Chapter 3: Two Teachers and A Fated Special Exam

Chapter 3: Two Teachers and A Fated Special Exam

Chapter 3:

Two Teachers and A Fated Special Exam

T HE NEXT MORNING , I was assigned to be the manager (?) of the maid café.

But then, when we saw Chabashira’s grim expression as she strode into our classroom, many students immediately noticed that something was off. However, this time, unlike the usual for situations like this, the words “special exam” weren’t the first to spring to mind for most of us. That was because they probably assumed the next exam would be the sports festival itself. Furthermore, the cultural festival was coming up right after that.

“Before the sports festival in October, you’ll be taking a new special exam,” announced Chabashira.

Her statement caused a bit of an uproar amongst the students. There hadn’t been any special exams around this time last year, not while we were getting ready for the sports festival. But it sounded like this year was going to be different.

“Ugh, come on, are you kidding me?” Ike groaned. “We just got through that brutal uninhabited island exam, and now we have to take another one…?”

Though it had already become customary for him to complain about these things, I heard Ike mutter discontented grumblings before anyone else did. I supposed that for Ike, a new special exam was a grim prospect. He had just managed to overcome the uninhabited island when his back was against the wall and expulsion seemed imminent. On top of that, he had just officially become Shinohara Satsuki’s boyfriend as well. No matter how much Ike and Shinohara deepened their relationship and grew closer, suddenly finding themselves expelled from school now was most certainly possible, depending on the type of special exam. There was no doubt that students with particularly low levels of overall ability felt a sense of urgency.

“Hey, bring it on.” Sudou, who had absolute confidence in his athletic prowess, smacked his fists together. “I say we clear this special exam quickly before we completely dominate the sports festival.”

“Don’t get carried away,” snapped Horikita.

“…Sorry.”

Horikita’s immediate warning made Sudou feel a little dejected. He went silent. What a wonderful master-slave relationship they’ve… Er, well, I suppose I could say that they’re nurturing a friendship.

“If I’m being honest here, there have been very few instances of special exams being given at this time of year in the past,” Chabashira told us. “In fact, a special exam will not be held for the first-year and third-year students.”

Satou had been leaning against the back of her chair before, but now she pitched forward. “You mean that our grade is the only one getting a special exam before the sports festival?” she asked.

Chabashira didn’t deny it at all. She simply nodded.

“Because you second-years have been so exceptional, the school is giving you an appropriate level of recognition for your worth,” she replied.

“Huh?” said Satou. “Wait, a special exam because they recognize our worth…? Isn’t that a little strange?”

“It is certainly true that special exams come with a level of risk you ought to be wary of , ” said Chabashira. “Class Points or Private Points could be lost. Some students could even be expelled from school. However, on the other hand, it could be said that these give you even more opportunities to lead a more fulfilling life here at school. The more special exams that are held, the better your chances are for being promoted to Class A. And that is considered to be the most important thing of all.”

It was true that if you wanted to earn a large number of Class Points, it was extremely difficult to do so through ordinary, everyday activities. If anything, the periods of time when there weren’t any special exams were largely about keeping our Class Points from falling any lower. Whether it was the uninhabited island special exam or any other, opportunities to move up to higher-level classes only came when a special exam was being held.

“Happiness and unhappiness are two sides of the same coin. So, there are benefits to those risks, right?” said Horikita, having calmly accepted the news and taken a position close to Chabashira’s.

“Exactly,” said Chabashira.

“That being the case, there’s nothing for us to fear,” Horikita declared. “We are most definitely closing in on Class A now. There’s a chance we can break out of the three-way tie between B, C, and D. This just means that our chance is already here.”

The more opportunities we had, the better. That was the commonly held belief for everyone aiming for the top.

“That’s true, you’re right about that… And it’s not like complaining about it will make special exams go away or anything,” replied Satou.

Horikita’s words seemed to have convinced even Satou and our other lower-level classmates, judging from their expressions. Though you could say it was still a work in progress, Horikita’s growth as a pillar of support seemed to be having a clear, positive effect on her classmates. I suspected that Chabashira was probably inwardly pleased by this as well, even if she didn’t let it show on her face at all. She wasn’t the sort of teacher to show her sweet side in the first place, but lately, I felt like it was coming through a bit more than usual.

“You will be taking what is referred to as the ‘Unanimous Special Exam’ this time.”

The monitor lit up and Chabashira began explaining the exam. It was accompanied with various visual aids that had become customary at this point.

“This special exam is exceedingly simple. Hence, I will be accepting questions at any time if there is anything you are curious about. This exam will be administered tomorrow, and as you can probably surmise from the name, it consists of a series of multiple-choice questions which you will answer repeatedly until the entire class comes to a unanimous decision.”

“Tomorrow?” repeated Horikita. “That’s…rather sudden.”

We certainly weren’t being provided with adequate prep time for this. Of course, there weren’t any advantages or disadvantages because it was essentially a fair contest, but our class that had just settled down was now beginning to stir once again.

“As I just said, this special exam is simple,” Chabashira replied. “The school believes that there will not be any problems in going ahead with the exam tomorrow. There isn’t a need to spend time discussing things in advance.”

We would vote over and over again in class until we came to a unanimous decision. Just from hearing about that part alone, I certainly couldn’t see anything particularly complex about this exam.

“That means we’re not fighting against another class this time then, right?” asked Yousuke, immediately hoping for an answer on that point, considering it more important than anything else.

“That’s right,” said Chabashira. “Since this special exam only takes place within your class, you will not be competing against any rivals. On the day of the exam, the school will give you five ‘issues’ to complete. These issues are the same for all classes, with no differences between them.”

If the issues were different, that would mean the difficulty level would be different from class to class. I supposed that made sense.

“This might seem sudden, but I’m going to jump right into it. I will provide you with an example to help you understand.”

EXAMPLE ISSUE: Lose 5 Class Points, but all classmates gain 10,000 Private Points.

CHOICES: For, Against

The sample issue was shown on the monitor. Just like Chabashira had said, it was simple and easy to understand.

“Hm? Wait, what’s this?” said Shinohara. “Um… We’d go down by five Class Points, but in exchange, we can get 10,000 Private Points… This is an issue? Would that be a gain or a loss?” She counted on her fingers, trying to calculate the actual gains and losses in her head.

It wasn’t surprising that many unexpected questions would come to mind for people. Still, even though this was only an example, I had expected there to have been more choices to agonize over. We earned 100 Private Points each month for every Class Point. That meant that five Class Points were worth 500 Private Points. If you thought about the issue presented to us, the latter option was worth more in terms of Private Points, and by an overwhelming amount.

However, Class Points would continue to hold value. In one month, five Class Points was worth nothing more than 500 Private Points. However, if you calculated their worth over a longer time span, like say, over a year, then those mere five Class Points would be worth 6,000 Private Points. Considering the time we had remaining until graduation, we had eighteen opportunities left to receive Private Points, meaning from October of our second year to the March of our third year. In other words, we could consider the value of those Class Points to be worth 9,000 Private Points.

But things weren’t actually so simple. Supposing the loss of five Class Points here in this exam carried through, and in the end we missed on reaching Class A by that same margin, we would look back on this decision as the worst possible choice we could have made. Of course, the probability that five points would make all the difference between winning and losing probably wasn’t that high. In that case, it was quite possible that there could be cases in which it’d be more beneficial for us to gain the 10,000 Private Points.

Whichever point of view we took, there were advantages and disadvantages in the end.

“All thirty-nine of you will vote anonymously on each issue presented, choosing from the options presented to you,” Chabashira explained. “You’ll probably understand how this works the quickest by simply trying it for yourself, so let’s do just that right now. I’m sure that many of you have quite a lot of questions, but I’d like you to try and enter your votes without any time for discussion. Please enter your vote, for or against, on your tablets.”

After Chabashira tapped some things on the device in hand, all of the students’ tablets’ screens, mine included, now displayed something new. Our tablets displayed the issue, and we could either select For or Against on the screen. This truly was an unusual special exam unlike any we’d seen before.

I decided to consider this issue seriously for a moment.

Private Points had no direct effect on our Class Points. The fact that all of our classmates would get 10,000 Private Points by voting in favor was a simple benefit. And, by voting in favor, we were losing only five Class Points. But still, five Class Points was five Class Points. In that case, I supposed I needed to consider how someone would think about this, in terms of human nature.

It wasn’t a question of whether gaining 10,000 Private Points or not losing five Class Points was the better option. The real question was actually the opposite: could we make either of these choices without regretting it later? I decided to press For , which was likely going to be the less popular option, to see what the results would be. I figured it wasn’t the best idea to be unanimous the first time around. The tallying must have been complete shortly afterward because Chabashira looked up from the tablet in her hands.

“All right. Now that you’ve all finished voting, I’d like to go ahead and show you the results immediately.”

And with that, the tally was displayed up on the monitor.

Round 1 Voting Results: For: 3 Votes, Against: 36 Votes

I knew that there would be more votes against, but it was an even wider margin than I had expected.

“H-hey, um? Wouldn’t we get more going with the 10,000 Private Points than we’d get from five Class Points?” said Ike, puzzled. He looked around at his classmates. “We’d only get a few Private Points from those, right? Or did I mess up my math? Why’d so many people vote against?”

Judging from that comment, I could assume that Ike had also voted in favor.

“If we’re only talking about the number of Private Points we’re getting, then yes, it’s true that we’d get more Private Points by going with the 10,000 option,” said Horikita. “But Class Points are essential if we’re going to aim for Class A. If it’s only a difference of a thousand points, then why would we deliberately reduce our precious Class Points? There’d be no need to do that.”

