"Are you serious?" Honami looked over in shock.
"This is... saying such things... it's embarrassing..."
Some Class C students grew agitated. Though they acknowledged their weakness in academics and sports, having Suzune openly ask Class B students to throw matches to help them avoid last place felt utterly humiliating.
"But if Class B students go easy on us, we might avoid the bottom ten and won't lose 10 points on the written exam…" Kei spoke softly from among the girls.
Though quiet, her words caught everyone's attention.
The athletic and academic underperformers in the class, both male and female, fell silent and waited expectantly. After all, they had already agreed to pay when they asked Kikyō and Yōsuke for help.
Was this their solution now? Hoping Class B would throw matches?
"This kind of thing..." Honami struggled to respond.
Her classmates behind her wore equally shocked expressions.
"Ichinose-san..." Even Ryūji fell silent.
Suzune had explained their predicament clearly — Class C students struggled with both academics and athletics, and feared placing in the bottom 10 would result in a 10-point deduction on every subject in the next written exam, potentially leading to failure. But could they really agree to such an arrangement?
Honami's group understood why Suzune mentioned collecting money — such requests couldn't be made without compensation.
But were they truly being asked to make such concessions?
"How should I put this..." She hesitated, knowing ordinary classes would outright reject such a proposal, "Can I discuss it with everyone first?"
The Class C students, naturally hoping for approval, watched as Honami gathered with her Class B peers.
They were no ordinary students. They were harmonious, academically excellent, and held high moral standards — saints, in a way. And that made surviving at this school particularly challenging.
However, Honami's group returned quickly after their discussion.
"After talking it over... Since we're companions, we can't simply watch you struggle. However, we can't be too lenient either. Please provide your participant list later so we can discuss appropriate concessions. While we're allies, we still need to compete within our grade level."
"Yay!"
The athletically-challenged students in Class C immediately erupted in cheers and excitement.
With Class B's cooperation, their individual scores would surely avoid the bottom ten places. After all, there were still second and third-year Class D students who struggled with sports, and those upperclassmen wouldn't have anyone going easy on them.
This realization greatly lifted the spirits of the athletically challenged students, their improved mood clearly visible throughout the gymnasium.
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"What's happening over there?"
The third and second-year groups noticed this commotion.
Manabu had just descended from the podium, though from his earlier elevated position, he had already observed his sister's interaction with the Class C and Class B students.
"How should I put this..." said Miyabi, who was passing by.
His second-year class actually didn't need to participate in these discussions, since the final exam arrangements would be decided later by representatives from all four classes, including the participant lists.
His presence was purely coincidental. He had merely noticed the stunning Suzune, who had been with Houtarou earlier, and the angelic Kikyō. When Honami, his junior, appeared as well, he wanted to say hello.
Now he discovered that Suzune had not only collected money from her class but was also requesting Honami's group to throw the matches.
This action surprised him considerably.
It seemed clear to him that Suzune had been influenced by Houtarou. That boy was obsessed with money, and now this girl was following the same path.
Miyabi found this deeply concerning.
"It appears Class C's representative has asked Class B to deliberately underperform." He said diplomatically.
"Is that so..." Manabu maintained his usual composure.
But Miyabi, who knew him well, noticed the President's expression had softened slightly.
This was understandable — Suzune was his sister. He had always worried about her ability to adapt to this school, concerned that her inflexibility might make her vulnerable to bullying.
That's why he had ultimately accepted Houtarou's suggestion to let his sister stay. At least under his watchful eye, he could protect her if needed.
Yet now, as time passed, his sister had begun to change. She had become more adaptable.
While asking Class B to throw matches might seem dishonorable, her class had started as Class D — rated as having the lowest overall qualities, with many students struggling in sports.
She was now taking initiative for these students, even negotiating with their allied class.
Could this mean she had finally integrated into her class?
Of course, Manabu remained unaware that his sister was collecting money and taking a 10% commission.
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With Honami's group agreeing to throw matches, Class C felt immense relief.
After receiving her consent, they decided to return and discuss their strategy. They couldn't just throw matches haphazardly — proper planning was essential, especially with exams ahead.
Class C needed to provide their student participant list and coordinate which students would forfeit.
Among the first-year students, Class C departed after Class D and Class A had left.
Class B students then prepared to leave as well, having no one left to discuss with.
However...
"Ichinose-san, what's the real meaning behind this?" Ryūji asked as they left the gymnasium, concerned about taking the exam seriously.
While they sympathized with Class C's struggles and wanted to help, being completely saintlike didn't align with this school's nature.
Kakeru had taught them a harsh lesson during the VIP Exam — cooperation one moment could lead to betrayal the next. This forced Ryūji to maintain his saintly facade.
Honami, having learned from her past mistakes of prioritizing personal interests, now naturally put the class's benefits first.
"Although Horikita-san made the request, she's frequently seen with Oreki-kun, and during the Special Exam she was following him, so..." Honami trailed off.
Ryūji understood immediately.
"In other words, this is likely Oreki-kun's idea. Our agreement probably prevents him from using other methods."
For Ryūji, who was already traumatized by Rokusuke, Class A's Houtarou had given him yet another psychological scar during the Special Exam.
With Honami's explanation, he could accept the situation.
"If that's the case, agreeing to their request makes sense." He said, "Plus, we obtained their class's participant list under the pretense of helping them. This allows us to arrange our forces efficiently. We're not at a disadvantage — it's actually quite advantageous."
"So I think Oreki-kun anticipated this and had Horikita-san make the request, because by getting Class C's student list, we can make appropriate adjustments to ensure they won't surpass our scores this time." Honami said, "In other words, he was confident we would agree."
Saying this, she showed a bitter smile.
"I feel like I'm still not very good at strategic thinking. Can't we keep things simple?"
"But if we don't think this way, our Class B will quickly fall behind." Ryūji concluded, "This school really is troublesome."
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Speaking of troublesome, Houtarou had already received Suzune's transfer of points.
4 million points. He returned 10% to her and 5% to Kikyō.
As for himself, after Kōhei organized everyone to test their physical abilities and arrange the participant roster, he headed to the Chairman's office.
The Student Council was busy now, probably still at the gymnasium, so he could only seek out the Chairman.
However...
| Kei Karuizawa |
| I did what you asked me to do. By the way, how did you come up with the idea of having Class B throw matches? I was surprised when I heard about it. |
Hmm. Though Houtarou had commissioned Suzune to do the work, that girl often didn't get much attention. Someone needed to help highlight things.
And Kei was perfect for this kind of thing. Or rather, she had seemed reluctant to trouble him before, so he had to say he would protect her and would use her words.
As a result, hadn't she done quite well?
"So you want to bring your pet cat to school?"
Narumori received Houtarou, who was with his phone in hand.
"My cat feels lonely being left at home."
However...
| Houtarou Oreki — Me
| Do you have any pets at home? I'm asking the Chairman for permission to bring my cat. |
| Kei Karuizawa |
| Pets? Well, I have a hamster. Its name is Hamtaro. |
Oh. Then he'd pay the fee to bring her pet in as well.
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