6 Vol.11 Chapter 5

[Introduction]

Later that day, a somewhat unusual incident took place.

It happened at the start of the lunch break, just as the Ayanokōji Group was making their way to the cafe to eat together.

"Hey Ichinose. We should go get back at 'em! Even the score!"

As we were walking, we heard a harsh voice from up ahead of us. This voice belonged to none other than Shibata, a first-year student in Class B. He was accompanied by two other students who were also from Class B, Ichinose and Kanzaki.

"It's like, totally unusual, right guys? For Shibata-kun to get angry like that?"

"It's certainly unexpected."

It was understandable why Haruka and Akito were surprised.

"You think so?"

Airi, on the other hand, didn't quite seem to understand, since she usually never involves herself with people from the other classes.

Shibata was a member of the soccer club just like Hirata. He was a bright, energetic, and popular person, although a bit different from how Hirata usually was.

As far as I knew, he wasn't the type of person to raise his voice like this.

"But couldn't it just be a coincidence?"

Ichinose used a persuasive tone to try and calm Shibata from his rage.

However, Shibata seemed to believe he had solid evidence and immediately refuted her.

"I don't think so. You do know it's the third time today, right? They're definitely trying to pick a fight."

Kanzaki noticed our presence and lightly motioned to Shibata. He looked at us with a somewhat embarrassed expression and calmed himself down, but it was already too late. An awkward silence filled the air.

"Heya, were you guys on your way to lunch?"

Just like that, Ichinose called out to us.

She wasn't asking just one of us, but rather addressing the group of us as a whole.

My friends hadn't interacted with Class B's leader very much, so they were at a loss as to how to respond.

Haruka nudged me in the side with her elbow, so I reluctantly decided to speak for the group.

"…Yeah. We're headed to the cafe. Did you need something?"

"Wow, what a coincidence. We were just headed there ourselves."

As she spoke, Ichinose happily clapped her hands. But then, I noticed something that seemed out of place. Normally, Ichinose would always make eye contact with the person she was talking to, but this time, she didn't meet my eyes at all.

"If you guys don't mind, would you like to join us for lunch?"

Taken aback at her unexpected invitation, we all exchanged confused glances with each other.

"Ichinose, what are you doing?"

Kanzaki hurriedly interjected, most likely because he wasn't expecting her to propose something like this.

"What am I doing…? We're not competing against Class C, so what's the problem?"

"That's true, it's just…"

Kanzaki didn't seem very open to the idea of all of us going together.

However, if Ichinose had already made up her mind about it, there was no way he could refuse.

We, on the other hand, were a bit stuck. Unsure of what we should do or how we should answer…

"Time is of the essence. Let's get going~!"

But with a smile like hers, none of us were able to refuse.

[Intro end]

[Part 1]

We pushed together two tables in the corner of the cafe and sat down to have a meal together.

It was not only a group composed of both Class B and C, but a highly unusual group at that.

"Sorry for inviting you all so suddenly like this. It's my treat, so don't hold back!"

Ichinose spoke, presenting us with an apology.

"Are you really sure about that? Ichinose?"

Kanzaki's reaction to her offer was somewhat excessive.

Just before the last special exam, Ichinose made a deal with Class D to prevent Ryūen's expulsion by promising that Class B would cast their praise votes for him.

In order to save their classmate, Class B should've had to cough up every last private point they could get their hands on.

While I'm sure they had found some way to break even, they probably didn't have the luxury to be eating out like this, much less paying for others.

"We were already on our way to eat here anyway, so we'll pay for ourselves."

After I spoke, everyone else in the group nodded along in agreement.

"I kinda forced this on you, so you don't have to be so considerate…"

"It's fine. This way, we can eat what we want without feeling guilty about it."

Under the pretense of sharing a peaceful meal together as equals, I once again turned down Ichinose's offer.

"So… Why did you invite us?"

Keisei broached the subject, unable to hold himself back from asking about it.

"It's because y'all seemed kinda surprised with Shibata-kun's behavior earlier. I thought it'd be better if I was just upfront with you about it instead of letting you guys speculate too much."

In a sense, Ichinose's judgment may be correct. If she hadn't called out to us, we would've probably ended up talking about what we saw for a while. Asking ourselves why he had gotten so riled up. And depending on the situation, it was also possible that a third-party might inadvertently overhear us, causing rumors to spread.

Kanzaki, however, wasn't so sure.

"Are you sure you can tell them?"

"Do you really think this is something we need to keep quiet about?"

"We can't rule out the possibility that somebody in Class C is involved."

"Even if there is, it wouldn't make any difference, would it?"

"Ichinose is right, it just sounds like we were whining at this point."

As soon as Shibata cut in, Kanzaki glared at him with a sharp look in his eyes.

"W-what is it Kanzaki?"

"Nothing…"

Shibata didn't seem to understand Kanzaki's true intentions, but if I had to guess…

Kanzaki probably thought that Shibata's words weren't very appropriate, but nobody else seemed to catch onto this, so it wasn't a particularly big problem.

"In any case, now that they've already heard this much, wouldn't it be best to just tell them?"

"…I guess."

Shibata's careless remark had been the deciding factor, forcing Kanzaki to back down.

"Simply put, you could kinda say Class D has recently been harassing us a little bit."

"A little bit?"

Shibata cut in, his voice filled with conviction.

"For some reason, me, Nakanishi, and even Beppu have all had to deal with the same crap from them. I dunno what to tell you, they're pestering us constantly and following us around for no reason. My man Beppu was pretty scared when Albert went and just silently cornered him up against a wall earlier."

Just after Shibata finished, Kanzaki joined in on the complaining, probably deciding that it wouldn't make much of a difference at this point now that most everything had been put out into the open.

"I've spoken to those two about it myself, and pretty much everything checks out."

In other words, Class D had been targeting some of the students in Class B ever since the special exam started.

"It hasn't gotten physical or anything, has it?"

"For now."

For the time being, it didn't appear that they've resorted to anything more than stalking and intimidation.

Of course, if Class D really became violent, the problem would get several times larger.

"It's probably their way of putting pressure on us. We're thinking they're looking to wear us down by keeping this up until the exam starts."

"Gimme a break. Class D is scary enough as it is. You do know that even Class C's been swallowed up in the trouble they've caused, right?"

Shibata was probably referring to the time when Sudō fought with Ishizaki and Komiya earlier this year.

Keisei had been quietly listening to their exchange, but at this point, he spoke up himself.

"I know it's kind of strange to get advice from another class, but I don't think their behavior is all that surprising. Class D certainly has a bad image, but a certain amount of external pressure is understandable. In fact, we've been seeing signs that Class A might be spying on our class."

"Is that true?"

With a nod, Keisei proceeded to tell them about the Class A students we had seen eavesdropping nearby our classroom.

"Class D is also kinda desperate, so maybe they're looking to pick up any information they can get their hands on?"

Despite having only listened to Keisei's explanation for a short time, Shibata appeared to be convinced by what he was saying.

Be that as it may, it certainly seemed like Class B would be the one to sustain the most damage.

"At the most basic level, this exam plays out in our favor, so it's not unreasonable that they'd do something like that. We should probably expect them to continue their harassment right up until the limit of what the school rules allow them to."

This was Kanzaki's analysis of the situation. That said, the part he hadn't considered was that Class D was only targeting a small fraction of Class B's students.

Did they decide that it was too risky to challenge Ichinose or Kanzaki…?

Or did they have their sights set on something else entirely?

"I don't really think this is the kind of thing Kaneda-kun would be behind. Maybe it's Ishizaki-kun?"

"Yeah probably."

"I know it's concerning, but we just have to do what we can. We just have to continue working together, choose the right events, and do our very best on the day of the exam. Right?"

The two boys from Class B nodded along with Ichinose's hope-filled words.

"Are you saying you aren't gonna take any measures against Class D? Not even basic investigation?"

"Hmm, I don't think so. We're gonna focus our efforts on preparing for the ten events Class D come up with next week."

In other words, no matter what Class D would throw at them, they were planning to rely on the strength of their own class to make it through.

They would come face-to-face with the truth, without being deceived by false information. It was a safe, reliable strategy.

"What can I say, Class B is really something else."

Keisei spoke, his voice filled with wonder, before continuing.

"Wouldn't you normally do whatever it takes to beat a class that's above you? If stuff like spying and intimidation get results, it only makes sense that they'd make use of it. Honestly, your choice to take the high road and place your full confidence in your own capabilities is something that Class C would never be able to do."

Even though on the surface it didn't seem we were taking action against Class A, many of us were racking our brains for some way to find out information about them.

"Who knows? Maybe we're just not clever enough to do stuff like that?"

Saying this, Ichinose let show a small smile, to which Keisei spoke up again.

"Well, I think I get what you wanted to say to us. If rumors began to spread because we carelessly talked about Shibata's outburst back there, it would just end up broadcasting to Class D that their strategy is working."

Keisei had discovered the reason why Ichinose had invited us to eat lunch together.

If Class D were to find out that their harassment had done damage to Class B, it would only end up adding fuel to the fire.

In which case, Class B would have even more to deal with than they did now. They were looking to maintain their resolve and emphasize that Class D's tactics hadn't had any effect on them.

"Indeed. That's why I'd like to ask that you all do your best to keep this from spreading further."

"Spreading it around wouldn't do us any good, and it's not like we want to make an enemy out of Class B either."

Keisei agreed, with Haruka, Akito, and Airi nodding along shortly after without the slightest bit of hesitation.

"Thank you so much everyone. Really."

As Ichinose thanked us, her eyes met mine for the first and only time.

At that moment, she casually brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

And then, as if carried on by the wind, a faint scent of citrus tickled my nose.

