Ryuen had already left, and Shirogane and Shiina returned to the shopping district.
The area was still bustling, and Shirogane noticed many first-years eagerly shopping.
He could tell because their faces were filled with curiosity and excitement—expressions that couldn't be faked.
On the other hand, upperclassmen had been at this school for at least a year, so they were already used to the facilities.
That's why their expressions didn't change anymore.
But—
"Shirogane, was what you said earlier true?" Shiina suddenly asked.
"What?"
"What you told Ryuen to convince him—the part about how people like us wouldn't be able to get into top universities through normal exams," Hiyori said.
In other words, she was wondering how Shirogane figured out that Ryuen was actually bad at studying.
Or… was Shirogane himself bad at studying too?
To Hiyori, the idea that someone who looked so serious about schoolwork could actually be a bad student was hard to accept.
"So, how are your grades, Shiina?" Shirogane asked.
"What do you mean?" Hiyori blinked.
"You give off the impression of being really good at studying, and you seem to love books too," Shirogane said.
"Oh," Hiyori replied. "My grades are decent. In middle school, I was usually ranked first or second."
First or second place? That basically meant she was top of the class.
As she spoke, Hiyori tucked a strand of silver hair behind her ear, looking incredibly graceful.
Normally, if a girl this beautiful sat in front of him in class, he'd probably think of her as a major distraction while studying.
But now that he knew Shiina was a top student, that distraction had turned into motivation.
Because now, he wanted to surpass her.
Suddenly, Shirogane felt a wave of clarity.
"My natural talent isn't that great," he said. "The only way I can get good grades is by working hard. I ranked first in middle school, but now that I'm here, that probably won't be enough. I'll have to work even harder."
"Oh."
So, Shirogane wasn't a bad student—he was actually a top student.
Shiina seemed a little relieved.
"But why do you think Ryuen is a bad student?" Hiyori asked, curious.
"His hands only have marks from making fists and fighting, but there are no signs of long-term writing. That means not only does he rarely write, but he probably doesn't spend much time reading either," Shirogane said.
I see.
And judging by Ryuen's reaction, it seemed like Shirogane was right about him being a bad student.
"But this might be trouble for you," Shirogane suddenly said.
"Huh?"
"Now that he understands how this school really works, Ryuen will probably try to take control of the class. That means the whole class will start focusing on moving up to Class A and competing with the other classes. And since you recorded everything with me, Ryuen will probably assign you an important role too," Shirogane explained.
In other words, the class was about to get involved in a competition, something both Ryuen and Shirogane were planning—but they hadn't asked Shiina if she wanted to be part of it.
So she got dragged into this.
I see.
Hiyori thought for a moment before speaking.
"I really like reading," Shiina said. "If I hadn't started talking to you, I'd probably be spending most of my time in the library."
"But now, it looks like I have to start working for the class."
"After all, I'm part of this class too."
Shiina had already figured it out—Ryuen would take control of the class, Shirogane would focus on studying, and her role would probably be connecting with classmates.
The first step was setting up a class group chat.
The phones provided by the school were pretty useful, but they had some restrictions.
Students weren't allowed to freely contact the outside world—there were limits on which numbers they could call and even on internet access.
But the phones came with a built-in chat app.
That meant the school allowed students to communicate.
Having a class group would make it much easier to share important updates.
So, she decided to set one up.
"By the way, Shiina, you don't seem to have a problem with me pushing Ryuen to use violence to unify the class?" Shirogane suddenly asked.
Watching Ryuen beat someone up and not stopping him, and now even encouraging him to use force to take control of the class—these weren't things a "good student" would normally accept.
"It's for the sake of the class," Shiina replied calmly. "I don't like violence, but if it's used correctly, it's just another tool."
"And based on what we know so far, it's almost impossible for Class C to rise to the top through normal means. So, relying on Ryuen to unify the class is actually a logical solution, isn't it?" she said with a slight smile.
Shirogane looked at her in surprise.
Shiina had a sweet, gentle appearance—long, silver-white hair, and a soft smile that could make anyone's heart skip a beat.
She looked like a kind and quiet person, but in reality, she had a rather unpredictable mindset.
Just then, the voice of the narration echoed in Shirogane's mind again.
[Shiina Hiyori is actually quite an unusual person. Even though she was placed in Class C and has good grades, her sense of morality seems different from an average girl's.]
[She loves reading, but she's also a bit of a loner. In elementary and middle school, she hardly had any close friends. That's probably why she ended up in Class C.]
Shiina was clearly an outstanding student, yet she was "placed" in Class C.
The use of the word "placed" stood out.
That would mean students in Class C and D were probably the ones rejected from Class A and B, filtered out based on some kind of overall evaluation system.
So did that mean some students who seemed excellent actually had flaws?
That would explain why Shiina was placed in Class C.
As for why Shirogane ended up in Class C—he understood that himself.
Even though his academic performance seemed decent, and he was good at cooking and housework, he had plenty of weaknesses too.
He couldn't swim.
He didn't know how to sew.
His stamina was fine, but he was terrible at sports—basketball, tennis, volleyball—none of them were his thing.
When it came to singing, he was so off-key that he had once been asked to just lip-sync during a performance.
He couldn't play the guitar, and he was hopeless at dancing.
He was afraid of bugs and hated anything disgusting.
"..."
Now that he thought about it, weren't these all just weaknesses?
It was a relief he hadn't been placed in Class D.
And just as he was thinking that—
"Shirogane-kun."
Shirogane felt someone tugging on his sleeve. Judging by the voice, it was Shiina.
But her eyes were fixed on something ahead.
Shirogane followed her gaze—and then he understood why she had stopped him.
Earlier, he had asked Shiina if she had seen a silver-haired girl who needed a cane to walk.
And now, there she was.
But Sakayanagi wasn't alone.