Finally, at 4:00 p.m., the hectic cultural festival finally comes to an end.

As explained in advanced, the accounting application was forcibly shut down, and sales couldn't be recorded from this point on. 　

The results can be checked via cell phone from 6 p.m. two hours later.

Although it is over, we are still expected to take the usual measures until the very end. 　

The guests who had stayed until the end of the event started to leave their seats. 　

They told the students their final impressions of the maid cafe before they left.

All of them had positive things to say about the event, such as how interesting and fun it was. The students who had worked so hard at the maid cafe were deeply touched by the warm words, and their fatigue seemed to disappear. 　

Incidentally, as soon as 4:00 p.m. arrived, Chabashira-sensei ran out of the classroom like a hare. 　
Running around in that outfit would have been quite conspicuous, but let's just leave it at that.

By the time all the customers left and all the classmates (except for Koenji) gathered at the maid cafe at 5:30 p.m.

"Thank you all for your hard work. A lot happened, but at least we were able to end the festival in an ideal way. I think we could not have asked for a better turnover."

The students who had just finished cleaning up at the outdoor stalls were also gathered in class. 　
The maid cafe was still in the process of being cleaned up due to the late returns of guests who were eating, but Horikita was ready to wrap up the festival.

"The results will be announced in a few minutes, but before that, there is something I would like to talk about." 　

There are now 37 students in the class. Akito and Haruka have remained here.　

Although Horikita did not prompt her, Haruka, who had become the star of the show, took a step forward.

"I want to be the first to tell you that I have not forgiven everyone here."

In the quietness of the classroom, Haruka is the first to speak.

Some of the students, who had expected an apology, looked at each other, feeling more puzzlement than anger.

But there is no sign of blame. Everyone understands. 　

They have grown up to understand the pain of losing a friend, a best friend.

"However, the person I cannot forgive the most is myself. I assumed that everyone who dropped out of school would be unhappy. Yamauchi, who disappeared last year, and now Airi." 　

When Yamauchi's name was mentioned, Sudo, Ike and the others seemed to be thinking back.

"I was convinced that it was the best thing for Airi to stay at this school. I took it upon myself to think that was the happiest thing for her. That's why I hated you all...... I wanted to take revenge." 　

Haruka gripped her school uniform skirt tightly with frustration.

"I was planning to leave school after this festival." 　

It was something she didn't have to mention, but she didn't want to hide it, so she confessed. 　
While some students may have foreseen it, most of them kept their mouths agape.

"I was willing to go along with Haruka's expulsion."

Akito, unable to remain silent at this point, tells the truth along with Haruka.

"If you two had chosen to drop out, our class would not have made it to class A. Doing that was the easiest and most powerful way of getting revenge."

They didn't need to come up with any special tricks. You can lose a lot of class points just by dropping out.

"But if you give me a chance, please let me stay in this class."

"You've had a change of heart, haven't you?"

"She's trying to make her own way out in the real world. That's what Kushida-san taught me." 　

At this point, Kushida's name was mentioned, and all eyes turned to her. 　

As the majority did not understand what was going on, she opened her mouth to go on to explain.

"Sakura-san is working hard to become an idol. She can be found by searching her name on SNS, so I think it would be a good idea to ask Hasebe-san about it later."

Some students were surprised, others weren't.

However, the one thing they all shared in common was the fact that Airi had taken a new step forward.

"Airi will continue to grow even more. Even more than what I initially thought she would be able to. That's why I want to graduate in class A and be able to go see her. I want to be able to show myself without embarrassment."

Her classmates learn that this is the reason why she chose to stay at this school.

"You made a good decision, Hasebe-san."

"I'll accept the punishment for the trouble I caused you all."

"I'm just as guilty as you. I didn't even help out at the festival and caused trouble for the class." 　
Before the other students could say anything else, Horikita stepped forward.

