Koya's eyes relaxed with a small smile.

"Oh."

It seemed that despite the changes he made to the plot… it didn't really change that much at the end of the day. Somehow he still got Class 3 to warm up to Class 5… well, it was because of Yoru, but he had to give himself a pat on the back for this one.

In the original novel, this alliance had taken some arcs to happen naturally and here it was happening over breakfast on Buffer Day because a girl in a witch hat decided to show up at his apartment.

He would take it regardless.

"So what's the partnership about?" Koya asked, taking another swing of the disgusting juice.

Yoru cleared her throat and looked between Misora sitting across from her at the dining table and Koya at the fridge.

"As I told Misora-chan before you came out," Yoru said. "Class 1 is going to hold a tournament… They're offering a high majority of their Class Points to whatever class can beat them."

"Nobody would be dumb enough to fight Class 1." Koya said. "Even with so much money on the line, these are all powerful nobles."

Yoru smiled.

"Class 1 plans to wear the newly released Mana Suppression bands." She said. "Brand new equipment that suppress the wearer's mana output down to average commoner levels which completely seals the gap between noble and commoner in terms of raw output."

She folded her hands. "And on paper, any class would have a real shot at winning. That's the draw after all."

She let that land.

"And on top of that, they're doing a randomizer."

Koya blinked and ran a hand through his blond hair.On his shoulder, Riffi the cat familiar looked at the can in his hand with curious eyes. She leaned down and took a lick of the rim.

Her whole face recoiled immediately.

Her ears went flat and her tail puffed, before she knew it, an annoyed meow escaped her and she fled down his arm, leapt off his shoulder entirely and disappeared somewhere behind him.

She only did that because someone was around otherwise she would have just said it out loud and made it everyone's problem.

Koya chuckled. Maybe he'd just add it to his food from now on… that would stop Riffi from trying to snag any of it.

Yoru laughed a little too.

"What kind of randomizer?" Misora asked, setting her tea down. "That's where our conversation ended before he came out."

"There's a Professor in charge of the randomization of students that they've bribed." Yoru said. "And Class 1 has already seeded their players."

She folded her hands on the table. "First is the Hyōga Great Clan heir… Hyōga Reito. His specialty is Ice Magic. He can freeze someone at what the clan calls Cold Zero which is freezing a person from the inside out until they shatter into fragments completely."

She paused. "He can only do it a limited number of times, which is why he's still in ALI rather than operating in the field but once is enough in most situations."

Koya listened.

"Second is the Wisteria clan heir." Yoru continued. "He has nature and Plant manipulation. His clan also uses their affinity specifically to synthesize poisons and when concentrated enough, they can even kill even a Gold-class monster. The Wisteria aren't the strongest Great Clan militarily but they hold Great Clan status because they supply the organic infrastructure of the Supercities. Every fruit, vegetable and herbal compound running through official channels traces back to their land so in essence, they feed the world."

She glanced at the can in Koya's hand. "The ingredients in whatever you're drinking came from their farms."

Koya looked at the can then he downed the rest of it.

"And the third?" He asked.

Yoru adjusted her black hair and settled back slightly.

"The Tsukuyomi clan." She said. "The heiress of that clan has moon-based powers and Illusion Magic that her clan primarily developed for criminal interrogation. It's the kind of magic that doesn't just show you something that isn't there but makes your body physically respond to the illusion. Pain, exhaustion, and even sensory collapse. They make up most of the police force for exactly that reason."

She paused. "But what actually makes them dangerous in a fight isn't the illusions, it's the swordsmanship they have… their blade technique is on a completely different level from everyone else in Class 1."

She stopped talking and picked up the cup of tea Misora had set out for her, taking a slow sip while Misora sipped her own tea as well.

Koya stood there watching two people conduct a conversation entirely in tea sip timing.

Neither of them was going to speak first.

This was apparently how negotiations worked when both parties had read enough political documents to know that whoever talked next was conceding something.

Yoru set her cup down.

