Chapter Summaries

Oreki cleared Kushida of masterminding the rumors about Horikita and investigated the real culprit. He confronted Shiina Hiyori in the library after tracing her there, accusing her of being involved in spreading the rumors and demanding to know how much she knew.

• Arisu Sakayanagi, Yanagi, and Kamuro discussed Kushida’s relationship with Oreki and dismissed her as a mistress.
• Oreki told Horikita that Kushida was innocent and explained that he had blamed her temporarily to calm Horikita down.
• Kushida showed Horikita the message she had sent Oreki three days earlier, then admitted she had deliberately done little to stop the rumors.
• Oreki urged Kushida and Horikita to support each other, and Horikita asked who had really orchestrated the rumor incident.
• Oreki used the school’s GPS system to find Hiyori in the library, where she was searching for a book by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
• Oreki stopped Hiyori from leaving and accused her of seeking one million from Horikita to resolve the rumors and of being tied to their source in Class C.

Shiina admitted that she had spread rumors about Horikita to get money, but Oreki suspected someone had pressured her into taking the blame. He recorded her confession and pressed her to reveal the person behind the scheme, while Shiina refused.

• Shiina admitted that she had spread rumors about Horikita and paid Class D students to help, hoping to obtain Horikita's Private Points.
• Oreki revealed that Horikita knew about Shiina's role and had likely recorded their call, then sent Shiina one Private Point.
• Oreki said he was more interested in discovering who was behind the rumor scheme, since spreading it risked offending Horikita and the Student Council President.
• Shiina refused to name the person who had pressured her, warning that betraying them would bring terrible consequences.
• Oreki showed Shiina a Voice Recorder that had captured her confession.

Oreki confirmed that Manabu Horikita had directed Hiyori to spread rumors about Horikita Suzune, then offered Hiyori large sums of Private Points and ongoing support. Hiyori wondered what Oreki expected in return, and he admitted he did not want to give her money for nothing.

• Oreki sent Hiyori escalating amounts of Private Points and offered monthly support and living expenses after graduation.
• Hiyori typed Manabu Horikita's name into her phone, confirming that he was behind her rumor-spreading.
• Oreki explained that Manabu likely wanted the rumors to ease Horikita Suzune's transfer into Class A and help her inherit her brother's connections.
• Hiyori questioned whether Oreki expected her to become his pet like Kamuro and speculated that he wanted to support her in exchange for something.
• Oreki said he did not want to give things away for nothing.

Oreki paid Shiina 5 million Points and tasked her with earning 55 million from the incoming freshmen, which advanced his system quest. He then met Manabu Horikita at a reserved bathhouse, where Manabu admitted he had masterminded the rumor incident and began explaining his reasons.

• Oreki offered Shiina 5 million Points in exchange for bringing him 55 million from the freshmen, and she accepted the task.
• The system registered Shiina's agreement and increased Oreki's quest progress by 25%.
• Oreki emailed Manabu Horikita and went to a bathhouse in the Shopping District to meet him.
• Manabu Horikita welcomed Oreki into the bath and confirmed that he had orchestrated the rumor incident.
• Manabu said one reason for his actions was that he and his classmates had less than four months until graduation and had to give their final test everything.

Manabu Horikita explained that he had arranged the rumor incident to protect and strengthen Suzune after someone paid to ask whether she was his sister. Oreki challenged his understanding of her, and later Suzune returned to her routine while wondering whether Oreki’s demands meant he was interested in her.

• Manabu Horikita said he had used the rumors to help Suzune withstand hardship and revealed that someone had spent 100,000 Points to ask if she was his sister.
• Oreki told Manabu that Suzune was not simply chasing after him and that she lacked goals of her own, a flaw Manabu had failed to recognize.
• Two days after the rumor incident, Suzune rejoined the study group and began considering Oreki’s suggestion that she become a lawyer.
• Suzune greeted Oreki in the elevator, then accompanied him to the library to borrow books under their ongoing agreement.
• Suzune wondered whether Oreki’s request for one hundred books meant he wanted to kiss her repeatedly, and Oreki asked if he could visit her without a specific reason.

Oreki guided Horikita Suzune to stop chasing her brother’s example, and she told Manabu Horikita that she wanted to become herself. Manabu suspected she had simply shifted her dependence to Oreki, while Oreki privately considered her his future wife and offered to get food with her.

