As the repetitive days of studying dragged on, many students bottled up their frustration, yet the calendar marched inexorably forward.
The chilly season was only just getting into full swing. December had arrived, and there were now fewer than three days left until the final exams.
The coming weekend meant no school, with the end-of-term tests set to begin on Monday.
For this particular exam, Class D had spent nearly a month conducting class-wide test preparations.
And now, they had finally reached the culmination of those efforts.
Horikita walked toward the faculty office with a brown envelope in hand, reflecting on the intense days that had led here.
The discussion with Sakalisu to decide the opposing class for the finals, crafting problems specifically for Class C to solve, the countermeasures and direct confrontation with Kushida, the sudden Kamukura incident in the library—
Each one remained fresh in her memory as a major challenge to overcome.
She had grown used to teaching during the class study sessions, so that no longer felt burdensome, but there were times when her classmates' stubbornly slow progress left her dumbfounded, and exhaustion would crash over her in waves.
Yet Horikita couldn't help finding it odd that she somehow felt a quiet sense of fulfillment during moments like these.
Perhaps I'm the type who only feels satisfied when I'm busy—a born workaholic, she thought with faint self-mockery as she climbed the stairs.
"A lot really has happened."
"Seems like it's been rough for you."
Ayanokōji, walking beside her, commented as if it were someone else's affair.
He had barely participated in preparations for this special exam. Even during the sports festival, he had at least gathered information for a counterattack, but this time he hadn't done so much as that.
He had offered minor help—organizing groups at risk of expulsion or serving as a go-between—but unlike the uninhabited island exam or the cruise ship exam, he hadn't provided any active cooperation.
At least, that's how it appeared to Horikita.
And there was good reason for it: Ayanokōji wasn't choosing not to help—he simply couldn't.
The fault lay with Class C's ongoing hunt for "X."
The X that Ryūen was frantically searching for was Ayanokōji himself.
Standing out again here would only give Ryūen fresh clues.
Fearing precisely that, Ayanokōji had deliberately avoided any conspicuous actions.
"How do you think our chances look?"
Ayanokōji asked, glancing at the brown envelope.
"Who knows. I wouldn't get your hopes up too high—the school will make adjustments, after all.
Still, there's no question these are the toughest problems we've produced compared to any exam we've taken so far."
These were the test questions the entire class had poured their effort into creating, drawing from all sorts of reference materials. They represented Class D's critical gamble.
Adjustments aside, the result was solid and reliable.
She felt no unease about getting them accepted; this would allow them to plant a firm foot forward.
"Did you prepare for the worst-case scenario?"
By "worst-case," Ayanokōji meant Kushida, of course.
But Horikita had countermeasures ready for that as well.
Through her deal with Sakalisu, she fully understood just how dangerous an internal traitor could be in this exam.
And with their bet hanging in the balance, Kushida would undoubtedly try to force Horikita's expulsion with everything she had.
She wouldn't hesitate to use any means necessary.
"I've covered all the bases I can. But I suppose you could say the real fight starts right here."
"Yeah. We have to make absolutely sure these questions get accepted."
It went without saying that Kushida would be coordinating with Class C.
Just like the sports festival, there was the risk of last-minute checks and leaks to Class C.
Or the possibility of submitting early to lock in the finals, then invalidating whatever Class D turned in later.
First strike or counter—it didn't matter.
Horikita had prepared thorough defenses against every approach.
"Honestly, I do wish you'd lend more help."
"Even if I did, I wouldn't accomplish much."
Ayanokōji said this while shifting his gaze forward, making brief eye contact.
A quick turn at the corner and a straight walk would bring them right to the faculty office. The gesture felt almost excessively cautious, as if silently urging vigilance, but Horikita complied just to be safe.
"Yo, Suzune."
Partway down the corridor to the faculty office, a student suddenly called her name, and they nearly collided.
A very familiar figure—a clear-cut enemy she had run into countless times at this school.
The boy, Ryūen, stood blocking the hallway like a sentinel.
"A coincidence... hardly."
"Exactly. I've been waiting for you."
