『』『』『』『』『』
Standing in the hallway near the stairs, Ayanokouji looked out through the windows.
Time steadily ticked away as Class D continued cramming for the upcoming exams.
The students' spirits had noticeably dropped under the pressure of the endless workload forced onto them. December had already arrived, and the final exam was now less than three days away. Tomorrow was the weekend, and the exam itself will begin on Monday.
While the exams were troublesome for several reasons, the test itself wasn't especially dangerous. As far as Class D was concerned, they were more united than ever before. The study groups had produced impressive results. Even the idiot trio and the other slackers had genuinely tried their best and managed to improve significantly.
The real problems were undoubtedly Kushida and Kumagawa.
They were definitely making moves behind the scenes, and there was no doubt Ryuen would somehow be involved again, just like during the sports festival. However, Ayanokouji could more or less predict their actions.
As for whether Ryuen would agree to cooperate with them, that was practically inevitable. His two main goals were defeating Class D and exposing the puppet master hiding behind Horikita.
Ayanokouji didn't know how united Class B truly was, but just like the other classes, he had seen them studying several times lately. At any rate, he still had no idea what kind of strategy they were planning. If he looked at things from another perspective, he might be able to figure it out.
The only real issue was how Kumagawa would move.
"Thinking about something?" Horikita asked.
"Hm? Ah, sorry," Ayanokouji replied.
Horikita looked up at him from the bottom of the stairs. Ayanokouji quickly walked down after her. In her arms was a large manila envelope stuffed with the questions she, Hirata, and Yukimura had spent the past month preparing.
That envelope practically held Class D's fate, which was exactly why Horikita handled it with extreme caution. She hadn't allowed anyone else to see the completed questions. In the end, she alone knew all of their contents.
As they headed toward the staff room, Horikita and Ayanokouji ran into Ryuen in the hallway.
"Yo, Suzune."
Ryuen wore a fearless grin on his face. He was also carrying a manila envelope in one hand.
"Kukuku. So you're submitting your test questions at the last minute too, huh? Well, I can't blame you. Anyone would want to sneak a peek at these, so being cautious makes sense."
"You're not worried about traitors in your own class?" Horikita asked mockingly.
"Hah. There's no way anyone in my class would be stupid enough to betray me," Ryuen said. "And if someone did, they'd receive proper judgment from me."
"Tsk."
Ryuen seemed genuinely amused by Horikita's irritation. As Horikita and Ayanokouji continued walking, Ryuen casually followed after them.
Once they arrived at the staff room, Horikita called for Chabashira-sensei. At the same time, Ryuen called for Sakagami-sensei, who arrived first and accepted the envelope from him.
"Take this."
"..."
It wasn't exactly the tone a student should use toward a teacher, but Sakagami-sensei didn't seem bothered by it. Or perhaps he had simply given up trying to correct him.
Soon after their brief exchange, Chabashira-sensei appeared and took Sakagami-sensei's place. Her gaze immediately settled on the envelope in Horikita's hands.
"These are the final questions, Chabashira-sensei," Horikita said as she handed over the envelope.
"I'll hold onto them," Chabashira-sensei replied.
Ryuen watched the exchange with a disturbing smile on his face. Just as Chabashira-sensei reached for the envelope, Horikita suddenly paused and slightly pulled her hand back.
"What are you doing, Horikita?"
"There's one thing I'd like to ask first, if I may," Horikita said.
"Yes?"
"These questions are directly tied to Class D's victory or defeat. We need to avoid any leaks at all costs. After I hand them over, could you please avoid showing them to anyone else? Including me."
Horikita made that request because of what happened during the sports festival, where she nearly lost both her dignity and her private points. Whether Chabashira truly understood her concerns, however, was unclear.
"It would be nice if I could simply agree immediately, and technically the school has no right to refuse such a request. However, there are conditions," Chabashira-sensei replied.
"Conditions?"
"That's right. If you want this request approved, then your entire class must agree to it. Has everyone approved this measure?"
"I didn't receive direct permission from every student, but... I don't think anyone would object. No one wants the class to lose," Horikita answered.
"You can't say that with certainty. As I mentioned before, people are full of surprises. Some students may very well want the class to lose," Chabashira-sensei said.
"That's..."
Even Horikita couldn't deny that possibility, especially considering her current circumstances.
