Chapter 150 - Classroom of the Elite: Checkmate 13

Chapter 13 - Artificial Castling

Chabashira-sensei walked into the classroom in a relaxed manner.

Even though my classmates should have realized this, a few of them felt anxious. We had the old test papers and made efforts to study prior to the midterms, so they should have had more confidence in themselves.

The only exception to this rule had been Sudou, who was without a doubt the most apprehensive out of the bunch, since he messed up during his English test. There was a chance that he might have failed, after all.

"Sensei, when will the results be announced?"

"You shouldn't be worried, Hirata. It would have been hard for you to fail, even if you tried. But the results are in, so I might as well announce them now."

Chabashira-sensei stuck a large poster with everyone's names and test scores onto the blackboard. The subjects were ordered after the sequence in which we had taken them, so first was social studies and the last one on the list was English. Each list was arranged in descending order of the person's score.

""What the hell?""

Multiple students shouted and glanced around in surprise upon seeing the results on the poster. The reason was not because about half of our class had scored perfectly in the midterms, but because of the unbelievable score achieved by a single person on top of each list that blew everyone away.

According to her expression, however, even the person in question was surprised.

The stern, yet beautiful girl beside me stared at this scene with widened, astonished eyes. She wasn't the only student in this classroom that was confused, though. No one could comprehend what Chiaki had achieved during the exam.

"Hey, Chabashira-sensei! Aren't the results kind of... you know... wrong?"

"Yeah, sensei! How is it possible that Matsushita-san scored 101 points on every test?"

"Even though I'm happy for her good scores, it's really kinda like, impossible to achieve that, y'know?"

More and more students began to chime in with their own opinions regarding this matter, which changed the previously comfortable atmosphere into a loud, confusing mess. Our beloved homeroom teacher shook her head, fed up with the whole situation, and threw us an icy glare.

"Quiet!"

Chabashira-sensei's irritated voice was proof enough that she was displeased with the barrage of annoying comments that flew her way. My classmates fell silent and anticipated her next words with curious yet strained expressions.

"I assure you that all the scores on this sheet were verified by multiple teachers and that they are completely valid. That being said, Matsushita..." She turned to Chiaki, who regarded her with a confused gaze. "Congratulations on your score."

According to her awed and perplexed appearance, Chiaki was still processing her scores, wondering how she had managed to obtain 101 points in each subject, which should have been impossible. Since she was aware about some of this school's special quirks, I believed that it wouldn't take much longer until she realized what might have happened.

There were only so many conclusions one could draw from such a sight, after all.

So far, my impressions on Chiaki were correct, as expected. She had never planned to take a step into the limelight, because she thought that our class wouldn't be able to ascend to Class A, even if she gave her best. Yet now she had scored more than full marks in every test without knowing how.

This would beg one important question...

Who had purchased these points?

"T-thank you, Chabashira-sensei..."

While my classmates were focused on the interaction taking place in front of them, as well as their own speculations about how she had achieved this score, I began to scan the sheet for Sudou's name. His scores weren't bad and could even be referred to as excellent for someone of his usual academic ability.

Even though he was, like me, one of the inferior students, he had managed to score in a similar range to my own in four of the five main subjects. Just like him, the other students saw an impressive increase in points as well, due to the old test papers we had received from Kushida.

This hadn't been her only move throughout these painful times.

Since my queen wanted the best for our pawns, she had used her panic attack as a pretext to increase their willingness to learn, and told everyone that she collapsed because of the growing worries about her classmates as the exam drew closer which prompted her underlings to study with everything they've got.

This interesting idea once again assured me that I had made the right decision to trust her with the position of my most important piece. Kushida would fulfill her role perfectly. I had no doubts about this.

"Yes!"

Sudou leaped up in joy after he confirmed his lowest score for himself. Since it was above the passing grade of 32, he believed that all his efforts had been worth it. Kushida, Horikita and Ike also noted that his score was above the previous threshold and breathed a sigh of relief...

... moments before the imminent disaster that was about to unfold.

"I'm positively surprised by your achievements this month. Despite my misgivings at the beginning of the year, you managed to beat Class C's average this time. You all did very well. Except..."

Chabashira-sensei took out a red pen and strolled towards the right side of the massive poster, which was attached to the blackboard. This section of the banner was occupied by our English scores. They went from the highest score of 101 down to the lowest one, which was 43 and belonged to none other than Sudou.

"Huh?"

This mystified exclamation was the only sound that escaped his quivering mouth as our delicate homeroom teacher bend over and drew a red line above Sudou's name to indicate that he hadn't made the cut, despite the sweat and tears he had put into studying for the last two weeks.

My favorite delinquent classmate should have gone through the worst stage of his life at this moment.

As one of his friends, I should have understood and supported him at such a difficult time. Instead of worrying about him, I was distracted by Chabashira-sensei's plump butt and enticing thighs, which revealed their intoxicating charm as she bent forward.

This was, of course, an incredibly improper thought to have.

I once again realized how far Ike's antics had corrupted me and my thought process during our short time together.

"You failed, Sudou."

Her cold, indifferent voice prompted my classmates to fall silent in shock. As if they had already forgotten about Chiaki's impossible scores, their attention shifted towards Sudou and the harsh words that left Chabashira-sensei's graceful lips.

"W-wait. What do you mean I failed? I clearly scored over 32 points!"

Sudou got neither loud nor angry at her, which differed to his normal behavior. He was confused, bewildered and devastated because he had failed. There was no way that he could believe such a shocking truth.

"When did anyone say that 32 was a passing grade?"

Chabashira-sensei tilted her head with a devious smirk on her otherwise lovely face.

"What? You said so yourself, sensei. In the last exam —"

"The last exam has got nothing to do with this one. You had to score 44 points in this exam, meaning you were one point short. I'm sorry, Sudou., but there is nothing I can do."

The cold-hearted vixen shrugged with her usual deadpan expression as disbelief and denial crept into Sudou's shattered heart. He kept staring at his score and the red line right above it with trembling lips.

"Forty-four? But why?"

"It's simple. The passing grade for the exam in a subject is set for each individual class, just like before on the mock exam. The number was calculated by dividing the average score by two."

Chabashira-sensei took a black pen and wrote this simple yet devastating formula on the blackboard and demonstrated the calculations with the numbers in question:

87,3 / 2 = 43,65 ≈ 44

"No way... Does this mean... I'm really going to be expelled?"

I was glad that, even now, Chabashira-sensei had thrown no subtle glances my way.

Sudou's English score came as no surprise, since I had anticipated that he might have failed. He was only missing a single point, and I had enough private points to save him. This would have to wait until after classes, however, since I couldn't just swap around the points on Sudou's tests in front of my classmates.

"Yes. Although your time here was short, you tried your best to adapt. To finalize your departure, you'll have to fill out a withdrawal form with your legal guardian present. I will contact them for you later."

My classmates paled, stunned by Chabashira-sensei's callous attitude.

This expulsion differed to Yamauchi's, who committed a criminal offense and had been suspended due to this, as Sudou was only missing a single point in one out of five tests. Despite the difference in severity, both were purged without batting an eye.

This once again affirmed the school's strict expulsion policy.

Hirata clenched his fists as he began to brainstorm ideas. He must have filtered through everything we had learned about this school and its procedures during our time here in order to save his classmate. Despite his best efforts, multiple frustrated sighs escaped his trembling lips.

Even though the solution to this problem was right in front of him, he couldn't see it.

"As for the rest of you, good work. Remember that there will be a vacation waiting for you if you pass the final exam as well. Next up is —"

"Sensei! Can't we do anything to stop Sudou-kun's expulsion?"

Hirata realized that he wouldn't arrive at a conclusion on his own, which was why he asked our instructor for guidance. Even though Sudou and he weren't on the best of terms, which was entirely the former's fault, our knight in shining armor still tried his best to protect his precious classmate.

"He received a failing grade, so he will be expelled."

Chabashira-sensei once again left a hint that there was, in fact, a way to save Sudou. But nobody had noticed this.

Except for her...

Chiaki seemed to have figured it out, or at least realized that it was still possible to save him. She probably couldn't act right now, since it would be hard to gather enough funds to purchase a point for Sudou, even if the whole class decided to chime in.

I doubted that she had already recognized that it was possible to save Sudou in a far cheaper way.

I shook my head as Chabashira-sensei handed Hirata-kun the answer sheet he had asked for.

This was a waste of time...

His plan must have been to check the exam papers for any mistakes in their grading, or answers that could be interpreted in multiple ways, which might enable Sudou-kun to receive an extra point. But the teachers at this school wouldn't make such a rookie mistake.

