Chapter Summaries

Key events

• Chabashira Sae watches Tatsuya Sakuya and Horikita Suzune complete a questionnaire intended to assess students’ abilities. Tatsuya finishes quickly, choosing answers by instinct; Horikita takes longer to deliberate.
• Horikita confronts Chabashira about being placed in Class 1-D despite her strong entrance-exam results. Chabashira rejects the idea of a placement mistake: the school values more than academics, and Horikita’s arrogance and inability to cooperate count against her. She refuses to reveal the confidential criteria.
• Stung but determined, Horikita vows to reach Class 1-A and prove herself.
• Chabashira reveals that Tatsuya also scored exactly 40 in every entrance-exam subject and ranked first in the swimming test. She tells Horikita not to underestimate him, though Tatsuya dismisses his performance as luck.
• Class 1-B teacher Hoshinomiya Chie enters and enthusiastically approaches Tatsuya. She tells him he ranked first by a wide margin in the first-year girls’ looks-and-charm ranking, then jokingly invites him to transfer to Class 1-B for twenty million points.
• Hoshinomiya goes further, urging Tatsuya to date her student Honami. Another person opens the office door, interrupting before Tatsuya can respond.

Character developments and interactions

• Horikita suffers a blow to her pride as both Tatsuya’s abilities and Chabashira’s assessment expose gaps in her self-image. Rather than give up, she turns the humiliation into resolve to reach Class 1-A.
• Tatsuya remains relaxed and modest—or deliberately evasive—about his unusual scores. He handles Hoshinomiya’s forward attention with playful confidence.
• Chabashira is blunt and unsympathetic, emphasizing cooperation and social ability over academic achievement. She recognizes Tatsuya as a potentially important asset to the class.
• Hoshinomiya is playful, informal, and openly flirtatious, contrasting sharply with Chabashira’s stern demeanor. Her teasing embarrasses Horikita and irritates Chabashira.

Significant themes

• Ability is broader than grades: The school judges social skills, discipline, and cooperation as well as academic performance.
• Pride and self-knowledge: Horikita must confront the distance between how capable she believes herself to be and how the school evaluates her.
• Class competition and status: The transfer offer and romantic matchmaking underscore the importance of personal points, class affiliation, and students’ reputations.

Chapter Summary

Plot points and events

• Ichinose Honami arrives at the teachers’ office with documents and accidentally overhears Hoshinomiya Chie suggesting that she date Tatsuya Sakuya, claiming they are well suited to each other.
• Embarrassed and flustered, Ichinose awkwardly greets Sakuya before Chabashira Sae dismisses the students and warns against spreading gossip.
• On the way back to Class 1-D, Horikita Suzune questions Sakuya about his suspiciously consistent score of exactly forty points in every subject. He insists it was luck and redirects the conversation by asking why she wants to rise to Class 1-A.
• Horikita admits she has a personal reason for needing to graduate from Class 1-A, though she avoids revealing it. Her real goal is to catch up to her older brother, Horikita Manabu.
• After school, Sakuya finds Kamuro Masumi waiting outside his room with a bag of cooking ingredients, including vegetables and expensive beef.
• Kamuro confronts him about a phone video and asks whether he truly deleted it. Sakuya teases her about visiting him with groceries and implies that she may be interested in becoming his girlfriend or housewife.
• When Kamuro tries to take his phone, Sakuya dodges her, catches her when she loses her balance, and briefly pulls her against him. The close encounter embarrasses and angers her.
• Sakuya eventually drops the teasing tone and announces that they should stop joking and discuss the matter seriously, ending the chapter on a more serious note.

Character developments

• Ichinose Honami: Revealed to be highly modest and easily embarrassed, especially when romance involving Sakuya is mentioned. Her reaction suggests she may already feel some awkwardness or uncertainty around him.
• Tatsuya Sakuya: Continues to conceal his true abilities and motives behind humor, claiming his identical scores were mere luck. He is confident, provocative, and physically composed, but becomes noticeably serious when discussing the phone video and Kamuro’s concerns.
• Horikita Suzune: Shows suspicion toward Sakuya and recognizes that his academic performance may have been deliberate. She also hints at a strong personal ambition tied to her older brother.
• Kamuro Masumi: Though hostile and insulting toward Sakuya, she goes out of her way to visit him and bring food, suggesting concern or attraction that she refuses to acknowledge. Her anxiety over the video indicates that Sakuya possesses information capable of embarrassing or threatening her.

Significant themes

• Romantic teasing and hidden feelings: Hoshinomiya’s matchmaking, Ichinose’s embarrassment, and Kamuro’s defensive behavior create uncertainty about the characters’ romantic relationships.
• Secrets and manipulation: Sakuya’s unexplained test scores, Kamuro’s concern about the video, and Horikita’s concealed motives emphasize that the characters rarely reveal their true intentions.
• Public image and vulnerability: Kamuro is desperate to control who knows about the video, while Ichinose is overwhelmed by even casual romantic speculation.
• The contrast between comedy and tension: The chapter uses flirtatious banter and awkward encounters for humor, but gradually shifts toward a more serious confrontation involving Sakuya and Kamuro.

Character interactions

• Hoshinomiya playfully pushes Ichinose and Sakuya toward one another, while Ichinose reacts with intense embarrassment.
• Horikita questions Sakuya’s suspicious scores and attempts to understand his motives, but both remain guarded.
• Kamuro and Sakuya engage in antagonistic flirtation: she confronts him aggressively, while he deliberately provokes her and uses humor to maintain control.
• Their brief physical contact exposes Kamuro’s discomfort and possible attraction, before Sakuya reasserts a serious tone and prepares to address the unresolved video issue.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Tatsuya Sakuya confirms that he deleted the compromising video of Kamuro Masumi by showing her his phone.
• After verifying the deletion, Kamuro gives him a painful “massage” as revenge for his earlier bullying, striking both sides of his waist.
• Tatsuya deduces that Sakayanagi Arisu sent Kamuro to visit him. Kamuro admits that Sakayanagi instructed her to come at least once a week for a week, officially to “visit” rather than monitor him.
• Hungry, Tatsuya asks Kamuro to help prepare tomato beef. He patiently teaches her basic cooking techniques, making the meal a collaborative first cooking experience for Kamuro.
• Kamuro enjoys the dish so much that she finishes it completely, briefly letting go of her normally cold demeanor before regaining her composure.
• After dinner, Kamuro and Tatsuya take out the garbage together. Outside the dormitory, they unexpectedly encounter Karuizawa Kei.
• Seeing Tatsuya with Kamuro, Karuizawa becomes visibly jealous. Kamuro awkwardly leaves to avoid the confrontation.
• Tatsuya explains that he and Kamuro only shared a simple meal and are probably friends. Karuizawa reminds him that he is currently her “rental boyfriend” and demands that he cook for her next time—eventually insisting on two meals.

