During the free activity period, a cheerful and relaxed atmosphere hung over the swimming hall.
After finishing his swimming practice with Morishita, she seemed to have gone off to buy ice cream—that girl really was that carefree a person.
After that, Hikaru Naruse turned his attention toward the Class A students who were his classmates.
He was selecting the right person.
At this school, there were many types of Special Exams.
Beyond written test scores, competitions that tested physical ability appeared one after another in an endless stream, which was precisely why the original work of COTE had been jokingly nicknamed the “Vocational School Brawl.”
Since he wanted to win, Hikaru Naruse believed he had to make good use of Class A’s outstanding students and lay the groundwork in advance.
His gaze cut through the crowd frolicking in the pool and landed precisely on a corner at the far end of it, where a tall, well-built man sat.
The man wore his hair long, and his face looked somewhat frightening—less like an ordinary high schooler and more like some kind of gang member.
What drew the most attention were his hands: even in an environment like the swimming hall, he still wore leather gloves.
Hayato Kitō.
Though his appearance was a little intimidating, this man’s powers of observation were sharp, and his abilities were formidable.
Whether it was running, swimming, or hand-to-hand combat, his level far exceeded that of an ordinary person.
In the original work, he had joined Arisu Sakayanagi’s camp and become one of the most reliable fighting forces under her command.
But now, Arisu Sakayanagi had lost the election for class leader, which meant her influence had taken no small hit.
So Hayato Kitō was, at present, a “free agent.”
He was a chess piece who could be won over.
Hikaru Naruse made his decision.
He gave his body a quick wipe with a towel to brush off the water droplets, then headed in the direction of where Hayato Kitō was.
When he had walked to about two meters in front of Hayato Kitō, the man seemed to sense something and lifted his head slightly to look at Hikaru Naruse.
The two men’s lines of sight met in midair.
Hikaru Naruse noticed a trace of surprise in Hayato Kitō’s eyes—not wariness, but a more subtle emotion.
“Why would this guy come looking for me?”
In Hayato Kitō’s understanding, Hikaru Naruse was the person in Class A least likely to come chat with him.
These past two days of campus life had already given him a full understanding of what kind of person Hikaru Naruse was: handsome in appearance, sharp of mind, gentle in temperament, and the center of everyone’s attention no matter where he went.
In the campus culture of the island nation, this type of person had a very precise term: a “riajuu.”
A person standing at the top of the pyramid and a person like himself standing at the bottom of the pyramid should have had no point of intersection whatsoever.
Yet Hikaru Naruse walked over just like that, so composed, a gentle smile on his face, as if the invisible barrier between them simply did not exist.
“Kitō.”
Hikaru Naruse’s voice was clear and gentle.
“Do you have time to talk?”
Hayato Kitō fell silent for a second or two, then said slowly,
“Sure.
Naruse, what did you want?”
Hikaru Naruse quickly assessed Hayato Kitō’s psychological state in that moment.
Judging from the emotional signals the man gave off, his feelings weren’t complicated.
Surprise made up the largest part, with a small portion of curiosity for the rest.
And a trace of unease.
Mm—it was probably because he didn’t chat with people much, along with an inferiority complex over his own frightening face.
Naruse understood this, then adjusted his approach.
He didn’t get too close but kept a distance that would make the other party feel comfortable, roughly one and a half meters.
“I just wanted to make a little small talk with you.
Aren’t we classmates?”
Naruse’s tone was light and casual, carrying a kind of warmth that put people at ease.
“I wanted to ask—now that you know the hidden rules, Kitō, what are your thoughts on your future campus life?”
It was a cleverly worded question.
Hayato Kitō was silent for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth.
“I only hope I can graduate from here smoothly.”
“That goes without saying.
We all think that way.”
Naruse recalled the man’s dream from the original work—Hayato Kitō apparently intended to become a fashion designer.
“If we graduate from here as members of Class A, then our future lives will have a layer of guarantee.”
