Horikita Suzune's Troubles

One day in early June.

For a while after the midterm exams ended in May,

the first-year students at the school had finally enjoyed some leisurely campus life.

However, not every first-year student was enjoying their free time.

There were always a few oddballs among several hundred people.

People like that were usually called either "geniuses" or "idiots."

Perhaps this was what it meant to be prepared for trouble in times of peace.

Horikita Suzune, from Class D, the lowest-ranked first-year class, had noticed a very important problem.

The Class Points of the four first-year classes were a little too close.

In her notebook, Horikita Suzune had recorded a graph showing the historical changes in Class Points for all four first-year classes. She had even obtained graphs showing the changes in Class Points for the four first-year classes from previous years.

The girl's compass kept circling the letters A, B, C, and D.

As things stood for the current first-year classes,

Class D was now only about 200 points behind the top-ranked Class A.

Class D was officially labeled a defective class by the school, but it was now virtually even with the higher-ranked Class C.

Whether it was the conduct exam in the first month or the midterm exam in the second month, which added a new guessing rule,

they all revealed how strange this school was.

The conduct exam in the first month had originated from rumors online, and it had turned out those rumors weren't just rumors.

The midterm exam in the second month had been the best solution reached after discussions between Class D and Ichinose from Class B and Kujo from Class C.

Everyone had worked together to deal with the school's exams.

Everything seemed perfectly reasonable.

And the results were good.

But there were too many strange things that could be inferred from all of it.

Why had the school's rules been leaked onto the intranet during the first month?

Who had spread them?

And for what purpose?

The midterm exam was the same.

How had the other classes known that this midterm exam used questions from exams given to upperclassmen in previous years?

Why had the school added a guessing round after announcing the midterm exam's scope and the expulsion rules? Why call it a Special Exam?

Why had Class B and Class C cooperated with Class D?

Why couldn't the combined efforts of Classes B, C, and D outperform Class A?

Could it be that

Class A really was that powerful?

At a school where graduating from Class A was the only thing that mattered, could its students truly trust one another completely?

Could it be that

this was why she had been assigned to Class D?

Because she couldn't completely trust other people?

Two months after enrolling, the harsh truth was right in front of Horikita Suzune.

No matter how much she believed in her own abilities, even Horikita had begun to reflect on her shortcomings.

The boys' dormitory.

Horikita Suzune decided to go straight to her classmate, Ayanokoji, and ask him about it.

Whenever she was in doubt, she wanted to consult him.

It was a habit Horikita Suzune had developed since enrolling.

But when she actually met Ayanokoji, his answer was as perfunctory as ever, making Horikita feel that he was still the same irritating guy.

"I'm not good at figuring out what other people are thinking, so I can't judge whether someone is right or wrong, good or bad."

Ayanokoji couldn't help Horikita figure out what her shortcomings were.

In fact, Ayanokoji wasn't lying. He meant every word he said.

Ayanokoji really wasn't good at figuring people out.

Take Kujo, for example.

From the first time he met Kujo, Ayanokoji had understood

that Kujo was completely unlike the people around him.

It wasn't that he was superior to others in physical ability or academic ability.

If his opponent was Koenji, Kujo wouldn't necessarily win in a physical contest.

As for academics, he was merely average. Although he had a certain aptitude for exams, his literary ability and general knowledge were even inferior to those of his girlfriend.

Even so, Kujo was in a class of his own at this school.

He clearly knew his own background, and had now gathered a considerable number of reliable helpers. The amount of information he possessed was probably unfathomable, too.

Born knowing everything?

Ayanokoji couldn't help thinking of the phrase.

Horikita Suzune watched Ayanokoji, who kept zoning out from time to time, and sighed.

At her wit's end, she told him all her thoughts in one go.

Horikita had come to brainstorm with Ayanokoji.

The most important question now was what Class D should do next.

After all, if they could defeat Kujo from Class C and Ryuen, Class D could move up to Class C.