2. Character Developments

• Tatsuya Sakuya: Demonstrates sharp observational and deductive skills by immediately guessing Sakayanagi’s involvement and recognizing Kamuro’s lie. He also shows a patient, nurturing side while teaching Kamuro to cook, although he continues to tease her and exploit situations for amusement.
• Kamuro Masumi: Gains confidence in confronting Tatsuya and successfully takes revenge for his earlier treatment of her. Her first attempt at cooking reveals a more ordinary, inexperienced side, while her enthusiastic eating shows her growing comfort around him. She also appears embarrassed by the developing closeness between them.
• Sakayanagi Arisu: Remains offscreen but exerts influence by assigning Kamuro to maintain contact with Tatsuya, suggesting continued interest or suspicion toward him.
• Karuizawa Kei: Reveals strong jealousy upon seeing Tatsuya with Kamuro. Though she frames her complaint in terms of their rental-boyfriend arrangement, her emotional reaction and demand for his cooking suggest she wants personal attention and greater intimacy.

3. Significant Themes

• Trust and surveillance: Kamuro’s visit is presented as a friendly check-in, but its real purpose is Sakayanagi’s continued observation of Tatsuya.
• Power and revenge: Kamuro retaliates against Tatsuya’s teasing and bullying, creating a playful reversal in their relationship.
• Domestic intimacy: Cooking and sharing a meal allow Tatsuya and Kamuro to become more comfortable with each other and blur the line between strategic interaction and genuine friendship.
• Jealousy and romantic ambiguity: Karuizawa’s reaction highlights the uncertain boundaries of her relationship with Tatsuya and hints at possessive or romantic feelings.
• Hidden emotions beneath social roles: Kamuro’s cold exterior briefly disappears while eating, while Karuizawa’s “employer” persona barely conceals her jealousy.

4. Character Interactions

• Tatsuya and Kamuro: Their banter combines teasing, retaliation, and increasing familiarity. Tatsuya controls the conversation through deduction and humor, while Kamuro pushes back physically and emotionally.
• Tatsuya and Sakayanagi: Although Sakayanagi does not appear directly, her manipulation of Kamuro shows that she is actively monitoring Tatsuya’s actions.
• Tatsuya and Karuizawa: Their confrontation exposes Karuizawa’s jealousy. Tatsuya tries to reassure her by minimizing his relationship with Kamuro, while Karuizawa negotiates for more of his time and effort through her “rental boyfriend” authority.
• Kamuro and Karuizawa: They have no direct exchange, but Kamuro immediately recognizes the tension and withdraws, leaving Karuizawa and Tatsuya to confront the situation alone.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• After seeing Karuizawa Kei off, Tatsuya Sakuya takes a nighttime walk to digest his meal and reflect on Class 1-D’s situation. He notes that Class Points will soon be distributed and plans to exploit the class’s likely drop to zero points.
• At a vending machine, Tatsuya discovers Ayanokouji Kiyotaka sitting alone in the shadows. He buys Ayanokouji a coffee and deliberately starts a conversation.
• Tatsuya confronts Ayanokouji about his suspiciously identical entrance-exam scores—exactly fifty points in every subject—and asks whether he deliberately lost to Tatsuya during the physical fitness test. Ayanokouji dismisses both accusations as luck.
• Rather than press him, Tatsuya claims he is uninterested in exposing other people’s secrets and proposes that they become friends. Ayanokouji accepts cautiously, recognizing that refusing could make Tatsuya suspicious or hostile.
• Tatsuya also asks Ayanokouji to vote for him in the upcoming class representative election. Ayanokouji declines to run himself and then avoids Tatsuya’s invitation to take a walk together.
• Continuing through the woods, Tatsuya witnesses an intense confrontation between Horikita Suzune and her older brother, Horikita Manabu, the Student Council President.
• Manabu harshly criticizes Suzune for being placed in Class 1-D, tells her she lacks the ability to reach Class 1-A, and urges her to drop out. Suzune insists she will rise to Class 1-A and prove herself.
• Manabu’s words crush Suzune’s confidence, leaving her frightened and apparently resigned to further humiliation. Just as the confrontation is about to escalate, Tatsuya intervenes with a forceful “Stop!”

Character Developments

• Tatsuya Sakuya: Demonstrates his sharp observational skills and strategic thinking by testing Ayanokouji’s reactions and identifying his hidden capabilities. He also begins deliberately building an alliance with Ayanokouji, seeing him as a valuable information source and potential partner. His willingness to intervene in Suzune’s confrontation reveals a protective or justice-oriented side beneath his calculating nature.
• Ayanokouji Kiyotaka: Maintains his calm, detached façade but shows a subtle physical reaction when Tatsuya mentions his exam scores, confirming that the subject matters to him. He accepts Tatsuya’s offer of friendship for practical reasons while carefully avoiding deeper involvement.
• Horikita Suzune: Her usual pride and aloof confidence collapse in front of her brother. Despite feeling inferior and intimidated, she continues to insist that she will reach Class 1-A, revealing strong determination beneath her insecurity.
• Horikita Manabu: Is portrayed as overwhelmingly authoritative and intimidating. He views Suzune’s Class 1-D placement as proof of her incompetence and uses severe criticism rather than encouragement to deal with her.
• Karuizawa Kei: Appears only indirectly, having been seen off by Tatsuya before the chapter begins.

Significant Themes

• Hidden abilities and deception: Ayanokouji’s controlled scores and apparent weakness suggest that both he and Tatsuya conceal their true capabilities.
• Strategic alliances: Tatsuya’s “friendship” with Ayanokouji is presented less as an emotional bond than as the establishment of an information network between two highly capable students.
• Class hierarchy and ambition: The looming Class Point distribution and the goal of reaching Class 1-A emphasize the school’s competitive structure.
• Family pressure and inferiority: Suzune’s struggle is rooted in her desire to follow her brother while being crushed by his standards. Manabu’s judgment deeply affects her sense of worth.
• Intervention and justice: Tatsuya’s decision to interrupt Manabu suggests that he will not remain a passive observer when someone is being psychologically mistreated.

Character Interactions

• Tatsuya and Ayanokouji: Their conversation is a quiet battle of observation and concealment. Tatsuya probes Ayanokouji’s secrets, while Ayanokouji gives minimal answers and accepts friendship cautiously.
• Tatsuya and Suzune/Manabu: Tatsuya observes the siblings’ confrontation before directly intervening, positioning himself as a new factor in their strained relationship.
• Suzune and Manabu: Their exchange exposes Suzune’s deep inferiority complex and Manabu’s uncompromising attitude. Suzune seeks recognition from her brother, while Manabu responds by denying her ability and pressuring her to give up.

Key events

• Tatsuya Sakuya intervenes when Horikita Manabu appears ready to strike his younger sister, Suzune.
• Manabu tests Tatsuya with a serious attack. Tatsuya dodges, then matches him in a brief, intense fight. They end at a stalemate, each stopping a strike just short of the other.
• Manabu recognizes Tatsuya as the student who earned exactly 40 points in every entrance-exam subject. He warns that hiding one’s ability can be a talent, tells Suzune to struggle if she still wants to reach Class 1-A, and leaves.
• Suzune insists she and Tatsuya are only deskmates, then questions his fighting skills. Tatsuya evades her questions with implausible claims about being an athlete trained in piano and calligraphy, and changes the subject.
• When Tatsuya jokes that he might reveal what happened, Suzune produces a compass. He quickly promises to keep the encounter secret. They exchange poetic remarks about the moon and wind before returning.