• Hiyori watched Horikita blush as she spoke with Oreki and wondered if Horikita was falling in love.
• Oreki asked Horikita why she had enrolled at the same school as Manabu if she only wanted his recognition, then pointed out that she and her brother were different people.
• After thinking about Oreki’s question, Horikita met Manabu and said she no longer intended to follow in his footsteps and wanted to be herself.
• Manabu congratulated Horikita on growing, then suspected that Oreki had merely replaced him as the person influencing her.
• Manabu called Oreki his future brother-in-law and said Horikita seemed beyond waking up, while Akane Tachibana struggled to follow his meaning.
• Oreki privately reasoned that Horikita had not truly become independent and asked her if she wanted to get something to eat.

Oreki questioned Sakayanagi about her role in the rumors targeting Horikita and learned that she had designed them as a Trial to test whether Horikita deserved a place in Class A. The chapter ended with Sakayanagi explaining that Horikita might join Class A after her brother graduated if she passed.

• After seeing Horikita off, Oreki ran into Ichinose, who asked about his gentle handling of the rumors and whether he knew who had caused them.
• Oreki told Ichinose he knew the mastermind but could not say whose side he would take if the matter were pursued.
• Ichinose realized Sakayanagi had overheard their conversation at the girls' dormitory entrance and left, while Oreki went into Sakayanagi's room.
• Oreki asked Sakayanagi why she had set the rumor incident in motion, since targeting Horikita seemed to offer her no advantage.
• Sakayanagi explained that Horikita might enter Class A after Manabu Horikita graduated, and that the rumors were a Trial to test Horikita's potential.

Arisu Sakayanagi revealed that someone had approached her to help bring down Honami Ichinose, and she warned Ichinose after refusing. Oreki feared Ichinose would withdraw from school if targeted, so he asked Kamuro to watch over her and pressed Kamuro about her hidden weakness.

• Arisu Sakayanagi told Oreki that someone had asked her to help bring down Honami Ichinose and that she had refused, but warned Ichinose about a likely rumor campaign.
• Arisu Sakayanagi called Ichinose an angel unsuited to the school and said she had repaid Ichinose’s kindness, leaving her next choice to her.
• Oreki asked Manabu Horikita how he would respond to rumors, and Manabu said he would ignore rumors that had not become actions and face attacks directly.
• Oreki told Kamuro to follow Ichinose because he expected her to withdraw from school if someone attacked her with rumors.
• Oreki grabbed Kamuro’s wrist and asked about her weakness, arguing that Arisu Sakayanagi kept her because she believed Kamuro’s problems could be corrected.

A week after Oreki warned Kamuro to watch Ichinose, every first-year found a letter accusing Ichinose of illegally possessing a huge number of points and naming Sakayanagi Arisu as the reporter. Sakayanagi denied involvement but challenged Ichinose to explain herself publicly, leaving Ichinose facing a trap that could expose Class B’s shared points.

• Oreki stopped Kamuro from revealing her weakness and told her to keep an eye on Ichinose.
• A week later, first-year students found identical letters accusing Ichinose of possessing an enormous amount of illegitimate points and bearing Sakayanagi Arisu’s name.
• Shibata confronted Sakayanagi, but Kanzaki stopped him before he revealed that Ichinose’s points came from her classmates.
• Sakayanagi denied reporting Ichinose and suggested that she explain the accusation in front of everyone.
• Ichinose arrived, saw the letter, and replied that she did not know what she had done to deserve the accusation.

Key Plot Points & Events

• A report letter claiming Honami Ichinose has a massive amount of points is found in Oreki's shoe locker.
• Oreki dismisses the report as a prank, stating Ichinose couldn't have that many points.
• The incident ends with no further action, as Ichinose's popularity and kindness deter any malicious intent.

Character Developments

• Oreki shows confidence in his wealth and points, dismissing Ichinose's potential points.
• Ichinose maintains her kind and forgiving nature, even thanking Arisu Sakayanagi despite the report.

Significant Themes

• Popularity and influence: Ichinose's kindness and popularity protect her from rumors, unlike Horikita's past experience.
• Wealth and power: Oreki's confidence in his own wealth and points highlights the class divide.

Character Interactions

• Oreki and Ichinose: Oreki dismisses Ichinose's potential points, showing his confidence in his own wealth.
• Ichinose and Arisu Sakayanagi: Despite the report, Ichinose thanks Arisu, showing her forgiveness and kindness.
• Horikita and Ichinose: Horikita wants to repay Ichinose's favor from the rumor incident, showing her sense of gratitude.