She must have voted against, and she offered a theoretical explanation for her choice.

“In the unlikely event that those five Class Points end up spelling the difference between winning and losing, then I certainly couldn’t help but regret our choice if we gave them up,” she added.

Just as I thought, many students were naturally worried about the risks in the unlikely event something happened. I also couldn’t forget that the other three classes were also going to be voting on these same issues. If the other three classes voted unanimously to keep the Class Points and we didn’t, then that meant this class would be the only one falling a step behind. I supposed it would be a different story if we could make effective use of the 10,000 Private Points gained, though.

“I’m sure that you all have your own thoughts on how this went, but please, listen,” Chabashira told us. “We will be doing the vote over again because while there were overwhelmingly more votes opposed, the result was not unanimous. In the actual special exam, there will be a fixed ten-minute interval before the next vote. During that time, you are allowed to converse freely, and at times, you could even be permitted to get up from your seats and exchange opinions. But for the time being, we’re going to skip that part. Let’s commence the voting once again.”

The purpose of the test was to come to a unanimous decision. If we didn’t reach one, then the results of the vote would be invalidated, and there would be a mandatory ten-minute interval before the next vote. Even if we came to a consensus quickly, that would still be a significant amount of lost time. It was safe to assume that there was probably some kind of time limit somewhere, considering the structure of this special exam. It was possible we could run out of time if we continuously failed to reach a unanimous decision…

So, for our second vote, what we should do is vote Against without thinking too deeply on the issue. If we voted that way, we could steer things toward unanimity. That was precisely why I decided to vote For again this time, for the second vote. I thought that by doing so, my classmates would gain a better understanding of this special exam.

Round 2 Voting Results: For: 2 Votes, Against: 37 Votes

“H-hey, what?” shouted Sudou. “Some of you seriously voted For even after what we just talked about?!”

“I’m sorry,” said Horikita. “I’m one of the people who voted For , Sudou-kun. I deliberately chose to avoid letting it get to a unanimous decision. Apparently, there was someone else here who had the same idea I did… Hm.”

Though she didn’t turn to look at me, she might have been referring to me when she said that.

“And here we have the results of the second round of voting,” Chabashira said. “Almost everyone voted Against , but there were still two votes For . In this instance, there would normally be another ten-minute interval before voting resumed. This exam is designed so that voting periods and break intervals are repeated over and over until you finally reach a unanimous decision, either with thirty-nine votes For or thirty-nine votes Against . Of course, whatever choice you make in these issues will actually be passed. In this particular case, if there were thirty-nine votes For , you would all receive 10,000 Private Points, but you would lose five Class Points. Conversely, if all thirty-nine of you voted Against , then the issue would be rendered null and void. Nothing would happen.”

Meaning, in other words, that no one would gain or lose any points, and this issue would be over.

“Although you didn’t reach a unanimous decision, in the interest of saving time, I’m going to have you move onto the next example issue.”

EXAMPLE ISSUE: Grant 1 million Private Points to one person in class.

(If the vote is unanimously in favor of the issue, a student will be selected to receive the points, and another vote will be held on that issue.)

CHOICES: For, Against

“I’m sure you must have some thoughts about this example, but during the actual exam, you will be forbidden from whispering amongst yourselves before the first round of voting,” explained Chabashira. “Meaning that, first, you must genuinely tackle this issue head-on and vote.”

So it wasn’t until the second round of voting that we’d be able to discuss what we thought about the issue after reading it.

Round 1 Voting Results: For: 39 Votes, Against: 0 Votes

The results were displayed on the screen. It was an obvious outcome. Even if only one person out of thirty-nine would be receiving those Private Points, there was virtually no reason to choose the latter option. Even if you were disappointed that you didn’t receive anything yourself, it’d be difficult to get the class to vote unanimously against it.

“If you’re presented with an issue like this in the actual exam where a specific individual will need to be selected, the first step would be to reach a unanimous decision either For or Against , like you did just now in this example issue. If you voted Against , then the issue would be considered closed at that point. But if you voted unanimously For , the issue proceeds to the next step. During the break interval, you can discuss who you would like to recommend. The names of everyone in your class, yourself excluded, will be displayed on your respective tablets.”

The information displayed on our tablet screens had changed on their own, and sure enough, everyone’s names except my own were listed. However, the names weren’t listed in alphabetical order. They were listed irregularly with no rhyme or reason, not even with separation by gender.

Chabashira offered additional insight on this. “To ensure complete anonymity in voting, the positions of students’ names are changed each time there is a vote. This is also the case for options such as For and Against , which are also randomly switched. The reason for this is to prevent students from spying on their neighbors and guessing how they voted based on the position of their fingers.”

She was telling us we would absolutely not be able to guess how other students voted.

“Once discussion is underway, you may each vote at whatever time of your choosing,” she went on. “Simply tap on the name of the student you wish to recommend. During that period of time, you’re allowed to change your vote for another student as many times as you like by just tapping on the screen again. At the end of that ten-minute period, the majority… Well, in the case of this class, the student that has twenty votes will be designated. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that Ike had the most nominations and was selected.”

“Huh, me?! Yeah, dude!” he exclaimed happily.

“Now, Ike will temporarily lose the ability to vote, and the other thirty-eight of you will vote on the issue,” Chabashira explained.

To select a student, a simple majority was enough to pass to the next stage. I guessed that was how the whole nomination process worked. At any rate, the issue proceeded to the next step and a new round of voting had begun. We cast our votes.

EXAMPLE ISSUE: Grant 1 million Private Points to Ike Kanji.

CHOICES: For, Against

Round 2 Voting Results: For: 0 Votes, Against: 38 Votes

“Say whaaaa?! H-hey, why’d nobody vote for me?!” Ike exclaimed.

“Well, ’cause ain’t no way anybody would give you a million points,” said Sudou. That was what the entire class was probably thinking. “Just common sense, dude.”

“Now, because everyone had voted against Ike in this particular issue and came to a unanimous decision, that would mean Ike would not be granted those points,” Chabashira said. “Which, therefore, would mean those one million points would be left up in the air, and Ike would be removed from the list of candidates. The vote then would continue with the remaining thirty-eight students. However, please note that if you are unable to reach a final unanimous decision before the time limit, you fail, and the one million points wouldn’t be awarded to anyone.”

“Huh?!” said Ike. “Wait, so that means my chances of getting anything would just go down to zero?!”

“That’s exactly what it means. However, your name wouldn’t have been crossed off the list if just one student had voted in favor of you. Also, please note that self-nominations are accepted. If a student steps forward as a candidate during the discussion interval, they can be accepted as self-nomination on a first-come, first-served basis. However, only one candidacy per student per issue is allowed.”

“What would happen if no student got the majority vote within those ten minutes, or if no one steps forward as a candidate?” asked Horikita. “I would imagine such instances would be quite possible.”

“In those cases, a student would be selected at random from the class, and the vote would be held regardless,” Chabashira replied.

Apparently, the vote wouldn’t wait because we were indecisive. We would be forced to vote for someone.

“If we’re asked to choose an individual, we might very well end up wasting our time,” Horikita observed.

She was exactly right. If that happened, it would be like having as many things to vote for as people in our class. That said, I couldn’t imagine it would be that simple to just make a decision with a randomly selected student.

“Let’s stay on our toes, everyone,” Horikita said. “This special exam might be more difficult than we thought…”

Not all issues could be resolved through discussion. There was a good chance that we would be faced with a choice that we would never be able to reach a compromise on. I mean, if that sort of thing didn’t happen, then this wouldn’t make any sense as a special exam.

“Let me give you one last example issue,” said Chabashira. “This time, I’ll have you vote on something that would represent an actual physical change.”

EXAMPLE ISSUE: An additional facility will be built within Keyaki Mall. Which of the following would you prefer?

(Whichever receives the most votes, based on the collective results of all four classes, will be selected.)

CHOICES: Restaurant – General Store – Recreational Facility – Medical Facility

Unlike the previous example issues, which only allowed us to vote for or against, this time we had four available options to choose from. I assumed we were only going to be voting in favor of or opposed to things, but apparently that wasn’t the case. From what Chabashira had said, whatever choice we went with would be implemented. If this wasn’t an example issue, did that mean that they would actually go through with building whatever was chosen?

“When an issue is passed, for example if you vote in favor of something, that means the issue in question will actually be implemented,” Chabashira said. “However, issues that affect the entire school are processed in a unique way. When these types of issues are presented, your particular class’s unanimous vote on the subject counts simply as one vote overall toward the decision. So, if this class were to vote unanimously in favor of the restaurant, but the three other classes voted unanimously for a recreational facility, the decision would be made to add a recreational facility as that would have received three votes.”

Everyone in class probably understood what Chabashira meant. Basically, there were two types of issues: those that were immediately actionable after we finished voting on them, and those where our class’s position collectively counted as one vote overall. In any case, it seemed like we were expected to guide the class to unanimity with careful, discreet discussion. Whispering amongst ourselves was prohibited before the first vote, and that meant that students would make their initial choices based on their hunches.

Round 1 Voting Results: Restaurant: 20 Votes, General Store: 4 Votes, Recreational Facility: 15 Votes, Medical Facility: 0 Votes

“Now, because you didn’t reach a unanimous decision, there will be a ten-minute interval,” said Chabashira.

Now, we were experiencing a ten-minute discussion interval for the first time. A countdown timer started ticking on the monitor behind the podium. That timer would continue to count down until the next mandatory round of voting began. Students were free to leave their seats, and they were allowed to share their opinions however they wished, whether they wanted to talk in a loud voice for all to hear or if they wanted to whisper quietly to someone in particular. I observed my surroundings and waited for the timer to count down. Ten minutes passed without anyone giving any instructions in particular. Everyone just chatted away as they pleased.

