Light Novel 2nd Year Volume 2/Summary

Below is a long summary for Volume 2 of the 2nd Year You-Zitsu light novel series.

Prologue
The prologue begins with a White Room student's impression of the Advanced Nurturing High School. To the eyes of an average student even for a prestigious school, the level of the classes being taught was considered extremely low level and a waste of time for an alumni of the White Room. During this time, this student thinks about Kiyotaka, and when he does that a certain feeling called "hatred" leaks out of his heart. He remembers the time he first heard about Kiyotaka in the White Room and how his name was known by every student as the best White Room student. No matter how hard a White Room student worked or how impressive their grades were, the instructors never approved of their abilities and simply kept repeating that Kiyotaka's grades were much better. Some other students in the 5th generation saw Kiyotaka as a God and refused to take his place which caused them all to drop out later on after realizing it was next to impossible to catch up to him. This particular student wasn't a worshiper like the other students in the 5th generation but he did not believe that Kiyotaka actually existed until the instructors showed them Kiyotaka's training from another room. The student was in awe after seeing Kiyotaka's results for themselves but strongly refused to consider him as a God but rather an enemy of the White Room. If Kiyotaka were to be chosen and deemed the success of the White Room, that would have meant that all the other students would be considered failures with nowhere to go despite all their efforts. The student finishes up his soliloquy by saying that he has to be the successor no matter what methods he has to be used, even if it means killing Kiyotaka.

Chapter 1
Inside the tense atmosphere of Class 2-D, Keisei is impatiently waiting for Kiyotaka to return. Haruka tries to calm him down but to no avail. When their discussion shifts to the last question of the special exam, Keisei gets fired up about it being too complex for mere high school students to solve, yet Kiyotaka was mysteriously able to perfectly solve it. He claims that he has observed the whole class's academic situation, and concluded that nobody could have possibly solved such a question. Furthermore, he as more substantial evidence of his claims, he pointed towards the OAA app which showed no other person apart from Kiyotaka in whole 2nd year got a perfect mark on the exam, not even Sakayangai or Ichinose. Kei interjected by saying how Kiyotaka might be a hidden genius. Keisei refuted by saying that if that was so, Kiyotaka's past scores should've been flawless as well. More and more students from Kei's group started supporting her. They continue to bicker until Minami Setsuya shared her opinion that Kiyotaka might have cheated. As the discussion continues to heat up, more students added to the conversation, until Sudō finally spoke up, stating that they shouldn't be assuming things when the person in question isn't present. Following a short bout regarding Ken and Kiyotaka's exponential growth, Kei's changed the topic by saying Kiyotaka may had be holding back. The class then starts to blame Kiyotaka, thinking about the class points they could've gained if he'd not held back. At the climax of the debate, Yōsuke Hirata steps in to calms things down, mentioning that Ken has club activities to attend to, which prompts the rest of the class who also had club activities to start leaving. Before exiting the class, Ken glanced briefly at Horikita, who didn't contribute to the discussion.

Switching to Kiyotaka, who is leaving the Director's office, he began to have an internal monologue regarding his life at school. He then spots Sae Chabashira waiting for him outside, making him feel a bit disappointed by her sloppy action. He thinks that by having Sae wait for him right outside the Director's office, it will further plant suspicion in the Acting Director, which they are currently up against. To dispel that as much as possible, Kiyotaka swiftly walks away, however Sae followed suit. Sae seems happy that Kiyotaka has finally decided to use his full abilities to help the class and provokes Kiyotaka in regards to the attention he has drawn. After Sae left, Kiyotaka notes that she will be hindering his operations, and will not focus on her as much. Turning to the situation at hand, Kiyotaka tries to text and call Suzune, but she did not reply both times. Admitting defeat, Kiyotaka has no choice but to face his class head-on.

