Recaps

Houtarou Oreki organized Class A’s preparations for the VIP Exam while studying the group assignments and planning to protect the class’s evaluation Points. He sent Kamuro to arrange a class meeting for the next morning and guaranteed that Class A would lose no Points.

• After the rules memorization period ended, Oreki ordered the Class A students to learn the group rosters, especially the Class C students.
• When the student notifications finished, Oreki and Katsuragi updated the group lists and examined Dragon Group, which included Horikita, Kushida, Hirata, and Ryuuen.
• Oreki noticed that Horikita was in Dragon Group while he and Ichinose were in Rabbit Group, and he decided to call Horikita out.
• Oreki dismissed Kamuro, then asked her to gather Class A at Gabriel Angel Restaurant at 7:30 the next morning and reserve the entire restaurant.
• Oreki told Kamuro she might receive 250,000 Points for her work and guaranteed that Class A would not lose class evaluation Points in the exam.

Houtarou Oreki asked Horikita Suzune to help confirm his reaction to physical contact, then outlined a plan to earn forty million points. The chapter ended as they began reviewing the exam rules for identifying the VIPs in the twelve groups.

• Masumi Kamuro saw Horikita Suzune in the corridor and dismissed her as no romantic threat to Oreki.
• Oreki asked Horikita to hold hands, and she agreed so they could test whether she felt the effects Sakura had described as love.
• Horikita felt only reassurance during their interlaced-finger handshake, while Oreki realized he craved physical contact with her and considered desensitization training.
• Oreki named his strategy the Forty Million Plan and began explaining the exam, in which students had to identify one VIP in each of twelve mixed-class groups.

Oreki explained how the final exam could generate up to 90 million Private Points and proposed a plan to secure half of the total. Horikita agreed to help in exchange for 10% of the proceeds, believing the deal could let her reach her twenty-million-Point goal.

• Oreki outlined the exam outcomes and argued that the VIP assignments might follow a pattern students could exploit.
• Oreki calculated that if all twelve groups correctly identified their VIPs at the final deadline, students could receive 84 to 90 million Points in total.
• Horikita asked for 15% of the expected proceeds, but Oreki limited her share to 10% of the plan to collect 40 million Points.
• Oreki proposed later reclaiming the other 40 million from students or their class representatives, giving Horikita another possible share.
• Horikita clasped Oreki's hand and asked what she could do next.

Oreki coordinated with Horikita and Kushida to protect the VIP Exam’s information while pursuing a plan to earn Points. The next morning, he proposed that Class A aim for Result One in exchange for half of each student’s reward, and Katsuragi agreed for his faction.

• Oreki told Horikita that they needed to identify the VIP pattern and keep Class D students from leaking information, and Horikita agreed to help.
• Kushida told Oreki that Horikita had asked her to help preserve the class’s evaluation Points, and Kushida had accepted despite suspecting Horikita had ulterior motives.
• Oreki asked Kushida for advice on getting closer to girls, but she rejected his request.
• Katsuragi proposed protecting Class A’s advantage by preventing risky guesses and safeguarding the class’s VIPs.
• Oreki proposed that Class A choose Result One and give him half of each student’s 500,000-Point reward, and Katsuragi accepted on behalf of the nineteen students in his faction.

After Class A settled its position, Class D gathered to prepare for the exam and protect its class evaluation Points. Horikita asked everyone to surrender their phones for the three-day exam, but Hasebe objected to using a backup phone.

• Katsuragi agreed to the arrangement, and two more students joined his supporters.
• Hirata gathered Class D in the theater, where Kōenji agreed to stay after hearing they would discuss protecting the class’s Points.
• Kikyou Kushida distributed printed exam rules she had reconstructed from memory and checked with other students.
• Hirata explained the rules and urged Class D to avoid the rapid-response section so they could preserve their Points.
• Horikita announced that the school would identify the VIPs in fifteen minutes and asked everyone to exchange their phones for authorized backups.
• Hasebe objected that she preferred using her own phone, and Horikita warned that the exam’s rapid-response section could cost the class its hard-earned Points.

Horikita Suzune persuaded Class D to surrender their phones and avoid risking the exam, while Ayanokouji realized too late that he had missed a chance to gain points. In Class C, Kakeru Ryuuen ordered his classmates to hand over their phones so he could check the school’s messages.

