After finishing the contract and arriving at Class D, the previously chaotic atmosphere quieted down in an instant as I stepped inside. Hirata rushed over the moment he saw me.

“Ayanokoji, are you okay? What on earth happened?”

“Enough. The contract has been formally concluded. Bring me the five people Sakayanagi designated.”

“No, but still….”

“No backtalk. Call them over. I’m going to give instructions on how we’re going to study from now on.”

At my words, Hirata realized I had a plan and nodded. He then brought over Hondo, Okitani, Sato, Miyake and Wang, the ones Sakayanagi had pointed out. All of them looked uneasy, having been dragged into this so suddenly.

Then I gave them an exaggerated round of applause. Everyone stared at me in surprise.

“Congratulations, truly. You five here are the lucky ones who have definitively avoided failing. On top of that, I will make sure you get high scores—no, an astonishing full score of 100 in every subject.”

They all looked at each other in confusion. Even Hirata had no idea what was going on. I continued.

“Starting now, I’ll be holding a study session specifically for the five of you. I have preparations to make until after school tomorrow, so for today, study with Hirata. There’s only one rule you need to follow while attending my study sessions. Memorize everything I teach you. That’s it. Simple, right?”

While they exchanged puzzled glances, one of the five raised his hand. It was Miyake Akito, a member of the archery club.

“I have a question. Right now, the study groups are split into Study Group One led by Kushida, mainly for those with club activities and Study Group Two led by Hirata. I’m in the archery club, so I’m in Study Group Two, but the other four are in Study Group One. How are you planning to handle the schedule? Since we’re in this together now, if you tell me to take a break from my club, I’ll do so until the midterms.”

Ah, the club issue. Ideally, it would be best to ban clubs entirely until the exams, but I have no intention of using such a heavy-handed method. There’s no need for it anyway.

“Then let’s meet during the time Study Group Two meets. Club activities? Go enjoy them as much as you want. Also, my study sessions are basically short, but depending on how hard you work, they’ll get even shorter. In other words, if you five follow my instructions properly, you’ll be able to do whatever you want during exam season and still score 100 in every subject.”

Everyone looked incredulous at my utterly implausible claim, but given the impossible feats I’d shown before, their expectations were probably stronger than their doubts.

“Then for today, study on your own and come to the karaoke place by 6:30 p.m. tomorrow. Call me and I’ll send you the room number.”

“What? Ka-karaoke?”

“Studying at a karaoke place?”

“Are you serious right now?”

“It’s obviously too noisy to study!”

They all protested at the idea of a karaoke place as a study venue, but I shut them up with a logical rebuttal.

“That only applies if the door is wide open. The karaoke rooms at this school are soundproofed far beyond what you’d expect. What I’m going to teach you requires confidentiality, so it’s the perfect place. I’ll cover the rental fee in full, so don’t worry about points. And think about it—failing means expulsion, right? Do you really think there’s some lunatic who’d come to sing at a karaoke place during this period?”

Faced with my sheer confidence, the five decided to go along with it for now.

“First, the core point of my learning method is memorization. So let me ask—does anyone here have any serious or unusual memory disorders or impairments?”

“No, not really…”

“I don’t have any particular problems either.”

“If it’s just memorizing… I think I’m fine.”

“M-me too!”

“Same here.”

Okay, pass. Honestly, if someone had a pathological memory disorder, I’d have had no choice but to use violent measures, but as it is, there shouldn’t be any issues.

“Then don’t be late tomorrow. That’s all.”

I left the classroom just like that. There’s quite a bit to do, so should I just go back and get a good night’s sleep today?

Thinking about the large amount of points that would soon come in and about landing a blow on Katsuragi and Totsuka, I went back and fell asleep in high spirits, without a hint of tension.

* * *

The next day, rumors about my bet with Katsuragi had already spread throughout the entire school. A showdown between the academy’s lowest class and the very top class was bound to become a famous incident.

Even now, the way students looked at me had clearly changed. Some gazed at me with curiosity, others with concern and some openly mocked me. The ones mocking me were surely from Class A.

But none of that was worth worrying about. I already had the answer.

“Ayanokoji-san, you’ve really gotten yourself caught up in something incredible.”

“Don’t worry. I already have a method.”

“Hehe, it’s another strategy you found in the student council’s information materials, right? If possible, could you share it with me as well?”

As expected, Shiina was sharp. Since Class C isn’t particularly connected to A, it should be fine. And if it’s about keeping a secret, Shiina would definitely do so.

“Of course. For now, all we need to do is wait here.”

“Wait here without eating anything in the cafeteria? Who are we waiting for?”