As Kiyotaka enters the class, he is immediately approached by Keisei, who bombards him with eager questions. Kiyotaka shoots a glance at Suzune, which she picks up and immediately comes to his defence. Keisei rejected Suzune trying to explain things, but she pushed on calmly. When Keisei says he thought Kiyotaka cheated, Suzune becomes a bit gloomy but states that it isn't a poor argument to make. However, Suzune contradicts it by bringing them back to their 1st year at the school, claiming that she found out Kiyotaka was actually very smart, and even better than her. A myriad of doubts arose from the students, but Suzune simply countered them all by saying that she had planned for Kiyotaka to hide his true abilities. Keisei then complains that, had Kiyotaka not hid his abilities and used his full strength, the class would've risen moderately and be in a better position. Suzune counters yet again by stating that if Kiyotaka did not hold back from the start, then he had a high chance of being targeted by strong students from other classes, namely Arisu, Honami and Kakeru. Keisei argues that it isn't very probable. Suzune decides to use the Class Poll as an example, stating that Arisu might've targeted Kiyotaka instead of Haruki Yamauchi. Seeing that he caught him there, Keisei inquires on why he had to reveal his ability now of all times, saying that there wouldn't be a difference to the attention he draws if he went all out from the start. However, Suzune rebutted by saying that unlike last year, they have all grown a lot, and are better at making decisions. By using Ken's growth as an example, Suzune claims that they are more prone to helping and protecting him now that they have familiarised themselves with their classmates, and the same goes for Kiyotaka. When Keisei points out of Kiyotaka hiding the full truth, Yōsuke Hirata came to Suzune's rescue when she was unable to answer deftly. He says that, by hiding information from even their own classmates, they are guaranteed to keep information from leaking out. Suzune rode along with Yōsuke's flow, saying it's better for their own future if their trump cards stay mostly unknown, adding that even right now, there might be students from other classes eavesdropping on their conversation. Kei joined in, complimenting Suzune on her intuitive strategies shifting their attention from Kiyotaka to her. As an added bonus, Suzune adds one last comment, stating that by having insurance at such a competitive place is their best bet to win. With the help of the male and female class leaders, she was able to dispel the doubt surrounding Kiyotaka's math score.

As Kiyotaka exited his class and into the corridor, he gets confronted by Haruka, alongside the rest of the Ayanokōji Group, save for Akito. Keisei is still furious at Kiyotaka for hiding this information from them - his friends - and asks if he even trusts them. Kiyotaka replies, saying that he does trust them, but he decided it would be better to keep the 'plan' as obscure as possible. He claims that it wasn't easy to keep himself from revealing it to them. Kiyotaka also apologizes for wasting Keisei's efforts in his study sessions. Keisei argued that Kiyotaka should've said he didn't need his help from the beginning so he wouldn’t have had to waste his time, even claiming that he has intentions of leaving the Ayanokōji Group. Haruka spoke in concern regarding that last point. Keisei says that he already wanted to leave the group before Suzune explained everything, but his thoughts conflicted with each other. Keisei says that it's okay for Kiyotaka to hide his abilities, but as a compromise, he'll have to be the one teaching the group. Kiyotaka complies, and Airi suggests that they do a reconciliation handshake. Haruka is very attached to that idea, as opposed to Keisei's pessimistic reaction. Haruka takes hold of both Kiyotaka's and Keisei's hands and forced a handshake. Embarrassed, Keisei yielded and shook hands with Kiyotaka. Then, at Haruka mentioning that Kiyotaka is sort of popular now, she remembers a thought from way back and stood frozen. Airi called out to her after noticing Haruka spacing out, and she quickly dismissed her actions. Keisei then compares Kiyotaka's score to Arisu's, which is the second-highest at 91 for all the students, stating that a perfect score seems overkill. He acknowledges Arisu's intelligence from that. Finally, Haruka proposed to celebrate their reconciliation at Keyaki Mall, which no one opposed.

While waiting in front of Keyaki Mall, Kiyotaka receives a message from his group chat. As he reads the message, two figures approach him, which are Honami Ichinose and Ryuuji Kanzaki. After a short and polite greeting, Honami compliments Kiyotaka's perfect score in such a difficult exam, and Kanzaki, in turn, expresses his distrust towards him for hiding his ability. Honami attempted to prevent her classmates from making such rude comments and began defending Kiyotaka, but Kanzaki had his mind made up and promptly dissolves the alliance between Class 2-D and the now 2-C. Kanzaki then pushed Kiyotaka to reveal more of his abilities, but Honami intervened in his defence by saying that he can't score higher than 100 marks. Concluding from that, Kanzaki says that Class 2-C still has a higher total score compared to Class 2-D, finding solace that there is only so much one individual can do. After the brief confrontation, Kanzaki chose to leave first, to which Honami apologized in his place.

Slowly, she shares her doubts of her own abilities as a leader with Kiyotaka, but Kiyotaka dispels them all by telling her to recall back to what he said to her before when they were in his room. He states that it is expected that some students like Kanzaki will be moving by themselves and that the former Class 1-B that Honami tried so hard to protect is no longer the same. He reiterated that he wants Honami to continue fighting and not give up. Honami gleefully agrees, claiming that she would be the first to go if anyone from her class is forced to drop out. Kiyotaka is dissatisfied with her sacrificial mindset, stating outright that he will never allow her to drop out. By saying that, it set off an impetus that will continue to move Honami forward despite her setbacks. Honami, now flustered, decided to change the subject by praising Kiyotaka and listing all his feats, but he dismisses them, claiming that Honami is a lethal weapon herself. After Honami left, the other four members of the Ayanokōji Group already arrived and were observing their conversation. Haruka asked suspiciously about how seemingly intimate the two seemed to be, but Kiyotaka simply covers it up by saying that they were talking about his math score.

