The following contains spoilers for Season 2, Episode 3 of Classroom of the Elite, now streaming on Funimation and Crunchyroll, as well as brief discussion of assault.
The first Special Test of Classroom of the Elite’s sophomore season ended with more than a few surprises in terms of results. Despite his best-ish effort, Class D’s resident puppet master, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, was unable to secure a total victory for his Class. He managed to orchestrate a win in his own group, but it was possibly the only group from which Class D emerged victorious -- judging by the fact that they only received 50 Class Points from the entire test when a 50 CP reward was possible in all eight groups. Ayanokoji skirted a very dark line while manipulating his way to victory, so it’s extra-ominous that Ryujen’s behavior toward Horikita has him concerned that Class D might be in serious trouble.
Kei Karuizawa has been paying a steep price for the high crime of bumping into someone. Ayanokoji showed his true colors by “helping” her, but his brand of help is the last thing she (or anyone) should ever want. After declining to intervene the first time he saw her being tormented by her bullies, Ayanokoji decided to use the situation to his advantage. He sent Karuizawa a fake text for a meeting with Hirata (her ex-fake-boyfriend) in a secluded spot, then told her bullies where they could find her while she was alone. Ayanokoji deliberately set Karuizawa up for an even worse beating just so he could record it and offer it to her as blackmail for her bullies -- in exchange for her help in bringing the girls of Class D together.
Putting Karuizawa through that was bad enough on its own, but Ayanokoji entered unlikeable villain territory by proceeding to tell her that it’s her fault for being a victim. He then physically restrained her, belittled her, and even behaved as though he was going to force himself on her – all as a test to prove she’s nothing more than a victim and that she’d be wise to accept the “help” he was offering. Ayanokoji promised to always protect her but considering there are about a billion other non-evil ways he could’ve gotten his point across, the end doesn’t justify the means – even though this confrontation was the foundation for Class D’s victory in his and Karuizawa’s group.
It's not clear how Ayanokoji deduced that Karuizawa was their group’s VIP but, considering he’s a prodigal genius being hunted (presumably) for his intellect, it’s not exactly surprising that he figured it out. Knowing she was the VIP didn’t ensure a Class D victory, because being from the same Class means his “guess” would be invalid. The plan born of this shaky and super problematic alliance, however, was brilliant and foolproof.
The VIP of each group received an un-forgeable email from the school, and Ayanokoji’s group all agreed to show each other their phones to identify the VIP so they could all benefit from the test by correctly guessing the VIP and gaining 500,000 Private Points – which was exactly was Ayanokoji wanted.
Prior to his group’s final meeting, Ayanokoji used his Private Points to purchase permission to swap the SIM cards from his and Karuizawa’s school-issued phones. They then traded phones before Ayanokoji traded phones again with a classmate, so Yukimura could falsely claim to be the VIP. Ichinose of Class B saw right through Ayanokoji’s “plan” and outed his deception by calling his number so the phone in Yukimura’s hand would ring, “proving” that Ayanokoji was the VIP. However, the swapped SIM cards meant that Ayanokoji’s number was attached to Karuizawa’s phone, concealing her identity as the true VIP. This led to a traitor in the group submitting an early, incorrect guess which resulted in a Case 4 -- meaning the traitor’s Class lost 50 Class Points, Karuizawa got 500,000 PP, and her Class got 50 CP.
The fallout from the Special Test is that Class A lost 200 Class Points, Class B stayed the same, Class C gained 100 CP, and Class D gained 50 CP. On a fun side note, Episode 2 saw Koenji unilaterally submit an early guess for his group’s (Saturn) VIP just so he wouldn’t have to deal with this nonsense any longer -- and Episode 3 confirmed his guess was correct. Group Saturn had a Case 3 result, meaning the “traitor’s” early guess was correct. Interestingly, this should’ve gained Class D another 50 CP for a total of 100, but Class D’s final total was only a plus-50. This would mean someone from Class D in a different group submitted an early, incorrect guess and cost the Class 50 CP. The Mercury Group was the only group other than Ayanokoji’s with an early, incorrect guess.
Ayanokoji’s grand plan for a sweeping victory for Class D didn’t even come close to fruition, as they only walked away with 50 of the 400 possible Class Points. It turns out he was right to be wary of Ryujen, as Class C “won” the Special Test by winning 100 CP, more than any other Class. Ryujen apparently figured out the pattern behind the VIP selection, and though he wasn’t able to achieve a sweeping victory either, he may have been able to use his knowledge of the VIPs to screw other Classes, as Class A inconceivably lost 200 CP during the Special Test.
Perhaps the most alarming development of Classroom of the Elite Episode 3, however, is Ryujen’s increasingly bold and predatory behavior toward Horikita, to the point that even Ayanokoji – no angel himself – is now concerned.