Chapter 1: The Price of Victory

With the Unanimous Consent Special Exam and the weekend behind us, it was 20th September, the start of the next week.

I woke up around 6:30, turned on the TV and started preparing my breakfast.

Yet another Monday had come, but the daily life that awaited was certainly going to be different from what it had been until just last week.

You didn't have to rack your brain to figure out why.

Broadly speaking, there were two major causes affecting us. Kushida's explosive revelations after she had been cornered created cracks in the relationships between the students of our class. Then, the fact that we had gone back on the initial condition – which was to expel only the traitor, that is, Kushida – had shaken the class's trust in Horikita and me.

The question was: should we expel someone or not? To make everyone change their votes to assent, I had promised them that we would only expel the traitor. Then, I executed my plan to use what I had prepared so far to drive Kushida into a corner, make her confess that she was the traitor and therefore lead her to expulsion.

While there were students defending her because they liked her or wanted to believe in her, in the end she showed her true colors and started exposing the class's secrets, and so their trust in her collapsed.

And when I was just one step away from driving her to expulsion, something I hadn't expected happened.

Despite the fact that she was well aware of everything, Horikita Suzune

claimed that Kushida was an essential resource for the class.

Most importantly, she declared that she would absolutely not agree to expel Kushida.

I had initially promised that only the traitor would be expelled, and Horikita had nothing but agreed to it, and yet to my surprise she defended Kushida.

In the little time we had left, the only options we had were to either let Kushida remain and eat the penalty for failing the exam, or to pass the exam by expelling someone else.

At any rate, the class lost a lot of trust in both Horikita – who, as I just mentioned, changed the rules – and me, who went along with her and stuck the expulsion on someone else.

Those who were hurt by having their fleeting love exposed to the world.

Those who were left distrustful of everybody after they heard how their friends had bad mouthed them.

Those who had lost their friends or now bore a grudge against them.

The situation in the class was serious, and there was no end to the causes for it.

But, the revelations and their consequences weren't a big concern, and I had anticipated that from the very beginning. It was a necessary and unavoidable cost of breaking the ball of trust known as Kushida.

It would be easy to think of this as an absolute negative for the class.

However, that is not how I see it. If you took that view, you could not gain experience. It was equivalent to missing out on an opportunity to grow.

Of the four classes, we were the only ones to expel someone. The students of our class were deeply hurt. In turn, we gained class points. No. It is very important for us to change that perspective of this situation.

Instead of thinking that we were hurt and leaving it there, we should consider the future. It was because we were hurt that we must consider it as an opportunity to make our bonds even stronger. By doing that, Horikita's class could become even stronger.

How many of the students of the class understood this was unclear, but regardless, they mustn't run away from it, and face this problem head on.

The special exam for Horikita's class was still going on.

The weight and value of 100 Class Points. It was the perfect chance to reflect on one's own actions.

Of course, if things were left as they were, there was the possibility that the class could get mired in a swamp, so we had to be careful. With neglect, the wounds could expand further.

After breakfast, I checked my phone with one hand while brushing my teeth. Looks like there weren't any new messages from when I'd last checked at midnight.

"But, still──"

The result of the exam wasn't what I had originally planned, and I was still surprised by the unexpected direction the exam went into. Logically, objectively, consistently, or from any other such perspective, there should not have been any choice other than to expel Kushida, who had doggedly stuck to her assent vote and thrown the class into disarray. I had determined that expelling her would have caused the least damage to the class, and we could quickly shift focus to the Sports Festival. Basically, from my point of view, the position Horikita chose – to not allow the traitor Kushida Kikyou to get expelled – was impossible, irrational and wrong.

And despite thinking of it as an obvious blunder, I supported Horikita, and changed course to expel Airi. In short, I chose to lend my abilities to an illogical mistake. At the very least, I would have never made that choice before I came to this school.

So, why did I choose it now?

The student known as Horikita Suzune was, in a way, far more attached to Kushida than the other students.

While it wouldn't be right to call them close friends, it was undeniable that to Horikita, Kushida was a special person. Wanting to keep someone special to you from being expelled was natural, but making judgements based on that would be unfair.

Especially as it could be seen as an abuse of the position of leadership that she was establishing herself in.

Considering, for example, the viewpoint of Haruka, a close friend of Airi, would make this easy to understand.

To Haruka, the person who had kept voting to expel someone – Kushida – was evil, and should have been eliminated. And Horikita and I had made eliminating that evil as the premise of going forward. That was why she also added her vote to expel someone.

And yet, she had to pay the price for Horikita's preference of Kushida, with a close friend of hers getting expelled. After that, if you said "Let's do our best from next week!" she would absolutely not be on board.

However, we mustn't forget that it wasn't an easy choice for Horikita to make either. During the special exam where she was forced into making a difficult decision, Horikita had made her response clear. She declared her support for Kushida and took on the risk of criticism it carried.

Just that decision would have been impossible for most normal students to make. Knowing full well that she would be held in contempt for favoritism, Horikita still believed that keeping Kushida would benefit the class.

"I'd still be hard pressed to say that it was the right choice at this stage though."

Before the Unanimous Consent Special Exam was held, it was obvious that

Kushida brought more to the class than Airi. You could say that, even after she exploded, she still had the lead over Airi, but at the very least that lead was certainly shrinking. On top of that, Kushida herself didn't seem to repent, and it was likely that she would continue to be uncooperative with the class.

In short, at that point there was absolutely no basis for the idea that keeping Kushida would benefit the class. Horikita's beliefs regarding the way Kushida would develop were wrong. That conclusion alone will not change.

There is only one reason why I supported Horikita despite that. To be perfectly honest, it was because I wanted to watch Horikita's growth, the direction she was developing in and where it would lead to.

Actions that the person known as Ayanokouji Kiyotaka would never take, what could they lead to?

I wanted to see the chemical reaction that would happen by leaving Kushida in the class.

Would they be able to narrowly grab hold of Class A, proving that this choice was correct?

Or would it destroy the class, and they would understand their mistake? Or would it lead to yet another unexpected change?

As for me, I thought it was very likely that it would lead to a vicious cycle, but...

I checked the OAA app on my phone, and Sakura Airi's name was already gone from the list of students in our class. It was as if such a student had never existed.

I put my phone in my right pocket, took my bag and went to the entrance.

Apart from the situation in our class, there were happenings in the other classes that piqued my interest.

Ryuuen and Sakayanagi chose to challenge each other in the end of the year

exam. It was natural for Ryuuen to choose Class A and steal their points, but Sakayanagi? There was nothing in it for her to challenge what was the bottom ranked class at the time. Was it because she was allied with Ichinose, and had decided that destroying Ryuuen was the best course of action?

Was the promise between Sakayanagi and Ryuuen also a factor? It was best for us to keep our guard in that direction, too.

This was the best possible outcome for Horikita's class, but...