“Please return to your seats just before the end of the break interval and prepare for the next round of voting,” Chabashira told us. “You’ll have a maximum of sixty seconds to vote. If everyone puts in their votes quickly, we’ll move on to announcing the results right away, without waiting for the time limit to be reached.”

From what she was saying, unlike the mandatory ten-minute interval between votes, the actual voting process could be shortened somewhat with a little ingenuity.

“Students who do not finish voting on an issue within those sixty seconds will be penalized without mercy for going over time. Individuals will have a maximum of ninety seconds of penalty time throughout the exam. Students who exceed that penalty allowance before finishing voting on all five issues will run out of time and be expelled.”

This was the school’s way of regulating us and ensuring that we absolutely would vote. Hypothetically, if a student didn’t want to vote and they sulked about it, they would quickly find themselves expelled from school thanks to this system. It was unlikely that a student would bother to do something like deliberately stall and delay each of their votes, because they would lose valuable time if they didn’t enter their votes within fifty-eight or fifty-nine seconds.

We had our second round of voting and got the following results.

Round 2 Voting Results: Restaurant: 23 Votes, General Store: 2 Votes, Recreational Facility: 14 Votes, Medical Facility: 0 Votes

Since we didn’t discuss the issue so we could come to a consensus, the results were roughly the same as the first round. It wasn’t going to be easy to steer things toward a unanimous decision on the first vote unless the issue was something completely obvious, but it didn’t seem to be that difficult to get thirty-nine votes for a particular option after coming to a unified opinion. However, that was only if the tasks were all within the realm of our expectations. Depending on the actual content of these issues, some of them could end up requiring considerable discussion.

“I’m going to finish the example issues there, but you should be able to understand how things work by now,” Chabashira said. “For you to pass this special exam, you need to come to a unanimous decision on five issues within five hours. If you fail to complete all of the issues within that time frame, you will suffer an extremely significant penalty. To be precise, the penalty is 300 Class Points.”

“Th-three hundred?!” exclaimed Ike.

As it turned out, this was a special exam that we absolutely had to finish.

“However, if you do finish in time, you will be awarded fifty Class Points.”

The rewards and penalties seemed unbalanced, but when you considered the exam’s difficulty level, I supposed it was reasonable.

“There’s no need to panic, everyone,” Yousuke chimed in. “We don’t have to fight against anybody this time, we just have to come to a consensus. We can vote over and over as many times as we want, as long as time permits, with the interval periods taken into account.”

“I’m sure that you have a general idea of what this special exam is going to be like from these examples,” said Chabashira. “I’m now going to show you a summary of the rules. Those of you who feel that you want to hold onto them should take a screenshot on your devices.”

Unanimous Special Exam Summary

Explanation of the Rules

All students in the class will vote from the choices provided on each issue presented by the school. There will be a total of 5 issues with a maximum of 4 choices each.

An issue will be voted on repeatedly until students have reached a unanimous decision on one of the choices.

If students run out of time on an issue, that issue will not pass, regardless of progress made on the vote.

If a unanimous decision is reached on a particular issue, that issue will pass, regardless of whether the class passes or fails the special exam overall.

If students finish voting on all issues, their class will be awarded 50 Class Points.

If students fail to finish voting on all issues within five hours, their class will lose 300 Class Points.

Special Exam Flow

An issue will be presented, and the first round of voting will be held within 60 seconds.

If a unanimous decision is reached, proceed to step 1 for the next issue to be voted on. If not, then proceed to step 3.

10-minute interval: During this time, students are free to move around and discuss the issue within their own classroom.

60-second voting period: Students cannot talk during this time and can only cast their vote. Students who do not finish voting within 60 seconds will accrue cumulative penalty time. If a student’s cumulative penalty time exceeds 90 seconds, that student will immediately be expelled.

Voting results are announced. If a unanimous decision has been reached, proceed to step 1 for the next issue. If not, return to step 3.

We would repeat this process over and over and finish the special exam after going through all five issues. If by some chance we failed, we’d be penalized. Losing 300 Class Points here would essentially mean losing our ticket to Class A. That was not an exaggeration. If we lost and the other three classes completed the exam, that would increase the gap between us and them by 350 Class Points.

We could discuss these issues as much as we wanted, but in the end, the problem was that the voting was completely anonymous. You couldn’t be sure who voted for what. Someone could claim that they voted against something when they actually voted in favor of it.

“Not even we teachers have any knowledge about what kinds of issues you’ll be presented with,” Chabashira added. “Some of you may be taking an optimistic view of this, but let me give you a word of caution: do not let your guard down, not by any means. Also, you are strictly forbidden from making any sort of contract or other agreements with other students to force them into voting for a specific option in this exam. You are not allowed to engage in monetary transactions with another student or anything similar that would put them in a binding agreement for a particular choice either. Please note that this doesn’t just apply to your own class, but to the other classes as well.”

So, forcing someone into voting a specific way via an agreement made beforehand wasn’t allowed. Even though we were allowed to consolidate to a certain extent and come to a consensus on an issue, we weren’t allowed to back things up with contracts and guarantees. If someone signed a contract that said they could only vote for option number one, there was a risk that the exam would no longer be viable. That would be true even if only one person in a class had signed that agreement. Something like that would make it possible to deliver a vicious blow to another class.

“School officials will be monitoring you closely and enforcing these rules,” Chabashira said. “If it is discovered that a third party, someone outside of the class, is somehow involved in something like forcing another student to vote in a specific way, the person or persons involved may be expelled without delay. That is a possibility, so do be prepared for that. Also, if any one of you is approached and asked to engage in illicit activities, please report it to the school immediately. We will do everything in our power to resolve the matter.”

If a class ran out of time in this special exam, school officials would most definitely investigate since finishing in time was a prerequisite. Since you were likely going to be faced with a strict penalty simply for talking about doing something against the rules, not even someone like Ryuuen would be doing anything blatantly obvious. Until the special exam started, it seemed like it’d be best to refrain from getting carelessly involved with students from other classes.

“Also, please note that Protect Points will temporarily be rendered ineffective for this special exam,” added Chabashira. “The reason being is that it is impossible to conduct a fair special exam if there is only one student who is protected. This means that if it’s decided that a student with a Protect Point is going to be expelled in any way, shape, or form, they will be unable to cancel that decision with the Protect Point in their possession. However, expulsion can still be avoided if either an individual or the entire class collectively pays 20 million Private Points. That is the only allowable method to counter an expulsion.”

Any student who was going to be expelled was done for: it would be definite. Did this mean that the school would sometimes nullify Protect Points since they could cancel out an expulsion? If we were dealing with a special exam where we were going up against another class, then temporarily invalidating Protect Points in those cases could lead to students feeling unsatisfied. However, in this case, this was nothing more than an in-class problem. In that sense, I supposed it wasn’t unreasonable for the school to apply this special rule here. It was inevitable that people would grumble about it, but even Kouenji didn’t seem to be bothered in the slightest.

“Please understand that during the special exam, all communication devices, such as your cell phones, will be collected. This is because the school deemed it possible that students could use them to contact people outside of their class. In the unlikely event that a student is found to have a concealed device, then… Well, I’m sure I don’t even need to spell it out for you at this point.”

She meant that expulsion was to follow, just like the other rules that we needed to observe here.

3.1

W HEN OUR LUNCH HOUR CAME , Yousuke immediately got up out of his seat and headed over to the podium.

“So, hey, I was thinking I’d like to hear everyone’s opinions before we have lunch, if that’s okay,” he addressed us. “What do you all think?”

Kushida raised her hand to answer first. “Um, aren’t there going to be conflicts because people will be divided on the options in this special exam?”

“She’s right about that,” said Horikita. “If we could come to a consensus on matters without fighting over anything, then there wouldn’t be any reason to go through the trouble of holding this special exam in the first place.”

“In that case, wouldn’t it be a good idea to decide upon a leader in advance, in case there are times when we can’t come to a consensus about something?” Kushida said. “I think that if we follow the decisions that such a leader would make, then we’d be able to get through this special exam without any problems.”

“That’s true. I agree with your opinion on that, Kushida-san. That means that the leader would have a serious responsibility, though,” noted Yousuke.

The more options and conflicting opinions there were, the more criticism that leader would face from students who supported choices that didn’t get picked. Whoever it was, it would need to be the sort of leader who could rally people together well.

“Actually, if you wouldn’t mind… Would you be able to do it, Horikita-san?” asked Kushida.

“Me?” asked Horikita.

“Yes. You’ve acted as the leader many times before, and more importantly, I think that you would keep everyone in line well enough that there won’t be any unfairness. Of course, it would be a serious responsibility, just like Hirata-kun said. So, if you’d be okay with it, Horikita-san, then… Well?”

“…You’re right,” said Horikita. “I suppose that it’s possible other classes will implement similar strategies, and it’d be a necessary measure to have in place when opinions are divided. If there’s anyone who feels hesitant to follow my orders when the time calls for it, please tell me now. This is the time.”

Students weren’t likely going to make a bid for the position themselves or make negative comments now after hearing what a huge responsibility it would be. Kushida’s proposal was swiftly approved, and everyone agreed that Horikita would lead the group in case of emergency. For a while after that, various opinions were exchanged back and forth, but no other major conclusions were reached. In the end, it was simply time for lunch, albeit somewhat later than usual.

“Think it’s time to get some food. Yukimuu, Miyacchi, you’re coming too, right?” said Haruka, turning back to look at them.

