From the very beginning, Class D's stance on what to do hadn't changed in the slightest.
Approximately ninety percent of the class reached the same conclusion when the supplemental exam was first announced.
And by Friday, the day before the vote, that conclusion still hadn't changed.
The conclusion to expel Ryūen Kakeru.
The majority of the class had already made up their minds without any prior discussion or planning.
Ryūen had led the class like a dictator, ruling with an iron fist. However, nobody could say his actions had led the class to success, not even as flattery.
In fact, he was the reason their class had fallen from Class C, dropping them down into last place.
Moreover, many students had suffered from his rule of intimidation and violence. He took advantage of weak-minded students to create a situation where his demands wouldn't be questioned. He was the root of all evil. Many of the students thought that they wouldn't have fallen down to Class D if Ryūen hadn't been around, even if they would've never been able to rise to Class B.
By the third day of the exam, a good portion of Class D had already reached an agreement. Namely, to make sure everyone casts one censure vote for Ryūen, and to spread out the two remaining votes amongst the rest of the class to avoid concentrating too many votes on another person. This way, they'd be able to ensure Ryūen's expulsion.
Although Ishizaki truly didn't wish to see Ryūen go, he had been put into a difficult position as the one credited with defeating him. He had been forced into the important role of amassing censure votes to work against Ryūen.
When the details of the exam were first explained, Ryūen immediately understood the complexity of the situation Ishizaki had found himself in and the collective stance of his classmates.
And so, he came to a decision. In this exam where the class wanted to kick him out, he wouldn't put up a shred of resistance.
For this reason, he was going to enjoy whatever time he had left until the supplemental exam came to an end.
After all, he still had to think about where he would go and what he would do after leaving the school.
Hence, he didn't want to waste his time sticking around in the classroom after school had ended for the day.
Ryūen left the classroom right away.
Ibuki watched as he did, quietly thinking about how she would pass the time for the remainder of the day.
In the past, Ryūen had often invited her to accompany him, but that hadn't happened for a while now.
A girl approached Ibuki as she stared blankly at the door Ryūen had just passed through.
"Well well, that's quite the miserable look on your face, now isn't it? Are you really 'that' sad to see Ryuuen get expelled?"
"Haa… You again? You really enjoy trying to pick a fight with me, don't you?"
"Not reeeally. I'm just here 'cause I'm worried about you; isn't that obvious? It seems to me like you've been increasingly less important ever since Ryūen-kun lost, wouldn't you say?"
The one saying these provocative words was none other than Ibuki's classmate, Shiho Manabe, a central figure among the girls of Class D.
Ever since enrollment, the two had never gotten along well with each other. Manabe had butted heads with Ibuki more than just a few times, but because Ibuki was heavily supported by Ryūen, Manabe had been unable to complain about her as much as she wanted to.
Inwardly, this had made Manabe extremely unhappy.
Her provocations were, most likely, her way of venting pent-up anger.
"You're gonna cast a censure vote for me, aren't you Ibuki-san?"
"Dunno."
"Just do it. I'm gonna vote for you, so we'll be even that way."
"…Huh, is that so."
Manabe became somewhat annoyed by Ibuki's indifferent reply.
After all, she really wanted to see her squirm and lose herself in anger.
"Well, isn't it nice knowing that you won't be expelled, Ibuki-san? Even if a handful of people cast Ryūen-kun their praise votes, he's still gonna get like, more than thirty censure votes."
Manabe was only able to be this cocky because Ryūen wasn't in the room, but that didn't change the fact that many of the other students shared her stance on the matter.
Ishizaki got up out of his seat.
The supplemental exam would take place tomorrow, and once it began, nothing more could be done to change the situation.
"Come with me for a bit, Ibuki."
Ishizaki approached the two girls as they glared at one another.
"…Whatever."
Despite her unclear response, Ibuki went along with Ishizaki's request and proceeded to leave the classroom.
For Ibuki, she believed that pretty much anything would be preferable if it meant getting away from Manabe.
"You can act as calm and composed as you want, but know that after Ryūen-kun gets expelled, you're next."
Acting as though she was the ruler of the class, Manabe saw Ibuki off with one final provocation.
"So, where are we going?"
Ibuki asked after they left the classroom, with Manabe no longer in view.
