If we're going to the bathroom together...

During the lunch break, Kushida deliberately skirted the crowd and hurried out of the classroom, intercepting Kazami at a corner of the hallway as he was about to leave.

She stopped, her eyes filled with an indescribable reproach as she stared straight at Kazami. "Didn't you say you'd only sold a small number of points?"

That was what made Kushida so angry. Just the game consoles, computers, and various electronics Yamauchi and the others had put up as collateral were worth more than two hundred thousand points. The bastard had actually lied to her.

Faced with Kushida's piercing question, Kazami took a moment to choose his words. "I was just worried your conscience would bother you. You're too softhearted. If you knew I'd made so much from the past papers, you'd definitely feel uneasy. That's why I deliberately understated it. I was worried your conscience couldn't take it, so I shouldered all the pressure for you."

"Little sister Kushida, you need to appreciate your big brother's good intentions. Of course, it helped boost your standing too. After all, the more points I said it cost, the more grateful they'd be to you."

Kushida fell silent, unsure whether to criticize his sheer shamelessness or marvel at how many twisted arguments he had. After a few seconds of silence, she reluctantly gave in. Kazami wasn't entirely wrong; she was indeed one of the beneficiaries.

"...I'll keep this a secret for you this time, Kazami, but just this once. You absolutely can't do anything like this again."

Kazami nodded obediently, looking perfectly willing to listen. "Okay, I promise I definitely won't do it again!"

Seeing his proper attitude, Kushida said no more. In truth, she wasn't genuinely angry. She was even secretly a little delighted.

Standing at the podium during today's class meeting, surrounded by classmates thanking her and basking in everyone's praise, she had enjoyed a level of prestige and attention that was hard to achieve even through her usual efforts to maintain her gentle persona. The astronomical expense of two hundred thousand points that Kazami had casually invented had made their debt to her even greater, giving the whole class's gratitude toward her a +10.

Besides, she was more than happy to see Yamauchi, Ike, and those other boys who always pestered her suffer and get their comeuppance. It served those bastards right for constantly harassing her. Now that Kazami had thoroughly fleeced them, they had only themselves to blame. Watching it happen, she had nearly laughed aloud at the podium.

But because of her gentle, kindhearted angel persona, she could only pretend to be at a loss.

And then there was Kazami, who had actually dared call himself her "big brother," taking liberties with her. He was getting more and more outrageous. If she hadn't needed to maintain the gentle image everyone at school recognized, unable to lose her composure in public, she would have taught that guy a proper lesson today for constantly pushing his luck. She would have given him a good pummeling.

Because of their contract with Kazami, Sudo and the others couldn't make trouble for him either, though they badmouthed him more often.

Over the following week, most of Class D studied using the past papers Kushida had shared. The midterm exams, which lasted several days, soon came to an end, and the students who had been tense for days finally had the burden lifted from their shoulders and relaxed for a while. Before long, all the midterm results had been tallied.

Chabashira-sensei stood expressionlessly at the podium with the final grade sheet in hand and first praised everyone for their good results.

But, unsurprisingly, something still went wrong.

Chabashira-sensei posted the results of the midterm exams. "Although you did well this time, unfortunately, Sudo failed English. Pack your things. You'll complete the withdrawal procedures after school."

Then came a noisy scene, with Sudo slamming his desk and Hirata asking to check the exam paper...

Kazami sat in his seat. Seriously?! No, how could he still fail with the model answers? What a talent. He couldn't even copy the model answers properly. Sudo's aptitude for studying really was one of a kind. I'd call him the strongest. Still, what a waste of all that time Horikita spent tutoring him.

We might have had plenty of disagreements before, but I won't see Sudo anymore. Thinking about it that way, I'll actually miss him a little. I'm really such a sentimental person. Looking at it this way, I really am a good person. Those few times I threatened people before were all this world's fault.

This incident had truly opened Kazami's eyes. He finally understood what it meant for someone to be beyond carrying. Even if you spoon-fed them a question bank that could get them full marks, some people could still fail. Well, Horikita had actually shown more foresight than him, deciding early on to give up on Sudo and the others. Setting aside the fact that they would still be useful later, it counted as an excellent move.

After making her announcement, Chabashira-sensei left the classroom. Immediately afterward, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji quietly rose and walked out as well.

Horikita stood up to follow him. Seeing Kazami still sitting comfortably in his seat, she glared at him, signaling for him to come along.

Once they had left the classroom together, Kazami looked utterly bewildered, his head full of questions. "Huh? Why did you call me along? If we're going to the bathroom together..."

He had been about to say that she could ask Kushida, who would be more than happy to accompany her, but a vein bulged on Horikita's forehead as she pulled a sharp-pointed compass from her pocket and lightly twirled it twice between her fingers.

"I've really put up with you for long enough. I want to beat you up every moment of the day, if you can take it."

Kazami's survival instincts kicked into overdrive. "Let's go. I'll come even if we're going to the bathroom together."

Horikita secretly gritted her teeth. If she hadn't had something important to handle that concerned the class's situation going forward, she would definitely have put this guy in his place today and taught him to rein it in.

As they passed the girls' bathroom, Kazami was just about to speak when Horikita stopped him in advance.

"Huh, weren't we going together? The gears of fate have only just begun to turn. Are you letting a few worldly conventions stop you? What a joke. The word 'quit' has never been in my dictionary. Whatever raging storms lie ahead, I'll break through every obstacle and charge straight toward the summit in my heart."

In the end, he didn't make it in. Horikita held tightly onto Kazami, who had been ready to charge straight ahead.

Emotion Points from Suzune Horikita +9...

The two arrived on the empty rooftop after Ayanokoji. As soon as they arrived, they saw him gazing at the distant horizon. With profound philosophical weight in his tone, he quietly asked, "Sensei, do you think this world is fair?"

The thought-provoking question hung in the air, as though it was about to open a deep discussion of human nature, rules, and fairness.

At that crucial moment, brimming with philosophical depth, Kazami beat Chabashira-sensei to it and blurted out, "It's not!"

His loud voice shattered the entire atmosphere on the rooftop.

Chabashira-sensei turned her head and shot him a resigned glance. "Did anyone ask you? Don't just answer out of turn. Stay quiet."

Damn it, if Horikita hadn't insisted on dragging me along to the bathroom... ahem, dragging me here, I wouldn't have come.

I clearly have deep insights of my own, so why can't I speak? This world isn't fair to begin with! No wonder Chabashira-sensei still can't get married at this delicate age. It must be her personality.