Over these years, her obsession had caused her to miss out on many things.
Her life wasn't over yet — she could still do something else.
Watching Sae walk ahead, Chie paused behind her.
"Damn it." She said, "At first I thought Chabashira had become withdrawn, but now I realize... she seems to have found peace. If she's not obsessed with advancing class rankings anymore, what was the point of me coming back to this school? If she can find peace, doesn't that make my life complete garbage?"
Muttering this, she followed after Sae.
"..." Tomonari, following behind, felt overwhelmed.
It seemed no matter how much time passed, Chie remained obsessed with that woman.
From what she'd said, Sae might have been dwelling on her inability to advance from Class D to Class A in the past. These two were truly obsessed.
But among the students educated at this school, who could truly let go and find peace?
Thinking this, he continued walking forward.
Only Kazuma remained behind.
"Sakagami-san, aren't you coming?" The level-headed Tomonari turned back to call out to his colleague.
"Oh—" Kazuma stood stunned, having been unable to join the conversation — or rather, completely unaware that the other three homeroom teachers had been making secret moves.
And so the four teachers continued up the stairs, though the atmosphere had grown heavy.
The library's corridor and stairway fell silent once more.
Houtarou began organizing the information he had collected.
"Mmm... Mmm mmm— O-Oreki..."
He heard a girl's voice beside him.
"Oh. Sorry." He suddenly realized he was still holding Airi.
He had initially covered her lips, but during the eavesdropping, worried she might have trouble breathing, he had removed his hand from her mouth.
She had been good though, staying completely quiet afterward.
Now realizing he was still holding her, Houtarou quickly let go.
"Mmm—" Airi's fair skin had turned quite red from embarrassment.
Very cute.
"Could you not tell anyone what we just heard?" He said.
"Ah... yes." She nodded quickly.
Actually, she hadn't heard much of the conversation. Being suddenly held by a boy, she had been conscious only of her rapidly beating heart, worrying whether he could hear it.
As a result, she had only caught something about Arisu not being here.
So she quickly agreed to his request.
"Sakura-san, are you short on points?" Houtarou asked.
"Eh?"
"Don't worry. After this exam, you'll receive 250,000 points." He reassured her.
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Having overheard meaningful information, Houtarou's interest was piqued.
Though he wasn't particularly eager to read, he borrowed two copies of Gone with the Wind.
Gone with the Wind is a renowned novel primarily aimed at female readers. It follows the life of protagonist Scarlett O'Hara, depicting her responses to various challenges with strength, power, stubbornness, and tenacity.
His reason for choosing this book was specific: he wanted to study the nature of tenacious and stubborn girls.
The teachers' conversation had revealed several key points:
1º - The teachers had been classmates in the same year.
2º - Chie was obsessed with Sae.
3º - Sae had found peace after withdrawing.
4º - Chie had sacrificed her career prospects due to her fixation on Sae.
The current dynamic between Suzune and Kikyō paralleled that of Sae and Chie.
Kikyō's case was particularly complex. Like Chie, she was working to gain Suzune's favor under the guise of friendship.
But this wasn't mere flattery. Her intentions were darker and more obsessive. Friendship was simply a means to an end.
What comes with friendship? Confidences, secrets, and most importantly — trust. And trust, when given to a false friend, becomes a weapon for betrayal.
In other words, Suzune had attracted the attention of a dangerous individual.
While he had initially planned to use bait to trap Kakeru, he might now catch an even bigger fish.
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At six in the afternoon.
Houtarou returned to their reserved private room.
Masumi remained at her post by the entrance, continuing her door-keeping duties. After all, Suzune was inside working to decode the privileged student pattern.
The materials she was using contained sensitive information about privileged students from both Class D and Class A. Any leak would make her liable.
Not wanting to risk blame, she diligently maintained her guard duty.
"You can take a break now." Houtarou eyed the mountain of discarded drafts beside the table.
Since he'd left for the library and his subsequent nap, Suzune had worked continuously.
Unfortunately, her worried expression suggested she hadn't cracked the pattern yet.
"Just a little longer..." Suzune said.
"No need to wait." Houtarou replied, "We'll have results soon."
"??"
She looked at him in confusion.
He turned his gaze toward Masumi.
"...?" Masumi was startled at first, then understanding dawned on her face, "Sakayanagi from my class couldn't participate in this exam due to health reasons. However, she contacts me every day at 6 PM. I sent her the privileged student materials this morning, so she should have received the information by now."
"Oh." Suzune understood.
This was Houtarou's backup plan. Arisu had also been tasked with deducing the pattern of privileged students, though it would take until evening.
And time is money — that's why he had also asked her to spend the afternoon trying to deduce it.
"It's a bit unfortunate…" She said, "If it were solving problems..."
For problem-solving, she would be more skilled.
"Suzune." Houtarou suddenly said.
"Huh?" Suzune looked at him strangely. This was the first time someone outside her family had called her by her first name.
"Everyone has things they're good at and things they're not." He said, "Being able to accurately assess yourself is very important."
"What do you mean?" She furrowed her elegant brows.
"You might not have realized your own limitations."
"Limitations...?"
"Yes. You're good at studying, have never failed a test, and study ten hours every day. But have you considered your body's physical limits? Why did you feel unwell the other day? You haven't properly assessed your body's limitations."
"So then..." Suzune seemed to realize something, "You deliberately had me try to deduce the pattern, knowing I wouldn't be able to do it?"
"More or less. If I had told you normally, you would have either refused or not taken it to heart. But having tasted failure, you might be more willing to listen."
"But you never study." Suzune said, "So how can you get such good grades?"
"That's because I make full use of efficiency. I study with the mindset that I won't need to review later." Houtarou said.
"No, I don't understand what you're saying at all... or rather, I can't learn from this experience. You're basically saying you're a genius." Suzune shook her head.
"I didn't say that—"
"But isn't that what you mean?" She seemed to withdraw into herself, "I don't have much talent..."
"Completely denying yourself isn't good either." He said.
Masumi: "..."
Masumi sat to the side. She was originally just guarding the door, but now... she found this incredible.
Houtarou sometimes spent time with Suzune, and Arisu had mentioned this, saying not to worry about it, because she had also noticed that this girl didn't seem to have many friends. And she seemed to have become Class D's tool in his hands.
But now it felt more like watching a couple's quarrel.
"Ah... Wait a moment!" At this point, Masumi stood up with her phone, "Sakayanagi has replied. She says she's deduced the pattern and sent over the names of Class B and C's privileged students."
"..."
Suzune: "...Geniuses really do exist."
She seemed somewhat dejected.
⍟⍟⍟
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