15 Youkoso V10C3 Intro

I checked my phone when I woke up the next morning.

And, sure enough, the Ayanokōji Group's group chat had progressed greatly while I was asleep.

It hadn't even been a full day since Chabashira had announced the supplementary exam, so it was understandably at the center of their discussion.

"They're really being driven by their anxiety, aren't they?"

Airi's concern was particularly obvious given the way she had written her messages.

Things would get messy if someone in our group became a target. I wasn't sure just how much I'd be involving myself, and it was also true that it was a difficult situation to make countermeasures for. Even though I intended to make the necessary arrangements for Hirata and Kei, there were no guarantees.

Even if you threatened someone and forced them to make an agreement, there was still a chance they would change their votes at the last minute. There was simply no surefire way to avoid expulsion if you were targeted by a large number of censure votes.

In any case, everyone had to undergo at least a certain amount of risk.

As I scrolled back through the messages, there was an interesting proposal from Keisei. I began reading from there.

Keisei: [How do you guys feel about having one of us go to school early for the next three days to collect information?]

Akito: [Since we're such a small group, that might be a good idea. I'm on board.]

Haruka: [That might be a good move. I am curious about what kind of stuff other groups will be saying.]

Airi: [I agree too.]

Haruka: [I'll do it tomorrow since I'll be heading out early.]

Everyone had unanimously come to an agreement. They had discussed waiting to hear my thoughts on the matter, but since it usually took a while for me to check my phone, they ultimately decided to move forward with it and see what I thought about it later on.

"I see."

While I didn't believe that information would fall into our laps so easily, it was still better than doing nothing.

As a strategy, not only was it simple, but the potential results were well worth the hassle too.

As the entire conversation had happened last night, Haruka was probably already in the classroom.

Given the flow of their conversation, it seemed like the others would take up the role of heading to school early for the other two days, so it was probably fine even if I didn't do anything.

The vote was taking place in three days. In other words, the specifics regarding who we were going to focus our censure votes on would need to be finalized by today at the latest. For the time being, it'd be lucky if the Ayanokōji Group could learn any valuable information in the mornings like Keisei planned.

Meanwhile, as I waited to hear back from Kei about the girls in the class, I thought about scoping out information about the boys from Horikita, who was reigning in Sudō, or Hirata.

After all, it was important to have a grasp on the information as early as possible.

1

It felt like I was finally getting used to my daily life here.

Without noticing, almost a full year had passed since I started living in the dorms.

"It feels like time doesn't pass by like it used to."

The passage of time would feel different depending on how much you were enjoying yourself.

Honestly, when I first learned about this phenomenon, I didn't understand the meaning very well.

Before I started high school, every second of my life had felt exactly the same. But now, it was different.

Obviously, the days were still passing by at the same speed as always. There were still two years left until graduation.

But it was strange. The more I thought about it, the more I felt like graduation day would come along in the blink of an eye.

"Morning Ayanokōji-kun~!"

I heard Ichinose call out from behind me as soon as I stepped outside. It was probably because we both left for school at roughly the same time every morning. I looked behind me and responded to her.

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"Ah. Good morning Ichinose."

Strangely enough, as soon as I called out to her, Ichinose stiffened up for some reason.

"Hmm?"

5J0wKTh

She was standing perfectly still, frozen with her hand in the air.

"What's wrong?"

My question seemed to snap her out of the trance she was in as she proceeded to walk over. Although, her movements were still a bit stiff in some respects.

"Wow, uhh… it's pretty cold again today, huh?"

"I suppose so."

Our breath was visible in the air as we spoke.

"Did you plan on walking to school with someone?"

"Not at all. I'm usually by myself in the mornings."

"Well then… do you mind if I join you?"

There probably wasn't a single student out there capable of turning her down when she asked like this.

I responded with a nod.

"…"

"..."

Whenever the two of us had ended up alone together in the past, Ichinose would usually be the one to start the conversation. This time, however, the only sound breaking the silence between us was the sound of our footsteps as Ichinose walked a short distance behind me.

So, I decided to try asking her about the exam.

"This next special exam must be a pretty difficult thing for you and your class, huh?"

In comparison to the other classes, Class B had overwhelmingly solid teamwork and a strong overall sense of camaraderie.

Being forced to decide on which student to remove would probably be heart-wrenchingly painful for all of them.

"Ah, well… Yeah, I think this exam is the toughest we've had by far.

"Probably."

I could tell as much based on her clouded expression alone.

Ichinose, as the leader of her class, was the only one who was absolutely safe.

Compared to Hirata or Kushida, she was in a completely different situation altogether. She seemed like the only student effectively guaranteed to make it through the exam.

And this was why having to cut someone from the class was such a painful decision for her.

She may as well stick to the sidelines and not get involved with the vote at all. It would probably be less stressful for her that way.

It might've been possible for Ichinose to do something like that, but…

"In the face of such a terrible exam… I really have no choice but to do something, don't I?"

"Well, that's probably true."

"…Yeah. I must do something."

She walked up beside me as she said this.

From the side, I could see a thin smile on her face.

"Are you… thinking of dropping out yourself, Ichinose?"

"Eh? No way. I definitely didn't say anything like that."

She denied it, but the look in her eyes gave another impression.

That she was fully prepared to make that choice if she needed to.

"Just for the record, your classmates wouldn't be willing to vote for you very easily."

"I told you that I never said anything about dropping out myself. But, if you really think so then I guess you're probably right about that."

"The fact that you've been considering it is written all over your face."

"R-really?"

Ichinose hurriedly tried to confirm it.

Was this natural or was she doing it on purpose?

It seemed to be the former this time.

"Haa… Keep it a secret from everyone okay?"

"Are you really willing to sacrifice yourself for someone else's sake?"

"Not exactly. I just feel like I have to fight, and bear responsibility for the risk on my own."

Bear responsibility for the risk on my own, huh?

In other words, she had no intention of taking the easy way out by passively watching from the sidelines.

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"I don't understand. Is this your own way of paying tribute to the classmate who gets expelled?"

Even though it would mean more coming from Ichinose than from someone else, it still wasn't something they'd want.

Either way, I simply couldn't imagine that student leaving the school with a smile on their face.

"There's not much more I can tell you. It's not something I'd like other people to hear about. Furthermore, you're in Class C. No matter what kind of exam it is, there are times where we just aren't able to collaborate."

"That's certainly true."

If anything, the most we were able to discuss with one another was about the praise votes.

If you were able to secure Ichinose's vote, you'd be in a somewhat favorable starting position for the rest of the exam.

Be that as it may, Ichinose wasn't a student who needed praise votes in the first place. Even so, she wouldn't just simply hand over her vote in exchange for private points either. So I didn't even try to bring it up.

Even if, for argument's sake, I bought her vote, in the end it wouldn't amount to anything more than a lucky charm.

