Sakayanagi: I Have Seen Through Chihaya Rei's Actions

"..."

Huh, wait a second?

Chihaya Rei blinked rapidly.

How did Horikita Suzune's mindset shift from wanting to gain her brother's approval to wanting to gain his?

This... is this right?

Just wanting to be recognized as a friend shouldn't be a problem, right?

"Then I shall wait and see. I don't give my trust away easily."

Horikita Suzune nodded seriously, as if the matter were of great importance.

Having finished discussing the questions hidden in her heart, her expression lightened considerably, and her cold, aloof features softened.

Horikita Suzune lowered her head slightly, savoring her meal bite by bite.

Once they had finished most of their lunch, Horikita Suzune carefully considered her tone before asking:

"Do you have any thoughts regarding the midterm exams?"

"I think if things continue this way, Ken Sudo and the others are going to fail."

Horikita Suzune stated her assessment.

She had noticed that Ken Sudo, Ike Koji, and Yamauchi Haruki were neither attending the study sessions organized by Hirata Yousuke nor reviewing their material on their own.

Based on their quiz scores, all three of them were failing subjects; they wouldn't be able to pass the upcoming midterms at this rate.

And that would hinder the class's progress toward Class A.

Although she was determined to be herself again, Horikita Suzune still intended to reach Class A through her own efforts.

"Don't you think this is an opportunity to clear out the trash from the class?"

Chihaya Rei looked up, revealing a somewhat mischievous smile as he spoke those words bluntly.

Deep down, however, he didn't actually want the Black House's three masterpieces to be eliminated so quickly.

After all, he hadn't personally gotten around to the torture of these three prodigies yet.

But even after such torture, only Ken Sudo, whose nature wasn't truly bad, would likely be able to change.

Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Koji could only be left as sacrificial lambs for the expulsion vote exam.

Yet, as things stood, if he didn't intervene, it seemed no one in Class D would discover the shortcut to passing the midterms.

According to his observations, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka hadn't taken any action at all, living a completely ordinary school life.

And that was despite him trailing behind the Black House trio every single day.

Horikita Suzune nodded in agreement:

"I did think that way before, but after thinking it over seriously last night, I feel that perhaps I shouldn't do that."

"The reason?" Chihaya Rei asked.

"I cannot rule out the possibility that expelled students might have a negative impact on the class, and in future exams, a lack of class members could become a disadvantageous factor."

Horikita Suzune provided her analysis.

A look of surprise flickered in Chihaya Rei's eyes as he looked at her.

He realized that after deciding to be herself, Horikita Suzune's mind had become sharper.

"You're right. If someone in the class is expelled, 300 class points will be deducted."

Since Horikita Suzune had changed, Chihaya Rei didn't mind sharing a bit of intel with her.

"Deducted that much?!"

Horikita Suzune's expression froze.

She hadn't known this, and she didn't doubt the information Chihaya Rei provided.

For a moment, she felt a sudden sense of relief that Class D's current class points were at zero.

In the worst-case scenario, if someone in Class D were to fail the midterms and be expelled, the current Class D wouldn't actually lose any points.

While Chihaya Rei and Horikita Suzune were eating and talking, several pairs of eyes in the cafeteria were watching them quietly.

Kushida Kikyo sat a few tables away, chewing on dry rice and green vegetable soup with a less-than-pleasant mood.

It really tasted terrible...

And she wasn't even a vegetarian.

Why wasn't she eating something better?

The answer was that all her points had been borrowed by those prodigies in Class D!

As someone maintaining the persona of the class angel, she naturally couldn't refuse, so she had to swallow her bitterness and bear the pain all by herself.

Seeing Chihaya Rei and Horikita Suzune eating together again today, Kushida Kikyo stole glances at them from time to time.

She felt that not a single word coming out of Chihaya Rei's mouth could be trusted.

Heh... stinky man, playboy band guy, every time I see him, he's with a different woman.

He even claimed he wasn't close with Horikita, yet there they were, eating together.

Beyond Kushida Kikyo, Karuizawa Kei's group of gal friends also took notice of Chihaya Rei and Horikita Suzune.

Even in an unnoticed corner, Sakura Airi was silently watching Chihaya Rei...

Chihaya Rei had no idea that he was merely having an ordinary lunch with Horikita Suzune.

He never expected so many eyes to be fixed upon him.

As a seasoned band performer, he wasn't particularly sensitive to the gazes of others in crowded settings.

After all, when performing on stage, one is accustomed to being watched by a crowd of spectators.

Besides the students of Class D, Sakayanagi Arisu was also in the cafeteria at this moment.

Naturally, she spotted Chihaya Rei.

A sly smile hung on Sakayanagi's face as a plan to counter Chihaya Rei already formed in her mind.

Because of this, she was in an incredibly good mood.

Through several days of observation and probing the students of Class D, Sakayanagi Arisu easily discovered that they were unaware that the answers to the midterm exams could be purchased.

This meant—

Chihaya Rei had not informed Class D about the answers.

He hadn't told Class D about the school rules for the first month, and the same held true for the midterm exams of the second month.

Connecting these two things together, Sakayanagi Arisu reached a conclusion:

Chihaya Rei intended to take advantage of the moment when their class points hit zero to use this midterm exam to expel the students holding Class D back!

What a brilliant plan.

Sakayanagi Arisu highly approved of Chihaya Rei's approach.

As expected of the opponent she recognized; he thought exactly the same way she did.

If she had been assigned to Class D, she would have done the same.

Expelling those notorious dead weight students from Class D would improve the class's overall standard.

Unfortunately, Chihaya-kun, since I have already seen through your plan, I, Sakayanagi Arisu, will not let you have your way.

Sakayanagi Arisu stood up and walked toward Kushida Kikyo, leaning on her cane.

She intended to tell the brown-haired girl about the midterm exam answers.