Chapter Summaries

Oreki considered how to approach Kiyotaka Ayanokouji and watched as Tsukishiro secured the principal position through a deal with Chairman Sakayanagi. At the forest exam, students began their demanding schedule, while Oreki and Yanagi exchanged group information and faced a requirement for Class 1-A.

• Oreki decided to wait until Kiyotaka Ayanokouji needed help resisting his father before approaching him, and hoped Tsukishiro would make progress as principal.
• Tsukishiro was confirmed as principal and asked Chairman Sakayanagi for authority to set the first-years’ next special exam in exchange for payment.
• Yukimura brought Class D’s packed course schedule to the dormitory, and the students began their first day with a twenty-kilometer endurance run and cleaning duties.
• Oreki met Sakayanagi at lunch and told her that Katsuragi’s group had joined Manabu Horikita’s large group, while Yanagi reported that Class B’s seed group had joined Asahina’s group.
• Oreki asked about Akane Tachibana’s group, and Yanagi said it had not been joined; Class 1-A was required to take first place among the boys’ large groups.

Oreki explained Arisu Sakayanagi’s read on Nagumo’s plans and reassured Horikita Suzune that her brother had made arrangements for the exam. He then considered using the competition to earn Points from the upperclassmen, while Kushida saved Suzune food after she missed most of lunch looking for him.

• Oreki told Arisu that Nagumo was challenging Manabu Horikita over group scores, and Arisu concluded he might use dirty tactics against the girls.
• Kamuro told Oreki that someone was looking for him, so he left Arisu and followed Horikita Suzune outside the cafeteria.
• Oreki reassured Suzune that Manabu had arranged his group, and explained how the exam’s Points could affect the third-year class standings.
• Oreki considered using the exam to fulfill his quest to earn Points from the upperclassmen, then escorted Suzune back toward the cafeteria.
• Suzune worried she had no time to get lunch, but Oreki brought her to Kikyou Kushida, who had saved her some bread.

On the second night of the Forest School, Oreki waited for Horikita Manabu to seek his help while Group 3 remained tense and Yukimura struggled to lead. Nagumo Miyabi challenged the first-years to Old Maid over who would prepare breakfast, and the match was still underway when the chapter ended.

• The second day passed without improving the strained atmosphere in Oreki’s Group 3, and Yukimura worried about leading the group with his injured ankle.
• Yamauchi tried to start a conversation about dating, but the boys ignored him.
• Oreki thought about how to get Horikita Manabu to ask for his help, then Nagumo arrived with two third-years and invited the first-years to play Old Maid.
• Nagumo told Yukimura that the first-years would have to prepare breakfast unless they beat the third-years in a best-of-five card match.
• Oreki signaled Hashimoto to join Yukimura, who lost the first round when the Old Maid landed in his hand; Hashimoto held it in the second round.

Nagumo Miyabi challenged first-year dorm groups to Old Maid games with breakfast duty at stake, and Kōenji won the fourth round for Oreki’s group. Later, students from different classes chatted in the girls’ bath about romance and a lewd image posted to the school forum.

• Nagumo Miyabi challenged first-years to Old Maid, and Ishizaki won a round after Hashimoto lost.
• Kōenji spotted the marked cards and beat Nagumo’s group, sparing Oreki’s group from breakfast duty.
• Nagumo continued challenging other dorm rooms while Oreki expected Horikita’s Brother to hear about it.
• At the bath, Ichinose spoke with students from other classes, including Shiina Hiyori and Meiyu Wang.
• Class A students asked Ichinose about romance and her relationship with Oreki, and she denied that they were dating.
• Kamuro brought up the deleted forum image, and the girls discussed its size before Kushida and Meiyu Wang commented on it.

The girls speculated about who had sent a lewd picture while Arisu Sakayanagi ordered Kamuro to keep buying up contraceptives. On the fourth day of the training camp, Oreki noticed Manabu Horikita’s secret signal and prepared to meet him, while Hashimoto and Ryuuen were also absent from their room.