"So." She said. "Are you interested? Or would you prefer to leave it in the hands of the nobles?"

Misora set her own cup down and looked at her directly.

"If you have all of this information," Misora said, "why not approach Class 2? Or Class 4? They're closer in ranking to Class 3. Why specifically Class 5?"

The question hung in the air. It was a reasonable one… Class 5 was the lowest ranked class in ALI. On paper, partnering with them made the least sense of any option available but Yoru sipped her tea again then she set the cup down with a small click.

"Because compared to the prodigies in other classes…" Yoru said, "I've failed to see any prodigy in your class actually pushing themselves."

She looked at Misora.

"Mio, for example. She has never pushed herself once. I've watched her enough to compile a file… she's significantly stronger than she shows and I believed that she holds back a lot… I can't wait to see her going all out."

Her eyes moved to Misora directly. "Misora Tachibana, You have never once gone serious in any of your fights. Including the ones on Familiar Isle, where you were clearly superior to nobles who outranked you on paper. Every fight you've been in, you've ended it at the minimum effort required."

Misora's expression didn't change, not even a twitch.

"And then there's Koya." Yoru said. "Everyone already knows what he's capable of."

She paused. "There's also Ichinose… her ability to turn completely invisible while masking her mana signature simultaneously is irregular even by awakened standards. Most concealment techniques do one or the other. She does both, natively without effort so there are too many variables in one class to leave unchecked which is why I'm choosing to invest in Class 5."

She let that settle for a moment.

"In the tournament, each matched class bets an agreed amount of Class Points. Winners take everything." She looked between them. "All I ask is this… if Class 3 and Class 5 are matched against each other in the bracket, Class 3 steps down from the match with no contest and full points to Class 5 however you have to return them."

She paused. "And tomorrow for the physical test, we coordinate strategy together instead of going in blind against each other."

Yoru picked up her teacup. "One more thing… Familiar abilities are disqualified in this tournament. Class 1 didn't want it turning into a Familiar showcase so… is Class 5 interested in partnering with Class 3?"

Misora looked at Koya then she nodded.

"Alright." Misora said. "Class 5 will enter a partnership with Class 3 for the duration of the mid-terms."

"Words only take you so far." Yoru said.

She reached into her storage ring and produced a folded document, sliding it across the table. "I need it in writing."

Koya moved over from the fridge to get a look at it properly.

It was clean and formal with Yoru's signature already on her side, italic and struck through in a single clean line.

The document read.

…

[OFFICIAL INTER-CLASS PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT Active Period: One (1) Academic Year — ALI Campus Only]

This agreement hereby establishes a formal partnership between Class 3 and Class 5 of ALI Academy under the following terms:

Clause 1 — Mutual Aid In the event that either party requires assistance within ALI campus grounds, the other party is obligated to provide reasonable support upon request. This includes but is not limited to academic coordination, inter-class competition strategy, and general campus matters.

Clause 2 — Non-Aggression Neither class shall take hostile action against the other in any official ALI competition or examination without prior mutual agreement. Should the two classes be matched in competition, the terms of resolution shall be agreed upon bilaterally before the match commences.

This agreement is binding for one academic year from the date of signing and applies exclusively to matters within ALI Academy campus grounds.

Class 3 Representative: Kuroyami Yoru

Class 5 Representative: ________________

…

Misora looked up from the document as her left eye twitched.

"One year?" She said.

"We're not ending it after mid-terms." Yoru said simply. "A year of helping each other within ALI won't kill anyone."

Misora looked at the document for another moment then she produced a pen from her storage ring and signed her name on the line with a clean stroke.

She slid it back across the table without ceremony. Yoru gave a small bow, took the contract and let it disappear back into her storage ring.

"Your starting three for the tournament now since we are both allies…" Yoru said. "Class 5 is trying to earn Class Points too, I assume?"

"Yes." Misora sighed. She set her pen down. "My starting three will be myself, Mio and Koya-kun."

Yoru nodded once like that was exactly what she had calculated.

"Wise." She said. "I'll get it arranged on our end."