"However," Chabashira-sensei continued, "while I can't be completely certain that you, Horikita Suzune, are acting entirely for the class's sake, I'll still honor your request. If any student asks to see the questions and answers you prepared, I absolutely won't disclose them."
"Thank you very much. Now I can face the exam without worrying."
"As I said, I'll honor your request. However, in case unforeseen circumstances arise, I'd like to add one condition to our agreement. If anyone have your permission, Horikita, then I'll disclose the information to whoever asks to see it. Is that acceptable? Refusing absolutely everyone could also create problems for you later," Chabashira-sensei said.
"Yes, as long as I'm present at the time," Horikita replied with a nod.
"Of course. Someone might lie about having your permission, after all. In the event that someone comes looking for the questions, well, I'll tell them everything you said. As a teacher, I can't lie,"
Horikita had negotiated flawlessly.
Still, something about the conversation bothered Ayanokouji, though he couldn't immediately identify what it was.
Everything appeared to be proceeding smoothly. The test questions Horikita and Hirata had created were undoubtedly difficult, and Horikita had already taken measures to prevent leaks. So far, there were no obvious flaws. Even if Kushida tried to obtain the answers for Ryuen, she would need Horikita's approval and presence. The arrangement seemed airtight.
Except for one thing.
"Let's head back, Ayanokouji-kun. We're done here."
Ignoring Horikita's words, Ayanokouji quietly looked into Chabashira-sensei's eyes instead. She calmly returned his gaze.
'Realize it, Horikita. Before it's too late.'
Of course, Ayanokouji couldn't say that out loud in front of Ryuen. Nor could he continue staring for too long. Even if they managed to get through this situation, their options afterward might become severely limited.
Horikita turned to leave the staff room.
Then she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
"Chabashira-sensei. You said you wouldn't lie, didn't you?"
"That's right. As a teacher, that's required of me," she replied calmly.
"In that case, will the school actually accept the questions I just submitted?"
So Horikita had noticed it after all.
She had figured it out on her own.
"What do you mean?" Chabashira-sensei asked.
"Let me rephrase it. Have other test questions already been accepted?"
"The school has already accepted and finished reviewing questions submitted by Class D."
The moment she heard that answer, Horikita's expression froze in shock.
"So...does that mean someone else already submitted test questions and answers?" she asked, unable to fully process the situation.
"That is correct. The questions you just handed me will not be used," Chabashira-sensei replied.
"Then please cancel the previously accepted questions. I have the correct ones right there," said Horikita as she pointed at the manila envelope in Chabashira-sensei hand.
However, from the flow of the conversation so far, Ayanokouji already understood that things wouldn't be that simple.
"Unfortunately, Horikita, I cannot simply indulge your wishes," said Chabashira-sensei. "I've already finished reviewing another student's questions. That student also expressed concerns about confidentiality and requested that I keep the questions secret. Furthermore, they instructed me that if another student later came asking to replace the problems, I should simply accept the new set and hold onto them while informing them afterward about who requested the change."
"What student?" Horikita immediately asked. "Please tell me."
"Kushida Kikyou."
The answer was exactly what they expected.
Horikita had believed she could stop Kushida's betrayal before it happened. However, Kushida had moved first. After learning that her past was known, she had chosen the boldest and most direct option available to her.
Horikita's shoulders slowly sank.
"But under the right conditions, the class can still replace the questions already accepted by the school, correct?"
"Yes. However, the deadline is today. If you wish to replace the current questions, then bring Kushida here before then," Chabashira-sensei replied.
"That's..."
It was hopeless.
Kushida would never agree to it. Even if they started searching immediately, there was a near hundred percent chance she had already turned off her phone and hidden herself somewhere, likely inside the dorms. There was no way they could contact her before the deadline.
"How much time is left?" Ayanokouji asked.
"Until 6 p.m."
Ayanokouji checked his phone. It was still a little before four, that means they only had around two hours left.
"Hahahaha! What exactly are you doing, Suzune?" Ryuen laughed loudly.
He had undoubtedly known about this from the very beginning. The laughter spilling from his mouth was filled with mockery toward their situation.
"This is already checkmate. Don't you get it? The questions you worked so hard to create are completely meaningless now!"
"Were you behind this? Did you tell Kushida-san to do it?" Horikita asked while glaring at him.