At my usual time, I left my room and moved to exit the dorm.

In the lobby outside the elevator, the familiar form of Horikita was on the sofa, waiting for somebody. She glanced at me, but it didn't seem like she was going to get up.

However, perhaps because there was nobody around, after a brief delay, she got up and approached me.

"Are you waiting for Kushida?"

Before she could speak, I opened with that. She choked for a moment and replied,

"Looks like you saw through me. Yes. Over the weekend, I went to her room many times, but..."

It seemed like she was trying to counsel Kushida, but hadn't been able to make contact yet. That was probably because for Kushida, it must've been the humiliation of a lifetime. Of course she wouldn't want to see Horikita so soon after. Probably, Horikita might have been waiting here from very early in the morning for Kushida to come down.

More concerning was that the dark circles under Horikita's eyes made it easy to tell that she was not getting enough sleep.

"It looks like you're quite worried about the situation with Kushida."

"Eh? Ahh, it's not like that. My lack of sleep aside, this is for a different reason. She hasn't left her room even once. I visited her many times but she kept pretending she wasn't there. She has really holed up in there. Despite that, I wanted to meet her no matter what, so I stuck it out but..."

"She's holed up in there... you mean, you've been waiting by her door?"

Even if it was just for the weekend, sticking it out from dawn to dusk was something, alright.

"I kept ringing her doorbell and waiting for her, but she didn't even make a sound."

It wouldn't have been surprising for Kushida to store enough food in her room to sit tight for two to three days.

"And I had to be careful about my surroundings, right? It wouldn't help us if the other classes found out that Kushida-san wasn't leaving her room."

She had to be on her guard, watching out for someone coming down the hallway. It must have been a rough weekend for her.

An ordinary student would probably lose to Horikita's intensity, but Kushida was Kushida. She didn't even show the slightest bit of sympathy and rode it out.

"After all that happened the other day, she can't carry on as she did before."

"Since you made the choice to keep Kushida, it's obvious that you need to follow up on it."

Horikita nodded with determination, but it wasn't like she didn't have her own thoughts about it.

"As for you... how was the weekend, Ayanokouji-kun?"

Of course, by that she was asking about the Ayanokouji group. Since I had selected Airi by name and then expelled her, from Horikita's perspective, it was likely to cause more issues for me than keeping Kushida.

"I had some contact with Keisei and Akito, but that's about it."

Even then, our conversations were never specifically about Airi. It wasn't that they couldn't broach the topic, but that they didn't know how to. As for Haruka, I couldn't see her "read" indicator on any of my messages. I don't know much about how the app worked, but she definitely could have blocked me or something without leaving the group.

"You haven't been able to talk to Hasebe-san yet, right?"

"Well, yes. Naturally, I haven't had the courage to send her a message." Horikita gave me an apologetic look and bowed her head.

A face to face confrontation right now wouldn't bridge the gap. Instead of trying to repair our relationships, it was more realistic for them to leave me and keep the group alive with just the three of them. Therefore, the best option for me was to watch over them from a distance. That way, Haruka might still resent me, but that might thaw over time.

If that comes to pass it would be good for the class, but if it doesn't, we have to be prepared for it. If she keeps resenting me, Horikita and the class, it would be difficult to rule out the possibility that Haruka could harm the class due to her personal circumstances. While her abilities weren't in any way indispensable to the class, losing a perfectly usable piece would, in a way, disadvantage the class and bring its total value down. It could also spread to Akito and Keisei and drag their abilities down with her.

"Right now, I suppose whatever you try to tell her won't get through. It's best to wait."

At any rate, this wasn't something we could discuss here.

After we were done checking in on each other, Horikita sighed quietly.

"Because I forced us to keep Kushida-san, your group's relationship was changed."

I was the one who struck the killing blow on Airi, but I did that of my own

volition. At the very least, that was entirely on me.

"You don't need to apologize again for the same thing. If you thought that was the right thing to do, I'm fine with that."

"But you covered for me. No, it wasn't just that..."

As if she was trying to get her head in order, she carefully chose her words.

"In that situation, if I had been the one to propose Sakura-san's expulsion, Hasebe-san definitely wouldn't have compromised even at the very end. Therefore, we wouldn't have been able to avoid the penalty from running the clock out."

After cooling down over the weekend she was able to see the situation clearly. The weight of the burden of sentencing someone to expulsion, and the difficulty of executing it. It was an unimaginably rough battle given the time limit.

While she was relieved that we had avoided the worst case scenario, I could see a sense of discomfort in her eyes.

More than a little, she wished we had been saved from expelling someone by the clock running out. A world where none of the 39 were missing. The "what if" where we might have lost class points, but because we had protected our friends we could deepen our bonds and aim for Class A.

Horikita herself knew that these thoughts were those of a coward. And that is why, as those thoughts bubbled up from inside her, she suppressed them.

"I feel like you were able to understand everything about that special exam from the very beginning."

"It's not like I saw the future. I just considered every possibility and planned for them."

"That itself is incredible. I can visualize the future to some extent, but I cannot perfectly figure everything out. The contents of the motions, what you needed to say to make people act the way you wanted them to – it all turned

out the way you had calculated."

Little by little, she was beginning to realize how I saw and thought about the world.

"It's good to analyze the past, but right now I think we need to solve the class's problems first, don't you?"

"Y-Yes. That's right..."

"You shouldn't expect the class to be the same as it was until just recently."

"Of course I am aware of that. There is no doubt that Hasebe-san resents me, and Yukimura-kun and Miyake-kun might too. And there are some who don't agree with how I forced us to keep Kushida-san."

She says she's aware of it, but I'd be hard pressed to say she truly understands what it will be like. How long would it be peaceful under the changes that her decision would lead to? If those would just be positive changes I wouldn't mind, but most of them would be just the opposite – they would be negative changes. There was no way they'd see her as a high achiever who increased our class points.

"You should head to school."

Horikita had her hands full dealing with Kushida, so there was no point to having a long discussion here.

"It won't be good if we stand out carelessly."

After all, this wasn't a dorm that only had students from Horikita's class. People from classes we could call our enemies – Sakayanagi's and Ryuuen's – also lived here just like us.

She wasn't thinking that we could hold the lid on Kushida's true nature, but that didn't mean we had to open ourselves to attack by telling the world about it.

The class had certainly acquired a lot of points. Whether they were able to

deal with the cost of those points or not depended on what they did in the future.

But, before all that──

What should I do about the biggest problem I immediately saw with regards to fixing the class?

Part 1

When I arrived at the classroom, I immediately noticed that the atmosphere was different from the atmosphere before the special exam.

First of all, there were a few students looking at me.

This is a high percentage of students that I don't get to know on a regular basis, but I guess it's not surprising.

Considering the fact that I've been on the sidelines and on the quiet side, I'm not surprised that they've taken this step.

There are many aspects of their relationship with Kushida and their past outward attitude that I don't understand.

