My original plan was simply to head to the vending machine by the dormitory entrance for a drink, but when I sensed someone nearby and looked down the alley, I saw Ayanokouji locked in a deadly glare with a murderous intensity.
Standing there was the student council president I’d seen at the entrance ceremony, Horikita Manabu.
Behind him, Horikita Suzune leaned against the wall with tearful eyes, looking either terrified or resigned.
"Horikita... for a moment I wondered if you two even shared the same surname," I thought.
I wasn’t particularly interested, but then again—could they be siblings?
...Maybe I should listen in a bit closer.
"...Not bad move. Have you learned something?"
"A little—from piano and calligraphy. But more importantly, you were about to strike Horikita just now, weren’t you?"
"This is just discipline for my little sister. Outsiders need not interfere."
"If it were proper discipline, you wouldn’t be causing a ruckus here without surveillance. What you’re doing is nothing short of violence."
"...Cut it out, Ayanokouji."
I found the growing tension fascinating. And seriously—Ayanokouji could be so articulate! If Hasebe saw this, she’d probably tease him with something like, "Ayanokouji, I didn’t know you had it in you."
"Ayanokouji, huh? Now that I think of it, I heard there’s an oddball among this year’s freshmen who scored fifty in every subject on the entrance exam."
"Heh..."
"And fifty on the academic test too..."
"Coincidences are terrifying, right?"
No, this was no coincidence.
If the student council president’s words were true, then scoring fifty across the board and fifty on the academic test had clearly been arranged on purpose.
"That was premeditated—typical Ayanokouji trickery."
Considering the exam content and its point distribution, manipulating the score so precisely would be hard to achieve. I’d managed roughly sixty points by back-calculating the difficulty and average score.
"Hm. Whatever."
Horikita Manabu must have sensed something too, for he cast a sidelong glance at his younger sister as he said,
"I wish you’d expel yourself as soon as possible, Suzune."
"O-oba, older brother...!"
Damn it, he’s coming this way.
When Horikita Manabu started approaching, I quickly ducked behind a pillar, grabbed a drink from the vending machine, and blended in as an average student.
Swish
He passed by, glancing in my direction, but unlike Ayanokouji he didn’t bother interacting—merely strode past and returned to the dorm.
"Better not attract the student council president’s attention. Yeah," I muttered.
Anyway...
"That was quite entertaining."
For a late-night errand, I ended up witnessing far more than I’d bargained for.
Not a bad haul, I mused.
After that, I kept my distance. Somehow, thanks to some trick Kushida pulled, Sudo never reappeared—whereas Ike and Yamauchi, persuaded for some reason, rejoined the study group a few days later.
And Horikita—whether that incident changed his mindset or he had a word or two with Ayanokouji—seemed to start offering a bit more help with improving everyone’s grades.
Meanwhile, I, who had been served a “special meal” much like Ayanokouji, was forced daily to listen to Horikita’s biting critiques.
"If you apply this formula here..."
"Ooh...! Could Kushida actually be a genius?!"
"Maybe your brain’s just too sluggish to even use such a simple formula, Ike."
Looking at Ike and Yamauchi’s expressions, I began to suspect they weren’t worried about expulsion at all—they’d come here solely because of Kushida.
Well, anyway.
"Three days in, and Sudo still hasn’t shown up."
And...
"No matter how hard Ike and Yamauchi try, at this pace they’re bound to get expelled."
A student who’s long set aside studying can’t possibly expect to make such dramatic gains overnight.
"Ha... I really didn’t want to get involved this time."
It seemed the moment had come to pull out Plan B.
Ah... what a waste of points.
"...That’s the situation, senior," I said when I met up with a third-year I’d done business with recently.
"...Me again?" he replied.
"We’ve already dealt once, haven’t we?"
At a quiet café, sitting face-to-face with the senior, we started talking. He looked a bit uneasy, but I let that slide.
"So, what’s the issue this time...?"
"You have the midterm materials, don’t you?"
"W-what...?!"
Bingo.
“I appreciate how easily you react, senior. You’re easy to read,” I said.
"I did give you some points not long ago, but you still seem pretty strapped. Even when you eat at the cafeteria, you end up with bargain-set meals..."
For the record, I had tried one too—disgustingly bland.
"Well... with so few points coming in..."
"Forced frugality isn’t healthy. So let’s strike another deal."
"...What’s your demand?"
"I told you—I'll buy your first-year midterm exam papers, along with the first quiz, for 10,000 points."
"Th-that’s..."
This school prides itself on evaluating students solely by merit. That’s why it sets strict constraints in this confined environment, forcing us to fight for every advantage.
And within that crucible, the exchanges between students come without any rules.
If there had been restrictions, this senior wouldn’t have been selling me this information—and surely the school would have issued some kind of warning.
Since nothing of the sort happened, I knew this was bound to work.
Still, his reaction surprised me.
"I-I can’t let it go for that price... I’d need at least 30,000 points," he stammered.
A counteroffer—and a very specific one at that.
Clearly, deals like this were not uncommon here.
“Thanks for the info, senior. And...”
"If you don’t like it, then the deal’s off. Another senior already offered to sell them for 15,000 points."
"W-what...?!"
"I came to you because we share a connection... and now you’re trying to gouge me. I’m disappointed."
"G-gouge me?! Last year, the going rate was...!"
So it seems someone had sold them before. It was probably not you, but whatever.
"Market prices can’t remain fixed every year. Still, I came to you because you’re a senior..."
"Ugh... then at least match that price...!"
Okay—bait taken.
"Fine."
"W-what...?!"
I pulled the hidden recorder from my pocket and said,
"No take-backs, senior."