• Kōenji supported Horikita Suzune’s plan to collect everyone’s phones and avoid risking class points.
• Horikita Suzune warned the students they would be responsible for losses if they pursued the exam, and offered the possibility of privately keeping any 500,000-point VIP reward.
• Yamauchi and the other Class D students agreed to hand over their phones after hearing they could keep the reward for themselves.
• Ayanokouji hesitated before surrendering his phone and realized he had missed a plan that might have earned 20,000,000 points.
• Kakeru Ryuuen made Class C hand over their phones so he could verify the school’s messages.

Ryuuen searched Class C’s students’ phones for VIP information and discovered that one student had taken money from Class A to spy on them. After gathering his class’s VIP identities, he listened as Shiina outlined the exam’s four possible outcomes.

• Ryuuen insisted on checking every student’s phone, arguing that Class C could not risk losing more class points.
• While inspecting a student’s Student ID Card, Ryuuen found a 100,000-Point transfer from Hashimoto Masayoshi and accused the student of betraying Class C.
• Ryuuen ordered the class to reveal their Student ID Cards, exposed the student as a spy for Class A, and punished him by making him squat.
• Ryuuen obtained information on Class C’s three VIPs, then asked Shiina to explain the outcomes she had organized.
• Shiina described how the group’s answers could determine individual rewards, class-point gains or losses, and payments to VIPs.

Ryuuen weighed Shiina’s plan to target Class D’s VIPs against pursuing the exam’s lucrative Result 1, then declared his intention to win. Oreki gathered Class A’s VIP information and coordinated support for his plan, while Horikita noticed that Kushida had been selected as a VIP despite Class D’s plan to submit everyone’s phones.

• Shiina proposed guessing Class D’s VIPs to shift class points, but Ryuuen warned that provoking Kōenji and Oreki would be risky.
• Ryuuen favored Result 1, which could grant large point rewards to group members, and said he was determined to win the exam.
• Oreki received notice that he was not a VIP, then got the identities of Class A’s three VIPs after gaining support from Katsuragi’s and Sakayanagi’s factions.
• Oreki asked Kamuro to organize all twelve groups’ member lists and waited for information about Class D’s VIPs.
• While sorting students’ phones, Horikita asked Kushida if she was a VIP, and Kushida confirmed that the school had selected her.

Kushida realized Horikita had used her to gather Class D’s VIP information for a scheme with Oreki, while Oreki had Kamuro compile VIP data for Sakayanagi to analyze. The cruise ship announced the first discussion period before Kamuro finished sending the information.

• Kushida noticed Horikita had checked the collected phones for VIP information and had kept her own phone out of the bag.
• Horikita told Kushida that she was cooperating with Oreki and would transfer her 200,000 points after the exam, then took the valuables locker key.
• Oreki had Kamuro enter the group information into her phone and send it to Sakayanagi, explaining that he wanted Sakayanagi to participate in the analysis despite her health.
• Kamuro suspected Oreki had developed feelings for Sakayanagi, but Oreki told her to stop spacing out and keep working.
• Kamuro finished sending the information as the cruise ship announced that the discussion period had begun.

Oreki attended the Rabbit Group’s morning discussion, where Honami Ichinose’s arrival eased the tension among students from different classes. Karuizawa Kei kept her distance from Oreki, prompting him to suspect she was putting on an act for someone in the room, while Ichinose began introductions to get the group talking.

• Oreki went to Room 204 for the Rabbit Group discussion while Kamuro headed to the Monkey Group’s room.
• Oreki arrived to find students from Classes A, C, and D sitting apart, then joined Takemoto and Machida.
• Honami Ichinose arrived and warmed up the room with her friendly greeting.
• Karuizawa arrived late, ignored her classmates, and moved her chair away from Oreki after sitting beside him.
• Oreki suspected Karuizawa was pretending not to know him to influence someone in the room.
• Ichinose suggested that the group members introduce themselves so they could begin discussing the exam.

As the Rabbit Group gathered for the special exam, Oreki considered how Class B could use its many students across the groups to identify other classes’ VIPs and affect the class-point standings. The introductions ended with the Class A students agreeing to speak after Oreki argued that total silence could hurt their evaluations.

