Recaps

Bai Lan watched as Karuizawa faced Yonekura’s accusation at the student council arbitration, letting her speak for herself despite her panic. Karuizawa regained her composure and denied the charge, and the hearing moved to questions with Yonekura’s side about to challenge the arbitration.

• Bai Lan restrained Horikita Suzune from speaking for Karuizawa, telling her to let Karuizawa handle her own responsibility.
• Yonekura claimed Karuizawa had attacked and threatened her in a restroom, then cried after finishing her statement.
• Karuizawa remembered Bai Lan’s promise of protection, calmed down, and gave her account of Yonekura provoking and trying to hit her.
• Tachibana Akane began the question-and-answer stage, but one of Yonekura’s companions asked to raise a question about the arbitration itself.

At a mock disciplinary hearing, Horikita Suzune challenged the case against Karuizawa by showing that her month-long record of obeying school rules made the accusation suspicious. Yonekura's side struggled to counter her argument, then began questioning the limits of the evidence as the hearing continued.

• A girl pointed out that Bai Lan was a Disciplinary Committee member, so Bai Lan moved from the defendant's side to the judge's bench and took over Tachibana Akane's role.
• The girl argued that Yonekura looked too timid to bully anyone, and Horikita Suzune objected that appearances did not establish who was at fault.
• Horikita Suzune argued that Karuizawa's seven-day suspension would make her miss the midterms and risk expulsion, despite her spotless disciplinary record over the previous month.
• The hearing's participants were surprised by Karuizawa's record, and Karuizawa explained that she had followed the rules for the class's honor.
• Yonekura's side argued that one month was not long enough to prove Karuizawa's character, then began challenging how motive could be used as evidence.

Horikita Suzune tried to defend Karuizawa by arguing that she had struck Yonekura only in an initial retaliation and had not pursued her, but surveillance footage could not prove that. The proceedings left Karuizawa facing a likely severe punishment, with assault an even harsher possibility if Yonekura’s initial wrongdoing could not be established.

• The opposing side argued that the footage and injuries made Yonekura look like the victim and Karuizawa’s response excessive.
• Karuizawa recalled the photographs, recordings, and video Bai Lan had shown her, while Horikita Suzune searched for a reliable rebuttal.
• After the opposing side urged the judges to punish Karuizawa, Horikita Suzune proposed using the bathroom surveillance footage to estimate how long the fight lasted.
• Bai Lan asked to check the footage, and Horikita Manabu obtained and displayed it for the hearing.
• The footage showed that Yonekura had spent more than two minutes in the bathroom, leaving enough uncertain time for a pursuit, so Horikita Suzune’s argument failed.

Horikita Suzune failed to resolve Karuizawa’s expulsion crisis, so Horikita Manabu postponed the arbitration until May 23, the day before the midterms. Bai Lan warned that someone might approach Karuizawa and suggested the frame-up’s real motive could involve a benefit for someone beyond the second-years who accused her.

• Horikita Suzune asked to postpone the arbitration, but Yonekura’s side objected and insisted that Karuizawa be expelled.
• Horikita Manabu ended the arbitration and scheduled the final verdict for May 23, leaving Karuizawa to attend classes until then.
• Karuizawa’s intimidating remarks made Yonekura fear retaliation and led Horikita Suzune to suspect Karuizawa might act recklessly.
• Horikita assigned Kushida, Hirata, and Karuizawa separate investigative tasks, while Bai Lan told Karuizawa to alert him if anyone approached her.
• Horikita explained that the frame-up might serve a broader purpose, since Karuizawa’s expulsion would benefit the first-year classes rather than the second-year accusers.

Horikita reasoned that whoever framed Karuizawa wanted something from the class rather than simply to make it lose points, and Bai Lan waited for that person to approach. As the arbitration resumed with no evidence or contact, Nagumo arrived, and Karuizawa revealed she had recently spoken with him without telling Bai Lan.

• Horikita concluded that the person behind Karuizawa’s framing likely intended to negotiate for something from the class, while Hirata hoped they could save her from expulsion.
• By May 23, no one had approached Karuizawa’s defenders and they had found no counterevidence, so the arbitration seemed to be heading toward her punishment.
• Nagumo entered the special classroom with a document for Horikita Manabu, and Bai Lan recognized him as the person he had been waiting to catch.
• Karuizawa said she had chatted briefly with Nagumo in the cafeteria a day or two earlier, but she had not told Bai Lan because she thought she only needed to report proposed deals.

