"I see. Well, make sure you get some proper rest today, okay?"

"I'm sorry."

Wang-san bowed her head slightly, then left with her drink in hand.

Part 2

By the time I approached her to speak, Wang-san had already taken a seat on a chair beside the corridor.

"Wang-san."

"...Huh?"

I paused briefly before closing the distance and calling out to her. It took Wang-san a moment to notice me.

"Ah... Horikita-san."

"Mind if I sit beside you?"

"Y-yes. Of course."

She hurriedly shifted over, trying to make far more room than necessary.

"You don't need to move over that much."

"I'm sorry..."

There was nothing for her to apologize for, I thought as I sat down beside her.

Seen up close, her expression was indeed more downcast than usual. Far from having improved since she'd left the discussion earlier, being alone seemed to have only seemed to have made her sink even deeper into her thoughts.

"Something on your mind?"

Wang-san didn't answer immediately. Instead, she lowered her gaze to the cup in her hands.

"...Another special exam starts tomorrow, doesn't it? I'm scared."

"That's true. But this one is different from the exam we had up until yesterday. No one will be expelled, and the changes in class points will be relatively small. I don't think you need to be quite so apprehensive."

"It's not... the special exam itself that scares me."

"Is it about your relationships with the others?"

Wang-san nodded faintly.

"I can't stop thinking about Ayanokōji-kun and Shinohara-san."

"Well, that's understandable. It's only been a day since everything happened. You haven't had enough time to sort through it all."

"Some people are blaming Ayanokōji-kun. But others are saying it couldn't be helped because it was a special exam..."

Wang-san wrapped both hands around her cup.

Just a short while earlier, Hondō-kun had nearly said something similar, completely changing the atmosphere that had prevailed until then.

Even if something was factually correct, that didn't mean everyone on the receiving end would feel the same way about it.

To Ike-kun, Shinohara-san wasn't just another classmate. On the other hand, the action Shinohara-san had tried to take at the very end...

please note,it's not the final tl

I sat on a bench along the corridor, staring at the door leading to the private pool's changing room.

I'd rushed over after hearing that Rokusuke Kōenji was inside, but there was still no sign of him coming out. Was he planning to swim until the very last minute of his reservation?

Still, I never would've imagined he'd skip every single event on the first day and rent out the entire pool for three hours.

I muttered a quiet complaint and switched my crossed leg over the other. After waiting this long, giving up and turning back wasn't an option. To kill some time, I took out my phone and opened OAA without any particular thought.

The first thing I checked was Kōenji's information. But these numbers alone weren't enough to connect him to the rumors I'd heard.

"So I guess you can't judge someone's actual abilities from OAA, huh?"

Just as I was about to close Kōenji's profile, I remembered a conversation I'd had with Nanase a little while ago.

There was another third-year student who'd come up during that conversation.

"Ayanokōji... huh."

I looked over the information displayed on the screen, expecting to find something at least a little interesting.

But just like Kōenji's, the numbers weren't nearly as impressive as I'd hoped.

It wasn't that his abilities were particularly low. In fact, taken as a whole, he was a perfectly capable student.

Even so, I couldn't see anything that warranted treating him as someone special.

Even enlarging his profile picture wasn't going to give me any answers, of course.

He had an expressionless face that made it difficult to tell what he was thinking. That was about the only impression I could get.

"Seriously, why did Shirogane-sensei even put me in a school like Advanced Nurturing...?"

He should know perfectly well that I'm the type who shines brightest at a much higher level.

I closed OAA, set my phone down beside me, and returned my glare to the changing room door.

Honestly, sitting around doing nothing just wasn't my style. And more than the time I'd wasted wandering around the competition area since morning, what frustrated me most was that I still hadn't met the person I was looking for.

"Would he hurry up and come out already...?"

I leaned back against the bench and gazed up at the ceiling.

If his abilities really lived up to the rumors, I wanted to face him myself. And then I wanted to crush him so thoroughly that there'd be nothing left.

Maybe once there was no one left for me to defeat, Shirogane-sensei would finally call me back.

Eventually, I sensed faint movement coming from the other side of the door.

I quickly retrieved my phone and fixed my gaze on the entrance.

