"So, regarding this particular exam, that freeloader won't be creating the problems. That's what you said, right?"
At around 9 PM on the day first-year students received an explanation of the upcoming exam from their homeroom teachers, Ryuuen Kakeru asked this question, holding his smartphone to his ear.
"Yep. Isn't it strange? It was Horikita-san who brought it up, but Saitou-kun himself was surprised. He seemed to be really looking forward to making the problems."
The person on the other end was Kushida Kikyou, one of the participants in a discussion held after school between representatives of the former D-Class—now C-Class. The members were Horikita, Ayanokoji, Saitou, Hirata, Karuizawa, and Kushida—a group of six.
To Kushida, Ayanokoji's presence in the group was a mystery, but she quickly came to accept it as normal, given the pattern of past exams.
"...Ayanokoji, huh?"
"Hm? Is something wrong, Ryuuen-kun?"
"Nah, it's nothing."
Ryuuen, however, didn't feel the same way, a small note of suspicion escaping his lips. Kushida, who hadn't heard him, asked for clarification, but Ryuuen didn't answer. He felt a sense of unease toward Ayanokoji.
The first time he'd felt this was on the day the special treatment exam began, right after the uninhabited island exam ended.
"What's the situation around Suzune been like since the sports festival? Have her relationships, especially with Saitou and Ayanokoji, changed at all?"
"Hmm... Not really. They're as annoyingly close as ever."
---------
Let's take a moment to look back at the past conflicts between Ryuuen and Class C.
First, there was the Sudo incident. Saitou set up a fake surveillance camera and threatened to submit a recording of Ishizaki and his friends' reactions, causing them to withdraw their complaint.
Next, the uninhabited island exam. Similarly, from Ryuuen's perspective, Horikita was allowed to be attacked, and the evidence was recorded on a digital camera, leading to the contract's termination. Having also been overwhelmed by the other party's specialty—violence—it was a bitter result for Ryuuen.
Finally, the special treatment exam. The result was more or less a draw, but in exchange, Sakayanagi, who had cooperated with Saitou, secured an unshakeable position within Class A.
Looking at all this, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Saitou's actions are always one step ahead of Ryuuen's. Ryuuen himself recognizes this difference in their abilities. But what caught his attention was Ayanokoji, who had consistently acted as a collaborator.
"Do you dislike them?"
"Of course I do. Horikita-san, who knows my secret and is about to become popular. Saitou-kun, who gets first place in everything, from sports to academics, and is so irritating. And Ayanokoji-kun, who saw what happened on the rooftop. I'm so worried they'll expose my secrets."
When he tricked Ishizaki and when Horikita was trapped by Saitou on the uninhabited island, Ayanokoji carried out his role without the slightest waver. In fact, the strategy used during the uninhabited island exam was so malicious that even Ryuuen couldn't have predicted it. Calmly recording Horikita as she was being tormented and covered in mud isn't something a normal student could do.
There was also the possibility that Ayanokoji was simply a fool who had no interest in others and didn't care about what Saitou had done. Ryuuen had thought that himself.
"But still, a lot of people were surprised that Ayanokoji-kun was so good at sports. All the stupid guys are jealous, and some of the girls are trying to get his attention."
"Hah, of course they are. I completely overlooked him. There's no logical reason for him to show off his abilities at this point."
In reality, there was no logical reason, only his desire to be popular... but let's put that aside.
Indeed, if Ayanokoji were a student with no special qualities, Ryuuen wouldn't need to be so cautious. However, the glimpse of his ability that Ayanokoji showed at the sports festival—that level of performance when there had been no talk of him being athletic before. If he could move like that, rumors should have circulated, yet even Kushida, who has one of the best information networks in the class, knew nothing.
"In any case, you shouldn't think of Ayanokoji as a mere hanger-on. It's possible he has the same level of ability as Suzune, if not Saitou."
"Ayanokoji-kun? Well, it's fine either way."
Kushida reacted skeptically to Ryuuen's warning. Indeed, from her perspective in class, he wouldn't seem like someone who was a tactical genius.
However, Ryuuen was half-convinced that Ayanokoji had the ability to conceal his true self.
"Kushida. If you could use someone as a pawn to give orders, what would you look for in that pawn?"
"Hmm, what would it be... obedience, maybe?"
That's a very Kushida-like answer. She hates anything that's an unknown factor. The proof is how desperately she tries to eliminate anything that threatens her position.
"That's not bad, but it's a bit lacking. What's needed in a pawn is the ability to adapt to sudden situations. That's why I value Ibuki more than Ishizaki. It's the reason I made a resentful Ibuki a spy during the uninhabited island exam."
"Hmm. Then maybe I'll make a good pawn, too. Setting aside obedience, of course."
"Yeah. Your patience must be wearing thin, right? Don't worry, you'll get to work hard for me in this exam."
"Hehe. That's good... The time to crush them has finally come."
Kushida laughed gleefully at Ryuuen's words.
This conversation highlighted the changes in Ryuuen before and after the uninhabited island exam.
"Okay, I'll send you the recorded data with the details. Goodnight, Ryuuen-kun."