Hirata-kun's face turned more grim and frustrated the further he scanned down on the papers. It was hard to watch his desperate, inconsequential struggles. After glancing at my scores, I had a rough idea about how we could save him, but decided to keep it to myself because it would worsen the situation without a doubt.

It was at this moment that my phone vibrated.

Usually, I would wait until the lesson concluded to check on the messages I had received due to the potential point penalty. But this time was different, because I believed that this could have been the help I was waiting for.

I slid my phone out of my pocket and glanced at the notification that was displayed.

[Unknown] Show me that I've put my trust in the right person.

A few seconds later, the vibrations from my phone rippled through my palm.

[Unknown] has sent you 200.000 private points.

"There are no mistakes..."

Hirata-kun's discouraged voice seeped through his clenched teeth, whereupon the rest of our classmates gasped.

Even though most of them didn't look too favorably upon Sudou-kun and stated multiple times that they wanted him gone, he was still our classmate and his expulsion frightened them despite their prior misgivings.

Since the most reliable boy in our class hadn't found a surefire way to save Sudou-kun, they had already lost all hope.

"Well, since we have agreed on Sudou's fate now, homeroom is over."

Fumei had kept his word and now it was my time to keep mine.

The person behind the number, whoever they were, wanted this class to reach greater heights. My scores and the points they had given me were enough evidence to support their claim that they wanted to help us through the ranks if I stepped up as Class D's leader.

He put his faith in me and set up this stage so that I could establish myself.

It wasn't wise to depend on or put my trust in someone who I neither knew the motives nor identity of. But if I did nothing and let this situation play out, this mystery person would vanish and Sudou would be expelled.

As I reached this point in my thoughts, I remembered the first message I had received from this unknown number, which was a few hours after Kushida-san had handed us the old test questions to prepare ourselves for the upcoming exams.

My grades wouldn't have suffered, even if I hadn't learned, but I wanted to solve the difficult problems on my own, without the help of the papers we had been given. I needed to know if I could deal with such obstacles if I only relied on my intelligence and abilities alone.

Since everyone else was busy learning as well, I didn't lose any time and began to work through the problems that were on a much higher level than I could currently solve. As I was ruminating about the formulae I could use to zone in on the correct result, a message reached my phone.

I grabbed the device from my bed and unplugged the charger before unlocking it. I had hoped that Kiyotaka might have replied, but I wasn't that lucky. Instead, an unknown number had sent me a short and rather mysterious message.

[05:12:38 PM][Unknown] Do you want to reach Class A?

At first, I wasn't sure if I should even answer, but I soon decided that it wouldn't hurt to reply since I might get some valuable information which could give me an advantage in the coming months. Even if we couldn't reach Class A, I didn't want to spend my time at this school with scraping points from the bottom of the barrel if I could help it.

[05:14:48 PM] Who are you? And what's with that question? Everybody wants to reach Class A, right?

[05:15:11 PM][Unknown] Then why are you hiding your abilities?

My eyes began to quiver as I've read through these unbelievable words on my display again and again.

No one in this school should have been aware that I wasn't going all out. I had decided that it wasn't worth the trouble, as I deemed it impossible to ascend the ranks with such a defunct class.

But if someone realized that I was hiding my capabilities, then they should be in a similar state as well.

It was improbable that an individual outside of our class knew that I only acted half-heartedly. Most of my schoolmates could be eliminated from the remaining list of suspects, since I rarely interacted with them. Aside from this, even fewer of my classmates seemed capable of seeing through my charade.

The first person who came to mind was Kouenji, since he presented himself as rather enigmatic.

I couldn't get a good read on him, but his scores during the previous mock exam had proven that he could solve at least one of the difficult problems we had been confronted with. But he was too flippant to care about the class competition, as he had mentioned more than once that he wasn't interested in the 'squabble of imperfect existences'.

Aside from him, who else could it have been?

Another, more handsome, face surfaced in my mind, but I denied this possibility as soon as it came up. I had to concentrate on the process at hand, and not my own wishful interpretations, which twisted my thoughts into jumping to conclusions that were impossible.

Why did I keep thinking so much about him? Was it because I enjoyed his company?

Did I... like him?

No, no, no. Stop it, Chiaki.

Concentrate...

[05:17:26 PM] I don't know what you are talking about. Why would I hide anything?

[05:17:59 PM][Unknown] This is your last chance to tell the truth. If you decide against it, I will wish you good luck for the next three years. They shouldn't be that comfortable for someone in Class D.

The unknown number forced me to decide, without giving me much time to think.

Due to his usage of words, I could infer that this person wasn't a Class D student. There was also no reason that another first-year class should want to help us, because not even Ichinose-san would go that far.

With this theory in mind, it was safe to assume that I was chatting with a second- or third-year student of either Class A, B or C. This individuals goal seemed to be to gain my cooperation, but I didn't know why. If he had figured out that I was hiding my abilities despite not being a part of my class, he should be capable enough to accomplish quite a lot at this school, even without me.

Could it be that he wanted to help someone in Class D?

[05:19:23 PM] I figured that the class wouldn't amount to anything, even if I gave it my all. I didn't want to stand out too much if I couldn't change the situation, so I adapted to my surroundings.

[05:19:47 PM][Unknown] Are you willing to follow my commands to reach Class A? Are you willing to step up for the class? If any of these answers is no, then there is no need to try.

My initial impression about him seemed to be correct.

This person needed someone to lead Class D, because he likely wanted to help one of my classmates. My assumption was that the seniors were prohibited from helping the juniors during their time here, which is why he chose to contact the next best student in Class D to support us in secret.

I was curious about his motives, but it would be futile to ask him since I doubted that he would reply. This mysterious senior held the answers to all my questions, while I could merely decide on how much I was prepared to invest in this class going forward.

[05:20:59 PM] How do I know that we can truly reach Class A with these people? How am I supposed to trust anything you say? If I can put my faith in you, I wouldn't mind standing up for the class. But if you are not at least 75% sure that I can reach Class A with them, I'm not interested.

I had to present an ultimatum of sorts, since I couldn't let him decide the flow of this conversation on his own. He needed me, which meant that I had at least a small amount of bargaining power. I also believed that he chose me because I could bridge the gap between Class D and A at least somewhat.

Seventy-five percent were enough of an assurance for me to stand up for this disastrous class.

Chabashira-sensei had said it herself, after all.

We were the worst Class D in the history of this school.

Without outside help, we wouldn't amount to anything.

[05:21:51 PM][Unknown] If I help you, you will reach Class A with a certainty of 100%. You can decide for yourself if you trust me in the upcoming days. You will get a message if the time for you to establish yourself has arrived.

With this message, the chat with this supposed upperclassman had stopped. I tried to contact him afterwards, but he never replied to any of my attempts to gather more information.

I had considered this to be some kind of prank — until now, at least.

"Sensei, please wait a moment."

Thirty-nine pairs of curious eyes focused on me, mere seconds after I had opened my mouth.

It was rather uncomfortable, being in the spotlight like this. I had poor memories of such days, but there was no turning back now that I had spoken up in front of everyone.

Fumei chose to trust me, so I should return this favor.

"What can I do for you, Matsushita?"

I had received 200.000 points and the command to prove myself.

He also knew that Sudou would fail, which meant that he must have made sure of this somehow. This assured me that his status at this school should be rather high, as he must have also seen my entrance exam scores. Otherwise, I couldn't explain how he knew that I held back.

After weighing in my impossible scores, I came up with three potential solutions.

But only one of them was viable.

Number one was the right to void an expulsion, which should cost much more than a mere 200.000 points. Such an amount would be too cheap in a school like this, since every other first-year class could afford this service. This solution also didn't have any downsides which would lower the price.

Number two was another large-scale purchase with which I might be allowed to lower the passing grade by a certain amount. This option could be considered quite expensive, but still cheaper than option one, as it had one fatal downside. It could only be used on students who were facing expulsion because of a failed exam.

This led me to option number three, which Fumei must have used to increase my points above the achievable threshold of 100 points. Since he gave me 200.000 points, it was fair to assume that this sum equaled one test point.

This, however, was where the problem started.

Since Fumei hadn't contacted me after our initial chat, I had decided to score my tests in the 70 to 80 point range across the board because of the old papers. Despite that, all of them were at 101 now, which meant that he must have used an exorbitant amount of points on me.

If my theory was correct, he must have spent over 23 million private points to increase my scores.

But this couldn't be right.

I was missing something essential...

"I'd like to buy one point for Sudou-kun's English test."

""Huh?!""

The whole class erupted into chaos.

While some were laughing about my insane idea, others kept hurling insults at me for losing my mind. A few students, like Hirata-kun and Horikita-san, stared at me with wide eyes, unable to believe the words I had uttered.

