Honami was quite surprised.
She had thought Houtarou would be popular with girls — after all, she'd noticed several girls keeping his photos on their phones.
Had no one really confessed to him before?
His reaction to being confessed to made her revise her impression of him.
He seemed unexpectedly innocent.
"Is this really Oreki-kun's first confession?"
"More or less." Houtarou nodded.
Honami: "..."
First time, huh.
"For this kind of thing, consulting Kushida-san might be more helpful." She said, "I always reject people right away."
Oh. So she'd been confessed to many times too. As expected of a beautiful, popular girl.
"But won't it be awkward when you meet again?" Houtarou asked, "Being aware that they like you and all. I don't think I could act natural."
Honami: "...??"
She looked at him with curiosity.
"Oreki-kun, could it be that deep down you don't want to reject them?"
"Eh? Why do you say that?" Houtarou asked, puzzled.
"How should I put this..." Honami chose her words carefully, "If you truly don't like someone and can't return their feelings, rejecting them shouldn't leave any lingering feelings. You'd clearly understand why you can't be together. But hesitating this long... suggests your heart is resisting."
Her statement left Houtarou stunned.
Could his heart actually be stirred? Did he like Maya?
That couldn't be possible — they had barely even talked before.
Seeing Houtarou's stunned expression, Honami paused to think.
Previously she had consulted him about the Chihiro situation, but now their roles were completely reversed.
Remembering the favor she owed him, she wanted to repay it.
And now...
"Let's do a test." Honami said.
After glancing around to confirm they were alone, she let out a small sigh of relief.
"Well then, Oreki-kun, sit here." She instructed.
She ran out about ten meters before running back, stopping in front of him slightly out of breath.
"This is something I can only say once in my lifetime." She announced.
Something that can only be said once in a lifetime...
This atmosphere felt familiar to Houtarou. Could it be... a confession?
"Oreki-kun..." Honami gazed into his dark green eyes and grasped his right hand with both of hers.
The pose was similar to Kikyō's, yet somehow different.
Because...
"I like you!" Honami declared.
"Eh?" Houtarou startled, "Is this a punishment game?"
"No, it's a confession. When I look at Oreki-kun, I feel quite conscious of you. So I hope..." She continued.
"Then I'm afraid that's not possible." Houtarou rejected instantly.
Honami: "..."
Though surprised by his immediate rejection, Honami pressed on, "But now that I've confessed like this, how will you face me at school? Will you deliberately avoid me? Will you find it difficult to continue being friends? You'll be aware that I like you and avoid me, right?"
She moved closer to him, her pleasant fragrance and pink hair noticeable in their proximity.
"Umm—" Houtarou struggled for words.
As Honami stepped forward, he instinctively moved to step back.
But she felt relieved.
"Alright. That's all." She said, "I've confirmed it. Oreki-kun isn't moved by me — rather, you're thinking about my situation after confessing. This just shows that you're a kind person."
In other words, Houtarou's worry about facing Maya after her confession wasn't his heart being stirred — it was him thinking from her perspective.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have tried to avoid Honami just now after her confession.
"In this situation, you should handle it with a normal mindset. Don't overthink it. Besides, you might be inexperienced since this is your first confession." She added.
So either one's heart becomes calm after multiple confessions, or he was simply inexperienced.
Houtarou made a mental note to have Kikyō confess to him tonight. After all, she was the only one he could use right now.
And... having others confess would cause problems.
Thanks to this archangel's sacrifice.
⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟
With the troublesome matter resolved, Houtarou returned all the borrowed books.
Honami, after careful consideration, borrowed only the most recent set of third-year textbooks, then helped return the other editions to the shelves.
By the time they finished, it was late — time for the school clearing bell.
The school building had a clear layout: Class A (Houtarou's class) on the fifth floor, Class B (Honami's) on the fourth, science labs on the third, Class D on the second, and the new Class D on the first floor.
Despite the changes in class rankings and classroom plates, the actual room locations remained the same — Kakeru's class still occupied the bottom floor.
As they prepared to head upstairs, they heard a sudden command:
"Everyone stay put! And close the door!"
As they passed the stairs to Class D, Kakeru's voice echoed from inside.
"Shh—" Houtarou, familiar with such situations, quickly grabbed Honami's wrist.
"Me-!" Honami let out a surprised sound at the unexpected contact.
"Wait!" Houtarou covered her lips, "Kakeru's class is planning something."
'Oh?' Honami blinked in response.
Though Houtarou had assured their class they held a powerful weapon against Kakeru's group, she still felt uneasy about that guy.
Knowing they would face Kakeru's class in the upcoming exam, the two crept down the stairs, slowed their pace, and circled around to crouch beneath the classroom window.
Kakeru's voice drifted out clearly:
"For this exam, we're facing Class B. We wanted Class C — they have more struggling students who'd agree to exchange test papers, turning a closed-book exam into an open-book one.
