Manabe's gaze slowly moved down from Amane's face, which was both loved and hated, until it stopped at the spot Amane was gently patting.
Normally, there was nothing wrong with girls being a little close, but Manabe knew that Amane would absolutely not just be teasing her to see her embarrassed expression.
If it was Amane, it would definitely not be just that level.
Manabe had seen photos of Amane and Horikita in intimate contact on the school's forum board a long time ago.
From that time on, a group of people who paid special attention to Amane became active on the forum, often uploading photos of Amane going to the cinema or shopping malls with various girls.
Without exception, they were all captured in intimate moments with girls.
At the time, Manabe had privately mocked Amane, saying that doing so was corrupting the school's atmosphere.
During the Uninhabited Island special exam, on Amane's first night as an exchange student in Class C, when Manabe actually stayed in the same tent as her, she didn't sleep well all night.
Fearing that Amane would take advantage of her, Manabe cautiously tugged at her clothes to prevent Amane from doing anything bad. But to her relief and disappointment, even though there was a lot of commotion at night, many girls accused Amane of being restless in her sleep and doing bad things to them.
Yet, Amane didn't touch her once all night. Even though Manabe was sleeping right next to Amane at the time, Amane didn't seem to have the slightest interest in Manabe. What was it about her that was inferior to those plain-looking girls in Class C? Perhaps… this was why she disliked Amane.
Now, Amane had actively invited her. Reason told Manabe that she absolutely couldn't agree to such a request; as a girl, she should maintain her purity.
However, the bait Amane offered was simply too tempting.
Manabe wanted to know who was bullying Morofuji-san, and even more, she wanted to know who was behind making things difficult for Class C through Amane.
That's right, she wasn't doing it for herself… Manabe convinced herself as she slowly stepped forward.
Amane's smile became even more fervent.
Just as Manabe approached Amane, and was about to say a few pleasantries to ease the awkwardness, Amane suddenly grabbed Manabe and pulled her into her embrace.
Manabe, like a startled fawn, immediately tried to get up, but how could Amane let go of prey that had already been delivered to her mouth?
Manabe struggled a few times, then realized her efforts were futile. No matter how she moved her body, Amane remained unmoving.
Seeing that she couldn't escape, Manabe gave up resisting with a hint of self-abandonment.
"That's a good girl."
Amane played with one of Manabe's tied-up pigtails with one hand, while the other began to wander with ill intent.
"M-Miyako-san, can you tell me now who is targeting Morofuji-san and our Class C?"
Manabe naturally knew what Amane was doing.
But she also clearly understood that she had no retreat now. Fortunately, she had the last fig leaf of 'for the class' to make her feel a little better.
"No problem, I'm always a person who keeps promises. The one who made me target Morofuji is Karuizawa Kei."
"It really was that Karuizawa."
Manabe had suspected it before, thinking that Karuizawa harbored resentment over the previous incident and thus sought Amane's help to target Morofuji.
Now Amane had confirmed Manabe's suspicion. She hadn't expected that seemingly arrogant person to have such disgusting tactics behind her back.
Wait… something seemed a little off.
Manabe tried to recall the scene at noon, when Amane finally made Karuizawa slap Morofuji.
Wasn't Karuizawa a bit surprised and reluctant?
"Miyako-san, is what you're saying true?"
Seeing Manabe's attitude change, Amane immediately guessed Manabe's current thoughts and nodded without hesitation.
"Of course it's true. Otherwise, why would I coincidentally appear there and even let Karuizawa hit Morofuji?"
"But I saw Karuizawa seemed a bit reluctant when she hit Morofuji-san…"
Manabe didn't know if repeatedly questioning Amane would anger her, but she had to pursue this matter. Otherwise, not only would she be unable to give Morofuji an explanation, but she also wouldn't be able to give herself one.
"idiot, that was of course acting we had planned beforehand. Karuizawa paid a certain price to me for my help, and the result, as you can see, is a humiliation you won't forget even after graduation, right?"
Amane's actions began to become bolder.
Manabe frowned deeply. She didn't know whether to believe Amane's words. Amane's explanation didn't have any major problems. In the eyes of others, Karuizawa's personality was that of someone who liked to bully the weak and was extremely self-centered, completely disregarding the feelings of others.
It wasn't strange for such a person to pay a price to ask others to intervene and deal with those she had conflicts with.
When everything was logical and she had no way to refute Amane, Manabe could only choose to believe Amane.
She could certainly doubt Amane, because Amane couldn't prove these things and couldn't provide evidence, but that didn't mean Manabe had the ability to collect such evidence.
If Amane hadn't told Manabe about this, Manabe and Morofuji probably wouldn't have understood why Amane appeared so perfectly and allowed Karuizawa to severely humiliate Morofuji until graduation.
If she only needed to pay a price to get Amane's help… Manabe's eyes gained a hint of liveliness. Since even Karuizawa needed to pay a price to get Amane to help, didn't this precisely show that Amane's stance was never fixed?
If she also paid a price, could she ask Amane to turn around and deal with Karuizawa? Even if the probability was small, there was no harm in trying.
"How many points did Karuizawa pay? We can pay double! No, triple! I hope Miyako-san, you can help us deal with Karuizawa and make her suffer a bit."
Manabe still thought that the "price" Amane mentioned referred to points.
Amane didn't correct these insignificant details. Manabe had finally been led to this point, and next was… "I refuse."
Amane's refusal didn't surprise Manabe. Or rather, refusal was the normal reaction. Even if Amane was a mercenary person, Karuizawa, no matter how disliked by others, was still a member of Class D. Amane had no reason to help people from another class bully her own classmate for some points.
Just as Manabe was disheartened, Amane spoke again.
"Although I can't help you deal with Karuizawa, I can provide some necessary support, for example… I can pretend not to see many things."
Amane's words were very ambiguous, but Manabe immediately understood the implications.
"Miyako-san, do you mean you'll turn a blind eye to whatever we do? But… why would you do that? Karuizawa is your classmate, and she paid you protection money. It seems a bit unreasonable to treat her like that."
Amane was a little surprised. She hadn't expected Manabe to have some wits. However, it was a pity that she had rehearsed similar questions countless times in her mind, so Manabe wouldn't be able to find any loopholes.
"Manabe-san, are you aware of the competition for class leaders within the class?"
Amane changed the subject, and Manabe couldn't immediately figure out what Amane wanted to say. For now, she could only follow her question and answer.
"Of course, I know. Ryuuen became the class leader through violence."
Manabe didn't know how other classes chose their class leaders, but in Class C, the class leader was elected by fists.
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