5

Realizing she'd been the one countered and teased instead, she started mumbling to herself.

"I'm getting goosebumps. Ayanokouji-senpai has his hands full with more than just an ordinary busty senpai."

Amasawa started to walk, but she stopped almost immediately.

"Ayanokouji-senpai is a boy too after all, maybe after getting a taste, he's now been made to wait before getting the next one, and ended up obeying Busty-senpai because of it…? Or not. There's no way that'd be the case here."

Still, she revised her view of Ichinose, whom she hadn't thought highly of at all until then.

It was undoubtedly Ayanokouji who changed Ichinose.

But the change was due to Ichinose's own strength.

"It's going to be an interesting fight for all the third-year senpai. Well, I need to get serious about that side of things too, to make Ayanokouji-senpai happy."

The reason she remained at this school.

To not let that go to waste, and for the sake of her goal, Amasawa began walking again.

* * *

[1]: Atsuomi's "White Room" is written in katakana, ホワイトルーム (pronounced, howaito ruumu, borrowed from lit. "white room"), which is the Japanese writing system that transliterates English and other foreign languages into Japanese syllables. Here, Ichinoseis translating the loaned words into their actual Japanese term (白い部屋).

Chapter 5:

Convolution

* * *

A WEEK HAD passed since our third year began.

I was sitting alone before the morning homeroom period began, listening to the voices around me.

With one person missing, the scenery had changed.

Yet, that sad change was beginning to be adapted into everyday life as if nothing had happened.

Ayanokouji-kun's name had slowly been getting used less often by students who had a shallow relationship with him. All due to the passage of time. It was a good example of how time resolved sadness, anger, and hardships.

Though reluctantly, I was being forced to understand that fact.

They were trying to alter their two years with Ayanokouji-kun as if it had never happened.

Yamauchi-kun, Sakura-san, and Maezono-san too.

Nobody mentioned the students who disappeared from the class anymore.

But those of us who were close to him, myself included, hadn't reached that point yet.

Rather, it was the opposite for us.

We keenly felt the cruelty and mercilessness of time.

The realization that he was gone grew stronger day by day.

Matsushita-san started to smile and talk less, while Sudou-kun started to get irritated over trivial matters like he used to a long time ago.

I wondered how I was affected.

Now, I couldn't even look at myself objectively.

I was desperately trying to maintain Class A's image by acting calmly.

No, I didn't even know how effective that was.

While fighting the anxiety that made it difficult to distinguish between what was real and what wasn't, I still continued my days, focusing on my studies and desperately clinging to my desk.

It felt heavy and suffocating. My heart was in pain.

It felt like I had lost an important part of my body.

Why did this happen?

Was this class not good enough?

Was this place not comfortable for Ayanokouji-kun?

I didn't know.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't seem to find the answer.

Certainly, compared to other class leaders, I was still inexperienced. That was why I thought he'd kindly stay by my side, watching over me while sighing to himself.

Was he simply sick of acting like a babysitter?

If I had been more reliable, could he have stayed without transferring?

And my words that hadn't reached him—

'I won't ask you to help me with everything, but I want you to keep watching over me…'

Looking back now, maybe it was good that those feelings at the celebration party didn't reach him.

It was a wish that would never come true.

Or maybe…

If those feelings had reached him, would he have stayed…?

"…"

I barely managed to suppress a sigh that almost naturally escaped my mouth, making sure no one could hear it.

It was an unbearable reality.

I never had my feet firmly set on the ground.

Losing my sense of balance, only time continued to pass relentlessly.

Eventually, the chime for the morning homeroom period rang.

Chabashira-sensei arrived in class. Maybe she'd moved on from the transfer issue, or maybe she was trying not to think about it, and had returned to being a normal teacher—it was unimaginable when compared to how she was during the first day of school.

In the not-too-distant future, Sudou-kun and the others would start looking towards the future as well.

Then what about me?

Will the day come when I'll get used to it, too?

It was hard to imagine.

What am I doing here, in this place?

What should I do from now on?

Previously, when I couldn't even imagine Ayanokouji-kun leaving the class, I thought I had the strength to move forward and keep fighting..

In this place without Ayanokouji-kun, for another year…

I—

"Did you hear me? Horikita."

"—Eh?"

Before I knew it, Chabashira-sensei had spoken, looking this way.

Some of the students around were also glancing in my direction.

"I will now announce the special exam, so don't zone out and make sure to listen carefully."

"Sorry, yes. It's okay, I'm listening."

That was a lie. I hadn't heard anything.

I hadn't even realized that someone was speaking.

I need to focus on what the teacher says…

No matter how much I suffered and stopped in my tracks, the world around me wouldn't wait.

What our teacher had just mentioned was… a special exam.

My third year's first special exam had arrived before I could even sort out my feelings.

I shook my head from side to side and stared at the monitor.

Special Exam Overview

'Comprehensive Academic Ability Exam: Full-Class and Small-Group Battles'

A written exam composed of random questions from 21 topics across 7 subjects (100 questions total, scored out of 100 points).

Competition between classes will be separated into two categories: Full-Class Battles and Small-Group Battles.

Full-Class Battle

All class members will be required to participate in the written exam.

The class with the highest total score wins, and that victory will count as two wins.

If the scores are tied, each class shares one win, and it'll be treated as a draw.

If there's a difference in the number of students within the classes, the points equal to the lowest-scoring student will be used for the missing students in that class.

On the day of the exam, students who are absent or leave midway due to illness will be treated the same as explained above.

Small-Group Battles

Each class will choose five representatives to participate.

Each class will assign their representatives a number from first to fifth, and they will compete individually for scores.

The student with the higher score wins, and their class will be awarded one victory.

If scores are tied, it is considered a draw, and no victory will be awarded for that particular individual battle.

Small-Group Battle Exclusive Rules

Penalties can be assigned to any student in the opposing class.

Each class starts with 100 penalty points.

Each penalty point deducts one point from the student's exam score.

There is no limit on the number of students the penalty points can be assigned to (up to 100 penalty points can be attributed to each student).

(Additional penalty points can be purchased until the day before the exam at a cost of 50,000 Private Points each.)

The designations of penalty points must be reported to the homeroom teacher by the day before the exam takes place.

Only the penalty points assigned to students participating in the small-group battles will be disclosed.

※ Penalty points will not affect the full-class battle scores or subsequent OAA evaluations.

Victory Conditions

The class with the most victories will win, competing for the two wins from the full-class battle and five wins from the small-group battles.

If the score is tied, such as having three wins, three losses, and one draw, the rewards will be evenly split.

Rewards

The winning class receives 100 Class Points (50 each in case of a draw).

A class that achieves a complete victory, seven wins, will receive an additional 50 Class Points.

A class that suffers a complete defeat, seven losses, will have 50 Class Points deducted.

From what I could decipher, it was a conventional written exam.

Essentially, it required pure academic ability.

However, the special rules added could significantly alter the outcome.

"This time, it's been decided that we'll compete against Class 3-D, and the exam will be held in two weeks. There won't be a lot of time to prepare, but since it's the same for everyone, please refrain from complaining."

Class 3-D.

That was the class Ichinose-san belonged to.

Thinking about things this way wasn't good at all—

Even though I understood that, I felt relieved that I didn't have to fight Ayanokouji-kun.

Normally, I would've regretted the fact that we didn't get to face Ryuuen-kun's class since they weren't good at academic battles.

But now, I only judged how good or bad the situation was based on whether Ayanokouji-kun was our opponent.

But surely, I wasn't the only one.

At least, Matsushita-san and Sudou-kun seemed relieved to me.

While engulfed in self-loathing, I looked at the monitor's rules again without a change in my expression.

Ichinose-san's class had many students who were well-balanced and excellent academically.

Moreover, the fact that their class had a full roster of forty students was also troublesome.

The more the number of students in the opposing class differed, the more advantages and disadvantages arose before the match even started. Although it seemed that points were guaranteed for the missing students, having the same score as the lowest scorer in the class was still a significant handicap.

