Chapter Summaries

Kushida tried to blackmail Oreki into keeping her secret by pressing his hand against her chest to leave fingerprints, but Oreki pointed out that nobody would believe his account of her true personality. She realized she had overreacted, while Oreki left her wondering how much he had already seen through her.

• Kushida pressed Oreki's hand against her chest and threatened to report him for violence unless he promised not to reveal what he had seen.
• Oreki asked Kushida whether she hated him, and she admitted she found him troublesome and called him disgusting for eavesdropping.
• Oreki promised not to tell anyone that he had seen Kushida cursing Horikita, then noted that people would probably not believe him anyway.
• Kushida reconsidered whether she needed to keep flattering Horikita or worry about Oreki, since his claims would lack credibility without proof.
• Oreki mentioned that a recording would have shocked everyone, and Kushida felt relieved he had not made one while wondering whether he had long understood her true nature.

After Kushida left, Oreki considered how he might help Class D gain points and strengthen Horikita’s control. Ichinose then met him to explain that Chihiro had realized she did not love her romantically, leaving their friendship free to resume.

• Kushida dropped her angel act, agreed not to curse at Oreki, and left the railing.
• Oreki received Sugar Senior’s million-point allowance and reflected on his encounter with Kushida and how he might support Class D.
• Oreki concluded that Horikita needed help keeping Class D under control and considered recruiting someone or removing disruptive students.
• Ichinose arrived and told Oreki that Chihiro had studied what couples wanted and realized she did not have romantic feelings for her.
• Ichinose said she and Chihiro could put the misunderstanding behind them and return to being friends.

Oreki spoke with Ichinose about the rumor that he was being kept by an upperclassman, then spent several days dreaming about girls demanding his fingerprints. By June 5, Horikita was studying old textbooks intensely, while Kushida continued acting normally and appeared to be keeping the uniform marked with Oreki’s fingerprints.

• Oreki asked Ichinose what she thought about gossip, and Ichinose offered to tell her friends to stop spreading the rumor about his monthly million-Point arrangement.
• Oreki considered using Ichinose’s strong social connections to help secure votes for Sakayanagi, and Ichinose remarked that his gaze seemed aggressive.
• Oreki dreamed of girls, including a nude Dream-Kushida, repeatedly demanding his fingerprints.
• Over the next few days, Horikita remained distant despite growing popularity in Class D and began studying old editions of textbooks after learning Oreki had earned full marks without studying.
• On June 5, Oreki noticed Kushida glance at his uniform and realized she seemed to have kept the one marked with his fingerprints.

Oreki sought information about fingerprints so he could confront Kushida and resolve the problem troubling his sleep. After learning Kushida had already searched for fingerprints on clothes, he realized she was researching the same issue and went to find her in the library.

• Oreki asked Sakayanagi whether fingerprints could remain on clothing, and she told him that clothes were unsuitable surfaces for fingerprints.
• Oreki decided to confront Kushida about her claims and went to the library to research fingerprints.
• A silver-haired girl at a computer told Oreki that someone had searched the catalog for clothes and fingerprints before him.
• Oreki recognized that the earlier search was likely Kushida’s and learned from the girl that Kushida had been there.
• Oreki saw that Kushida had gone to the fourth floor to look for one of the nineteen fingerprint-related books.

Oreki confronted Kushida after catching her searching for fingerprint evidence and trying to record him, then asked her to press her handprint again so he could get used to being around girls. Kushida agreed to meet him once a week and considered using their arrangement to find a safer outlet for her feelings.

• Oreki found Kushida in the library and took her to her dorm room to discuss her failed fingerprint plan.
• Oreki interrupted Kushida's attempt to record him with a phone call and told her not to collect anything she could use against him.
• Oreki warned Kushida that her search had drawn attention and that her public persona could be exposed.
• Oreki asked Kushida to press her handprint once a day, but she refused and offered to do it at most once a week.
• Kushida tried to tell Oreki about her past and her desire to get close to Horikita Suzune, but Oreki refused to get involved in her troubles.
• Kushida decided she might as well make use of Oreki as she considered how to manage the pressure of keeping her true nature hidden.

Oreki left Kushida’s room and encountered Masumi Kamuro in the girls’ dormitory stairwell, where she asked to discuss the upcoming exam. Kamuro explained that Sakayanagi could not participate and that she wanted Oreki’s help protecting Class A’s lead, leaving him with a chance to influence the exam.

