2.3

School ended, and I headed to Keyaki Mall with Kei.

We hadn't originally planned to stop by today, but she had requested a detour.

However, Kei, who had invited me, was not smiling as usual. She wore a gloomy expression.

"You've been down. What happened?"

"Ah... well..."

She seemed to want to say something; after some brief hesitation, she turned her eyes to me.

"Hey, hey, Kiyotaka. What will happen to me in this exam…? If I continue to be targeted, I think it's absolutely impossible to keep answering correctly... Can you protect me?"

Unable to hide her anxious expression, Kei asked with fear.

"You're not the only one to lack confidence. Most of the students in the class are likely to be bearing similar anxieties, to a greater or lesser extent. Of course, Horikita, who is serving as the leader, fully understands this."

"It would be better if you're the leader... then I would definitely be protected..."

Although I deliberately avoided responding to that blind faith, at this point, it was a priority to dispel her anxieties.

"Horikita will protect her classmates. But even so, the chances of losing can't be reduced to zero. However, the deciding factor, in that case, is about who to let go. When there are several eliminations beside yourself, it won't be easy to specifically select you, who can lead the girls. Horikita also understands that you're my girlfriend. Even without my protection, you won't be an easy target for Horikita."

This wasn't a viewpoint I intentionally guided, but rather how Horikita would naturally interpret things.

If she wanted my cooperation in the future, Kei surely would not be the easy option to cut off.

However, if there are other eliminations besides Kei, her priority will have to be higher than the others with these conditions taken into account.

If it came down to a selection between Kei and Yōsuke, no matter how much she holds the title of my girlfriend, changing Horikita's judgment would be impossible unless I forcibly intervened.

"Th-that's right. I'm Kiyotaka's girlfriend. Horikita-san won't choose me easily."

"Ah, plus, the guarantee of protection can cover only around five out of close to forty classmates each time. Taking that into account, it's not unusual for someone to be eliminated. If this proceeds for 20 turns, each class should be chock-full of quite a number of eliminations. If we assume that 10 people drop out, it is unlikely for you, the leader of the girls, to be chosen. Isn't that right?"

"...Exactly."

It wasn't an exception for Class A, full of honor students, to have many eliminations.

Not having a single elimination and managing the class would, rather, strangle the class.

To put it extremely, it would be okay even if half of the class is eliminated, as long as we can avoid being the bottom class.

In order to give her a little more peace of mind, this follow-up wouldn't go to waste.

Even just making her understand that her worth was by no means low reduced the burden on her.

The fact that she was my girlfriend provided a sense of security.

However, depending on the perspective, it could also be interpreted as a risk factor.

If there was someone who wanted to damage me, there was a good chance they would directly target Kei.

In any case, this special exam had aspects that made each student reconfirm their value.

Who was necessary and who was unnecessary for the class—it forced you to look at it both from the inside and the outside.