Chapter 6 - Volume 12 - Chapter 4: Ichika's Test

(Introduction)

It was already Wednesday, the third day of the special exam.

OAA was refreshed for the second time at 8 AM, and naturally, the number of choices had gone down yet again.

"34 new pairs have been formed, huh?"

Combined with Tuesday, that meant 56 pairs had been formed in total.

Considering that the maximum number of pairs was 157, this meant that over thirty percent of students had already decided on their partners.

Class 2-B had driven the partner formation yesterday. Therefore, many of these probably had to do with Ichinose.

It seemed like the first-year students had carefully considered their options after the meet-and-greet and decided to form pairs.

Essentially, I could confirm that most of the first-year students with low Academic Ability ratings had paired up with students in Ichinose's class.

Aside from that, several of the first-year honor students had found partners now along with several students from Class 2-C. From this, I could infer that they had been successful in their negotiations. In our class, starting with Kushida, five people had settled on their partners. I checked the page for Class 1-B and found that Yagami Takuya had found a partner as well. It was possible that he had joined hands with Kushida.

But the strange thing was, not even a single person from Class 1-D had partnered up yet.

This was completely unprecedented when compared to the rest of the first-year and the entirety of the second-year.

If I didn't make my move soon, it seemed like I might not be able to do anything when the time finally arrived.

In the first place, there was no way that somebody would take an objective look at my rating and ask me to join up with them. It's only natural that students would want to pair up with somebody smart, regardless of how good or bad their own rating was. Unlike the second-year students, who had reached the point where they were capable of taking action for the sake of their own class, the first-year students probably wouldn't take the time to worry about their surroundings. They'd probably be more inclined to see their very own classmates as rivals instead.

For them, I would be put on the back burner. That is, at least until everybody with high ratings was taken already.

For that reason, Tsukishiro must've instructed his enforcer to not let this chance slip by.

Naturally, anybody who would reach out to pair up with me, or who would allow me to pair up with them, would be a big red flag.

That said, if I kept hesitating without deciding on a partner forever, the chances of being paired up with Tsukishiro's enforcer would only continue to go up. I needed to be absolutely certain that the student I chose wasn't the enforcer, but that probably wasn't going to be easy.

At the end of the day, I had no idea what kind of performance they were putting on to disguise themself.

I had memorized the names, faces, and ratings of everyone on the app, but I hadn't been able to glean any hints from that.

If all 160 of the first-years were against me, I would be facing an inescapable, sure-fire checkmate.

But, that would be absurd. That would be impossible for somebody to pull off, even for Tsukishiro, but…

No, that wasn't the right way to be approaching this.

The important thing here was for me to come up with a way to survive, even if everyone was against me.

At any rate, for now, I'd track down somebody safe from the 104 students that were left.

There was no gender bias in the children raised within the White Room. Since their pedagogy treated boys and girls equally, it was impossible for me to narrow down my selection with that in mind.

In which case, how should I go about checking people off the list? One possible way to do so was to check their body type or physique.

The meals provided within the White Room were controlled down to the smallest detail. It was basically impossible for the children growing up in that environment to be obese. Thus, a simple plan came to mind… If I were to choose an overweight student, I'd be able to avoid the White Room student.

However, this plan was not without flaws. It was more than possible that the White Room student began preparing for my expulsion several months ago. Thinking about it that way, it wasn't out of the question for them to have taken the time to gain or lose weight accordingly. Doing something like that would be trivial for those who had endured the relentless curriculum of the White Room.

But, even if I were to put all of that aside, it's doubtful whether or not I'd be able to select a student with a sub-standard body type. I couldn't say for sure since the OAA app doesn't provide a full-body picture, but there were only about two students in the first year who were obviously overweight.

Even so, I still couldn't discount the possibility that both of them had been sent by Tsukishiro. After all, I'm assuming that it's not only the White Room student who had been sent as an enforcer, but ordinary students as well.

They could've been approached with promises of admission to a better college or university if they were to get me expelled.

My next thought was whether or not I could narrow it down based on Academic Ability rating, but that, too, would be difficult.

For a student from the White Room, getting a perfect score on the entrance exam wouldn't be difficult in the slightest. They'd be able to get an A or A+ rating in Academic Ability with ease. Put in other words, that meant that they'd be able to control their rating however they wanted.

They must've been informed about the introduction of the OAA system as well.

It wouldn't be surprising by any stretch of the imagination if they were patiently lying in wait, equipped with an E rating in Academic Ability.

Similarly, it was also impossible to narrow it down based on class affiliation, such as being a member of Class 1-A or Class 1-D.

I had known this from the very start, but there was simply no way I could narrow down my list of suspects right now.

I knew what I needed to do.

I needed to investigate each student with my own eyes and verify their authenticity myself. If I could confirm that someone wasn't an enemy, I'd be able to partner up with them, or perhaps even get them to cooperate with me moving forward.

I proceeded to set a rule for myself.

Today, from when school started, through lunch, and all the way until school was over, I would reach out to each and every first-year student I came across. From there, I'd try and get them to cooperate with me. Since there was no way Tsukishiro had sent in an opponent who'd be identified through mere observation, I had no choice but to fight with the element of luck to minimize any potential interference.

With a C in Academic Ability, my rating was by no means high, so I couldn't exactly use it as a weapon. However, it's not like nobody would be willing to partner up with me. If I searched around long enough, I'd probably find at least a few people.

(Introduction End)

(Part 1)

I left the dorms and started making my way to school.

Soon enough, I spotted two first-year girls chatting with each other as they walked.

Their names were Kurihara Kasuga and Konishi Tetsuko. Both of them from Class 1-A.

Unfortunately, both of them were academically excellent students who had found partners on the first day of the exam. Asking one of them to be my partner wasn't a viable option.

Well, the fact that they had already decided on their partners wasn't that much of a problem.

In fact, you could even say they were the best choice available for me to collaborate with. It's just, how do I put this, it was kinda hard to call out to them…

Even though we had no choice but to find partners due to the special exam, what would a second-year boy approaching two girls look like from an outsider's perspective? I found myself getting caught up thinking about that.

I didn't have the courage to just call out and wish them good morning like Yōsuke would, but having said that, confidently asking them to introduce me to someone who'd pair up with me was out of the question as well.

Be that as it may, I had to at least try. Giving in now wouldn't get me anywhere. I hardened my resolve to reach out to them, but I found myself wondering what I should do about the timing. Instead of interrupting them while they were happily chatting with each other, I felt like I should patiently wait for a lapse in their conversation.

"Good morning to you, Ayanokōji-senpai."

As I was watching them, a voice called out to me from behind.

The third first-year student I ran into today was Nanase Tsubasa, the girl who had been together with Hōsen just a few days ago.

She looked at me with a carefree smile on her face.

"Ah, good morning."

I certainly hadn't expected anyone to call out to me, so there was an awkward pause between the two of us for a moment.

ILLUSTRATION :

"Do you need something from those two? Would you like me to call out to them for you?"

Despite Nanase's proposition, as a first-year student herself, the conversation the two girls were having would most likely turn into a conversation between the three of them. That would only serve to increase the burden for me.

"No, it's alright."

"Oh, is that so?"

Nanase pondered out loud, walking along at about the same pace as me.

An unexpected conversation with Nanase had begun while I was thinking about when to reach out to the girls. I was quite thankful that she had spared me the trouble of being the one to reach out to somebody, but…

There was no way that a first-year student had called out to me by coincidence. It was quite possible that she had been waiting for me to go to school and timed her approach accordingly. This wasn't just restricted to Nanase either. This should be the baseline assumption for any and all students who take the initiative to talk to me. Just like Amasawa yesterday, this wasn't someone I approached, but someone who approached me.

"I do apologize for Hōsen-kun's rudeness the other day."

"No, I wasn't directly affected by it, so you don't need to apologize to me."

"But there is no doubt that we caused a nuisance. While I had come along with Hōsen-kun to stop him from acting out like that, I'm now fully aware of just how powerless I truly was."

Compared to Hōsen's rough, violent nature, Nanase spoke with a very sociable, polite tone, which gave off a very good impression. And with her B Academic Ability rating, she was essentially the ideal partner. It wouldn't be strange if somebody other than me had scouted her already either, but as of now, on the third day, she still hadn't partnered up with anybody yet.

However, that was probably due to Class 1-D's plan.

In addition to Academic Ability, her ratings were all high and well rounded, as her Physical Ability, Adaptability, and Social Contribution ratings were all at a C+ or better. At a glance, I couldn't find any problems with her at all. For that reason, I found myself wondering why Nanase Tsubasa had been placed in Class D. At a fundamental level, there was a strong tendency for the students assigned to Class D to have something wrong with them. For example, on the surface, people like Yōsuke and Kushida didn't seem to have a single flaw. However, once I actually found out more about them, I came to understand that that wasn't the case.

In other words, I couldn't reject the possibility that Nanase had some sort of latent problem like that. Then again, as of now, there was no guarantee that this year's Class 1-D would fall under this same tendency.