Ryūen smiled with bold confidence. Since this was the only path to the faculty office, it stood to reason he had business there too.
Given the timing, that was the natural conclusion.
Yet his hands were buried in his pockets. No brown envelope in sight.
He was here empty-handed, which could only mean he had already submitted his questions and was ambushing Horikita.
His intent was obvious. Horikita sharpened her alertness and braced for the exchange.
"Your assistant looks pretty energetic too, Suzune. Leaning on him heavily again this time?"
"Again? Don't be absurd. I've never once relied on Ayanokōji-kun."
"...Huh?"
Ayanokōji reacted to Horikita's words with exaggerated shock, staring at her in apparent bewilderment.
"That's cold, Suzune. Ayanokōji looks completely lost. You've got to praise a capable subordinate now and then, or he'll lose motivation."
"No worries. Even if I shower him with abuse, he'll still move like an obedient slave."
"...Huh?"
Ayanokōji displayed the same confused look as before.
His second reaction lingered a beat longer than the first, but Horikita ignored it.
"You mangy dog. But I'm not naive enough to cross you off as X just because you've got that kind of kink."
"Wait, Ryūen—you've got it wrong."
"Wrong? ...Heh, what, are you seriously about to admit you're X right here?"
"No, that's not it either. More to the point, I don't have any kink like that."
"Sure, whatever."
Ryūen clearly had no interest in hearing Ayanokōji out.
Horikita, however, was more concerned with the revelation that Ryūen viewed Ayanokōji as a plausible candidate for X.
He was often seen with her and helped out, so it was a logical suspicion.
Nothing strange about it. In fact, showing agitation now would only heighten the suspicion.
Indifference was the optimal response.
With that settled in her mind, Horikita stepped past Ryūen and continued walking.
"So, how's it shaping up, Suzune? Though whatever scraps of knowledge you defects managed to scrape together probably aren't worth much."
Ryūen matched her pace, positioning himself on her right.
Ayanokōji walked on her left without even pretending to shield her.
"Who knows. At the very least, I believe we crafted problems difficult enough to expel someone who wastes all his time scheming instead of studying."
"Cheap shot."
"Look who's talking."
Ryūen was plainly enjoying lobbing verbal attacks at her.
Judging it too troublesome to engage, Horikita simply quickened her steps and headed straight for the faculty office.
But even after reaching the door, Ryūen continued his surveillance without pause.
Horikita set his behavior aside for the moment and called out to Chabashira.
"You brought it, I see."
Chabashira emerged into the hallway almost immediately.
She seemed to already grasp the purpose; her eyes dropped directly to the brown envelope.
Ryūen lingered nearby.
Yet he only observed, showing no sign of interference.
He watched openly but remained unusually quiet. Chabashira noticed him as well but offered no reprimand.
"Why not head back already?"
"What's this? My presence here causing some kind of problem?"
Ryūen grinned broadly.
Horikita couldn't pinpoint his goal in sticking around to watch. She even sensed he might simply be lingering to taunt her.
But something felt off. She refused to believe their encounter on submission day was mere chance. Moreover, Ryūen currently exuded an atmosphere that demanded constant caution.
"There's something I'd like to confirm before submitting."
Horikita resumed her discussion with Chabashira.
Ryūen wouldn't budge no matter what she said, and mere observation—however unpleasant—wasn't a rule violation.
Forcing him away would only come across as tyrannical.
"It's what I mentioned earlier. Up until today, I want confirmation on whether anyone besides me has submitted final exam questions."
"Yes. And I'd also like to revisit the promise made on the day the exam rules were explained."
"It was two points: that 'Suzune Horikita holds the right to submit the questions,' and that 'should anyone other than Suzune Horikita submit questions, you would pretend to accept them.'
To cut to the chase—that promise couldn't be honored."
"...I see."
Chabashira delivered the fact slowly and deliberately.
It had been nothing more than a verbal agreement from the start. There was never any absolute guarantee.
In her peripheral vision, Ryūen watched her expression with evident glee.
But Horikita remained unshaken by something this minor.
