However, Ichinose was still different from him. It wasn't just a difference in academic ability—he had ranked first in the entrance exam, and she was second. They were both part of the student council, but today Shirogane had received documents from the past secretaries, giving him a deeper understanding of the school.
Ichinose, however, hadn't received such treatment, so her channels for obtaining information were more limited.
"Yes, the facilities here are more modern than those in other schools. Also, the difficulty of the courses here seems to be higher than at other schools," Shirogane said.
"But Ichinose, have you thought about something?"
"What?"
Ichinose gave a curious look.
"If every student in a class works hard, and even the academically strong students study seriously, doesn't that mean the passing grade for the class will be higher?"
"So for the students who struggle, it becomes dangerous."
"Students who don't score well already have limited potential, and as the top students get better, what was once a passing grade might not be enough anymore."
Shirogane continued.
"Hmm."
Ichinose seemed to pause for a moment. She probably hadn't thought about how studying hard could have its downsides, but she quickly recovered.
"Although the top students will score higher by continuing to work hard, students who struggle can still improve if they study seriously."
"And if the goal is to ensure that no student fails and gets expelled, then the top students should hold back a little. In other words, they can choose not to aim for perfect scores."
"The overall academic improvement of the class is definitely a good thing."
"Otherwise,"
she smiled,
"Shirogane wouldn't have spent money to bring in students from our class to start teaching from the middle school level."
"Basically, you're trying to help the students who are falling behind just enough to pass."
"And then the overall performance in the written exam would improve a lot," Ichinose said.
Her eyes were beautiful—purple—and they were now shining with a dazzling light.
"And Shirogane, you want to improve the written exam performance of your class, which means you're worried that even if you make it to Class A, you might still get dropped because of the increased number of written exams."
"Shirogane, your ambition is impressive."
Ichinose said.
It seemed he had underestimated her.
From the first time Shirogane met Ichinose Honami after entering school, he realized how strong her observation skills, insight, and judgment were. She was also incredibly good at using sincerity as a form of attack.
Just like now, she had clearly figured out his intentions, but she still chose to tell him.
Even knowing she was his rival, he couldn't help but not dislike her.
Looks like today is another win for Ichinose Honami.
Hmm?
Shirogane noticed that the narrator system had quietly made a comment.
But Ichinose was right there in front of him, so it clearly wasn't the time to chat with the narrator.
But…
Shirogane's mind wasn't fully focused on Ichinose.
For the third-year students, their class evaluation scores were pretty much set, and even third-year Class B had lost its drive. So, unless something unexpected happened or Class B managed a comeback, the ranking would stay as it was, and they'd graduate based on those scores.
So, third-year students in Classes B, C, and D were rushing to study, aiming to prepare for… university entrance exams after graduation.
This was their personal motivation for studying.
These were the defeated third-year students.
And for the second-year students, what about them?
According to Ichinose, despite the large library, the second-year B and A students weren't as serious about studying as the other students.
First of all, there was an upcoming written exam, a school-wide test. This was information Ichinose had shared.
But…
Only second-year Classes C and D were studying, while the second-year A and B students weren't.
What did it mean that they weren't studying?
It meant that only the first-year students didn't know the test would be on old material. For the upper-year students, since the exam was on old topics, all they needed was two or three days to memorize the content. That way, they'd have plenty of time left for other things.
That's why, when Shirogane passed by the desk of a second-year student earlier, he saw that they had first-year textbooks on their desk.
This showed that the second-year students in Classes C and D were accepting their defeat and were settling into their fate.
As for Class A of the second-year, with Nagumo Miyabi in the class, they were set for victory, so they didn't need to study.
That's why you wouldn't find them in the library.
As for Class B of the second-year, since Kiriyama-senpai had joined the student council—though his position wasn't high and he was just an accountant—he still had some influence. They were still trying to hold on, and if they managed to regain Class A or even graduate as Class A, then they wouldn't need to study anymore. They could just take off and fulfill the school's requirements for success.
"Speaking of which, Ichinose, you haven't eaten yet, have you?" Shirogane suggested.
"Let's go grab a bite. I didn't realize it was this late already."
"Huh? Sure. But where should we go?"
Ichinose seemed a little hesitant.
Though her Class C had a class evaluation score of 560, which meant they'd get 56,000 yen for living expenses this month, plus 30,000 yen from the student council stipend, she probably wasn't short on money. Still, Ichinose's class was incredibly frugal.
Even Shirogane couldn't stand their bland, tasteless free meals, but they seemed to enjoy them just fine.
So, including Ichinose, it seemed like everyone in her class was saving every penny.
"Let's just go to the cafeteria," Shirogane said.
"I'm poor, so I don't waste money."
"Oh."
Ichinose gave a small nod.
Normally, admitting you're poor would hurt your image, but Shirogane felt like Ichinose actually looked a little more charming because of it.
But then—
Just as they were about to leave the library, a voice came from behind them.
"Oh my, isn't that Shirogane and Ichinose?"
"What a coincidence."
The voice was pleasant to hear.
Hearing it, both Shirogane and Ichinose turned around.
Sure enough, they saw Sakayanagi Arisu wearing a black beret.
She held her cane in her left hand, and behind her was Kamuro carrying four books. But it wasn't just Kamuro—there was also a tall boy with a shaved head. That was Katsuragi, the leader of the Katsuragi group in Class A.
