Are You Still Looking for a Son/Daughter?

"Hey! What's the meaning of this?!"

The person in question predictably blew up.

He sprang up from his seat again and came over to Hoshino En's table, shouting at him.

His behavior didn't affect Hoshino En at all, but it startled Shiina Hiyori, who had been listening intently to Hoshino En's analysis.

Before she could let out a startled cry, Hoshino En reached his right arm behind her back and around her shoulders, soothing her.

Seeing someone with real ability point out his subordinate's mistakes in public—and not knowing what to do about it—left Katsuragi Kohei embarrassed, too.

"Yahiko, quiet down!"

He put a hand on Totsuka Yahiko's shoulder, stopping him from losing his temper.

Rather than getting in Hoshino En's way and disrupting his judgment, it was better to let him continue. Maybe they'd even learn something about the other classes.

Hoshino En knew Katsuragi's little scheme inside out, but it didn't affect him at all. He continued with Class B.

Ichinose Honami, seated diagonally across from him, instinctively straightened her back.

"As for Class B, we saw them this afternoon, too. They're just as I analyzed before: a group of kind little angels, orbiting around Ichinose Honami. Since they knew about the exam in advance, they really could do well. But they have another weakness: they're far too easy to lead around by the nose."

"This afternoon, just because of a few words of sophistry from you and Ichinose's timid reaction, they believed what you said and took the position that you were someone they should help. They didn't even try to verify it."

"Even if they can strictly follow the Behavioral Norms, they'll find it hard to stay calm when other classes provoke them."

"As long as A-Sho tells the people in Class C to harass them, they'll easily 'get along' with their classmates in Class C, which will lead to point deductions—and that's exactly what happened."

Ichinose Honami's straight back slumped.

Hoshino En paid no attention to her reaction. Right now, he only wanted to show off the kind of deduction he liked. That exhilarating feeling, rising from the soles of his feet all the way to the top of his head, was something he'd probably never be able to quit.

"Next is Class C. To be honest, I quite like A-Sho."

Sakayanagi Arisu: Huh?

The onlookers: ...Hmm?

A-Sho—Ryuen Kakeru himself: What?

"On the first day of school, he realized something was wrong with the school and started taking control of his class. It took him only twelve days to bring all of Class C under his rule."

Hoshino En made no secret of his praise, completely ignoring the strange looks around him.

"Using violence to bring people together has its drawbacks. But for Class C, where most people are idiots and there's no point trying to reason with them, it's the quickest approach. The time gained more than makes up for the negative effects of the violence."

No, could it be that he—or I—just wasn't good at explaining things?

"And he didn't sit around during the remaining eighteen days, either. He kept harassing Classes A and B, gradually testing the school's limits and having a considerable impact on both classes."

Hearing him say all this in an almost approving tone, Ichinose Honami and Katsuragi Kohei thought: There's no need to approve of that kind of thing!

"It's just a shame that violence is ultimately unacceptable. Even though he reduced its impact by blocking the cameras, 'blocking the cameras' itself is an offense that leads to a serious point deduction. Class C's score definitely won't be high."

"Wait, Hoshino-kun, I have another question. You..."

"I'm not bisexual, and I'm not interested in threesomes."

Sakayanagi Arisu's thoughts were practically written all over her face. How could Hoshino En not know?

He lifted Sakayanagi Arisu's chin. His warm breath brushed against her cheek and ear, bringing a flush to her face.

"I'm a perfectly healthy man, and my desire for women is practically instinctive, especially now that I've reached puberty. Do you really have to experience it firsthand before you'll believe me?"

Sakayanagi Arisu didn't say anything. She just let out a sulky little huff.

The onlookers: "..."

Was he going to put on a live show?!

How thrilling.

So, would Hoshino En kiss Sakayanagi Arisu in front of all these spectators?

The answer, of course, was no.

"If you want to, wait until you win."

He coolly let go of Sakayanagi Arisu and pushed her aside, then took a sip of sparkling water.

I fear no woman!

Training: minor success!

The next stage was to "overcome the influence of mass on gravity." At the very least, he had to reach the point where he could keep his cool when faced with someone on Kushida Kikyo's level and be reborn anew.

But the onlookers were dumbfounded, and so was Sakayanagi Arisu, whom he'd pushed aside.

That was such a good opportunity, and you didn't take it? What the hell was wrong with your brain?!

Their thoughts were so obvious that Hoshino En could guess them.

So he spoke up.

"You're young. Instead of working on improving yourselves, all you do is get caught up in romance and kissing and cuddling. What are you going to do with your lives?"

"Besides, people's hearts beat faster when they're excited, and Sakayanagi has a heart condition. What if you make her short of breath and cause her to faint? Would you take responsibility?"

The onlookers thought that did sound reasonable. They couldn't drive someone to the brink of death for a kiss.

"Ahem, Hoshino-kun, please continue. There's still Class D."

Sakayanagi Arisu had recovered, too. It seemed she'd lost another round just now.

"As for Class D, why did you give them zero points? Given that they knew about the exam, even the hundred points I gave them was an underestimate."

"That's only if they knew about it, you know."

Talking about his own Class D made Hoshino En think of the chaos that had reigned in his class over the past month. He couldn't help sighing.

"Kushida was worried they wouldn't be able to take the blow, so she only told them about the Behavioral Norms Exam. She didn't mention anything else, like the basis for class assignments or competition between classes. She just wanted Class D to get through this exam in peace."

He was clearly making excuses for Kushida Kikyo. The Little Angel, who'd been weighed down by negative emotions all day, finally let out a heartfelt sigh of relief.

The others, looking over as they followed Hoshino En's words, mistook her gesture for a guilty, self-reproachful sigh. Without meaning to, she gained even more popularity.

