Part 4

The lack of an expulsion from within Class B. The fact that Ryen was still here.

I had been involved in both of these two noteworthy incidents behind the scenes.

It was back on the day when I had met with Hiyori at the library and invited Ichinose to my room.

That night, just past ten, the sound of the doorbell rang throughout my room.

I didnt have many friends who would come to my room to pay me a visit.

I considered whether or not it was Horikita, Kushida, or maybe even someone from the Ayanokji Group, but in most cases, they wouldve sent me some sort of notification that they were coming ahead of time.

This time, however, I hadnt been notified of anything. That is to say, the person at the door wasnt anyone like that.

In which case, who in the world had come to visit me?

Well this is a first.

As I checked the intercom from within the depths of my room, I saw an unexpected duo displayed on the screen.

They seemed like they were cold as they waited for me to answer the door.

Well I suppose curfew is only enforced for the upper floors.

As a general rule, its prohibited for a boy to enter a girls living quarters after eight at night.

Well, even if you did break curfew, it wouldnt be a very big deal as long as word didnt get out. Plus, even if you got caught, the punishment wouldnt be very severe as long as it had only happened once or twice. In any case, there werent any rules that prevented a girl from being the one to come and visit instead.

Yes?

After deciding to at least respond to them, I spoke through the intercom. Although, I wasnt exactly welcoming with how I phrased my words.

Id like to talk if you have a moment.

Of the two of them, the boy began to speak, breaking the silence. He leaned forward and peered into the camera and a close-up of his pupil appeared on the screen.

It didnt seem that he wanted to have this talk over the intercom.

Give me a moment.

I walked over to the entryway and unlocked the door, and upon doing so, it abruptly swung open. The boy, Class Ds Ishizaki, entered my room right away.

If one was careless, the force at which the door had swung open couldve hurt someone.

Welcome. You should hurry and come in too. Its cold out there.

Why do I have to

Ishizakis classmate, Ibuki, voiced her dissatisfaction at my invitation inside.

Who cares. Just get in here Ibuki.

Ugh.

Giving in to Ishizakis prodding, she walked through the entryway.

The cold air was certainly starting to make its way in, so I hastily closed the door behind her.

After thinking about how we would still feel the cold draft if we talked at the entryway, I invited them further into the room.

So, what do you need from me, so late at night like this?

At my question, Ishizaki immediately put his hands together and lowered his head.

Please, Ayanokji! Tell us how to prevent Ryen-san from getting expelled!

What?

These two had come barging in uninvited so late at night just to ask for such a ridiculous favor.

Did I mishear you? Could you say that one more time?

I asked you to tell us how to prevent Ryen-san from getting expelled!

It didnt seem like I had misheard him.

Just forget it, Ishizaki. Theres no way Ayanokji will cooperate with you.

Apparently, Ibuki and Ishizaki werent on the same page. It didnt seem like she had come along to ask for my help.

That thats probably true, its just I cant think of anyone else other than Ayanokji who could do something.

Its not like I care. Oh, by the way, Im only here because Ishizaki forced me to come along with him. He just wouldnt stop calling me

With a sigh, she exasperatedly showed me the screen of her phone.

There were more than fifty missed call notifications from Ishizaki.

How could I go and ask him all alone!? Hes our enemy!

Its the same even if Im here with you. What an idiot.

Shut yer mouth

Ishizaki and Ibuki proceeded to bicker with each other.

Well, it doesnt seem like you were sent here by Ryen.

If they were acting, it wouldve been quite the show, but that didnt seem to be the case here.

Theres no way wed be here for that. Ryen-san wouldnt ask us to do something like this. You should understand at least that much.

I suppose.

Ryen had already washed his hands of school matters by making it seem like he had been defeated by Ishizaki.

In fact, it seemed like he was already fully resolved to leave the school.

Furthermore, even if he didnt plan on being expelled, he wouldnt have reached out to me for help.

Theres no way hed be willing to do something so shameful.

Are you sure you dont want Ryen gone? Hes done all sorts of things to you.

Ibuki spoke up again, questioning Ishizaki.

Well a lot of stuff did happen But, its different now.

What is?

Huh? What do you mean by that?

Im asking you what you mean by its different now.

Ive come to understand that Ryen-san is important for the future of Class D.

I dont get it. Dont you know how much weve had to go through because of him?

These two had really come all the way here to see me without being on the same page at all.

Or, to put it more accurately, it was as if they were simply unable to communicate with one another.

First of all, if youre gonna argue, do it later.

At my words, they stopped glaring at one another.

