Chapter 46 – Karuizawa comes to the rescue

"Where is everyone? Why is it just us?" Ishizaki looked around the pool area, his face showing obvious disappointment: "Where are all the swimming beauties in their swimsuits that we were promised?"

It was probably because they had arrived early, and the rest of the students were still exploring the cruise ship, leaving the pool area completely devoid of other students. The only people present were two lifeguards, sitting at opposite ends of the pool.

"Splash."

Yukio ignored Ishizaki's complaint and dove into the water with a perfect entry, planning to swim a few laps to maintain his daily routine.

Albert also got into the water and started swimming without saying a word.

"Hey, Yukio-san! Albert, wait for me!" Ishizaki, feeling left out, plunged into the water with a big splash, lacking any grace or finesse.

To Ishizaki's further disappointment, not a single girl showed up at the pool even by the time Yukio was ready to leave. Ishizaki had thought about waiting longer, but seeing Yukio and Albert leaving, he reluctantly followed suit. After a quick shower in the dormitory and changing back into his uniform, the trio headed to the billiards room and played until lunchtime.

"Yukio-san, which restaurant do you want to go to?" Ishizaki asked, setting down his cue stick, pondering one of life's toughest questions—what to eat.

Because they were on a luxury cruise, there wasn't just one restaurant. The school had prepared a variety of restaurants with different styles, including high-end gourmet cuisine and street food, ensuring the students would have an unforgettable summer trip.

"Just a moment," Yukio said, pulling out his phone to check it. After seeing a message from Manabe, he made up his mind: "Let's go to Restaurant No. 3."

Ishizaki and Albert, unaware of the situation, obediently followed Yukio. They quickly arrived at Restaurant No. 3, only to find a significant argument already underway inside.

Manabe, still accompanied by Nanami and Yamashita along with a few other close friends, was surrounding several girls from other classes, looking domineering as if the girls from the other classes had committed a serious offense.

"So what exactly do you want?!" the girls from the other classes expressed their discontent.

Manabe, with a defiant expression tinged with unnaturalness, maintained her tough stance: "Nothing much, just want you guys to leave!"

"Anyhow, having to share a restaurant with you D-class bottom-dwellers really spoils our mood and appetite!"

"You!" The girl confronted by Manabe was visibly upset, her eyes reddening with anger: "That's too much! Is C-class really that great? You're just next to D-class, not A-class!"

Her friends chimed in to support her: "Exactly! The restaurants organized by the school are meant for everyone to dine in normally! Besides, why should we listen to you? You're just picking a fight for no reason!"

"Heh." Manabe, not the type to reason with others, crossed her arms and scoffed coldly: "Who cares about you? Can't a bottom-tier class have some self-awareness and just scram?"

Yamashita chimed in supportively, "Just do as Manabe says and get going. Seeing you all really spoils our appetite!"

Assessing the situation, it was evident that Manabe and her clique had completely overpowered the few girls from Class D, leaving them almost at the brink of tears.

This situation arose probably for two reasons: firstly, Manabe and her group were inherently tough and not easy to mess with among the female students; secondly, due to Class C continuously leeching off Class D, they gained a subtle superiority, making it difficult for the other side to retort.

Manabe was indeed professional in these kinds of provocations and confrontations.

Ishizaki, still outside, looked a bit confused: "Yukio, aren't we going in?"

Yukio subtly shook his head: "I just said we'd come to the third restaurant, not that we'd dine here."

Ishizaki's face filled with question marks: Why come to the restaurant and not eat? Just to watch this petty squabble?

But then, a dramatic turnaround occurred inside the restaurant.

As Manabe's group became increasingly overbearing, even starting to shove the D class girls to the brink of tears, a golden streak flashed through.

Kei Karuizawa suddenly intervened, slapping away Manabe's hand. Her radiant blonde ponytail swished impressively: "Either order quietly or leave this place."

Manabe, irked at being repelled, looked at Karuizawa with annoyance. Yet, she seemed to not remember Karuizawa, feigning intimidation: "And who might you be?"

"It doesn't matter who I am," Karuizawa replied, a bit nervously but with a flawless demeanor. Her sapphire blue eyes shone with renewed resolve: "Isn't it common sense to dine quietly in a restaurant?"

"Making such noise might even result in a deduction of class points. Are you okay with that? If your class loses points for no reason, I doubt your classmates, like Yukio, would forgive you. If you're sensible, you'll leave my friends alone."

"Ugh!" Manabe, seemingly hit by Karuizawa's words like a strike to her vitals, couldn't muster a retort and could only leave with an extremely gloomy face, leading her group of friends away.

The D-class girls, now relieved, swarmed around Karuizawa, some hugging her arm, others bowing in thanks: "That was great! Thank goodness you drove them away, Karuizawa. They were just awful!"

"Yeah, what's so great about C-class anyway? They were totally out of line!"

"If it weren't for you, Karuizawa, who knows how long they would have bothered us!"

Karuizawa, however, didn't lose her cool amidst the praise and adulation. She calmly urged everyone to order their meals and enjoy themselves, rather than let outsiders spoil their trip. This approach only earned her more trust, and amidst a shower of compliments, she gradually became an even more influential figure among the D-class girls than Kikyo Kushida, the so-called little angel.

Yet, in the midst of all the praise, Karuizawa remained humble. She was acutely aware that all of this was made possible by someone else and duly noted this kindness in her heart.

Outside the restaurant, Manabe, still fuming, walked out and upon seeing Yukio outside, immediately transformed into a nervous wreck: "Yu... Yukio, we did what you told us to do..."

"Good, the punishment ends here. Let's all go to the first restaurant for a meal," Yukio said, nodding and leading the group away.

In Manabe's eyes, she was completely unaware that Karuizawa was a secret agent for their class. She thought her public humiliation was merely a penalty imposed by Yukio for her defiance in the cafeteria previously and didn't perceive it as harsh. Compared to the water torture that Ryuen initially endured, Manabe felt extremely lucky. Though she it hurt her pride, she was grateful it wasn't as severe as water torture – an experience she desperately wanted to avoid.

In Karuizawa's view, this was one of the favors Yukio did for her. Following his instructions sent via LINE, she discreetly arrived at the third restaurant to await the right moment to drive away Manabe and her group, thereby strengthening her position and trust among the D-class girls. This, in turn, facilitated her task of gathering information for Yukio more conveniently.

For Yukio, this was a simple act of multitasking – a way to discipline Manabe for her rudeness while simultaneously securing Karuizawa's position in D-class and keeping her undercover status safe from Manabe, effectively hitting three birds with one stone.

***

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