Chapter Summaries

Hoshino Kanade accepted that he loved Kiyona and wanted to protect their relationship as they read together in the library. Shiina Hiyori joined them and quietly realized that their intimacy had left her feeling like an outsider.

• Hoshino Kanade reflected on his relationship with Kiyona and chose to cherish the peace and closeness they shared.
• Shiina Hiyori arrived at the library and saw Hoshino Kanade and Kiyona reading in an intimate embrace.
• Shiina Hiyori greeted them, and Hoshino Kanade and Kiyona returned her greeting.
• Shiina Hiyori tried to join the reading group but felt a new distance between herself and the couple.

Shiina Hiyori recognized that she wanted genuine closeness with Hoshino Kanade and Kiyona, and considered letting them see her vulnerable side. In Class D, Hirata Yosuke proposed a daily study group for the midterms, but Sudō refused to join and Ike and Yamauchi hesitated.

• Shiina Hiyori offered Hoshino Kanade a coffee refill, then wondered whether she could accept the responsibilities and vulnerability of joining his connection with Kiyona.
• Kiyona invited Shiina to bring The Klein Bottle to the next book club, and Shiina realized her fear of rejection had helped create the distance between them.
• Hirata Yosuke announced a daily after-school study group to prepare students for the midterms and encouraged anyone who wanted to improve to attend.
• Several students with failing grades eagerly gathered around Hirata, but Ken Sudō rejected the proposal while Kanji Ike and Yamauchi Haruki held back.

Horikita Suzune struggled to find a way to help Class D’s failing students, then confronted Horikita Manabu, who forced her to face how she had used her desire to catch up to him to avoid examining herself. She decided to stop chasing her brother and, back in her room, considered reaching out to Kushida Kikyo despite her distrust.

• Horikita Suzune realized she could not tutor Sudo, Ike, and Yamauchi on her own and considered asking Kushida Kikyo for help, though she distrusted her.
• Horikita Manabu confronted Horikita Suzune, attacked her, and demanded that she drop out of school.
• Horikita Manabu accused Horikita Suzune of using her ambition to catch up to him to avoid facing Class D’s problems and her own shortcomings.
• Horikita Suzune accepted that she had been hiding behind her obsession with her brother and declared she would try to surpass her own limits instead.
• Back in her dorm room, Horikita Suzune opened her contacts to Kushida Kikyo, weighed her aversion against Class D’s dire situation, and found her resolve wavering.

Horikita Suzune swallowed her pride and asked Kushida Kikyo to bring Sudō, Ike, and Yamauchi to Hirata’s study group. When she discovered how weak their math foundations were, she abandoned her original lesson plan and started over with middle school basics.

• Horikita called Kushida and asked for help getting Sudō, Ike, and Yamauchi to attend the study group, then exchanged LINE IDs with her.
• Kushida persuaded Sudō, Ike, and Yamauchi to sit down with Horikita in the library.
• Horikita tried teaching the boys basic equations, but Ike could not solve a simple example and Sudō admitted he could not recognize all the letters in the alphabet.
• Horikita told Kushida to find first-year middle school math textbooks and decided to rebuild the lesson plan from the basics.
• Under Horikita’s stern pressure, Sudō, Ike, and Yamauchi opened the middle school textbooks.

As midterms approached, Hoshino Kanade, Ayanokoji Kiyona, and Shiina Hiyori struggled to study in the library while classmates watched their cross-class friendship. They decided to continue studying in Hoshino Kanade’s dorm room.

• Hoshino Kanade gave Shiina Hiyori his notes while students from Classes C and D watched and whispered about their friendship.
• Hoshino Kanade said Ryuen Kakeru had investigated him and Kiyona, but had judged them harmless bookworms.
• Shiina Hiyori admitted that the attention was distracting, and Kiyona agreed that the library made it hard to focus.
• Kiyona suggested studying in a dorm room, and the three agreed to go to Hoshino Kanade’s room.
• Hoshino Kanade, Kiyona, and Shiina Hiyori packed their books and left the library for the dormitories.