• The girls questioned Ichinose about her experience, and Sato guessed that Oreki had sent the lewd picture.
• Yanagi reported that Ichinose was safe and Horikita Suzune knew nothing, while Arisu told Kamuro to continue buying contraceptives after they returned to school.
• The teacher announced that Thursday’s grade-wide assessment would include meditation, speeches, a twenty-kilometer relay race, and a written exam.
• Oreki noticed that Yukimura wanted help coordinating their group and worried that Nagumo’s repeated visits were unsettling Manabu Horikita.
• Oreki found a note calling him to meet at 1 a.m. and saw a flashlight signal beneath the dormitory door.
• Oreki prepared to leave the dormitory after noticing that Hashimoto and Ryuuen had already gone.

Oreki warned Manabu Horikita that Nagumo’s promise of a fair showdown might not protect the girls’ group from betrayal. He recruited Kei to investigate the third-year girls’ groups and follow Akane Tachibana as Class 3-B prepared to act.

• Hashimoto asked Ryuuen to help him earn Points from next year’s freshmen, but Ryuuen rejected the plan.
• Nagumo told Manabu Horikita that Class 3-B had paid Fujimaki to go easy, and said he had refused the seniors’ attempt to involve him.
• Manabu Horikita met Oreki, who said Nagumo might keep his showdown with Manabu fair while the girls’ group remained vulnerable to betrayal.
• Oreki approached Kei at lunch and asked her to obtain the Class 3-A and Class 3-B girls’ group assignments and follow Akane Tachibana.

Oreki arranged for Kei to watch Akane Tachibana’s side of the exam and sought information about Nagumo’s plans from his childhood friend, Nazuna Asahina. He used her lost charm to build a connection with her, while Hashimoto prepared to address problems within their group.

• Oreki asked Kei to contact him immediately if anything happened on Akane Tachibana’s side.
• Oreki concluded that Nagumo was likely to target the girls’ group and decided to seek information from Nazuna Asahina.
• Oreki met Asahina at the cafeteria, then assigned Hashimoto to deal with a problem in their group that night.
• Oreki arranged to encounter Asahina alone and mentioned her lost charm, prompting her to realize he might have found it.
• Kikyou Kushida sneezed in the cafeteria, and Meiyu Wang asked whether she was all right.

Oreki gathered information from Asahina and Kei while helping build cooperation within his group for the final exam. At the cafeteria, he carried the fallen Sakayanagi to a seat and checked whether she was hurt.

• Kushida offered to cover part of Sakura’s distance in the 20-kilometer relay, though Sakura still had to run the required minimum.
• Asahina told Oreki that the girls’ groups had already been arranged and said she wanted to see Nagumo’s plans challenged.
• Hashimoto encouraged his group to share their weaknesses, prompting Yukimura and Ishizaki to open up and agree to contribute.
• On the sixth day, Kei passed Oreki information about Akane Tachibana, whom she had found alone.
• Oreki saw Yamauchi fail to help Sakayanagi after she fell, then carried her to a seat and checked her legs for injuries.

Oreki reassured Sakayanagi about her health, then went to find Akane Tachibana after Kei reported that she had been crying alone. He tried to encourage Akane to confide in Horikita's Brother, but she bristled at his familiarity and told him to show her proper respect as a senior.

• Oreki used Restoration Ability while holding Sakayanagi's hand, but she had no injury for it to heal.
• Oreki told Sakayanagi he might study Clinical Medicine and said there would be a way to address her congenital condition.
• Kamuro arrived, and Oreki left Sakayanagi in her care before turning to the report Kei had sent him.
• Oreki found Akane Tachibana crying by the shoe lockers and suggested that she speak with the Student Council President about her troubles.
• Akane denied having any problems and then scolded Oreki for speaking to a third-year senior without honorifics.

Oreki spoke with Akane Tachibana, who feared that Class A depended too heavily on Manabu Horikita and asked him to keep her bullying from Horikita. On the final exam day, Oreki’s group completed its events, and he later encountered Nagumo and Horikita together in the cafeteria.

• Akane Tachibana admitted that she was worried about Manabu Horikita’s burden and asked Oreki not to tell him she had been crying or bullied.
• Oreki promised not to tell Horikita’s Brother about Akane’s tears, and she left for the restroom.
• On the final exam day, Oreki’s Group Three adjusted its relay assignments and completed the written test, relay race, meditation, and speeches.
• Oreki asked Katsuragi to have two Class A students in Hirata’s group hold back, hoping to hurt Nagumo’s large-group score.
• After the exam, Oreki met Nagumo Miyabi and Manabu Horikita in the cafeteria, where Nagumo declared that he would prove his excellence in their showdown.

