Chapter 010: Final Results of the Special Exam, Tsukishiro's Secret Meeting
Monday. Another school day.
Early that morning, Shimizu Akira arrived at the classroom and, while everyone was present, briefly reported the results of the negotiations with the First-Year Class D.
"What? They still want to keep the initiative on the pairing list? They've got some nerve!"
"On what grounds? Why does Housen Kazuomi always think things will go his way?"
"Exactly! Shimizu is right. Unless he publicly apologizes, there's no talk of cooperation. And the terms must be set by us."
Unsurprisingly, most of the students were opposed.
Shimizu shook his head. To be honest, he hadn't held much hope for an apology from Kazuomi Housen. The guy was practically a brainless carbon copy of Ryuen Kakeru.
Expecting that kind of person to bow their head voluntarily was a pipe dream.
Time reached 8:10 AM, twenty minutes before class. Suddenly, two familiar figures appeared at the door.
Housen Kazuomi, leaning on a crutch and limping, appeared at the entrance of Second-Year Class B behind Nanase Tsubasa.
"Hey! Housen Kazuomi, what are you doing here again? What ridiculous demand are you bringing this time?"
"That's right! What Shimizu said represents us. If you don't apologize, there's no deal!"
"Wait... what happened to your leg? Why are you limping?"
Everyone's eyes fell simultaneously on Housen's crutch. Housen's face shifted between shades of blue and white. Nanase stood by his side, looking at the people in the classroom with a complex expression.
"Move." Housen gritted his teeth, tapped the floor with his crutch, and limped into the classroom.
The crowd instinctively stepped aside to let him through. Step by step, he struggled toward the podium. Then, he leaned his crutch against the edge of the podium, gripped the sides with both hands, and slowly bent his waist.
He knelt. His knees hit the floor.
"I'm sorry."
Housen kept his head down, his voice sounding as if it were squeezed through his teeth. "What happened the other day... it was my fault. Being greedy, threatening you... it was all my mistake."
He clenched his fists, his forehead nearly touching the ground. "I apologize to everyone in Second-Year Class B. And..."
He looked up toward Shimizu Akira, who was visibly stunned in the crowd. "Shimizu-senpai, I'm sorry."
The entire room was completely dumbfounded.
"Wait, what's the deal?! This guy actually apologized?!"
"And it's a dogeza in front of all of us!"
"Man, this is the first time I've seen this kind of apology in real life."
You could see such scenes in Japanese dramas and movies—adults who messed up and had to bow their heads for the sake of their families or jobs. But those were fictional works.
For these high schoolers, seeing a peer perform a dogeza was a first.
Shimizu looked down at the spiky-haired boy kneeling before him, his mind still struggling to process it. The guy who was insufferably arrogant last week was now kneeling with his forehead nearly on the floor, his crutch lying to the side, looking like a golden gorilla with its teeth pulled.
Nanase walked to Housen's side and gave a slight bow to the class.
"Senpais, regarding the cooperation, our First-Year Class D is willing to fully accept the terms proposed by your class. The pairing list will be decided by you, and for the cooperation fee, we are willing to pay 5 million points. We will find a way to gather the total."
She glanced at Housen on the floor. "This is our class's sincerity."
The classroom erupted in discussion again.
"No way?! For real?"
"The terms are that generous? They're willing to give 5 million private points?"
"Don't rush, let's see how Shimizu handles it. We'll just follow his lead."
Most of the class turned their eyes toward Shimizu Akira. Shimizu stood up and walked over to Housen.
"...Stand up," he said flatly.
Housen didn't move.
"I said, stand up," Shimizu repeated. "I've received the dogeza. But if you keep kneeling, the bell will ring, and my class will have to watch you kneel for an entire period."
Housen finally looked up. He gritted his teeth and asked, "Then, about the cooperation..."
"I can't decide alone; I need to discuss it with the class during lunch break." Shimizu stood up. "The conditions are what I said before: 5 million plus we control the pairing list. Those two points are non-negotiable."
"Fine."
Housen gnashed his teeth and nodded. Supporting himself against the floor, he slowly stood up and picked up his crutch. Likely feeling too humiliated to say more, he limped away and disappeared at the end of the hallway.
Nanase bowed slightly to Shimizu and followed.
"Holy crap! He actually apologized!"
"A dogeza! That was a real dogeza!"
"That blonde bastard Housen actually did it!"
"Shimizu! How on earth did you do it?!"
Shimizu was surrounded by a crowd, peppered with endless questions. He rubbed his temples, his gaze landing on Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
It was 99% certain that this guy was the one behind it.
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Lunch break arrived quickly.
Shimizu finally caught an opportunity to approach Ayanokouji and ask what methods he had used to make Housen so submissive. Ayanokouji didn't hide it, briefly explaining the whole business with the stolen knife and the frame-up.