Hoshino Kanade hosted Shiina Hiyori and Ayanokoji Kiyona for a study session in his room, where Shiina’s brief touch unsettled them both. When they complained about crowded study spaces, Kanade offered his room as their regular meeting place and gave each of them a spare key.

• Hoshino Kanade welcomed Shiina Hiyori and Ayanokoji Kiyona into his room and served them hot water before they studied together.
• Shiina Hiyori brushed a stray lock of hair from Kanade’s forehead, leaving him flustered while Kiyona noticed their changed demeanor.
• Kiyona quietly accepted the moment and returned to her reading without confronting either of them.
• As they packed up, Shiina and Kiyona mentioned that the library had become crowded.
• Kanade offered his room as their regular study spot and gave Shiina and Kiyona spare keys, which both accepted.

Hoshino Kanade watched Class D learn that the midterm exam material had changed without warning, while deciding not to share his knowledge of past exam papers. The midterms then took place, and Hoshino finished his exams easily as everyone awaited their results.

• Class D students learned from Chabashira Sae that the midterm material for all five subjects had changed the previous Friday.
• Hoshino Kanade chose not to sell or share information about past exam questions because the risks outweighed the rewards.
• Hoshino watched Ken Sudō struggle with English and doubted that he would pass.
• The midterm exams began, and Hoshino Kanade answered his questions with ease.
• The exams ended, leaving the students waiting for their report cards.

Chabashira Sae announced the midterm results and revealed that Ken Sudō alone had failed the adjusted English passing mark. She confirmed his expulsion, leaving Class D stunned and Horikita Suzune feeling helpless.

• Chabashira Sae posted the students’ midterm scores, prompting Yamauchi Haruki and other students to protest the exam’s changed scope.
• Hirata Yosuke asked Chabashira Sae whether the students could make up for the results, and she marked only Ken Sudō’s name for expulsion.
• Chabashira Sae explained that Ken Sudō’s English score fell below the adjusted passing mark because the subject average was lower than before.
• Hirata Yosuke pleaded for another chance, but Chabashira Sae confirmed Ken Sudō would be expelled and told him to report to the teachers’ office after school.
• Horikita Suzune watched Chabashira Sae leave, feeling unable to help, while some Class D students privately felt relieved that Ken Sudō would be expelled.

After Ken Sudō learned he would be expelled, he played basketball alone while Hirata Yosuke, Kushida Kikyo, and Horikita Suzune watched from a distance. The next morning, Chabashira Sae announced that Sudō’s expulsion had deducted 100 Class Points, leaving Class D with zero and turning his classmates’ sadness into anger.

• Ken Sudō left the classroom and went to the basketball court, where he played and shouted that he could transfer and continue pursuing his dream.
• Hirata Yosuke, Kushida Kikyo, and Horikita Suzune found Sudō playing, then quietly left him alone to face his final farewell.
• The next morning, Class D found Sudō’s desk and chair removed, and his classmates reacted with unease and sadness.
• Chabashira Sae announced that Class D had scored 73 on the midterm but lost 100 Class Points because of Sudō’s expulsion, reducing the month’s points to zero.
• Class D’s students protested and blamed Sudō, while Hirata Yosuke slumped in his seat and Horikita Suzune gripped her book in silence.

Hoshino Kanade and Kiyona observed how Class D’s lack of points had made students wary of one another, then teased and cuddled in the convenience store. The chapter ended with Hoshino choosing to indulge Kiyona while leaving the class’s points crisis unresolved.

• Kiyona pointed out two Class D girls hesitating over cheap food, and Hoshino explained that the class’s empty coffers had spread fear and distrust.
• Kiyona leaned against Hoshino and claimed she was nearly out of points, asking him to support her despite having forty thousand points.
• Hoshino joked that keeping her would be a risky investment and asked how he could collect interest.
• Kiyona offered to pay interest in advance, but Hoshino kissed her forehead and said they would settle the rest when they got back.
• Hoshino reflected that Kiyona could earn points herself and murmured that she had won as he held her close.