"Oh? Scary." Ryuen smirked. "Guess I'll head back to my dorm like a good little boy. I'm really looking forward to seeing the exam results."
With that, Ryuen left the staff room.
"Then at least show them to me," Horikita said. "If I can't cancel them, then I at least want to see what was submitted."
Chabashira-sensei silently handed over the papers Kushida had submitted. After only a brief glance, one thing immediately became clear.
"These questions...."
Ayanokouji also looked over the papers.
Overall, the questions were extremely average. They weren't particularly difficult, but they weren't especially easy either. If anything, they leaned slightly toward the harder side. Apparently, Kushida had simply aimed for a safe middle ground for Class B.
Since Class D had spent time experimenting with the acceptable difficulty range for the exam questions, they could immediately tell that Kushida's submission was safely within the school's standards.
However, the questions themselves felt strange.
"Don't these look kind of...template-like?" Horikita muttered.
"Even so, they still fall within the acceptable range set by the school," Chabashira-sensei replied. "That said, you're right. They do resemble the school's default question format quite closely."
"I see... So it was Kumagawa-kun after all," Horikita quietly muttered.
As someone connected to the student council, Kumagawa may have managed to obtain access to the school's standard question format and slightly modify it so that Class B could use it. By doing so, they avoided wasting time creating an entirely new set of questions from scratch.
However, despite being based on a template, the problems themselves still contained numerous traps and tricky sections hidden throughout. In terms of pure difficulty, it was probably slightly below Horikita's version, but at first glance, most people would likely think both sets were equally difficult.
That made the situation far more troublesome.
If someone already knew the answers beforehand, then it didn't matter how difficult the questions were. As long as Class B shared the answers among themselves, they could easily achieve high scores.
Horikita had already promised not to expose Kushida's past. Hirata, fearing conflict within the class, likely wouldn't say anything either. In other words, the one who acted first had gained the advantage. If Class D lost, the responsibility would naturally fall onto Horikita.
However, none of that was as dangerous as the bet between Horikita and Kushida.
Rather than simply taking responsibility, Horikita would effectively be expelled from the school. There was little doubt that Kushida had received Class B's exam questions in exchange for her cooperation. If that was true, Kushida would most likely score a perfect hundred on the math exam. If Horikita made even a single mistake, she would lose.
"So...there's nothing more we can do?" Horikita asked quietly.
Kushida's preemptive strike had cornered Horikita completely. At first glance, it seemed she had no remaining options.
In the end, this was the result of underestimating Kushida.
If it were Ayanokouji, then he probably would have...
"It's fine, Horikita. Ryuen already left," Chabashira-sensei suddenly said.
What?
Ayanokouji looked at Chabashira-sensei in confusion. Unlike before, she didn't appear shaken at all.
"Sorry. I wanted to take extra precautions just in case, so I decided to keep up the act," Horikita said as she slowly raised her head again.
There wasn't even a trace of despair left on her face anymore.
At that moment, Ayanokouji understood everything.
"You predicted this would happen?" he asked.
"Yes. I couldn't allow myself to lose the same way I did during the sports festival. The moment the final exam details were announced, I immediately consulted Chabashira-sensei," Horikita explained. "I made two requests. First, that only I would be allowed to submit the usable questions for Class D. Second, that Chabashira-sensei pretend to accept any other questions submitted afterward."
In other words, Horikita had tricked Kushida into believing her own questions had been accepted.
"Now that they fully believe Kushida's problems will be used, any students in Class B who stop studying may end up failing," Horikita said.
Ayanokouji genuinely hadn't expected Horikita to prepare such a strong countermeasure.
Of course, creating an entirely separate set of exam questions with the same level of difficulty must have placed a heavy burden on her. Still, if things went according to plan, then Ryuen would remain completely unaware of the damage waiting for him.
At least, that was what Ayanokouji hoped.
『』『』『』『』『』
『Hey, hey Kushida-chan.』
"What is it?"
『I'm sure there are a whole bunch of things you want to lecture me about, but aren't you being a little too harsh on me? Surely you can't—』
"Don't worry. I can."
『Oh? Well, in that case, how exactly are you planning to defeat the boss without me as the DPS? No matter how you look at it, I'm the hero in this scenario, and your role is obviously to revive me properly so I can defeat the demon king.』
On the weekend before tomorrow's exam, Kushida was spending her time inside Kumagawa's room, playing Dragon Quest IX together on a handheld console.
