Forty minutes later.
The students of Class 1-A gathered in a karaoke room.
Being a school facility open to students, it had drinks, fruit platters, and a buffet. Though alcohol-free, the establishment provided proper glasses for drinks, giving it an elegant atmosphere.
The Class A students needed this victory celebration. They had been tense since entering school, and now they could finally relax.
Class A had built nearly a 1,200-point lead over Class B — a gap that couldn't be overcome in just two or three attempts. Even if Class A were to slack off and lose every competition for the next year, they would still maintain their position.
Of course, this was purely theoretical. With Kōhei, Houtarou, and Arisu in the class, no one believed such deterioration would occur.
However…
"Several members of my faction have left." said Arisu.
She had established a group, and typically, class members would remain loyal to their respective representative's factions.
Houtarou belonged to the small group Kōhei had created within his faction. The total membership of both groups had originally equaled exactly 40 students.
But now something unusual had occurred.
Arisu's faction had dwindled to 13 people, and Kōhei's faction likewise had only 13 members. The remaining 14 students had withdrawn from both groups.
These departures indicated that some students were deliberately choosing to align with Houtarou. Despite his showing no interest in becoming representative, they were willing to wait.
In other words, Class A's situation remained unchanged — while appearing strong externally, internal divisions persisted.
However…
"By the way."
While their classmates sang, Houtarou and Arisu sat together on the room's couch.
"Though Oreki-kun hasn't revealed his true abilities, there's someone else similar." Arisu shared, "Before you went to the island for the special exam, a man visited Nurturing High School. Ordinary parents aren't allowed entry."
Houtarou was well aware of this. Upon discovering this incident, he had specifically instructed Masumi to investigate and had Arisu alert her father to prepare.
Her bringing this up now suggested she had important information to share.
"He was an important figure." Arisu said, "And my father was his student in the past."
"His student?"
"Yes, more precisely, he was his secretary."
Oh...
"After my grandfather stepped down, my father became chairman of Nurturing High School. When I was young, father took me to visit his workplace. That man had established a special institution called the White Room. While similar to our current school, it was more focused — they aimed to create a system that could turn ordinary children into geniuses.
Children were separated from their parents at a very young age and subjected to intensive training far beyond normal standards. While turning ordinary children into geniuses proved extremely difficult, with many failures, there was one success. That success enrolled with the new students this year."
Arisu continued looking at her classmates on the dance floor as she finished speaking.
"I think you've figured it out. It's Kiyotaka Ayanokōji from Class 1-C. He's the genius cultivated by the White Room. Wouldn't Oreki-kun like to challenge a genius?"
In other words, she wanted school life to become more interesting by having him defeat a genius?
"I have no interest." Houtarou said, "I don't like things becoming troublesome. Besides, Ayanokōji hasn't shown any remarkable achievements in Class C, nor displayed any special talent. Have you considered why? Perhaps he simply wants to live an ordinary life."
Wanting to pursue something?
Kiyotaka's father, Atsuomi Ayanokōji, had attempted to remove him from the school but was blocked by the chairman. Still, they needed to prepare for potential retaliation.
This confrontation made it clear that Kiyotaka had no desire to return to his father's side.
In other words, this ordinary life was what he sought.
After spending so long in that facility, now that he'd finally found peace, why would he want to disrupt it?
Besides, provoking him would only lead to constant pursuit — far too troublesome for an energy conservationist.
"That's true." Arisu said, "But his father is no pushover. Father says the school principal has taken medical leave."
A school has both a principal and a chairman — both serving in management roles.
The timing of the principal taking medical leave clearly indicates the position will become vacant. This must be the same principal Masumi mentioned — the one who had bowed obsequiously before Atsuomi.
It seems the principal willingly stepped down to make way for Atsuomi's people.
"This means school life is about to get complicated." Houtarou said.
"Indeed." Arisu nodded.
With Atsuomi determined to have his son leave this school and return with him, the special exams might face interference, possibly leading to more expulsion exams.
But before she could continue, she noticed Houtarou intently looking at his phone. He had received a message.
"Then I'll take my leave." Houtarou said.
"..." Arisu, "Mm."
⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟
After leaving the karaoke room, Houtarou went outside to the shopping district, where someone was waiting for him.
Class C students had also gathered for their own celebration.
Though they had suffered a significant loss in this exam, having Suzune speak to their hearts afterward proved effective. Their class cohesion had strengthened noticeably.
Naturally, they mainly wanted to celebrate and feast. Even the students who struggled with sports and academics had paid close attention during the closing ceremony.
The school announced the bottom 10 students in individual performance — these students would have 10 points deducted from all subjects in the next written exam. Of these, only 2 were first-year students, while 8 were third-year upperclassmen.
This was quite reassuring.
However, of the two first-year students in the bottom 10, one was Arisu from Houtarou's class who forfeited everything, and the other was Rokusuke who, despite participating in the relay race, scored zero points in individual events. These two were at the very bottom.
As for the 8 upperclassmen, their situation was quite interesting.
According to Kikyō's message, these bottom-ranking upperclassmen weren't actually poor athletes from Classes C or D. Instead, they were good students who could still pass even with 10 points deducted from each subject.
These upperclassmen ended up at the bottom through their class's deliberate choice — their classmates with poor grades and athletic ability used points to have them take the bottom spots, protecting those who were more vulnerable.
This demonstrated that even in their third year, with no hope of advancing to Class A, everyone still valued staying at this school.
At this point, expulsion would burden parents with new school fees and uniform costs. Using points to help classmates was simply the most practical solution.
This pragmatism was particularly striking coming from the graduating class.
And now...
〖 Congratulations on completing the Side Task: Defeat, Do Not Lose! 〗
〖 Obtained Special Ability: Equivalent Exchange! 〗
Houtarou held an unopened bottle of coffee in his left hand. In the next moment, the bottled drink transformed into a ¥500 bill. With another wave of his hand, the ¥500 became a tomato — the convenience of equivalent exchange.
But his mind was elsewhere.
Houtarou felt troubled. He had deliberately held back in the race against Manabu. With so many cheaters in the relay race, he thought a small cheat wouldn't draw attention.
Generally, in competitions, as long as you're not the champion, even a strong second place tends to go unnoticed.
But that hadn't worked.
Kikyō's quick access to this embarrassing information from the upperclassmen proved she had used him for networking again.
And effectively so. The proof was in the several phone numbers he had to add, and after connecting with these new "friends", they began sending suggestive selfies.
Oddly, all these people sent photos of their legs — perhaps evidence that even a second-place finish had drawn considerable attention.
He would likely have to deal with unwanted 'girls problems' for the next week.
Then Houtarou received a message from Suzune requesting a private meeting.
Knowing her personality, he doubted this was for dating or socializing — more likely, she wanted to account for their Sports Festival earnings.
She had collected 4 million from Kakeru, while he still held onto that person's 10 million. They needed to sort out these finances.
But something unexpected happened.
As Houtarou was leaving the room, he came across someone wearing black stockings.
⍟⍟⍟
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