Chapter Summaries

Kazehara Tetsu ran into Horikita Suzune at a convenience store, where they argued about his relationships with other women and the risks of making them public. Horikita gave him chocolate as a reminder that she still owed him a favor, then left as they both headed toward the Dormitory.

• Kazehara Tetsu encountered Horikita Suzune while shopping at a convenience store, and she accused him of following her.
• Horikita criticized Kazehara Tetsu for openly exposing his complicated relationships, while he argued that secrets would eventually be uncovered anyway.
• Horikita bought a box of dark chocolate and waited outside the store for Kazehara Tetsu.
• Horikita gave Kazehara Tetsu the chocolate, saying it reminded him that she would repay the favor she owed him.
• Horikita left, and Kazehara Tetsu headed toward the Dormitory in the same direction.

Ichinose Honami visited Kazehara Tetsu's dorm room late at night, pretending she wanted help with math before admitting she had another reason for coming. The chapter ended with her presenting him with a carefully wrapped handmade gift.

• Kazehara Tetsu returned to his dorm room and found Ichinose Honami waiting outside his door.
• Ichinose Honami asked to come inside, and Kazehara Tetsu let her into his tidy room.
• Kazehara Tetsu teased Ichinose Honami about visiting a boy's room late at night, and she claimed she had come to ask about math problems.
• Ichinose Honami admitted her excuse was a lie and offered Kazehara Tetsu a handmade gift.

Kazehara Tetsu accepted Ichinose Honami’s chocolate and honestly described the kind of girl he liked, leaving her flustered and questioning her feelings for him. Ichinose returned to the hallway unsure whether she loved him and decided she still needed time.

• Kazehara Tetsu accepted the gift from Ichinose Honami and said he liked pretty girls who stayed true to themselves regardless of others’ opinions.
• Ichinose Honami abruptly left Kazehara Tetsu’s room after his answer unsettled her.
• In the elevator, Ichinose Honami wondered whether Kazehara Tetsu had offered his earlier advice for her sake and realized he had become uniquely important to her.
• Ichinose Honami considered the conflict between her possible feelings for Kazehara Tetsu and their rival classes, then concluded she needed more time.

Class A prepared for the year-end exams under Katsuragi Kouhei’s leadership, growing more united after a string of victories. On exam day, Ichinose Honami found Kazehara Tetsu looking tired, but he admitted he had spent his time reading novels rather than studying.

• Class A students faced a difficult mock exam that served as preparation for the Final Exam.
• After the mock exam, Katsuragi Kouhei organized question reviews, printed targeted materials, and arranged study groups for Class A.
• Kazehara Tetsu reflected on how Class A’s victories had brought its former factions together and fostered a genuine sense of belonging.
• On February 25, Ichinose Honami greeted Kazehara Tetsu in the hallway and asked why he looked tired before the exam.
• Kazehara Tetsu told Ichinose Honami he had been reading novels and had not studied textbooks in the days before the Final Exam.

Before the exams, Ichinose Honami challenged Kazehara Tetsu to compete for the top spot, and after the exams she chose to spend time with him instead of joining her classmates. The chapter ended with Kazehara asking what she wanted to do together.

• Ichinose Honami told Kazehara Tetsu she might take the year’s top spot from him, and he encouraged her to try.
• Kazehara finished the exams without worrying about his answers and left school at dusk.
• Ichinose turned down invitations from Chihiro-chan and Kanzaki-kun so she could find Kazehara.
• Ichinose explained that she had learned she could put off others’ requests and choose what she wanted without damaging their trust.
• Kazehara took Ichinose’s wrist and asked where she wanted to go or what she wanted to do.

Kazehara Tetsu accompanied Ichinose Honami to Keyaki Mall after she invited him shopping, despite warning her he would be an uninspired companion. Ichinose browsed clothing stores without settling on a purchase, leaving their shopping trip ongoing.

• Ichinose Honami asked Kazehara Tetsu how the Final Exam had gone, and he dismissed score predictions as pointless.
• Ichinose Honami predicted Kazehara Tetsu would earn a perfect score or something close to it, but he cut their exam talk short.
• Kazehara Tetsu asked where Ichinose Honami wanted to go, and she invited him shopping.
• Kazehara Tetsu and Ichinose Honami went to Keyaki Mall, where she browsed clothing stores while he waited and gave her an opinion on an outfit.
• Ichinose Honami decided against the outfit after finding its neckline strange.