The two guys agreed, as usual, and got up from their seats. These were all members of the Ayanokouji Group. It was a small group of five, including me. Just as we were all getting together though, another student came running up to me. As soon as our eyes met, she called out my name.

“Kiyotaka, let’s go get lunch.”

She said it without pausing, but she appeared somewhat nervous as she looked me in the eyes. No one had been paying close attention to Kei as she came toward me, nor were they intentionally listening in on what she said. However, now, every student in our class besides Kouenji, all thirty-six of them, turned to look at us in unison.

“Sorry, guys, but I’m going to eat with Kei today,” I told them.

Before the people around us could understand what was happening, I pushed my chair back and stood up.

“…I wanna go to the café,” said Kei. “Is that okay?”

“Hey… Wha…? H-hold up,” said Haruka. “Karuizawa-san, why are you suddenly just butting in?”

“It’s not like there’s any rule against joining a conversation, is there?” Kei replied. “Didn’t you just hear what Kiyotaka said?”

“Y-yeah, I heard it, but… What’s going on? I thought you promised you’d come with us already though? …Also, hold up, ‘Kei’?” Haruka asked, rambling.

After a slight delay, Haruka started to understand why Kei and I were calling each other by our given names. Well, no, I supposed she might not have been able to completely understand what was happening here.

“Sorry, but I’m his girlfriend, so I’m his top priority. Okay?” said Kei.

Haruka paused for a moment. “Huh?”

“Girl…friend…?” whispered Airi.

The two muttered their respective comments at the exact same time, though their reactions were completely different.

“Anyway, as you can guess, Kiyotaka might have fewer chances to hang out with you guys as a group from now on,” added Kei.

She proceeded to tug me by the arm, leading me out of the classroom. “Come on, let’s go,” Kei urged. She must have been feeling quite embarrassed, judging from the fact that her face was starting to turn bright red. As for me, I hadn’t imagined that we were going to announce our relationship in this way at all…

Haruka, Airi, and the other students were dumbfounded, seemingly unable to follow after us.

3.2

T HANKS TO KEI’S BOLD ACTIONS , our relationship that until that point had only been known to a select few had immediately become public knowledge to our entire class. Words would likely spread through our whole grade by the end of the day. Actually, though, I was skeptical about how many students would really be interested in my relationship with her. The fact that Ike and Shinohara had gotten together during the summer vacation had made fewer waves than I had expected as a hot topic. If anything, it was more like people had already assumed that they would have gotten together.

Some of the guys in class seemed to be trying to put up a tough front, like they didn’t care about Ike and Shinohara being together. And, some of Ike’s friends honestly seemed a little jealous. However, it made no difference. That was because in the end, the fact they became a couple was celebrated by many. Ike and Shinohara nurtured their romantic relationship well, though it was gradual. I was also seeing them together more often lately. They walked back to the dorms from class together, they went on dates, and so on and so forth. What was at first a novel sight soon became the norm. I thought it was going to be the same with Kei and me, though I figured we might end up causing more commotion than Ike and Shinohara and for a longer period of time.

At any rate, we had now reached the end of the school day, and the entire class had come to know about my relationship. I sensed that from the time our afternoon classes started earlier, there was a certain girl in class who hadn’t looked at me once since lunch.

That girl was none other than Haruka, Airi’s best friend and her cheerleader, someone who understood her well. She approached me after class and called out to me.

“Hey, Kiyopon! If ya don’t mind, would you walk back to the dorms with me?”

I was expecting that Kei would suggest we walk back after class together, but when I had shot her a glance earlier, she was surrounded by girls bombarding her with questions.

“Are you sure that’s okay?” I asked her.

I had expected that Haruka would have definitely been offering her support to Airi right now, watching over her. Instead, Airi was slowly and silently getting ready to head back to the dorms.

“I know, I know, but there’s nothing I can say to her right now,” Haruka sighed. “Yeah? But, well, I guess if you tell me there are reasons you can’t walk back alone with me though, Kiyopon, that’d be a different story.”

Her expression hardened for just a moment.

“All right,” I replied.

Now that the fact Kei and I were going out was public knowledge, the number of opportunities that I’d have to get together with the Ayanokouji Group would inevitably decrease. Considering that, I figured it would be a good idea for me to hear everything that Haruka had to say, without restraint. Haruka and I each grabbed our things and headed to the front entrance of the building, walking all the way there from the rear exit. Haruka simply walked on ahead of me without uttering a single word as we moved along, seemingly unconcerned.

I occasionally stole glances to look at her from the side, and I saw that she had what appeared to be a look of anger and sadness on her face. Around the time that we put on our shoes and left the school building, she finally turned to look at me properly.

“There’s no point in me trying to ask this in a roundabout way, so I’m just going to come straight out with it… Is it really true that you and Karuizawa-san started dating? I still can’t believe it.”

“As you saw for yourself, yes, it’s true,” I replied.

After I told her that, Haruka pouted her lips and immediately nodded.

“Yeah… I guess it was plain to see, huh? Sorry, but it’s just…I was so shocked. Listen, of course you’re free to date whoever you want, Kiyopon. I just never imagined that you’d be seeing Karuizawa-san of all people. Y’know?”

For those who didn’t know her, Karuizawa Kei’s reputation was by no means clean. Most people had the impression that she was a selfish girl who quickly got together with the popular Yousuke and dumped him for her own self-serving reasons.

“I guess this is what you were talking about before, when we were by the pool. What you said about a little emotional shock. Except, you do realize that there wasn’t anything little about it at all, right? Airi was desperately trying her hardest to keep it together in the classroom, but she was crying all through lunch.”

“I see.”

“No, this is not just an ‘I see’ type of thing… Anyway, is it true that you guys started going out around spring break? Like, for real?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything. But I had a lot going on.”

“A lot, huh? Well, I guess there are lots of rumors going around about Karuizawa-san so I can kind of understand what you mean, but…” Haruka’s voice drifted off there.

I supposed it was understandable that people might have that perception of Kei since she had been dating Yousuke right around the time we started school here. She also likely fabricated details about her own past.

“So, like, it’s really true then?” Haruka asked again. “This isn’t a joke or anything?”

“It’s true,” I answered.

She sighed loudly. “I see. Well, it is what it is, I guess. I dunno, it’s just like, I’m still so confused by it… Well, sure, I had imagined you could be dating somebody, Kiyopon, or that you were in love with someone other than Airi, but… It’s just, I couldn’t imagine it being Karuizawa-san, no way.” Haruka was deeply perplexed. Apparently, all of her predictions had been way off the mark.

“I talked with Yukimuu and Miyacchi a little too, and they feel the same as me. And I didn’t hear Airi say anything about it directly, but I’m sure she must be more shocked than we are.”

I was sure she was right about that. Even I could imagine that quite easily.

“I mean, like, what’s the story behind it? I can’t even imagine that you would have had that many chances to hang out with her, or things in common, or anything.”

It didn’t surprise me that she wouldn’t be able to figure out when exactly Kei and I came to like one another.

“I was in Kei’s same group when we had that special exam on the ship last year,” I explained. “Ever since then, we started having chances to talk to each other a little more here and there. Then, when Yousuke and Kei decided to break up, that’s when our relationship started to take off.”

Some of the students had heard about the fact that Kei and Yousuke’s relationship ended in February of this year.

“So, you two have been hanging out for a pretty long time then? It didn’t look like you’ve been talking on a regular basis.”

“We mostly chatted on our phones,” I explained.

“This is going to sound really nosy, but I’ve got to ask. Which one of you asked the other out?”

It sounded like Haruka wanted to know more, as Airi’s protector and her spokesperson.

“I asked her,” I replied.

Haruka paused at that. “Okay. I had thought maybe Airi would still have a chance if Karuizawa-san had been the one to ask you out, but wow, I never thought it would’ve been you who did… I guess that’s that, then.”

She lightly slapped her forehead, and then proceeded to raise both of her arms up in the air in a gesture of giving up. Just as we neared the convenience store, Haruka spoke up once more, proposing that we stop.

“Hey, time-out for a sec. There’s just way too much information to process, and I feel like I’m losing track. Sorry, but can I swing through the store?”

“Sure. I’ll wait outside.”

Haruka gave me a brief apology for asking and quickly ran inside the convenience store, disappearing from my view. While she was inside, I took out my phone. It had vibrated in my pocket quite a few times as we were walking.

“I’ll be waiting for you at Keyaki Mall after this. They’ve been asking me question after question—it’s so exhausting!”

A message from my girlfriend and an invitation to come see her.

“Got it. I’ll contact you before I head over.”

After I confirmed that my message had been read, I put my phone back in my pocket. After another short minute or so, Haruka returned with a croquette in hand.

“I was so busy talking with Airi during lunch today that I didn’t get to eat at all,” she explained.

“That must’ve been a bother,” I replied.

“It wasn’t like it was a problem or anything, really…”

“I’m not sure if this is the best time for me to ask you for something, but to tell you the truth, there is something I’d like your help with, and Airi’s too, if possible,” I told her.

“ Our help?” repeated Haruka.

“This hasn’t been officially announced yet, but we decided on one of our acts for the cultural festival.”

“Whoa, really?”

“Only me, Horikita, and the people involved in planning it know, so we could make sure that information doesn’t get out,” I explained. “We’re planning to host a maid café for the cultural festival.”

“M…maid café? That’s, uh, kind of… Well, I’m not, like, shocked , but it is a little surprising. I can’t exactly picture Horikita-san approving that.”

“I think that she’s pretty neutral on everything, no matter what’s proposed to her. I think that she gave permission to go ahead with the idea because she simply thought that we could win this thing with the maid café idea. She wasn’t prejudiced against the concept.”

“I see. So…why are you talking to me about it then?” asked Haruka.