"As it turned out, Class D doesn't have many idiots. It might even have fewer than Class C—they're actually pretty good at risk management and crisis awareness. But Class D has plenty of fools who think they're clever. A whole bunch of them ignored the cameras in the classroom and openly broke the rules, thinking nobody had noticed. Honestly, I'd given up ages ago. This class is beyond saving!"

Class D had the most students of the four classes, but none of them had expected Hoshino En to judge them like that.

They wanted to argue, but when they thought of the state of their class, Hirata and Kushida couldn't bring themselves to speak. Seeing the two of them stay silent, the others had nothing to say, either.

"Things got worse and worse until, in the end, Kushida didn't even dare tell them the whole story. No matter how hard those two Super Glues, her and Hirata, tried, they couldn't patch up Class D, which was leaking from every direction."

Thinking about it, Hoshino En lost his enthusiasm, too.

"Next month, we'll have to live off grass..."

First Semester of First Year:

Chapter 43: Are You Still Looking for a Son/Daughter?

Hearing Hoshino En's worry, Totsuka Yahiko instinctively wanted to mock him, but Sakayanagi Arisu spoke up first.

"You already got almost four million points out of the second- and third-year students through that bet. That's enough to spend lavishly until graduation."

Then he couldn't say anything. His taunt caught in his throat.

Four million was more than all the students in Class A had combined.

Everyone except Kamuro Masumi, who already knew, and Karuizawa Kei, who'd suspected as much, was stunned.

Four million points was equivalent to four million yen. That was about what an ordinary salaried worker could expect to earn in a year, and after all the taxes and deductions, they usually wouldn't even take home that much. And now you were telling them this guy had gotten that much in one month? Were they kidding?

"To be precise, it was 3.92 million. And this month I've spent almost all of it feeding the guy who lives next door to me. I'll have to rely on your charity next month, Sakayanagi."

Of course, that was a lie. Hoshino En just wanted to make it look like he was broke, so the people in Class D wouldn't start coming after him for money.

"The guy next door to you? Who is it?"

Sakayanagi Arisu's gaze suddenly sharpened.

She'd only meant to reveal a little about Hoshino En and casually mention how good he was at fighting, so the Dragon Boy from Class C and his lackeys wouldn't use dirty tricks against him. She hadn't expected to uncover this unexpected bonus.

Hoshino-kun had been cooking special meals every day with the boy living next door, and she hadn't known a thing about it. What kind of intelligence work was Kamuro doing?

Thinking that, she shot Kamuro Masumi a fierce glare.

Kamuro Masumi: "..."

Damn you, Sakayanagi, you—

"Kiyotaka."

As it turned out, Hoshino En gave Sakayanagi Arisu a name she hadn't expected, but which made perfect sense.

"...Ayanokoji-kun? You have dinner with him every night?"

"Yeah. That guy wants to fit in with the class and make some useful—not, reliable friends. But when he actually tries, he's like a robot, copying a little from here and a little from there. In the end, he comes off as awkward and stiff, and only attracts flies that buzz around everywhere. I couldn't stand watching, so I give him advice every night. Sometimes we end up staying up late, so we grab something to eat together."

"And you know how he has no common sense and used to eat the same set meals all the time. Now he's interested in all kinds of food and wants to try just about everything, so I've spent a lot of points on that."

"Wait... You cook for him yourself?"

"Yeah, usually. Sometimes he comes over to help, saying he wants to 'put what he learned in the past into practice.'"

That part wasn't a lie. And Kiyotaka looked pretty funny in an apron—there was something charming about the contrast.

Sakayanagi Arisu fell silent.

Why? She'd finally found someone she wanted to entrust her life to, and she'd also finally met the opponent she'd once resolved to defeat. The two joys had overlapped, creating even more joy... She should have been enjoying a dreamlike stretch of happiness. So why... had things turned out like this?!

Sakayanagi Arisu's vision went black.

"Hoshino-kun..."

At that moment, Ichinose Honami, seated diagonally across from Hoshino En, also had something to say.

She looked at Hoshino En, hesitating. This half-spoken approach was what he hated most.

As for what he hated second most... Ahem, never mind.

"What is it, Ichinose? If you have something to say, just say it."

In any case, he turned to Ichinose Honami and asked her directly.

"Well, I just wanted to ask. I don't mean anything by it..."

Even after he'd asked, Ichinose Honami still hedged her question several times. That was unusual for someone as kind and straightforward as her.

"It's fine. Go ahead and ask."

Hoshino En didn't mind. Maybe Sakayanagi had rattled her this afternoon, and now she'd finally started thinking about protecting herself.

"All right, then I'll ask—"

She seemed to have made a very difficult decision, then asked,

"Hoshino-kun, that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka... That's his name, right? Was he a friend of yours before?"

"No. I only met him when we enrolled. He happened to be sitting beside me on the bus."

"Then... It's kind of strange for me to ask, but why do you take such good care of him? You give him advice, treat him to meals, and cook for him yourself..."

"You're not actually... gay, are you?"

Huh... What?

Now it was Hoshino En's turn to see black.

"No, Ichinose, why would you get the wrong idea like that?!"

Look into my eyes! Tell me why?

"But who spends so much money on someone they've only known for a short time?"

"What do you mean, who? You don't think I look after Kiyotaka because I... because I like him, do you?"

"...Isn't that it?"

"Of course not! How many times do I have to say it... Why won't you believe me?!"

Hoshino En suddenly felt a little desolate, as though his persona and reputation had both hit the floor and shattered into pieces.

Brr, it's cold.

"How should I put this? Ichinose, I'm old enough to be a father now. You understand?"