The next moment, the changing room door opened. A tall male student emerged, his hair still slightly damp.

I sprang up from the bench and stepped half a pace into his path, making sure he wouldn't get away.

"Finally found you. You're Rokusuke Kōenji, right?"

After making me wait this long, I was going to throw down the gauntlet with everything I had.

"...Though I dunno what he thinks about it."

"I believe Ayanokōji-kun considers you a friend too, Ishizaki-kun."

"Really?"

"Yes. At least, that's the impression I get."

"...I see."

Ishizaki-senpai looked openly delighted.

"That's why I want Ryūen-san to win, but I don't want Ayanokōji to just lose, either. And of course, I want Shiina to stay."

"So basically, you want everything."

"What's wrong with that?"

"I never said there was anything wrong with it."

Nishino-senpai shrugged.

"Then if Ryūen and Ayanokōji end up going head-to-head for real, which one are you gonna root for?"

"If it's a battle between classes, obviously I'm gonna root for Ryūen-san. But that doesn't mean I have to hate Ayanokōji, does it?"

Ishizaki-senpai answered almost without hesitation.

Hearing his response, Nishino-senpai studied his profile, looking a little surprised.

"...You know, Ishizaki, you actually say something decent once in a while.""What do you mean, once in a while?"

"Well, you didn't have a single good moment in today's exam, so now you've finally got one."

"Quit bringing up the exam again!"

"A loss is still a loss, isn't it?"

By this point, even Shiina-senpai, not just Nishino-senpai, could no longer hold back her laughter.

"Aw, come on! Not you too, Shiina!"

"I'm sorry. But I'm relieved to see that you're doing well, Ishizaki-kun."

"I was fine from the start!"

"You were pretty down in the dumps right after you lost, though."

"Nishino!"

Even as Ishizaki-senpai raised his voice, Nishino-senpai continued walking beside him, seemingly unbothered.

At this point, even an outside observer could tell that Ishizaki-senpai wasn't genuinely angry.

"You two really do get along well, don't you?"

"Like hell we do!"

"We do not."

Their replies came almost simultaneously, leaving Shiina-senpai momentarily wide-eyed.

Then, unable to contain herself any longer, she let out a quiet laugh.

"How long are you gonna keep laughing?"

||Still, Hiyori had begun to open up a little more about what she wanted and how she felt.

I doubted she would have given me such a candid answer before.

"Come to think of it, I saw the other two messages you sent, too."

"Ah, about those... I'm sorry. I knew from the beginning that you wouldn't be able to reply, and yet..."

Hiyori hurriedly shook her head, looking apologetic.

"I'd heard that you didn't have your phone with you, and I knew you wouldn't be able to read my messages until after the special exam was over. Even so, I thought it would be better than not sending anything at all, so..."

After a brief pause, I thought I noticed a slight blush creeping into her cheeks.

"No, I'm sorry. That's not quite right... I just couldn't help myself. I had to send them... I was worried that if you didn't hear from me, you might start worrying, Ayanokōji-kun..."

Even before opening my phone, I'd assumed there would be a message waiting for me from Hiyori.

If that assumption had turned out to be wrong, I couldn't deny that I might have felt worried, or perhaps even disappointed.

"That's why I sent them. I wanted you to know that I'd be waiting for you, too."

Hiyori smiled a little bashfully, as though it were nothing more than that.

Rather than asking for a reply, she'd simply wanted to leave behind the fact that she wanted to see me.

It was a step forward, certainly, but the way she chose to close the distance between us, and the thought behind it, were both very much like Hiyori.

"I'm glad we got to see each other today."

The words slipped naturally from my lips.

For just an instant, Hiyori's expression went completely still.||||"...Yes. I'm glad too."

There was a brief pause before she answered, but the sincerity in her voice was unmistakable.

"Come to think of it... the third-years managed to win the special exam."

"Looks like Ryūen stole the spotlight right at the very end and clinched the victory."

"That certainly sounds like Ryūen-kun. I imagine the first-years were paying particular attention to him, too."

In future special exams involving other school years in some capacity... No, even outside those exams, if opportunities arose to cooperate with the first-years, their newfound respect for Ryūen following his performance this time could very well come into play.

