"Senpaku, I am Sakamoto. What brings you here?"

……

Directly above the swimming pool, overlooking the entire second floor of the venue,

There is a row of rooms used for management and observation.

One of the rooms had its windows completely covered by heavy blinds.

The room was pitch black.

It's a completely different world from the bright and noisy pool downstairs.

A hand gently parted a slat of the Venetian blinds.

A narrow gap was revealed.

A pair of sharp, hawk-like eyes

Through this gap, I calmly looked down at everything around the pool below.

His gaze was extremely precise, first sweeping over the D class students frolicking in the pool with an indifferent look.

It then swept past the students who had formed small groups or were lost in thought by themselves by the pool, finally landing on the two figures sitting on the shore, seemingly out of place with their surroundings—

On Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Horikita Suzune—

It paused for a few seconds.

A moment later, the hand withdrew, and the slats of the blinds quietly closed.

in the dark,

A deep, authoritative male voice rang out; the voice was not loud.

But it could be clearly heard in the quiet room:

"First-year Class A, Sakamoto. First-year Class C, Ryuen Sho."

He paused slightly, as if savoring the two names.

"Congratulations. This month, you and your classes have earned 1000 and 910 points respectively."

"Well done...".

The man who spoke slowly turned around, the faint light filtering in from the window vaguely outlining his cold, handsome profile.

He is the leader of Class 3-A and the student council president of Advanced Nurturing High School—

Horikita Manabu.

Horikita Suzune's unattainable older brother.

First Year Midterm Exam: Chapter 053: Sakamoto Provoked

The blinds were completely shut, shutting out the last bit of noise and light from the pool downstairs.

The room returned to near-absolute darkness.

Only the hum of the air conditioning system could be faintly heard in the background.

Horikita Manabu stood by the window, his figure appearing like a cold sculpture in the extremely dim light.

The secretary, Tachibana Akane, who was standing to the side, held her breath slightly.

The student council president personally summoned the first-year students; this was an important event.

She took a few steps away from the center of the room, trying to see the two new students' reactions in the darkness.

"Introduce yourself."

Finally, Horikita Manabu's authoritative voice broke the silence.

He raised his hand and adjusted his glasses with his long, slender fingers.

The lens shimmered with a barely perceptible glimmer in the almost dark environment.

Almost at the same time,

From the darkness on the other side of the room, a soft, smooth sound of movement could be heard.

Sakamoto, almost simultaneously, yet with greater elegance,

I gently adjusted the position of my black-rimmed glasses with my fingertips.

The way the two of them adjusted their glasses,

It created a subtle resonance in the darkness.

"I am Horikita Manabu, a student council president from Class 3-A."

"Congratulations to you both. In the first monthly evaluation that just concluded, the classes you led—Class A and Class C—ranked first and second in the grade with scores of 1000 and 910 points respectively."

He paused slightly, as if giving these numbers the weight they deserved.

"One perfect score set a school record, and the other a score far exceeding expectations. For first-year students, this 'report card' is truly amazing."

Although it was an expression of praise, there was no trace of admiration in Horikita's tone.

at this time:

"Secret Technique - 'Bright World'."

Sakamoto suddenly spoke softly, his voice not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

He casually took a half-step to the side.

His elbow seemed to accidentally brush against an inconspicuous spot on the wall.

A soft "click" sounded.

In the corner of the room, a wall lamp that was originally off...

It suddenly lit up softly, casting a small halo of light enough to dispel the darkness.

It just happens to subtly illuminate the central area of ​​the room.

This made the four figures appear as hazy outlines in the darkness.

The sudden change in light made Tachibana Akane let out a soft "Ah," slightly surprised.

Horikita Manabu's sharp gaze swept over the lamp before settling back on Sakamoto's calm, expressionless face.

His eyes were deep and unreadable, revealing neither joy nor anger.

There are still lights here?

Horikita Manabu didn't even know.