After Golden Week passes, Kiyotaka runs into Ken at school. Naturally, they talk about Kiyotaka's math score, but Ken changed the topic to Kiyotaka's relationship with Suzune, and the plan that she came up with him as the link. Kiyotaka brushes it off, saying it's nothing special. Moving on, Kiyotaka expressed his gratitude to Ken for covering and coming to his aid during the contentious discussion in class about the authenticity of his math score, but Ken humbly dismisses it. Then, Ken continues to talk about Kiyotaka's hidden abilities, pointing out that he's not only good at math but fighting as well, evidently from his fight with Kazuomi Housen. Kiyotaka initially wanted to dismiss that as well, but after seeing Ken's reaction, saying that it's the first time he felt fear when facing such a formidable opponent, yet Kiyotaka was able to outmanoeuvre and demolished him. Ken then grabs Kiyotaka's arm, feeling his muscles. He says he'd had a hunch since last year, when he saw how muscular Kiyotaka's body was back when they were at the pool, and that such a body isn't possible without intense training. Ken then mentions the grip test back in the Sports Festival and wants to know what Kiyotaka's actual grip strength is, but Kiyotaka himself doesn't know as he reflect on how the physical tests in the White Room, which would be the only source of his actual strength, are kept from the students. Ken withdrew after seeing Kiyotaka having a hard time answering. Kiyotaka asks if Ken is frustrated that he hid his strength, and Ken said he felt something similar and could sympathise with Keisei, but he understands why Kiyotaka had to do what he did. He then jests about at least being superior to him at basketball, which Kiyotaka agrees in his mind, stating that he stands no chance against someone who practises the sport with such passion. Ken asks his last question regarding Housen, about how Kiyotaka never suspected Ken would tell anyone else about the incident. Kiyotaka replies that, if it was the Ken from back then, then he would have asked Suzune to keep him quiet, but now he's grown a lot and is much better than before. Ken is surprised that Kiyotaka thinks highly of him, and is flattered. Lastly, he asked about Kiyotaka's and Suzune's relationship, which Kiyotaka promptly replies that they're not dating after seeing his accusatory stare. Ken says that Suzune is fine to date anyone, but if she perchance started dating Kiyotaka and he chose to hide it from him, he said that he won't forgive Kiyotaka for it. Before going ahead, Ken says that he's glad Kiyotaka wasn't the one that got expelled in the Class Poll, since he's the key to reaching Class-A, in his personal opinion. Kiyotaka mulled over his statement for a while, thinking that Ken himself is also a key to their mutual goal.

Chapter 2
Horikita and Ayanokōji met near a stairway, and upon arrival, Suzune asked whether Kazuomi Hōsen and Tsubasa Nanase had contacted him to which he denies. They reach the student council room, where Miyabi Nagumo asks about their intention in coming there. Suzune bluntly asks if she could join the student council, to which he asks for her reasons. She says that she aims to take the road of her brother and become the student council president. Nagumo tells her that Honami Ichinose had been working for the student council for a year earlier than her and that Suzune might not be able to compete with her for the position. She answers that it was a distance that could still be covered. After seeing her resolve and fitting his 'criteria', Nagumo welcomed Suzune to the student council with a handshake that lasted a bit too long. He then asked if Ayanokōji also intends to join the student council, but he adamantly denies it.

Kiyotaka then invites Kei to his room for an “indoor date”. They then started talking about various frivolous topics but soon the atmosphere in the room changed to something more romantic. They drew close to one another's faces but was soon interrupted by the doorbell. Kiyotaka opened the door and saw that it was Ichika Amasawa from Class-A in the first year. He tried to send her back, saying how it would seem wrong for a female underclassman to enter a male upperclassman's room. She promptly dismissed his excuse and asked him to cook for her since he was 'seemingly' alone. As he rushed to come up with different excuses for himself, he decided to say that he was out of ingredients. To his astonishment, she showed him that she had already brought the ingredients with her and cutting off his escape route. She reveals to him that she knows that he wasn't alone in the room, and when asked how, she replied that she had been following Kei the entire time. She threatened him that if he didn't let her in, she “might” expose their relationship to the school which would caused problems. Finally relenting, he invites her inside. Enjoying herself, she asked the couple if they were maybe in the midst of doing lewd things, and put something from her bag on the table - a contraceptive device, and told Kiyotaka to take it as an apology gift. He replied she didn't owe him any apology, but she confessed that she had some part in causing the wound on his hand but made it clear that she was not his enemy. Kiyotaka then asked Kei to make coffee for Ichika to which she begrudgingly does so after not wanting to converse with Ichika. Ichika thanked her for the coffee but stood up before tasting it, dropping the secret of Kiyotaka's situation and saying she shouldn’t overstay her welcome. By not tasting it, it also serves to further tease and agitate Kei. After Ichika left, Kei complains about Ichika's intentions to which Kiyotaka was as clueless as her. Kei was surprised after she heard about the 20 million private points bounty reward for expelling Kiyotaka, and forced him to explain everything to her.

