Changes in Class A and D

In the afternoon, just as expected, Sakayanagi Arisu came looking for him.

"Good day, Toru Hasegawa. Classmate Hashimoto told me something very interesting at noon. Did you know?"

"Ah, being confronted by you like this gives me a strange feeling. It's really weird."

Seeing the faint, elusive smile on Sakayanagi Arisu's face, Toru Hasegawa frankly expressed his thoughts.

"Hehe, your intuition is truly sharp." Sakayanagi Arisu chuckled, then shifted the topic. "I really cannot understand your actions this time. What exactly could you possibly gain from this?"

"Perhaps I just wanted to win the favor of a girl?" Toru Hasegawa casually blurted out the real reason.

But clearly, Sakayanagi Arisu was very dissatisfied.

She frowned slightly: "Just for a reason like that? Although I don't mind Class D knowing the truth about the exam, I really cannot accept your explanation."

"Then what kind of reason would you be able to accept?" Toru Hasegawa asked.

"For example..." Sakayanagi Arisu paused, then continued, "That this was actually something Ayanokoji Kiyotaka figured out himself, and you acted as a smokescreen for him on the outside."

"Hey, hey, that's way too far-fetched. Besides, why would I do something like that?" Toru Hasegawa protested.

Sakayanagi Arisu revealed a beautiful smile: "Who knows? Perhaps you two reached some agreement behind my back that I'm unaware of."

"Your imagination is a bit too active," Toru Hasegawa said with a dark face.

He tried to deduce the reason for Sakayanagi Arisu saying this. It was known that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't want to attract attention, and Sakayanagi Arisu wanted to have a battle with him. At this moment, Toru Hasegawa had just happened to appear.

So, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka pushed all the credit onto Toru Hasegawa, an outsider to Class A... and the key was that this was actually what he had said...

Damn it, did I end up being the wingman?

Thinking of this, the expression on Toru Hasegawa's face became as awkward as it could possibly be.

Did the logic just click into place?

No, there was still one major point of suspicion.

That was the fact that in this logic, he gained absolutely nothing, which is why Sakayanagi Arisu said he and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had reached some sort of pact.

"However, unfortunately, this was an action I took entirely on my own." Toru Hasegawa emphasized once again.

"If that's the case, then it can't be helped." After making this meaningful remark, Sakayanagi Arisu left.

Kamuro Masumi glared at Toru Hasegawa from behind her, and Toru Hasegawa could only respond with a helpless smile.

Time moved to the next day, which was the Monday of the second week.

As usual, the students of Class A maintained a quiet atmosphere. Everyone was studying diligently; even those who weren't good at studying were pretending to be hard at work.

Just then, Sakayanagi Arisu suddenly signaled to Teacher Mashima on the podium. Although Mashima Tomoya didn't understand what she was planning, he nodded, signaling that Sakayanagi Arisu could speak.

"Everyone, listen to me."

The quiet atmosphere was broken by the sudden voice, but the students of Class A felt no dissatisfaction; instead, they all looked toward the person who had spoken.

The petite Sakayanagi Arisu was not nervous under the gaze of others. She smiled and said slowly: "Just yesterday, a traitor appeared within our Class A."

"He told the people in Class D about the information regarding the exam we have been undergoing this month. Am I right, Toru Hasegawa?"

"Yes, it was me." Toru Hasegawa nodded, calmly admitting it in front of the whole class.

"Eh? What is going on?"

"Yeah, why would Classmate Hasegawa tell Class D?"

"That is information Classmate Sakayanagi worked so hard to obtain."

Class A became slightly chaotic, but at this moment, a different voice cut in:

"I believe in Classmate Hasegawa."

The person who spoke was none other than Masayoshi Hashimoto.

As one of the first people to attach themselves to Sakayanagi Arisu, many Class A students knew him, but now he was standing on Toru Hasegawa's side.

Masayoshi Hashimoto stood up from his seat and looked around: "This school separates classes based on ability. Class A is the best, and Class D is the worst. I have also observed Class D and found that they are basically all... problem individuals. If you don't believe me, you can observe them yourselves during your free time. This also applies to the second and third years; those eating the Mountain Vegetable Set Meal in the cafeteria are mostly students from Class C and Class D."