She quickly looked away, returning her gaze back to the group as a whole, and I found myself thinking that she was acting a little strange today.

Regardless, that wasn't something I was going to point out right now.

[Part 1 end]

[Part 2]

After lunch, we parted ways with Ichinose's group. Once they were out of earshot, Haruka finally said what's on her mind.

"Man, Ichinose-san sure is cute isn't she? That smile of hers at the end there was pretty much cheating. Dontcha think?"

"Me? Not really…"

"Ah, Yukimuu, your face is turning red just thinking about it."

"No it isn't."

"You don't have to deny it. Like, I'm a girl and even I think she's totally adorable, so I'm sure boys are completely floored with her."

Airi seemed to agree with her, as she was nodding along fervently as Haruka spoke.

"Miyatchi and Ayanokōji-kun think so too right?"

Since Akito and I didn't want to be targeted like Keisei, we both reluctantly forced a smile to avoid being questioned further. Oddly enough, Airi asked the next question.

"I may just be imagining things, but… has Ichinose-san ever used perfume before?"

"Ah, I've been wondering about that too. She was using some kind of citrusy perfume wasn't she?"

"Yeah. That may have been what surprised me the most. Maybe she's had a change of heart or something?"

"Huh, what do you three think?"

The two girls had begun talking about something that us boys couldn't possibly know anything about, so Haruka's question put us on the spot again.

"Was she wearing perfume? Either way, she might've just felt like wearing some today or something, right?"

Keisei's uninterested response prompted Haruka to let out a blatantly disappointed sigh.

"Boys really don't notice the small stuff, do they?"

"… Moving on… We're not the only ones in a tough spot. From the looks of it, the other matchup has their own fair share of problems to get through."

Not wanting to deal with any more of Haruka's teasing, Akito changed the subject.

"In order to win against Class B, Class D probably can't afford to care about appearances anymore. It's totally possible that Class D might get even more serious with their harassment moving forward."

Taking the chance to escape, Keisei quickly got on board with Akito's new conversation topic. His prediction was probably right on the mark.

There were only three victims so far, but it wouldn't be surprising if that number went up a bit.

"Ryūen isn't taking the lead for them anymore, either. They probably don't stand much of a chance if they don't do something like this."

"Even so, it seems to me like they're going about it the same way Ryūen-kun would."

Akito was right. Applying pressure like this felt like a strategy Ryūen would employ.

"But it's pointless. It won't be enough to break through Class B's stronghold. After talking to them today, I'm starting to think it may be a good thing that our opponent is Class A. I simply don't wanna go against Class B."

"Eh? Why do you think that Yukimuu?"

"Compared to everyone else, their unshakable unity and the way they tackle their problems head-on without overestimating their own abilities is just on another level. They'll produce consistent results no matter what event it is. I don't feel like we'd be able to win."

Keisei seemed to be afraid of the idea that Class B would perform above average at everything they put their minds to.

"But like, even if they're above average at everything, that doesn't mean anything if they lose, ya know?"

Even if they got eighty or ninety percent in all seven events, they'd still lose if their opponent gets a full score.

"Do you get what our chances are like when we don't know which events will get chosen on exam day? There might be some specialized events that the lower classes can win at, but at the same time, if those events don't get chosen, we'd face a crushing defeat. The results would be disastrous."

"I see… You might be right."

Airi seemed to understand Keisei's explanation, as she nodded her head several times in agreement.

"Hey, hey, Stop!"

As we walked around a hallway corner with Keisei in the lead, Haruka abruptly grabbed his arm and called him to a stop.

"Wha-"

Keisei tried to ask what was going on, but Haruka covered his mouth with her hand and pointed just in front of us.

She was pointing at Ike and Shinohara, who were walking together just a short bit ahead of us.

"S-say, Shinohara."

"What?"

"Well… Uhhh."

"Cat got your tongue? What is it?"

We all became silent and carefully listened to what we could hear of the conversation taking place before us.

"…A-are you free on Sunday… or, something?"

"Sunday? I don't have anything planned at the moment, but… Wait, what?"

"I mean, uhm, wanna hang out a bit, or something? Only if you want to, that is."

We could hear what they were talking about, albeit just barely. Haruka and Airi looked at each other with expressions that seemed to be filled with excitement, while Keisei and Akito, in stark contrast, shared a mutual expression of utter disbelief.

"White day is on Sunday, isn't it? Do you think Shinohara-san gave Ike-kun chocolates on Valentine's?"

"Maybe!"

Although Shinohara at first seemed skeptical about Ike's invitation, she gradually seemed to pick up on what was happening.

"Well, it's just, you gave me chocolate and all… So I thought I'd like, return the favour, ya know."

"You're so sincere even though it was just obligatory chocolate. Do you even have any money?"

"I've been saving up a bit… N-nevermind, it's fine if you don't want to."

"…I never said I didn't want to."

"D-does that mean…"

"D-don't get the wrong idea, kay? The special exam is coming up soon, so this is just my last chance to relax. And since you're saying you'll pay and everything, how could I say no?"

For some reason, seeing this reminded me of the conversation I had with Hoshinomiya-sensei this morning about room-sharing.

The small seeds of romance might be starting to bud in places I wasn't even aware of.

"Let's go."

"Huh? Wait. We just got to the good part."

"Don't stick your neck into other people's love affairs."

Akito grabbed Haruka by the collar of her shirt and began walking away in the opposite direction.

"Come on, what's wrong with listening for just a bit longer? My heart's starting to flutter."

"Mine's not."

"Ugh. What was I expecting from a clueless guy like you… right, Airi?"

"Y-yeah. My heart's beating pretty fast too… But, they'd be embarrassed if they saw us, wouldn't they?"

"That's true, but like, it's their fault for doing this in public in the first place."

If they were to notice us in this situation, it very well might interfere with their slowly budding relationship.

[Part 2 end]

[Part 3]

Class C was still at the point where we were gathering information about what events everyone specialized in.

The after-school discussions were becoming less and less frequent, but the classwide group chat was becoming more and more active as time went on. While Kōenji and Hirata still hadn't participated, anyone in the class could now join the conversation whenever they wanted to.

In fact, based on the activity in the group chat, this type of discussion just might be better for Class C as a whole compared to face-to-face discussions where people might not be brave enough to share their opinions. However, this was simply what someone could see from an outsider's perspective.

In reality, I was simply waiting for Horikita to finish everything I had entrusted her with.

Ironing out the details about the role I would play would come later.

Even so, there were still several things to be wary of. Namely, Kōenji and Hirata.

Hirata in particular. Horikita probably had no way of fixing him in his current state.

Since both of them still hadn't participated in the group chat, it was clear that neither of them were looking forward to the special exam.

While Kōenji's behavior was nothing new, Hirata's absence was a great loss for the class.

Hirata had changed drastically. It was as if he had become a different person entirely.

While it may be a harsh way to put it, he was no different than a swollen abscess at this point. A complete thorn in our side. Even though it was painful, nobody would dare touch it. The only thing we could do is pray that the swelling would go down on its own. It was truly a shame. If he went back to normal, he'd be a versatile card that could be played in any event.

Besides, there were still a few other things to be wary of as well.

"…Hirata-kun!"

As Hirata left to head home for the day, Mii-chan ran out after him.

I found myself wondering how many times this had happened already.

While one person after another had already given up, Mii-chan still hadn't lost heart.

Was this a testament to the power of love? No… even if it's love, the question still remains.

She was most likely still afraid that he would come to hate her for her incessant behavior.

So then, why does she keep trying to reach out to him?

"Like, it's super hard to see Hirata-kun act like this…"

Kei quietly spoke to her group of friends who were still in the classroom.

"Yeah. Is it really alright to leave him alone like this, Karuizawa-san?"

"It'll be useless no matter what I say. He might hold a grudge against me."

Hirata's steadfast rejection from back when Kei reached out to him just the other day was still fresh in everyone's memory.

"Yeah. First he got dumped by Karuizawa-san, then Yamauchi-kun got expelled and…"

I cast a cursory glance toward the girls as they were having their discussion before leaving the classroom.

My sights weren't set on Hirata today. I was going to look into yet another problem that needed to be dealt with.

I had business with a particular student who had left the classroom shortly after Mii-chan.

"Hey, you got a minute?"

I called out to the girl, who turned and looked behind her after pausing for a moment.

"What is it, Ayanokōji-kun?"

The girl was none other than Kushida, someone who hadn't been very involved in the special exam so far.

She hadn't done or said anything to help our classmates, nor interfered with them.

Instead, the days had gone by without her saying very much.

In the past, Kushida would've taken on a more prominent role and worked to support the class.

However, there was no sign of her doing that this time, and there were probably two reasons behind that.

The first was that her position within the class had become unstable due to the outcome of the vote in the previous exam.

Although she was being used by Yamauchi, the fact that she had conspired with him to get me expelled had been exposed to everyone.

Even though many students had decided that there was room to sympathize with Kushida, it was still a slight problem for her.

The whole affair had left a stain on what she was most proud of: her guise of a good, virtuous person.

The second reason was that Horikita was the one taking the lead this time.

Looking at it from Kushida's point of view, this was probably the real reason behind her lack of action.

Kushida has hated Horikita from the beginning for knowing the secrets of her past.

On top of that, Horikita had given her quite the scolding just before the end of The Class Vote exam.

Whatever her reasons may have been, it was her punishment for trying to expel someone who didn't deserve to be expelled.

The damage to her pride should've been nearly fatal.

"You don't seem to be supporting Horikita this time."

While I was already fully aware of this, I daringly brought it up anyway.

After all, I wanted to find out what actions Kushida was planning to take in this special exam.