Character developments and interactions

• Tatsuya demonstrates exceptional fighting ability and restraint: he can hold his own against Manabu but does not try to defeat him. He also stays evasive about his background and privately sees Suzune’s connection to her brother as a way to influence her.
• Manabu comes across as formidable and controlled, though his confrontation with Suzune suggests a harsh, difficult-to-read relationship with her. He acknowledges Tatsuya’s hidden ability and seems surprised that Suzune has someone beside her.
• Suzune remains intensely focused on proving herself to Manabu and reaching Class 1-A. She is surprised by Tatsuya’s strength, but skeptical of his explanations; her threat with the compass turns his teasing into a sincere promise.
• Their exchanges shift from danger and suspicion to dry humor and an uneasy, private understanding.

Significant themes

• Hidden ability: Tatsuya’s concealed strength echoes Manabu’s observation that knowing when to hide one’s excellence is useful.
• Sibling expectations: Suzune’s ambition is tied to her desire to prove herself to her brother, while Manabu’s bluntness leaves their feelings largely unspoken.
• Trust and secrecy: Tatsuya intervenes for Suzune, but also recognizes the personal leverage their sibling bond gives him.
• Communication: The chapter suggests that the siblings’ conflict might be eased by speaking openly, though neither does so here.

Chapter Summary: The Bottom Line of Sudden Expulsion on the Eve of the Carnival

Key Plot Points and Events

• On April 30, Tatsuya Sakuya admires his appearance before leaving his dorm room.
• In the elevator, he encounters Kushida Kikyou. They exchange greetings, and Tatsuya awkwardly compliments her appearance after briefly staring at her.
• Tatsuya asks Kushida how many Private Points she has left. She says she has a little over 20,000, and they discuss the expected distribution of 100,000 points on May 1.
• In Class 1-D, the students are excitedly anticipating the monthly point allowance and imagining how they will spend it.
• Hirata attempts to quiet the class, but the students ignore him because of their excitement.
• Horikita unexpectedly greets Tatsuya first. Their exchange is awkward, and she hints that she intends to independently verify something Tatsuya told her the previous night.
• Chabashira Sae enters the classroom before the bell and announces that the usual pre-class break will now be used for instruction because Class 1-D is significantly behind the required curriculum.
• When Sudo and others protest, Chabashira firmly reminds them that her orders remain in effect unless the school accepts a formal complaint.
• She then delivers a far more serious warning: failing to meet the minimum score in even one subject on any school examination—including regular and special exams—will result in immediate, forced expulsion.
• The class is shocked and frightened by the revelation, with even normally composed students such as Hirata showing panic.

Character Developments

• Tatsuya Sakuya: Remains confident and self-assured, but also observant and calculating. His questions about Private Points suggest he is thinking beyond the class’s immediate excitement about the upcoming allowance.
• Kushida Kikyou: Maintains her cheerful, approachable persona. She responds smoothly to Tatsuya’s awkward compliment and appears enthusiastic about the coming point distribution.
• Horikita Suzune: Shows an unusual willingness to initiate conversation with Tatsuya, though she remains stiff and guarded. Her statement about verifying his previous claims indicates growing suspicion or interest in his reasoning.
• Chabashira Sae: Demonstrates her authority and a notably severe attitude. She shifts the class from carefree anticipation to fear by emphasizing both their academic shortcomings and the consequences of failure.
• Hirata Yousuke: Continues trying to mediate between the students and the teacher, but the expulsion announcement reveals that even his calm, dependable demeanor is vulnerable under pressure.
• Sudo Ken and Ike Kanji: Their casual rebelliousness quickly collapses when confronted with the possibility of expulsion, exposing their anxiety and lack of preparation.

Significant Themes

• The danger beneath apparent privilege: The students expect a carefree “carnival” of monthly points, but the school’s system carries severe hidden conditions.
• Academic pressure and survival: Success at the school is not merely about receiving rewards; a single failed subject can end a student’s education.
• False security: The class’s excitement over the points contrasts sharply with their ignorance of the expulsion rule.
• Authority and discipline: Chabashira’s control over the class highlights the school’s rigid structure and the limited power students have to resist it.
• Observation and strategy: Tatsuya’s questions and Horikita’s intention to verify information suggest that understanding the school’s rules—and anticipating others’ actions—will be essential.

Character Interactions

• Tatsuya and Kushida: Their elevator conversation is friendly but slightly awkward, with Tatsuya’s compliment and questions revealing his interest in both social impressions and Private Points.
• Tatsuya and Horikita: Their morning exchange carries tension beneath its politeness. Horikita’s reference to the previous night implies an unresolved discussion and growing scrutiny between them.
• Hirata and the class: Hirata tries to maintain order and later calms Sudo, reinforcing his role as the class’s mediator.
• Sudo, Ike, and Chabashira: Their complaints about losing break time are immediately overpowered by Chabashira’s authority.
• Chabashira and Class 1-D: Her announcement transforms the classroom atmosphere from excited anticipation to collective fear, setting the stage for a serious academic crisis.

Chapter Summary: “A Sudden Mock Exam”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chabashira Sae harshly reminds Class 1-D that their school is an elite institution where students who fail to meet its standards may be expelled. She emphasizes that the rules are absolute and offers no room for negotiation.
• Without giving the students time to recover, she administers a forty-five-minute mock exam designed to preview the difficulty of the upcoming midterms.
• The exam begins with relatively simple questions but gradually progresses to advanced, out-of-syllabus mathematics, including a difficult proof involving conditions for a derivative to be strictly increasing.
• The class becomes overwhelmed. Sudo, Ike, Yamauchi, and many others panic almost immediately, revealing how poorly prepared they are.
• Tatsuya Sakuya quickly identifies the purpose of the test: the basic questions measure minimum academic ability, while the difficult bonus problem tests for hidden geniuses and discourages overconfidence.
• Tatsuya solves the exam easily but deliberately limits his performance to around seventy points. He avoids drawing attention to himself while still maintaining a respectable score.
• Horikita Suzune also struggles with the advanced material, suggesting that even one of the class’s strongest students is challenged by the exam.
• When time expires, Chabashira collects the papers and warns the students to “enjoy” their remaining peaceful days, intensifying their fear of expulsion and the midterms.
• The classroom falls into despair, with some students already joking—or seriously preparing—to say goodbye to their classmates.
• Hirata Yousuke attempts to restore morale, reminding everyone that the exam was only a mock test and that they still have time to identify their weaknesses and study.
• The chapter ends when someone asks Tatsuya—addressing him as “Shiba”—to teach them how to solve one of the problems, opening the possibility that he may be drawn into helping his classmates.