"Anywho, the school is pretty terrible, isn't it? What with making someone drop out of school and all. Even if you manage to get praise votes from the kids in the other classes, someone still has to leave in the end."

Not everyone was welcoming this exam, especially given that they forcing the expulsions just as the first year was coming to an end.

"Will you be alright, Ayanokōji-kun?"

"Well, it's hard to say… I'm not a very important student in my class."

"Then, if you're alright with it, I may be able to work something out."

"Meaning?"

"Since I have a praise vote I can use on someone in another class, I could use it on you."

She brought up a topic that I had intentionally decided against bringing up only moments earlier.

"Though, it's only one vote, so it may not be worth very much…"

"I'm thankful for your offer, but I must decline. Your vote would be wasted on someone like me."

"That's not true at all! Rather, I honestly think it would be the most justified vote in the entire exam. It's meant to be for someone worthy of praise in another class. Yeah, I can't think of anyone more worthy than you, as the one who saved me."

Her words were extremely difficult to respond to.

"I see. Well, then, if something comes up, I'll reach out to you."

"Sweet. I'll remember that."

With that, Ichinose let show a smile.

"Good morning Honami."

I heard someone call out to Ichinose from behind us.

"Good morning to you, Asahina-senpai."

"Well aren't you looking lively today? By the way, you two are in separate classes, right? You guys must be on pretty good terms then, yeah?"

"Err, yes. He's a good friend…"

Ichinose seemed a little embarrassed with her answer.

"Oh~? A good friend, huh?"

It would've caused fewer misunderstandings if she hadn't responded like that.

"Well, whatever. Anyway, I'd like to borrow Ayanokōji-kun for a bit, is that alright?"

Asahina had approached the two of us, hoping that Ichinose would take her leave so she could talk to me alone.

"I understand. Well then, Ayanokōji-kun, I'll be going on ahead."

With no particular signs of discontent, Ichinose bowed her head, following along with Asahina's request.

"Sorry Honami. See ya."

"Oh no! Please excuse me."

I didn't sense anything abnormal about their short conversation.

Instead, it seemed like the two shared a proper senpai-kouhai relationship.

"She's a real good kid isn't she? Cute. Smart. Even among the second-years, nobody has anything bad to say about her."

"That's true. Ichinose seems quite popular with pretty much everyone among the first-years as well."

"Could it be that you've managed to gain her affection?"

It seemed that Ichinose's somewhat unnatural behavior hadn't gone unnoticed.

"No way."

Ichinose aside, I wanted to keep my time with Asahina as short as possible.

It'd raise suspicions if we were to be seen by one of Nagumo's underlings. If she really had something to say then it'd be best to deal with it quickly.

"If you have business with me, I'll hear you out."

"How boring. Well whatever. I happened to see the two of you acting all buddy buddy, so I wanted to tell you something."

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Asahina had been smiling cheerfully for a while now, but that smile quickly disappeared.

"I've heard a bit about the first-years' exam. Somebody's being forced to drop out of school, yeah?"

"It looks like it."

It seems the news had already managed to spread to the second-year students.

"Honami cares deeply for her friends, or how should I put it… You know she's not the type of person who would sit back and let someone from Class B be expelled, right?"

"That should be true. I think everyone is interested in where B class is going to end up, even though no one talks about it."

My response was a bit bland, but it managed to convey my thoughts easily enough.

"Then, how do you think Honami will go about tackling the exam?"

Asahina looked at me with prying eyes.

Rather than merely being curious about my response, it was more like she was trying to coax a particular answer out of me.

In which case, giving her a roundabout answer would probably be counterproductive.

"Assuming that she plans on preventing the expulsion… Class B has a considerable amount of private points saved up. So she would just need to make up for the rest of the points she needs somehow and stop the expulsion from happening altogether. Something like that, right?"

"Bingo. Well, that is the only logical conclusion."

If you were working under the assumption that she would try to prevent the expulsion, anyone would've been able to come to the same conclusion.

The tricky thing was, there weren't very many people who could make it happen.

Managing to somehow gather together 20 million private points was exceedingly difficult.

"It seems she's gone and asked Miyabi for assistance. Can you guess how he responded?"

"He consented immediately?"

"…Bingo again."

Based on the course of events so far, there simply weren't any other possibilities.

"I'll ask just to make sure, but there's no way she'd be lent enough private points with no strings attached, is there?"

Even though Class B possessed a large number of private points, they were still probably short by a sizable amount.

Several hundred thousand points still wouldn't be enough.

"Of course there isn't. Sure, it'd be a different story if we were only talking about a few thousand points. In that case, there'd be plenty of room for discussion. But once it gets into the hundred thousands or the millions? Nobody's gonna give away that many."

Asahina answered without hesitation.

"The third and second-year students have to be thoroughly prepared for the special exams awaiting us moving forward. Whether we'll need our own private points or not won't become clear to us until the very end, so there shouldn't be any room for charity just for a couple of first-years."

She was probably right.

This was also the very reason why Chabashira had spoken about it so impassively.

Even if you managed to secure some private points from the upperclassmen, it would be nearly impossible for them to hand over a relevant amount. You could sweeten the deal by offering to pay it back with interest, but that wouldn't mean anything to the third-years who were so close to graduating. Furthermore, even if you managed to secure a loan from a second-year student, it still seemed impossible to secure such a large number of points.

"If there's someone capable of meeting these expectations, president Nagumo's the only one who comes to mind."

"He's gone and saved up quite a lot of points after all."

"So what happened?"

I asked her this, but based on the flow of the conversation, the answer was already clear as day.

Even so, given that Ichinose seemed to be hesitant about something, there were probably conditions attached to Nagumo's cooperation.

"Don't be so anxious. I'm in the same class as the guy, which is exactly why I have my doubts that he'd go and carelessly lend such a large number of points to a kouhai. Honami's such a cute girl, right? There's absolutely no way she'll end up being expelled because of this exam, yeah?"

"I guess so. It does seem like the strategy is to prevent one of her classmates from being expelled."

"So I'm personally not a fan of her entering into this kind of deal with him. Of course, it's partly for the sake of my own class but… more than that I guess I just feel sorry for her."

"Are the conditions he's set too harsh? Like an obscenely high interest rate?"

"That guy… The condition he set for lending the points to her… is for the two of them to get into a relationship."

"I see."

Considering everything Nagumo had done so far, this definitely seemed like something he'd do.

A relationship in exchange for a loan of private points.

Generally speaking, this condition was anything but normal. It wouldn't be strange if he was turned down immediately. But, if it was for the sake of protecting her class, there was a possibility that Ichinose would agree to it, and Nagumo probably understood this as well.

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"Is it alright? For you to be telling me this?"

"I've already told you. It's for my class. If Miyabi lends all those private points to a first-year, the rest of us may suffer as a result. Furthermore, in exchange for protecting her friends, Honami'll have to go through something painful."

"Maybe so, but why are you coming to me with this? I'm in Class C. We have a hostile relationship with Ichinose."

