The Final Results of the Midterm Exams

Late May.

The time spent preparing for exams always flew by.

After Kujo spread the original exam papers and answers he had obtained from Horikita Manabu, the leaders of each class distributed them to their respective students at the right moment.

Once they got the original papers, the students wasted no time memorizing the answers provided by the top students in their classes.

It wasn't that the answers from the upper years were bad.

Rather, the papers included subjective questions, and students needed other approaches to help them solve those problems.

Besides, out of a sense of responsibility, the top students in each class also provided more all-purpose answer templates.

Ichinose had said that while they had the original questions for this exam, they might not have them for the final exams. Her classmates still needed to learn more ways to solve the problems.

All in all, the average students were moving in a positive direction.

After half a month of study sessions, the students in the lower-ranked first-year classes had become much more familiar with and trusting of one another.

After all five exams were over.

Everyone who walked out of the classrooms looked thrilled.

After all, although everyone had said from the start that the school was using the original papers for this midterm exam, deep down, they had still harbored some doubts all along.

What kind of school reused the original exam papers year after year? Without even changing the order of the questions?

That wasn't realistic at all!

That wasn't even an exam!

But only after they had finished the final exam did they realize it was all true.

A school like that really existed.

So once they walked out of the classrooms, they simply couldn't hide their smiles.

The school used a combination of machine and human grading, and before long, the students' scores were made public.

Just as the classes had predicted, there were no surprises.

Class A had the highest average score, Class B came second, Class D third, and Class C fourth.

This also matched the classes' predictions.

The Class Points awarded for students' excellent overall scores on the midterms would be paid out next month, at the beginning of July.

However, the rules for this exam included a new and rather unusual betting system.

The rewards for the bets would be paid out at the end of this month, or in early June.

Class Points Announcement:

Class A 1050

Class B 1042

Class C 970

Class D 860

[No class changes this month]

Number of students expelled this month: [0]

The students soon saw the announcement of the midterm results.

Students in all four classes cheered.

After all, every class could be considered a big winner in this exam.

The students in each class had all prepared different ways to celebrate.

Some would go out for a huge meal.

Some would go sing their hearts out.

Some would go out and have a blast.

But unlike the crowds celebrating, a Class C student pushed against the flow of people and opened the teachers' office door, where there was only one person inside.

"What an unexpected visitor."

Hoshinomiya turned to look at the Class C student, Ryuen Kakeru.

Ryuen showed none of the humility expected of a student. He simply sat down, crossed his legs, and said to Hoshinomiya:

"Let's make a deal. We'll work together against Class D."

Hoshinomiya folded her arms and smiled without saying a word.

She knew something about this student, Ryuen.

He was in Sakagami's class, had a short temper, was rude to people, and behaved abominably. He was among the very worst people on the list of those who couldn't be trusted.

Ryuen paid her wariness no mind. He immediately said something that would tempt her:

"Class D is about to surpass our Class C. I think we have the same interests."

That was true.

At this point, could she really keep clinging to wishful thinking?

She had already run out of options.

Hoshinomiya sighed, folded her arms, and said to Ryuen:

"I can't confirm whether you're carrying a recording device."

Ryuen immediately opened his coat, turned out all his pockets, and said:

"Want me to take off anything else?"

Hoshinomiya rubbed her forehead and impatiently asked Ryuen:

"What do you want me to do?"

Ryuen said with a cold laugh:

"Information."

First-Year Class A.

Nagumo came alone to the first-year section.

As the most likely candidate to become the next Student Council president and the leader of Second-Year Class A, he had come to invite Sakayanagi, the First-Year Class A student, to join the Student Council.

"Thank you very much for the invitation, Senpai. I'm honored, but I'm afraid I must decline."

"What?"

Sakayanagi's refusal changed Nagumo's expression.

This year's first-years were one more infuriating than the next.

"As you can see, my mobility is limited. I'm sorry I can't take on the important task you mentioned of 'keeping my fellow first-years in check.' I hope you understand, Senpai. Now, please excuse me."

After saying that, Sakayanagi slowly left Nagumo's sight, escorted by her Class A classmates.

Damn it.

Damn it.

During this year's first-year midterms, Nagumo had sent people several times to hold study sessions with the class Sakayanagi led.

The second-years had to prepare for their own midterms too, so helping the first-years was a losing proposition.

That was why Nagumo had to reveal the contents of the original papers to Sakayanagi's class and make a verbal agreement with her.

He would provide the original papers and help the First-Year Class A students with their studies. In exchange, she had agreed to join the Student Council.

Nagumo had never imagined she would refuse. After all, if a Class A student joined the Student Council, she would have a solid chance of becoming the next president the following year.

He would soon become the Student Council president.

The president of this school's Student Council had the right to nominate a successor. No matter how you looked at it, accepting his invitation was a good deal.

Were all the first-years this year a bunch of idiots?

Did they not care about the president's authority and status?

Things hadn't gone as planned.

She had simply chosen to break her promise.

There was nothing Nagumo could do about it now.

It had only been a verbal agreement. There had been no witness and no written proof.

Sakayanagi, Ichinose—why were this year's first-years all so infuriating?

They were so cute, but why were they so calculating?

Could it be...

That he could only go to Class C or Class D now?

But...

Were there really any students in those two classes who could compare to Sakayanagi and Ichinose?

On the way out, the Class A students followed Sakayanagi.

Under Sakayanagi's leadership, Class A had access to far more information than any other class.

But knowing so much only left the students more confused.

Katsuragi, his face full of worries, finally couldn't hold back. He asked Sakayanagi:

"I still don't understand what Kujo wanted to get out of this exam. Was he trying to exchange ten million points for Class Points? But he couldn't predict how the school would change this exam, could he?"

