The strongest high school student in Japan

He did not regret this impulse, but when he calmed down, he thought of his senior and Mayu again.

It’s true that I’m very happy when I’m with Asana, but I’m also very happy when I’m with them…?

Which one is happier? A question suddenly flashed through his mind.

For a moment, he was a little confused and couldn't find an answer that he could be sure of. This was quite rare for him.

Although the time spent together as these three people varied, they all left a deep impression on him, and made him feel touched and very happy.

The most important thing is that they are all very close to me, willing to entrust their trust to me, and admire me to some extent.

To be honest, it is something to be proud of to be able to gain the trust and admiration of any one of them.

So...what should we do?

This question made him feel embarrassed.

But after a moment, he felt relieved.

He had discussed this issue with Okabe Kaoru before. Hadn't he found the answer?

In this glorious age when we can squander our youth, why do we have to figure out who is better?

What answer? I don’t need any answer at all now!

"If everyone is happy, then why don't we all be friends?" He whispered to himself, and then his mood immediately relaxed.

"Eh? Jun...what are you talking about?" Asana was a little confused by his sudden words.

"... cough... cough... I didn't say anything. I just suddenly felt something like that. Don't take it seriously." Mogami Jun coughed a few times and tried to fool the man.

Then, the two of them looked at the sky in the distance at the same time, looking at the dividing line between the waxy yellow and dark blue in the sky. The line was getting shorter and shorter, and it seemed that it was about to disappear below the horizon.

The last remaining light before night fell on the path, pavilion and surrounding buildings, and the shadows were changing and looming.

"So beautiful." Asana whispered.

"Yes, it's very beautiful." Mogami Jun nodded, "I have been staying here but have never appreciated such scenery. Thanks to you, I have discovered something that I have been missing..."

"I heard from your father that he also graduated here?" Asana asked suddenly.

"Yeah." Jun Mogami nodded.

"It seems this is a family tradition..." She suddenly became quieter. "So... maybe your children will be here in the future... I wonder if they will be as good as you..."

"Hmm?" Because the voice was too low, Mogami Jun didn't hear it clearly. "What?"

"Nothing, just a joke—" Asana looked at Mogami Jun with a smile.

"what……"

This smile looked so bright in the heavy twilight of the setting sun that Jun Mogami was stunned for a moment and just stared at her face quietly.

The two of them stared at each other for a long while, then suddenly felt a little embarrassed and turned their faces away.

Regardless, it's time to go.

Mogami Jun stood up again, facing the setting sun, which was only a little bit left, and stretched lazily, "Okay, it's getting late, and we've rested enough, shall we go?"

"Well! Let's go!" Asana didn't ask any further questions, but nodded meekly, then stood up and walked to the side of Mogami Jun.

Then, the two of them walked around the campus one after the other, just like before, taking advantage of the last bit of light before sunset to take photos at a place that Mogami Jun thought was memorable.

Good times are always very short. When night fell, Asana's journey finally ended. Under the guidance of Jun Mogami, they returned to the door of the administrative building where they were temporarily staying with a bunch of photos in their mobile phone.

"Goodbye!" The two waved goodbye, and then Jun Mogami watched her return to the building until she disappeared.

Today's mission has been completed and it's time to leave.

However, he did not turn around and leave. Instead, he stayed where he was, quietly waiting for something.

"How is it? You two, are you having fun?" Sure enough, he didn't have to wait long before he heard a greeting from the side.

"I'm very happy." Mogami Jun nodded, "Thank you Umemiya-senpai for enlightening me--"

"You look so smug, you must have succeeded, right?" Umemiya Natsuki walked out from the shadows, still with a slightly mocking smile on her face, "Poor Asana, you're being fooled by that brat again."

"You can't say that, I didn't lie to her!" Mogami Jun quickly defended himself, "Besides, I just followed the instructions of my senior to tell Asana!"

"What exactly did you say?" asked Princess Xia of Meigong.

"I say we can forget about the blind date and interact in a normal way to see how far our bond can go," replied Jun Mogami.

Then, he repeated almost everything the two of them had said to Umemiya Natsuhime, except for the small incident where Asana secretly switched the draw lots.

"Isn't this amazing? I didn't realize you were quite skilled?!" Umemiya Natsuki frowned slightly and looked at Mogami Jun with some confusion.

"Is the performance not good?" Mogami Jun asked back.

"No, it's because you performed so well that it's a bit scary..." Umemiya Xiafei shook her head, "Forget it, since you have done everything I said, then I have nothing to blame you for. You have fulfilled your promise, and I have no right to care about what happens to you in the future. Anyway... no matter how far you two go, I ask you to take care of Asana and don't hurt her. I beg you."

"I will, senior." Mogami Jun bowed and solemnly promised Umemiya Natsuki.

Then, he raised his head and looked at Meigong Xiafei again, "By the way, senior sister, I have a question I want to ask you--"

"What's the problem?" Umemiya Xiafei looked at Mogami Jun, "I'm in a good mood now, so just ask me. I'll tell you everything I know."

"I heard from my grandfather before that Asana's parents are very fond of collecting cultural relics. Is that true?" asked Jun Mogami.