Horikita Suzune watched D Class endure mockery and humiliation over its zero points, then recognized the students’ buried resentment as a possible source of strength. By evening, she was still searching for a way to turn that resentment into resistance.

• At lunch, Horikita saw B Class girls and a C Class boy ridicule D Class students for their poor standing and free meals.
• Horikita noticed her classmates’ humiliation and suppressed anger beneath their despair, and considered using their resentment to unite them.
• Horikita resolved not to let herself and D Class rot away, though she still lacked a clear path to fight back.
• That evening, Horikita watched D Class students avoid the bulletin board’s zero-point ranking and waited for a chance to fan their resentment into action.

Hoshino Kanade planned to protect Sakura Airi from the electronics store clerk by using his arrangement with Hoshinomiya Chie to expose the man. When Hoshinomiya accused the clerk of photographing her, Kanade intervened and took the clerk’s phone.

• Hoshino Kanade decided that his changed relationship with Kiyona meant he needed to prepare defenses for her and others, and he accepted Hoshinomiya Chie’s friend request.
• Hoshino Kanade recognized that the clerk who targeted Sakura Airi remained a threat even though the events that would have led her to the store had changed.
• Hoshinomiya Chie staged a visit to the electronics store with a broken camera and accused the clerk of secretly photographing her.
• Hoshino Kanade joined the confrontation and asked the clerk to show his phone, then swiftly took it from the clerk’s pocket.

Hoshino Kanade exposed a store employee’s hidden photos and harassment of female students, leading to his arrest. In Class D, Horikita Suzune organized study groups and increasingly relied on Kushida Kikyo’s social skills as the class endured months with zero points.

• Hoshino Kanade unlocked Hoshinomiya-sensei’s phone and found hundreds of covert photos of female students and evidence of threats and harassment.
• Hoshino Kanade called for help, and Hoshinomiya-sensei, the police, and Sakura Airi helped identify and arrest the store employee.
• Class D’s students struggled with three months of zero points and the hardships of having no personal spending money.
• Horikita Suzune gave Kanji Ike practice problems and warned him that failing the next exam could get him expelled.
• Horikita Suzune asked Kushida Kikyo to confirm the study-group schedule and help persuade reluctant students to attend.
• Horikita Suzune accepted that Kushida Kikyo’s social network was a useful resource for keeping Class D functioning.

Hoshino Kanade and Ayanokoji Kiyona secretly tease each other during class, until Kanade catches her foot and discovers her ticklish spot. He later steals one of her socks, leaving their playful exchange unresolved.

• Hoshino Kanade reads a history book during class while Ayanokoji Kiyona secretly writes affectionate messages on his back and teases his leg with her socked foot.
• Hoshino Kanade catches Kiyona's ankle and tickles a sensitive spot on her sole until she silently begs him to stop.
• Kiyona resumes teasing Kanade, and he catches her ankle again before slipping off her sock and hiding it in his pocket.

Hoshino Kanade secretly tickled Kiyona’s bare foot during class, leaving her embarrassed and exhausted when the bell rang. Matsushita Chiaki witnessed the entire incident and was left stunned by what she had seen.

• When Kiyona gasped, Hoshino Kanade concealed her trapped foot beneath the desk and the class turned back to the lesson.
• Hoshino Kanade repeatedly tickled Kiyona’s exposed sole while she struggled to stay quiet and avoid drawing attention.
• After the bell rang, Hoshino Kanade returned Kiyona’s sock and released her.
• Kiyona lay on her desk, resolved not to speak to Hoshino Kanade for the rest of the break.
• Matsushita Chiaki, who had been observing them, realized she had witnessed their secret mischief during class.

Matsushita Chiaki was unsettled by Hoshino Kanade and Kiyona’s intimate classroom behavior, then realized Hoshino had noticed her watching and might know about her concealed academic ability. Fearing he could expose her secrets, she contacted him after class, leaving their next conversation pending.