With his departure… our class was already down to thirty-six people.

That meant having to fight while essentially being forcibly burdened with five students who were equivalent to the lowest scorer in the class.

"This is just a guideline, but the predicted scores based on OAA evaluations are as follows. It would be wise to use this as a reference to gauge how much your class can score."

After our teacher explained that, the monitor switched to a new screen.

OAA Academic Ability

A rating: 76~85 points

B rating: 66~75 points

C rating: 56~65 points

D rating: 51~55 points

E rating: 45~50 points

Seems like the written exam is quite difficult, and it's nearly impossible to score full marks. That's the impression it gives.

"Looks like it's going to be a tough fight…"

Sudou-kun, sitting nearby, muttered to himself with a stern expression.

Yes, this battle would undoubtedly be a tough one for us.

If we clashed head-on, the chances of winning were just shy of fifty percent.

We'd managed to somewhat improve on our academics. However, looking back at the results of the previous written exams, although we narrowly won against Ichinose's class in an academic exam once, we're still at a slight disadvantage overall, considering the handicap from our difference in numbers. With two weeks remaining until the exam, they'd be studying just as hard, and there was no guarantee that we'd be able to close the gap efficiently.

Though… because it wasn't a normal exam, there were also different opportunities for victory.

If it was a simple battle based solely on total points, we would've had to compete with even lower odds.

But this time, a special rule for small-group battles had been set.

Even if we were to lose the full-class battle, being able to turn it around with four wins in small-group battles was significant.

Since both classes had about the same number of students who had around an A in terms of academic ability in the OAA, if we could pit the top five students against each other, we could compete on equal footing.

Of course, we couldn't overturn the disadvantageous situation itself. If they were to win the full-class battle, they could secure victory by winning two small-group battles, whereas we'd have to win four. If we came to a draw on the full-class battle, three wins would suffice, but there was a very low possibility that we'd tie in total points, so it was better not to consider it.

"Four wins…"

Setting aside whether it was realistic, even if all five students participating in Ichinose-san's class's small-group battles were to score eighty-five points, which was among the higher boundary for students with an A in the OAA, we still had a good chance of winning as long as the penalty points were accurately used.

Just by distributing twenty penalty points to each of the five students participating, we could drop their score to sixty-five.

However, the same can be said for our opponent as well.

If we were to simply send out our most capable students and have them receive a large number of penalty points, we wouldn't be able to avoid a significant drop in scores, and the outcome wouldn't be reversed.

And if we were to send out students with B's or C's in the OAA, they might not be able to score enough to win.

That shallow line of thought was something that all four classes could think of and come to understand.

And the likely conclusion was… to purchase additional penalty points.

To increase the odds of victory, a straightforward strategy was to buy up points to use penalties.

Simply put, it was the only way to guarantee closing the gap with the opponent.

But the problem was the price…

The only issue was that it required fifty thousand private points just to take away one point.

Of course, I understood that it was still one point.

However…

I had to be careful; spending Private Points wouldn't guarantee any certain benefits after all. If we were to expect a specific student to participate and target them with a lot of penalty points, it would be unbearable if that student didn't show up in the small-group battles.

Above all, the damage from pouring tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of Private Points into a special exam and losing is… something I don't even want to think about.

"…Ugh…"

I placed my hands together and closed my eyes.

The special exam this time obviously required us to focus on our studies, but it also depended on who was sent into the small-group battles and whether we could assign penalty points to the right opponents.

There were no other strategies.

However, I couldn't see us winning with such a simple approach without doing anything else.

I don't understand…

If only you were here…

If you were here, you'd definitely come up with a surefire way to win.

I closed my eyes.

The image of his back that floated to my mind made it hard for me to breathe again.

"Suzune."

Is it okay to confront Ichinose-san's class head-on?

Can we win…?

Since our academic abilities are nearly equal, should we proceed as is?

Is it possible to probe whether our opponent will buy penalty points?

Or should we resort to underhanded tactics like Ryuuen-kun to manage somehow?

Who will our opponent send out…?

Ichinose-san won't participate in the small-group battles, will she?

Or will she surprise us by boldly participating?

Alongside my doubts, Ayanokouji-kun's image lingered in the corner of my mind.

How would he fight?

How would he view this special exam?

I was no longer allowed to even ask.

"Suzune."

Should I buy several penalty points to reduce the risk and apply them to all their top students?

Sometimes, a painful sacrifice is needed to get out of a dire situation, and you'll just have to endure through that pain…

"Suzune!"

"!?"

I was startled by the sensation of something touching my shoulder and looked in its direction.

It was Sudou-kun's large hand.

"Are you okay?"

"…There's no problem. I was just thinking about how to fight in the exam."

"That's true, but… you're still worried about Ayanokouji, aren't you?"

"That's—"

"It's impossible not to worry, but don't keep it all to yourself."

"Yes, I'll try."

I couldn't show Sudou-kun any more of my pathetic side.

Therefore, at least in this situation, I had to act bravely.

I thought I was managing it, but it seemed it wasn't enough.

"How we use the penalty points is important… Focusing on targeting students likely to score high and getting it wrong is scary."

Before I knew it, Hirata-kun had taken the lead in discussing this with our classmates.

I had no idea what they'd been talking about before.

"It just started."

"…Thank you."

Sudou-kun understood that I'd been preoccupied with my thoughts.

I had to pull myself together to avoid causing any more worry.

Responding to Hirata-kun's remark, Yukimura-kun raised his hand while still seated.

"I think it's better not to rely solely on the OAA evaluations for the small-group battles. After all, our academic abilities score only represents the average among all our subjects. A student who's extremely weak in one subject but strong in others can still score high. And there are still a lot of things about our own class that even we don't know about, like who's good at what and to what extent. Not all past exams have revealed detailed results."

He suggested leveraging the detailed information only known within our class.

There were two weeks left until the exam.

I wonder if I can come up with a way to win…

Part 1

* * *

THE DAY THE special exam was announced, I had an ordinary afternoon, as usual.

During that time, after Mashima-sensei concluded homeroom and left the classroom, Hashimoto stood up.

"Alright. So, we're all good with leaving this special exam up to Ayanokouji, right?"

He asked everyone, assuming their consent rather than seeking permission.

No one said yes or no, and the classroom momentarily fell silent.

However, soon after, Shimazaki glared at Hashimoto without holding back his dissatisfaction.

"And why's that?"

"Why? I could ask you the same. This special exam is a good opportunity for a transfer like Ayanokouji to show his abilities. If we don't leave it to him now, then when? It makes you wonder why we recruited him in the first place."

Even though I wasn't welcomed, Hashimoto argued fiercely, thinking it was obvious.

"And what if we lose?"

"Lose? Don't be stupid, there's no way we'll lose. Right, Ayanokouji?"

Hashimoto looked at me with an expression full of expectation and pressure.

"I can't guarantee our victory or defeat, but if you entrust me with it, I intend to give it my all."

I took a complete turn from my confident speech after the opening ceremony, deliberately playing it safe with my words, which led me to receive my classmates' cold glares in return.

Hearing that the outcome was uncertain, naturally, they couldn't believe it.

"Ha… that's what he says, Hashimoto."

At such times, Sakayanagi probably would've already declared, 'We will win.'

The difference in our answers might've confused and disappointed some of them.

"Come on, be more decisive. It makes the rest of us worried. I'm starting to worry myself too."

Scratching his head, Hashimoto sighed and looked away.

"So, Shimazaki, what do you plan to do if we don't plan on leaving it to Ayanokouji?"

"Nothing special. We'll just fight like normal and win like normal."

"Normal? Then who will come up with the strategy?"

"We can discuss it as a class. Of course, I don't oppose Ayanokouji joining in."

"So you mean we don't need a leader?"

"That's not what I'm saying. Of course we need a leader. Someone has to steer the class when there's a dispute. But I just can't feel like entrusting him with this special exam. I'll be clear, from what I've heard, this exam is one we should naturally win. We've been leading in written exam scores for two years, and our opponent has always been the lowest-scoring class, right?"