No matter how closely you look at her smiling, cheerful mask, you wouldn't be able to discern her true feelings.

If you didn't know about the real Kushida laying dormant beneath the mask, you wouldn't think anything was amiss.

"Shall we take a walk as we talk?"

"That's fine."

Not wanting our conversation to be carelessly overheard by others, she urged for us to walk somewhere else together.

"Do you have any plans after this?"

"Yup. I'm going to hang out with some girls from Class B for a bit. Do you think it's wrong for me to be playing around during such an important time or something?"

"No, it's important to take some time for yourself sometimes. I think pretty much everyone would agree with that."

It'd be foolish to spend your time obsessing over the exam twenty-four hours a day.

When it's time to be serious, you should be serious. But when it's time to relax, you should relax.

"You understand it, don't you? The reason why I'm not doing anything? I thought it'd be fine to support Yamauchi-kun and get you expelled. But now that everyone knows what I've done, what kind of right do I have to lead the class?"

Kushida intentionally left out the fact that Horikita had become the leader, the real reason behind her lack of action.

"You don't look very convinced."

"Well, I guess."

"Just to be clear, the reason I'm not lending a hand isn't because Horikita-san is the one leading the class, okay?"

"Really?"

"Really really."

She nodded several times for emphasis, but even so, she was still lying about it.

"You don't believe me, do you?"

Of course I didn't believe her. But even though my suspicions didn't show on my face, she was bound to think so either way.

She had already decided that I'd be suspicious of her a long time ago.

"How do I look to you right now, Ayanokōji-kun? Be honest with me."

"Well…"

Outwardly, she seemed like a classmate with a lovely smile on her face.

However…

I tried to imagine Kushida's true personality hidden underneath her mask.

"I'm definitely gonna fuck up that bitch! She dared to make a fool of me in front of the entire class? I'll never forgive her! I'll kill her! Kill her kill her kill her! I'll definitely kill her!!"

With a vein popping out of the side of her head, she ranted about Horikita, prattling off a list of profanities that were unbearable to listen to.

"…"

I couldn't find the words to express what I had just imagined.

"You just thought something incredibly rude, didn't you?"

"No… Not at all."

The image I had imagined had been a bit too extreme, so I was just at a slight loss for words.

I pushed it out of my mind and decided to cut to the chase.

"Since you said you won't get involved this time, I plan to respect your decision."

"But in return, you want information about the class… Don't you?"

Kushida had a good understanding of the meaning behind this special exam.

"Correct."

"Isn't there someone else in the class you can rely on now, Ayanokōji-kun?"

Despite her constantly smiling face, she wasn't going to agree to cooperate with me immediately.

Even though we had a contractual relationship, Kushida was once again beginning to put up her guard.

We seemed to be approaching the final turning point that would determine whether I would be an enemy, or an ally.

"Nobody can compare to you."

"I'm happy to hear you say that, but I've got all sorts of things on my plate right now."

"All sorts of things?"

"You're so mean, Ayanokōji-kun."

The fact that her reputation had been stained had been a huge drawback for her.

The image of the character she had built up over the past year had been distorted.

There's no doubt that she still had a lot of support from her classmates, but they didn't seem to be completely honest about that. It was a perfect example of how it's hard to gain trust, but only takes a moment to lose it.

"Then let me try asking you the opposite. How can I get you to cooperate with me?"

"I suppose you'll have to give up on that this time. I plan on laying low until I can be myself and have peace of mind in class. Does that bother you?"

In other words, this meant that she wouldn't cooperate with me, but she wouldn't get in the way either.

However, this also implied that she would only perform at the bare minimum if she were to be selected for an event.

"Is it fine to do that? Not just for me, but Horikita as well?"

"Yeah. You could interpret it that way. Because recently, I've come to realize that this school is much more comfortable for me than I thought."

The way she presented me with a favorable option seemed to be another one of her skills.

For the time being, she would don her mask of lies and continue her performance.

It was unfortunate that I hadn't been able to get her to cooperate, but it was probably better to just accept it for now.

"I understand. I'm sorry for asking something unreasonable."

"Not at all. Honestly, I'm really happy you wanted to rely on me."

Once we reached the school entryway, I decided to part ways with her.

Kushida left, walking toward the Keyaki Mall without stopping to look back even once.

[Part 3 end]

[Part 4]

The weekend came and went, and just like that, it was Sunday, March 14th. White Day had arrived.

To be honest, I was grateful it had come on a Sunday.

There were several gifts prepared on my desk.

If today had been a weekday, I'd have had a hard time figuring out when to hand them over.

Should it be in the morning, before class? Or should I wait until after school?

There would be a lot of other things to think about too. What order would I hand them out in? How would I handle the gifts for people in other classes?

More than anything, it wouldn't be good for my reputation if people around me saw what I was doing.

I knew that if it came down to it, it would be best to hand them over without worrying about how other people saw me, but that would be impossible.

However, with today being a day off, I could just put them in their respective mailboxes.

In order to make sure I didn't run into anyone, I left my room early in the morning and made my way to the dormitory mailboxes.

"Let's see…"

I placed a gift in the mailboxes of each student who had given me Valentine's Day chocolates.

I was about to head back to my room after finishing with the last gift when I came across Ichinose.

She reacted as if she had seen something she shouldn't have.

"G-good morning, Ayanokōji-kun."

"Ah… Yeah, good morning."

Even though it was still before seven, I had come across a pretty unexpected encounter.

And just like in our last meeting, Ichinose still seemed to avoid making eye contact with me.

"I happened to wake up a bit early today, so I just got back from a morning walk."

It seemed like she was looking at me as she spoke, but she was really staring at something just behind me.

She was probably looking to check her mail before heading back to her room.

"Oh… uhm, pardon me."

I moved out of the way so she could check her mailbox, and she thanked me with a slight nod. Of course, once she looked inside… the gift I had given her was naturally the first thing to come out.

"I'm sure you already know, but that's, you know, my return gift for Valentine's."

Holding the box in her hands, Ichinose stood unmoving, as if she had frozen over for a moment.

"A gift like this… You, like, you didn't have to…"

Ichinose responded, having only just come to her senses.

"No, it's only right."

"…T-thank you. Uhm, I'm sorry. I'm not used to this kind of thing, so I'm kinda nervous."

I felt the same way. I hadn't wanted to run into anyone in this situation, so I was pretty uncertain myself.

Since things were getting a bit awkward, I opted to change the subject.

"…Come to think of it, has anything new happened with that problem we talked about last Thursday?"

"Ah, eh, that, you're still worried about that?"

"A little."

Ichinose seemed to have an easier time talking with the subject changed, as the awkward atmosphere quickly subsided.

"I went and questioned everyone immediately after we parted ways, but the only victims were the three people Shibata-kun had told us about. But…"

"But?"

"On Friday, it was like the number of victims tripled all of a sudden. Yesterday I got reports saying that three more boys and three more girls were being followed around or harassed just like the others."

In other words, a total of nine people had been affected by Class D's harassment. However, in the first three days after the exam started, they had only focused on three. But on Friday, all of a sudden, that number had increased by six.

"Do you have any idea which students have been doing the stalking?"

Ichinose nodded and began to list off their names.

"As far as I know, there was Ishizaki-kun, Komiya-kun, Yamada-kun, Kondō-kun, Ibuki-san, and Kishita-san."

Six people in total.

They were all people who were willing to get their hands dirty, at least to a certain extent.

They didn't seem to have any intention of hiding their identities, given that she had managed to identify each of them already.

"I wonder if the six of them plan on following whoever they end up crossing paths with?"

It was a natural question to ask since most of Class D was made up of average, ordinary students.

"I'll be investigating further on Monday."

"What are you going to do if the problem is bigger than you thought?"

There was a possibility that even Ichinose and Kanzaki would be affected at some point.

"Hmm. Well, I'm not sure there's anything we can do, you know? It's not like they've been violent or anything… so we've decided to just put up with it until they cause some real damage. We'll just do our best to provide the victims with emotional support."

From the looks of it, they were ready to take action at a moment's notice, but only if Class D actually got physical.

"I see."

Class D was behaving strangely.

I couldn't help but wonder if they were really going to go after every student in Class B.

With only six people doing the harassment, they weren't exactly exerting very much pressure.

Even if they continue to do this over and over again, it wouldn't amount to anything more than just simple harassment.

It was possible that Ishizaki didn't think that far ahead when he thought of the strategy.

Or perhaps they'd be satisfied as long as they could do a bit of psychological damage?

"Am I doing something wrong?"

Having noticed that I was lost in thought, Ichinose looked up at me with a slightly uneasy expression.

"No… What you're doing now should be fine. In fact, Class D wouldn't get punished even if you made a complaint to the school. Plus, if you went and complained to them directly you'd be doing exactly what they want you to do."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

However, it was important for her to make sure that Class D's objective really was what she thought it was. That being said, it doesn't look like Ichinose was interested in taking action, so it'd be unnecessary for me to say this to her.

With her policy that primarily focuses on non-aggressive defense, it'd be out of line for me to say anything more.

"Have you decided on the ten events you'll be submitting?"

"Yup. We had a solid grasp of everyone's strengths and weaknesses from pretty early on. We finalized everything yesterday after mixing in some events that we think Class D might not be good at. How about you, Ayanokōji-kun?"

"I haven't been involved in any of it this time. I'm leaving everything to Horikita."

"But what are you going to do about your duties as the commander?"

"I've left that to her as well."

Ichinose showed a look of surprise. She didn't seem to think I'd take the role so casually.

"It sounds like you've got a lot of faith in Horikita-san. Or… Maybe you're saying you think you can handle everything, no matter what events or rules she ends up choosing?"