"Yes, their family has actually had this hobby since the previous generation, and has accumulated it for decades, so the current generation has a very rich collection." Mei Gong Xia Fei answered calmly. "I heard that he is quite famous in the collecting world."

Although she said so, there was no sign of admiration, envy, or any other emotion in Umemiya Natsuhi's expression. She was just making a casual statement - Mogami Jun noticed it immediately.

Does she look down on the Izumo family's collection because her family is more powerful, or does she know something else?

Maybe it's both?

But this is not very important.

"So, this kind of collector should also be involved in art transactions? Using the money from selling collections to buy new collections, etc..." Mogami Jun asked again. "Otherwise, it's hard to imagine how they can maintain such a large stall, after all, a large amount of cash is lying in the bank--"

Umemiya Xia Fei looked up in surprise, glanced at him, then lowered her eyes slightly, looking a little unhappy.

"Does a high school student need to care about such vulgar things?" she asked coldly.

"If it has something to do with me, I have to care about it, right?" Mogami Jun did not back down under her momentum and continued to ask. "So the answer to my question is yes or no?"

"Did you hear any rumors?" Umemiya Xia Fei still did not directly answer Mogami Jun's question, but asked him back, "Did anyone say anything unpleasant to you?"

Although she did not give a direct answer, it was obvious that she had confirmed Jun Mogami's question.

It seems that what the chairman secretly told him might be true.

The current head and wife of the Izumo family might have really used some unscrupulous means to resell artworks in private, and they might even be fakes.

This matter really had nothing to do with him, but since he said he wanted to help Asana fight against her parents and take back control of her own destiny, it did have something to do with him.

Furthermore, the new information obtained from Asana also made Jun Mogami feel that it would be better to know more about the situation of the Izumo family.

Asana and him met in a shrine, which means that there was a bit of mystery from the beginning.

Personally, he did not believe in this kind of feudal superstition, but that was not important. What was important was that Asana's parents believed in it very much.

This was not just a general level of trust, but the extent to which he arbitrarily decided his daughter's lifelong affairs simply based on the result of the lottery...

If it weren't for Asana's sudden wit in turning a disaster into a blessing, there would probably be no need for him and Asana to meet again.

But can this lie really last forever? If the lie is exposed, it is not difficult to imagine what Asana's parents will do when they learn the truth.

Jun Mogami didn't want to rely on some vague gods or luck to establish a bond between himself and Asana.

So no matter what, he had to figure out the situation first.

While he was pondering, Meigong Xia Fei also regained her composure.

She cleared her throat and spoke, "Mogami-kun, even if someone told you something, why do you have to ask so many questions? In life, in order to protect the family, every family is bound to have some stains, more or less, what's so strange about this? Besides, as long as it is not seen and not exposed in broad daylight, the stain is not a stain. Everyone can still pretend that nothing happened and call each other brothers. Isn't this what the so-called upper class celebrities and dignitaries are all about...?"

"Don't worry, Umemiya-senpai. I've lived this long, so I naturally know the limits and won't meddle in other people's business." Mogami Jun smiled, "But can you promise me? If Asana falls out with her parents one day, please stand by Asana and me."

"You and Asana?" Umemiya Natsuki keenly noticed the difference and was a little surprised.

"Is it okay?" Jun Mogami did not explain, but continued to ask.

Princess Umemiya was silent.

After a moment, she sighed and nodded slightly.

"Of course..."

184, Winning and Fighting

With the arrival of the weekend holiday, the English debate competition scheduled to be held at Kita Akabane Academy also started as scheduled.

Just like the last competition held at Diyuan Girls' School, members of the two debate teams came to the school auditorium one after another, and then the referees took their seats. After a set process, the competition began.

Some students also came here as spectators. There were not many of them, and they just sat sparsely under the podium.

Obviously, for ordinary students, they don’t care who wins or loses in this kind of debate, and no one wants to waste their precious holiday time here.

However, among this audience, there are some unusual people.

Campus idol Mayu Takasaki and her classmate and friend Ayami Fujiyoshi came here to sit in on the school's debate competition.

Of course, the reason that prompted her to come here was not so much the honor of the school, but rather the desire to see someone perform brilliantly.

As the captain of the school's debate team, his ability must have been recognized by the school, no doubt about it, but Zhenyou still wanted to see with her own eyes just how eloquent he was.

Under her instigation, although Fujiyoshi Ayami had no interest in the debate at all, she had to follow along reluctantly.

Soon, the debate began in their presence.

The topic of today's debate is "Which is more important, efficiency or equality?" The Kita Akabane Gakuen debate team is on the affirmative side and needs to prove that efficiency is more important, while the girls' school is on the negative side and is responsible for proving that equality is more important.

During the brief interval, the two teams discussed with each other, unified their respective countermeasures, and then officially began the verbal confrontation.

