Chapter Summaries

Shizuka Hiratsuka found Oreki waiting on the stairs outside her apartment and drove him toward school, where he openly challenged her reasons for discouraging his pursuit. The chapter left Hiratsuka flustered as Oreki listed her flaws and teased her about still being unmarried.

• Shizuka Hiratsuka found Oreki playing a game on the stairs and checked her appearance before approaching him.
• Oreki told Hiratsuka he recognized her footsteps because he liked her, then explained that he had come to ask for a ride after spotting her car.
• Hiratsuka drove Oreki toward school and insisted she would drop him off at an intersection to avoid rumors.
• Oreki argued that Hiratsuka was using her teacher status and personal qualities to discourage him, then wrote down a list of her flaws.
• Hiratsuka became flustered when Oreki said her flaws explained why she was still unmarried.

Oreki confessed to Shizuka Hiratsuka and said he would leave Sobhu High so he could pursue her, though he revealed that the Principal had already arranged a direct university recommendation for him. At a surprise school assembly, Iroha saw Oreki standing with the Principal and Ryo Kimura, Reina’s ex-boyfriend.

• Oreki blacked out Shizuka Hiratsuka’s list of flaws so the remaining space spelled “like,” then confessed that he liked her.
• Oreki handed Shizuka a withdrawal application and said he would leave Sobhu High to pursue her, but she refused to accept it.
• Oreki told Shizuka that the Principal had arranged a direct university recommendation for him and that it would soon be announced.
• A surprise assembly gathered the students on the field, where Iroha spotted Oreki beside the Principal and Ryo Kimura.
• Reina’s three classmates noticed Ryo Kimura at the assembly and looked panicked, while Yukino Yukinoshita stood with second-year Class J.

Ryo Kimura publicly confessed that he had framed Iroha Isshiki and apologized, while Oreki used an announcement about his university recommendation to ensure students would welcome her. Yukino recognized Oreki’s strategy, and Shizuka Hiratsuka was startled to learn he had forced a public apology.

• Oreki urged Ryo Kimura to confess, and Ryo publicly admitted he had fabricated messages and slandered Iroha to end his relationship with Reina Takahashi.
• Iroha cried before the assembled students as Ryo apologized, and the students of Class 1-C looked toward her.
• Yukino judged Oreki’s public approach too forceful and worried that it would leave Iroha isolated.
• The Principal announced that Oreki had earned a recommendation to National University and would study under Professor Sojiro, prompting students to welcome Iroha as his sister.
• Yukino realized Oreki would attend the same university as Yukino Haruno, while Shizuka Hiratsuka learned about Ryo’s public apology and reacted with alarm.

Houtarou Oreki received a recommendation to National University, withdrew from school, and told Shizuka Hiratsuka that he would now formally pursue her. As Oreki prepared to visit her, Iroha Isshiki joked about the pressure of having a genius brother and denied liking older people.

• Shizuka Hiratsuka realized Oreki's university recommendation meant they were no longer teacher and student, then received his message declaring he would pursue her.
• Oreki delivered a speech at school while Hiratsuka blushed in the office, excited that she could no longer use their teacher-student relationship to reject him.
• Oreki's family celebrated his recommendation at home, while the value of his painting and his success improved the Isshiki family's prospects.
• The next morning, Oreki told Iroha Isshiki he had withdrawn and could report to National University within a week.
• Oreki said he planned to ask Hiratsuka out, while Iroha denied liking older people after noticing her brother seemed handsome.

Oreki met Shizuka Hiratsuka and completed the quest tied to marrying her, receiving a card that could stop someone’s body from growing. After Oreki proposed, Hiratsuka confessed that she liked him and accepted his offer, then took him to one of her apartments.

• Oreki checked the quest and saw that fulfilling Shizuka Hiratsuka’s wish required marrying her and was 99% complete.
• Oreki met Hiratsuka and apologized for threatening to jump from a bridge, completing the quest and receiving the Loli Card.
• Oreki told Hiratsuka he wanted to take her for himself, and she confessed that she liked Houtarou Oreki and wanted to marry him.
• Oreki accepted Hiratsuka’s confession, but a traffic officer interrupted them and made them leave the roadside.
• Hiratsuka took Oreki to her spacious apartment on the eighteenth floor.