The only one who hadn't changed his expression was the handsome brown-haired boy near the window.

Chabashira-sensei's laugh echoed through the room, whereupon my classmates turned silent in apprehension. Since she was usually stern and cold during her lessons, they were caught off-guard by her sudden change in mannerism.

"That's a unique idea. I'd never expected you to ask for points."

She kept quiet and observed me with a predatory gaze, as if she was prompting me for an explanation.

"Didn't you say so yourself on the first day? 'At this school, you can use your points to buy anything. Anything located on the school premises is available for purchase.' Isn't a point for a test just another 'thing' to buy?"

Our instructor smirked, amused by my answer.

"Yes, indeed." She nodded. "Okay, I'll sell you a point for Sudou's test. It will cost you 100.000 points though."

Everyone's hope soared before it crashed down back to earth in a blazing fireball as they realized that it would be difficult to gain such an amount, even if the whole class pooled together their money for Sudou.

This was why I hadn't voiced my opinion prior to receiving enough points.

The classroom would have turned into a bloody battlefield, because I knew for certain that some of our classmates wouldn't have sacrificed their points to save him from expulsion.

But that was before...

"That's not a problem. I'll pay the points in full."

Karuizawa-san caught sight of my point balance as I pulled out my phone.

"What? 222.550? How?"

The volume in the classroom increased drastically, as everybody began to wonder how I had received such a huge number of points. Some of them should have realized that this amount was impossible, since it was more than any first-year could have achieved, even if we hadn't zeroed our class points this month.

Dozens of questioning gazes pierced the back of my head.

Thanks to this uncomfortable revelation, I would have a lot of explaining to do after classes were over. Fumei hung me out dry to see whether I could come up with believable explanations for my sudden wealth.

What a cruel person...

The doubts I had repressed and forgotten due to the commotion in the classroom resurfaced as I was about to conclude my deal with Chabashira-sensei. Even with this new information in mind, Fumei would have spent close to 12 million private points to increase my grades, without knowing that I would agree to his terms.

I gritted my teeth and glanced at our homeroom teacher.

"Chabashira-sensei, could we take care of this transaction later? There are still some things I need to make sure of before I can proceed with such a purchase. We are talking about a lot of points, after all."

I believed that there was a cheaper way to save Sudou, but I needed some time to refocus on my thoughts and figure things out. It wouldn't take very long, but I had to review everything I knew and evaluate the hypothesis I came up with.

"I don't mind, but you don't have that much time. I'll begin preparing Sudou's paperwork after classes, so you should decide before then if you want to purchase the point, or it'll be too late."

I bowed with a slight nod.

"That's more than enough time. Thank you, sensei."

"Well, you heard her, Sudou. Your future at this school is in her hands." She averted her eyes from him and glanced back at me. "I know what your goals are, and I wish you good luck. No one from Class D has ever been promoted before. Know what you are up against, Matsushita."

With those parting words, Chabashira-sensei left the room.

Our break was still ongoing, at least for a few more minutes, which prompted my classmates to swarm around me as soon as our teacher was out of sight. I didn't understand a single thing they said, since their voices overlapped in an impossible to decipher cluster of words and surprised expressions.

Sudou-kun as well, ran towards me like a lost puppy with tears in his eyes, begging me to save him. He pleaded and promised that he would do better if I just gave him this one chance.

I hadn't realized that most of my classmates assumed that I wanted Sudou-kun to face his mistakes and do better in the future, which hadn't been my intention at all. In truth, I wanted to ask Chabashira-sensei some follow-up questions after buying myself some time to think, but this misunderstanding was fine with me.

"If you promise that you will behave yourself from now on, I will purchase that missing point for you."

"Yes! Yes! Please! I swear! I'll do anything!"

Hirata-kun chuckled with a light smile on his face before he regarded me with a nod.

I excused myself to purchase Sudou's point and promised them that I would explain everything later.

After leaving the classroom, I barely caught sight of Chabashira-sensei's vanishing figure as she began to ascend the stairs on the other end of the corridor. While making sure that no one followed me, I ran after our instructor and met her on the rooftop where she just lit up her cigarette.

"What an interesting surprise, Matsushita. First, your splendid idea to save your classmate and now you are even visiting my lonesome on this roof. Have you already decided whether you will purchase the point?"

Chabashira-sensei didn't seem surprised at all, as she puffed out decent quantities of smoke, which drifted away due to the fresh breeze that blew over the rooftop.

"First, I have some additional questions. Would it be alright with you if we talk now?"

"Please, go ahead."

She struck her cigarette, getting rid of the ashes.

"How many private points would it cost to take one of my own points and transfer it to Sudou-kun's test?"

Our homeroom teacher glanced at me for a second before puffing out another round of smoke.

"50.000."

A small, reassured smile formed on my face.

It seemed like I was right with my assumption about a cheaper way to stock up on test points. This is the one that Fumei must have used to top up all my tests across the board. If he took points from the lower-scoring students who wouldn't be aware that they had fewer points than they should have had, no one would have ever noticed.

Sudou's failure wasn't an accident, but a predetermined outcome.

"And how much would it cost to transfer a point from his Social Studies test to his English test?"

She glanced at me with a sly smirk.

"10.000 private points."

I clenched my fists and bent my knees as I made a small hop. "Yes!"

Upon realizing what I had just done, my face began to feel hot.

Gosh, how embarrassing!

After clearing my throat and drowning the embarrassment I felt, I peered back at my teacher.

"T-then I'd like to purchase such a point transfer, please."

"Of course."

Chabashira-sensei nodded, and we concluded our deal just a moment later.

"You can tell Sudou that his expulsion is annulled."

"Thank you, Chabashira-sensei. I still have one last question, though. How much would it cost me to purchase information from you?"

The woman raised her brow, surprised by my inquiry.

"That depends on the information you are requesting."

I browsed through my phone and showed her Fumei's information.

"This phone number. I'd like to know who it belongs to."

A peculiar glint flashed through her eyes as she finished the last bit of her cigarette and snapped it away.

"That would cost you 150.000 points. Are you sure that you want to spend this kind of money lavishly?"

"Yes, I'm certain, Chabashira-sensei."

After a few taps on our phones, the transaction once again concluded.

She walked towards the door and made sure that it was shut before she wandered back towards her previous position, where I was still waiting for her. Chabashira-sensei navigated through her phone as a small grin formed on her face.

"The phone's owner is..."

Chiaki was the dazzling star of Class D for the rest of the day.

I had to admit that she had handled herself exceptionally well, so well in fact that I didn't need to do anything. This was a nice surprise and an even more interesting development.

She had glanced at her phone moments before she began to reveal herself, which meant that she must have had help from someone, but I doubted anyone aside from me had noticed this.

Unfortunately, Sudou and Ike had stopped me in my tracks before I could follow Chiaki outside, because they wanted to celebrate their passing grades. I didn't believe for a second that Sudou's promises convinced her to act, and assumed that she just wanted to buy herself some time to sort out her thoughts before she confronted Chabashira-sensei with her conclusions.

I could ask my cherished homeroom teacher what they talked about, but I would likely have to pay for this information, just like everyone else. The knowledge I could gain wasn't significant enough to warrant such an expenditure, which is why I decided to find out what they had discussed in time.

Even though I couldn't be sure, I had a pretty good idea about the overall flow of their conversation from the hints I picked up in Chiaki's behavior before she vanished.

Despite her obvious discomfort, she kept answering the questions that were aimed at her from left and right. I cared little about her lies at this current stage, because I doubted that she would tell anyone the truth.

Chiaki had a lot on her plate, which is why I left her alone for now and followed the association of failures to our victory celebration, which took place in my room.

I didn't understand why, but the decision had been made and my vote didn't count.

Nobody in class had noticed that Horikita lowered her English score on purpose to balance out Sudou's bad one. At least no one who would mention this detail. Since she was the type of girl to stay quiet about such things, there was no reason to dwell on her decision any further.

Horikita's unexpected action, however, made me once again reevaluate the maybe not so cold-hearted beauty who ambled towards my room beside me.

Her contribution in saving Sudou was second only to Chiaki, who had purchased the last missing point for him. If someone were to ask her about this weird score, she would probably answer that she did this for herself, but I believed that she had an unexpectedly cute side to her.

Kushida must have also realized what Horikita had done, but kept quiet as well.

I wasn't sure if she just followed my lead, or if she didn't want Horikita to get any positive attention in the classroom, but that was none of my business.

"So, why are we doing this in my room again?"