"…We believe that although equality is very important and is the cornerstone of the entire legal system in modern society, efficiency is more important because we have to admit a reality - that is, equality is more of an economic issue than a legal issue. Maintaining social equality requires the consumption of huge amounts of social resources, such as subsidies for backward industries in backward areas and welfare for the lower classes. If the economy is weak, then empty calls for equality are meaningless. At the same time, only an efficient society can have a prosperous economy and lay the foundation for social equality."

As the team leader, Jun Mogami spoke first.

"We oppose the argument of the other debater." The captain of the other debater, Umemiya Natsuhi, began her argument. "We believe that in modern society, equality takes precedence over any value judgment. I'm afraid we have all heard of the Matthew effect, which means that in the economic market, the strong will always be stronger. If you blindly pursue so-called efficiency, then the strong will eventually occupy all resources - and the strong are always cold and ruthless. The reason why they pursue efficiency is not for any social value, but to squeeze every penny of profit. The strong will continue to absorb social wealth through the monopoly they have established until they occupy all social resources and let everyone else fall into poverty or destitution. Therefore, blindly pursuing so-called efficiency will not bring equality, but will only make the upper and lower classes more unequal, and eventually tear the entire society apart. This situation is not uncommon in the world now. I think reality is enough to show who is right and who is wrong."

"We are not simply asking for equality to give way to efficiency, we are just saying that efficiency should be given priority. In fact, modern governments are responsible for regulating social wealth and combating monopoly through taxation and other means." Mogami Jun quickly retorted, "It is obvious that both the industry and academia need to concentrate resources and improve efficiency. Only in this way can we avoid wasting social wealth. If we insist on so-called equality and insist on cutting off the feet of tall people to accommodate the height of others, then we will never be able to achieve true equality. It will only make people never dare and never be willing to make the right decisions, and society will only stagnate."

"Of course the most efficient approach is to distribute resources to a very small number of people. However, if a society cannot equally protect everyone's natural rights and allow everyone to benefit from the so-called economic prosperity, if its so-called prosperity is just a carnival for a very small number of people to divide up the wealth, then does its prosperity or decline have anything to do with the general public?" Umemiya Xiafei put forward her own counter-argument, "In fact, no society can afford the indifference and despair of the masses, and so-called efficiency will eventually destroy such a society."

"Even just a few decades ago, this country once dreamed of a 100 million middle class. At that time, companies everywhere were still implementing the seniority system, and the order of promotion was determined by seniority, and everyone was promoted equally. But what did they get in the end? Companies were overstaffed, and unsuitable people got to the top of the company, which eventually led to the decline of the company. There are thousands or tens of thousands of such examples in Japan, and finally people learned from their mistakes and began to reform." Mogami Jun looked at the other party with a smile, "The so-called fantasy of equality, isn't Japan also unable to hold on now? Reality is more important than slogans."

……

Although the two debate teams were eloquent and arguing fiercely on the podium, Fujiyoshi Ayami was not interested in it. Instead, she felt a little sleepy. If it weren't for Mayu's face, she would have stood up and left.

However, Zhenyou, who was next to her, was listening attentively, with her eyes always on the members of the debate competition.

How strange, why did Yuzu-chan suddenly develop such an interest? Fujiyoshi Ayami thought.

Subconsciously, her eyes began to wander over the faces of these team members.

Because these people were all speaking English, and her English was not very good, the people on both sides spoke so fast that she basically could not keep up and had no idea what they were saying.

As an ordinary high school girl, she cared more about their expressions and... appearance than what they said.

"Yuzu-chan, why do I feel like they don't have any intention of getting on edge? They seem more like close friends..." After a while, Fujiyoshi Ayami whispered in Mayu's ear, "Are the girls in the girls' school too uncompetitive? So winning or losing doesn't matter to them? Are we relaxed because we won last time?"

Indeed, the atmosphere between the two teams was very good. There was no tension between the two teams during a competition, but rather it felt like a debate between friends during a normal chat.

Fujiyoshi Ayami didn't understand why this happened, and ultimately could only attribute it to the fact that "neither side cared about winning or losing."

"Yuzu-chan doesn't quite understand either..." Takasaki Mayu reacted, then suddenly forced a smile and answered in a low voice. "Maybe... maybe that's the reason."

Fujiyoshi Ayami looked at their faces again.

"There are boys on one side and girls on the other. It's more like a large social gathering than a competition." Fujiyoshi Ayami accidentally hit back. "Both sides are pretty. The girls' school is fine, but do we also choose people based on their looks...?"

"How could that be? You think too much..." Although Zhenyou still maintained a smile, there was a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

"Even if that's the case, there's nothing strange about it..." Fujiyoshi Ayami smiled and made a joke, "You see, boys and girls will always be more lenient when facing the opposite sex, especially those who are good-looking-"

"Aya-chan, just watch their game carefully - let's not disturb others." Takasaki Mayu interrupted in a low voice.

……

Fujiyoshi Ayami originally wanted to say something, but seeing Mayu's forced smile, she didn't dare to say anything more.

As Zhenyou's friend and follower for many years, she has long been familiar with Zhenyou's emotional changes beneath the surface, so now she can see that the other party is very impatient, so she can only force herself to change the subject.

Huh? It was just a joke, why is she suddenly angry? She was a little confused.