The situation was a little awkward now.
The moment Kaoru set down his phone, he saw Ichinose straightening her clothes, her face still tinged with a faint flush.
"Was that Kushida?"
After months of conditioning, Kushida had grown accustomed to calling him to report in, from morning till night.
Unless someone was nearby, she would always call.
Without his orders, Kushida felt completely out of sorts.
Pavlov's dog was probably trained the same way.
However, Kaoru couldn't possibly explain the truth.
Not only might Ichinose not accept it, but Kushida would definitely lose her mind.
"They wanted to invite Kamuro, but she refused. So they thought they could try a roundabout approach through me," Kaoru said without hesitation, using Masumi's name as a shield.
After all, she had been quite popular among the girls lately, and everyone was curious about her.
"Are you preparing for review now?" Ichinose asked, then quickly realized she might be prying.
"I mean, am I bothering you?"
"Don't worry about it. Actually, Sakayanagi asked me to help with setting exam questions," Kaoru took a deep breath.
"You're preparing for the quiz and the designation too, right?"
Ichinose stole a glance at his expression and hesitated.
"If we in Class B designate you, Kaoru, would you…?"
"It's fine, it's all the same," Kaoru interrupted her. "What's between us is between us. What happens between classes is a separate matter. No matter what decision you make, I won't care about what happens between Class A and Class B."
"I understand," Ichinose smiled, though a shadow flickered in her eyes.
As Kaoru was thinking of how to salvage the mood, the girl rose from the soft bed and stood gracefully before him.
Beneath her white skirt, her slender legs were pristine, and the fading twilight behind her cast a radiant glow upon her hair.
"I know it's too early to say this, but there are too many girls around you, Kaoru. I have to invite you sooner rather than later."
As she spoke, Ichinose Honami gently touched the ring on her finger.
The setting sun outside the window pierced through the crimson clouds, casting its glow on her delicate face, making it seem within arm's reach.
"December 25th... Christmas. Kaoru, will you go out with me?"
It wasn't a request but a firm statement.
Ichinose Honami had clearly made up her mind.
She knew that if she hesitated any longer, nothing would change—only pain and regret would follow.
She couldn't stay stagnant forever.
She had to move forward bravely.
Kaoru looked at her expression and smiled before nodding.
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
...
With two days left until the exam, Class A was still deliberating over which class to nominate.
The debate was between Class B and Class C.
Sakayanagi Arisu advocated for nominating Class B, while Katsuragi Kouhei and Shinji Matoba leaned toward Class C.
This kind of division wasn't expected to emerge so soon, yet barely a month after the sports festival, the class had already split into opposing factions.
Just as Class A was about to take a vote, Mashima quickly delivered a piece of news.
Both Class C and Class B had nominated Class A.
Due to the overlapping nominations, the school decided that Class C and Class B would draw lots the day after tomorrow to determine the final opposing class.
"Huh? Seriously? Class C is challenging us? Shouldn't it be us challenging them?" Totsuka Yahiko was baffled, and many students shared his confusion.
"That's the current outcome. The only classes that haven't submitted their nominations yet are yours and Class D," Mashima said.
"The deadline is the day before the exam—so by the day after tomorrow."
"This is strange. Class C's academic ability should be weaker than ours. I can't understand their reasoning," Shinji Matoba muttered, frowning.
If it were him, he would never dare to challenge Class A—the risk was too high.
Only Katsuragi wore a solemn expression.
He quickly realized one possibility—only one person could have given Class C the confidence to nominate Class A.
"Heh. This works out perfectly. Whether we draw Class C or Class B as our opponent, it aligns exactly with our earlier discussion," Sakayanagi Arisu said, a faint smile playing on her lips.
"Now, all we need to do is nominate Class B. There's no better choice than this."
Since the outcome of the draw was uncertain, nominating either Class C or Class B could result in mutual nominations—where the opposing class also nominates Class A, leading to both sides setting questions for each other.
In their earlier discussions, the plan had been to nominate Class C while accepting Class B's nomination.
But Class C's sudden nomination disrupted their strategy.
Without knowing the exact result, nominating Class B became the optimal choice.
Thus, the scenario could unfold as follows: Class B nominates Class A, and Class A nominates Class B.
In this case, Class A would have a high chance of taking Class B's 100 points, thereby suppressing Class B and any potential challengers.
If they nominated Class C instead, even if they took Class C's 100 points, Class A might not widen the gap with Class B.
Winning this special exam would be meaningless—like a victory with no real gain.
"Katsuragi, what's your take on this?" Shinji Matoba couldn't decide and wanted to hear Katsuragi thoughts.