After the accusation against Ichinose faded, Kushida admitted she wanted to uncover Ichinose’s hidden feelings, and Oreki offered to help her in exchange for a secret of his own. Oreki received a system quest to learn Ichinose’s past, and Kushida agreed to try, but the quest remained at zero progress.

• Horikita suggested using points to obtain surveillance footage, but Ichinose said she would rather treat the accusation as a prank and avoid anyone getting hurt.
• Kushida told Oreki she believed Ichinose was hiding something and admitted she wanted to discover her secret.
• Oreki received a hidden quest to obtain Ichinose’s secret within twenty days, with Mind Divination as its reward and no penalty for failure.
• Oreki offered to help Kushida uncover Ichinose’s secret in exchange for Kushida revealing it to him, and promised to share his own secret in return.
• Horikita left rather than pry into Ichinose’s private matters, while Kushida agreed to try Oreki’s proposal.
• Oreki checked the quest and found its progress still at zero percent.

After Oreki abandoned his attempt to get progress from Kikyou Kushida, someone placed an insulting note on Ichinose’s desk, prompting Class B to suspect Ryuuen and secretly watch him. The chapter ended with Oreki and Sakayanagi noticing Class B’s wary behavior toward Ryuuen in the cafeteria.

• Oreki told Kikyou Kushida their agreement had fallen apart and left her alone after the mission showed no progress.
• Class B students found a note calling Ichinose two-faced on her desk and grew angry about the attack.
• Ryuji Kanzaki calmed his classmates by blaming the incident on another class, then suggested Class C and Ryuuen were likely responsible.
• Kanzaki told Class B to keep the incident from Ichinose and watch Ryuuen, and the students agreed.
• Ryuuen noticed Class B students watching him warily in the cafeteria, while Oreki and Sakayanagi observed the scene.

Oreki learned that Class B was secretly watching Class C and received a million Private Points from Ryuji Kanzaki, who asked him not to attack Honami Ichinose. After Oreki tracked Ichinose to the Student Council, he headed there to find out what she was doing.

• Oreki learned from Shiina Hiyori that Class B students had been following Class C, and suspected Honami Ichinose was behind their activity.
• Ryuji Kanzaki messaged Oreki and transferred him one million Private Points before asking to meet after school.
• At the artificial lake, Kanzaki and Shibata asked Oreki not to attack Ichinose because someone had left a threatening note on her desk.
• Oreki offered to return the money and checked his GPS, which showed that Ichinose had gone to the Student Council.
• Oreki headed to the Student Council to find out why Ichinose had gone there.

Houtarou Oreki visited the Student Council to investigate who had accessed Honami Ichinose’s file after she was attacked, but Nagumo Miyabi had already protected it. Oreki left after warning Nagumo not to overreach, while Kiriyama realized Nagumo had likely attacked Ichinose and then protected her file.

• Oreki entered the Student Council room and photographed Nagumo sitting in the Vice President’s seat before Nagumo switched places with Kiriyama.
• Oreki learned that accessing a student’s file cost five hundred thousand Points and asked whether someone could pay to protect a file.
• Oreki requested access to Honami Ichinose’s file and its access records to investigate her attacker.
• Nagumo claimed Ichinose’s file had been protected, and Kiriyama confirmed that it could no longer be accessed.
• Oreki warned Nagumo not to stretch his reach too far and left the room.
• Kiriyama realized Nagumo had likely protected Ichinose’s file during Oreki’s visit and concluded that Nagumo had attacked her.

Oreki warned Nagumo that the attack on Ichinose should stop, then returned the million Private Points Class B had pooled to protect her. Ichinose invited him to his dorm, apparently ready to discuss the secret in her file, and the chapter ended as he welcomed her inside.

• Nagumo accepted Oreki's warning and decided to stop pursuing Ichinose for now.
• Oreki realized Class B students had pooled their living expenses to protect Ichinose, and he returned Kanzaki's one million Points.
• Oreki told Kanzaki that Ichinose would not be attacked again for the time being.
• Ichinose messaged Oreki and invited him to meet, prompting a hidden quest to uncover her secret.
• Oreki found Ichinose waiting in the stairwell and let her into his dorm, offering her black tea.