“Truth is, after finding out about this project, it turns out that I’m going to be the one managing lots of aspects of it,” I replied.

When I said that, Haruka nodded as though she understood. “Still, considering the situation, I got to hand it to Horikita-san for entrusting you with this, Kiyopon,” she said.

“I was wondering if I could ask you to help staff it,” I told her. “And Airi too.”

Haruka listened to my request with a look on her face that I couldn’t quite describe. She didn’t exactly appear surprised. Well, I supposed that I could more or less guess what she was thinking, from the way she was talking.

“If it hadn’t been for this whole thing with Karuizawa-san, I might have agreed to help right on the spot, even though I have some reservations about it,” she said. “I really, really don’t like stuff like dressing up in cosplay in front of lots of people, but I don’t think I could have refused an offer if it was coming from a part of our close friend group. But…gosh, your timing couldn’t have been worse.”

I guessed that meant it was out of the question for me to make a request like this right now, on the very day her close friend suffered a broken heart from unrequited love.

“It’s just well, the problem is I can’t really blame you for any of it, Kiyopon. I basically said as much earlier, but you’re free to date whoever. And I do understand that you have your reasons for not being able to say anything, I get that. Airi is free to have a crush on you, Kiyopon, and you’re free to reject her…”

Haruka clearly accepted it in theory, but her heart couldn’t accept it.

“I can’t make any promises,” she said. “But I’ll try talking to Airi when things calm down a little.”

“You sure that’s okay?” I asked.

“She’s going to have to face reality sooner or later. And, well, I don’t know how you feel about everything, Kiyopon, but if Karuizawa-san is Airi’s rival in love, then Airi might not even have to give up. I mean, even if you’re devoted to her, Kiyopon, there’s still a chance she might break up with you, right?”

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” I agreed. “I think there is a strong possibility that Kei could fall out of love with me.”

“If that time comes, then that just means Airi will get another chance. She doesn’t stand out at all right now, but she’s a diamond in the rough… And besides, your feelings may change too, Kiyopon.”

It was certainly true that if Airi put on one of those costumes and really gave it her all, she’d be just as good as those three other girls. Actually, no, if we took Airi’s physical features into account, then she might be without peer. Furthermore, although we weren’t talking about visitors who would be coming to our café, even the school officials might be shocked by Airi’s appearance. If Airi did work at the maid café, talk would immediately circulate around the school, and it was conceivable that even visitors would hear about it.

“Well, sure, that’s true,” I said. “But I wonder if Airi’s feelings might change after what happened?”

If the person you fell in love with already had a special someone, then it was natural that you’d go looking for your next love. I thought that by mentioning that I was only stating the obvious, but Haruka showed me the angriest look on her face that I had seen on her all day.

“Listen. Don’t you think that you’re taking Airi’s feelings too lightly? I’ve been watching her for a long, long time, so I really understand how she feels. What she feels for you isn’t so casual that it would just change because of something like this happening, Kiyopon.”

She strongly rejected what I’d said. That was wholly unexpected.

“I’m sure that you’ll be going out on more dates and stuff with Karuizawa-san and stuff, but make sure you actually come hang out with us too, okay?” she said. “I would hate for us to drift apart over something like this.”

“I see,” I replied. “I understand. This group we have right now is a part of my life here at this school too.”

I figured it would be disadvantageous for me to lose the group because of an incident like this.

Haruka quickly finished her croquette and put her trash in her bag. “All right,” she said. “I feel a little better now. I’m gonna head back to school.”

She didn’t say much about her plans, but it was clear that she was going to go see Airi.

“See you tomorrow,” she said.

“Yeah, see you tomorrow,” I replied.

I watched Haruka’s back as she ran back the way we came. Then, I turned and changed course myself, heading not toward the dormitory but instead to Keyaki Mall.

3.3

T HE EXCITEMENT IN THE AIR still hadn’t died down even after class that day. I returned to the dormitory from Keyaki Mall with Kei, the two of us chatting as we walked. When we reached the dorm lobby, we found Horikita sitting on the sofa, seemingly waiting for someone, and who she was waiting for would soon become clear.

The elevator was stopped on the first floor, above us. I pressed the button indicating that I wanted to head up. Once the doors opened, Kei and I got on, and so did Horikita.

“Ayanokouji-kun, may I have a word with you?” she asked.

The elevator stopped on the fourth floor, where my room was located.

“Well, later, Kiyotaka,” said Kei.

Kei was the type who got easily jealous, but she was also very good at reading situations. Kei also knew that I didn’t even view Horikita as a member of the opposite sex to begin with, and since we just heard about an upcoming special exam, she probably didn’t have to give it much thought to determine that it would be better for her not to interfere.

“Okay. I’ll talk to you later,” I told her.

A year ago, I probably wouldn’t have believed that Kei and I would have become lovers and be spending time together like this.

I got off the elevator and Horikita followed suit. Kei stayed put, and when I turned around, I saw her smiling and waving to me from inside the elevator as the doors began to close. Soon, the doors were shut, and the elevator continued on to the upper floors.

“How long have you been seeing her?” asked Horikita.

“Not sure, exactly. Who can say?”

“Rumor has it you started going out over spring vacation, but in truth, didn’t this relationship of yours start progressing much earlier in the year?” Horikita turned to me with a look in her eyes that made it seem like she was implying something.

“I wonder,” I replied.

Whether or not there was any basis for what Horikita was saying, I was neither interested nor willing to touch on it.

“Enough about that,” I said. “You said you wanted to talk to me?”

“Yes… It’s about the special exam. There’s something I wanted to ask you about it. Is that okay?”

“Sure. I don’t mind.”

“Huh? Oh…okay.”

“What’s with that reaction?” I asked.

“Well, it’s just, knowing you, I was expecting you to say no,” she said. “I was more prepared for that. You did look disgruntled when I had asked you to handle the maid café yesterday. Weren’t you?”

Apparently, Horikita was shocked by how readily I had accepted her request for a consultation.

“Not here,” I told her. “Step into my room.”

Anyone could be listening if we stood around in the hallway, after all. I unlocked the door to my room, room 401, and we went inside.

“You’re not going to ask me to help with something again, are you?” I asked.

“Well… I’m not sure. In any case, if you’re willing to hear me out, we’ll just start there.”

Perhaps Horikita was concerned that if she provoked me too much I would refuse her, because she decided to just start saying what she wanted to say.

“To ensure we make it through this special exam, I was considering holding a semi-compulsory meeting of our own beforehand,” she said. “But even if we try to prepare for this special exam, it would be totally absurd for us to attempt to have the class come to a consensus on things when we don’t even know what the issues are going to be in the first place, wouldn’t it?”

“Depending on the situation, we will inevitably have to go with different options,” I agreed.

Even if there were only two choices for an issue, such as for or against, it would be nothing short of reckless to decide on voting only one way before we even knew what the situations were.

“You’ve probably thought of your own way of making it through this special exam, haven’t you, Horikita?” I asked.

“I think that the most efficient way to be certain we can pass this special exam is for someone to have the final say in decisions,” said Horikita. “No matter how many options there are, and no matter how the votes are split, we’ll have people promise to follow the leader’s judgment in advance and act in accordance with the leader’s wishes.”

That was what Kushida had proposed during our lunch break. With that strategy, we wouldn’t consider whether or not any individual would be dissatisfied with the choices. It was certainly true that this arrangement would be the simplest possible solution if we could make it a reality.

“I hope that we’re really able to bring everyone together that way,” I said.

“Yes, me too… There will definitely be some students who won’t be satisfied with some of the issues though… I suppose if this was a dictatorship like Ryuuen’s class, then this whole discussion would go more quickly.”

Horikita and I wished that we had the type of coercive force to make students do what we wanted, but Ryuuen could exercise that force without mercy. Still, whether or not something like that would actually work in reality was another matter.

“The fact that all voting is done anonymously means that students who are dissatisfied with Ryuuen can vote for the opposite opinion as him,” I pointed out. “There’s no guarantee that merely issuing an order will mean he can get things to pass.”

“If students are dissatisfied with Ryuuen’s methods, I suppose there’s nothing they can do but rebel against him,” Horikita agreed. “But it’s also a fact that there is nothing for them to gain by doing so. After all, if the vote is split and time runs out, the whole class will suffer for it, correct? In the end, I’m sure they’ll come together, even if Ryuuen leaves them be.”

“I understand what you’re trying to say, but you’re actually contradicting yourself by bringing this up,” I said. “No one wants to fail a special exam. In the end, people will definitely come to a consensus and vote accordingly. If that basic premise is true, then you don’t even need a strategy in the first place, do you?”

“That’s—”

“No student would want to let time run out to the detriment of the class,” I added. “But I think it’s still best that we don’t assume we can finish voting on all five issues if we leave things be. There’d be no reason for the school to even call this a special exam if that was the case.”

“Yes…you’re exactly right about that,” conceded Horikita.

“All you can do right now is make up your mind to be flexible. For example, let’s say we’re faced with an issue where thirty-eight voted for, and one person voted against. What would you do?”

“I would do everything in my power to get that one person who voted against to change their vote, of course,” said Horikita.

“Right. But what if that one person who voted against absolutely, positively wouldn’t give in?”

“Well…”

“You may not necessarily always win by going with the thirty-eight in favor. While you’re trying to persuade that lone student, some of the thirty-eight students who voted in favor might even end up changing their opinions,” I added.

“Even if that one person’s ideas are detrimental to the majority of the class?” asked Horikita.

“It all depends on the context, really.”

I wouldn’t be surprised if an issue like that was waiting for us: something that someone absolutely would not bend on.