Character Developments

• Tatsuya Sakuya: Demonstrates advanced mathematical ability and strong analytical instincts by understanding and solving the difficult bonus problem. However, he deliberately restrains his score to conceal his true capabilities and avoid attracting attention. He remains observant of both the school’s methods and his classmates’ reactions.
• Chabashira Sae: Is portrayed as severe, uncompromising, and psychologically intimidating. She uses the mock exam not only to assess the students but also to reinforce the threat of expulsion and pressure them into taking their studies seriously.
• Horikita Suzune: Despite her reputation as an excellent student, she struggles with the exam’s advanced questions. This subtly reveals that she is not invulnerable academically and may have limits when faced with material outside the curriculum.
• Sudo Ken, Ike Kanji, and Yamauchi Haruki: Their panic and inability to answer the exam expose the class’s widespread lack of preparation.
• Hirata Yousuke: Acts as the class’s emotional stabilizer. He tries to prevent the students from collapsing into hopelessness and encourages collective improvement.
• Class 1-D: Moves rapidly from excitement over their points to fear and despair, showing how vulnerable the students are to the school’s pressure and threats.

Significant Themes

• Pressure and survival: The school treats academic performance as a condition of belonging, creating a survival-oriented atmosphere.
• Hidden ability and self-restraint: Tatsuya’s decision to conceal his true level suggests that intelligence can be dangerous if it attracts too much attention.
• Appearance versus reality: The exam exposes the gap between the students’ confidence and their actual preparation, while Tatsuya’s moderate score hides his exceptional skill.
• Competition and social control: The test is both an academic assessment and a psychological weapon intended to reveal weaknesses and crush complacency.
• Recovery through cooperation: Hirata’s encouragement introduces the idea that the class may overcome its deficiencies through effort, mutual support, and cooperation.

Character Interactions

• Chabashira dominates the class through stern warnings and deliberately unsettling remarks.
• Tatsuya silently observes Horikita’s difficulty, comparing her performance with his own while choosing not to reveal his superiority.
• Hirata addresses the despairing class collectively, attempting to replace panic with determination.
• The final request for Tatsuya’s help creates a direct connection between his concealed abilities and the class’s need for academic support.

Chapter Summary: “Employer Privileges: The Cafe Head-Patting Operation?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Karuizawa Kei visits Tatsuya Sakuya after school, pretending to “test” his mathematical ability. In reality, she wants help with the math mock exam because she is extremely poor at the subject.
• She points out nearly every math problem on the exam, prompting Sakuya to tease her about testing him on the entire paper.
• Their study session at school is interrupted by the advanced mathematics teacher, so Sakuya and Kei arrange to meet later at Palette Cafe in Keyaki Mall.
• At the cafe, Kei gives Sakuya an iced Americano, insisting she bought it only because the second drink was half price and that it should be considered payment for tutoring him.
• Sakuya spends several dozen minutes explaining most of the problems. Kei admits that she understood very little, though she grasped a few questions.
• Exhausted by the subject, Kei asks Sakuya to wake her after a ten-minute nap.
• When the time passes, Sakuya finds her still sleeping peacefully. While watching her, he considers patting her on the head, reasoning that such an action might be one of the privileges of being her “rental boyfriend.”
• He cautiously reaches toward her head, but Kei shifts in her sleep, causing him to withdraw his hand. The chapter ends with Sakuya debating whether to try again.

Character Developments

• Karuizawa Kei: Her academic weakness, particularly in mathematics, is emphasized. Despite her gyaru persona and outwardly aggressive attitude, she shows a softer, more dependent side by seeking Sakuya’s help and comfortably falling asleep in front of him. She also remains embarrassed about openly displaying affection.
• Tatsuya Sakuya: He demonstrates patience and responsibility as a tutor, trying to explain the problems thoroughly even when Kei struggles to understand. He is increasingly conscious of their pseudo-romantic arrangement and begins to wonder what kinds of physical affection he is “allowed” to show as her rental boyfriend. His internal hesitation reveals his unfamiliarity with intimate interactions.

Significant Themes

• The contrast between appearance and reality: Kei presents herself as a confident, sharp-tongued gyaru, but privately she is academically insecure and emotionally softer.
• The gradual development of intimacy: Their relationship advances through small, awkward gestures rather than public declarations, such as sharing drinks, studying together, and Kei sleeping beside Sakuya.
• The tension between contractual roles and genuine feelings: Sakuya repeatedly frames their relationship as a rental arrangement, yet his concern for Kei and desire to pat her head suggest that their interactions are becoming more personal.
• Humor from mismatched abilities: Sakuya’s competence and Kei’s near-total inability to understand mathematics create much of the chapter’s comedy.

Character Interactions

• Kei uses her position as Sakuya’s “employer” to demand his help, while Sakuya teases her but ultimately agrees.
• Their banter reflects both familiarity and embarrassment: Kei denies buying him a drink out of kindness, while Sakuya playfully calls her a “pretty girl.”
• During the cafe tutoring session, Sakuya takes the role of a patient teacher, while Kei openly complains about her difficulty with math.
• The final scene shifts from verbal teasing to silent, hesitant intimacy as Sakuya considers patting the sleeping Kei’s head, ending on a comedic cliffhanger when she moves unexpectedly.

Key plot points and events

• While Kei naps during a study session, Tatsuya gently pats her head. She wakes and catches him, accusing him of taking advantage of her; he claims he was shooing away a bug.
• Kei realizes she slept much longer than the ten minutes she requested and worries about her study progress. Tatsuya says she can make up the time later and asks what she wants for dinner.
• They go to the supermarket to buy ingredients for omurice. Kei, unfamiliar with shopping for fresh food, asks about the lighting, and Tatsuya explains how different lights make meat and seafood appear fresher.
• Tatsuya pays for the groceries and carries the heavier bags, letting Kei take the lighter one.
• Back in his dorm room, Kei is surprised by how tidy it is. Tatsuya starts cooking while she tries to work through her math test, though she complains that the material is incomprehensible.

Character development

• Tatsuya shows a softer, more attentive side by comforting Kei, patiently helping her shop, and cooking for her. He remains composed and practical, even when caught patting her head.
• Kei lets her guard down while asleep and shows curiosity and some dependence on Tatsuya. Though embarrassed and suspicious about his gesture, she accepts his help, shares her food preferences, and makes a tentative effort to study.

Significant themes

• Growing trust and intimacy: Kei’s relaxed response to Tatsuya’s touch and their easy time together suggest increasing closeness, though she still challenges his motives.
• Care expressed through ordinary acts: Tatsuya’s attention appears in small gestures—letting her sleep, choosing food, carrying groceries, and preparing dinner.
• Effort and learning: Tatsuya encourages Kei to persist with difficult math, while she struggles to engage with a subject she feels unable to understand.

Character interactions

• Kei teases and confronts Tatsuya over the head pat; he deflects with an implausible excuse.
• At the supermarket, they trade playful comments about food and weight, with Tatsuya accommodating Kei’s preferences.
• In the dorm, Tatsuya coaches Kei from the kitchen while she complains about the problems, then pretends to concentrate.

Chapter Summary: “Escort to the Door, Maya Sato: You Two Are Dating, Right?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tatsuya Sakuya cooks omurice for himself and Karuizawa Kei. Kei enjoys the meal and praises his cooking.
• During dinner, Kei anxiously asks whether her poor mathematics might cause her to be expelled.
• Tatsuya reassures her that he will not let that happen and promises to help improve her math. He begins tutoring her immediately after the meal.
• The tutoring session lasts several hours. Kei struggles and complains, but she works through the problems and shows noticeable improvement compared with her earlier inability to understand them.
• When the session ends, Tatsuya offers to escort Kei back to her dormitory, joking that safely walking a client home is part of his service.
• At Kei’s door, they are unexpectedly seen by Maya Sato, who emerges from the neighboring room.
• Maya immediately assumes that Tatsuya and Kei are dating, teasing them about being together late at night and pointing out that boys are not permitted on the girls’ dormitory floor after eight.
• Tatsuya quickly leaves to avoid being caught by the dorm supervisor, while Maya begins enthusiastically questioning Kei about their supposed relationship.

