A rumor suddenly spread through the school: Ryuen from Class 1-C had been severely beaten by Ayanokouji from Class 1-D.
Although there was no proof, Ryuen himself didn't seem to deny it.
Furthermore, someone confirmed that Ryuen was indeed injured.
Ryuen naturally wouldn't deny it, because it was he himself who spread the story.
While he didn't know why Ayanokouji was hiding his strength, Ryuen felt it was important to give the students of other classes a warning.
Even if he couldn't completely eliminate Ayanokouji, he wanted to cause him some trouble. Perhaps that was what Ryuen was thinking at that moment.
On the first day of winter break, Kamio Tatsuya was sprawled on his bed, not wanting to move.
It wasn't until almost noon, when Kamio Tatsuya wanted to get up to find something to eat, that he received a message from an unexpected person.
"Kamio-kun, you're dating Kamuro-san from Class D, right?"
Kamio Tatsuya wasn't surprised to be asked this question; what was surprising was who asked it, Karuizawa Kei from Class D.
Ever since the Sports Festival when she provided him with Class D's entry form, Kamio Tatsuya hadn't contacted her.
He had assumed he would only contact her through special exams to get information about Class D, but he never expected her to reach out first.
But what did she mean by this?
Had something happened to Kamuro?
"Yes, that's right. What's wrong?"
Since it concerned Kamuro, Kamio Tatsuya replied immediately and pulled up Kamuro's chat account, preparing to send her a greeting.
He found that she had already sent a greeting around 8 AM.
Shortly after sending his message to Karuizawa, he received a reply.
"Um, is it convenient to take a call right now?"
"Yes."
Soon, Kamio Tatsuya's phone rang. The caller was Karuizawa Kei.
"Hello, Karuizawa? What do you mean by that question? Is something wrong with Masumi?"
On the other end, Karuizawa, who was on the phone in a corner of a coffee shop, felt a pang of envy upon hearing Kamio Tatsuya's voice.
"Kamuro-san is fine," Karuizawa quickly replied. "Actually, I wanted to ask Kamio-kun for advice on matters of the heart."
Upon hearing that Kamuro was fine, Kamio Tatsuya first breathed a sigh of relief, then felt a bit strange.
Asking me for advice on love?
Are you sure you're asking the right person?
Romantic experiences between men and women aren't always transferable.
"Aren't you dating Hirata? What's going on? Are you trying to completely win Hirata over?"
"It's not me," Karuizawa's voice suddenly became a little urgent. "Actually, Sato-san came to me to discuss this topic."
"Sato... Sato Maya?"
Kamio Tatsuya still had some impression of the students in Class D.
"Yes," Karuizawa nodded. "Actually, Sato is planning to ask Ayanokouji-kun out on a date for Christmas, so she asked me for tips.
But since Hirata and I aren't really dating, I wanted to ask you for advice."
So that's how it is...
Kamio Tatsuya understood. Wait, did a strange name just pop up?
"You just said, Ayanokouji? Ayanokouji Kiyotaka?"
"Uh, yes. Is something wrong with Ayanokouji?" Karuizawa's voice was full of confusion.
Wow, Karuizawa's friend is quite unlucky.
Who could she like, but to fall for that guy Ayanokouji.
Kamio Tatsuya couldn't imagine that guy being in a relationship.
"If possible, I hope you'll stay away from that guy Ayanokouji. He's dangerous," Kamio Tatsuya's tone was full of warning.
Now it was Karuizawa's turn to be bewildered. Suddenly, she thought of something.
"By the way, I saw a post on the school forum today saying Ryuen was beaten by Ayanokouji. Is that true?"
"Yes, it's true."
"Really?" Karuizawa groaned painfully. "Doesn't that mean it's a trap? No, I can't just stand by and watch Sato jump into this pit!"
"You can rest assured about that. That guy Ayanokouji probably isn't interested in ordinary girls."
"Huh? Really?" Karuizawa first asked in surprise, then immediately asked a strange question, "Sato isn't ordinary at all! I think she's really cute."
Compared to him, she is ordinary.
"In any case, you'll figure it out. I need to prepare lunch now."
"Oh, okay. Sorry to bother you."
After hanging up, Karuizawa suddenly realized she hadn't asked about the love advice.