"Skipping the festival is a problematic behavior, but fortunately it doesn't violate any rules. We are only required to take at least one hour break, but it doesn't mean that we have to work. Koenji-kun hasn't been seen since this morning, so it's the same thing." 　

Horikita approached Haruka with a look of relief, while still being stunned.

"If you are going to be punished, then your punishment will be to remain a classmate with me forever. Can you face that reality?"

I wonder what Haruka thinks of the reflection of Horikita in her eyes.

"I'll try my best."

"Yes. From now on, I will always think of you as the usual Hasebe-san, okay?"

"....Okay. I won't cause anymore trouble."

Horikita nods and declares that this was good enough.

"Miyake-kun, same with you. Are you okay with that?"

"Of course."

"That's all for today. Let's all finish the rest of the cleanup quickly." 　

Keisei walked over to Haruka and Akito with some hesitation. 　

Akito's apology was followed by a slight blush in his cheeks as he spoke words of relief.

Haruka's apology brought a few smiles to the faces of the three of them for the first time in a long time. 　

Akito and Keisei looked at each other as if they had made up their minds. 　

The two of them signaled to Haruka as well, and the three of them looked at me with confusion. 　
If I were to step in here and now, our group could be re-established once more.

But that was no longer necessary. I turn away and go to send words of thanks to Sato and the others. 　

The five-member group was now down to three, but I hope the bond between them will grow stronger. There is no need for my presence in their place. 　

It's not that the three of them saw my signs as an action of separation.　

They did not approach me and call out to me. 　

After that, it was too soon. The remaining cleanup was being done by the 37 people in the room. 　
By 6:00 p.m., we finally finished cleaning.

The results of the festival were announced:

1st place: 2nd year Class B + 100 class points

2nd place: 2nd year Class C + 100 class points

3rd place: 3rd year, Class B + 100 class points

4th place: 2nd year Class A + 100 class points

5th place: 1st year Class A + 50 class points 　

6th place: 3rd year Class C + 50 class points 　

7th: place: 2nd year Class D + 50 class points

8th place: 1st year Class C + 50 class points 　

9th place: 3rd year Class D

10th place: 1st year Class B 　

11th place: 3rd year Class A 　 　

12th place: 1st year Class D

"We're in first place! We did it!

"I guess Chabashira-sensei's cosplay must've really helped."

Everyone congratulated each other on their strong performance, while rejoicing.

"But Ryuuen still scored second place and Sakayanagi's class got fourth place, which is pretty impressive."

"Ayanokoji-kun."

"Ah, everything went according to plan."

While it was a given that Horikita's class would finish at the top of the class, Ryuuen's class was also expected to break into the top ranks from the beginning.

"I was wondering how it would play out, but you managed to outsmart them...."

"However, there were an unexpected turn of events. Sakayanagi's class came in 4th place."

"That's right... Did you see what type of performance they ended up doing?"

"No, I didn't go to the third floor of the special building today. Did you?"

"Class A was selling brochures for a low price, and there was no other food or drink or other entertainment. I wonder what kind of tactics they used..."

"A clue is probably at the bottom of the list."

"First year class D, that's Hosen's class right...? What about it?"

"They're the lowest ranked class so you would think it would make sense, but there's something going on here. That class's performances were mainly typical festival reenactments, but they were quite successful. I thought they would be one of the top performing classes. Do you think they should've been lower than 3rd year class A?"

"3rd year class A which scored rank 11 was not competitive from the start. They priced their entertainments to please the guests."

It was confirmed that the Haunted House and other facilities could be played for 100 points.

On the other hand, Hosen's shooting stalls were priced appropriately.

"The top class gets 100 points in this festival. Which means that Hosen might've been aiming for something else."

"If I had to guess, he exchanged his class points for private points instead maybe...?"

"Doesn't this remind you of last year's deserted island test?"

Ryuuen and Katsuragi had an agreement that Ryuuen would receive private points in exchange for class points.

It would not be surprising if something similar happened between Sakayanagi and Hosen.