In my opinion, I'm perfectly fine with someone having a few problems with their personality or sense of values. Even if I asked her to partner up with me or asked her to collaborate with me, the only thing that mattered was whether or not Nanase Tsubasa was on Tsukishiro's side. Back when she was together with Hōsen during our first meeting, she had looked at me with eyes that worried me a little, but… Now, those eyes were nowhere to be seen; Her gaze completely natural.

"Have you decided on your partner for this special exam yet?"

I decided to pick up the conversation in order to learn more about this person known as Nanase.

"Me? No, I haven't decided on anyone yet."

"Then, have people been reaching out to you?"

"Indeed. So far, I have been approached by upperclassmen from Class 2-A and Class 2-C."

As expected for someone with a B in Academic Ability. It seems people have been reaching out to her after all.

"Why haven't you agreed to anyone yet?"

I decided to dig further into it. I honestly didn't know if she would say it had to do with academic performance or points.

"My apologies, but I'm unable to answer that."

With that, Nanase bowed her head in apology.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to; It's not something you need to apologize for."

At this point, it didn't seem like I'd be able to find out if this was her personal problem or a problem of Class 1-D as a whole.

That being the case, let's try attacking from a slightly different angle.

"If it's okay with you, how about we have our fellow D Classes work together to find suitable partners for each other?"

I offered her a proposal, one that included myself. Horikita thought that Class 1-D was important, and Hōsen seemed to have some sort of feelings for Class 2-D too. It certainly wasn't a bad proposal.

"Cooperation between classes…?"

"Yeah. Many students are trying to pair up with the academically stronger students for the sake of their own ratings. But, as a consequence, the academically weaker students won't be chosen and would therefore be left out. If the academically weaker students were to pair up together, students of both school years, yours and mine, would be exposing themselves to the danger of expulsion."

"Yes. I understand that. If possible, I wish to avoid that as well."

"Of course. For that, an appropriate amount of balance is needed. Although we have to give up on taking one of the top spots, we must find partners who will ensure that nobody fails."

We're Class D students. That is, we're overwhelmingly inferior in the eyes of those around us.

And that is why Class 1-D, placed just the same as us in the social hierarchy, would be likely to accept this proposal.

"So how about it?"

"I am in agreement. As much as possible, I would like to cooperate with you, Ayanokōji-senpai. It's just…"

"Just?"

"I don't know how willing my classmates will be to lend a hand. Furthermore, some of the more academically confident students are already on the verge of secretly deciding on a partner."

Many of the students who had the potential to be the mainstays of this exam were aiming for the top spots after having decided on a solid partner. This was certainly the case for the two Class 1-A girls walking in front of us as well.

The reason why Class 1-D hadn't finalized their partners was probably because of a completely different issue, such as points.

The most important part of the test is the large point reward given the top 30% of partners. By helping out the academically weaker students, it meant giving up on that reward.

"We don't need everyone to cooperate. With the right amount of coordination, we should be able to get through the special exam without enlisting the help of too many people."

As long as we managed to get a portion of the class on board, it wouldn't be too much of a problem.

"That's true. However, it's not like there aren't other issues that come with that."

Nanase expressed her approval for the proposal itself, but her facial expression made her seem hesitant.

I understood the cause for that without even needing to think about it.

"Hōsen… wasn't it? It seems like that guy's got a lot of influence over Class 1-D, huh?"

I stuck my nose even further into the internal affairs of Class 1-D.

I brought up a tidbit of information that I was fairly certain of from our discussion with Shiratori the other day.

"Yes. Many of the boys and girls of the class have already started obediently following Hōsen-kun's orders."

My feelings of speculation turned into confidence.

Sure enough, Hōsen had already seized control of the class and had apparently made it his own.

Hōsen might have also been the one behind the strategy that made it harder for the class to decide on their partners.

If that was really the case, then Hōsen was not only a student who brandishes his physical prowess, but one who possesses the insight, observational skill, and composure to take an extensive view of his surroundings.

"Are you in a bit of a unique position, Nanase? You didn't seem to be afraid of Hōsen back then."

"That's because I will never yield to violence."

She responded with an intensity that I couldn't even imagine given her appearance.

Her words weren't said casually. Rather, there was something else, something hidden, backing them up.

I felt like I could see that confidence, or something similar to it, peeking out from within the pure color of her eyes.

"Senpai… what do you think of violence?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Are you for it? Or are you against it?"

If she was looking to find out how I felt about Hōsen's way of doing things, then there was only one answer I could give her.

"If I had to choose from between the two, I guess I'd say I'm for it."

I spoke definitively.

I was expecting her to give some sort of reaction immediately, but I was met with silence instead. When I turned and looked toward Nanase to gauge her facial expression, her docile visage from earlier had all but disappeared.

Her eyes were the same as they were when she had looked at me just before she left the last time we met.

A few moments passed as I waited for her response…

"If I had to choose, I would be for it too."

Her answer, which could be taken as the truth or a lie, came without so much as a trace of emotion.

Had Hōsen acknowledged her intense desire to not yield to violence and kept her beside him because of it?

No… It wasn't just that.

Back then, Hōsen had shown a strong reaction when Nanase brought up the term 'that'.

There wasn't even a shred of evidence saying that Hōsen had a stronger character than Nanase.

Although that was weighing on my mind, it probably wasn't something I could ask her about here and now.

After all, I didn't see her as someone who would unnecessarily talk about something that shouldn't be said.

I shouldn't do anything foolish that would raise her guard just yet.

At this point, I wondered if I should just pull back for the time being. After all, there would probably be another chance to try again later with Horikita.

"In any case, if Hōsen's the one deciding the course of action for your class, going about implementing this might be difficult."

Giving up, I began thinking about making contact with the other classes while maintaining a good relationship with Nanase, but…

"Uhm, if you're okay with it… Would you like me to try setting something up for you?"

She responded with that, perhaps because she thought that my proposal for a cooperative relationship was a good idea.

"I appreciate your offer, but are you sure?"

"Yes. However, I don't know how many students will be willing to cooperate, so I cannot make any promises. In the worst case, it might just be me. Would that be alright with you?"

Nanase put that forward, interested to hear my response.

For the sake of our classmates, it was important for Horikita and me to take every opportunity available to us to develop a connection with Class 1-D.

"Of course. I'm sure Horikita will be pleased as well."

"Is Horikita-senpai the leader of Class 2-D?"

"Yeah. She's the one holding the class together right now."

I decided that I'd need to inform Horikita that it'd be better to set up a discussion with Class 1-D with Nanase's help. Though, if I were to tell Horikita this face to face in the classroom, the subject matter would make me stand out a little bit, so I found myself wondering what exactly I should do.

"Ah… I may not be able to get back to you about this immediately. Is that still alright?"

"I understand. I'll also try to set things up on my end as soon as possible."

"Okay!"

I then exchanged contact information with Nanase and we agreed to get in touch later.

(Part 1 End)

(Part 2)

After confirming that Horikita hadn't entered the school building yet, I decided to wait for her at the entryway for a bit.

After all, if we were to have this conversation in the classroom, we would end up attracting undue attention.

Before long, Horikita showed up and looked at me curiously, not having realized yet that I had been waiting for her.

"Good morning. Are you meeting someone?"

"Meeting with someone? Well, it's something like that. They've just arrived."

"Is that so?"

She lightly looked over her shoulder only to turn back and face me once she realized that there was nobody behind us that I was acquainted with.

"Me?"

"Yeah. There's something I'd like to run by you really quick."

"Something so important that you'd expressly take the time to wait for me?"

The two of us began walking together.

"Important…? Yeah, I think it has the potential to be important. I had the chance to speak with Nanase Tsubasa from Class 1-D earlier, so I tried offering her and her class a decent proposal."

"Ah, and what did you propose?"

"I brought up the idea of having Class 1-D and Class 2-D collaborate with each other."

"Knowing you, that's quite a momentous decision."

Horikita herself must've been worried about how we were going to form a relationship with Class 1-D.

I steeled my resolve, fully prepared for her to get mad at me for making the proposal without her permission, but…

"Are you aware of Class 1-D's partner situation?"

"Yeah. Not even a single one of them has decided on their partner yet. Sakayanagi and Ryūen are probably putting them off too."

It was only natural that the second-year students would focus their attention on the honor students from the other classes who were willing to cooperate for a reasonable number of points rather than those from Class 1-D who expected an incredibly large number for the same thing.

"I'm certain that there's much more to it than that. It would require a certain amount of effort for them to comply with Hōsen-kun's aggressive strategy. From the perspective of the upper classes, dedicating any time to Class 1-D would only serve to increase the amount of work they'd need to do."

"Maybe."

"Anyway, did you make this proposal to Nanase-san after having understood the difficulties that would come with confronting Hōsen-kun? Or did you reach out to her with the intention of secretly cooperating with her, hoping that Hōsen-kun wouldn't notice?"

"What do you think?"

I intentionally turned the question back on Horikita without giving that much of an answer. If she had given up on the idea of working with Class 1-D at this point, I was okay with calling the proposal off.

"I've taken the time to reevaluate the state of the special exam. Would you be willing to hear me out?"

"I'm not confident that I can give you any meaningful advice."

"I'm not expecting anything."

It seemed like she just wanted to share her thoughts with me.