After hearing it, Shimizu felt completely unwell.
'Wait? What kind of garbage plan is that? This counts as a strategy?'
To put it nicely, it was full of holes; to put it bluntly, it was a third-rate bad idea.
What if Ayanokouji simply hadn't bought that knife? Even if he had, what if there were no fingerprints on it, just like now? Even if given the chance to steal the knife, what if there was no opportunity? What if the knife had Amasawa Ichika's own fingerprints on it after she stole it?
The most ridiculous part was the self-harm—what use was it without witnesses? Furthermore, Housen himself had intended to buy the knife and had called Ayanokouji; a quick check of records would expose him.
Why go through the trouble of self-harming to frame someone? If it failed, wouldn't you just be the one left crippled?
In short, the success of the plan relied entirely on Ayanokouji's willingness to cooperate.
"According to Amasawa Ichika, she was originally targeting you," Ayanokouji said plainly. "But since you didn't show any obvious openings, she came for me. That said, if she had come for you, you probably would have thought of a perfect countermeasure."
"Something like that." Shimizu didn't know if he should consider this a narrow escape.
Frankly, calling such a third-rate scheme a "calamity" felt like an insult to the word.
"So," Shimizu thought for a moment and asked, "why did you go along with it and let their class cooperate with ours? Given your personality, shouldn't you have just had him expelled? It's not like our class had to cooperate with First-Year Class D."
After more than a year as classmates, he saw Ayanokouji's underlying ruthlessness quite clearly.
"Because he isn't from the White Room," Ayanokouji replied. "He was just being used."
"What about Amasawa Ichika?" Shimizu pressed.
"As an accomplice, she's a co-conspirator. By your logic, she's from the White Room, right? Since Class D paid such a high price, she can't have paid nothing."
Ayanokouji remained silent for a few seconds before slowly speaking:
"Well... Amasawa paid a lot. She told me a fair amount about the current internal situation of the White Room. So I let her go."
Shimizu felt like there was something slightly off about that sentence. But then again, Ayanokouji really did make Housen perform a public dogeza.
This person wouldn't harm him. With that thought, he didn't pursue the matter further.
Later, Hirata Yousuke went to the podium.
"I used the weekend to talk with Ishigami-kun from First-Year Class A. They agreed not to disclose the specific details of our Special Exam response, but they insist on last year's exam content, rules, and all S-System information—they won't budge on that. Also, the pairing slots will be split fifty-fifty."
"Huh? Looking at it that way... it seems like cooperating with First-Year Class D is a better deal?"
"Yeah, that spiky-head just did a dogeza apology, is willing to give 5 million points, and left all the pairing slots to us."
"I also think First-Year Class D is better."
After a period of discussion, the vast majority of the class leaned toward Class D.
"Shimizu, what do you think?" Hirata looked at him.
The eyes of the class followed. Even though more than half agreed, it felt like something was missing if Shimizu didn't nod.
"I think it's fine." Shimizu nodded. There was nothing to hesitate about; since First-Year Class D offered such generous terms, he had no reason to refuse.
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After school.
Shimizu and Horikita Suzune went to the Student Council office to formally sign the contract with First-Year Class D. Verbal agreements were unreliable; black and white ink was safer.
The representative sent by Class D was Nanase Tsubasa.
The pairing rights were fully granted to Second-Year Class B, and First-Year Class D would pay five million private points as a cooperation fee. Shimizu knew the other party couldn't produce that many points right now, so he noted in the contract that the remaining balance would be deducted directly from Class D's monthly private point distributions starting next month and transferred to Class B's class fund.
Additionally, a specific clause was added prohibiting intentional point suppression, low scoring, or leaving papers blank. The school had already published the normal score ranges for each academic level. No matter how much a student with Academic Level B messed up, they wouldn't score only 100 points across five subjects.
If a partner's grade from First-Year Class D was abnormally low, Second-Year Class B had the right to review the exam papers. If intentional errors on basic questions were found, it would be reported directly to the school. According to the special exam rules, the involved student would face expulsion. Furthermore, they would need to pay 20 million private points in compensation to Second-Year Class B.
Shimizu felt that Class D students weren't that stupid—to pay such a heavy price just to screw someone over. 20 million points meant living on wild grass sets and free ingredients for more than six months.
"Shimizu-senpai." After the contract was finalized, Nanase stopped the two as they prepared to leave. "Since our class has given up so much... finally, may I make a small request?"
"State it first, and we will consider whether to agree based on the content," Horikita countered rationally.
"After pairing based on academic complementarity, each class should have three high-achieving students left," Nanase said seriously. "I hope these three can be matched with our class's top students. We want to compete for high rankings in the class competition, and I personally hope to aim for individual competition awards. This would be a win-win for both classes. Moreover, if our class actually wins individual rewards, we can pay back the points we owe you faster."