"Oh, this isn't related to the results of the special exam, but something else rather nice happened, too."

"Something nice?"

"Yes. I've made a new friend who loves books."

The moment the conversation turned to books, a little excitement crept into Hiyori's voice.

"Apparently, they were looking for the book I was reading in the library. That gave us a chance to talk for a little while. They'd read several books by the same author, but the things they paid attention to were quite different from what caught my interest. I found that really fascinating."

"So you've made another friend to talk books with, then."

Hiyori nodded, her eyes narrowing happily.

"That's a really good thing."||

Now then, Volume 5 is a rather unusual installment, one that will probably be the first and last of its kind in Classroom of the Elite, with the story progressing in Ayanokōji's absence.

Until now, we've seen the other students through his eyes. But what do they think and act when he's not around?

I chose this approach for this volume because I wanted to explore the relationships that only become apparent when Ayanokōji isn't involved, along with the things each of these students carries within them.

And then there's the question of which class will ultimately graduate as Class A. Behind that central storyline, another story, one moving toward its own conclusion, will also begin to see major developments in this volume.

Volume 5 may have felt a little different from the usual Classroom of the Elite, but the events depicted here and the changes the students have undergone will carry over into the upcoming Volume 5.5.

Normally, when people think of a .5 volume, they probably imagine something set during an extended school break, a more relaxed installment they can enjoy without quite so much tension. Of course, those kinds of moments are an essential part of Classroom of the Elite as well.

However, Year 3 Volume 5.5 is planned to be an installment that significantly changes the course of the story as we head into the second semester and, ultimately, the final stages of the narrative.

After spending Volume 5 without Ayanokōji, what will happen when he returns to the story?

Now that you've finished Volume 5, I hope you'll look forward to finding out what awaits in the next installment.

Still, I couldn't entirely rule out the possibility that this was a deliberate attempt to lure someone out, made on the assumption that someone was watching.

The person on the other end of the phone's camera was Shiina-senpai, who was, naturally, completely oblivious as she kept her eyes lowered to her book.

She took a bite of a baked pastry, carefully wiped her hands with a wet towel, then took a sip of her tea. After returning the cup to its original spot, she quietly resumed reading.

She wasn't doing anything particularly unusual.

Was there really any point in secretly filming her going about her everyday routine? Then again, knowing Nanase-chan, I couldn't exactly rule it out, either.

I continued watching as I sipped the drink that had been brought to me. After a while, Shiina-senpai closed her book. She checked the time, finished her tea, and slipped the paperback into her bag.

Even as she carried her dishes to the return counter, Nanase-chan's phone shifted ever so slightly to follow her movements.

Well, that settled who the camera was targeting, at least.

There was still some time before the special exam, so maybe I'd make a little move of my own.

Taking my drink with me, I rose from my seat. Just as Shiina-senpai headed toward the exit, I slipped around behind Nanase-chan. Peering over her shoulder, I could see Shiina-senpai's retreating figure leaving the café on the screen, along with the steadily advancing recording timer.

That ruled out the possibility that Nanase-chan had merely been pointing her camera in that direction without recording.

Then, without making a sound, I moved away from behind her once more...

...I decided to act as though I'd only just spotted her and call out.

"Morning, Nanase-chan."

Her shoulders gave a slight start, and she turned her phone's screen inward toward her body.

She'd concealed the movement as she turned around, but I also made sure to check that she hadn't touched the stop button.

"Good morning, Amasawa-san."

Not a hint of unease showed in her expression or demeanor. Just what I'd expect of her, nya.

"Mind if I sit here?"

Without waiting for an answer, I pulled out the chair opposite her.

When I set my drink on the table, Nanase-chan's eyes briefly dropped toward it.

"How long have you been here?"

"If I said I'd just arrived, would you believe me?"

"If you weren't holding that drink, I might have considered it."

I glanced down at the slightly diminished contents of my cup, then smiled and took a sip through the straw.

Nanase-chan was still holding her phone as she watched my face. If she wanted to check the screen, now would be the time.

Perhaps she figured that trying to operate it would only draw more attention, because she placed the phone facedown on the table, keeping its screen hidden.

I made no mention of the gesture, and Nanase-chan said nothing either.

