I tried.

I gave it my all.

Poured every ounce of effort, but it ended in failure.

I couldn't save Ike, Sudo, and Yamauchi.

I couldn't save them from Yamamoto Tatsuya—

No, their fates seemed insignificant.

The real wound? My own defeat.

Or so I tried to convince myself... The anguish on their faces as Chabashira declared their expulsion cut deep.

They worked tirelessly in the study group, undeserving of such a harsh fate.

It was incredibly cruel.

It felt like an overwhelming defeat. If not for Ayanokouji-kun, facing everyone after that would've been impossible.

I'm grateful, thankful I trusted Ayanokouji-kun's cryptic message amid the chaos.

Buying an explanation sounded absurd, yet it unexpectedly worked. Now, I understand why he sent me those 50,000 points.

He knew from the start I couldn't save them. He knew my defeat was inevitable.

He knew my defeat was set in stone.

Looking back, his help seemed more like an act of pity.

I... Where did I go wrong?

I thought I didn't belong in Class D, but now I find myself doubting my own beliefs. Even with people like Yamamoto Tatsuya and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka in Class D, did I have the right to claim I should be ranked higher?

Without Ayanokouji-kun's help, I wouldn't even know how Yamamoto orchestrated their expulsion. Initially, I believed the trio would be safe as long as they studied well, but now I see how narrow-minded I was.

My mindset and thought process were too rigid.

I couldn't fathom the idea of buying a student's expulsion. It felt... surreal.

Yamamoto had his suspicions about the S-System from the start, but how deeply had he deciphered the system?

His points didn't surprise me. I'm certain it's related to the 'contract' he made with Nii-san.

But I can't understand... Why would Nii-san make a contract with him? What was it about? Why him?

My hand reached for my phone as I curled up in bed. Lying on my side, the phone's light flashed across my face as I stared at the message.

Solely because of the username, I haven't yet read the message.

[Yamamoto Tatsuya.]

What did he want? I didn't want to open it. Why would he even message me? I don't think it'll be anything good.

At most, it'll be him mocking me.

I can't picture him messaging me for any other reason but to put me down. He's been doing so since the start of the semester.

But—

But thinking about it, wasn't my behavior the reason he disliked me? I can't help but admit that maybe it was all my fault from the beginning.

I would've never admitted my fault like this if not for the way Yamamoto kept putting me down.

Academics, intelligence, wisdom... Where could I match him?

Physical strength?

After what happened that night, even thinking about that was ridiculous. I don't understand how he's acquired such... strength.

To those familiar with fighting or martial arts, picking someone up by the neck so effortlessly was simply inhumane.

Not to mention the brief fight between him and Ayanokouji-kun.

His speed... It was so fast, it felt like he simply flashed to my side, yet what left me shaken was how equally fast Ayanokouji-kun reacted.

Where I couldn't even see when he moved, he, Ayanokouji, grabbed his hand.

How?

And he even withstood a kick like that... How are his hands still working? The force from that kick should've broken his arms...

This particular question kept lingering in my mind.

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka... Yamamoto Tatsuya...

With students like these, it felt as if the gap between me and true geniuses kept widening.

Did I really deserve to be in Class D? Was Nii-san telling the truth? Had I overestimated myself?

It felt awful.

Why did I even hate Yamamoto so much?

Two reasons: first, he was extremely disrespectful to Nii-san. That wasn't something I could tolerate.

The other reason? The distaste over discovering, like Kushida, he wasn't who he appeared to be.

Though for some reason, he didn't mind showing his true self to me and Ayanokouji-kun.

But since he was making some effort to maintain his image, I had to gain an advantage somehow. Even if I were to lose, I didn't want it to be a complete defeat.

I did not want to end with utter defeat.

I wanted to deal as much damage as I could.

I knew there was no possible way to save the trio unless Yamamoto changed his mind. Not with the amount of points he had.

I was sure they would be expelled the moment it was revealed that points caused their expulsion.

But you might wonder, why did I create such a fuss? Why did I waste so many points if I knew the outcome?

I wanted to ruin his image—No.

I wanted to reveal his true self to the class.

At the very least, I wanted to take away his social strength. If I could make sure the class was against him, even he would face some trouble.

But I was wrong.

Yamamoto Tatsuya's real self was someone who didn't care about his methods. He was someone who did whatever he wished.

He had already deemed the class as his from the start and initially took the gentle route.

I don't know what caused the sudden change, but he seems to be taking the tyrant route.

He had become a dictator.

He could decide the life and death of a student.

I had taken away his gentle control, but he had reinforced his control through force.

I had utterly failed.

I had lost.

My eyes were drawn to the message once again. My heart refused to have any contact with Yamamoto Tatsuya, but I wondered...

Why did he message me?

There was a very popular phrase - Curiosity killed the cat.

It was undoubtedly true.

There was also a message from Ayanokouji-kun.

I opened it.

[Ayanokouji: Are you okay, Horikita?]

I started to ponder over his question.

Was I alright? There wasn't really anything troubling me, at most, I felt a bit listless.

Maybe in my heart, I knew that I couldn't stop Yamamoto. Or rather, I'm not ready to completely accept defeat.

He hadn't defeated me by his own means. He had abused the authority private points gave.

I knew my thinking was deluded, but if delusion was what it took to get back on my feet, then that was fine.

If I simply gave up like this, I wouldn't ever be able to face Nii-san.

[Me: I'm fine, thank you for your concern.]

I replied curtly and went back to the main menu. Maybe due to the curtains in the room, there was a lack of light.

Since I hadn't turned the light bulbs on either, the glare from the phone stung my eyes. I bit my lower lip before opening the message he sent me.

It didn't matter if he wished to mock me.

The number of things I wanted to ask him was so great that I couldn't restrain myself.

I had to see what he sent me.

[Yamamoto Tatsuya: Would you like to meet up? I have something to talk about. Right now.]

His message was quite polite, but that made me frown instead. It was already 9:30 pm. Why did he want to meet me so late at night?

Did he want to insult me in my face?

How childish...

But there was no way I was going to meet him alon-

[Yamamoto Tatsuya: It's about your brother.]

My heart froze upon seeing that.

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