COTE: Popularity System

From the perspective of the audience.

After Takada Hikaru stated that he could find the leader of Class B, the camera specifically focused on a close-up of his eyes.

After giving the audience a few seconds to appreciate it, the camera switched back to Class D, where the protagonist Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was located.

As for the situation regarding Takada Hikaru, he received a tactful rejection from Kanzaki Ryūji.

"I apologize, but I cannot make decisions for my classmates based solely on my own judgment."

Kanzaki Ryūji meant that he wanted to return to the class first, communicate with Ichinose Honami and the others, and then make a final decision.

"Ryūji, unfortunately, you no longer have a chance to choose."

Takada Hikaru left a meaningful smile, giving the other party no time to react, and turned back toward the class gathering spot.

Hearing his words, Kanzaki Ryūji's expression froze slightly, and he immediately understood what Takada Hikaru meant.

"In other words, even if we wanted to ask Takada-san for help now, there's no way?"

Kanzaki Ryūji frowned and followed him back to where his classmates were gathered.

He was merely the class's second-in-command and was not qualified to make decisions on behalf of the entire class. His previous statement about wanting to consult with the class first should, logically speaking, be unobjectionable.

However, Takada Hikaru was not satisfied with this response and stated directly that he had lost the chance to choose.

I don't get it. I truly don't understand Takada-san's intention.

Kanzaki Ryūji didn't know what he had done wrong. But he understood that the change in Takada Hikaru's attitude was definitely due to his own incorrect approach.

"Takada-san, Kanzaki-san, welcome back."

Seeing the classmates who had stepped out for a talk return, Ichinose Honami raised her arm high.

"I apologize for delaying everyone."

Kanzaki Ryūji approached Honami with a complicated expression, his mind still dwelling on why he had caused Takada Hikaru's displeasure.

"It's alright. We took the opportunity to discuss many useful things." Honami said, displaying a reassuring smile.

Then, noticing that the class's second-in-command looked uneasy, she asked in a very low voice, "Kanzaki-san, did something happen?"

"Takada-san's attitude was more positive than expected, he offered us a good defensive strategy, but my answer didn't seem to satisfy him."

Kanzaki Ryūji recounted his conversation with Takada Hikaru in an equally low voice.

Upon hearing this, Ichinose Honami's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she looked toward the purple-haired young man in front of her. "Kanzaki-san, deep down, did you disagree with Takada-san?"

Surprised that she had guessed his thoughts, Kanzaki Ryūji still nodded. "That's right. I felt that if Class B truly started with fewer points than us due to Sakayanagi's absence, now would be an even better time to widen the gap."

"Although guessing the leader is difficult, I trust Takada-san's insight. So my real thought was to have a leader set up in our class to check in, while simultaneously using Takada-san's ability to find the leaders of the other classes."

This was the option that maximized profit. Kanzaki Ryūji felt there was nothing wrong with that.

"The problem likely lies right here, Kanzaki-san."

Ichinose Honami slightly lowered her eyebrows and voiced her opinion. "Takada-san might have sensed your internal disagreement with his plan, as well as your intention to continue utilizing his ability. Feeling distrusted, he suddenly changed his attitude."

"Is that so?" Kanzaki Ryūji frowned, feeling quite confused. "But all I said was that I couldn't decide on my own and needed to discuss it with everyone."

"However, in Takada-san's mind, if Kanzaki-san trusted him, he should have first expressed approval of the plan, and then stated that he would try hard to persuade the rest of the class..." Ichinose Honami pressed a finger against her lips. "It must be that feeling."

"So that's where my mistake was?"

Hearing her analysis, Kanzaki Ryūji felt enlightened and quickly understood the reason for his failure.

He was the one asking for help, so he should have maintained a humble attitude at all times. But in the end, he thought the other party's plan was inferior and his own was superior, which led to the other party's dissatisfaction.

Although he had spoken tactfully at the time, given Takada Hikaru's insight, he must have known about the distrust in his heart.

I understand now!

Just as Kanzaki Ryūji was communicating with Ichinose Honami, Takada Hikaru returned to his friends.

Amikura Mako blinked in confusion. "Huh, what exactly is Kanzaki-san talking about with Honami? Kanzaki-san looks really agitated."

"He must have figured it out." Takada Hikaru said, looking at the thoughtful expression of the young man opposite him and revealing a satisfied smile of his own.

It seemed Kanzaki Ryūji had been led into the loop.

In reality, no matter what answer Ryūji gave initially, he would have refused to help the class, stating that they had lost their chance to choose.

This was similar to reading comprehension in literature class. Never mind what the original author actually thought, the point is to explain why the original author wrote it that way.

Takada Hikaru's intention was to refuse to help the students of Class A by deliberately finding fault.

Given the personalities of Ichinose Honami, Kanzaki Ryūji, and the others, they would only wonder where they went wrong, thus fabricating the reason for the rejection in their minds.

Oh dear.

Bullying honest people really gives you a sense of guilt.

Hoshinomiya Chie's voice rang out. "If you students have decided on a plan, hurry up and start moving. I still have to go annoy Sae-chan over in Class D later."

Hearing what their homeroom teacher said, the students of Class A found it both funny and helpless.

They felt charmed by their teacher. However, the image of the teacher in their eyes also became even more unreliable.

"Hoshinomiya-sensei, may I ask if Sakayanagi from Class B did not attend this special exam?"

Seeing that she was about to leave, Kanzaki Ryūji quickly asked the question he was most concerned about.

"That's right. Sakayanagi's body isn't suited for exercise, so she didn't attend this special exam."

Hoshinomiya Chie said with a smile, "But correspondingly, because one student couldn't participate in the exam, Class B was deducted 30 special exam points right from the start. Everyone here has a huge advantage now."

"That's good."

Hearing that the situation was exactly as Takada Hikaru had predicted, Kanzaki Ryūji breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Starting the game ahead of the opponent was indeed encouraging news.

"Everyone, do your best and strive to maintain your position in Class A."

Hoshinomiya Chie gave a playful wink, preparing to leave immediately. "I will go help you deal with Class D first. Bye-bye."