Jojo : OK onto the next video. Now we are going to see the ending of the mixed camp exam.

Ryuuen : Kukuku, finally this will be great. Be prepared to loose your money Mr.Notice me.

Kiryuuin : I'm gonna become rich.

Sakayanagi : Fufu, I can already smell my money.

Nagumo : Haha, keep dreaming.

"What did you do, Nagumo!?"

The 3rd year Fujimaki from Class A approached him as though he just

realized what's going on. The older Horikita didn't follow suit but his

expression turned grim.

"The announcement is still ongoing, senpai. Please calm down. Currently this has nothing to do with you, Fujimaki-senpai. A Class B got expelled, that's all. In fact, isn't it great that a rival of yours has fallen?"

Sakayanagi : Fufu, but it was never about Class B.

Ryuuen : Kuku, it was about that purple loli.

He answered with a scornful laugh.

"Umm, please remain silent. This is truly unfortunate but in taking responsibility, Ikari-san will have to be expelled. Furthermore, since the group can opt to go with joint responsibility, please consult me at a later. Moving on, I'll announce which girls' group took 1st place."

Despite saying how unfortunate it was, the announcements continued on

solemnly. However, the older Horikita no longer cared about having taken 1st

place. He got caught up in it just the way he was meant to be. It's precisely

because he's an outstanding and exemplary person that he got beaten by

Nagumo Miyabi. An unexpected attack.

"Ayanokouji, why is Fujimaki-senpai so angry...? Like Nagumo-senpai said,

the leader's a student from Class B. Isn't that great news for Class A?"

Keisei whispered his doubts into my ear.

"No, it's not about the leader. I think it's about who's going to get dragged

down along with her."

Nagumo : Now I'm interested in seeing how much you knew about it.

"Ehh?"

We were ordered to disband and while they prepare the bus for the return trip, we are allowed free time to change our clothes. Nagumo stood boldly and

called over a single girl.

"Ikari-senpai, please tell us. Everyone's curious to know who you're going to

be dragging down with you."

Sakayanagi : Aren't you acting a little cocky here president.

Nagumo : Haha, of course not.

Ikari, from the 3rd years' Class B and slated for expulsion, appears calm. On

the contrary, the ones worried are the girls who share a group with her.

Ikari's group consists mainly of Class Bs and Class Ds. There's no doubt

about it, since it's information given by Asahina and Kei. Also, among them......there's also the figure of the sole participant from Class A, Tachibana Akane. I looked at the older Horikita. And I then addressed him slowly in my mind.

Look, I get it. To ensure that you all graduated from Class A, and also

to counter Nagumo, you instructed every Class A student, both guys and

girls, not to take on the role of representative. Didn't you? Because as long

as you produced solid scores, none of you would get expelled.

However, you knew that wasn't an airtight defense. That was why you

accepted Nagumo's challenge, making sure to set the conditions that the fight

be above the board, in an attempt to defend against his malice. You also

avoided making any imprudent contact with the girls, hoping to lower the risk

of Nagumo exploiting that opening and targeting them.

You exhausted every measure available to you, and still kept things

civil, I'll grant you that. But even so, Nagumo's malice knows no bounds. I

don't need to say much more about that, though.

Hearing this nagumo laughed.

Manabu : ' He's right.'

This special exam was a trap that Nagumo had set without even the

school realizing it. The people who had gotten caught in his trap understood

the situation they were in now. Their faces had gone so pale that it looked

like they might collapse any moment.

Hosen : Haa, crafty bastard Haha.

"Well, isn't that obvious? It's the student who made sure our group

knew no peace. Tachibana Akane-san, from Class A," spat Ikari angrily,

speaking loud enough for everyone to hear.

Tachibana : Horikita‐kun I'm sorry for..

Manabu : There's no need for you to apologize. I already told you that you didn't do anything wrong.

Tachibana : Ha yes.

Seriously she should just confess to him already.

"Nagumo... You promised Horikita that you wouldn't involve any

third parties in this, didn't you?" shouted Fujimaki. He rounded on Nagumo, getting in his face, like he was about to start throwing punches.

"Please wait. This has nothing to do with me."

"That's a bald-faced lie!"

Fujimaki was furious, and it was obvious why. No one here was fooled. Nagumo had known what was going on.

"Well, I'll go notify the school who I'll be dragging down with me,"

announced Ikari indifferently, heading off toward the instructor. Her

classmate Ishikura went with her, nestling close. No one could do anything to stop what was happening. Even

Hashimoto recognized that.

"Tachibana-senpai dragged down Ikari-senpai's group," he said. "As a

result, their group's score fell below the average, so she's being taken down

as well via the solidary rule. That's all there is to it, isn't it?"

Unlike Fujimaki, Horikita's brother called over to Tachibana, who stood still, before he approached Nagumo. Some of the third-year students walked away, the looks on their faces indicating that they couldn't even bring themselves to say anything in the current situation.

"Horikita-kun, I'm sorry...!"

"Tachibana, why didn't you consult with me sooner? Surely you should have noticed something was amiss."