Chapter 3
The next day, Ayanokōji met Nanase and asked her about the special exam. She replied that the exam was still going on and the deadline was the start of the second semester. She told him that there was a student from Class C who had just gotten expelled. When he asked her about Hosen, she replied he has been behaving well and is currently focusing on the class. She advised him to not regret anything in his school life. Later during homeroom, Chabashira informs her class that a special examination was going to happen soon, but before that, she explained about the vacation on the cruise. From August 4 to 11, students could enjoy themselves on the cruise ship for seven days and eight nights to their hearts’ content ,and there wouldn't be any cruise ship test like before, but as compensation, they would have to complete the next Uninhabited Island special exam.

SCHEDULE OF THE SPECIAL EXAM


 * July 19: Assemble at the sports field, take the bus to the port, and board the cruiser.
 * July 20: Special exam starts; the exam will be explained, and supplies will be given.


 * August 3: Special exam ends; rankings will be announced on the ship, and rewards will be paid out accordingly.

Private points for August will be awarded after the uninhabited island survival exam.


 * August 4: Vacation on the cruise, students are free to do anything on the cruise.


 * August 11: Arrive at the port, return to the school and be dismissed.

RULES OF THE SPECIAL EXAM


 * Groups are to be of 3-6 students’ big.
 * The ratio for forming a mix group is 2:1 with two girls and one boy.
 * Only students from the same year can form a group.
 * Groups cannot be changed after forming.


 * After the special exam starts, 2 groups of 3 people or 3 groups of 2 people or six single student groups can merge and form a big group.
 * Students with any injury or fever will be disqualified.


 * If a group placed in the top three is composed of all four classes, the reward will be shared equally.
 * Students from the bottom six groups will be expelled.
 * Students can override the expulsion by paying one million points.
 * Class point rewards for the top three groups will be taken from the bottom three groups.

REWARDS


 * Group placed first: 300 class points, one million private points, 1 protection point
 * Group placed second: 200 class points, 500,000 private points
 * Group placed third: 100 private points, 250,000 private points
 * Groups placed in the top 50% (including groups placed 1st to 3rd) 50,000 private points
 * Groups placed in the top 70% (including groups placed 1st to 3rd) 10,000 private points

Chabashira showed the students the cards that could influence the special exam.

BASIC CARD OVERVIEW


 * 1) Head start card: At the start of the exam, the points you can use will be multiplied by 1.5.
 * 2) Bonus card: The owner of the card gets twice as many private points from the reward.
 * 3) Half off card: In the event of a penalty, reduces the amount of private points to be paid by half. Only valid for the user.
 * 4) Free ride card: Designate a group at the start of exam and receive half of private points won by that designated group.
 * 5) Insurance card: In case the owner of the card is to be eliminated because of ill health, gives that student one grace day to recover. Not valid if the elimination is because of cheating.

SPECIAL CARD OVERVIEW


 * 1) More people: The owner of the card can join a group as the seventh person. This card can be used once the exam starts, and the required ratio of boys and girls will not apply.
 * 2) Nullify: In the event of a penalty, reduces the amount of private points to be paid to zero. Only valid to the cardholder.
 * 3) Trial: Receives the right to get 1.5 times as many class points from the reward of the special exam, however the group will be penalized if it cannot enter the top 30% ranks. The school will provide the additional class points for the reward.

CARDS OVERVIEW AND RULES


 * 1) Both basic and special cards can be traded within the same year.
 * 2) Students cannot trade within their class and once a card has changed owners, it cannot be traded further.
 * 3) The effects do not stack when a student uses the same card.

After Chabashira left the classroom, Koenji asks her what would happen if a person taking the special exam alone falls sick. She explained that they will be penalized and would have to pay six million private points. After noticing Ayanokōji, Koenji asks if he is going to team up with him to which he replies that since he is going to quit from the start of the exam, he can't accept his offer.

