Monday. First-year Class D.
One desk had been missing from the classroom since the weekend.
The students who had still been holding out hope now had to accept the reality: they had lost a companion.
The smile had vanished from Hirata's face, and Kushida had lost her cheer.
Looking at the empty seat that had belonged to Yamauchi Haruki...
Sudou and the others felt even more conflicted. They had lost their usual energy. Yamauchi Haruki's questioning still seemed to ring in their ears.
It was impossible to forget.
Feeling this oppressive atmosphere, Karuizawa and the others lowered their voices while chatting, though they clearly didn't care much.
They had only lost one classmate.
And who was Yamauchi Haruki anyway? They weren't even close to him.
Clearly, the only ones who truly felt bad were Hirata and Yamauchi's few friends like Sudou.
However, even Sudou and the others just lacked their usual motivation. Compared to the companion they had lost, the upcoming exam was more important.
But Horikita Suzune and the others clearly had something else on their minds.
Accompanied by the sound of clicking high heels, Chabashira Sae entered the classroom with a cold expression.
"Chabashira-sensei," Horikita Suzune stood up quickly and asked, "the bulletin board says no one from Class B was expelled today. What happened? How did they manage that?"
Hearing this, many people were confused.
Ike Kanji and the others only then realized that Class B had no expulsions. They clearly hadn't been paying attention to the bulletin board.
But after hearing Horikita's question, no one could ignore it. Even Hirata looked up.
"It's nothing incredible," Chabashira Sae explained plainly. "Class B used private points to cancel the expulsion penalty."
"I see..."
"As expected of Class B."
"I heard Ichinose had been saving private points for a long time. I didn't think Class B could actually pull it off."
Hearing the teacher's words, Hirata and the others felt a bit bitter. This was clearly not something Class D could have achieved.
However, not everyone could accept this explanation.
"Chabashira-sensei," Horikita Suzune furrowed her brows. "Isn't that very unreasonable?"
"Even if it were a coincidence, it couldn't happen so many times in a row. Class B was clearly controlling the votes intentionally."
"If Class B really had twenty million points, why would they have dragged the exam out into the second day?"
As soon as she said this, the others realized the truth. The news that Class B had to continue the exam on Sunday had already spread through the school.
"That's because," Chabashira explained casually, "Class B held out until the very last moment, triggering a hidden rule of this exam. They only needed ten million private points to cancel the expulsion penalty. That's why Class B passed without any expulsions."
Eh?
Hearing the teacher's explanation, everyone was stunned.
A hidden rule?
"Wait a minute!"
Sudou stood up suddenly, slamming his hand on the desk excitedly. "Chabashira-sensei, that's completely unfair."
"Yeah," Ike Kanji and the others were also extremely indignant. "We never heard about anything like that."
Even Ayanokouji frowned slightly.
I see.
This exam was clearly set up by Tsukishiro specifically to get him expelled.
Since he had received the praise votes from outside the class from Sakayanagi, Tsukishiro's plan had already failed. Whether or not people from other classes were expelled didn't matter to Tsukishiro.
However, this rule seemed tailor-made. It definitely wasn't prepared beforehand; it was a new rule designed after the fact.
As long as you persisted, you would pass the exam.
Clearly, it was unfair.
But for some reason, Ayanokouji felt an indescribable sensation in his heart—something like annoyance, frustration, a throb, a longing.
It was a sensation he had never experienced before.
Ayanokouji remained expressionless, but inside he was desperately trying to grasp it. However, it was quickly enveloped by darkness. Even so, Ayanokouji didn't want to let go.
This incident...
There was definitely something here he had never experienced.
Admit it. Although you could pass the exam by persisting, it wasn't something any other class could have done.
Controlling the votes for two days without a single person betraying the class was indeed a remarkable miracle.
However, that wasn't what he wanted.
As long as he could control the class or set constraints on them, Ayanokouji believed he could do it too.
But he would never do that.
Because that was undoubtedly an act of rebellion against the school!
