Classroom of the Elite: Reaction

by KavkaShin

Karuizawa Kei and the other first year students receive a mysterious message that takes them to the theater, where they are told to watch something they would never have thought of before.

7. Volume 1 Part 5: Classroom of the Elite

As before, everyone took advantage of the five minutes Eve gave them to discuss the videos they had seen.

Satou was currently in the back row where Ayanokouji and the others were. Meanwhile Shinohara and Matsushita gave her curious glances.

"I wonder since when Satou-san got along with them," Shinohara said while looking at the row of Ayanokouji's seats.

"Probably since being called to that meeting room. Speaking of the meeting room, we forgot to ask Satou-san what they were talking about in that room," said Matsushita.

"That's right, I completely forgot."

"We were so focused on watching the video that we forgot about it, maybe we can ask after this session is over."

"This session is over, huh. I wonder how we can rest later, it's past nine at night now," said Shinohara curiously.

"I'm also worried about that, maybe there will be an explanation from Eve later," said Matsushita.

Shinohara nodded, then the two of them turned their heads again, waiting for the break to end.

In Ayanokouji's group, they also discussed like other students.

"Hey Maya, please move a bit, it's cramped you know. And why are you even here?" Karuizawa asked Satou who was currently sitting on the armrest of Karuizawa's seat.

"No problem, right? I also want to join the discussion, by the way what are you guys talking about?" said Satou. Seeing that Satou had no intention of moving, Karuizawa just sighed and turned to Horikita who was leading the discussion.

"Rather than discussing the video just now, it's better to talk about what's to come," Horikita said.

"Which will come?" said Sudou confusedly.

"As you saw earlier, the video has reached an impromptu test which means that most likely the next video will be about May 1st," Horikita said.

"So it's about time, huh," Miyake said with a sigh.

"Yes, and there will definitely be students from other classes who laugh at us. I want all of us to work together to calm our classmates down if any of them are provoked," Horikita said to everyone.

"Okay," everyone said in unison.

After that the discussion was over and they went back to their respective affairs. Satou also returned to her seat.

A moment later the break ended and Eve's voice came over the speaker.

"Okay, everyone. We'll move on to the next part."

Classroom of the Elite

"Oh, what an interesting title. I wonder what elites are referring to here," said Sakayanagi with a smile.

"You don't know?" Kamuro asked.

"Fu fu, who knows? Let's take a closer look first."

On May 1, the morning bell rang for our very first day of class.

Everyone widened their eyes when they heard the date mentioned in the video. How not, this is the date when they find out the truth about this school. A truth that changed their lives at Advanced Nurturing High School.

"Ku ku, finally," Ryuuen said with a big grin. He had been waiting for this from a long time ago and he couldn't wait to see the destruction Horikita and the others had when they learned the truth of this school.

Just like Ryuuen, some people are also interested in what will be broadcast this time.

Soon afterward, Chabashira-sensei strode into the room, holding a rolled-up poster. Her expression today was even more stern than usual. Had she started menopause, I wondered? If I made that joke out loud, I think she would have swung an iron bat at my face with full force.

"Jeez, what were you thinking." Karuizawa said looking at Ayanokouji letting out an annoyed sigh. Some of the girls around Ayanokouji also turned to look at him.

"Hmm? What is it?" Ayanokouji asked confused.

"Well… Kiyotaka-kun, you shouldn't ask something like that of a woman, whether jokingly or not," said Kushida.

"That's right, Kiyopon. If Chabashira-sensei really was in 'that' time, I wouldn't be surprised if you got beat up by her," said Hasebe somewhat dramatically.

It was hard for Ayanokouji to believe whether Hasebe was being serious or not, but he took the warning anyway.

"I will remember it," said Ayanokouji.

"Hey, sensei, did you start menopause or something?"

Several people immediately choked and coughed at Ike's question.

"H-He actually asked that?" said Amikura not expecting.

"D-Does he have no shame?" said Kobashi.

Ike couldn't help but lower his head as everyone talked about his embarrassing behavior.

