Okitani—now selected as the next expulsion candidate—obviously wasn't going to accept that. He had friends too, damn it. A friend immediately spoke up for him, declaring they would never vote him out, so the others shouldn't even bother dreaming.
So the "Approve" faction had to keep digging for a new target. And it gradually turned into the same pattern over and over: propose a name, a friend steps up to protect them, then switch to someone else.
[Expulsion Branch — Round 3 Result]
Expel Nene Mori: Approve 15 / Oppose 21
[Expulsion Branch — Round 4 Result]
Expel Wataru Ijuin: Approve 30 / Oppose 6
The "Approve" side kept growing stronger.
The "Oppose" side—which should've stayed solid—started to crack the moment people realized something:
If you just begged your closest friend to always vote "Oppose" for you—if you secured your own safety—then… maybe the "Approve" idea wasn't so unacceptable after all.
Because as long as the person getting expelled wasn't you, then who cared?
Drop one "unrelated" classmate, grab 300 class points, and from then on everyone gets an extra 30,000 points per month. Who wouldn't want that?
As for the person expelled?
Let them die for all I care.
Matsushita wanted to try coordinating again, but she didn't even know how anymore. Her face dimmed. Yeah—this shortest exam in terms of time was anything but simple.
If anything, this Unanimous Vote Special Exam was the most disgusting, the hardest, the most human-garbage-revealing exam they'd ever had.
Horikita was trapped in the same deep knot of hesitation.
What now?
Either follow Koenji's logic: throw away the single most useless person and take the points.
It was the optimal move—gain points and cut dead weight. In other words, increase Class D's competitive strength so they could challenge the upper classes more effectively later.
Or… drag it out until time ran out, eat the -300 class points, and bury Class D's already-tiny chance of rising again.
For Horikita—who had never stopped wanting to reach Class A, who still clung to her promise with Manabu, who still burned to catch up to and surpass Yukio—this was hell.
One option was all upside. The other was all downside.
And to her own surprise… Koenji's suggestion started to sound like it had some logic.
Because for Horikita—who didn't have real friends in Class D to begin with—expelling some irrelevant classmate didn't come with any emotional cost.
Even Matsushita, who she worked with smoothly, wasn't truly a friend to Horikita—just a partner on the road to Class A.
Class D was in chaos. Horikita knew she had to choose.
One unimportant classmate… or her vow to Manabu Horikita and her obsession with surpassing Bansho.
When Horikita actually put those two on a scale, it wasn't even close.
The side with Manabu and Yukio dropped like a weight, crushing the other side.
As said before, because of Manabu's influence, Horikita had spent her whole life chasing the shadow he cast. Then she entered Advanced Nurturing High School—and another mountain appeared in her path: Yukio.
In her world, there were only those two mountains.
Everyone else barely left a footprint.
Horikita slowly turned her gaze to Koenji. She'd made her decision.
"Koenji. You proposed this. That means you already have someone in mind to throw away, don't you?"
Class D fell into sudden silence.
Approve side, oppose side—everyone stared at Horikita like they couldn't believe their eyes.
Horikita—who had spent the last two hours firmly opposing this—had finally turned and stepped into the "Approve" camp?
Even the drained, lifeless Matsushita froze, staring at Horikita. After a moment, understanding flickered in her eyes.
Of course.
Matsushita—more than anyone—knew how desperately this girl wanted Class A. How much she wanted to surpass Bansho.
Asking Horikita to accept a -300 outcome was basically impossible. So this shift… was something they should've seen coming.
And with even Horikita joining the "Approve" side, Matsushita's spirit sagged further.
Yeah… I'm not built to be a leader.If I can protect my friends, that's enough…
Koenji threw his head back and roared with laughter.
"AHAHAHA! Horikita-girl, you finally get it! This choice has benefits and no downsides!"
"But you're asking the wrong person." He waved a hand grandly. "This exam only allows one sacrifice—and unfortunately, the number of people I want to toss out is very, very high."
"So you decide." He grinned. "AHAHAHA! I'm so beautiful!"
And just like that, every gaze in the room landed on Horikita.
Everyone understood: the final choice might end up being hers.
Then Chabashira and the proctor reminded them it was time for Round 5.
Horikita's expression hardened into something like steel.
"Then… pick me."
"I want to see how many of you actually want me expelled."
"If I'm going to shoulder this responsibility, I won't run from it. Before I step into the darkness of expelling a classmate… I'll test that darkness myself."
So the next vote appeared.
[Expulsion Branch — Round 5 Result]
Expel Suzune Horikita: Approve 16 / Oppose 20
For most of the "Approve" faction, Horikita might be annoying—but her ability was something Class D couldn't afford to lose. With Horikita, Class D still had a sliver of hope. Without her, their strength would crash.
So they didn't want her gone.
But Round 5 ending meant time was basically gone.
They had barely half an hour left to talk.
If they didn't decide on someone soon, Class D would still eat the full -300 penalty.
Horikita drew a long breath, forcing out stale air, pulling in fresh air—anything to keep her mind sharp.
Then she faced the class.
"Everyone. We cannot allow this exam to fail. That means we absolutely cannot let time run out."
"So choosing one expulsion target is unavoidable."
Her voice was unwavering. That determination slammed into everyone's chest like a weight and it made the weaker students' palms sweat.
But Horikita's target… wasn't them.
"And if we want unanimity," Horikita continued, "we need a prerequisite."
She said it clearly—something only someone like her, with her life and her isolation, could say without flinching:
"No friends."
"In the first five branch votes, excluding Matsushita and me… Hirata-kun, Mori-san, Ijuin-kun—every one of them had at least one friend vote 'Oppose,' right?"
"That's why they survived but we don't have time to waste anymore."
"So if we want to reach unanimity in the next rounds… the person we choose can't just be low-value."
"They must also be someone with no close friends—someone no one will vote 'Oppose' for."
Horikita's eyes sharpened.
"And based on that… I propose we expel—Sakura-san."