Houtarou Oreki Classroom of the Elite

The two went to the second floor.

The library had five floors in total. The second floor was relatively empty, mainly used by students for reading. Third floor and above were reserved for second and third-year upperclassmen's study space.

The third-year students in Classes C and D, having abandoned hope of advancing to Class A, were now focused simply on improving their scores incrementally.

For the second-year students, the class competition had been reduced to securing free tuition, though they still had to cover living expenses. Students in Classes B, C, and D had accepted Miyabi's arrangement, knowing it essentially eliminated their chance of reaching Class A.

Those who were thinking about their future had taken to studying. Their textbooks could often be found in the fourth-floor study rooms.

Recently, first-year students from Classes C and D had been working diligently, each adopting their own study methods.

Rokusuke had established a study group that met in the classroom.

As for Class D, they too remained in their classroom. According to Kakeru, their academic abilities were so poor and their focus so weak that visiting the library would only lead them to browse extracurricular books instead of solving problems.

But Kakeru's own grades weren't impressive either. Without Rokusuke's strict teaching approach, progress was difficult. As a result, Class D's advancement remained slow.

Houtarou and Mio sat down at a four-person table.

"First." Houtarou said, "I'm a Class A student, so my actions are for my class's benefit."

This admission confirmed what Mio suspected — he had indeed deceived her, just as he had during the Island Exam when he directed her to Honami's side.

"..." She remained quiet before asking, "Then during the Sports Festival, what did you put in the towel you handed to me?"

Oh. That.

Mio had concluded that Houtarou was truly villainous.

She recalled the Sports Festival when she was running with Suzune, and he'd offered her a towel — which she hadn't taken. Now, viewing him as untrustworthy, she wondered if even that gesture had been part of some scheme.

"I didn't tamper with the towel. It was simply a towel." Houtarou said.

"..." Mio paused, "But you planted a voice recorder on Horikita, didn't you? And Ryūen's plan failed."

"That was his own doing. Yes, I planted a voice recorder on Horikita, but if Ryūen hadn't done anything wrong, nothing would have been recorded. If anything, isn't it worse that your class was deliberately trying to harm others?" Houtarou said.

Mio: "..."

When explained this way, it became clear that Kakeru was in the wrong, while Houtarou had merely been protecting himself.

Kakeru had instructed everyone to paint this guy as an evil mastermind villain, but in reality, he was the one who kept failing.

Their Class Points had been completely drained, mainly due to their various rule violations being discovered.

Though Houtarou's methods were extreme, from an objective standpoint, they were simply cautious defensive measures. After all, Kakeru was the one who broke the rules — if he hadn't violated any regulations, none of Houtarou's preparations would have mattered.

Was it really right to keep supporting Kakeru?

"Then... why does someone from Class A keep helping Class C students?" Mio asked.

"Horikita and I have a history, and we might get married in the future." Houtarou said.

Marriage?

Mio was startled, but she wasn't naive. She understood immediately.

Of course — Houtarou and Suzune were dating. Helping one's partner was perfectly reasonable.

Mio found herself speechless.

"If I'm not mistaken, you've been following me these past few days on Ryūen's orders?" Houtarou inquired.

"..." Mio hesitated, "He said Class B agreed to exchange exam papers with our class too easily this time, despite our compromises and deals.

But Class B students somehow produced numerous versions of junior high textbooks, putting immense pressure on us — something they couldn't have done alone. He suspects you were involved.

So he wants me to follow you until the exam papers are submitted on the 24th. Even if you weren't involved, this will prevent any interference. After all, constant surveillance is irritating."

Is being watched and followed all the time really that annoying?

Houtarou found the surveillance manageable, though being constantly watched was troublesome since it meant he had to be more careful — for example, he couldn't easily visit Kikyō.

Now he understood why Mio was following him.

Initially, he'd assumed she wanted to confront him about being deceived. Instead, this was Kakeru's strategy to prevent any interference from Houtarou.

Kakeru feared that Houtarou might convince Class B to break their agreement and switch the exam papers during submission. Despite a month of supplementary lessons, some Class D students were still likely to fail.

Such an outcome would have devastating consequences for the class.

How paranoid, Kakeru. I'm not that devious — there's no need for such extreme measures.

"I noticed you weren't really enjoying your book on the ship earlier." Houtarou said.

"Well, it's a personal challenge." Mio replied, "I want to read 1,000 books during high school. I'll read anything, whether I understand it or not."

She approached reading like a collector gathering stamps.

This revealed something about her character. Though she clearly had her own mindset, she still followed Kakeru's orders, presumably hoping to reach Class A.

Given that she was reviewing basic junior high vocabulary while tailing him, her academic performance likely needed work. Despite having personal ambitions, her scholastic abilities weren't sufficient, leaving her dependent on Kakeru's promise of reaching Class A.

In that case...

"You should consider joining Rokusuke's study group in Class C." Houtarou suggested, "His sessions run through the end of this month. Attending some classes could help you improve. And you can stop following me — I won't interfere with the exam paper exchange."

Having extracted information from the trusting Mio while encouraging her independence from Kakeru's influence, Houtarou headed up the stairs.

He had noticed a silver-haired girl entering the library — someone he'd seen once before. She'd made an impression with her gray stockings and striking appearance.

She appeared to need assistance, having glanced up at the top shelf multiple times.

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