"You're remarkably composed. Frankly, I expected you'd lash out at me for breaking my word."
"I won't deny feeling a bit of that. But my guess is that you were placed in a position where you had no choice but to break it."
"Then let's hear this guess of yours."
Horikita nodded and pressed on.
She laid out her reasoning for Ayanokōji listening beside her and for Ryūen, who continued his unrelenting scrutiny.
"To be blunt: Ms. Chabashira, you've already received questions from Kushida-san ahead of me, haven't you? And she paid private points for it, correct?"
"...I'm surprised. Betrayal within a class is rare enough in this exam, yet the reading has gone this deep."
Chabashira's eyes widened briefly before she expressed genuine admiration. Her usually stoic facial muscles shifted clearly—an authentic response.
"That reaction amounts to confirmation, then?"
"Yes, it does. Exactly as you said—Kikyo Kushida has already submitted Class D's questions and staked private points to ensure immediate acceptance. Regrettably for her, those won't be the ones used."
Chabashira indicated the envelope as she spoke.
Kushida's chosen tactic was to secure acceptance first, fixing Class D's questions to a set advantageous to her.
And by "advantageous," she naturally meant questions that would benefit Class C.
The method of verifying afterward—as done during the sports festival—could be easily blocked if Horikita submitted just before the deadline and devoted the remaining time to monitoring the faculty office.
Recognizing that Kushida was fully committed, Horikita had concluded she wouldn't employ anything simplistic—and had anticipated this very development.
"Heh heh, so what are you gonna do, Suzune? How are you gonna turn this hopeless situation around?"
Ryūen, who had been watching silently, cut in with a leisurely smile.
It wasn't the triumphant cackle of someone who already believed they had won—just a calm, composed curve at the corner of his mouth.
With those hawk-sharp eyes fixed on her, Ryūen didn't feel like a mere delinquent at all.
If anything, he resembled the yakuza bosses from dramas or novels.
If Ishizaki and Komiya gave off the vibe of common thugs or small-time punks, Ryūen was something else entirely.
"Simple. The only thing that can counter private points is more private points. All I have to do is pay just one point more than whatever Kushida-san offered and have these questions accepted."
That would neutralize Kushida's betrayal.
Everything up to this point had gone exactly as anticipated. Horikita had predicted that, if Kushida was truly serious about forcing her expulsion, she would resort to using private points.
But the real problem started now.
Kushida was almost certainly receiving support from Class C. Depending on how many points they provided, even pooling everything Class D could muster might not be enough.
Class C held 530 class points; Class D had only 185. The per-student private point allowance was vastly different.
And Ryūen was the type to extort points from his own classmates.
If it turned into an auction-style bidding war, Class D had no chance of winning.
(Still, Ryūen-kun wouldn't throw out points endlessly either.)
Even if it devolved into a bidding war, it would clearly drag on into a quagmire.
Despite appearances, Ryūen knew when to cut his losses.
He would have set a budget for how much to give Kushida. That was Horikita's assumption.
And if she could just exceed that amount, the betrayal would be stopped.
"Heh heh, I hope you defects have enough points to cover it."
Horikita shot a look of open contempt at the brazen Ryūen, but he didn't flinch. If anything, he seemed to relish the situation like it was a reward.
"Ms. Chabashira, how many points do I need to pay?"
"Five hundred thousand private points."
Chabashira stated the figure without hesitation.
An astronomical sum—one that would be excruciatingly difficult to gather.
"I see. Then—let's complete the transaction right now."
Yet Horikita agreed immediately.
True, the gap in total private points and class points between Classes C and D was enormous.
But Class D had savings too.
The cruise ship exam. The special exam that had earned them two million private points.
Those points were meant for the class's benefit, managed by Hirata.
Some had been deducted during the sports festival to cover substitutes for Kōenji and Ayanokōji, leaving them with 1.8 million now—but that was still more than enough for this deal.
And right now, Horikita had been entrusted with those points by Hirata.
Problem solved.
Horikita showed Chabashira her phone's point balance.
"I see. I've confirmed the amount. I'll proceed with formal acceptance."