"It's not impossible, or they might have made some other similar agreement with each other."

Accounting is done via cell phones.

If Hosen and his classmates had exchanged their cell phones with second year class A for accounting purposes and contributing all the proceeds, it would be a viable strategy.

If Hosen's class was also funding the cultural festival, it makes sense that the scale of the festival was so large.

"She's very clever, isn't she?"

"She's always making the winning choice before you know it." 　

Either way, Sakayanagi was not an easy opponent.

At first it seemed like she just gave up on this festival, but there is no doubt that she was making a difference.

PART 1

Afterwards, the class was dismissed, but Horikita a few members to the Class B classroom.

The three members who had proposed the idea of the Maid's Coffee Shop, excluding Matsushita, who was not present due to poor health.

"Actually, I owe you guys an apology."

"Eh? What? Did something happen?"

The three of us had a hard day, but there was no reason Horikita to apologize for anything.

Sato had no clue what she was talking about, so she tilted her head in confusion.

"Remember when Ryuuen-kun leaked info about our maid cafe and it spread all over the school?"

"Yeah, I was frustrated about that."

"Actually..... it was planned from the beginning that he was going to leak our maid cafe."

The story stems from her suggestion that we work together in some way to win the top prize at the cultural festival.

"It was planned that he was going to leak it? What do you mean?"

"It was all planned. Me and Ryuuen-kun purposely cooperated with each other and planned from the beginning that he was going to betray us and let everyone know we were going to do a maid café shop."

"What? No way!"　

Naturally, they would be surprised. Only Horikita and I were the only ones in the class who knew about this.

"Then what about the bet where the winner gets private points?"

"That too was also planned out. I was a little nervous when he suddenly suggested it."

"I guess that Hashimoto and the others who were trying to find out the outcome must have find out as well."

"Yes. Sakayanagi-san learned a lot of information from third parties. I'm sure Hashimoto-kun and her other agents told her about this too. Our two classes were supposed to cooperate with each other have a planned dispute."

"Then what about the one million points you'll get if you won first place?"

"I'm sorry, but we have already confirmed that no matter who wins, there would've been no points exchanged."

I had hidden this fact from my classmates, including Kei, with the exception of myself and Horikita.

And no one in Ryuuen's class, except for Ryuuen and Katsuragi, had been told about it. 　

Even close associates such as Ishizaki and Albert were not told about this.

That is was so Ryuuen's class could be fully motivated to crush us.

"The Japanese-style concept café as a rival was one of their strategies. Besides appealing to the public that we were enemies, it was also to keep other rivals out." 　

A rivalry. The higher the excitement, the more responsibility the adults took on and the more money they spent.　

When they know both sides are in a battle we cannot lose, it is natural the customers want to let the side with the better position win.

On the other hand, other classes and grades were not in a life-and-death struggle. 　

Of course, there are many classes that want to win class points, but compared to the battle between Horikita and Ryuuen's class, the amount of passion is a little less than one or two times as much.

"I'm really sorry for not telling you guys, even though it was for the sake of winning."

Horikita, always feeling guilty, wanted to tell the truth as soon as possible. 　

I'm sure the others could tell that she was truly sorry.

"It's fine, right? Because we were able to rank first in the results, right?"

Sato, without any particular reproach, happily confirms this to Mii-chan and Maenzono.

"Well. If it ended up making us work harder, then I'm fine with it."

"Yes, I might've been less motivated if it weren't for that."

Mii-chan answered honestly that she lacks confidence in her acting.

"That's good, Horikita"

"Yes, a load has been lifted off my shoulders. You guys should tell Matsushita-san as well, and I'll pay all of you as soon as our private points are transferred."

"Yay!"

The three of them gave each other high fives.

"Did you guys decide Chabashira-sensei to become a maid from the beginning. That was the most surprising part of the festival."

"That was amazing, it only took 1 hour to shoot our sales to the top."

