Ichinose showed her grace.
"Even though your class did better in last month's test, that doesn't mean our class is weak," Kanzaki said. "We worked hard too."
"If it weren't for the A class stirring things up, we wouldn't have lost that many points."
According to the info from Kushida, Kanzaki was supposed to be more on the quiet side — but now he was speaking up on his own.
It seemed more like he was on edge after being pushed too far.
The thing he said about A class causing trouble was probably about them using their inside knowledge of the school and how rules are judged to gain an edge — and purposely targeting Ichinose's class.
They even paid off two students from Class D to pick a fight with Ichinose's classmates.
That ended up turning into a fight right under a security camera.
So Ichinose's class took a big hit and lost a bunch of points for no good reason.
That's how they ended up getting demoted at the end of the very first month. Right after they finally understood what this school was really like from -sensei. They didn't even get a chance to settle in.
"I can't do anything about what happened to your class," Shirogane said. "But it just shows that all four classes are aiming to graduate as Class A. And not everyone's gonna play fair. There might be dirty tricks, and you might not even see them coming."
"Oh?" Ichinose turned to look at him again.
Stare.
Stare.
Stare.
Ichinose was looking at Shirogane with eyes full of hope and innocence.
Even though Shirogane was pretty outgoing and had gotten used to awkward situations, that kind of pure look was still hard to handle.
After all, the last time they talked, he had tricked her and got some info out of her.
Now, was she hoping he'd give something back?
You're a little greedy, Ichinose.
But I guess giving her some scraps wouldn't hurt.
Her class got framed by Class A last month.
And with special exams coming up every month—even if no one knows what the next one will be—it's possible that some of them will need cooperation between classes.
So if they had a good relationship with Ichinose's class now, it'd be a lot easier to talk things out when that time came.
After all, both Class A and Class D had strong leaders. So if you think about it, Ichinose's class, which got tricked and fell down from Class B, actually looked like the most trustworthy of the four classes.
Of course, there was still the grudge about losing their spot.
But Class A was the one who caused it, so they'd be the ones people were angry at.
"I'm planning to head to the student council and try to join."
"But Horikita, the president, is someone who only cares about ability, so I need to prove myself first."
"I just came to the upperclassmen area to gather some information."
In other words, he needed to collect as much info as possible to have something to use when applying. That would give him a better shot at getting into the student council.
Ichinose originally thought that, since her class lost points in last month's exam, joining the student council might help them recover some ground.
But now, she realized that just applying normally… would probably get her rejected.
Especially since her class had just dropped in rank. Even though Class A was behind it, her class still got tricked, didn't get any useful info, and messed up their response.
"Um, Shirogane, can you wait for me for a bit?" Ichinose asked, clearly wanting to boost her chances. She was going to gather more info too.
"Sure," Shirogane agreed without hesitation.
Horikita had told Nagumo Miyabi to pass a message. Then Nagumo had someone else, Shiina, pass it along instead. Shirogane found Nagumo's behavior kind of shameful, so he didn't mind making him take the blame for being inefficient.
So he decided to take his time before heading over.
...
What was funny was that, as soon as Ichinose left, Kanzaki—who had just been talking confidently—went completely quiet and turned back into his usual shy self.
"Aren't you going with Ichinose to gather information?" Shirogane asked.
Kanzaki shook his head.
"I'm not as good as Ichinose. The best I can do is support her."
"I'm not good at gathering info. If I went with her, I'd probably just get in the way."
"There are a few clubs at this school. If you join one and make it onto the main team, you can get thirty thousand private points as a living allowance."
"I joined the soccer club."
Was Kanzaki sharing information now?
"There aren't enough members in the soccer club yet. If you're free, you should come check it out," Kanzaki said.
Was that a recommendation?
But Kanzaki really knew how to bring up the one thing that shouldn't be mentioned.
Shirogane could handle basic stuff like running and long jump, but when it came to more complicated sports like volleyball, soccer, or tennis, he was pretty much hopeless.
So he just stayed quietly on the bench, while Kanzaki left early for his club activities.
Not that Shirogane was just sitting around doing nothing.
He pulled out his vocabulary book and, since the narration system was still online, started reviewing words with it.
"Spell 'population,'" Shirogane said.
[Population. In biology, it also means a group of the same species. In statistics, it means the whole group being studied. By the way, why are you testing me on this stuff?]
"You're always the one telling me to study. No harm in flipping the roles for once," Shirogane replied.
[…]
The narrator seemed at a loss for words for a moment.
[Looks like you're really looking forward to the written exam, huh?] the system quickly changed the subject.
"Well, it's my strong point," Shirogane admitted.
[Then you might be disappointed. This month's special exam is a written one, yes, but not the kind you're expecting.]
[And even though you're good at written tests, you still can't beat Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.]
[He learns fast, and his understanding is deep. He's already finished college-level material.]
Is that so.
In other words, the task Sakayanagi gave him was just too hard.
Even if you could level up, you can't expect someone at level 10 to take on a level 99.
"I'm just a regular high school student," Shirogane said.
[So are you going to turn down Sakayanagi Arisu's request?]
"No." Shirogane answered immediately. "20 million points is a lot."
"And also—"
Shirogane paused. "If Ayanokouji is still studying, then maybe I can't catch up to him."
"But before coming here, I went to the library and checked what he's been borrowing."
"In the past month, he checked out two books—both classic novels. One was *Jane Eyre*, the other was *Boule de Suif*."
"So that means… he hasn't been studying anymore."
"So even if he's finished college-level material, if he stopped there, then I might be able to catch up."
[I see.] the narrator seemed to agree.
But it wasn't really convinced.
Because—
It's really hard for a normal person to catch up to a genius. And what's even scarier is realizing, after giving everything you've got, that the genius is also still moving forward—so you can never catch up.
But if that genius stops pushing forward, then it gives others a chance to close the gap.
Still, Shirogane, do you realize—even when regular people try their hardest, they might still never reach where a genius even started from? The idea that hard work always pays off… is just something we tell ourselves for comfort.
The two are like completely different species. There's no crossing that line.
But Shirogane, you're different. When you work hard, you really do get results. When you push yourself, you can pass the point where a genius starts. You can keep going, and even reach the finish line ahead of them.
And that—*that* is what makes you truly scary.