Horikita thought for about ten seconds. The other party had a point.
The remaining high-ability students could indeed be used to push for top ranks. She nodded in agreement.
Nanase added another line: "Ayanokouji-senpai is indeed a calculating person. Even though he saw through Housen's plan long ago, he pretended to know nothing. However, I didn't expect Housen's plan was to hurt Ayanokouji-senpai. For that, I apologize to Shimizu-senpai again."
"You really don't need to apologize anymore," Shimizu waved his hand quickly.
From the sound of it, Nanase was only partially informed and didn't know the specifics of the knife-stealing plan. Besides, the target was Ayanokouji, not himself, so he didn't take it to heart.
'Wait, shouldn't the apology be directed to Ayanokouji?'
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A few days passed.
After repeated discussions between Nanase and Horikita, the pairing plan was finalized. Shimizu specifically assigned the highest-achieving partners from First-Year Class D to Karuizawa Kei, Hasabe Haruka, and Sakura Airi, and privately asked Nanase to look after them to ensure they passed the exam safely.
In exchange, Nanase requested that Shimizu himself team up with her. Seeing no reason to refuse, he agreed. Thus, the 159 pairs between the first and second years were successfully formed.
As for the lucky one left over, who else could it be but Housen Kazuomi, who was still on crutches. Second-Year Class D had finished pairing long ago with no slots left. No one in Second-Year Class B was willing to partner with him, even with his Level B academic ability. For some reason, neither Class A nor Class C would take him in.
According to the special exam rules, the lone student had to take the exam solo. Though the total score would be multiplied by 2, a final 5% deduction would be applied. Housen brought it on himself; he was destined to be isolated for this special exam.
Time flew by, and May 1st arrived.
During the last period of the afternoon, Chabashira Sae walked into the classroom wearing her usual sharp pencil skirt.
"Next, I will announce the results of the special exam. The results will be synchronized on the blackboard, and you can see the detailed data on your tablets."
The screen flickered. Shimizu picked up his tablet, scanning the list of results. He deliberately started from the very bottom.
Total score 590? Not bad, at least no one in Second-Year Class B needed to be expelled. Come to think of it, the scores were higher than he expected. During the exam a few days ago, he noticed the school's questions were surprisingly simple—basically fundamental questions that could be answered by listening in class.
Compared to the initial estimates, they were at least 50 points higher. It seemed the school had shown mercy.
Shimizu scrolled up the rankings.
1st Place: Akito Miyake x [A certain First-Year Class D student] 2nd Place: Shimizu Akira x Nanase Tsubasa
He had performed steadily this time: full marks in Math, English, Sociology, and Chemistry, and 90 in Japanese after a 10-point deduction. Nanase was balanced, scoring around 90 in all five subjects.
Horikita Suzune was 5th, and Kushida Kikyo was 8th. Haruka, Airi, and Kei were all around 20th place. His phone vibrated repeatedly; Kamuro Masumi sent a message saying everything was fine, and Ichinose Honami also reported safety.
All seven girlfriends had passed safely.
"By the way, the comprehensive class rankings for this Special Exam are out. You can take a look," Chabashira added.
Shimizu looked up at the electronic screen:
Second-Year Class A: Average 725 points Second-Year Class C: Average 673 points Second-Year Class D: Average 640 points Second-Year Class B: Average 630 points
"Damn, we're actually in fourth place..."
"First place is Class A after all. That's the gap in academic ability."
"Wait, Class C actually took second? Is this the power of 'pay-to-win'?"
"It's within expectations, really."
The students weren't too surprised. From the start, they hadn't aimed for first place; as long as no one was expelled, it was enough. After all, the class point rewards for this exam were quite limited. Based on rank, they received 50, 30, 10, and 0 points respectively.
After this exam, the points for the four classes were updated as follows:
Second-Year Class A: 1091 + 50 = 1141 points Second-Year Class B: 1080 points Second-Year Class C: 857 + 30 = 887 points Second-Year Class D: 842 + 10 = 852 points
At first glance, it was almost identical to the end of the first year. The rankings remained the same, and Class D was still at the bottom.
Shimizu sighed softly. He probably needed to go comfort Honami's side.
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That afternoon. The Acting Chairman's Office.
All the furnishings that once belonged to Chairman Sakayanagi had vanished. The room had been completely remodeled by Tsukishiro, leaving no trace of the past. Currently, he sat in a wide leather chair. Standing before him were six people: Amasawa Ichika, Ishigami Kyo, Yagami Takuya, Utomiya Riku, Tsubasa Nanase, and Housen Kazuomi.
"Children," Tsukishiro turned slowly, a gentle smile on his face. "It seems that what I assigned to you last month... was not properly executed."
"I did it!" Amasawa was the first to raise her hand. "It just ended in failure."