Ichinose Honami took Kazehara Tetsu through several shops, bought a white cat-ear hair clip, and then brought him to the arcade to win him a stuffed animal. She kept failing at a claw machine and remained determined to try again.

• Ichinose Honami repeatedly browsed shops without buying anything until Kazehara Tetsu complained about the exhausting shopping trip.
• Ichinose Honami tried on a white cat-ear clip, teased Kazehara Tetsu by attempting to put the matching black one on him, and bought the white clip.
• Ichinose Honami led Kazehara Tetsu to the arcade, saying she wanted to win a stuffed animal for him.
• Ichinose Honami tried several times to grab a pink pig plush with a claw machine, but the toy slipped from the claw each time.

Kazehara Tetsu won Ichinose Honami a plush pig at an arcade and accompanied her shopping, where she bought him gray fur-lined gloves. They parted at the mall entrance after sharing a happy outing and agreeing to see each other at school the next day.

• Ichinose Honami failed to win a plush pig after five tries, but Kazehara Tetsu used leverage and timing to win it for her.
• Ichinose Honami thanked Kazehara Tetsu and jokingly named the plushie the “Kazehara Pig.”
• Kazehara Tetsu questioned whether buying winter gloves so late in the season was practical, but Ichinose Honami insisted the gift was about thoughtfulness.
• Ichinose Honami chose gray fur-lined gloves, checked that they fit Kazehara Tetsu, and paid for them.
• Kazehara Tetsu and Ichinose Honami said goodbye outside the mall and planned to see each other at school the next day.

Class A passed the End of Year Exam, but Majima warned that a major Special Exam was expected to begin on March 8. Later, Kazehara Tetsu encountered Student Council President Miyabi Nagumo and former president Horikita Manabu, and Nagumo challenged him about the exam and criticized Manabu.

• Majima Tomoya posted Class A’s End of Year Exam results and announced that every student had passed.
• Majima warned Class A that a major Special Exam was expected to begin on March 8.
• Kazehara Tetsu ran into Miyabi Nagumo and Horikita Manabu outside a restroom on the first-year floor.
• Nagumo asked Kazehara about the exam and teased him for being cold, while taking a jab at Manabu.

Miyabi Nagumo orchestrated a meeting with Horikita Manabu and Horikita Suzune, using an invitation email to probe the siblings and provoke Manabu. Suzune rejected Nagumo’s invitation to join the Student Council, while Kazehara Tetsu watched from the sidelines.

• Nagumo confronted Kazehara Tetsu about his perfect exam score, and Tetsu challenged him for checking his grades and asking a question whose answer he already knew.
• Horikita Suzune arrived after receiving an unfamiliar email, revealing that Nagumo had arranged the meeting with the Horikita siblings.
• Nagumo scrutinized Suzune and remarked that it was a waste for Manabu’s sister to be in Class D, then suggested she join the Student Council.
• Manabu warned Nagumo that using Suzune as leverage would not make him give in, and accused Nagumo of exploiting anything he could to win.
• Manabu said his abilities had nothing to do with his sister’s, and Suzune agreed that she was not qualified to serve as a Student Council officer and declined Nagumo’s invitation.

After Nagumo left, Horikita Suzune, Horikita Manabu, and Kazehara discussed the coming March 8th Special Exam and Manabu’s approaching graduation. Manabu promised Suzune he would graduate from Class A, while Suzune vowed to show him how far she could climb; Kazehara wondered whether the exam would happen at all.

• Nagumo left Horikita Suzune and Horikita Manabu, and Suzune questioned Kazehara about his conveniently timed arrival.
• Horikita Manabu confirmed Kazehara had merely been passing by, and Suzune turned the conversation to the Special Exam scheduled for March 8th.
• Kazehara said Class A was likely to win if it avoided mistakes, while Horikita Manabu warned him not to get complacent.
• Horikita Manabu assured Suzune he would graduate from Class A and asked how far she could climb before he left the school.
• Suzune promised to show Manabu her progress, then thanked Kazehara before hurrying back toward class.
• Kazehara followed and wondered whether the March 8th exam would take place at all.

