The Egoist

"You're not pressing charges?"

Hearing this, Miyabi Nagumo lost interest. "Then at least tell us why."

"Vice President Nagumo, whether I press charges is my freedom. There's no rule saying I can't withdraw my complaint midway."

"Of course! That's your right." Nagumo narrowed his eyes and smiled.

"The one who was guilty was Kato, but now I'm the guilty one!" (Yamamoto Sae)

"If our homeroom teacher can win this debate, fine. But if she loses, won't I have to drop out?" (Yamamoto Sae)

"I set out to hurt someone else, but ended up hurting myself. I absolutely can't let something as foolish as shooting myself in the foot happen!" (Yamamoto Sae)

Horikita Manabu studied Sae. He didn't directly reject her request to withdraw the complaint. Instead, he turned to Satsu and asked, "As the person involved, what do you think, Kato?"

"Huh? Uh-huh!"

"Wait! What?!"

Satsu had been lost in his own world, and when Horikita Manabu asked him a question, he nodded in agreement without thinking. By the time he realized what he'd done, it was too late.

"Since neither party objects, let's put an end to this matter."

After saying that, Horikita Manabu rose and left the room without hesitation. Tachibana Akane followed close behind.

"Wait! You just agreed to that?" (Yamamoto Sae)

"Wouldn't a normal person refuse to accept an apology in this situation—or, if they did accept it, seize the chance to extort a huge sum of money?" (Yamamoto Sae)

Sae stood frozen in place, staring at Satsu in utter disbelief. Her homeroom teacher called her several times, but Sae didn't respond.

In the hallway

"President, wasn't that too hasty? There are still plenty of unanswered questions."

Horikita Manabu walked quickly, and Tachibana Akane asked as she hurried to keep up.

"There's no need. They only staged this whole thing to serve their own purposes."

"Now that the actors are leaving the stage, there's no need for us spectators to hold them back." Horikita Manabu adjusted his glasses.

Inside the Student Council Office, Arisu also called for Hashimoto and Kamuro to leave.

The three had just reached the door when Arisu unconsciously glanced back at Satsu. The latter noticed the small gesture.

Their eyes met, but neither spoke.

"What, are you two planning to keep gazing at each other until the end of time?" Nagumo broke the strange atmosphere.

"I think we'll have plenty of chances to meet again, Arisu."

"I'm looking forward to it, Satsu."

Hearing this exchange, Hashimoto finally couldn't hold back. He put a hand to his forehead and sighed.

"Isn't this the part where you declare war on each other?"

"Anyone who didn't know better would think you were acting out a school romance."

Arisu ignored Hashimoto's teasing and turned to leave.

Satsu and Chabashira didn't linger in the office either. The two left together.

"Is it really all right to let that student, Sae, off the hook? She might come after you again next time."

Satsu was taken aback. "Chabashira-sensei, I didn't know you cared so much about your students."

"I thought you were the kind of person who could calmly accept it even if one of your students got expelled."

Chabashira glanced at Satsu and replied, "As a teacher, I should at least give you this necessary advice."

"I still want to see if I can use you to get into Class A." (Chabashira Sae)

"I see. The person you want to rely on has changed from Ayanokoji to me." (Kato Satsu)

After learning Chabashira's intentions, Satsu couldn't help reflecting on the matter. One of his reasons for coming here was to graduate as a student of Class A.

Although Chabashira's goal aligned with his own, Satsu wasn't willing to help her.

Strictly speaking, Class D wasn't that weak. If everyone could unite, moving up to Class A wouldn't be difficult.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Horikita Suzune, Kikyo Kushida, Hirata Yosuke, Haruka, Koenji Rokusuke.

Setting their personalities aside, these people all had the ability to perform at the level of Class B, Class A, or even beyond Class A.

Class D also had students who excelled in specific areas, such as Ken Sudō and Yukimura Teruhiko.

The problem was that there was something wrong with all of them, to varying degrees. Just as the class assignment rules said, Class D was full of defective products.

Fix their issues, then unite them?

Just thinking about it gave him a headache. Instead, he might as well aim for twenty million points and move himself up to Class A.

"Sometimes, it's better to avoid trouble. Being an egoist is the way to go." (Kato Satsu)

"Kato Satsu."

In the hallway, Miyabi Nagumo suddenly called out to Satsu and Chabashira.

"Is there something else, Vice President Nagumo?" Satsu asked in confusion.

The two turned around together and looked at Nagumo.

As usual, he carried himself with arrogance and disdain. "I was just wondering why you're so determined to get second-years expelled."

"I don't understand what you mean."

Nagumo didn't answer Satsu right away. Instead, he walked up to him slowly, a trace of menace showing in his eyes.

"After Kuraku and Matsuyama, Sae was your next target. You didn't succeed this time, but there won't be a next time. Understand?"

Nagumo spoke quietly, but his tone carried unmistakable force.

"Do you know how many points I lose from my monthly income every time a second-year student drops out?"

As he spoke, Nagumo leaned close to Satsu's ear and continued in a voice barely louder than a whisper.

"Of course, if you insist on playing your expulsion game, underclassman, then I'll play along."

After speaking, Nagumo didn't give Satsu a chance to respond. He patted him lightly on the shoulder and strode away.

"He was furious. Those words were nothing less than an open warning." (Kato Satsu)

Seeing Satsu staring blankly in the direction Nagumo had gone, Chabashira spoke up and brought him back to reality.

"My advice as your teacher is that you'd be better off not making an enemy of Vice President Nagumo."

"Thank you for the advice, Chabashira-sensei. I'll be sure to keep it in mind."

"Yeah, right!" (Kato Satsu)

Meanwhile, in the Chairman's Office

Ayanokōji Atsuomi and Sakayanagi Narimori sat facing each other. Atsuomi sat with an air of authority, his posture bold and commanding.

"I've set aside time to see you despite my busy schedule, Narimori. You'd better have a good reason for coming to see me."

"So, what exactly happened?"

Seeing Atsuomi get straight to the point, Narimori skipped the small talk as well.

"Mr. Ayanokoji... have you heard of an organization called the Web?"

"I've never heard of it. What is it?"

Narimori looked dejected when he didn't get the answer he wanted.

After a long silence, he began to recount everything that had happened at the school.