The next day, Horikita unusually spoke to me from the morning, but since the content was exactly as expected, I brushed her off with “you’re useless” and took over handling Ike and Yamauchi.

For me, who already had Ken and Kikyo on my side, dealing with those two was nothing difficult.

After school, I revealed the past exam questions to the four acting as instructors and explained that announcing them before official changes would cause confusion, so we settled on incorporating parts of them into foundational study instead.

At that time, Shiro, who had noticed the change in how Kikyo and I addressed each other, said something rather terrifying: “You’re seriously going to get stabbed,” but I’ll just feign ignorance thinking, 'Now then, did I do something?'

After that, some Class D students kindly informed us—while mocking us—about the change in test scope, so I confirmed it with Chabashira and continued the study session.

Those lacking confidence in their grades were anxious, but when I told them I had already prepared for that possibility, they felt reassured and focused on studying.

Based on the previous situation with Ken, I had distributed past exam questions to those at risk of failing three days in advance.

Since I had mixed those questions into this study session, many students seemed to memorize them smoothly.

Ken, who had been studying with me, goes without saying, but Ike and Yamauchi were also motivated by Ken’s determination and Kikyo’s encouragement, tackling their studies with high motivation.

Incidentally, I had been receiving regular reports from the Yukimura–Miyake pair and the Hasebe–Sakura pair that I arranged.

I occasionally checked in on the Hasebe–Sakura pair, gave them additional assignments, and answered questions during those times.

With the dependable Hasebe there, Sakura likely wouldn’t have to worry about failing.

During that process, I managed to get Hasebe to call me by a nickname, though it hasn’t reached “Kiyopon” yet.

And so, we successfully passed the midterms without any expulsions and were receiving praise from Chabashira.

Chabashira: "Well done. It’s rare for an initial Class D to have no expulsions in midterms. You can be proud."

Ike: "See, we can do it if we try!"

'You didn’t do anything.'

Hirata: "It’s all thanks to Ayanokouji-kun."

Ken: "He even patiently helped someone like me who was at the bottom of the class!"

Everyone nodded at that, and I responded modestly.

Kiyotaka: "No, thank you all for following someone as unreliable as me. Getting first place out of four classes was definitely thanks to everyone’s effort."

Satou: "That’s not true~ Ayanokouji-kun’s teaching was really good."

Female Student A: "You were totally different from your self-introduction."

Female Student B: "That was legendary."

Laughter filled the classroom.

'If this is the case, leaving my self-introduction as a disaster was worth it. Though honestly, it still hurts being made fun of…'

With that, the midterms came to an end.

* * *

On the morning of June 1st, confusion struck all first-year students.

Well, except for those directly involved in the incident and Hiyori and me.

Ike: "Our points haven’t been deposited."

Chabashira: "There’s currently an issue, so point distribution is delayed."

After that, the same conversation as the first run continued, but one thing was different—the attitude of Ken when he was taken away.

This time, since I had taught him anger management, he didn’t strike anyone.

That likely led to his composed and polite behavior.

The next day, even after the details of the incident were announced, no blame was directed at Ken.

There were three reasons.

His behavior had already been improving early on.

He sincerely acknowledged and apologized for the cause of the false accusation.

And I, who had accompanied him at the scene, testified to his innocence.

The second point especially showed his growth.

The initial Ken wouldn’t have listened no matter how logically I explained things.

Kiyotaka: "For now, if there are any witnesses besides me, please come forward. If it’s hard to speak in front of everyone, I’ll hear you out individually later."

After concluding with that, I called Kikyo and asked her to follow Sakura.

Just like in the first run, Sakura dropped her digital camera, so we formed a party of myself, Kikyo, Sakura, and Hasebe to go handle it.

Along the way, I used Kikyo to create a situation where I could talk alone with Sakura and drew out the conversation, “Ayanokouji-kun’s eyes aren’t scary.”

Since I exchanged contact information with Sakura and Hasebe, resolving the stalker issue should go smoothly.

Come to think of it, the night the incident details were explained, Arisu, Honami, and Hiyori visited my room and offered to cooperate, but since it would be troublesome if Ryuuen noticed an alliance now, I gently declined.

The two were surprised that even Hiyori offered to help, but since there was no need to hide it, I told them I was considering class transfer, and they accepted it.