At the dorm lobby, Ayanokōji met Ishizaki, Albert and Hiyori. They then forcibly take him to Albert's room after Hiyori and Albert grabbed his arms. After reaching his room, Ishizaki asks Ayanokōji to team up with any one of them. He says that it's hard to decide right now as they still do not know the full details of the exam. He asks them for their reason of inviting him. Ishizaki tell him that it was his own decision, and Kakeru doesn’t even know of it. He then asks what's in it for him to which Ishizkaki tells him they are going to give him the twenty million points, after they become Class A and have him transfer to their class as a reward. He explains to them that Ryueen would never allow for something like that. Ayanokōji tells them he will think about it and inform them of his decision later. The next day, Ayanokōji checks his phone and sees that he has received the trail card.

In the dorm's lobby, he listens to Shinohara and Ike talking about the group formation. Ike was trying to persuade Shinohara to form a group with him. In the classroom, Hirata and Horikita were in a dilemma because of Ike and Shinohara. Hirata and Ayanokōji checked on Shinohara because she was going to Keyaki mall to meet with Kyogou Komiya. On the way there, Ayanokōji tells Hirata to go ahead first. He then calls out to Chiaki Matsushita who was secretly following him and asks him to team up with her. She sweeten the deal by saying that she will follow his every order for the special exam however, he dashed her hopes after saying that he has not intentions of teaming up with anyone, at least for this month. Hearing that, she still had hope and gave him her contact information. After meeting up with Hirata, he talked with Ishizaki regarding Komiya but a girl approached Ishizaki from behind. She asks how it looks like Ishizaki is rather close with Ayanokoji. To which Ishizaki replies that it's because of the mixed training camp and he wanted to talk to him regarding the matter of Komiya. He says that he wants to talk about Shinohara and Komiya forming their group and he wants to confirm whether or not it would happen. Ishizaki shares his impression that he feels that Komiya he is a good guy. Ishizaki then asks Ayanokōji if he fancies Shinohara, with his reply being that its Ike from their class who likes her. Ishizaki calls Komiya and confirms that he has feelings for Shinohara and he was going to confess her during the special exam.

In a cafe, Horikita and Ayanokōji were talking about what should they do next regarding Ike and Shinohara. They then check the OAA app and found that Shinohara and Komiya have already formed a group. They decide to discuss it with Hirata.

In his room he was having a dorm date with Kei. She asks him curiously if he could take the first place by himself. He answers that there is a 50/50 chance. She is anxious about the special exam and wants him to team up with her as a form of protection. He replies that there is still a way to save herself by having enough private points to negate the expulsion process. She reveals that currently, she has 240,000 points. He reassures Kei that he will arrange the required points for her after giving her all his private points and intending to sell his card to compensate for the rest of the amount.

In a cafe, both Honami Ichinose and Sakayanagi are having a meeting in regards to the fast approaching special exam, acting as the respective representatives for their respective classes. Sakayanagi then proposed to form an alliance between their Classes. She tells Ichinose that Class D is gaining momentum and notify her of the fact that last year, they have accumulated more points than any other classes and at the rate they are going, her Class B would eventually end up dead last. After some careful deliberation, Ichinose asks her for more details regarding her proposal. She tells that because of the rules that are instated, they can only form group within the same year, and so they have to make a winning group for themselves. Even if her class doesn’t get first place, her Class A can still widen the gap between the other classes if they get a relatively high placing. Sakayanagi does praise Ichinose and her class for one thing which all the other classes couldn’t compete with, the 'it' being the unassailable trust they have in one another which will be incredibly invaluable in an alliance.

Sakayanagi explains that even though she can't move around freely at the island due to her impediment, she can still participate as someone akin to having a semi-retired position, all the while giving instructions to others. Ichinose astonished Sakayanagi by saying that she was fully aware of her concern at the notion of having the three classes to team up against Class A and therefore seeks to align with her Class before that could happen. She was also well aware that Sakayangi was psychologically lambasting her in an attempt to make her vulnerable but still decides to overlook all their prior experiences. Sakayanagi was pleasantly surprised by Ichinose's riposte and said that she may have to reevaluate her all over again. She then offered Ichinose three million points to safeguard against penalties for those in her class who are at risks of expulsion, attempting to entice her to accept the deal. Ichinose then negotiated for five people worth to which Sakayanagi accepts her demands, admitting that she was ready to hand out a similar sum even if she hadn’t asked for it. In a similar vein, Ichinose reveals that she would had accepted Sakayangi's deal even if she hadn’t offered any monetary benefits. They then officially formed the alliance with a handshake. It ends with Ichinose giving Sakayanagi the more people card.

