"Rejected?"
Looking at the girl before him, Nagumo felt a sense of incredulity, even wondering if he had misheard her.
"I don't understand. Give me a reason."
Suppressing his anger, Nagumo said, "This proposal only benefits your Class D. Defeating Class C and Class B, even replacing Class A—can you do it without my help?"
In response, Horikita Suzune remained remarkably calm.
"Sorry, but what help can you offer us right now? You're aware of the exam we're currently taking. Can you order Ryuen to lose to us directly?"
Of course, Nagumo couldn't do such a thing.
To make Ryuen concede, he would have to pay a price far exceeding 310 Class Points.
However, he wouldn't admit this openly, so he coldly replied, "I could order him to lose to you. I could even make Class B and Class A lose to you. But can you afford the cost?"
Horikita Suzune saw through his bluff and said bluntly, "Since you can't do it, I don't think we can cooperate."
Nagumo almost laughed in frustration. "Do you speak like this in front of Horikita-senpai as well?"
"I'm merely maintaining the appropriate attitude toward a stranger who suddenly approached me."
Horikita Suzune sipped her coffee.
Initially, she had been somewhat annoyed—after all, she was Kaoru's person, so why was this guy seeking her out?
After chatting for a while, she understood.
It seemed Nagumo hadn't realized this yet.
Thinking about it, she usually had almost no interaction with Kaoru.
Occasionally, she would sneak into his room alone after school in the afternoon. It was natural that no one knew.
So, Horikita Suzune decided to play dumb.
She wouldn't remind Nagumo proactively.
"Heh, what if this stranger has the ability to resolve your current situation?"
Nagumo smiled without warmth. "Horikita-senpai younger sister actually being a student in Class D—it would sound terrible if word got out. As a friend of Horikita-senpai, isn't it natural for me to want to help you?"
"By 'helping,' do you mean having Class D vote for you in the upcoming Student Council election?"
Horikita Suzune's eyes held a trace of mockery. "Your promise is merely to help us defeat Class A. I can't trust such an empty promise."
This guy wasn't even willing to offer Personal Points—what was there to believe?
Nagumo said indifferently, "Before calling it an empty promise, consider the recent training camp exam and the previous sports festival. There will be more inter-grade joint exams next academic year. Don't you want an ally?"
"But I've heard the entire second year is opposing you."
Horikita Suzune pointed out his recent troubles without holding back.
Nagumo chuckled, utterly unconcerned. "If you looked into it properly, you'd find these voices have existed since last year. But they have no impact on my rule—they're just a bunch of flies."
He bet that Horikita Suzune didn't know the details of the second-year situation and had only heard some rumors.
Those unaware of the inside story could easily be deceived by him.
After all, opposition to him had always existed, yet two years had passed, and his position remained unchanged.
Unfortunately, Horikita Suzune knew that while Nagumo appeared prosperous on the surface, he was actually in a precarious position.
Since the second year had terminated his contract, his standing was already on shaky ground.
"Impossible." Horikita Suzune's voice was cold and clear. "Our first target is Class C. If you have a way to defeat Class C, I might consider cooperating with you."
Nagumo's expression shifted uncertainly.
Truthfully, he also wanted to abandon Ryuen—this guy had extorted too much of his Personal points, becoming unsustainable to maintain.
However, Ryuen was currently the only first-year he had managed to recruit.
Horikita Suzune's side seemed somewhat unstable, especially since they had scored zero twice, which in his view made them utterly worthless.
He merely wanted to pull Class D into the fray as cannon fodder, hence his attempt to persuade Horikita Suzune with empty promises.
He had initially thought Horikita Suzune would take the bait—after all, as Horikita Manabu's sister, she must harbor some resentment.
Unexpectedly, she remained completely unfazed, reacting with remarkable calmness.
Nagumo's eyes gleamed.
'Forget it,' he thought.
He didn't necessarily need Horikita Suzune's cooperation.