“So…
Kitō, do you have any life plans for your future?”
Hayato Kitō’s dark eyes lifted a little, looking toward Hikaru Naruse’s face.
That handsome, elegant face wore a gentle, sincere smile, the amber eyes clear and bright.
“…”
He hesitated for a moment, then spoke.
“In the future, I want to be…
a fashion designer.”
His voice was still very low, but it carried a barely perceptible warmth that hadn’t been there before.
Hikaru Naruse raised an eyebrow slightly, a sincere, appreciative smile appearing on his face.
“That’s wonderful.
As long as we can graduate from here smoothly, with this school’s honor backing you, maybe you really can walk that path.”
Koudo Ikusei was no ordinary high school; it had a government background behind it.
As long as you could graduate as a member of Class A, that meant a bright road to the future was beckoning to you.
“But…”
Hayato Kitō hesitated for a moment, and then he heard Hikaru Naruse’s answer.
“But we absolutely have to remain members of Class A the whole way!”
Hikaru Naruse looked at the man before him with a smile.
Though the other party disliked talking, he was without a doubt a clever person.
Sure enough, the instant he finished that sentence, Hayato Kitō immediately sensed there was more to Naruse’s words.
“Naruse, is there something you want to say to me?”
“Clever!”
Hikaru Naruse snapped his fingers and took the initiative to step forward half a pace.
Now that he had found his target, he wasn’t about to do anything without reason.
“I hope you, Kitō…
can protect our class.”
“?”
The moment these words came out, Hayato Kitō’s expression shifted slightly.
“Protect the class?”
He repeated those words in a low voice, his tone carrying a clear trace of confusion.
Hikaru Naruse gave a slight nod, then cast his gaze toward another direction of the pool.
Over there, the silver-haired girl Sakayanagi was seated on a white lounge chair.
Several people had gathered at her side—besides Masumi Kamuro, there were two boys and two girls, conversing with her in low voices about something.
“Kitō, look.”
Hikaru Naruse gestured slightly in that direction with his chin.
“Although Katsuragi has already won the position of class leader, I feel that Sakayanagi may not let it rest there.
After all, she too is a very ‘outstanding’ person.”
He paused, then turned his gaze back to Hayato Kitō’s face.
In the next moment, Hayato Kitō instantly caught on.
“Naruse, do you mean…
Sakayanagi might challenge Katsuragi again?”
“Of course.”
“…But what does that have to do with protecting the class?”
“Because I think Sakayanagi may do something that damages the class’s interests.”
“?”
Hayato Kitō was a bit lost now.
Even if the competition for class leader were triggered again, that was only an internal matter of the class—so why was Naruse so certain Sakayanagi would do such a thing?
“Could you…
tell me your reasoning?”
“Intuition!”
Hikaru Naruse’s answer came without the slightest hesitation.
“So?
Will you trust me?”
It was a very direct question.
Hikaru Naruse hadn’t dressed up his request with any sweet talk, nor had he tried to win Hayato Kitō over with any enticement of profit.
He simply laid out his own judgment, then handed the choice over to the other party.
Trust, or don’t trust.
Accept, or refuse.
One of two.
Hayato Kitō was silent for a long time.
His gaze moved back and forth several times between Hikaru Naruse and the distant Arisu Sakayanagi, a contemplative look surfacing on that frightening face.
The things that had happened over these past two days flashed rapidly through his mind.
After quite a while, Hayato Kitō finally asked in a low voice,
“What do you want me to do?”
Hearing this answer, Hikaru Naruse smiled with satisfaction.
“It’s very simple.”
He lowered his voice, low enough that only Hayato Kitō alone could hear it.
“I want you to join Sakayanagi’s little group.”
The instant these words came out, Hayato Kitō’s pupils suddenly contracted.
“You mean…
you want me to be a mole?”
____
👻🔥Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Naruto: Is it reasonable to beat up an Otsutsuki with Hamon, right?