.

"..."

"..."

"If you fall, stay and listen together."

"I understand."

After sorting out the situation on the field, Ichinose began to tell Ayanokouji the reason why he was looking for him.