The entirety of Class 3-E was in high spirits after winning the bet against Class A. During the break, everyone excitedly discussed what they should do with their victory.
Meanwhile, Akira and Erika were relaxing in a secret spot Akira had discovered—a quiet tree branch hidden away from the rest of the school where they could enjoy a little time alone during breaks.
Akira rested his head against Erika's shoulder and whined softly,
"Erika... Erika... give me a lap pillow."
Erika smiled helplessly.
"Sure. Come here."
She gently guided him onto her lap. Akira closed his eyes in satisfaction, letting out a content sigh.
A moment later, he whined again.
"Erika... Erika... headpats."
Erika sighed fondly.
"Sure, sure."
She began gently stroking his head.
Pat... pat... pat...
Akira smiled happily, looking as though he might fall asleep at any moment.
Erika lightly scolded him.
"Don't fall asleep. This is only a break. We still have plenty of classes left."
Akira shifted around on her lap.
"But it's so comfortable..."
Erika reached down and gently pinched his cheeks, playing with his face.
"Stop acting like a child."
With his cheeks being squished, Akira mumbled,
"Whaaattt arrreee youuuu doingggg?"
Although her face turned slightly red, Erika answered in a playfully bossy tone.
"What? Aren't you my boyfriend? That means your cute little face belongs to me. I can do whatever I want."
Akira puffed his cheeks.
"It's not cuteee... Fine. Do whatever you want."
Erika smiled with satisfaction.
"Yes. I will."
One hand continued patting his head while the other kept teasing his face.
After a comfortable silence, Erika asked,
"So... have you decided what you're going to ask Asano-kun for?"
Akira grumbled.
"I have no idea. Nobody liked the nyaa~ idea, and every other suggestion I came up with got rejected too."
Erika pinched his nose.
"You suggested making him wear a maid outfit to school for a day... and giving an entire student council speech in Klingon. I don't even know what Klingon is."
Akira immediately defended himself.
"Those are hilarious, alright? But... fine. I seriously can't think of anything. He doesn't really have anything I want right now."
Erika tilted her head.
"Then why did you make the bet in the first place?"
Akira hesitated.
"Well... it seemed fun at the time... but now I honestly can't think of anything."
He looked up at her.
"What do you think?"
Erika thought for a moment, absentmindedly wiping the sweat from her forehead.
"I don't know... maybe ask for some kind of privilege?"
Akira watched her wipe her forehead.
Then, as if a light bulb had switched on inside his head, his eyes suddenly sparkled.
"I know."
Erika blinked.
"You do?"
Before she could ask anything else, Koro-sensei's teasing voice echoed from nearby.
"Nuruhuhuhuhu! You really thought, 'I'm so cool... I'll ace these exams without breaking a sweat!' How embarrassing, Karma-kun!"
Karma's face immediately turned bright red.
Akira simply glanced in their direction before turning back toward Erika.
"We can ignore them."
He smiled lazily.
"I already know what I want now."
Then he closed his eyes again.
"More headpats."
Erika let out another helpless sigh, though her expression softened.
"…You're unbelievable."
Even so, she continued gently patting his head.
Pat... pat... pat...
---
Koro-sensei stood proudly at the podium and addressed the class with dramatic flair.
"All right, class! You put on an excellent performance in the finals. Aside from our top two students in the entire grade, beating Class A in three out of five subjects is truly impressive."
He spread his tentacles wide.
"So... shall we begin the assassination? The top three students may choose whichever tentacles they wish."
I can afford to lose three, he thought confidently. Six, though... now that would've hurt.
Just then, a voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Hold it right there, octopus!"
Terasaka and his gang stood up.
"We've got more than three people in first place!"
Koro-sensei blinked.
"No, there are only three. Terasaka-kun, Japanese... English... Social Studies... and—"
Terasaka slammed four perfect-score Home Economics test papers onto the desk.
"Huh? Quit playing dumb! Five subjects means Japanese, English, Social Studies, Science... and Home Economics!"
Koro-sensei's face instantly turned snow white.