Of course, as the host, Kumagawa's default character was the hero.
However, for someone who was supposed to be the hero, his playstyle was nothing short of demonic, just like a demon king. He charged straight into enemies without hesitation, burned through healing items for no reason, and somehow treated every boss fight like a personal grudge match.
Well, he was technically the hero.
But considering the person controlling the hero was basically a demon himself, maybe that wasn't surprising anymore.
『By the way, Kushida-chan.』
"Don't distract me."
Kushida kept her eyes fixed on the screen with complete focus.
Her character was a priest, meaning she specialized more in support than direct combat. Normally, her role was simple: heal the party and revive the hero whenever he inevitably died doing something stupid.
Unfortunately, throughout their entire adventure, the hero had been such a massive pain to deal with that Kushida eventually decided to stop reviving him altogether.
Honestly, playing alone as a support class was far less exhausting than trying to support Kumagawa's demonic playstyle.
『Are you done with your preparations? 』
"..."
Hearing that, Kushida stopped moving her character for a moment and glanced toward Kumagawa.
Of course, since her priest had almost no defense and barely any offensive ability, that tiny lapse in concentration immediately got her character killed.
The moment the game over sound played, Kushida folded and shut her handheld console.
"...I've done what I can. Honestly, I don't see a way for Horikita-san to maneuver around this."
Kushida had thought about it over and over again.
But no matter how many times she replayed the situation in her head, the conclusion remained the same. The one who struck first held the advantage. Since everything depended on the submitted exam questions, the side that secured them first naturally controlled the flow of the exam.
She had already expected Horikita would wait until the last minute to submit the questions because of what happened during the sports festival. That prediction alone gave Kushida enough room to move beforehand. On top of that, her current circumstances with Kumagawa meant she no longer needed to attend the study sessions, which made acting behind the scenes much easier.
Kumagawa had even helped by obtaining the school's standard question format from previous exams, making the process far easier than it should have been. Though technically, the one who actually created the questions was Kaneda from Class B.
Even so, it still saved them a tremendous amount of time.
Kushida had even prepared an additional safeguard to ensure Horikita's questions wouldn't be accepted afterward, making it impossible to replace the submitted problems unless Kushida herself agreed to it.
"Do you think I made a mistake somewhere?" Kushida asked.
『Rather than a mistake, did you forget something?』
"Forget something...?"
Kushida thought for a moment and quietly traced everything back from the beginning. As far as she was concerned, she had done everything to a tee and couldn't think of anything she had overlooked.
『You don't need to think so hard about it. I'm just talking about our life at this school.』 Kumagawa lazily stretched himself across the floor before continuing. 『Our history here, our marks, our legacy... all of it would disappear the moment we leave. As if none of it ever happened in the first place. 』
"That's a really bad way to put it, Kumagawa-kun..." Kushida said with a faint smile appearing on her lips—an expression that came from her true personality more than anything.
Thinking about it, she had already known Kumagawa Misogi for quite a while now.
When she met that dubious-looking boy for the first time, she had no idea that she would end up in such a complicated relationship with him... And though she said "relationship", she couldn't find the words in her vocabulary that could perfectly describe what relationship existed between her and that minus.
Friends? Enemies? Observer and observed?
Perpetrator? Victim? Third party? Manager?
Partner? Childhood friend?
Witness? Executioner?
Strangely enough, every single one of those descriptions felt partially correct. There were even moments where she almost convinced herself to settle on one of them. But whenever she tried to put it into words, it always felt wrong somehow, as if she had drifted off in the wrong direction again.
Inscrutable and incomprehensible.
She had no idea what he was thinking.
What he thought, what he felt, what he did... all of it was hopelessly murky.
Ding!
『Oh? I got a message. 』
Kushida let out a small breath.
Even though it felt like she had known Kumagawa for quite a while already, the truth was that it had only been around half a year at most. That wasn't nearly enough time for two people to completely understand each other, so why did she feel the need to force a proper label onto whatever relationship existed between her and Kumagawa Misogi?
『Hmm... you're pretty lucky, aren't you, Kushida-chan? 』
"Lucky?"
Without explaining further, Kumagawa lightly tapped his phone several times.