Arisu muttered, “There’s room for consideration…” but I’d prefer she not use class points for personal desires.

* * *

And then came the day of deliberation.

Representing Class C were the best members: me, Shiro, and Ken.

Incidentally, I declined joining the student council in May because I wanted to stand on Class C’s side in this deliberation and thought showing more ability first would improve my evaluation from Manabu.

The deliberation itself ended mostly unchanged.

Even if Ken’s attitude improved or I spoke instead of Horikita, the opponent’s demands and concessions wouldn’t change.

After that, when I activated the voice recorder, just as I remembered, Sakagami made a snide remark to Sakura and made her cry, so I immediately countered.

Kiyotaka: "After this deliberation, will it be defamation from a teacher toward a student next?"

I said that and played the recording.

Sakagami: "W-what… recording someone without permission…"

Kiyotaka: "I don’t want to hear that from a teacher who damages others’ reputations."

Sakagami: "I was just stating facts."

Kiyotaka: "Isn’t this deliberation about deciding which is correct? Please make your claims after you win."

Sakagami: "Do you think you can win?"

Kiyotaka: "I’m looking forward to Sakura’s settlement money."

Leaving the trembling Sakagami behind, we returned to the classroom.

On the way back, Sakura said this to me.

Airi: "Thank you for standing up to Sakagami-sensei."

Kiyotaka: "It was nothing. I just got annoyed and responded."

Airi: "Even so, thank you. You never let him take control even once. That was… cool."

Kiyotaka: "I see. Once it’s resolved, let’s go receive the settlement together."

Airi: "Okay."

After that, I explained to the class that it would go to retrial, told them we had a guaranteed way to win, asked them to trust me, and sent them home.

* * *

The next morning, I went alone to the student council room and sent a video of Ishizaki and the others—recorded while tailing them—to Ryuuen using the contact information I remembered.

Ryuuen: "Fine, I’ll withdraw the complaint."

That’s what he said.

Right now, Ishizaki and Komiya are probably being disciplined by Ryuuen.

After that, Manabu and Tachibana arrived and informed me that the complaint had been withdrawn.

Manabu: "So this was your method."

Kiyotaka: "Yeah. I had four objectives in going along with this farce."

Manabu: "If you had evidence strong enough to withdraw the complaint, you could’ve ended it in one move."

Kiyotaka: "First, it’s a warning to Class D. By letting things play out, it shows we have enough leeway, and it also buys time before the next move."

Manabu: "Taking time on purpose instead of ending it immediately… interesting."

Kiyotaka: "Second is a bonus—the growth of classmates. As you can see, Sakura isn’t good at standing in front of others. But I thought she’d grow if forced into a situation where she had no choice."

Manabu: "Calling it a bonus means her being a witness was coincidental."

'As expected of Manabu, unlike his sister, he’s quick to understand.'

Kiyotaka: "Third is for myself. Ending it immediately would seem like I just got lucky with evidence, but presenting it at the last moment as a finishing move leaves a stronger impression and solidifies my position as leader."

Manabu: "What would you have done if I hadn’t approved the retrial?"

Kiyotaka: "I would’ve bought the right to a retrial with private points."

Manabu: "Good answer. Now, let’s move to the main topic."

Kiyotaka: "I haven’t mentioned the fourth yet."

Manabu: "If my guess is correct, there’s no need to hear it."

Kiyotaka: "Then let me apologize first for dragging out something I could’ve resolved immediately."

Manabu: "Don’t worry about it. You were simply dancing on the stage set by your opponent."

Kiyotaka: "I see."

Manabu: "If you feel even a little guilt… join the student council, Ayanokouji."

Kiyotaka: "It’s not guilt, just admiration… but I’ll accept that offer."

Manabu: "Welcome to the student council, Ayanokouji."

'Now I can properly talk with Manabu, something I wanted to do more in the first run.'

Tachibana: "Um, aren’t you forgetting about me?"

Kiyotaka: "I forgot."

Tachibana: "I was moderating too, you know! At least say something!"

Kiyotaka: "Ah, sorry."

Tachibana: "There’s no sincerity! And I’m your senior, show some respect!"

Kiyotaka: "My apologies."

Tachibana: "Much better. But it feels weird if you suddenly become polite, so just keep it as usual."

Kiyotaka: "Got it."

And with that, Ken’s violence incident came to an end.