The Mind Palace's Answer

At night, Konoe lay in bed, constantly replying to messages on his mobile phone.

It seemed that Konoe's tutoring sessions for his classmates had been effective, making Class D understand that Konoe wasn't as cold as he appeared. With his outstanding looks, Konoe naturally received attention from girls.

Wanting to grasp the class's situation, Konoe had proactively exchanged contact information with most of his classmates, which unexpectedly led to a side effect.

His phone was constantly buzzing with messages from girls, mostly invitations for lunch, and some even boldly sent date invitations directly through the phone.

Finally, annoyed, Konoe tossed his phone aside. There were too many messages, so he decided to adopt a cold approach and set his phone to mute. He had some things to sort out in his Mind Palace and didn't have time to deal with his classmates one by one.

As always, the first step was to organize the problems:

Why did Horikita Manabu want Horikita Suzune to be expelled so badly? Was his so-called test today serious?

Was there a common solution for the opening mini-test and the midterm exam?

Although Kushida Kikyo hadn't approached him again, why did Horikita dislike Kushida so much?

After a stream of dream-like thoughts, Konoe found the answers within minutes.

First, regarding Horikita Manabu, his intention to have Horikita Suzune expelled was likely genuine. However, Horikita Suzune respected and even had good feelings towards her older brother, so they wouldn't be enemies.

Given Horikita Manabu's personality and the rumors, he wouldn't resort to framing his own sister to get her expelled. In fact, their conversation suggested that Horikita Manabu wanted his sister to understand something. This school, which seemed unsuitable for Horikita Suzune, was actually perfect for her.

Therefore, the only reason for her expulsion would be his fear that his sister couldn't handle Horikita Manabu's own enemies. Thinking about it this way, today's test might have indeed been just a test.

Second, the reason Horikita disliked Kushida was probably because she had learned about Kushida's true nature from somewhere before. During their chat at the cafe, Horikita seemed to know some things about Kushida. In the library, she had even directly pointed out Kushida's hidden hypocrisy. Given Horikita's cold attitude towards everyone, Kushida's future interactions with her would only increase the pressure.

Finally, regarding the midterm exam, ordinary students couldn't answer the questions even with their textbooks open. The difficulty of the Student Council's questions today was even doubled. Horikita Manabu was surprised that Konoe could solve his interview questions on the spot. Since students normally couldn't solve them, and textbooks didn't teach them, it meant there must be original questions.

It seemed Chabashira-sensei's words, "Think carefully, then strive to avoid expulsion," referred to this. A senior from Class D must have the original exam questions.

Knowing that Horikita Manabu had no ill intentions and understanding the strategy for the midterm exam, the ten thousand points seemed within easy reach. Konoe fell asleep with peace of mind.

Just a week into May, although it was already summer, the air was still a bit chilly.

Hirata's study sessions were progressing steadily, and Konoe was preparing to tutor his classmates as usual. Although he had to report to the Student Council after school, classes ended at 3 PM, so he should be able to make it to the 5 PM study session. Therefore, Konoe planned to juggle both.

As soon as he entered the classroom, Konoe noticed people constantly chatting with him. To be precise, girls kept inviting him to have lunch together during the break or to hang out somewhere after school.

Konoe didn't dislike interacting with people, he just preferred solitude. So, he had to put on a cold demeanor and refuse them one by one.

Konoe glanced towards Ayanokoji's direction. He seemed to be talking to Horikita about something. It appeared that even after the conflict with Sudo, Horikita was completely unfazed.

Konoe started chatting with Ayanokoji on his mobile phone.

Konoe: "I ran away earlier, sorry. By the way, what happened after that?"

Ayanokoji: "Thanks to you, I've officially become Horikita's slave."

Konoe: "...Weren't you already? So, are you going to start helping? How are Horikita's study sessions progressing?"

Ayanokoji: "Sudo and the others are quite angry, but Horikita seems indifferent. However, we might need to wait a while before Horikita makes another move."

Konoe: "Why do you sound like I was there... I was indeed there that day, but I didn't greet you, did I?"

Ayanokoji: "I just saw you at the time."

Why do I always get discovered? Could it be that Ayanokoji and people skilled in combat like Horikita Manabu have some kind of aura-sensing skill? Konoe pondered helplessly.

Konoe: "Alright, but looking at the trio, even if they start studying hard from now on, there's a high chance they'll fail, let alone the fact that they've already given up. So, I have an idea..."

Ayanokoji: "What idea?"

