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Before long, it was time for the boxing club to start its activities.
Only this time, Club President Sato specifically gathered everyone.
"Before we start, I've got something to announce to everyone."
Sato stood on the ring, his gaze first sweeping over Karuizawa. Her heart suddenly tightened, and she inexplicably felt that the bad news she'd feared was about to come true.
But before she could think deeply, Sato's gaze had quickly moved from her, unconsciously turning to Akira and Albert.
"You first-years are performing really well! Especially you two, Shimizu and Albert. You can start sparring in the ring this month, and maybe even have exhibition matches next month. Keep up the good work! By then, students from other classes will also come to watch your matches!"
"Of course! As I said when I invited you to join the club, boxing isn't for nothing! The club will give you a portion of the appearance fee based on the number of tickets purchased by other students. In short, other first-years who perform well will also have the chance to get into the ring. This is also a good opportunity to find a girlfriend! My current girlfriend is someone I met while boxing!"
"Finally, Karuizawa, Shimizu, you two come over here. I've got something to tell you!"
When Karuizawa heard her name, her body stiffened abruptly, and her heart, which had just slightly relaxed, tensed up again.
But when she heard Akira's name also called out, she inexplicably felt a little more at ease.
The two exchanged glances, and Karuizawa's fingers, which were gripping the hem of her sportswear, loosened. She was the first to follow Sato toward the lounge.
Akira was half a step behind, able to see that her shoulders were still tense, as if she was carrying a stone that hadn't yet landed.
As soon as the lounge door closed, Sato pulled out a can of sports drink from the cabinet and placed it on the table with a pop.
He pulled the tab and took a gulp of the drink, the sound of his throat moving particularly clear in the quiet room.
"Karuizawa, you took so many days off last week. Originally, I was planning to dismiss you today."
Karuizawa suddenly looked up, her eyes slightly dazed, but when she heard the word "originally," a faint glimmer of expectation still inexplicably rose in her heart.
"But you came to apologize to me on Saturday, crying your eyes out. It was clear you truly realized your mistake." Sato's tone shifted, softening. "You also came to help out with overtime on Sunday, and you arrived early today. So, I'll consider this as if it never happened. Don't let it happen again."
He paused, his tone becoming a bit more sincere. "Honestly, joining a sports club is tough. There's much more to do than in other clubs. The most I can give first-years is a partial point subsidy, but there's one thing we can guarantee—we'll definitely protect you well. If we can't even protect our own club managers, then this boxing club might as well disband and we should all drop out of school. I wouldn't be able to live with myself."
"Mm... that's good. Thank you, Club President." Karuizawa nodded vigorously, her voice trembling slightly with relief, her eyes quietly reddening.
The stone that had been hanging in her heart for so long finally fell.
This way, she'd successfully remained in the boxing club.
Akira would also continue to protect her, just as they'd agreed.
"Karuizawa, you can go back now. I still have some private matters to discuss with Shimizu." Sato said after a few seconds of silence.
"Okay... then I'll be going." She replied, her footsteps lighter as she turned, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
"Was it your doing?" Club President Sato asked suddenly, watching her retreating back.
Akira met the club president's gaze, shaking his head. "I didn't do anything. I just watched an anime and casually made a few comments."
He indeed hadn't actively interfered with Karuizawa's decision. Whether to stay in the boxing club or to defend herself, they were all her own choices.
"...Anime?" Sato frowned, clearly not keeping up with the abrupt topic change. "I don't understand what you're talking about. You, boy, why are you so evasive as a man!"
He changed his tone, his voice becoming more serious. "By the way, I asked you to stay because I wanted to ask something. The student council president told me that the idea for the 'exam paper' was yours?"
"It was me." Akira nodded.
Speaking of which, during the break in the second class that afternoon, the student council president had sent him a message, saying that Sato—that is, their class's club president—had asked about this matter.
Since Club President Sato had always looked out for him, there was nothing to hide about this, so he'd told the student council president at the time that he could tell the truth.
"I owe you another favor this time! I knew this idea didn't sound like something the student council president would come up with. After all, I myself have disliked Nagumo for a long time." Sato clapped him on the shoulder, laughing heartily. "Don't worry, I won't reveal a single word of this to anyone else."
"By the way, senpai," Akira suddenly became curious, "is the 'exam paper' matter really going that smoothly?"
"Of course." Sato's tone was certain. "The other classes already disliked Nagumo and always respected the student council president, so why wouldn't they cooperate? Moreover, they'd actually already lost the qualification to compete with Class A."
"What do you mean?"
"Literally. In terms of class points alone, as early as the latter half of the first year, Class A had already pulled far ahead of Class D and Class C. By the second year, after several special exams, even Class B was left far behind."
"How big is the gap?"
"You'll know if I show you."
Sato opened a screenshot on his phone and handed it over. Akira glanced at it and was instantly stunned.
The gap was much larger than the current points of the first-year classes, so large that even he couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
"Wait, with such a large gap, wouldn't subsequent special exams have...?" He didn't finish his sentence, but was interrupted by Sato.
"The points added by special exams are limited. Moreover, did you forget that our class's Horikita is the student council president? The student council president has certain authority in some special exams."
Akira was instantly speechless.
So that's how it is.
Their own class was already Class A, and with the student council president's identity, he could intervene in special exams. This being the case, it seemed only natural that other classes would give up the idea of advancing to Class A.
But another possibility was actually swirling in Akira's mind. If Nagumo abandoned collective cooperation and instead targeted individuals, would he still have a chance to buy the exam papers?
"Shimizu, you seem to underestimate the student council president too much, and also the upperclassmen." Sato glanced at him, guessing what was on his mind. "I can tell you clearly that no matter what Nagumo tries, he won't be able to easily buy exam papers from the third-years. Of course, excluding those despicable and underhanded methods. But if he really dared to do that, he wouldn't be fit to be the student council president's opponent anymore."