There are not many students who can come and talk to me directly, even though I care about them.

"Good morning, Ayanokoji-kun."

In the midst of all this, when Matsushita found me, she approached me happily.

"Good morning."

The stares from the boys and girls turned to surprise at my unexpected behavior.

It might be the first time I've ever been approached by someone just coming

to school like this, although I've been waved at from a distance by Matsushita.

Matsushita has a high opinion of my abilities. I'm not sure if she's concerned about what happened the other day or if she has another goal.

Even when Airi was expelled from school, Matsushita said it was inevitable.

"Are we finally on our way to A class?"

"I don't know."

I avoided her light jab and brushed her off, and she simply backed off, as if she didn't need any more. Then she turned her gaze to the side.

"I'm sure you'll be going through a lot for a while, but don't worry about it."

After saying that, she added, "I'm talking about Ayanokoji-kun."

"Since it's Ayanokoji-kun, I'm sure he doesn't care about it."

"The important thing right now is that is not Ayanokoji-kun or Horikita-san. Right?"

The problem is probably Shinohara, Haruka, and Miichan and Kushida.

The students I just named are the ones who were particularly damaged by the unanimous special exam.

The painful gaze from Shinohara is sometimes directed at me.

It was not directed at me, but at Matsushita. She seems to be unconcerned, though.

"I tried to make it work this weekend, but she cancelled on me."

She mumbled in a low voice, perhaps noticing Shinohara's gaze on her. "Girls tend to take a long time in these situations."

"It's a tough time."

"Well, we're the ones in the wrong."

It all started when Kei, Matsushita and the others made fun of Shinohara and Ike being couples, so it was only natural for Shinohara to be angry since she had been badmouthed behind her back about her looks.

"It's a normal thing, you know. I've had worse problems in the past."

The relationship between girls is something that boys who only have a superficial relationship with girls wouldn't understand.

I wanted to know, but I couldn't know.

After that, there were no other students who approached me, and time passed by.

And Horikita also came to school late, but there was no sign of Kushida with her.

Sudo and some of the other students tried to talk to Horikita, but the school bell rang at the last minute.

Kushida, who hasn't appeared in front of Horikita over the weekend, continued to hide in the clouds.

The morning homeroom started with many empty seats.

Chabashira-sensei came to the classroom and immediately noticed the few empty seats.

"Kushida, Hasebe, and Wang are absent. It's a rare occurrence."

We didn't know the details of their absences, but Chabashira-sensei did.

"As for Hasebe and Wang, they have been notified of their illnesses and we have accepted them as usual. As for Kushida, we have not heard from her, so we will call her later to confirm. I'm sure we'll soon find out if she just

overslept or if she's too sick to get up."

Although she used a somewhat exaggerated expression, it was probably based on the assumption that she was faking illness.

It's not unusual for someone to be absent for a long time in school. But this was the first time in the past year and a half that three students were absent at the same time. Until now, Chabashira had never said anything when someone was absent. This is different from the past, where she just went about her business. If this were a normal school, all the bills for the time off would come back to you. If she skipped a week, it would affect her internal evaluation score and she might even be left behind in class.

However, in this school, one person's responsibility is also everyone's responsibility.

I'm sure Chabashira-sensei understands what we're all worried about, even if we don't say it out loud.

"Don't look so anxious. A day or two off won't affect your class points. It just so happens that all three of them get sick at the same time."

At this moment, she assures us that there will be no impact on the class. I'm sure my classmates were relieved to hear that.

"That being said, if this starts to become a prolonged case then problems will start to rise."

I looked at Kushida's seat and answered.

"Well, I may have exaggerated a little in calling it a temporary illness, but there is a limit to how long you can be in poor health without a specific name. I'm hoping for a speedy recovery, if possible."

Even if she didn't want this to happen, the eyes of our classmates would be drawn to Horikita. In the unanimous special examination, she declared that she would put her own ideas first and leave Kushida behind. Naturally, most of the blame was directed at Horikita.

Despite receiving the brunt ... of the gaze, Horikita does not move an inch.

In the unanimous special examination, she declared that he would put her own ideas first and leave Kushida behind. Naturally, most of the blame was directed at Horikita.

After looking at the situation, Chabashira-sensei coughed once and forcibly pulled the students' consciousness away from Horikita.

"I'm concerned about the absentees, but we can't afford to dwell on that. The unanimous special exam is over, and you must now turn your attention to the next battle. "

She lightly placed her palm on the monitor behind her and brought up the screen.

"I would like to explain the details of the sports festival and the special rules that will apply this year. Please listen carefully."

The sports festival that awaited us would be the same as last year's. That's what the students were thinking.

"Special rules: ・・・・ Does this mean we're going to have a different sports festival than last year?"

Sudo, who was more enthusiastic about the sports festival than anyone else, nodded once in response to my question.

"The student council president's proposal for a new type of school is now being accepted, including the desert island test. This is an attempt to strongly incorporate the idea of emphasizing individual ability, and the sports festival is the embodiment of this idea."

In the uninhabited island exam, Koenji, with his high academic ability and above all his outstanding physical ability, performed very well, earning him a huge number of private points, as well as a huge amount of private points for himself.

It was a true example of a meritocratic school.

On the other hand, students who were not good enough were in danger of being expelled.

The same emphasis was placed on the individual's ability in the sports festival.

If we were to take the words alone, it would be a tough test for students like Keisei, whose academic abilities are their strong point, but whose physical abilities are not.

I'm sure there are many students who are worried about this, but this sports festival has been coordinated so that no one will be expelled for lack of individual ability, nor will any one individual suffer any damage. Not everyone is able to perfectly embody the two ways of life, in both study and sports."

Perhaps to avoid a mild panic, Chabashira-sensei said this and explained gently. Some of the students looked at each other in surprise at the softness of his words, which was different from last week. It was no longer necessary to talk about it, but the outline and rules of the sports festival were displayed on the monitor.

Outline and Rules of the Sports Festival

A sports festival for all grades, consisting of various events.

Time: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (with a break from noon to 1:00 p.m.) Students are free to participate in any event of their choice, score points, and compete as a class for overall points.

Rules:

-5 points per student will be given at the start.

- Students participating in the sports festival must participate in 5 different events.

- Each student will receive 1 point as a prize for participation in each event.

-Winners will be given additional points depending on the event. -The maximum number of events that can be entered is 10 per person.

-If the athletic festival ends with less than 5 events, all points earned will be forfeited.

-If a student does not participate or abstains from an entered event except for unavoidable reasons, he/she will lose 2 points.

-Students who have finished the events they are participating in must cheer in the designated areas.

The above was displayed on the monitor.

Just by reading this overview and the rules, you can see that it is completely different from last year.

"This is the outline and general rules of this year's Sports Festival. This year's sports festival will be held in various locations at the same time, unlike the regular festival where the whole school watches one event at a time."

