Ryuen Kakeru looked at the bulletin board.
The final battle of the first year had already concluded.
First Year Class A vs. First Year Class B, the former defeated the latter with five wins and two losses, successfully seizing 190 Class Points.
As for their First Year Class C, they lost to First Year Class D, with three wins and four losses. Although it was a close fight, a loss was still a loss.
Including the losses before the exam, First Year Class C lost a total of 230 Class Points, dropping from the original 494 to 264.
Thus, the class rankings changed.
First Year Class A: 2246.
First Year Class B: 922.
First Year Class C: 321.
First Year Class D: 264.
...
"No way, we actually became Class D!?"
Ishizaki stared at the bulletin board in disbelief.
At this moment, even Ibuki Mio showed emotional fluctuation.
"Ryuen, don't you think you owe us an explanation now?"
This girl couldn't accept this outcome at all.
She had trusted Ryuen so much, enduring his behavior all along, yet the Class Points hadn't increased—instead, they had dropped significantly.
She now doubted what she had been busy with all year. Why did the harder she try, the worse her luck became?
Her class's points kept falling, while Class A's points kept rising, reaching an outrageous level. Ibuki Mio was almost driven to despair.
When would they ever catch up to Class A's dust?
"Class Points are only temporary. Whether in Class C or Class D, the result is the same." Ryuen casually slipped his trembling hand into his pocket.
"Why are you all so anxious? It's something we can recover in a single Special Exam."
Ibuki said angrily, "Don't joke around! We need 2,000 points to surpass Class A. Are we just going to keep giving away our Class Points like this?"
At this point, Ishizaki had to step in to defend Ryuen.
"Ibuki, don't say that. It's actually my fault—I was the one who carelessly gave away the points. Blame me if you must."
Ryuen taking the responsibility for him moved him deeply.
Though he couldn't figure out why he had been at the café, he had already resolved to follow Ryuen for life.
Seeing the sincere and guilty expression on Ishizaki's face, and then glancing at Ryuen, Ibuki couldn't help but say resentfully.
"Fine! Do whatever you want!"
With that, Ibuki strode straight out of the school building.
Ishizaki looked worried. "She seems really angry."
"Don't mind her. She'll get over it soon."
Ryuen wasn't the least bit concerned about Ibuki, she was just frustrated with him.
However, what Ryuen hadn't anticipated was that Ibuki had recently found another target for her resentment.
Ibuki had already planned how to get back at Kaoru, but her own side's failure left her with no face to carry out her revenge.
How could she not be furious?
Sooner or later, she would pay him back fiercely!
...
"Should we throw a celebration party?"
Kushida looked enthusiastically at Ichinose Honami and Horikita Suzune.
"We've finally made it to Class C, fulfilling Horikita's delusion. I think we should do something fun, don't you?"
Horikita Suzune's lips twitched slightly.
What did she mean by "fulfilling her delusion"?
"Can I join too?"
Ichinose Honami was pleasantly surprised.
She didn't mind hanging out with students from other classes, and if Kushida invited her, she'd be happy to come.
Kushida Kikyo knew she had misunderstood but still grinned cheerfully. "Of course! If the others find out Honami-chan is joining, they'll be thrilled."
Ichinose felt a bit embarrassed.
She wasn't from Class D, so attending their celebration might seem a bit presumptuous.
"But that's not what I meant just now."
Kushida chuckled mischievously. "I meant a small party with just the few of us—with Horikita as the star."
Horikita Suzune turned her face away, pretending not to hear.
"Huh? Why do you say that?"
Ichinose looked a bit confused.
"Ahem, because Horikita worked really hard?"
As she spoke, Kushida moved closer to Horikita and gently took her hand, her innocent eyes sparkling.
"Horikita, even though I'm not exactly happy with you, I trust your character. You'll keep the promise you made to me before, right?"
Interrupted from her reading, Horikita had no choice but to meet Kushida's sly gaze and sighed helplessly.
"I haven't forgotten what I said. Do whatever you want."
"Great!"
Kushida's smile widened, and then she promptly released Horikita's hand with a look of distaste.
"What are you two talking about?"
Ichinose watched them, completely lost, unsure what they were scheming.
"Hehe, with Spring Break being so long, of course we need to find something to do."
