But Amane-san chose to stop at this very moment. This scene made Ichinose feel a faint pain in her stomach. Amane-san neither seized the key card nor took the opportunity to check the key card holder's name, yet Class B had no way to gain control of the key card's ownership.
Even Hoshinomiya-sensei frowned slightly, unsure how to rule on this.
"Sorry, I haven't slept all night and feel a bit weak all over. Even bending down makes my back ache. It seems you'll have to get the key card yourselves."
Amane-san rubbed her forehead while gently tapping her back, indeed looking as if her back was aching. However, those who had just witnessed Amane-san's actions didn't believe her explanation at all.
This was clearly her not giving up and intending to continue stalling for time this way.
As long as they punched in before midnight, Class B would gain four more base points. Although four base points weren't many, who would complain about their class having too many points?
"Since you have no intention of looking at the key card holder's name, Amane-san, how about returning the key card to us?"
Ichinose looked as if she still wanted to try solving the problem through conversation, subtly narrowing the distance between herself and Amane-san.
"Honami, just stand there. If you get too close, I might get nervous, and if I get nervous and accidentally step on the key card and break it, you'll be in trouble."
Amane-san's words made Ichinose hesitant.
The school must have prepared contingency measures to avoid special situations with key cards, but the problem was that time was running out.
If they went to replace the key card now, and Class D came and seized all the bases, then Class B would truly be in tears.
For a moment, Ichinose could only stop in place, unsure what to do.
"Don't be afraid. With so many of us, how can we let her swagger around here alone?"
Kanzaki, looking refreshed, led a few boys out from behind the crowd.
"Classmate Kanzaki, are you alright?"
Ichinose looked at Kanzaki, who seemed perfectly fine, with suspicion, unable to see any sign that he had been knocked down by Amane.
Seemingly noticing Ichinose's slightly unusual gaze, Kanzaki first cleared his throat, organized his thoughts, and then looked at Ichinose.
"I'm fine now. The most urgent task is to quickly retrieve the key card from Miyako."
Kanzaki's words were indeed accurate, and Ichinose's attention was once again drawn to Amane.
Seeing Ichinose's attention shift, Kanzaki finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He had, of course, feigned unconsciousness last night. Originally, he had wanted to get up and struggle, but then he heard Amane pull out Shibata, who was hiding in the dark watching him make a fool of himself. If Shibata and Kanzaki had teamed up, Amane would never have been able to easily control the entire Class B as she was doing now.
But Kanzaki, thinking about how Shibata had seen him get knocked down by Amane with one punch, chose to feign sleep to avoid embarrassment. On one hand, he didn't want to lose face in front of his classmates, and on the other, he wanted to see what would happen when Shibata encountered Amane.
The result, however, greatly surprised him. Shibata's actions fully demonstrated what weakness was, which made Kanzaki even less inclined to get up and fight.
He simply pretended to be unconscious and then genuinely fell asleep. Anyway, with Shibata there, someone else would take the blame, so what did he have to worry about?
Kanzaki waited until now. When he saw Ichinose being toyed with by Amane, he finally couldn't hold back and stepped forward with a few people.
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