Today, the first half of the final exam begins. The required overall score for each pair was determined to be 692 points. It’s lower than expected, but we can’t be careless. It should be safe to say that this match will be decided by the end of the day today.

It’s a match where the outcome is determined by the difficulty of our questions and their ability to apply pressure on the students in the other class. The first day of the finals consists of the exams for four subjects: Japanese, English, Social Studies, and Mathematics.

This means that Horikita and Kushida’s fates will be decided today as well.

As I walked down the corridor on the way to the classroom, I met up with Satō who appeared to be waiting for someone.

For better or worse, the person she was waiting for appeared to be me, as she came close when she saw me.

“Good morning, Ayanokōji-kun. The exam is just around the corner.”

“Aah. Did you sleep well last night?”

“I went to bed after studying til one o’clock, but I’m starting to feel a little nervous.”

With that, she put her hand on her chest and took a deep breath.

“Though I can’t say it will be easy, let’s do our best for each other. You should be able to do well if you just demonstrate what you’ve studied.”

“Yeah!”

No matter the form, we’re still a pair. I can’t deny that we’re a coexisting body now that we’re sharing the same fate. If Satō fails, I fail, and if I fail, Satō also fails. We could easily drag each other down into the abyss.

“Good morning, Satō-san.”

“Oh! Good morning, Karuizawa-san.”

Having arrived at school, Karuizawa saw Satō and called out to her.

“By any chance, did you already have arrangements with Ayanokōji-kun? You two are a very unusual combination.”

“N-no. Not at all. We just met up by chance……”

“Is that so? Well, why don’t we grab a drink at Pallet together before we head to class?”

“Yeah! Well then, I’ll see you later Ayanokōji-kun!”

She spoke a bit bashfully as she turned away from me.

Karuizawa looked my way for an instant before heading off with Satō.

“Huh, so they were on good terms?”

“I suppose Karuizawa can be quite the jealous girl, surprisingly.”

“Eh?”

The one who spoke was none other than Hirata.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning. What did you mean by that, just a second ago?”

“I’ve spent a lot of time together with Karuizawa-san while playing the role of her boyfriend. I’ve faintly noticed that she has started to pay more attention to you, Ayanokōji-kun.”

“No, I don’t think that’s it.”

Karuizawa had been forced to change her parasitic host from Hirata to myself, so it can’t be helped that he would see it that way.

“Is that so? From where I stand, I’m glad it turned out like that. After all, I don’t think it’s healthy to be in a fake relationship. Sorry, that’s me being selfish so pay it no mind.”

That said, the two of us started towards the classroom.

“The questions Horikita-san thought up should definitely hinder Class C. As for what remains, I don’t think it will be very difficult to win as long as everyone handles the exam well.”

Hirata was also overflowing with confidence.

To a certain extent, he seems to see the path to victory for this exam.

Even though an unexpected pair of students had been matched up with each other, everything had more or less happened as expected.

“By the way, There’s something I wanted to ask you, Ayanokōji-kun. Do you know Shiina Hiyori-san?”

“She’s a Class C student, right? We met the other day when they showed up at Keisei’s study group.”

“They came to mine as well. It appears that Class C is looking for the mastermind working within Horikita’s shadow.”

“It seems so.”

“Ayanokōji-kun, you’re the person they’re looking for, aren’t you?”

Hirata wasn’t asking because he wanted to know, he was asking because he wanted to confirm.

“Ah, no. Of course I wouldn’t tell anyone else. You probably have your reasons for keeping this hidden. It’s also true that Class D sees benefits as a result of your actions.”

“Is that so? I’ll take your words as a warning then.”

“So you don’t deny it.”

“You wouldn’t believe me even if I did.”

“That’s… yeah. Maybe so.”

“I’m not some hero, and I’m not hiding my true colors. I just don’t want to stand out. That’s my real intention and how I truly feel.”

“Then I assume that you probably had a reason for doing what you did at the sports festival. But was that a safe thing to do? Class C has started making their move. If it turns out that you need my help, I’ll gladly cooperate.”

I appreciated Hirata’s offer, but it just isn’t necessary at the moment.

“I’ll figure something out. I’ll rely on you in case something happens.”

“I see.”

We arrived at the classroom. I examined the expressions of Sudō and the others from a distance. There was a clearly different look about them compared to previous exams. They were composed, using their time to make whatever final confirmations they needed to instead of memorizing the subject matter in a panic. It wasn’t just one or two people, nearly half of the class was concentrated and engaged.

“This is quite the difference, right?”

“Truly.”

If you showed this scene to someone who had witnessed Class D several months ago, they still wouldn’t be able to believe it.

If this school didn’t emphasize results above all, this might not have been the case.

“Have you prepared yourself?”

My neighbor Horikita was reading a book instead of studying for the exam.

“What are you reading?”

“And Then There Were None.”

“Agatha Christie? Let’s hope there are some left after this.”

Horikita closed her book to reject my dark joke.

“Nobody is going to disappear. It goes without saying that you and I won’t as well.”

“The look on your face says that you’re going to win no matter the opponent.”

“Naturally. I’ve prepared to take first place in our school year this time.”

“If Class C’s questions turn out to be too simple, placing first will be very difficult.”

“I’ll win despite that. It keeps me motivated.”

Then I’ll really be looking forward to it. Show me your unshakable confidence with the final exam.