In the end, the proposal Naruse put forward was approved.
After the homeroom meeting ended, many students were discussing what had just happened in hushed voices.
“Who do you think is going to win?
Katsuragi or Sakayanagi?”
“I’m betting on Katsuragi.
He seems a bit more reliable.”
“When it comes to gathering intel, Sakayanagi has some weaknesses too, right?
I mean, her legs…”
“Gathering information relies on brains, not physical ability.”
“True.
Sakayanagi agreed to it pretty readily just now.”
Hikaru Naruse tilted his ear ever so slightly, and the corner of his mouth curved into an almost imperceptible arc.
So far, everything was within his control.
He had successfully brought Class A’s internal conflict out into the open ahead of schedule, and successfully gotten Arisu Sakayanagi and Kohei Katsuragi to establish their first round of competition.
That meant the next twenty-four hours would be absolutely crucial.
Regardless of whether this method was reasonable, both of them would have to throw everything they had into investigating the school’s hidden rules—otherwise they’d immediately leave a bad impression in their classmates’ eyes, and first impressions were extremely important.
If they wanted to win everyone over, it all came down to whether they could win this first move.
The one who ultimately came out on top would naturally become the leader of Class A.
Hikaru Naruse would keep an eye on the class leader’s performance afterward, stamping out anything that might harm the class’s interests—after all, he was now a member of this class as well.
As for himself, he had far more important things to do.
[Emotional Comeback Task issued: Reconnect with Honami Ichinose.
Reward: Emotion Perception +3.]
Hikaru Naruse silently savored the value of this reward in his heart.
Emotion Perception—just as the name implied, it was the ability to perceive other people’s emotions.
In a certain sense, this ability was actually quite useful.
Because during a conversation, the other party could lie.
But no matter how they disguised themselves, a person’s gaze, the rhythm of their breathing, and their micro-expressions—these uncontrollable displays would always reveal the true thoughts inside.
If he could perceive these emotional signals more keenly, it meant he could more accurately judge a person’s true thoughts and intentions.
“Let’s go take a look at Class B first.”
Taking advantage of the break between classes, Hikaru Naruse quietly slipped out of the Class A classroom without drawing any attention.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School had an academic building designed unlike those of ordinary high schools.
All four first-year classes were located on the same floor of the building, but they weren’t arranged together in the conventional way.
At a typical school, the four classrooms would usually be adjacent, one after another—step out the back door of one class, walk a few paces, and you’d reach the front door of the next, making it very convenient for students to move between them.
But the Advanced Nurturing High School wasn’t like that.
The four classrooms were separated by a considerable distance.
Getting from Class A to Class B required crossing a long corridor and then walking a further stretch before you arrived.
On the way to Class B, Hikaru Naruse rapidly flipped through his memories of Honami Ichinose in his mind.
She was the class leader of Class B, with a head of long pink hair, exceptionally good looks, and a gentle personality—the kind of person who could easily win the trust of both boys and girls.
Someone like that would, during their school years, be the type who simply dominated effortlessly.
However, because her personality was so gentle, she sometimes placed too much trust in others—and that was also her most important weakness.
A few minutes later, Naruse arrived at the area where Class B was located.
He had already sketched out his plan in his mind.
In order to complete the task smoothly, he would first strike up a conversation with her, then get her contact information if at all possible—that way he could avoid a second approach, which would easily raise suspicion.
After making out the door of Class B’s classroom, Naruse spotted two girls in the corridor.
He slowed his pace and came to a stop about five or six meters away from them.
The next second, a perfectly measured smile surfaced on Naruse’s face, and he took the initiative to greet them.
“Hello, I’m Hikaru Naruse from Class A, first year.”
Upon hearing his self-introduction, the two girls instinctively sized up Naruse’s appearance, from that almost excessively handsome face of his to his tall, slender, well-proportioned frame.
“H-hello, I’m Hitomi Tsunobe from Class B.”
“I’m Hina Yamagata.”
After the two girls politely finished introducing themselves, they heard Naruse’s request.
“Um…
there’s something I need to discuss with Ichinose from your class.
Could you help me call her over?”
“Ichinose?”
Hitomi Tsunobe was slightly taken aback and instinctively asked, “Could it be that you and Ichinose already know each other, Naruse?”
Naruse didn’t rush to explain.
He simply gave a reassuring smile first.
“We didn’t know each other before this.”
His tone was frank and sincere, without the slightest bit of concealment or evasion.
“But since we’ve both ended up at the same school, we’ll get to know each other eventually anyway, right?”
“There’s something rather important I’d like to talk over with Ichinose.
Don’t worry, it won’t take long.
The break between classes is short to begin with—I just want to have a few words with her.”
Hitomi Tsunobe’s gaze lingered on Naruse’s face for a few seconds, and then she agreed.
“All right, wait here a moment.
I’ll go call her for you.”
“Thanks.”
For now, the school’s rules hadn’t been exposed, and the demeanor Naruse presented was just like that of a normal high schooler.
No one would put on a hostile, dagger-drawn atmosphere on the very first day of school.
After a little while, a figure appeared at the classroom doorway.
Hikaru Naruse’s gaze caught that figure the instant it appeared, and the smile on his face grew even gentler.
A girl walked out of the classroom.
Her features were delicate and soft, a pair of large blue eyes clear and bright.
Her nose was straight and small, her lips slightly pressed together, the corners naturally lifting to form a warm curve.