"Nowhere in particular. I kinda just wanted to talk to you for a bit about the private points Ryūen-san is holding onto. What happened to em?"
"Nothing 'happened' to them, he's still got them."
"You still haven't gotten em? The exam's tomorrow you know? We'll lose em all once he gets expelled."
"And just who was the one who got all worked up about not taking them, again?"
"That's… I didn't care much about private points back then…"
"If you want them so badly, why don't you go beg him for them yourself?"
"I ain't gonna do that."
Ibuki spoke sharply because she already knew that this would be his answer.
"As far as the rest of the class is concerned, you're the one responsible for knocking Ryūen down a peg. It'd be pretty suspicious if people were to find out that you had been in touch with him. People might even start to question your loyalty."
For Ishizaki, being doubted by his classmates wouldn't be a terrible development, given that he wanted to prevent Ryūen's impending expulsion.
However, that would only put Ishizaki at risk of expulsion in Ryūen's stead. Moreover, the truth behind Ishizaki's involvement in Ryūen's fall from power could be exposed. There was no way Ishizaki would be able to reach out to him.
He was suffering from two conflicting emotions: the desire to save Ryūen, and the desire to save himself.
"I… Dammit, what should I do…?"
"It's for the best to just let Ryūen be expelled, isn't it? Even you should know that."
"Is that really okay? Do you really think we can win in the future without Ryūen-san?"
"He expected us to praise the hell out of him even though he never produced any decent results. His actions were impossible to understand, and moreover, seemed kinda stupid."
"He certainly took a lot of risks, but without him, reaching Class A is nothing more than a pipe dream."
Even Ryūen had been wary of Class A's comprehensive overall power under Sakayanagi's leadership.
And then there was Class B's unwavering unity and consistent results under the command of Ichinose.
And furthermore, there was Class C's Ayanokōji, who had the brute strength to overwhelm Ryūen and an immeasurable amount of knowledge and ingenuity to back that up.
The difference in power between the classes was painfully obvious, a fact that had left a strong impression on Ishizaki.
In order for Class D to contend with those monsters, it was crucial for them to have a monster of their own.
It was clear that Ryūen Kakeru wasn't the correct student to get rid of during this exam.
"Well, I admit Ryūen's far from normal."
Ibuki had her own thoughts on all of this as well.
For some reason, even though Ryūen had been defeated by Ayanokōji, her own opinion of him hadn't really gone down.
Ryūen possessed a unique something that Sakayanagi and Ichinose didn't.
A 'something' that might even be able to reach someone like Ayanokōji.
At least, that's what she thought.
"Dammit…"
Watching Ishizaki vent his frustrations with a sidelong glance, Ibuki began to think about what she could do for this exam.
Even though Ishizaki was an unpleasant, hot-headed guy, he was still earnestly putting in his best efforts.
And yet, she only thought of protecting herself. Of how it would be safer to just stay silent and let Ryūen be expelled.
Ibuki certainly didn't have as much leeway as Ishizaki.
She knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she was disliked by the rest of her class.
In fact, she knew that if Ryūen disappeared, she would be targeted next.
There was more to Manabe's statement earlier than mere harassment.
Nevertheless, as long as she stayed quiet this time, she'd survive.
Or perhaps in the near future, another way forward might reveal itself.
This was the main aspect that was preventing her from taking action.
She thought back to what 'he' had said.
『This exam isn't simple enough for you to be able to save someone just because you say you want to.』
'He' had already seen through Ibuki's mindset, her way of thinking.
It was why she hadn't been able to face the situation seriously.
"Hey Ishizaki."
"What…?"
"You don't really want Ryūen to be expelled, do you?"
"…Yeah. I can't even lie about it."
"Yeah."
There was absolutely no way someone was going to receive more censure votes than Ryūen.
"I don't really want to admit it, but I feel the same way. Just remember that after Ryūen's gone, I'm next."
She explicitly laid out the facts.
"I'm going to see Ryūen tonight and recover the private points. I might be the only one who can."
Those points would then be put to good use for Class D's sake.
Ryūen's sacrifice would be used as a source of encouragement for the future.
"So there's really no other way…"
"It's pretty much all we can do."
Ibuki steeled her resolve.
She would recover every single private point Ryūen Kakeru had.
As long as there was a chance they could benefit Class D, they absolutely needed to be obtained