Horikita ignored my question, as her gaze wandered over the chessboards I had set up before she sat down on the bed and focused on her novel. Kushida, who had been here before, bounced around the room with a curious expression to hide her prior knowledge. Sudou was staining the floor with his sweet beverage while cursing the person who shook the can.

Ike, of all people, was the only one who listened to me.

"Mine's a mess. Sudou's is as well. We can't go to a girls' room, even though I would love to visit Kushida-chan's apartment, so that only leaves yours. It's plain and simple, aside from those things, whatever that is?"

He played around with the figures on my chessboards and messed them up before resuming his journey through my room in proximity to Kushida, who was annoyed by his behavior.

She didn't show this, of course, but I could tell.

From a practical standpoint, these boards had no use for me since I could save each board's state in my mind without trouble. Even years down the line, I could retrace every move that had been executed.

But I loved the feeling of those cold, lifeless chess pieces in my hand.

Every time my palms slid over one of them, I was reminded of the good memories I had from the White Room. Most were bad, so the occasional good ones were interesting to relive in hindsight.

"I like it neat and tidy. Some might say that my room has no personality..." just like me, "but I think a simple room also has a certain charm to it."

"What do you think, Kushida-chan?"

She turned around with a bright smile after inspecting the chessboard in the corner, which she hadn't noticed the first time she was here. I didn't fault her for not admiring my pitiful attempt at interior design on her initial visit.

Her smooth finger slid over the table before she rubbed them together.

"I think it's nice here. It's simple, but clean and tidy."

"Heeh? It must be nice being praised by Kushida-chan, huh?"

Ike shoved me with his elbow, dissatisfied by the compliment I had received from his angel.

I wonder what he would do if he knew what I did to her...

"I still cannot believe that I was almost expelled. Without Matsushita-san saving my ass, I wouldn't be here right now."

The boy took another sip from his drink and stared at his empty hand, which he then clenched into a fist.

"But you are, so cheer up Sudou-kun! Everyone passed because we gave it our all. I mean, even Matsushita-san couldn't have saved you with her points if you hadn't scored so high, right?"

The girl clasped her hands and gifted him with one of her most dazzling smiles, which prompted Ike to flush.

"Kushida-chan is right, Sudou. Stop being so grumpy!" He turned away from Kushida to hide his complexion. "But man, I never expected Matsushita-san to have such an ace up her sleeve. How did she even think of buying test points?"

While the three were chatting, I glanced over to Horikita, who wasn't upset that nobody realized what she did. Knowing her, she must have been glad about this, since people would leave her alone.

Kushida peered at me after Ike asked about Chiaki.

It was a fair assumption to conclude that I had something to do with her moves, but she hadn't noticed that Chiaki had received a message just before she began to act and that I hadn't used my phone during that time. Since Kushida was playing double agent for Fuka, she knew that this wasn't her doing either.

Aside from this one specific senpai, she would never expect a hostile invasion into my territory.

"No idea... but damn, that was really unexpected. I should pay her back those 100.000 points someday, right? I mean, that's a shit ton of instant noodles we're talking about."

"As if you of all people could ever amass such an amount of — Ouch! Sudou!"

Kushida hid her beautiful smile and let out a light laugh as Sudou slapped Ike's head for talking trash about him. All I could do during this friendly banter was sigh, since more liquid spilled on the floor and stained my otherwise clean room.

"You should definitely keep your promise as well, Sudou-kun! But Matsushita-san wasn't the only one who helped you. Isn't that right, Horikita-san?"

Even though it didn't seem like it, Horikita was listening to our blabbering while she read. As soon as her name came up, she bookmarked the page she had arrived at and looked up.

Her expression wasn't a happy one, but she wasn't troubled either.

She was cute.

I couldn't deny that.

Horikita's apparent disinterest in this celebration was clear, but she had still listened to every word we said. If she was included, like now, she would answer without being irritated.

I had a feeling that I understood more about what it meant to be a tsundere.

"I did this for my sake. If Class D's evaluation worsened, I would suffer the most."

Wow, she's so predictable...

"You are not cute at all, you know that?"

"That's totally fine with me. I don't need you people thinking of me as cute or anything."

She glanced at me, as if she had read my mind and warned me to keep my mouth shut.

Again...

Even though she was still spouting harsh words, her tone felt different to before. Was she realizing that having friends wasn't that bad? Maybe someday she would be ready to call me a friend.

"Of course you'd say something cruel like that."

Sudou and Ike had softened up to Horikita after she had apologized to him, which was clear by this rather relaxed conversation between the three.

"You guys should stop taking all of this lightly. Sudou-kun, without Matsushita-san's intervention this time, you would have been expelled. You are still aware of that, right?"

"Y-yes, I know... damn it."

"Since you know that much, you should also have realized that this can't be happening in the final exams. Even if we wanted, we wouldn't have enough points to save anyone else. Aside from that, we don't know if this was a onetime offer, or if it was possible to buy multiple points. In short: your continuous study sessions merely began."

Ike almost broke out into tears while he rolled around on the floor before he paused.

"Hey, since we are back on that topic... How the hell did she manage to gather over 200.000 points anyway?"

"Oh, I know!" Kushida bounced into the conversation, which made her generous assets jiggle. "She said that she had figured that someone might get into trouble, so she asked some upperclassman to lend her points. Matsushita-san mentioned nothing, but I'm sure that she had to give them something in return, especially now, since half of those points are gone."

"Damn it!" Sudou punched my poor wooden table. "I really hope I didn't put her into trouble. I'll talk to her tomorrow again and make sure that things are alright on her end. That's the least I can do at the moment."

"Hehe... maybe she had to mmphf..."

I had a terrible feeling about the following words, so I put it onto myself to make sure that they would never be spoken.

"But we should get class points for our good midterm scores, don't you think? Maybe we'll even get points next month."

"Yeah! Points would be awesome!"

Ike freed himself and stumbled behind Sudou.

"Our average wasn't that great. We barely beat Class C with the help of those old test papers. I don't think that the school would reward us with class points for this 'achievement'."

"Speaking of achievements, Class B really showed Class A who's boss, huh?"

"Oh yeah, now that you mention it, Ike-kun! Their average was higher than Class A's, right?"

Even though the scores themselves were obfuscated, the ranking itself wasn't and Ichinose's class had taken the top spot this time around. I wasn't sure whether it was because they could narrow down their topics or if they had indeed put their trust into the papers I had sent them.

Whatever it was, they made the right decision, since Class A was behind them in pure academical scores.

"So we probably won't be getting any points this month either, huh? Being poor sucks..."

"You guys shouldn't have blasted through your allowance by buying useless crap in the first month. If you had acted responsibly, you wouldn't be in this crisis right now."

Ike and Sudou were both dissatisfied by her harsh words, but they couldn't deny that she was right. The former glanced at me, ready to pounce, as he was still mad about the compliment I had received for my room.

"Hey, Ayanokouji. How many points do you have left?"

I shrugged and pulled out my phone to check the balance. Horikita and Kushida, who sat behind and beside me respectively, also took a quick glance.

"Around 10.000. It's not much, unfortunately. But I'll survive somehow."

"What the hell?! You're rich! I've been surviving on free meals for the last month!"

"That's your fault, isn't it, Ike-kun? I still have around 50.000 myself, so it is definitely possible to act responsibly with the amount we were given."

The boy's face paled as he turned to his last remaining hope.

"Kushida-chan! What about you?"

"Um, I'm at around 15.000, I think. But I've lent some away so I should have had more..."

Ike grabbed Sudou's shoulders and shook him, which led to even more stains on my floor.

"Sudou! They are rich! Rich, I tell you!"

Afterwards we talked, drank and ate cake for a while until the evening.

Sudou and Ike said their farewells, leaving me alone with the angel and the demon. Thankfully, they were kind enough to help me clean up the mess the two guys had made. It was really nice having girls over, since they would at least feel a little responsible for their behavior and help the host clean up.

They didn't need to, as I was fine on my own, but this as well, was a new experience for me.

Cleaning up with friends after a celebration filled me with conflicted feelings. On one side, I was sad that it was already over, but on the other, I felt blessed that I could experience such an event in my room.

Was I even cleaning up with two friends? Or was it a girl who hated me and a classmate / acquaintance / neighbor?

I doubted that Kushida held any positive feelings for me after the things I had done, and I felt that Horikita would beat me to death if I ever told her that I considered us friends.

"You really don't have to stay and clean up." I said, while throwing a bunch of empty cans in the trash.

"Nonsense, Ayanokouji-kun. Since we held our celebration here, it is the least we could do. Sudou-kun and Ike-kun just aren't aware of basic human decency, which doesn't surprise me at all."

Horikita threw me a quick glance as she cleaned the tableware in the kitchen.