"It sounds like a busy day."

Sudo was puzzled by the rough image of the day in his mind.

"Participating in the competition and aiming for a high ranking is a top priority, but a detailed schedule needs to be established. If you plan to compete in a large number of events to win, it will be a busy sports festival. There are two main types of competitions, the first is called the basic competition.

This refers to competitions in which only one person can participate, and all basic competitions have a fixed reward of five points for first place, three points for second place, one point for third place, and one point for the participation prize.

The other is a team competition called the special competiton. Two or more

people can participate in the competition. The rewards are higher in team competitions, and all participating teams receive equal points. While the rewards are attractive, there are drawbacks, such as the need for collaboration and the longer time commitment."

There is a clear distinction between individual and team competitions, and the team competition gets more points? There is no risk of coming in last place, which is a nice consideration for students who are not good at sports.

"The rewards for team competitions vary from event to event, so be sure to check them out separately."

The rules are simple once you understand them, but there are a lot of things you have to do. The first five points given to the students and the five points for participation, a total of ten points, can be obtained by participating in the sports festival and completing the competitions regardless of the results. If there are any students who fail to meet the minimum requirements due to some kind of accident, the number of points will be reduced by 10 for each student.

If we assume that everyone will participate, Ichinose, a class of 40, will get 400 points and this class, which is missing two members, will get 380 points. This means that we will be fighting with a handicap of 20 points to start. As of now, the reward for individual competition is 5 points for taking first place. You need to get four more first places. It may not seem like much, but each person can participate in up to 10 events.

In other words, it is impossible to have Sudo work at full capacity and participate in 15 or 20 events to make a lot of money. It might be a heavy burden for him.

"It's up to the individual and the class to decide whether they want to pay their points and participate in the sixth and subsequent events. The overall score at the end of the festival will determine the ranking of each grade."

The monitor switched to show the rewards by grade. Reward by classes:

1st place

150 class points

2nd place

50 class points

3rd place

0 class points

4th place

minus 150 class points

From the point of view of a regular exam, the fluctuation in class points seems to be somewhat large.

This may have something to do with the fact that it is a large overall event, the Sports Festival, and the fact that class points fluctuate relatively slowly in the currently announced Cultural Festival.

"These are the rewards for each class. I will now announce the rewards for individuals."

The rewards for each class alone are enough to motivate us, but it doesn't stop there. As this is an athletic festival that is meant to test individual abilities, it is inevitable that individual rewards are also prepared.

This was the way it was supposed to be.

As Sudo leaned forward, he waited with bated breath for the monitor to switch.

He knows better than anyone else that this is the event of the year where he can shine.

Individual competition rewards (by grade and gender)

1st place: 2,000,000 Private Points or Class Transfer Ticket (limited) 2nd place: 1 million private points

3rd place: 500,000 Private Points

Sudo shows his guts at the reward of high private points.

In addition to that, there was also a sentence that we had never seen before. "Huh, class transfer tickets!?"

The class buzzed with surprise like I've never seen before.

"The school was very cautious about introducing this new system, since the introduction of protection points was unheard of and not long before that. However, it is the natural right of the students who have shown their individual ability to rise to the top."

The only winners in this school are those students who are able to graduate with an A grade.

If you were the number one student in your grade in the physical education exam, a test that requires a great deal of physical strength.

It is no wonder that they are deemed worthy of holding the right to move the class.

It seems to me that the sports festival is not a special exam. However, I'm curious about the fact that 2 million private points and class transfer tickets are being treated equally.

Originally, 20 million private points were needed to move a class. In other words, we are one digit short.

However, they are given the right to move classes. The key to answering this disproportionate point may be the word "limited" in the class transfer ticket. "What do you mean, "limited"? Like, do you have to move and come back sometime?"

"No, you don't, do you? That doesn't make any sense."

Sudo is upset by the word "limited" and Ike is talking with him from a distance.

"It will give you the right to move classes. However, it is also true that you can't make everything final at this point. Therefore, the term "limited" refers to the period of use. You can only exercise your rights during the second semester. In other words, if you don't exercise it by the start of the third semester, it will be invalid."

This makes some sense why it is considered equal to 2 million points.

If you can hold on to your ticket until after graduation, it's practically an A- class ticket, but since there is a deadline, you need to have an eye to determine which class you will ultimately win or advance to.

A limited class transfer ticket is only useable within a period of time, so to speak.

If you move from one class to another but end up graduating with an "A" in your original class, you'll probably feel bad about falling into the trap of this ticket for a long time. Even if you don't suffer from such a worst case scenario, it takes a good amount of courage to use it.

Because abandoning your own class that you've been used to for over a year and a half is not an easy thing to do. Horikita: Even if Sudo won the right to do so, when you objectively think about whether he would abandon Horikita and his friends to go to A class, it's not easy to imagine him moving classes.

Even though it was a high-profile athletic event, it didn't mean that a single success would guarantee you a spot in Class A. We will need to keep that in mind.

However, this is only for second-year students. If you're a freshman, you're still not that close.

Some freshmen may abandon their current class, which they are not so close to yet, and move to a class where they feel they have a better chance of winning, or simply to A class.

On the other hand, for the third-year students, it is the strongest choice to move to Nagumo's class.

It would be the same as graduating with A class. No matter which grade they are in, the right to move to another class, and being given that extremely limited choice, is a big deal.

It will be interesting to see how this affects the students in the future.

I'm sure the school will see the reaction and decide if they want to offer the same kind of tickets again.

Overall, I think it's an interesting reward with an interesting balance.

"If you're planning on taking the top spot in the individual competition, Sudo, you'd better think twice."

I could see Sudo's back stiffen.

It's not just a matter of putting your friends first and jumping to 2 million points, it's also a matter of looking beyond that.

Will you take Horikita's class, where you are now, or will you move to Sakayanagi's class, which is running solo?

You have the right to face your future and consider it carefully.

"Now, let's move on to a more detailed explanation. There are two types of competitions: those that are open to the public in advance and those that are not open to the public until the day of the competition. In other words, there will be a certain number of events that will be open to the public on the day of the competition."

In addition to the basic events such as the 100-meter run and the steeplechase, there were some interesting and unusual events on display: penalty kicks, basketball shoot-offs, tennis singles and mixed doubles, and so on.

There are things you won't see at a normal sports festival.

"It is important to understand that you may not be able to participate in allof the events you want to due to the limited number of participants, the timeof the event, etc. If you force yourself to make a schedule that doesn't fitinto your schedule, you may not be able to participate in time and you may betreated as an abstention. Don't forget that you also risk losing your points."

Students whose physical abilities are superior to those of the school as awhole need to participate in a large number of events where they can gainpoints efficiently. In this sense, there is also an aspect of using one's head,and one's luck or ability to guess who will be able to participate in whichevent.

However, if the sports festival were to be held in this state, the studentswould panic. If all the students were to rush to a particular event on the dayof the event, they would not be able to compete.