Karuizawa told Horikita Suzune how Nagumo had defended her in a cafeteria dispute, while privately sending Bai Lan a more vulnerable account. Bai Lan suspected Nagumo was maneuvering to make him suffer a mental blow before engineering his expulsion, and the chapter left Nagumo discussing Karuizawa with Horikita Manabu.

• Horikita Suzune pressed Karuizawa to explain her contact with Nagumo, and Karuizawa secretly messaged Bai Lan while recounting it.
• Karuizawa described losing her student ID, being accused of cutting in line, and standing her ground because other students might see her back down.
• Karuizawa explained that Nagumo vouched for her with a timestamped photo and said he hoped they would become friends.
• Bai Lan read Karuizawa's private account and watched Nagumo, who asked Horikita Manabu whether Karuizawa had gotten into another misunderstanding.
• Bai Lan concluded that Nagumo wanted to undermine him before causing his expulsion, while Nagumo feared the retaliation and loss of control that might follow.

Nagumo planned to recruit Karuizawa as an informant and use her to undermine Bai Lan, but her unexpected defeat of Yonekura forced him to replace his staged rescue with a frame-up. He aimed to appear as Karuizawa’s savior and win her over, even though Bai Lan might become suspicious.

• Nagumo planned to secretly recruit students from Bai Lan’s class and eventually use them to get Bai Lan expelled without giving him a chance to retaliate.
• Nagumo chose Karuizawa as his target, reasoning that she was easier to manipulate than Horikita or Kushida and could be drawn to him as a supposedly strong protector.
• Nagumo’s planned rescue failed when Karuizawa quickly defeated Yonekura, whom he had expected to bully her.
• Nagumo changed tactics and had Yonekura and the others frame Karuizawa so he could appear at a moment of crisis and win her trust.
• Nagumo had previously staged a food-line misunderstanding involving Karuizawa’s student ID to make his later intervention seem natural.
• Nagumo accepted that Bai Lan might suspect him, believing he could still use Karuizawa before Bai Lan could act against him.

Bai Lan sent Horikita Suzune evidence that could clear Karuizawa, while Horikita interpreted his delay as an effort to give her a chance to prove herself before her brother. She realized the evidence would let her lead the next stage of the investigation.

• Bai Lan sent Horikita Suzune an email with video, audio, and photographs showing Yonekura shortly after her confrontation with Karuizawa.
• Horikita studied the photographs and recognized Yonekura, noting that their timestamps placed them less than five minutes after the restroom incident.
• Horikita inferred that Bai Lan had tracked down and photographed Yonekura soon after the incident, then withheld the evidence while the group struggled.
• Horikita decided Bai Lan had left her to lead the group so she could demonstrate her ability and determination to her brother.
• Horikita concluded that Bai Lan had prepared a stage for her next performance by giving her evidence that could help resolve Karuizawa's case.

Horikita Suzune used the evidence Bai Lan sent to prepare to clear Karuizawa and expose Yonekura’s false accusation. Nagumo tried to intervene as a mediator, but Suzune rejected his help and stood ready to present their case.

• Horikita Suzune examined Bai Lan’s photographs, recording, and video, concluding that Karuizawa’s injuries had been faked and that Yonekura had made a false accusation.
• Nagumo told Horikita Manabu about his earlier encounter with Karuizawa and asked Yonekura to let the matter go, claiming there had been a misunderstanding.
• Horikita Suzune declined Nagumo’s offer, saying her class could resolve the dispute themselves.
• Nagumo sat nearby and watched as Horikita Suzune prepared to make her case.

Horikita Suzune presented evidence clearing Karuizawa and exposing Yonekura’s attempt to frame and persecute her, while Nagumo tried to protect the students acting on his behalf. After Horikita called for Yonekura’s expulsion, Bai Lan instructed her to accept negotiations, and she demanded forty million.

• Horikita Suzune showed evidence proving Karuizawa had not bullied Yonekura and that Yonekura had fabricated her injuries after trying to bully Karuizawa.
• Horikita demanded that Horikita Manabu punish Yonekura with expulsion and argued that the students had turned school rules into tools for persecution.
• Horikita Manabu promised an impartial Student Council decision, and Horikita Suzune bowed to him, surprising Karuizawa, Kushida, and Hirata.
• Yonekura sought Nagumo’s help, making Bai Lan and the others suspect that Nagumo was involved.
• Nagumo claimed he only wanted to mediate and urged the group to forgive Yonekura, but Horikita said they could negotiate and demanded forty million.