"It's definitely the former. Unlike you, I'm only close to a few of my classmates, so I honestly don't know anything about them. I only became the commander to prevent anyone from being expelled."

"But then, why did you want to go up against Class A?"

"That was also Horikita's idea. Maybe she thought it would give us the best chances of winning or something."

"I see."

Ichinose didn't investigate any further.

Having reached the end of the conversation, the two of us stood waiting for the elevator.

"Ah… I totally didn't prepare for this…"

Ichinose spoke as if she had just remembered something. I looked at her as she stood beside me, continuously twirling a strand of her hair with her index finger.

"Prepare?"

"N-no, it's nothing you need to worry about."

Not long afterward, the two of us boarded the elevator, which promptly arrived on the fourth floor, where my room was located.

"See you later, then."

As I stepped out of the elevator, I turned around and locked eyes with Ichinose for a brief moment, catching her off guard.

"W-wha-!! Uh, I, uh… S-see you!"

In a sudden panic, Ichinose began to mash the close button several times over, and after a moment, she disappeared from view as the elevator doors closed between us. While it was a strange way to part ways with someone, it was nice that I had managed to make it through this troublesome White Day ordeal.

"Come to think of it, she didn't smell like citrus today."

Although, it was early in the morning on the weekend, so there was no particular reason for her to go out while wearing perfume.

[Part 4 end]

[Part 5]

Monday morning soon came around, the day that our opponent's ten events would be announced.

What events and rules had Class A come up with, and how exactly would the commander be involved?

On my way to the school, I happened to run into Horikita's older brother and Tachibana.

It didn't seem like they had been waiting for me. Rather, it really appeared to be just a coincidence.

Tachibana discreetly distanced herself without saying anything in particular.

Perhaps this was her way of being considerate so she wouldn't get in the way of the impending conversation.

There was no doubt that her tendency to make quick, thoughtful reactions like this had been an ongoing source of support for the elder Horikita back when they were on the student council.

"Is the special exam going well?"

There was something special about Horikita's older brother. Even though he hadn't gotten an in-depth explanation, he already had a firm grasp of my situation.

"That's supposed to be my line. Are you sure you can graduate as a member of Class A?"

"Well, that'll probably depend on next week's results."

Whether he was worried or perfectly fine, there was no way to tell exactly how he was feeling by the look on his face.

"On my end of things, your sister has been working hard. Apparently, you've had more of an influence on her than I would've thought."

"Is that so?"

Currently, Horikita was practically bursting with energy, as if she had been touched by magic.

She had taken the initiative to bring the class together in Hirata's absence.

Recently, she had also been spending her time refining the class's strategy for each and every single one of the ten events.

"Shouldn't the third-years already be on break at this point?"

"Well, I was also surprised to find out that wasn't the case back when I first enrolled here. After all, third-year students at most other high schools would already be on break at this time of year. Of course, we're just as focused as any other third-year student would be when it comes to stuff like moving on to higher education or finding a job. You just wouldn't be aware of that yet."

It sounded like the third-years had a variety of troublesome things to deal with right now.

"Higher Education? Finding a job? Even though it hasn't been decided if you'll be graduating as a member of Class A yet?"

"You'll understand eventually."

The elder Horikita left it at that, without even trying to give me a detailed explanation.

I guess there are some things he just can't say to the first and second-year students.

At the end of the day, figuring out whether or not you can rise up to Class A would have to wait until you reached your third year.

"If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'll tell you anything as long as it's within the scope of what I'm allowed to say."

"That scope seems rather narrow in my eyes."

At my unexpected response, the corners of his mouth raised into a smile, albeit only slightly.

"Maybe so. You can think of it as an obligation I have as a former student council president."

This probably meant he had to be careful when answering questions about the school as a whole.

"Well, this is a good opportunity. There's something I've been meaning to ask you."

I decided to make use of this casual encounter and ask the elder Horikita a question.

"It's about Horikita… that is, your little sister. I think she's an excellent person. In both a physical and academic sense, she doesn't fall short in the slightest. I don't know if I'd say she's topping the charts, but she had the talent to place second or third from the first day she stepped foot in this school. While she may not be on the same level as you, a former student council president, I don't think she's bad enough for you to denounce her and try to drive her out of the school entirely."

And then, there was the strangest part of all.

"Either way, you and your sister are two years apart, that is, you haven't seen her last two years worth of growth. With the system this school has in place, you shouldn't have been able to tell at first glance just how much she's grown up."

After all, as he was now, the elder Horikita hadn't been able to meet with her since she began her second year of middle school, not even once.

Even if he had been disappointed with her results on the entry exam, that shouldn't have been enough to make him this disappointed in her.

Back then, when I saw them meet outside the dorm, Manabu's attitude toward his sister was anything but calm.

"I see. Certainly, having seen what you did back then, it's only natural you'd be curious about this."

At that, I was reminded of the first time I came into contact with the elder Horikita.

"I wasn't disappointed with Suzune because of something superficial like her grades or the class she was placed in. It had to do with maturity."

"Maturity?"

"Suzune has changed dramatically from the way she used to be. She was the type of child who would always have a smile on her face."

She, that girl, used to smile all the time?

…No, I honestly couldn't imagine that at all.

"In other words, you're saying this calm, collected personality she puts forward is because of your influence?"

"She has been trying to imitate me for a long time now. It's a bad habit that started to rear its head ever since the upper grades of elementary school. But thinking back on it now, it's my mistake for letting it happen for so long. I tried for many years to get her to improve by treating her cold and indifferently, but it actually ended up having the opposite effect on her, backfiring entirely."

As a result, Horikita continued to chase after her brother's shadow and became the kind of person she is today.

"So even though you seem to be completely perfect, you've failed to communicate properly with your sister?"

"There is no such thing as a perfect human. Am I wrong?"

"Fair enough."

I couldn't possibly refute him on that.

"In short, after reuniting with her once again, all it took was a single conversation for you to reach your conclusion?"

Although, back then, it didn't exactly seem like they had been talking to each other for very long.

"I realized it before I even talked to her. From the first moment I saw her again, I knew that in the past two years, she hadn't changed at all."

As I wondered if he had seen something in her only an older brother could understand, he continued to explain.

"That girl has always been completely hung up on my every word. Study harder, exercise more, don't do one thing, don't do something else. It would've been fine if that was as far as it went. But, she'd imitate my favorite foods and beverages, even going as far as my copying my favorite colors and the type of clothes I'd wear. She's shown just how strongly she's depended on me every step of the way."

The fact that she had gone that far was already a little alarming.

However, if you look at Horikita's behavior since she first came to this school, it made sense.

"So, after reuniting with your sister at this school, you felt like this dependency problem still hadn't changed?"

Unless he could read minds, there just wasn't enough information to tell what she had been through in the past two years.

"That's right. Anyone who knows what she was like as a child would be able to tell. That girl…"

He cut off mid-sentence, choking up on his words.

"…Nevermind. This is probably something I should keep secret, even from you. I'd like it to be the perfect metric to determine whether or not Suzune has really changed."

"I guess that means your sister still hasn't changed yet."

The elder Horikita nodded. While Horikita had shown a great deal of progress compared to how she was at the start of the year, according to her older brother, that didn't seem to be enough.

"She's been trying her best to break away from her past, but she's only halfway there."

I found myself wondering if she'd be able to satisfy her brother's so-called 'perfect metric' before he graduates.

There weren't very many days left until the graduation ceremony.

"But, if…"

The elder Horikita stopped walking for a moment and fixed his eyes on me.

For some reason, I found myself getting caught up in his powerful gaze and stopped walking as well.

"If Suzune could stop chasing after my shadow, break away from her dependency, and become honest with herself…"

A Spring breeze blew through the air.

"She would surpass me altogether, and probably become someone you wouldn't be able to ignore."

He wasn't saying this just because he was doting on her as an older brother. He truly meant it.

In a lot of ways, I also admired Horikita's high potential.

Why was that, though? Was it because of what he just said?

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind. What was I supposed to be doing here, at this school?

No, what did I want to be doing? I felt like I had suddenly found the answer to that question.

"But in the end, it all depends on whether she can make the change at all."

"She will change."

I responded to him confidently.

"Or, no, let me rephrase that."

But then, I chose to correct myself.

"I'm going to make her change. Not in the same way I've gone about it so far, but for real this time."

"…Oh? I never thought you'd say such a thing."

It felt like this chance encounter with the elder Horikita would leave a large impact on my life.

It would be a very long time before I knew whether that premonition proved to be true or not.

"Say, can I ask you one more thing before you graduate? It's a completely personal question."

I didn't know if I'd ever have another chance to talk to him after this.

"What?"

"Are you going out with Tachibana?"

I was well aware that it was a silly question, but I asked anyway.

Despite having moved on from the student council, the two of them were still often off doing things together.

"No. Nothing of the sort."

A flat denial. It didn't seem like he was trying to hide anything either.

However, a quick glance at Tachibana's face told me it was somewhat more complicated than that.

At the very least, there was no doubt that Tachibana had some sort of feelings for him.

"I've spent these last three years thinking about nothing but school, for better or for worse."

"Is that so?"

"But I didn't think something like this would come out of your mouth. Could it be that you're just a regular high school student?"

Perhaps I had been influenced by that talk I had with Hoshinomiya-sensei.

"I think I'm about as regular as you can get."

"Ah. That's right. So, have you gotten yourself a girlfriend, Mr. Regular High School Student?"

Even though I had been the one to bring up the topic, I hadn't expected him to turn it back on me.

"Not at all right now. But if someone suitable comes along, I'm accepting applications."