Character Developments

• Karuizawa Kei: Her fear of expulsion reveals how deeply insecure she is about math and her academic standing. Tatsuya’s reassurance comforts her, and although she continues to complain and maintain her tough gyaru persona, she genuinely commits to studying. Her growing trust and affection toward Tatsuya are suggested by her willingness to spend the evening with him and follow him to her door.
• Tatsuya Sakuya: He demonstrates practical care for Kei by cooking for her, tutoring her without demanding extra payment, encouraging her, and escorting her safely home. He is confident in her ability to improve and takes responsibility for helping her academically, though he becomes eager to escape when Maya’s teasing threatens to expose their closeness.
• Maya Sato: Maya is portrayed as observant, playful, and highly interested in romance and gossip. Seeing Kei and Tatsuya together, she immediately interprets their behavior as evidence of a secret relationship and enthusiastically presses Kei for details.

Significant Themes

• Support and personal growth: Tatsuya’s tutoring gives Kei both academic assistance and emotional reassurance. Her gradual improvement shows that consistent support can overcome a weak foundation.
• Hidden affection and embarrassment: Kei masks her gratitude and possible romantic feelings with sarcasm and denial, while her blushing and nervous reactions suggest that Tatsuya’s attention matters to her.
• Appearance versus reality: Although Kei and Tatsuya insist they are only studying, their dinner, extended tutoring session, and escort to her room look intimate from an outsider’s perspective.
• Social teasing and romantic misunderstandings: Maya’s playful assumptions create tension and humor, highlighting how easily the pair’s growing closeness can be mistaken for dating.

Character Interactions

• Tatsuya and Kei share a domestic, comfortable dinner that establishes their increasing familiarity.
• Their tutoring session combines Kei’s complaints with Tatsuya’s patient but teasing instruction, revealing a teacher-student dynamic built on mutual trust.
• Tatsuya’s escort to Kei’s room further emphasizes his protectiveness and their emotional closeness.
• Maya’s interruption turns the private moment into an embarrassing public one. Kei hurriedly denies any romantic connection, Tatsuya tries to leave, and Maya remains convinced that there is more between them than they admit.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• On May 1st, Class 1-D students discover that their expected monthly allowance of 100,000 Private Points each has not been deposited.
• The classroom erupts in panic as students speculate that the school’s system has malfunctioned. Many have already spent their remaining points and cannot afford food or other necessities.
• Tatsuya Sakuya calmly observes the situation, having anticipated that something like this would happen. He recognizes the school as a harsh social experiment designed to test student discipline.
• Horikita Suzune questions Tatsuya about whether he knows the reason for the missing points. He gives her an evasive answer, implying that he understands the consequences attached to the school’s benefits.
• When Chabashira Sae arrives, the students demand an explanation. She reveals that the school distributed the points correctly: Class 1-D earned zero Class Points during the previous month, so no Private Points were awarded.
• Chabashira displays the class’s numerous violations, including:
  • 91 incidents of tardiness and absence
  • 391 incidents involving talking, phone use, sleeping, and other classroom misconduct
• The students realize that their careless behavior caused the complete loss of their class allowance.
• Chabashira then presents the results of the previous day’s mock exam. She warns that the upcoming midterm will use strict standards, with the passing line set at half the class average.
• If the class does not improve, at least five students may be expelled.
• After Chabashira leaves, the classroom descends into panic, accusations, and arguments.
• Tatsuya, however, views the crisis as an opportunity. With the class’s weaknesses exposed, he believes he can establish authority and take control. He declares that the real “game” has begun.

Character Developments

• Tatsuya Sakuya is shown to be calm, observant, and strategically minded. Unlike his classmates, he is neither surprised nor frightened by the loss of points. He has already analyzed the school’s system and sees the crisis as a chance to advance his own position.
• Horikita Suzune demonstrates her usual intelligence and perceptiveness by immediately suspecting that the missing points are not merely the result of a technical problem. She recognizes that Tatsuya may know more than he is saying.
• Chabashira Sae reinforces her role as a strict and unsympathetic teacher. She bluntly exposes the class’s failures and deliberately forces the students to confront the consequences of their behavior.
• Class 1-D as a whole shifts from careless confidence to shock and fear. Their dependence on the monthly points is revealed, as is their lack of discipline and academic preparation.

Significant Themes

• Consequences of freedom: The school gives students considerable freedom but quietly measures how responsibly they use it. Class 1-D’s careless behavior results in immediate and severe consequences.
• Discipline and self-control: The lost points demonstrate that success at the academy depends not only on intelligence but also on restraint and consistent conduct.
• Social hierarchy and competition: The point system reflects the class-ranking structure, showing that students’ privileges depend on their class’s collective performance.
• Crisis as opportunity: While most students see the situation as a disaster, Tatsuya views it as a chance to gain influence and reshape the class.
• Hidden rules and manipulation: The school’s system is presented as a controlled experiment in which students are punished for failing to understand the relationship between behavior, points, and status.

Character Interactions

• The students collectively panic and complain about the missing points, with Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji openly challenging Chabashira.
• Horikita and Tatsuya have a quiet exchange in which she probes his knowledge, while he carefully avoids revealing his full understanding.
• Chabashira and Class 1-D clash when she dismisses their complaints and exposes their accumulated violations.
• Chabashira’s warning about possible expulsions intensifies the conflict among the students, who begin blaming one another.
• Tatsuya remains emotionally detached from the chaos, positioning himself as someone who may exploit the class’s fear and confusion to gain control.

Key plot points and events

• Class 1-D learns it has lost all its Class Points, leaving students distressed about money, food, and the approaching midterm.
• Students argue and blame one another, exposing how fragile their month-old harmony was.
• Hirata tries to restore unity. He reminds the class that the midterm is less than three weeks away and that anyone scoring below half the class average could face expulsion. He proposes sharing study help and points out that the cafeteria provides a free basic meal, but his appeals do not fully calm the class.
• Sakuya judges that reassurance alone cannot restore order and leaves the classroom.
• At the school bulletin board, he sees the May standings: Class 1-A has 990 points, 1-B has 800, 1-C has 700, and 1-D has zero.
• Sakuya meets Ichinose, who expresses sympathy and offers help. They discuss the crisis and Class 1-B’s performance.
• Ichinose clarifies that Hoshinomiya’s earlier suggestion that she and Sakuya date was only a joke. Sakuya playfully teases her, then accepts her explanation. They part on friendly terms, wishing each other luck on the midterm.

Character developments

• Hirata takes responsibility for calming Class 1-D and promoting cooperation, but his idealistic approach struggles against the students’ fear and anger.
• Sakuya remains composed amid the crisis. He recognizes that Class 1-D needs practical leadership, not just comforting words, though he leaves before offering a solution.
• Ichinose shows compassion toward Sakuya and takes responsibility for her class’s lost points. She also faces her embarrassment directly by clearing up the dating joke.

