Suzune Horikita's question was like a pebble dropped into still water, but beneath the cherry tree that night, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka hadn't given her a clear answer.
He had simply left her with, "That depends on what kind of cooperation you mean," then turned and walked away. His vague response had kept Horikita thinking all night—
thinking about Ayanokoji's true intentions, her own situation, and how to pull Class D's scattered pieces together.
She had to admit that Ayanokoji was right. Going it alone wouldn't work in the end at a school that emphasized competition between groups.
The next morning, during math class.
When Sae Chabashira walked into the classroom with the graded tests, the atmosphere in Class D grew noticeably tense. Many students sat up straight, their eyes fixed on the stack of tests that would determine their "fate."
"The results are in." Chabashira's voice was as calm as ever, but today she didn't hand out the tests right away. Instead, she placed them on the lectern, braced both hands on the desk, and slowly surveyed the class.
"First, I have to say... the results of this quiz were somewhat unexpected."
Her gaze lingered on a few students—Suzune Horikita, Yosuke Hirata, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, and Ken Sudō.
"Three students failed." Chabashira opened her attendance book. "Haruki Yamauchi, 43 points; Kanji Ike, 51 points; Satsuki Shinohara, 55 points. The three of you will stay after school for remedial lessons."
The three students who'd been named went deathly pale. Yamauchi started to protest, but swallowed his words under Chabashira's icy stare.
"Next..." Chabashira paused and picked up the top test. "The highest score on this quiz."
Everyone held their breath.
"A perfect score. 100 points."
"What?!"
A wave of hushed exclamations swept through the classroom. A perfect score on a math quiz? That was almost unthinkable in Class D. Everyone's gaze instinctively turned to Suzune Horikita—the class's undisputed top student.
But Horikita herself frowned slightly. She knew she'd made a small mistake on the last geometry problem. There was no way she'd gotten a perfect score.
Chabashira's gaze moved slowly, finally settling on the seat by the window in the back of the classroom.
"Ayanokoji Kiyotaka."
Dead silence.
Then an even louder uproar.
"Ayanokoji? A perfect score? You've got to be kidding!"
"Isn't he an average student?"
"Was he hiding his abilities all this time?"
Looks like arrows shot toward Ayanokoji—surprise, suspicion, jealousy, curiosity. He simply sat there calmly, as if none of it had anything to do with him.
Chabashira walked down from the lectern and set the perfect-score test on his desk. "Your approach was unusual. You skipped the standard steps and went straight to some... advanced mathematical techniques."
Her voice wasn't loud, but every word carried clearly. "Can you explain, Ayanokoji-kun? These aren't techniques a first-year high school student should know."
It was an open challenge, as well as a test.
Everyone focused on Ayanokoji, waiting for his answer.
A glint flashed in Kushida Kikyo's eyes. Kei Karuizawa rested her chin in her hand, looking thoughtful, while Yosuke Hirata wore a worried expression.
And Suzune Horikita... her pupils contracted slightly. Their conversation the previous night had just been confirmed—this person really was hiding something.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka picked up the test, looked it over, then raised his head and answered in his usual flat tone. "I studied some college prep material on my own over summer break. It happened to come in handy."
The explanation was reasonable, but not quite reasonable enough. He'd taught himself to this level? And happened to use it on the test?
Chabashira studied him for a few seconds, then finally nodded. "I see. Then keep it up."
She didn't press him further, but everyone could tell this wasn't the end of the matter.
Chabashira returned to the lectern, handed out the tests, and began explaining the problems. As she went, she made a point of showing several different solutions to a few questions—including the "advanced techniques" Ayanokoji had used.
"Though this method is concise, it requires exceptional spatial awareness and logical reasoning," Chabashira said, glancing at Ayanokoji again. "I don't recommend that anyone else try to imitate it unless you have the same... talent."
Her words carried a hidden meaning.
During the break, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka immediately became the center of attention.
"Hey, Ayanokoji, did you really study that much on your own over summer break?" a boy who'd come over asked.
"Yeah."
"That's incredible! Could you teach me sometime? I can never figure out the functions section..."
"If I have time."
His answer was brief and polite, but distant. A few students who'd wanted to ask more took the hint and awkwardly left.
But the people who were truly interested wouldn't be put off so easily.
"Ayanokoji-kun." Kushida Kikyo came over with a sweet smile, though a keen edge lurked in her eyes. "Congratulations on getting a perfect score! That's amazing!"
"Thanks."
"Um... there are a few problems I don't quite understand, too. Could I ask you about them after school?" Her tone was natural and her expression sincere, as if she were simply an eager student asking for help.
But with [Insight (Beginner)], Ayanokoji noticed that her fingers were unconsciously rubbing the hem of her skirt, and that her gaze briefly drifted toward the classroom door as she spoke... or, more accurately, she was expecting something.
"I have plans after school today," Ayanokoji declined.
"I see..." Kushida looked disappointed, but quickly smiled again. "What about tomorrow? Or during lunch?"
Her persistence was unusual. Normally, after being turned down once, she would politely back off instead of continuing to ask.
Unless... she had a reason she absolutely had to get close to him.
"Lunch is fine," Ayanokoji finally agreed. He wanted to see what this "angel" was up to.
"Great! Then it's a plan!" Kushida clapped happily, then turned to leave, her ponytail swinging in a light arc.
But the moment she turned away, her smile vanished, replaced by a cold expression.
So he really does have secrets... A perfect score... hidden abilities... and how he acted in PE... This Ayanokoji Kiyotaka is definitely no ordinary person.
She needed to find out what he was really like. Not for the class, and not out of curiosity, but so she could control him.
In Kushida Kikyo's worldview, the unknown was always a threat. And a threat had to be eliminated or brought under control.
At lunchtime, in the courtyard behind the school building.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka showed up as promised, but Kushida Kikyo wasn't the only one waiting for him.
There were also three boys—not students from Class D.
They wore casual clothes, but their bearing and stance made it clear they were deliberately concealing which class they belonged to.
"Ayanokoji-kun, you're here!" Kushida stood between the three, her smile still sweet, but her expression had completely changed. "Let me introduce you. These are... my friends."
The three boys stepped forward, forming a loose semicircle around him.
The one in front had a buzz cut and a muscular build. He grinned, revealing uneven teeth. "You're the Ayanokoji who got a perfect score? I hear you're pretty arrogant."
"Arrogant?" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka looked at them calmly. "I don't remember doing anything like that."
"Playing dumb, huh?" another boy, tall and skinny, sneered. "Kushida told us you cheated on the test, threatened your classmates, and even deliberately humiliated Sudō in PE."
What a masterful reversal of the truth.
Ayanokoji looked at Kushida. She gazed back at him with an innocent, slightly frightened expression, as if she really were a victim of his bullying.
"So what?" Ayanokoji asked.
"So..." The buzz-cut boy cracked his knuckles. "We're going to get justice for Kushida. If you know what's good for you, you'll admit what you did and promise to stay away from her. Otherwise..."
"Otherwise, what?"
"Otherwise, we won't mind using a little 'physical persuasion.'" All three stepped forward at once, their threat clear.
[ Ding! The host is being surrounded with hostile intent. Emergency mission triggered: Counterattack. ]
[ Mission requirements: Repel the threat without causing serious injury, and effectively intimidate the mastermind behind it. ]
[ Mission rewards: Depending on how the situation is handled, receive an increase in 'Tactical Thinking' or 'Intimidation.' ]
[ Special notice: Observers may be present. The host is advised to exercise restraint. ]
The system's warning had come just in time.
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