"I feel like I could rest assured if I left Suzune to you, but I get the sense that that isn't going to happen."

"Of course not."

There was no way that would happen.

"T-that's no good. You do know saying something like that can become a flag, right?"

Tachibana suddenly interrupted the conversation she had been attentively listening to for a while now.

"Flag?"

When the elder Horikita questioned her word choice, Tachibana hurriedly provided an explanation.

"No, uh, I guess it's like, situational irony or something…? Y'know, the type of thing that happens from time to time where two people who never thought they'd get together end up going out? It's a common scenario."

The elder Horikita and I looked at each other, neither of us having understood Tachibana's explanation very well.

"N-no, nevermind."

Tachibana seemed to think she wouldn't be able to get us to understand what she was trying to say, as she ended the conversation with that.

[Part 5 end]

[Part 6]

Back within the classroom, our morning homeroom had come to an end.

And, at the same time, the ten events Class A had chosen were announced.

Horikita read through all of the documents that had been left behind for us.

Mentally, I summarized everything, putting it all together based on the number of people required for each event.

『Chess』 Required Participants: 1 ・ Initial Time Allotted Per Person: 1 Hour (Running out of time will result in a loss)

Rules: Standard chess rules apply. However, your allotted time will not increase before each move, even after the 40th turn.

Commander Intervention: At any given time, the commander may give instructions to the participating player for a maximum of 30 minutes. Any time spent giving instructions will also use the corresponding participant's allotted time.

『Flash Mental Arithmetic』 Required Participants: 2 ・ Time: 30 Minutes

Rules: Victory will be decided by the student who takes first place in terms of both speed and accuracy using abacus-style mental arithmetic.

Commander Intervention: The commander can change the answer to a single question of their choice.

『Go』 Required Participants: 3 ・ Time: 1 Hour (Running out of time will result in a loss)

Rules: Three one-on-one games will be played simultaneously. Standard Go rules apply.

Commander Intervention: At any given time, the commander is allowed to advise a move.

『Modern Literature Test』 Required Participants: 4 ・ Time: 50 Minutes

Rules: The test will be within the scope of the first-year literature curriculum. Victory will be decided based on the class with the higher overall score.

Commander Intervention: The commander can answer a single question on behalf of the participant.

『Social Studies Test』 Required Participants: 5 ・ Time: 50 Minutes

Rules: The test will be within the scope of the first-year geography, history, and civics curriculum. Victory will be decided based on the class with the higher overall score.

Commander Intervention: The commander can answer a single question on behalf of the participant.

『Volleyball』 Required Participants: 6 ・ Time Restriction: First to 10 Points, Best of 3 Sets

Rules: Standard volleyball rules apply.

Commander Intervention: At any given time, the commander is allowed to perform 3 substitutions.

『Math Test』 Required Participants: 7 ・ Time: 50 Minutes

Rules: The test will be within the scope of the first-year math curriculum. Victory will be decided based on the class with the higher overall score.

Commander Intervention: The commander can answer a single question on behalf of the participant.

『English Test』 Required Participants: 8 ・ Time: 50 Minutes

Rules: The test will be within the scope of the first-year English curriculum. Victory will be decided based on the class with the higher overall score.

Commander Intervention: The commander can answer a single question on behalf of the participant.

『Long Rope Jumping』 Required Participants: 20 ・ Time: 30 Minutes

Rules: The class with the higher number of successful jumps wins.

Commander Intervention: The commander may change the order of the opposing team's lineup in any way they want one single time.

『Dodgeball』 Required Participants: 18 ・ Time Restriction: 10 Minutes Per Set Over 2 Sets

Rules: Standard dodgeball rules apply. In the event of a tie, a sudden death round will commence.

Commander Intervention: At any given time, the commander can return one disqualified player to the court.

"It's unexpected that they've chosen multiple sporting events. I thought they'd double down on events that require you to use your head like written exams. Although, there's a good chance they're just meant as distractions."

That was Horikita's first impression, and Keisei, speaking up right after her, shared similar thoughts as well.

"Chess and Go are both major, widely-known games, but it feels like they're putting us in a tough spot because only a few students have ever actually played them. Team coordination plays a large part in all of the sports they chose, too."

There shouldn't be anyone in our class who has never heard of chess or go, but most students probably hadn't actually played or even touched them before.

"Overall, I wasn't expecting them to keep commander intervention to a minimum in most of the events. Especially when it comes to academic events, where the interventions they've come up with would hardly affect the outcome."

"I guess it just goes to show how much they trust their own classmates. Class A has a significant advantage in academic events, and not only did they choose four academic tests, but the number of people required for them is pretty dang high. This is looking really difficult…"

In every test so far, Class A had always gotten the highest average score out of all of the classes.

That was probably why they had chosen to use such a large number of participants in their testing events.

These tests were essentially their way of forcing us to have a purely academic competition since the commander wouldn't be able to do very much.

The fact that they hadn't solely chosen written exams was also a good decision on their part.

If they had thrown in seven or eight written exams, we would've been able to focus our efforts on studying for them.

They were probably trying to limit the options we had available while forcing us to study subjects that wouldn't be relevant later.

"Volleyball requires 6 people, 9 if you include the substitutes, dodgeball requires 18, and long rope jumping requires the most at 20. They require such a large number of people that, if even one of them end up getting chosen, there'll be a high possibility that we'll be required to participate more than once."

Since there was no way to tell which of the ten events would be used on the day of the exam, we wouldn't be able to cut corners with any of them.

Furthermore, since many of their athletic events call for a large number of people, we'd have to spend a huge amount of time and effort on participant selection and practice. If we were bold enough to reserve a place like the school gymnasium to practice, Class A would probably end up catching wind of it. In other words, we had to conceal our activities and practice in secret.

However, there was no way for us to tell which events would be used on the day of the exam. If we spend a lot of time practicing for one event, our efforts would be short-lived if it doesn't end up getting chosen. That is, we would be wasting our time. On the other hand, if we decide that an event is just a distraction and choose not to practice for it, our lack of preparation would be painfully obvious if the event really does end up getting chosen. We had hardly any chance of winning.

It would be important for us to keep an eye on Class A's movements for the next week, but it's easier said than done. It wouldn't be easy to find them if they're practicing early in the morning or late at night. They could also split up and practice in smaller groups.

We couldn't overlook any of the events. No matter which ones end up getting picked, they were all troublesome.

Of course, we weren't lucky enough to be faced with events that we actually wanted to participate in.

"Does anyone have any particular experience with chess or go?"

Horikita prompted the class for a show of hands, to which only Miyamoto responded.

"I've played Go a few times with my family, but I'm not good enough to be familiar with the rules."

There was no doubt that, as a starting point, these two events made the situation look rather bleak.

Although it was a bit late, I also raised my hand.

"I can play chess, more or less, but I don't understand Go at all. I've never even touched it before."

Despite being the commander, I figured that I should let everyone know I could play the game. Later on, I could teach other people.

"I guess it's a relief that we have at least somebody with experience. But again, it's truly a challenging exam, so we can't make light of these events whether we like it or not.

I wonder just how much someone could increase their proficiency in chess or Go in less than a week. In the worst-case scenario, only two of our events would make it through, while the other five would be from Class A.

For at least part of the exam, we had no choice but to rely on the baseline potential of our classmates.

However, why…?

"What's wrong, Ayanokōji-kun?"

Horikita looked at me with a curious look on her face.

"…No, it's nothing."

For the chess event, the commander involvement was simply far too impactful. It was almost like a battle between the commanders.

It gave me the impression that Sakayanagi wanted to use the event to compete against me.

"Hey, Horikita. Shouldn't we also start seriously collecting intel at this point?"

Feeling a sense of urgency, Keisei prompted Horikita for an answer.

"Are you saying you want us to find out which of the ten events Class A plan on choosing in the end…?"

"Yeah. Honestly, it'll be pretty tough for us to prepare for all ten of these events in the time we have left. If we don't somehow get our hands on information, our chance of winning will be a lot smaller."

"But Class A prolly won't give out information very easily."

One of the boys responded, saying something that everyone was already well aware of.

"Even so, we still have to try."

"I understand your concerns, but I can't make a decision on that just yet. Let me get a grasp of how much experience we have with each of these events first."

Horikita pushed aside the topic of intelligence gathering and began focusing her attention on understanding the class's position with respect to all ten of Class A's events.

[Part 6 end]

[Part 7]

"Horikita, can you spare a moment?"

During the break between classes, Keisei reached out to Horikita.

"No problem. What is it?"

"Talking here is a little bit… well, it's about the special exam."

Not wanting anyone else to hear their conversation, Keisei subtly urged Horikita to follow him out into the hallway.

I had intended on seeing them off from my seat, but Horikita turned and looked at me.

"Is it alright if Ayanokōji-kun comes along too?"

"…Alright then."

He didn't exactly seem welcome to the idea, but he agreed to it nonetheless.

It wasn't like I was going to refuse, so I followed the both of them out to the hallway.

"Have you thought about what I said?"

"About intel gathering?"

"Yeah."

"About that… I don't think it'll be easy to get our hands on any information from Class A."

"But, wouldn't it be too much of a waste to do nothing? We should use our time more effectively."

Apparently, Keisei wanted to take action and gather information as soon as possible.

The desire to do as much as you physically can in order to win was a feeling I knew very well.

"Do you think just sticking around the students in Class A will solve the problem?"

"Let's see. It's doubtful that the average Class A student would know which five events will be chosen as well."

Sakayanagi was probably the only one who knew which events would be chosen, and if not, it would be limited to her and those closest to her.

Considering the type of person she is, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for her to thoroughly manage the flow of information.