"I dunno. But, if it's you, you'll probably be able to do something about it one way or another."

"You're overestimating me. There's no way I can afford to make up for Class B's lack of points."

It would be a different story if it were possible to gather up enough points without relying on Nagumo, but that wouldn't work either.

"Oh really? Well, you two are rivals…"

Actively helping out a rival class would be far too foolish when we should be feeling thankful for the loss of a potential threat. In the first place, it would require several million points, so everyone in Class C would have to band together to help out. It would be absolutely impossible.

"I can't do anything about it."

"That's okay. Even if you don't do anything, I won't hold it against you. It's just wishful thinking on my part either way. That said, even though you say you can't, I think you just might take the chance anyway."

After giving me a slap on the back, Asahina began to leave.

"Anyways, I've told you everything you need to know. I'll be leaving the rest up to you!"

With that, Asahina ran toward the school without saying another word.

Based on her behavior and the way she spoke, she didn't seem to be lying.

"Striking a deal with Nagumo, huh?"

It wasn't very becoming of her, but it seemed that this was Ichinose's strategy.

If she really ended up going through with it, she'd be able to prevent the loss of one of her classmates. It was a way of fighting available to her solely because of her united class and the huge sum of points they had saved up together. However, based on the way Asahina was speaking, it seemed that the requirement of a relationship was a high hurdle for Ichinose. After all, if Nagumo's condition wasn't actually weighing heavily on her, it'd be safer to borrow the private points before Nagumo could change his mind.

Well, it's difficult to make a quick decision when it comes to a full-on relationship with someone of the opposite sex.

It'd be fine if it was simply a matter of cooperation, but there was absolutely nothing I could do about so many private points.

Class B was probably short by about four to five million points, which was well beyond the scope of something I was able to help with.

It'd be more cost-effective to cut ties with your classmates, but how would Ichinose weigh the options if she put Nagumo's condition on the scale…?

"Given her personality…"

How would things turn out moving forward? It wasn't very difficult to imagine.

2

The special exam was a difficult subject to talk about in class.

There was such a bad atmosphere hanging over the classroom that it felt like you could reach out and feel the tension in the air.

"Mornin' Kiyopon."

"Good morning."

I exchanged greetings with Haruka as I sat down in my seat.

I couldn't feel any enthusiasm from the expressions of the students who had already arrived in the classroom.

The idea of being targeted by censure votes had gotten in the way of normal class relations, making them impossible to maintain. This was probably going to continue until the end of the special exam.

And it would probably even continue for a while after that.

[The classroom's atmosphere is super gloomy, isn't it?]

Haruka messaged me personally.

[Anything unusual?]

[Nothing yet. Sure enough, they're all on guard, aren't they~?]

In the classroom, it was impossible to know when somebody could be listening.

No one would carelessly drop specific names about who they intended to vote for.

[Here's hoping for better luck tomorrow, then.]

[Yeah.]

After this short exchange, I put away my cell phone.

Without standing out or causing any problems for the class, we'd simply sit back and wait for the storm to pass.

If only our classmates would allow us to have such an easy way out of this.

3

When lunch break arrived, I made my way toward the library.

It's not that I was dissatisfied with passing the time together with the Ayanokōji Group; it's just that I felt that it was important that we spend some time apart every once in a while. Besides, in the library, there was a particular student who loves books just as much as I do.

Sure enough, Shiina Hiyori had come to the library today as well. I casually chose a book from the shelves, and shortly after sitting down and skimming it a bit to decide if I wanted to borrow it or not, someone spoke up.

"Good afternoon, Ayanokōji-kun."

Having just entered the lunch break, there were only a few people in the library, so she seemed to notice my presence immediately.

She was holding a book that was of a similar genre to my own in her hand.

"It seems that you're as much of a bookworm as ever."

"Well, the library is such a wonderful place."

After softly asking for permission, Hiyori sat down in the seat beside me.

Together, the two of us quietly read our books.

Students with a natural love for the library had no need for excessive conversation.

You could say that the act of reading a book was, in itself, a form of conversation.

Just like that, we read our books without uttering a word until just before the end of lunch.

Probably around half an hour had passed before I spoke up.

"It's probably about time we head back."

"It seems like it."

After looking up at the clock to check the time, I decided against leaving just yet.

"By the way, Hiyori. There's something I'd like to ask you about."

"What is it?"

Unsure of what I wanted to ask, she curiously looked up from her book.

"It's about Ryūen's current situation."

"Ryūen-kun's situation, is it…? To be honest, it's not very good."

"So he's Class D's top choice for expulsion after all."

"Yes. Pretty much everybody in the class has agreed to cast a censure vote for him."

"Has Ryūen himself also accepted it?"

"I believe he has. In fact, he's been visiting the library after school lately and I've been able to chat with him a little bit, so I feel fairly certain of it."

The book he was reading when I saw him at the cafe earlier had been borrowed from the library.

It got me to think that he had probably been in touch with Hiyori which, after coming here, seemed to be correct.

"What do you think of all this, Hiyori?"

"It's a pity, but we simply can't avoid the expulsion. So, I'm ready to accept the fact that we're going to lose someone, potentially even me. Though, if Class D really wants to reach for the top again… I've been starting to think that we might need Ryūen-kun…"

She probably has some misgivings about Ryūen, but it appears as though she recognizes his true capabilities.

Speaking of which, I couldn't recall Ryūen ever treating Hiyori roughly before.

"Sorry I asked about it. I was just interested in the current state of Class-"

I cut myself off, at a loss for words.

"No… I guess I just don't want Ryūen to be expelled from school."

I didn't need to come all the way here today.

However, I wanted to know what was happening with Ryūen, so I ended up coming anyway.

"It's better to keep as many friends as you can, isn't it?"

"…Yeah."

It felt kinda strange somehow. We weren't supposed to be anything but enemies after all.

"Uhm…"

"Hm?"

"This… I don't think somebody like me should be saying this, but…"

Although it seemed a bit difficult to say, Hiyori continued.

"Ayanokōji-kun, please don't drop out of school, okay…? With everything that's been happening, I just don't want my precious friend to disappear as well."

"I'll do my best."

I gratefully accepted Hiyori's concerns as we parted ways and headed back to our respective classrooms.

4

The bad atmosphere persisted even after classes had ended.

Whether she minded it or not, my neighbor Horikita quietly began to prepare her belongings just like always.

It was difficult to tackle an exam like this one by yourself. Usually, you would want to think about making as many allies as possible, yet Horikita didn't show any intention of doing such a thing.

Putting it optimistically, Sudō was pretty much the only person guaranteed to cast their praise vote for Horikita.

That said…

I recalled Horikita's confrontation with Ryūen the other day.

Pondering over what she wanted to gain from him and what she lacked as a person had allowed me to understand her strategy moving forward.

It seemed as though she intended to handle this exam in a different way from everybody else, but that wasn't an easy road to take.