He had thought that contract had no verbal traps, but it was actually a forced rebellion against the school!
Whether in the White Room or in this school, Ayanokouji had never thought about rebelling.
Even the reason he came to this school was because of someone else's guidance—it was just that this place was Advanced Nurturing, not the White Room.
He no longer needed to follow Ayanokouji Atsuomi's orders!
He was like a precision machine. In the White Room, he had to be absolutely responsible for Atsuomi's orders; in this school, he had to be absolutely obedient to the rules.
Rebellion.
This was certainly not the style of a "good kid" like Ichinose.
Hikigaya!
Ayanokouji felt a trace of longing. This person definitely had something he wanted, something he lacked.
Why on earth did he rebel?
From his performance, Hikigaya was undoubtedly just an ordinary commoner. Why would he launch a rebellion against an existence that could never be defeated?
Even though he had achieved results in this exam, this exam was only directed at Ayanokouji himself. And to launch a rebellion against an absolute authority... such a thing wouldn't end easily.
Had he not thought of that? Impossible!
Even Yamauchi Haruki and the others knew what the consequences of rebelling against teachers and the school would be. Hikigaya couldn't possibly be unaware.
Then why did he rebel?
For his companions?
That was a truly stupid reason. Only the person standing at the end is the true winner, the true strong person.
Just for his companions, he launched a rebellion against a school administration that was absolutely impossible to fight. How would Hikigaya bear the cost of that?
Hikigaya probably didn't know these things.
However, Ayanokouji was extremely interested in seeing how far this rebellion could go.
When faced with an insurmountable mountain when he absolutely couldn't give up, how would Hikigaya rebel then?
Whether as a friend or an enemy, Ayanokouji felt this person had something he wanted.
So, could he also learn this spirit of rebellion?
However, Horikita Suzune had no idea what the unfathomable guy next to her was thinking.
"Chabashira-sensei," Horikita Suzune said coldly, "only Class B could use half-price to cancel the expulsion penalty. That's too cunning. It's truly unacceptable."
"Cunning?" Chabashira Sae's voice was frigid.
"I should have told you that if the votes were tied, the exam would continue. Even if two people were to be expelled at the same time, there would be hidden rules."
"Why didn't you care? And even in a company, a boss won't explain a task in detail. You have to figure everything out yourself, don't you?"
Chabashira's voice carried an unquestionable authority that immediately rendered Horikita and the others speechless.
Because the school had indeed mentioned that the rules hadn't been fully disclosed. Why hadn't they tried their best?
"You should think about it properly."
Chabashira knew this was nonsense, but it didn't change the fact that it was a task from her superior and the best way to resolve the situation.
"Why was Class B able to hold out until the end to trigger the hidden rule, while you weren't?"
"Furthermore," Chabashira said plainly, "even if I had told you about this hidden rule in advance, could you really have done it?"
Horikita's face stiffened.
The truth was, they couldn't!
The voting was completely anonymous. Even with a prior explanation, someone would have changed their vote out of spite, dislike, or mutual suspicion.
Even with prior notice, only Class B—who trusted each other completely—could have done it. Unless one used some form of coercion.
Otherwise, neither Class A, Class C, nor Class D could have achieved it. Moreover, even if they had triggered the hidden rule, Class D didn't even have ten million points.
This was reality.
Hirata and the others covered their faces in pain. Class B had become the "child of the neighbor" in Chabashira's words. It was all because their own strength was insufficient.
However, this rhetoric worked perfectly on students.
They lie to you, scold you, and then pin the blame on you, finally forcing you to admit it was your fault.
This is the cruelty of society! This is the "meritocracy" you wanted!
What, you're not convinced? Suck it up!
Horikita Suzune sat back in her seat with a grim expression.
Yes. It all stemmed from her lack of strength.
She hadn't seen through the rules of the exam like Hikigaya had.
She hadn't built a trusting relationship with everyone since the start of school and hadn't led everyone to persist until the end.
Everything was her own fault.