Chabashira reached for Horikita's phone.
But—
"Hold on, Suzune."
Ryūen's voice carried the first hint of objection.
He closed the distance until he was right beside her, smiling unnervingly.
"Let me join that transaction too."
"What are you talking about? These are Class D's questions. This has nothing to do with someone from another class."
"That's not quite right. Class C is paired against Class D in this special exam. And for some reason I don't fully understand... it seems there's a traitor in Class D.
Now that I've overheard it, I'd like to add even more points on top of whatever the traitor paid—to ensure my class wins. Sounds reasonable, doesn't it, Ms. Chabashira?"
"Yes. There's no issue with using points that way."
At Chabashira's affirmation, Ryūen's smile deepened.
"That's the deal, then. Suzune, I'll keep adding points until whatever you've prepared runs dry."
The very thing she had feared was happening.
Ryūen must have anticipated this scenario. That explained why he had shown up here without an envelope.
The pieces were falling into place.
"A foolish move. Wasting points like that."
"Yeah, it is foolish. Even for me, this kind of spending hurts. I'd have preferred to avoid it... but this way, you'll end up in an even worse position, right?"
"...So you're willing to bleed yourself dry for the win. A desperate, graceless strategy."
"True. But right now, you're the one cornered. No matter what it takes, the one who wins will be—me."
Ryūen brushed off Horikita's insults with a cool expression.
(I've been outplayed. I never imagined Ryūen-kun would go this far with such a reckless tactic...)
Horikita hadn't thought he would obsess this much over the 100 class points victory would bring.
It was a high-risk play. More than two million private points would vanish.
She had estimated that much—and yet Ryūen's disregard for the risk had caught her off guard.
"If I can wipe out the points you've all scrimped and saved with your pathetic class point allowance, your reserves will be gone.
Once you have nothing left, you'll have no trump cards. And then your strategist... your X... won't stay silent."
"You're still going on about that? X doesn't exist. I've told you time and again—the one who opposed you during the cruise ship exam and the sports festival was me. When will you finally accept it?"
"Heh heh, lying is bad, Suzune. You're the one who needs to come clean."
Ryūen draped an arm around Horikita's shoulder as he spoke.
The motion was practiced, almost casual, and it only deepened Horikita's contempt for him.
"Give up and spill it already. And if you tell me who X is, I might even stop raising the bid."
For a moment, her thoughts froze.
If she revealed X's identity, a path to victory in the exam would remain.
That possibility clung to her mind.
But—
"...I've told you over and over. There is no X."
Horikita shook off Ryūen's arm and declared it firmly.
She erased the idea she had just entertained from her head.
Suzune Horikita did not give up. Not when she had finally forged these bonds.
"Heh heh heh. You're a good woman, after all. You've got guts and nerves of steel. It'd be a waste for you to get expelled. A real shame."
"What are you saying? I'm not going to be expelled."
"We'll see about that. At this rate, you'll end up dropping out—and voluntarily, at that. You get what I'm saying, right?"
Voluntary expulsion.
The way he emphasized those words proved he was in contact with Kushida behind the scenes.
The bet between Horikita and Kushida: if Horikita lost, she would voluntarily withdraw.
"I won't lose. Even if things stay as they are, if we both score perfect marks, it'll be a draw. The bet won't trigger."
Ryūen covered his face with his hand at Horikita's reply, which showed she understood perfectly.
She assumed he was suppressing his signature "heh heh" laugh.
But when he lowered his hand, there was no smile.
His expression was grave.
Horikita felt herself influenced by it and steeled herself once more for the conversation.
"This is a warning, Suzune. Class C's questions are extremely difficult. After all, Kamukura is the one who made them. You won't be getting a perfect score that easily."
"And?"
"...I'm not saying it's absolutely impossible, but the odds are heavily against it.
If that happens, you'll definitely withdraw voluntarily. The Horikita Suzune I know wouldn't break a promise."
Ryūen looked straight at her as he spoke.
Until now, he had only ever mocked her, but for the first time, she felt truly recognized as an opponent.
It came through clearly.