"There's much more things to talk about, but let's call it a day here. Thank you all very much."

Our class found a good strategy for the festival and won first place.

We were grateful for the positive impact of other unaccountable factors as well.

After seeing the three of them off, only Horikita and I were left in the classroom.

A slightly stronger wind was blowing in through the open window and shaking the curtains.

"Are you really fine with this? Most of the plan was your own idea. You could have taken more credit for the festival for staging the confrontation with Ryuuen-kun and making Chabashira-sensei a maid. It was undeniably your ability alone that contributed to our first place finish."

"Horikita's leadership was the only thing that made it possible."

"....If this was this you from before, wouldn't you have included me more in your plans?"
In the empty classroom, Horikita muttered without looking at me.

"I guess so."

"You don't deny it, do you?"

"It's the truth. You knew it too, that's why you asked, right?"

"Well, yeah, maybe." 　

However, I did not hesitate to tell Horikita at the same time when I made this proposal. 　

This was because, before deciding whether or not I could pull it off, I could not proceed without the leader of the team. 　

If she rejected my proposal, I would've been fine with it.

"If it's an effective way to win, I'll never hesitate to deceive my colleagues. If I have to take a risk, then I will go ahead and do that. Do you understand?"

By sharing the plan with Horikita, she became more ingrained with the idea.

"I think I'm starting to understand now, even if it's only little by a little."

The response may not be strong yet, but it seems that she is definitely getting a feel for it.

"I think that's enough for today. The sun will be setting soon."

"Wait..... I really need to ask you something right now, Ayanokoji-kun."

I tried to encourage her to go home, but she refused. I had a hunch. 　

The presence of Horikita and Ibuki in the student council room was no mere coincidence. 　

It must be because they followed some kind of thread that led them to that place.

"What is it?"

"Today's festival. A serious incident happened behind the scenes...."

I'm not sure if it was good timing or not, but my cell phone rings.

"Sorry, just a second."

"Uh, yeah." 　

Looking at the screen, I found an incoming call from an unknown number.

"Hello?"

-Are you still in school? If you can, I'd like to talk for a while.-　

This voice sounded familiar. It is Sakurako Tsubaki, a student in first year class C.

I don't care how she got my number, as there are many ways to get it, but she is an unusual person. 　

-Are you alone now?-

"Unfortunately, not."

-So, do you want to meet up?-

"Where are you?"

-I just left the entrance. You're still on campus, aren't you?-

"Give me five minutes."

-I understand.-

After that short call, I asked Horikita for permission to leave.

"I'm sorry, but do you mind if I step out for a minute? I think I'll be back in ten, twenty minutes or so. Then we'll continue our conversation."

"I'll wait for you here then."

I promised to come back here and left the classroom.

Now that I was alone, I decided to call the other person who had helped me the most today.

(He's calling Nagumo now, not Tsubaki)

"The information network of the third-year students is unparalleled. They were able to find both Kushida and Haruka so quickly. I was able to get a good sense of the power of Student Council President Nagumo once again."

-Did you call me to say such a thing?-

"I just wanted to thank you in advance. You helped us a lot in the search today." 　

The third-year students' ability to quickly locate Haruka and Kushida was impressive.

-I never thought you'd use the trick that I used on you before.-

"The students were very helpful in informing me of the situation in the student council office. Thanks to you, I was able to respond quickly."

- At first I thought it was a ruse by Yagami, but was there really some trick in that letter?-

"Ordinarily, it would appear to be a love letter to Student Council President Nagumo, but as Yagami claimed, I had planted a somewhat complicated anagram in it. If you decipher it, you can get to the sentence, "We will have an important meeting in the Student Council Room after 3:00 p.m." I also put in a few other words that he might've liked. Making it sound interesting enough, it was natural that he ended up listening to the anagram."

In addition to the anagrams, the love letter also included a few other creative touches.

The envelopes and stickers used for the letters were available at Keyaki Mall at any time available.