“Somehow, this feels a little bit unsettling,” Horikita said.

“How so?”

“Because you gave me advice without any hesitation. I…didn’t imagine that it has anything to do with the fact that you’re dating Karuizawa-san now, but what’s your angle here?”

“What I told you could hardly even count as advice,” I said. “I’m sure that, in the back of your mind, you’ve already considered the possibility of something like that happening.”

“Yes, you’re right… All right, then, I’ll come out and tell you about my main purpose for coming to talk to you. I have a proposal regarding tomorrow’s special exam. I could ask someone else to do this, but I wanted to ask someone who I knew would understand.”

“Meaning you want me to always pick a different option from you in the first round of voting?”

“Could you please not preempt my thoughts?” she snapped.

I moved a little further away from Horikita once I saw that she was irritated.

“It’s just that it was something I was already thinking of doing, in the event that no one suggested it,” I said. “I didn’t imagine we’d have the same idea.”

“…Really?”

Apparently, the random excuse I came up with had worked, and Horikita was somewhat convinced. I could see that her anger had dissipated. Well, it was true that I had that idea already anyway, to do at least that much. I guess the excuse I gave wasn’t totally bunk. It would be better to avoid the risk of making an unexpected choice as the result of biases caused by the heat of the moment.

“If we came to a unanimous decision through sheer coincidence, that would be a little scary. Even if it was an issue that 99 percent of the class was in favor of or against, or if it was in a situation where both options had advantages and disadvantages,” said Horikita.

“That’s true. If an issue passes as a result of an entirely random happenstance, we won’t be able to take it back. Still, planning to make use of that interval period every time isn’t necessarily a good idea. You should keep that in mind. There’s a risk that we might encounter an issue that we would’ve come to a unanimous decision on if we just stuck with the momentum we had from the start, only to find that things are split further when the time comes for discussion. We could end up not being able to reach a consensus. You have to factor that into your calculations.”

“Yes, you’re right. You’re absolutely right,” said Horikita.

To delve into the argument was to plunge your hand into the deep. And if you drew an unexpected darkness out as a result, it could end up costing us a lot of time.

“Under the rules of this special exam, there’s no way to determine with certainty who voted for what, no matter how much we discuss it,” I went on. “Even if people make pledges, it might not be 100 percent true.”

“You’re saying that people will lie to me?” asked Horikita.

“Depending on the situation, sure,” I replied. “It’s tough to say right now that the class is really united as one.”

Now that I said that, I was sure several people came to Horikita’s mind.

“You’re referring to Kushida-san and Kouenji-kun, right?” she said.

“Kushida would probably lie without batting an eyelash, but as for Kouenji, there’s a chance that he might deliberately choose something different than his classmates. His contrarian nature could rear its head. That’s what I mean.”

“Hey…why are you telling me all of this in such detail? It really is strange. You’ve never given me advice quite like this before.”

Horikita was naturally, intuitively sensing that there was a change in me.

“Because I judged that as you are now, Horikita, you would be able to genuinely listen to what I had to say. You also have the kind of adaptability to understand it.”

“Can I…take that to be a compliment?” she asked.

“In a manner of speaking, sure.”

“Yeah… This is kind of unsett—”

Just then, I briefly heard the sound of a cell phone vibrating.

“Excuse me for a minute,” said Horikita.

With that, Horikita took out her phone, and our conversation was put on hold. She stared down at the screen and began tapping on it.

“Let me send her a message,” she said. “There’s a chance I might not see that she’s read it for a while if I’m careless about it.”

I didn’t have any intention of stopping Horikita, of course, but who did she mean by “she”? I couldn’t help but wonder about that. Though I was a little curious, I decided to just wait quietly until Horikita finished composing her rather long message. She took about two minutes to do it, but eventually, she sent her message and put her phone away in her pocket.

“At any rate, I’ve said what I’ve wanted to say to you,” she told me. “I’ll be counting on you during tomorrow’s special exam.”

She must not have intended to stay very long in the first place because she immediately left my room after that.

3.4

I T WAS A LITTLE BEFORE six o’clock in the evening—the time when the sun would soon set and night would fall. Though today was supposed to have been an ordinary day, a special exam was announced to us. It ended up being a very trying day with an unusually large amount of information I needed to process.

It would have been much easier if I could just let things be and wait for the day to come to an end, but that wasn’t going to happen. The Unanimous Special Exam, which had been announced to us on rather short notice, was being held tomorrow.

“Hey there.”

Yousuke was the first to show up as I waited in my room.

“Come on in,” I said.

Thinking about it, this was the first time I had invited Yousuke to come into my room like this, wasn’t it?

“Hello~!”

Shortly afterward, Kei arrived as well.

“You know, it’s kind of unusual, but it’s interesting, isn’t it?” she said. “The three of us getting together like this.”

“You might be right about that,” I agreed.

I hadn’t told them the reason why I asked them both to come here, but I figured that Yousuke might have already guessed.

“I thought we should come up with some countermeasures for the special exam tomorrow,” I said.

“Countermeasures?” echoed Kei. “But it’s just an exam where we just have to come to a unanimous decision on stuff, right?”

“From what we’ve heard, I certainly don’t think it’ll be that difficult of an exam,” replied Yousuke. “The special exams we’ve had in the past have been much more difficult, in terms of their rules.”

Yousuke gestured as though he were giving the matter some thought. Then, he continued speaking, explaining the situation to Kei.

“However, I think that maybe this one won’t exactly be that straightforward either, like those difficult special exams we’ve had in the past. If you think about it, if we were following along with the rules, then this would be an exam where we’d gain Class Points simply by coming to a unanimous decision. Our class coming to a consensus in itself isn’t that difficult.”

“Yeah, I think so too,” Kei said.

“So, in other words, if this exam isn’t going to be that easy, that means it’s highly likely that there are going to be issues that people will be divided on,” Yousuke concluded.

His thinking was right on the mark. Although individual students in class might have their own ways of thinking, they would be willing to be flexible to a certain extent to align their votes if it was in the best interest of the class. It might have been a different story if this exam occurred back when we were first-year students and new at this school, but now that we were second-years, the bonds between us as friends had deepened considerably. Moreover, even if we couldn’t reach a unanimous decision at first, there wasn’t a penalty for that. We could repeatedly set aside time for discussion and work things out. So, it was understandable that an exam like this, with such relief measures in place, would seem lax from Kei’s perspective.

“But, like, what kinds of issues would it be difficult for us to reach a unanimous decision on anyway?” she asked.

“Well, I can’t really come up with anything right on the spot,” Yousuke replied, “but…I think there would definitely be those kinds of issues…”

What kinds of questions would my classmates agonize over? It seemed like Yousuke wasn’t able to come up with any ideas right away. I thought I’d speak up with one easy-to-understand issue.

“Until we graduate, we can only eat either rice or bread starting now. Choose,” I told them.

“Huh? What’s with those choices?” said Kei.

“Choosing between rice and bread is something that kind of makes me want to chuckle at its simplicity, but it’s actually a hard choice,” said Yousuke.

“I’d definitely go with bread, myself , ” Kei decided. “Going without having any kind of bread until graduation? Absolutely not, no way.”

“In my case, I’d probably go with rice… I’ve been fine having bread like once a week or so, anyway,” said Yousuke.

“If I had to choose, I suppose I’d pick rice too,” I said. “And, well, as you can see, we three have our own opinions on this, right? If we were to have the entire class vote on this, it wouldn’t be easy. If there were thirty people who were in favor of rice, would you be able to go along with them?”

“No way! I mean, not being able to have any at all until graduation? I’d still vote for bread,” said Kei.

There were going to be some students who would resist, like Kei, who wouldn’t be easily swayed by the majority and wouldn’t back down. That would lead to problems.

“Now, if we were to consider a more realistic comparison, relatively speaking: all future special exams will either be based solely on academic ability or physical ability. What if we faced an issue like that?” I asked.

When I posed that problem, Yousuke and Kei exchanged looks.

“For an athletic student like Sudou, he would absolutely choose physical ability,” I went on. “But a student who wasn’t so athletically gifted, like Keisei, would have to do anything and everything he could to steer the vote toward a unanimous decision in favor of academic ability.”

Of course, it was possible that Sudou could back down and vote the other way, especially since he had been pouring a lot of effort into his studies lately. Even so, he would do much better if he were evaluated based on his physical abilities. And even if Sudou could be swayed, a different student who wasn’t academically inclined at all wouldn’t be able to compromise on the decision at all.

“If an issue is passed unanimously, that means it’s enforced, correct?” I said. “Meaning, in other words, depending on how the situation plays out, would we need to be prepared to lose 300 Class Points as a penalty if we can’t choose an option?”

“I don’t know… Difficult choices will obviously have to be made, but losing 300 Class Points would mean giving up our ticket to Class A,” said Yousuke. “Our first priority should be clearing this exam.”

Kei sighed, “I’m starting to think that this is going to be really tough…”

“Is that why you called us here?” asked Yousuke.

“Yeah,” I replied. “This next special exam is going to require a strong sense of unity amongst our classmates. The class breaking into complete disagreement once or twice is fine, but if it goes on for a long time, fights could start to break out. When that time comes, you two will be needed to conduct yourselves skillfully and sway the votes. You are the central figures of the class.”

“You’re right,” said Yousuke. “But in that case, shouldn’t Horikita-san be included in this discussion we’re having now too? She took on the role of class leader for this exam, after all.”

Yousuke’s point was obvious. It would be best if Horikita led these two and controlled the class instead of me taking the initiative here. However, at this stage, I couldn’t withdraw my support quite yet.

“This time, we will be supporting Horikita from the shadows,” I told them. “What we’re discussing here is strictly confidential.”