• Oreki noted that Class B’s students could guess VIPs in other groups and shift class-point gaps by 100 points per correct guess.
• The Rabbit Group members introduced themselves, including Class D’s Hideo Sotomura, Akito Miyake, Yukimura Teruhiko, and Kei Karuizawa, and Class C’s Shiho Manabe and Rei Ibuki.
• Oreki noticed that Karuizawa watched him after Manabe mentioned his past scam, while Ibuki remained indifferent to the Class B students’ glares over her earlier spying.
• Machida announced that Class A would not participate in discussion, but Ichinose warned that refusing even to introduce themselves might lower their evaluations.
• Oreki introduced himself and supported making introductions, prompting Machida and Takemoto to introduce themselves as the first round concluded.

Oreki tried to keep Rabbit Group from pursuing other classes’ VIP information and argued that choosing Result 1 would let everyone earn Points while protecting their class standings. Ichinose’s classmates’ reactions revealed that their group’s VIP was not in Class B, leaving Ichinose weighing whether cooperation or betrayal best served her class.

• Oreki asked Ichinose what result she wanted, and she advocated for Result 1 so every student could receive 500,000 Points.
• Oreki noticed two Class B students react to his claim that Rabbit Group’s VIP was not in Ichinose’s class, exposing that Ichinose knew her classmates’ VIP identities.
• Oreki argued that Ichinose would betray the group if its VIP were in Class A, because Class B needed to use the exam to narrow the evaluation-point gap.
• Yukimura Teruhiko questioned Oreki’s claim that this was a rare chance to gain points, and Oreki explained that future exams were unlikely to offer such large rewards.
• Oreki recommended Result 1 and said he believed Ichinose would keep her word, while Ichinose privately considered when betraying the group might protect Class B.

Ichinose’s Rabbit Group agreed to choose Result 1, but the VIP Exam stalled because Class A revealed little and Class D lacked information. After the meeting, Oreki went to find Horikita and Ichinose followed him to the Dragon Group, where Ryuuen accused her of spying on Class C’s VIP.

• Ichinose, the Class C students, and the Class D students agreed to choose Result 1 for the Rabbit Group.
• Karuizawa said Horikita had collected Class D’s phones and that the black-cased phones were backups, leaving Ichinose unable to gather useful information.
• After the discussion ended, Oreki told Ichinose he was going to meet Horikita and said they planned to choose Result 1.
• Oreki and Ichinose went to the Dragon Group, where they found Ryuuen arguing with Kanzaki and the remaining students.
• Ryuuen accused Ichinose of trying to uncover Class C’s VIP, and Ichinose countered that Ryuuen had previously sent Kaneda and Ibuki to investigate Class B.

Houtarou Oreki planned to make all four classes choose Outcome 1 and share the exam’s rewards, while preparing to force Ryuuen’s cooperation. He left bait in a safe deposit box and aimed to block Ryuuen from learning other classes’ VIP information.

• Ryuuen suspected Class A and Class D had joined forces after seeing Horikita follow Oreki, and he questioned Oreki about his exam plans.
• Oreki said he would choose Outcome 1, while Ryuuen doubted he would pass up the chance to gain Points and decided to consult his allies.
• Horikita told Oreki that Ryuuen had revealed the Dragon Group’s VIP was not in Class B, while Class A refused to discuss information and Class D’s phones were secured.
• Oreki and Horikita moved Class D’s phones to another safe deposit box, and Oreki left a written message in the original box as bait for Ryuuen.
• Oreki planned to win Class B and Class D over to Outcome 1, then deprive Ryuuen of other classes’ VIP information while exposing Class C’s VIP information to force his cooperation.

Oreki arranged a trap to draw Ryuuen toward Class D’s safe, then had Horikita try to deduce the other classes’ VIPs while he planned to let her experience failure. At the library, he met a pink-haired girl wearing glasses.

• Horikita informed Class D that their confiscated phones were in the safe and shared a photo of its key, giving Ryuuen a potential target.
• Oreki invited Kamuro to lunch and noticed she had stopped paying attention to her appearance, but she denied that she had suffered heartbreak.
• Oreki had Horikita study the group rosters and known VIPs so she could deduce the VIP identities of Classes B and C.
• Oreki went to the library to meet someone and approached a startled girl with pink twin tails and pink-framed glasses.