It was mesmerizing how much she looked like a housewife at this moment. Her hair was tied into a ponytail, which stopped it from being in the way while she scrubbed the dishes. She was wearing a blue apron and gloves, as to not get any stains on her uniform.

Sudou, in particular, would kill me if he saw that I was staring at her like this, as I have yet to fix the chemical error that had transpired in his body just because Horikita had been nice to him for once.

"Pervert."

Kushida's icy glare as she stepped on my foot was also rather scary.

She walked past me and proceeded towards the table where Sudou had spilled half of his drink before bending over to wipe away the residue, which revealed her underwear. I was assured that this was a total miscalculation, but the shortness of her skirt still didn't sit right with me, neither should it sit right with the school.

"Calling me pervert but showing off her pink panties, is she serious?"

I received a kick in the shin as her eyes began to resemble their beautiful appearance back on the roof, where she had tried to intimidate me. Ignoring the receding pain, I went over to my chess boards and fixed them up again.

"Do you like chess by chance, Ayanokouji-kun?"

Horikita, who had just finished in the kitchen area, threw me a curious gaze.

It seemed as if she was genuinely interested in learning more about me.

But wasn't that only something friends would do?

"Mh, I do. But I never really had anyone to practice against." It couldn't be called practice if you annihilated everyone, since your future was on the line, after all. "What about you, Horikita?"

"I never played it before. Are you any good?"

"Mh, I'm alright, I guess."

"I see, well..." She undid her hair, which fell down beautifully, resuming their natural position. "Since we seem to be done here, I will take my leave. Goodnight Ayanokouji-kun, Kushida-san."

She strode off as we said our farewells before closing the door behind her.

"Urgh, I really hate that bitch. Fuck."

"Oh, hey Kushida. Long time no see."

"Haha, you are even worse than her."

My joke hadn't cheered her up, rather it had caused the opposite of what I had in mind.

I was glad, however, that she grew more comfortable around me, if one could call it that. Her mouth was foul as always, but she still trembled and feared me whenever we were alone. I decided to let her indulge into her behavior, so she could see that I didn't mean her any more harm as long as she was loyal to me.

"Really? Most of the people I converse with seem to like me."

"Yeah, because they don't know that you are batshit crazy."

"Crazy, huh? Some might see it that way."

"Whatever." She plopped down on a nearby chair, which was far away from the bed.

During our whole celebration, she attempted to stay clear of that area in particular, which was an understandable reaction after I had threatened to rape her. It was undeniable that she would never forget this.

"That second-year bitch contacted me again."

"Tell me about it."

She recounted what she and Fuka had talked about during their meeting while I checked the new messages I had received throughout the day. I was already aware of this information since Fuka had recorded their 'date', but I was glad that she was telling the truth.

For her sake.

I informed her about our plans for the next meeting and once again assured her that I would deal with the problem. It wasn't easy to move against her, since she was a second-year student, and Kushida understood this much as well.

My cute classmate averted her eyes as she glanced towards the ground she had wiped a few moments ago.

"There's something else..."

"Yes?"

"Well... you know how I've been letting my stress out from time to time, right? After you found me, I had trouble in... trusting my surroundings, so to speak. I don't feel comfortable lashing out outside my room anymore and it is almost impossible inside because I get rather loud. I hate to ask you, and I hate myself that I need to, but would it be okay to rant to you if I'm feeling frustrated? I don't know where else to calm down and you screwed things up in the first place, so it would only be fair if you took responsibility and helped me."

I doubted that she would have asked me if she could help it, but she had no choice but to trust me with problems like this. If she kept these things to herself, she would someday explode due to the inevitable buildup of toxic thoughts, which would inconvenience me more than listening to her from time to time.

She was aware of this and so was I.

"You did an exemplary job with the student profiles I asked for and I haven't properly thanked you for them yet. Since you deserve another carrot, I will listen to you if you want to vent. You can come over any time, provided you give me a prior notice of five minutes and that you make sure that no one sees you."

"I figured that no one may see me, but are you sure that I can come any time? What if you have friends over, or you're hanging out with Karuizawa and her group?"

She still gazed at the ground, as this whole conversation should have been quite uncomfortable for her.

"Kushida."

Her body trembled before she raised her head and glanced at me.

This girl's trauma hindered her from realizing that my tone was quite different to the previous times she was here, but I would work on this problem in time.

I took a few steps towards my classmate, which prompted her whole body to tense up. Her hands trembled, and she held onto her skirt for dear life, as if this thin piece of fabric could save her from the horrible monster that stood before her.

Kushida shivered and tears began to well up in her eyes as I began to caress her cheek with my finger. My arms gently wrapped around her neck as I nudged her head into my chest.

"You are my queen. I will always have time for you. No matter who tries to stop me, I will be by your side if you need me. That is a promise, Kushida."

I caressed the hair on the back of her head as I felt it bobbing up and down, buried in my chest. After I let go of her, she needed a moment to return to her usual self, before she began cursing, cussing and throwing profanities around for a solid hour until she calmed down.

None of my classmates survived her onslaught unscathed.

"Haaaaah, thanks. I guess."

She exhaled, as if the weight of the world was just lifted off her shoulder.

"I did nothing you would need to thank me for. You decided to entrust me with the problems that were plaguing you, so I should be the thankful one."

"Speaking of problems... when will this second-year headache be gone? I'm afraid, honestly. If she doesn't tell me everything and manages to get you expelled, it's over. For both of us."

That was true.

There was no guarantee that Fuka would keep her promise to Kushida and leave her alone after she had dealt with the 'person who betrayed her'. At least Kushida knew where she stood with me and could depend on my goodwill as long as she did her part.

"You don't need to worry about her. Everything is under control."

"What do you mean everything is —"

Her eyes went wide in shock as realization struck her. Kushida's beautiful pupils turned grim and wrathful, which made them even more fascinating.

"You... you fucking lunatic planned all of this, did you not? You knew that she would attack you eventually and placed me in her crosshairs as the weak link to punish me. You had everything figured out before it even happened. It wasn't an accident that she found me and not a surprise that I chose to come to you with this information. You realized that I would betray her for you before she even betrayed you. She had already lost this battle before it even began, didn't she...?"

It was quite amusing to see her like this.

She was furious and had any right to hate me, yet her future depended on my survival. With a single flick of my finger, her life would be over, both here and outside this school. She couldn't know that there was no 'outside this school' for me since I had just changed my prison for three years.

Kushida hadn't yet realized that she would never dare to betray me, no matter what happened to her or what I chose to do. Even if someone else were to do the same things I did, the impact would differ, because I was her first.

This twisted, cruel game I had played with her altered her in ways that she hadn't yet noticed.

The two of us, Kushida and I, were bound by the darkness I created for her.

No one could break this black thread of fate I had spun.

"It seems like you took the message well. I was worried that you would be angry."

"Fuck..."

She covered her beautiful face with her palms and shook her head in denial while I pulled out my phone. After typing in a certain number, I put the phone on speaker before the other side had picked up.

"Ayanokouji? It's pretty late already. You really are fond of chatting with me, aren't you? If I didn't know any better, I'd think you had feelings for me."

Kushida glared at me with a hint of disgust, intrigue and astonishment after listening to the voice of our homeroom teacher, which blasted through my phone's speakers.

"Aren't you a little too old for me, Sae? Or are you perhaps looking to be dominated by a younger man? Anyway, if someone were to be expelled and needed rescue, how many private points would that cost?"

"You... haven't I told you not to parrot Chie? Urgh... it costs 20 million, but you knew that —"

"Thank you. Have a good night, Sae."

"Hey... I told you —"

Before she could finish her sentence, I cut the call.

Sae wouldn't mind too much and Kushida would read that much more into our relationship. She should have realized that I had a certain amount of influence over Chabashira-sensei, or else I wouldn't have behaved in such a relaxed, even disrespectful manner.

This would also support her assumption that our homeroom teacher got me out of the trouble with the pictures, since she didn't know that I had snapped none with my phone and used hers instead.

"You heard her, right? You also remember what I told you before, correct?" I turned the phone, which displayed my current point balance, towards her. "Everything is under control."

"How in the world...?"

After answering at least a thousand questions over what felt like days to me, Hirata-kun and I managed to calm the crowd that had formed around me. With their curiosity sated, my classmates dispersed and went their own ways.

"Thank you for your help, Hirata-kun."

I threw him a weak smile, since I was mentally and physically drained.

"You don't need to thank me for being thoughtful of your situation. It must have been difficult for you to answer all those questions. You feel much more at ease with a small group of friends, after all."