Unbelievably, Ike actually let that joke fly. Honestly, it was more shocking that I'd thought the same thing as Ike.

Several people laughed at that.

"All right, your morning homeroom is about to begin. Before we get started, does anyone have any questions? If so, now is the time to speak." Chabashira-sensei completely ignored Ike's sexual harassment. She appeared totally convinced that the students had questions they wanted answered. Immediately, several students raised their hands.

"Um, I checked my point balance this morning, but I didn't see any deposits. Points are given on the first day of every month, aren't they? I couldn't buy juice this morning."

"Fu fu, it's started," said Sakayanagi with a big smile, looking like she was in a very happy mood.

"She really enjoyed this, didn't she?" Kamuro thought while observing the class A leader.

"Hondou, I already explained this before, didn't I? Points are deposited on the first day of the month. I've confirmed that points were wired this month without any issues."

"Um, but…nothing was deposited into my account, though."

"That means 0 points are awarded to you," said a boy in class A while laughing followed by his friends.

Ike and the others glared at the Class A students after their insults, Hirata was prepared to intervene in case of a commotion according to Horikita's instructions, but fortunately his classmates managed to keep their emotions in check.

Hondou and Yamauchi exchanged glances. Ike appeared too shocked to notice them looking at each other. I'd checked my point balance that morning as well, but saw that it had remained unchanged from the day before. No more points had been deposited into my account. I'd simply thought that the points would be wired later.

"Are you kids really that dumb?"

Several people gasped at Chabashira's words, most of them were Class B students.

"Looks like they got softer behavior than us," thought Ayanokouji as he looked at the Class B students.

It's normal for students outside of class C to be surprised by Chabashira's words, because all they know Chabashira is a history teacher and homeroom teacher, they don't know Chabashira's true nature towards her own class.

"Wow, those are harsh words, Sae-chan," said Hoshinomiya with a smile.

Chabashira chose to remain silent, she already knew that Hoshinomiya would use this opportunity to mock her.

Was she angry or delighted? I was getting an ominous vibe from Chabashira-sensei.

"Dumb? What?"

As Hondou stupidly repeated her words, Chabashira-sensei looked at him sharply.

"Sit down, Hondou. I'll explain once more," she said.

"S-Sae-chan-sensei?"

Hondou, taken aback by her unusually strict tone, slumped in his seat.

"Points were deposited. That much I know for certain. There is absolutely no chance that we forgot about anyone in this class. To think so is ludicrous. Understood?"

"Well, even if I tell you that we understand, we haven't received any points…"

Hondou, still perplexed, began to look dissatisfied. Supposing that what Chabashira-sensei said was true and that points had been wired to us, then that meant…

Had there been a discrepancy, then? Did that mean that zero points had been deposited into our accounts? My vague doubts quickly grew.

"Ha ha ha! I see. So, it's like that then, teacher? I think I've solved the mystery," Kouenji boomed, laughing.

"Ho, what is that narcissist thinking right now" Ryuuen said interestedly.

Some people were also interested in what Kouenji was thinking, because as far as they could tell, he cared about absolutely nothing but himself.

He propped his feet up on his desk and smugly pointed toward Hondou.

"It's simple. We're in Class D, so we didn't receive a single point."

"He said that without hesitation," Kamuro said slightly surprised.

"He doesn't seem to care either, totally like Kouenji," said Hashimoto.

"Huh? What are you talking about? They said that we'd get 100,000 points every month—"

"I don't remember hearing that, though. Do you?" Chuckling, Kouenji boldly pointed at Chabashira-sensei.

"While he certainly has an attitude problem, Kouenji is exactly right. For crying out loud, barely anyone seems to have noticed the hint I gave you. How deplorable."

"Ku ku, that teacher doesn't hold back in insulting them," Ryuuen said with a chuckle.

"Maybe Chabashira-sensei is very disappointed with them," said Shiina.

"Just by their attitude I wouldn't be surprised if she was so disappointed," Ibuki snorted while crossing her arms.

In response to this sudden turn of events, the classroom exploded in an uproar.

"Sensei, may I please ask you a question? I'm afraid I still don't understand." Hirata raised his hand.

