The Seniors Returned in Defeat / Sakayanagi Arisu's First-Move Prediction, Exam Day
"That's right. But Horikita seemed even angrier after finding out."
Nonsense, Kushida wears such a thick mask on his face, yet he's always hanging around Horikita, trying to befriend her; it's no wonder she has a bad impression of him when he's being bothered like that.
Noticing Hoshino En's speechless expression, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka immediately defended himself.
"They even rejected Hirata before, so there's even less chance for other guys; besides, I think if a girl asks them in person, they probably won't refuse."
"Then why don't you just talk to Horikita directly and let her persuade them? Putting personality aside, her looks should be among the best in the grade, right?"
"... You said it yourself, it's [personality aside for now]."
However, if we don't mention it, it's fine. As soon as Hoshino En brought up this matter, a complex emotion appeared on Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's stoic face. It was a feeling similar to... seeing a bank card covered in excrement, feeling disgusted but having to clean it and use it.
What did she do?
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: "..."
"Kushida's approach was very effective. As soon as she took charge, Yamauchi and Ike immediately agreed to participate in the study group; once they agreed, Sudo reluctantly agreed to join as well."
"But the problem is Horikita... she's simply not the type to teach. The study group hadn't been going on for very long, and she'd only taught the first student, Sudo, when he was so angry with her that he ran away."
"And this scared Yamauchi and Ike, and they followed Sudo, even though Kushida Kikyo tried to appease them with a smile."
"Then, she also scolded Kushida, who had come to help, and drove him away."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was speechless. They were all useful tools, and useful tools should be used to their fullest potential. Why did Horikita throw them away because of her own petty temper?
This person's risk management is absolutely terrible.
"So what are you going to do next? We can't leave these three problems unresolved."
"Yes, but if we don't change Horikita's mindset, even if we bring them back together, it will only be another farce... But my relationship with her hasn't reached the point where we can discuss our values."
To take the relationship to the next level, he needs to make her understand that he has genuinely helped her; and now that he wants to help her, he must first change her way of thinking; but to change her mindset, he must reach the point where he can discuss life philosophies and values with her, which brings us back to the first step.
This is a vicious cycle.
First Semester of First Year:
Chapter 77, Section 72: The Senior Students Suffer a Crushing Defeat
"Yuan, is Kushida any good?"
The previous topic had fallen silent due to a vicious cycle, so Kiyotaka brought up the next topic.
Judging from his explanation, he's planning to find another job.
But Hoshino En shook her head inwardly.
But, Kiyotaka, some people may seem reliable, but they are actually quite troublesome.
"As for Kushida... although she seems very smart, she's actually quite dim-witted and occasionally makes stupid mistakes. The benefits you'll gain from getting involved with her won't be greater than those from Horikita, but the disadvantages will definitely be more."
"Horikita is just a little stubborn and a bit too straightforward, but with a little effort, she can be... cough... corrected. But Kushida is different. She has too many little schemes, and she's not good at them, so in the end, they all turn into silly and cute self-righteous cleverness."
Seeing the eager desire to complain on Hoshino En's face, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka immediately abandoned his idea of cultivating other useful tools.
What happened to cause this ravaged appearance?
Hoshino En: Since May, Kushida has been coming more frequently and for longer periods of time, and she's even added the service of [complaining together]... Although we obtained a lot of information that's hard to talk about, in the end, this matter took up even more energy.
Sigh... I regret it again. Why did he have to provoke that guy in the first place?!
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: "..."
For now, let's focus on maintaining Horikita. At least her quality is good, and she's easy to guide.
This deadlock isn't entirely without a way to break free, it's just that the process might be a bit complicated...
"If you still want to get in touch with Horikita, you might want to try approaching it from another angle."
Seeing that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had rekindled his passion for nurturing Horikita, and even seemed to have some extremely ominous thoughts, Hoshino En immediately gave him a warning.
"When I was being tricked by Chabashira-sensei before, I mentioned it before, right? Horikita brother is also in this school, and she respects him a lot."
"If you can gain his approval, then perhaps you can obtain the power to distort Horikita."
Horikita brother? Horikita... Horikita Manabu?
"But don't second and third graders have Special Exam? Will this be enough for the Midterm Exam?"
"So, it's a gamble—if you want to get through this exam in a relatively safe way."
Upon hearing this, a hint of hesitation flashed Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's face.
Hoshino En took in his reaction and smiled with satisfaction.
I can't let my [good boy] grow up to be crooked.
Using dirty tricks to achieve one's goals is acceptable, but only when there are no other options.
Why resort to a highly risky conspiracy when you can gain widespread support through righteous means?
That day's [night tour] came to an end.
Afterwards, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka contacted Kushida Kikyo to appease the three, while also trying to persuade Horikita to let go of her prejudices, but to no avail.
Until May 16th, ten days before the exam, several buses drove into the campus.
The second and third-year students are back.
However, they all seemed listless, even Horikita Manabu, a third-year student, was silent.
Many people saw him rush to the Chairman's office immediately after returning, but he came out shortly afterward with a look of "I've learned something" on his face.
And because the Special Exam for second and third graders this month have ended, their Class Points have been updated.
[Class 2-A, 1700 points]
[Class 2-B, 700 points]
[Class 2-C, 500 points]
[Class 2-D, 200 points]
[Class 3-A, 1850 points]
[Class 3-B, 1450 points]
[Class 3-C, 400 points]
[Class 3-D, 200 points]
When Hoshino En saw this number, she was stunned.