Oreki learned that the acting principal had been appointed, bringing the looming expulsion exam targeting Kiyotaka Ayanokouji closer. At the training camp exam’s opening, Nagumo revealed he planned to pressure Manabu Horikita into naming him Student Council President by leveraging the third-years’ class-point competition.

• Nagumo asked Oreki who would win his contest with Manabu Horikita, but Ryuuen dismissed Nagumo’s offer to bet and demanded a million points before he would consider it.
• Yanagi reported that Hamaguchi had followed Oreki’s instructions while Yahiko had not, and Sakayanagi revealed her father had told her the acting principal was officially appointed.
• At the gymnasium, Nagumo told Oreki he had wanted to compete with him and offered Katsuragi a possible Student Council vice-presidency.
• Nagumo explained that the forest camping exam was the third-years’ last major chance to gain points, and that he could support Class 3-B to put pressure on Manabu Horikita to choose him as the next Student Council President.

Nagumo explained how he could use his control over the second years to undermine Manabu Horikita’s group, but the boys’ exam results showed that Horikita’s group had won first place. While the girls’ results remained unannounced, Katsuragi calculated that Class 1-A’s boys had gained 333 class points overall.

• Nagumo said Horikita might compromise to protect his classmates and claimed he could make second-year students slack off to lower a group’s score.
• Teacher Majima announced that the boys’ first-place large group, led by Manabu Horikita, Kiriyama, and Katsuragi Kohei, would receive 10,000 Private Points each and 3 class points.
• Nagumo’s large group, led by Kanchi, Nagumo Miyabi, and Hirata, placed second and received 5,000 Private Points each and 1 class point.
• Teacher Majima announced the remaining boys’ placements and penalties, including the expulsion of the lowest-scoring group’s leader and one person he designated.
• Katsuragi calculated that Class 1-A’s boys had gained 333 class points, while Oreki’s group owed 33,000 Private Points; the girls’ results were still pending.

Nagumo explained how he planned to use the girls’ group results to widen Class 3-B’s lead and secure the Student Council presidency, but Oreki’s calm reply hinted that his plan had failed. The announced results showed the expected groups taking first and second place, leaving Nagumo to realize someone had interfered.

• Nagumo told Katsuragi and Oreki that he had arranged for second-year girls to disrupt Class 3-A’s groups and predicted a 431-point swing in Class 3-B’s favor.
• Nagumo revealed that he intended to use his influence and the coming results to win the Student Council presidency and potentially target Oreki.
• Oreki thanked Nagumo for working seriously, leaving Nagumo confused by his response.
• Teacher Majima announced that the first-place girls’ groups were the expected groups led by Asahi Ogura, Nazuna Asahina, and Chihiro Shiraha.
• Nagumo recognized that his interference had failed when the expected group also took second place, and he immediately suspected Oreki.

After the Forest School exam results put Class 3-A far ahead, Nagumo confronted Oreki and demanded to know how he had anticipated Nagumo’s move against the girls’ groups. Oreki explained his reasoning, while Nagumo remained troubled by how the Class 3-A girls’ group had won.

• The exam results and rewards were announced, leaving Class 3-A more than 800 class evaluation points ahead of Class 3-B with only three special exams remaining.
• Nagumo grabbed Oreki by the shoulders after the dismissal and asked him to explain what had happened during the exam.
• Oreki recounted Nagumo’s earlier challenge to Manabu Horikita and said he had expected Nagumo to act because his fair conduct on the boys’ side seemed unnatural.
• Oreki explained that Nagumo’s history of using methods to control the second years made him suspect Nagumo would target the girls’ groups.
• Nagumo pointed out that Asahina and fourteen girls from Class 3-A had been grouped together, but their group had performed so poorly that their result seemed inexplicable.

Oreki and Sakayanagi revealed how they had countered Nagumo’s plan by having first-year girls forfeit, pushing Asahina’s group to first place and Class 3-A’s groups down the rankings. With Ichinose and Sakayanagi facing expulsion after their own group placed last, Oreki set out to make the third-years pay the cost.