However, if she could really pull it off, it'd be a wish come true as far as I was concerned. I'd be able to treat her strategy and mine as the same thing, and have Horikita take responsibility for all of it.

I turned and looked throughout the classroom, envisioning how Horikita saw our classmates.

"It's rare that you haven't tried to ask me for advice yet. You're really fine with the exam?"

Even though it had only been a day, I decided to confirm whether Horikita had changed or not.

"Even if I asked you for advice, it's not like you'd give me a straight answer."

"Certainly."

Horikita was gradually beginning to understand that I wouldn't give out advice so easily.

"Besides… This isn't exactly the type of exam where you can just go and ask your classmates for help."

"Many of the other students have been forming groups in order to secure praise votes, though."

"If people want to do that, then they are perfectly free to do so."

Horikita finished gathering up her things and got up from her seat.

"Then, what are you going to do?"

"What I can."

With these words, Horikita left the classroom.

As I was a bit curious, I decided to follow after her.

"What is it?"

She stared at me with a bit of a scowl, displeased that I had followed after her.

"I'm a little interested in what you're going to do."

"You usually don't like to involve yourself with me, so why now?"

Why, huh?

Put simply, it was because I was looking forward to the strategy she had decided on.

If she really put it into action, I wanted to fully support her.

That said, I didn't intend to say this to her here.

"You haven't joined a group yet, right? If you're in a pinch, I can help you."

"Is that how it is? More or less, you're worried about my situation, aren't you? If I asked you for help, you're saying that you'd let me join that group you're a part of?

"It wouldn't be troublesome for us to take in another person."

"Even though I appreciate the offer, I must refuse. You aren't the person I'm looking for right now."

It appeared as though she had already resolved herself.

However, her resources were limited and she was still at the point where she was being driven by her anxiety.

I probably wasn't the right person to make up for those deficiencies.

"You really…"

She scowled at me even more intensely than before.

"What?"

"Just leave me alone."

She spoke harshly, stopping me in my tracks.

If I were to continue to follow Horikita, it would only serve to make her angrier.

After watching her leave, I gazed through the hallway window for a moment, taking in the view.

"I guess I'll head home for today."

"…Could I bother you for a moment, Ayanokōji-kun?"

As if he was just passing by, Hirata showed up. It made me wonder if he had followed behind me as well.

Judging from the timing, he had probably been waiting for Horikita and I to separate.

"If it's alright with you, could you join me for a bit after school? I need to talk with you."

It was a rare invitation from Hirata, one which I had no particular reason to turn down.

As I responded to him with a nod, Hirata let out a sigh of relief.

After passing a full day immersed in the strained atmosphere of the classroom, he seemed to be the most worn out student in the class.

Of course, I could infer this was largely related to the special exam.

"Alright, how about meeting near the southern entrance of Keyaki Mall at half-past four?"

"Sure."

That was all we said to each other.

It didn't seem like it was something we could talk about here.

After all, the students heading off to club activities and returning home were constantly walking past us.

I had been planning to meet up with Keisei and the others after school today, so I had to tell them that I was going to be a little late. Hirata seemed to be busy talking with his friends for the time being, so I decided to head to Keyaki Mall ahead of him.

5

After leaving the classroom, I immediately headed toward the front entrance of the school.

On the way, I happened to come across Class A's Sakayanagi Arisu. I could see Kamuro standing beside her.

"Ayanokōji…"

On guard, Kamuro's body stiffened up.

However, as usual, Sakayanagi didn't show any changes. She kept herself composed with relaxed, calm movements.

The contrasting reactions between the two of them were a little interesting.

"What a coincidence. Ayanokōji-kun."

"Indeed. Is there something you need with Class C?"

The two of them appeared to be headed toward Class C.

However, rather than answering me, Sakayanagi brushed off my question with a smile as she asked me one instead.

"Where are you off to now?"

"I have plans to meet up with a friend at Keyaki Mall in around half an hour."

"Is that so? It seems that you're living your life to the fullest. If you don't mind, could you spare me just a little of your time?"

Sakayanagi took out her cell phone and checked the time.

Had she come this way just to meet up with me? No, that would be difficult to imagine.

It was still only ten minutes past four.

Even if it took several minutes to reach Keyaki Mall, there would still be over ten minutes left until 4:30.

"Are you fine with standing as we talk?"

"Yes. Though, we'll attract attention if we talk here. How about we move someplace else?"

"Alright."

I also wanted to avoid standing out as much as possible.

It would've been different if it was with a classmate, but Sakayanagi was the type to attract attention whether she wanted to or not.

Since she was definitely aware of this herself, we began moving to a less populated location.

Matching Sakayanagi's slow walking pace, time passed by as we moved through the building.

"At any rate… Ayanokōji-kun, Masumi-san. Don't you think this supplemental exam is far too unreasonable? They've decided to force expulsions on us just because nobody has been expelled yet. Setting up an exam like this one… Thinking about it rationally, it's ridiculous."

"Totally. Mashima-sensei's usually pretty composed but even he's been giving off a sorta shaken vibe recently."

It seemed like the other teachers weren't satisfied with the supplementary exam either.

Sakayanagi and Kamuro continued to talk.

"There is a reason for that."

"What, you know something?"

"It's a personal matter that I'm a bit ashamed of, but my father was suspended from his position a few days ago."

"Suspended… Your father… If I'm not mistaken, he's the board chairman right?"

Having known about Sakayanagi's father already, Kamuro pressed for more information.

"I haven't heard about it in detail, but it seems that quite a few unfavorable things have come out regarding my father. The father I know is not the type of person who would dirty his hands with those sorts of matters. Of course, I can't rule out the possibility that I, as his daughter, simply didn't know about it, but… it's also true that someone may have planned all of this in order to force Father out of his position."

On the surface, these words had been spoken to Kamuro, but in reality, they were probably meant for me. If Sakayanagi's father really was innocent, it wouldn't be surprising if 'that man' had a hand in all of this.

The impression I had of Sakayanagi's father may not have been a misunderstanding after all.

"That said, this is something that has absolutely nothing to do with students like us. It's nothing but simple, idle chatter."

It seemed that Sakayanagi didn't see her father's forced suspension as anything worth paying attention to.

"Even so, what does any of that have to do with the exam?"

"Don't you think it's possible that the school hastily prepared the exam… all for the sake of forcing a certain someone's expulsion?"

"Someone…"

Kamuro glanced over at me for an instant before immediately returning her gaze to Sakayanagi.

"I've tried not being bothered by it until now, but you… Why have you been keeping your eye on Ayanokōji?"

Kamuro asked as she walked beside Sakayanagi.

"Oh? You've tried not being bothered by it until now, have you?"

"…Of course I have."

Kamuro denied Sakayanagi's implications, but the look on Sakayanagi's face was one that seemed to fully understand everything.

However, instead of pressing the matter any further, she returned to Kamuro's question.