"Even if Sakayanagi is the only one who knows about which events they'll choose, her classmates are bound to have a vague idea what the plan is, right? Wouldn't you say so, Kiyotaka?"

"Well, her classmates should probably at least know something."

Having spent the last year together, they would know each other's strengths and weaknesses to a certain extent.

They'd probably be able to make an educated guess about which ones would be chosen all on their own.

"Exactly. That's why I've come up with a method of getting our hands on information from Class A."

"That method being?"

"Bring Katsuragi over to our side."

Katsuragi. A former leading figure within Class A that had opposed Sakayanagi.

Keisei first made sure there was no one around, then dropped his voice to a whisper.

"Recently, Katsuragi's biggest supporter Totsuka got expelled due to Sakayanagi, so he probably still bears a grudge, right? I've run into him a couple of times in the last few days, and it's clear he's not the same as he was before."

There was no doubt that he held a grudge against Sakayanagi.

I thought back to the conversation that had taken place on the day of Yahiko's expulsion, when Katsuragi and Ryūen met up with each other.

"Do you really think he'd betray his class just to spite Sakayanagi-san?"

"Of course, we'd need to offer him something appropriate in return."

Apparently, Keisei already had an idea about that as well.

"If he's able to help our class win, we'd end up netting at least 130 class points overall. From the perspective of the class as a whole, that adds up to more than 6 million private points over the course of a full year. Furthermore, if we were to put some aside every month, it wouldn't be impossible for us to save up close to 20 million points."

Having heard this much, I could already guess where Keisei was going with this.

"Then, when we manage to climb up to Class A, we'll offer Katsuragi the opportunity to transfer classes. How about that for a bargaining chip? Plus, this way, we'd establish a good relationship with Katsuragi."

"First of all, an ordinary student wouldn't agree to these terms. No matter what we tell him, we're just Class C. You do know that, right?"

"But, are you sure you can say that given the situation he's in right now?"

"It's true that Katsuragi isn't in the best place right now, but if word got out that he betrayed his class, he'd be the next one on the chopping block. He wouldn't have the luxury to wait for us to save up 20 million points. Even if we assume that our class points will get higher and higher, and even if the entire class agreed to cooperate, it would probably still take at least half a year for us to get that many."

Put more realistically, it would take a full year of saving for us to get to that point.

Besides, even though we'd be gaining more class points, 20 million private points were by no means a small price to pay.

"So what do you think, Horikita?"

"…Well. It's as you say, Yukimura-kun. Getting our hands on information is immensely important."

"Then-"

"However, I don't agree with your suggestion in the slightest."

"W-why not?"

"While Katsuragi-kun has undoubtedly been pushed into a corner, I don't think he'd be willing to agree to our terms and betray his class. Our offer isn't nearly good enough."

It'd be a different story if we had the points on hand now, but it would be strange for him to accept an offer that would only pay out more than a year later.

"But if we don't do anything, we won't get any info at all."

"I don't think we'd get any useful information in the first place, even if we did do something."

"How would we know if we don't try?"

Despite Keisei's persistence, Horikita was clearly unwilling to agree to his idea.

"I'm not entirely opposed to gathering information, but your method just isn't good enough. We can discuss this again if you come up with any new ideas."

With that, Horikita ended the conversation and returned to the classroom.

"Damn it!"

Keisei kicked the hallway wall out of frustration.

"…Hey Kiyotaka, will you help?"

"With persuading Horikita?"

"No… With persuading Katsuragi on our own."

His words really emphasized his determination.

"I'm not saying that Horikita has given up on winning, but it seems to me that, somewhere in the back of her mind she thinks we don't stand a chance. If not, she should be willing to take the chance and give it a try, right? Even if word got out that we met with Katsuragi, it wouldn't put Class C at a disadvantage at all."

Even if I were to disagree with Keisei in this situation, I probably wouldn't be able to stop him from moving on his own.

That being the case, I might as well go with him and get a better grasp of the situation.

"How are we going to get in contact with Katsuragi?"

"That… is something I'll have to think about. We still have some time before the exam."

"Alright. Let me know when you decide."

I responded to him positively to prevent him from taking action on his own and decided to cooperate with him for the time being.

[Part 7 end]

[Part 8]

[Hey. Do you have time to talk for a second?]

It was about 6 PM, just before dinner. I had been watching my stove heat up a kettle of water when I received a call from Horikita. As she spoke, the water just began to boil, the sound of the kettle whistling as it did.

[Are you making dinner?]

"No, don't worry about it."

The water had only just started to boil, so I hadn't done anything special yet.

"What's up? What did you want to talk about?"

If she was looking to ask me for my help with sorting out the events, I would have to refuse.

[Don't worry, this isn't about getting your help with the events. I promise.]

Horikita immediately saw through what I was thinking.

[Though, well. If it's alright with you, can we talk in person? The conversation shouldn't take more than an hour.]

Was it something hard to explain over the phone? Or maybe she was looking to confirm something by meeting face-to-face?

An hour wasn't an unreasonable amount of time. It would be difficult to turn her down.

"Alright. Will you be coming here?"

[While that's fine with me, you've been getting involved in all sorts of things recently. How about you come over here instead?]

She seemed to be wary of any unexpected visitors that might come to visit me.

I had also been to Horikita's room before, so there wasn't any particular reason for me to refuse.

After turning off the stove, I went straight out of my room with my cell phone in hand. Then, I got on the elevator and headed toward Horikita's room. While the sun had already set, it was still early in the evening, so it shouldn't be that strange for a boy to be walking around on the upper floors of the dormitory where the girls resided.

[Part 8 end]

[Part 9]

Not long after ringing the doorbell, I could hear the sound of the lock being turned from inside the room.

I had thought she would greet me with her usual serious expression, but I was surprised instead.

"Welcome."

I was invited inside by Horikita, who was in an unexpectedly good mood.

I, on the other hand, felt slightly anxious upon seeing this abnormal change in her demeanor.

There was a faint scent of miso in the air coming from further inside.

"I was just preparing dinner. Come on in."

If that's the case, it would've been fine if she had waited until after dinner to call me over.

I felt Horikita's pressing gaze as I stood there, hesitating to enter, so I quickly resigned myself.

She might have been reluctant to have someone come over if it had gotten much later.

I decided to stop overthinking it and stepped inside. Almost immediately, I noticed something strange.

For some reason, the small table had clearly been set for two people rather than one.

Was she planning on having dinner with someone else after she finished talking with me?

"Say…"

Just as I was about to ask, Horikita interrupted me.

"Feel free to take a seat."

No, asking me to sit…? There were clearly a pair of chopsticks placed in front of the seat she had motioned to.

My instincts were telling me that I was being set up in a trap.

"So, what exactly did you want to talk about?"

Instead of sitting down, I quickly tried to get on with the conversation.

"Do you plan to stand around as we talk? I still have some preparations to do, so could you please take a seat and wait for me to finish up?"

"No… I just feel like standing."

"You what? I don't feel comfortable having you stand there like that. Sit."

Upon hearing Horikita's voice become increasingly harsh, I decided to sit down.

It had been a surprisingly long time since I had seen this level of confidence in her, mixed together with a pushy, unreasonable attitude.

I had forgotten about it because we had recently begun to distance ourselves from one another.

For the time being, would I just have to sit and wait patiently?

At a glance, the food only seemed to be halfway done. It would probably still be quite a while before she finished with it.

"Hey. It'll only take an hour, right?"

"Yes. Our conversation in and of itself shouldn't take more than an hour."

Horikita spoke with her back turned to me, her words giving me the natural impression that I had fallen for her trap.

Indeed, over the phone she had said that the conversation would be over in an hour.

That is to say, other things weren't included in that estimation.

"How long with everything else included?"

"Hm… Then maybe an hour and a half to two hours or so?"

I knew it.

"Since it's already this late, I figured I may as well treat you to dinner too."

Not a single person could've seen this coming. It felt like I was at the mercy of her unreasonable word games.

Even so, I could see that she had already begun cooking. At this point, it would be rude to refuse the meal and head back to my dorm. She really had skillfully lured me into coming here.

Although she had her back to me, I could see that Horikita's cooking skills weren't half bad.

Rather, given that she was just a first-year high school student, her skills seemed remarkably presentable.

"Both of my parents work full-time, so I was in charge of cooking dinner most of the time."

Horikita spoke quietly, as if she knew exactly what I had been thinking and the meaning behind my gaze.

"You don't find it too troublesome or time-consuming?"

While cooking can be fun, there were certainly many troublesome parts of the process.

"After I found out my brother went to this school, I took it upon myself to practice cooking more often."

"Were you preparing yourself to enroll at this school and live life on your own?"

"That's correct."

I could hear Horikita put down the knife she had been using and set about putting the finishing touches on the pot of miso soup.

Even so, I found myself wondering what we were going to be talking about if we weren't going to be discussing the special exam.

I still didn't have the slightest idea.

[Part 9 end]

[Part 10]

After waiting for another fifteen minutes…

Horikita had finished cooking and set everything out on the table. Seeing all of the food spread out before me was better than I had expected it to be. The way the meal decorated the dining table was similar to how you would see on TV from time to time. She then wrapped everything up by sitting down across from me.

If Sudō were to see the two of us like this, he'd probably throw a punch at me in rage.

Even if I were to tell him that it was a misunderstanding, it still probably wouldn't get me anywhere.

Better yet, I wanted to believe that he had already experienced this kind of treatment.

No, he would probably still be jealous of me either way.

"Eat."

At Horikita's insistence, I picked up my chopsticks. The two of us sat facing one another with the food placed in between.

The scene gave off a strong sense of deja vu.