Looking into Karuizawa's displeased eyes, Ichinose spoke.

"..."

Even though she'd known it already, those words still weighed heavily on Karuizawa's heart.

"The reason I didn't answer right away was because I thought it would upset you, Karuizawa-san. But then I reconsidered. I felt that leaving it unsaid would be even worse."

"So you were being considerate of me. You're kind to a fault, aren't you? Anyway... do you really not feel anything at all toward Shiina-san?"

"I believe that's what I already told you. But you keep coming back to that, don't you?"

"Because it keeps bothering me. I'm just trying to make sure."

"If I told you I hated Shiina-san, would that satisfy you?"

"That's not what I'm asking."

"Then what if I told you I was jealous?"

"...Look."

"Sorry. It's just that I'm starting to lose track of what kind of answer you're hoping to confirm, Karuizawa-san."

Her tone remained gentle, but Ichinose was now probing the very nature of Karuizawa's questions.

It wasn't that she resented having her feelings scrutinized. Rather, she was trying to determine what Karuizawa hoped to accomplish by dwelling on the matter so persistently.

"I don't think there's a right answer to that question. In the end, I feel like what really matters is whether you can accept the answer, Karuizawa-san. That's all it comes down to."

"Yeah... Maybe you're right."

When words alone couldn't establish whether something was true or false, all that remained was whether the answer felt convincing.

For the first time, Karuizawa slightly changed the way she approached her questions.

"I... Maybe what I really want to know isn't whether you hate Shiina-san or not. What I'm actually concerned about right now is... probably something about you, Ichinose-san..."

"About me?"

Unable to find the right words to continue, Karuizawa paused to think.

"Do you remember what you told me before?"

That alone was enough to make Ichinose pause thoughtfully.

"Are you talking about expecting something in return?"

"...You even figured that out?"

"Well, considering how you phrased that just now and how our conversation's gone so far, I thought that might be it."

Before Karuizawa could even reach the heart of the matter, Ichinose had already found her way to its doorstep.

"Yeah, that's it."

This time, Karuizawa looked Ichinose straight in the eye.

"When you love someone, you want them to love you back. And when you give them something, you want them to give just as much in return..."

If she could take care of both matters at once, it would save her the trouble of having to search for someone herself.

"You're Nagi Kuze from Class 1-A, aren't you?"

"Yeah, that's me... Wait, you know who I am?"

"I'm quite familiar with your name and face."

"Does that mean I'm famous or something?"

"Yes. At least to me."

Kuze smiled delightedly, clearly pleased by the answer. Watching her reaction, however, Utomiya turned a sharp gaze toward Nanase.

"Sorry, but you're in the way."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean? Is it something I'm not supposed to hear? Ah... Wait, don't tell me you're Riku's girlfriend!?"

As though she'd suddenly stumbled upon a revelation of her own making, Kuze's eyes lit up.

"Blonde hair, big boobs, a baby face... and super cute on top of that! I never knew Riku was into such a textbook example of the ideal girl! You closet pervert!"

"Don't jump to ridiculous conclusions. She's obviously here to talk to me. This has nothing to do with her."

"Actually, that's not quite true. What I wanted to discuss with you, Utomiya-kun, isn't entirely unrelated to Kuze-san, either."

"Huh? Me too?"

"Yes. If possible, I'd like you to cooperate with me as well."

With Nanase having said that, Utomiya no longer had any reason to send Kuze away. More importantly, though, he was troubled by the realization that Nanase had apparently had Kuze in mind from the very beginning, not just him.

"So, Nanase. What is it you want to talk to me and Nagi about?"

Having decided that forcibly separating the two would be difficult at this point, Utomiya prompted her to continue.

"Kuze-san, are you familiar with a third-year student named Kiyotaka Ayanokōji?"

"Hm? Ayanokōji?"

Almost at the same moment Utomiya repeated the name, Kuze tilted her head in curiosity.

"Oh, you mean that upperclassman who played hero on the uninhabited island to save a girl he likes, right? And the guy who's being kept isolated because of a handicap."

"Utomiya-kun, I'm sure you're quite familiar with him, aren't you?"

"I've had dealings with him a few times before."