“I’m going to pick out someone who’s eating the tasteless mountain vegetable set meal. Specifically, an upperclassman who clearly looks like he’s from Class D.”

“I see. Let’s look together, then.”

Shiina and I observed the students buying set meals near the ticket machines. After roughly twenty people passed by, the target I was looking for appeared.

“Found him. Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

As I kept a close eye on the student who had bought the tasteless free mountain vegetable set meal and was trudging toward the counter, I purchased the most expensive special set meal ticket available.

After receiving our meals, Shiina and I approached the target and sat down on either side of him.

“Excuse us. You’re a senior, right?”

“…Huh? Who are you?”

Suddenly finding two pretty girls sitting next to him, the target looked thoroughly flustered. I put on an unusually bright smile and spoke.

“Are you a second-year? Or a third-year?”

“I’m a third-year. Why? You’re first-years?”

“Yes, I’m Shiina from Class D.”

For the record, I’d instructed Shiina beforehand to pretend she was from Class D.

“I’m Ayanokoji from Class D as well. Are you also from Class D, senpai?”

“…W-what does that have to do with you?”

Definitely Class D. At this time of year, anyone eating a tasteless mountain vegetable set meal with a gloomy expression is almost certainly from Class D. Having confirmed that, I removed the mountain vegetable set meal in front of him and offered him the special set meal I’d bought.

“…What are you doing? Give that back.”

“I’ve tried the special set meal myself and it’s really delicious. The juicy hamburger steak, the crispy fried items and even the fresh, crunchy cabbage salad—everything is excellent.”

“Especially the finishing dessert. The sweetness in your mouth cuts through the greasiness left by the fried food.”

Our friendly explanation made the target swallow audibly. Still, he seemed hesitant about whether he was really allowed to eat it.

“You look like you’re hesitating, but it’s fine. We’re giving this to you to start a conversation smoothly because we have a favor to ask. Of course, we plan to discuss proper compensation separately.”

“…Compensation?”

“Yes. This meal is separate. Go ahead and eat.”

After hesitating, the target slowly picked up his fork, cut into the hamburger steak and put it in his mouth.

“Woah…”

Probably overwhelmed by the taste of meat juices he hadn’t had in a long time, the target moved his fork and mouth rapidly, as if afraid someone might snatch it away.

In less than five minutes, he’d finished the entire special set meal and stared blankly at the now-empty plate.

“Now let’s talk. The compensation will, of course, be in private points.”

“Points… what do you want?”

At the mention of private points, the target immediately agreed to hear the details.

“By 6 p.m. today, I want the first-year midterm exam questions from two years ago. If you don’t have them, please get them from another Class D senior.”

The target looked briefly startled by my proposal, then quickly composed himself. Understandable—buying and selling exam questions is unthinkable in a normal school.

“D-do you even understand what you’re saying?”

“There’s nothing wrong with it, is there? Using old questions isn’t something that violates school rules, as far as I know.”

“Why are you asking me something like this?”

“Simple. I figured someone struggling due to a lack of points would be more likely to accept my offer. And sure enough, you’re eating this tasteless mountain vegetable set meal. I’ve eaten it several times myself for health reasons and no matter how many times I eat it, it tastes like garbage. So, what’ll it be?”

I was confident the target was a mid-tier student within his class. But being in Class D forced him into a life with chronically low points, which he resented. If he were too stupid or too smart, he might leak or exploit my proposal, so a middle-ground type was ideal.

“…How much will you pay?”

“I’m thinking of 10,000 points as an upper limit.”

“I don’t have that. But… I do know someone who probably does. If you want me to ask him, it’ll take 30,000 points.”

An obvious lie. The target already had what I wanted. He was trying to increase the payout with excuses. Not bad. Well, I’d been prepared to go up to 30,000 anyway, so there was no reason not to accept. Time is precious, so I’ll gladly play along.

“Very well. Please make sure you keep the time.”

“Then we have a deal. Of course, you pay the points first.”

“I don’t mind. But if you betray us, even if you’re a senior, be prepared. I’ll retaliate using every means available, even if it means getting expelled.”

“…You’re pretty aggressive. Don’t worry. Once points are transferred, there’s a record anyway. I don’t want rumors spreading about ripping off a junior.”

“Then I’m counting on you.”

The target seemed to understand both my aim and my thinking.

“Thank you. Oh, we’ll take care of this mountain vegetable set meal.”

“Let’s at least exchange greetings if we meet again.”

With the negotiation successful, Shiina and I quickly stood up. Drawing attention would be troublesome, after all.