• Oreki explained that the first-years had already chosen their teams and that Sakayanagi arranged for Class B’s girls’ group to join Asahina’s large group.
• Sakayanagi said Nagumo had held back from making Asahina’s group forfeit because he lacked the Points to cover the resulting expulsion penalty.
• Nagumo pointed out that the last-place girls’ group meant Ichinose would be expelled and could take one other student with her.
• Sakayanagi accepted the risk, and Oreki promised to make the third-years pay the bill before walking toward them.
• Sakayanagi said the forfeiting students could receive additional Points as compensation, and explained that she and Oreki had anticipated Nagumo’s move against the girls.

Oreki went to collect the Points owed by Class 3-A, but the students hesitated over the huge cost. Manabu Horikita explained the choices and sacrifices behind their victory, while Oreki insisted the class had to pay for itself.

• Oreki arrived at Class 3-A to collect the Points after Nagumo's intervention brought his quest progress close to completion.
• Akane Tachibana confronted Oreki for telling Manabu Horikita about her situation, and Manabu admitted he had witnessed her being bullied.
• Manabu explained how Class 3-B had targeted the girls' groups and acknowledged his own negligence in overlooking that strategy.
• A Class 3-A student proposed reducing the compensation, but Oreki challenged Fujimaki-senpai to consider what would have happened if they had not exposed Class 3-B's plan.

Oreki persuaded Class 3-A that paying him 100 million Points would secure their lead and protect their chance to graduate from Class A. The students accepted the cost as payment for their future and thanked Manabu Horikita for leading them.

• Oreki warned Class 3-A that Class 3-B could close the gap if the girls' group results were manipulated, then reassured them that their current lead made their position safer.
• Oreki argued that the school would favor Class 3-A at graduation and that his requested 100 million Points was a fair price for the future he had secured.
• Shiina watched Oreki's negotiations and was shocked by the enormous sum he demanded.
• Class 3-A students bowed to Manabu Horikita and thanked him for guiding all forty of them through school in Class A.

After the forest exam, Oreki watched the third-year students pool their Points for Manabu Horikita and spoke with Hiyori about her help arranging withdrawals. Horikita Suzune then approached Oreki to speak privately, while Class 1-A celebrated its lead in the updated class rankings.

• The third-year students transferred their Points to Manabu Horikita, and Oreki thanked them before heading to retrieve his phone.
• Oreki told Hiyori that he would pay her later for coordinating the girls’ withdrawals and preparing them for the exam.
• Hiyori noticed Horikita Suzune waiting for Oreki and left as Suzune asked to speak with him alone.
• Class 1-A gathered around their homeroom teacher to get their phones back after leaving the Gymnasium.
• The updated rankings showed Class 1-A leading with 2628.5 Points, about 1,200 ahead of the lower-ranked classes.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Oreki's phone is given to Sakayanagi by Kamuro on behalf of Sakayanagi.
• Oreki and Horikita walk together after Shiina leaves, but neither speaks initially.
• Oreki reveals to Horikita that he orchestrated the exam to strip Class 3-A of their Points, but also to acknowledge Manabu Horikita's efforts.

Character Developments

• Oreki shows a rare moment of conscience regarding his actions against Manabu Horikita.
• Horikita accepts Oreki's actions, acknowledging her brother's efforts.

Significant Themes

• The manipulation of class dynamics and Points for personal gain.
• Acknowledgment of hard work and individual strength.

Character Interactions

• Oreki and Horikita have a candid conversation about Oreki's role in the exam and Manabu Horikita's efforts.
• Kamuro hands Oreki's phone to Sakayanagi, showing Sakayanagi's influence and Kamuro's loyalty.

Class D and Class B reflected on the Forest Camping Exam’s rewards and the growing gap between their classes and Oreki’s Class A. The chapter ended with a Class B student asking Ichinose whether they should exchange their Private Points for cash.

• Chabashira told Class D that a school trip awaited students who passed future exams, reminding them that many upperclassmen had been expelled.
• Hirata encouraged Class D by pointing out that everyone had survived the first year and their living expenses had risen to 15,200 Points.
• Kōenji doubted that the coming exams would remain easy and believed he could eventually obtain 20 million Points, then admired himself in a mirror.
• Ichinose received 20 million Private Points from Houtarou Oreki while Class B discussed its losses and its growing distance from Class A.
• Ichinose explained that Class B had helped Oreki’s exam strategy by arranging for some girls to withdraw without payment.
• A Class B student asked Ichinose whether they should exchange their Private Points for cash.