It came as no surprise that Hirata-kun had realized that I didn't mix well with groups of people. I was usually kind to everyone who decided to talk to me, but I also liked to keep a certain distance from others.

There was an exception to this rule, but this sentiment held true most of the time.

"You're right... it was exhausting. I still wonder if I made the right decision, doing all of this out in the open. Maybe it would have been better to talk to Chabashira-sensei in private."

Even though I said as much, I doubted that I had a choice if I wanted to keep working with Fumei.

No...

... with Horikita Manabu.

I still couldn't wrap my head around the fact that the student council president and leader of Class 3-A was helping this class. Because of this newfound information, I also understood why he decided to lend me a hand.

Horikita-san, his little sister, was in this class, after all.

I had little to do with her, barely anything, but according to Kiyotaka, she was difficult to deal with. Horikita-senpai must have tried to help us through her at first, but she had likely denied his help, which is why he chose to contact me. This narration would fit into the overall feeling I got from her.

Discovering who was behind Fumei reassured and unsettled me, because the student council president would graduate and leave the school this year.

What would happen to us afterwards? Would he teach me until then? Would he help me find other loopholes in the system I could use to my advantage?

"I think you made the right choice, Matsushita-san. Everyone in class heard and saw what you did. You were like a beacon of hope for the students that had already given up. If we all work together, I am sure that we will ascend through the class rankings in time."

His beaming aura and positive outlook were almost blinding. I could somewhat understand what Karuizawa-san saw in him. He was a wonderful person and a good boyfriend.

While I was thinking about such things, the figure of a certain brown-haired boy flickered through my mind.

He was also handsome, and I preferred him over Hirata-kun in terms of appearance alone. Kiyotaka even placed third in the hot guy ranking, despite his otherwise gloomy attitude.

I didn't know how he managed to be ranked so high, but I felt happy for him. If he wasn't as reserved and emotionless all the time, I believed that he could have taken the first place with ease.

Whoever didn't vote for him just didn't know him well enough.

Kiyotaka was far too adorable when he was struggling with some of the simplest things, like not knowing what a gal was. He might be a little naïve and easy to influence, but even this had a certain charm and made him cute. The happy expression he wore on his face when we had ice cream the other day was far too precious as well...

"See, you are smiling. You know that you did the right thing."

I blushed after realizing that Hirata-kun was still here and pivoted around to hide my reddened face.

Only Hirata-kun saw this embarrassing sight, which relieved me. Karuizawa-san and Satou-san would have teased me for sure, while the other girls might have misunderstood this smile and the following blush as affection towards him.

He misinterpreted my smile as well. Not in an uncomfortable, weird sense, but one that showed how much Hirata-kun cared and thought about the people around him.

"Yeah, you are right. If we try our best, we might even get points next month."

I didn't mind using this misjudgment to hide the emotions that had been stirred up inside me.

After the discussion with my classmates and a short chat about the future of our class, we shut the windows and left the classroom.

Hirata-kun was kind enough to make sure that everyone was gone so that I could return to my room without being swarmed by my classmates, who might have had a few more questions. Nobody would have faulted him if he let me deal with all of this alone, but this just wasn't the person Hirata-kun was.

"Thank you for accompanying me this far Hirata-kun, but you can go ahead. I still have something to take care of."

"Are you sure?"

The kind, forthcoming boy tilted his head with a worried expression.

He must have noticed that I was tired and drained after all of this, but I still had something important to make sure of, which couldn't wait. It was paramount that I dealt with this today before continuing on this path.

"Mh." I nodded with a light smile before we said our farewells.

Hirata-kun's figure vanished around a corner as he continued down the stairway to leave the building. I turned around and took the flight of stairs up towards the next floor.

After spending our first months here and evaluating everything Chabashira-sensei had said and done so far, I came to a simple, indisputable conclusion:

I couldn't trust our homeroom teacher without verifying the information I received from her.

She had set us on the wrong track multiple times during our short time here, so I couldn't rule out that she hid something from me during our previous conversation. I had paid for the intel I received, but that alone didn't assure me of her sincerity.

Thus, after a short period of deliberation, I arrived in front of the student council room.

My heartbeat sped up, which betrayed the nervousness I felt by just standing in front of this door. A few seconds and a deep breath to calm myself down later, two knocks resounded through the empty hallway I stood in.

"Come on in."

"Sorry for the intrusion..."

I pushed the door open and bowed before glancing around.

Three people were inside the room and observed me with curious gazes. The student council president, his female assistant whose name I had forgotten, and a blonde boy I hadn't seen before.

"You are a first-year, correct? What can I do for you?"

The other two kept silent as the president's heavy voice traveled through the room.

There wasn't a single hint of recognition in his tone or the look he gave me. I expected as much, since he wouldn't want other people to know that he was helping me, but it was still unnerving.

For this reason, I had prepared a pretext for my visit.

"Actually, I heard that the student council was looking for new members in the first-year, and I'm interested in joining. Is there a specific time for interviews?"

The blonde boy sneered.

He wanted to say something, but Horikita-senpai was faster.

"Yes, there is a time-slot for interviews, but since you are already here, it would be a waste not to hear you out. Please, take a seat."

He gestured towards a wooden chair in the middle of the room.

I bowed in thanks and made my way over while Horikita-senpai turned towards the other two students present.

"Tachibana, excuse us for a few minutes. Nagumo, you can leave for today."

Secretary Tachibana executed a graceful bow before leaving the room without another word. The other boy, who was apparently called Nagumo-senpai, seemed quite upset and left the room while mumbling something unintelligible.

After the door shut behind them, only Horikita-senpai and I were left in the room. I still wasn't sure whether this was normal procedure, or if he had recognized me and wanted the others to leave due to that.

Should I speak up? Or should I wait for him to make the first move?

"I am glad that you are here. You must have realized that there was a cheaper way to save your classmate, or you wouldn't have had enough points to figure out who I was. My eyes didn't deceive me, after all."

A deep sigh of relief escaped my lips.

It would have been embarrassing if he hadn't been Fumei.

"Yes, Horikita-senpai. I'm terribly sorry that I intruded on you like this, but I had to verify the information I had received from Chabashira-sensei for myself."

"There is no need to worry. I hoped that you would act this way, otherwise I would have been disappointed. Good work today. You even managed to surpass my initial expectations."

"Thank you, Horikita-senpai."

Even though I was glad that everything had worked out today, I couldn't gain any insights from his reactions. He was just as hard to read as Kiyotaka, even though he wasn't as handsome.

Gosh, Chiaki! Stop comparing people to him!

"I take it that your application to the student council was just a farce to confirm my identity, yes?"

"I'm sorry for this, but yes. That was my intention."

He shook his head as a small smile formed on his face.

"There is no need to apologize. Since you are already here and realized who I am, you must have questions concerning our future cooperation. I'll answer a few."

"Then first, the most important one: how is my class supposed to reach Class A when this is your last year?"

I had only revealed myself because I thought that I could work with Fumei for at least two years. But since Horikita-senpai will graduate at the end of this year, he could only help me out for so long. Even if he began to teach me now, we wouldn't have enough time.

I basically engaged in a losing battle. The more time passed, the harder it would be to stay afloat.

"That won't be a problem. Someone trustworthy in the second-year owes me a favor. He will help you once I'm gone. The third year will be yours to take care of, but I'm sure that you will have grasped a lot until then and will manage to prevail with the rest of your class."

If there was someone on his level in the second-year, this might actually work.

I didn't know who that person was, nor did I care at the moment, but it was important to know that there was a plan for the years after his departure. Since this student worked under Horikita-senpai, I was sure that he was just as talented.

With each of them by my side for around a year, I was confident that I could handle the last one on my own.

"Then the next question, why are you helping us? I assume it's because of your sister, Horikita-san, but why are you not working with her if you want to help?"

I had my theory, of course, but this was too important of a detail to get wrong. If I had made errors in my evaluation, I needed to know them now rather than later when it might be too late.

"Suzune is too proud for her own good. She would never let me help her."

Horikita-san's first name is Suzune, huh?

Well, she was proud. That much wasn't an understatement. I was certain that she would hate me if she were to find out that I was working with her brother.

"But you are wrong, since I am not doing this for her. Quite the opposite, actually. Having a defective sister like her is embarrassing. The only way that she doesn't tarnish our good name would be the fact that she reached Class A after being sorted into Class D." He closed some documents on his table and moved them towards the right side. "I'm neither helping you for your sake, nor hers. I am doing this so my family doesn't have to live in shame of harboring such a nauseating Class D defect."

His words were nothing but harsh and hurtful.

The image of the kind older brother shattered like a glass panel that dropped from the tenth floor as he revealed this cruel truth. He lent us a hand, not because he cared about his sister, but because he couldn't bear the bad reputation that would follow his name.