Oreki rejected Ichinose’s request to spare Class B, and she offered a different price by undressing in front of him. He asked her to reveal her past instead, and she began explaining her family background.

• Sakayanagi made tea while Ichinose visited Oreki’s dorm room and asked him to persuade Class A not to attack Class B for the semester.
• Oreki rejected Ichinose’s request, saying she had little value to Class A and that he had to uphold his responsibilities to his class.
• Ichinose suggested another price, revealing that she knew Oreki had used Kushida to get close to her.
• Ichinose undressed, but Oreki looked away and asked her to tell him about her past.
• Ichinose said she had grown up in a single-parent family with her mother and younger sister, despite their financial difficulties.

Oreki went to Ichinose’s neighborhood to learn why she wanted to withdraw from school and met her younger sister, Kanade Ichinose. Kanade hinted that Ichinose’s decision was connected to her, and Oreki received a quest to uncover Ichinose’s secret.

• Oreki recalled helping Ichinose exchange points for cash and mail a letter, then decided to investigate her family situation over the weekend.
• Unable to find a photograph of the Ichinose home, Oreki teleported nearby and encountered Kanade Ichinose walking home.
• Oreki followed Kanade to her house, where she attacked him with her backpack and called for help when he claimed to be her sister’s classmate.
• Oreki convinced Kanade he was Ichinose’s friend by mentioning the letter her sister had mailed, then asked why Ichinose wanted to withdraw from school.
• Kanade suggested Ichinose’s decision was because of her, and Oreki received a quest to obtain Ichinose’s secret within twenty days.

Oreki learned that Ichinose planned to drop out and considered how her departure would affect her family and Class B. He joined Sakayanagi and Kamuro in deciding to try to stop her, though Sakayanagi warned that Ichinose’s resolve would be hard to change.

• Ichinose’s younger sister told Oreki that their family’s hardships and Ichinose’s past mistake had led her to blame herself for her sister’s struggles.
• On November 17, Oreki received Ichinose’s message saying she was prepared to drop out and asking him to help her classmates accept it.
• Sakayanagi said Ichinose was poorly suited to the school but that her staying would benefit Class A, while Oreki argued that leaving would worsen her family’s financial hardship.
• Kamuro said she also wanted Ichinose to remain, and Oreki proposed an Ichinose Dropout Prevention Plan.
• Sakayanagi warned that Ichinose had a firm resolve and would be difficult to persuade.

Oreki and Horikita planned to stop Ichinose from dropping out after Class A spread rumors about her, and Oreki arranged for Horikita to help by calling Ichinose when Kushida arrived. Kushida reached the cafe, leaving the three ready to act.

• Oreki told Sakayanagi he could either confront Ichinose’s attacker or remove Ichinose’s weakness, then messaged Ichinose that he would help if she followed his instructions.
• Class A spread rumors about Ichinose, and Ichinose calmed her classmates before missing afternoon classes and deciding to wait for the rumors to fade.
• Horikita contacted Oreki about Ichinose, and he asked her to meet him at a cafe in the Shopping District.
• Oreki explained that Horikita could repay Ichinose by calling her when Kushida arrived, and Horikita prepared Ichinose’s number.
• Kushida arrived at the cafe and walked over to Oreki and Horikita.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Oreki and Horikita contact Ichinose, who's considering dropping out to protect Class B from a secret that could harm them.
• Oreki invites Kushida to discuss Ichinose's situation and enlist her help.
• Oreki reveals he knows Ichinose's secret and wants to help her overcome it, preventing her from dropping out.

Character Developments

• Ichinose: Struggles with a secret that could harm Class B, considering dropping out to protect them.
• Oreki: Shows empathy and understanding towards Ichinose's situation, willing to help her overcome her past.
• Kushida: Realizes Oreki's plan involves spreading a rumor about Ichinose, but Oreki rejects this idea.

Significant Themes

• Secrets and Burdens: Characters grapple with personal secrets that could harm themselves or others.
• Sacrifice for Others: Ichinose is willing to drop out to protect her class, while Oreki wants to help her without causing further harm.

Character Interactions

• Oreki and Horikita: Work together to help Ichinose, showing a level of understanding and teamwork.
• Oreki and Kushida: Oreki invites Kushida to help, but she's initially confused by his plan and later understands his intentions.
• Ichinose and Oreki: Oreki understands Ichinose's situation and wants to help her overcome her past, preventing her from dropping out.