Hashimoto grunted slightly, but he soon countered.

"If it were a simple written exam, yes, but this is a special exam. Can we really win by charging in without thinking?"

"I'm not saying that we won't be thinking. I'm saying we should discuss it as a class if necessary."

"The more people there are, the easier it is for information to leak."

"There won't be any idiots who'll leak it. I don't know about you, though."

"How nice of you to say."

Watching the argument between Hashimoto and Shimazaki, Sanada stood up to mediate.

"May I ask Ayanokouji-kun a question?"

"Of course."

"Looking at this special exam, I think the key point lies in who gets the penalty points. If we leave it to you, you'll be able to predict who the opponent will send out for the small-group battles and who we should select to avoid being targeted… is it okay to assume that? If you can tell us that much, then I might consider entrusting this to you, Ayanokouji-kun."

Providing help to Hashimoto's case, Sanada followed up with a suggestion that could make those who were skeptical yield to letting me take the lead. Sanada looked at Shimazaki calmly.

"…I see. So it's not about judging Ayanokouji based on the outcome, but measuring his abilities through the process."

"Yes. I also feel like we have a high chance of winning this special exam. However, if there's anything that could turn the tables, it'll be the distribution of penalty points in the small-group battles. Discussing it as a group doesn't guarantee the best solution. Entrusting it solely to Ayanokouji-kun has its risks, but as Hashimoto-kun said, there will come a time when we must entrust him with something. Maybe this exam is a good opportunity to make a quick and conclusive decision."

It was a compromise that incorporated both Hashimoto's and Shimazaki's opinions.

"Indeed… not a bad idea. Ayanokouji, we can leave it to you, right?"

"If you entrust it to me, I'll do my best."

That was all I said, but Shimazaki immediately raised his voice.

"Alright! Then, since winning is a given, we'll focus on whether your guesses match up, okay?"

"Okay, okay. Let's go with that."

Hashimoto, having secured the plans, nodded in satisfaction and clapped his hands together, making a loud sound.

He must've thought that anything was possible as long as I was just given the chance.

"It's settled then. We'll handle the details from here. Just sit back and relax."

"We'll see about that. For now, I guess I'll just have to rack my brains over whom to assign these to."

In case the discussion dragged on, potentially resulting in them unexpectedly retracting their plans, Hashimoto urged everyone to disperse.

"So, Ayanokouji, make sure you have plenty of time after this."

Looks like I won't be able to go home right after school ends.

"Hashimoto Masayoshi seems quite bothered about his exclusion in the transfer talks."

He definitely looked quite determined not to let discussions proceed without him.

"Is it really okay to let someone who might betray us in on our strategy?"

Morishita whispered her doubts from right behind me.

"Your trust in Hashimoto is pretty thin, huh?"

"It couldn't possibly be thick, can it?"

Since our seats were one behind the other, it was convenient for having these small types of chats. Sensing Hashimoto approaching, Morishita cut the conversation short.

"Let's go, Ayanokouji. What about you, Morishita?"

"I might as well keep you company for the time being. I'm interested in seeing your skills."

"Whether it's the dorm, karaoke, or behind the school building, I'll join you."

Choosing a location for strategizing usually meant picking a place away from prying eyes.

However, I deliberately suggested holding the meeting at a café as per usual.

Part 2

* * *

WE ARRIVED AT the café without taking any detours.

"Please wait a moment. I'll take about an hour to decide what to drink."

"Don't take an hour, seriously don't take an hour."

Morishita grinned in response to Hashimoto's retort.

"Just kidding, but please wait a bit. I'll ask my stomach what it wants."

Was your stomach really the right place to ask?

In this case, I feel like you'd rather be asking the brain, but… well, never mind.

Behind us were a pair of first-year students, who seemed to be heading to the café as well. They started to line up, but then they stopped and started taking a step back to look at the menu, probably because of Morishita's indecisiveness.

"Decide before the line gets held up."

"Understood. Today, I think I'll have a matcha latte."

"Then, I'll order for all of us. Go ahead and find us a seat in the back."

Since we came to the café right after school, ninety percent of the seats were still empty.

It seemed we could choose almost any seat we wanted, so I decided to pick the same spot as last time. While Hashimoto waited at the counter for our three drinks, Morishita and I took our seats.

"Aren't you calling Yamamura Miki over as well? She was being self-deprecating, saying she's just like oxygen, lighter[1] than carbon dioxide—you just breathe it in and out as you please, and that's it."

"Yamamura wouldn't make such a harsh, self-deprecating comment."

That sounded like something only someone as eccentric as Morishita would say.

"Well, that was indeed my own original comment, but she's definitely feeling worried."

"I've already given Yamamura a heads-up. It's better for her to keep her distance from me for a while."

With my transfer, many students had been approaching me every day, and I'd become quite conspicuous. From baseless rumors to true information, things were flying around everywhere.

"Even for someone as inconspicuous as Yamamura Miki, that could certainly become an issue. You made that decision thinking that we don't need to deliberately lower her value as someone who barely stands out."

"Value, huh? Well, that's one way to look at it, but this is out of consideration for a friend."

"Oh? If you say so."

If I called, Yamamura would probably do her best to respond.

However, standing out might cause her undue stress and hurt her emotionally.

"So if Yamamura Miki wants to stand out, it's okay for her to do so?"

"Of course. She should feel free to reveal herself at her own pace."

"How kind—or should I say, you're quite composed."

Yamamura had gotten close to Sakayanagi, which slowly began to change her thoughts. If I were to force her into acting as a mere tool right away, it might've caused her to close off her heart, fast. If that were to happen, she wouldn't be able to function as the class's eyes and ears properly. Overworking and breaking her would be foolish.

Unlike Sakayanagi, who had been making stable and consistent use of Yamamura since the beginning, I wanted to start by first nurturing her mind so that she'd become a resource that could be more handily put to use.

It was unclear how Morishita viewed Yamamura, so it was safer not to discuss the matter.

"Rather, I could be asking you the same. Aren't you going to get along with Yamamura?"

Since transferring to Class C, I'd never seen Morishita and Yamamura interact.

Yamamura had been sending her glances and seemed restless around Morishita, so it didn't seem like she was unwilling to interact with her.

"It's better not to get too involved with me. It would only end up dragging her into a wicked fate. A frail being like her would likely perish…"

"I don't understand what you're saying at all. Are you saying it's okay for me to get involved then?"

"You're fine, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. You seem like you can take a hit."

Her impression probably wasn't wrong, but it still felt somewhat unsettling.

"Hey, you two didn't start the discussion without me, did you?"

Hashimoto came back quickly, holding three cups in his hands.

"Don't worry. The discussion is already over."

"That's good. Then let's start from the beginning. First, let's confirm the details of the exam again."

It seemed he realized it was a lie, and he immediately prepared to start the discussion as soon as he sat down.

He took out his phone and displayed the rules of the special exam.

"I'll just listen, so please start without me."

Having said that, Morishita declared her role as a listener and inserted a straw into her matcha latte cup.

"Then, I'll start with what I thought. Honestly, I'm surprised the special exam's using a one-on-one format right from the start of our third year. We just faced each other off at the end of last school year."

Hashimoto shared his honest thoughts upon hearing the announcement.

Being in a new class, this kind of start wasn't bad.

"That's right. Moreover, the upper and lower classes are neatly divided. Seems to be a decision they made after considering the situation between us third years."

It was a great opportunity to close the gap between the classes at the top and the classes at the bottom, but it also inherently carried the risk of widening it.

"As for me, I'm just glad we don't have to start the alliance off unstable right from the get-go. The class would inevitably resist, and if that had happened, we would've had to prepare for an immediate loss. Just imagining it is scary."

I understood the feeling, but even if left alone, the time would come for this class to battle Ichinose's.

I had the opposite opinion; it would've been better if we'd clashed from the start. With superior academic abilities and having just transferred, deliberately losing to Ichinose would've left Horikita and Ryuuen with the impression that something was wrong. I would've been able to leave a larger impact on those two, so I felt like I lost out a bit.