It probably had to do with what I brought up about Class 1-D just moments earlier.

"To start out, and this is obvious, but when you look at the first-year student body as a whole, the academically gifted students are naturally more popular as partners."

"Yeah. Shiratori mentioned how he had been approached with point-based offers from Class 2-A and Class 2-C already."

"However, between Shiratori-kun and his friends, none of them have made a decision yet. It seems fair to assume that Class A and Class C were unable to reach an agreement on how many points they would offer them. Either way, the 500,000 point offer they presented to us is far too expensive no matter how you look at it."

Even asking for 200,000 points would be unreasonably high, given that the reward was only 100,000 points for the top five pairs and 10,000 points for the top 30%.

"It makes you wonder how many points Hashimoto-kun and the others offered them, doesn't it?"

"Who knows. I'd guess that it was probably nowhere near 500,000."

It was impossible to know unless you were somebody who was actually involved in the negotiations.

"I'd put forward that there wasn't that much of a difference in the number offered by the two classes. No, if anything, I'd say that Class A's offers have probably been smaller."

She had most likely deduced this by keeping tabs on the OAA app up until this morning.

Between the two classes, Class 2-C had more students who had decided on their partners.

"Class A naturally has the advantage over Class C in terms of brand value. Unless there's a noteworthy difference in the number of points they're offering, more people would end up choosing Class A. From all of this, we can conclude that Class A is looking to appeal to first-years by coupling points together with their value as a class. Whereas Class C, on the other hand, is trying to muscle their way through with more points since they lose out in terms of brand value."

I lightly nodded along in agreement.

"Ryūen-kun's thought process here is a bit strange as well, don't you think? In this exam, drawing the top performers over to your side is fundamentally essential if you want to win. However, that means that Class C will have no choice but to compete financially with Class A. If they play that money game with each other, Class C certainly wouldn't stand a chance. If anything, it seems reckless for them to aim for first place overall."

Even though Ryūen had said something about using threats to get the first-years to pair up with his class, there was no doubt that, as of right now, this was a competition that he had slim chances of winning.

"They should go after students who don't overlap with Class A, even if it means lowering the bar a little bit."

It'd be much safer for them to go after second place overall. Going after the students with a B- or C+ rating would be more than enough for that.

"Well, trying to guess what he's thinking is pointless, but… I'll just get on with the main point here. The remaining class, Class 2-B, is trying to build up a trusting relationship with the first-year students, drawing them into their fold regardless of Academic Ability rating as a way of providing salvation to the weak and vulnerable. Class 1-D aside, most of the students with a D rating or lower have been saved already by Ichinose-san."

Horikita paused, looking back to make sure that nobody was eavesdropping on us before continuing.

"I've decided that our current objective is to focus on the average, ordinary students in each class. That is, students with ratings in the C+ to B- range."

The students in that range probably wouldn't be approached with large offers and there were still a lot of them left without partners too.

Reaching out to them while Class A and Class C were still scrambling for the top performers was a smart move.

"Then, does that mean that you're giving up on your plan to focus on Class 1-D?"

"No, that's still happening. In fact, it feels increasingly as though that's our most optimal choice."

"Are you saying you'll abandon the ordinary students from the other classes?"

Doing so would be an overly drastic decision. As Class 2-D, we took a backseat compared to the other classes, so we needed to finalize as many partners as possible as soon as possible.

"They'll play a part in all of this as well. While it may be a bit crude, I intend to set up a fake money game of sorts to help us stall for time. Unlike the honor students, the ordinary students probably aren't expecting to receive any attractive large-point offers. That being the case, we'll give them a taste of the luxury they're missing out on, disillusion them into thinking that they're worth a little something."

"So the goal is to force Sakayanagi and Ryūen to use their points not just for the top performers, but the ordinary students as well?"

"While I'm skeptical about just how effective it will be, it will at least manage to attract some attention. And in the meantime, I'm going to start cutting into Class 1-D. That's why this proposal of yours is just what I've been wanting to hear. After all, I was just thinking of getting in contact with Nanase-san myself."

"But, isn't Hōsen the one that wants to play a money game like this?"

"He certainly does. However, is he really just looking for points? Back when he came marching into the second-year hallway, he told me: 'You wouldn't even be able to find partners without beggin' our class for it. So I'll lend you incompetent retards a hand, aight?' In other words, his goal is our class itself. Would he really say something like that if all he wanted was points?"

Horikita made the assertion that there should be room for negotiation beyond the scope of private points.

"The fact that he tacked on an 'I'll see ya later, Horikita' at the end just before he left hints at it as well."

"That's for sure. It's safe to say that Hōsen only has his eye on Class 2-D."

This time around, Horikita had abandoned the top spot in exchange for three goals: not letting anyone get expelled, getting third place or higher in the overall class rankings, and not participating in any monetary exchanges. It wouldn't be easy, but that was precisely why we were focusing on Class 1-D.

"Nonetheless, it's fair to assume Hōsen-kun won't be easy to deal with. Either way, I have a backup plan."

Apparently, Horikita had made other arrangements that even I didn't know about.

"We're currently in discussion with part of Class 1-B about potentially fostering a cooperative relationship with each other."

"By Class 1-B… are you talking about that Yagami guy from the same middle school as you and Kushida?"

I thought back to the most recent OAA update earlier this morning where I saw that both Yagami and Kushida had already decided on a partner.

"Kushida-san and Yagami-kun partnered up yesterday. Regretfully, I don't remember anything about my underclassmen back then, but he might just be the key to all of this. He seems to trust Kushida-san quite a lot, so we've already begun negotiations behind the scenes. If all goes well, we can increase our number of collaborators."

Though this was definitely good news, there was still something about it that worried me.

"Are you the one giving instruction to Kushida?"

Given that Kushida hated everything about Horikita, it was still unknown to what extent she would really be willing to cooperate.

"I'm well aware that it will be difficult given our current relationship. That's why I'm pushing forward the conversation with Hirata-kun as the middleman."

"I see. If that's the case, Kushida can't afford to cut any corners."

If Kushida's negotiations with Yagami managed to pull even just a couple of students over to our side, then a portion of Class 2-D's partner problem would be solved, allowing the class to start focusing its attention on studying instead.

(Part 2 End)

(Part 3)

"Good morning Horikita-san. Do you have a moment?"

During the break after first period, Yōsuke went and paid a visit to Horikita at her seat.

For whatever reason, I decided to watch over them from my own seat.

"I went around talking to a bunch of people yesterday, but it's proving difficult to get anybody to cooperate. A couple people told me they'd be willing to pair up, but…"

Despite being fellow comrades of the soccer club, the recruitment process didn't seem to be progressing very smoothly. After all, getting the first-year students who had only just joined the club to completely open up to him would be difficult, even for somebody like Yōsuke.

"They asked you for points, didn't they?"

Upon seeing Yōsuke nod in response, Horikita continued.

"They've got the opportunity to sell themselves at a high price. It's not surprising."

Private point buyout tactics had spread throughout the entirety of the first year, just as I had imagined.

"I was told that Class 2-A reached out to them, asking them to pair up, but then Class 2-C went and offered points for the same thing. It's not just the guys I talked to either. Class C has tried to poach nearly everybody that Class A has reached out to as well."

"It's only natural since the smart students are so hotly contested."

Deep down, Horikita had already predicted this.

However, what Yōsuke said next was a little bit different.

"Though, it seems that they've even reached out to some students with C or D ratings. I've even heard stories that they were willing to pay large sums of points for them as well."

"So you're saying that they aren't necessarily prioritizing the academically stronger students?"

"As far as I can tell, at least."

"Alright. If you can remember anybody's name in specific, could you perhaps share them with me?"

"Of course."

Yōsuke listed off the names of the first-year students that he knew Class A had given offers to. Horikita then looked each of those names up in the app and quickly understood what was happening.

Even though those who had been approached had low Academic Ability ratings, they each had something exceptional about them outside of that. They were valued for their excellent Physical Ability, Adaptability, or Social Contribution ratings instead.

"I see… As expected, I should say."

"Instead of getting caught up on the short-run, they're probably thinking about the long-run."

This wouldn't necessarily be the only exam where we'd have to cooperate with the first-year students. That being the case, non-academic skills would naturally become essential. The thought process is that, by providing a lifeline to the students who are academically insecure now, they would be helpful in their own field of expertise later on down the line. It was a decent plan.

Setting that aside, the interesting thing about this was that Ryūen's class was doing it as well.

Instead of just aiming for the students with high Academic Ability ratings, they were closely following in Sakayanagi's footsteps.

"It would be great if we could do that too, but…"

"That would be difficult, wouldn't it?"

We were students of Class D whereas Sakayanagi was from Class A.

Even those who had only just enrolled here should already know which class had the better image.

Considering their future, it was perfectly understandable that they'd prefer to lean on the more superior class when they need help.

"Thank you. Might I ask that you continue to look into this?"

"Yeah. I'll report back to you if I find out anything else."

Yōsuke beamed at Horikita with a bright, refreshing smile and went back to his seat.

Shortly thereafter, I received a text message from Horikita.

[So there you have it.]

I see. It seemed as though she caught on to the fact that I had been eavesdropping on them.

