Hoshinomiya stared at Ichinose, stunned. She truly hadn't expected that the girl who'd always prioritized keeping the class together would propose solo transfers.
Wasn't that basically Ichinose tearing apart the class she valued most—by her own hands?
But after the initial shock, Hoshinomiya snapped back to clarity.
Right… if it was for Class A, then it wasn't tearing them apart. It was sending them forward—helping her friends step onto a brighter road.
Ichinose had to be doing this with the same heart she'd always had: blessing every one of them, even as she stood between Kanzaki and the class, trapped on all sides—finding the one brutal path that could save everyone.
And somehow, that moved Hoshinomiya even more.
What a ridiculous twist of fate. Right now, what she wanted most was to drag Chabashira here and make her look—really look—at this class, at Kanzaki and Ichinose's choices.
Compared side by side, their class eleven years ago and Ichinose's class now were night and day.
Back then, their internal conflicts were explosive—like a powder keg. In front of the Unanimous Vote exam, they detonated instantly: screaming, smearing each other, accusing, fighting—nothing was off-limits.
But Ichinose's class now? They were arguing too, sure—but one boy was willing to be expelled to win a future for everyone, and another was choosing to send her friends to Class A.
Put next to that… Hoshinomiya felt her face burn with shame. Compared to Ichinose and Kanzaki, the Hoshinomiya of eleven years ago—and Chabashira too—looked selfish.
If Hoshinomiya was shaken, Kanzaki was worse.
The second Ichinose said it, he staggered backward—two steps—until his back hit the blackboard, and only then did he stop.
The stern, unbreakable mask he'd been forcing onto his face cracked completely. Panic spilled out. This was not the outcome he'd ever imagined.
It was like a rebellious general charging forward—only for the king to casually drop one sentence and pin him against a cliff.
Ichinose pressed the advantage. She didn't give Kanzaki even a sliver of room to push back—because she needed to use every second of this fixed ten-minute window.
"Kanzaki-kun… I need to apologize."
Then she turned to the class and bowed deeply, too.
"And I need to apologize to all of you. If Kanzaki-kun hadn't said it, I wouldn't have realized how much harm my choices caused—especially when I decided to help the first-years during the cross-grade pairing exam."
"From now on, I'll seize every chance to increase Private Points. I'll give everything I have to help all of you solo-transfer into Wataru's class."
Her classmates nearly tripped over themselves scrambling to reject her apology.
"Ichinose—don't apologize! Helping the first-years was something we chose too! You didn't force anyone!"
"Honami, you didn't do anything wrong! We were first-years once, too—we were lost and anxious back then. Helping them felt like helping our past selves. None of us resent it!"
"Same! One of those first-year girls even treated me to a meal after the exam. I still remember how good I felt—I ate three whole bowls of rice like it was nothing!"
Hearing them speak from the heart made Kanzaki waver. Ichinose smiled, grateful—bright and genuine.
"You guys… really are the best."
"But Kanzaki-kun's right about one thing: we're going to step into society sooner than we think. And graduating from Class A is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for everyone's future. Please—don't throw it away."
"If I can, I'll help every single one of you solo-transfer into Class A. And please don't reject it too fast."
"Kanzaki-kun's afraid you don't understand yet how valuable a Class A graduation really is—because you can't feel it in your bones."
"But I can."
Her face didn't darken at all when she spoke about hardship. If anything, she looked sunnier—steady.
"Our family is poor. You all knew that already, right?"
"My mom became a housewife right after high school. Later she had to raise me and my little sister alone. She didn't have strong academics, and she didn't have a technical skill to rely on."
"So she worked three jobs a day—washing dishes, manning registers… She was exhausted. I saw it all."
"I've never blamed her for it. I'm only grateful she raised me."
"But you guys… I never want any of you to live a life that hard."
"If we can graduate from Class A, then at least your futures will have a safety net."
The moment Ichinose tied it to her own life, the room fell quiet.
Everyone felt it—really felt it—and began imagining their own paths.
Just picturing themselves years from now, stuck ringing up customers at a convenience store or scrubbing dishes in a kitchen… left a bitter taste in their mouths.
And then the contrast hit: graduating from Class A, being able to choose your school freely, choose your job freely—an open future, a leap in social standing, a completely different life.
Reality reached into their youth.
No matter how passionate and bright their teenage years were, sooner or later, everyone had to face rent, bills, and survival.
The things they hadn't been ready to think about—Ichinose and Kanzaki had already been thinking about for them.
Realizing that, the class stood frozen, expressions tangled, unsure what they were even supposed to say.
They were still students… but for the first time, they felt how close adulthood really was—how unavoidable it was.
And that made a strong starting position feel brutally important.
No wonder those two had made their choices.
Shibata grabbed his hair again—his bird's nest getting even worse.
"Ugh—this is so damn frustrating! Kanzaki—fine, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you earlier. You really were trying to help us."
Shiranami didn't bother with pride. She clasped Ichinose's hand, tears shimmering in her eyes.
"Honami… no matter what, I'm staying with you. I'll stay and help you send everyone to Class A."
Kanzaki stared at the class—staring at how the binding that Ichinose had built was being undone… without destroying the warmth inside the room.
The beauty was still there.
And suddenly, the strength drained out of him.
He slid down the blackboard, slowly, until he was half-sitting on the podium floor—silent tears running down his face.
Time.
The fourth vote came.
[Approve: 0 votes / Oppose: 40 votes.]
Ichinose's class cleared the Unanimous Vote exam.