"I simply know him from a long time ago. Is this answer not acceptable enough?"

Contrasting with Kamuro's concern, Sakayanagi answered nonchalantly.

Considering the fact that she hadn't told Kamuro anything before, it was a fairly revealing answer.

It was also possible that she was trying to gauge my reaction. If I were to react poorly or carelessly interrupt their conversation, then it could end up being exposed as a weakness.

Well, in reality, I didn't really care.

"So you're saying that the two of you just coincidentally reunited here? That's such a slim possibility though."

"Yes. The possibility is indeed slim. Right, Ayanokōji-kun?"

"Maybe so."

While I had never once been acquainted with her before coming here, there technically wasn't anything incorrect about what she said.

Back then, our knowledge of each other was definitely one-sided.

"Then, is he really a difficult person to handle? Sorry, but I just don't see it at all."

Just as Sakayanagi had done earlier, Kamuro got straight to the point.

In some sense, perhaps the two of them really were similar.

"You've become quite inquisitive lately, haven't you? Up until now, I don't think you've ever thrown me this kind of question before."

It appeared as though the few times I'd made direct contact with Kamuro had given her some ideas of her own.

Perhaps this had sparked some kind of uncontrollable curiosity within Sakayanagi as well.

"You can ask anyone and they'd probably be thinking the same thing. You've never been so fixated on someone like this before."

"You came across to me as a particularly indifferent person who didn't like to interfere with other people's affairs. That was why I had no reservations with asking you to keep an eye on Ayanokōji-kun, but… you're quite hopeless, aren't you?"

Sakayanagi sounded a little surprised, while also a bit delighted in some respects.

I had thought she was only saying this to see my reaction, but she just might have been asking these mean-spirited questions because she was interested in Kamuro's responses instead.

As they talked, we arrived at our destination.

"Nobody will bother us if we talk here."

We had arrived at the special building. It certainly was quiet, given that it was after school.

"Well, Masumi-san. I apologize, but please head on back to the dorms without me."

Sakayanagi apparently had Kamuro walk all the way here simply because she wanted a conversation partner.

"…Whatever."

Sakayanagi ultimately decided to send Kamuro back home without saying too much about me at all.

Kamuro turned and walked down the stairway without resisting, making me wonder if she knew it would turn out this way all along.

"Was that okay?"

"Yes. Wouldn't you have found it troublesome if I went and revealed something?"

"Not particularly."

If I showed any signs of weakness here, I'd be giving her a chance to take advantage of it.

Furthermore, there was no need to give Sakayanagi any extra information.

"I see that I've been recognized as your enemy. I suppose I'm willing to accept that for the time being."

My response and the reasoning behind it were so obvious that Sakayanagi understood the meaning behind my words without any issues.

"Going so far as to have Kamuro head back without you, what are you looking to talk to me about?"

We had spent a lot of time coming out here, so there wasn't too much left until my meeting with Hirata.

I urged her to get to the point.

"It's about the promise we made with each other."

"I agreed to face off with you during the next special exam. That is, this exam."

"Yes, that was certainly the plan. However… if it's alright with you, I would like to put it off until next time. This supplementary exam isn't a competition between the classes. Rather, it's a screening process for us to evaluate our own peers. The only way we can influence the other classes is with praise votes, and we can't attack one another even if we wanted to… So wouldn't it be fine if we postponed our match until next time?"

In other words, she was here to tell me that this particular special exam didn't count since it wasn't a befitting scene for our competition.

"Are you willing to accept this proposal?"

"Make whatever decision you want."

Since I had given her the response she was looking for, Sakayanagi respectfully expressed her gratitude.

"Thank you very much. I had been wondering what I would have to do if you didn't agree. Now, I'll be free to focus my attention on Class A's internal politics. Though…"

"Though?"

"Because we've agreed to a ceasefire, I suppose I'll tell you something in order to gain your trust. For this exam, I won't do anything that would put you at a disadvantage. That is to say, I absolutely won't cast you any censure votes."

She gave her word, restricting her own actions moving forward.

"In the unlikely event that I were to interfere with Class C somehow and negatively impact your results… I wouldn't mind accepting my loss. It would be perfectly acceptable for you to refuse to have a match with me during the next exam."

"If my classmates were to focus their censure votes on me, there wouldn't be a next time in the first place."

I'd then be expelled. End of story.

"You are certainly right about that. Either way, please have some peace of mind. That's all I'm trying to say."

Her words were more than just courteous, but I guess these were the steps she needed to take in order to gain my trust.

"Perhaps it's possible that your subordinates betray you before our match can even happen."

"Fufu, you're quite the funny one."

Nearly every student in Class A was part of the Sakayanagi faction.

She was confident that the class wouldn't dare attempt to remove its own leader.

"I had already decided who would be expelled as soon as the exam was announced."

"You decided early on who'd be removed? Sounds like the right decision."

Sakayanagi was able to make this decision precisely because she sat at the very top of her class.

"So, when do you plan on telling your class who it is?"

"I already told them all a long time ago. Had I waited until the last minute to inform them, it would've only caused anxiety in its own way. By making it known ahead of time, it's easier on the rest of the class, don't you agree?"

It would be unbearable for the student slated to be forced out of the school.

However, the rest of the class would be able to avoid falling into disarray.

"Do you know who it is I've chosen, if I may ask?"

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"Who knows. I don't have the slightest idea."

Despite having stated otherwise, I had a fairly good idea.

"Katsuragi Kōhei-kun."

"A reasonable choice?"

"He's the former leader of Class A who opposed me earlier in the year. There's no need for two people to stand at the top of the same class, after all."

Katsuragi is a calm and composed person.

He most likely understood that he'd be the scapegoat the moment he heard the details of the exam.

He had seemingly accepted his fate without resistance.

There were still some students who continued to follow Katsuragi like Yahiko, but they were greatly outnumbered.

"I know you've seen him as an enemy since the beginning, but I was under the impression that he had stepped back from trying to lead the class."

Even among Class A, Katsuragi ranked high in terms of overall excellence.

I felt it would be a pity to lose him, but it seemed that Sakayanagi felt differently.

"Among my friends, many already hate him. They simply can't agree with his conservative way of thinking. With that being the case, I can raise morale by showing him the door instead."

She appeared to be making a trade-off between losing out on combat power and boosting the morale of the class as a whole.

"Is it alright for you to be telling me this? About who you're targeting?"

"It's not like you're going to do anything behind the scenes to protect him right, Ayanokōji-kun?"

It didn't seem like I'd get any results that would make it worth the effort.

"What are you planning to do with Class C?"

"Who knows. I won't be taking part in it. I intend to leave all the decision-making to my classmates."

"When it comes down to it… it's as simple as removing one of the annoying ones, or even one of the incompetent ones."

Sakayanagi seemed to be enjoying herself as she thought about it.

"There's no need to think about what Class D intends to do. They're clearly going to rid themselves of Ryūen-kun."