Oreki accepted Shizuka Hiratsuka’s proposal, and they grew closer at her apartment. When Shizuka mentioned her concern for Yukinoshita Haruno, Oreki received a hidden quest to investigate Haruno and arranged to join her class at National University.

• Oreki accepted Shizuka Hiratsuka’s proposal and told her he had agreed to marry her.
• Oreki took Shizuka’s hand, and they kissed after she asked if she could.
• Shizuka told Oreki that Yukinoshita Haruno was under pressure and that she worried Haruno might break down.
• Oreki received a hidden quest to investigate Yukino Haruno’s background within one week, with telepathy as the reward.
• Oreki messaged the Principal of National University and asked to be placed in Yukino Haruno’s class.

Oreki transferred to National University to investigate Yukino Haruno’s background and joined the Clinical Medicine class where she studied. Iroha Isshiki traded information about Oreki for a new PSP from Shizuka Hiratsuka.

• The principal offered to arrange a pickup for Oreki, but Oreki declined and met the university’s counselor instead.
• At Sobhu High School, Iroha guessed Shizuka Hiratsuka wanted information about Oreki and agreed to share it after Shizuka offered to buy her a new PSP.
• Counselor Matsumoto showed Oreki around National University and explained that he would transfer into Class C of the Clinical Medicine major.
• Oreki told Counselor Matsumoto that he would study painting with Professor Sojiro and had chosen medicine out of personal interest.
• Oreki planned to investigate Yukino Haruno, whose medical studies seemed unusual for the Yukino family’s expected heir.

Oreki joined First Year Clinical Medicine, Class C, where his unusual background drew the students’ attention and gave him a chance to approach Yukino Haruno. He agreed to tour the school with her and observed how popular and capable she was.

• Oreki reviewed his new class roster and timetable while waiting to meet Counselor Matsumoto.
• Oreki introduced himself to Class C, explaining that he had skipped grades and joined the medical department because he liked medicine.
• Oreki spotted Yukino Haruno, who enthusiastically joined his classmates in asking about his romantic history.
• Oreki told the students he had come to pursue a teacher he liked and end their teacher-student relationship.
• Haruno invited Oreki to tour the school and have lunch with former Sobhu High School classmates, and he accepted.
• During the tour, Oreki counted the many students and teachers who greeted or praised Haruno and judged her social skills to be exceptional.

Oreki accepted Yukino Haruno’s contact information and triggered a hidden quest to investigate her background. When he found Haruno being confessed to by Ooyama, he intervened and used the moment to get closer to her, leaving them at McDonald’s as he considered the role she played in her family and at school.

• Haruno and the Sobhu High School upperclassmen finished showing Oreki around, exchanged contact information with him, and invited him into a new group chat.
• Oreki received a hidden quest to investigate Haruno’s background within one week, with telepathy as the reward.
• After briefly replying to Professor Sojiro, Oreki headed to find Haruno and overheard Ooyama confessing to her and asking her to go to Koshien.
• Oreki grabbed Ooyama’s wrist as he tried to leave, and Haruno explained that she had used Oreki as a shield to reject him.
• Oreki questioned whether Haruno had only used him that one time, then invited her to McDonald’s, where she agreed to go with him.
• Oreki considered how Haruno had taken on the Yukinoshita family’s expectations and maintained a dazzling, approachable persona at school.

Oreki told Yukino Haruno that he had skipped grades to pursue Shizuka Hiratsuka, leaving Haruno to realize he knew about her hidden struggles. He then revealed that he had chosen Clinical Medicine partly because he wanted to learn about Haruno’s family and parents.

• Oreki said he was not Haruno’s enemy and explained that he had skipped grades to pursue Shizuka Hiratsuka.
• Haruno recognized that Oreki’s knowledge of her came from Shizuka and reflected on the trust she had placed in him.
• Oreki said he and Shizuka had an intimate relationship and that he had proposed to her, alarming Haruno.
• Haruno considered whether Oreki could be a suitable partner for Shizuka, given his talents and prospects.
• Oreki said he had chosen Clinical Medicine partly to learn about Shizuka’s likes from Haruno and asked her to introduce him to her parents.

