Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's POV:

What happened was strange. After Horikita failed her group project, I received a message from Hishida. He said he wanted us to meet at a specific time and place. But he was late, and during his absence, I witnessed the confrontation between Horikita and Manabu. Something told me this wasn't a coincidence.

Maybe it's because I had recently seen Hishida at work. His negotiation with the seniors was impressive. If you think about it, it was clear that every reaction from the seniors was anticipated by Hishida from the very start. It wouldn't be logical to think that Hishida didn't plan this situation.

Why was I thinking this?

Without realizing it, I had helped Suzune after her confrontation with her brother, and I managed to guide her back on the right path. Isn't that the answer?

The fact that Hishida was able to predict my behavior to make Suzune change?

If I don't have any more arguments, I do actually have others. Like the fact that Suzune decided to make friends at the start of the term simply by talking to Tokito.

What if Hishida had been manipulating Suzune from the beginning to change and improve her personality? Or rather, to make her better for his own benefit.

When I asked him why he wasn't there, he told me he was trying to convince Ike, Yamauchi, and Sudo via text to return to the study group. But they refused. He even showed me the texts, where their replies perfectly matched the time he made me wait.

So, he had an alibi.

But something still tells me there's more to this, though I don't have the information to prove it. But what?

Hishida's POV:

My plan unfolded just as I had expected. As predicted, Ayanokoji was able to convince Suzune to continue with the study group. Thanks to this, she was able to change, and her personality was transformed to the point where I could put her in a leadership position.

But for this plan, I had to use Ayanokoji. There's no doubt he'll suspect that this situation was orchestrated. But his involvement served a purpose. Otherwise, I could have easily replaced him. The reason I needed him was to study him, to understand his reactions better. In other words, to crack him.

I had managed to predict what he would do thanks to this situation. But what I really needed to study was what he would do afterward.

There was only one step left in the Horikita project. I needed to connect her with Hirata. It's all well and good to make her want to become a leader, but it would be pointless if we forced her to confront the class directly. The class itself might not appreciate that. The goal of this move was for her to align with Hirata and for Hirata to gradually start seeing her as someone who understands the school better than he does. That's where the connection with the next plan involving Kushida comes in.

Both projects are useful for each other; they complement each other's effectiveness. In the end, I'm the one who benefits the most.

I was there, on a Tuesday, eagerly waiting for the one who was a key part of my project. Horikita finally sat down.

Hishida: Horikita, I...

Horikita: I'll take over the study group, if you must know.

She cut me off without hesitation.

Hishida: Well, glad to hear it.

I had to completely disconnect from the situation with Manabu, or else doubts would arise—like how I knew about it. The best approach was to act ignorant.

Hishida: So, you still want to reach Class A, don't you?

Horikita: Yes, why?

Hishida: How do you plan on doing that?

She looked at me for a long moment before sighing. She looked at me again and began.

Horikita: The first step would be for Sudo, Ike, and Yamauchi to pass the midterms. Before, I thought expelling them would be beneficial, and it would remove dead weight from the class, but now that I think about it, expulsion could become problematic for Class D.

That's true. At this moment, Horikita had no idea how to earn points, just like she didn't know what was causing them to fall behind. If other classes thought that expelling the worst students would help them raise their class average, it would be too easy. There's a strong likelihood that a penalty, such as a points reduction or something else, would exist in such a case.

Moreover, the school doesn't select students based solely on their grades. This implied they were looking for something else, and maybe Sudo and his group had what they needed. They might be objectively useful for the class later on. For instance, Sudo has athletic abilities that others don't, just as Ike has the ability to communicate and talk calmly with others. Even if he doesn't have Hirata's talent for that.

In the end, everyone in the class had a unique talent that set them apart and would be useful later. That's how I saw the situation from my point of view.

Except for Yamauchi. I really can't see what use that idiot would be.

So, I could speculate that Ayanokoji brought up this argument to convince Horikita. If she came to this conclusion, it's the only possible answer. However, this was only the first step towards the Class A goal. The question now is: what's the next step in the plan?

Hishida: I see. It's good that you want to save Sudo and the others, but what are you going to do next? I doubt your plan will just revolve around studying, right?

Horikita: You're right. Even though the first step, saving them, is important, what I do afterward is just as crucial.

She paused before continuing.