Significant themes

• Blame versus cooperation: The loss of points turns Class 1-D against itself, while Hirata argues that collective effort is its best chance.
• Consequences and responsibility: The school’s strict system makes everyday conduct consequential and raises the stakes of the midterm.
• Leadership under pressure: Hirata offers moral encouragement; Sakuya recognizes the need for concrete action.
• Kindness and honest communication: Ichinose’s support and face-to-face clarification ease tension and strengthen trust.

Character interactions

• Class 1-D’s accusations clash with Hirata’s attempt to unite the students.
• Sakuya observes the class’s disorder, then speaks with Ichinose, whose sympathy contrasts with the hostility back in his classroom.
• Ichinose’s awkward explanation and Sakuya’s teasing turn an embarrassing misunderstanding into a warm, relaxed exchange.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• On May 2, Tatsuya Sakuya meets Karuizawa Kei at Palette Cafe for their usual tutoring session.
• Kei is visibly exhausted and anxious after Class 1-D’s Class Points were reduced to zero, leaving the students uncertain about their futures and at risk of expulsion.
• Tatsuya remains calm and composed, contrasting sharply with Kei’s fear and the class’s general panic.
• He tutors Kei in indefinite integrals. Although she finds the work exhausting, she recognizes that she is genuinely learning and takes pride in completing the problems.
• After the lesson, Tatsuya reminds Kei that her monthly “rental boyfriend” contract requires a renewal fee of 10,000 Private Points.
• Kei realizes she has almost no points left because she spent nearly all her money maintaining her fashionable social image through clothes, cosmetics, food, and outings.
• Since Class 1-D’s points have been reduced to zero, she cannot realistically obtain more money soon and begs Tatsuya to let her pay later.
• Tatsuya refuses to simply extend the debt, explaining that the class may not recover its points before the midterms.
• Instead, he offers Kei an alternative: she can work for him in exchange for continuing his services.
• Kei is wary and insists that she will not participate in anything illegal or anything that could lead to expulsion. Tatsuya assures her that the task will not violate school rules.
• He reveals that her cooperation will involve the fate of Class 1-D in the midterms and will affect Kei personally. Trusting his confidence and promise to protect her from expulsion, Kei agrees to help.

Character Developments

• Tatsuya Sakuya: Demonstrates continued composure, foresight, and control despite the class crisis. He is also attentive to Kei’s needs, buying her chocolate and milk tea, while remaining pragmatic and businesslike about their contract.
• Karuizawa Kei: Shows increased vulnerability beneath her confident gyaru persona. Her financial irresponsibility and dependence on her social image have left her powerless, but she is also beginning to take studying seriously. She responds positively to Tatsuya’s praise and becomes more willing to trust his judgment.
• Kei’s agreement to work for Tatsuya marks a shift in their relationship: she is no longer merely paying for a service but is becoming an active participant in his plans.

Significant Themes

• Desperation and survival: The loss of Class Points threatens both the class’s future and Kei’s personal security.
• Money and power: Private Points determine freedom, status, and relationships. Kei’s inability to pay exposes her dependence on financial resources.
• Trust and control: Tatsuya’s calm authority reassures Kei, but it also places her in a dependent position where she must follow his instructions.
• Hidden potential and personal growth: Kei discovers that she can learn effectively when she applies herself, suggesting that her abilities have been overshadowed by her focus on social status.
• Transactional relationships: Their rental-boyfriend arrangement begins as a paid agreement but gradually evolves into a more complicated partnership involving mutual dependence.

Character Interactions

• Tatsuya teases Kei about staring at him, prompting her usual flustered denial.
• His small gesture of giving her chocolate and milk tea reveals a considerate side and briefly lightens her anxiety.
• During tutoring, Tatsuya’s measured praise boosts Kei’s confidence and earns her growing admiration.
• When Tatsuya raises the renewal fee, the interaction becomes tense: Kei pleads for an extension, while Tatsuya remains firm but offers her a practical solution.
• The chapter ends with Kei accepting Tatsuya’s proposal, establishing a new arrangement in which she will work under his direction to help influence the upcoming midterms and protect Class 1-D.

Chapter Summary: “You Tacticians Are All Black-Hearted!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After tutoring Karuizawa Kei in advanced mathematics, Tatsuya Sakuya suggests they go to the cafeteria because he is hungry. Since Kei has no points left, he offers to pay for her meal.
• In the cafeteria, students with no points are forced to eat unappealing free fruit-and-vegetable meals, while wealthier students enjoy better food. Kei orders a small portion of chicken pasta because she is concerned about weight management, while Tatsuya orders a large meal and insists she should not hold back.
• During lunch, Tatsuya explains his plan to help the class survive the upcoming midterm exam. Since failing even one subject results in expulsion and several students are academically weak, ordinary studying may not be enough.
• He proposes obtaining previous years’ exam papers. Because the school permits students to use points and resources creatively unless something is explicitly forbidden, Tatsuya believes buying old papers is technically allowed and likely effective.
• Tatsuya identifies a financially desperate couple from Class 2-D who are eating free meals. He assumes they possess old exam papers and will be willing to sell them for money.
• He asks Kei to participate in a “good cop, bad cop” routine. Tatsuya will act as an eager buyer, while Kei pretends to be his spoiled, reluctant girlfriend who objects strongly to the price.
• The goal is to make the sellers fear losing the deal, weakening their bargaining position and allowing Tatsuya to purchase the papers cheaply.
• Kei agrees, confidently claiming that acting like an unreasonable gyaru girlfriend will be easy because it resembles her natural personality.

Character Developments

• Tatsuya Sakuya is shown as calm, resourceful, and highly skilled at psychological manipulation. He quickly recognizes the class’s academic crisis and devises a practical solution that exploits both the school’s rules and the sellers’ financial desperation.
• Karuizawa Kei remains anxious about her lack of points and the possibility of expulsion, but food temporarily reassures her. She is initially shocked by Tatsuya’s willingness to use old exam papers and his manipulative negotiation strategy, yet she ultimately trusts him and agrees to help.
• Their partnership becomes more cooperative. Kei is no longer merely receiving tutoring; she is actively recruited into Tatsuya’s larger strategy.

Significant Themes

• Survival through strategy: Success at the school depends not only on academic ability but also on exploiting available resources and understanding institutional rules.
• Morality versus legality: The plan to buy past exam papers may feel like cheating, but Tatsuya argues that anything not explicitly prohibited is permitted.
• Psychological manipulation and negotiation: Tatsuya relies on staged emotions, financial pressure, and fear of losing a deal to control the sellers’ behavior.
• Economic inequality: The cafeteria’s division between students with points and those reduced to unpleasant free meals highlights how financial resources determine students’ quality of life.
• Trust and cooperation: Kei’s willingness to follow Tatsuya’s plan shows growing trust, even as she recognizes the ruthlessness of his methods.