"N-Nani?! H-Home Economics?!"
Terasaka and the others grinned triumphantly.
"Nobody ever said which five subjects counted!"
Hazama smirked.
"It's nice when everyone contributes to the same scheme."
Koro-sensei stammered,
"W-Wait a minute! Home Economics is just—"
Karma lazily interrupted him.
"Just what?"
He smirked.
"That's pretty rude, Koro-sensei. Home Economics is obviously the hardest subject of them all. Who knows? Maybe even our resident geniuses couldn't get full marks."
Erika smiled awkwardly.
"I'm not a genius... but I only got ninety-eight."
Akira dramatically placed his own paper on the desk with a flourish.
"Don't go deciding my score for me. You underestimate greatness."
A perfect score.
Erika stared at it in complete disbelief.
"...What?"
She turned to him.
"How is that even possible?!"
Akira looked genuinely puzzled.
"Why is that so surprising?"
Erika pointed at him.
"Because it's Home Economics! You're a complete disaster at home! You don't wash your clothes, you don't sleep on time, and you don't even eat on time. If I didn't keep checking on you, you'd probably collapse on the floor one day!"
She held up his test paper.
"So how did you get a perfect score in Home Economics?!"
Akira smugly looked away.
"Well... there's cooking, nutrition, budgeting, sewing... most of it is basically applied science."
He shrugged.
"Besides, did you forget? I'm a master chef."
Erika pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Then why are you such a disaster at home?"
Akira carefully avoided eye contact.
"Knowing something and actually doing it are two different things... right, Sensei?"
Koro-sensei immediately looked away as well.
"Exactly! It's just like doctors who never take proper care of themselves. Same principle! Nuruhuhuhuhu~!"
The entire class looked at the two of them with expressions of complete disappointment.
They're hopeless...
Erika folded her arms.
"Fine."
She smiled sweetly.
"Since you scored higher than me in Home Economics... you'll be doing all the housework from now on."
Akira looked as though the heavens had collapsed.
"W-What?! Erika, no! Please don't!"
He immediately tried to hug her.
Erika effortlessly kept pushing him away.
"No."
"Erikaaa..."
"No means no."
The rest of the class quietly decided to ignore the couple's usual antics.
"Anyway, Sensei!"
"Don't forget your promise!"
"Four of us got first place in the important subjects and Home Economics!"
"So that's seven tentacles total!"
"Seven!"
"Seven!"
"Seven!"
"Seven!"
Koro-sensei slowly backed away in horror.
"E-Eeeek...!"
Just then, Isogai calmly raised his hand.
"By the way, Koro-sensei... we'd like to use our reward from the Class A bet together with this assassination."
Koro-sensei blinked.
"What?"
---
The principal's office was filled with a heavy silence.
Principal Asano sat calmly behind his desk, looking at his son, Asano Gakushu, who stood quietly before him.
"You have failed completely."
Asano Gakushu said nothing. His fingers merely tightened at his sides.
Principal Asano continued in the same calm tone,
"Not only did you lose both bets, but you also fell to third place in the exams. Now the entire school knows about it. So, what will you do? Would you like the school to protect your reputation?"
Asano Gakushu narrowed his eyes.
"No, thank you."
A faint smile appeared on the principal's face, though his voice grew colder.
"I believe you once declared that you would put a collar on me and keep me as a pet. Or perhaps expose my nonexistent secrets. You certainly spoke boldly for someone who ended up third in the grade and couldn't even win a bet against his peers."
Asano Gakushu ground his teeth in frustration and humiliation, unable to offer a rebuttal.
Just then—
Knock. Knock.
Principal Asano looked toward the door.
"Oh? I specifically asked not to be disturbed for a few minutes... Come in."
The door opened.
A handsome white-haired boy with striking purple eyes stepped inside, striking an unnecessarily dramatic pose.
Both father and son stared at him.
Akira slowly walked into the office as though every step deserved its own spotlight. Behind him, Erika entered carrying a file, looking thoroughly exasperated.
Principal Asano raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, Hoshino-kun and Sendo-san. That's... quite the entrance. Though I was expecting some background music as well."