Of course, the school would have to be aware of this.

"The event is open to the public, and reservations can be made through aspecial app from 10 p.m. today. The earlier the better for all grades. We willaccept cancellations up to one week before the event, but you can only cancelthree times. The last reservation deadline is two days before the event, and ifyou haven't registered for the maximum of five events by then, you willautomatically be assigned to an available spot."

Then a timetable, which appeared to be an app screen, was displayed. "Let's say you want to try out for the 100-meter dash."

The screen switches.

"The 100-meter run is an event for up to seven participants of the same grade and gender. Four races in total. You can register for any race. Participants must arrive 5 minutes before the start of their race to complete their entry. Participants must arrive 5 minutes before the start of their race to complete their entry. No need to wait until after the race. Scheduled start time of the first race: 10:15 a.m."

This means that the maximum number of men and women who can participate in the 100-meter dash is 56.

No matter how many races you are participating in, you need to arrive at least five minutes before the competition starts at 10:15.

From the explanation that there is no need to wait after the competition, we can start moving on to the next competition in a short time if we participate in the first race.

On the other hand, if you are participating in the fourth race, you will be detained for a long time. Same competition, same reward, but you lose some time.

"It is also important to note that students who are currently enrolled in a club, or have been enrolled in a club at least once during their school years, are not allowed to participate in the relevant event. If you are Hirata, you are not allowed to participate in soccer, if you are Sudo, you are not allowed to participate in basketball related events."

So, students who are involved in club activities do not simply have an advantage, but are restricted in the participating in them?

It's true that it's unlikely that any student will be able to beat the likes of Yosuke and Sudo in their main sport, so they probably want to avoid having a showdown between students who have experience in club activities.

If Sudo is playing soccer and Yosuke is playing basketball, the other students will have a good chance to win. There are a few students who devoted themselves to club activities in junior high school but didn't choose it as a

club activity in high school. There are a few students who may have a slight advantage or disadvantage in that area.

"It's like booking a seat at the movie theater."

Sudo, who had been taking the explanation seriously, was right on target.

"I'd say the system is similar. The system is designed to reflect in real time who holds which events and time slots."

"So that means some people will cancel because they don't want to fight me, right?"

Sniffling and crossing his arms proudly, Sudo mutters.

"Yes. But those students will sooner or later hit the three cancellation walls."

In order to do so, you want to seize your favorite events and specific races as soon as possible.

However, if you do it early, the risk of being targeted by strong opponents goes up.

However, if the number of times you can escape is fixed, you will be hesitant to even make a reservation.

There is also a battle to check and probe.

It's like the prelude to a sports festival, where the competition takes place on the Internet.

"If there is a tie in the results of an individual match, the private points will be divided equally. If there is a tie in the results of an individual match, the private points will be divided equally and no class transfer tickets will be given."

If students were to collude to create a large number of ties for first place and win a large number of class transfer tickets, the system would fail. I guess this is a measure to avoid that.

In any case, if you are successful and get all of the rewards by yourself, you will get a lot of money or a class transfer ticket.

Even if you don't plan to move to another class, you can use the 2 million for various purposes, such as accumulating a dream of 20 million points, which can be used as a stepping stone to securing A class.

On the other hand, students who are not confident in their athletic ability should limit themselves to the five compulsory events as much as possible.

If they don't win the sixth or later events, they will lose a point.

This is a big disadvantage in the battle for each class.

However, it also depends on how you fight.

After the teacher had finished her explanation and left the room, the classroom became as hectic as boiling water.

"Okay Suzune, let's get started with the meeting!"

The first one to shout out loud was Sudo.

He is suddenly more motivated after hearing the rules.

Yosuke also naturally sat up and started walking towards Horikita.

Up to this point, it was the same flow as usual.

However, some of the students were beginning to look at her coldly.

There were doubts swirling around whether Horikita could really be trusted or not.

"There's one thing I need to tell you before we start discussing the sports festival."

Move before they make the first move. She got out of her seat and turned around so that everyone could see her face.

"During the special examination held last weekend, I made the choice not to expel Ms. Kushida from the school, in violation of the promise I made to everyone. First of all, I want you to let me apologize for that."

With that, Horikita bowed her head.

However, when she looked up, there was also a strong will in her eyes.

"But I think I made the right choice in the end. She's a great asset to the class."

"I don't think so."

Shinohara was the first to deny Horikita's words. She was one of the victims of Kushida's revelation.

"Now that I know Kushida-san is like that, no one will trust her. I don't feel like anyone is talking about her to the rest of the class right now, but it's only a matter of time."

Shinohara cuts into an important factor that should be put on the shelf and considered whether you like Kushida or not.

The fact that Kushida will continue to exist as a classmate cannot be changed, and if you are going to proceed on that basis, it is best to keep the inconvenient "truth" to yourself as much as possible.

In other words, to go around telling the enemy class that Kushida's true nature is black and that she has dangerous thoughts is to strangle yourself.

It is a simple matter of keeping quiet, but it is surprisingly difficult to do so.

In particular, Shinohara, who is protesting now, has been directly hurt by Kushida.

It would not be surprising if she had already exploded, but for now she seems to be suppressing it.

Shinohara seem to understand its advantages. If that is the case, it is no wonder that someone smart enough to understand this, someone like Yosuke, would have urged her to keep quiet beforehand.

However, it is doubtful that this will last forever.

When her doubts and insecurities about Kushida reached their limit, she would break down at once.

"Hey, Horikita-san. Can you really say you were right to leave Kushida-san behind? Answer me."

Shinohara's words made Horikita, who had only been looking at her, numb and hastened her answer.

"It's not something that can be answered at this moment. It's the same for me, Shinohara-san, and the other classmates. We need to show our presence in the rest of our school life."

"What's that? I want an answer now. In all likelihood, Kushida-san will be a distraction to the class."

"It is true that the unanimous vote special exam may have hurt you. It may have hurt Wang and Hasebe, who are currently absent. But the fact remains that Kushida has contributed to this class for the past year and a half. Or are you more proud of your results than she is?"

Even if she caused major problems, her past achievements would not disappear.

She has helped to organize the class, take care of the minds, and raise the average of academic and physical abilities of our class.

At the very least, Shinohara personally hasn't accomplished much more than Kushida, that's for sure.

"I can't blame him for not taking kindly to the fact that I cheated and that Kushida continued to insist on expelling students. But if I had expelled Kushida, would it have been the right thing to do? How can you be okay with

the class average dropping and losing the special exam?" "It's ... You don't know what you're doing until you try it."

"You're right. Then what I'm about to do is something you won't know until you try it."

Either way, it's an uncertain future.

It will not be easy for Shinohara to argue with Horikita.

"Can I have a word?"

As Horikita and Shinohara stared at each other, Yosuke stood up, raising his hand.