On March 2, Majima Tomoya announced the School Authority’s sudden Class Vote exam, which would make Class A students judge one another for praise and criticism. The student with the most praise would receive protection from expulsion, while the student with the most criticism would be expelled, leaving the class facing an internal purge.

• Majima Tomoya told Class A that the School Authority had ordered an Additional Special Exam, and Kazehara Tetsu suspected it was tied to the power struggle involving Tsukishiro Tokinari and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
• Katsuragi Kouhei asked what the exam involved, and Majima Tomoya named it the Class Vote.
• Majima Tomoya explained that students would spend four days evaluating classmates, then anonymously cast three praise votes and three criticism votes.
• Majima Tomoya announced that the student receiving the most praise votes would earn a bound Protection Point that could cancel an expulsion penalty.
• Majima Tomoya clarified that only the student with the most criticism votes would be expelled and that the class would lose no Class Points, setting students against one another.

Majima Tomoya explained the rules of the Special Additional Exam, which required Class A to cast praise and criticism votes and ultimately expel one student. After the briefing, Katsuragi Kouhei asked Kagihara for his thoughts on the exam.

• Majima Tomoya explained that praise and criticism votes canceled each other out, but every student had to nominate three classmates in each section.
• Katsuragi Kouhei proposed coordinating votes so the class would tie at zero, but Majima said tied students would face another vote until one was chosen for expulsion.
• Majima added that students had to praise one student from each of the other three classes, and confirmed that Twenty Million Personal Points could still prevent expulsion.
• Majima warned that threats and violence would be punished, then ended the briefing and reminded the students that the final vote was four days away.
• After Majima left, Katsuragi urged Class A to stay calm and asked Kagihara what he thought of the vote.

Kazehara Tetsu took charge of Class A’s response to the Class Vote, insisting that everyone pool Personal Points to fund the expulsion safety net and warning that dissenters would face special treatment. After securing the class’s compliance, he asked who should receive the Praise Votes and Protection Points, but nobody answered.

• Kazehara Tetsu told Sakayanagi Arisu to wait while he handled the upcoming exams, and she accepted his challenge with a smile.
• Kazehara Tetsu dismissed the class’s panic and said he would not give up on anyone yet, explaining that Class A could afford the two-million-Point safety net.
• Kazehara Tetsu threatened special treatment for students who refused to pool funds or follow the class strategy, then asked anyone unwilling to contribute to raise a hand.
• No one raised a hand, so Kazehara Tetsu ordered every student to give him five hundred thousand Personal Points before dinner.
• Kazehara Tetsu asked the class to decide who would receive the Praise Votes and Protection Points, but no one volunteered to speak.

Kazehara Tetsu declined Class A’s Protection Points, prompting Katsuragi Kouhei to propose a class election. Sakayanagi Arisu narrowly won the vote, and accepted the class’s support.

• Hashimoto Masayoshi jokingly asked for the Protection Points, but Katsuragi Kouhei argued they should go to a capable student who might be targeted in a future exam.
• Kazehara Tetsu refused the reward, saying it should protect someone likely to become a target and that he had other business to handle.
• Katsuragi Kouhei proposed an election, and Kazehara Tetsu agreed to let Class A choose the recipient.
• Katsuragi organized a secret ballot, with neutral students helping count the votes in public.
• Sakayanagi Arisu defeated Katsuragi Kouhei by two votes, accepted the result, and agreed to receive the Protection Points.

Kazehara Tetsu met Ichinose Honami, who asked to borrow three million Personal Points so Class B could buy an Immunity Medal and prevent an expulsion. He agreed to lend her the money without interest, leaving Ichinose deeply grateful.

• Kazehara Tetsu encountered Ichinose Honami and noticed she was exhausted from carrying Class B's expectations.
• Ichinose Honami explained that Class B was three million Personal Points short of buying a twenty-million-point Immunity Medal.
• Ichinose Honami asked Kazehara Tetsu to lend Class B the missing three million points.
• Kazehara Tetsu agreed immediately and said he would lend the money from his personal account.
• Kazehara Tetsu joked that he was more interested in Ichinose Honami's body, then clarified that she could repay the loan at face value after Class B recovered.
• Ichinose Honami bowed deeply and thanked Kazehara Tetsu.

