"Saiki-kun... you're actually really amazing, aren't you?"
Ichinose Honami looked up, her expression serious as she asked.
'Yare yare, how should I answer this...'
Saiki found himself in a bit of a dilemma.
He hadn't thought carefully before asking, "How did you know?" which indirectly admitted his involvement in the matter.
How could he gloss over this now...
As Saiki was thinking, Ichinose Honami spoke up again:
"Saiki-kun, you've been hiding your true abilities, haven't you? I know you're amazing, but you're even more incredible than I imagined. I don't know why you're hiding your strength, but I can promise you, I won't tell anyone about this!"
"Well..."
Saiki had no choice but to nod. Ichinose Honami wasn't the type to lie, and Saiki knew she would definitely keep her word.
Still, this was completely unexpected for Saiki.
"Also... there's one more thing..."
Ichinose Honami seemed to remember something and quickly took off her backpack, rummaging through it.
But just then, an uninvited guest appeared.
"Good afternoon, Honami."
The cheerful tone belonged to Nagumo Miyabi.
"Good afternoon, Nagumo-senpai."
Ichinose Honami stopped what she was doing upon seeing Nagumo Miyabi.
"You look lively."
"That's just how I am."
Ichinose Honami smiled.
Meanwhile, Nagumo Miyabi narrowed his eyes slightly.
[Sakayanagi said she would launch an attack on Ichinose, but in the end, it didn't seem to have any effect?]
[Sakayanagi is a capable person. The rumors earlier were likely her doing—but yesterday, all the rumors were stopped, and even the teachers stepped in to strictly prohibit students from spreading any more gossip. Even the student council can't openly defy the teachers' wishes.]
[But... why? What exactly happened? Why was Sakayanagi's attack stopped?]
Nagumo Miyabi was extremely curious but couldn't find an answer.
"Don't you hate me, Honami?"
Nagumo Miyabi asked.
"Why would I?"
Ichinose Honami tilted her head in disbelief.
Then, she quickly realized what he meant.
[About my past... I only told Nagumo-senpai when I joined the student council. He must have been the one who told Sakayanagi about it.]
"I don't hold any grudges. I'm only grateful to you, Nagumo-senpai. I'm really thankful that you brought me into the student council. I'll continue to work hard, and I look forward to your guidance."
There wasn't a trace of hatred in Ichinose Honami's eyes.
"Is that so? It seems you'll be more active than I expected."
Nagumo Miyabi said. He had originally planned to break Ichinose and rebuild her, turning her into his pawn.
But the plan had failed.
[Did this guy do something?]
[I hate it when someone gets in my way.]
[If Saiki really did something, then I'll have to deal with him properly.]
Nagumo Miyabi turned his gaze to Saiki, but soon turned away and left.
[No matter what, Ichinose Honami, you'll become my plaything one day~]
Nagumo Miyabi smiled as he walked away, greeting other underclassmen.
Saiki could clearly hear Nagumo Miyabi's thoughts and secretly activated his powers—
"Damn it!"
Nagumo Miyabi cursed in the distance as a bird poop dropping landed right on his head. The scene was witnessed by other students, making it hard not to laugh.
As for Ichinose Honami, she had no idea what had just happened.
After Nagumo Miyabi left, Ichinose Honami took something out of her backpack.
"This Valentine's chocolate... can you accept it? How should I put it... I've never given something like this before... but this is the only way I can thank you..."
Ichinose Honami's face was slightly red. After all, she had never been in such a situation before and didn't know how to handle it.
"It's fine."
Saiki could only nod and accept the gift from Ichinose Honami.
'Yare yare, so that's why she went to the supermarket to buy chocolates yesterday.'
"Please take care of me from now on!"
Ichinose Honami bowed deeply to Saiki and then quickly left.
Just as Saiki was about to return to his dorm, his phone vibrated twice.
Shiina Hiyori: Saiki-kun, are you free now?
Aiura Mikoto: Saiki! Do you have time tonight?
'Yare yare...'
Saiki shook his head. The chocolates he had received today would probably take him days to finish.
...
Half an hour later, in the student council office, Nagumo Miyabi had just finished washing and drying his hair.
"Damn it."
Nagumo Miyabi cursed. The sudden bird dropping on his head had put him in an extremely awkward situation. Returning to the dorm would mean being seen by too many people, which could damage his image as the student council president, so he had no choice but to return to the office to wash his hair before the school building closed.
But just then, the office door suddenly opened.
"Who's there?"
Nagumo Miyabi immediately shot a sharp gaze toward the door. It was already after school, so no one should be here.
"President Nagumo."
The familiar, light voice belonged to Sakayanagi Arisu.
"Sakayanagi? Why are you here at this time?"
Nagumo Miyabi narrowed his eyes as he looked at her.
"I just heard about the unfortunate incident that happened to you, President Nagumo. I thought you might return to the office, so I estimated the time you'd need and came to see you now."
Sakayanagi Arisu bowed slightly and then walked into the office with a smile.
"You really are an interesting woman."
Facing Sakayanagi Arisu, Nagumo Miyabi wasn't angry at all. Instead, he looked somewhat expectant.
"If you're here to see me at this time, you must have something important to say, right?"
"Of course. First, the plan against Ichinose has failed."