But with Class B, we're at a disadvantage. They have few underperforming students, yet we desperately need their test papers.
Using the island supplies agreement as leverage would cost too much. So here's the plan: you have ten days! Appeal to Class B's sympathy. Those bleeding hearts gave Class C a break — they might do the same for us."
Kakeru and his group had devised a plan to convince Honami's class to exchange test papers with them. They were counting on her class's compassionate nature to save some points.
Honami felt like she'd been struck by lightning.
"But I don't think these trades will work forever." Kakeru said, "What if they refuse to trade with us next time? Starting today until the 24th, everyone will study two hours daily — from 7 to 9 PM. Shiina and Kaneda will organize study sessions. We'll start with elementary school content!"
From this angle, Kakeru was demonstrating foresight.
Though the school allowed students to use rules and points, did that mean academic ability didn't matter?
Of course not — otherwise, why would there be so many written exams?
This shift revealed how Kakeru had shed some of his pride. At first, despite his poor academic performance, he'd assumed the school's rules made studying irrelevant. That's why he'd focused on leading his class upward.
But now, he was prioritizing academics.
Those fifteen bows during the Sports Festival must have affected him, Houtarou mused.
"The second reason I kept you all here today is this!"
Kakeru announced, and the sound of chalk scraping against the blackboard filled the room.
"Houtarou Oreki!" He said, "I want you all to remember his name! Remember this bastard! He's the one holding us back, preventing us from reaching Class A! He took all our points! This guy's a money-grabber, treating us all like ATMs! He talks about taking half the points from the Special Exam — I bet he wants to take all the VIP's points!"
Houtarou: "..."
Houtarou realized he'd been struck by an arrow too.
He also realized that Kakeru wasn't holding a closed-door strategy meeting — he was brainwashing his classmates.
And he noticed that Honami seemed concerned.
Indeed. He did plan to take all 80 million points that everyone earned in the VIP Exam.
He'd already stripped Kakeru's class bare but hadn't touched Honami's class yet. Was she worried he'd target their class next?
However, the fact that Kakeru needed to brainwash his classmates meant some people weren't submissive.
Like now.
"Houtarou Oreki?"
A familiar female voice spoke up — it was Mio Ibuki.
"I don't think he's that bad of a person." Mio said, "If anything, Ryūen, we kept losing under your violent rule! Everyone got points in the VIP Exam — that's a fact. And wasn't our class stripped bare because you brought so many boys to break the rules and he caught you? That's why I had to give up my points too."
She was clearly still bitter about the huge loss in the Sports Festival.
"Besides, before talking about Oreki, I want to confirm whether your leadership was wrong, Ryūen. I want to confirm this point."
Kakeru: "..."
He didn't dodge his mistake.
"Indeed, I made a mistake during the Sports Festival because I completely fell for Oreki's trap. I wanted to suppress Sudō and the others. I even wanted to extort points from Suzune Horikita. But unfortunately, Oreki saw through all my moves. That's why we all ended up being squeezed by him!" Kakeru said.
"Is that so... but isn't Houtarou an honest person?" Mio said, "He even asked for my help. Wanted me to show justice."
"??" Kakeru's eyes widened, "Ibuki, are you stupid? You're still defending that cunning bastard? Can't you read people? Let me tell you, he's a scammer, a liar, a bastard, a trap! From your initial store plan, he's been a super big con artist! Only Ichinose's class is still being fooled."
Having been tricked at least four times by him, yet hearing someone call him honest made Kakeru feel like he would cough blood.
"That's not right." Daichi said, "Because he's paying interest back to Class B now."
"That's because he has too much money now!" Kakeru said.
And it was only then that he realized Daichi Ishizaki still thought Houtarou was a decent person?
He took a deep breath.
"First, during the Island Exam, Ibuki, don't you remember? I sent you to Class A, but Oreki immediately passed you off to Ichinose. Wasn't that because he discovered something suspicious and, for his own class's benefit, simply handed you over to someone else?" Kakeru said.
"So he saw through me and traded me away—" Mio seemed to be swayed by his words, "You mean Oreki was just pretending the whole time?"
"Of course!" Kakeru said, "Think about it — he has tens of millions of points now. How could an honest person accumulate that many? It's ridiculous! If he didn't squeeze everyone's points, where else could they have come from?"
"I really was deceived?" Mio muttered.
"Yes, you were." Kakeru felt a headache coming on.
Suddenly, Houtarou felt a soft, warm hand grasp his left one.
It was Honami.
She was looking at her phone, gesturing for him to look too, with pleading eyes.
| Honami Ichinose |
| So, Oreki-kun, did you see through Ibuki being a spy from the start? And did you deliberately bring her to our class? |
| And was the store plan also a trick on us? |
Uh...
⍟⍟⍟
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