Bai Lan turned Nagumo’s low settlement offer into a confrontation, arguing that Nagumo controlled the second year’s points and resources and could afford far more. He began listing Nagumo’s alleged offenses and warned that Yonekura must have had an accomplice.

• Nagumo argued that Horikita Suzune’s forty-million settlement demand was impossible for Yonekura and offered eight million instead.
• Horikita Suzune deferred to Bai Lan, who kept the demand at forty million and then raised it to fifty million after Nagumo told him to get to the point.
• Nagumo lost his composure and accused Bai Lan of wasting time, while Bai Lan said Nagumo had provoked him first.
• Bai Lan accused Nagumo of controlling Second-Year Class D’s points, rankings, and allowances, so Nagumo—not Yonekura’s class—could afford the compensation.
• Bai Lan said Yonekura’s expulsion would cost Nagumo twenty million to prevent and began listing alleged offenses, including violence, framing, and misuse of public resources.

Bai Lan used the allegations against Yonekura and her accomplices to pressure Nagumo for a huge payment, arguing that their suspensions could cost Second-Year Class D its points and influence. Nagumo rejected the demand and offered eight million points while promising to support the class if its points were wiped out.

• Bai Lan told Horikita Manabu that Yonekura and her accomplices could face suspension for intentionally injuring a classmate, and Horikita agreed that suspension would be lenient.
• Bai Lan accused the group of fraud, and Yonekura admitted they had planned to seek one or two million points in compensation.
• Bai Lan raised his demand from fifty million to sixty million points, claiming that paying would protect the accomplices and preserve Nagumo's control over the second year.
• Nagumo rejected Bai Lan's demand, argued that the punishments could be avoided for less than twenty million points, and offered eight million.
• Nagumo claimed the class's points could not become negative and promised to organize donations so Second-Year Class D could continue living normally.

Bai Lan rejected Nagumo’s offer to pay 8.5 million points to settle the disciplinary case against Yonekura and the others. He then threatened to expose a leak of the first-year midterm questions, leaving Nagumo scrambling to stop him.

• Nagumo warned Bai Lan that punishing Yonekura and the others would invite revenge from their zero-point class, then offered him 8.5 million points to end the matter.
• Bai Lan pretended to accept Nagumo’s argument before insisting that the rulebreakers should be punished as required.
• Bai Lan briefly presented himself as an uncompromising Disciplinary Committee member, then admitted that Nagumo could not buy him off for 8.5 million points.
• Bai Lan hinted that Nagumo’s connections might not protect him from a genuine expulsion and reported to Horikita Manabu that the midterm questions had been leaked.
• Nagumo recognized that Bai Lan’s report threatened to expose the exam-paper scheme and hurriedly told him to wait.

Bai Lan planned to use past exam papers to make the midterm easier while exploiting their importance to threaten Nagumo over Karuizawa’s framing. After confirming that exam-paper overlap decreased over time, he concluded that second-year Classes C and D still relied heavily on past papers and could suffer mass expulsions without them.

• Bai Lan adjusted his plan to use past exam papers both to lower the midterm’s difficulty and to retaliate against whoever had framed Karuizawa.
• Bai Lan reasoned that underachievers could not reliably make up years of missed study in the short time between exams, leaving them at risk of eventual expulsion.
• Bai Lan inferred that the school gradually reduced the overlap between past papers and official exams as students advanced through the grades.
• Bai Lan paid a third-year senior to confirm his theory, and the senior verified that the overlap decreased over time.
• Bai Lan concluded that second-year Class D still depended on past papers and considered using the threat of expulsions in Classes C and D to pressure Nagumo.

Bai Lan used the leaked midterm questions to threaten Nagumo’s control of the second year and demanded that he choose between surrendering that control and paying seventy million. Nagumo suspected Bai Lan was bluffing, but Bai Lan produced exam papers as evidence before the student council president.

• Bai Lan’s earlier expulsions and point deductions left Nagumo facing dwindling income, rising costs, and the risk that the other second-year classes would rebel.
• Bai Lan told Nagumo he would report leaked midterm questions unless Nagumo gave up control of the second year or paid seventy million.
• Nagumo realized that a report could force the school to replace the exam questions and undermine his support, but he tried to convince himself Bai Lan would not dare.
• Bai Lan began reporting the leak to Horikita Manabu, who asked whether he had evidence.
• Bai Lan placed leaked first-year exam papers on Horikita Manabu’s desk, and Horikita and Nagumo examined them.

