Intertwined Emotions

After the meeting with Ibuki, Hashima returned to his dormitory. Sitting at his desk, he thought back to the scene that had unfolded earlier.

Ichinose Honami had fixed him with an intense gaze, asking if he would lie to her one day. Though surprised by this unexpected question, Hashima had quickly responded.

"Of course not. Ichinose-san and I will always be close allies. I'll never lie to you."

"Yet, Hashima-kun could lie without me noticing."

"Ichinose-san is overthinking. All this is for the class competition."

"But I suddenly have this feeling... if one day Hashima-kun lied to me," Ichinose's voice took on a strange tone, "I couldn't detect it."

"..."

"It's an illusion. Without Class B, I wouldn't lie. You can consider it a tactic."

"Well, I'll walk you to your dormitory. Don't overthink it."

"Mmh."

Though she nodded, her expression remained troubled. Without insisting, Hashima accompanied her to the elevator.

"Something's off... Did I react badly?"

Recalling the day, Hashima didn't understand what had triggered this reaction. He remembered that the [Ichinose Honami Action] indeed mentioned that lying to her would lower her rating.

"But I've never lied to her, that's undeniable."

He opened the system's [Action] interface. Ichinose's rating was still at 120, proof this incident hadn't affected her opinion.

Moreover, if Ichinose was truly opposed to lying, she wouldn't have covered for him earlier. Faced with competition, she knew how to be pragmatic.

"Is she... testing my reactions?"

He thought back to the system's message: *[Ichinose Honami, deeply touched by your 20-million-point plan, develops new feelings for you.]*

Since obtaining the system, Hashima knew exactly what he wanted: to graduate from this school.

Of course, he had nothing against Ichinose. Physically and morally, she was an exceptional young girl—kind, caring.

But for now, he had too much to do: help Class B, train, discover new actions, use the system to reinvent himself... He couldn't waste this second chance. Entertaining himself along the way without truly taking responsibility in a relationship. That was his plan.

Initially, he had considered selling the actions at their peak and fleeing to avoid sentimental complications.

But after using the [Action Analyzer], he knew a rating drop would require hurting the person.

That could become tricky.

Having taken stock, Hashima shook his head to clear these thoughts and refocused on class strategies—his true concerns.

The next morning, after his daily workout, Hashima entered Class B with his breakfast, greeted warmly by his classmates.

"Good morning Hashima-kun!"

"Hi Hashima-kun."

"Good morning everyone."

At his seat, he noticed Ichinose was already there, writing something in her notebook.

"Good morning, Ichinose-san." He took the lead.

"Mmh, good morning Hashima-kun."

Her smile was as radiant as usual. "I'm compiling information on Classes C and D that everyone gathered. You can use it on Friday."

"Thanks, but I could've handled it."

"Not at all! You already have enough to do with the strategies." Her expression became concerned. "Even if I'm the leader, I rely on you a lot."

"Okay, in that case, I'll take the opportunity to rest a bit."

Neither mentioned their conversation from the previous day, as if it had never happened.

Around 2 PM, while solving a problem, Hashima felt a hand on his shoulder. Ichinose handed him her phone.

"Ibuki-san convinced Ryūen. Meet at 4:30 PM, on the second floor of the special building."

"The second floor... I see."

Hashima rubbed his tired eyes. That floor housed special rooms—they'd need a key.

"Should we go just the two of us? Or with others?" asked Ichinose.

"Let's take Kamizaki-kun and Shibata-kun. No need for the girls."

"Okay."

"Maybe... Ichinose-san should stay here," he hesitated. "Provoking Ryūen is risky. I don't know how he'll react."

"No way."

Ichinose refused categorically, her face determined. "This plan is ours. I must see its result."

"And Ibuki-san will be there. She can handle Ryūen."

Seeing she wouldn't yield, Hashima nodded, hoping everything would go well.

Before the end of classes, he borrowed a key from Hoshinomiya Chie for a science lab, then informed Ibuki.

After confirmation, he explained the plan to Kamizaki and Shibata.

"Got it!" Shibata seemed excited. "We'll hide to film Ryūen in the act!"

"I understand your concerns. Ryūen is dangerous. If he goes too far, I'll intervene."

Kamizaki exuded confidence, making Shibata laugh, "You didn't know? This guy's pretty tough in a fight!"

"Really?"

Hashima and Ichinose stared at him. The purple-haired boy simply nodded.

"Perfect. Kamizaki-kun will be our secret weapon."

"Then let's go! Operation against Ryūen starts now!"