In the chaotic outdoor pool, no one seemed to notice what Amane was doing underwater.
It wasn't until Amane surfaced, carrying a flushed Shiina, that someone noticed Amane had entered the pool at some point.
"Miyako-san."
A shout came from the crowd.
It sounded somewhat familiar, probably a girl from Class D, but not familiar enough, perhaps because she hadn't gotten to know her well. Amane couldn't immediately identify whose voice it was.
The other person was also squeezed in the middle of the crowd. To see who was calling her, Amane carried Shiina to the platform next to the outdoor pool. Just then, a dark object was thrown at Amane from not far away.
Amane instinctively reached out and caught it, looking down to find it was her own jacket. Touching it carefully, she realized that despite being fought over by so many people, the jacket hadn't gotten extensively wet.
"Miyako-san, I'm over here!"
A girl happily waved at Amane.
"Onodera-san? No wonder, it's practically cheating for you, as a member of the swimming club, to compete here!"
Amane squatted down and extended her hand towards Onodera.
Shiina, held by Amane's other hand, felt a bit shy under everyone's gaze, covering her face and wriggling in Amane's arms like a kitten, eventually managing to slip away.
Onodera pushed through the crowd, grabbed Amane's hand, and smoothly exited the pool.
"Onodera, is there something you want to tell me?"
Before Onodera could speak, Amane preemptively asked.
Immediately, Onodera's entire face showed an expression of disbelief, her mouth wide open and very cute.
"Wh-why did Miyako-san know I had something to tell you?"
Onodera couldn't understand how Amane knew such a thing.
She was actually looking for Amane to help someone else, but it wasn't exactly a request. To put it bluntly, she intended to meddle.
If she wanted to meddle, only Onodera herself would know about it. Amane, however, immediately exposed her little secret, which left Onodera at a loss.
"Because Onodera-san, you had no reason to fight for it."
If Amane's thrown jacket was retrieved, Amane would usually play with them or add them as friends. These people might one day become useful pawns. As Amane's classmate, Onodera, though they had interacted before, hadn't been in touch for a long time recently.
Their relationship hadn't reached the point of playing together, let alone adding each other as friends.
Onodera had no motive to fight for it.
Yet, she risked offending others to snatch this jacket, which held a different meaning, from among the crowd of boys.
The only thing Amane could think of was that Onodera had something to ask.
"Because... your cute expression, Onodera, betrayed you."
Amane reached out and pinched Onodera's chin, her face suddenly leaning in close.
"Oh, oh, it's starting, it's starting! Where's your phone, Shinobu?"
Seeing Amane begin to engage in intimate behavior with another girl, some girls and boys started to jeer, eager to watch the show.
Many people had already started looking for their phones to take pictures.
"idiot big sister, aren't our phones in the locker?"
The girl named Shinobu pouted.
She worried about her sister's intelligence.
"Eh? That's a real shame... We might have seen a kiss today, you know."
"It wouldn't go that far, would it? Onodera isn't that kind of person."
Shinobu and Onodera had met a few times due to club activities, so she knew a bit about her personality.
"Hehe, maybe that girl named Onodera is very proper, but Amane-san isn't."
"Uh... that's true. Huh, is that Sakayanagi-san? Why is she hiding there taking candid photos?"
..."Wait, Miyako-san... I, I think I still prefer men a bit more..."
Onodera's eyes began to show panic. She had long heard rumors about Amane and had mentally prepared herself before acting, but what she hadn't expected was Amane being so bold, touching and grabbing her in front of everyone.
"It seems I still need some time to have an in-depth discussion with Onodera-san. It's too noisy here. Shall we go somewhere quieter to talk?"
Amane draped her jacket over her shoulder, casually put her arm around Onodera's waist, and slowly left the outdoor pool.
Seeing that Amane didn't do anything that would have been a feast for the eyes, there were widespread complaints of disappointment in the outdoor pool.
However, Amane would not know about these things.
At the highest point of the luxury cruise ship.
Inside a luxurious suite with a panoramic view of the entire cruise ship.
Hoshinomiya was reluctantly held by Fujiwara, watching the recent commotion.
Chabashira and Mashima next to them subconsciously ignored their behavior.
"Miyako-san becomes the center of attention wherever she goes."
Mashima-sensei gave Amane a very high evaluation.
After all, such influence had transcended class and gender. If such influence could not be used properly, it could easily turn into a tool of violence.
Amane, however, utilized her influence perfectly to achieve her goals without imposing any negative impact on others. Her sophisticated methods were something even some seasoned politicians might not be able to achieve as flawlessly as Amane.
"No, it's just because Amane understands what they want."
Fujiwara directly pointed out the key: as long as a person still had desires, they would be easily manipulated by Amane.
Because no one understood giving and satisfying better than Amane.
"Then, RIn, who do you think is stronger, Amane-san or you?"
Hoshinomiya, in Fujiwara's arms, suddenly asked this question.
Immediately, Chabashira and Mashima all turned their gaze towards Fujiwara.
Back then, Fujiwara, like Amane, was a genius under the Miyako Family name, and also famous on campus. Her physical abilities and academic performance were unmatched throughout the school.
But she was also an anomaly. Due to some special reasons, she was assigned to Class D. This was Kou-Iku's first time placing some 'flawed monsters' into Class D, setting a precedent for various seemingly unfair allocations in the future.
However, even after being assigned to Class D, Miyako Rin, as she was then, never gave up proving her strength to everyone. She abandoned the idea of integrating into the class and using collective strength to rise to Class A, instead fighting as a lone wolf. In the end, she actually managed to transfer to Class A on her own merits.
But everyone at the time knew that Miyako Rin did not have the enormous 20 million points, which could only mean that Class A had offered a large sum of points to invite Miyako Rin to join Class A.
It was already the fiercely competitive third year, and the point differences between classes were not significant. Just when everyone in her class thought Miyako Rin, even as a lone wolf, would stay with them until the end, Miyako Rin chose to join Class A, completely abandoning the class she had lived with for two years. Furthermore, during a crucial stage of a special exam, she used the dirtiest methods to betray her former class, causing two members of Class D to turn against each other and completely destroying Class D's unity. Although both sides chose to forgive each other afterward, it was too late; they had lost the most important person... Perhaps neither side truly forgave the other, but simply hid it deeply.
Later, Miyako Rin even swept through Classes B, C, and D in the pre-graduation exam as a member of Class A, solidifying her eventual graduation from Class A.
Due to her overly exaggerated comprehensive ability scores, she was also known as the strongest individual. Although her reputation wasn't very good, Miyako Rin's strength was undeniable.
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I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/SolyuraMT
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