It reminded me of the time Horikita had taken advantage of me by buying me a meal in the cafeteria at the beginning of the school year.

"Are you suspecting something? Of me?"

"Not at all, I'm just feeling a bit uncomfortable."

"If you start doubting the kindness of others, it just serves as proof that you have a problem as a human being."

"You of all people are telling me that?"

"Today is special, you know."

"…"

If she really did make this because she was being considerate, then I suppose it'd be rude not to at least try it.

However, it's within human nature to be suspicious. No, rather, for me it was my past experiences with her that caused me to doubt her. This time, however, she had managed to perfectly back me into a corner.

The outcome had already been decided from the moment I had carelessly stepped into Horikita's room.

For the time being, I chose to at least try the soup.

The smell of miso tickled my nose. She had used healthy ingredients with daikon radish as the base.

"Barley miso, huh?"

Upon taking my first sip, the characteristically intense, sweet flavor of the soup spread throughout my mouth.

"You're well informed. It's the preferred form of Miso soup in Kyushu, but I wasn't sure if it'd suit your taste."

"You're a good cook."

I tried to give her a genuine compliment, but she didn't seem particularly happy about it.

"In this day and age, cooking doesn't require any special skills, so it's not anything worth boasting about. If there's something you want to make, you just have to look up a recipe online and buy what you need from the supermarket or a convenience store. You do know that, right?"

If it's nothing more than cooking, then that might be right. That being said, all sorts of little touches could help highlight your culinary skills, from the way you arrange the dish on the plate to the way you prepare the ingredients. It wasn't just something you could learn overnight.

"Have you been treating Sudō to meals like this too?"

When I asked her this, she stared at me with a somewhat dissatisfied look in her eyes.

"Why would I be cooking food for him?"

"Well… you're always helping him study, right?"

"Yes, but, while that may be true, how does that have anything to do with me cooking for him?"

It was just supposed to be a trivial question, but Horikita continued to object to it.

"If our positions were reversed and he was the one helping me study, then I'd be more inclined to agree with you. After all, this is normally done as a way of saying thank you. But, there's no way that I'd go through all this trouble when I'm the one doing him a favor."

Her reasoning was so solid that I couldn't find the words to refute her, but…

"I can't tell if you're smart or stupid."

That should be my line. Sudō had fallen for Horikita, so I had thought she'd already cooked for him. Apparently, she still hadn't confronted his feelings for her yet. But, that was probably because she doesn't place very much emphasis on something like love. She hasn't grown to the point where she can be aware of stuff like that yet.

"Well now. If you don't mind, how about we get down to business?"

Saying that, she took out a notebook and offered it to me.

Without even having to ask what it was, I knew this had to be what she had been working on over the last several days.

"I've come up with a plan that I think will suit our class the best. I'd like to hear your opinion on it."

And then, she added on a few more words.

"You ate my food, didn't you?"

What a truly dirty trick. She treats me to a meal and then comes and asks me to do work for her. I immediately grabbed the notebook and started flipping through it. She had thoroughly documented the various aspects of the special exam. There was even an entry about the ten events Class A had chosen, but since those had only just been revealed today, she was still in the process of writing them.

Incidentally, the ten events Class C had chosen were English, Basketball, Archery, Swimming, Tennis, Table Tennis, Typing, Soccer, Piano, and Rock Paper Scissors.

That last one had probably been thrown in as a last-ditch effort in case things weren't looking good for us.

She had also written her evaluation of who would be the best at each event along with an estimated success rate.

This notebook contained everything we needed for the upcoming exam. I read over it quietly until I had gone through all the details. Upon seeing me like this, Horikita seemed surprised.

"Dinner aside, you didn't think I'd read through this so seriously, did you?"

"Ah, yeah. I was even prepared for you to turn me down, but…"

"The data you've analyzed is crucial for this special exam. I wouldn't be able to do my job as the commander properly without at least taking a look at it."

Compared to the information I had gathered on my own, there weren't any notable differences.

"This collection of data almost feels like it exposes our entire class."

"It's the culmination of everything I've done over the course of this past week. It'd be troublesome if it wasn't accurate."

It probably wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that just about anybody could be a proper commander if they had their hands on this notebook.

"I'm going to continue adding on to it, and eventually include information on our best choices for all of Class A's events as well. I was thinking that you could make use of it to put up a fight as the commander."

"Yeah. People like Sudō and Akito should be valuable assets for the class, even outside of one-on-one events. Whereas in Onodera's case, her chances are less certain if she were to compete against a boy. It would probably be wise to have a third or fourth option in mind ahead of time."

Horikita nodded silently. It'd be a waste to make a hasty decision on how somebody would be participating when they have the potential to shine across a variety of events. In any case, I really couldn't find an issue with what she had created.

"I don't have any problems with the notebook. But, could I just add on one thing?"

"What is it?"

"One of the events Class A chose was chess, right?"

After drinking a sip of water, I turned our conversation in a new direction.

Because nobody in our class was particularly good at chess, the section on it in the notebook was understandably still blank.

"Yes. I haven't put very much thought into it yet since I've personally never played the game myself. Out of everyone, the only person who even has a grasp of the rules is you, the commander. We're probably going to have to follow your guidance about it."

"About that, I'd like you to be the one to take part in it."

"…Me? I get that we'll need to have somebody practice for it, but… Why me? I wouldn't be good at it at all and probably won't be able to win."

"Because I think you're the most suitable person for me to teach."

"So you're saying it'd be easier for you to teach me because you wouldn't have to interact with someone new?"

"I'd be lying if I said that wasn't a part of it."

"I can do it, but… there should be at least a few students who'd be willing to listen to you, right? And besides, I don't mean to sound like I'm bragging or anything, but I think I'm a pretty good option for some of the other events too."

Horikita was one of the more well-rounded students in the class.

Whether it be a written exam or a sporting event, I had no doubt that her results would be well above average.

"Chess requires raw talent. There's a time limit imposed on how much the commander can intervene. It doesn't matter how confident Sakayanagi is at chess, it just isn't enough time. I can't imagine that she'll make use of it at the beginning of the match. In which case, the key to winning would be playing the early stages of the game properly."

If Horikita were to be overwhelmed at the beginning, it'd be extremely difficult for me to make a comeback.

"Your fascination with the chess event isn't just because you know the rules, is it? You've predicted that Class A is going to choose it as one of their five events, haven't you?"

"I'm almost certain of it. Don't you think it's strange how chess is the only event where the commander has so much influence?"

"That's true. I felt like something was up with that as well… Alright. I'll follow your discretion."

Thankful that she readily agreed to my request, I went back to eating my meal.

"So, how will we be practicing chess?"

"It probably won't be the easiest for you, but I was thinking we'd practice late at night over the internet."

"That's fair, we wouldn't attract any unnecessary attention by doing it that way. Nothing would be leaked either."

Another advantage was that, by doing it this way, it wouldn't interfere with practicing for any of the other events.

[Part 10 end]

[Part 11]

I had hoped that the discussion would end with this, but things seldom turn out the way you want them to.

"I have a favor to ask of you, Ayanokōji-kun. You did eat my food, after all."

"Don't you think it's cowardly to pull the same trick over and over again?"

We were around halfway through our meal when the devil reared her head a second time.

It seemed that she had more in store for me than just the notebook from earlier.

"Cowardly? Given the way you go about doing things, shouldn't I be the one saying that?"

"What are you talking about?"

"During The Class Vote exam the other day. You were the one who lured me into taking action behind the scenes, weren't you? Answer me."

"Wait. I didn't-"

"Back then, my older brother may have been the one who helped guide me, but you were the one who was really behind it."

It didn't seem like she was just making a random guess.

That being said, it was also unlikely that the elder Horikita had leaked the information.

"I didn't notice it at first, but I connected the dots after thinking it over carefully."

In other words, she had managed to reach this conclusion on her own.

"You predicted how I would act every step of the way."

"Even if I denied it, I don't think you'd believe me."

"That's right. Of course, I don't have any conclusive evidence. Even if I asked my brother, he wouldn't say anything that'd even hint at your involvement anyway. But at this point, I'm almost certain of it."

Little by little, Horikita had matured over the course of this past year.

That was a fact that her brother and I could both agree on.

However, Horikita's talent had only truly begun to present itself once the discord with her brother softened.

Given that her big brother has known her for much longer than I have, he must've been well aware of just how high Horikita's potential really is. Chances are that's exactly why he's so dissatisfied with her always trying to follow in his footsteps.

"You look awfully uncomfortable."

"That's because it feels like I'm in the middle of being interrogated."

"Just forget it then. Your attitude makes it clear that I won't be getting anything out of you."

With that, she cut the conversation short. It seems that it's going to be harder to manipulate Horikita from behind the scenes from now on.

"I've got one more thing to ask you, but feel free not to answer."

The powerful look in her eyes seemed to draw me in, unwilling to let me get away.

"Do you think we can win against Sakayanagi-san?"

"I don't think it's impossible. That's the impression I get after seeing these notes of yours."

"…Very well. I'll do my best to get the class to the place it needs to be."

"You've been doing great so far."

In Hirata's absence, almost all of our classmates have been following Horikita's instructions.

She was fully prepared to take leadership of the class and pave the way to victory.

Honestly, I wanted to thank her for taking the initiative and doing the things I wasn't capable of doing myself.

"I'll leave the rest to you as well. I'm fully prepared to follow your judgement."

"I understand. But still, wouldn't it be better for you to make the decisions on rules for the commander?"

"You can take care of that too."

"…Are you really saying that you're going to fight with just the information I've prepared for you?"

"I don't really know all that much about our class anyway."

"Good grief… If you think you can beat Class A with that, you're just being naive."

"Maybe."