I didn't have any objections for her.

For Class A, there were no particular advantages to lending Ryūen a hand.

Class A most likely wanted to see him expelled, even if it meant giving up a chance to get rid of the binding contract he had made with Katsuragi.

"Though, I have no idea what Class B will do. For this entire exam, I'm looking forward to seeing who gets expelled from that intimate class the most. Though, perhaps Ichinose-san has come up with something interesting?"

"Sorry. It's about time I go."

She was free to have as many delusions as she pleased. It's just that I would much rather she do it on her own.

"You're right. We can leave our conversation here for the time being. After all, the next special exam begins next week."

The distinctive noise of her cane striking the ground resounded throughout the hallway.

For a split second, Sakayanagi's gaze turned to the surveillance cameras set up near the ceiling.

The movement was so subtle that I wouldn't have been able to notice it if I hadn't been watching her closely.

I wasn't able to determine whether it was intentional or just a random, casual glance somewhere else.

"Well then, our match will be decided by the final special exam of the year, just as we had originally planned. It's a promise."

I responded with a small nod before leaving the special building.

6

There weren't very many stores that were suitable enough for meeting up after school.

Usually, people would meet at the cafe in Keyaki Mall, but today was different.

"Thanks for coming today."

"It's no big deal, Hirata. I wanted to talk to you as well."

"I'm happy to hear that. Anyway, how about we walk for a bit?"

After joining up together at the southern entrance, Hirata did a quick check of the surrounding area before we started walking.

"Sorry Ayanokōji-kun. Do you mind if I change our plans a little?"

"How so?"

"Is it a problem if we talk in my room instead? I think I'd feel better if we did."

"I don't particularly mind either way."

"Thanks for understanding."

It seemed as though the mall wasn't a very good place for what he wanted to talk about.

Looks like he didn't want anyone to listen in on our conversation.

Hirata initiated some small talk as we walked toward the dormitories.

"Our first year is already almost over. How did yours go, Ayanokōji-kun?"

He let out a sigh as he looked up to the sky.

"Between being sent to the uninhabited island and being forced to participate in the training camp, it was quite the tiring year."

"Yeah. It was definitely tough, but I still had fun. Ever since enrolling here, I feel like I've been able to successfully build trusting relationships with the people around me."

"Yeah, I think so too."

I didn't deny it. There were still many people in the class who hated one another. However, I suppose the enemy of an enemy is a friend. Throughout the process of being forced to work together, bonds had gradually begun to take shape.

"Honestly… There were never any problems until this exam started."

A shadow loomed over Hirata's smiling face.

"Is that what you wanted to talk about?"

"Yep. Sorry… I'm well aware that you don't want to talk about it."

I wouldn't actively involve myself, no matter what kind of special exam it was.

During previous exams, Horikita had always disregarded my feelings and asked for my cooperation.

Interestingly enough, it was the exact opposite for this exam.

Horikita didn't turn to me for help, while Hirata did.

It appeared as though Horikita was steadily becoming more and more mature these days.

Perhaps she had come to understand that I wouldn't cooperate, as the frequency of her requests was also petering out, little by little.

"This exam… I just can't think of a solution. No matter how many times I think about it, nothing comes to mind."

"No matter how many times…"

Looking closely, I could see dark circles beneath Hirata's eyes.

It made me wonder if he had been thinking about the exam all night, unable to get enough sleep.

"It sounds difficult. In an exam like this one, the more you think about your classmates, the harder it gets."

"Eh…?"

"Never mind, don't worry about it."

If I were to say something careless here, Hirata would only plunge even deeper into the darkness.

For now, it was probably best just to leave it alone.

"If… if there's a way to save the class, please tell me."

Because of my response, he had somehow gotten the wrong idea, thinking that I had an answer for him.

"Do you really think it's impossible to save up 20 million private points?"

"I've tried running the numbers, but it's just not possible to get that many points. Yesterday, I tried to casually bring it up with my upperclassmen in the soccer club, but they're all waiting for the special exams they'll be facing after this."

"They weren't able to spare any points, then?"

"Yeah…"

At the end of the day, the number of methods available to avoid losing someone was far too limited.

"Sorry, I can't think of anything else. I'll definitely tell you if I do."

"Is that so… Well, thank you."

It was the best answer I could give him at this point.

Trying his hardest to smile, Hirata thanked me.

This special exam was extremely easy, yet also exceedingly difficult.

If you change your point of view a little bit, the true goal of this exam becomes incredibly clear.

But Hirata couldn't see it.

This was just an exam for us to remove an unnecessary student.

From the moment Chabashira explained the rules, both Kōenji and I had already determined the end point of the exam.

Of course, there's no way of knowing 'who' would be expelled. All that mattered was making sure it wasn't 'you'.

However, it was different for people like Hirata.

He'd never be able to get past knowing 'who' would be expelled.

This was why he had gotten stuck within a maze, unable to find the exit.

"Ayanokōji-kun, do you think it's fine for someone to be expelled?"

"It would be nice if nobody's expelled when the exam is over. But that's difficult in this case."

"…Of course. You're right. But, there must be somethi-"

"Haven't you had a hard time sleeping because you already know the answer to that?"

I spoke up, interrupting him.

"That's…"

Silence came between us as we approached the entrance to the dormitories.

This was mainly because we could see several students chatting in the lobby.

The true problem, however, was a bit deeper than that.

Our eyes met with a certain person sitting on one of the lobby sofas.

"Well well well. If it isn't Hirata boy and Ayanokōji boy. What a toootal coincidence this must be."

"Hey Kōenji-kun. You waiting for someone?"

He seemed to notice our gazes immediately after we entered the building.

"Are you saying you'd be concerned if I had plans to meet with someone?"

Kōenji responded to Hirata's question with a question of his own.

"I might think it's unusual."

"I don't dislike your honesty, but unfortunately I am not."

Although he had answered the question, it still didn't explain what he was doing here.

Generally speaking, Kōenji wasn't the kind of person to spend his time hanging around in a place like this.

"Let's go."

Hirata walked to the elevator and reached out to press the call button.

Thereupon, Kōenji abruptly spoke up from behind us.

"Well, you'd better be doing your best to muster up the wisdom to make it through this exam."

"…You never change, do you, Kōenji-kun?"

Hirata asked, Kōenji's attitude seeming to weigh on his mind a little.

Hirata's finger had stopped just short of pressing the button.

"There's no reason for me to change for an exam like this."

"Is that really true?"

It was rare to see Hirata getting worked up like this.

He turned around and faced Kōenji. Of course, he still didn't glare at him.

Hirata was always calm and composed, until the very end.

"You say there's no reason for you to change, but honestly, I'm wondering if you're the one who needs to change more than anyone. I'm worried that… our classmates might single you out and make an example of you."

This was both Hirata's way of showing concern and making a threat.

They were words that strongly conveyed his desire for cooperation.