“Why, though?” asked Kei. “I mean, personally, I don’t like the idea of following Horikita-san’s orders anyway…”

“Kei, Yousuke, you two have the ability to read the room much better than the average student. However, starting now, I want you two to be able to respond to things with even more flexibility than you do now. If you can intuitively sense what Horikita is thinking and what she wants to do, the class will become much, much stronger.”

“Why don’t you do it though, Kiyotaka? That would solve the problem,” said Kei.

“You can’t always count on me to be able to act,” I said. “You should be prepared for unforeseen situations.”

“Unforeseen situations?” she repeated.

“I could suddenly fall ill, or I could unexpectedly get expelled. That’s conceivable, isn’t it?”

“That’s… Well, I… Well, expulsion, like, no way! I can’t picture that happening,” she replied. “But it is true you could suddenly get sick, that might happen.”

I couldn’t back them up at any given time forever. If they couldn’t act in anticipation of situations like that, they couldn’t expect to see the class make a great leap forward.

“Anyway, I understand,” Yousuke said. “We just need to follow Horikita’s lead well and make sure that the special exam proceeds smoothly, right?”

“Right. Kei, Yousuke, let me give you some instructions and some signals in advance—things that no one other than you two will understand.”

Since we were allowed to freely discuss and move about during the interval periods, the act of whispering into someone’s ear wouldn’t be problematic in itself. However, depending on how the situation played out, it might become necessary to send instructions to Kei and Yousuke without letting anyone else know that we were communicating. Even in situations where whispering amongst ourselves was prohibited, it was still possible to exchange signals, like by coughing, lightly tapping on our desks, and so on. I had both Kei and Yousuke generally memorize multiple patterns of signs and signals.

Then, I looked over at Yousuke.

“Yousuke, one last thing, a warning. This won’t be necessary if we manage to get through all five issues smoothly, but if we have fewer than two hours remaining, and it doesn’t look like we’ll be able to finish the special exam in time, desperate measures may need to be taken.”

I decided to tell Yousuke that now so he could prepare himself. So he wouldn’t go out of control if that time came.

3.5

T HE DAY BEFORE the special exam had been quite hectic in a lot of ways and it was just about to come to an end. It was now after ten o’clock at night. I was in bed looking at my phone when I received a call. Although I didn’t have the caller registered in my contacts, I recognized the eleven-digit number.

“Hello,” I said, answering the phone.

“I sincerely apologize for calling you so late at night. Might I have a moment of your time?”

“It’s all right,” I replied. “It certainly has been quite some time since we last spoke, Chairman Sakayanagi, sir.”

That’s right—the phone number belonged to none other than the current chairman of the Advanced Nurturing High School.

“I realize that I have made you worry quite a bit, but I’m all right now.”

“I’m just glad that you seem to be well.”

“It seems that things have been quite trying for you as well. But I must admit, I cannot hide my surprise that you managed to remain safe and sound here at this school without incident. You were in the midst of an extremely disadvantageous battle.”

“Only through happenstance, really,” I said. “I’m sure that if he were serious about it, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

It wasn’t necessary for me to mention any names out loud. I knew that Chairman Sakayanagi understood that I was referring to Tsukishiro, who had filled in for his position while he was away.

“Once I saw that everything was over, I certainly had a few questions of my own about his actions…but let’s not talk about that today. I’m going to support you closely from now on. I thought I’d let you know about it as soon as I possibly could.”

After a pause, he continued speaking.

“I’m sure you’ve heard about the upcoming cultural festival, which is a first for our institution. And yes, government officials and their families have been invited to attend. Now that things have been set in motion, I can’t stop it myself.”

If the parties involved have already been notified, then it would understandably be difficult for him to withdraw invitations now.

“There’s nothing for you to apologize for, sir. I’m sure that the students are looking forward to it.”

Although the nature of the festival was a bit like a special exam, it was within the range of things a student could enjoy. Whether it actually ended up being nothing more than a simple cultural festival for me , though, was another story.

“On that note… I would like to tell you about something that hasn’t been announced yet. I would like to share this information with you first, and you alone.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“It’s about the sports festival to be held in October, which is something of a prelude to the cultural festival. The sports festival is similar to the cultural festival in some respects. First of all, it has suddenly been decided that we will be welcoming some visitors on campus.”

“Visitors?” That was something I hadn’t expected to hear.

“If you trace the history of the event back to its origins, you’ll find that sports festivals are something that students’ parents come to watch. In that sense, the idea of welcoming guests is not in itself dissimilar to that original concept of the event…”

“I see.” It was true that when I saw them on TV, there were families with cameras and packed lunches at events like athletic meets and sports festivals.

“Suddenly allowing guests to freely come visit for the cultural festival poses some security concerns because it is a rather unprecedented event.”

In a sense, it would be kind of like a test for the school. They were preparing to welcome a larger number of guests in full force later on.

“Guest selection rests entirely on the higher-ups, so I can’t deny the possibility that Ayan—I mean, that your father might make an appearance. Therefore, in consideration of the danger you face in this, I would like to assign a few people to watch over you.”

“I sincerely appreciate the sentiment, but I’m nothing more than a student at this school, the same as any other,” I told him. “I don’t want that kind of special treatment.”

“In that case, how do you plan to handle the situation should you run into anyone sent by your father?”

“I understand that it’s a difficult problem.”

Obviously, it was unlikely I’d be able to get through such a situation using force. That went without saying. It would be easier for me if he tried to target me in a secluded area. If he sent people to the campus posing as school officials and they instructed me to come along with them while I had friends and acquaintances around, I would have no way of refusing. I couldn’t even ask questions like, “You’re all a bunch of frauds, aren’t you? Agents sent by him?” or anything.

“I think that I already understood that you are that sort of person, I suppose. But if you were to be expelled from school in some way… I’m sure that I would regret it. I would like to avoid feeling regret over not doing whatever I could have done to prevent something like that.”

“Even if I were to follow your instructions, sir, it would look unnatural to have a guard watching over me,” I pointed out.

“In that case, I would like to ask you to be absent from the sports festival.”

“You want me…to not participate?” That certainly hadn’t been within my range of expectations.

“I’m sure you yourself understand that sometimes, with events such as these, people fall ill and have to be absent on the day of the exam.”

“Yes. Although the class would be put at a disadvantage with me gone, there aren’t any mandatory attendance rules that would result in me getting expelled for being absent.”

Students were responsible for maintaining their own health, but even so, it was inevitable that people would fall ill sometimes. If it were a small-scale special exam, the school might adopt emergency measures like waiting until all students from each grade were present before going ahead. But for a school-wide event like the sports festival, that wouldn’t be possible.

“We will have you confined to your room with everyone operating under the assumption you already underwent a medical check-up. Then, I can go ahead and place a trusted observer outside the dormitory to keep watch.”

If I were ordered to rest in my room and be absent due to illness, my classmates would have to agree that I had no other choice. If there was someone loitering around the dormitory building and standing watch, other students would only see that person as just another security guard.

“That might very well keep me out of his reach, if we did that,” I conceded.

“There are other risks, of course. As you said earlier, there’s no avoiding the fact that the other children enrolled in your same class will be put at a disadvantage. They’d have to face the challenges while one of their fellow classmates is absent.”

The fact that Chancellor Sakayanagi was offering to allow me to be absent by faking illness made it clear how generous and kind his support was. It was also gratifying to see that he wanted to keep things low-key, without showing me any excessive favoritism. Still, although it was a very kind offer, my first thought when I heard his proposal was that I would refuse. However, another idea was coming to mind.

“Would you please give me some time to consider?” I asked.

“Of course. I cannot force you, after all, so I will leave the final decision to you. However—”

“I understand. I am seriously considering accepting the idea of being absent.”

“All right. Please give me a response one week before the sports festival. There are preparations I need to make on my end, as well.”

He needed to arrange personnel and such for this plan, so that length of time was quite practical.

After I ended the call, I thought about the sports festival and how it might end up going on without me. Of course, it was entirely possible that students from other classes and in other grade levels could call in sick on that day too. It wasn’t easy to get the entire student body together for every single exam and event, after all.

“No,” I muttered aloud to myself, “I need to concentrate on the special exam in front of me first.”

This upcoming special exam… It could very well be more painful than any other special exam that had come before. One way or another, we were able to prepare for every other special exam we faced so far. But this time, there was no surefire strategy. We had to believe in our classmates and work together as one.

And after that, a sports festival, and a cultural festival. Though there were new things to worry about this year that we didn’t have to deal with last year, before everything else, we simply had to get through tomorrow’s special exam.

3.6

S EVERAL HOURS PRIOR.

“Hello, Kushida-senpai.”

After class ended for the day, Kushida visited Yagami Takuya in the first-year dormitory. The evening sun was shining faintly through a slight gap in the almost fully closed curtains. Kushida gazed at the steam rising from the freshly brewed tea sitting on the table. She didn’t reach for it.

“I didn’t poison it or slip any drugs into it, you know,” said Yagami.

“I don’t care about the tea,” replied Kushida, making no attempt to hide her irritation. She pulled out her cell phone and held it out with a grim look on her face. “Can we please just hurry up and get on with it already?”

“Ah, please excuse my rudeness,” Yagami said. “Very well then, let’s have a listen.”

Yagami pressed the play button on Kushida’s phone. From her device, he heard Chabashira’s voice providing a summary of the Unanimous Special Exam that had been announced to the second-year students. The recording seemed to start somewhere in the middle of her explanation. After silently listening to everything that was on the recording, including the example issues that were given to Kushida’s class, Yagami returned Kushida’s phone to her.