If this had been a special order purchased on the Internet, Yagami might have hesitated opening it, fearing that after seeing the contents he would leave evidence behind.

However, if you visit Keyaki Mall, you will find that there are many of the same types of letters.

This way, you can check the contents without hesitation.

Furthermore, by writing it myself, Yagami would've known it was me due to my handwriting.

This is because the students in the white room are thoroughly trained in calligraphy, so they can always write with a good penmanship.

This love letter was prepared in advacned and I gave it to Kei, who gives it to another girl, who brought it to Horikita.

Then, she gave it to Yagami, giving him time to look at it.

Since there was a possibility that Horikita would give it to Nagumo directly, I had him act like he was in a bad mood that day so that she couldn't give it to him right away.

-I didn't think he was the one who went rogue on the deserted island. How much did you know about him?-

"I don't know anything. Yagami just left all the clues behind."

-What kind of a trick did you pull off for Komiya and the others to name drop Yagami? Was it a coincidence that the teachers showed up?-

"I just told them that the person behind the incident might cause trouble for them. Ryuuen wanted to get a hint, since he couldn't identify the culprit. They knew that there was no risk since no one would come to the student council room, or that even if they did, nothing would happen, so they agreed to my proposal."

-I see. Well, I'm not sure how much of that is true.-

"I'll leave it to your imagination." 　

What I did was really just trivial. Nothing noteworthy.

-Well that's fine. You're ready to fulfill your promise now, right?-

-Of course, I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to it, Student Council President Nagumo.- 　

As I approached the front door, I finished my call and reached for my shoe box.

PART 2

"Did you have trouble communicating over the phone?"

"Well. The first-year students are in a bit of a panic right now. There was an unexpected student expelled at the festival.

"Expulsion? That's a very disturbing story. Or should I say that?"

The person who was involved in the expulsion ordeal was Sakurako Tsubaki, who is in front of us right now.

"I am satisfied with the results, they turned out better than expected, Ayanokoji-senpai."

Tsubaki makes a circle with her finger as if to say, "You passed"

"I think you did a good job of extracting information from Sato-senpai. You were able to drive Yagami-kun out of school. I am very grateful for this."

"I didn't extract the information out of her. You're the one who repeatedly came in contact with Sato-san and drove her into a corner."

Tsubaki came into contact with Sato through unknown means.

"I don't know what you mean."

Sato was approached by Tsubaki near the women's restroom at the Keyaki Mall.

She then flirted with the possibility of a turnaround in the relationship between Kei and me to tickle her curiosity.

"I know you called Sato to your room and made cheap threats, but it wasn't because you were seriously trying to manipulate Sato into ruining our relationship. You wanted to make me know indirectly that Yagami was threatening her so that I would take action, in other words, deal with the situation."

Tsubaki, who was listening silently, stares at me without denying it.

"When I asked her about the details of the situation, the unnaturalness of the situation was immediately apparent. When you saw that Sato did not accept your invitation, you immediately contacted her again and made similar comments to provoke and corner her. It was obvious that she was going to come to talk to me about it, regardless of the fact that you were the one who had done it."

She was not aiming to hobble Sato, but rather to make her come to me for help.

I decided to use this incident for my own personal use, and in a discussion with Sato, I decided to call Kei and let her explain to Sato about her past abuse.

The fact that Sato did not choose Tsubaki's side gave us confidence that she would be on our side.

As a result, the relationship between the two went from friends to best friend again That was on November 1.

"I'm sorry, but I don't feel like talking anymore." 　

After talking this far, I became sure that Tsubaki was not the one who has been manipulating everything. 　

It must've been someone lurking behind that was controlling Tsubaki.

"Utomiya-kun, can you come over here for a minute?" 　

Tsubaki beckons to Utsunomiya, who is on the phone, and tells him to hand over his cell phone to me.

".....Go ahead." 　

Utomiya warily handed me the phone, which was already on a call.