Losing wasn't just about losing; giving meaning to the defeat could also add value.

By doing so, it could've led to a productive defeat.

Shortly after the conversation started, the café began to get busier. The male and female first years who'd ordered earlier chose a seat next to ours with their iced coffee in hand.

"I don't care about the details of the exam."

Perhaps having quickly reached her limits for staying silent, Morishita grumbled as she bit her straw.

She'd bitten it several times, flattening the tip.

"Hey, why did you come here then?"

"I was worried about Ayanokouji Kiyotaka because of your reckless outburst earlier, Hashimoto Masayoshi. You made a bold statement in front of the whole class without permission, but was that really okay? Efficiently imposing penalty points on our opponents while neatly avoiding them on our classmates is the ideal tactic, sure, but it's not easy. Our opponents are also thinking the same thing and racking their brains."

Students with high academic abilities could score high, but they were likely targets for penalty points. Conversely, students with low academic abilities were less likely to be targeted for penalties, but you couldn't expect them to score high.

"Don't worry, Morishita, it'll work out. Shimazaki also said that at least we have the advantage of our academic prowess. So, even if we get hit by some of their penalty points, we'll still be far ahead. It's unavoidable if our guesses are a bit off. If we win the exam, we'll likely continue with Ayanokouji as our leader for the next one."

It was practically impossible to achieve a hundred percent accuracy while avoiding all of the penalty points.

Whether I tried to look at it head-on or tried to turn things around, there was no absolute answer when it came to reading the opponent in this exam.

No matter how much we analyze, our accuracy would remain between 1% and 99%.

Of course, unexpected developments like inside leaks could change the situation, but such naive scenarios were unlikely to occur now that we were in our third year.

"Even if our penalties completely miss, this victory will definitely bring something significant. Since there won't be any reason to deny you from the start, I think there's still a possibility that they'll entrust the next exam to you. However, even then, our opponent's participants in the small-group battles… ideally, you need to hit at least three of them to prove a point."

If I couldn't successfully hit anyone, I wouldn't be able to sway students like Shimazaki from being skeptical.

"Well, it would be absolute proof that you've accurately read our opponent's thoughts, so we can't ignore it."

Only five students could participate in the small-group battles. Initially, we had a baseline of a hundred penalty points, so there would be five people for us to give a significant twenty-point deduction to. There was a less than a one percent chance of randomly hitting three participants from our opponent's forty-student class.

That was why reading the opponent became a critical and valued aspect of the exam.

"Though, three seems tough. I think even two is enough."

Hashimoto speculated that even showing a bit of accuracy would change the class's impression.

He casually suggested getting two correctly, but even then, the probability was still less than ten percent. It wasn't something you could consider high.

"You're just leaving it to somebody else, so you sure must be feeling comfortable, aren't you? What I want to hear is your thoughts, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. In a situation where there are no clues, how are you going to predict which student the opponent will nominate?"

"I can't talk about that at this point yet. Saying anything careless here and having them taken at face value would be troublesome."

"My, my, you're already on the defensive. This doesn't bode well for the future."

"I won't deny it. That being said, if you have any other thoughts about the current situation, let me hear them."

When I asked Hashimoto, who automatically kept the conversation moving, he nodded willingly.

He was probably hoping that speaking up would bring about a good idea.

"Then, let's proceed with the premise that we'll hit two targets, alright? I think it's best to spread our targets widely, assigning ten people with ten penalty points each. It'll hurt if we narrow it down to just five students who might participate in the small-group battles and miss. Besides, with a ten-point advantage, our class would have a good chance of winning. There's only a handful of opponents that'd be hard to deal with in their class."

Just like Hashimoto said, in Ryuuen's class, there were unfortunately very few students with a B+ or higher in academic ability, like Kaneda, Hiyori, and Katsuragi. That description wouldn't even match six people.

"If you're not confident, that's the least you should do."

"You agree, then, Morishita."

"Well, it's the most basic of basics."

"Then, we also need to think about our defensive strategy, not just offense. Though, do you even have a grasp of the academic ranking in our class?"

"I think I have a good idea from the OAA and the past two years."

"Okay, but later, I'll tell you about my subjective view over the past two years, so use it as a reference."

"That would really help. I don't know the finer details of everyone's strengths and weaknesses."

It was unclear whether it'd be useful in this special exam, but it should help save time later on.

"As for who to send from our class, I think we should select students with high academic abilities as the base, and then add some irregularities."

"Oh? So does this mean you're prepared to take on some of their penalty points, Morishita?"

"Playing it steady and choosing students with academic abilities in the low to middle range would significantly damage us if they were to end up seeing through that strategy. On the other hand, if we send students with high academic abilities and they're overlooked, it's a win for us."

Hashimoto, leaning on his elbows and seemingly convinced, apparently had different thoughts.

"I think we should distribute our participants among students with lower abilities. It's essential to note those with high academic abilities. If it were me, I'd target them even if there's a chance I'd miss the mark. No, actually, I might even take the gamble and assign a lot of points to only their top performers."

Both parties' ideas for the special exam's small-group battles seemed to contradict each other.

Each idea had valid points.

However, in the end, there were only about three types of lineups to choose from.

We could either choose students with high abilities, low abilities, or a balance between them.

"Also, we should be concerned if the opponent decides to buy additional penalty points. It would be troublesome if they were to expand their targets to twenty or thirty of us in a strategy where they focus on quantity."

"Using Private Points like live ammunition, huh? It's risky, but Ryuuen might be prepared to make such a move."

If they were to successfully target all of the participating students in the small-group battles, they could significantly ease their handicap.

The ability to purchase additional penalty points was perhaps the most interesting element of this special exam.

Normally, it wasn't easy to bridge the academic differences, and Ryuuen's class would have almost no chance of winning.

However, in addition to the full-class battle giving two points and the small-group battles giving five points, there was also the penalty points rule.

If they were able to come out on top in predicting our representatives, they could bring things to an even state, and with them being able to purchase additional penalty points on top of that, they'd be able to control their chances of turning things around to some extent.

It was an exam we expected to win, but surprisingly, there were also opportunities for our opponents to utilize.

"If they assign a twenty-point penalty to all our top scorers… that would be really bad, huh?"

"Our odds of winning would drop significantly. However, to pull off such an absurd move, they'd have to use up their Private Points as if it were drinking water."

To reduce an extra twenty points, it would've cost an additional one million in Private Points. With twelve people in Class C with an evaluation of B+ or higher, even after deducting the initial hundred points, the expenses would amount to seven million.

"Spending nearly ten million and still losing—that wouldn't be something to laugh about."

Yes, if they ended up winning, they'd be somewhat relieved, but they also had to consider the risks of losing.

The higher they rose their odds of winning on this exam, the more they'd face financial difficulties, affecting their odds of winning in the future.

"How will Ryuuen handle this? Can you read his moves?"

Hashimoto frequently looked forward to what I had to say.

My performance here would solidify my position within the class, so he was expecting an exceptional answer.

"Ryuuen's strategy—"

I showed a small gesture to suggest I was thinking before answering.

"I don't know a thing about it."

"…So you haven't thought of anything either."

"Too bad, it seems Ayanokouji Kiyotaka hasn't had a flash of insight yet."

"There's still time until the exam. All I have to do is come up with a winning strategy by then."

"He's saying it's better to take the long way around, huh? Well, Ayanokouji isn't a god, after all."

Hashimoto acted composed, though he clearly felt uneasy inside.

"Besides, I have no intention of participating in the small-group battles in this special exam."

"You're free to do as you like, but are you sure that's okay? You said yourself when we were talking about transferring that you need to demonstrate your abilities clearly to be recognized in our class, Ayanokouji. It's not that you're lacking confidence, right, rare A-in-Academic-Ability-san?"

"Do you think Ryuuen won't pay me any attention?"