"There's something that's been bothering me," he said. "If we're going to get the most out of Kushida-san's skills, we need to keep her secret from the class. That's why I've been asking everyone in the class to keep quiet."

"I'm sure you're right. If someone hadn't been giving us instructions behind the scenes, we'd be in the tubes by now."

Horikita was also wondering why the rumors about Kushida hadn't been circulated by Monday.

"But Horikita never asked me to keep quiet. Why is that?"

"It doesn't matter how many box words you put up against people who want to bring her down. It only makes a difference if the school finds out about it early or late."

Regardless of the process, the students would now have a decision to make.

Will they let their emotions get the better of them and make their true nature known to get back at Kushida, or will they keep it a secret for the sake of the class?

"I wouldn't talk to Hirata-kun even if he didn't ask me to. We had a chance to

get together on a day off, and we discussed the fact that it wouldn't do any good if we divulged this. Of course, it would be a lie to say that I don't have any thoughts about Kushida-san right now."

Matsushita is a smart person.

Although she was one of those affected by Kushida's revelation, she understands the disadvantages of spreading the word.

"We've been exposed, so we'll expose it back." There is only a temporary sense of accomplishment to be gained by doing so.

"I will bring her back. "I will bring her back, and if I can't, I will take whatever responsibility I can."

The students, who had been bared their fangs at her strong determination, cleared their throats and gasped. Shinohara was no exception.

".... Are you really going to take responsibility?"

"I chose to leave Kushida-san behind with that determination. If something goes wrong, you guys can judge me."

There is also Akito and Keisei who are silently watching this.

It is not difficult to imagine how they are feeling as they listen to this story.

Anyway, Horikita's strong words brought the conversation to a conclusion, and free time arrived.

Horikita's gaze is not on me, but on someone else. That person also looked back at Horikita, and eventually Horikita left the classroom.

At the same time, Koenji, who was sitting across from Horikita, stood up and walked out of the classroom as well.

I was curious to see what was going on, so I decided to open the door a little bit and check it out.

"You acted like you wanted to talk to me about something. What was it?"

"I just want to make sure you're up to speed on the upcoming sports festival."

"Huh. I don't need to cooperate with ・・・・・, am I right?"

"Of course. I just want to confirm your intentions. You can at least tell me that."

Whether or not to include Koenji's activities in the calculation. Depending on that, your strategy will change.

When asked, Koenji grinned and put his hand on Horikita's shoulder.

Horikita tried to brush it off as if it annoyed her, but Koenji's arm didn't twitch.

"You seem like a very lucky girl."

I asked him what he really meant, though he seemed a little unhappy as he kept his hand on my shoulder.

"Does that mean you're motivated?"

"I've made a lot of money from the uninhabited island exam and the treasure hunt, but now is the time to spend some money. I see no reason not to participate."

Koenji, who had shown his overwhelming power in the uninhabited island exam, was not expected to make any further moves, but he would be more enthusiastic if it was a special test that would bring in a lot of money for him personally.

For Horikita, this was great. If she could earn even one more point, she would have no complaints. And if it's Koenji, there's a good chance she'll get 10 or 20 points.

However, there may be some concerns about this reward.

Horikita seemed to hesitate for a moment at this, but then stepped in. "If you get the right to move classes... ...what would you do?"

Koenji is undoubtedly one of the most troubled students in the school, but he is also a free spirit.

He would never hesitate to abandon his current class if he decided to do so.

Whether or not Koenji would be good for the class in the future is another matter, but at least Horikita wouldn't consider it a plus if the class lost students.

And when it comes to special exams with a lot of money at stake, such as desert island exams and athletic events, he can be serious.

If he did switch classes, he would be a strong opponent.

"That's a no-brainer. I don't think the other classes are attractive enough at the moment for me to give up my contract with the Horikita girls."

"For now. ....."

This means that depending on the conditions, there is always the possibility of moving to another class.

"As of today, we're safe."

I'm not sure how that's safe at all, but I'm skeptical about how many classes would want to bring in Koenji.

You'll have advantages, but you'll also have disadvantages.

"Okay, I'll take your word for it, but I'm not going to trust you to follow your whims. You'll get enough points to take the top spot, is that correct?"

"You can take that as a yes, although I won't be working with anyone else."

It seems that he is only going to score points in competitions that he can participate in individually.

I wouldn't be surprised if Koenji takes first place in all competitions. That would mean he is likely to get up to 558 points.

"Are you sure you're not interested in moving up to Class A?"

The question was answered with a laugh and Koenji returned to the classroom.

"Do you enjoy eavesdropping?"

The door was slightly open, or perhaps he had known that all along.

Koenji stops behind me and asks.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about what's going on at the gym."

"Let's put it that way."

"Can I ask you a question, Koenji?"

'I'm in a good mood right now, my mind is racing with the rewards of the festival. I'll answer for you."

"You and Horikita made a promise. But that's not an absolute guarantee. There was a possibility that you might be cut, just as you let Kushida stay to antagonize the class. Do you have any thoughts on that?"

I'm not sure if he was worried about whether his promise would be kept or not, but I'll find out.

Even though Koenji had an ulterior motive ofextracting private points, he was still bullish and agreed to let the studentsleave. He was in a position to agree with the decision to let the students go.

"It's all a matter of calculation. If there was a situation where I was thefinal candidate for expulsion, I would vote against it before it happened. The talk about trusting Horikita girl is also based on that premise."

"I see. You did fully trust Horikita, did you?"

"I would never entrust myself to anyone. You wouldn't either, would you?" "Maybe"

Koenji seems to be appropriate and free, but there is also a calculated thought behind it.

Furthermore, it is calculated, yet still maintains its freedom.

No matter how many times I deconstructed each student to get to the answer, this man was the only one I couldn't read.

2

"Ayanokoji-kun. Do you have time now?"

Just after the lunch break, Horikita approached me.

"Just in case-"

"We're supposed to eat together. Sorry okay? I can't lend you Kiyotaka," said Kei.

Kei came running and forced her way between us to stop Horikita's advances. She spread her hands and shoved a no.

"I mean, why would you ask a guy out who has a girlfriend?"

"Yes. But it's not me who wants to borrow him, it's someone else. And it's not a girl"

She pointed his cell phone at me, and Kei looked at the screen before I could. "Yagami ..... Takuya ? Who?"

"It doesn't matter who sent the message. The important thing is the text."

The text that Yagami sent to Horikita seemed to have been sent about an hour ago.

'Can you call Ayanokoji-senpai to the student council room during lunchtime? The student council president has requested it. If it's too difficult for you, please let me know and I'll come to you."

That's what it said.

"I have a role to play as a member of the student council. I have a role to play as a member of the student council, and if a classmate says they have something to do, I can't refuse their request."

It means that even though you had no choice, you came to tell us your story. Nagumo.

"I think student council president Nagumo wants to see you. What did you do again?"

"I haven't done anything."