Ichinose Honami asked Kazehara Tetsu about repaying the three million Points he had lent Class B, then encountered Ryuen Kakeru and asked how he planned to handle the Expulsion Voting Exam. After Ryuen said he would do nothing and accepted that Class D might vote him out, Kazehara stayed behind to speak with him alone.

• Ichinose Honami offered to write Kazehara Tetsu an IOU for the three million Points, but he declined.
• Ichinose Honami and Kazehara Tetsu met Ryuen Kakeru on the Tree-lined Path while he was reading.
• Ichinose Honami asked Ryuen Kakeru what he planned to do about the Expulsion Voting Exam.
• Ryuen Kakeru said he would take no action and did not care whether his classmates expelled him.
• Ichinose Honami left for the Dormitory, while Kazehara Tetsu stayed behind to talk to Ryuen Kakeru alone.

Kazehara Tetsu confronted Ryuen Kakeru about secretly continuing to control Class D after publicly stepping down as its leader. Ryuen denied it, but Kazehara pointed to the class’s suspicious calm, leaving the accusation hanging between them.

• Kazehara Tetsu sat beside Ryuen Kakeru, and the two shared a long, quiet pause.
• Kazehara Tetsu remarked that the school year was nearly over, but Ryuen Kakeru dismissed his reflections.
• Kazehara Tetsu accused Ryuen Kakeru of secretly orchestrating events in Class D, and Ryuen denied having any involvement.
• Kazehara Tetsu argued that Class D’s lack of turmoil after Ryuen’s public retirement suggested someone was still keeping the class in line.
• Kazehara Tetsu concluded that Ryuen Kakeru was the invisible hand maintaining Class D’s calm, and Ryuen fell silent.

Kazehara Tetsu exposed Ryuen Kakeru’s plan to use the Expulsion Voting Exam to expel Manabe Shiho while hiding his control over Class D. Ryuen admitted his intentions and vowed to lead Class D toward Class A when the time was right.

• Ryuen Kakeru accepted Kazehara Tetsu’s deduction that he still controlled Class D and had pretended the voting exam threatened his own expulsion.
• Ryuen Kakeru revealed that he planned to make Manabe Shiho the top vote-getter and expel her as a useless Chess Piece.
• Kazehara Tetsu explained that Ryuen’s plan would remove an internal threat while preserving his retirement disguise, and Ryuen said he had learned to use rules and people’s hearts instead of force.
• Ryuen Kakeru asked how Kazehara Tetsu knew about events in other classes, and Kazehara said he watched the undercurrents and had expected to help Ichinose Honami’s Class B.
• Ryuen Kakeru said he would first make Class D easier to control, then lead it toward Class A and challenge every class, with Kazehara Tetsu as his final opponent.
• Kazehara Tetsu agreed, and the two rested quietly together on the bench.

Kazehara Tetsu encountered Horikita Suzune, Horikita Manabu, and Tachibana Akane beneath a beech tree on the eve of Expulsion Voting Day. He confirmed Class A would spend Personal Points to protect every student, while Horikita Suzune remained unable to unite Class C and Kazehara noticed something unusual about the former Student Council members spending time together.

• Kazehara reviewed the classes' preparations for Expulsion Voting Day: Class A was united, Class B had secured an Immunity Medal, Class D had chosen Manabe Shiho as its sacrifice, and Class C was in disarray.
• Kazehara spotted Horikita Suzune, Horikita Manabu, and Tachibana Akane talking beneath a beech tree, and Horikita Suzune waved him over.
• Kazehara jokingly told Horikita Suzune he could not lend her Twenty Million Personal Points, but she clarified that she had not asked him for money.
• Horikita Suzune asked whether Class A planned to use Personal Points to protect all its students, and Kazehara confirmed the class had enough points and had agreed to save everyone.
• Horikita Suzune showed envy and resentment at Class A's unity, while Kazehara wondered why Horikita Manabu and Tachibana Akane were still spending time together after leaving the Student Council.