"Well, it's obvious that Ryuuen has his eye on you…"

"And normally, people would assume you'd participate, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, and it would be standard for them to impose penalty points on you. If you foolishly show up, you'd be targeted. One or two penalty points would probably be manageable, but with thirty or forty of them, you've basically got no chance of winning. Let's set aside whether they'd go that far just to secure a victory."

Even with a perfect score, forty penalty points would reduce it to sixty.

Even those that weren't on Kaneda, Hiyori, or Katsuragi's level would stand a good chance of winning.

"There's an eighty to ninety percent chance Ryuuen will impose multiple penalty points on me. There's no need for me to participate."

"I see. You're assuming Ryuuen will impose penalty points on you."

"Yes. Regardless of how he responds verbally, he'll almost certainly do that."

"Then it might be better not to push it. It would be a relief if Ryuuen misses his shot."

"It might be interesting to ask him what he thinks when he comes later."

"Huh? What do you mean, 'when he comes'?"

"Ryuuen."

As I spoke, Hashimoto hurriedly looked around.

"…He's isn't here, right?"

"Not yet. But there's been some movement in here, so it's only a matter of time."

As I directed my gaze to a corner of the café, Hashimoto and Morishita also looked that way.

Komiya and Yamawaki, who had been watching us, hurriedly averted their eyes, pretending it was coincidental, but it was probably too late.

"So they were keeping an eye on us. I wasn't worried about them because of our distance."

Hashimoto had only been wary of potential eavesdropping.

In that sense, though, it was already too late.

Two first-year students, a male and female duo, who had been sitting at the next table over finished their break at the café and stood up.

As I watched the two leave, Morishita tilted her head in confusion.

"Was there something about those first-year students?"

"Those two were also new students sent by Ryuuen."

"Ah…? Are you serious?"

"Yes. They tried to appear natural, but they placed their phones toward the edge of the table, closer to us, and laid them face down. They were either recording an audio or a video. If they were to receive a call, the screen would light up, and that would risk us seeing it. Normally, regardless of gender, people would either keep their phones on them or at hand and regularly check them. But Takikura… that girl didn't touch her phone even when there was a pause in their conversation."

"Damn, he's already got first years in his grasp in such a short amount of time…"

"It's been just under a week since they started school. During that time, Ryuuen has been making contact with first years to expand his surveillance network."

Hashimoto was cautious, but naturally, it seemed the first years were off his radar.

"You're on top of things, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka."

"Even if it's just information based on their middle school records, their names and faces are available on the OAA. I made sure to look them up the day they were published."

"That might explain why those two seemed suspicious. However, that alone isn't definitive evidence that they were people Ryuuen Kakeru sent out as guns. Perhaps she just happened not to touch her phone, or maybe the placement was unintentional. I don't think we should completely dismiss those possibilities."

"That might be true, but it's better to be cautious. It's important to operate under the assumption that they're doing at least that much."

In actuality, there was indeed a reason that supported it, but it was better to touch on it after the special exam.

Hashimoto whistled and nodded with a proud smile.

"The possibility of them being spies is enough, Morishita. As expected of Ayanokouji."

"You can't just keep praising him. Rather, that would mean Ayanokouji Kiyotaka passed on some information."

"I've only passed on information that's safe to share. It's okay."

"So that's why you were talking like you weren't sure earlier. Yeah, that's it. That's a part of you I think highly of. You can't just carelessly speak your mind when the enemy is nearby."

Given the limited moves we could make in this exam, information was indeed a weapon.

It was essential to take action, gathering even the slightest hint or clue to win.

However, it was also necessary to understand that it wouldn't necessarily increase the odds of winning.

Using unsuspecting first years wasn't a bad idea, but ultimately, the information accuracy was more important than the quantity. Sorting through a mountain of claims that mixed in truths and lies and only extracting the former was a daunting task. In fact, it was fair to say that it's extremely difficult.

Morishita took her lips off the straw of her half-finished matcha latte.

"It seems he really did come."

"Looks like it. Let's stop chatting for now. Our next opponents are much more troublesome than Horikita and the others."

Hashimoto, slightly tense, spoke with a smile that resembled a bitter grin.

Ryuuen, Ishizaki, and Albert approached.

A week had passed since the opening ceremony.

Students from other classes and even different years asked about my class transfer in detail, but Ryuuen's classmates, although they made eye contact, hadn't mentioned the transfer at all until now. Rather, they seemed to have made an effort to deliberately avoid me.

It was clear that Ryuuen was giving instructions to his classmates.

"I don't think things will take a bad turn in a place like this… but it's a bit worrying without Kitou here."

Hashimoto looked at Morishita, seemingly feeling a bit anxious.

He was probably imagining a worst-case scenario, but it was safe to say that he didn't need to consider such a possibility.

"You don't have to tremble like a newborn fawn. When the time comes, I'll knock them down one by one. Believe it or not, I have a master's license in Ai-chan style martial arts."

"…I'm counting on you."

Hashimoto, while grateful for Morishita's pure lie, stood in front of us.

"Ayanokoujiii!"

Right after, a loud and deep voice echoed not just through the café but throughout Keyaki Mall.

It was Ishizaki who bursted out, unable to contain himself.

"Why the hell did you transfer to Class C!?"

It seemed that until now, he'd wanted to touch on this topic but hadn't.

Ishizaki opened the topic as if he were exploding with emotion.

"Shut up, Ishizaki. You're bothering the other students, calm down."

Hashimoto stepped in between us to prevent Ishizaki from reaching me.

"How can I calm down! I've always—!"

"Move."

Ryuuen caught up with Ishizaki, pushed his shoulder, and forcibly cleared the way.

Students sitting nearby, thinking that sparks might fly their way, began to hurriedly move their seats.

"You're ruining the café's pleasant atmosphere, Ryuuen. At least use basic manners, will you?"

"You're as desperate as ever. If Sakayanagi disappears, you immediately stick to Ayanokouji without a hint of hesitation. Can't you survive without clinging to the strong?"

"Working for the class isn't a bad thing, is it?"

"Hah, well, do as you like. More importantly—"

After turning his head around, Ryuuen pierced me with a sharp gaze.

"What's your intention in transferring to Class C?"

"There's no particular reason. Sakayanagi left, and Class C came to help me transfer."

I looked at Hashimoto, who gave an exaggerated nod as if to say that was exactly right.

"No way, man! You wouldn't just transfer to a lower class for that!"

"Be quiet for a bit."

"Y-Yes, sorry!"

Ishizaki, with Ryuuen grabbing him by the collar, hurriedly apologized.

"Does my transferring to Class C cause any inconvenience to you?"

"Kukuku. No? Far from it, I welcome this development. If you yourself lead the class, there could be no better stage for me to bring you down."

Ryuuen had been dissatisfied with fighting against me while I utilized Horikita as a puppet to act as my cover.

In that sense, he showed a welcoming stance on the matter.

"But Ryuuen, isn't it quite late for you to be greeting our new leader?"

"Leader? That's premature. It doesn't seem like this guy's been acknowledged yet."

Over the past week, he'd probably been prying into Class C's state.

Starting with the situation regarding Shimazaki and the others, it was probably clear to Ryuuen that I wasn't welcomed yet and that I wasn't able to act as their leader.

"My class expects results in the upcoming special exam. Please go easy on us."

"That's an impossible request. This is a good opportunity for us to fight you. I'll play every card I can without holding back."

Ryuuen turned his back to me and walked away.

"It's unnecessary to chat any further."

"Ayanokouji… why…? If you were going to C… Damn it…! Ah, well, what's done is done… Anyway, let's talk more next time."

Despite his frustration, Ishizaki accepted the situation and conveyed his message.

"Ah, make sure you meet Shiina soon. She was feeling pretty down, not as much as me though."

"I intend to."

I'd been deliberately avoiding the library until Ryuuen reached out.

I decided that I would show my face again once the special exam was over.

Albert also gave me a small wave and silently followed Ryuuen back.

"Hah, he's not all he makes himself out to be."

As if she herself had driven Ryuuen away, Morishita sucked up the matcha that was settled at the bottom of the cup like she'd just finished a hard day's work.