[Hirata-kun is truly reliable, isn't he?]

[I guess.]

He had butt heads with Horikita at one point, but now that was water under the bridge.

As someone who always gave 100% for the sake of the class, he was a very reliable person.

Of course, his intelligence and communication skills were nothing to scoff at, but his biggest strength was his trustworthiness.

He had a strong track record that made people believe that he could handle anything.

That was also why Horikita was willing to freely discuss strategy with him.

[As Class D, we have to bear with the handicap. It's an uphill battle.]

[We don't have any other choice. Good luck.]

[You do know that you need to play your part as well, right?]

[You mean the thing with Nanase?]

[Yes. Can you reply to her as soon as possible? Tell her we're ready at any time.]

She wanted to move forward with it quickly; To strike while the iron is hot, as they say.

After all, if we didn't, the other classes would snatch away all of the talented students from us.

[Well, I'll get to it tomorrow. I've got to take care of that other problem first.]

[Of course I know that.]

(Part 3 End)

(Part 4)

By the time school was done for the day, I still hadn't heard back from Nanase.

Even if she were to say that everything was ready to go today, it's not like Horikita and I would be able to take action anyway.

There was still a more pressing issue that needed to be dealt with first.

And that was my arrangement with Amasawa to make her a home-cooked meal. As long as my cooking was up to snuff, it was an exceptional opportunity to get her to partner up with Sudō. That being said, it was by no means an easy task.

When I arrived at the entrance of Keyaki Mall ten minutes before the appointed time, it didn't seem that Amasawa had arrived yet. Instead of fiddling around with my cell phone or something, I just casually observed the students entering the mall from where I stood. The students, ranging from first-years to third-years, were happily chatting about this and that as they steadily flowed into the shopping center. The temperature had felt warmer than usual this morning, but as evening approached, it was beginning to cool down. The temperature would probably drop even further by the time night came around.

Finally, just before the appointed time, Amasawa showed up.

"Perfectly done~ Ayanokōji-senpai~"

As soon as we met up, she smiled broadly and nodded her head several times, as if she was satisfied with something.

"What are you talking about?"

"You waited at the meeting place before the girl showed up. Without doing anything like, excessive either~"

She was surprisingly perceptive. Or, perhaps I should say that she had a solid understanding of my actions, no matter how trivial they might have seemed.

By 'excessive', she was probably referring to the fact that I wasn't messing with my phone or making a call.

Soon, I had to face Amasawa's test. In other words, I had to buckle down and cook something for her by hand. That being the case, the time I spent standing here could've been a good last-minute opportunity to look up recipes and take various other countermeasures. A good analogy is that it would've been no different from staring at the textbook right up until the chime of the bell on the day of a test. Of course, doing so in and of itself wouldn't have violated any of the rules Amasawa had put forth.

However, being on my phone like that might make me seem like somebody who wasn't confident in his cooking.

The same thing went for making a phone call, as it could've given off the impression that I had been discussing the matter with somebody else. Therefore, in order to highlight my composure, I deliberately didn't do anything that would seem excessive. I had planned on instilling this image of me within Amasawa without her realizing it, but it appeared as though she had seen through me from the very beginning.

"Well then Ayanokōji-senpai, shall we go?"

Amasawa spoke as soon as she joined up with me and the two of us entered the mall together.

"To buy ingredients, right?"

"Oh yeah. That too~ You've gotta buy the stuff you'll make for me. Do you have the points~?"

"I should."

In truth, I really didn't have all that many left, but I wouldn't say anything unnecessary like that in front of one of my underclassmen.

"Good! I don't need to hold back then~ Lemme see… I think I heard my classmates say that they sell all the essentials here, but… I wonder where the shopping baskets are~?"

Instead of heading for the supermarket, Amasawa walked straight into 'Hamming', a shop specialized in selling home goods and other daily necessities, and picked up a blue shopping basket that she had found near the entrance.

The words 'That too~' that she had said earlier weighed on my mind.

Although I knew I was supposed to cook her a meal, did this mean that there was something else I had to do other than buying ingredients?

Amasawa stopped by the section where the kitchenware was on display.

This brought back memories of how, when I first enrolled here, I had made several trips to this very store to buy all of the things I needed.

It wasn't just the school's students who made use of these supplies, but also the faculty members and the employees who worked in the cafeteria or the cafes around campus, so the store had a particularly large section set aside for kitchenware. I could remember the first time I came here and how it was difficult to find what I was looking for right away.

From the look of it, they had come out with an assortment of new products since my last visit a long time ago.

Perhaps the fact that Amasawa had stopped by here meant that she was looking to buy some specific specialized equipment or something? After all, the store had peelers, graters, mortars, and countless other cooking utensils. Given all of the variety, there were naturally several that I didn't own as well. Either way, it was just weird that she hadn't bothered to run any of this by me. It made sense to me that she'd at least check to see which utensils I did or didn't have first. Considering our current time constraints, it would've been easy for her to ask me about it as we walked together, but…

I held back my desire to ask her about it, allowing Amasawa to remain in control for the time being.

I opted to try and bring up a subject that had nothing to do with cooking utensils.

"Have you done any cooking of your own before, Amasawa?"

"Me? Not at all. I'm not the type to just whip up a meal on my own. I'm the kinda girl who'd rather let others cook for me than make things for myself."

She explained such before stopping in her tracks, having apparently arrived at her destination.

The journey so far had gone without a hitch. She looked away from me, fixing her eyes upon the shelf of goods in front of us.

For a couple dozen seconds or so, she stood there, lost in thought with her arms crossed, almost as if she was troubled by something.

Then, as if having made up her mind, she nodded confidently, muttering an 'Alright~' to herself as she did so.

"To start out we'll need a cutting board, right? Then a kitchen knife? Then there's bowls and a whisk, and after that we'll need a pot and a ladle as well, huh~?"

She tossed each item into the basket one after the next as she listed them out loud.

The last item she put in was a big round spoon, which, apparently, was known as a ladle.

"Hold on a second. I have almost all of these things you're getting back in my room already."

I was struck with a bad premonition about this, so I hurriedly began to speak up, but…

"It's fine, it's fine. I'm just having you buy these exclusively for when you cook for me."

She's just having me buy these for what now…? The cutting board she had put in the basket was of an even higher quality than the one I was using in my own room right now. It seemed like it was made out of hinoki cypress and cost just over 4000 points. All of the other items were high-class as well.

At this point, it didn't seem like she was finished yet as she went off once again, setting her sights on the next set of shelves. Her troubled demeanor from earlier was nowhere to be seen, as she proceeded to take hold of a small fruit knife without hesitating in the slightest.

"For someone to claim to be a skilled cook, owning a Petty knife is an absolute must, wouldn't you say~?"

She spoke in a casual, relaxed tone as she tossed the knife into her basket. For a stupid amateur like me who didn't even know that fruit knives were also known as Petty knives, that knife was very expensive, priced at nearly 3000 points. Even though there were numerous cheaper options on display next to the knife she had chosen, she didn't even feign an attempt at acting like she was interested in them. As far as I could tell, the difference in price ultimately boiled down to whether or not it was being sold with a sheath and whether or not it had been manufactured within Japan. But even then, the knife she had chosen was still an excessively luxurious one.

Apparently, a skilled chef was expected to have mastered the use of this kind of tiny cooking knife.

"This is just a question, but the one who's paying…"

"Well, that would be you of course, right Ayanokōji-senpai?"

I already knew I was supposed to be paying here, but the total was easily over 15,000 points by now. Since it has come to this, I might as well throw away the cheap one I had been using up until now. If I thought of the food I'd make for myself using these high-class tools when I cook on my own in the future, then maybe I could come to terms with the purchases somehow…?

"Ah, like I mentioned earlier, you're buying these to cook for me exclusively, so don't go wearing them out with everyday use, got it?"

"Are you some sort of demon?"

I got ahead of myself and vocalized my stingy thoughts, but Amasawa had unnervingly anticipated that.

"You can call it quits now if you want to, you know~?"

She spoke provocatively, her hands still clutching onto the handle of the blue shopping basket.

She had grabbed onto my weakness, fully aware that there was no way I could refuse, dancing in the palm of her hand.

15,000 points was an unbelievably cheap price to pay for getting Sudō partnered up with an A-rated student. I had no choice but to cut my losses and make a decision.

"No, I understand. I'll accept all of your conditions, so feel free to buy whatever you want."

"Do you think I'm a bad girl?"

"I wouldn't say that."

Amasawa fixed her eyes on mine and then, having seemingly come to realize something, smiled broadly.

"Then everything should be A-okay, Senpai."

In the end, it was decided that I would purchase everything, from the pot to the ladle and all sorts of things in between.

Each item, bought under the horrifying condition that I would only use it when cooking for her.

(Part 4 End)

(Part 5)

Afterward, we went to the supermarket to buy the ingredients, the thing we had come to the mall for in the first place.

Altogether I had ended up spending about 20,000 private points. Needless to say, I had never purchased this many things at once before. The plastic bags I was carrying were so heavy that the handles dug into my fingers.