Chapter 4
The first years were familiarising themselves with the rules of the Advance Nurturing High School and were forming groups but could not proceed due to Class 1-D led by Kazuomi Hōsen. They then held a meeting for discussion. Takuya Yagami arrived first as he was the one who arranged the meeting. Soon after Riku Utomiya from Class 1-C arrived. They then wondered if Hosen would show up or not. Soon after Takahashi Osamu from Class 1-A shows up, they were anxious about the current situation because Class 1-D was second in terms of physical ability. In the midst of discussion, Hosen suddenly shows up. Takahashi was about to start the discussion but Hosen pushed him causing him to fall. Seeing that displeased Riku, so he asks Hosen to not get violent but he refuses to comply. Riku asks him if he was the one who got his classmate expelled with his reply being that he remembers nothing. Takahashi ask them to calm down so that they could discuss the special exam. Yagami proposes that they should work together or they would become the food for the upperclassmen. Riku disagrees with him and says the benefits for cooperating is less. Takahashi says that since groups can merge during the exam, they should form more teams for the official exam. Yagami replies that if they do this, they would have to balance every group. Therefore, as an alternative, he suggested that they should focus on the strongest group of four so that they could take first place. Yagami asks Hosen to cooperate with them. Hosen agrees to help them but demands two seats reserved for his Class D. Everyone present agrees to his demands but this displeased Riku. They all agree to take first place in the exam.

In the Cafe at Keyaki mall, Hosen was having a conversation with Amasawa regarding the special exam where he requested her to team up with him and Nanase. Nanase then tells her that they will be on equal footing. She then asks Hosen what about the powerful team of four, he replies it will not be a problem as long as he sends people with strong academic and physical abilities. Afterward, she then asked them what they would give as a reward for her cooperation. After seeing that they are willing to compromise, she then demands all the points to go to her for completing the task of expelling Ayanokōji. The reason being that if she teams up with them, she will be more isolated in her class and there is no one they can trust. Hosen agrees with her demands to which Amasawa promptly leaves. Nanase asks Hosen whether they can really trust her to which he rebukes that he doesn't trust either of them and as long as he achieves his goal of expelling Ayanokōji, he doesn't care.

Ayanokōji was leaving the class but Kushida suddenly approaches him and tells him that there was a first-year who wants to meet him. Both of them then decided to go to Keyaki mall before Takuya Yagami unexpectedly started approaching them. Kushida reveals that he is the one who wanted to talk to him. They sit at the mall's cafe as Ayanokōji begins by asking him what is it that he wants to talk about. Yagami tells him that he received a notification regarding him but was not interested in the monetary so he didn't participate. Ayanokōji asks what lead him to reveal this information to him at this particular moment. He answers that he had heard that recently Hosen had failed and his right hand was injured because of it, ending off by saying that it was beyond his expectations. Yagami reasons that for the sake of protecting the first-years, he will be just act as a bystander. Furthermore, he stated that if he didn't do anything about it, Kushida and his class will likely suffer because of it. Kushida was shown to have no clue on what they were talking about. Yagami explains that shortly after entering the school, they were summoned by President Nagumo to the student council room with the other students present being Takahashi Osamu and Ishigami Kyoko from Class 1-A, Riku Riku from Class C, Tsubasa Nanase and Kazuomi Hosen from Class D. They were explicitly given the special task of expelling Class 2-D student Ayanokōji Kiyotaka with the deadline being the beginning of the second semester. Kushida was surprised to hear that. He says that they were offered twenty million points by the president if they succeed in their endeavour. Kushida asks him for the reason or other students besides him chosen for the task, to which he answers that Nagumo had said that the student was selected at random for the second year. Kushida then asks how Nagumo was able to arrange this much money all on his own. Yagami answered that he has indeed confirmed that Nagumo has the proposed twenty million points. She asks Yagami how they would participate in an exam that hasn't been recognized by the school. He replies that when the student council announced the exam, the acting director was also present. Kushida asks him if he would be safe if this conversation leaks out. He replies that he is ready to be hated by the first years because they would have to compete with him sooner or later. After Yagami left, Kushida says to Ayanokōji that Yagami knows about her past and she will get rid of him as well.