Under the lights, Long Yuanxiang smiled, his sinister eyes gleaming in the light.

He didn't care that Sakamoto had turned on the light.

He particularly enjoyed the mention from the student council president—the "apex" of the school.

Even though his tone was cold, it was a form of recognition in itself, fueling his ambition.

He was indeed somewhat surprised by the meeting, but seeing Sakamoto there as well...

He immediately realized that this was no simple commendation.

In front of the student council president, he temporarily restrained his direct hostility towards Sakamoto.

But the instinct to provoke is difficult to completely suppress.

Sakamoto stood calmly in place.

The gaze behind the black-rimmed glasses appeared even more serene under the light.

He moved with an elegant posture, as if he were receiving a casual greeting.

"However,"

Horikita Manabu's conversation suddenly changed.

“Overly conspicuous achievements always attract unnecessary scrutiny. Especially when the way these achievements were obtained is…puzzling.”

His gaze locked onto them precisely.

"Class C... no, I should say Class B. Ryu Yuanxiang."

He was the first to call out names.

"At the beginning of the semester, your class gave all the teachers and observers a far cry from being described as 'highly qualified' and 'highly disciplined.' How did you achieve this transformative change within a month?"

Horikita Manabu had already reviewed Ryuen Sho's resume, which was filled with records of fighting and violating school rules.

There must be something fishy about how a student like this could lead the class to 910 points in the first month.

Long Yuan let out a light laugh, his arrogance undisguised:

"Your Excellency, isn't the result the best proof? Does the process matter? I have my own methods to teach those good-for-nothings manners. As long as the goal is achieved, why explain the method to others?"

As he spoke, his eyes glanced at Sakamoto beside him, seemingly intentionally or unintentionally.

Long Yuan's response revealed his contempt for the rules and his confidence in his own methods.

Horikita Manabu remained silent for a moment, offering no comment on Ryuen's arrogance.

His gaze then turned to another figure.

"Class A, Sakamoto."

“Your class achieved perfect results. But as far as I know, at the beginning of the school year, you were the first to understand the connection between ‘class points’ and daily behavior norms.”

Horikita Manabu recalled Sakamoto's composed and even subtly dominant speech during the student council interview.

He immediately concluded that this person was no ordinary freshman.

He must have known some deep-seated information, but no one expected that he would be able to make history directly.

This is not a question.

It is a statement.

"And the extraordinary leap in Class C's grades happened to occur during your active period. Are you aware of any of the 'methods' that Longyuan mentioned?"

This question is even more incisive.

It was almost a questioning of whether there was some connection between Sakamoto and the anomalies of Class C.

Sakamoto slightly raised his eyes, facing Horikita Manabu:

"The rules naturally manifest themselves. Observation and understanding are the responsibilities of every student. As for the progress of Class C,"

He paused slightly, as if carefully choosing his words.

“Longyuan has demonstrated unique leadership skills, and the progress of his class is the result of his joint efforts with all the students in Class C. I have no particular knowledge of him.”

Akane Tachibana was taking notes quickly, the pen tip making a rapid scratching sound on the paper.

She discovered that the two first-year students in front of her were completely different.

One is arrogant and outspoken, the other is elegant and evasive.

But they are all equally elusive.

This put a bit of pressure on her, the clerk.

They resolved the president's problem in their own way.

Horikita Manabu fell silent again for a brief moment.

"Unique talents...working together..."

He repeated Sakamoto's words.

It was impossible to tell whether he agreed or was sarcastic from his tone.

"very good."

After a moment, he spoke again.

"Since both of you are confident in the results of your classes and are unwilling to share too much about your 'success experience'."

"So, I expect you to continue to maintain this 'leading' position in the upcoming monthly evaluations."

"The student council will continue to monitor the situation of the first-year students. High levels of competition are beneficial to the overall improvement, but the premise is that all competition must be within the framework of the rules."