Chapter Summaries

Oreki avoided Shiina Hiyori’s attempt to follow him, then visited Sakayanagi Arisu’s dormitory to check on his cat, Hayate. After Sakayanagi returned and they made tea, she told Oreki to open a box on the table.

• Karuizawa left the bookstore after Oreki replied that he had noticed Shiina Hiyori watching him.
• Oreki pretended to head for the library, causing Shiina to wait there while he took a side path back to the dorms.
• Oreki used Sakayanagi’s key card to enter her room and found his cat, Hayate, waiting for him.
• Sakayanagi returned and joined Oreki in petting Hayate.
• Sakayanagi asked Oreki to open the small box on the table beside the chessboard.

Oreki received early birthday wishes and a tie from Sakayanagi Arisu, then discovered that Kei Karuizawa had left him the light novel he had been searching for. As his birthday approached at midnight, Kushida Kikyo told him to stay awake so she could contact him.

• Sakayanagi Arisu gave Oreki a blue tie for his birthday, and he replaced his school tie with it.
• Sakayanagi Arisu explained that she had learned Oreki's birthday from the date-of-birth digits in student account information, and Katsuragi and Oreki's classmates also sent him early birthday messages.
• Oreki read a midnight message from Kushida Kikyo, who reminded him not to avoid her after he had asked her to confess to him.
• Kei Karuizawa left a bag at Oreki's door containing the final volume of the light novel he had been looking for.

Oreki received early birthday wishes and gifts from Karuizawa, Sakura, Ichinose, and Kushida, while Sato remained silent. After his sister Tomoe mentioned possibly interning at his school, Oreki worried that she might discover he had been using teleportation to commute from home.

• Oreki realized Karuizawa had searched for the book he wanted as a birthday present and returned to the dormitory.
• Sakura and Ichinose sent Oreki early birthday messages, and he noticed Sato had not contacted him.
• At midnight, Kushida called to wish Oreki a happy birthday, insisted they could never be together, and told him Horikita had probably forgotten.
• Oreki called Horikita, who did not realize it was his birthday and complained that he had woken her.
• Oreki received a birthday message from Tomoe, who said she might intern at his school, and he worried she would find out he had been commuting from home.
• On Monday, Oreki returned to school and pushed open the dormitory door while wondering how Tomoe's possible visit would affect his secret.

Oreki confronted Ibuki about following him and learned that Ryuuen had ordered her to watch him until the exam papers were submitted. Their conversation revealed why Ibuki relied on Ryuuen and left Oreki considering her ambitions and poor academic skills.

• Oreki noticed Ibuki watching his dorm room and following him for several days, then invited her to talk at the library.
• Oreki admitted that his actions served Class A and denied tampering with a towel, while arguing that Ryuuen was responsible for his own rule-breaking.
• Ibuki explained that Ryuuen had ordered her to follow Oreki and prevent him from interfering with Class B's exam-paper agreement until the papers were submitted on the 24th.
• Ibuki said she aimed to read one thousand books during high school, and Oreki inferred that her weak academic ability helped explain why she depended on Ryuuen to reach Class A.

Oreki advised Ibuki to join Kōenji’s tutoring group and said he would stop interfering in the Pairing Exam, then went to the library, where he noticed Shiina Hiyori struggling to reach a book. Hiyori reflected on her class’s debts, Ryuuen’s plan to keep Oreki away from the exam, and her hopes of becoming a librarian before trying to retrieve 5 Centimeters Per Second.

• Oreki suggested that Ibuki attend Kōenji’s tutoring sessions and told her he would no longer interfere in the Pairing Exam.
• Oreki went to the library and noticed Shiina Hiyori looking toward the upper shelves.
• Hiyori considered how Class C’s placement and classmates had undermined her dream of becoming a librarian.
• Hiyori recalled that Ryuuen had assigned Ibuki to follow Oreki because Class D could not risk his involvement in the exam.
• Hiyori searched for the novel 5 Centimeters Per Second and stood on tiptoe to reach it on the fifth shelf.

Hiyori met Oreki in the library, where he helped her reach a book and they exchanged phone numbers. As the Pairing Exam’s submission day arrived, Ibuki’s improved grades and growing independence began to unsettle Ryuuen’s camp, while Oreki remained at school for Class A and Class C’s agreed exam and bet.

