452 7.1

Final results:

1st: Ryūen[Class D]69 points

2nd: Ichinose [Class C]62 points

3rd: Horikita [Class B]59 points

4th: Sakayanagi [Class A]53 points

Ryūen, having perfectly defended for all the ten turns in the second half, turned the tables and won the victory.

With this ranking confirmed, Ryūen's class gained 100 class points. The second and third-placed classes, regrettably, lost 50 class points, whereas Sakayanagi lost 100 class points.

The result, which was unimaginable based on the first half, was completely unexpected; everyone fell from the top.

Defeat was no cause for joy. Yet, there was little discontent in the class. Rather, they appeared strongly relieved to have barely scraped by in third place.

No wonder. Those who had been eliminated had spent the end of the exam in mental distress.

Chabashira-sensei announced that more details, including Class A's expulsion, would be reported the following week and that class was dismissed for the day.

Among the lingering excitement, a single student burst open the classroom door from the hallway.

"Sorry, Karuizawa-san!"

"Eh, Ichinose-san...!?"

Kei, who was pressured by ten consecutive nominations, stiffened at Ichinose's appearance.

Protectively, Satō slipped in front of Kei.

Seeing this, seated at the very back, Horikita stood up.

"Calm down, Karuizawa-san. Those mysterious consecutive nominations were Ichinose-san trying to throw us a lifeline."

Ichinose apologized while agreeing with Horikita's words.

"Eh? What, what does that mean…?"

"She was trying, in her own way, to give us points. Right?"

"I had considered contacting you through text or by call, but it would be unnatural to say that we would be giving your points, so we decided to make a series of consecutive nominations in order to send a straightforward message. It was then that Horikita-san got suspicious and contacted me."

Horikita was the one who contacted her, not the other way around. Ichinose explained that this was the important point.

"We were also able to successfully protect a few people later thanks to Ichinose-san informing us of the nominees in advance."

"Why would they... Why would they need to do that…?"

"To defeat Class A, probably. Essentially, every class in second place and below was able to fight so that no one would lose."

"Yes, our only option was to face Sakayanagi-san head-on. That's what we call a godsend."

If it wasn't for Ichinose's support, the six-point difference might've been a setback.

"But, why did that have to be me?"

"You, Karuizawa-san, have been playing a central role among the girls, and naturally, Horikita-san would think of protecting you from being eliminated, wouldn't she? That's why I planned to keep nominating you from the beginning. However, I thought you must've been feeling anxious, so I rushed over here. I'm truly sorry!"

Looking at the justified reasoning and Horikita's message that substantiated it, Kei was somewhat relieved.

Ichinose continued to apologize to Kei several times before inevitably leaving since she was keeping her classmates waiting.

Afterward, as she looked at the ranking, Horikita received her classmates' thanks as they began to leave.

I also called out to Horikita.

"We lost this time. In the second half, it was clear that there must have been some kind of deal between Ryūen-kun's and Ichinose-san's classes... Of course, without any evidence, it's just speculation, but his class gave points to Ichinose-san's class, which elevated them to second place, without a single elimination."

"Exactly, but that's not the main point."

Horikita nodded in agreement and stood up.

"If two classes colluded, they basically had to start working together from the first half. Only by assisting each other could both parties benefit and share the victory. So I was fully relieved when there were no signs of it even after the first half was over."

"It wasn't just you. Sakayanagi couldn't have expected it either."

It was uncertain when Ryūen and Ichinose joined hands, but it must've been after the special exam arrangements were announced. And without showing their faces publicly, they were quietly preparing.

"But the turning point of all this was that Ryūen was able to sense all of Sakayanagi's attack targets beforehand."

"Someone leaked Class A's information to him... That's the only explanation."

"That seems to be the case."

"That student is insane. I can't imagine something like clearly betraying the class. This wasn't Class D or Class C, but a class that has maintained A since enrollment. What did they get in return for executing this?"

"They could betray their class if they were being paid 20 million points. Other than that, they probably wouldn't do it."

But still, it was hard to believe that anyone would betray their class if asked straight out.

Indeed, gaining 20 million points, which enabled you to move to another class at any point in time, seemed like a true goal, but there was still more than a year left until graduation. If such a huge amount of points were transferred, the betrayal would soon be exposed to the light of day, and the student would be the target of Class A's fury. They would also be envied by other classes. If they were targeted in the subsequent special exams, resulting in the risk of expulsion, they'd have no choice but to part with their private points. If that were to occur, they'd be getting their priorities backward.

In other words, it was safe to assume that the traitor wanted something special but unusual.

"I'm not thrilled with the outcome, but I can't complain. Although it's disappointing not coming in first, Class A ended up being fourth, so there's basically no damage done. However… I still feel frustrated."

Stepping out into the hallway and out of other students' sight, Horikita vented her true feelings without holding back.

"Take that frustration to the next special exam."

"Okay... I'll do that."

"I'm going to check out Ryūen's class. What are you going to do?"

"I'll go home for today. I don't have the confidence that I can listen to his sarcasm maturely."

Indeed, there was no denying the possibility that Ryūen could stir things up.