"The one who didn't say a word sure is talking a lot… Anyway, Ryuuen's definitely aiming for victory, and you can't afford to lose either, Ayanokouji. Take your time and think through the strategy carefully. I'll report to you as soon as I get new information."

Feeling restless, Hashimoto grabbed his cup without sitting back down and left the café.

"Hashimoto Masayoshi likes to move around on foot. Maybe it's because he's in the track and field club?"

No, that's probably unrelated… probably.

Besides, Hashimoto wasn't even part of the track and field club.

* * *

[1]: In Japanese, the kanji for "light," 軽い, is an adjective that can both describe an object that's light and something—or in this case, someone—that isn't important.

Part 3

* * *

WHILE AYANOKOUJI AND Ryuuen's conversation unfolded in the bustling Keyaki Mall café,

Kushida had bought a café au lait to go from the same café and immediately left.

After Ayanokouji exposed her true nature during the unanimous vote special exam, classmates naturally started to avoid her. While many of the guys didn't care much, a notable number of girls started distancing themselves from Kushida, and her time spent alone dramatically increased.

It couldn't be helped, and Kushida, without being concerned about it, neatly accepted it.

In the first place, she didn't particularly like gathering with others.

She just wanted to stand out in the group and be someone superior.

Of course, she still interacted with other classes and other years who knew nothing of her true nature, though she started to do that less often.

It was because she was getting increasingly fatigued from continuing her act, as many around her already knew her true nature.

Ah, there goes Kushida pretending to be a good person again.

Facing classmates who looked at her with such emotions, her irritation inevitably grew.

Compared to her middle school days, she felt that she'd matured significantly, and she thought the same for those around her.

Yet, recently, she'd been unable to vent her frustrations.

If her days were to continue without an outlet, she couldn't bring herself to fake her smile anymore.

"Ugh, annoying."

As she was leaving, with no one within earshot who'd overhear, Kushida spotted a presence. Without holding back, she blurted out a curse.

It was Horikita, sitting on a bench with a gloomy expression, looking down.

It would've been easy to just walk past, but Kushida stopped in front of Horikita, and slowly, she lifted her face.

"Kushida-san…?"

"Why the questioning tone? I mean, I'm not going to ask what you're doing here. You're waiting to bump into Ayanokouji-kun by pretending it's a coincidence, aren't you?"

"That's not it."

"No, it's totally obvious. Besides, there's no coincidental component to it. You're just incredibly clingy, aren't you?"

Horikita, having been hit right on the mark and easily seen through, averted her gaze.

"…Could you please leave me alone?"

"I'd like to leave you alone, but I can't overlook such a gloomy face. If the class leader looks like that, it definitely affects morale."

Kushida had her true nature exposed, and she didn't like Horikita—yet, she continued to remain in the same class because Horikita was necessary for her to graduate from Class A. If someone as important as her were to falter, it would lower the odds of success. Kushida certainly wouldn't welcome that.

"You're—"

Before Horikita could ask anything, Kushida diverted her gaze, alerted by someone approaching from behind.

Since they were positioned on the way back to the dorm, they saw Yui Ninomiya from Class 3-D who happened to pass by.

"Kushida-san, Horikita-san, goodbye~"

"Ah, goodbye Ninomiya-san. Let's hang out again soon~"

Kushida showed a smile, and she continued to smile until Ninomiya was out of earshot.

Horikita, being considerate, watched for a while.

"Are you okay, Kushida-san? With Ayanokouji-kun's transfer."

"Okay? How could I be okay? Without Ayanokouji-kun, this façade of a class wouldn't stand a chance. My chances of graduating from Class A feel completely doomed. Besides, Ayanokouji-kun knows my true nature, so it's like the information's already been leaked to the other classes. From here on out, if he deems it necessary, he won't hesitate to expose me."

Horikita remembered the moment she met Ayanokouji after school concluded on the day of the opening ceremony.

The exchanges that'd been happening behind the scenes between Ayanokouji and Matsushita, and what was achieved—

They were exposed without a hint of hesitation. Kushida's fears and predictions were partially correct.

"Why do you seem so calm then?"

"I have to pretend to be calm. I'm good at pretending to be a kind person, just like I'm good at pretending to be okay. Unlike someone I know."

Since their conversation was taking a while, Kushida decided to start on the café au lait she'd planned to drink after getting home. As it went down her throat, the sweetness started to spread through the air along with the aroma of her coffee.

"Ugh, so annoying. Can't you do something about your face? It's making an ugly person even uglier."

"I think I'm acting normally."

"If that's the case, this is pretty severe."

She sighed in exasperation and was about to walk away, but then, she remembered something.

"I don't mind you being a bit pathetic, but can you do something about Ibuki?"

"…Come to think of it, she's been contacting me quite persistently lately…"

"Because you aren't dealing with her, she comes to me asking for something to eat. I told her to eat a set meal of some wild plants, but she's still dissatisfied. She's become numb because she used to eat decent quality food for free."

Recently, Horikita had been cooking, and both Ibuki and Kushida had been joining her—a routine that lasted more than half the week until spring break ended. However, it suddenly stopped for a week.

"I'm not in the mood to do anything right now."

"I'm not asking you to cook. The special exam is starting, so hurry up and think of something. We can't lose to Ichinose's class—to the lowest-ranked class."

"You say that like it's nothing. Considering the difference in numbers, we're the ones at a disadvantage… aren't we?"

"So? Even in these circumstances, a class leader is supposed to win regardless."

Horikita thought that it was a harsh demand, but she was immediately made to understand that it was a reasonable expectation.

Taking the initiative to lead meant bearing that responsibility.

"That's right… I think so too."

Kushida forcibly returned to adorning a calm expression, putting her mask back on.

"Even though I know that, it still feels hopeless. Well, I'll be going now. You can wait here for Ayanokouji-kun to come back. But… I doubt he'll care."

She left those cold words behind and tightly gripped her cup as she walked away.

Horikita watched her back for a while, but she eventually got up as Kushida's figure disappeared into the distance.

The last words Kushida left behind were undeniably true.

"Ambushing him in a place like this—doing such a thing… there's no way he'd be happy about it…"

Even though she'd known it from the beginning, she'd been playing the part of a pitiful Horikita; a realization sparked by Kushida's words.

Still, she couldn't move forward.

Her desire to meet him was genuine.

She wanted to look him in the eye and speak with him.

"All I want now… is just that…"

Horikita apologized to Kushida and her classmates in her heart and decided to go home.

Part 4

* * *

I RETURNED TO my room and collapsed on the bed without even taking off my uniform.

My body felt heavy.

It wasn't that I was feeling physically unwell.

It was more like I had no motivation.

"I need to think of a strategy for the exam…"

While I spent time meaninglessly staring at the ceiling, my phone rang.

"Ayanokouji-kun…!?"

I reached out to see the caller ID.

Despite my faint hope, the name displayed was 'Ibuki Mio'.

As Kushida-san said, she'd approached me several times recently, even directly.

That said, all she did was parrot the same thing—'feed me.'

I really wasn't in the mood to cook, so I kept turning her down.

She must have been calling again today for the same reason.

Glancing at the convenience store bento on the table, I lay down on my bed again.

My phone kept ringing for a while, but it eventually stopped.

I didn't want to think about anything.

I didn't want to accept anything.

Time just flowed meaninglessly.

Even if today were to end and tomorrow came, Ayanokouji-kun still wouldn't return to the class.

My phone started vibrating again.

Is it Ibuki-san again?

But the short vibration didn't come from a call, it was from a message.

Holding a faint, faint hope, I picked up my phone.

[We should discuss what to do about the special exam.]

That message was from Hirata-kun.

Although I felt disappointed, I was pulled back to reality—if only just a little.

"So… I have to start thinking about it, even if I don't want to…"

Other classes were definitely already starting to prepare for the upcoming special exam.

Yet I…

Suddenly, the ceiling seemed distorted.

"…Am I crying?"

I gently wiped around my eyes with my index finger.

Unbelievably, my fingertip was wet.