I cared little about such trivial things.

Even if I graduated from Class D, my parents would still be proud of what I had accomplished. They wouldn't stop loving me, even if they knew what this school was about. This seemed to differ for the Horikita siblings, however.

I pitied them, but in the end, I wouldn't be able to change anything.

"I think you've asked enough questions for now. You acted admirably today. Thank you for asking your homeroom teacher about my identity with no one around. I'd like to keep it that way, which you must have understood already. If our cooperation came to light, it would be a lose-lose scenario for both of us."

"Of course." I nodded, since I had assumed that this was the case.

"Well then. Your application for the student council was received and will be processed in the upcoming weeks. Don't hold your breath, however, you won't be accepted."

I stood and bowed.

"Thank you for your time, student council president."

Tachibana-senpai strode into the room the moment I walked out. She must have waited in front of the door until the 'interview' concluded. The boy named Nagumo was nowhere to be found, which relieved me. Even though I couldn't put my finger on it, something about him bothered me.

He wasn't someone I wanted to be acquainted with.

I went back to my dorm room and had a nice dinner.

I felt thirsty afterwards, but had failed to buy anything prior due to everything that had been going on today. With not much choice, I decided on a short trip to one of the many stores.

On my way down with the elevator, I saw Kushida-san walk out of Room 401.

For some unknown reason, my stomach churned, and I felt like puking. I didn't know why, but my dislike towards Kushida-san grew at that moment. Even though she did nothing wrong and was always friendly, attentive and helpful to our classmates and other students around her, I felt contempt to such a sweet girl who treated any student the same, no matter which class they were from.

She wasn't the type of person I would associate with often, since she got too close to people for my taste, but I didn't hate her. Far from it.

In truth, I was glad that we had such a kind soul in our class, especially when the guys fought.

I discovered a whole new side of myself, one I was disgusted with. If someone had asked me before today if I was a jealous person, I would have answered with a definitive no. But right now, I wouldn't be able to look that person in the eye.

But why was I so possessive with him?

The elevator reached the ground floor before I could confront these unfamiliar feelings.

I trudged out of the lift and glanced back up before pulling out my phone.

[07:34:12 PM] Hey, are you busy?

Was that even a good message? Should I have asked if he was free instead? Or specified why I asked? How stupid would that sound? 'Hey, are you free? I'm going shopping. Do you want to accompany me?'

No, no, no...

What was wrong with me...?

[07:34:40 PM][Kiyotaka] No, not really. Why?

'Just to talk.'

No... that was a weird message.

'I need something from the store.'

Why would he care about that?

What do I do...?

Wait!

Why am I so concerned about a simple text?!

[07:34:40 PM] No, not really. Why?

[Chiaki] is typing...

Online

[Chiaki] is typing...

Online

[Chiaki] is typing...

What the hell is she doing?

[07:36:59 PM][Chiaki] I was on my way to the store and could use some company.

[07:37:04 PM][Chiaki] Only if you are free and want to join me, of course.

I figured that she was just getting ready to leave her room, since she needed a bit of time to reply.

In the end, she just wanted me to carry the bags, right? Wasn't that what boys were called for on such occasions?

Should I just decline?

I couldn't help but think that this would have been kind of mean, even though she was pretty selfish as well, since she wanted me to carry her bags. Chiaki was always nice to me though, and really helpful when I was struggling with things I didn't understand.

Not only this, I also enjoyed the time I spent with her, more so than with most others, since it was easy to keep the conversation going.

[07:37:23 PM] I'll be on the ground floor in three minutes.

He's coming!

Wait, he's coming?!

I ran over to a nearby window and checked my reflection. It was already rather dark, and the curtains behind the window improved this makeshift mirror even further.

Why did my ribbon look so weird?

And what's with those loose strands of hair?

This was horrible!

In such a state, I kept fixing up my harrowing appearance.

I adjusted my skirt, blazer and shirt and made sure that nothing looked weird or out of place. Even the microscopic dust particles that I couldn't see bothered me. I polished the bracelet he gave me again, even though I had done this every day since he gifted it to me on my birthday.

At this moment, my erratic movements stopped.

What was I even doing?

He's just a friend.

Just Kiyotaka.

There was no need to feel jealous about Kushida-san.

What the hell was wrong with me? Why did I feel so nervous?

This wasn't the first time we were meeting up either, so what had changed?

And why?

"Yo."

I called out to the charming brown-haired girl who inspected the window with a serious gaze. Why she was doing this, however, I couldn't tell.

"Uwah! K-kiyotaka?"

She turned around with a pale face that turned crimson just a moment later.

"Sorry if I startled you. Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah. Totally fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

A weak laugh escaped her pink lips as she glanced over to the window with a small nod.

Was there someone inside she knew?

I tried to take a peek as well, but the room was dark and the curtains were closed shut. They didn't move either, which meant that no one had been there.

Chiaki cleared her throat. The bracelet I had gifted her jingled as she covered her mouth with her hands.

"Let's go? It's already late, right?"

I nodded, whereupon she began to move. She walked slower than usual, but I didn't mind matching her speed, even though I preferred a faster pace myself.

"You were pretty cool today, Chiaki."

The school grounds were silent.

The only thing my ears picked up on were our steps and her beautiful giggles, which sounded adorable.

"I aim to please." She tilted her head over and threw me a dazzling smile. "I'm just glad that everything worked out okay."

"You are probably going to be a big-shot in our class now. Just like Hirata and Kushida."

Chiaki shook her head and arms in clear denial.

"Please don't remind me. Hirata-kun's and Kushida-san's lifestyles are nothing I want to experience. I'm not that bad with large groups, unlike someone else who's taking part in this conversation..." She threw me a cute, sideway glance. "... but I don't enjoy it either. I feel far more comfortable in a small group with a few friends."

I had learned a lot about small talk the past months, which is why I noticed that now would be a good time to switch to another topic with which we could maintain our conversation further without stagnating. We could have continued down this path, of course, but I needed some practice and I felt confident with Chiaki around.

"What do you need from the store, anyway?"

"Um... nothing exciting, just some beverages. Maybe a new shampoo as well. I think mine's running out. Aside from that, I also need garbage bags and..."

It didn't take long until a few items turned into a whole list. While she kept noting more and more necessities, the regret for my previous decision grew exponentially. We were still a few minutes away from the store, so it could only get worse.

Should I message Kushida to help me escape?

"Oh, be careful."

Kiyotaka grabbed my hand and pulled me to his side. My heart began to flutter as I felt my face heat more than ever before. I turned away from his muscular chest, since I felt embarrassed. Upon glancing towards the ground with a crimson complexion, I found the reason for his sudden, unexpected action.

A half melted ball of ice cream lay on the path we had just walked on.

I hadn't noticed it myself, so I would have stepped on it if he hadn't pulled me away. Since it was ice cream, I wouldn't have only ruined my shoes until I could clean them, but I would have most likely slipped as well.

Distracted by his warm embrace and pleasant smell, I began to forget all the difficult and stressful questions today.

"T-thank you."

I peered at his face and couldn't help but be awestruck by the sight in front of me. Despite my best efforts, my legs began to weaken and gave in as if they were made of jelly.

Due to the street lamps which illuminated our surroundings, his irises were shimmering golden, as opposed to the usual brown. My heart began to drum against my chest as I saw my reflection in these two mesmerizing orbs. My mind was occupied with so many thoughts about him that I hadn't even realized how close the two of us were.

Those golden eyes were truly the most beautiful ones I have ever seen.

"Thank you, I guess?"

What? What?!

Did I just say that out loud?

No, that's impossible...

Please, tell me that I didn't just say this out loud...

There's no way, right?

"Those golden eyes are truly the most beautiful ones I have ever seen."

Did she just compliment me?

Oh, I see. Of course...

It would be easier to ask me about carrying the bags if she was nice to me before. Her flattery would cause similar feelings of kinship or fondness, which would improve the chances of a positive answer from my side. Such a remark would fry a boy's brain for sure.

I hadn't known that Chiaki was such a vicious snake.

"Thank you, I guess?"

For some inexplicable reason, Chiaki turned into a bona fide tomato.

She was behaving rather strange today, which must have been a sign that she felt bad about manipulating me into carrying her bags once she was done with her shopping spree.

This train of thought made the most sense after considering everything I knew.

Chiakiii, what are you doiiing?

He's just a friend.

A handsome male friend.

I had multiple male friends over the years. Why was I making this so weird?

Stop it, Baka-Chiaki.

Okay... Calm down. Think rationally.

Why was I behaving this way? Let's make sense of this.