After Kushida left, Ayanokōji was approached by Sakurako Tsubaki who told him that she wants to talk to him about something. Soon after, Riku arrives and says that he wants to talk to him about Hosen. Riku then requests his help in his endeavour to expel Hosen from the island exam which caused Ayanokōji to ask for his rationale. He explains that a boy named Hatano was expelled from the school and he thinks that Hosen was the one responsible for it. Ayanokōji inquired if he might be Hosen's comrade. Tsubaki questions how he got the injury is due to Hosen and they were also aiming for his twenty million bounty. Riku says that for him and his group, they have given up on the bounty as if word got out that they are the ones who expelled him, they would then make an enemy of Class 2-D and they don't want that. Ayanokōji pressed him further by saying that the same could also happen in Hosen's case. Riku replies that it won't happen because many students in Class 1-D are afraid of him and they also want him expelled. He asks Ayanokōji to consider his proposal before leaving.

Ayanokōji has gone to Keyaki mall because Vice president Kiriyama has invited him to talk. He tells Ayanokōji that for a long time he hadn’t battled Nagumo one on one and so, he now wants to face him in the next special exam so he advised Ayanokōji to stays out of his way. Ayanokōji replies that he won't do anything. Kiriyama then shares his belief that there is no point in graduating from any other class other than Class A and declare that he will never go as far as to sink to Class B which is full of incompetent people. As they were talking a voice called out to them and it was a girl from Class 3-B named Fūka Kiryūin. Kiriyama asks her what is it that she wants with her simply replying that he was with an interesting underclassmen so she decided to say hello. Kiriyama tells Ayanokōji that he doesn't need to listen to her. She is assessed to be a good student, someone akin to Koenji from his class although he was just wasting his time. She then tells Kiriyama that he is in her way. After Kiriyama leaves, she asks Ayanokōji to sit down to talk for a moment. She says she is fine with any topic of conversation as long as she is able to figure out what kind of person he is. He questions her on why she doesn't contribute to her class and whether the reason was because she was not interested in her class. She replies that being interested and cooperating is two different things before explaining that she is not interested in the system of this school as she can already achieve anything she wants with her abilities. She pressed him to introduce himself more as her instincts were telling her that he is more than meets the eye. She asks him if he is considering to aim for first place in the Uninhabited Island exam. He reflected the question back to her with her reply being that she is aiming for a relatively high position so that she will get private points to spend. She tells him that Nagumo and Kiriyama were going to aim for first place and there are some competent underclassmen before saying that this exam will determine who will rule at the top of the school. She tells Ayanokōji that whether her interest in him disappears or not will depend on what he will do in the Uninhabited Island exam. Ayanokōji replies that he hopes that her interest in him disappears as he takes his leave.

After Ayanokōji left, Kiryuin was then approached by Nagumo. She then asks him why he has appeared before her. He started off by asking her if she thinks Ayanokōji was a person worth keeping an eye on. She then tells him that she had a face-to-face talk with him but wasn't able to grasp anything from him and he is more interesting than even the student council president. He tells her if she thinks she is better than him then he is going to show her his place. He challenges her in the Uninhabited Island exam. She replies that he has misunderstood her intention before clarifying that she isn't underestimating him as she admits that she doesn't have leadership capabilities like him or Manabu Horikita, but if they are talking about other factors, then the results would be different. He then stood up and tells Kiryuin to enjoy her remaining time at this school. Before Nagumo leaves, she tells him that even though she has put his evaluation on hold, Ayanokōji is indeed an interesting student. She asks him to test him in the next island exam to which he replies that that's what he is thinking. He says that in order to get control of the whole podium, he needs more groups to which he can give her this role if she wanted it and that he can help her find comrades. She asks him whether he really needs her help. He dodge the question by asking if she is interested or not. she replied that the top 50% is enough for her. Before Nagumo leaves, she gives him an eerie warning to look at what's in front of him and if he pays too much attention to those who are behind him, he will get suffer immensely.

Chapter 5
Ayanokōji was heading towards the Keyaki mall because Ryūen has called him. On his way there, he meets Kanzaki from Class 2-C who asks him why he hasn't formed a group yet. Ayanokōji answer was that that he doesn't have many friends. He then asks Ayanokōji whether they can trust him. Ayanokōji retaliates by asking if Ishizaki would even trust him if he said yes. He respond by saying that he will at the very least consider the reply. Ending their back and forth, he went straight to the point and implored Ayanokōji to warn Ichinose that the way she is now, she isn't good enough to lead them to Class A. He refuses and says that one must take care of their own problems and outsiders like him has no part to play.