Ugh. I wanna go back to my room.

However, they still didnt stop quarreling with each other. In particular, Ibuki still had a stern expression on her face.

Dont say that. You have to help me persuade Ayanokji too.

I dont wanna.

If youre gonna argue, go do it somewhere else.

Seeing as how there were no signs of the conversation moving forward any time soon, I decided to try asking something myself.

Ryen isnt very popular, even in Class C. Its just an outsiders perspective, but Im not exactly wrong, now am I?

Well, uh I guess some people may hate him, maybe

What do you mean some people? Almost everyone hates him. Theres no point in lying about it.

Just shut it! Theres nothing wrong with what I said!

Ugh, youre so loud and annoying. By the way, youre spraying your spit everywhere while you talk, so stop shouting.

I thought I said to save your arguing for later.

If they kept making so much noise in such a small room like this, the sound would be heard in the rooms around us.

I spoke up again, this time with a twinge of anger in my voice, and the two of them seemed to calm down a bit.

Had they realized that they were imposing on me uninvited?

With this, we were finally able to get on with the conversation.

It would be unreasonably difficult to stop Ryen from being expelled.

I spoke bluntly, without beating around the bush.

I felt like my intentions would come across better that way.

I guess thats true.

Having understood what I was getting at, Ibuki nodded in agreement.

However, Ishizaki didnt seem to be willing to accept it so easily.

Cant you do something, anything!?

At the very least, his motivations were genuine. There was no doubting his drive to save Ryen.

You really want to stop Ryen from leaving, dont you?

Yeah.

Other than me, Ibuki, and a few others, most students were under the guise that Ishizaki detests Ryen.

Of course, that was only a consequence of the incident between Ryen and I. Even so, it was true that Ishizaki had been tyrannized by Ryen many times up to this point. I didnt think that he would come and bow his head to me and beg me to save him when he obviously didnt want to.

This was probably also due to the emotional connection he had made with Ryen over the course of the past year.

However, nobody would be struggling if this exam was something that could be overcome with emotions alone.

Ishizaki seemed to need a simple explanation as to why saving his friend was so difficult.

There are two primary reasons why I think saving him is unreasonable. This provisional exam will be decided by the number of censure votes being used in your own class. Supposing that you, Ibuki, and two or three others dont vote against Ryen and cast him a praise vote instead, its still pretty likely that hell end up with more than thirty censure votes. Secondly, nobody else actually wants to be expelled.

B-but, I mean, there arent very many people that think we can win and move forward without his strength, you know?

Its true that there were probably at least a few students in Class D who recognize Ryens capabilities.

However, by itself, that reason wouldnt cut it.

That just wouldnt be enough of a reason to raise the possibility of getting expelled yourself.

Nobody wants to expel someone. By targeting Ryen, the most unpopular person in the class, it would cause the least amount of guilt.

It was just as Ibuki said.

Even if you couldnt get out of Class D, youd still wanna graduate safely, wouldnt you? Its not like anyone wants to be labeled a high school dropout.

Chances are, this type of discussion had already taken place within their class, something that was written all over Ishizakis face.

If youre being treated as the leader who spearheaded a revolt against Ryen, then youve probably already heard about this, havent you?

Ishizaki nodded. After all, he had probably publicly supported Ryens expulsion due to the position he had found himself in.

I think that other than Ibuki, Albert, and Shiina, everybodys in favor of expelling Ryen-san.

So its checkmate no matter how you look at it, yeah?

Yeah, its checkmate.

I responded to Ibukis statement with simple affirmation.

Thats why I came here in the first place. Youre the one who beat Ryen-san, so

You want to know if theres a way to stop the expulsion. Before we get to that, theres something I want to ask you.

What?

Saving Ryen means that someone else from your class will have to be expelled instead. Do you understand that?

This was an essential aspect of the exam. I had no choice but to hear how he would answer.

Thats Thats true, but

If you really understand, do you have someone else in mind to take Ryens place?

N-no, not at all. I dont think I want to get rid of anyone.

Then it sounds like theres a problem. This exam is designed to ensure that someone gets expelled.

This wasnt an exam where you could thoughtlessly talk about wanting to save someone.

Its just as Ayanokji said, isnt it? If you really want to save Ryen, why dont you take the initiative and nominate yourself? If you ask everyone to vote for you instead, you might be able to save him.

Her cold-hearted idea was pretty much the same as abandoning Ishizaki, but, realistically speaking, it was probably the best option he had available.