After all, he had already tricked Sudo onto his side. Having a few pawns was sufficient.
"Heh, I'll wait for the day you regret this."
Nagumo maintained his smile, feeling no urgency.
As long as Horikita Suzune had ambitions, she would eventually realize that relying on her own strength alone would never get her close to Kaoru.
Intelligent people seek external assistance.
He believed Horikita Suzune would eventually understand this truth—it was she who needed him, not the other way around.
"I'll watch as you meet your downfall."
Horikita Suzune retorted with equal sharpness before standing up and leaving.
Once her figure vanished, Nagumo's expression instantly darkened.
He thought of Kaoru—the dismissive tone toward seniors, even the assumption that he would soon step down, filled him with visceral disgust and rage.
His earlier intention to cooperate with Horikita Suzune evaporated instantly.
Nagumo decided to make her regret this for life.
Nagumo let out a long, heavy sigh. Though deeply unwilling, he admitted that without Class D's assistance, he was destined to lose.
Because the one with the Overwhelming advantage wasn't him.
He had always been the one dominating others—never had others dominated him.
Kaoru hadn't miscalculated.
Nagumo was indeed in a precarious position.
Originally possessing over twenty million Personal points, repeated expenditures since winter break had evaporated more than half.
Nagumo now had only about nine million left.
If it were just troubles from the second-year students, he wouldn't have fallen to such a state.
But Horikita Manabu was about to graduate!
Unable to restrain himself, Nagumo had teamed up with Ishikura Takato from Class B of the third year, providing him with several million in support to discuss how to pull Horikita Manabu down from Class A.
This graduation exam was his final chance.
If not for Kaoru, he would have gladly faced Horikita Manabu in a proper showdown.
But now, Nagumo knew his delusions were just that—delusions.
He had heard that Kaoru had privately given Horikita Manabu five million Personal points.
'Damn it,' he thought. 'That guy seems even richer than me. Did he not exhaust his Personal points back then?'
Nagumo gritted his teeth in fury, especially upon hearing that Asahina Nazuna had brought Kaoru into her room.
They might have even tried every position imaginable.
'That bastard! How dare he lay a hand on what's mine!'
Though seething with rage internally, Nagumo Miyabi maintained a facade of calm composure.
His attitude toward Asahina Nazuna in class remained unchanged, hoping she would recognize Kaoru's true nature and return to his embrace.
As for how to deal with Kaoru, he had temporarily run out of options.
With Horikita Suzune refusing to take the bait, Class 1-D likely wouldn't vote for him.
Even with Ishikura Takato and Ryuen Kakeru's support, their combined votes probably couldn't surpass Kaoru's.
Nagumo clearly understood that even if he could buy votes from Class 2-D and Class 3-D, he still stood no chance of winning.
'Damn it! Just one more class would have been enough!'
Despite his fury, rational consideration led Nagumo to prepare himself to abandon the Student Council.
Even if he forcibly remained in the Student Council, what could he accomplish besides expelling Kaoru and others?
Moreover, this situation arose partly due to Kaoru's infiltration of his faction, but surprisingly, the school had also taken Kaoru's side.
Nagumo couldn't comprehend why the school would meddle in student affairs without good reason.
If not for the school's intervention, this election wouldn't have happened at all.
He could have continued pretending everything was fine and remained as president through the next academic year.
He had no choice but to give up.
That damned bastard!
Nagumo considered overturning the table entirely, staking everything on one final gamble—either Kaoru would be expelled, or he would be.
Only through such extreme measures could he wash away the shame staining him.
He somewhat suspected Kaoru might be eyeing his Personal points, waiting until they were depleted to force his expulsion.
But even if that were true, Nagumo now had less than ten million points.
If this continued, he might truly face expulsion next time.
His only hope lay in the reforms planned for the next academic year.
Even after stepping down, the school would attempt to revise some rules.
After all, with the same outcomes repeating year after year, the financial backers behind the scenes were growing weary.
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