My guess as to what exactly Amasawa was taking into consideration and what she wanted me to make with these ingredients was as good as anybody else's. This was because she had me purchase all sorts of things from vegetables to meat to fruit, and everything else in between.

However, there were a few dishes that came to mind. For example, the presence of nam pla and chili peppers helped to narrow down the options.

Nevertheless, it was still hard to say. It'd be perfectly fine if she planned on having me use all of the ingredients, but it was more than possible that she had mixed in several fakes as well in order to mess with me. After witnessing everything she had said and done throughout the day today, I couldn't help but harbor these suspicions. It was probably safe to assume that it'd be virtually impossible to narrow down the dish she wanted me to make for her at this point.

"Okie dokie~! That should be it! Let's go to your dorm room now, okay Senpai?"

She spoke with a level of enthusiasm one would expect from a girl who was headed over to her boyfriend's room, but I didn't feel even an ounce of excitement about it. If I didn't manage to cook her a dish she was happy with, all negotiations would probably be broken off then and there. Not to mention that the task this time was to cook her something 'delicious', which was an inherently abstract benchmark to base things off of.

If she never had any intention of letting me pass this little test of hers from the very beginning, then all of this had been nothing more than a futile waste of points and time. But for now, it didn't seem like I had any other choice but to come to terms with whatever development took place.

I hadn't realized that Horikita's split-second decision yesterday would've led to something so heavy and troublesome.

Originally, I hadn't said anything to Horikita and Sudō before since I was fine with covering the expenses, but now I had half a mind to discuss the costs with them after I washed my hands of all of this.

It would be best to set that matter aside for the time being though.

In order to confront the current situation as straightforwardly as possible, I decided to pitch Amasawa one of the questions I had been wanting to ask her.

"Wanting to eat a meal made by a guy you don't even know is a little strange, don't you think? Wouldn't somebody usually be fairly opposed to something like that?"

This was just my own self-centered opinion, but I felt like it was something that people would generally be reluctant to do.

Meals weren't just made for show, they were made to be put into the mouth and swallowed down into the stomach.

One would normally be concerned about who cooked the meal and how it was made, as these factors were directly related to both taste and hygiene.

Then, as you got to know the person cooking for you and began to trust their dishes, that past feeling of reluctance would gradually begin to die down.

"Think so? But, like, it isn't all that different from eating at a restaurant? With like, some stranger doing their thing in the kitchen to whip you up a meal, there's no way you can know what's going on back there."

It was true that none of us knew exactly how the food was made in the school's cafeteria, for example.

However, while those two scenarios might appear to be the same on the surface, they were in fact glaringly different.

"Even if a restaurant were to make a simple rice ball, they'd still adhere to sanitation guidelines. That's completely different from how it is when cooking on our own, isn't it?"

"So? I feel like it's fine if the chef is cooking right in front of you. Cuz then you can like, see the look on their face and how they go about making it and all. You'd be able to check and make sure they're being sanitary too. Conversely, aren't some kitchens in restaurants like, totally hidden away from you? Some places are also like, super sketchy with bugs and stuff crawling around everywhere, right?"

Amasawa put forward the opinion that, as long as she witnessed it with her own two eyes, it didn't matter who made the food, even if they were a stranger.

"Besides, I think I've got a pretty good idea about how this school works. I'd have to live sparingly if I somehow ended up without any points, yeah? But like, if I get Senpai to cook for me, I wouldn't have to worry about that."

There it was. In other words, if the meal I cooked for her this time tasted good enough, she fully intended to come sponge off me again in the future.

She was essentially looking to secure a reliable meal ticket in the event of an emergency.

It would probably be a good opportunity for me to improve my cooking skills, but I was hesitant to say whether or not she'd be willing to pay for the cost of the ingredients.

"You get where I'm coming from?"

"More or less."

Amasawa flashed a white, toothy smile.

But there was still something that didn't sit right with me. Was a second-year student, and a male student at that, really the best person to reach out to about it? I'd imagine that asking this of one the classmates you were closer to or somebody of the same sex would make things much easier later on down the road.

Well, I'm not exactly complaining though, since I was looking to gain something out of it.

"Anyway, I'm super picky about taste~ If it's not yummy enough, the deal's off, okay?"

"I get it. Just because I make the dish doesn't mean it'll be good enough for you."

In that respect, the hurdle was by no means low, but I had no other choice but to put my head down and do my best.

The cooking skills that Horikita had spent the last night teaching me were all that mattered now.

I wondered just how much I'd be able to leverage her training in the short time it had been since we accepted Amasawa's proposal yesterday.

But even so, Amasawa probably wasn't someone I'd be able to deceive very easily.

I could guess from the ingredients she had chosen that she was eager to test my skills.

Before long, we had arrived at the entrance to the dorms.

Amasawa looked up at the building with her hand placed above her brow, shielding her eyes from the rays of the sun.

"The second-year dorms are like, kinda unsettling."

Despite saying that, she didn't look very nervous at all.

Rather, she gave off the impression that one would expect from somebody enjoying themself while they were out having fun.

"Ah, but I guess it's got the same, like, look to it as the first-year dorms."

She shared her thoughts after taking a good long look at the exterior of the building and surveying the inside of the lobby.

"That wouldn't be surprising."

I just casually went along with what she was saying, even though I had never visited any of the other dormitories before.

We drew the attention of some of the students from the other classes when we passed by them.

I suppose it was only natural though, since I appeared to be bringing a first-year girl back to my room with me- with groceries in hand, at that.

Amasawa casually waved to the onlooking upperclassmen as we passed them by, but it was making us stand out, so I wanted her to stop.

I hurriedly ushered her to my room before any strange rumors had a chance to spread.

"Pardon the intru~sion. Wow, you've really got it all nice and tidy, huh? It's like, super clean too~"

"I just cleaned up last night because I knew I'd be having an underclassman over."

I had done so to ensure there wasn't anything to insinuate that I had spent the entire night studying how to cook.

Now─ The sequence of events from here on out was vitally important.

After setting down the bags of groceries and kitchen utensils on the floor by the kitchen along with my school bag, the first thing I did was go and set the water in my electric kettle to boil. Then, I faced toward the living area and prompted for Amasawa to take a seat.

I could've seated her in a spot where she couldn't see the kitchen, but I made sure not to do that.

It was essential that I have her take a position where she could see what I was doing from the side if she felt like she wanted to.

"I'll make coffee. Feel free to turn on the TV if you want."

"Thanks, Senpai."

Then, I made her coffee after the water began to boil, giving it to her before asking her to hold on for a bit.

Amasawa picked up the remote I had placed on the table and began to flip through the channels.

While it was by no means foolproof, there was a solid, convenient reason for me to have her drown out the sound with the TV.

Instigating her into watching the TV by placing the remote control nearby had been the correct idea after all.

Once I confirmed that she had turned the TV on, I then went back toward the kitchen, moving in such a way that emphasized that I wanted to get started immediately. I needed to make sure I could stop her from watching what I was doing if she actually started watching, but luckily it didn't seem like she wanted to do that.

"Oh, looking up anything on your phone is against the rules, okay~?"

She looked over, warning me.

"How strict. I'm pretty sure that most people nowadays cook and look up recipes at the same time."

"You scaaared~?"

"No, nothing like that."

"Sounds wonderful then. Cuz in my book, a good cook is somebody who knows the recipe by heart."

While Amasawa hadn't mentioned anything about that being the case yesterday, I just went along with it anyway.

After all, I had already predicted that this would be one of her requirements.

"Well, I'll just leave my phone on the bed then."

I went and plugged my phone into the charger and left it placed on my bed.

Amasawa nodded contentedly and picked up her cup of coffee.

"I'd like to get started before it gets late, so what dish am I making?"

"Alright, I'll tell you~ The dish you're gonna make is… Tom Yum Goong!"

"Tom Yum Goong… is it?"

This seemed to be the reason for the presence of the chili peppers and nam pla, two indispensable ingredients of Thai cuisine.

"Could you make it for me~? Please, Seeenpai~?"

The dish Amasawa had tasked me with was Tom Yum Goong.

Of course, I had never made this dish in my life.

I had never even really heard of it before, let alone actually tasted it.

It was the kind of food that they had never served to us back in the White Room either.

I had seen enough TV to know that the dish was popular amongst women, but that was the extent of my knowledge.

If I had to make it on my own right now, I probably wouldn't be able to complete the dish properly.

Not only did I have no clue what exact ingredients were in it, but I also didn't have the slightest idea of how to go about making it.

So then, one might ask what in the world had I spent all that time doing last night?

I didn't spend the time doing something reckless like attempting to memorize the recipes for every dish in the history of mankind.

I didn't spend the time mastering basic cooking procedures either.

It would've been utter nonsense to spend time memorizing recipes given that there was a possibility that Amasawa might've allowed me to follow one on my phone.

Once it had been decided that I'd be cooking Amasawa a meal, Horikita went about setting two different plans into motion.

The first had to do with learning the basic usage of things like kitchen knives and the various techniques that came involved with that.

I had spent most of my time practicing things like slicing, shredding, dicing, and chopping. That is, techniques that helped to broadcast a blatant display of culinary skill, even at a glance.

Of course, my skills in this regard were no more than mere child's play when compared to those of a professional chef.