At that, Sakayanagi chuckled and teased Katsuragi:

"Oh my, Katsuragi, you've finally started thinking about other classes' affairs? I thought you only knew how to help me manage our classmates. What a surprise."

Hearing Sakayanagi's words, Katsuragi asked her in an even more earnest tone:

"May I ask why you helped Kujo? Do you also hope that this year's first-years will advance together?"

Advance together.

What a weighty ideal.

Perhaps only someone like Kujo, an earnest idealist burdened with responsibility, would do such a thing.

That was what Katsuragi thought.

In Class A, Katsuragi wasn't following Sakayanagi as her lackey. His role now was closer to that of an observer, making sure her actions were good for Class A.

If Sakayanagi did anything that would hurt their classmates, he would step in and stop her at once.

Although Sakayanagi had gained complete leadership over Class A, Katsuragi, as the former leader, still had some influence.

But Katsuragi couldn't deny that, under this school's rules and in its exams, Sakayanagi's way of thinking—"treating other students only as helpers or opponents"—was far superior to his own.

After all, the special exams at this school were fundamentally contests between people, not simply clashes of students' abilities.

Compared to him, Sakayanagi was better suited to lead Class A and guide everyone through the special exams ahead.

Sakayanagi gazed toward the school building as she walked and said to Katsuragi:

"Hmm... where should I start? Do you remember the contract we signed with Kujo?"

Of course Katsuragi remembered.

It was the contract he had personally signed when the results of the first month's exam came out.

It was no exaggeration to say that the contract had made him realize this school was fundamentally about competition between people.

But Katsuragi still didn't understand how those two things were connected, so he asked:

"But how does that relate to Kujo's actions this month? It looks like he just happened to get the upper years' correct exam papers, and the school just happened not to change the tests. If the rules had required new exam papers, or added some other kind of rule, he would have been helpless."

A coincidence?

How many coincidences like that could there be in this world?

Sakayanagi stopped and lightly tapped the ground with her cane.

The entire Class A escort stopped with her.

Sakayanagi tucked the hair by her ear and asked everyone, with a hint of a challenge in her voice:

"I signed that contract with him because I was worried that someone as interesting as he was might get caught up in an unexpected exam and be expelled. With that guarantee, he could at least get my help once. Katsuragi, does that make sense to you? What about everyone else? Do you understand?"

Sakayanagi's gaze swept across the people beside her.

Hashimoto, Kamuro, Kito, Morishita, Yamamura, and Katsuragi all fell into thought.

Then Katsuragi frowned. He had thought of a possibility, but it seemed so unlikely that he asked the girl to confirm it:

"The results of this exam don't matter at all. Kujo might not even care about the specific content of this exam. He wasn't trying to get anything out of it. Instead, he wanted to sign point contracts with every class. Once we owed him or had made a guarantee, it meant he had tied all of us together."

In other words, everyone who had signed a contract with Kujo would become his shield.

If Kujo were expelled, each class would effectively have wasted several million points.

So every class would, to some extent, mark Kujo as an "important person."

Was he using other people's trust as his own bargaining chip?

What a despicable person.

Sakayanagi tugged at Kamuro's sleeve, and Kamuro immediately came back to herself and escorted her toward her dormitory.

Sakayanagi wasn't in good health and needed to rest regularly.

Unfortunately, no one present besides Kamuro could tell how the girl was feeling.

"Looks like you're not so dull after all. As the current leader of Class A, I'm glad to see you growing. Well then, I'm sorry, everyone in Class A, but I'll have to excuse myself."

After saying that, Sakayanagi left with Kamuro at her side.

Everyone watched Sakayanagi walk away and stood there for a long time without leaving.

For the first time, Katsuragi felt afraid of someone's existence.

First, spread the school rules during the first month and make everyone think he was a good person, building trust between the classes.

No.

Considering that the other person hadn't spread the rules personally,

his original goal must have been to make Ryuen the bad guy and present himself as the good guy.

Once he was sure he'd earned enough trust among his classmates,

in the second month, he immediately exploited that trust without hesitation, turning ideological faith into an actual points contract and trying to tie everyone to the same train.

Even more frightening was that everyone still thought he was an honest person doing good deeds.

They all thought he was a leader who wanted to work hard alongside everyone in the first year.

Was this the person Sakayanagi had been watching?

Had the game already begun?

But...

At this point, who in the first year could still keep Kujo in check?

The library.

Kujo and Hiyori were still on a date in the library.

As before, their chairs were positioned back-to-back, leaning against each other.

Hiyori sighed to Kujo behind her.

"It really has gotten quiet... It's a little lonely."

Kujo flipped through his novel, watching the characters gradually shift from aimless moping to acting as if they were on the verge of death.

Realizing Hiyori was speaking, Kujo asked her in return,

"But Hiyori, don't you like quiet places?"

After reading more lately, Kujo had begun to understand the general mental state of the ordinary characters in these books.

Still, he was pleased to see Hiyori changing.

Hiyori continued, her thoughts tinged with regret.

"But there were so many people here not long ago, and now it's just the two of us. Kujo, talk with me a little more, okay?"

Kujo closed his book and asked her,

"What would you like to talk about, Hiyori?"

Hiyori turned around and said to Kujo,

"Would you go take photos with me by the sea next time?"

Kujo thought about it. Hiyori probably meant the Seaside Promenade. After all, Advanced Nurturing High School was practically an island, so everywhere along the edge counted as seaside.

"Sure."

"Hehe, then I'll make you an extra-tasty bento, Kujo."

"I'm looking forward to it."