Their Class B had already lost two key members.

Next, even if they fought to the death with you cunning guys, it would probably be more than justified.

However, when the words came to her mouth, they turned into something else.

"What else can I do? You already know the identity of the VIP Student. Even if I say I want to retaliate against you now, you can calmly stop my actions, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't have told me all this." Honami Ichinose seemed somewhat dejected.

Compared to Kaoru Mitoma or other leaders, her abilities seemed lacking.

"If you want to retaliate, then retaliate. I never said I would stop you," Kaoru Mitoma habitually patted her head.

"On the contrary, I'm surprised you're willing to listen to me say all this."

Although Honami Ichinose had joked during the day about wanting him to pat her head, when he actually did it, she felt a strong sense of strangeness, as if someone was tickling her, causing a fine layer of goosebumps all over her body, feeling somewhat ashamed.

She had always been the older sister.

Not to mention comforting her, usually, no one would make such a gesture towards her.

"But wouldn't this cause trouble for you?"

Compared to climbing to Class A, Honami Ichinose cared more about how the people around her would feel, even if they weren't members of her own class.

"No, it's precisely because I want you to act that I'm meeting you here," Kaoru Mitoma felt the situation was quite favorable, especially with the faint scent emanating from her, subtly stimulating his primal instincts.

"Sakayanagi believes I'll go all in, so her approach is similar to mine—deliberately luring the other side into acting impulsively. This trap is her way of returning the favor."

Kaoru Mitoma clearly understood what Arisu Sakayanagi was thinking.

Since the start of the term, she had been observing him, fully aware of his style.

Not long ago, she had even further deciphered his personality through a game of chess.

In her eyes, he was probably someone who enjoyed setting traps and taking risks.

Moreover, there was a certain... lustfulness.

Faced with the opportunity to turn Arisu Sakayanagi into a little maid, who wouldn't be tempted to charge right in?

Thus, Arisu Sakayanagi seized this moment to suddenly turn the tide into a draw.

Though it wasn't her victory, not losing meant there was still a chance.

Next time, she would get serious.

"What did Sakayanagi say to you?" Kaoru Mitoma asked.

"She wants to collaborate with Class B to achieve Result One in the Rat, Rooster, and Pig groups, but she didn't tell me who the VIP is," Honami Ichinose added, "I ran into her on my way back to my room after the evening group discussion."

In fact, Arisu Sakayanagi had already hinted at it.

Both Honami Ichinose and Kakeru Ryuen could grasp the situation of the VIPs in their classes.

They were most likely to deduce the pattern based on the existing information.

"Without a doubt, she'll also inform Class D and then wait for the situation to change. If we counterattack, she'll have an excuse to question us. If we don't, we'll have to watch the other classes compete with us for points and she can still question our decision."

At this point, Kaoru Mitoma couldn't even doubt Arisu Sakayanagi, because if she wanted to achieve Result One, she naturally had to interact with students from other classes.

Moreover, she hadn't revealed the identity of the VIP.

Now, Arisu Sakayanagi had presented two choices: to end the exam early before Class C or other classes could act, but this would lead to Class A itself being attacked, thereby undermining Result One, with all the responsibility falling on Katsuragi and Kaoru Mitoma.

And there was no way to explain it.

After all, the exam in the Ox group could also be the result of a student's individual actions, so there was no need to make a fuss.

The other option was not to counterattack, letting the other classes compete with Class A for points, and then being questioned by Arisu Sakayanagi—why, despite knowing the answer in advance, did they end up earning so little?

Furthermore, if she successfully achieved Result One, the situation in Class A would once again become a two-sided struggle.

"This is so troublesome. I suddenly regret listening to you," Honami Ichinose felt her thoughts were in disarray, unsure if it was because of what he said or the earlier strangeness.

"I also find it troublesome, but she's mistaken about one thing," Kaoru Mitoma said quietly.

"She, like others, thinks class points are very important to me."

Honami Ichinose looked at him in confusion.

Wasn't that the case?

To win the bet and lead Class A to gain more class points, wasn't that the natural thing to do?

"Did you agree to Sakayanagi-san's proposal?"

"No, I said I'd consider it."

"Good. When the time comes, your Class B will be responsible for attacking Class A's VIP."

"Wait, wait, what are you talking about?"

Honami Ichinose was completely dumbfounded.

Wouldn't this lead to even greater losses for Class A?

However, Kaoru Mitoma seemed indifferent.

"Only by comparing can we highlight the advantages. As long as Class A is in a better state than the other classes, there won't be too many complaints, and we can't just leave you alone anyway."

Since Honami Ichinose would eventually figure out the identity of the VIP student, it was better to let her act under his watch.

This way, the risks would be minimized.

Another reason was simpler: it would make Arisu Sakayanagi lose her composure.

For some reason, after hearing this, Honami Ichinose nervously averted her gaze.