A moment later, Kushida's phone vibrated with a notification. It was obvious Kumagawa had just sent her a message, but for some reason, Kushida hesitated before opening it.
『What's wrong? Isn't it common courtesy to open a message someone sends you right in front of them?』
"It's not common to send a message when the person is literally standing in front of you..." Kushida replied with a deadpan look. "But more importantly, I just want to make sure first. This isn't some kind of harassment message, right? Honestly, checking a message from you while you're nearby makes me feel suspicious already..."
Kumagawa was someone who could somehow discover several completely new ways to harass people, especially delicate and innocent girls like herself. So naturally, Kushida felt the need to confirm things beforehand.
Maybe "harasser and victim" really was the most accurate way to describe their relationship?
『Ahaha, aren't you looking down at me a little too much? Normally a normal and healthy boy, would have their heart crush with a statement like that, thankfully, I don't have a heart to begin with. 』
"So does that mean you're not normal and not healthy?"
『... 』
Ignoring his response, Kushida looked down at the phone in her hand. From the preview alone, it seemed like a harmless message, and definitely not a harassment message.
So, after a brief hesitation, Kushida opened the message.
"...."
Kushida stared blankly at the contents on the screen.
While the message was harmless in one sense, in another sense, it was anything but harmless, and while it technically wasn't harassment... depending on the interpretation, maybe it still counted as harassment after all.
『What do you think? 』
Kumagawa looked toward her with a dubious smile.
That's right.
Rather than trying to force some convenient label onto it, maybe it was easier to simply call their relationship... "us."
At least for as long as they remained at this school.
『』『』『』『』『』
The first part of the final exam had finally arrived.
The minimum combined score each pair needed to pass was 692 points, which was slightly lower than expected, but they still couldn't afford to relax. By the end of today, the outcome of the first half would already be decided.
How difficult the exam turned out to be depended entirely on the questions submitted by each class and whether they could pressure the others successfully.
The first day covered four subjects: social studies, English, Japanese, and mathematics.
Which meant the result of Horikita and Kushida's battle would soon become clear.
And at the same time, Ayanokouji's own battle was also about to begin.
As he walked toward the classroom, he ran into someone he still had no idea how to properly deal with, whether for better or worse.
"Good morning, Ayanokouji-kun. It's finally the test day, huh?"
"Yeah. Did you sleep well last night?"
"I stayed up studying until around one o'clock. I'm honestly kind of nervous," Satou said as she lightly placed a hand against her chest and took a deep breath.
"Well, it won't exactly be easy, but just do your best. If you apply everything you learned, you should be fine," Ayanokouji replied.
"Okay!"
Satou Maya.
The girl who unexpectedly confessed to him.
Ever since then, during the study sessions before the exams, Satou would often come over under the excuse of wanting help studying. Of course, Ayanokouji understood that studying wasn't really her main reason, but he also had no real reason to reject her, so he simply went along with the flow.
Just then, Karuizawa arrived.
"Good morning, Satou-san."
"Oh, good morning, Karuizawa-san."
"You already made plans with Ayanokouji-kun? It's pretty rare seeing you two together," Karuizawa said while glancing between them.
"N-no, we just happened to meet by chance."
"I see. Then how about we grab a drink at Pallet before class starts?" Karuizawa asked her.
"Okay. Well then, see you later, Ayanokouji-kun," Satou said before quickly turning away somewhat bashfully.
Karuizawa briefly looked at Ayanokouji before leaving together with Satou.
"Those two are surprisingly close, huh..." Ayanokouji muttered quietly to himself.
"I think Karuizawa-san is a surprisingly jealous person,"
"Hm?"
Ayanokouji hadn't expected anyone to respond to his muttering. When he turned around, he found Hirata walking toward him.
"Good morning."
"Good morning. What did you mean by that?" Ayanokouji asked.
"I've been pretending to be Karuizawa-san's boyfriend for quite a while now," Hirata replied. "Lately, I've noticed she's been paying a lot more attention to you, Ayanokouji-kun."
"I don't think that's really the case..."
Karuizawa had simply shifted her attachment from Hirata over to Ayanokouji, almost like a remora clinging to a shark. Considering Hirata had been acting as her fake boyfriend this whole time, it wasn't strange that he noticed the change.
