After breaking up, my ex asked me to win her back

"...Men's 50-meter freestyle, those participating please raise your hand." the female class president shouted.

Kagura Hikaru was unwilling to raise his hand, so Ayakoji Chiyoko twisted his waist under the table until he agreed to do so.

In the end, he had signed up for all four swimming events—men's 50-meter freestyle, men's 100-meter freestyle, men's water polo, and men's 800-meter freestyle relay.

And so had Ayakoji Chiyoko.

".....Why are you making me sign up for so many swimming events? What are you trying to do?" Kagura Hikaru asked, his eyelids drooping.

Just thinking about participating in so many events tired him out before the sports day even began.

Ayakoji Chiyoko scanned him up and down with her eyes, as if a scanner was measuring his body data, "What do you think, how many girls will be attracted to a good-looking guy participating in swim events that reveal the most skin?"

This question needed no thought.

Never underestimate the level of girls' interests; Kagura Hikaru, who had experienced a surprise attach by middle school girls on a train, had a say in this matter.

However, compared to men's freestyle, women's swimming events tended to attract slightly more attention.

And those were exactly the events Ayakoji Chiyoko had also signed up for.

"Could it be, you did this for that....?"

"Sports are my strength; I need to create a distinction between Kiryu Hina and myself here." Ayakoji Chiyoko rolled up her sleeves, showing her fair skin, "Even if they come for my body, I don't care. What I want is their potential votes, it's a mutual need."

"To be able to say something like that, I really admire you, truly."

It wasn't sarcasm, Kagura Hikaru truly felt this way, finding himself able to respect Ayakoji Chiyoko at that moment.

Such stark realism, typically expected from a stripper, would likely make anyone, adult or student, hesitant to speak it.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

But such normal inhibitions seemed not to affect Ayakoji Chiyoko.

With her pride, it was definitely not that she truly did not care, she was just unscrupulously pragmatic in achieving her goals...

No, that sounded even more alarming.

If others knew, some might accuse her of shamelessness, as if a girl is easily trading her body for advantage, using it as if its only value was the profit it could bring.

However, precisely because of this, Kagura Hikaru admired her even more for being able to voice such thoughts.

In Island Nation society, being different equates to social suicide.

Bullying and cold violence would follow suit.

This was true not just at school but even more so in the workplace.

Anyone grown up in this society had to learn the skill of reading the room.

To be able to openly speak out of line and act differently in such a social atmosphere could indeed be deemed heroic.

But ultimately, Ayakoji Chiyoko's views were not the kind to be publically touted.

If Kagura Hikaru were to post online about her saying such things, her approval rating would plummet in the blink of an eye, undoing all the efforts to rebuild her reputation since the beginning of the school year.

Even in the relatively open Island Nation, girls who brazenly speak of such things are disliked, and there is also a disdain for male students within the school—as superficial as they are.

In a way, this also represented Ayakoji Chiyoko's trust in him.

Trusting that he would absolutely not speak out, would not betray her.

It took half a class period, but the female class president recorded all students participating in the sports day and handed the list to the teacher.

Taking advantage of the free period during self-study, Kagura Hikaru told Ayakoji Chiyoko about his encounter the previous day with Saijo Mari and how she denied she would participate in the Student Council elections and have any association with Kiryu Hina.

"You mean, she's not running, and she has no ties to Kiryu Hina?"

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"Yeah."

The two leaned their heads in close, spoke in a hushed voice, at a volume that the Kiryu Hina in the front row wouldn't notice.

"So, Kiryu Hina is lying again."

"From the results, that's correct."

"But the purpose?"

"..."

Purpose, purpose.

Kagura Hikaru had been pondering this question too, having thought about it all night without any clarity.

If this was the truth, why would Kiryu Hina want them to pay attention to Saijo Mari?

Lies would eventually be exposed, only unnecessarily making them aware of an extremely viable source for rallying votes. Just getting a step ahead in bringing her to their side could secure a large number of quality votes.

But why wouldn't she do that?

It couldn't possibly be because she underestimated their ability to win over Saijo Mari, that would be too dismissive.

Kiryu Hina was not the type to let go of the initiative.

Not only Kagura Hikaru, but Ayakoji Chiyoko also couldn't quite understand why initially.

But she also thought of Hosaka Yui.

If they trusted Saijo Mari just like that, they might experience a betrayal like they did in Capitol City.

The things Saijo Mari told Kagura Hikaru might all be lies.

But Kagura Hikaru knew it was unlikely, as Saijo Mari yesterday was turned into a 'truth-telling state' by Komori Ai's skills, spouting truths that should and shouldn't be said alike, as if telling the truth had become a form of venting for her, unstoppable.

It involved too much personal privacy, personal secrets that she couldn't possibly explain to others, things that even if fictional, a female high school student shouldn't disclose to others.

Moreover, there was no personal relationship between Saijo Mari and Kiryu Hina; she wasn't the latter's spy, which Kagura Hikaru had confirmed through mind-reading.

Unfortunately, these methods were too special, unable to be explained to Ayakoji Chiyoko; it was impossible to clarify.

He had to find another way to persuade Ayakoji Chiyoko to change her perspective, to prevent her from becoming misguided.

"Maybe, we were wrong from the start," Kagura Hikaru said.

"Oh?"

"Not 'Saijo Mari is President Kiriyu's spy,' but 'Saijo Mari will become President Kiriyu's spy.'"

"You mean to say...." Ayakoji Chiyoko stroked her chin, grasping the key point, "I see, you think Saijo Mari has something held over her by that woman, and she herself is unaware."

"If that's the case, it would explain everything," Kagura Hikaru shared his speculations, "President Kiriyu's plan might be to intentionally let us discover her, bring her under our fold, then use that leverage to make Saijo Mari turn against us and knock us out of the game."

"Heh, that does sound like something Kiryu Hina would do," Ayakoji Chiyoko glanced at someone sitting in front, lowered her head to ponder a moment, then nodded in acceptance of Kagura Hikaru's explanation, "I understand, I'll have my people look into it."

"I'll leave it in your hands then."