What's wrong?
Should I call back?
Never mind. Since Kamio said so, I shouldn't try too hard to set them up. Let's just treat it as going out to play!
Not long after Kamio Tatsuya hung up the phone, there was a knock on his door, and Kamuro walked in.
"Excuse me."
Since they planned to stay in their rooms on Christmas Eve and attend a student council party on Christmas Day, their date was scheduled for today.
According to Kamuro, she wanted to spend both the first and last days of winter break with Kamio Tatsuya.
Kamio Tatsuya naturally had no objections; in fact, he welcomed it.
"You're here. Wait a moment, I need to take a shower first."
Hearing this, Kamuro's face blushed slightly. While Kamio Tatsuya was showering, Kamuro opened the bathroom door...
The shower took quite a while. When they both came out of the room, it was almost 1 PM.
Both of them looked quite good, except Kamuro's face was a little red, and her legs were a bit shaky. If she hadn't been holding Kamio Tatsuya's arm, she probably wouldn't have been able to walk steadily.
On the other hand, Kamio Tatsuya looked smug, like a proud rooster after winning a cockfight.
"I won this battle again," he said.
Kamio Tatsuya turned his head and looked at Kamuro with a suggestive smile.
But he soon paid the price. Kamuro's expression remained unchanged, but her right hand fiercely twisted Kamio Tatsuya's waist.
Ow!
"That hurt!
Fine, fine, you want to play like this, do you? I'll remember this. We'll see how I deal with you when we get back tonight!"
A date is nothing more than eating, drinking, and having fun. Although this school has many recreational facilities, it wouldn't build a theme park for students.
Therefore, the places where he could go on a date with Kamuro were quite limited.
First, they went to have lunch. After all, Kamio Tatsuya hadn't eaten anything since morning and had already expended a lot of energy. He was very hungry.
After finishing their meal, as they were leaving the restaurant, they happened to see Sakayanagi wandering alone in the shopping mall.
Kamio Tatsuya was already pulling Kamuro to leave immediately, but unfortunately, Sakayanagi spotted them.
What's more, Sakayanagi gave Kamio Tatsuya a radiant smile and walked towards them.
Tsk, looks like I have no choice but to say hello.
"Good afternoon, Kamio-kun," Sakayanagi greeted Kamio Tatsuya. "You looked like you were trying to run away just now."
"Yes, I really didn't want to meet you on the first day of my vacation."
"You say that and it really hurts my feelings," Sakayanagi put on a sad expression and then looked at Kamuro. "And Kamuro-san too, abandoning me, your dear friend, for Kamio-kun."
Watching the attention-seeking Sakayanagi, both Kamio Tatsuya and Kamuro were speechless.
"It can't be helped. I don't think Masumi expected you to only have her as a friend after all this time since school started,"
Kamio Tatsuya taunted Sakayanagi without holding back.
"Yes, so for my sake, can I join you? It would be more lively with more people."
Wow, how can this person take advantage of the situation so easily!
"Instead of disturbing Masumi and me, why don't you go make some friends yourself? Surely there are many students in Class A who would be willing to befriend you?"
"But I'm only interested in Kamuro-san."
Looking at the persistent Sakayanagi, Kamuro felt a headache coming on. She wished she hadn't come out.
"If the students in Class A hear you say that, they'll be very sad."
"It's fine. There are no other students from other classes around here besides Kamuro-san."
Tsk, this guy is really troublesome.
"Masumi, let's go. Anyway, this guy can't keep up with our pace."
As expected, personal attacks were very effective against Sakayanagi.
"Never mind, I actually have a question for you."
"About the fight between Ayanokouji and Ryuen?"
"You know a lot. It seems you really know the inside story," Sakayanagi said with a smile.
Kamio Tatsuya wasn't surprised that Sakayanagi knew about this. High school forums had a large readership, and even if Sakayanagi didn't check them herself, someone else from Class A would have reported the news to her.
"It's true. Ryuen wanted to beat up Ayanokouji, but as expected, he was defeated instead," Kamio Tatsuya didn't intend to drag it out. He still had many things to try with Kamuro.
"I see, was it because of what happened last time?"
"Yes, it was because of that."
Kamuro was confused by their conversation.