"That's true, but do you know why it failed?"
"If we're talking about the specific reason, I don't know—"
Sakayanagi Arisu paused deliberately,
"But I have a rough guess in my mind."
"Oh?"
Nagumo Miyabi leaned forward slightly.
"President, didn't you ask me to investigate a student named Saiki before? I feel like this might be related to him~"
Sakayanagi Arisu said slowly.
"So it's him? But how did you come to that conclusion?"
"I don't have any evidence, but a 'friend' I trust told me that Saiki might be involved in this."
Sakayanagi Arisu continued. The friend she mentioned was none other than Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
"That's not nearly enough."
"Also, I heard something very interesting from a student in Class B."
"Oh?"
"I'm sure you've heard of a boy named Ryuen in Class D. He was quite active, and I have to admit, he's quite capable."
"Ryuen, I remember him."
Nagumo Miyabi recalled his previous interactions with Ryuen Kakeru and agreed that he was a unique individual.
But ever since a certain day last semester, Ryuen Kakeru had suddenly gone quiet.
"On the night it was rumored that Ryuen was defeated by his own subordinates, a boy from Class B happened to be out late at night."
Sakayanagi Arisu said with a smile.
This information had come from Yamauchi Haruki.
However, Yamauchi Haruki had also mentioned Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's name, but Sakayanagi Arisu chose not to bring that up.
"Oh? That person wouldn't happen to be Saiki, would it?"
Nagumo Miyabi already had the answer in his mind.
"As expected of the president. You guessed it right away. But of course, I don't have any evidence that Saiki was the mastermind behind this. Still, the fact that both incidents happened on the same day is enough to raise suspicions~"
Sakayanagi Arisu bowed again and then turned to leave the office.
"I thought you might need this information, so I came to tell you."
"Is that so? Thank you very much."
Nagumo Miyabi smiled.
After Sakayanagi Arisu left, Nagumo Miyabi stood up and slammed a cup on his desk, shattering it into pieces.
This was the second time his plans had been ruined.
And both times, it might have been because of that guy named Saiki.
"Just you wait, Saiki."
He gritted his teeth.
At almost the same time, Sakayanagi Arisu walked down the hallway outside the room, her cane tapping the floor with a crisp sound.
"Saiki... if I want to face Ayanokoji, do I need to deal with you first?"
"Or..."
"Are you the greater threat?"
...
Before anyone realized it, over a week had passed, and the final exams arrived as scheduled.
Before the exams, Class B held several study sessions, and Sudou Ken and Ike Kanji studied very seriously.
Karuizawa Kei also sought out Saiki every night to tutor her in certain subjects.
Although Saiki wasn't keen on it, he still agreed to her request.
This was noticed by Sakura Airi and Sato Maya, as Karuizawa Kei hadn't made much effort to hide her actions.
This forced Saiki to tutor even more people at night.
After the final exams ended, the temperature gradually rose, and March quietly arrived.
Monday.
"Teacher, it's time to announce the results, right?"
At this moment, Ike Kanji shouted excitedly at Chabashira Sae in the classroom.
"No need to rush. You'll know in less than a minute."
Chabashira Sae made her usual gesture, unfolding a large sheet of paper she had brought.
This school generally used phones or the electronic bulletin board to announce grades, but it seemed that only the midterm and final exam results, which were related to expulsion, were still announced in this traditional way.
"How did the exam feel, Ike?"
Chabashira Sae smiled as she looked at Ike Kanji.
"Well... I've been studying hard."
"Really? You still seem nervous."
Chabashira Sae laughed, her mood clearly good, which already hinted at how Class B had performed in the exams.
"Sudou, who's always fighting for the last place, what do you think?"
Chabashira Sae shifted her gaze to Sudou Ken.
"I'll definitely pass!"
Sudou Ken's eyes were filled with confidence.
"Hahaha, it's fascinating to see how children grow. You can never fully predict who will improve—you've completely overturned my expectations. Well then, I'll announce the long-awaited final exam results!"
After saying this, Chabashira Sae posted everyone's exam results on the blackboard.
"Everyone passed beautifully. This is the most flawless result so far."
All the students in the class had passed, and the last place was still Yamauchi Haruki. Ever since the sports festival, Sudou Ken had moved away from the bottom spot, which was now occupied by Yamauchi Haruki.
But Yamauchi Haruki didn't seem discouraged at all. Instead, he wore a joyful smile.
[After class, I'll go find Sakayanagi! We should be able to take things further now!]
'Yare yare, hasn't this guy realized the problem yet?'
Saiki glanced at Yamauchi Haruki out of the corner of his eye and then shifted his gaze to the results.
His ranking had changed slightly compared to before.
Previously, Saiki had always maintained a mid-tier position, but this time, he had kept his score around 13th or 14th place.
Although there was still a gap between him and the top students, Saiki's score was now in the upper range of the class.
This surprised even Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
'Having to tutor others every night but still maintaining a mid-tier score would only make people more suspicious.'
Saiki thought to himself. This was why he had decided to change his ranking.
"But—"
Just then, the smile on Chabashira Sae's face disappeared, and she continued,
"I think you've all vaguely anticipated that even after the written exams, it's not over—the next special exam will be coming soon."