First off, mind-adjustment questions:

Do I think Kiyotaka is handsome?

Yes.

Do I enjoy spending time with him?

Yes.

Do I think his reactions are cute and super adorable?

Yes.

Do I like him?

Yes.

How much?

Yes.

...

...

...

Chiaki's behavior was off the charts on the weirdness scale for the rest of our shopping trip.

I couldn't make sense of a single reaction throughout our time together, which had never happened before.

Aside from my growing confusion and worries about her health due to her feverish gaze, we engaged in trivial topics like what we had for dinner and what we did today. She told me about the lengthy interrogation she had to endure by her classmates while I talked about the celebration our study group held in my room.

This was the exact moment when she grew dissatisfied.

Since Chiaki didn't like getting close to people, I decided that it would be fine not to invite her, even though she was the reason that Sudou hadn't been expelled. My conclusions seemed to have been a misconception, one which I was regretting right now, because she apparently wanted to join us according to her reaction.

"Thank you for saving Sudou, by the way. Without you, we would have surely lost him."

I decided to use her own weapons against her with the fragile hope that this might cheer her up. If I complimented her now, she might pardon us for not inviting her to our celebration.

"That's really nothing you should thank me for. I just did what everyone would have done."

A dry laugh escaped her lips.

Since my attempt at brightening up her mood had failed, I wanted to be a nice and forthcoming friend and help her with the shopping list, which had increased in size by the second. To my surprise, she didn't allow me to help, and worse, I wasn't even allowed to walk in the same row as her from time to time.

She was really mad, huh?

Her excuses were horrible, as she told me that I couldn't follow her to buy shampoo and such things, because she needed to do this alone. Even though I knew which one she was using due to the smell and could work off her list according to our previous shopping sessions with Karuizawa and the others, I was strictly prohibited from following her into the whole area.

I messed up big time...

After she had gathered all the necessities in the basket, Chiaki proceeded with the payment before we left the store. Once outside, I stretched out my arm towards her hand, which was holding onto a rather heavy bag.

"W-what?"

Her complexion turned crimson again.

This must have been another calculated move to make me more susceptible to her following words and actions, with which she would persuade me to carry her bags.

"I'll take it. You bought a lot, right? It's probably heavy."

"N-no, you really don't need to —"

Before she could finish her psychological warfare, which had no effect on me, I cut to the chase and grabbed the bag from her hands. In an unusually erratic reaction, her whole body jerked back in disgust as my hand touched hers.

Even though I was nothing but an empty husk, this hurt my frail heart quite a lot.

I lowered my head since I felt somewhat dejected by her strong aversion towards me and ambled beside her without saying another word.

What. The. Hell. Is. Wrong. With. You. CHIAKI?!

Why would I pull away like that?

He totally misunderstood!

I wasn't ready to be touched like that by him... at least let me prepare before!

It was difficult to read him, because of his usual expressionless face, but I noted that he lowered his head after I had pulled back. Due to this reaction, he must have concluded that I thought of him as disgusting or something like that.

This was horrible!

How in the world could I rectify this?!

If I was alone in my room now, I would have probably pulled out my hair and screamed in frustration after the most irresponsible, stupid and downright terrible action I had taken to date.

What was I supposed to do now? If I told him that I meant nothing by it, would he believe me?

Ever since I realized that I liked him, I couldn't think straight. I didn't even know how or when I fell for him.

Looking back, we only knew each other for around two months, but we've been hanging out regularly after our first meeting with Hirata-kun, Karuizawa-san and the others. He trudged after our group so helplessly and seemed to look for an excuse to bail on us, since he felt uncomfortable.

Back then, I felt sorry for him and was intrigued by his social inability, despite being objectively handsome. We somehow clicked, and our conversations evolved more and more.

Before I knew it, I thought about him almost all the time.

Why hadn't I realized my feelings sooner?

My opinions regarding him should have been obvious, yet I didn't see them coming at all...

If I hadn't felt jealous about Kushida-san walking out of his room, would I have —

The vibrations of my phone halted my mind, which had raced through a never-ending state of turmoil.

Since I had to get my mind off Kiyotaka to refocus, I excused myself for a moment and opened up the chat.

[08:04:19 PM][Fumei] I neglected to mention something: stay away from Nagumo. He's dangerous.

Apparently, my initial impressions of this person were warranted. If even Horikita-senpai told me to stay clear of him, then this senpai should be rather troublesome.

I peered over to Kiyotaka, who ambled beside me with a lowered head. One of his hands was tucked away in his trouser pocket, while the other one carried my heavy shopping bag, which he offered to take care of like a perfect gentleman.

My calm heartbeat sped up once again.

How incredible would it be if he was as capable as Horikita Manabu?

Even though I knew it was impossible, I really wanted him to be the person who had helped me today.

Those were my selfish desires that wanted to have everything.

A handsome, athletic boyfriend who was adorable, had cute reactions to the most basic things and was smart.

But how would that be possible...

"Hey, Kiyotaka. My messages won't send. Can you write me something and see if it works for you?"

"Oh, yeah, sure."

He pulled out the hand which was hidden inside his pocket and grabbed the bag with it. His now empty right hand burrowed through his other pocket until it resurfaced with a phone in hand.

... this is not a fairytale, after all.

My phone vibrated, and I checked it for the message I had just received.

[08:06:36 PM][Kiyotaka] Me something and see if it works for you?

"You're such a potato."

I ran my fingers through his smooth hair and chuckled while I acted as if I wanted to hit him.

This would bring me closer to him and help Kiyotaka realize that I wasn't at all disgusted by his touch.

"Sorry."

Even though Chiaki's pace slowed down with every passing minute, it didn't take long until we reached the dorms.

The two of us took the elevator up to the thirteenth floor, where her room was located. I carried the heavy bag all the way to her doorstep before she stopped me with her usual charming smile.

"Thank you for accompanying me this far. I'll take it from here."

I figured as much.

She unlocked her room and opened the door before sliding inside and blocking my view from the rest of the apartment. Aside from the wall to her left, the ceiling above her, and the corner where an umbrella stood, I couldn't see anything inside the room.

"I-it's not because I don't want you in here."

I hadn't even said anything, but she felt the need to give me an explanation either way. She didn't owe me one, since it was her decision who was allowed inside her own room.

Chiaki flushed a moment later and her mumblings resumed in an even more jumbled up manner.

"I mean, I don't not... This..." She took a deep breath. "It's messy inside. I don't want you to see that. You can come over some other time." Her ocean-blue orbs opened wide. "If, if you want to, of course! I mean... uhm... yeah..."

Did she just use a negation after a negated contracted verb?

My classmate lowered her head as her right foot drew circles over the floor.

"Sure, that's alright. I'd offer to help you clean up now, but that would be futile, I guess."

She let out a hollow, self-deprecating laugh and played with the hair on the back of her head.

I lifted the bag to place it inside her room so she wouldn't need to heave it over the doorstep herself. Chiaki noticed this action and met my hand halfway. Sure enough, our fingers touched again.

This time, however, she didn't recoil.

Instead of taking the bag, her smooth fingertips caressed over the back of my hand before she grabbed the handle.

"Thank you again. Both, for walking with me and carrying the bag all this way here."

Her voice quivered as she lowered her crimson-colored head even further.

"You don't need to thank me for something like that, Chiaki. I had a good time, as always."

"Ah, umu." She nodded. "T-thanks Kiyotaka, have a good night."

Before I could answer, she slammed the door shut.

"Goodnight, Chiaki."

Something slithered down on the other side of the door, but I couldn't make out the mumblings that followed.

I assumed that the umbrella fell over, but I didn't know for sure.

Utterly confused about what had just transpired, I strolled back down to the fourth floor, hoping that no one saw me up there. Being falsely labeled as a pervert would be one of the worst things that could happen to me. A lot of girls would probably speak out for me, but one would never get rid of such a stigma.

After a long day, it felt weird to walk into an empty, quiet and dark room.

"I'm home."

'Welcome back.'

Such a trivial exchange of pleasantries would surely be nice.

Since I knew a few girls by now, I reproduced their greetings in my mind.

Even though I wasn't doing anything wrong or illegal, I felt bad about using their voices for my simulations.

I couldn't be sure, but I believed that a thin smile spread over my face as I thought about such a life after my time here.

Back in reality, I strolled over to the chess boards and executed a queenside castling on the first-year board.

This was an excellent move, not only in the normal two-player variant but also in this specific four-player scenario.

Even though I got closer to one player, I bought myself more space from two others. Additionally, I was completely safe on the side my king resided, since Ichinose and her classmates were around.

She wouldn't hurt an enemy king, even if she could.