"That's because...I knew that you would take the burden upon yourself, Horikita-kun..." said

Sato : I feel kinda sad seeing this.

Matsushita : Back then we were more worried about ourselves.

Tachibana, apologizing, in tears.

She likely hadn't noticed at first. How she'd been caught in a trap from

the moment the groups were decided. But as time passed, she must have

sensed something was wrong...sensed that the group she had been placed in

was created for the sole purpose of taking down Tachibana Akane. And still, she'd faced the exam, working as hard as she could in hopes of a miracle. But as you might expect, reality was cruel. Still, Tachibana should have been prepared to accept this. Even if she was expelled, it would only cost Class A one hundred class points.

Sakayanagi : He used a one time strategy like that to expel someone insignificant.

Ryuuen : Truly a move of someone who wants nothing but attention.

"Ah, such beautiful friendship. Or perhaps I should call it love? Anyway, congratulations to you, Horikita-senpai. Once again, please allow me to pay you my compliments. I've lost."

A loser would never speak in the tone of voice Nagumo did now. I doubted there was a single person here who believed what he said.

"It was a truly fantastic strategy. No, perhaps I should say that it was a

strategy that went well beyond what is expected. There is not a single person

here who can read my intentions, and that includes you, Horikita-senpai,"

said Nagumo. He laughed loudly, not ceasing his attacks on his injured

opponent. "Please, enlighten me, Tachibana-senpai. How does it feel to have served on the student council, to have been on verge of graduating from Class A, only to then be expelled? And Horikita-senpai, how do you feel right

now? I'm sure you must be positively filled with feelings of frustration, the

likes of which you've never felt before. Hmm?"

Nagumo started laughing as if he was reliving that moment of satisfaction due to his victory over Horikita senpai.

The younger horikita wasn't looking too good. She's probably feeling angry and sad.

Ryuuen : Hey monster why don't you enlighten this moron.

Kiyotaka : Sigh * It will be shown.

After hearing what Nagumo said, Horikita sighed quietly.

"Why didn't you go after me?" he asked.

"Because I can't imagine you ever being expelled, even if I tried such a method on you, senpai. I was terrified you'd counter me with some method I couldn't anticipate. But more importantly, I've never actually wanted you to be expelled, Horikita-senpai. If anything, if you got expelled, then we wouldn't be able to see each other, would we? That's why, of all the many possible targets, I went after Tachibana-senpai. I wanted to see your face when I made her disappear," said Nagumo.

Kamuro : He's like a creep.

He laughed as he said it, as though implying he'd done it purely for curiosity's sake, or on a whim.

Nagumo : If I wanted then I could have expelled anyone.

"I understand that we have very different principles, but I trusted you.

Regarding the matter of competition, I had thought you were a man capable

of facing me directly, head-to-head. It would appear that I was wrong," said

Horikita.

Ryuuen : Kuku, indeed you were. Like this asshole has the guts to fight head to head.

Nagumo just laughed it off.

Nagumo apparently took no offense to this.

"Trust is an awful lot like experience points in a game," he said. "The

more you accumulate, the more you increase your worth. I think that the

ultimate form of this is family. If you ran into a stranger when you were out

and about at night, you'd be cautious. But if that person happened to be

family, then you'd drop your guard. It's like that, Horikita-senpai. Though I feel you don't like me very much, I've managed to gain a certain degree of

your trust over these past two years. Even though our values were different,

I've always done everything that I said I would do. I followed your instructions and stuck to the rules. That being said, you are a rather canny upperclassman. I'm sure you didn't trust me completely, did you?"

It was safe to assume that Nagumo knew the orders that Horikita's brother had issued his class to protect them and collect information.

"However...even if you had your suspicions about me, it wasn't as

though you could betray me first, senpai," added Nagumo. That was the downside of a nonaggressive defense policy.

"You've lost something rather significant because of your curiosity,

Nagumo."

"Oh, you mean your trust? I chose to discard that myself. For the sake

of trying to gain an understanding of my senpai, who cares so deeply for his

juniors."

Ryuuen : Kuku, threw away the trust, guess he didn't need it anymore.

Sakayanagi : Fufu, but that trust will have many advantages if it is used properly, right masumi‐san.

Kamuro : Huh , don't ask me about it.' Creepy loli.'

Nagumo had proven that he cared nothing for promises. He wanted to

fight without limiting factors such as trust and respect. That was the kind of

challenge he was offering.

"I've come to understand how you do things quite well," said Horikita

Manabu.

"I'm glad to hear that. This was, after all, nothing more than a warm-

up," replied Nagumo. "I'm fine with getting people expelled, if I have to.

That's the way this school operates."

While everyone else panicked, Horikita continued to speak calmly.

"You seem to be operating under the impression that Tachibana will be

expelled."

"W-wait, Horikita-kun!" Tachibana shouted.

But there was a fierce determination in Horikita's eyes.

Kanzaki : So he's going to use their points.

Katsuragi : At this point that's the only way.

"Oh, ho? I thought we were going to end with a draw, both of us losing

something. But you're really gonna spend all that? I mean, that would mean a lot of money and class points."