• Hiyori asked Oreki to take down a copy of 5 Centimeters Per Second, and they talked about reading and studying.
• Hiyori decided she could become friends with Oreki and asked to exchange phone numbers, which he accepted.
• Ibuki improved her academic ability under Kōenji’s tutoring, then ignored Ryuuen and refused to keep following Oreki.
• On August 24, the Pairing Exam’s papers were due, and Oreki stayed at school under the agreement and betting agreement between Class A and Class C.

Oreki, Katsuragi, and Hirata exchanged and submitted Class A and Class C’s test papers, while Kamuro explained why Class A had agreed to the wager. Class B and Class D also exchanged papers, and all four classes’ submissions passed review.

• Katsuragi let Class C choose which identical set of papers Hirata would submit, while Class C’s students kept the other set to study.
• Katsuragi and Hirata submitted their papers to their homeroom teachers, who reviewed and approved them.
• Totsuka Yahiko questioned the wager, and Kamuro said Class A would use it to assess Class C and build a reputation for honoring contracts.
• Ichinose, Shiraha, and Kanzaki exchanged papers with Ryuuen, Albert Yamada, and Daichi Ishizaki, then encountered Oreki and Kamuro after Class A’s papers had been approved.
• Hoshinomiya Chie and Suma Bando approved Class B and Class D’s papers, as the school’s exam tested students’ ability to trade resources and make compromises.

Oreki revealed that Ichinose's group may have submitted their exam papers before pretending to submit them alongside Ryuuen, leaving Ryuuen to realize he had been fooled. The first-year Final exams then began, and students found the papers matched the shared study materials, while Class 1-B ignored its proctor's instructions.

• Oreki told Ryuuen that Ichinose's group could have submitted and received approval for their papers earlier, using the later submission as an act.
• Ryuuen confronted Ichinose after Oreki's explanation, and Ichinose realized Oreki had tricked him.
• The first-year Final exams began on August 27, with teachers from opposing classes serving as proctors.
• Students checked the English exam papers and found they were identical to the materials Ichinose's group had circulated.
• Class 1-B students began answering their papers despite Suma Bando's reminder that the listening section would start later.

The students began the Pairing Exam with papers they had already obtained and memorized, hoping to win class points. As the tests started, Kōenji reflected on his tutoring, Kushida struggled with her forced partnership with Horikita, and Oreki began the English exam tired from staying up late.

• Class B prepared to use the leaked exam papers to win 50 class evaluation points from its opponent and widen the gap from Class D and Class C.
• Teacher Majima handed out Class 1-C's unchanged papers, and Kōenji felt proud that his tutoring had helped eleven classmates improve; Sudou credited the lessons with giving him hope for his future.
• Kushida paired herself with Horikita to help improve Horikita's popularity, while worrying that she would need Oreki's help when younger students from her middle school arrived.
• Oreki told Sakayanagi that he had stayed up late watching films, then began the English exam written by Class C while Teacher Chabashira proctored.

After the final exams ended, the students learned that summer vacation had begun and discussed what they might do during the break. Sakayanagi told Oreki she had a reason to leave school: she wanted to see the sea again.

• During the listening exam, Oreki noticed Chabashira standing beside him, got distracted by her legs, then refocused on his test.
• After the final physics exam, Chabashira announced that results would arrive on August 31 and classes would resume with an opening ceremony on October 1.
• Katsuragi asked Sakayanagi about the cost of leaving school and sending items outside, hoping to get a birthday gift to his younger sister.
• Sakayanagi asked Oreki about his summer plans and revealed that she wanted to leave school to see the sea again.

Oreki learned that Sakayanagi remembered him rescuing her at the beach, while Sakura asked him to model for her over summer vacation. After Class A won the Pairing Exam against Class C, the results and consequences for their Points and class shares were laid out.

• Sakayanagi showed Oreki the handkerchief from the time someone rescued her at the beach, and Oreki recognized it as his despite having no memory of the encounter.
• Sakura asked Oreki to model for her during summer vacation, and Sakayanagi encouraged him to accept.
• Oreki realized Kushida had shared his photographs with Sakayanagi and Kamuro, leaving him wondering what they did with the pictures.
• Oreki received perfect scores in all eight subjects and 200,510 Points in living expenses after Class A won the Pairing Exam against Class C.
• Oreki said Kōenji would absorb the losses to their Class C shares, since their partnership required Kōenji to protect those Points.