The two of us walked to the front door and I stepped out of her room.

"For the time being, I'll thank you for today's meal, but… please don't use a method like this next time."

I could already imagine myself being suspicious every time somebody offers me a meal from now on.

"Alright, I'll come up with something else."

No, that's not what I meant.

[Part 11 end]

[Part 12]

A few days before our confrontation with Class A, Keisei finally managed to get in touch with Katsuragi.

Shortly afterward, Keisei contacted me and called me out to a discreet location.

At this point, Katsuragi was basically isolated from the rest of his class and was often left all alone, so it was probably easy to get in touch with him.

"…So, what can I do for you, Yukimura?"

The man who harbors an unrelenting resentment for Sakayanagi stared at Keisei with a pointed look in his eyes.

"Katsuragi, there's something I'm hoping you can help us with."

"Given the current circumstances, I can already guess what you're here to talk to me about."

From the looks of it, Katsuragi already had an idea of what Keisei was trying to propose.

"Then that makes things simple for us. I was hoping you'd tell us which events Class A plans on choosing. Also, if possible, I'd like you to throw your matches for us."

Keisei added in another request that he hadn't mentioned to Horikita and me.

"And what would I get in return for doing that?"

"We'll welcome you into our class."

"That's an amusing proposal. You want me to betray Class A and drop down to Class C?"

Katsuragi sneered at Keisei's suggestion.

"We will rise up to Class A someday. We have the potential."

Keisei spoke up once again, emphasizing that he could transfer classes once we managed to reach Class A.

But, to Katsuragi, Keisei's words probably sounded like nothing more than delusional nonsense.

"You'll rise up to Class A someday? Doesn't every other class say the same thing?"

"That's…"

"If you really have the potential, can't you just beat Class A without doing something underhanded like this? Isn't the reason why you're trying to use me because you can't do that?"

Keisei fell silent at Katsuragi's irrefutable, scornful tone.

"Well, whatever. Let's say you guys really can rise up to Class A. Are you saying you can provide me with 20 million points right now in exchange for the information? No, because that's impossible, isn't it? If you had that much, you probably would've used it to prevent Yamauchi from being expelled."

Of course, Katsuragi was well aware that we didn't have such a large amount of points.

"That's…"

"Don't tell me you want me to wait two years for you to prepare the points?"

"…Well, yeah."

"This is beyond delusional. Even if you guys do become Class A, there's no guarantee that you'll be able to save up 20 million points by then. We could sign a contract, but it'd be useless if you don't have enough points when the time arrives. No, is this even an offer everyone in Class C agreed on in the first place?"

Katsuragi wasn't an idiot. He probably had a solid understanding of Class C's current situation.

If this was an offer that everyone in Class C had agreed upon, the person who came to meet him would've probably been Horikita. Since Keisei and I were the ones reaching out to him, it must've been obvious that this was still confidential.

"I can understand that you're desperate, but you didn't even come prepared to negotiate. Were you planning to tell the rest of your class after I agreed to cooperate? Did you really think I would accept something like that?"

Betraying your fellow classmates wasn't something that could be done easily.

Even more so for a man with a strong sense of duty like Katsuragi.

"…Are you, are you really fine with being silenced by Sakayanagi then?"

"What?"

"Do you really still want to cling to Class A even though they got Totsuka expelled?"

Catching onto the fact that Katsuragi wasn't going to be persuaded by his offer, Keisei pushed forward, fully resolved to go down swinging.

"I wouldn't have the confidence to make it to graduation like that. It'd be far too pitiful."

"So you've resorted to inciting my emotions now? I'll give you zero points for a strategy like that, Yukimura."

"Dammit!"

Seeing as I was present right alongside Yukimura, Katsuragi then directed his attention to me.

"Do you have anything to say, Ayanokōji?"

"No, you're completely right. There's nothing left to say."

Upon seeing me raise the white flag of surrender, Katsuragi redirected his focus to Keisei once again.

"Yukimura, I'm not trying to criticize you for anything, but if you want me to double-cross my class, it's pointless if you're not prepared."

With his back up against the wall, Katsuragi stared out into the distance.

Rather than looking at something, it was more like he wasn't looking at anything at all.

"That being said, you were right about one thing."

"…One thing?"

Despite the fact that Keisei had already given up, his ears perked up at Katsuragi's words.

"I do harbor an immense, unwavering hatred for Sakayanagi. For me, that's more than enough of a reason to do something, even if you don't have anything to give me in return."

With his arms crossed before him, Katsuragi once again fixed his gaze on Keisei.

"As you might have already guessed, Sakayanagi hasn't told anybody which events she plans on choosing."

As expected, Sakayanagi appeared to be keeping her plans to herself.

"And I'm not happy about it either. In an exam like this, where the entire class needs to cooperate as a unit, that's just not how she should be doing things. Typically, you'd expect her to share information with her peers and adopt a strategy that would secure our victory."

By not sharing which events you'd be choosing, the biggest advantage would be that your choices wouldn't leak out to the opposing class. However, the quality of your training for the events would diminish at the same time. If you tried to prepare for all ten events, it's only natural that your overall efficiency would drop.

"If you're fine with it, it's not like I can't tell you what I think she'll end up picking."

"R-really!?"

Just as Keisei was about to completely give up on persuading Katsuragi, he unexpectedly found himself catching a lucky break.

Katsuragi's resentment for Sakayanagi ran deep.

"As long as you can promise me that everything I say stays between us…"

"O-of course. I'll even bring up the twenty million points with Horikita and the rest of my class for you later."

Keisei nodded along, apparently under the impression that he had managed to strike a deal with Katsuragi.

"That won't be necessary. Even if the information I give you turns out to be useful, it probably won't be worth twenty million points."

"Then, what do you want in return?"

"Nothing. I just ask that you defeat Sakayanagi."

With that, Katsuragi began to speak.

"Of the ten events, the three I'm most certain she'll end up choosing are Chess, the English Test, and the Mathematics Test. After those would probably be the Modern Literature Test and Flash Mental Arithmetic. Conversely, events that require a large number of participants like dodgeball and long rope jumping can be pretty much thought of as fakes. Our class doesn't seem to have practiced for them, as far as I can tell."

We wouldn't be able to confirm if Katsuragi's predictions were correct or not until the day of the exam itself.

But, if we go into it thinking that he was right about the first three, it probably wouldn't end up biting us in the end.

"Are you really okay with it? With not getting anything in return?"

"Like I said earlier. Even if you don't have anything to give me, I still have more than enough reason to take action."

Through an unexpected turn of events, Keisei had gotten his hands on information that he hadn't thought he'd be able to get.

Most likely, he was beginning to feel overwhelmed with joy.

"W-we did it Kiyotaka! Now we finally have a chance to win this!"

Keisei excitedly took on a triumphant pose.

"One more thing. You said that you wanted me to throw my matches for you as well, right?"

"Eh? Ah, no. You don't have to…"

"Hah… You came all this way to negotiate, and yet you're satisfied with just getting some information?"

Katsuragi let out a slight chuckle, seeming to have found Keisei's panicked reaction amusing.

"It's not like that, it's just…"

"Don't go thinking you can win against Sakayanagi just because I've given you a little information. It would probably be wise for you to think that you'd just barely be able to put up a fight if I throw my matches. However, the only event I'd be able to help you guys with is Flash Mental Arithmetic, or, if it somehow manages to get chosen, Long Rope Jumping."

After listening to Katsuragi speak, I decided to ask him a single question.

"Will you even be allowed to participate with Sakayanagi being so wary of you? It's true that, if Long Rope Jumping gets chosen as an event, you might have to participate more than once. But, given that only one or two people can influence the outcome of the Flash Mental Arithmetic event, what makes you think she'd choose you for it?"

"That's because the only students in Class A who specialize in Flash Mental Arithmetic are me and one other student named Tamiya. Furthermore, Tamiya isn't all that skilled at it either. With that being the case, leaving me out of the event would just hurt our chances of winning."

After all, Sakayanagi probably thinks that she's dulled my fangs by having Yahiko expelled. In order to turn me into one of her pawns, she'll get me to participate in an event."

The idea of using Katsuragi, a force that had defied her, as a mere pawn was probably somewhat appealing to Sakayanagi.

Afterward, Katsuragi shared his plan to help us. If he were to be chosen for Flash Mental Arithmetic, he would deliberately get an answer wrong and, in the case of Long Rope Jumping, he would get caught on the rope early on in the event.

"That being said, I'd like to avoid having Sakayanagi realize that I'm throwing the events as much as possible. For Long Rope Jumping, I can make it look like I mess up by accident, but for Flash Mental Arithmetic, I won't be able to make mistakes on the easier questions."

It would look like we were competing on equal footing, but our class would win by a slim margin.

"Though, remember this. Even if Flash Mental Arithmetic gets chosen on exam day, if Sakayanagi doesn't decide to have me compete, you'll just have to cut your losses and give up on our plan."

Either way, we had been provided with some unprecedented information, so we had no reason to be dissatisfied.

After Katsuragi left, Keisei began talking with excitement filling his voice.

"Let's tell Horikita about this, as soon as possible."

"No… We shouldn't tell her we contacted Katsuragi yet."

"W-why not?"

"This only ended up working out for us in hindsight. She won't be happy with us if she finds out that we did this without telling her."

"But, shouldn't we be putting the information to use somehow?"

"I'll find the right time to tell her. I'll make sure we don't get in trouble."

Keisei seemed a little worried at first, but he eventually agreed.

It was probably because he felt guilty about meeting with Katsuragi in secret

[Chapter 5 end]

I'll upload the rest of volume 11 and also 11.5 in three days, as I can't access my computer atm