After a while, she whispered, "Is it really okay?"

"Of course it is. In fact, I wanted to ask if it's okay with you, since I'm the one who requested it."

"Couldn't you ask someone from Class D to help?"

"No, only you can do it."

Perhaps Kaoru Mitoma felt the need to give a more detailed explanation, or perhaps it was because Honami Ichinose's slightly lowered eyebrows and exposed earlobes were too alluring.

He couldn't help but lean in closer, blowing a gentle breath near the girl's ear.

In an instant, Honami Ichinose was startled.

A faint blush crept up from her pale neck, coloring the delicate fuzz on her earlobes.

A look of panic flashed in her eyes, thinking he was about to do something indecent again.

She instinctively wanted to push him away, but then she heard him softly say a few words and she froze in place, dumbfounded.

"...That's the plan, so I'm counting on you, Honami-chan."

When he said "Honami-chan," Honami felt goosebumps rise all over her body.

It was as if someone was tickling her ears with a feather, the tingling sensation making her heart race uncontrollably.

Her cheeks were burning and her blood was rushing so fast that her head felt a little dizzy.

"You're... so sneaky, ugh..."

Kaoru Mitoma looked at her, puzzled.

Was she scolding him, or something else?

Noticing his strange gaze, Honami felt even more embarrassed.

"Did I make you feel uncomfortable?"

"N-no... I'm just a bit hot... It's fine, is this all you needed?"

It was such a cool evening, why would she feel hot?

Even Honami herself thought the excuse was lame.

She wanted to cover her face and hide somewhere no one could see her.

"Should I walk you back?" Kaoru Mitoma seemed oblivious to her awkwardness and instead seemed concerned about her well-being.

Honami stared at him blankly.

Was he telling her to go back and rest?

Wait, since when did you become so gentle?

Shouldn't you be pouncing on me like before and doing something indecent?

Although it was only occasional glances, as a beautiful girl who always attracted attention, Honami was fully aware of where Kaoru Mitoma was looking.

First, it was her chest, then her thighs and hips and sometimes he would even stare intently at her delicate feet, making her feel a little nervous every time.

While others might just look, Kaoru Mitoma would actually pounce.

She knew that boys often thought about indecent things.

Ever since she decided to use rewards to tempt Kaoru Mitoma, Honami had secretly read some manga.

She knew that couples inevitably did strange things and while blushing, she had learned quite a bit of new knowledge.

Including tonight's outfit.

Boys seemed to have a strange fascination with girls' shorts, especially student gym uniforms.

Seeing Kaoru Mitoma staring at her thighs, Honami thought he was about to do something indecent again, but instead, he simply held her hand.

Holding hands was nice, it showed that he was restraining himself and that he didn't just see Honami as an outlet for his desires.

But this actually left Honami feeling a bit dumbfounded.

Not that she liked doing indecent things with Kaoru Mitoma, but she wouldn't stop him from getting handsy either.

It didn't mean she wanted it okay!.

For no particular reason, girls were just complicated creatures, sometimes even they didn't know what they were thinking.

In any case, a Kaoru Mitoma who didn't do indecent things with her felt so awkward!

It was like a character in an anime had their personality completely changed, and Honami felt very uncomfortable with it.

"It's about time to go back... If I stay out too late, Mako-chan and the others will definitely suspect that I'm hiding something from them."

Since he didn't seem to have any intentions of getting intimate, Honami Ichinose saw no reason to stay any longer.

After all, her excuse wasn't strong enough to justify staying out for too long.

However, Kaoru Mitoma suddenly grabbed her hand just as she was about to turn away.

"If you take me back, someone might..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Honami Ichinose's voice abruptly stopped.

Kaoru Mitoma had wrapped his arm around her waist and gently pressed his lips against hers.

Honami didn't close her eyes.

Instead, she widened them in surprise, feeling as though she was melting into his embrace.

The warmth of his body made her eyelashes tremble slightly, and her breathing gradually became heavier.

A faint blush spread across her delicate cheeks, and the sound of their kiss made her ears burn.

"I almost forgot, I haven't touched your sports shorts yet."

His fingers mischievously slid down her slender waistline, landing on her perky ass.

Through the thin fabric, he could feel the slight contours beneath, unable to see the details but sensing a plump, alluring roundness.

"Mmm... P-please don't do this outside... What if someone sees us...?"

Honami's face turned bright red, but deep down, she felt a strange sense of relief.

This guy really hadn't changed at all.

"Honami-chan, you've been expecting this, haven't you?" Kaoru whispered in her ear.

"Wearing these clothes, taking a shower beforehand, and even sneaking glances at me... You wanted to do something naughty, didn't you? Such a naughty girl."

As he gently nibbled on her earlobe, Honami shuddered and a wave of intense shame washed over her.

She began to struggle against Kaoru's embrace as if she had been electrocuted.

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