Oreki asked Airi Sakura what she knew about Karuizawa and learned about a confrontation involving a Class C girl named Rika. As Oreki and Sakura left the library, they encountered all four class homeroom teachers and hid to listen to their conversation.

• Oreki asked Sakura for information about Karuizawa, and Sakura described seeing her argue with a Class C girl at a milk tea shop.
• Oreki showed Sakura a photo, and she identified the girl as Rika; he suspected Karuizawa was keeping her distance because she felt responsible for causing trouble.
• Sakura guessed that Oreki and Karuizawa had dated, and Oreki answered that it was something like that.
• Oreki and Sakura left the library and encountered the homeroom teachers from all four classes on the stairs.
• Oreki covered Sakura's mouth and told her to be quiet so they could listen to the teachers talking.

Oreki overheard the teachers debate why Ichinose had been assigned to the Rabbit Group and why the VIP lists had been changed. Hoshinomiya accused Chabashira of altering the list, but Chabashira revealed that Majima had changed it first, and the discussion turned to Class D’s students using backup phones.

• Oreki overheard Hoshinomiya, Chabashira, Majima, and Bando discussing the group assignments and learned that they had all been classmates at the school.
• Chabashira challenged Hoshinomiya for placing Ichinose in the Rabbit Group, and Hoshinomiya claimed Ichinose still had lessons to learn.
• Hoshinomiya suggested Chabashira had altered the VIP list to replace Ayanokouji with Miyake, but Chabashira said she had seen Majima change the list first.
• Majima explained that he put Oreki in a new group because Sakayanagi was absent and he wanted Oreki to stay motivated and show new potential.
• Hoshinomiya told Chabashira that her students had reportedly used backup phones during the VIP Exam.

Oreki gathered information about the teachers’ history and suspected Kushida had a deeper, more manipulative interest in Horikita. Back in the private room, he prompted Kamuro to reveal that Sakayanagi had received VIP information, leaving Horikita with a crucial clue for her deductions.

• Chabashira told Hoshinomiya that she no longer cared about pursuing Class A, and Hoshinomiya followed her despite resenting her change.
• Oreki released Sakura and asked her to keep the teachers’ conversation secret, then reassured her she would receive 250,000 points after the exam.
• Oreki borrowed two copies of Gone with the Wind and reflected on Hoshinomiya’s fixation as a possible comparison for Kushida’s interest in Horikita.
• Oreki returned to the private room and told Horikita that a result would come soon.
• Kamuro revealed that Sakayanagi had skipped the exam for health reasons, contacted her every day at six, and received VIP information that morning.

Oreki encouraged Horikita to recognize her limits and improve her study efficiency, then used Sakayanagi’s VIP deductions to test a pattern with Kōenji. Meanwhile, Ryuuen questioned Ibuki about Oreki’s actions in the Rabbit Group and continued strategizing with his team.

• Oreki explained that Horikita had overworked herself and urged her to balance her studies, giving her two books on concentration and time management.
• Kamuro reported that Sakayanagi had deduced the VIPs in Classes B and C and sent the information to her phone.
• Oreki took Kamuro and Horikita to find Kōenji so they could test Sakayanagi’s VIP deductions.
• Ibuki told Ryuuen that Oreki had proposed choosing Result 1 in the Rabbit Group, where Ichinose was present.
• Ryuuen dismissed Ibuki and told Shiina that Ibuki was too simple-minded for discussions requiring careful thought.

Shiina Hiyori and Ryuuen inferred that Houtarou Oreki might be using the VIPs’ identities to control the exam, while Oreki obtained the Monkey Group VIP information from Kōenji. Oreki and Horikita then asked Kōenji to end the Monkey Group exam, leaving him ready to cooperate with Horikita.

• Shiina Hiyori suggested that Oreki might aim to have every group choose Outcome 1 by exploiting a pattern in the VIP selections, and Ryuuen guessed that Oreki had learned Class D’s VIP information through the backup-phone plan.
• Teacher Majima announced that the Monkey Group exam had ended, and Ryuuen realized that an incorrect answer could cost Class C 50 points while a correct one could gain 50.
• Oreki received the Monkey Group VIP information from Kōenji, confirmed that the VIP was Kitagawa Ryo, and forwarded the information to Ryuuen.
• Oreki and Horikita found Kōenji training in the cruise ship gym and asked him to end the exam because he considered it boring and wanted to enjoy his time on the ship.
• Kōenji agreed to proceed as before and addressed Horikita, the Class D student.