“You wish to crush Horikita Suzune and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, Kushida-senpai. That’s what this is supposed to be about, right?” asked Yagami.

Kushida, as if to say that she didn’t even need to answer that, remained silent.

“I was briefed about this special exam by some upperclassmen beforehand, but I have to say, it certainly is an exceedingly straightforward exam,” he went on. “You simply choose an option from the multiple choices available and repeat the voting process over and over again until you reach a unanimous decision. There are five issues in total, and you have five hours to get through them all. What were your thoughts when you heard about it?”

“That it’s simple,” said Kushida, after a pause.

“Yes, certainly,” Yagami agreed. “For something that is being billed as a special exam, it is extremely elementary. However, the punishment for running out of time is quite severe. No doubt that must be because the school created this exam on the assumption that it would be passed. You have to take into consideration the fact that a class would inevitably move toward a unanimous decision once time is close to running out. Anyone would want to avoid a heavy penalty, after all, even if it meant voting for an option that they didn’t like.”

Yagami reached for the steaming cup of tea that sat in front of Kushida, taking it into his hands.

“Now then, onto the heart of the matter,” he said. “You are already in the middle of your second year. However, while you do want those two expelled, you still haven’t had the perfect opportunity fall into your lap yet.”

“As far as I’m concerned, you’re a little bit responsible for that yourself , ” snapped Kushida. “But whatever, it doesn’t matter.” She held herself back from going further, understanding that there wasn’t anything to be gained by lashing out at Yagami right here and now.

“Have you told Horikita-senpai?” asked Yagami.

“Oh… You mean about being the leader? Yes, more or less. I think she would’ve gone ahead and done it on her own anyway, though, even if I didn’t say anything.”

“No, no, it isn’t good to leave things in a state of ambiguity. It is important for you to make sure that Horikita-senpai is entrusted with the role and to get her to make a firm declaration that she would handle it, Kushida-senpai.”

“So, what now? Do you think I can get her expelled in this upcoming special exam?”

At that question, Yagami let out a little chuckle before taking a sip of tea from his cup.

“Yes, certainly,” he said. “I listened to your recording to make sure that there was nothing I missed hearing or misinterpreted, just in case. After hearing what you’ve provided, things have been made clear. It is…quite possible that you could do that in this upcoming special exam.”

“…How could you possibly know that?” Kushida snorted. “The only instance where expulsion is given as a penalty is if someone runs over time. Do you think that Horikita would make a mistake like that? No, not just Horikita; no one would make that kind of mistake.”

“Certainly not. It’s unlikely anyone would be stupid enough to allow themselves to run over time and be expelled for it. But from what I can tell, I think that there are other ways someone could be expelled.”

Kushida blinked. “Huh?”

“Expel Horikita-senpai, or, depending on the situation, expel Ayanokouji-senpai. There might be a possibility that you can crush the people you wish to crush. When that time comes, you shouldn’t hesitate to guide the conversation toward targeting both of them.”

Yagami then proceeded to elaborate on what he meant by using an example: an issue that was expected to be given in this upcoming special exam.

“Is that really true…?” asked Kushida.

“Well, I don’t think it’ll necessarily be exactly the same, not word for word,” Yagami said. “However. I do think there is a significant possibility that there will be an issue on the exam like the one I just told you about.”

Yagami hadn’t actually been told about this special exam by Tsukishiro, but after listening to the teacher’s explanation, he figured that issues like the one he had mentioned would be on the exam.

“So, when an issue like that does appear, there is only one course of action for you to take, Kushida-senpai.”

Yagami went on to explain precisely how she could drive Horikita and Ayanokouji into a corner, should that issue come up.

“So, what do you think?” he said. “Doesn’t this make the possibility of getting them expelled look much more attainable? Of course, you’ll be reducing your entire class to tears by doing this, but that would be a small matter for you, wouldn’t it?”

“Do you… Do you really think I could do something like that?” Kushida asked.

“In my view, you certainly have the capability. Or am I wrong in my assessment of you?”

“You certainly seem to have a high opinion of me.”

“Well, I had to test my senpai when we first met, to see if you were someone I could use.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“Do you remember when I approached you that time? ‘It’s me. Do you not recognize me?’” asked Yagami.

“I was flustered,” she said. “What about it?”

“What about it? Well, normally, anyone would have had their doubts in a situation like that. After all, we were complete strangers then, Kushida-senpai. We hadn’t met before, not even once. Despite that, you immediately navigated the conversation, deftly managing to make your way through by improvising. That was exactly how I came to understand that you, senpai, are someone capable.”

“But what if I had said, ‘Who are you?’ back then, when we met?” said Kushida. “I might have simply forgotten if we met before.”

“I don’t think you would have. Because if you didn’t know where we met before, it could have turned out that we went to the same junior high. If that was the case, there’d be a possibility that I knew about your past. I’m sure it would’ve been a big problem for you in the unlikely event I were to say something like, ‘I know about that incident’ to you.”

Yagami was implying that in order to reject the possibility of something like that happening, Kushida immediately improvised back then to go along with the flow of conversation.

“If I wasn’t someone who attended your junior high, I could, for example, have gone to the same cram school. Or I could have been someone younger than you who just happened to live in your neighborhood. If you found out that it was one of those things later, then the risk of me being someone who knew about your past would be greatly reduced and you could laugh things off as a simple misunderstanding. Your first priority with any new person is to make sure they didn’t go to your junior high school, right? That way, even if someone were to bring up a topic even only tangentially related to your past, it would be easier for you to divert the conversation away from it.”

Having finished his explanation, Yagami drank about a quarter of the tea in the cup and set it down on the table.

“Who even are you, anyway?” asked Kushida quizzically. “How do you know about my past if we didn’t even go to the same school…?”

“I understand why you are so guarded, but please, just consider me a guest in a rather unique position,” Yagami said. “Yes, just so. My purpose is to play with Ayanokouji-senpai.”

“Huh? To play with him?”

“Yes, well, I don’t think he knows about me at all. Right now, what I’m most preoccupied with is testing out various things without Ayanokouji-senpai noticing.”

“What if I got upset back then, when we first met? If I didn’t give you the answers you wanted?” asked Kushida, curious about what Yagami would have said at the time.

“I would’ve found it interesting,” he replied. “I am sure that Ayanokouji-senpai would have noticed your discomfort, saw that something was off, and he would have eyed me with suspicion. I probably could have greeted him at a much earlier stage, I suppose.”

“…Did you and Ayanokouji go to the same junior high, by any chance?”

“Well, who can say? Anyway, that’s of little concern to you, Kushida-senpai. Let’s turn our attention to the special exam for now, shall we?” said Yagami, redirecting the conversation.

“I know. If that issue that you’re hoping for does come up, then…at that time, I’ll try to make a move.”

“You will try to make a move? That’s not good enough.”

“Not good enough?” Kushida spat back. “What the heck do you mean, not good enough?”

Yagami got up and moved in close to Kushida, grabbing her by the shoulders. The young woman reflexively tried to flee.

“Hey! What are you doing?!”

Kushida tried to break free from his grasp, but Yagami was stronger than she imagined he’d be despite his slender build. She was utterly unable to move.

“Please listen very carefully,” he told her. “You are in far more dire straits than you think you are, Kushida-senpai. Not only do you have people near you like Ayanokouji-senpai and Horikita-senpai to worry about, but you have other causes for concern as well. There are others whose very presence continues to pose a threat to your safe daily life, such as myself and Amasawa-san… Isn’t that right?”

“That’s…true…”

As Yagami looked straight into her eyes, Kushida glared directly back at him without an ounce of fear.

“It goes without saying, but it’s no easy feat to get one of your classmates kicked out of this school,” he went on. “It’s also quite a challenge to drive someone toward expulsion in the course of ordinary daily routine. If you have the chance to expel them through a special exam like this one, then, without a doubt, a golden opportunity has fallen into your lap,.”

“I understand that,” Kushida said. “But if I push too far, I’ll be putting myself in danger too.”

“That means you just need to be prepared for that,” Yagami said. “Either you remove them, or you’ll be removed yourself.”

He was putting Kushida under great pressure. It was essentially kill or be killed.

“Of course, the decision is yours to make, Kushida-senpai. Anyway, if I were to say something like, ‘If you don’t want everybody to find out about the way you caused your old class to fall apart, then get either Horikita-senpai or Ayanokouji-senpai expelled…’ Well, that would be nothing short of a threat, and thus a violation of the rules of the exam.”

“I’d say what you just said right now sounds like a threat,” muttered Kushida.

“Please pardon my rudeness,” said Yagami. “I didn’t intend to threaten you. I just think the truth is that you’re not prepared enough for this, Kushida-senpai. Be prepared to eliminate them no matter the sacrifice. If you can’t do at least that much, you will never, ever be able to drive them to expulsion.”

Then, removing his hands from her shoulders, Yagami stepped away and sat back down.

“Let me ask you once more,” he said. “You wish to have those two expelled. Is that right?”

When he looked into Kushida’s eyes once again, she looked back at him with a mixture of anger and frustration. She didn’t even have to speak her answer aloud. She had been wishing for that every single day for the past year and a half, almost like she were trying to place a curse on them.

“Yes,” she replied at last. “I want to have Horikita and Ayanokouji expelled. I will definitely get them expelled…!”

“Wonderful. I can feel it,” said Yagami. “I’m finally able to confirm that your convictions are indeed genuine, Kushida-senpai.”

Kushida had made up her mind: in order to prevent her wound from opening up any further, she needed to have Horikita and Ayanokouji expelled from school as soon as possible. And as for Yagami, who had been running his mouth freely…she would have to get him expelled as well.