Chapter 169: Didn’t Expect This, Ryuen—I’ve Been Planning for You All Along  

A two-hour class meeting wasn't enough to settle everything, but at least the basic strategy was set. Now, all that was left was to start practicing accordingly. 

During a break, Kanda Shuichi sent a message to Karuizawa, telling her to meet him in the dorm lobby later. 

After school, the students went their separate ways. Kanda Shuichi packed up his things, stood up, and glanced in Karuizawa's direction. 

Right at that moment, she looked over as well. Their eyes met, and once Kanda Shuichi confirmed she had received the message, he left the classroom and headed to the supermarket. 

When he returned to the dorm lobby, he saw Karuizawa sitting alone on the couch, playing with her phone. Every now and then, she would glance toward the entrance. 

As she lifted her head again, Kanda Shuichi, carrying a shopping bag, came into view. She quickly put her phone away and walked up to him. 

"You're back." 

She looked a bit restless, but that was expected. 

"Yeah, follow me." 

The safest place for a conversation wasn't the classroom—it was Kanda Shuichi's room. 

"Want something to drink?" 

"Anything's fine." 

Sitting on his bed, Karuizawa seemed uneasy—nervous, even. 

After handing her a bottle of oolong tea, Kanda Shuichi got straight to the point. 

"Did Ryuen ask you to hand over Class D's participant list?" 

"Yeah, that's right. But why did he come to me?" Karuizawa's anxiety was clear. 

Even though Kanda Shuichi had given her the courage to fight back, she was still afraid of her past being exposed. 

And even more so because the one who held her secret was Ryuen. 

"It's simple. Back on the cruise, I was the one who told Ryuen to deal with Manabe and her group." Kanda Shuichi twisted open his drink. "With Ryuen's insight, all he needed was a few words from Manabe to figure out your situation." 

"Th-Then what do I do? Y-You'll protect me, right?" Karuizawa looked at him with hopeful eyes. 

"Of course. I promised you, didn't I?" Kanda Shuichi reassured her with a calm look. "Besides, you don't have to worry about Ryuen. He's the type who doesn't act unless he sees a clear benefit. Now that he knows your past, he'll make full use of you." 

"You mean… he's using this to make me hand over the list?" 

That was exactly what they had been discussing. 

Back on the cruise, Kanda Shuichi had Ryuen order Manabe and her group to stop harassing Karuizawa. Ryuen followed through. 

But at the same time, Karuizawa's past was now completely exposed to Ryuen. 

Based on what he learned from Manabe and the others, it wasn't hard for Ryuen to deduce that Karuizawa had been a victim of bullying. 

And now, he was using that knowledge to blackmail her into giving up Class D's participant list. 

"Yeah. Just hand it over when the time comes." Kanda Shuichi spoke casually. 

"But… wouldn't that just prove his theory right?"

"You think just because you don't admit it, he won't find out? Don't worry. Even if he does, it's not a big deal. In fact, knowing might actually make you safer. Once your past is exposed, he won't be able to get any more useful information from Class D." 

Simply put, Karuizawa was still a valuable piece on Ryuen's chessboard. He wouldn't let her self-destruct so easily. 

Of course, this only worked if Karuizawa played along. A useful piece was worth keeping, but if she became useless, Ryuen would throw her away—after squeezing out every last bit of value. 

That's why Ryuen was so easy to understand sometimes. 

Since he wanted to use Karuizawa, why not let him? He was planning to go after Horikita, right? Well then, I'd help him out. 

Because I really wanted to see the look on his face when he realized everything was going exactly as I planned. 

"But isn't this basically betraying our class?" 

"It doesn't matter. The Red Team is going to win this sports festival anyway. And Class A isn't as strong overall as our class, so at worst, we'll lose 50 class points. No big deal." 

"Besides, if we don't feed him the right information, how are we supposed to set him up next time?" Kanda Shuichi smirked. 

"Wait… you're planning to trick him again?" 

Karuizawa was shocked. If they pushed Ryuen too far, what if he lost his temper and exposed her secret? 

"Relax. Even if we trap him, he won't reveal your past right away. A trump card is only useful if it hasn't been played yet. Once it's out in the open, it's too easy to counter." 

Karuizawa nodded hesitantly. She didn't fully understand, but she knew one thing—Kanda Shuichi had thought everything through. 

From leaking her secret to Ryuen to Ryuen trying to turn her into a spy, everything was within his calculations. 

If he had planned this far ahead, then he must have a way to deal with Ryuen, right? Karuizawa chose to believe that. 

She also started to feel that trusting Kanda Shuichi back then might have been the right decision. 

Who else would think this far ahead? 

Ryuen was nothing more than a toy in his hands, a plaything to be manipulated. 

Did Ryuen really think he had found a weakness in Class D and successfully planted a spy? 

No. It was Kanda Shuichi who made sure he found it. 

Impressive? No—what Karuizawa felt toward Kanda Shuichi wasn't just admiration. It was fear. 

After deciding on a strategy that prioritized ability, Class D began preparations for the sports festival. 

The first step… was practicing the class lineup for the opening ceremony and the entry and exit procedures for events. Turns out, this was the same no matter what country you were in. 

Kanda Shuichi followed the commands mechanically. There was no need to perfect something like this—just walking in formation was enough. After all, they were just students. There was plenty of room for mistakes. 

Over the next two days, aside from practicing the formation, they also worked on finalizing the event order. Since they needed to maximize the strength of their best athletes, this was a tricky process. 

Aside from Sudou, most of the boys were strangely overconfident in their abilities. Everyone wanted to be a top contender to win the special rewards for placing in the top three. 

Because of that, arguments broke out, and after two whole days, they still hadn't settled on an order for the boys' events. 

The girls, on the other hand, made much better progress. Aside from Horikita Suzune, there was also Onodera, who was naturally athletic, and Kushida Kikyo, who had above-average physical ability. 

As for the boys, their rankings would be decided based on a competition during gym class the next day. 

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