-Yagami expelled one of Tsubaki and Riku's classmates. That's why those two are helping me.-
This was the voice of the same man that spoke to me on the phone last year, and spoke with me in front of my room.

-You ignored him, despite the fact that if you acted directly you could've defeated him, right? But the result of that is a first year student getting expelled. That wouldn't have happened if that nuisance of a person wasn't there.-

"I can't deny that."

-I had no choice but to expel him so there would be no more sacrifices. I knew that, but defeating Yagami is no easy task. Because I know he's no ordinary high school student.-

"And so you wanted to use me."

That decision was based on his understanding of the goal of the White Roomers and their tenacity.

-You understood my message, it seems.-

"Before long, someone close to me will be contacted. And at that time, someone will be expelled, was it?"

-Indeed. But to think you cornered Yagami and expelled him in one go! That wasn't in my calculations. Were you never concerned that Yagami could be an unrelated party?-

"Whether he got expelled or not was the result of his decisions. I didn't decide whether he was a criminal or innocent. He was playing with fire everywhere, doing things like expelling that student from 1-C. He made contact with Kushida Kikyou by pretending to be her junior. Using the information he was given, he controlled her and tried to use her as a pawn. He provoked a response by grievously injured a completely unrelated student in the Uninhabited Island test. He assumed a love letter addressed to someone else would be a trap and read its contents. I don't know why he ran into Horikita and Ibuki there, but that, too, must've been because he was playing with fire."

Normally, one wouldn't sneak a peak at a love letter addressed to someone else.

Even if they did, they wouldn't figure out there was an anagram hidden in it.

-So everything was connected.-

"Even though he didn't leave any concrete evidence, because he made so many moves he was certain to leave behind traces. He didn't realise he'd tied the noose around his own neck."

-Certainly, if Yagami hadn't done what he did he wouldn't have been expelled at this stage.-

"As you say."

His excessive foolhardiness invited this result.

If Yagami hadn't pissed off the guy on the phone right now, I wouldn't have raised a finger against Yagami yet. If he hadn't contacted Kushida or injured students in the uninhabited island expulsion wouldn't have been on the table.

If he hadn't read the love letter, he wouldn't have been driven into the corner.

"Yagami himself decided he was a criminal, so the result was his expulsion. That's it."

I merely set the stage to test him. If he was completely innocent, he wouldn't have caused this fuss at all. He knew about me, and he was smart, so he ended up going to the student council room.

-You really are as powerful as the rumours say.-

"Anyway, let me check again: you do remember what you said to me before, right? Don't think peace will return if you just remove the nuisance. That was a bluff, right? You wanted to rush me, by making me think it would get worse if I didn't deal with it at the earliest."

This was his move in order to make me act, in order to make me expel Yagami at that stage.

-As Ayanokouji-sensei said, this school was the right choice.-

"What do you mean?"

-Exactly what I said. I'm going to enjoy my school life as I want. So long as the first and second years don't face off, this will be the last time I'll have anything to do with you.-

As if he'd said what he wanted to, he cut the call unilaterally.

I peeked the phone screen, but the number was deliberately withheld.

This action indicated he didn't want Utomiya to memorize his number or save it in the contacts.

"Have you figured out what's going on?"

"Yeah."

"When one of my classmates was expelled from school, at first I thought it was because of Hosen-kun, but recently I learned that it was Yagami-kun."

Yagami's potential may be very high, but his conceit has caused him to get tripped up. He was so focused on me that he didn't see the rivals standing on the same stage.

It seems that Yagami was not a presence that should be welcomed, putting a damper on the first-year students' battles.

"Don't quit just because you've defeated your enemy, Tsubaki."

"I know. At first when I went to this school, I didn't have any attachment to this school, but ...... it has changed a little bit. This school is surprisingly fun." 　

The exchange of words shows that there are more than just avenging the enemy, but that there are a variety of mixed feelings.

"So, we're going home now."

".....Excuse me." 　