Alright, that takes care of the third-year. Next, shall we negotiate with a second-year?

* * *

We immediately targeted another second-year Class D student who appeared to be in the middle tier and successfully bought the exam papers using the same method. This time, perhaps because he didn’t know the proper price, we bought them for 20,000 points—10,000 less than before.

In less than thirty minutes, the attachments sent by the two targets arrived on my phone.

“To think you’d plan to get old exam questions. With this, you’ll definitely win the bet.”

“Well, it all went exactly as I expected. Look—both sets of questions match perfectly.”

The student council materials contained information about the quizzes taken by the current second and third-years immediately after enrolling, last year and the year before. At first, I’d thought they were just quizzes and paid them little mind, but during our own quiz, I felt something off about the questions.

Only after reexamining the student council materials did I realize that last year’s, the year before last’s and even this year’s quizzes were completely identical, down to every single character. That was when I formed a hypothesis.

There was no reason for the school to include questions that couldn’t be solved. Then perhaps the exam had another purpose beyond academic ability. So what did it mean that the same questions had appeared in past quizzes?

It meant that if you looked at old questions, you could answer everything correctly. And this could likely be applied to the midterms as well.

And my hypothesis was correct.

The first-year midterm exams from last year and the year before, obtained from second and third-years, matched perfectly, down to every single character.

In other words, memorizing these midterm exams guaranteed you’d avoid failing and even achieve a perfect score in every subject.

“More than anything, what made me almost certain was Chabashira-sensei’s tone when she talked about the midterms. It was strangely distinctive. It felt like she was subtly implying that while she fully understood the failing students’ grades and study attitudes, there was a way to get through without any expulsions.”

From the start, I thought it was most relevant that students who couldn’t study had been admitted to this school. I believed that while the straightforward approach would never earn them points, there would be loopholes or methods scattered around. Obtaining past exams made it naturally convincing that anyone could score near-perfect marks.

“There were a few in our class who were right on the edge of failing, but this will save them. I’ll send you half of the 50,000 private points you sent me—25,000.”

“Huh? No, it’s fine. Just take it. It’s not that large an amount and I have plenty.”

“Absolutely not. No matter how many points you have, I can’t let you be the only one taking a loss.”

I still had enough points from selling information to Sakayanagi and if I won the bet, I’d receive points equivalent to what Class A gets monthly, so it really was fine… but Shiina insisted and I reluctantly accepted.

“How is your class studying, Shiina?”

“Kaneda-kun and I are leading sessions for an hour after each class, focusing on weaker subjects. Everyone’s desperate since expulsion is on the line.”

“Very good. This is the most important part—make sure to share these exam papers the day before the test.”

“What? Why, when we worked so hard to get them?”

“If it becomes known that these are truly effective, the tension will naturally ease and it could kill the motivation that’s been burning so strongly.”

At that, Shiina clapped her hands.

“I see! If we tell everyone about the consistency of past exams and the old questions, they’ll all desperately try to memorize them. We can fan the flames of motivation even further.”

“Exactly. And if someone still fails after all that… honestly, there’s no room for sympathy even if they get expelled.”

Of course, I intend to ensure that the five involved in the bet get perfect scores in every subject. If they resist, I’m prepared to use violence.

“Do you think the other classes know about this?”

“I’m not sure about Class B, but Sakayanagi in Class A definitely noticed. She’ll hide it from the Katsuragi faction, but she’ll absolutely use this method within her own faction.”

“Hmm, you mean that person who’s your childhood friend, Ayanokoji-san?”

“Childhood friend… well, it’s close enough.”

In truth, Sakayanagi and I are closer to allies holding each other’s lifelines than friends. But there’s no need to go into detail. It could invite sanctions against Class C.

“I heard she calls you by your first name?”

“Huh? Ah, that’s because she’s closer to my brother than to me. Since we share the same surname, it gets confusing, so she uses my name.”

“I see. Unlike her, I’ve never met your older brother… but I’d like to call you by your first name too.”

By my first name? The only people who’d ever called me that were the man called my father, my brother, Matsuo, the White Room fourth generation and Sakayanagi after coming to this academy. No friend had ever called me by my name before.

“Is that okay? I’ll call you Aoi-san, so please call me Hiyori.”

More than anything, I’d never called anyone by their name either. Being called by name for the first time by a precious friend… it didn’t feel bad.

“Alright. I look forward to working with you, Hiyori.”

“Likewise, Aoi-san.”

Yes—for the sake of a peaceful school life with Shiina… no, with Hiyori, I will absolutely survive and win at this school.

No matter… what price I have to pay.