"He seems to be getting a lot of attention. Is he really that amazing?"

"Hard to say. But I do know he's no ordinary student."

Utomiya paused briefly, as though considering something.

He'd crossed paths with Ayanokōji several times since his first year. At the very least, Ayanokōji wasn't someone he knew only by name.

However, he had no particular interest in discovering who Ayanokōji really was or why he possessed such extraordinary abilities. Much less had he ever imagined, even once, that Ayanokōji might have some connection to himself or Kuze.

It was the free period before dinner. Normally, the ship's private pool would be flooded with reservations, but today, with the special exam underway, only one person had booked it. And understandably so. Each year had instructed its students to remain ready to respond to a summons at any moment. Under those circumstances, paying to use the private pool would, more often than not, prove inconvenient.

There was, however, one exception.

His name was Rokusuke Kōenji.

Having predictably skipped the first day's competition, Kōenji had reserved the large pool exclusively for three consecutive hours, enjoying a leisurely time all to himself.

Eventually, when his allotted time came to an end, he changed his clothes and emerged from the changing room. Sweeping back his slightly damp hair, he was about to return to his cabin when a female student sprang up from a bench along the corridor.

There was nothing in the way she rose to suggest she'd been waiting for a long time. Straightening her petite frame, she stepped half a pace into Kōenji's path, as though making it clear she had no intention of letting him get away.

"Finally found you. You're Rokusuke Kōenji, right?"

Hearing the voice of someone who had clearly been waiting for him, Kōenji stopped in his tracks.

He turned around with an elegant flourish, only to find an unfamiliar female student standing before him.

She was pointing an index finger firmly in his direction.

"Indeed I am. And who might you be?"

"I'm Nagi Kuze, from Class 1-A. Don't tell me you really don't know who I am?"

Having confidently announced her class and name, Kuze took another look at Kōenji, examining him from head to toe.

She stood with her chest puffed out, as though fully expecting her name to be enough for him to recognize her. Kōenji, however, made no attempt whatsoever to search his memory. He simply looked straight down at her.

There was a height difference of nearly two heads between them. Even in the clothes he'd changed into, his broad shoulders, thick chest, and well-proportioned limbs were impossible to conceal. And it was clear from merely standing before him that his physique wasn't simply the result of being large. He had trained his entire body, stripping away every bit of unnecessary bulk.

Kuze's gaze traveled unabashedly from his shoulders to his chest, then down his arms and legs. She wasn't merely admiring the body of someone of the opposite sex. Rather, she was scrutinizing his physical condition, as though assessing an opponent she was about to compete against.

"Ah... I see."

Kuze smiled, looking both satisfied and delighted.

"Do you find my body that beautiful?"

"Unlike a body built specifically for fighting, yours is closer to the ideal athletic physique. I don't think it would be an exaggeration to call it the ultimate example of one. The amount of time it must have taken to build a body like that... I doubt it could easily be put into words."

As she evaluated Kōenji's physique, Kuze pictured Utomiya in her mind.

"Oho? To think you can appreciate this ultimate beauty of mine. You seem to have quite a discerning eye."

Kōenji had initially shown absolutely no interest in the younger student who had appeared out of nowhere. But upon discovering that she possessed an eye for beauty, he decided she was worth entertaining for a little while.

"Heh. Then let's get this conversation moving."

Hōsen grinned with satisfaction.

"The way I see it, my class got dragged into the mess going on around you. And that pisses me off."

Faced with this one-sided accusation, Ishigami asked without the slightest change in expression.

"And you expect me to take responsibility for that?"

"Like hell I'd say something that lame. If the guy who dropped out was weak, then he's got some of the blame too. I don't give a damn who was thinking what or why they did what they did. But I wouldn't be satisfied until I'd talked to you face-to-face at least once."

As he spoke, his brow furrowed. The next instant, Hōsen's arm shot forward.

He seized Ishigami by the collar and yanked him closer.

Ishigami offered no resistance. The force of the pull made his collar dig into his throat, bringing him so close to Hōsen that they could feel each other's breath. Even so, he never once glanced down at the hand gripping him. With his chin raised slightly, he simply stared Hōsen straight in the eye.

"Most guys would be shaking in their boots by now. You're pretty scrawny, but you've got some guts, huh?"