Aside from her exquisite looks, Honami Ichinose’s figure also outclassed the rest.
Even wearing the exact same dark-colored uniform as everyone else, it couldn’t conceal the graceful curves she’d been born with.
Hikaru Naruse silently confirmed her identity in his heart.
To be honest, even though he’d already prepared himself mentally, the moment he saw the real person with his own eyes still left him feeling a faint flicker of amazement.
So cute.
But his expression recovered quickly.
This guy was someone who’d lived two lifetimes—he wasn’t going to lose his composure over one pretty girl.
Besides, he’d come to find Honami Ichinose today with a purpose, not to admire a beautiful face.
After Honami Ichinose walked up to the doorway, she first glanced curiously at Naruse standing there, then turned to Hitomi Tsunobe beside her and asked, “Tsunobe, is this the student who was looking for me?”
“Yes, Ichinose.
He’s Naruse from Class A.”
“Okay, got it.”
Once Hitomi Tsunobe had left, only Honami Ichinose and Hikaru Naruse remained on the scene.
“Hello, Naruse.
May I ask what you needed from me?”
Hikaru Naruse gave a slight smile, then responded in a calm and sincere tone.
“Ichinose, forgive the intrusion.
I came to find you today because there’s something rather important I’d like to discuss with you.”
“Discuss with me?”
“Yes.
You’ve already been nominated as the leader of Class B, haven’t you?”
“How…
how do you know that?”
Hearing him state the matter outright, a trace of astonishment flashed through Honami Ichinose’s beautiful blue eyes.
“That’s not important.”
Naruse shook his head.
He’d pointed out her leadership role directly to make what he was about to say more convenient.
“What’s important is that I came to find you today for an intelligence exchange.”
“What kind of information?”
“Hidden information about this school.
Since you’re the class leader, you should be able to make decisions on behalf of your class, right?”
“Even though everyone nominated me as class leader, I can’t exactly represent all of Class B directly.
Naruse, you…”
“I understand your concern, Ichinose.”
Hikaru Naruse cut her off directly and said in earnest, “Ichinose, the value of information lies in the timing advantage.
I sincerely want to cooperate with your Class B.”
As he spoke, Naruse pulled his phone out of his uniform pocket.
“Right now I just want to reach a consensus with you on making a deal.
If we’re going to discuss it in depth, this isn’t the right place.
If you’re interested, then let’s exchange contact information first.”
“After school, send me a message, and I’ll go into the details with you then.”
Watching the boy across from her pull out his phone so naturally and ask for her contact information, Honami Ichinose was actually a little startled.
What was going on?
Asking for contact info the very first time they met—was this boy really this forward?
Looking at the phone screen being held out to her, Honami Ichinose’s slender brows furrowed slightly.
“Naruse, I’d like to ask a question first.”
“Go ahead.”
“Why are you so certain that I’ll be interested in your information?”
“Heh, you’re quite vigilant, Ichinose.
That’s a good thing.”
Hikaru Naruse smiled slightly, then deliberately withdrew the phone in his hand.
He knew Honami Ichinose’s family background very well, so he deliberately asked, “As for the reason you mentioned, I’d like to ask you something first, Ichinose…
you wouldn’t happen to be a young lady of a wealthy household, would you?”
“?”
The moment those words came out, Honami Ichinose’s expression changed in an instant.
Although she still maintained basic politeness, she clearly no longer had that relaxed, natural composure from before.
“Naruse, what do you mean by that?”
Hikaru Naruse took in her reaction completely, confirming in his heart that his line of thinking was correct.
Honami Ichinose’s family was very poor—he’d already known this back when he read the original work.
Precisely because of that, putting it this way could touch the most sensitive string in her heart to the greatest degree.
“What I mean is…
Ichinose, do you think it’s a normal thing for a high school to hand out a hundred thousand yen in pocket money to its students every month?”
“Or do you not have much of a concept of money?
Are you a young lady who’s dined on fine food and worn fine clothes since childhood?”
“…”
After saying this, Hikaru Naruse noticed the change in Honami Ichinose’s complexion.
In truth, she understood better than anyone what that hundred thousand yen meant.
To Honami Ichinose, a hundred thousand yen might be enough living expenses for her whole family to use for a long time—a huge sum she’d never possessed before.
So when the homeroom meeting had announced this earlier, doubt had of course arisen within the girl’s heart—she simply hadn’t voiced it.
There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
This principle—she understood it better than anyone.
“If you feel that something’s off about all this, Ichinose, then you’ll naturally be interested in the deal for the hidden information I’ve proposed.”
“Of course.”
Naruse shrugged and continued, “Getting back to what we were saying just now—if you think it’s perfectly normal for a school to hand out a hundred thousand yen every month, then just pretend I never came here today.”
Having said that, Naruse struck a posture as if he were about to turn and leave.
This was a carefully designed retreat-to-advance move.
If Honami Ichinose truly didn’t care about the truth behind the hundred thousand points, then she definitely wouldn’t be interested in the subsequent information exchange.
But it was precisely this point—there was no way Honami Ichinose could not care about this matter.
This was the power of an information gap.
Hikaru Naruse turned around and took his first step in the direction he’d come from.
There wasn’t the slightest hesitation in his stride, and he silently counted down in his heart.
“3…
2…
1…”
“Please wait.”
The girl spoke up after all.