• Oreki left Kushida’s room by the emergency stairs to avoid being seen in the girls’ dormitory.
• Oreki ran into Masumi Kamuro, who had come upstairs after Sakayanagi ordered her to climb the stairs as punishment for losing at chess.
• Oreki learned that Sakayanagi gave Kamuro 200,000 Points on a fixed schedule each month and reflected that she had grown used to following Sakayanagi’s orders.
• Oreki took Kamuro to the Shopping District, where she told him the upcoming exam was worth more than 600 Points and could shift the class rankings.
• Kamuro said Sakayanagi could not participate and would have her faction follow Katsuragi, then asked Oreki to help because Class A’s lead could be threatened.

Oreki reassured Kamuro about Class A’s exam prospects, then had her follow Chabashira and investigate her visit to the Chairman’s Office. Kamuro’s report led Oreki to suspect that Kiyotaka Ayanokouji was Chabashira’s trump card and to worry that Sakayanagi Arisu’s father might be in danger; Arisu sat alone playing chess and looked at her phone.

• Oreki told Kamuro he would take the exam and keep Class B and Class C from surpassing Class A.
• Oreki ordered Kamuro to follow Chabashira and report her movements, and Kamuro tracked her to the Chairman’s Office.
• Kamuro reported that an angry Mr. Ayanokouji left the office with the Principal, who addressed him respectfully.
• Oreki connected Mr. Ayanokouji to Kiyotaka Ayanokouji and suspected that Kiyotaka was Chabashira’s trump card.
• Oreki wondered whether Sakayanagi Arisu could remain at school if something happened to Chairman Sakayanagi, while Arisu played chess alone and looked at her phone.

Sakayanagi Arisu investigated Mr. Ayanokouji’s confrontation with her father and later told Oreki the matter was settled, leaving him with a favor owed. On June 12th, the school announced a fourteen-day luxury cruise School Trip, and the classes reacted to the upcoming high-value exam.

• Oreki told Sakayanagi that the Principal had groveled before Mr. Ayanokouji after he stormed out of the Chairman’s Office, and Sakayanagi went to investigate.
• Sakayanagi messaged Oreki that the issue was settled and that she owed him a favor.
• The school announced that the students would take a fourteen-day School Trip aboard a luxury cruise ship, with food and onboard expenses covered.
• Ryuuen rallied Class C and threatened expulsion for anyone whose actions cost the class Points, treating the trip as a chance to rise.
• Class B welcomed the trip, while Hoshinomiya noticed Ichinose thinking seriously about the announcement.

As the first-year students departed for the School Trip aboard the Hedgehog Cat, Sakayanagi stayed behind because of her health and entrusted Class A to Katsuragi. The students discovered that their phones could access the internet and make calls, while the Student Council discussed the first-years’ prospects and Nagumo privately resented his reduced position.

• Hoshinomiya Chie anticipated Ichinose’s next move and privately hoped Class D would lose its Points and fail to recover.
• Sakayanagi Arisu stayed at school because of her health, entrusted Class A to Katsuragi, and said she had a challenge of her own.
• Katsuragi noticed Sakayanagi looking toward Oreki and felt reassured that the class would not cause trouble with him aboard.
• Kushida searched online for information about fingerprints, then told the students that their phones could access the internet and make calls.
• Manabu Horikita and the Student Council members discussed the first-years’ prospects, while Nagumo privately resented losing his Vice President position.

Houtarou Oreki boarded the luxurious cruise ship for the school trip and began a two-day body modification while activating a precognitive dream. In the dream, he saw a future in which Sakayanagi Arisu visited Horikita Suzune with her daughter Alice, while Oreki was absent.

• The students celebrated their free accommodations and amenities aboard the Hedgehog Cat, while Oreki paid for a private room.
• Oreki started his Superpower Physique Modification, which would keep him asleep for two days and two nights, and activated Precognitive Dream.
• Oreki dreamed of Horikita Suzune living with her five-year-old daughters, Lingling and Nene, ten years in the future.
• Masumi Kamuro arrived at Horikita’s home with Sakayanagi Arisu and Arisu’s daughter, Alice.
• Sakayanagi introduced Alice as her daughter and said her husband had run away, while Horikita invited them to have tea.

