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"Hehehe... that's good." Sakayanagi suddenly chuckled. "Class A certainly doesn't lack leader-type individuals right now. If anything, it really does lack combat-type talent. I think your idea is feasible."
Katsuragi inexplicably felt relieved.
Thinking about it, her agreeing was actually within his expectations. After all, the current leaders of Class A were the two of them.
If they were to recruit leader-level individuals from other classes, there'd inevitably be a hidden danger of power struggles. It'd be better to recruit someone skilled in combat, who wouldn't cause concerns about power-sharing and could genuinely strengthen the class's capabilities.
"Speaking of which," Sakayanagi said, as if suddenly remembering something, her smile deepening, "if there was someone who hadn't even had a minor illness since birth, had no history of hereditary diseases, whose physical fitness was significantly higher than ordinary people, and who also insisted on exercising regularly every day—do you think such a person would be suitable?"
"What? Never been sick?" Katsuragi was stunned, feeling as if she was joking.
How could there be someone in this world who never got sick? Even with the strongest physical fitness, one would surely have a minor illness or two in childhood.
"Sakayanagi-san, such a hypothesis is too unrealistic." Katsuragi frowned. "A person who has never been sick simply doesn't exist. Where in this world is there a flawless body? Even normally, occasionally eating an expired bento or indulging in too many cold drinks will surely lead to a stomachache—that's how a normal person's body should be."
When it comes to physical training, talent is actually more important than intelligence.
When he was a child, because of his bald head, people often jokingly called him "One-Punch Man." Later, he actually read that work.
In "One-Punch Man," there's a concept of a "limiter." Human bodies ultimately have limits.
People catch colds when they get chilled, they get sick, they become weak. That's the normal state for a human.
This point was also confirmed in the medical books he'd read. The knowledge in those books couldn't be fake.
"...Hmm, you're right." Sakayanagi glanced at him, especially noticing the look of complete disbelief on his face, and immediately lost interest, her tone conveying a hint of boredom.
'You don't believe what I'm saying?'
After all, the person in question was Katsuragi.
Strictly speaking, he was merely an existence slightly more excellent than an ordinary person, so it was natural for him to be skeptical upon hearing something so out of the ordinary.
But Sakayanagi knew in her heart that she hadn't said a single lie.
When she received the entrance medical examination list from her father in the first month, Akira's report clearly stated all of these things. She hadn't even mentioned the other more exaggerated details.
She'd originally hoped that Katsuragi, upon learning that such a person truly existed, would react in ways she hadn't anticipated, but she didn't expect him to instinctively choose not to believe.
After all, people always find it difficult to believe things outside their common sense.
'How boring! This person is truly too boring!'
Sakayanagi was once again disappointed in Katsuragi.
However, speaking of which, her disappointment in him was by no means a first.
She truly couldn't understand why such a person could be on equal footing with her.
As soon as she seized an opportunity, she'd surely give him an "unexpected" lesson.
'Shimizu Akira is much more interesting!'
'Hehe... he probably doesn't guess that I've already seen through his identity!'
She picked up her phone, specifically opening the interface for her alternate account, "Chattering Cat," and only then did a knowing smile play on her lips.
That's right, Sakayanagi was the "Chattering Cat." The mysterious person who specifically reminded Akira to pay attention to that detective lady last month.
As for how she could guess that Akira was the mysterious person who rented the surveillance footage, the reason was actually very simple.
'That person would never proactively do anything for no reason, especially not for a mere 30,000 points!'
Sakayanagi knew Akira too well.
Last month, when she made a bet with him, even when she offered 95,000 points, he remained unmoved. So how could he agree to Shiina's meager 30,000 assistant fee?
Furthermore, she later specifically asked Ichinose, and that mysterious person only inquired about the contact person for Class C, not her contact information at all. And Akira happened to be one of the people who knew her background.
These two points combined were enough to greatly increase Akira's suspicion.
It wasn't until she specifically spent points to retrieve the surveillance footage around the student council during the first week that she finally became certain that the mysterious person must be Akira.