"I—I’ve been had...!"
You should have been more careful.
After getting the materials from the senior, I mused, "Even the backup quiz papers are nearly identical. The midterm is bound to be just as similar."
At this rate, avoiding a failing grade would be nearly foolproof. But this was still only Plan B.
Plan A—Horikita-sensei’s after-school study class—was far from over.
Then I wondered aloud, "If I leak this information to Yosuke, when would be the right time?"
There was no reason to broadcast it immediately. If word spread that a cheat sheet was available, everyone would slack off. For the sake of their long-term motivation, it was best that they first build proper study habits.
Releasing this information the day before the exam seemed ideal—if they memorized every detail, most could score at least half of the points, unless they were total slackers.
Thus, handing it over about three days in advance would be perfect.
But before that...
"...Maybe I should use this chance to secure one more pawn besides Yosuke."
It might be wise to have a backup contact on the female side, just in case Yosuke turned out to be unreliable.
And who better than Kushida Kikyo?
This time, I chose you.
Little did I know I would come to regret that decision sooner than expected.
"So this is the old exam paper?"
"Yeah. I compared it with the quiz, and they’re remarkably similar. Over half the questions are identical."
"Wow...! With this, not only Sudo but the others could easily score high! That’s amazing, Ian!"
Kushida beamed with sparkling eyes as she praised me.
But lately I’d noticed something unusual about her: her sense of personal space was off. Even now, she was uncomfortably close. If it were Ike or Yamauchi, their egos might have inflated, but her proximity didn’t affect me in the same way.
"My gut tells me to be cautious around her," I admitted silently.
Still, I had no real choice—if Yosuke was the male hook, Kushida was by far the most popular on the female side. Besides, this role suited her perfectly.
As I’ve said before, my instincts aren’t infallible. Whatever.
"Then let’s release it immediately...!"
"No, I don’t think it’s wise to drop the information now. You know how it is—once people know the answers exist, they get lazy."
"Ah... so when should we make it public then?"
"The day before the exam. Everyone will study hard, I’m sure."
I just hoped they would actually commit it to memory. If I provided the answer sheet and they still forgot, they’d truly be a lost cause—and deserve expulsion.
"Amazing...! Simply amazing, Ian—you’re doing all this for the class!"
Though Kushida’s tone hinted at a slightly different interpretation, it didn’t matter. Ah, and I hadn’t mentioned the most important part yet.
"I need you to take credit for obtaining this information, Kushida."
"Huh...? Why would I do that?"
Her evasive reply was reminiscent of Yosuke’s earlier dodges, and I managed to secure her agreement.
Then, on the day the test scores were announced...
"Honestly, I’m a little surprised. I never expected you all to score so high in such a short time—it’s as if someone had cast a spell."
Chabashira-sensei, astonished by an absurd average of about seventy-three points across all subjects, remarked as much.
Even looking back at the quiz scores now, the numbers were almost unbelievable...
"But..."
Something defied my expectations.
"Sudo Ken."
A total disaster.
"You failed," Chabashira-sensei declared.
I hadn’t expected such a mockery from someone like him.
"Sudo Ken, though it was brief, it was a pleasure. Now, after school, prepare for expulsion procedures."
Damn that gorilla bastard, Sudo...!
The similarities between the midterm papers I’d acquired from the senior and the actual exam were over seventy percent. In other words, if one memorized every question perfectly, scoring at least seventy was guaranteed—and with a little effort, even ninety was within reach. In fact, most students were already scoring over eighty in nearly every subject.
Yet this gorilla managed a paltry thirty-nine in English—confounded by the alphabet, even though his other subjects hovered around fifty. That one misstep left him below the forty-point cutoff, dooming him to expulsion.
Yosuke and Kushida were whispering to the teacher and among themselves, but no one else joined the conversation. Even Ike and Yamauchi, who had once been close to him, avoided his gaze.
It was hardly surprising. Sudo had barely improved lately. He ignored Ayanokouji’s calls to rejoin the study group, and when Horikita—setting aside his pride—tried to speak up for him, Sudo dismissed him just as lightly.
His tardiness and absences had shown slight improvement, yet remained a significant issue, and his violent outbursts had only further tarnished his reputation among the girls in our class.
In short, Sudo had no allies.
Then, as Chabashira-sensei left the classroom and Sudo trembled while pounding his desk,
"Hm... should I pull out Plan C?" I wondered, mentally weighing the pros and cons.
Then, right after the teacher departed, Ayanokouji got up and left, saying he was off to the bathroom—though I suspected he was actually following Chabashira.
Soon after, Horikita, looking suspicious of Ayanokouji’s behavior, rose a few moments later and began tailing him.
"...If Ayanokouji is thinking what I’m thinking," I mused,
then there would be no reason for me to intervene.
For a brief moment I considered following them too, but then decided,
"No, there’s really no need."
Whether or not they shared my thoughts—and regardless of whether Sudo remained in class—I concluded it wouldn’t make any difference. Even if they hadn’t moved, I wouldn’t have stepped in to save Sudo.
So I remained head-down on my desk, blocking out the surrounding noise, and dozed off.
Soon after, Sudo’s expulsion was mysteriously canceled.
Apparently, Horikita had managed to "buy" Sudo’s English score with points, executing yet another of my unplanned ideas.
Sudo then, as if nothing had happened, began to shine with an unending trust and gratitude directed at Horikita.
All of this unfolded while I slept.
In the end, no one was expelled...
What a stroke of luck. How wonderful.
"Soon enough, it’ll be June."
At that moment, I had no inkling that a major change was about to shatter the monotony of my dreary life.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register