The meeting between Amane and Nagumo Miyabi naturally ended on bad terms.
Alone in the elevator, Amane even began to question why she had sought out Nagumo Miyabi; his every action was so childish.
Perhaps he had never encountered setbacks in his life before, or perhaps he had never faced opponents of the same or higher caliber, which resulted in his presumptive way of acting.
He believed he was correct.
He believed things would unfold as he expected, and that his planned outcome would definitely be achieved.
What kind of ridiculous logic is that? Thinking of Nagumo Miyabi, who, even when both sides clearly knew the truth, was still lying about helping her deal with Ichinose, Amane couldn't help but want to laugh out loud.
When… did she ever need someone's help with such despicable methods? Of course, some minor tricks weren't entirely unusable; in fact, Amane was very keen on using the smallest cost to fool or defeat her opponent.
But she believed in equivalent exchange.
Horikita established a truly binding contract between them by helping her ascend to Class A, and Amane transitioned from an observer to a chess player.
Matsushita, at her own expense, made a pact with Amane to ensure Class D would no longer be mocked and would advance. Even if Matsushita didn't explicitly state the true goal, Amane still knew Matsushita also desired to graduate with the glorious status of Class A.
So she agreed to Matsushita's request. Thus, on the Uninhabited Island, everyone except Class D became Amane's backdrop. All classes became stepping stones for Class D, and Matsushita truly became willing to contribute her strength.
Ayanokoji, needless to say, when it came to mutual trust, although he and she were not perfectly compatible in every aspect and had different views on things, the trust between them was the most solid. As long as Ayanokoji wanted to graduate from this school as a 'human,' he had to rely on Amane.
And he could only earnestly fulfill Amane's trade condition of leading Class D to Class A.
Finally, Karuizawa, who sacrificed her freedom in exchange for Amane's protection. Since the deal had been struck, Amane would always keep her promise, until the other party broke the agreement.
In Amane's view, methods that only benefited oneself would inevitably not last long. If your followers couldn't even get scraps, then why should you expect them to dedicate loyalty and strength to gather around you?
Drip.
With the sound of the elevator doors opening, Amane's thoughts came to an abrupt halt.
Looking up, a man and a woman outside the elevator looked somewhat familiar, but Amane didn't have a deep impression of them.
At first, Amane thought it was a hallucination, but just as they brushed past each other, the other party's quiet discussion made Amane stop.
"How unlucky, to meet her in a place like this again. If she finds out about Student Ichinose's matter, there's no doubt we'll be mocked."
"Shh, lower your voice."
The boy cautiously reminded the girl beside him. He looked back to see Amane calmly watching the two of them. Startled, they quickly pressed the floor button and closed the elevator doors.
"Has Class B become a frightened bird? Or… does Shibata simply lack the ability to control Class B?"
Amane murmured to herself. She suddenly wanted to meet Ichinose. She wanted to see what Ichinose would be like under such public scrutiny: would she be wallowing in self-pity, completely demoralized, or would she rise against the tide and use this opportunity to turn the tables on Shibata?
Amane arrived at Ichinose's dorm and knocked on the door.
"Who is it? Huh? Why is it you…?"
The purple-haired girl looked at Amane with disgust.
"I'm here for Ichinose. I have something I want to discuss with her."
Amane had something on her mind and had no time to waste talking to such a minor character.
"How dare you come looking for Honami? Haven't the rumors you spread outside hurt Honami enough? How dare you come here to provoke us, do you really think Class B is a soft persimmon to be squeezed?"
Motofuji-san's words made Amane frown.
It wasn't because of her aggressive attitude, but because the phrase accusing Amane of being the culprit behind the rumors made Amane sense something unusual.
"Whether I spread the rumors or not is beside the point, but you are soft persimmons, that much is undeniable."
Amane directly bumped past her shoulder and walked into the dormitory.
Ichinose sat on her bed, hugging her knees, head bowed, looking utterly dejected and silent.
"You… you…!"
"You're too loud."
Amane's voice was extremely cold.
The girl, who was about to reach out and grab Amane, froze completely, too scared to move.
"I need to talk to Ichinose for a few minutes. I hope you can wait outside."
"But… but our Class B dormitory…"
"Can't you hear me? Get out!"
"Amane!"
Ichinose's voice slightly calmed Amane's anger.
"Motofuji-san, please step outside for a moment. Amane and I have something to discuss."
Ichinose's words were like a great pardon for the girl, who, with trembling legs, dared not retort a single word and quickly stumbled out.
"Why did you have to scare Motofuji-san? She only heard those rumors secondhand… I'll apologize for her. I'm very sorry."
Watching Ichinose, who was visibly exhausted with thick dark circles under her eyes, lower her head and apologize, Amane felt a sense of unreality.
Her intuition told her something was amiss, but Ichinose's sincere attitude left her with no room to question.
"I wasn't concerned about that, but is her name also Motofuji? I remember there was a Motofuji Rika in Class C."
Ichinose looked up and thought carefully.
"I noticed that before and asked her; she said she didn't know any Motofuji Rika, and they don't look very similar, so they shouldn't be blood relatives. I also privately asked others to discreetly inquire, and it seems there's no problem."
On the surface, they were just discussing this girl with the coincidentally same surname, but in reality, Amane was inquiring about the background of this girl named Motofuji.
This girl named Motofuji and she had met once before at the cinema, and at that time, her attitude towards Amane was exceptionally hostile.
However, since Ichinose said there was no connection between this Motofuji and the one in Class C, Amane felt a little relieved.
After all, if Ichinose had a Class C spy openly active by her side, all of Class B's information would be completely exposed to Class C.
Ichinose had a very wide network, and since she had already investigated, Amane didn't need to do it again, as Amane wasn't that invested in Class B's situation.
For a moment, the room fell silent.
Finally, Amane broke the deadlock.
"Ichinose, are you doing alright recently?"
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