As the lunch break came to an end, Hikaru Naruse took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Ai Morishita.
“Morishita-san.”
“Hm?”
“Since we’re already friends now,” Hikaru Naruse said in a casual tone, “then do me a favor later, would you?”
“What is it?”
Ai Morishita’s eyebrows arched slightly.
“Later, go ask Sakayanagi-san for me…”
The corners of Hikaru Naruse’s mouth curved up faintly.
He could have asked himself, of course, but there was no need to.
“Since she just finished her negotiation with that upperclassman, ask her exactly how much the asking price was.”
“How do you know Sakayanagi-san is definitely going to name a price?”
“Heh heh.”
Hikaru Naruse gave a little laugh, then said, “Do you really think a complete stranger, an upperclassman, would just hand over information to her for free?”
“Fine.”
Ai Morishita fell silent for a couple of seconds, then nodded.
“I can go ask for you, but this is the second time now.”
“Yes, yes, yes.
From now on, whenever you need anything, feel free to call on me anytime.”
Naruse shrugged, and in a very confident tone he said, “Friends are meant to trouble each other, after all.”
“Really?” Ai Morishita seemed to have heard a brand-new concept; the light in her eyes grew even brighter.
“That’s right.”
Hikaru Naruse waved his hand.
“Come on, let’s head back to the classroom.”
“Oh.”
The girl fell into step behind him, silently digesting everything that had happened during this lunch break.
After all, they were already friends now.
There would be plenty of time ahead.
The two afternoon periods passed by uneventfully.
Naruse sat at his own desk, on the surface listening attentively to the lesson, but in reality using this time to sort out his plan of action for what came next.
After school this afternoon, he had to keep his appointment with Honami Ichinose.
Before then, he needed to think clearly about exactly what kind of information he was going to provide to Class B, and what he wanted to obtain from Class B in return.
First of all, to protect Class A’s interests, there was no way he could disclose everything he knew.
On top of that, if he wanted to earn points, and if the information wasn’t weighty enough, he probably wouldn’t be able to impress that crowd from Class B.
So striking the right balance in the middle was crucial.
“…”
In the middle of Naruse’s contemplation, the time reached three-thirty, and school let out.
Since today was only the first day of the semester, most of the students hadn’t yet joined any clubs.
Although Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School was an extremely unusual school, its club activities were no different from those of an ordinary high school.
The clubs were divided into two major categories, athletic clubs and cultural clubs, though the official recruitment drive probably wouldn’t begin until about a week later.
After school today, the students were basically doing one of two things.
One was returning to the dorms to tidy up their rooms in preparation for the boarding life that awaited them over the next three years, and the other was exploring the school, since this artificial island was enormous, and making a single loop around it would take at least an hour or more.
After leaving the classroom, Naruse received a text message from Honami Ichinose.
“Naruse-san, I’ve already arrived at the meeting spot.
I’m in the café to the left of the shopping center entrance.
Looking forward to your arrival.”
“That fast?”
Naruse glanced at the time, quickly typed out a reply, then picked up his pace and walked out of the academic building.
By the time he arrived at the café, it was exactly 3:50.
Naruse swept his gaze over the interior of the café; there were a lot of first-year students here.
After all, they’d received points worth 100,000 yen today, so naturally they could afford to relax a little.
After searching around for a bit, Naruse spotted the pink-haired girl in a seat by the window.
“Hm?”
As he drew closer, Hikaru Naruse immediately noticed something.
And that was that beside the table where Honami Ichinose sat, there were actually several other people standing—two boys and two girls in all.
Hikaru Naruse raised an eyebrow slightly, then broke into a gentle smile and walked over toward that table.
The moment Honami Ichinose saw him, she immediately rose from her seat.
“Naruse-san.”
“Ichinose-san, good afternoon.”
After the greetings, Honami Ichinose seemed a little embarrassed as she explained.
“I was originally supposed to come alone, but they…
weren’t too reassured about me meeting a student from another class by myself, so they insisted on tagging along.”
Hikaru Naruse watched her reaction and smiled inwardly.
The students of Class B had a strong protective instinct toward Honami Ichinose, and this had been the same in the original work.
She wasn’t merely the leader of the class; she was everyone’s spiritual pillar.
“It’s fine.
More people is even better this way—it proves that Ichinose-san’s choice wasn’t a mistake.”
Hikaru Naruse gave an easygoing smile, his tone calm and forthright, without the slightest hint of resentment.
“Thank you for understanding, Naruse-san.”
Then she turned around to face the four classmates standing there and introduced him in a gentle tone.
“Everyone, this is Hikaru Naruse-san of Class A, the one I mentioned to you before.”
Hikaru Naruse took a step forward and nodded in acknowledgment.
“Hello, everyone.
I’m Naruse of Class A.”
Once Hikaru Naruse had finished his introduction, the four students likewise began introducing themselves.
The first to speak was the boy seated to Honami Ichinose’s right.
His features were sharply defined, and his whole bearing gave off an air of steady composure.
“Ryūji Kanzaki.”
Hikaru Naruse quickly compared this name against the information in his memory.
This one should count as the number two of Class B.
Next was the boy to Honami Ichinose’s left.
Unlike Ryūji Kanzaki’s cold sternness, this boy had a much sunnier, more cheerful temperament.
“Hello, I’m Sō Shibata of Class B.”
Then came the two girls.
The first to introduce herself was a girl with short black hair, delicate features, and a tall figure.
“Hello there, I’m Sayo Andō.
Please treat me kindly.”
The second was a girl who looked somewhat shy, her self-introduction coming out a little haltingly.
“Hello, I’m…
Chihiro Shiranami.”
Once the four of them had finished introducing themselves, Hikaru Naruse nodded with a smile as well, firmly committing each person’s name and face to memory.
Ryūji Kanzaki, Sō Shibata, Sayo Andō, Chihiro Shiranami.
Interesting.
Was this Honami Ichinose’s personal guard corps?
Naruse adjusted his posture slightly, then let a natural gaze sweep across the five people opposite him before slowly speaking.
“Since all of you in Class B take this matter so seriously, then there’s no need for us to beat around the bush.”
“I came here today able to offer you three important pieces of intelligence, each one related to the school’s deeper rules.”
He paused briefly, letting the weight of these words settle in everyone’s mind for a moment.
“However…”
Hikaru Naruse’s gaze once again swept across the five faces opposite him, his tone suddenly turning playful.
“What price are you prepared to offer?”