The moment she learned the truth, she wasn't particularly surprised.
After all, from the very beginning, she'd suspected it was Akira. That person had defeated her with the "buying beer" winning strategy on the first day of school.
Thinking about it carefully, wasn't renting surveillance footage just another kind of "winning strategy"?
This person never makes a move easily. Once he acts, he is 100% confident.
She actually felt a bit unconvinced. It seemed she'd unknowingly lost another round to him.
But then she reconsidered, and couldn't help but acknowledge him.
'As expected of an opponent I've taken an interest in, Shimizu Akira.'
'On this chessboard called "school," having such an opponent makes things far from boring.'
From the very first day of school, Sakayanagi's ultimate goal was never simply to graduate smoothly from Class A.
In her eyes, an interesting opponent was the most important thing. Fortunately, she was lucky enough to find such a person.
As for the others, for now, they didn't catch her eye. Ichinose and Ryuuen could barely be considered half-opponents.
The former, she currently had no plans to make a move against. The latter, the midterm exam incident last month was her doing, and she wanted to see how he'd respond.
As for why she suddenly targeted Ryuuen?
The reason was simple. Who told that person to mock her for relying on her father for everything!
So what if her father was the Chairman?
She, Sakayanagi Arisu, had reached this point purely through her own effort and sweat!
Cough, cough... perhaps not a single drop of sweat, because her body was frail and she couldn't do physical exercise at all.
Let's change it to coffee!
Then let's rephrase the line.
I, Sakayanagi Arisu, have reached this point purely through my own effort and coffee!
In any case, she was always petty and held grudges.
Since she'd obtained the authority to change up to five questions on the midterm exam from Akira, she naturally made Ryuuen her first target to "look after."
Last month, she publicly released the exam papers, earning a good reputation.
Now, when she walked around, many students would cordially greet her. Who would still suspect her?
Class C already had a poor reputation among the other classes, and with this incident, the vast majority of people would naturally point fingers at Ryuuen.
Moreover, she hadn't told any of her Class A classmates about changing the questions.
If word got out, other classes could easily analyze the abnormal correctness rate of the questions and deduce that Class A was behind it. With her meticulous mind, she'd never leave such an obvious handle.
Currently, only one person knew what she'd done, and that was Akira.
But it's still the same old saying.
You're looking for Chattering Cat? What does that have to do with me, Sakayanagi Arisu?!
Even if it's Arisu, that's just a pun.
'Shimizu-kun is probably still wondering why "Chattering Cat" would help him hide his identity!'
In fact, as soon as Shiina found her and said that her assistant was Akira, she already had a vague answer in her heart.
But she didn't reveal this truth to Shiina for a simple reason:
First, she wasn't kind enough to voluntarily reveal the truth to others.
Second, she simply didn't want Shiina to know, or rather, didn't want anyone other than herself to know.
This way, she could naturally occupy a higher position than Akira, looking down on him, and also secretly manipulate him with both her main account and her alternate account. All in all, she had three identities she could use to deal with Akira.
Just thinking about Akira still scratching his head and searching around to figure out her identity made Sakayanagi find it exceptionally amusing. Even picking up her cane and walking felt much more energetic, and her appetite also improved considerably. She could eat half a bowl of rice now.
And this secret pleasure had to belong exclusively to her, allowing no one else to share even a bit. If someone else knew Akira's identity, this game wouldn't be fun at all.
So, after Shiina left, she sent Akira that message saying, "A detective lady is looking for him."
In a sense, this was a small "backstab" to Shiina, but Sakayanagi never considered Shiina her ally.
It was merely an exchange of equal value: she'd provided her with the information she needed to say and the questions she needed to ask; she'd also indeed inquired about the "alternate account" with the homeroom teacher as agreed.
As for "since she said no one in Class A bought alternate accounts, how did she get one herself?"—this was actually quite simple.
When she sent the message, she specifically added the qualifier "as of now." After sending the message, she then bought the alternate account.
This way, it naturally wasn't considered a lie.