• Matsushita Chiaki watched Hoshino Kanade and Kiyona’s unusual classroom interaction and wondered how far their relationship had gone.
• Hoshino Kanade caught Matsushita Chiaki spying and questioned her about his extracurricular reading.
• After a classmate’s outburst about the final exam disrupted their exchange, Hoshino Kanade gave Matsushita Chiaki his contact information and suggested discussing her real academic ability.
• Matsushita Chiaki worried Hoshino Kanade had uncovered her deliberately low scores and other secrets, and feared being ostracized if he exposed her.
• Matsushita Chiaki entered Hoshino Kanade’s contact information into her terminal and sent him a message.

Matsushita Chiaki met Hoshino Kanade in the library after he summoned her, still flustered by remembering his foot massage of Kiyona. Kanade exposed how she had been disguising her academic ability and social role, and Chiaki asked why he had figured her out.

• Matsushita Chiaki received Hoshino Kanade's message summoning her to the library's antiquities section.
• As Chiaki walked to meet him, she recalled Kanade massaging Kiyona's foot and felt embarrassed by her own thoughts about his hands.
• Chiaki sat across from Kanade, who confronted her about deliberately adjusting her grades and playing a role in Karuizawa's group.
• Chiaki reacted with shock and panic, then asked Kanade why he had seen through her disguise.

Hoshino Kanade analyzed Matsushita Chiaki’s hidden abilities and offered her a deal: gather information for him in exchange for keeping her disguise safe and receiving his support. Matsushita questioned whether he was truly a Class D student, and Kanade reached into his pocket without answering.

• Hoshino Kanade told Matsushita Chiaki that staying unnoticed had left her vulnerable when Class D faced a crisis.
• Hoshino Kanade identified Matsushita’s observational, analytical, and disguising skills and invited her to become his eyes and hands in Class D.
• Hoshino Kanade offered to protect Matsushita’s secret and provide support in exchange for information about classmates, factions, and teachers.
• Matsushita considered the deal but asked how she could trust his abilities and whether he was really a Class D student.
• Hoshino Kanade did not answer and took something out of his pocket.

Hoshino Kanade showed Matsushita Chiaki that he had 3,021,300 points and used his resources to secure her agreement to a mutually beneficial arrangement. Chiaki accepted the role of observing Class D for him while keeping her disguise intact.

• Hoshino Kanade revealed his terminal balance of 3,021,300 points, leaving Matsushita Chiaki stunned.
• Hoshino Kanade said his points proved he could support Chiaki and that his reasons for staying in Class D had nothing to do with her.
• Matsushita Chiaki weighed the risks of refusing against the protection he offered and decided the arrangement was her best option.
• Matsushita Chiaki accepted the deal and asked Hoshino Kanade what she needed to observe and where she should act.
• Hoshino Kanade concluded that Chiaki's observation and analysis would make her a useful ally in Class D.

Hoshino Kanade arranged for Matsushita Chiaki to observe Karuizawa's circle while staying inconspicuous, and the two later noted that other classes had stopped treating Class D as a rival. Meanwhile, Ichinose Honami confided that friction with other classes was troubling her, including pressure from Ryuen Kakeru and schemes by Sakayanagi Arisu.

• Hoshino Kanade told Matsushita Chiaki to blend into Karuizawa's circle and share important information when she judged it worthwhile.
• Matsushita Chiaki refused regular point transfers because they could attract suspicion, but said she would contact Hoshino Kanade if she needed help.
• Hoshino Kanade accepted Matsushita Chiaki's plan and told her to remain unseen and act as usual.
• Hoshino Kanade and Matsushita Chiaki observed that the other classes were doing little and no longer seemed to view Class D as a rival.
• Hoshino Kanade noticed a subdued tone in Ichinose Honami's messages and gently asked what was bothering her.
• Ichinose Honami told Hoshino Kanade that friction with other classes was weighing on her, citing Ryuen Kakeru's threats and Sakayanagi Arisu's schemes.