"Really? Well, I'm glad then. I don't think fake relationships are particularly healthy. Though maybe that's selfish of me to say," Hirata replied as they continued walking toward the classroom. "Actually, there's something I wanted to ask you, Ayanokouji-kun. Do you know Shiina Hiyori-san?"
"She's from Class B. I met her the other day when she came to Keisei's study group," Ayanokouji answered.
That had happened back when the study sessions were still ongoing, though Ayanokouji hadn't thought much about it at the time.
"She also came to my study group. It seems Class B is trying to identify the mastermind hiding behind Horikita-san."
"Seems like it."
"You're the one pulling Horikita-san's strings, aren't you, Ayanokouji-kun?"
It wasn't phrased as a question.
It was simply a statement.
"I won't tell anyone, of course," Hirata continued. "I'm sure you have your own reasons. Besides, you've already saved Class D many times."
"I see. I appreciate hearing that."
"So you're not denying it?"
"Even if I denied it, you probably wouldn't believe me."
"Hahaha, I suppose not."
If it was Hirata, then Ayanokouji didn't think it would become a problem since Hirata was a really dependable guy.
The two eventually arrived at the classroom.
Compared to previous exams, the atmosphere felt noticeably different. Instead of panicking and desperately cramming at the last second, the students calmly reviewed the final details. Nearly half the class was seriously focused on studying.
After returning to his seat, Ayanokouji noticed Horikita reading a book instead of preparing for the test.
"You're seriously reading right before the exam?" he asked. "What are you reading?"
Even for Horikita, that level of composure practically radiated confidence.
"And Then There Were None," Horikita replied as she quietly closed the book.
"The look on your face says you're planning to win no matter what."
"Of course. I don't have any option besides winning. And Kushida-san doesn't have any option besides winning either."
"A zero-sum game, huh..."
The bet between the two of them.
A bet that involved four people altogether.
"Besides, I plan on taking first place in the entire grade this time." Horikita added.
"If the questions from Class B turn out to be difficult, that'll be hard."
"Even then, I'll still win. If anything, that'll only motivate me more."
Her eyes were filled with determination.
Just then, Kumagawa and Kushida entered the classroom together.
『Yoo-hoo, Ayanokouji-kun, Horikita-chan.』
He casually waved his hand.
Since Kumagawa's seat was directly in front of Ayanokouji's, he naturally walked toward them first. Meanwhile, Kushida simply returned to her own desk and began chatting with her friends as though nothing was wrong, completely ignoring Horikita's obvious stare.
"You're awfully relaxed, aren't you, Kumagawa-kun? Did you seriously study during the past few weeks?" Horikita asked.
『What's this, Horikita-chan? Or should I say Horikita-tan? You're getting surprisingly involved in my affairs today, aren't you?』
"Please stop calling me Horikita-tan."
『Don't be like that. Depending on who wins or loses today, this might be our final day together as classmates, you know?』
He said.
Then, with a smile that could only be described as inscrutable, Kumagawa continued.
『So let's properly enjoy these precious moments before our real zero-sum game begins. 』
『』『』『』『』『』
As the bell rang to signal the start of the exam, everyone quickly began putting away their study materials. Any unnecessary items had to be stored inside the lockers at the back of the classroom. The only things allowed on their desks were writing utensils. If a pencil broke, lead ran out, or an eraser became unusable, they had to request replacements directly from Chabashira-sensei.
Standing at the podium in front of the class, Chabashira-sensei began addressing the students.
"We will now begin the final exam. Your first subject is Contemporary Japanese. You are forbidden from turning your papers over before I give the signal. Keep that in mind."
She then continued.
"The exam will last fifty minutes. Please avoid leaving the classroom or using the restroom if possible. If you absolutely cannot wait, raise your hand and inform me. Other than that, you will not be allowed to leave the room during the exam."
Rather than having the students at the front pass the papers backward, Chabashira-sensei personally placed the exam sheets onto each desk herself.
By that point, nobody was speaking anymore.
Everyone's attention remained fixed on the papers in front of them.
The exams would continue almost back-to-back with only five-minute breaks in between. In other words, they would be forced to continuously work through the exams without proper rest. Even bathroom breaks would require a teacher escort.
Everything was designed to completely prevent cheating.
It truly was a gruelling exam format.
Shortly afterward, the next bell rang, officially signalling the start of the test.