Housen didn't look well, lifting his still-bandaged foot. "My foot still hurts; I put in effort too. It's not like I did nothing."
Nanase bowed politely. "Regrettably, no openings could be found on Shimizu-senpai."
Utomiya said rationally, "When Ichinose-senpai held the meeting, I tried to invite Shimizu Akira and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka to team up, but I was rejected."
Tsukishiro frowned. Amasawa, Housen, and Nanase had indeed taken action. Utomiya's words sounded like an excuse, but he had at least made a probe. He looked specifically at Ishigami Kyo and Yagami Takuya. These two had done almost nothing in the special exam that just ended.
"Ishigami," Tsukishiro called out.
Ishigami looked calm. "I originally planned to cooperate with Second-Year Class B and take the opportunity to sabotage them. Unfortunately, they ultimately chose First-Year Class D, who offered better terms. Thinking about it, Class D should be blamed for bidding too high."
"What?!" Housen exploded as soon as he heard that. "You're fucking blaming me?!" He stood up abruptly, glaring at Ishigami.
"Believe it or not, I'll beat you into a state where you can't take care of yourself."
"Alright, stop," Tsukishiro shouted quickly, making Housen suppress his anger. He turned to the last person. "Yagami, what about you?"
Takuya Yagami showed that harmless smile.
"Um... I tried inviting Kushida-senpai to team up, but I was rejected."
"Hey!" Housen couldn't help himself again. "Looking at the results, aren't you the only one who did absolutely nothing?! I went as far as self-harming to complete the task, what's with your attitude!"
Yagami shrugged. "Housen-kun, ultimately you were aiming for those 20 million private points, right? It hardly counts as a mission. On the contrary, me not interfering was more beneficial for you to get those 20 million, wasn't it?"
Housen was stunned. The others, except for Amasawa and Ishigami, couldn't help but ponder the weight of those words. It seemed to make some sense.
But Tsukishiro didn't care about that. These people were assassins from the White Room, enrolled for the purpose of getting Ayanokouji and Shimizu expelled; this was clearly making excuses.
"Yagami," he asked directly, "what is your follow-up plan?"
"Hehe." Yagami finally became somewhat serious. "Personally, I'm more interested in that Shimizu Akira than Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. During a brief chat last time, I accidentally learned that Kushida Kikyo is his girlfriend."
"Kushida is his girlfriend?" Amasawa couldn't help but interject. "The intelligence I gathered clearly said Karuizawa Kei was his girlfriend!"
No wonder Ayanokouji wanted her to become Shimizu's girlfriend. So there was more than one?
"This..." Nanase was also stunned. "Shimizu-senpai actually has a girlfriend, and multiple ones?"
"That guy is certainly enjoying the life of a polygamist," Housen gnashed his teeth, purely out of envy.
Yagami ignored their reactions and continued on his own.
"This is Shimizu Akira's weakness. The fact that he's building a harem is itself a breakthrough point. Moreover, that Kushida-senpai has a rather unsavory past. There's a lot we can do with this."
Tsukishiro frowned. "Why didn't you target Ayanokouji from the start?"
"There's no rush for Ayanokouji Kiyotaka," Yagami waved his hand. "We can handle him slowly at the very end. That gentleman's intention was also like this."
"That gentleman"—Ayanokouji's father. Hearing this, Tsukishiro asked no more.
"Is that so? Then I'll leave it to you. Remember, you have a deadline." He waved his hand, signaling them to leave.
Once the door closed, Tsukishiro leaned back in his chair, his gaze falling out the window. Since Yagami had been personally assigned tasks by Mr. Ayanokouji, he couldn't interfere too much. But the deadline was right there: one semester, at most until the end of the uninhabited island special exam. If they couldn't take down one of the targets by then, whether it was Amasawa or Yagami, it would be considered a mission failure. The White Room wouldn't keep failures. They should know that.
Outside. Yagami quickly caught up with Amasawa, who was walking ahead.
"Amasawa," he looked at her with a half-smile, "could it be that you failed the mission because of some boring admiration you hold for Ayanokouji Kiyotaka?"
Amasawa rolled her eyes. "No. I at least gave it my all; I was simply seen through."
"Is that so?" Yagami raised an eyebrow. "That man actually spared your life... that doesn't quite fit his personality." He sneered.
"It seems that in this lukewarm school, even that man has become weak?"
Amasawa almost burst into tears.
'Weak?'
That man wasn't weak at all. He clearly wanted to use her! Just this morning, he was still asking how her progress with Shimizu Akira was going.
She herself was still worrying about that very thing!
But whatever the case, it seemed she just had to go for it!
Still, the first time in her life actively pursuing a boy, and the target was a fickle playboy. As an assassin from the White Room, she was certainly experiencing a first in her life.
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