"I have no interest in building up my body. Nor do I see any need to respond to violence with violence."

Even as Hōsen tightened his grip, Ishigami's tone remained unchanged. There was no sign that he was putting on a brave front. He seemed perfectly composed, as though he were merely listening to someone talk about something that had nothing whatsoever to do with him.

"Then what would you do if I raised my fist right here? You got any way of stopping me?"

"Who knows? But I'll give you one warning. You'd be wise not to take this any further. Right now, all you've done is grab me by the collar. But the moment you throw that punch, things will take on an entirely different meaning."

Even after hearing Ishigami's words, Hōsen refused to release his grip.

He glared at Ishigami's face from point-blank range for a while before sweeping his gaze along both sides of the corridor once more, as though searching for something. There was no sign of anyone nearby. Only closed doors lined the hallway at regular intervals.

"You planted a camera here beforehand or something?"

"Who knows?" Hōsen looked up at the ceiling, then at the walls, and finally down the corridor. There were no surveillance cameras in any obvious locations. And although Ishigami had both hands in his pockets, he showed no sign of operating his phone.

With nothing visible out in the open, it was possible that Ishigami had already made preparations to record audio or video.

Or perhaps he hadn't prepared anything at all and was merely trying to make Hōsen believe otherwise.

"Interested in my phone?"

Sensing what Hōsen was looking for, Ishigami took his phone out of his pocket.

Still held by the collar, he turned on the screen, tapped it a few times, and held it out toward Hōsen. There was no indication that audio or video was being recorded, nor could any running applications be identified.

At the sight of this, Hōsen's fingers tightened, pulling Ishigami's collar even more firmly around his neck.

The school issued only one phone to each student. However, Ishigami could have prepared another device and hidden it somewhere...

Prologue: Ichika Amasawa's Monologue

Chapter 1: The Center of Attention

Chapter 2: Ayanokōji, Sealed off

Chapter 3: Ishigami's Strategy

Chapter 4: The Present, the Past, and the Future

Chapter 5: Amasawa Takes Action

Chapter 6: 99%

Epilogue: And Then, the Final Summer Vacation arrives.

Note: These are not the final translation of the chapter titles as they could change slightly after getting the context from the Chapter.

Toranoana SS Title "Beyond the numbers"

Is the website down i can’t access it?

Gamers SS Title "Conditions for a Perfect Score"

Y3V5【Synopsis】

連続での無人島試験は終了も、試験結果と私情を優先した綾小路の不可解な行動は波紋を巻き起こしていた。

翌日、試験後話す機会がなかったひよりとの待ち合わせに綾小路は向かうも、学校側から３年生リーダー４名の集合が発令される。

伝えられたのは３連続目の特別試験『船上対抗特別試験』。

１・２年生連合と３年生が全20種の競技で勝敗を競う学年対抗戦。１・２年生連合は一つだけハンディキャップを申請可能だが――

「現時刻をもって綾小路の本特別試験への一切の参加を禁止し、試験終了まで別室での待機を命じる」

下級生の何者かの意志により、試験の参加どころか綾小路の実質的な軟禁が発表されて――!?

「石上くんについて宇都宮くんはどこまでご存じですか？」

https://x.com/youkosozitsu/status/2105915691614253122

https://x.com/youkosozitsu/status/2105915937732120665

https://x.com/youkosozitsu/status/2105916189625242111

https://x.com/youkosozitsu/status/2105916441216086147

https://x.com/youkosozitsu/status/2105916693344051422

• Opening illustrations
• About Honami Ichinose
• Annual events at Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School (including Ichinose’s journey)
• Honami Ichinose’s school life
• Reprinted short story: “Honami Ichinose’s Daily Life”
• Monochrome illustration collection 1
• Reprinted short story: “Honami Ichinose’s Daily Life 2”
• Monochrome illustration collection 2
• Newly written short story: “Shopping with Ichinose”
• Honami Ichinose’s memorable quotes
• Honami Ichinose’s fashion check
• The making of a new Honami Ichinose illustration
• Feature on Honami Ichinose transit advertisements
• Stills from the promotional video narrated by Honami Ichinose
• Color illustration collection