Afterward, Ayanokōji arrived at Keyaki mall and sees that Ryūen along with Kōhei Katsuragi was having tea. Katsuragi praises him for his perfect score in mathematics. He then asks Ryūen what he is up to for creating this unnatural meeting. Ryūen replies by asking what Class A is aiming for. Katsuragi obstinately refuses to tell him due to their different class standings. Moving on, Ryūen says that the next special exam is the best chance to expel Sakayanagi but Katsuragi thinks that it will be impossible to accomplish such a feat. Ryūen explains that the important thing in this special exam is to not lose any point to the first and third years and for that, he suggest forming an alliance with him and Ayanokōji. Katsuragi refuses and says that he doesn't want to be with him and asks why he chose someone like Ayanokōji who has not shown an accomplishments, as well as reducing their reward. Ryūen asks for Ayanokōji's thoughts regarding his strategy to which he replies he doesn't know. Katsuragi was about to leave but Ryūen ask for him listen till the end. Ryūen says that because of his contract with him last year on the uninhabited island exam, Class A is required to transfer points to him monthly which have been having a negative impact on Class A. Hearing this caused Katsuragi to get furious and angrily ask what he wants from him. Ryūen simply ask for him to come his Class B and he will personally pay for the required points for the transfer. Katsuragi asks what he would stand to gain from joining Class B. Ryūen tells him that he will soon defeat Class A so remaining there would be virtually meaningless, he then asks Katsuragi how much private points he has currently. After that he took out the contract with Class A and tells Katsuragi that after negotiations he will sell the contract to Sakayanagi for five million points. After some strong deliberation, Katsuragi reluctantly signs the contract to transfer to Class B. After signing the contract he asks Ryūen for the reason he invited Ayanokōji here. He answers that he needs the Trail Card that he possesses. He offers him 500,000 points for the Trail card. Ayanokōji tells him that in order for them to go through with this trade, Ryūen has to exchange a Half off card from one of the students who have a free ride card in his class. Ryūen accepts his conditions and Katsuragi gives him his Half off card.

On the last day for group forming, Ayanokōji receives a call from Ishizaki and tells him that in his class, everyone except Ibuki has formed a group of two. Ayanokōji tells him he has an idea and would call him later. He then meets Horikita in the dorm's lobby and asks what is she going to do regarding grouping up with others. She replies that she is not going to group up with anybody as it's not a bad idea to go alone. He advised that it will be risky for her health and suggest that she should form a group. She then asks if there are any girls left. He suggests to her that Ibuki from Class B still hasn't formed one and since they both are girls they should pair up. During lunch break Horikita and Ayanokōji went to meet Ibuki and Ishizaki. Ayanokōji asks Ibuki to team up with her but she flat out refuses and says that she already hates Ayanokōji but her hatred for Horikita is much greater than him and she will never go to team up with her. Horikita tells her that she isn't here to team up with her either and declared that the reason she is alone is because she wants to fight alone while for Ibuki's case, she is alone because nobody wants to team up with her. After hearing that, Ibuki angrily challenges her. Horikita says that she is starting out alone but when the special exam officially begins, she intends to merge with a group. She told Ibuki to try not to lose after she merge with a group. After they left, Ayanokōji asks her whether she knew Ibuki wouldn't accept to pair up with her. She replies saying that she wanted to provoke her into doing something reckless to create an impetus for her to disqualify her.

Epilogue
The exam worries Keisei immensely and he confides in Ayanokōji by saying that he will do everything he can to help. After that, Chabashira entered the classroom and told them to gather at the court. As they were about to leave Koenji calls out to Horikita. She asks what's his aim. He asks her to give him the full freedom he desires if he gets an excellent result in the Uninhabited Island exam. She accepts his terms and told him that she will grant him full autonomy. Moreover, she will personally do everything she can to remove any obstacles in his way. However, she tells him that she can do that only if he takes first place on his own in the exam. If that does happen, she will consider it but if he doesn’t get first place, he would have to unconditionally help the class in the future. She then asked if he accepts her proposal. Koenji agrees to Horikita's conditions and promptly leaves the classroom. Ayanokōji shares his thoughts with Horikita that even he doesn't know how serious Koenji will get. Horikita says that if they could come in first and Koenji comes in second, they will then be able to reach Class B in one fell swoop, but she doesn’t know what Koenji will do. In his office, Tsukishiro was talking to a first year of the school. He then orders the first year to expel Ayanokōji Kiyotaka. Tsukishiro explains the entire premise of this special exam he concocted is undeniably unreasonable, but for now, he has silenced the school authorities and implemented strict rules in placed for his goal. He says that his role in this school is ending soon, but he wants to see his goal fulfilled by having the first year expel Ayanokōji Kiyotaka. This first year is revealed to be Tsubasa Nanase.

◄ Previous Volume Next Volume ►