"Tennoji, could you check whether I solved this problem correctly?"
In the school library, Kinoshita Minori handed Kaede her workbook.
The study session for Class C was still sparsely attended. Including the regulars, Hiyori and Ibuki, there were fewer than ten of them.
Their class had slacked off quite a bit after getting the Archaeological Questions early, but Kaede had expected as much.
As for Kinoshita Minori, she was a member of the Athletics Club.
Kaede had recently exchanged a few words with her at the study sessions, which had reminded him that she was the unlucky girl from the Original Work whose left leg was broken twice in a row.
The first time, Ryuen deliberately injured her left leg, causing her to pretend Horikita had hit her during the Sports Festival.
The second time was during another Deserted Island Exam in the distant future, when the White Room's assassin, Yagami, ambushed her and wrecked her left leg again.
Kaede sensed a certain malice in her tragic fate, so he had been diligently tutoring Kinoshita at these study sessions. It was a way of making amends, at least.
"Kinoshita, you did a good job on the problems. Your fundamentals may be a little weak, but you got the Archaeological Questions and still chose to attend every study session. With an attitude like that, your academic ability is sure to improve a lot."
Kinoshita had brown hair styled much like Karuizawa Kei's, and a personality that was gentle on the outside but strong-willed underneath.
Hearing Kaede's praise, she nodded and thanked him, looking embarrassed.
Thanks to the study sessions he had held over the past two weeks, Kaede had met quite a few new classmates and subtly changed their future standing in Class C. In the process, he had also racked up a huge number of points in White Room Karma. The details could be skipped for now.
Meanwhile, something interesting—and not entirely unexpected—was happening in the area where Class D's study session was being held.
Tennoji Kaede shifted his seat and listened in with his exceptional hearing... though there was probably no need to. They were being pretty loud over there.
"Horikita! Who do you think you are, talking to me like that?"
Red-haired Ken Sudō slammed his fist on the table in a fit of rage, completely ignoring the library's silence rules. Judging by his stance, he might really hit Horikita.
If Kaede remembered correctly, Class D's painstakingly organized study session was about to end in disaster.
But then, an unexpected turn of events!
Horikita, who seemed to have grown a little, didn't mock the Three Idiots. Instead, she calmly explained the relationship between individual grades and the interests of the class, among other things.
With Kushida smoothing things over beside her, the Three Idiots actually felt so ashamed that they kept studying.
"People really do suddenly grow up without even realizing it." Perhaps Tennoji Kaede deserved a third of the credit for Horikita's rapid growth.
The farce at Class D's study session ended. It had drawn everyone's attention for a while, but caused no other trouble.
Tennoji Kaede and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had both noticed Horikita's growth, though each had their own thoughts about it.
Afterward, Tennoji Kaede continued keeping a close eye on Class D's study session, where a few more absurd things happened.
At one point, Horikita Suzune handed Ken Sudō a notebook filled with her own notes. It seemed she had prepared it in advance.
After accepting it, Sudō visibly developed a bit of a crush on Horikita.
After all, no matter what, Horikita was gorgeous. With her long, straight black hair and oval face, she was the very image of an icy beauty when she wasn't speaking.
To put it plainly, Sudō had instantly fallen for her looks! (Back in the day, before Ayanokoji had gotten Kei and before the invincible Volume 4 had come out, even the author was drooling over Horikita every day, but...)
And when Kaede thought about some later events in the Original Work, like Ayanokoji smiling for the first time and all that, he had good reason to raise a serious question:
Did Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's instincts like Horikita's type too?
At that moment, a purple-haired Class C boy with a melancholy expression, Shi Renyu, suddenly asked, "Tennoji, are you really interested in those people from Class D?"
"...Don't you think it's interesting, Tokito? By the way, that Shi Renkeji in Class B is your relative, right?" Kaede chatted casually.
His attention was still on Class D, because he had noticed another strange anomaly.
"Yeah, it seems like everyone's heard about it by now... Keji ended up in Class B. With his physical abilities, that makes sense. He's a lot stronger than me. Sigh..."
The others at the Class C study session offered words of comfort.
The dozen or so students attending the session were the Class C classmates Tennoji Kaede approved of most. The rest were either Ryuen's loyalist lackeys or girls who were difficult to talk to.
So Class C had now split into three factions:
The dozen or so people who had gravitated toward the three members of the Tennoji Group through these study sessions;
The dozen or so members of the tyrant's party, led by Ryuen;
And the final dozen or so, scattered among other little cliques and huddling together for warmth in Class C.
Looking across the entire First Year:
Class A was divided between two rival parties (Yanagi Toy House);
Class B was governed by republicanism (Honami Harem Group);
Class C was the Three Kingdoms (Kaede Ryuen United Nations);
And Class D was ruled from behind the scenes (Lú Gē Toolbox).
The atmosphere in each class was really obvious at a glance.
Studying was always a mix of pain and pleasure, and dusk was falling.
That was about all the preparation they could do before the Midterm Exam... Hmm?
Tennoji Kaede said to the others, "Something just came up. I'll head out for today. You can wrap things up as usual."
Shiina Hiyori asked, "Is something wrong?"
"No... There's something I'm interested in. I'll get going."
The study session for Class D had already ended, and Ayanokoji, Horikita, and the others had left long ago. But that person's behavior seemed a little strange...
Kaede quickly made his way to the indoor walkway in the library.
"Ah! Tennoji, is Class C heading back already?"
[Detected 'Ichinose Honami' as a failing answer on the Black House's 1-point exam] [Deployed 'Ichinose Honami's Causal Mark] ['Cause': Ichinose Honami had recently been troubled by Class C's persistent entanglements. Ryuen's stubbornness weighed on her, so she came to you] ['Effect': Charisma +5, Leadership Style +10, Encyclopedia Knowledge +5, Transfer Skills +1]
Tennoji Kaede mused that he was practically a master thief by now...
Kaede happened to run into Ichinose Honami, the leader of Class B, in the walkway. They had all become familiar faces at the library lately.
"Yeah. I'm guessing you and everyone in Class B will be studying late into the night... Sorry, I have something to do, so I'll be heading out."
"All right..."
Ichinose sighed inwardly as Kaede left. She had wanted to use Tennoji, who seemed so easy to get along with, to pass a message to Ryuen. Something like: she hoped Class C would stop pestering Class B.
Unfortunately, thanks to Kaede's deliberate maneuvering, Ichinose had never gotten a straight answer.
Not far ahead of Kaede, near the School Building.
Yamauchi Haruki was actually sneaking around and following Kushida Kikyo?
"Well, that's surprising. Where did Ayanokoji go?"
Kaede couldn't sense Ayanokoji's presence. He should have left with Horikita just now.
Back in the library, Kushida and Yamauchi had often exchanged glances, giving off a strange vibe.
"They really went into the School Building? Interesting. Let's go take a look!"
Kaede reached into his pocket and felt the special item he had hastily prepared earlier. An odd smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
As dusk fell, he waited for the right moment, then followed Kushida and Yamauchi into the School Building...
Before you continue