They were just at the level where an average person wouldn't be ashamed to boast about it a little.

It was something impossible for an ordinary person to master in only half a day, but I was confident in my ability to pick up new things quickly.

I had probably managed to reach the skill level of somebody who cooked their own meal at least a couple of times a week.

This was something I had accomplished thanks to the fact that I hadn't even spent one second learning about recipes or how to make something.

However, with that being the case, there was obviously no possible way I could know how to make whatever dish Amasawa ended up tasking me with.

And that was where the second plan came into play: A method for checking recipes in real-time using a cell phone. But, Amasawa had expressly prohibited me from looking at my phone and it was currently being held hostage on my bed.

Even if I had hidden a tablet or something somewhere nearby, I probably wouldn't have any openings to look at it.

In fact, we were expecting that Amasawa would most likely turn a watchful eye over to me from time to time. Working around Amasawa's blind spot, I took out a tiny little device less than 2cm in diameter from my right-hand pocket.

At first glance, the device looked like an ordinary earplug, and I casually inserted it into my right ear, knowing that Amasawa wouldn't be able to see.

I then proceeded to just barely clear my throat as a signal.

And then─

[I've been able to hear everything loud and clear so far. I never would've guessed that she'd ask you to make Tom Yum Goong.]

I could hear Horikita's voice through the miniature wireless earpiece that I had inserted into my right ear.

The strategy was to have Horikita feed me recipe instructions in real-time since she could freely access her computer in her own room. Sudō's cell phone had been stored inside my school bag that I had placed near my feet, which was relaying all of the outgoing noise into the wireless earpiece. I had been on a call with Horikita since before I even arrived at the mall earlier.

In the time Amasawa and I were shopping at the mall, Horikita had already gone back home and finished making all of the necessary preparations.

The wireless earpiece was something the two of us had bought yesterday as well.

If it started to seem like Amasawa was about to get up from her seat and come over to see how I was doing, I could simply pretend to scratch my head as I retrieved the earpiece and put it back into my pocket. After all, since she was keeping an eye on me, I was more than capable of keeping an eye on her in return.

Thanks to this, I could cook without having to worry about the recipe. We had also established several discrete signals in the event Horikita were to give an instruction too quickly or I wanted to hear an explanation over again.

From here on out, however, everything would hinge on how well Horikita and I were able to cooperate.

Even if I knew what ingredients and tools I'd be using, I didn't have any sort of visual reference.

After all, I had to make a dish that I didn't know very much about, and I had to make it perfectly.

The challenge was how to go about giving specific, reproducible instructions through a pretty much one-sided conversation.

[By the way, there's something I'd like you to check with Amasawa-san first.]

I took Horikita's question and put it into my own words before asking.

"Amasawa. There's no need to use a whisk or a Petty knife to make Tom Yum Goong. If there's something else you want me to make for you afterward, just go ahead and tell me now."

It'd be troublesome if she wanted me to cook something else for her later, so I asked for her to bring it up ahead of time as Horikita instructed.

"I was gonna ask for it later, but I was thinking of having you peel me an apple."

It seemed like Amasawa had planned on asking for something else afterward, as suspected.

"You're free to enjoy the leftover ingredients all you want, Senpai. Oh, and I'll have you use the rest of those utensils we bought next time I come over, okay~?"

The Petty knife that I wasn't sure I would actually end up using would actually serve a purpose today, but it seemed like I could put away most of the rest of the stuff for now.

[It's a good thing I had you check. I taught you how to use a fruit knife yesterday, so you can handle the apple, right?]

I didn't know how far I'd get with only a day's worth of training, but that much would probably be fine.

[Our goal is a cooking time of about 15 to 30 minutes. You ready?]

Welp─ Let's see how well I can do.

(Part 5 End)

(Part 6)

Although it had taken slightly longer than expected, I had managed to make the Tom Yum Goong approximately as instructed.

And now, the time had come to have Amasawa try the completed dish.

I never would've guessed that I'd be serving a home-cooked meal to a girl I had only just met.

I placed the Tom Yum Goong on the table before turning around and coming right back with an apple in hand.

It seemed necessary to demonstrate that I was capable of handling the Petty knife in front of Amasawa.

"I usually use a normal kitchen knife to peel apples, so using this might be a little awkward, but─"

I spoke these words as a preface to help cushion the blow and set about peeling the apple.

"Wow~ How amazing! You're doing perfectly! The way you handle that knife gets full marks from me!"

It wasn't professional-looking or anything, but at the very least it didn't look like it was the first time I had ever touched a knife.

I then laid out the freshly cut apple slices before her.

"By the way, when I think of Tom Yum Goong, the first thing that comes to mind is cilantro. Do you not like that or something?"

Cilantro was not one of the ingredients that she had me buy today.

"I do though? It's just like, I thought you might figure out what the dish was if we got cilantro."

She had been on guard, having deliberately chosen to leave out the cilantro; That is, she had taken steps to prevent me from pulling any cheap tricks on her. I could understand that she had done so in order to avoid showing me an opening, but it was pretty excessive for her to go that far.

"Would you mind if I start getting everything cleaned up?"

I asked, taking the opportunity to put the cutting board and Petty knife that I had used for the apple back in the kitchen.

"No no no. You've gotta sit down right there and wait for the judge to give her verdict, okay?"

She protested, demanding that I sit down right in front of her.

Unable to go against her, I gave up on cleaning and made my way back into the living room, just as instructed.

"Alrighty then, time to dig in~"

Amasawa slowly carried a spoonful of hot Tom Yum Goong into her mouth.

She didn't seem to mind having me sit here and stare at her as she ate at all.

Though in that regard I wasn't one to mind either, so she and I were one and the same.

After she eventually finished eating, Amasawa clasped her hands together, seemingly satisfied.

"Thank you for the meal."

She didn't seem to be the type of girl who only ate small portions, as she had eaten every last bite of the dish.

The thing was… I had tasted it before serving it to her, but I had no way to be sure if it tasted right or not.

I hadn't made any mistakes with the measurements or anything, so I didn't think there should be any problems.

Even so, if Amasawa were to say that it still wasn't good enough, then this battle would mark the end of the war.

A war in which we had lost.

"Your Tom Yum Goong─"

She paused for a moment before handing down her judgment.

"Yeah, I guess it was just barely good enough. It wasn't, like, super delicious or anything, but I think it tasted good enough for me to wanna try it again."

She had yet to bring up the part that I cared about most: Whether I had passed or failed.

"Well for now, I'll clean up, kay?"

With that, Amasawa picked up her bowl, spoon, and the other dishes on the table and headed over to the kitchen.

She didn't just place the dishes in the sink, but instead began tidying up the entire kitchen for some reason.

"I'll take care of it from here."

"It's fine, it's fine~ I'm the one who forced you to cook for me, so at least lemme do this much. Go sit back and relax, Senpai. I'm terrible at cooking, but I'm pretty good at cleaning up afterward since I always helped out my mom with it."

"Well, I'll take you up on that then. By the way, about our deal… what do you think?"

Amasawa grew silent as she proceeded to tidy up the kitchen.

Only the sound of the evening news playing on the TV could be heard.

"Oh that's right~ I've gotta announce the results soon, don't I? It's kinda tricky though~."

As she thought about it, Amasawa didn't seem to be happy with the position of the ribbon holding up her right ponytail, as she unfastened the ribbon and began to tie it back on, using her reflection on the screen of her phone like a mirror.

Not long after, just as she finished tying back up her hair, she delivered her verdict.

"As I said just a little bit ago, it was just barely good enough. After all, your technique wasn't terrible, and the taste wasn't like, bad either."

"Only just barely? How harsh."

"Well, I did say I was really picky about taste."

Amasawa grinned, looking at me as she spoke.

"I suppose I could say that whether or not I'll come back and eat here next time depends on how hard you work, Senpai."

This meant that my cooking skills weren't at the level where she wanted to drop by and ask me to cook her a meal very often.

Though she had said it was just barely good enough, I still didn't know if this meant I had passed or not.

"So this deal with Sudō was a failure, then?"

I was somewhat hesitant about confirming it with her, but I decided to ask anyway.

"While I can't exactly say you passed, it's true that you can cook. I had you buy all sorts of expensive stuff and like, you did let me eat for free, so I guess I've gotta repay you for that. I'll pair up with Sudō-senpai, outta respect for your efforts."

Although it hadn't been enough to satisfy her, it seemed like, for the time being, I had managed to just barely meet her standards.

She told me the good news just as I started to think that this might be a little difficult, letting out a sigh of relief.

"I'm almost done cleaning up, so just hold tight for a bit, kay?"

I couldn't just stare at her as she diligently fixed up the kitchen, so I decided to just sit back and watch the news on TV as I waited for her.

Before long, Amasawa came back to the living room, content with the state of the kitchen. She then took out her phone and submitted an application to partner up with Sudō, showing me the screen as she did. As long as Sudō responded to her offer by the end of the day today, their partnership would be set in stone.

"Sudō's off doing club activities right now, so I'll have him accept it later. Is that alright with you?"

While this wasn't exactly a lie, the real reason was that I had his cell phone, so he couldn't use it right now.