"What happened last time?"
"It was about someone putting a letter in a mailbox saying Ichinose illegally collected points."
Kamuro suddenly understood. Yes, there was such a thing, but she quickly realized something.
"Wasn't that Ryuen who did it?"
Kamuro's words made Kamio Tatsuya and Sakayanagi look at her. Kamio Tatsuya even patted Kamuro's head with pity.
"What are you doing?"
Kamuro looked at Kamio Tatsuya, confused.
"Don't worry, Masumi. No matter how foolish you are, I won't abandon you."
"What are you talking about, idiot!"
Kamuro stomped her foot in anger at Kamio Tatsuya's words.
Then, whether intentionally or accidentally, she stepped on Kamio Tatsuya's instep.
Fortunately, Kamuro wasn't wearing high heels, and her winter shoes were thick.
"Hmm, you have a good expression, Masumi. Let me take a picture first."
Saying that, Kamio Tatsuya took out his phone and captured Kamuro's current expression.
"Stop messing around and explain what's going on!"
Kamuro snatched Kamio Tatsuya's phone.
"It's simple. Ayanokouji did that last time to attract Ryuen's attention and deliberately expose himself to Ryuen.
"What was the benefit of doing that?"
"There was," Kamio Tatsuya smiled. "You all know what kind of person Ryuen is. Once he knew someone was trying to use him, he definitely wouldn't let it go.
So, under Ayanokouji's guidance, he found out who had done it and planned to use violence to punish Ayanokouji.
In the end, he was counter-punished by Ayanokouji. That's what happened."
After a brief summary of the events, Kamuro seemed to understand, while Sakayanagi looked at Kamio Tatsuya with a knowing smile.
"You played a crucial role in this, didn't you? For example, using Ryuen to test Ayanokouji's strength."
"You're really annoying. Don't you understand the principle of not breaking what isn't revealed?"
"Is that so? Who was it that just said I couldn't make friends? Wasn't it you?"
"I was just telling the truth."
"Coincidentally, so was I."
...
"Masumi, let's go."
"Can we chat for another two minutes? You guys aren't busy, are you?" Sakayanagi said with a smile, trying to persuade them to stay. "Or are you afraid?"
Afraid?
Do I fear you?
Watch me make you break down in one move.
"Unfortunately, Ayanokouji is now entangled with Ryuen, so your day of confrontation with him is even further away."
As expected, upon hearing this, Sakayanagi's hand clenched, and her cane creaked.
Hahaha, so easily provoked?
"Unbeatable!"
"By the way, although Ayanokouji said he did that to get Ryuen's attention, is that really the truth?"
"Did you see through it?" Sakayanagi's smile lessened slightly. "He's sending me a challenge, and I've decided to accept it."
A challenge?
Kamio Tatsuya thought for a moment and understood.
"I see," then, a cold smile appeared on his face. "Then the two of you are truly not good people."
Ayanokouji's intention was simple: if you want to duel me, first defeat Ichinose, otherwise don't bother me.
And Sakayanagi had accepted this challenge.
In other words, Ichinose would be caught in their conflict.
However, Kamio Tatsuya was more curious about how Sakayanagi planned to defeat Ichinose.
"I thought you had already accepted it, after all, the Paper Shuffle ended with Class A's heavy defeat."
Mentioning this, Sakayanagi's expression grew even worse.
She could attribute her loss in the Paper Shuffle exam to Class C being too cunning, having bribed Class D, which could be seen from the several 800-point scores from Class C.
But she hadn't expected to lose to Class B.
Afterward, she obtained the exam questions for all four classes from the school.
The difficulty of the questions faced by students in Class A was one to two levels higher than those faced by the other three classes.
When their strengths were roughly equal, a loss was inevitable.
The questions were so sophisticated that they didn't seem like something first-year students could have come up with.
Later, to make her understand her loss, Kamio Tatsuya directly told her that he had advised Ryuen to hire second-year students to create the questions using points.
After getting the answer from Kamio Tatsuya, Sakayanagi wasn't actually surprised.
However, while she wasn't surprised, she still felt a sense of defeat.
At the same time, she recognized her own limitations. Her vision only extended to the first-year students, but she had overlooked the more experienced upperclassmen.
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