"Begin."
At the same moment, the entire class flipped their papers over.
Ayanokouji quickly skimmed through the questions from beginning to end, silently judging whether his classmates would be able to handle them.
"The difficulty is higher than I expected..." he muttered quietly.
He never expected the questions to be easy, but even so, the structure of the problems was harder than he initially predicted after everything he had done beforehand.
If a student hadn't studied properly, they might only score ten or twenty points at best. In that situation, their partner would likely need at least fifty or sixty points to compensate. The more capable students should still be able to overcome that hurdle, but even they couldn't afford to relax.
Honestly, it was rather unexpected.
Kumagawa, seated directly in front of Ayanokouji, immediately picked up his pen and began answering the first question.
For a moment, Ayanokouji had wondered whether he would simply give up from the beginning, but apparently Kumagawa still possessed enough decency to at least pretend to try.
Thankfully, he had included that final condition in their agreement.
Ayanokouji lightly twirled his pen while considering what he should do.
The minimum combined score required for a pair to pass was 692 points. While lower than originally expected, it was still an extremely high number.
Ayanokouji already knew his own memory was more than sufficient to achieve high scores consistently. However, this exam wasn't based solely on individual performance. He had to compensate for Kumagawa's score as well.
That was the real problem.
Because his partner was Kumagawa, Ayanokouji had absolutely no confidence in him scoring well—rather, he could easily imagine Kumagawa somehow ending up with a zero for reasons that made no sense whatsoever.
If Ayanokouji tried to intentionally lower his own score, it could easily turn into a suicidal move that dragged them both down.
Left with little choice, Ayanokouji quietly began answering the questions.
The exams continued in tense silence.
Contemporary Japanese.
Social Studies.
English.
And finally...
Mathematics.
The moment the math exam began, Ayanokouji instinctively glanced toward Horikita.
Just as always, she worked through the questions with unwavering focus and confidence, her pen never once stopping.
Then he shifted his gaze toward Kushida.
She also solved the problems smoothly without much difficulty. Ayanokouji was somewhat surprised by how confident Kushida appeared, but more than Kushida herself, he was surprised by the choice that person had made.
"As expected..."
Ayanokouji quietly stared at the back of the student seated in front of him before returning his attention to his own exam.
『』『』『』『』『』
"Whew."
Horikita let out a sigh and briefly glanced up at the classroom ceiling.
"Looks like you're finished," Ayanokouji said as he looked toward her.
"I've never considered studying particularly stressful before, but I studied harder for this exam than I ever have in my life," Horikita replied.
"What score do you think you got on the math exam?"
"A hundred. Or at least, that's what I'd like to say," she answered. "There was one question that felt slightly ambiguous, so I can only confidently say ninety-eight points. There were also a few questions mixed in that were reasonably difficult."
She sounded extremely confident.
"....."
"What's wrong?"
Horikita looked at Ayanokouji with a strange expression.
"It's nothing..."
It was probably better not to say anything right now.
"Anyway, I made this bet with Kushida-san under the assumption that she would score a perfect hundred. That's why I prepared myself thoroughly enough to avoid even the smallest mistake. Even so, it's frustrating that I might have lost two points in the end. Right now, I need to meet with her," Horikita continued.
"Meet her? What are you planning to talk about?" Ayanokouji asked.
"It's nothing major. Even though the official results haven't been announced yet, we should still be able to roughly estimate our scores ourselves. I just want to confirm something."
It would still take time before the school released the actual results. Since the Paper Shuffle lasted for two days, everyone would likely receive their scores on the third day after the exam. If both sides already had a rough understanding of their own scores, then they could practically determine the winner of the bet immediately.
Horikita then left the classroom to look for Kushida.
Right after the exam ended, Kushida and Kumagawa had already left together. Nobody commented on it, not even Ike or Yamauchi, who normally would have made a fuss over something like that.
The mental exhaustion from the exams was probably too much for anyone to care anymore.
Not to mention, they still had another day left of the Paper Shuffle.
Once they stepped into the hallway, they quickly spotted Kushida and Kumagawa walking together not far away.
"Kushida-san!" Horikita called out.
Kushida slowly stopped walking.
"What is it, Horikita-san?" She turned around with the same gentle smile she always wore.
"....."
