Multiverse: SSS-Rank Treasure Chest at the Beginning

Chapter 272 272: Stealing a Woman's Heart

"You're manipulating the results of the competition behind the scenes again, Tenya-kun." Yuki grumbled powerlessly.

"Is there anything wrong with that? In this world, I am God. Naturally, I should act as I please." Tenya did not deny it.

In his opinion, Advanced Nurturing High School's inter-class competition was originally just a game. On the surface, it was a fair competition between the four classes.

But in reality, the only true contenders were A and B Class, while C and D Class were considered underachievers and inferior. Even if, by some chance, C and D Class managed to climb up, Advanced Nurturing High School would create targeted special exams. Ultimately, they would cause the original C and D Class that had climbed up to fall back down.

After all, students graduating from Advanced Nurturing High School's A Class were guaranteed admission to prestigious universities. If the students' level is too low, it will be impossible to explain to society.

In other words, no matter how much the students of Class C and D struggled, they would ultimately not be able to graduate as A Class.

D Class' homeroom teacher, Sae, was a D Class student at Advanced Nurturing High School herself back then. She led her class, overcoming challenges all the way, and at one point even reached A Class.

However, in the final semester's exam, the school arranged an extremely harsh test, which ultimately caused her class to fall back down, missing the opportunity to graduate as A Class.

This was also why Tenya was able to operate in such a shady manner, manipulating the results of the inter-class competition, yet Advanced Nurturing High School showed no reaction at all.

It was as if they were saying, "You can play however you want, but by the final semester, everything will be decided by the school."

In the evening.

Looking at the private messages in the backend, a pile of invitation messages sent by girls, Tenya chose to read them but not reply because tonight, he had already locked onto his target.

"Ichinose, are you planning to confess to me?" Tenya smiled as he looked at Ichinose, who was dressed up in a low-cut, off-the-shoulder long dress.

"How can I confess right away..." Ichinose was a bit flustered by the opening bombshell.

"If it's not a confession, I'll be very troubled. After all, to keep my appointment with Ichinose, I turned down dates with over a dozen girls." Tenya spoke the honest truth with a serious expression.

"Really?"

Ichinose was startled at first, then a hint of pleasant surprise that was hard to conceal appeared in her heart.

Although she didn't like philandering boys, if that boy saw her as more important than other girls, then perhaps it wasn't entirely unacceptable.

"Of course it's true. Ichinose holds one of the top spots in my heart." Tenya's gaze shifted slightly downwards.

"Eek!"

"Weight... are you referring to this?"

"Yoshida-kun, you're mean."

Ichinose hugged her chest with both hands, glaring at him angrily.

"This is a bonus point for feminine charm. Ichinose should be more confident in herself."

"It's not a matter of confidence or not. Actually, I'm not as good as Yoshida-kun imagines." Ichinose's expression dimmed slightly, as if she remembered something.

Mind Reading.

Tenya instantly understood what she was thinking.

So that's it. Ichinose's dark past.

Living in a single-parent family, the family's economic source was her mother's part-time job. Her younger sister, who loved a hairpin very much, threw a tantrum and insisted on buying it. Her mother worked desperately, eventually overworking herself and ending up in the hospital.

Feeling sorry for her mother and sister, Ichinose committed her first act of theft. She stole an expensive hairpin from a counter and gave it to her sister.

Her mother was furious when she found out, dragging Ichinose to the mall and forcing her to bow her head and apologize in front of everyone. It couldn't be said that her mother's actions were wrong. It was just that her parenting method was rather extreme.

This caused Ichinose to develop a deep psychological trauma, which she still keeps in mind to this day.

Regarding this, Tenya always enjoyed unraveling a girl's heart knot, because it made it easier to conquer them.

"Has Ichinose ever done anything bad? For example, stealing things." Tenya got straight to the point.

"Ah?!"

"Stealing things..."

"Why does Yoshida-kun know?" Ichinose was flustered, her face ashen.

Her body trembled uncontrollably, this was a dark past she never wanted to face.

"As for why I know? It's because I myself am someone who likes to steal things." As soon as Tenya said this, Ichinose became bewildered.

"Eh?!"

"Yoshida-kun likes to steal things?" Ichinose's eyes widened in astonishment.

"Yes. However, I only ever steal one thing." Tenya nodded seriously.

"Only steal one thing? What is that?" Ichinose couldn't help but feel curious.

"A woman's heart." Tenya pointed to her chest.

"Uh..."

"Tenya-kun, you're teasing me."

Ichinose was startled at first, then reacted, puffing out her cheeks. However, precisely because of his interruption, her chaotic heart was unknowingly soothed. And she herself seemed to realize this, staring intently at the man in front of her.

After a long while, she finally spoke, "It seems Yoshida-kun was right, you really do often steal women's hearts."

Ichinose covered her chest, watching him with a complex expression.

"Only a heart that's moved can be stolen, isn't that right?" Tenya retorted.

"Alright. I admit it. But before that, please listen to my story." Ichinose let out a long breath.

She didn't know how Tenya knew about her past, but that wasn't the point. Her past had been buried deep in her heart, almost becoming a nightmare. She now desperately yearned for someone to confide in.

"Come to my room, and we can talk." Tenya extended an invitation.

"Alright."

Ichinose's eyes flickered slightly. Being highly emotionally intelligent, she keenly sensed what might happen. However, she had already made up her mind.

...

"Honami, wake up. If you don't get up soon, you'll miss today's class competition." Tenya was feeling incredibly refreshed at this moment.

"What class..."

"Ah?!"

Ichinose's dazed pupils gradually refocused. But when she saw the traces of battle on the scene, her face flushed crimson.

"Don't worry, Honami. Experiences in the virtual world won't affect your physical body in reality. Even if you're no longer a virgin now..."

Tenya's words were cut short as Ichinose clamped her hand over his mouth.

"P-please!"

"Tenya-kun , please don't say those things." Ichinose was utterly mortified.

"You were quite proactive last night, even trying to overthrow me at one point." Tenya teased her with a playful expression.

"N-no!"

"Th-that was just, just... I don't know what happened. Anyway, I'm not that kind of loose woman." Ichinose emphasized loudly.

"Yes, yes. My Honami is the purest." Tenya chuckled and agreed with her.

"Mmph. Tenya-kun just bullies me."

Ichinose angrily pounded his chest with her fists, but a happy smile bloomed on her face.

Their eyes met, and the atmosphere gradually grew ambiguous. No more words were needed. What happened next was a natural progression.

...

"The third competition is Unlimited Pitching."

"The rules are as follows..."

Ichinose shared the detailed information with every B Class student.

"So amazing!"

"Did Ichinose succeed?"

"She actually got such detailed competition data."

The B Class students praised Ichinose endlessly.

"It's just..."

"To get information from that man, Ichinose must have paid a lot, right?" Chihiro looked at her with a worried expression.

"Uh, that..."

"The cost was indeed great but it wasn't exactly a loss for me." Ichinose spoke vaguely, with no intention of explaining further.

Although the B Class students were very curious, they tacitly did not press the matter. After all, no matter what, it was a consensual matter between the two of them, and as outsiders, what could they say?

In the third competition, as expected, with the advantage of information, B Class's performance was far ahead.