Katsuragi was holding a book too, but it was just a physics study guide.
Kamuro's books were a little more interesting.
They were all math textbooks, specifically for the first year of high school.
They were editions 3 through 6—four books total.
When Shirogane noticed which books they were, he kept his expression steady. He knew that Sakayanagi was definitely watching his face for a reaction.
Yeah.
Shirogane didn't think Sakayanagi would be doing this just for fun.
So after hearing the recording from Kamuro where the Class D teacher leaked the usual test questions, Sakayanagi must've started thinking about what "usual" really meant.
And now, by checking old versions of the textbooks, it looked like she was already planning something.
Still, she was only checking textbooks, not digging up old test papers from upperclassmen, so there were limits to what she could do.
Of course.
Most people would just assume the school used some old materials or included some harder topics. But who would ever think the school hadn't changed the test questions in 12 years?
That's just crazy.
"Is the student council meeting already over for today?"
Katsuragi asked.
Even though Katsuragi was a big guy with a deep voice, there was a hint of jealousy in his tone.
And honestly, he did sound a little bitter.
He was a Class A student but didn't make it into the student council—while students from other classes did.
Plus—
Now that he understood how this school really worked, and that the student council had a lot of power, not getting in really felt like a loss.
And if it's your rival class that got in… then that's even worse…
"Yeah, we just left the student council room a little while ago."
Shirogane said, "But since I'm new, the president didn't give me anything to do yet."
"Oh."
Katsuragi nodded.
Then, Shirogane said again,
"But I got some documents handled by the previous secretary from the student council."
"So, I've gained a better understanding of the school."
"I think this will be useful for our class."
It might be useful for your class, but the people here are all from different classes.
Katsuragi might not have known that Ichinose hadn't seen the documents from the seniors, but he himself didn't know anything about the student council.
Let alone Shirogane's claim of understanding more about the school.
"Well, congratulations then."
Katsuragi said, maintaining a serious face before walking away.
Even though Katsuragi left, Sakayanagi didn't.
"You shouldn't have made him angry."
Sakayanagi Arisu said.
"I just said what I did in the student council."
Shirogane responded calmly.
"Well—"
Sakayanagi Arisu's gaze shifted from Shirogane to Ichinose.
"It seems like Kushida isn't with you after all."
It seems that Kushida isn't with you.
In other words, the fact that Kushida was recommended by Shirogane to join the student council had spread to Class A.
Or perhaps they were just very concerned about it.
Because there were four classes, but only students from Class A hadn't joined the student council.
So, it must feel really bad to be left out like that.
Once this situation was figured out, it was immediately reported. So of course, Sakayanagi would know.
"Though I don't know why Shirogane would recommend Kushida instead of me."
Ichinose said.
"But since we have different roles now, it's normal that we don't work together."
"Kushida should still be in the student council now."
Ichinose said.
Wow, Ichinose sure knows how to stir things up.
But Sakayanagi could tell that Ichinose was testing her and Shirogane's relationship.
After all—
Shirogane had said in the gym earlier that if he took a position in the student council, he'd recommend her to be his vice president.
But now, he found an empty position and immediately recommended someone from another class?
So, would she be angry?
"If the information I got is correct, then Kushida is just handling general duties."
Sakayanagi Arisu said without changing her expression.
"I'm not interested in a job that's tough and doesn't have much power."
In other words, Sakayanagi didn't care about a job like that, which involved trivial tasks.
Her ambitions were bigger.
It was clear that Ichinose wouldn't get anywhere by trying to test Sakayanagi with a position like Kushida's, which involved nothing but menial tasks.
"However, it is a bit surprising that no one from our class A has joined the student council."
Sakayanagi said.
"Does Sakayanagi have any thoughts on this?"
Ichinose noticed that Sakayanagi didn't seem too bothered by it.
"Although we can't join the student council and gather more information, didn't the teachers mention during the entrance ceremony that the points on our student ID can be used like money? Everything in the school can be bought with points, though the prices vary."
"So even though the president didn't approve Katsuragi's application to join the student council…"
"With enough points, even the president couldn't refuse anymore," Sakayanagi said with a smile.
In other words, using points to pave the way, spending a large amount of points to buy positions.
That's definitely a tactic from Class A.
And it was something Sakayanagi Arisu could easily do.
After all, she was the one who boldly offered 20 million points to Shirogane to get him to take on a task from her in the first place.
Just as Shirogane was about to speak, he noticed that Sakayanagi changed the topic.
"However, even though Kushida, Shirogane, and Ichinose have different positions, it's just the two of you acting together now."
"And it's after the student council's activities have ended."
"So, although it seems a bit unlikely, Ichinose, are you trying to start a relationship with Shirogane?"
"You really have it easy. Your class has fallen behind, you've made history at the school, and now you can calmly go off and enjoy your school life and romance."
Sakayanagi said.
Hmm.
Meow.
Ichinose felt that even though Sakayanagi was cute, her words were a bit much.
To call her a bad woman like that.
But…
She wasn't wrong.
Right now, Ichinose was the representative of her class, and everyone recognized her. But if she was in this situation and still had the energy to focus on romance, it really would be a bit much.
However, Ichinose never really thought about dating in high school anyway.