Ichinose's entire class fell silent for three full minutes after Kanzaki's steel-hard appeal.
Then the third round results appeared:
Approve: 1 vote / Oppose: 39 votes.
Nothing had changed.
A heavy sadness crept through the room.
Why had a perfectly good friend suddenly become like this?
Both Ichinose and Kanzaki insisted it was "for the class," "to wake everyone up," but… forcing someone to be expelled as the price of growth was something they simply couldn't accept—not from the heart.
They were still only sixteen, seventeen—just high school sophomores.
Being told right now to think like adults about利益—about grabbing advantages even if it meant sacrificing a friend—felt like a cruel demand.
At that age, when blood still runs hot, even if Kanzaki meant well… they just couldn't do it.
Shibata finally snapped, hands tearing through his hair until his neat style became a bird's nest.
"Kanzaki!! I don't care—maybe I'm not as smart as you! I don't get all that complicated stuff!"
"All I know is I can't bring myself to think about 'future gains' right now! I just know if I listen to you and get you expelled, I'll regret it so badly I won't be able to eat for the rest of my life!"
The sincerity in Shibata's voice struck a chord, and classmates piled on immediately.
"Exactly! Even if what you say is true—if we really are 'bound' by Ichinose's belief that 'protecting friends matters more than reaching Class A'… so what? We accept it willingly!"
"Isn't law the same? Law restrains people's actions, and everyone accepts it—because a world with no restraint would be terrifying."
"This is the same. If we didn't have Ichinose's values, if we turned cold as ice and threw away friends for profit… would we even be ourselves anymore?"
Up on the podium, Kanzaki swayed—his legs unsteady. He had to grip the edge of the desk just to stay upright.
His eyes were red now.
How could he not understand?
Ichinose's values weren't wrong. Being in this class had been something he'd been proud of.
But… they couldn't keep soaking in that warmth forever.
The atmosphere was beautiful—but if it stayed like this, they would never graduate from Class A.
Kanzaki hammered it into his own head: Don't waver. Think about their futures.
If they could graduate from Class A, their futures would be bright—elite companies, government careers, pro teams, even stardom. The choices would be endless.
But if they didn't…
Then they'd just become ordinary people.
They were young. They didn't understand yet.
But Kanzaki believed he had to be the one who did.
Because what about three years from now? Five? Ten?
Could they still keep these beautiful ideals forever?
If he backed down today… and ten or twenty years later they were middle-aged, worn down, stuck scrambling just to survive—would they hate him?
Would they blame him?
Why didn't you hold out for a few more votes back then?
Just imagining that made it impossible for him to let go.
Eyes bloodshot, he stared down at the room and forced his voice steady.
"I said I won't change my vote."
"If you're still unwilling, then drag it out until the exam ends."
That kind of resolve left everyone speechless.
They felt like Kanzaki was a sewer turtle—stubborn, unyielding, impossible to talk to.
Hoshinomiya, watching, slipped into memory—back to the arguments from eleven years ago, back to that Unanimous Vote exam that tore a class apart.
Back then, she had argued for profit, for sacrificing someone. And "Little Sae" had protected friends to the bitter end—dragging things out until time ran out, tanking everyone's chances, and crushing any hope of graduating from Class A.
That was what birthed her resentment toward Chabashira.
But looking at this class now, Hoshinomiya couldn't help thinking:
People were different. Classes were different.
If they'd had a student like Ichinose back then… would she and Sae have avoided breaking?
If they'd had a vice-leader like Kanzaki—someone willing to sacrifice himself for everyone's future—could they have made it to Class A?
Fate really was cruel.
Then…
"I've decided, Kanzaki."
Ichinose spoke again, steady and firm.
Hoshinomiya snapped out of her thoughts and looked over.
So did everyone else—Kanzaki on the podium, the students in their seats.
In this turmoil, their leader stayed calm. Their anchor. The person they trusted most.
Ichinose's beautiful face carried a rare seriousness.
"Past me would've panicked. I would've tried to gently persuade you, Kanzaki—to get you to switch your vote to oppose."
"But I've grown, too."
At the back door, Yukio caught himself watching with quiet approval.
Yeah… after everything, Ichinose wasn't the same as she used to be.
And without giving Kanzaki any room to push further, she laid out her path—the one that could satisfy both the class and Kanzaki.
"If you're saying that if we keep going like this, we'll never catch up to Yukio's class… never graduate from Class A…"
"Fine. I admit it. Catching up to Yukio's class—beating Yukio multiple times and taking Class Points from him—is almost impossible."
"So for the remaining year and a half…"
"I'll go all-in on earning Private Points."
"I'll do everything I can to let all of you transfer into Class A individually."
Her declaration hit like a shockwave.
Solo transfer.
No one expected that to be Ichinose's answer.
Solo transfer meant using two million Private Points to move one person into Class A—guaranteeing a Class A graduation.
This was Ichinose's choice:
She wouldn't destroy the warmth and unity of her class.
And she would still meet Kanzaki's demand—giving every classmate who wanted Class A a real, concrete path to get there.
...
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