Not recently, I added in my mind.

"If you refuse, Yagami-kun will come here. If you still refuse... maybe the president of the student council, Nagumo, will come here. So, how should I respond?"

Horikita is just an intermediary. Regardless of how I reply, he will just proceed with the process.

"Sorry, Kei. If I ignore the student council president's orders, the rest will be troublesome."

"Crap. Well, if it's the student body president, I guess it can't be helped. ..... Sato-san, let's have lunch together."

She understood that she had no choice but to accept the situation and immediately rushed over to Sato and the others.

"She's a quick study, isn't she?"

She muttered something that could have been admiration or disgust. 'I'm on my way."

"Then I'll report that to Yagami-kun."

"If the student council is exchanging contact information, wouldn't it be faster if the student council president contacted you directly without going through Yagami?"

"The only student council member who has exchanged contact information on the chat app is Yagami-kun, who requested it directly."

I was convinced and left the classroom, and Horikita came out into the hallway with me.

"I don't know what the reason is, but I recommend that you try not to make him angry."

After parting ways with Horikita, who had given me some advice, I had no choice but to head for the student council room.

It's much easier for me to go to the student council room than it is for them to come directly to me.

When I arrived in front of the student council room, I knocked softly on the door.

Not long after, I opened the door after confirming that I could hear Nagumo's voice inside the room. As expected, there is no one else inside the student council room except Nagumo.

"Hello, Ayanokoji. Have you noticed any changes in your life lately?"

He started with a light jab.

The person who is disrupting my life is the student council president himself.

The pressure of the third-year students looking at you every day has not weakened at all.

In fact, even the third-year students who hadn't recognized me in detail remembered me as if I were a normal student. I'm sure I'm the most famous junior in the senior class.

Even if they didn't know the details, I was engraved as the junior who challenged Nagumo.

"Nothing has changed. I wish I could say that, but I do have some troubles."

It's easy to pretend that you don't notice anything, but if you don't show that you're overwhelmed, it could escalate the situation even more.

"As the student council president, I can help you with your problem."

"It might just be a misunderstanding. I'll ask for help when I really need it."

If I make him feel good to some extent, you can leave the possibility thatNagumo will back off.

... No, that's a bit too optimistic. The only thing Nagumo wants is for me to be directly defeated.

I'm sure he wouldn't be satisfied withsomething that.

Nangumo had a good feeling about something, there was no way he was going to let it end there, so he changed the subject.

"You've already heard the rules of the sports festival, right? The time has come for a direct confrontation, Ayanokouji. There are some events in the festival that are open to all grades. You can fight me in it."

"Are you disciplining the younger students? I've seen the OAA of the student body president Nagumo. Unless there is a big luck factor involved in the competition, there is no way I can win even if I stand on my head. The result is more obvious than you can see."

Even though there was no other choice but to take the low road, Nagumo would not be satisfied with that.

"You are the one who would answer that way. You think you can satisfy me by taking the low road? No, it's no use blaming you for that. You have no choice but to take the low road now."

"I know you're not into it. It's a waste of time for me to spend too much time with you. So, if you win one match against me in this sports festival, I'll let problems begone."

"One win, huh?"

It was much looser than I had imagined.

"You seem to be wondering if one win is enough. Is it that easy for you?" "It's not like that. But I think it's a possibility."

"Winning all the games is another condition. No, it'd be a disgrace to the student body president if I confronted you with the condition of winning all the games."

I don't think it's just pride that's getting in the way. He's using his pride as a shield to somehow drag me out into the fray.

"But on one condition. If you miss even one of them, you lose."

"What happens if I lose? Won't the student council president be satisfied with that?"

"I hope so, because your troubles will never go away, and you'll probably have to deal with me again. Or maybe you'll have to worry about it more often than before."

"We have a class policy. Can you give me some time?"

"Well, that's all I can say for now. I'll give you a week. Call me by next Monday."

"I understand. If we're done talking, may I be excused?"

"Don't be in such a hurry. Or do you have plans after this? Since I called you here, you didn't have any, did you?"

"Yes, well. I don't have any plans."

"I'm relieved to hear that."

Nagumo kept talking, occasionally checking something on his phone.

He has no intention of releasing me yet.

"Excuse me."

From the other side of the door, I heard a voice I hadn't heard in a long time. "Eh--"

It was Ichinose, who was holding a plastic bag in her hand.

".... I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Nagumo-senpai."

"I'm sorry I couldn't go shopping with you today."

"No, it's ......"

"Oh, this? I've been having lunch with Honami every day in the student council room. I've been busy with student council work. My right hand man keeps me busy."

I've been thinking that the chances of us passing each other or running into each other during lunch break has been decreasing lately.

If you were in the student council room, which is off-limits to normal students, it makes sense wouldn't have seen her.

"I've hear a lot about your problems when we're together. Isn't that right? Honami."

"Y-yes-"

"I told her I was expecting a visitor today. You should join me for dinner, Ayanokoji."

There were three lunch boxes peeking out of the bag.

It seems that he was planning to have us eat here from the beginning while he finished his conversation with me.

It's easy to say no. It would be emotionally painful for Ichinose to be in the same room with me now.

But since he was already surrounded by people who had already taken his word, there was no way to escape.

"You said you didn't have plans for the rest of the day, right? Go ahead and have a seat"

In a situation where I was surrounded, and under orders from the student council president, I had no right to refuse.

It's a good idea to take a seat away from Nagumo.

Ichinose, who always eats next to Nagumo, handed him a plastic bag and sat down next to him. She did not look at me, but began to prepare her lunch with a slightly downcast look.

It was impossible for Nagumo not to notice this unnatural appearance, and he must have thought back to the exchange on the boat.

"The rules of the sports festival are very different from last year's, aren't they?"

"You should be thanking me. If we'd had the same rules as last year, I'd have won."

The rules of the previous year's sports festival divided the students into red and white teams to fight.

Nagumo is in control of the entire third year.

This means that he was able to intentionally make the students in the groups he did not belong to lose.

No matter how much the remaining first year and second years struggled, their chances of winning would be zero. In the end, the conversation that used to take place between the three of us became a rally between Nagumo and Ichinose, and I silently carried my lunch box to my mouth.

I finished my meal before they were even halfway through, and I closed the

lid and held it in my hand.

"What, you're done already? You can leave the empties there."

"Thank you very much."

I replied, but Nagumo's eyes were already on Ichinose, not on me.

Ichinose was also facing Nagumo, perhaps to avoid focusing on me.

"I'm sorry."

There was no point in staying here, so I left the student council room.

"A strategy to show dominance?"

It may look like humiliation to the casual observer, but it's meaningless if it doesn't cause psychological damage to me.

If you wanted to achieve that effect, you should have prepared a few more members of the student council to watch from the sidelines.

That way, I could at least get people to label me as a pitiful man.