Hirata was hoping that Kōenji would have some interest, even if only a little.

"Your concerns are unfounded. Rather, shouldn't you, the leader of the class, be the one doing something to save me?"

Until the very end, Kōenji had no intention of changing this 'do nothing' stance of his.

"There are things that even I can't do. I may not be able to live up to your expectations."

"Oh you definitely can."

Despite Hirata's lack of self-confidence, Kōenji piled expectations on him without the slightest bit of hesitation.

I found myself wondering if he was being sincere or not, but I was unable to tell.

Getting up from the sofa, Kōenji approached Hirata and lightly patted him on the shoulder.

"After you're done licking your classmate's wounds, please be sure to throw out the unnecessary trash."

The moment these words left Kōenji's mouth, Hirata firmly pushed the call button.

"…Let's go Ayanokōji-kun."

"Yeah."

Hirata's tone, which had been amicable up until this point, now contained slight traces of anger.

There is trash among our classmates.

Hirata probably couldn't help but feel irritated by what Kōenji had implied.

He only spoke up after the elevator door closed behind us.

"Haa… Sorry. I let you see something a bit unseemly."

"Don't worry about it. Kōenji's opinions are troublesome."

Hirata forced a light smile and slightly lowered his head.

"So he struck a chord with you back there as well… Deep down, I know that preventing the expulsion is unrealistic. Despite everything, somewhere on the inside, I've already given up."

The elevator arrived at Hirata's floor. We disembarked and headed over to his room.

"Come on in."

"Sorry for intruding…"

This was the first time I had been in Hirata's room. Fundamentally speaking, the interior decor was simple, similar to my own room. There was a light, gentle scent in the air, similar to that of air freshener.

Although it was a bit plain, it was becoming of him. A very well-arranged room.

"Have a seat. Would you like some coffee?"

"Yes. Sorry to bother you."

"Don't worry about it. I was the one who asked."

This was a relatively new experience for me, since I was usually the one entertaining guests.

"As a continuation of what we were talking about a bit ago…"

He spoke up once again as he prepared the coffee in the kitchen.

"I wonder if there's really no way to save everyone."

"I wonder. Maybe I just can't think of anything."

I gave the same answer I did earlier.

Despite knowing that this would be my answer, Hirata still seemed to be looking for salvation.

I had intended for my answer to console him, but this appeared to have been counterproductive.

"If you can't think of anything, I doubt anyone else will be able to."

"You're giving me far too much credit."

I had no idea when exactly he started to evaluate me so highly.

"I've felt that you're one of the most dependable people in the class ever since that matter with Karuizawa-san."

Hirata spoke as though he had seen the true nature of my heart.

"I'm not really sure that's accurate."

After the water finished boiling, he handed me a cup of coffee.

"I'm being honest. Though, you're a modest person, so you'll probably deny it."

At this point, no matter what I said, it would've been a waste of effort.

Even if I denied his claims, Hirata still wouldn't believe me.

I began to think about how it'd be better to change the subject, but Hirata quickly continued, seeming to anticipate my intention to do so.

"The fact that someone has to be expelled during this exam… I just can't come to terms with it, no matter how hard I try. There's no such thing as someone who wouldn't care if a classmate was forced to leave."

"It's not like I don't get where you're coming from, but you simply don't have any other choice. We only have until the weekend to come to a decision."

"A decision, huh? Ayanokōji-kun… Do you think somebody in particular should be expelled?"

He looked at me with peering eyes.

While they had a gentle look to them, they also appeared to contain something else entirely.

"Not really."

It may have been interpreted as an unfairly neutral statement, but it was my honest thoughts on the matter. Even though there were a few students up for consideration, nobody wanted to openly nominate one for expulsion. It would be better to determine who to expel with a class discussion instead.

"We have no choice but to come to terms with it, whoever it ends up being."

"How level-headed. Compared to someone like me, you're far more cut out to be the class leader."

Hirata had taken the initiative to pull the class together earlier in the year, but his words were now filled with a timid uncertainty.

There was a single, specific thing he could do to prepare himself.

"What should I do moving forward? How exactly should I face this exam?"

It may be a little out of line to give him advice, but Hirata was always frequently helping those around him.

I wanted to do something to help him…

"I don't want you to take my word for it, but I'll tell you what I think."

"Okay."

"Let's put idealistic thoughts about 'saving everyone' to the side for a moment. You've been racking your brain, asking yourself 'Who should we get rid of?' for a while now, but you still haven't been able to come to a decision."

My words were clearly troubling him a bit, but Hirata ultimately nodded his head in agreement.

"In which case, how about you try doing the opposite? Instead of thinking 'Who should we get rid of?', think 'Who should I save?' instead."

"Who should I save…? Of course I want save everyo-"

"Attach a priority to each student in the class. Rank everyone, including yourself, one at a time from most to least important. Of course, there may be some students with roughly the same importance, but you should still try to do it anyway. You can make it simple and base it on who you like the most, or you could base it on how much they've contributed to the class so far."

By drawing up a ranking like this, there would inevitably be a student in last place.

"That's… But…"

It was an incredibly straightforward solution.

However, Hirata wouldn't be able to do it. His heart was still stuck on saving everyone.

He probably thought ranking his classmates like this would be an act of foolishness.

"Let's say I make a ranking. The list I come up with wouldn't necessarily be the same as the one our classmates come up with."

With this excuse, he continued to run away.

At this rate, the day of the special exam would arrive and he'd be completely defenceless.

"That's fine. I think you should start by coming to your own decision first."

For now, this was the only advice I could give him.

Moreover, whatever judgement he would make from here was up to him to decide on his own.

I took a grateful sip of the coffee he brewed for me.

It seemed to be from a different brand than the coffee I usually bought, as it had a somewhat potent bitterness to it.

"Well, yeah. You're probably right… Recently I've been consumed by the desire to run away from all of this."

Hirata took my advice and earnestly tried his best to come to terms with it.

It probably wouldn't go smoothly right away. The idea may leave a bad taste in his mouth and end up being rejected completely.

However, he still tried his best to accept it with an open mind.

"Haa… Alright. Thank you."

Hirata squeezed out words of appreciation.

For the time being, our conversation seemed to reach a stopping point.

"Can I ask something a bit insensitive?"

Suddenly changing the subject, I decided to try asking about something I was curious about.

"Hm? What's up?"

"Has anyone confessed to you since your break-up with Karuizawa?"

"Well that's an unexpected question. I never thought you'd be asking me something like that, Ayanokōji-kun."

There was a mix of surprise and bewilderment on Hirata's face.

I was interested in Hirata's potential love interests because of my past conversation with our classmate, Mii-chan. Before the end-of-year exam, she had reached out to me for advice because she was interested in Hirata, so I was curious about what had happened with that. I found myself wondering if she had already taken action.

"Well, I won't say who, but… yes, a girl has reached out to me."

In other words, girls were already beginning to confess to Hirata.