Oreki woke from a precognitive dream of his future with Horikita Suzune and Sakayanagi Arisu, then received a physically enhanced body and two new superpowers. He tested Teleportation by traveling to the Amazon rainforest.

• In the dream, Horikita Suzune hosted Sakayanagi Arisu and her blonde daughter Alice, while her own daughters Lingling and Nene said goodbye to them.
• Sakayanagi and Alice rode away toward a hot spring that Oreki had reserved, and the dream ended with Arisu telling Alice to give her privacy with Oreki.
• Oreki woke unsettled by the dream’s future relationships and children, especially the possibility that Sakayanagi had dropped out of school after becoming pregnant.
• The system completed Oreki’s Superpower Physique Modification and granted him Clairvoyance and Restoration Ability.
• Oreki tested his new powers, found he could see minute details at great distances, and used Teleportation to reach the Amazon rainforest.

Oreki tested his newfound strength by defeating several crocodiles, then teleported back to the cruise ship, where Hashimoto brought him intelligence gathered by Sakayanagi’s faction. After reviewing it, Oreki planned to exploit Ryuuen’s effort to identify spies, while the special exam had yet to begin.

• Oreki spent over half an hour fighting crocodiles in a mud pool, then teleported back to the cruise ship and showered.
• Hashimoto visited Oreki, photographed him, and delivered information collected by Sakayanagi’s faction about the first-year students and the other classes.
• Hashimoto reported that Ryuuen had begun allowing Class C students to interact with other classes, prompting Oreki to suspect that Ryuuen was testing his classmates for spies.
• Oreki planned to buy off Class C students and later take the points Ryuuen gathered while purging spies.
• Oreki reviewed Hashimoto’s documents, prepared to go out, and checked his phone, where he found only a few messages from classmates.

After a Precognitive Dream about a future with Horikita, Oreki decided to check on her and met her aboard the school-owned luxury ship. Horikita reassured him about his supposed preference for short girls, then revealed she recognized his question as a disguised request for advice.

• Oreki read his messages, noticed Horikita had sent only an exclamation mark, and decided to visit her after replying to Karuizawa.
• Oreki learned from a waiter that the ship belonged to Chairman Sakayanagi's family and was rented out when not used for student exams.
• Oreki met Horikita on the deck and noticed her flushed, vulnerable appearance, but found he could look at her without being unsettled by his Precognitive Dream.
• Oreki asked Horikita whether liking girls who never grew taller made someone a pervert, and she said it did not.
• Horikita explained that she had heard Kikyou Kushida say people who begin with 'a friend of mine' are usually asking about themselves, so she suspected Oreki was talking about his own preference.

Oreki used his Restoration Ability to cure Horikita Suzune’s cold before the Deserted Island exam. A new side quest then offered him a choice between disrupting Ryuuen’s control of Class C or turning Class D into a source of cash, and Oreki leaned toward the second task.

• Oreki deduced that Horikita Suzune was ill and asked when her symptoms had started.
• Horikita explained that she had woken with sore limbs and a sore throat after studying harder than usual.
• Oreki held Horikita’s hand and used his Restoration Ability, immediately restoring her to health.
• Horikita asked to hold his hand again to check the change, but then pulled her hand back.
• Oreki received a side quest with two options: expose Ryuuen’s staged discord in Class C or seize the initiative and turn Class D into a cash machine.
• Oreki considered both tasks and preferred the plan involving Class D.

Oreki and Horikita watched Ryuuen’s violent control of Class C become public when Ibuki resisted his orders. After Ryuuen left, Katsuragi considered exploiting the dissent in Class C but chose to wait for Oreki’s advice, only to find that Oreki and Horikita had already gone.

• Ryuuen approached Oreki and Horikita, but lost interest in Horikita when Oreki mentioned Kōenji.
• Ibuki confronted Ryuuen over his orders, and Albert threw her against the deck railing when she attacked Ryuuen.
• Ichinose came to help Ibuki, while Ryuuen dismissed the incident as play and left with Albert.
• Katsuragi and Yahiko discussed contacting students opposed to Ryuuen, but Katsuragi decided to consult Oreki first.
• Katsuragi looked for Oreki and Horikita, but they had already left to begin acting.

Oreki planned to use the deserted-island exam to raise Class D and turn it into a source of Points, while asking Horikita to investigate why Teacher Chabashira's Class D had failed to reach Class A. He waited for Horikita's findings, then encountered Airi Sakura on the deck, where she reminded him that he had asked her to photograph the sunset.