With that, Kushida hung up. She seemed much more cheerful than when they had talked in person last time. The chance to crush her archenemy, Horikita, was a big reason, but another reason was just as significant.
"Kukuku... How interesting. I'll pay you back for the sports festival and more."
For better or worse, Ryuuen was acquiring the skill of controlling others with something other than violence.
It was a small lie for him. A simple "I'm counting on you" or "you're the best person for this" was all it took for his classmates' morale to increase dramatically.
Of course, many students still defied him, but after getting second place to Class C's overwhelming victory in the sports festival, their voices had grown quieter. Although they had fallen in class rank, the fact that they could win against other classes through fair means had a positive effect on Class D. Even though this victory itself was thanks to Ryuuen stealing the sports festival registration forms from Class C and Class A through his spies.
Coincidentally, Ryuuen was experiencing the exact same effect that Saitou had on Sakayanagi. His usual arrogant attitude made this new approach all the more effective. The exquisite use of "carrot and stick" was a natural talent, like a real-life abusive boyfriend.
---------
His sharpened claws, along with a traitor, were about to be turned on Class C.
---------
A week had passed since the special exam was explained. After the sixth period homeroom began, Chabashira-sensei immediately left the classroom. She must have wanted to give them time to discuss their strategy for the exam.
Hirata and Horikita, sensing her intent, stood at the front of the classroom. Since the sports festival, Horikita had taken on a leadership role for the class. Her strong gaze didn't waver even under the eyes of nearly 40 students.
"For today's homeroom, I want to hold a strategy meeting for tomorrow's pop quiz. We have Chabashira-sensei's permission. She said we can use the homeroom time as we wish. First, Horikita-san, if you would?"
No student complained about the two-leader system with Horikita and Hirata. While they might have in the past, the current Horikita understands the importance of respecting others. The person who taught her that—Tsugumi—was happily watching from behind me.
"First, I have something I want to tell everyone."
It was a very serious opening. Although she didn't show any wavering, the slight nervousness in her voice made me almost smile, but I held it back and listened.
"The previous sports festival. We won because of all of you. It's because you all accepted the plan I proposed. Thank you."
"Oh, no! That's not it at all! It's only natural for the class to cooperate to win! I was against it at first..."
Shinohara, who had initially been reluctant about Horikita's plan, waved her hands in a flustered manner. She was likely ashamed of her past self, who had lowered the class's chances of winning for her own convenience.
"No. Shinohara-san's thoughts were perfectly reasonable. It's not wrong to say that you all went along with my selfish request to get class points. In fact, it resulted in a few students incurring a penalty."
"Well, no one got a failing grade in the end. We moved up to Class C, and we're getting a ton of private points, so... it's probably fine, right?"
Karuizawa said, trying to reassure her.
"That's why I want to give the best possible result to all of you who cooperated. It's the same for this exam."
"Don't D-classes have someone expelled almost every year? We're Class C now, but it's still a little worrying, isn't it?"
Karuizawa spoke pointedly to heighten the tension in the class.
She's good. Her words changed the relaxed atmosphere into a state of moderate tension. Although it wasn't pre-planned, Karuizawa, with her natural ability to read people, was supporting Horikita. This short exchange showed just how capable the leaders of Class C were.
"So, there's something I want everyone to do. There's one method that can almost certainly prevent expulsions."
"W-What is it... Tell me quick, Horikita!"
Ike clapped his hands together excitedly. He's as predictable as ever.
"That method is to figure out the pairing rule. If we pair a student with high academic ability with one with low academic ability, we can almost certainly prevent anyone from getting expelled."
While the class was flustered, Horikita and Hirata explained the pairing rule.
"So, if I get a 0 on the next pop quiz, I can team up with Saitou? That's a huge help!"
"That's an extreme example, but yes. Based on the results of past tests, we want to create a plan to pair students who are worried about their scores with those with high scores. I know some of you may have your own concerns, but the reality is we can't cover everyone."
Eleven students scored an average of 80 points or higher on the midterms, excluding those with perfect scores. That number dropped drastically to six for those with 90 or higher. Considering how relatively easy the test was, this wasn't good news. The number of high-achievers was less than half the class.
Given the large number of students who scored below 60, it was clear that it would be impossible to pair everyone with an ideal partner—a high-achiever.
So, Horikita's plan was to stabilize the pairings by forcing the top and bottom 10 students to pair up. She wrote the names of the bottom students on the blackboard.
"The 10 students whose names are written here should only write their name on the pop quiz. Conversely, the top 10 students must get 85 points or more. The remaining 20 students in the middle will also be divided into two groups of 10. By doing this, a well-balanced combination for the final exam should be created automatically. However, we'll confirm the details later to prevent any accidents."
"So, the goal is to prevent low-scoring students from being paired with each other?"
Horikita nodded to Yukimura's question. It seemed the plan was understood.
After confirming that no one had any objections, Horikita concluded.
"Then, we'll proceed this way for tomorrow's test. I've also thought about study sessions for after the pairs are formed, which I'll explain later. For now, let's get through tomorrow's pop quiz."
"Yeah! Let's do it!"
Starting with Ike's reply, Class C showed a new surge of motivation. There was not a trace of the "defective" class they once were.
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