Classroom of the Elite: Standing Firm in Class A — Chapter 41

Chapter 41: Will I Definitely Win?

“I will concede the point. Just as you deduced, when faced with the actual exam questions, securing perfect marks is a trivial matter for both of us.” Kaedehara Tetsu leaned against the rooftop railing, the high-altitude wind tugging at his uniform. “In terms of raw scores, we have already tied. According to conventional logic, this little bet of ours should end in a draw.”

He paused, letting the silence stretch for a fraction of a second before his tone shifted into something far more dangerous.

“But a draw often implies a double loss. I do not like losing, and I imagine, Sakayanagi-san, you share that exact sentiment.”

His casual sophistry successfully piqued Sakayanagi Arisu’s curiosity. She did not speak. She merely watched him quietly, her hands resting lightly on the head of her cane, waiting for him to reveal his hand.

“Therefore, I have a new proposal.” Tetsu spread his hands, his posture the picture of relaxed confidence. “A proposal that can turn our stagnant bet into a mutually beneficial arrangement. A win-win situation.”

“Win-win?” Sakayanagi’s delicate eyebrows arched slightly.

“Consider the original terms.” He took a slow step forward. “If I lose, I become your subordinate and work for you. If you lose, you become my girlfriend. Correct?”

She gave a faint, elegant nod.

“The current reality is that we will both inevitably score full marks, resulting in a draw. Since the board is locked, why don’t we simply take what we both desire?”

He closed the remaining distance between them. Leaning forward, he lowered his head until he was hovering just beside her. His voice dropped to a low, intimate murmur, his warm breath brushing against the sensitive skin of her earlobe.

“I will handle things for you. And you will be my girlfriend. Look at it objectively. Both of our goals are achieved, and neither of us suffers the indignity of a loss. Is this not the perfect win-win?”

Sakayanagi let out a soft, airy laugh, genuinely amused by his sheer, shameless audacity.

“Kaedehara-san, the sheer thickness of your skin truly leaves a deep impression on me.” Her voice carried a distinct, refined sarcasm. She did not pull away from his proximity, her gaze meeting his with sharp amusement. “Packaging your own base desires as a mutually beneficial proposal… you really are a natural-born swindler.”

“I am simply stating a statistical possibility that benefits us both.” The faint, dark smile on Tetsu’s face remained entirely unchanged.

“Then, right here and now, I reject this possibility.” Sakayanagi stated without a shred of hesitation. “A game must have a victor and the vanquished. A draw is the one result I absolutely cannot tolerate.”

Tetsu looked into her deep purple eyes. They were burning with a cold, competitive fire that left no room for doubt. Slowly, the playful smile faded from his lips.

He understood perfectly. Any attempt to blur the outcome of their wager through linguistic parlor tricks would never work on this woman. What she craved was not merely the prize at the end, but the indisputable, absolute superiority of completely crushing her opponent beneath her heel.

“I understand.”

Tetsu slowly straightened his posture, his expression returning to its usual, unreadable calm. “It seems I underestimated your obsession with absolute victory, Sakayanagi-san. In that case, let us proceed according to our original agreement.”

He turned around, standing side by side with her to look out over the sprawling campus.

The corners of Sakayanagi’s mouth finally curled into a deeply satisfied arc. This was the exact confrontation she desired. Not some ambiguous compromise, but a true, cutthroat duel where everything was laid on the line.

“However, Sakayanagi…”

Tetsu’s voice drifted through the air. He did not turn to look at her, speaking as though he were merely stating a law of physics. “Although the rules are set in stone, I feel obligated to give you fair warning.”

He tilted his head slightly.

“The victory this time will belong to me.”

His words lacked any trace of boastful heat. It was less of an announcement and more of a cold statement of established fact, entirely devoid of emotion.

Sakayanagi let out another laugh, the sound crisp and sharp, like ice cracking under pressure.

“Is that so? Then I will wait and see, Kaedehara-san.” Her tone dripped with absolute, unwavering confidence. “I am greatly looking forward to seeing exactly what kind of expression you will wear the moment the results are posted.”

She offered no further words. Leaning her weight onto her cane, she turned gracefully and walked toward the rooftop exit.

Tetsu stood in place, motionless, listening to the rhythmic tapping of her cane until the heavy iron door leading to the stairwell slowly clicked shut.

Only then did the stoic calmness on his face melt away, replaced by a dark, deeply playful smile.

‘My expression… I am afraid it will severely disappoint you.’

Over the following days, the midterm exams proceeded exactly as scheduled.

For the students of Class A, every single exam period felt like a carbon copy of the last. They walked into the quiet exam rooms, sat at their desks, and methodically copied the answers they had already memorized by heart onto the blank test papers. Once finished, they simply sat in bored silence, waiting for the bell to release them.

Finally, the long, tedious week came to an end.

When the final bell for the last subject rang out across the school, a warm, collective cheer erupted within the classroom. It was the heartfelt joy of students finally liberated from exhausting manual labor. Desks scraped against the floor as students poured out into the hallways in groups of two and three, eagerly discussing their weekend entertainment plans.

Sakayanagi packed her elegant belongings and walked toward the sliding door at a leisurely, measured pace.

As she passed by Tetsu’s desk, her footsteps paused.

Tetsu was leaning back in his chair, his gaze fixed out the window at the passing clouds, looking completely detached from the noisy celebration happening around him.

“The exams are over, Kaedehara-san.” Her voice cut through the background chatter, pulling his attention back to the room.

Tetsu turned his head to look at her, a relaxed, easy smile appearing on his face. “Yes, it is over. A pastime that can hardly be called interesting.”

“To me, it was quite interesting. Especially when I consider the upcoming results. That makes it endlessly fascinating.” A supremely confident smile hung on the corners of Sakayanagi’s mouth. “I can hardly wait to see the final report card, and then… exercise my absolute power as the winner.”

Her bold declaration caused several nearby students to cast curious, lingering glances in their direction.

“Is that so?”

Tetsu’s expression did not change in the slightest. He even let out a small, lazy yawn. “Are you truly so certain that you are the definitive winner, Sakayanagi-san?”

“How could it be otherwise? Do you honestly believe that in this exam, which was effectively an open-book test, your score could possibly exceed mine?” Sakayanagi asked, her tone laced with polite condescension. “I have perfectly memorized every single answer.”

Her logic was entirely impeccable. In a situation where a perfect score was the absolute ceiling, the two of them could, at best, tie. And since she had already firmly rejected a draw, mathematically speaking, she stood in an invincible position.

“Who knows?”

Tetsu shrugged, his tone so relaxed it bordered on open provocation. “Perhaps a miracle might happen. Who can really say?”

“Miracles are merely words used by the weak to comfort themselves. The truly strong only believe in the power they hold in their own hands.”

“Then let us wait for the announcement of the results together.”

Sakayanagi gave him a long, piercing look, trying to dissect the meaning behind his calm facade. Finding nothing but that same infuriating amusement, she turned and left the classroom.

She possessed absolute confidence. For every single subject, she had carried out the most rigorous, flawless checks. Full marks was the only mathematical possibility. And Kaedehara Tetsu, no matter how mysterious or capable he acted, could absolutely not achieve a score higher than perfect.

This bet, from the very second he distributed the actual exam questions to the entire class, had already doomed him to failure.

Therefore, Sakayanagi could not understand it at all.

Where exactly did his baseless, almost foolish confidence come from?

She walked out of the main school building, the bright afternoon sun momentarily blinding her. She narrowed her purple eyes against the glare, but in the quiet space of her mind, Tetsu’s final sentence echoed repeatedly.

‘Then let us wait for the announcement of the results together.’