"Honami-chan, h-how am I supposed to draw now?" This time it was Shiranami's turn to be lost, asking Ichinose for help.
Ichinose was a bit helpless too. What expressions or eye-movements could you read like this? With the cards face-down and constantly switching places, even Karuizawa herself probably couldn't remember which one was the Joker anymore.
In other words, it really did come down to luck. "Chihiro, trust yourself. Pick one by feel. It's okay—no matter what, we can still win together~"
She didn't say anything like "even if you lose it's fine and no one will blame you." Instead, she offered gentle encouragement.
If any consoling was needed, they could do it after a loss. And in Ichinose's view, it really would be fine.
"Eh?" Shiranami panicked a little. "Isn't… isn't that bad? What if I pick wrong? Wouldn't that waste everyone's effort up to now?"
"It won't." Ichinose cheered her on over the earpiece. "Worst case, we let Karuizawa draw again on luck. It won't be an immediate loss."
"R-right, that makes sense." Buoyed by Ichinose's words, Shiranami's eyes flickered; she reached out and drew—the Joker.
Her face twitched. It seemed luck wasn't on her side.
Seeing that Shiranami didn't immediately discard, Karuizawa knew her chance had come! In a flash—before Shiranami could start shuffling the two cards around again—she snatched at the cards in Shiranami's hand!
Shiranami reacted too, trying in a fluster to imitate Karuizawa and switch the two cards' positions. But Karuizawa had already locked on to that card. Shiranami's hasty swaps fooled no one, and Karuizawa pulled away the last King.
Karuizawa immediately discarded the pair of Kings and leapt up with a cheer. "Yes! We won!"
Seeing that, Class D jumped to their feet to celebrate the hard-fought victory. Yukio was a little surprised himself—he hadn't expected Karuizawa to flip the board in such a pinch. His eyes were full of amusement and approval.
Karuizawa seemed to sense it, turning back as if to answer Class D's cheers, but in reality staring straight at where Yukio stood.
When she found the joy and praise in his gaze, she laughed aloud too—clear as sunlight, brows and eyes brimming with charm.
A lover's approval is the happiest kind of joy for a girl.
By contrast, Shiranami looked crushed. She had no idea how to face her friends. "H-Hanabi, I…"
"Chihiro, you worked really hard." Ichinose's voice stayed gentle, like an angel soothing a troubled believer and trying to drive off her gloom.
Just as Ichinose was about to comfort her more, the big screen changed: Class D vs. Ichinose's class—final score 4:3.
Immediately, everyone's phones buzzed or chimed. A quick glance around made it obvious: a notice from the school—surely the overall results of this special exam.
After all, the math this time was extremely simple: your wins convert directly into how many sets of fifty class points you take from others. No wonder the results came out fast.
Yukio took out his phone and read the message from the school:
[Current overall first-year rankings:
Class A, Yukio's class — 2540 points;
Class B, Ichinose's class — 1440 points;
Class C, Sakayanagi's class — 1430 points;
Class D, Matsushita's class — 270 points.]
The biggest shift was obviously Ichinose's class, back up to the Class B slot, while the once-secure Sakayanagi class had slipped to Class C.
The gap between the two was only ten class points—almost negligible—but it still counted as a genuine overtake.
The result made jaws hit the floor. Aside from those who'd already seen it coming—Yukio and Sakayanagi—everyone else was stunned.
"Whoa whoa whoa—Sakayanagi's class just dropped to Class C? You've gotta be kidding. I always thought they could sit tight in the Class B position."
"What do you think knocked them down? Isn't it thanks to your Yukio class? Your class gained 150 points—that's 150 points shaved off theirs."
"Hold up. If you do the math, you beat Sakayanagi's class in three events? Total 5:2? That lopsided?!"
"Now that you mention it… this one's kinda on our class, huh?"
"Come on, don't look so shell-shocked. There are still two more school years! You're already over 2,500 at the end of year one. Give you two more years and you'll blow past 7,500 class points, won't you?"
Even Shiranami, who'd just lost the tiebreaker, stared wide-eyed. "W-we're back at the Class B ranking? E-even though I lost, we still overtook Sakayanagi's class?"
That can happen? Lose the head-to-head, but end up ranked above Sakayanagi anyway? The longer you looked, the weirder it felt.
If you needed an analogy, it was like a track meet where you lose to your opponent, but you're the one up on the podium and they get nothing. Anyone would find that strange.
"Exactly!" Ichinose didn't care whether it counted as a "lucky overtake." She didn't even have time to be happy before seizing the chance to comfort Shiranami. "Which is why we need to celebrate tonight!"
"You worked so hard for the class, Chihiro—don't be late!"
Her reaction left Matsushita, who'd been happy about winning the match, a little at a loss. Should she be happy? Probably—Class D did win the special exam.
But Ichinose's class had climbed back up, and now the class pressing down on Class D was an even tougher opponent—Sakayanagi's class—so it was hard to feel purely delighted.
Overall, the year-end special exam for the first-years made Yukio's class the clear winners. They were already giggling and planning to go all out over spring break—over the moon.
Ichinose's class, meanwhile, felt collectively odd. Losing the match should have made for a gloomy mood, but overtaking Sakayanagi and returning to the B-class rank left them inexplicably in good spirits.
Joy outweighed disappointment—everyone wore a strange look, the kind of smile you want to show but don't quite dare.
Class D as a whole was confused. Be happy? With Sakayanagi now the one sitting on top of them, it was hard to be. Don't be happy? That didn't make sense either—how could you not be happy after winning?
Lastly, in Sakayanagi's camp, a few students started to grumble, but one sentence from Sakayanagi made them obedient again. "It doesn't matter. It's only a ten-point gap. Next school year, any casual special exam and we'll take it back with ease."
Her classmates thought about it and agreed. Ten points was nothing. If they made a big deal out of it, it'd sound petty. Better to wait for the next special exam. For now, enjoy spring break.
Even so, after this odd reversal, it was as if the other three classes reached an unspoken consensus: from now on, maybe don't challenge Yukio's class. It's an easy way to hurt yourself for no gain—a straight-up blood loss!
....
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