Horikita: Even if I manage to get them to work, it's pointless if I only focus on their cases. I need to take care of everyone to fill in the gaps in Class D.

In other words, a divided class won't make progress. Right now, it was split into two parts—one led by Hirata, and a small faction by Horikita herself. If we wanted to get stronger, the class needed to unite under one person. And Horikita probably saw herself as superior to Hirata. She likely believed that this leadership position should belong to her, no matter what.

Horikita – Unfortunately, I'm not very liked by the class.

Indeed, even though she agreed with her first friends, she wasn't as open with others. She had kept her cold and distant temperament with the rest, which led to the dissatisfaction of others. If she had known better, would she have allowed it? I seriously doubt it.

Hishida – I might have something that could be useful to you.

Horikita – What? Because you actually help sometimes?

Hishida – You have to believe it.

I took my phone out of my pocket and showed her the information directly provided by a senior. She seemed surprised, very surprised in fact.

Horikita – I hadn't even thought of that.

She said, surprised and astonished.

Horikita – The seniors know the school better than we do, and therefore logically know how to get points. Negotiating with them, especially those in D who need money, is an infallible way.

I understood her reaction; she was looking for a complicated answer, but it was so simple to find. It's usually like that; it's not that the answer is simple, the difficulty lies in the thought process needed to figure it out.

Horikita – Since when have you been doing this?

Hishida – Yesterday. You know, I wasn't with you when you were eating in the cafeteria. I took advantage of it.

In reality, it was a half-lie, as I really wasn't there yesterday to eat with them. I did it intentionally to prove my lie today.

Hishida – If you say that you were the one who found this information, the class will trust you more and will want to rely on you more. It will be beneficial in itself.

Horikita – I know, but... I don't think I can accept it.

Hishida – Why?

Horikita – Simply because I didn't do it. Having an important position based on a lie is...

Hishida – We don't care, Horikita.

She stopped abruptly, surprised by the harsh tone I had used and the fact that I interrupted her.

Hishida – When you have a goal to accomplish, do you think you should just do it however you want? It's a bit like a man in a desert; he has a bag full of gold and is crossing the desert. But if he wants to survive, he has to leave part of his gold behind. Yet, he doesn't want to; he gets tired and eventually dies because he didn't leave his gold.

Horikita – But what does that have to do with it?

Hishida – It's the same for you. You have a solution, but you don't want to take it because it doesn't suit you. Just like the man had the solution to leave his gold and survive. Not wanting to let go of what we desire ends up bringing us down, like the man who died. If you want to achieve your goal, Horikita, you can't afford to refuse the solutions given to you. Moreover, if you analyze it, there's no disadvantage.

A lie based on exploits – if the person performing the exploit is part of the lie, then it can be credible. Especially since Horikita has the ability to lie and prove her lies. In the end, even if there's a small chance it will be discovered, the solution is feasible.

Horikita – I'll do it.

Horikita's uncertain look turned into a determined one. She, who thought she was superior to everyone, now considered Manabu, Ayanokoji, and me as people who could give her advice. Models to surpass.

And that was a very good thing for her.

In every objective, there's a plan, and strategies are what make up the plan. My goal is class A, and Horikita is one of the key pieces in my project. Everything has its pros and cons; this rule applies to everything, and it's just about knowing how to use them.

Horikita still has many disadvantages, but she also has qualities if we use them correctly. It's just about reshaping her mindset, changing her principles and ideology. Then, her potential is infinite. Man will never be perfect, but what's great about man is that he can evolve. And if this is used properly, his potential is limitless.

Man is incredible; even in imperfection, we find quality, and even in quality, we find flaws. That's what, in my opinion, makes life more interesting.

Suzune went to see Hirata and asked if she could help with the revisions. Hirata, although surprised, agreed. He was happy that she could help the class more, and he was also astonished when she showed the information that would help the entire class rise.

It was a real phenomenon. Hirata, initially relieved that Horikita was stepping out of her shell, was shocked by this event. After all, at the beginning, Hirata wanted to contribute to everyone's happiness. However, seeing Horikita alone made him uncomfortable because he hadn't really kept his promise to the class.

But whatever the cost, he discovered that Horikita had become the crucial element. And as I predicted, the fact that she shared this information increased her popularity and sympathy from everyone. In the end, everyone thought, "Horikita isn't so cold after all."