Revocation of expulsion. The ultimate tool that anyone could use, as long as they met the requirements.

"Please, don't do this. This is all my fault..."

Tachibana desperately tried to stop Horikita. However, it seemed

Fujimaki shared Horikita's opinion, as he addressed Class A.

"We understand. We've made it this far as Class A because we understand it better than anyone else. Isn't that right?"

"That's exactly right, Horikita. No need to hold back. Use it."

Some of their classmates spoke up to voice their support.

"Are you really okay with this, Horikita-senpai? For a third-year class

to save a student from expulsion right now would mean essentially giving up

your position as Class A, you know?"

"Even if we give up our position, all we need to do is take it back again. As you said, that's how this school operates."

Asashina : That's the confidence senpai.

Sakayanagi : So the former president was like Ichinose‐san in that category.

"Is that so? Well, I guess that's fine."

Miyabi was probably going to amicably discuss the strategy he had in mind from this point onward. I already knew what that strategy was. There was no need for me to stay and hang on to every word. Besides, there was nothing I could do, even if I stayed.

Nagumo : Ohh you knew what I was going to do huh.

Sakayanagi : He already knew everything.

Koenji : Haha, President your strategy only worked because it was at ayanokouji-boy's mercy.

Ryuuen : Kuku, tell him tarzan‐boy.

Horikita Suzune had anxiously watched the entire situation unfold, from beginning to end. She was looking so intently at her older brother that

she didn't even notice me as I walked away, which was fine by me.

Ryuuen : Oii suzune how did it feel to see your brother suffer like that.

Horikita gave him a glare and stayed silent.

I left the gymnasium. When I did, I saw Kei standing near the entrance,

looking like she was waiting for me. As I stepped out into the corridor, she

followed a little way behind me.

"Everything happened the way you said it would, Kiyotaka. You seriously knew what was going to happen. You knew Tachibana-senpai would be targeted. I would have thought anyone other than Horikita-senpai would've been fair game for Nagumo to target..."

Hearing this Nagumo's smile started to fade away slowly.

Kiryuuin : Haha, now we are getting into the best part.

Sakayanagi : Fufu, be ready to sent those points president.

Horikita manabu had a smile on his face.

Ryuuen : Kukuku, now let's hear what the monster has to say.

"It was the rules of the special exam," I said. "As soon as I heard the student council was involved in its planning, I thought this might happen. It's certainly true that anyone could have been targeted. However, Nagumo went through the trouble of setting up a trap this complex. If he wanted to stick the knife in as deep as possible, his targets were limited. The only female student that Horikita had a deep connection with was Tachibana."

That was the conclusion I'd drawn after piecing together information from Kei, Ichinose, and Asahina.

Nagumo : Nazuna, what exactly did you tell him ?

Asahina : He just only asked about the group structure on girls side that's all. No need to get angry OK.

Nagumo : How do you even know him in first place.

Asashina : Hehe, it was a work of destiny you could say.

Destiny haa, well I guess you could say that.

Kei : Kiyotaka how do you know her and what does she mean by destiny.

Kei asks me with a smile but I can clearly see her evil side behind that smile.

I then started explaining about how I got an amulet from the ground and it belonged to asashina‐senpai and all that until she was satisfied.

Also, there was a clear sense of collusion going on between Nagumo and Ishikura. It was clear those two were connected. Nagumo hadn't just gathered all the second-year students under his wing. He'd also brought all the third-year students who weren't in Class A over to his side.

"I'm sure everyone in the large group colluded to get a low score. The

members of Tachibana's small group must've been holding back quite a bit,

too. That way, it was simple for them to fall below the threshold."

But Kei didn't seem quite convinced.

Matsushita : I don't quite get it either.

Ichinose : Aren't they expelling there own classmate by doing that.

Kanzaki : It looks like both Class A and B are getting dragged down.

Hashimoto : That's insane.

"But why did he use Class B? It would've been fine if he put a Class D student in charge as representative. I mean, since he used Class B, that means

Horikita-senpai is still in Class A, right? If Nagumo wanted to knock him down to Class B, shouldn't he have gone with a Class D student?"

Kei had a good eye. She was certainly right about that.

Sato : Aren't you quite smart kei‐chan.

Kei : Hehe, it's nothing.

She said scratching her cheeks.

If that was Nagumo's goal, it would've been an excellent strategy for him to make a Class D student the representative, thereby lessening the gap between Class A and Class B that way. Or so you'd assume, normally.

Kanzaki : What do you mean normally.

"It's precisely because it was Class B that this was possible. If Tachibana acquitted her tasks during this special exam without issue, it wouldn't be easy to get her expelled via the solidarity rule. Unless the three classes all came together, the strategy wouldn't be viable. Let's consider third-year Class D. They're the least likely to make it to Class A before graduation, given their current situation. If a student from Class D was the representative, they might decide to name a student from B or C to take down with them in order to move their class up, even if it's just by one level. But it would be pointless to drag down a student from a lower class at this

juncture."

Matsushita : So that's how it is.