Oreki confirmed that the Monkey Group’s VIP was from Class C and sent the information to Ryuuen, while Horikita questioned him about the VIP pattern. At the Rabbit Group meeting, Oreki witnessed Manabe confront Karuizawa over an alleged incident, ending with Karuizawa knocking Manabe’s phone away.

• Kōenji submitted an early answer identifying the Monkey Group’s VIP as someone from Class C, and Oreki sent the information to Ryuuen.
• Horikita asked Oreki how quickly he could deduce the VIP pattern, and he explained that he preferred to let someone else do unnecessary work.
• Horikita invited Oreki to dinner, while Kamuro followed them unnoticed.
• Oreki arrived early for the Rabbit Group discussion and saw Ibuki reading nearby.
• Manabe confronted Karuizawa about allegedly bullying Rika and pointed her phone camera at her.
• Karuizawa denied the accusation and knocked Manabe’s phone from her hand.

Oreki persuaded Ibuki to intervene when Manabe and two Class C girls cornered Karuizawa over a phone incident. Ibuki broke up the confrontation and sent the girls away, leaving Karuizawa safe for the moment.

• Manabe confronted Karuizawa after Karuizawa knocked her phone away, and Manabe threatened her while mentioning Oreki.
• Oreki left the hallway and asked Ibuki to check on her classmates, persuading her by calling her just and reminding her of her resistance to Ryuuen.
• Ibuki decided to maintain the image Oreki had given her and went to the hallway, where Manabe and two girls were surrounding Karuizawa.
• Ibuki slapped Manabe and told the girls that they looked like bullies and could face Ryuuen's anger if their actions affected the exam.
• Manabe and her friends backed off and left the hallway, and Ibuki returned to the room.

Oreki comforted Karuizawa and promised to keep protecting her while arranging for her to help him in return. After the Rabbit Group discussion, he waited for Horikita Suzune so they could deal with Manabe and the other Class C girls who had bullied Karuizawa.

• Oreki followed Karuizawa to a quiet corner, caught her phone when she startled and threw it, and listened as she explained her dispute with the Class C girls at the Milk Tea Shop.
• Oreki told Karuizawa he would continue protecting her and asked her to help him with some things, framing their arrangement as mutually beneficial.
• At the Rabbit Group discussion, Ichinose asked about the Monkey Group exam, and Oreki told her that Kōenji had ended it early.
• After the discussion, Oreki stayed behind to meet Horikita Suzune and plan how to handle Manabe and the other Class C girls.

Oreki persuaded Horikita to help him use a staged threat to recruit spies in Class C, arguing that Ryuuen’s earlier spy purge left an opening. Manabe and three other Class C girls arrived expecting to confront Karuizawa, only to find Horikita waiting for them.

• Oreki told Horikita that his forty-million-point plan was secure and asked her to demonstrate her karate against three Class C girls.
• Oreki explained that he wanted Horikita to take photos as leverage, then delete them, and Horikita agreed to the plan.
• Oreki called Manabe and persuaded her and her friends to come by claiming he would help them meet Karuizawa.
• Horikita and Oreki waited in the basement as Manabe, Yabu Nanami, Saki Yamashita, and Rika discussed confronting Karuizawa.
• The four Class C girls arrived expecting Karuizawa but found Horikita instead.

Oreki and Horikita intimidated Manabe and the other girls into promising not to target Karuizawa, while Oreki realized Ryuuen had already moved against Kushida. Unable to reach Horikita, Oreki went to the girls’ dorm and found Sakura alone after Kushida had just left.

• Horikita beat the four girls who came to the basement and threatened them with their photos, following Oreki’s instructions.
• Oreki told Manabe and the others that he liked Karuizawa and warned them not to provoke or insult her.
• Manabe called Oreki and promised the girls would do anything if he did not spread their photos, which Horikita had already deleted.
• Oreki saw that Kikyou had blocked him, suggesting Ryuuen had already contacted Class D’s spy.
• Oreki went to the girls’ dorm at 22:40 because Horikita did not answer, and Sakura told him Kushida had just left.