Bai Lan proved that the first-year midterm papers had been leaked and used the threat of exposing second-year papers to pressure Nagumo into negotiating. Nagumo claimed he had only about 16.6 million points, but Bai Lan suspected he had hidden the rest on an anonymous points card.

• Nagumo learned that the papers Bai Lan presented matched the upcoming first-year midterm exam, then panicked when Bai Lan reached for another stack of papers.
• Nagumo stopped Bai Lan and proposed discussing a settlement, while Bai Lan privately decided he had never intended to expose the second-year leak.
• Bai Lan and Nagumo moved to a corner and Bai Lan asked whether Nagumo had prepared eighty million points.
• Nagumo showed Bai Lan his account and transfer records, which appeared to contain only 16,648,742 points.
• Bai Lan suspected Nagumo had hidden points on an anonymous points card, and Nagumo had not yet answered.

Nagumo explained how the second year’s past losses and the cost of maintaining his rule had left him with only a little over seventeen million points. Bai Lan rejected his claim of being poor, calculated that Nagumo could earn far more in the future, and raised his proposed fee to one or two hundred million, prompting Nagumo to offer valuable information instead.

• Nagumo described how dropouts and class conflicts had drained the second year’s points before he unified it, leaving him only six months to build his current savings.
• Nagumo explained that he controlled the class-point rankings and spent heavily to maintain his rule, leaving him with a little over seventeen million points at his disposal.
• Bai Lan called Nagumo poor, then refused to let him off the hook when Nagumo asked him to accept less.
• Bai Lan projected Nagumo’s future earnings and demanded one or two hundred million points to preserve his rule.
• Nagumo protested that Bai Lan could not count on future earnings and offered to share information he had bought from upperclassmen, even without confidentiality.

Bai Lan used Nagumo’s fear of losing more money to secure a 50-million-point settlement for Karuizawa’s side, with Nagumo paying on Yonekura’s behalf. After the agreement was signed and the down payment was made, Bai Lan prepared to distribute the proceeds as Nagumo and the others hurried away.

• Nagumo told Bai Lan that first-year special exams offered the best opportunities to gain points, while later-year students mainly competed to preserve theirs.
• Bai Lan calculated Nagumo’s likely future income and persuaded him to accept Horikita Suzune’s 40-million-point demand, then pushed him to raise the settlement to 50 million.
• With Horikita Manabu witnessing, Nagumo’s side agreed to pay 50 million points in installments, accrue interest, and have Yonekura clean the women’s restroom for one semester.
• Yonekura accepted the terms, and Nagumo paid a 15-million-point down payment that Bai Lan received on Karuizawa’s behalf.
• Bai Lan announced that he would distribute the proceeds, prompting Nagumo and the other outsiders to hurry away.

Bai Lan divided the fifty million points from Karuizawa’s settlement among himself and the others, who had initially refused payment. On the way out, he explained to Horikita and Kushida how the school’s incentives and informal rules made the exam leak and private settlement possible.

• Hirata, Horikita, Kushida, and Karuizawa each said they would pass on a share of the money, though Kushida privately wanted some.
• Bai Lan insisted on paying them, giving each one hundred thousand points and Horikita an additional thirty thousand.
• Horikita asked Bai Lan about the leaked exam questions, and he explained that the school had left students access to old questions so weaker classes would not lose too many students at once.
• Horikita questioned whether the school could accept a private settlement over bullying and bodily harm, and Bai Lan said the parties could call it a misunderstanding if they withdrew their accusations.
• Bai Lan explained that the school could overlook informal rule violations when the outcome resolved the problem, punished the perpetrators, and maintained order.

Bai Lan explained why Yonekura remaining at school would not protect her from his planned revenge, then waited to act until he could collect more points. After the midterms, Hirata called to arrange a weekend meeting with Bai Lan.

• Karuizawa worried that Yonekura might retaliate against girls in their class, and Bai Lan assured her Yonekura would regret staying at school.
• Bai Lan decided to postpone beating Nagumo and Yonekura until after June 1 so he could collect points owed to him, and he counted his 16,638,480-point balance in his dormitory.
• Bai Lan found that the midterm exam questions had all been changed and that the new paper was unusually easy.
• The two-day midterm exams ended, and the students began their weekend break.
• Bai Lan attended a trial visit at the Kyudo Club when Hirata called and asked to meet him during the weekend.