"What's wrong? You called for me, but now you're staying silent?"
Even Horikita could tell that something felt off, but she just couldn't figure out exactly what. Still, she continued. "Do you have a moment? There's something I want to confirm with you. But there are still people around, so could we talk somewhere else?"
"Hm... I guess that depends on what you want to talk about," Kushida replied. "Still, you're right. This probably isn't the best place for a conversation."
Kushida quietly followed after Horikita. Since there were still quite a few students remaining around the school building, they decided to move toward the special building instead.
Naturally, Ayanokouji and Kumagawa followed along as well.
"You want to talk about our bet regarding the final exam, right?" Kushida asked.
"Yes. Even though the official results haven't been announced yet, we should still be able to estimate our scores ourselves."
"...Estimate?" Kushida tilted her head slightly. "Did you keep track of your answers?"
"Yes, I did," Horikita replied before narrowing her eyes slightly. "Don't tell me... you didn't?"
"..."
Horikita had gambled her future on this bet.
And Kushida had done the same.
Naturally, Horikita assumed Kushida would have carefully tracked her own score as well. If either one of them lost, their life at this school would effectively end immediately.
"Anyway, what exactly are you trying to say here? Don't tell me you brought me here just to figure out whether I tracked my score or not so you could know whether you won before the official announcement?"
"...."
Kushida hit the mark perfectly.
And honestly, Horikita didn't even look surprised by the deduction. Dragging Kushida away just to ask about score tracking had already made her intentions painfully obvious.
"As you can see, I didn't properly track my score," Kushida said with a small shrug. "So I wouldn't know. Why don't we just wait for the school's official results instead of making assumptions? What do you think, Horikita-san?"
After saying that, Kushida walked past Horikita and Ayanokouji, leaving only the two of them inside the special building.
Horikita then slowly looked toward Ayanokouji.
Uncertain eyes.
An uncertain mind.
And an uncertain heart.
"Ayanokouji-kun..."
"....."
Ayanokouji couldn't say it.
No.
More accurately, he didn't want to say it.
Someone would inevitably lose.
And once the result was decided, there would be no taking it back.
『』『』『』『』『』
And so, the Paper Shuffle exam finally came to an end.
By the third day, every first-year student waited anxiously for the school to announce the results.
After spending weeks studying, staying up late, and pushing themselves harder than usual, everyone naturally wanted to know how much their efforts had paid off.
No one wanted a low score.
No one wanted their partner to drag them down.
And most importantly, no one wanted to be expelled.
So when Chabashira-sensei entered the classroom that morning, not a single student spoke.
Everyone remained silent.
Chabashira-sensei herself didn't say anything unnecessary either. She simply walked to the front of the classroom and posted a large white sheet directly onto the board.
The paper displayed every student's name alongside their assigned partner, their total score, and most importantly... whether they passed or failed.
"Woah!! I passed!!"
"We did it!!"
Voices immediately erupted throughout the classroom one after another almost like rehearsed lines. Every single one of the forty students in Class D had successfully passed, not a single person had been expelled.
Ayanokouji quietly looked over his own results.
87 points.
Across all eight subjects, his scores consistently stayed between eighty-seven and eighty-nine points without crossing the ninety-point mark even once.
And then there was Kumagawa.
Across all eight subjects...
Not a single score exceeded zero points.
In other words, he hadn't answered even one question correctly.
"....."
Ayanokouji couldn't help but feel as though he had narrowly avoided death itself. If he had followed his original plan, then there was no doubt both he and Kumagawa would have been expelled right now.
His school life would have ended on the spot.
Still, that wasn't the important thing at the moment.
With everyone's scores openly displayed like this, Ayanokouji instinctively glanced toward Horikita.
And just as expected...
"....."
Horikita blankly at her score... and the one name above hers.
Kushida Kikyou: 100
Horikita Suzune: 98
A difference of only two points.
"Horikita-san."
Horikita slowly turned toward the source of the voice.
Standing there was Kushida Kikyou.
And on her face rested a terrifying smile.
"I think we need to have a talk, don't we?"
The bet they made.
The conditions they agreed upon.
And the consequences tied to it all.
It truly was a proper zero-sum game.
『END』
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Here you go peasants, another chapter.
Anyway, that's it for today's chapter.
Hope you enjoyed it.
[Thanks for reading!]