Utsunomiya, who has forcibly pulled out the honorifics, returns to the dormitory with Tsubaki.

"I have to go back to the classroom too."

PART 3

On the way back to the classroom after the conversation with Tsubaki, I run into an exhausted Chabashira-sensei.

"You seem tired. You did a great job, didn't you?"

".....What do you mean, 'great job'?" 　

Chabashira-sensei was clearly angry, as he turned his childlike glare on her without hiding it.

"Did you really hate being made to wear a maid's uniform so much?" 　

When I asked her knowingly, she shook her shoulders and pressed closer.

"When I returned to the teacher's office, I found my picture on many teachers' desks. That's not all. How many teachers do you think I've been accosted by, talked about, and humiliated by in the short time I've been here? For the time being, I sincerely hope to become a shellfish." 　

It must have been really painful for her to feel such intense pressure.

"It must be a sign of your popularity...."

"I am not popular by any means, and you have done me a great disservice."

If she really believes she isn't popular she will have a hard time in the future.

There must have been many adults who appreciated Chabashira-sensei as a member of the opposite sex, but this has not come to the surface until now.

"Well that was that. It's good that our class won first place because of you."

"That's not true at all. In fact, even if I hadn't done anything, our top sales were still certain."

"I see. Well, first place looks better than second or third place, doesn't it?"

"You're saying uncharacteristic things..."

Perhaps thinking that there was no point in blaming me any longer, she swallowed hard and held her breath.

"I was surprised that you were cooperating with Ryuuen's class under the guise of that you were competing each other."

The maximum number of students is about 40. But if two classes join hands, they will have nearly twice as many members. This is a force to be reckoned with."　

Publicity doesn't always have to go hand in hand on the surface.

"The staff room was astonished. Everyone thought it was a real showdown."

Chabashira-sensei mentions the success of the festival, but does not mention Yagami's withdrawal.

Even first-year students who are not directly involved in the project should know about it, but as a teacher they didn't talk about it with me, who they think is uninvolved. 　

As a teacher at this school, she is making the right decision.

"By the way, aren't you going home?"

"I've been keeping Horikita waiting in the classroom. Are you still working overtime?"

"I'm making the rounds around the school. We've received several reports of forgotten items from guests." 　

Even if the festival is over, the teachers will still have to clean up afterwards.

PART 4

When I returned to the classroom with Chabashira-sensei, Horikita was lying on the desk with her upper body on the floor.

Chabashira-sensei and I looked at each other and decided not to call her out. 　

I went closer to check to be sure, but it seemed to be sleeping. 　

A strong wind is coming in through the open window.

For a moment, I wondered if I should hang my uniform jacket over her head, but I decided against it.

I didn't do this because I knew that Horikita would not be pleased if she later found out that I was approaching her.

"Hmm...."

Hm?　

I thought she woke up for a second, but apparently not.

"No..."

She was sleep talking. I was a little surprised because it was a bit startling. 　

Horikita must have been tired today.

I closed the window quietly to avoid letting her get cold.

Then I quietly returned to the hallway.

"I'm going to let her sleep a little longer."

"Are you going to wait for her to wake up here?"

"She won first place at the school festival. That's the kind of service she deserves."

She'll get up soon anyways.

"You should head home. I'll take over here."

"Are you sure?"

"The man behind the scenes deserves at least that much service."

"Then I'll take it easy."

"However, Ayanokoji, please don't ever think of a plan to humiliate me again."

"That's still on your mind?"

"...This is a day I will never forget."

"Well...... thank you for your hard work, Chabashira-sensei. Someday it will be a good memory."

"Don't get smart with me, student."

With a sigh, Chabashira-sensei leaned against the door of the classroom.

Now then, I guess I'll head back now.


November Culture Festival End Class Points:


Class A led by Sakayanagi: 1201 　

Class B led by Horikita: 966

Class C led by Ryuuen: 740

Class D led by Ichinose: 675