His intention was to target the second graders, but the second graders seemed to be unharmed, while the third graders, who were incidentally caught in the crossfire, suffered devastating collateral damage.
Because the result was so outrageous, he even went to the Chess Club to ask the senior students about their exam results.
They said that this exam was a punishment for the older students' laziness. Therefore, the final result was only point deductions, no points were added, and the only difference was the degree of point deduction, ranging from 100 to 400 points.
From this perspective, it seems that the second grade didn't suffer any losses entirely—although they only lost the basic points and none of the four classes were expelled, they still lost at least 80 million PPTs.
No, it should be said that the person who [unified the entire second year] lost 80 million PPT slides.
Even with the contributions of lower-ranked classes, it would probably take at least a full year to accumulate 80 million PPT slides.
Hey, this is going to be interesting!
Hoshino En was in a good mood after hearing the good news; however, judging from the information she received from her senior, she couldn't really smile.
Is mandatory class voting essentially a competition of social skills?
Tsk, this is going to be difficult.
Although he now has the advantage of making contributions and can gain the approval of most people in the class, the points he earns are still very small, and the favorability he gains is not high. Moreover, he has already spent money on these points.
It seems I'll have to do something for the class to win them favor again... like for that Special Exam in the summer.
There's good news on Hoshino En's side, and also on Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's side.
On the night the upperclassmen returned, he witnessed a bullying incident while buying drinks downstairs. Although the stubborn and inflexible lowerclassman refused his intervention, he still exchanged blows with the upperclassman and seemingly gained his approval.
"Speaking of which, in this year's entrance exam, one freshman scored 50 points in all subjects, plus 50 points in the previous quizzes. Did you plan that on purpose?"
However, before leaving, the senior asked a question that moved Horikita Suzune, who was standing nearby.
"So-called [chance] can sometimes be such a terrifying thing."
Honestly, they managed to cover it up in the office before, why did it come out now?
Ah, Horikita's strange gaze is looking over here. How will I be bossed around next?
Result--
"Is it true that you deliberately got the same score on the entrance exam?"
After Horikita Manabu left, the two sat down next to the vending machine. After catching her breath, Horikita Suzune asked this question.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka: "..."
Are we still dwelling on this issue now? We really shouldn't have too high expectations of her.
That was just a coincidence.
Oh, that explanation seems a bit dry. I need to find a plausible excuse, preferably a mix of truth and falsehood... Ah, I've got it!
"I thought the exam paper only had questions on the front, but I didn't know there were questions on the back too."
That's a good excuse.
"So you mean everything you wrote before was correct?"
Horikita Suzune's gaze was intense.
Her vision is so narrow!!
However, despite the ups and downs, she was able to heed some of Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's advice, which is commendable.
First Semester of First Year:
Chapter 78, Chapter 473: Sakayanagi Arisu's First Move Prediction 4, On the Day of the Exam, safe~;"■_[←
The upperclassmen brought good luck and blessings to Hoshino En and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, and also did not forget to present tributes to the Princess of Class A.
In a private coffee shop booth, one woman and three men sat facing each other.
"According to the Betting Agreement, if you encounter a test with a score change of more than 300 points in this month's Special Exam, you will be allowed to use the strategy I provide and will have to pay me at least 10 million Private Points compensation; otherwise, I will provide you with the Student Council President votes for the four first-year classes."
"And the result... seems to be that I won. I'm really grateful that you all were so decisive a month ago in collecting the whole class's signatures to reach this Betting Agreement with me!"
The girl's smile was incredibly cute, but in the eyes of Kiriyama Ikuto, the class representative of Class 2-B, it was a truly [devilish smile].
This person is even more dangerous than Nagumo!!
I initially thought she was just an arrogant "genius" who had figured out the school's rules in just one month and acted recklessly because of it. But it turns out she really is an exceptionally talented genius!
"Where did you hear about the exam?"
But at the very least, they need to figure out her intelligence sources; perhaps they can find an opportunity to overthrow Miyabi Nagumo's rule from them.
"Where? No, I just trust him. He noticed the strangeness in the second-year students on the first day of school, and went to the Chairman's Office the next day. I don't think he wouldn't try to sabotage you guys in front of the Chairman."
Okay, I can't touch that... By the way, so this genius girl is actually a hopeless romantic?!
"In any case, I'll accept these points."
Looking at the 15 million-page PowerPoint presentation on her phone, Sakayanagi Arisu spoke to the three second-year students in front of her.
"You can leave now~"
He took the money and then kicked people out; this guy's got money to burn!
He cursed under his breath, but Kiriyama Ikuto didn't dare linger for a moment longer. He quickly pulled away the class representatives from Classes C and D, who still wanted to say something.
This matter can't be kept from Nagumo today. If they continue to be in contact, they'll be in danger.
While she still has the chance, she can use the excuse of "wanting to help Nagumo gain the support of the first-year students" to get his protection and mitigate her punishment.
Wu Yuan thought this was a sure-fire way to make money, so they went and persuaded the rest of the class... but now they've lost everything, even their underwear.
Ugh, I don't want to eat wild vegetable roots!!!
After they left, Kamuro Masumi, who had clipped her bangs back with two hair clips, came out of a nearby cubicle, holding a cell phone that was recording audio in her hand.
She looked at Sakayanagi Arisu, hesitant to speak.
"Just ask me whatever your questions are. I'm not the kind of vicious villain who gets angry just because my subordinates keep spouting nonsense."