"…Again, he made me cry…"

I sighed, not knowing how many times it'd been.

I couldn't control my own emotions.

I couldn't regain my composure.

"Why…?"

I said it out loud.

By saying it out loud, I reminded myself that this was my reality.

"I don't understand—is this really true?"

I felt sick.

I still didn't understand why this was happening.

No, I continued to reject it because I didn't want to understand.

The time I spent staring at the Class 3-A nameplate on the day I became a third year felt like an illusion.

I could no longer remember that exhilarating yet tense moment from that time.

I wish I could turn back time to the morning of the opening ceremony.

And before he could abandon the class, I would've grabbed his arm and held him back.

Please don't transfer—

"There's no point in thinking such things… It's pointless…"

How many times will I keep thinking about the same thing?

It was a waste of effort.

Even if God were to allow such a miracle, surely Ayanokouji-kun wouldn't stay.

If it'd been some absurd plan he concocted just recently, maybe, just maybe, I could've made him reconsider.

But that wasn't the case.

Ayanokouji-kun had decided to transfer long before that.

Since when…?

I didn't know.

Whether it was a week or a month prior, either way… going back to the morning of the opening ceremony would've been pointless.

Help me… Ayanokouji-kun…

Help—

Part 5

* * *

DURING THE TIME Horikita was talking to Kushida on the bench, Ryuuen had gathered Ishizaki, Albert, Katsuragi, and Ibuki and headed to the karaoke room.

It was one of the places his class commonly used for confidential meetings.

The seating arrangement naturally formed over repeated meetings.

While looking at the food menu, Ishizaki started muttering to himself.

"Hey Ibuki, they've added something called deep-fried pasta. Can I order it?"

He pointed to the food commonly known as 'fried pasta' as he asked his question.

"Why are you asking me? Just do what you want."

"My dad used to talk about it when he came back from hostess clubs. He said that deep-fried pasta's really delicious. I've always wanted to try it."

"I don't care about that story."

"Whether it's pasta or something else, I don't care what you eat, but we need to start with the discussion. This special exam won't be easy. No, I should say 'also' this time."

Katsuragi, sitting farthest away from him with his arms crossed, urged Ishizaki and the others to join in on the discussion first.

"It might seem obvious, but no matter how generously you look at things, this is the kind of exam Class B would struggle the most with."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about studying."

Ibuki responded in a resigned tone.

It was practically impossible for them to win in a battle of academic abilities.

That was undoubtedly the biggest challenge facing Ryuuen's class.

Despite reaching Class B through sheer ability and luck, they hadn't been able to find a way to win in their weakest subjects yet.

Moreover, this time, they were competing against the former Class A, known for their academic prowess.

"If our goal's to win, we're bound for a tough battle."

"Why not just give up? Losing the opportunity to gain about a hundred class points isn't a big deal, right?"

"You giving up before we even start, Ibuki!?"

"Then are you going to study nonstop, twenty-four hours a day, until the exam starts? Even if you do, I doubt you'd be able to close the gap enough to even score well."

"Uh, that would be… well… a bit tough…"

"It's because you don't study regularly. You haven't done any of the assignments I gave you, have you?"

"I hate schoolwork enough, why do I have to do the homework you've made too, Katsuragi?"

"It was made for the class. In fact, students who are taking these seriously have already seen steady improvements in their academic abilities."

Katsuragi emphasized the assignments' results, but Ishizaki awkwardly averted his gaze.

"Studying just enough not to fail is all I can handle. If I cram any more, I'll burst."

Seeing Ishizaki's attitude, Katsuragi sighed and looked toward Ryuuen.

"Shouldn't you be giving stricter instructions? That might motivate Ishizaki and the others a bit."

"There's no cure for stupidity. Besides, there's no need to play on their turf. We never intended to fight fairly from the start."

Rather than adopting a losing strategy, Ryuuen immediately dismissed the idea.

"However, they're a formidable enemy. Even though Sakayanagi has left, Class C still has many students specialized in academics. It's not like they had a significant downgrade."

Ishizaki stood up and clenched his fist after listening without much interest until now.

"It's not actually a downgrade. With Ayanokouji in their class, they've powered up like crazy. Damn, why did he go to Class C… I don't get it. Do you understand why, Ibuki?"

"Don't ask me. You shouldn't even try to understand his thoughts."

Getting involved could lead to complications.

Ibuki learned this through experience, and now, she generally avoided it.

When the others asked her to go to the café to confront Ayanokouji, she instantly rejected them.

Thanks to that, she was mentally fine, and she felt relatively calm.

There were times when they had unexpected encounters, but that wasn't always the case.

"It really feels like a tough enemy just showed up…"

"If that weren't the case, it'd be a real problem. That's where my ultimate goal lies."

I need a formidable opponent—that was what he was trying to say.

Although Ishizaki felt like that was an unusual thing for Ryuuen to say, he quietly nodded without pressing any further.

"That's right. However, I still have some doubts. Of course, I don't deny that Ayanokouji has excellent qualities, such as his calmness and occasional sharpness, but there's something about him that's missing—or rather, I can't bring myself to completely hate him… I can't decide if he's someone who's able to surpass Sakayanagi."

"That's because you haven't seen how great Ayanokouji is directly, Katsuragi. He's incredible, right, Ibuki?"

"Stop bringing me into this. I get really annoyed just talking about him. I truly hate him."

"Who do you hate more, him or Horikita? You always seem to be complaining about her."

"That's… a tough choice. It's like choosing whether to lose your right eye or your left…"

"That's way too scary, what kind of comparison even is that…?"

While the two engaged in some trivial banter, Ryuuen glanced at the ceiling, unconcerned. Katsuragi turned his gaze to Ishizaki at that moment.

"How were Ayanokouji and Hashimoto after the transfer? What was the reason for the transfer?"

"It didn't seem like anything's changed. It felt like neither classes A nor C mattered to him. He mentioned getting help from C, but I'm not sure if that's true."

"Wasn't it just so he could be the leader and then do as he wishes?"

"Ibuki, now that Sakayanagi isn't here anymore, indeed, nobody's in their leader position, however… I thought Ayanokouji was the type to get things done quietly without standing out much."

Katsuragi, aligning what he heard with his own impressions, questioned Ryuuen.

"What do you think?"

"I don't know. If he's going to come out in the open after transferring classes, the reason wouldn't matter."

Ryuuen seemed to have organized his thoughts and turned his gaze back to Katsuragi.

"In this special exam, if we play it by the book, it's almost certain that we'll lose 99% of the time, regardless of Ayanokouji's presence. But it's not like there aren't any holes in the rules. The exam's designed in a way that gives us an advantage—as big as we want—as long as we have 'live ammo,' and that's not bad."

"That's true, but… are you planning to pour in all the Private Points you've saved up?"

"They must've spent a lot on pulling Ayanokouji. Moreover, since they have the upper hand academically, they'll come at us without making many investments and try to win. They're a good target."

For their class, it was a situation that couldn't turn into an expense-driven exchange. Class C, with no money to spare, could only fight with their pure academic ability and the penalty points given to them.

"I understand what you're saying, but the gap between our academic abilities isn't something we can just easily bridge using a few additional penalty points. It would barely become fair even if we distribute penalties to dozens in their class. It's not a very efficient plan. You can't even be sure you'll hit all five of their participants, can you?"

"Are you against it then?"

"Not exactly. I'm saying don't do it if you're going in half-baked. To have a high chance of winning… Even though this is just a hypothetical, we'd want to take away an additional three hundred points. That would require about 15 million private points."

"Man, does it really cost 15 million to win?!"

"Even then, there's no absolute guarantee. If we were to use our four hundred penalty points on their entire class, we'd only be able to take away ten points per person. However, they could narrow down who to use their initial hundred points on, using their points on five people within our class and trying to take away twenty points each. If they're able to get an accurate reading of who our participants are, we'd be starting off the small-group battle with ten points less per participant compared to their class. Of course, there's a low possibility of that happening, but if we assume the worst, something like that's possible."

