Just as the simulation advanced to February of the following year, Ichinose Honami froze at the sudden turn of events.
Without warning, rumors began spreading all over campus, maliciously smearing her as "Ichinose Honami, a criminal and a thief."
It wasn't just Ichinose Honami inside the simulation, who was being attacked by the rumors. Even Ichinose Honami watching the simulation from the mental space looked stunned and horrified.
Th-this... what is this?
Before long, the Ichinose Honami in the simulation began to waste away from the stress. She took leave from school, stopped attending classes, and shut herself in her bedroom, refusing to see anyone.
Even Ichinose Honami watching the simulation instinctively wrapped her arms around herself and trembled. The painful memories of shame and despair from middle school, when she had stolen a hair clip, surged back like a tide.
But after several days had passed, a loud crash suddenly rang out from Ichinose Honami's dorm room door. A burst of brute force had smashed it to pieces! And standing there was... Wu Qiao!
Wu Qiao strode into the room, paying no heed to Ichinose Honami's panic. He went straight to her bed and hauled her out from under the covers.
When the option [Enter Immersive Mode?] appeared before her, Ichinose Honami instinctively selected [Yes].
The moment she entered immersive mode, Ichinose Honami felt Wu Qiao's hand clamp tightly around her wrist. He spoke earnestly, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Kamuro Masumi from Class A stole beer from a supermarket as soon as she enrolled. She's a habitual offender. And there's no need to even mention how Class C gets into fights every day. Class D has Hirata Yosuke, too. He's widely recognized as a good person, but he once used violence to beat the entire school into stopping its bullying. Compared to them, what you did back then to get a hair clip for your little sister was nothing."
Ichinose Honami looked at the furious young man before her and murmured, "But I..."
"There's no 'but'!" Wu Qiao cut her off coldly. "You got into Class B because you missed classes in your third year of middle school. The school doesn't care about what happened. Go tell everyone the truth! If they refuse to accept you, I'll drop out with you!"
Ichinose Honami stared blankly at the young man before her. His eyes, usually filled with a gentle smile, now shone with unshakable resolve.
His words, "I'll drop out with you," struck like a bolt of lightning, splitting apart the gloom in her heart.
"But... what will everyone think of me? I'll become a stain on Class B. My past might cost everyone the chance to rise to Class A..." Ichinose's voice wavered with hesitation, and her body still trembled faintly.
"A stain?" Wu Qiao gave a cold laugh and vigorously ruffled her hair. His movements were rough, yet carried a strange comforting warmth. "Moving up a class has never been an easy ride. We're all together because we want to improve together, not because every single one of us is perfect. If Class B can't even bear this shadow from the past, then it doesn't deserve to rise to Class A!"
He paused, his tone softening slightly while remaining firm. "Ichinose, you're always thinking about protecting everyone, but you've forgotten that you're part of everyone, too. Do you think hiding the truth will solve anything? It'll only drag you deeper and deeper. Go tell them. Explain exactly how you stole that hair clip for your little sister. I believe in those people in Class B. They're much stronger than you think."
Ichinose Honami looked at Wu Qiao, the ever-mysterious young man who always did the unexpected. At that moment, he gave her courage unlike any she had ever felt before.
That's right. I've been running away all this time—from the version of myself who once made a mistake, from the desperate days when I had no options left because of my little sister's birthday wish.
"I... I understand." Ichinose Honami took a deep breath, wiped away her tears, and gradually steeled her gaze. "I'll tell them the truth. Thank you, Wu Qiao."
Seeing her regain her resolve, Wu Qiao's lips curved into a faint smile. "That's more like it. Go on. Everyone in Class B is waiting for you."
As soon as Ichinose Honami made her decision, the images in the Simulator began to race by. She saw herself confess her past at a class meeting, and watched her classmates go from shock to understanding, then finally offer her support and encouragement one after another.
Class B didn't fall apart because of the incident. Instead, it grew even more united.
Watching this scene, Ichinose Honami felt a warm current well up inside her. So true strength wasn't about hiding one's weaknesses. It was about daring to face the past and believing that the people around you would accept the real you.
As the story continued, Ichinose Honami's expression darkened completely when she learned that one of the people behind the rumors had been Miyabi Nagumo, acting through Sakayanagi Arisu.
Thinking back to the previous two simulations, she figured the first time was probably because Wu Qiao had drawn all the fire, while the second time she had successfully brought Miyabi Nagumo down.
This time, she had thought Miyabi Nagumo's issue was limited to his ideals and stance. She hadn't expected this upperclassman to stoop so low as to use tactics that targeted someone's private life.
It looked like from now on, not only in reality but in future simulations as well, Miyabi Nagumo would be the first person she needed to deal with once and for all.
But when she thought of the 120 talent points needed to unlock the "Top-tier Detective" talent, which could see through every scheme, Ichinose Honami realized she had no chance of earning enough anytime soon. All she could do was sigh helplessly and continue the simulation.
The simulation continued, and this time, what followed was exceptionally difficult. Thankfully, everyone worked together. Class B was teetering on the brink and nowhere near as stable as before, but the truth was that nobody was having an easy time.
Miyabi Nagumo and Acting Chairman Tsukishiro seemed to want Ayanokoji Kiyoha expelled. But Wu Qiao kept getting in their way, so they decided to expel him first instead.
However, bound by the school's rules, they resorted to all kinds of schemes to target them. People from all three year groups were ganging up on Class D. They had completely abandoned all shame.
The Student Council, which should have been a neutral arbiter, had been reduced under Miyabi Nagumo's control to a tool for suppressing his opponents.
One Special Exam after another, each more shameless than the last, came in quick succession. Not only was Class D being tormented, but Class B was dragged into the fallout as well because of the breakdown in relations between Ichinose and Miyabi Nagumo.
Watching Wu Qiao repeatedly resort to the "extreme measures" he had never wanted to use in order to protect Ayanokoji Kiyoha, Ichinose Honami felt her heart tighten into a knot.
She realized that as long as Miyabi Nagumo remained Student Council President and Tsukishiro kept fanning the flames from behind the scenes, the endless persecution would never stop. Wu Qiao would be forced to reveal his trump cards again and again, until the school swallowed him whole.
"No, this can't go on," Ichinose Honami murmured during a pause in the simulation. She had to find a way to break the deadlock. In her own way, she had to tear open the net Miyabi Nagumo and Tsukishiro had cast over them.
And the first step might be to unite everyone Miyabi Nagumo had oppressed—including the students in Class D, whom she had once dismissed as "problem children"—and challenge this warped center of power together.