During lunch break, Kanda Shuichi picked up his phone and sent a message to Sakayanagi Arisu.
[Sakayanagi, you're quite capable. Not only did you suppress Class B, but you also kicked them down hard.]
It wasn't long before a reply came back.
[After all, it's me who did something]
Seeing this response, Kanda Shuichi frowned. Could it be that the sudden drop in Class B and C's points had something to do with her?
[Stop kidding, one set of exam questions can't cause a nearly 100-point gap between Class B and A.]
[You want to know? If you give me 400,000 private points, I could tell you.]
Seeing this, Kanda Shuichi closed the chat with Sakayanagi without replying.
I do not respond to threats!
Unless you block my door.
At this point, Kanda Shuichi had a pretty good idea of what was going on. If we ignore Class D, the points for Classes B and C hadn't changed much after this midterm, while Class A was able to stay unaffected.
The first thing that came to mind was that Class B and C had fallen for A Class's scheme.
It was likely Class C that was stirred up, because he really couldn't imagine someone like Ichinose leading Class B students to turn on Class C.
So the truth was already clear—Class C accepted a benefit from Sakayanagi, then teamed up with Class B to cause the downfall.
Of course, there was another possibility: that Class C launched an attack on all the classes. A Class was protected from the outside by Katsuragi, and from the inside by Sakayanagi who kept everyone steady, so there was no major loss.
But Class B suffered a heavy blow in this event. Not only did they lose their chance to challenge A Class, but they were also dragged down by Class C.
As for how it happened, Kanda Shuichi could guess.
With the opportunity to join A Class right in front of them, Class B's students were bound to grab it. While they were excited, they also felt immense pressure. When there's pressure, cracks appear. Ichinose herself probably wasn't as capable as Sakayanagi and Katsuragi, so she couldn't keep her class under control. That's when an opening appeared, and Class C seized the opportunity.
At the same time, Class C didn't give up attacking Class D, especially since D Class' points hadn't been assigned yet.
As for whether his theory was right, that could be confirmed later.
Now, it's time for you to step in, little angel Kushida!
[Help me investigate Class C's movements, especially any conflicts they've had with other classes.]
[Huh? Why should I do such a troublesome thing?]
[And how did you start ordering me around so naturally?]
[Do you really think I'm your slave?]
I say one thing, and you respond with three, right? Kushida, have you gone mad?
[You think I listen to your nonsense every day for free? Stop wasting time, get it done, and I want results before dinner!]
Actually, there was another way to find out the exact details of this matter.
Kanda Shuichi looked at the contact for the only Class C student on his phone. After hesitating for a moment, he decided against it.
Shiina Hiyori probably didn't like getting involved in class conflicts, so asking her might not even be effective.
Plus, doing so might damage their friendship as bookworms, so he decided to let it go.
After passing the task on to Kushida, Kanda Shuichi resumed his daily life at school.
In fact, Kushida's responses were very quick. After finishing his club activities, Kanda Shuichi saw the unread message on his phone.
[Recently, Ryuen from Class C has been directing his classmates to harass Class A and B. I also found out why our points haven't been issued.]
[You're truly our little angel, Kushida. You're amazing. Come to my room later, I'll reward you properly.]
[Die.]
Putting away his phone, Kanda Shuichi went to the cafeteria with Miyake Akito. On days when he had club activities, he usually didn't cook; it was too exhausting.
When Kanda Shuichi returned to the dorm after dinner, he bumped into Kushida and Sudou walking out of Ayanokouji's room.
What's going on here?
Kushida Kikyo! You're secretly hanging out with Ayanokouji behind my back?
"Ah! Kanda, you're back."
Sudou froze for a moment and then looked up at Kanda Shuichi.
"Kanda! You have to save me!"
Seeing Sudou running straight towards him, Kanda really wanted to remind him that running in the hallway wasn't allowed.
Ten minutes later, Kanda Shuichi's room had an unusually large crowd.
"So, what exactly happened?"
Kanda Shuichi sat in a chair while Sudou, Ayanokouji, and Miyake sat on the floor. Kushida was sitting on the bed.
Sudou then explained what happened to Kanda. Whether he added any details, Kanda wasn't sure, but it seemed reasonable.
To summarize, in the basketball club, Sudou had always had problems with a guy named Ogami. Ogami told Sudou, "Don't leave after school," and Sudou actually followed him to an unmonitored part of the special building.
There, he ran into Ishizaki and Kondo, who were from C's class.
Then, something happened—Kanda wasn't clear on the details—but both groups ended up fighting. Sudou ended up taking down the three of them without a scratch.
The other side reported to the school, claiming Sudou assaulted them, while Sudou kept insisting he was just defending himself.
"So, how bad were their injuries?"
"I didn't even go that hard on them. Who knew they were so fragile?" Sudou scratched his head, sounding a bit impatient.
So what exactly happened? Kanda Shuichi looked at Kushida.
"I heard all three of them were seriously injured, and one of them even broke their arm."
I see, but why does this sound so familiar?
Oh, right!
Isn't this the same trick I used to deal with A class's Totsuka Yahiko?
Someone copied me!?
"So Sudou, what did you say when Chabashira-sensei asked you about it?"
"Now that you mention it, Chabashira-sensei did act a little strange at the time. She told me not to admit to anything, no matter what happened."
Sudou scratched his head, clearly not understanding why he was told to do that.
"Even though I was really angry at their accusations, of course, I followed her advice."
It looks like Chabashira-sensei really did what I suggested, Kanda Shuichi smiled.
In fact, Kanda Shuichi had known about this incident since noon. As soon as he found out there were no cameras in the special classrooms, he immediately came up with a countermeasure.
Honestly, having Chabashira-sensei—no, having Sae-chan's help really puts us a step ahead.
Meanwhile, Ayanokouji and Kushida exchanged surprised looks, since Sudou hadn't told them about this.
"I see, then it's simple. The special classroom doesn't have any cameras, right? So as long as you don't admit it, they'll need to provide proof if they accuse Sudou of hitting them. Maybe it's just that they fought each other and got hurt in the process."
Damn, I didn't think of that!
It was as if Sudou and the others had unlocked a new world. He had just followed Chabashira-sensei's instructions before, not realizing they could actually use this method to solve the problem.
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