"Totally okay with me~ Anywho, I don't wanna stay out too late, so I'll be heading back now. See ya later, Ayanokōji-senpai!"

The plan had gone by without a hitch, as Amasawa headed toward the front door to leave.

"Amasawa. Thanks for being willing to pair up with Sudō. You've done a lot for him, and Horikita too."

"Yes yes~ You can shower me with as much appreciation as you want, kay?"

She quipped back with a light-hearted reply as she put on her shoes.

"In the meantime, there's something I'd like to ask you about, but…"

Just as I was about to state what it was, Amasawa finished putting on her shoes and glanced over at me.

"Is it that you want me to act as the intermediary between our classes?"

She responded in my place. Her placement in Class A and her A-rated Academic Ability weren't just for show, after all.

Essentially, she was a quick thinker who spoke without the slightest trace of doubt in her words.

"You're not wrong. There are quite a lot of students in my class who are having trouble finding a partner, just like Sudō. It'd be great if you could introduce us to some people who'd be willing to help us out."

"So~rry, but I don't think that's possible."

Amasawa lightly put both hands together in front of herself to apologize. She had turned down my request without a second thought.

"Ah, it's not because of you or Horikita-senpai, okay? I totally think that I can trust you guys, but like, I'm not real close with the rest of my classmates. Remember how I was all by myself when I first met you guys yesterday?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah."

Back then, many students were at the Keyaki Mall together with their friends, but Amasawa had been there alone.

"I guess you could say that I like, lack delicacy or something, but it's cuz I'm not the type to sugarcoat my words. It's hard to make friends with people like that, you feel? So I can't help you Senpai. Sorry?"

"No it's fine. The fact that you're willing to partner up with Sudō is already enough for me. If you run into any problems, feel free to rely on me. I might be able to do something to lend a hand."

"Mhm, thanks~ Anywho, see ya later~ Bye-bye~!"

While I failed to establish a connection with Class 1-A, this was more than enough for the time being.

"I guess that's that."

After I hung up the ongoing call on Sudō's phone, I called Horikita using my own.

[Well done. It looks like everything worked out one way or another.]

Words of appreciation practically flew out of Horikita's mouth as soon as she picked up the call.

"I get the feeling that we were saved by Amasawa's merciful judgment, though."

[Even so, this has gone and solved Sudō's problem. It's quite the accomplishment.]

It was wrong of us to have cheated Amasawa, but we made it through in the end nonetheless.

The only thing left to do now was wait for Sudō to come and pick up his phone from my room and accept the application.

And given the time, he'd probably show up soon.

[Why did you ask Amasawa-san to act as our intermediary with Class 1-A? Her personality and number of friends aside, you can imagine how difficult it would be for her to negotiate with Class 2-D, right?]

Horikita had never mentioned winning over Class 1-A back when she was laying out her strategy for this special exam.

The sole reason for this was the difficulty that would come with trying to establish a cooperative relationship with each other.

"It was just a formality. It's true that our class is having a hard time finding partners, so it would've seemed unnatural if I didn't try to put that into words."

If we didn't have any other options, we needed to give off the impression that we were grasping at straws when reaching out to others.

Not doing so could be taken as a sign that our class was pushing forward with another strategy.

[In other words… You didn't want Amasawa-san to realize that we've given up on winning over Class 1-A from the very beginning, focusing our attention on Class 1-B and Class 1-D instead?]

In fact, Horikita hadn't even considered winning over Class 1-A through Amasawa since she already had the other two classes in mind. From the very beginning, she had decided that she could make the most of the fortunate scenario and just have her partner up with Sudō.

"Neither of us knows what kind of person that Amasawa girl really is. That's why what happened today could leak out to the other first-year classes, or maybe even the rest of the second-year as a whole. I only acted after taking that into account. I might just be worrying too much, though."

Having heard my explanation, Horikita sank into silence for a bit.

"What's wrong?"

[Your way of thinking is… How do I put it…? Extremely calculated, and yet clever.]

"It's no big deal, really."

[No, it is a big deal. It seems quite obvious when you say it after the fact, but it's a completely different thing for you to think so far ahead in the moment. I think I better understand the reason why my elder brother paid so much attention to you now. However, if I was having this conversation with the you from the past, you wouldn't have bothered to tell me anything specific like this. What changed?]

Horikita asked me a question, curious about the seemingly complete change in my behavior.

"I don't have any ulterior motives or anything. Anyway, our next problem is what to do about the remaining students. I'll let you know when I hear back from Nanase."

[Yeah, you're right. I'll be waiting.]

After finishing up my call with Horikita, I went to check on the state of the kitchen.

The kitchen was spick and span. Not only had the dishes been washed, but the sink and countertops had been meticulously polished off. The way it looked now was by no means inferior to how it was when I first came to the room one year ago. The cutting board, plates, kitchen knife, Petty knife, pot, ladle, and everything else I had used had all been neatly put away as well. There was nothing to complain about.

Although it had been spearheaded by Horikita, this was the first time I had interacted so closely with a first-year student. If Amasawa was the one from the White Room, it wouldn't have been strange if she tried to pull something, but I didn't see any evidence of that.

I still plan to err on the side of caution, but…

Given the way she spoke and carried herself, the knowledge Amasawa possessed was nothing out of the ordinary for a normal high school student.

It would probably be difficult for someone who had only just left the White Room to take on the same mannerisms as her.

"Most importantly, the chance of Amasawa being the White Room student disappeared when she paired up with Sudō, right?"

I could also discount the other first-year students who had already decided on a partner. At least, that's what I would say if I had to make a judgment given the information currently at my disposal. However, it still felt far too early to make that assertion, no matter who it was.

While it may be true that partnering up with me would be the fastest way to get me expelled, that was only one of many potential strategies they might have. There was a possibility that the White Room student might be looking for another opening by intentionally passing up on the special exam.

The common knowledge of a high school student wasn't something that could be mastered overnight, but with enough time, that wouldn't be true either.

Besides, there were select parts of Amasawa's speech and conduct that bothered me.

It probably wasn't anything I needed to worry about, but it was probably for the best to completely crush any and all concerns I had first.

This didn't just apply to Amasawa either. The same was true of Hōsen and Nanase, who I would come in contact with in the near future. Out of the many second-year students present when they came to the second-year classrooms, I was the first they had locked eyes with.

I should be suspicious of any and every student who comes into close contact with me, regardless of whether they converse with me or not.

Because from here on out, I'd be stepping into more dangerous territory to find myself a partner.

Later that night, I received a message from Nanase.

[May we meet up after school tomorrow?]

(Part 6 End)

(Part 7)

That same day, around the time when Ayanokōji was cooking for Amasawa, three students from Class 2-A, Sakayanagi, Kamuro, and Kitō, had gathered at a cafe in the Keyaki Mall to hold a discussion.

"It happened again. It seems that the students we reached out to have all gotten offers from Class C. Moreover, it seems that Class C has been offering students 10,000 points just to turn down any offers they receive from our class, no strings attached."

Kamuro was on the phone with Hashimoto, relaying his findings to Sakayanagi from across the table.

"10,000 points, just for deciding not to join up with us? Is that stupid or what?"

After quickly expressing her own thoughts on the matter, Kamuro then continued to put forward the rest of the information as she got it from Hashimoto.

Class 2-C was offering 100,000 private points as an advance payment just for agreeing to partner up with them. Then, after it had been confirmed that the pair had scored more than 501 points on the exam, they were apparently offering an additional 100,000 private points, meaning 200,000 points in total.

"Fufu. It seems that Ryūen-kun fully intends to see this match through to the end."

"What are you gonna do? Should we fight back with private points too?"

"If we fought the financial battle, we simply wouldn't lose. However, beating him with his own strategy would lack a certain… artistic potency, don't you think?"

"Artistic potency…? If we need to be dishing out 100,000 or 200,000 points, then shouldn't we be doing it? The first-years obviously think there's a lot to gain from going after private points."

Word had already spread that the first-years held the advantage in this exam. A standard had been set, where the honor students would choose their partners in exchange for private points.

Sakayanagi responded to Kamuro's advice with a simple, silent smile, prompting Kamuro to speak up again.

"So you're just fine with losing? To Ryūen?"

"First of all, there's quite a large difference in the academic prowess of Ryūen-kun's class and our own. Should he look to overcome this with the strength of the first-year students, he has no choice but to entice a considerable number of them. Furthermore, even if he manages to do so, his victory is by no means absolute."

"Maybe so. But, that doesn't mean we're absolutely gonna win either, right?"

"Right indeed. Let's assume Ryūen-kun was to gather up a good number of students with Academic Ability ratings in the A range. That would just barely manage to put him on equal footing with us, would it not? Even if we don't do anything, our odds of winning would be at a solid 50%."

However, put the other way around, that meant that there was a 50% chance that they might lose as well.

Kamuro wasn't getting heated because she wanted to win the exam or anything.

It was because it was hard to believe that Sakayanagi, the girl sitting right in front of her, would go down without doing anything about it.

"What do you think would happen if we were to announce that we'd pay the same amount as Ryūen-kun?"

"What would happen? Well, Ryūen would pay even more, yeah?"

