"This is too funny. Is this what they call the pot calling the kettle black?"
"What do you mean? Aren't we the ones who are a hundred steps ahead?"
"Looks like the animal friends in Class C are only capable of this much... It's rather disappointing," Konoe said, staring blankly.
"What did you say?!" Yamawaki, who had just been laughing stupidly, turned pale and glared viciously at Konoe.
Horikita followed up. "If you cause a scene here, who knows how things will turn out? The school might even expel whoever started it. Also, I don't mind if you badmouth us, but you're in Class C, aren't you? To be honest, it's not exactly a class you can brag about."
Yamawaki responded with a sneer. "The gap between Class C and Class A is clear as day, while you and Class D are in entirely different dimensions."
"Your standards are pretty pitiful. As far as I'm concerned, every class except Class A is exactly the same."
"Do you even know how big the gap in points is between our classes? You're talking pretty big. Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're cute."
"Thanks for that illogical comment. I've never cared about my looks, but getting complimented by you makes me feel pretty sick." Horikita wore a look of disgust.
"You people!" Yamawaki slammed the table and stood up.
The Class C students with him hurriedly grabbed his arm. "Hey, if this gets out of hand, it'll be bad if people find out we provoked them first."
Yamawaki forced another smile. "You know anyone who fails this exam will be expelled, right? I can't wait to see how many people in Class D get expelled—especially a few of you."
"Don't trouble yourself over us. No one in Class D is getting expelled. You should worry about your own class instead."
"We're not studying just to avoid failing. We're working hard to get better grades. Don't lump us together with you. Besides, you answered Francis Bacon and then sat there laughing. Is something wrong with your head? What's the point of studying things outside the exam scope?"
"Huh?"
"Hey, don't tell me you haven't even figured out what's on the exam. No wonder you're defective."
"Don't push it!" Sudo stepped forward and grabbed Yamawaki by the collar. Konoe wondered whether to use his position on the Student Council to rein them in. After all, if Sudo threw the first punch, things would be different.
"Okay, that's enough!" a clear, girlish voice called out.
Sudo paused for the moment. "Who are you? Outsiders shouldn't meddle!"
When Konoe saw who had spoken, he sensed trouble. He quietly stood up and edged toward the exit.
If she called him out here, not only would she accuse him of standing by and doing nothing, she might also reveal that he was on the Student Council. She was Ichinose Honami of Class B.
Ichinose calmly replied to Sudo, "An outsider? As students studying in the library, you're already disturbing everyone here. If you're determined to fight, could you please take it outside?"
Even Sudo, furious as he was, calmed down at her words and let go of Yamawaki.
"And you've gone too far with the provocation, too. If you keep this up, I'll have no choice but to report it to the School Administration... Huh?" Ichinose turned toward the Class D students, but didn't see Konoe. She rubbed her eyes.
"...Sorry, Ichinose. I didn't mean to." Hearing Ichinose's words seemed to remind Yamawaki of something. He hurriedly apologized, then left with the Class C students.
"...I still can't find him. That's strange. I'm sure I saw him just now... Oh, right. If you're going to keep studying here, try to keep it down." With that, Ichinose turned and left, leaving the Class D students with only the sight of her brisk retreat.
Th-That was close! When Ichinose was gone, Konoe crawled out from under the unoccupied table beside them and quietly returned to his seat.
A few students seemed to have seen him acting strangely just now, but Konoe figured that was a much smaller price to pay than being singled out by Ichinose.
"Wait, what did Yamawaki mean when he said something wasn't on the exam? What was that about?" Konoe came to his senses and looked at Ayanokoji.
"When Chabashira-sensei went over the exam scope, Horikita and I both wrote it down. We got the same results," Ayanokoji explained.
"Could each class be taking a different exam?" Ike asked, puzzled.
Kushida, who had already gotten the exam questions, immediately denied it. "No, the exams should be the same for every class in the grade."
"Let's go ask Chabashira-sensei right now," Konoe said, worried. "If there really was a mistake with the scope, it wouldn't just affect us. Hirata and the others could be in trouble, too."
Everyone nodded in agreement and decided to stop studying and head straight to the Teacher's Office. Just as Konoe was about to follow them, his phone rang.
The name on the screen was Ichinose Hano.
"You go on ahead. I'll catch up in a bit." After calling out to the others, Konoe answered the phone. "Hello, Ichinose."
"Konoe, this is a little sudden, but where are you right now?"
"...I'm in the library. Why?"
"Look behind you?"
Konoe turned around as her voice came through the phone again. "Konoe, it looks like I was right about what I saw earlier. Could you come over here?"
She hung up. At a bookshelf behind Konoe, Ichinose waved at him with a broad smile. From where she stood, she seemed to have a clear view of where Class D had held their study session.
Seeing Ichinose's smile, Konoe felt a little nervous, his conscience uneasy. He quickly walked over to her.
"What a coincidence. Are you studying at the library, too?" Konoe greeted Ichinose with a forced smile.
Ichinose nodded. "It really is a coincidence. I'm just here to kill time, but I accidentally got caught up in a dispute."
"Is that so? That's pretty unlucky."
"Yeah. I thought someone sitting over there would step in and sort things out, but the red-haired classmate's yelling kept echoing through the library."
"I-Is that so?" Konoe felt a cold sweat break out.
"Konoe, I've been reading here this whole time."
"..."
"Hehe, so you can make that kind of face?"
"I'm sorry, Ichinose." Konoe sincerely apologized for hiding the truth from her.
"I was just joking. You don't have to be so nervous. I'm sure you had your reasons for not stepping in. Oh, I almost forgot to congratulate you on joining the Student Council."
Even as a Student Council member, Konoe didn't really want to get involved when he saw a dispute. Watching the girl in front of him make excuses for him only made him feel guiltier.
"...Actually, I think you'd be a good fit for the Student Council, Ichinose. I guess I was just lucky."
"That's not true. I really admire you, Konoe. You figured out the school's rules right at the start, and now you're helping your classmates study for the Midterm Exam. I genuinely think you're better than me."
Konoe felt a little crushed. He'd used what he'd figured out about the school's rules to make points, and he was only helping with Midterm Exam studying because Chabashira-sensei was paying him in points. He really didn't deserve such praise from the girl in front of him. "You didn't call me over just to say hello, did you?"
"Honestly, you called me Ichinose just now, too. Is that okay? I'll call you Konoe, then."
"Is that so? All right."
"I feel like you're keeping your distance from me... Did I do something wrong?"
"Definitely not. I'm probably just being weird. Sorry."
"I know! You're still worried because I saw what happened earlier, right? Honestly, I told you I was only joking... How about this? You can owe me a favor."
Konoe had already felt a little guilty, so hearing Ichinose say that made him breathe a sigh of relief. "That works. Thanks, Ichinose."
"Lunch break's almost over. Want to head back together?"
"Did you forget we're in different classes? And did you really call me over just to say hello?" Konoe said helplessly.
"I also wanted to congratulate you on joining the Student Council! Besides, I was curious. I saw you, and then you suddenly disappeared. Where were you hiding just now?"
Konoe could only change the subject. "...Let's go. We can walk together as far as the School Building."
Before you continue