Character Interactions

• Tatsuya takes care of Kei by paying for her meal, while Kei reveals her self-consciousness about eating and weight.
• Kei questions Tatsuya about his mysterious intentions, prompting him to reveal the exam-paper plan.
• Tatsuya instructs Kei in the details of the deception, positioning them as a convincing couple.
• Kei criticizes his manipulative approach by calling tacticians “black-hearted,” but her playful indignation quickly turns into confidence and enthusiastic cooperation.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• After dinner, Tatsuya Sakuya and Karuizawa Kei approach a struggling second-year couple from Class 2-D, who are surviving on free vegetable meals because they have no Private Points.
• Sakuya asks whether they still possess the previous year’s first-semester midterm exam papers and answer keys, which could help Class 1-D prepare for its dangerous upcoming exams.
• The second-year boy tries to exploit the situation by demanding 100,000 Private Points.
• Following Sakuya’s plan, Kei dramatically acts as his unreasonable, materialistic girlfriend. She mocks the seniors, complains about wasting points, and threatens to break up with Sakuya if he pays too much.
• Her aggressive performance pressures the boy into lowering the price first to 50,000, then 30,000, and finally accepting Sakuya’s offer of 10,000 Private Points.
• The senior immediately sends photographs and digital copies of the exam papers and answers, worried that the deal will fall through.
• After completing the transaction, Sakuya and Kei leave the cafeteria. Sakuya praises her acting and bargaining skills, while Kei quietly admits that pretending to be his girlfriend felt pleasant.
• Sakuya hints that he may need her assistance again the following day, leaving their next plan unresolved.

Character Developments

• Tatsuya Sakuya demonstrates strategic thinking, emotional control, and skillful negotiation. He deliberately plays the polite “good cop,” allowing Kei to create pressure while he appears reasonable and reluctant.
• Karuizawa Kei reveals a strong talent for improvisational acting and psychological manipulation. Though she is initially asked to play the villain, she enthusiastically commits to the role and successfully drives down the price.
• Kei also shows growing personal comfort and possible romantic feelings toward Sakuya, quietly acknowledging that acting as his girlfriend was enjoyable.
• The second-year couple are shown to be desperate and opportunistic. Their greed leads them to set an unrealistically high price, but their fear of losing the deal forces them to compromise.

Significant Themes

• Manipulation and negotiation: Sakuya and Kei exploit the seniors’ desperation, using a good-cop/bad-cop routine to secure valuable information cheaply.
• Desperation under the school’s point system: The second-years’ lack of Private Points illustrates how severely the school’s economic system affects students’ daily lives and choices.
• Performance versus reality: Kei’s fake personality is convincing enough to deceive the seniors, while her private comment suggests that the pretend relationship may reflect genuine emotions.
• Trust and cooperation: Sakuya and Kei work smoothly as a team, showing increasing mutual understanding and confidence in one another.

Character Interactions

• Sakuya directs Kei through a coordinated bargaining strategy without openly revealing their plan.
• Kei physically clings to Sakuya and performs the role of an aloof, demanding girlfriend, then secretly signals her success to him.
• The seniors initially attempt to dominate the negotiation but become increasingly anxious as the pair pretends to walk away.
• Afterward, Sakuya teases and compliments Kei, while Kei deflects attention from her sincere admission about enjoying their pretend relationship.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The morning after acquiring last year’s midterm exam papers for 10,000 Private Points, Tatsuya Sakuya realizes he has only 50,000 points left and needs to earn more.
• He plans to use the papers in two ways:
  1. Gain influence in Class 1-D’s class representative election.
  2. Sell them to other classes for Private Points.
• Because he promised Karuizawa Kei 30% of the profits, Tatsuya arranges a meeting with Kamuro Masumi and Sakayanagi Arisu of Class 1-A.
• At Palette Café, he offers Sakayanagi the exam papers, claiming they can protect Class 1-A from being overtaken by Class 1-B and strengthen her position against Katsuragi’s faction.
• Tatsuya falsely claims that Class 1-B has already obtained similar papers, creating a sense of urgency and political pressure within Class 1-A.
• Sakayanagi initially agrees to pay 50,000 points, but Karuizawa calls during the negotiation and pretends that Katsuragi’s faction is willing to pay 100,000 points.
• Using this staged competition, Tatsuya pressures Sakayanagi into paying the higher price. She transfers 100,000 points, and Tatsuya sends her the papers.

Character Developments

• Tatsuya Sakuya demonstrates strategic intelligence, confidence, and skill at manipulating others. He combines truthful information with carefully constructed lies and uses Karuizawa as part of a negotiation tactic.
• Sakayanagi Arisu shows strong political awareness and quickly understands the value of the exam papers. Although she recognizes that Tatsuya may be exaggerating, she prioritizes securing the resource and protecting her leadership prospects.
• Kamuro Masumi remains wary and confused by Tatsuya’s methods but follows Sakayanagi’s instructions and helps facilitate the meeting.
• Karuizawa Kei proves to be an active business partner rather than a passive accomplice. Her staged phone call successfully raises the sale price from 50,000 to 100,000 points.

Significant Themes

• Manipulation and negotiation: Tatsuya controls the situation by manufacturing urgency and exploiting Class 1-A’s internal rivalry.
• Political power within the class system: The exam papers are valuable not only academically but also as tools for determining class leadership.
• Information as a commodity: Secret knowledge can be traded for enormous financial and strategic advantages.
• Trust and performance: The negotiation relies on convincing acting, including the fabricated call between Tatsuya and Karuizawa.
• Class competition: The possibility of Class 1-B surpassing Class 1-A intensifies the rivalry between classes and between Sakayanagi and Katsuragi’s factions.

Character Interactions

• Tatsuya contacts Kamuro and uses her connection to arrange a meeting with Sakayanagi.
• He challenges Sakayanagi by pointing out Class 1-A’s internal leadership struggle, prompting her to defend her position.
• Sakayanagi and Tatsuya engage in a cautious exchange of probing questions and concealed motives.
• Karuizawa interrupts the negotiation by phone, pretending to demand a higher price and giving Tatsuya leverage.
• Sakayanagi ultimately accepts the inflated price, while Tatsuya leaves satisfied after securing a major profit and strengthening his partnership with Karuizawa.

Key plot points and events

• Karuizawa Kei visits Tatsuya Sakuya to collect her agreed share of the points he earned from Sakayanagi Arisu. He transfers her 30,000 points, restoring her ability to maintain her lifestyle and social standing.
• Sakuya quickly turns her attention back to studying, reminding her that midterms—and the risk of expulsion—are close. He helps her review differential equations.
• Afterward, he asks Kei to invite Kushida Kikyou to his room. Kushida arrives promptly, and the three make small talk before Sakuya reveals the real reason for the meeting.
• Sakuya presents last year’s first-year midterm exams and detailed solutions, claiming they are Class 1-D’s best chance to avoid expulsions and perform well.

Character developments

• Karuizawa Kei is exuberant and relieved to receive the points. Her fear of being broke is tied to memories of bullying, but she also shows willingness to study under Sakuya’s guidance.
• Tatsuya Sakuya remains composed and pragmatic: he honors his deal with Kei, tutors her, then moves on to a larger plan for the class. He views Kushida’s public “class angel” persona with skepticism.
• Kushida Kikyou initially appears cheerful and socially adept, but the exam papers visibly unsettle her, briefly breaking her usual composure.