Oreki considered Kōenji’s growing influence, Horikita’s struggle for points, and the support arriving in his account before heading to meet Sakura as her photography model. He left Sakayanagi’s dormitory, wary of running into other girls on the way out.

• Kōenji remained unconcerned about his class points because Oreki and the third-years could help him reach the 20 million points needed to graduate from Class A.
• Oreki received Horikita’s 1.08 million points, 50,000 points from Horikita’s Brother, and an anonymous million-point transfer marked as monthly support, which he suspected came from a senior who had promised not to support him.
• Oreki stroked his clingy cat Hayate, which was being fostered at Sakayanagi’s place, while Sakayanagi urged him to leave for his appointment with Sakura.
• Oreki planned to repay Sakura by modeling for her and congratulated her on improving her studies after Kōenji tutored her.
• Oreki suspected Sakayanagi expected Sakura’s photos of him to reach her and wondered what Sakura might do in the future.
• Oreki left Sakayanagi’s dormitory and considered taking the stairs to avoid encountering Karuizawa, Sato, or Horikita in the elevator.

Oreki met Sakura and Hasebe Haruka, then accompanied them to the Shopping District, where he noticed their class had lost its living expenses. Sakura spotted an unusual increase in the class scores for Classes 1-B and 1-D, and Oreki concluded the school had rewarded both classes for perfect exam results.

• Oreki encountered Masumi Kamuro on the stairs and told her he would probably be away until noon.
• Oreki met Airi Sakura and Hasebe Haruka in the dormitory lobby, and Hasebe remarked that Sato had said supporting Oreki was expensive.
• Oreki went with Sakura and Hasebe to a photography studio in the Shopping District and offered to lend Hasebe 50,000 Points per month in exchange for occasional cooperation with Class A, but she refused.
• At the bulletin board, Oreki saw that Class 1-C had fallen to 530 Points and learned the class would have no living expenses that month.
• Sakura pointed out that Classes 1-B and 1-D had each gained 50 Points, and Oreki reasoned that the school must have awarded them for every student earning perfect scores in all eight subjects.

Oreki repaid a favor by spending time with Hasebe and Sakura, who discussed their class’s poor performance and their classmates’ prospects. At a café, Hasebe watched Ichinose and Sakayanagi together and revealed her mixed feelings about Ichinose, while Oreki worried that Ichinose might leave school if she faltered.

• Hasebe lamented how far her class lagged behind the others, and Oreki explained that Ryuuen’s and Ichinose’s classes had likely memorized exchanged test papers.
• Oreki took Hasebe and Sakura to an outdoor café, where Sakura asked to share her photos of him and he agreed.
• Oreki saw a message from Hasebe asking whether his offer of 50,000 Points a month still stood, suggesting she had accepted his offer to inform on her class.
• Hasebe noticed Ichinose and Sakayanagi walking together and asked Oreki which of them he found prettier or cuter.
• Hasebe said Sakayanagi was cute but admitted she disliked how perfect Ichinose seemed, while Oreki worried that Ichinose might withdraw from school if she fell.

After Ichinose and Oreki spent time together, Sakayanagi messaged him, and Hasebe wondered why she had not seen Ryuuen’s classmates during the holiday. On September 1, Ryuuen’s class returned to Class C, but Ryuuen confronted the students and revealed he had been waiting for a suspected spy to confess while considering a contingency plan for the class’s worsening finances.

• Sakayanagi messaged Oreki about taking pictures and having coffee with a girl, suggesting she had been watching him and Ichinose.
• Hasebe remarked that she had not encountered students from Ryuuen’s class during the holiday, prompting Oreki to investigate what they were doing.
• On September 1, Ryuuen’s class gained fifty class evaluation points, overtook Class C, and became Class 1-C again.
• When a student complained about being made to attend morning classroom sessions during the holiday, Ryuuen kicked a desk and confronted him.
• Ryuuen said he had brought the class together to give a spy time to yield, but the spy had remained silent.
• Hiyori’s contingency plan had Ryuuen’s approval as the class faced depleted Points, debts, and the possibility that it could not protect every student from a future expulsion.