Nevertheless, judging from the way he was acting, Nagumo would probably continue to contact Ichinose in the future.

It would not be surprising if something happened that would change the relationship between them.

As I started to walk away, I thought about the effects of that.

Will becoming a part of Nagumo lead to Honami Ichinose's growth?

If allgoes well, she might be able to gain enough favor to take over the position ofstudent council president.

The confidence that comes from that - no, that idea is a little too naive.

If Nagumo's obsession with Ichinose stems from me, he may well cut Ichinose offat the last minute.

If she couldn't be elected as the student council president after devoting her body and soul to it, and Horikita was recommended for the position because of her low contribution, her spirit would be crushed within a year.

In that sense, I wouldn't underestimate Nagumo's stand.

I need to keep Nagumo in mind, but there are other things I should be doing right now.

I need to prepare for the upcoming sports festival, but I also need to prepare for the cultural festival that is just around the corner.

I've asked Sato, Matsushita, and Maezono, who came up with the idea, to take a break from the class, but I need to make preparations to secure a staff for the maid cafe.

Airi's participation, which we had originally hoped to include in our calculations, is no longer possible, and Haruka's participation is not expected at this time either.

Kushida, who was a strong card, had also disappeared.

In addition, I couldn't rely on my classmates to help me learn the basics of this field.

When I brought up the subject of maid cafes in the midst of the cracks in our class relationship, I felt like I was being smoked. In addition to the risk of being shunned for what you are saying, there is also the risk of information leaking out because of it.

"Maid cafe ・・・・?"

You don't know what you're doing, but the budget you have to work with

demands a lot of sales.

It is necessary to have a strategy to win and to research what your rivals are

doing.

3

The next day, after the specific rules for the festival were explained, we had morning homeroom.

Just like yesterday, the atmosphere in the class was not very cheerful.

The reason for this was that three of my classmates were absent. The other day, they were absent again today.

It's not uncommon for people to miss school due to illness or health problems, it happens to everyone.

However, in the case of these three, I think everyone thinks that they are all absent for other reasons.

If you are absent for a long period of time, you will usually need to go to the hospital in Zelkova Mall to get a medical certificate.

On the other hand, if you have a medical certificate, it is not a big problem.

In other words, even if you don't have a fever, the hospital will take care of you for a few days if you complain about something.

However, according to what Chabashira-sensei said in homeroom, none of the three have been to the hospital.

The other two have been in contact with the hospital, but it is unclear how long they will allow this.

The problem is if the three of us continue to be absent after tomorrow. Haruka's absence is related to Airi's withdrawal from school.

Wang'sabsence is due to her love for Yosuke being exposed.

Kushida's absence was due to the revelation of her true nature. None of them are related to illness.

I wonder what would happen if this continued for three days, five days, or even a week.

It's no wonder that the school doesn't think that these absences are just a coincidence and starts investigating.

As Mr. Chabashira said, it will eventually start to have a big impact on the class points.

In addition, there are some cracks beginning to appear that are not visible to the naked eye.

Wang is not the only casualty of Kushida's revelation. Ike and Shinohara, the two new couples, have also been caught in the crossfire, which is a source of concern.

In fact, she doesn't even seem to be talking to Kei, Matsushita, or Mori, who are said to have been bad-mouthing Shinohara.

Although she was not called by name, we cannot rule out the possibility that Shinohara did not talk to students such as Sato and Maezono for the same reason.

Even though the groups we usually interacted with were different, the class had always had strong horizontal ties among the girls.

It is clear that this has now become a complete gap.

It is time to start deciding the members of the teams to fight for points, but this class has not reached that stage yet.

If we continue to divide the teams, the internal division will progress even more.

Because Horikita knows this, she cannot take the next step.

On theother hand, it is impossible to make a breakthrough here.

Not only Horikita, but also Yosuke is well aware of this.

The time flies, and morning homeroom is over.

Soon after, I received a message on my tablet.

"I need to talk to you. Please come to me."

It was a short message from the pillar teacher.

Not long after the teacher left the classroom, I left my seat as if I were going to the bathroom.

The advantage of sitting at the end of the hallway was that no one could see me.

As I rounded the corner of the hallway to the staff room, I spotted Chabashira-sensei standing with his back to the wall.

"It's unusual for you to call me like this. Is it an urgent requirement?"

For a moment, I thought it was about the three of us being absent, but it seems that's not the case.

I have to tell you. There is something I need to tell you. It's about Sakura." "About Airi?"

A week has already passed since Airi left this school, and time has passed. I wonder if there is anything I need to tell her now.

"Of course, the school went through the process of expelling her. They had to sort out her belongings and collect her private points. Well, that's what they call the necessary ... post-processing."

Although her expression was straightforward, it was a bit muddled.

I wondered if it was because of my feelings about the loss of a student in my class.

"Items purchased in advance at school are essentially the student's property, and it is up to the student to decide how to dispose of them. There is no problem in leaving it behind or taking it with you. The official acceptance of the expulsion is done in the staff room. ... Actually, one unexpected thing happened before that."

"Something unexpected?"

"Ah. After the unanimous special exam, we found evidence that Sakura had used about 5,000 of her private points, and we're still deciding what to do with them, I should say."

"Private points are forfeited to those who withdraw from school, correct?"

"I'm sure you'll understand. But, as I said before, it can only be done when it is officially accepted. However, the school considers this to be a very gray area. For example, they don't allow the transfer of private points to a specific student. "

"That's right. Yes, it would be a problem if all the Private Points were transferred after the decision was made to expel the student. But you're saying Airi transferred 5000 points to someone else?"

" No, that's not it. Sakura is..."

I'm told how to use my private points in an unexpected way.

"So, I thought I'd give you a call, since you're the one who's involved. Of course, you are under no obligation to take on this case. If you refuse, we'll deal with it. If you refuse, we'll deal with it."

Airi's actions occurred in the short time after her expulsion was confirmed. I have a hunch about the answer, and decide what I should do.

"It's not a very large amount, so please leave it as it is."

"You mean you'll pay for it?" That's not a problem, is it?

"Yes. Since it will be your private points for convenience, the school will not see it as a violation. "

"I understand."

I was confirming with the teacher that this was not a problem.

"I'd like to ask you one question, is this something you're involved with ...?"

With a slightly probing look, Chabashira-sensei asks.

"No, it's not. It's a conclusion that I came to on my own in the limited time that I had."

Of course, I don't know the details at the moment, but as time goes by, I'm sure the answer will come to me naturally.

"Anyway, even though it's a small problem, it's good news for me to have one solved. I'm not all that happy about the situation of the class."

As the homeroom teacher, she can't help butworry about the class. "What's with your eyes?"

"No, it's nothing. I was going to forcefully correct some of it, but maybe that's not necessary."

"What do you mean?"

"Please watch over them for now. I want you to watch each and every one of

your students grow."

The teacher seemed a little dissatisfied, but nodded quietly.