• Oreki argued that Ryuuen would not risk using violence in front of witnesses and told Horikita to ask Teacher Chabashira about her Class B's failure to reach Class A.
• Oreki weighed the possible exam strategies and chose to direct the exam's large potential class-score reward to Class D, both to protect Class A's lead and to make Class D a cash machine.
• Oreki checked his system mission to gain control of Class D during the eight-day deserted-island exam and considered whether the school would suppress Class D if it rose too high.
• Oreki sent Horikita to question Teacher Chabashira and waited for her message.
• Airi Sakura approached Oreki on the deck, and he recalled that he had asked her to photograph the sunset.

Oreki sought to recruit Sakura as support for his plans to control Class D and profit from the Deserted Island exam. Meanwhile, Horikita questioned Chabashira about Class D’s prospects, and Chabashira concluded that Ayanokouji could not be relied on to lead the class because of his father’s influence.

• Oreki listened as Sakura described his changed appearance and took his picture, then decided to build a good relationship with her so he could gain support for his Class D plans.
• Horikita used Chabashira’s contact information to find her in the theater and asked how Chabashira’s former Class D had failed to advance beyond Class B.
• Chabashira reflected on the potential and shortcomings of the current Class D, including Kōenji’s refusal to cooperate and the idea of removing students who held the class back.
• Chabashira recalled that Ayanokouji Masayoshi had demanded Kiyotaka’s expulsion and that even the Chairman expected Masayoshi might return with people placed inside the school.
• Chabashira decided that Kiyotaka could not be mobilized to lead Class D, and she had summoned him only to tell him that his father had visited the school.

Ayanokouji considered how to stay at school despite his father's interference, but began doubting whether Chabashira's support could help Class D. Meanwhile, Oreki let Sakura photograph him, then shielded her from Karuizawa and her friends, leaving Sakura grateful but still timid.

• Ayanokouji decided he wanted to remain at school, considered using Chabashira's authority to counter his father, and questioned the value of her support if Class D was being held back.
• Sakura told Oreki that she had been a print model in middle school and had learned photography because she was embarrassed about it and wanted to capture beautiful scenes.
• Karuizawa and her friends approached Oreki and Sakura on the deck, and Karuizawa invited Oreki to spend the evening with them.
• Oreki said he already had plans with Sakura, prompting Karuizawa and her friends to leave, though Karuizawa looked back at him before going.
• Sakura thanked Oreki for getting her out of the situation and explained that Karuizawa led the gyarus in their class and treated boys harshly.

Oreki discussed Horikita Suzune’s recording of Chabashira denying that the school was hindering Class D, then proposed using the upcoming high-value exam to secure Points through Class D. Horikita agreed to cooperate for a 10% payment, while Oreki said they would need someone to intimidate Class D into holding onto its Points.

• Oreki considered why Karuizawa had adopted a tough gyaru image and wondered how to keep her from losing to Horikita Suzune in the future.
• Horikita Suzune gave Oreki a recording of Chabashira denying that the school was restricting Class D, and said Chabashira had gone drinking afterward.
• Karuizawa messaged Oreki to say she had not meant to bully Sakura, and Oreki replied that he knew.
• Oreki told Horikita the upcoming special exam was worth 500 to 600 Points and proposed directing the reward to Class D while keeping Class A safe.
• Horikita asked how much she would be paid, and Oreki held her compensation at 10%, explaining they would need a Tool Person to intimidate Class D into keeping its Points.

Oreki recruited Kōenji for the upcoming Deserted Island exam, offering him a share of the Points in exchange for earning them and protecting Class D’s share. After explaining that the cruise ship was circling the island and that the exam could award six hundred class evaluation Points, Oreki proposed securing camera equipment before the other classes could prepare.

• Horikita abandoned her request to raise the price after Oreki noted Class D students would not hold on to their Points.
• Oreki and Horikita found Kōenji sunbathing on the cruise ship’s top floor and invited him to join the exam.
• Oreki offered Kōenji two million Points from a six-hundred-Point exam if he obtained all the Points and kept Class D’s share safe for six months.
• Oreki pointed out that the ship was circling a Deserted Island and explained that previous island exams had awarded substantial Points.
• Oreki proposed borrowing all the camera equipment in advance so Class D could get information before the other classes.