After the exams, Horikita Suzune deliberately called out to Kushida Kikyo.
"Do you have any plans for winter break?"
Kushida raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.
But considering they were in the classroom, she plastered on a practiced smile and feigned delight.
"Huh? I don't have anything planned. Why do you ask, Horikita-san?"
"Thank you for these past days." Horikita extended her hand. "Without you, everyone wouldn't have studied so hard, and the tutoring sessions were especially helpful."
Kushida blinked, then took her hand with a smile.
"No need to thank me. I wanted to help everyone anyway."
"If possible, I'd like to be friends with you." Horikita said words that didn't sound like her at all.
Kushida's eyes suddenly widened, and then she excitedly hugged Horikita, her joy bursting forth.
"That's wonderful! I've been waiting for you to say that, Horikita-san!"
Witnessing this scene, many were taken by surprise.
No one expected Horikita Suzune to have such a day—actually willing to accept Kushida Kikyo.
Hirata Yosuke smiled.
Nothing brought him more relief and joy than seeing the class getting along harmoniously.
Ayanokoji, however, found it somewhat peculiar.
He could sense that Horikita had changed, as if her goals had become clearer and she now understood how to realize her ambitions.
It probably had something to do with Kaoru Mitoma.
Recalling the other's presence, Ayanokoji had a vague understanding.
He had already confirmed his own safety—Kaoru had likely heard of his name, which was why he took an interest in him.
As long as he pretended to be weak and fragile, he should be able to dispel the other's intentions.
However, Ayanokoji glanced at Sudou and the others.
Recently, Haruki Yamauchi seemed particularly fixated on Airi Sakura, while Ike Kanji had suffered a heavy blow due to Kushida and Kaoru, declaring that he no longer believed in "3D angels."
Meanwhile, Sudou appeared even more attentive toward Horikita.
Ayanokoji had seen him transfer his Personal Points to her more than once.
Within their small group, Sudou was the only one still earning Personal Points, as he was a member of the basketball club.
If he performed well, both the club and the school would reward him accordingly.
"Horikita, we're friends now too, right?" Sudou seemed eager to join in, his voice brimming with excitement.
Horikita, who had just managed to push Kushida away, gave a faint smile.
"I think we've reached a stage where we can trust each other, Sudou-kun."
"Whoa!" Sudou grew even more exhilarated, prompting Ike and Yamauchi to clamor for the same response.
Only after Horikita gave them identical answers did they finally settle down, cheering loudly.
Not only that, but Horikita also expressed gratitude toward Hirata Yosuke and Yukimura Teruhiko.
This wasn't just a change—it was practically a complete transformation, sending a slight chill down Ayanokoji's spine.
He had no idea what Kaoru had done to her.
Watching Sudou's elated expression, Kushida suddenly felt like laughing.
She didn't even know how to describe Horikita—her naivety and obliviousness toward emotions were downright staggering.
It took Kaoru forcibly kissing her for her to finally realize it.
'Wait… does Kaoru like me?'
And afterward, Horikita's reaction left Kushida utterly speechless—she genuinely believed she had the confidence to face Kaoru now, intending to act spoiled and willful.
If Kushida wasn't mistaken, Horikita still hadn't even noticed that Sudou had feelings for her.
In that instant, Kushida felt a pang of pity for Sudou.
The goddess he longed for had knelt before another man just two days ago, using her delicate lips to serve him.
Kushida licked her lips.
She had also gotten her fair share back then—should she go find Kaoru for another practice session?
After all, it was too humiliating.
She couldn't believe she had lost to Horikita Suzune of all people!
Just thinking about it made her furious.
Kushida felt she should have been the fastest, the most experienced—yet she had been outdone by Horikita!
Unaware of her thoughts, Horikita was awkwardly engaging with the others, trying to understand their intentions.
Even if she found it irritating, she kept it bottled inside.
After a while, Hirata speak sincerely, "Thanks to Horikita-san and everyone else this time, even Chabashira-sensei was willing to help us. I believe even if we don't surpass Class B and Class C this time, we'll definitely win in the next exam."
Horikita instinctively wanted to refute him, unable to understand why he was already thinking about losing, but she forcibly restrained herself and calmly replied.
"Rest assured. Chabashira-sensei has been at this school for many years after all. She knows exactly how to set exam questions."
Indeed, with Chabashira Sae's assistance, their Class D could predict exam questions and even obtain some information through teacher channels.
All of them were students, so Ichinose Honami's Class B couldn't possibly come up with innovative test questions.
They were most likely referencing questions from the same period.
If that was the case, their references were probably from popular or frequently tested topics.
The more popular the topic, the more questions there were to reference.
On the contrary, obscure topics didn't have many questions, so they wouldn't know the exact approach to crafting them.
If Ichinose stubbornly insisted on creating original questions, Horikita didn't believe their questions could compare to those made by professional exam writers—there would inevitably be flaws.
Therefore, Horikita boldly sought advice from Chabashira Sae, who provided her with past exam papers from previous years.
After reviewing the seniors' exams, Horikita felt somewhat confident.
She also revised her own questions based on these papers, believing that Ryuuen and his group were unlikely to score high.
To prevent any leaks, Horikita deliberately submitted her questions to the teachers' office just three minutes before the deadline.
"I never expected even Chabashira-sensei to help," Hirata remarked with some emotion.
In the eyes of Class D, Chabashira Sae was a rather harsh homeroom teacher—difficult to get along with.
Truthfully, Horikita didn't understand it either.
She had only tried asking on a whim, never expecting Chabashira to agree immediately without even demanding Personal Points.
Looking at Chabashira's expression at the time, Horikita faintly sensed something off—it was as if a desperate gambler was clinging to their last hope.
Moreover, Chabashira had subtly hinted that she should try to bring Ayanokoji along in their climb up the class rankings.
Horikita mulled it over briefly before dismissing the thoughts.
Instead, she focused on the nervous anticipation for tomorrow's exam results.
If Class D didn't gain any more points, her winter break would be miserable.
The girl no longer cared how Kaoru wanted to toy with her.
If he liked her, she would have plenty of time to handle him.
What truly bothered her was the fact that she still hadn't repaid her debt.
If she couldn't clear her debt, wouldn't that just prove how useless she was?
Horikita had even considered taking on a part-time job, but fortunately, the school had blocked that path.
For a moment, she thought about asking Kaoru to bring out his previous task list—if she just let him play with her, she could settle the debt.
But the moment the idea surfaced, she quickly dismissed it.
Kaoru could play with her, but she couldn't do that.
Using her body to please Kaoru and using it to repay a debt were two entirely different things.
At the very least, the former could still be considered a playful dynamic between lovers, while the latter was outright selling herself.
Horikita refused to allow herself to stoop that low.
...
The next day, the exam results unfolded as expected.
Class A attacked Class B—won.
Additionally, they successfully defended against Class C's attack, gaining 100 Class Points.
Class B attacked Class D—failed.
At the same time, their defense against Class A's attack also failed, losing 100 Class Points.
Class C attacked Class A—failed.
Moreover, they failed to defend against Class D's attack, losing 100 Class Points.
Class D attacked Class C—won.
Since they successfully defended against Class B's attack, they gained 100 Class Points.
No students were expelled from any of the classes.
Thus, the first-year Class Points changed once again:
Class A: 1756
Class B: 866
Class C: 422
Class D: 100
...
Class A's exam questions had been set by Class C.
Since they scored high on the test, it was only natural they could defeat both Class C and Class B.
The victory of Class D came as a surprise to everyone else.
Their exam questions were set by Class B—how could they possibly score so high?