Whether it was Mii-chan or not, I had no intention of pressing him any further to find out.

Regardless, attractive guys like Hirata really are incredible. Girls were constantly throwing themselves at him, even if he didn't do anything. No, rather, Hirata's popularity stemmed from the way he carried himself. He wasn't slacking off in any way.

"Are you going out with this girl?"

"Certainly not. I'm not going to go out with anyone right now."

He decisively asserted his stance on the matter.

"Is there someone you like already or something?"

I could understand where he was coming from if he only had eyes for the one his heart was set on.

"Dating someone… is just too much for me right now. I'm unqualified."

"If that's how it is for you, then it must be nothing more than a pipe dream for someone like me."

In the first place, when it comes to falling in love, there's no need for qualifications.

"I'm just not fit for love."

The more capable the person, the more humble they are.

The less capable the person, the more arrogant they are

Ultimately, our conversation ended without either of us delving too much deeper.

7

"Sorry for calling you out so late, Ichinose."

That night, at a bit past eleven, I invited Ichinose over to my room.

It wouldn't have been unusual for her to be on her guard and turn the offer down, but she didn't seem to have any issues with it.

"It's totally fine! Though, it's quite rare for you to reach out to me like this."

"It's because I really wanted to talk to you. For the time being, if it's alright with you, feel free to take a seat on the bed. The floor might be a bit cold."

After expressing her gratitude, Ichinose sat down on the bed.

"This… My heart's beating kinda fast…"

"Hm?"

"Oh. No, it's nothing. How come we couldn't talk over the phone?"

How come, huh?

I picked up a white cup as I set some water to boil in a kettle.

"I wanted to confirm a bunch of stuff with you that's difficult to convey just by talking over the phone."

"I see."

"I suppose I'll cut to the chase and ask you directly. What are you going to do about the exam?"

"Are you looking to continue this morning's conversation? Well, I've been putting a lot of thought into how to overcome the exam without anybody being expelled… I suppose."

"And has anything specific come to mind?"

I took a look over my shoulder and watched as she tried to answer the question.

Of course, it was just something I had said for politeness' sake.

We both knew that there was no other way to do it besides forking over twenty million private points.

"Uhm, not yet unfortunately… There's already not much time left, so I'm getting a bit anxious."

I couldn't see any signs that she was hiding something based on her words or behavior. I was reminded that, back during the cruise ship special exam, I had been impressed with Ichinose's unexpectedly adept poker face.

"I was thinking that you might go to president Nagumo for help."

"What kind of help?"

If they aren't properly prepared for it ahead of time, posing a question like this might cause the other person to become flustered, yet Ichinose still returned my question as if nothing revealing had been asked at all.

However, what I was about to say next would surely be enough to break her poker face.

As the water in the kettle began to boil, I prepared a cup of hot chocolate and handed it to her.

"Thank you."

"This supplementary exam is different than the ones we've had before. It can't be cleared without someone being forcibly expelled, with the sole exception being to save up twenty million private points. No matter how many points Class B has saved up, there's no way you've reached twenty million. With that assumption in mind, you would have no other choice but to seek assistance from a third party."

Ichinose eyes shifted to her hot chocolate, letting out small, steady breaths to cool it down.

"Is that so? Well, Asahina-senpai also knew about it. Though, I didn't think she'd tell you, Ayanokōji-kun."

She seemed to realize that there was no use in trying to hide it anymore, immediately making the connection as to how I knew what I did.

"Then, I'm guessing you've also heard about his condition for lending me the points we need?"

As I responded with a small nod, a bitter smile took shape on Ichinose's face.

"Isn't it just ridiculous? In so many ways…"

Lending out private points on the condition that she enters into a relationship.

Furthermore, she was seriously thinking about accepting this condition.

This was probably what she meant by 'In so many ways'.

"Nagumo-senpai more or less prohibited me from revealing anything about our deal. He told me that if I did, I can forget it ever existed in the first place. Though, since Asahina-senpai is the one who told you, I should probably be safe for the time being."

"Don't worry about that."

"You say that, but this doesn't have anything to do with you, right…?"

"True enough."

It was Class B's problem, and Ichinose's decision.

"How many more points do you need?"

"A little over four million."

Just by entering into a relationship, the four million points her class needed would be accounted for and they could make it through the exam without anyone being expelled.

"Nagumo's given you quite the condition."

"Yeah. It'd usually be impossible for someone like me to borrow points and go out with Nagumo-senpai. Generally speaking, since he's lending me the points, it only makes sense that he's in a position to ask something of me in return."

As I listened to her thoughts on the matter, I got an idea of what she was thinking. There was no way she'd allow someone to be expelled from Class B. For that very reason, she was preparing to sacrifice herself.

"It's pretty much the only way to save everyone in Class B."

"Is that so…?"

At this point, there was nothing I could say to help her.

Private points were the only thing physically capable of helping Ichinose right now.

Realistically, four million was a number that even I wouldn't be able to acquire, no matter how hard I tried.

"Are… you worried about me?"

"I'm sorry if I'm being impertinent."

"No at all. Rather, I'm super happy."

Despite her response, her expression was still a bit clouded.

"But, I'm still kinda troubled honestly… I probably wouldn't have wavered with my decision if I hadn't spoken with you."

Ichinose slowly took a sip of her hot chocolate.

"…So what do you think, Ayanokōji-kun?"

"About Nagumo's deal?"

"Yep. From your perspective, what do you think about what I'm trying to do?"

Ichinose's eyes locked onto mine.

I answered her, bearing the full weight of her expectations.

"It's a method available to you and you alone that can prevent a classmate from being expelled. It's available to you because you joined the student council and made connections with president Nagumo. Striking a deal with him to reach twenty million points is definitely one way to go about all of this."

"You don't look down on me for it?"

"There's no need to look down on you. Though, to be completely honest, I'm not sure if it's worth paying twenty million private points just to save a classmate."

"…Is that so?"

Ichinose slowly took another sip of her hot chocolate.

"Say, Ayanokōji-kun."

She continued to keep eye contact.

"Hmm?"

"Ayanokōji-kun, are you perhaps someone really amazing?"

For her to call me someone really amazing, I didn't know how to react.

I had only told her exactly what I had heard from Asahina.

"What leads you to believe that I am? Sorry, but it's not something I'm personally aware of."

"It only makes you even more amazing if that's true. After all, you…"

She held back the words she was about to say.

"What is it?"

"No, nothing at all."

It was as if she didn't even fully understand what she wanted to say.

As if her mouth had been moving one step faster than her brain.

"…What is this, I wonder…?"

Ichinose quietly murmured, seemingly asking this question to herself.

Although it had been a bit forced, I was glad to hear about this from her in person.

I could see that, no matter what happens, Ichinose would act for the sake of Class B.

After all of this anxiety, Ichinose would probably come to a decision.

That is, to enter into a relationship with Nagumo Miyabi.