Akira had beaten her twice: the first time with the "buying beer" strategy, and the second time by secretly buying the surveillance footage.
And she, Sakayanagi Arisu, had also won twice: the first time by publicly releasing the exam papers, thwarting his plan to sell them; the second time by figuring out his identity in advance and manipulating him through the "Chattering Cat" alternate account.
As of now, she and Akira were tied, two wins and two losses.
'Shimizu Akira and I are evenly matched; it's not an exaggeration to say it's a 50-50 split.'
She instantly drew this conclusion and was quite satisfied with the result.
True geniuses, after all, should have victories and defeats against each other.
If one side were easily and completely crushed, this "game" would be too boring.
'Therefore, Shimizu Akira must not join Class A—at least not for these two years.'
What she looked forward to was the mutual competition between classes.
If he and she were in the same class, it'd ultimately devolve into internal strife, and the excitement of the competition would be greatly diminished.
However, she truly admired Akira.
When they reached their third year, she'd certainly have long since kicked Katsuragi out of Class A, and then she'd have full authority to directly "buy" him over with twenty million points.
And she had no doubt that with Akira's abilities, he'd certainly have no less than twenty million points by his third year. After all, by the end of the first month, he'd already obtained twelve million points from the four classes.
Perhaps two years from now, his class would become the third-year Class A, while she'd be in the third-year Class B.
'That would be interesting too.'
If they truly reached their third year and she and Akira were in different top classes, that confrontation would surely be a hundred times more intense than now.
She could even imagine the scene: he standing in Class A's formation, his eyes calm yet hiding a sharp edge, while she calmly strategized in Class B, steadily pressing forward with accumulated points and connections.
No more low-grade probing, concealing, or developing. Only raw, unadulterated clashes of strength. That was the chess game she truly yearned for.
However, to be honest, everyone, more or less, faced the risk of expulsion, and no one could guarantee that they'd definitely remain until the third year.
But she was 100% confident that she and Akira would definitely stand until the end...
Not far away, Katsuragi couldn't understand why Sakayanagi suddenly started smiling so happily after picking up her phone.
'What is she smiling about? Could it be love?'
Generally speaking, when a girl smiles so happily, it's usually because she has a boyfriend.
But he couldn't imagine Sakayanagi dating anyone. This woman's head is full of schemes, who would like her?
'Speaking of which, there shouldn't be any strange boys bothering my sister, right?'
Katsuragi's thoughts drifted to his own sister.
After entering this school, the only regret he had was being unable to contact the outside world, not even being able to say a word to his sister.
However, since Sakayanagi had already agreed to the plan of prioritizing the recruitment of combat-oriented talents, he had nothing else to talk to her about, so he walked straight back to his seat.
As soon as he sat down, Totsuka next to him excitedly leaned over. "Katsuragi-san! Look what I found?"
"Hmm?" Katsuragi was about to scold him for being so restless, when Totsuka slapped a flyer onto his desk.
"The boxing club has a match next Tuesday! Katsuragi-san, let's go watch it together, shall we? A true man can't miss such a passionate showdown!"
Boxing match? Katsuragi's first reaction was, this school actually allows boxing matches to be held? They probably paid the school points to buy the permission.
He picked up the flyer and took a closer look, immediately stunned. First Year Class C's Albert was going to face First Year Class D's Shimizu Akira?
Just looking at their physiques, the two weren't in the same weight class at all. Even if he didn't understand boxing, he knew that the one with the superior physique naturally had an advantage.
"I think, this person named Shimizu Akira is definitely going to lose! Just by looking at their height, you can tell who will win and who will lose!" Totsuka blurted out loudly, as if without thinking.
"What?!"
Not far away, Kamuro heard the sound and instinctively reacted strongly, looking over sharply.
Katsuragi was somewhat surprised. He vaguely glimpsed that Sakayanagi, who'd just been looking at her phone, seemed to have put it down and glanced faintly in their direction.
What's going on?! Do both of them know this male student named Shimizu Akira?!