Chapter 47: Operation to Confirm the Angel

"Yawn..." Yecheng, feeling utterly unmotivated, let out a bored yawn in the classroom. He was no longer the newcomer he once was; the material the teacher was explaining now was all too simple for him. Still, with exams approaching and his role as student council president, he felt responsible for urging his classmates to achieve good results.

It was for this reason that Kanade Tachibana had, over the past few days, been dragging both Yecheng and Xiaobai to study sessions early each morning. This left Yecheng rather frustrated—he’d already mastered most of the content and saw no need for this last-minute cramming. Xiaobai, on the other hand, had found an effortless solution: she reverted to her nine-tailed fox form, curled up on Yecheng's shoulder, and continued her nap.

Bored, Yecheng listened half-heartedly to the teacher scribbling on the blackboard, his gaze drifting to Kanade. As the ideal student council president, she was the very picture of diligence—taking notes with earnest focus, even though she had already mastered the material.

Meanwhile, in a dim corner at the back of the classroom, a pair of blood-red eyes watched Yecheng intently. Since becoming his subordinate, Shiina seemed to have nothing better to do and practically never left his side. Wherever Yecheng was, Shiina could be found as well, even sitting through classes obediently. No longer did she skip lessons to avoid fading away, as she once had.

Elsewhere, in the headquarters of the Angel Battlefront, Yuri stood with one hand resting on the window frame, gazing out at the scenery as her mind spun with possibilities. The likelihood that Kanade Tachibana was not actually an angel, as Yecheng had suggested, grew stronger in her mind. The student council vice president, long assumed to be an NPC, had displayed very non-NPC behavior during the baseball game. Not being one for cerebral pursuits, Yuri felt a headache coming on.

After a brief bout of contemplation, she decided that, rather than getting bogged down in these uncertainties, it was more in their nature to begin the operation. Adopting a posture thick with dramatic flair, her voice grave, Yuri declared, "Has it finally come to this time?"

"What’s up, Yuri?" Hinata, his face still battered and bruised from Yuri’s last, more terrifying than death, punishment, inquired curiously. After several days of recovery, the pain had dulled, but his attitude toward Yuri remained as straightforward as ever.

"Angel’s fierce assault is about to begin!" Yuri’s response was as theatrical as ever, but the others were used to it by now. Otonashi, no longer the clueless newcomer, knew full well that Yuri’s descriptions always came with more than a little exaggeration. He waited patiently for her to continue, thinking that in the past he would have expected a pitched battle between the Battlefront and Angel from such a declaration, but after operations with names like Tornado Mission, Airborne Mission, and Infiltrate Angel’s Domain, he was now able to remain unfazed.

As expected, after a few seconds, Yuri spoke again: "The exam dates are almost upon us. Angel will undoubtedly begin enforcing strict discipline!"

"That’s true," Takamatsu said, adjusting his glasses in agreement. "While attending class is important, getting good grades on the exams is even more crucial!"

"But this is also the perfect opportunity to take down Angel!" A confident smile played on Yuri’s lips. She’d spent a long time coming up with this plan, and if executed well, the chances of success were high. To her, this operation was also the most crucial way to confirm whether Angel was truly connected to God.

From her many observations, Yuri realized that the stereotypes about Kanade—her fondness for mapo tofu, her lack of expression, emotionless nature, and few words—were simply untrue. At the very least, on that day, she had chatted and laughed happily with Yecheng and Bai Ji for a long time. In reality, she was just a clumsy girl who struggled to express her feelings around strangers.

If Kanade was not a creation of God, nor a mere machine, then facing this situation ought to deal her a heavy blow. Even though Yuri had already glimpsed genuine emotion in her, she wanted one final piece of proof.

This operation was, in essence, an attempt to convince herself. If Angel lost her special status at school and could no longer serve as student council president, then there would be no reason for her to manage the Battlefront. That would prove she had no connection to God, and perhaps, that God did not exist in this world at all. The Battlefront’s actions all this time would have been meaningless.

The thought filled Yuri’s heart with panic. If it truly turned out that there was no God in this world, what would become of her and the other members of the Battlefront? What path would they take, after striving so long with nothing to show for it?

Given that the fate of the entire Battlefront seemed to hinge on this mission, Yuri’s attitude was deadly serious. She drew the curtains, plunging the principal’s office into darkness, and switched on the projection screen. "For this operation, our goal is to disrupt Angel’s exams, ensuring she fails every subject, even ranking dead last in the entire school."

"What’s the point of that?" Oyama asked, unable to see the significance of such an act.

"Would the school really allow someone who ranked last in the entire year to remain student council president? Absolutely not. In this world, the student council president is always decided by grades—the highest scorer gets the post. Isn’t that a simple, game-like principle?" Yuri shook her head with a touch of irony.

"First, we need to decide who’s in on this mission! I’ve already arranged for all of you present to be assigned to Angel’s class for the exam. Remember, there can be no mistakes this time. If we’re caught, we’ll be moved to another classroom, and the plan will be ruined! The members this time are Takamatsu, Hinata, Oyama, Takeyama, and Otonashi. Apart from Takeyama, none of you could be considered idiots, and you’re all fairly ordinary in appearance—less likely to attract attention. Now, let’s begin!"

"Wait, aren’t we bringing Yecheng along? If I recall, he’s got good grades and always gets things done well." The omission of Yecheng from the mission left Otonashi puzzled; Yecheng had always been a valuable ally, and Yuri never forgot useful people.

"I admit, Yecheng is an outstanding person—capable, handsome, reliable. But his relationship with Angel is too close. That’s the main reason I left him out. This operation cannot fail, and if Yecheng knew, the chances of something going wrong would skyrocket!" Yuri herself felt helpless where Yecheng was concerned; someone who, in her eyes, nearly approached the realm of the divine was not someone whose actions she could predict. Her rare words of praise for Yecheng left the rest of the Battlefront stunned—she had never openly complimented anyone before.

"I understand," Otonashi said, realizing the importance of this flawless operation in light of Yuri’s repeated insistence.

Meanwhile, Kanade Tachibana, still absorbed in her studies in the classroom, was completely unaware that a great many people had already resolved to ensure her failure in the upcoming exams.