"At the same time, the news Her Highness just mentioned was told to me by Classmate Hasegawa voluntarily, and then I passed it on to Her Highness. Therefore, I hope everyone can view this matter rationally."

Once these words were spoken, the person most astonished was not Toru Hasegawa, but Sakayanagi Arisu.

Although he still addressed her as Her Highness, what he said was undoubtedly a betrayal of her.

She had suspected it once before, but had immediately dismissed the thought.

He had always faithfully carried out every task she gave him, completing them perfectly every time, so she hadn't thought much of it.

And yet...

That day at lunch, the thought that had flashed through her mind—was it actually true?

Masayoshi Hashimoto and Toru Hasegawa—the two of them had a relationship she knew nothing about.

"Sorry, I don't intend to deny Her Highness's intentions, I just felt that this was too pitiful for Classmate Hasegawa, so I took the liberty of adding some supplementary explanations."

After hearing the explanation from Masayoshi Hashimoto, the atmosphere in the class directed at Toru Hasegawa undoubtedly weakened, even if it didn't vanish entirely.

Many people wanted to verify the truth of Masayoshi Hashimoto's claims after class.

"In that case, there's nothing more to be done." Arisu Sakayanagi withdrew her gaze from Masayoshi Hashimoto.

Although it was the exact same phrase she had said to Toru Hasegawa yesterday, the meaning behind it now was completely different.

Tomoya Mashima had watched the entire scene from the sidelines and sighed inwardly.

Sigh, it's true that this year's Class A is excellent, but there are far too many people with their own agendas.

Two tigers cannot share one mountain...

Meanwhile, the students of Class D were also holding a heated class meeting.

"Huh? What are you saying? What do you mean this month is an assessment for us? And it's even linked to next month's points!"

The panicked students of Class D threw questions at Kikyo Kushida, who was standing at the front of the room.

"Regarding that... I'm not entirely sure myself." As she said this, Kikyo Kushida cast a look of distress toward Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who was sitting in the back.

She wasn't suited to be a leader for the class; even though Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had told her the reason yesterday, she couldn't bring herself to say it now.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka shifted his gaze slightly toward Suzune Horikita, who returned it with a look that clearly said, "If you dare say it, I'll kill you."

"A student from Class A told me, and I'm just passing it on. That's roughly the gist of it." Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stood up from his seat. "Didn't the teacher tell us at the start of the term? Points represent the school's evaluation of us; it's probably something like that."

"Is there any real basis for saying something like that?"

Kanji Ike was somewhat afraid. As one of the most restless people in the class, he had been very reckless during lessons. In just over a week, he had been late or absent quite a few times. Just like today, he had arrived at the classroom only to hear Kikyo Kushida speaking at the front, which had given him quite a shock.

"Everyone, could you listen to me for a moment?" Hirata also stood up from his seat. He first gave Ayanokoji Kiyotaka a look of gratitude before saying, "Only a week has passed. There's no point in complaining about what has already happened; what matters is the present."

He preemptively stifled the complaints that were about to bubble up before stating the obvious.

"We need to perform well over the remaining three weeks and strive to recover the school's evaluation of us."

"Hirata-kun is absolutely right. Let's all do our best together!" Kikyo Kushida chimed in with a smile.

Since the two core figures of the class had already spoken, even the students who wanted to complain had no choice but to swallow their words.

Sae Chabashira watched the development of the situation with a strange expression on her face.

She didn't understand; everything that had happened over the last two days was completely beyond her comprehension.

Why would someone from Class A tell Suzune Horikita such things, and why had Ayanokoji Kiyotaka started taking action on his own? Everything was exceeding Sae Chabashira's original expectations.

But for now, all she could do as the homeroom teacher was stand at the podium and watch as the students of Class D reined in their usual restlessness.

Even Sudo, unable to bear the thought of a future without personal points, managed to hold himself back.

And just like that, the students of Class D welcomed the second week after the start of the school year.