"Right you are. His offer would surely swell up to 200,000, maybe even 300,000 points."

"But if we offer them enough, we'd definitely be able to pull the honor students over to our side."

"And we'd pay a truly massive number of points in compensation for that. There's no express need for us to risk losing thousands upon millions of points. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Are you saying we can win over the students even if we offer them fewer points? I don't think the first-years have a very deep understanding of the power of the Class A brand, though."

Kamuro refused to back down, but it didn't seem like Sakayanagi had the slightest intention of fighting a monetary battle.

"I'm well aware that Ryūen-kun wants to take first place overall. Compared to the cash-oriented deal he struck with Katsuragi-kun last year, it seems that he's completely changed policies."

"He was gonna save up 20 million points for himself and move to Class A, right?"

"He's had quite the change of heart since, I believe. He's finally realized the importance of class points. No, rather, he's changed direction for the sake of winning for his class."

So far, Sakayanagi and Ryūen had yet to exchange a single word with each other during this special exam.

However, it seemed as though the two were striking up a back-and-forth conversation with each other using their strategies.

"So… you're just okay with it? With us not making use of our private points?"

"My my, Masumi-san. When have I ever said I wouldn't make use of our points?"

"Wha? But weren't you just saying that competing with points lacked an artistic something or whatever?"

"Please tell Hashimoto to tell the first-years that we're willing to match Ryūen-kun's offer."

Kamuro pursed her lips, having heard Sakanyagi's puzzling instructions.

"However─ Even if the first-year students agree to our offer, don't finalize the agreement with them."

"Hah? I seriously don't understand what the heck you're getting at here."

"Fufufu. Ryūen-kun's strategy is actually rather convenient for me."

"I don't even know what's what anymore…"

[Isn't it fine? If the princess says it isn't necessary, then let's just do as she says.]

Hashimoto, who had been listening in on the conversation over the phone, chimed in.

"…I guess I'm fine either way."

Even if an agreement was reached with respect to the amount of points, Sakayanagi had deliberately instructed not to finalize the partnerships.

Although Kamuro didn't understand, she once again relayed the details of Sakayanagi's plans to Hashimoto.

As she did so, Sakayanagi gazed at Kamuro tenderly, wondering if she had been just a little too mean with her mischief.

So, she began to explain, so as to give a hint to Kamuro about what was happening.

"Ryūen-kun's grand strategy isn't an inherently bad one. By going around contacting the first-years like he has, he has succeeded in forcing me to participate in this money game of his. However, he's been dead set on trying to compete for the exact same students that we are, which is a clear miscalculation on his part. As Class C is the more inferior class overall, he should be focusing his attention on the students with high academic potential first and move forward from there."

However, Ryūen wasn't doing that. Amongst all the students Class A was reaching out to, some had potential in areas outside of Academic Ability, yet Ryūen was trying to snatch them up as well.

"Does this mean that guy's got a ton of private points saved up?"

"Well, who knows? Even if he has the points he needs, he might not actually be able to make use of all of them, does that make sense?"

"No, that'd be crazy. He's only able to make all these aggressive offers because he's got the points for it, right?"

"It's possible to make an offer without even a single point to your name. All you'd have to do is pretend you have the points on hand."

Kamuro couldn't understand what Ryūen would gain by doing something like that.

"If it weren't for Ryūen-kun, we'd be able to win over a lot of talented first-year students with just our Class A reputation. But by offering to buy students with points, he's forced us to play this money game as well. So what comes after that, then? He'll jack up his offer to make us pay as many points as possible."

"I see… So that's how it is?"

As a result, even if Class A managed to get their hands on a talented student, the fact that they would have to pay hundreds upon thousands of private points to the first-year students would only serve to benefit the competition between the second-year classes.

"But we're at the disadvantage then, aren't we? His strategy's been working time and time again."

"There's no need for us to get worked up at this stage. He's only bought off a few students, so let him have his fun for now. He's simply misread a few crucial details. He thinks that our good reputation is nothing more than a label, a status that can go away if people start to see us in a bad light. Additionally, he's mistakenly determined that he can get people to collaborate with him later just by handing over some points."

"I don't quite get it, but we'll be fine as long as we follow your instructions from earlier, yeah?"

"Yes. That should be enough for now."

"I don't like it. It still feels like we're being forced to go along with Ryūen's strategy. If we keep getting dragged along like this, I dunno how things'll turn out for us."

"Please rest assured. It won't turn out that way. We'll win this little game without running into any problems at all."

Unable to keep up with yet another inexplicable explanation from Sakayanagi, Kamuro let out a sigh.

"There's no reason for you to rack your brains at this point in time, so please just don't let yourself be swayed by Ryūen-kun. This special exam is nothing more than a prelude for what's to come next. Right now we're just keeping each other in check as we attempt to sound out the other's next move."

"I'm just about ready to give up trying to understand you at all."

"Although… If possible, I hope he doesn't end this by self-destructing. It wouldn't be very much fun to finish this so easily."

Sakayanagi gazed out of the window beside her, praying that her oncoming opponent was somebody worth facing off against.

(Part 7 End)

(Part 8)

On that same day, around two hours after Sakayanagi and Kumuro had finished up their discussion, Ryūen met up with Ishizaki and Ibuki in a Karaoke Room.

"It seems that Class 1-B student we were after for 200,000 asked to put the offer on hold, Ryūen-san."

After receiving an update on his phone, Ishizaki reported the information to Ryūen. Despite that, Ibuki was the one to respond.

"The hell? Is 200,000 not enough somehow?"

"No, it seems like Sakanyagi went and said Class A would offer the same amount as us…"

"Sounds like they really don't wanna lose to us. Can we even keep going on like this? It'll be tough."

"Class A has a considerable number of private points, right? I'm thinking we're in pretty hot water here too…"

Despite Ishizaki and Ibuki's ensuing commentary and the new information, Ryūen simply sat there messing around with his phone, completely unfazed.

"R-Ryūen-san?"

"Chillax. I already know what they're up to."

Ryūen sent a glance over to his empty glass, and within seconds, Ishizaki was refilling it with water.

"Tell 'em we'll pay 100,000 upfront and 200,000 after the exam."

"S-seriously? That much?"

300,000 in total. The number of points in play had grown even larger.

"Most of the first-years won't make a decision either way. They'll all be waiting for Sakayanagi to counter."

"Wouldn't we just end up screwin' ourselves over waiting around for that?"

If they were short on funds, they wouldn't be able to do anything.

"Seems it's impossible to compete with Sakayanagi after all… How's about we look to aim for second place instead…?"

"I agree with Ishizaki. If we offer the same amount, we'd lose out cuz of Class A's rep."

Ryūen simply laughed after hearing Ishizaki and Ibuki's analysis.

"Ha! That little girl's probably got a triumphant look on her face right about now."

"She's just seen through your way of doing things. Even if we can put up a good fight with private points, they've just got a better rep than us."

"Class A's reputation is nothin' more than a petty decoration right now. Given how much those guys value their rep, the trust they'll lose when it all comes tumbling down'll be immeasurable."

"Even if that's true, what're we gonna do about points? It ain't the end of the world if the offer goes up to 300,000 or 400,000, but we couldn't possibly pay that much to everyone!"

"There's no need to pay. I don't plan on working with shameless brats who keep asking for points without knowing the limit."

"…Eh?"

"I'm not lookin' to try and do somethin' like that this time. I'm in the process of learnin' about this new batch of first-years; Findin' out what kinda people they are. They say money is the key that opens all doors, but a chump who's down to cooperate for a whole buncha points is the type of chump we can get onto our side whenever we want. All we gotta do is fork over some points when we really need 'em to help and that's that. I'm lookin' for the guys who intuitively understand the bigger picture here."

"Sorry but, I've got no clue what you're on about…"

"That little girl prolly thinks I'm out here with my sights set on first place, but I never had any intention of goin' after such a measly number of class points. If we're gonna fuck over Class A, we've just gotta wait for a chance when the class points are gonna fluctuate even more than this."

"So, you just set this all up to figure out which of the first-years are complete pushovers?"

"It was obvious that we might just keep jacking up our offer from the very beginning, and yet some students chose to partner up with our class already. Why do you think they chose to do that?"

"Eh…? Come to think of it, why did they do that?"

At first, Class C had offered 50,000 points upfront and another 50,000 after the exam.

Although this amount wasn't insanely high or anything, several students had already been willing to join forces with Class C.

"You… Before closing out a deal with somebody, you always went to meet with 'em one-on-one… Did you threaten 'em or something?"

"Well, maybe a little, but you've got the right idea."

They would be lured in with offers of 300,000 or 400,000 points, only to yield after a personal interview with Ryūen.

In the end, the amount settled on was always far lower than what it had appeared to be on the surface.

"I'm just takin' a look at the first-years, seein' if they smart enough to understand that I'm far better than Sakayanagi."

He was cherry-picking the students who could instinctively notice the winning class without being caught up with things like points or reputation.

Those were the students Ryūen Kakeru was truly searching for in this special exam.

His real goal for this year was set far in the future, where he would drag down Sakayanagi, taking the rest of Class A down along with her.

(Chapter 4 End)