Akira grinned.
"I wanted one, but Erika stopped me."
Erika lightly smacked his arm before bowing politely.
"Good afternoon, Principal. Sorry for interrupting your time."
Principal Asano nodded.
"Don't worry about it. Now then, what brings—"
Before he could finish, Akira turned toward Asano Gakushu.
"Oh? So you're Number Three."
He smiled brightly.
"Perfect timing. Nice to meet you."
Asano Gakushu looked back with an icy expression.
"So... you're Hoshino Akira."
Akira nodded cheerfully.
"Yep. That's me. But just call me Akira."
He smiled.
"Anyway, I'm here to collect my prize from our bet. I trust the great former Number One—the student council president and the principal's son—won't go back on his word."
Asano Gakushu clenched his fist, then slowly relaxed it.
"…What do you want?"
Akira took the file from Erika, placed it neatly on the principal's desk, and answered calmly.
"I want what's written in this proposal to be approved, and I want the full support of the student council president in making it happen. That's my request."
Principal Asano and Asano Gakushu opened the file.
After reading the first page, both of them looked up at the exact same moment.
"You want... an air conditioner?"
Akira answered calmly,
"Yes. I want Class E to have air conditioning."
Silence filled the office.
After a long pause, Asano Gakushu finally asked, disbelief written all over his face,
"You did all of that... for an air conditioner?"
Akira shrugged.
"Do you have any idea how hot the old school building gets during summer? We need it."
Principal Asano leaned forward slightly.
"You do realize there is a reason Class E's building was never renovated—"
Akira cut him off.
"Yeah, I know. It's your school, and the Class E system exists to make some people feel superior by looking down on others."
He smiled innocently.
"But refusing them an air conditioner is practically refusing their human rights."
Principal Asano narrowed his eyes.
"What?"
Erika gently placed a hand on Akira's shoulder.
"Let me handle this."
She stepped forward.
"Principal Asano, I understand your educational philosophy. But this isn't about grades anymore—it's a safety issue."
She met his gaze without wavering.
"What happens if a student collapses from heatstroke during summer? Or suffers from extreme cold in winter? Regardless of your system, it's still the school's responsibility to provide a safe learning environment."
Principal Asano calmly replied,
"You should know that many schools still don't have air conditioning."
Erika nodded.
"That's true. But the rest of this school does."
She continued firmly.
"If only Class E is denied it, then it becomes targeted discrimination by the school itself. And you can no longer justify it by calling them 'bad students' when the highest rankings are now shared between Class A and Class E."
The principal remained silent.
Akira smiled and casually spoke up.
"Anyway, we want the air conditioner."
He looked at Asano Gakushu.
"Number Three, I'll leave it in your hands. I trust you'll keep your promise."
Turning toward Erika, he smiled.
"Come on. We've got other things to do."
Erika bowed politely.
"Thank you for your time, Principal."
The two turned to leave.
"Stop."
Asano Gakushu's voice echoed through the office.
Both of them looked back.
Akira tilted his head.
"What is it?"
Asano Gakushu looked him straight in the eye.
"I won't remain at this rank forever."
His voice was firm.
"Next time... I'll reclaim first place."
Akira smiled.
"You're welcome to try."
He shrugged.
"But the truth is... It's impossible for you to surpass me... Still, don't stop trying. It'd be boring if you gave up."
He waved casually.
"See you around."
With that, he left the office alongside Erika, leaving the father and son in silence.
---
Outside the office, Erika glanced at him.
"So... what's next?"
Akira stretched lazily.
"Well... summer vacation."
He grinned.
"The island arc, just like in the anime... plus a few extra things."
Erika smiled faintly.
"I wonder if things will go according to the original story this time."
Akira walked ahead with his hands behind his head.
"Maybe... maybe not."
He looked back at her with a grin.
"But as long as we're having fun, that's enough."
Erika sighed, though a small smile appeared on her face.
"No matter what happens... you're always enjoying yourself, aren't you?"
She shook her head and followed after him.
---