"That girl harbors extraordinary feelings toward you. I don't know why.
But they're real. She fully believes in the terms of your bet and is dead serious about forcing your expulsion. For me, though—that wouldn't be any fun."
"What are you saying? You sound almost as if you don't want me to get expelled."
"Yeah, that's exactly what I said. I—don't want you to drop out."
A lie. That was Horikita's immediate thought.
But there was no deception in his intensity or expression. Her intuition told her that much.
"This makes no sense. What are you playing at? If you think you're showing mercy to an enemy, I'll pass."
"Heh heh, this isn't mercy. If anything, it's a matter of preference. You or that girl. I just chose you, that's all."
Horikita vaguely grasped the reason behind Ryūen's actions.
(...He betrayed Kushida-san?)
He had chosen Horikita.
And that recognition was correct. Ryūen had prioritized preventing Horikita's expulsion over supporting Kushida's scheme.
"Anyway, we've taken the long way around, but let's get back to the point. Suzune, I don't want you to drop out.
That said, I have no intention of throwing the special exam. So I'm not stopping the additional bids either."
A natural stance. Ryūen simply didn't want Horikita expelled.
He wasn't going to halt it entirely. Victory in the exam took higher priority.
"Here's a proposal, then. If you tell me who X is, I'll stop raising the points."
It was a devil's offer.
To win the special exam, she would have to expose X—Ayanokōji.
If she did, paying the 500,000 private points would override Kushida's questions, shifting the next exam to a fair contest of academic ability.
But she couldn't accept it.
To Horikita, Ayanokōji was not someone she could easily discard.
Not romantic feelings. He possessed power indispensable for reaching Class A in this school.
Ayanokōji disliked standing out and refused to exert his full strength. To Horikita, that was incomprehensible.
Yet she had concluded his abilities were necessary.
If she revealed his identity now, Ayanokōji might never cooperate with her again.
(...No, that's unacceptable. I'm still immature. Things are different from when I thought I could handle everything alone. I can't do something that cuts him off.)
Horikita resolved herself and bluffed.
"As if I'd accept that proposal."
"You'll have no choice. You don't give up—but not on protecting X's secret. On winning the special exam."
Ryūen stated it calmly. His analysis of her was accurate.
Horikita seethed at having her personality read so thoroughly, but she quickly suppressed it and searched for a counter.
Yet no matter how she thought, nothing came.
"Who is X, Suzune?"
Ryūen pressed her like it was simple routine.
"Even if I say it's me, you won't accept it."
"...My answer remains the same. This X you speak of doesn't exist."
"You're sure that's fine? I won't hesitate. Precisely because I acknowledge you as an enemy, I won't show mercy."
"So you've seen me as an enemy. That's unexpected."
"You're really something—a woman with iron nerves."
Ryūen lowered his voice slightly as he spoke.
A trace of dissatisfaction peeked through, the kind felt when unsatisfied with an outcome.
"If you bid points, I'll bid too. But at this stage, even that is meaningless. There's no need for either of us to waste points."
After all, if Horikita didn't pay the 500,000 private points, Ryūen wouldn't need to raise his bid.
The result: Kushida's questions would be accepted, putting them at a disadvantage in the special exam.
No—defeat.
Class D's questions had already been leaked by Kushida, with answers provided.
In exchange, Kushida had received Class C's math questions and solutions in advance.
That guaranteed her a perfect 100.
To avoid expulsion, Horikita had no choice but to score 100 on Class C's questions through her own effort.
But questions crafted by Kamukura would be extraordinarily difficult. Even with school adjustments, it would be an immense challenge.
Yet that was the only path left to prevent her expulsion.
"...Ms. Chabashira, cancel the transaction. I won't pay the 500,000 points."
"...Understood."
Horikita declared it in a heavy atmosphere.
It was a move of resignation. The marks where she had bitten her lower lip hard were visible, and now regret and frustration surged within her.
In that moment, the battle of wits had gone to Ryūen.
"You won't sell out your allies, huh. You're one hell of a woman.