Oreki told Haruno that he wanted to meet her parents and proposed that the Yukinoshita family have a third child to become another potential heir. Haruno recognized that Oreki understood her conflict over inheriting the family, but she was left questioning his unexpected plan.

• Haruno mistakenly wondered whether Oreki wanted to pursue Yukino or herself, but Oreki denied both and explained that he thought Haruno disliked inheriting the Yukinoshita family while feeling unable to reject her past efforts.
• Haruno admitted that she expected to inherit the family and would likely have to marry an ordinary man, and said she might have fallen for Oreki if he had met her before Shizuka.
• Oreki asked Haruno to arrange a meeting with both her parents, then requested that her family have a third child as soon as possible.
• Oreki explained that Yukino had helped his younger sister with bullying and seemed interested in the Yukinoshita family's succession, but was not suited to become its heir.
• Oreki proposed that a third child could become another heir, giving Haruno and Yukino an alternative to inheriting the family themselves.

Haruno agreed to introduce Oreki to her father after he proposed helping the Yukinoshita family, and Oreki’s mission progress increased as he learned about her family. He met her father, who unexpectedly photographed him, leaving Oreki to face an abrupt and intrusive first impression.

• Haruno accepted Oreki’s proposal and said she would take him to meet her father if he tried to improve her parents’ relationship.
• Oreki’s mission progress increased after he learned about the poor relationship between Haruno’s parents and heard more about the family.
• Haruno explained that her father carried the Yukinoshita name, her mother had been born an Amano, and both parents hoped Yukino would pursue law.
• Haruno brought Oreki to her father’s office, where Oreki noticed that her father looked happy despite Haruno’s claims about the marriage.
• Yukinoshita Father asked Haruno about Oreki’s family background and took a photo of him with his phone.

Oreki played along with Haruno’s claim that they were dating so he could persuade Yukinoshita Father to visit his estranged wife. He then suggested that Yukinoshita Father might have another family and convinced Haruno to investigate his afternoon plans.

• Haruno’s father accepted Oreki as Haruno’s boyfriend, and Oreki asked him to help reconcile with Yukinoshita Mother.
• Yukinoshita Father agreed to take the afternoon off and speak with his wife that night, then left after receiving a phone call.
• Haruno admitted she wanted Oreki’s help because her parents’ relationship had long been troubled.
• Oreki proposed that a third person stood between Haruno’s parents and suspected Yukinoshita Father had another family.
• Oreki pointed out that Yukinoshita Father had delayed visiting his wife until night, and Haruno began to doubt that his explanation was ordinary.

Haruno and Oreki followed Yukinoshita Father and discovered he was involved with a man, leaving Haruno devastated. Shizuka comforted Haruno as she finally broke down and asked why it had happened.

• Haruno noticed a heart on the bottom of her father's handmade cup and agreed to follow him with Oreki.
• Haruno and Oreki tracked Yukinoshita Father by taxi and watched him get into a brown sedan with a man.
• Oreki told Haruno that her father's companion was a man, and she saw the man kiss Yukinoshita Father on the cheek.
• Oreki brought Haruno to Shizuka's house, where she sat in a daze until Shizuka returned and embraced her.
• Haruno broke down in Shizuka's arms and repeatedly asked why this had happened.

After Haruno cried herself to sleep, Oreki told Shizuka that Haruno had seen her father with a man. Shizuka recognized Oreki’s sketch of the man as someone she might have seen at a parent-teacher meeting, and she searched her Class F files to identify him.

• Shizuka and Oreki carried the sleeping Haruno to the guest room, then discussed what had upset her.
• Oreki told Shizuka that Haruno had seen her father with a man, though they had not confirmed that an affair had occurred.
• Oreki sketched the man from memory, and Shizuka thought she recognized him from a parent-teacher meeting.
• Shizuka retrieved her Class F files and began checking student and family information to identify the man.