Ryen had accumulated a lot of hatred from his classmates. Even though he was talented enough to think of courageous, clever schemes that an ordinary person couldnt possibly come up with, once you consider that the class had fallen down to Class D under his leadership, the fact that he was getting cast aside was simply inevitable.

Theres really no way to prevent anyone from being expelled?

That was everybody elses initial question too. In the end, they all gave up on trying to think of a solution.

Hes right.

Ibuki let out a short, dejected sigh.

Rather than bothering to reach out to me for help, Ibuki had understood that it was unreasonable from the very beginning.

As I said before, this is a complete waste of time. We cant change Ryens fate.

Dammit!

Consumed with frustration, Ishizaki punched the wall beside him.

I think Ryen had planned on spending the next three years without doing anything. But, he probably changed his mind as soon as he heard about the supplemental exam. He probably thought that he had no other choice but to get expelled. Thats why he decided to quietly sit back and wait for the exam to finish without saying anything, isnt it?

Ishizaki didnt seem to think that Ryen was doing it as a noble act of self-sacrifice either.

Ryen simply wasnt bothering to resist what was coming to him.

You have to consider Ryens feelings. Its your duty as someone who follows him.

I, I

Ishizaki clenched his fists, filled with regret.

He really wants to save Ryen, huh?

No matter how many enemies you have, its not a bad thing to have friends who care about you.

He may not admit to it, but Ryen has some good friends.

An idea started to take shape in my mind.

However, there were a few things that needed to happen before it could be carried out.

If I had one piece of advice for you

What is it!? It doesnt matter what it is, just tell me!

Ishizaki lurched forward, desperately reaching out for any glimmer of hope he could.

But, unfortunately, those hopes of his werent going to last for long.

As things are now, Ryens private points will disappear along with him. If hes been receiving points from Class A this whole time, then hes ought to have saved up a least a couple million points by now. Right?

Yeah. As long as he hasnt used them, he should have around that much.

Theres no guarantee that his private points will be transferred or distributed amongst his classmates if hes still holding onto them when he gets expelled. That being the case, you should transfer all of his points elsewhere before his expulsion is set in stone. Theyll be useful for Class D later on.

If the points were distributed amongst Class D, they would lose their value as a lump sum. It would be better for them to transfer everything into their own pockets now.

I was certain that Ryen would at least agree to that.

T-this isnt what I wanted to hear from you! I want to know how to save Ryen-san!

Give it up Ishizaki. Theres no point in saying any more than this.

Ibuki reprimanded Ishizaki with a light kick before turning to me and continuing.

That said, Ayanokji. Im not gonna go and pick up the points Ryen saved up.

She spoke definitively. Instead of going to Ryen and begging him for the points, she would rather give up on them altogether.

Is that so? What about you, Ishizaki?

I wont either!

They seemed to share the same stance on the matter, although with slightly different reasons behind it.

They were resolved to the idea that, if Ryen was going to leave the school, then his points would go along with him.

No, it wasnt due to something as praiseworthy as resolve.

Its a pity, but the two of you cant save Ryen.

!

Ishizaki looked at me, his expression stuck somewhere between anger and regret.

Listen carefully. The only thing you two can do now is retrieve Ryens private points. This exam isnt so simple that you can save someone just because you want to.

Dont you fuck with me! You want me to take the points from Ryen-san and peace out? Theres no way I could do that!

Ishizaki raised his fist, but Ibuki immediately reached out and restrained him.

I said to stop this shit, Ishizaki. This guy may look like an ordinary person, but hes really nothing more than a nasty monster.

Even if Im no match for him, Ill at least get one hit in!

Get over it.

Ibuki then smacked Ishizaki on the head.

We came here and asked Ayanokji for something completely unreasonable. He didnt even say anything wrong, and yet here you are, lashing out at him for it. Could you stop being such a humiliation?

Urgh

Ishizaki had let the blood rush to his head.

It seems difficult for him to stay composed when it comes to Ryen for some reason.

Neither of them seemed to have any intention of doing anything. Millions of points, completely free for the taking, were simply going to disappear. If they were thinking about the future of Class D, those points were something that they had absolutely no reason not to get their hands on.

If Ibuki and Ishizaki, Ryens closest friends, didnt want it, then theres nothing that could be done about it.

Well, I had really wanted to see the strength of your resolve a bit more, but

Huh? What do you mean by that?

It has nothing to do with you two anymore. After all, you guys arent even willing to recover the private points from Ryen.

With that, I ended the conversation. However, I was somewhat convinced that Ibuki would get the private points from Ryen nonetheless.