Kushida turned and pressed close to Ichinose, showing her the screen on her phone. "Look, with this many Personal points, shouldn't we buy something?"Ichinose Honami immediately became interested—cosmetics and clothes were timeless fashion topics for girls!
"Is this the compensation Ryūen-kun recently paid you?"
"That's right, but sudden windfalls can be troublesome. I need to find an opportunity to treat the class to something, otherwise someone might get jealous, and I'll probably have people asking to borrow money."
"Eh?"
"So I have to buy something quickly now."
When Ichinose Honami saw what Kushida Kikyo had bought, her eyes widened in surprise. A blush crept onto the girl's lovely face, spreading all the way down her fair neck.
"Uwa... K-Kikyo... these things... you, you..."
She couldn't bring herself to say it—it was really too lewd. "That celebration you mentioned earlier, it couldn't be..."
Kushida Kikyo blinked, confirming it meant exactly what she imagined.
In that instant, Ichinose Honami recalled the notebook Kushida Kikyo had shown her recently, claiming it contained Kaoru's preferences, and suddenly panicked.
She didn't mind parties, but the things Kushida intended to use were really... too disgusting.
"Ahaha, I just remembered I have something to do! Let's talk later!"
Ichinose Honami tried to escape.
This girl didn't just want to turn herself into a cream puff—she wanted to see others become cream puffs too.
As soon as she stood up, she immediately felt someone firmly grab her clothes.
"Wait a minute! Horikita is the main focus. She promised me we'd just cheer from the sidelines."
Kushida Kikyo wrapped an arm around her waist. "If you agree, Tachibana-senpai will come too. Let's all play together!"
"N-no... I-I can't do that!"
Ichinose Honami's face was completely red.
She didn't believe Kushida Kikyo's lies for a second—if Kaorugot carried away, there was no way they'd just be watching from the sidelines.
They'd probably join in directly.
Just then, the sound of the entrance door opening came from the genkan.
"Ya-hoo, we're back!"
Following Karuizawa Kei's cheerful voice, she appeared clinging to Kaoru's arm, practically glued to him, while smiling and greeting the girls in the room.
Kushida Kikyo's face lit up with wild joy—her teammate was back.
Karuizawa Kei would definitely agree to the party invitation since only she and Karuizawa had such strange ideas in their heads.
"W-welcome back!"
Ichinose Honami sounded somewhat flustered, perhaps thinking about the fate awaiting her, her voice pitching higher.
"Eh, where's Sakayanagi-san?"
Kaoru, unaware of their earlier conversation, casually replied, "She's still brooding over today's events. Probably hard for her to swallow her pride. Let her cool off for a while."
Karuizawa Kei pouted discontentedly. "Why care about her? I'll just pin her down for you—one round of conditioning and she'll behave."
"That's too violent."
As Kaoru entered the room, he noticed Horikita Suzune had inexplicably turned away, refusing to even face him.
"Violent is fine! I'll definitely help you."
Karuizawa Kei wished he'd be even more violent—that way no one would dare steal her man.
Kaoru didn't overthink it, only subconsciously feeling his room might be getting too crowded.
If they added Sakayanagi Arisu too, he wouldn't know where to put her.
"Now, now, let's not talk about that. She's just a loser anyway." Kushida Kikyo seized the opportunity to sidle up to Kaoru.
"What are your plans for Spring Break, Master?"
Her intense hints made Ichinose Honami feel dizzy—the world of this notebook was truly terrifying!
"I'll just carry on as usual," Kaoru replied. "It's only a week. The day after tomorrow is the graduation ceremony, followed by our closing ceremony, and then new student orientation right after. Everything's moving too fast."
Kushida Kikyo nodded in agreement, sighing regretfully. "Ah, the time really is short. There's not much worth visiting at Keyaki Mall anyway. We'll have to settle for playing small games in the room."
Kaoru snapped back to attention and saw her flashing an angelic smile.
"Hey, hey, hey~ I think we should take this chance to deepen our bond, Master," she said, respectfully handing her phone to Kaoru.
Ichinose Honami's face instantly turned ashen.
Kaoru glanced at it and froze for a long moment.
Had she immediately splurged on these things after becoming wealthy?