Oreki and Shizuka confirmed that Yuigahama’s father was the man in Oreki’s drawing, deepening the risks surrounding the affair. Haruno decided not to tell Yukino yet and asked Oreki to discreetly find out whether her mother knew about her father’s behavior.

• Oreki and Shizuka matched Yuigahama’s father in the family photo to Oreki’s drawing and agreed to wait for Haruno’s decision before sharing the information.
• The next morning, Haruno said her parents had long lived apart and reasoned that her mother might have known about the affair to protect her daughters.
• Haruno asked Oreki and Shizuka to contact her mother discreetly and find out what she knew.
• Oreki agreed to sound out Yukinoshita Mother, saying it would take at least two or three days to get results.

After Shizuka left to visit her hospitalized father, Oreki and Haruno planned how he could discreetly learn what Yukinoshita Mother knew about the family situation. Oreki created an opportunity to meet her by sending calligraphy to an association event, then waited near the parking lot for her to arrive.

• Shizuka left in a hurry after learning that her father was in the hospital, leaving Haruno and Oreki to discuss Yukinoshita Mother.
• Oreki asked Haruno to tell her father to postpone inviting him to the family home, and Haruno passed along the request.
• Oreki suggested approaching Yukinoshita Mother as a stranger, and he and Haruno planned for him to meet her and find out what she knew.
• Haruno offered to arrange for Oreki to join her mother's calligraphy association, but Oreki declined because it would take too much time.
• Oreki arranged for Yukinoshita Mother to attend a calligraphy event by submitting a piece of his own work, then waited near the parking lot for her.

Oreki staged a series of encounters to become familiar to Yukinoshita Mother and arranged for Haruno to bring her into a karaoke room. He ended the chapter pretending to plead with a teacher about tuition and his scumbag father, drawing Yukinoshita Mother's attention.

• Oreki, dressed as a courier, returned Yukinoshita Mother's embroidered wallet and made a favorable first impression while discussing its handiwork.
• Oreki contacted Haruno, who met him and helped arrange a private encounter with Yukinoshita Mother.
• Haruno brought Yukinoshita Mother to the karaoke room next to Oreki's, then left them alone.
• Oreki pretended to make an emotional phone call about tuition and his scumbag father, and Yukinoshita Mother noticed him.

Oreki used a delivery dispute to speak privately with Yukinoshita Mother, initially posing as a struggling student to learn about her family situation. He revealed that he was actually dating Shizuka and studying at National University with Haruno, then explained that he and Haruno had witnessed Yukinoshita Father cheating with a man.

• A customer threw juice on Oreki over a damaged delivery, and Yukinoshita Mother paid the customer and offered him a towel.
• Yukinoshita Mother offered to help Oreki pay for school after he claimed he had left home with his mother and was considering dropping out.
• Oreki questioned Yukinoshita Mother about her marriage and persuaded her to admit that she had faced a similar problem.
• Oreki revealed that he was a Sobhu High School student who had skipped ahead to National University, where Haruno studied, and that he was dating Shizuka.
• Oreki told Yukinoshita Mother that he and Haruno had witnessed Yukinoshita Father cheating with a man.

Oreki learned that Yukinoshita Mother had always known Haruno’s father was gay and that Haruno was her biological daughter, conceived through IVF. He urged Yukinoshita Mother to recognize that Haruno did not want to inherit the family or keep living as “Yukino Haruno,” leaving the mother to confront her own regrets and her daughter’s distress.

• Yukinoshita Mother admitted she had known from the beginning that Yukinoshita Father was gay and had married him as part of an exchange of favors.
• Yukinoshita Mother confirmed Haruno was her biological daughter, and Oreki’s mission was completed.
• Haruno called Oreki, learned the truth was clear, and agreed to speak with her mother at the main house that night.
• Oreki revealed that the tests and staged events had been arranged with Haruno, then challenged Yukinoshita Mother’s belief that Haruno wanted to inherit the family.
• Oreki told Yukinoshita Mother that Haruno did not want to become “Yukino Haruno,” and warned that she might collapse if forced to keep wearing a mask.
• Yukinoshita Mother admitted she had worried about Haruno’s pressure but could not accept that her own life had been ruined.