Only after moving up to Class C would they have a chance to face Class B, led by Ichinose, and Class A, led by Sakayanagi.

If they couldn't even beat Class C, there was no need to mention Classes B and A.

Looking at Ayanokoji, whose expression hadn't changed in the slightest, Horikita went straight to the point:

"Ayanokoji, what do you think about making Class C our target in the next exam?"

Ayanokoji didn't want to answer.

Because he didn't know, either.

If it were just him, it would be simple.

But if he had to bring Horikita along and beat Kujo, it would mean ruining the peaceful school life he'd been trying to maintain.

Ayanokoji only wanted to be a normal Class D student.

So Ayanokoji imitated Kujo with a sigh and spoke to the girl in front of him in a solemn tone:

"Horikita, if you want to make Class C your opponent, why not go ask Kujo directly? Face your opponent and learn their strengths and weaknesses. Wouldn't that be better?"

That was actually what Ayanokoji was most curious about.

After all, he and Horikita had met Kujo several times, hadn't they?

Even someone like Horikita, whose dictionary seemed to have no entry for the word "friend," should be able to talk to him normally.

But considering that Kujo probably knew all about Horikita's personality, going to him directly would likely only make things worse.

Hmm...

Ayanokoji didn't understand.

He felt he still had a lot to learn.

Horikita put her hands on her hips and pointed at Ayanokoji, demanding:

"From the sound of it, you and Kujo aren't as close as I thought. You never know anything I ask about. Are you sure you don't know something and just don't want to tell me?"

Ayanokoji shifted the topic back to Horikita's earlier question.

What should Class D do next?

Then Ayanokoji answered:

"If Class D wants to improve, what you should be thinking about now is helping the students in the class who are weak academically."

Seeing that Ayanokoji had finally offered something constructive,

Horikita sighed and brought the conversation back to Class D's future. She nodded and began considering whether Ayanokoji's suggestion was feasible.

Because they had gotten the original exam papers early, everyone in Class D had barely managed to pass the midterm without anyone being expelled.

But even with the original papers and the corresponding answers,

Class D's final exam results were still disappointing.

Some students in the class had only just scraped past the passing line, making it hard to believe they'd used what was practically a cheating method to answer the questions.

They'd barely passed even with the original papers.

It was hard to believe they'd manage to pass the academic exams later on.

Among the boys in Class D, Ken Sudō, Yamauchi Haruki, and Kanji Ike were all among the worst academically.

The new voting rule the school had added this time showed just how unusual it was.

A Special Exam would definitely be a contest between classes, with each class competing against the others.

When necessary, each class would need a designated leader.

Class D was currently missing such a leader.

But according to the weakest-link principle, the most pressing issue—and the most important part of it—was to shore up Class D's weak points. In other words, the students who were struggling needed to at least develop a normal attitude toward studying.

The first priority was coming up with a concrete plan to save Class D's underachievers.

Horikita wanted to hear Ayanokoji's opinion again.

Ayanokoji had a bold idea.

He could have them all expelled.

But he didn't intend to tell Horikita.

Because she would definitely reject the idea.

Ayanokoji also wanted to see what kind of answer the girl in front of him could come up with.

So Ayanokoji tossed the question back to her and said:

"Why not ask Hirata or Kushida, too?"

Horikita thought about Ayanokoji's suggestion for a while.

In the end, Horikita Suzune decided not to contact anyone else yet. She would visit the three boys herself.

Ayanokoji could only follow behind her in silence, watching as she headed toward the other dorm rooms.

Horikita.

Don't forget that you're a girl.

Aren't you a little too familiar with the boys' dormitory?

"I've got club activities. Maybe next time."

"Huh? I haven't finished my game yet."

"Ayanokoji, you traitor."

Those were the replies from the three boys in Class D.

Seeing Horikita's dark expression, Ayanokoji silently sent a message for help to Kushida and Hirata.