In Sakayanagi's class, the Unanimous special exam went almost exactly like Yukio's class.
For the first four questions, they basically bulldozed through—first-round discussion, second-round vote, clear the question cleanly. No wasted time.
But when they hit the last question, disagreement still appeared.
Or rather… that disagreement had been planted from the moment Sakayanagi's class split into two factions in the first place.
It was just that by now, the Sakayanagi faction held overwhelming dominance. The Katsuragi faction had been reduced to only two people—barely holding on.
You could see the situation clearly just from the vote.
[First-round vote: Agree — 37 votes; Disagree — 3 votes.]
Aside from the one member Sakayanagi deliberately arranged to vote against her—just to force a discussion window—it was basically a 38-to-2 situation.
Some students immediately started throwing out suggestions:
"Why don't we just expel Totsuka? During the class vote last time, if it weren't for Yukio's scheme, Totsuka would've been expelled already."
"Exactly. Keeping him around has no value."
"If anything, getting expelled in exchange for Class Points is the only value Totsuka has."
Totsuka—Katsuragi's loyal right-hand man—was, up to this moment, the only person in Sakayanagi's class who still unwaveringly stood beside Katsuragi.
Katsuragi couldn't accept it.
"Why are you targeting us like this?!" he snapped. "Ever since Sakayanagi took control of the class, I've been doing everything I can for the class. I haven't done anything wrong."
"Is there really no room for people like us in this class?!"
That hit hard.
A lot of Sakayanagi's supporters went quiet, unable to respond. Because Katsuragi's contributions were real—everyone had seen them.
He wasn't flashy, but he'd put in work: the Sports Festival, the Project Selection Special Exam, even the second Uninhabited Island special exam—he had results to show.
If they just kicked Totsuka out without hesitation, they didn't even know how they'd face Katsuragi afterward.
Faced with that raw, direct question, they simply couldn't answer.
Hashimoto, as always, kept that light, unserious vibe even with a heavy Unanimous question like this. Legs crossed, he looked like he was at a café.
"So what do we do, Princess?"
Only Sakayanagi, at that moment, could actually throw Katsuragi a rope.
Following Hashimoto's question, every student's gaze gathered on her.
Sakayanagi showed no pressure at all. Her faint smile didn't even twitch.
"Katsuragi-kun looks quite reluctant to accept this."
"Then what do you think is the best course of action, Hashimoto-kun?"
"…"
Hashimoto's scalp tingled.
He hated when people answered his question with a question—but if it was Sakayanagi, the boss of the class, he had no choice.
After thinking carefully, he gave his honest take.
"I feel like forcibly discarding a classmate is… not great."
"But we also can't underestimate two hundred Class Points, can we?"
"Our gap with Yukio's class is huge. We need to seize every increase we can, or we'll never catch up."
Sakayanagi listened as if she were truly considering every word, even nodding slightly during Hashimoto's pauses—like she was thinking while she listened.
But Kamuro, Hashimoto, and even Katsuragi—having known Sakayanagi for so long—could tell.
She was just putting on a show. She already had her own conclusion.
Sure enough, the moment Hashimoto finished, Sakayanagi answered.
"I actually believe reducing our headcount is a disadvantage."
"If we're only doing simple math, losing one person means our class receives over one hundred thousand fewer private points per month. Of course, that's not decisive—otherwise, during the class vote, I wouldn't have considered expelling Totsuka in the first place."
"But the more important issue is what you yourself mentioned, Hashimoto-kun."
"A method like 'forcefully discarding one person' seriously damages class harmony."
"It doesn't just lower morale—it creates distrust in every member."
"This time we discard Totsuka for Class Points. Next time… will it be me?"
"The moment that thought is born, our class will never truly improve again."
The class fell silent.
They hadn't even thought that far ahead.
But once Sakayanagi laid it out, it was hard to deny.
If it really turned into the future she described—everyone living in fear, everyone suspecting everyone…
People would start obsessively proving their own "value," not only pushing themselves to extremes, but also sabotaging others, dragging others down, so that someone else would always be the bottom candidate.
If it ever reached that stage—classmates calculating against each other, harming each other—then the class wouldn't have any real potential left.
And returning to Class A would become impossible.
Only then did Sakayanagi's classmates truly understand how vicious and terrifying the final question was.
This wasn't easy at all.
It was an interrogation of human nature—an extraction of the darkness in people's hearts.
Just thinking about it made their skin crawl.
"So," Sakayanagi swept her gaze around the room, "in order to avoid reaching the worst stage of mutual distrust…"
"Is anyone willing to voluntarily withdraw from school?"
There was indeed another way to clear the question cleanly:
Find someone who genuinely wants to leave—someone who voluntarily accepts expulsion.
Then everyone wins: the person gets what they want, the class gets benefits, and it avoids the poisonous everyone fears being next spiral.
But the moment she asked, the room went deathly quiet.
They'd already been here for over a year. They'd already come this far.
Who would want to leave now?
Sakayanagi showed no distress at all. She lightly tapped her cane against the floor, producing a crisp, steady sound.
"Then let's do it this way."
"We will expel Totsuka, gain the Class Points, and seize every chance to catch up to Yukio's class."
"And then we will collectively provide twenty million private points to offset the expulsion penalty."
At the first half, students panicked—confused and alarmed.
At the second half, they finally relaxed.
So that was it. They could accept that.
Sakayanagi's class was packed with honor students. People were already silently calculating:
Over the past year, the class's total accumulated private points had long exceeded sixty million.
Even after spending money monthly, they likely still had at least forty million in savings.
Using half of that to save a classmate wasn't unreasonable.
And leaving the other twenty million as a reserve—for the Cultural Festival and future special exams—wouldn't make them feel broke.
So the second-round Unanimous vote passed with full agreement, the branch opened, Totsuka was selected, and the branch vote also passed unanimously.
Totsuka was expelled, and then the expulsion penalty was nullified through private points.
It took a bit longer than Yukio's class, but it still ended with a solid result.
Even Yukio—who happened to be checking the other classes—couldn't help praising Sakayanagi for how decisively she chose.
Because from outside the classroom, Yukio could see it clearly:
After it was over, Katsuragi actually brought Totsuka to thank Sakayanagi, and even expressed submission.
Sakayanagi's class became a single, solid slab—no more cracks.
As expected of Sakayanagi.
Even if she didn't clear it on the first round, once the ten-minute discussion window opened, she could lock in the outcome fast—no spiraling into ugly arguments about human nature.