She stood up from her chair, smoothed her dress and fixed her witch hat which had tilted slightly to the left at some point during the conversation, Yoru made sure she corrected it with both hands then she glanced at Koya with the same flat expression she'd worn throughout the entire conversation.

"Did that kiss on the cheek feel good the other night?" She asked and after that, Yoru walked out the front door and closed it behind her without waiting for an answer.

Koya took a step back immediately bracing himself while Misora stood up from the table slowly. She stared at the closed door for a long moment.

"That bitch is a sly fox…" She said.

"You're not going to ask about what she meant?" Koya said.

Misora turned to look at him then she stepped closer and put both hands on his shoulders, looking up at his face with an expression that was difficult to read.

"The last person I'd feel threatened by," she said, "is an underage girl with no tits."

She kissed him on the lips, making sure she'd claimed his lips completely before letting him go.

"Ugh." She made a face like she'd bitten into something rotten. "The juice tastes disgusting… It's all over your mouth."

"You made it!" Koya pointed at her. "You specifically made it and put it in every single can in the fridge so it's your fault and you have no excuse."

"I made it for your health—"

Before Misora could completely respond, her phone buzzed on the table. She picked it up and read the screen.

[Message To All Class Reps from Aozora Itsuki: Please assemble in the Student Council Meeting Room with one trusted student within 30 minutes. I have an important message to pass on.]

Misora set the phone down on the table.

"We should go see if what Yoru said is actually true." She said. "Go freshen up."

…

About thirty minutes later, every important figure from all ALI classes was seated in the Student Council Meeting Room.

Koya hadn't known there was a Student Council Meeting Room.

He'd known about the Disciplinary Committee but not that this existed and honestly the room was wider than he expected with a circular table in the middle of the room with five chairs around it and each one was dedicated to a student.

For Class 5, Misora sat in the chair and Koya stood behind her with nowhere to sit down… he wasn't the Class Rep and there were only five chairs here in this room.

Class 4's rep was seated opposite them at the table, he was an average-looking guy sitting with an arrogant posture.

A fairly plain girl stood behind him, Koya didn't remember either of their names and didn't particularly feel the need to.

Class 3 had Yoru at the chair and a female student standing quietly at her back with her arms folded across her chest.

In Class 2, Koya got his first proper look at Shion… the pink-haired heroine of the Shiden clan with a lightning affinity and one of the original novel's main heroines.

She looked exactly like she did on the cover of the volume he'd reviewed. She was fully composed with her back straight even though Koya suspected that Class 2 was in it on Class 1 with this, why wouldn't they be?

Most of the people in Class 1 had siblings in Class 2, it was pretty hard to imagine Itsuki doing anything to harm his sister.

Behind her stood Miyuki, his cute Fiancee. She looked like she was avoiding his eyes and her cheeks were all flushed as she was visibly sweating but the fact that she was here at all meant she had shown up and tried.

Class 1's section was empty and it looked like Itsuki had called the meeting and wasn't here yet then the door opened.

The blue-haired heir of the Aozora clan strolled in at his own pace with no hurry at all. He pulled out the chair at the head table, sat down, straightened his uniform once and folded his hands and unlike the other classes, no student stood behind him.

"Why did you call us here?" Yoru asked immediately. Her voice carried the same flatness she used at the dining table which made Koya wonder if that was her business voice because when they went to that restaurant, her voice was far different.

"It's a free day." The Class 4 rep leaned forward. "What's so important you're calling everyone out on Buffer Day?"

Itsuki looked at both of them without any particular expression… he didn't seem bothered by the pushback at all, hell he didn't seem bothered by anything.

'Is Itsuki trying to aura farm right now…?' Koya blinked and almost laughed, Itsuki?

He took a slow breath, closed his eyes and opened them while his fingers were still laced together on the table.

"I have a proposal." He said quietly. "For how to make Buffer Day actually worth something for everyone."

Itsuki looked around the room at everyone on the table. "Are all of you open to listening?"