Later, she found a teaching method for the trio of idiots, a method I had already thought of. I was more than surprised to see that she had arrived at the same method as me. The senior had mentioned that the upcoming tests were always the same every year. So, I took care of a quick negotiation with a senior and was able to get them.

In the end, the rest was incredibly easy. All I had to do was nothing, just let events unfold slowly because I had already calculated everything in advance until my next project regarding Kushida would begin.

Later, after the midterms...

Ike - Damn, yeah, I'm so happy.

He skipped with joy, dancing frantically to a popular song of the moment. I laughed nervously to suppress the awkwardness, also using it as a tactic to tell him that his dancing was weird and embarrassing, but it miserably failed since he kept going.

Horikita - Stop dancing, I feel like I'm watching a monkey.

Hishida - Don't be so mean to him.

Horikita - He talks, he talks, but there were two notes where he was one step away from getting expelled.

Ayanokoji - Yes, but that didn't happen. Luck was on our side in that regard.

It's true that no matter how much we tried to reject them, in the end, it all depended on them. And in this case, there was no miracle strategy; it was a matter of praying.

Sudo - I thought I was going to get a bad grade in English, but in the end, I did pretty well.

Everyone got good grades, but I knew Sudo would fail English. When he said he had fallen asleep during the English exam, I knew he'd fail. English, especially when you don't master it, becomes all about memorization. And remembering that kind of material was really difficult, especially in such a short amount of time.

Since I managed to scam 10 million points from Sudo, I got the results of his English test, along with his average. I just needed to buy the points, and it was done. The problem was that Chabashira knows the amount of my points, and since she can set the price, she could have asked for millions.

So I asked Horikita for help, or rather, she made the request on my behalf. She proposed a feasible price, and I came out of hiding to pay. She couldn't change the price, or it would've been against the rules. As a result, I only had to pay 200,000 points.

Sudo - By the way, I couldn't believe it. The teacher said that the school gave us an extra 10,000 points for our efforts. They'd never seen that before.

Horikita - Seeing failures put in an effort? Yeah, it's impressive, especially in your cases.

Ike - Stop mocking us like that, Horikita.

Horikita - The facts are the facts. If we hadn't used Kushida to attract you, you'd never have come.

Ike and Yamauchi only showed up because Ayanokoji used Kushida; otherwise, they wouldn't have come. Besides, the 10,000 points didn't come from the school, but from me. I just paid the teacher to pretend those points belonged to the school and that their case was unique.

By emphasizing the word "unique," I made them feel special, and coupled with the reward, they were even more motivated to work. It's something I wouldn't do twice, of course. But instilling a hardworking spirit was necessary, especially now that they have both confidence in themselves and it helped unify the class.

In other words, a doubly beneficial action. It cost me a total of 400,000 points, just for this. I feel like a spender, but I judged these actions as necessary. Those points were only used to fulfill my objectives.

If there was one thing the other classes had over us, it was points. If we entered a financial war, we would be the first to fall.

When everyone had left, only Kushida and I remained at my place.

Hishida - Thanks for helping me clean everything up.

Kushida - It's nothing, especially since they made such a mess.

She said while laughing, turning her head slightly before speaking to me.

Kushida - Sorry we had to crash at your place for the party.

I honestly didn't mind. On the contrary, Tokito had seen it positively because she loved the pancakes Kushida brought.

Hishida - We had to celebrate somewhere, especially since my room is bigger than the others. So we could bring more people. Plus, it didn't really bother me.

Kushida - That's true, it's really kind of you.

She didn't say anything more after that.

Kushida - Tell me, Hishida.

Hishida - Yes?

Kushida - If I had a falling out with Horikita, who would you support?

Hishida - Why would you fight?

Kushida - I don't know, but imagine if it happened.

I took a moment before answering.

Hishida - Horikita, I guess.

Kushida - Why?

Hishida - Because unlike you, I've known Horikita longer, and I don't trust you yet.

She stopped talking after that. The silence was heavy. Tokito had gone to bed, and it was just the two of us left.

Kushida - You know, even though you say your actions are under Horikita's orders, I feel like it's actually you who's making them happen.

Hishida - Did you say something?

Kushida - No, nothing.

She left in a hurry, opened the door, and left my place for good.

Kushida...

You're so easy to manipulate.

I looked at my hand.

She didn't even notice.

I had stolen something from her.

Something like her phone.