"Are you sure this is okay? Being in your room and all...?"


    "It''s fine. My roommate''s going to be out for a while."


    Harumi hesitantly made her way inside. Looking around the room, she tiptoed to the wall. Leaning up against it, she looked up at me.


    "So... what did you need from me?"


    "It''s pretty simple. I want you to be friends with Ichikawa Mana."


    "Eh...? What exactly do you mean?"


    "It''s what I said, get close to Ichikawa. That''s it."


    Harumi looked at me in confusion.


    I took a seat on my bed.


    "You can leave now."


    ***


    ◤━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◥


    [Fukuda Yogi POV]


    "Kanako, this is the n."


    Sitting covertly at the edge of the library, Kanako and I discussed our n for the uing marathon event.


    Several days prior, we began making preparations. After spending some points, I transferred myself to ss 2-A and Kanako to ss 2-B. Ultimately, the idea is to weaken ss 2-A and solidify Kanako''s position in it. For that reason, I''m dying her transfer to ss A.


    Under the orders of her father, my job is to ensure that Kanako stays in the school, even if I need to sacrifice myself.


    I had expected her to be more proactive, but it seemed that she was focused on something else. I was going to exin the n to her, but she was staring out the window with a weird smile on her face.


    "...ah! I can''t believe I said that to him... eeh, it was so embarrassing~"


    She covered her face, rubbing her cheeks with her sleeve.


    "Um, Kanako, can I exin the p—"


    "Oh, Fukuda, of course, go ahead."


    "Y-yeah, so basically..."


    This was the n.


    After being in ss A for a few days, I''ve noticed some things. First of all, it was a good idea to keep Kanako in ss B for the time being. There are lots of unpredictable variables in ss A, with no cohesion at all. Everyone was basically fighting each other. It was likely due to the fact that there was no mon'' enemy or goal. Unlike all of the other sses, ss A was at the top. There was nowhere else to go.


    With constant infighting, it''d be very hard to keep Kanako safe. My strategy was to let the ss self-destruct during the midterm exams. After some students get expelled or dropped to lower sses, the ss as a whole will be significantly more docile.


    Not only that, I noticed that there is quite a sense of superiority amongst many of the members of the ss. I was treated extremely harshly when I first joined, and I still have yet to gain their respect and trust... well, not that I wanted it, in particr, but I need them to ept Kanako when she transfers in.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The best way would be to bring her in during the middle of a crisis. If everyone were busy worrying about other issues, kanako would be able to slide in nonchntly.


    As such, the n was to bring down ss A during this cross-country event.


    I''d managed to form some rtionships with a few members of ss A, and together, I hatched a n to send chaos through it.


    The first part was to make ss Aest during the cross country.


    Whilst there were veryrge rewards for the fastest students, there were some pretty severe consequences for the lower-scoring ones.


    For thest six students, they would each lose 25 ss score.


    If I could fill all those spots with ss A students, then we would be able to lose 150 ss score. Even if our average running ability is rtively high, the negative points would be more than enough to make up for it.


    In thest few days, I managed to buy cooperation from a few students; Kimura, Watanabe and Yamamoto. However, I have gotten some verbal confirmation from Tachibana saying that she is willing to cooperate. Apparently, she was also nning on kicking out some students from ss A. I would need her cooperation if this n were to seed, so I might need to bribe her in some way.


    With that, hopefully, I''d be able to seed in the first step of my n. I still had a few more days on my hands after all.


    After that woulde stage two, which would ur during the midterms. If the first of my n were sessful, we would have a more difficult exam. During this stage, I would try to sabotage the ss as much as possible. Eventually, many of the students might get expelled for failing the exams.


    However, the second step of my n would require external aid. I''d need the support of someone more personable and liked within the ss. I had still yet to find a person who fits that description and who also wished to aid me, but I had plenty of time and points to do so.


    In the end, this school was a meritocracy. If there were students who strived to reach the top no matter what, I might be able to work with them.


    After all, my existence here is only temporary. There will no doubte a day when I''d need to sacrifice myself for Kanako. The only question is when.


    ***


    "I get what you''re saying, Fukuda, but I''m worried that I''ll get expelled for failing an exam."


    "That is certainly an issue. That''s why I''m going to try to get ss B to the top of the marathon event."


    "Well, I''ll start studying now, just in case."


    "That is a good idea. Do you need someone to help tutor you?"


    She leaned back on her chair.


    "Ah, well... I think I''ve had enough of being tutored for the time being."


    "That''s fine. If desperate measures are needed, I''ll fulfil them."


    "Okay~"


    I made my way out of the library.


    After this whole schism, will Kanako''s father finally recognise me? All I''ve wanted my entire life is his approval.


    Because once I get it...