But even someone like you can't turn this around. And if we seal the movements of an X who hates the spotlight, there's nothing he can do."
Ryūen spoke with a hint of disappointment.
Deep down, he had hoped for another thrilling intellectual duel with the X who had repeatedly defied him, but this time everything had gone according to his plan.
There was satisfaction. Relief that his strategy had succeeded.
Even if Horikita had revealed X, he could have won a straight academic contest, so he indulged in pride over his flawless scheme.
Yet this overwhelming victory still didn't fully satisfy Ryūen's heart.
"In the end, you didn't do a thing, Ayanokōji. If you were X, I figured you'd make a move even in this hopeless situation."
Ryūen's interest shifted from the downcast, frustrated Horikita to Ayanokōji.
Throughout the conversation, Ayanokōji had remained silent, merely observing, and Ryūen was starting to doubt if he truly was a strong candidate for X.
"It's not that I won't—it's that I can't. I'm an outsider, so I can't even follow your conversation.
And like I've said multiple times, I'm not this X you're talking about."
"Seems that way. Looks like I overestimated you. Then X must be... Hirata, I guess."
Ryūen organized his thoughts and sighed.
There was still work to do here, but he simply lacked the motivation.
The submission deadline for test questions was 6 p.m. today.
About three hours remained. He could return near the deadline, check if Class D had added points, and deliver checkmate.
A trivial task he could handle effortlessly, but without that confirmation, there was always a slim chance of upset. No matter how boring, Ryūen had decided never to slack on such things.
He left the scene.
Neither Horikita nor Ayanokōji watched him go. Horikita, consumed by defeat, had no room for it.
Ayanokōji was troubled by Kushida's thorniness.
He should have seriously aimed to expel her during the sports festival. His assessment had been a touch too lenient.
Rare for Ayanokōji, he reflected on such a miscalculation.
(But whatever, at this point.)
He murmured it in his mind.
Because with this, Kushida Kikyo was finished. Her second act of betrayal sealed her expulsion.
After the finals ended, they would hold a class-wide reflection meeting.
Discuss why they lost, dig into the causes. There, he could expose what happened during the sports festival along with Kushida's hidden side.
Once revealed, Kushida would scatter malice, discard the trust she had built like trash, and end up alone.
For a girl who was nothing but a mass of need for approval, that would transform her into a creature unable to breathe.
The end for a woman who had strangled herself—
—would be voluntary withdrawal.
(All that's left is to do everything possible to prevent Horikita's expulsion.)
There were several options. A strong one: buying Class C's questions from Kamukura.
Kamukura knew Ayanokōji was X. Yet he hadn't reported it to Ryūen.
Ayanokōji saw that as convenient—something he could exploit.
Kamukura himself likely didn't want Horikita expelled. His actions during the cruise ship exam made it obvious he valued her, so the connection was straightforward.
Thus, Ayanokōji believed Kamukura would cooperate, making this negotiation promising.
"You okay, Horikita?"
Ayanokōji spoke after giving some time since Ryūen's departure.
Horikita's hands were clenched so tightly it looked like they might draw blood.
Glancing at her downcast profile through strands of hair, her eyes appeared moist.
"...Yes, I'm fine."
A lie.
Anyone could see Horikita had no such composure.
Frustration overflowed from being confronted with this outcome despite her desperate efforts.
She had repeatedly tried to persuade Kushida, the root negative, but failed. Then countermeasures to avoid defeat, only to be outmaneuvered and fail again.
Yet she didn't wipe her eyes with her sleeve, nor did her voice waver as she declared it.
She was desperately rallying her shattered spirit.
"You're clearly not."
A voice echoed in the hallway.
Familiar, yet in a tone utterly unlike the usual.
Horikita and Ayanokōji quickly turned toward the sound. The unexpected arrival unsettled them both.
Her expression was twisted.
It carried a chilling malice, as if wanting her guilt to be noticed.
She herself no longer knew what she wanted.
A single girl, lost in self-abandonment, had appeared.
The girl's name was Kushida Kikyo. A pitiful being trapped by her past, unable to emerge from her cocoon.
***
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