Ryuuen confronted suspected spies in Class C, searched students’ phones, and exposed several classmates who had contacted other classes. After questioning Manabe and her group, he learned they had been pressured by Oreki and discovered Ibuki had acted against them to maintain her image with him.

• Hiyori suggested that a spy could be sacrificed, and Ibuki challenged Ryuuen’s authority and refused to hand over her phone.
• Ryuuen demanded that students surrender their phones and threatened to expel the classmate who ranked last if a spy was found.
• Ryuuen transferred one million points to Houtarou Oreki, and students’ phones revealed contact with other classes and transfer records.
• Ryuuen used classroom camera footage and a call with Suma Bando to identify students who continued contacting outsiders during the confrontation.
• Manabe and her group said Oreki had leverage over them and described how Ibuki had attacked them during the cruise ship exam.
• Ibuki admitted she had opposed Ryuuen to appear just to Oreki, while Kaneda asked Ryuuen what he planned to do next.

Ryuuen weighed how to challenge Oreki while considering Karuizawa as a possible way to find Oreki’s weakness. After Manabe reported Ryuuen’s plans to Oreki, Oreki waited to see what Ryuuen would do, and the chapter ended with news that Ryuuen had surrounded Kōenji.

• Ryuuen said his class would eventually have to face Oreki and proposed planting a spy near him, possibly by targeting Karuizawa.
• Shiina suggested using twenty million Points to bring Oreki into their class, but Ryuuen rejected the idea because his class was in debt and Oreki could transfer out again.
• Manabe reported that Ryuuen had exposed her as a spy but had let her go after she deleted their messages.
• Oreki suspected Ryuuen might try to learn his weakness through Karuizawa and resolved to protect her if Ryuuen made a move.
• Three days later, Oreki received news that a student from Ryuuen’s class had destroyed cameras in the Physics Laboratory and that Ryuuen had surrounded Kōenji.

Ryuuen staged a confrontation with Kōenji to draw Oreki’s attention while he sought a way to learn Oreki’s weakness through Karuizawa. Kōenji avoided a fight, and Ryuuen’s students followed him to harass him as Class B arrived too late to intervene.

• Ryuuen surrounded Kōenji with students and pretended he was seeking a fight, while secretly aiming to distract Oreki and get information about him through Karuizawa.
• Kōenji warned Ryuuen that witnesses and his Student Council record could make another fight costly, then said he had work to do.
• Ryuuen told three students to follow Kōenji for the next month instead of attacking him.
• Kōenji laughed off the harassment and walked away, while Ryuuen left with Ishizaki and Albert Yamada.
• Class B students arrived after the confrontation ended and were relieved that no fight had taken place.

Kanzaki learned that Ryuuen’s class had lost 20 Class Points for destroying a security camera, while Oreki suspected Ryuuen was using Kōenji to hide his real target: Karuizawa. Oreki summoned Karuizawa and took her phone for two days, but her attempt to remove its password exposed his lie about having lost his own phone.

• Kanzaki saw that Ryuuen’s class had fallen from 540 to 520 Points after the Student Council penalized it for destroying the Physics Laboratory’s security camera.
• Oreki reasoned that Ryuuen had used Kōenji as a decoy and would likely target Karuizawa next.
• Oreki met Karuizawa by the girls’ dormitory stairs and asked her to give him her phone for two days.
• Oreki claimed that he had lost his phone and asked Karuizawa to remove her lock screen password.
• Karuizawa’s phone rang with a missed call from herself when she tried to remove the password, revealing Oreki’s deception.

Oreki took Karuizawa’s phone to intercept Ryuuen’s plan to lure her to the Special Physics Building, replying to the message from Yoshiko Banjo as if he were Karuizawa. The next afternoon, Shiina Hiyori watched Karuizawa arrive at the library with Sato instead of going to the appointment.

• Oreki admitted that he needed Karuizawa’s phone and asked her to leave it with him while he handled Ryuuen himself.
• Oreki received a message from Yoshiko Banjo asking Karuizawa to meet alone at the Special Physics Building and promising to reveal Kikyou Kushida’s secret.
• Oreki replied from Karuizawa’s phone, pretending to be interested in Yoshiko’s offer.
• Shiina Hiyori waited near the library, expecting Karuizawa to attend the meeting, but saw her arrive with Sato instead.
• Sato told Karuizawa that she wanted to study because she was worried about future written exams.