Spending a large sum of money might not even bring an equal start.

Misevaluation could result in their Private Points vanishing into thin air.

Katsuragi felt concerned and continued his explanation.

"To increase our odds of winning even further, we'd have to throw in another ten or twenty million Private Points. Alternatively, we could narrow down who their participants will be and aim to take away about twenty points each. But it's hard to say that it'd even increase our chances."

"That's practically the same as going bankrupt."

"Yes, but if you're aiming to win despite the huge amount of money and risk, I have no reason to stop you. It won't be a 'complete victory,' but losing absolutely cannot be allowed."

It was no small obstacle. Ibuki, who'd been listening half-heartedly, raised her face.

"Listening to all of this, I think it might be better to just give up on this exam."

In response to Ryuuen, who seemed ready to compete, Ibuki challenged him.

"Hey, Ibuki, are you really going to argue with Ryuuen-san?"

"What, didn't you call me here because you wanted my opinion? If not, I'll leave."

As Ibuki showed signs of leaving, Ryuuen laughed.

"I'll listen. Why do you think that?"

"It's simply because it's disadvantageous for us. As Katsuragi said, we can't win by just studying. The idea is that we might win if we use Private Points, but the reward isn't worth how much we're spending. Even I think it's too reckless, and that's proof enough."

"I agree with Ibuki. In terms of cost-effectiveness, it's not good at all. Even if we assume a complete victory, the return isn't even that great."

Katsuragi also conveyed his stance, aligning his viewpoint with Ibuki's.

"Well, if you only look at the returns you can see, sure, that might be the case."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Yeah, this is an exam we're expected to lose. But that also means it's an exam they absolutely cannot afford to lose. If you expect to win, it can create pressure that's always at the back of your mind. And the damage, the shock from actually losing, would be on a whole different scale."

"So you want to hinder Ayanokouji's momentum from the start, is that it? But even if we win by force, are you sure it would cause that much damage?"

"It would. I've had a painful taste of it myself during that incident on the rooftop."

Ryuuen clenched his fists and showed a sharp gaze.

He was confident in his dominant violence and unyielding spirit, and in Ryuuen's mind, no matter what the situation was, he only thought of the ultimate victory.

However, Ayanokouji, who alone boldly entered enemy territory and overwhelmed everyone else, was way beyond the norm.

He physically and mentally defeated the way of thinking that Ryuuen considered absolute.

It took more than a short amount of time to recover after being pushed to the very bottom.

"The Class C guys and Ayanokouji would never think they'll lose. But deep down, they're scared of the 'what if.' That's why it's meaningful for us to keep on fighting. If we can strike them down during his first exam, his maiden voyage, it will be a bigger advantage than the actual Class Point difference."

Even if the reward was only about 100 Class Points, the increase in class points couldn't be ignored.

Compared to the difference between Ryuuen's and Horikita's classes, their gap with Class C, to which Ayanokouji belonged, wasn't small.

Given the situation where they couldn't afford any unnecessary defeats, gaining additional Class Points here would be a significant achievement.

The remaining school life they had was only ever getting shorter, never longer.

"But the minimum condition to win would cost over fifteen million… that's steep…"

Ishizaki was counting on his fingers, surprised at the amount of Private Points involved.

"Normally, that amount would give us a good chance at winning, but our opponent is Ayanokouji. He must've calculated that we'd be prepared to blow a large sum, prepared to self-destruct. Even if we manage to snatch victory using penalty points, as long as we can prevent a complete victory, that might be enough."

In the full-class battle, since nobody could use penalty points, the opponent would effectively have two victories in hand.

"Hmm… I understand, but it seems the risk is far greater no matter how you look at it."

Ryuuen himself knew this.

If there were no doubts in his mind, he wouldn't have held this meeting to ask for opinions from Katsuragi and others.

To take on or give up on this special exam—

First, they had to decide on which of these options to pick.

While Ryuuen, who had an aggressive spirit, remained indecisive, Katsuragi now turned his gaze to Ibuki.

"How is Horikita doing?"

"Huh? Why are you asking me?"

"You said you've been eating at Horikita's room often lately. I know she was in a bad state, but has she recovered?"

"I don't think she's recovered. She turns me away when I come, and she always has a gloomy expression. It's annoying."

There were still no signs of improvement, even a week after the transfer.

"I see. It's tough taking on a special exam when she hasn't regained her composure."

"Good. She should just lose miserably."

"That's harsh. Aren't you two friends? Isn't that a bit cold?"

"Haaaaaaa? She's not my friend."

"It's not that I take pleasure in others' misfortune, but if Class A stumbles, it's a situation we should be grateful for. Even if Ichinose picks up a win or two, they won't be much of a threat."

If there's a reason to forcibly secure a victory, this would be it, Katsuragi thought.

If Class B could catch up and surpass Class A, they could suddenly pull ahead in one swift move.

After a while of casual chatter, Ryuuen quickly drank the water left on the table.

"…I've decided how I'll fight."

"Are you really going to go all out to confront them?"

Pouring Private Points into the plan and winning the special exam at all costs.

Having asked that question, Katsuragi judged that the plan had a strong sense of how desperate times called for desperate measures.

"What do you think is the most important thing for him, for Ayanokouji, in the next special exam?"

"That would definitely be 'the first victory.'"

"Right. He made the guys from Class C pay for his transfer. He took over Sakayanagi's position so he could do whatever he wants. But that class isn't stupid. So far, they haven't entrusted everything to someone who hasn't shown anything. So Ayanokouji must want to win no matter what. Moreover, a defeat in a special exam he's expected to win is unthinkable. In a way, it's his first and last chance."

"That makes sense. It'd be super lame if he took command right after transferring and then lost."

Ibuki, as well as the one seated next to her, Ishizaki, completely agreed and nodded.

"To sink Class C's ship in one go—right."

"Even if he knows he has the upper hand, no matter how easy the battle is, he will always take it seriously. After all, he has an infuriatingly extraordinary way of thinking. It wouldn't be surprising if he sees through all five people we select for the small-group battle."

If Ryuuen were to roll some dice to pick the participating students, it would actually be impossible for others to read.

But still, he might guess correctly—he was someone so powerful, they had to consider that possibility, no matter how slim.

"There's also a chance he'll spend all his Private Points to buy penalties."

"Then it would become a battle of financial power."

"That's not all. We absolutely must prevent the information on our selection from leaking."

"They'll definitely try to probe us… Honestly, I can't even imagine what methods they'll use."

Ishizaki's muttering, which almost made it sound like he was talking to himself, also stirred strong doubts within Ryuuen.

There didn't seem to be any significant loopholes in the special exam.

Ayanokouji might not have any qualms about using foul play, but he wouldn't use methods Ryuuen would think of, the kind that would kick up dust.

After all, there was no need to cross a dangerous bridge against an opponent who was significantly inferior in basic academic skills.

The problem would be solved as long as they could secure reliable information regarding Ryuuen's class.

"We should start off with Hashimoto, and it also seems wise to pay special attention to Yamamura."

Upon Katsuragi's words, Ryuuen gave a small nod in agreement.

"Who's Yamamura? Was there such a person in Class C?"

Ibuki tilted her head, not remembering the name.

"Kuku! Try to steal our information if you can, Ayanokouji."

Which students to impose penalty points on.

Including everything, Ryuuen wouldn't even leave a one percent chance of information being leaked to those around him.

It would be impossible to accurately predict everything, and if it were possible, it would be akin to precognition.

He was convinced that such a thing could absolutely not be done.

While feeling convinced, he also felt a bit of anxiety and anticipation.

He wanted to see how the impossible could be made possible.

"Is that okay, Ryuuen? I'll start moving with that in mind too."

Katsuragi, thinking it was best to strike while the iron was hot, headed toward the karaoke exit.

Since he significantly contributed to the improvement of the class's academic performance, he felt a strong sense of responsibility for his actions in exams where academic skills were required.

Seeing the sight of Katsuragi's determined back, Ruuyen was…

Chapter 6:

School Life in Class C