Significant themes

• Security and social survival: Kei’s points represent protection from both practical hardship and the social vulnerability she associates with poverty.
• Study and responsibility: Money can ease Kei’s worries, but it cannot protect her from academic consequences.
• Appearances and hidden motives: Kushida’s polished friendliness contrasts with Sakuya’s suspicion, while his quiet manner conceals a decisive plan.
• Class survival through cooperation: The past papers are presented as a resource that could help the entire class avoid expulsion.

Character interactions

• Sakuya and Kei’s relationship combines a transactional agreement with a tutor-student dynamic; he pays her fairly but insists she keep studying.
• Kei acts as the link between Sakuya and Kushida, inviting Kushida despite her initial suspicion about his request.
• Kushida uses lively conversation to put everyone at ease and probes Sakuya, while he redirects the discussion and reveals his real purpose.

Key plot points and events

• Tatsuya Sakuya shows Kushida Kikyou the actual questions for an upcoming exam. He proposes selling them to Class 1-B through Ichinose Honami for 30,000 Private Points, which Kushida can keep.
• In exchange, Kushida is to canvass for votes for Tatsuya in the class representative election. She accepts enthusiastically, promising to secure Class 1-B’s support.
• Later, Tatsuya finds Horikita Suzune eating a sparse dinner in the cafeteria and challenges her about Class 1-D’s prospects. He points out that the class has zero Class Points while Class 1-A has 990, and warns that poor results could lead to expulsions and make advancement even harder.
• Horikita insists that future exams can close the gap and says classmates who fail are responsible for their own outcomes. As Tatsuya presses her about how she will actually lead the class, she tries to strike him. He catches her wrist and asks, “Is lashing out all you can do?”

Character developments

• Tatsuya shows himself to be a strategic political operator: he uses exam information and a generous payoff to secure Kushida’s influence ahead of the election. With Horikita, he is blunt and confrontational, pushing her to face the limits of her approach.
• Kushida weighs the deal carefully but is won over by the points and her confidence in Tatsuya. She presents her support as freely given, despite the explicit bargain.
• Horikita remains determined to reach Class 1-A and earn her brother’s approval, but her harsh judgment of struggling classmates and her resort to physical aggression reveal her difficulty working with others.
• Karuizawa Kei witnesses Tatsuya’s election strategy and realizes his plans extend beyond securing points.

Significant themes

• Power, money, and political influence: Private Points and exam materials become tools for winning votes.
• Leadership versus isolation: Horikita wants class success but dismisses her peers’ difficulties, while Tatsuya challenges whether determination alone can lead them.
• Responsibility and hope: The exchange contrasts Horikita’s belief that failure is each student’s fault with Tatsuya’s warning that a demoralized class may not recover.
• Image versus motive: Kushida’s sweet public persona masks a pragmatic acceptance of a transactional arrangement.

Character interactions

• Tatsuya and Kushida negotiate a clear exchange of money for election support, with Karuizawa listening in.
• Tatsuya and Horikita clash over the class’s chances and her leadership style. Their argument escalates when Horikita attempts to hit him and he stops her.

Plot points and events

• Tatsuya Sakuya confronts Horikita Suzune, telling her that her pride is holding her back and that she must change if she wants to reach Class 1-A. She reacts badly, leaves the cafeteria, and withdraws into a corridor rather than continue the argument.
• Sakuya reflects that his intended pitch—getting Horikita’s support in the upcoming class committee election and asking her to lead a study group—has failed. He still believes his access to the midterm questions gives him an advantage.
• On his way back to the dorms, Sakuya finds Airi Sakura photographing the lake at night. He helps her adjust the camera and takes a portrait of her.
• He removes her glasses, revealing her striking appearance as the online model Shizuku, and takes a selfie with her. Sakura blushes and explains that she wears the glasses because she feels conspicuous without them.
• Sakuya asks Sakura to vote for him in the next day’s committee election. She agrees to help, and they walk back to the dorms together.

Character developments

• Horikita remains proud and isolated, but the confrontation exposes how deeply her brother’s judgment and her placement in Class 1-D have shaken her confidence. She retreats rather than admit vulnerability.
• Sakuya is strategic and self-assured, but his effort to recruit Horikita does not go as planned. He shifts his attention to securing Sakura’s vote.
• Sakura/Shizuku appears shy and self-conscious despite her popularity and beauty. Her plain disguise helps her avoid attention, while Sakuya’s casual closeness brings out her embarrassment and trust.

Character interactions

• Sakuya challenges Horikita’s pride and tries to enlist her in his election plans, but she leaves before he can make his pitch.
• With Sakura, Sakuya takes a more encouraging, intimate approach: he helps with her photography, compliments the result, reveals her appearance, and asks for her support. She follows his lead, though she remains bashful.

Significant themes

• Pride versus vulnerability: Horikita’s pride prevents her from facing her insecurity openly.
• Appearance and identity: Sakura’s glasses conceal the striking public image associated with Shizuku, reflecting her desire not to attract attention.
• Strategy and social connection: Sakuya’s plans depend not only on academic leverage but also on building personal support.
• The appended author’s note shifts out of the story to discuss reader feedback, the challenges of writing fanfiction, possible future plot directions, and the author’s uncertainty about romance, Ayanokoji, and the story’s continuation.

Plot and key events

• With Class 1-D still reeling from losing all its points, homeroom teacher Chabashira lets Hirata present his proposal for a class leadership team headed by a secretary.
• Hirata argues that the class can recover through strong exam results and coordinated effort, and his optimistic appeal earns broad support. Other students offer campaign ideas, but none presents a concrete plan.
• Tatsuya Sakuya steps forward and criticizes the speeches as empty promises. He warns that, with midterms less than three weeks away, students may be expelled if they fail.
• When Yukimura challenges him to offer a solution, Sakuya reveals printed copies of last year’s actual midterm exams, including official answers and explanations. He says studying them should help everyone pass.
• The materials shift the class’s mood. Karuizawa, Sato, Matsushita, and Kushida publicly endorse Sakuya, arguing that preventing expulsions matters more than vague encouragement or points.
• Chabashira begins an anonymous vote for class secretary, who will guide major class decisions. The chapter ends as she starts counting the ballots, leaving the result unknown.

Character developments and interactions

• Hirata shows his usual kindness and optimism, trying to unite the class, but his broad promises are challenged by the immediate threat of expulsion.
• Sakuya demonstrates initiative and practical problem-solving, winning support by bringing concrete study resources. His blunt criticism creates tension with Hirata’s supporters.
• Horikita recognizes that she lacks the ability to lead but stays out of the election, partly because of pride.
• Karuizawa and Kushida use their influence to rally support behind Sakuya, joined by several other girls.
• Chabashira remains outwardly detached but is impressed by Sakuya’s preparation and oversees the election.

Significant themes

• Practical action versus empty optimism: The class responds most strongly to a specific plan rather than motivational speeches.
• Leadership and survival: The election concerns who can coordinate the class through the midterms and prevent expulsions.
• Collective responsibility: Recovery depends on students working together, while their immediate priority is ensuring everyone passes.