Hirata asked Bai Lan to help him pursue his goal of creating a class without bullying after seeing how Bai Lan had trained Karuizawa to defend herself. The midterm results then confirmed that every student had passed, and Hirata prepared to address the class about an important matter.

• Hirata visited Bai Lan and confirmed that Bai Lan had helped Karuizawa turn the bullying case around and learn to fight back.
• Hirata realized Bai Lan’s training might help him eliminate bullying and asked Bai Lan to help him achieve his dream of a class without bullying.
• At Monday’s assembly, Chabashira announced the midterm results, and every student passed without facing expulsion.
• Chabashira explained that the class would learn its points from the midterm later, so the exam rewards and penalties were postponed.
• Hirata stood to tell the class something important, and Bai Lan recognized that he was about to discuss the matter they had worked on.

Bai Lan arranged for Karuizawa to teach First-Year Class B how to respond to bullying, turning her experience into a way to protect classmates and build her confidence. Karuizawa completed her first lesson at the morning assembly, while many students formed rescue networks and sought reliable allies.

• Bai Lan asked Karuizawa to teach the class anti-bullying techniques so she could test her skills, gain confidence, and build connections with her classmates.
• Hirata told the class that Karuizawa had been bullied and framed, warning that jealous students might target former Class D members and put them at risk of suspension or expulsion.
• At Hirata's request, Karuizawa agreed to explain how she had handled the crisis and presented her advice at the podium.
• Karuizawa taught the class to prepare backup plans, arrange coded calls for help, record evidence, share locations, bring companions, and reward rescuers with part of any compensation.
• Many students exchanged contact information and asked reliable classmates, including Hirata, to become their rescue allies.

Bai Lan and his classmates chose rescue targets while the end of May approached, and Sakura selected Karuizawa, who accepted despite doubting her ability to protect anyone. On June 1, the school announced the updated class scores, leaving Class B relieved to retain its rank but warned that Class C had nearly caught up.

• Bai Lan accepted several classmates’ piggyback applications, while Kushida rejected the boys who approached her and chose Onodera instead.
• Yamauchi, Ike, and Sudo offered to rescue Sakura, but Sakura called them perverts and hid behind Karuizawa.
• Sakura asked Karuizawa to be her rescue target, and Karuizawa accepted while Bai Lan assigned her 20% more daily training.
• Bai Lan received a 74,100-point allowance notification and calculated that the original Class D had gained at least 121 class points.
• Teacher Chazhu announced the new scores: Class A had 1,075 points, Class B 741, Class C 727, and Class D 220.
• Teacher Chazhu warned Class B that Class C had cut its lead from 40 points to 14 and that Class A had pulled farther ahead.

Bai Lan understood Chabashira’s hint that there would be no special exams before the final and learned that she was inviting him to cooperate. He examined the midterm bonus rules and explained how the former Class D’s 121 points and its score-control rewards and penalties were determined.

• Chabashira warned the former Class D not to grow complacent and hinted to Bai Lan that Ichinose’s Class would catch up by the final exam.
• Bai Lan inferred there would be no special exams before the final and recognized Chabashira’s hint as an invitation to cooperate.
• Bai Lan paid Chabashira 30,000 points for the detailed scoring sheet and learned that the former Class D earned 121 points from universal passes and high scores, with no deductions.
• Bai Lan reviewed the score-control plan he had set, which assigned students reward shares by option level and fines for failing their targets.

Bai Lan collected the former Class D members’ points and planned to redistribute them before his upcoming fight with Nagumo. At lunch, he confronted a girl he thought was cutting in line, but she stopped him before explaining why she had approached him.

• Bai Lan told the former Class D members to transfer all their points to Horikita and promised to post the redistribution details by the next day.
• Bai Lan announced the midterm earnings of several classmates to encourage everyone to earn points.
• Bai Lan went to the cafeteria, thinking about enjoying a good meal before his fight with Nagumo and possible expulsion.
• A purple-red-haired girl stepped in front of Bai Lan and began to say that someone wanted to treat him.
• Bai Lan slammed his hand against the wall beside the girl and told her not to cut in line, but she called out, “Wait!”