Konoe: "Let's discuss it in detail during lunch."

Ayanokoji: "Then let's meet at the place where we had lunch last time."

Ayanokoji was likely referring to the time Horikita treated them to lunch.

Konoe put his phone back in his bag. He had actually been thinking that making students study hard to pass the midterm exam seemed fine, but it felt very out of place in this school.

Since the school didn't divide students based on grades, it certainly wouldn't select and eliminate them solely based on grades.

"Konoe, do you have some free time now?" a cute girl's voice called out.

Konoe looked up, and his face instantly stiffened. The person who had approached him was none other than Kushida Kikyo.

Although Konoe had told her he wanted to be friends with her that day, the thought of Kushida's actions and his own powerlessness at the time still made him a little scared.

"...What is it? Kushida-san." Konoe unconsciously added the honorific.

"How annoying, Konoe. Didn't you call me 'Little Kushida' before? Don't be so serious," she said.

Ignoring the stares from the girls around them, Konoe continued, "...Kushida, what do you need?"

"Can't I just come to say hello if there's nothing else? Konoe is such a heartless person, especially after saying those things to me before..." Kushida put on a pitiful act.

"Don't say things that could be misunderstood!" Konoe's voice involuntarily rose a little.

"I'm just joking. Who told you not to reply to my messages? You won't blame me, will you, Konoe?"

Messages? What messages?

Konoe took out his phone and scrolled through it repeatedly. It took him two or three tries to find Kushida's text message. Seeing this, Kushida wore an expression of understanding.

22:24:01

Kushida Kikyo: Hey, were you serious earlier?

Kushida Kikyo: You were lying before, weren't you? Was that just an excuse to escape?

Kushida Kikyo: I understand, then let's just pretend nothing happened...

Kushida Kikyo: You won't say anything weird in class tomorrow, right? I haven't even washed that outfit yet!

...It felt a bit heavy.

There were two more messages, but Konoe didn't want to read them.

"Kushida, it was my bad for not seeing your message, but what normal person messages at this hour? Also... what I said that day was my genuine thought..." Recalling his actions that day, Konoe couldn't help but blush.

"...I'll forgive you this time. It seems Konoe is more popular with girls than I imagined. Are you free for lunch today? Some female classmates want to thank you for the tutoring."

"...Sorry, I already made plans to eat with Ayanokoji."

"I knew you'd refuse, so they sent me to thank you on their behalf. I'll treat you to lunch today, can I join you?"

"But..." Konoe had something he wanted to discuss with Ayanokoji privately.

"I can join, right?" Although Kushida spoke in a cute tone, Konoe suddenly felt a chill.

"...Okay."

"Great! See you at lunch then!" Kushida struck a cute pose and waved goodbye. After she left, she quickly started chatting with another group of girls, and soon the girls over there collectively let out sounds of admiration.

'Ayanokoji... won't blame me, right? But it might be good to let Kushida join.' Konoe thought to himself.

At noon, as soon as the dismissal bell rang, Kushida immediately came to Konoe's side. Konoe had no choice but to bring her to the student cafeteria, as he and Ayanokoji had already agreed on a meeting spot.

"Konoe, what do you want to eat? My treat."

"Then I'll choose that Kaiseki over there for 5000 points..."

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Did you say the Salt-Grilled Fish Set Meal?" Kushida suddenly interrupted Konoe.

"...At least change it to the Fried Pork Cutlet one."

After getting their food, the two went to the spot Ayanokoji had mentioned, but there was another person there besides Ayanokoji.

"...Horikita, hello." Konoe hadn't expected Ayanokoji to bring Horikita, but since he had brought Kushida, he had no right to say anything.

"Konoe, I heard Ayanokoji say you were here to report on the study session results. Did I mishear?" Horikita asked, then looked at Ayanokoji.

Konoe also looked at Ayanokoji, who had to step in, "Horikita, Kushida helped us before so Sudo and the others could join the study session. Is there anything wrong with just sitting down to eat?"

"Sorry... I forced myself to come with Konoe. Did I disturb you?" Kushida put on a guilty expression.

"No, I also wanted to bring Kushida to help. Actually, the midterm exam might not be that simple." To ease the awkward atmosphere, Konoe got straight to the point.

"What do you mean?" Hearing Konoe's words, Horikita stopped paying attention to Kushida and asked directly.

"I actually think there might be other ways to pass the midterm exam. Otherwise, it's too unreasonable."

Upon hearing this, the other three looked in Konoe's direction.