Katsuragi gaze was complicated.
He suspected that Ryuuen must have received assistance from Nagumo Miyabi.
After all, the school allowed students to seek help from others, and even if upperclassmen got involved, they couldn't complain.
From this perspective, following Sakayanagi Arisu's suggestion to nominate Class B might actually be a good thing.
"Let's take a vote by show of hands," Katsuragi quickly made a decision.
Since Kaoru hadn't signaled him, it meant this matter could be decided at his discretion.
"Those in favor of nominating Class B, raise your hands now."
Swish—
All of Sakayanagi's faction raised their hands immediately, followed by some neutral students.
The Katsuragi faction members all turned to look at Katsuragi, awaiting his instruction.
Katsuragi knew he should oppose Sakayanagi's decision.
Agreeing now would mean conceding psychological ground to her.
"K-Katsuragi-san!?"
Totsuka Yahiko's face was full of shock as he stared wide-eyed at his leader raising his hand.
"I agree to nominate Class B." Katsuragi was very clear—with upperclassmen involved, Class C's current academic capabilities had to be taken seriously.
There was no need to waste Class A's points here.
Shinji Matoba didn't fully understand the situation, but he sensed Class C might have some hidden dangers, which made him hesitate.
That's why he had asked Katsuragi for guidance.
Seeing Katsuragi raise his hand honestly shocked him.
"I also agree to nominate Class B." Matoba soon raised his hand too.
He completely understood Katsuragi's reasoning—Class A was currently in first place; there was no need to take unnecessary risks.
That Katsuragi could make this decision showed he only had the class's interests at heart, not getting bogged down in factional struggles.
This realization gave Matoba mixed feelings.
"Dammit! If Katsuragi-san agrees, then I agree too!"
As Totsuka raised his hand, the rest of the Katsuragi faction gradually followed suit.
In moments, over half of Class A had their right hands raised high.
Mashima observed this scene silently before speaking.
"So your nomination target is Class B? No objections?"
"Please report this to the school, Mashima-sensei." Sakayanagi Arisu smiled faintly, though her gaze drifted toward someone in the back.
Kaoru showed no reaction.
After the class meeting ended, he took out his phone—the second-year special exam had officially begun.
Moreover, Nagumo Miyabi had realized there was a mole in his class and was conducting a thorough investigation.
He'd even deliberately leaked some bait information to lure the mole out.
However, Kaoru had long instructed Iijima to remain calm, send no messages, and continue lying low quietly.
Thus, even today, Nagumo still hadn't uncovered the mole's identity.
After finishing that day's classes, Kaoru visited the student council to assist the officers with their duties.
Nagumo didn't appear at the council.
According to Kiriyama, he was preparing reform proposals—essentially gathering PowerPoint materials to persuade the school.
....
When the exam results came out, the final nomination outcomes were announced.
Classes C and B had overlapping nominations, resulting in Class C being randomly selected to nominate Class A, while Class B had to renominate.
Class A's nomination of Class B had no overlaps—their nomination succeeded.
Class B and Class D both nominated Class C, resulting in a duplicate nomination.
Considering the possibility of exceptions in the lottery outcome, the school intervened with mandatory measures.
In the end, Class C accepted Class D's nomination, while Class B nominated Class D.
Thus, the order for this special exam was finalized.
The most surprising development was Class C's decision to nominate Class A.
Many suspected Ryuuen was making a suicidal attack, doubting whether Class C even had the capability for it.
Regarding this, Katsuragi received an answer from Nagumo Miyabi—it was Nagumo who supported Ryuuen's attack on Class A, with second-year Class A students assisting Class C in their exam.
Nagumo Miyabi reasoned that since Sakayanagi Arisu was threatening Katsurag position, it would be better to let Sakayanagi lead Class A to a loss, allowing Katsuragi to reap the benefits effortlessly.
Though this reasoning sounded like nonsense, Katsuragi had no choice but to agree on the surface.
Then, prompted by Kaoru, he demanded compensation from Nagumo.
Whether it was compensation for Class A or for Katsuragi himself, Nagumo had only one intention—to sabotage Kaoru in the exam.
He promised immediate compensation in return.
At this point, Katsuragi understood Nagumo's intentions.
The latter no longer intended to keep up the pretense of cooperation and was likely planning to support Ryuuen in replacing Class A.
Under these circumstances, the preliminary test to determine exam partners concluded quickly.
...
The next morning, Mashima announced the results.
Kaoru ranked eighth, meaning his partner would be the student ranked eighth from the bottom.
Miki Yamamura.
-----------------------------
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