COTE: Popularity System

After Shinohara Satsuki finished speaking, Hirata Yōsuke said with a somewhat helpless smile, "I thought that if Horikita-san was correctly guessed, Class D would not only lose 50 points but also have their temporary points cleared, which would be a greater loss than simply guessing the other class leaders incorrectly, so I agreed to the terms."

Of course, Takada Hikaru's deception at the time also played a part.

Horikita Suzune's brows furrowed, and she asked, puzzled, "But if we guessed both the Class B and Class C leaders incorrectly, wouldn't we lose 100 points?"

That would be better than her being correctly guessed directly.

"Therefore, Takada-san's request at the time was that he would give out the leaders of both Class B and Class C, but only Class B had to be guessed, Class C could be chosen not to be submitted."

Hirata Yosuke said, "But if we submitted the Class C leader consistent with the name Takada-san gave, and if it was correct, then we would have to give him points."

If Class B was guessed correctly, everyone had to give Takada Hikaru 5,000 private points.

If Class C was guessed correctly, they had to hand over 4,000 private points.

If both were guessed correctly, then everyone who signed the contract had to hand over 9,000 private points to him.

At that time, Kōenji Rokusuke had already withdrawn from the exam, Sudō Ken had been expelled, Ayanokoji and Horikita were unaware, and the remaining 36 students in the class signed this contract.

Starting next month, they would have to give Takada Hikaru 324,000 private points every month.

Therefore, when he learned the leaders of Class B and Class C from Ayanokoji, and found that the names were exactly the same as those given by Takada Hikaru, Hirata felt despair.

Class B absolutely had to be submitted as directed. If Class C was different, then everyone in the class would get an extra 5,000 private points every month. But now, 4,000 points had to be handed over to someone else.

"Considering that even if we guessed the Class B leader incorrectly, we would still have temporary points left, I agreed to the request at the time."

Hirata Yosuke smiled awkwardly. "But I didn't expect Horikita-san to also know the leaders of the other two classes and even think of using the method of withdrawing from the exam due to illness to change the leader."

If he had known about this earlier, he definitely wouldn't have signed this agreement for anything.

Hearing this explanation, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka felt a sense of dread.

He had originally thought that since there were Class C spies nearby during the exam, revealing the plan too early might lead to discovery, which is why he only told Hirata the battle plan right before the exam ended.

As a result, Hirata was deceived by Takada and led the entire class to sign a contract requiring them to hand over private points to him.

Horikita Suzune not only failed to become the hero who turned the tide of the battle. Instead, by concealing her operational plan, she caused Class D to lose private points, becoming the class's criminal.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?"

Horikita Suzune slightly furrowed her brows, her expression displeased. "If I had known about this beforehand, I could have prepared for Takada's threat, and you wouldn't have had to sign that idiotic contract."

No, you couldn't have.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka silently complained in his heart.

Given Horikita Suzune's capabilities, it was highly unlikely she would have thought of the strategy of replacing the leader by faking illness. Even if she had learned about it from Hirata Yōsuke and the others, she would have obediently signed the contract just like the rest of the class.

Therefore, the biggest mistake the students of Class D made wasn't failing to tell Horikita Suzune, but failing to tell him.

"Huh?"

Shinohara Satsuki frowned and said angrily, "Didn't you also keep your plan a secret? Otherwise, we wouldn't have had to hold our noses and submit to blackmail."

Horikita Suzune retorted quickly, "That's because there were still spies from Class C nearby at the time. If I had informed you in advance, the plan might have been leaked and discovered by Ryūen of Class C."

Although she had only just learned of the plan herself, that didn't stop her from arguing back and forth with her classmates.

"Are you trying to shift the blame onto us?"

"I didn't say that, but judging from how the events unfolded, the crucial point is that you signed the contract behind my back. The main responsibility undeniably lies with you."

"That's impossible!"

Shinohara Satsuki grew angrier as she spoke, pointing at the black-haired girl opposite her. "The main responsibility clearly lies with you for being correctly identified as the leader by Takada-san."

"If you hadn't been identified, we wouldn't even have been susceptible to blackmail. And you want to put the blame on us?"

Hearing her justification, Horikita Suzune's pupils constricted slightly, and her fists instinctively clenched. She did not refute the statement as she had moments ago.

She had no way to refute it. It was a fact she had to admit: she had caused trouble for Class D during this exam.

Originally, thanks to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's maneuvering, she could have gone from being a liability to the class to becoming a hero who saved the day.

But now, if she hadn't been identified as the leader by students from other classes, and if she hadn't "deliberately concealed the plan," Class D wouldn't have to surrender most of the points they earned to others.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka did not speak, merely sitting quietly nearby, listening to the conversation between Horikita Suzune and the rest of the class.

In his heart, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in Suzune's performance.

Horikita, why are you regressing so much that you can't even beat Shinohara anymore?

You must remember, she's one of the fools among the girls, the equivalent of Ike Kanji among the boys.

If you lose to Shinohara this time, next you'll lose to Ike, and finally, if you can't even compete with Yamauchi, then there will be nobody left to lose to.

"Please, everyone, stop blaming Horikita."

Just then, a voice rang out.