"Can you please tell us why we didn't receive any points? We won't completely understand otherwise."

That was certainly true.

"A total of ninety-eight absences and late arrivals. Three hundred ninety-one incidences of talking or using a cell phone in class. That is quite a few infractions over one month. In this school, your class's results are reflected in the points that you receive. As a result, you wasted all of the 100,000 points that you should have received. That's what happened."

Silence fell as they heard all the violations Chabashira mentioned, but that didn't last long as the room exploded immediately after that.

"Gosh, that's so bad!"

"Are they really high school students?"

"How did they get past Middle School?"

"No wonder they used to be Class D."

Almost all of the students were spitting out words at the Class C students, they were all too shocked to find out how bad Class Horikita's students used to be.

Class C students could only lower their heads in shame when all the insults were aimed at them, they couldn't do anything about it because this was all the result of their past foolish selves.

Well, not all Class C students feel that way.

Ignoring the abnormal Kouenji, the Ayanokouji Group were completely unaffected, they kept their bodies straight and ignored the humiliation that was going on.

"I should have explained this all to you on the day of the entrance ceremony. This school measures its students' true abilities. This time, you were evaluated as being worth nothing. That's all."

"Chabashira-sensei. I do not recall hearing you explain that to us before—"

"What? Are you incapable of understanding something unless it's explained in detail?"

"Of course. There was never any talk about reducing our points. Had that been explained beforehand, I'm sure we would have avoided being late or talking during class."

"Isn't that just common sense, we've all been taught manners in elementary and middle school," Nishikawa said as if it were the obvious thing.

"Maybe they did study it, but they ignored it because they were already affected by the enjoyment of this school," said Yano.

"That is a rather bizarre argument, Hirata. It is certainly true that I don't recall explaining the rules of point distribution. However, didn't you all learn in elementary school not to be late or talk in class? Was that not taught throughout your elementary and junior high schools?"

"Well, that's—"

"I'm sure that in nine years of compulsory education, you learned that being late and talking in class are bad things. And now you say that you can't understand this because I haven't explained it to you? I'm afraid your reasoning is flimsy. If you had simply acted properly, then your points would not have dropped all the way to zero. This comes down to you taking personal responsibility."

There was no way for anyone to refute her perfectly sound argument. Everyone knew that bad behavior didn't pay.

"Having just entered your first year of high school, did you honestly think you'd receive 100,000 points every month with no strings attached? At a school established by the Japanese government for the express purposes of training gifted people? That's unthinkable. Try using some common sense. Why would you leave it to chance?"

"If they really thought about it, they should have some suspicions about it," said Minamikata.

"What a cruel way to put it, but I agree. I also feel uncomfortable with the luxuries that the school provides, so I only use points for things that are necessary," said Amikura.

"Me too, but sometimes I also use it to hangout," said Andou, rubbing her head.

"Don't be so shy, Sayo-chan. I'm like that too," said Amikura smiling.

"I feel lucky Honami-chan told me to be frugal, otherwise I might have become a wasteful person," Shiranami said shyly.

"You too, Chihiro-chan. I was also warned by Honami-chan," said Kobashi while looking at Ichinose with a smile.

Ichinose replied with a smile hearing her friends' words, "In the end the final decision is yours, I'm just telling you. But thank God we weren't so devastated back then," said Ichinose.

Although Hirata appeared to be frustrated, he looked the teacher straight in the eye. "Well then, could you at least explain in detail how points are added or deducted? We can keep that in mind for future reference."

"I cannot tell you. We cannot disclose the methods behind our student evaluation. It's the same as any other organization. When you enter a company, it is the company's choice whether or not to tell you how it evaluates its employees. However, I'm not cruel, and I'm not trying to be cold. In fact, this situation is so pathetic that I will give you one bit of guidance."

For the first time, I saw a faint sliver of a smile on Chabashira- sensei's lips.

"Let's say that you stop being late to class and have no more absences… Even though zero points will be deducted from you this month, that doesn't mean that your points will increase, either. That means next month you will still receive zero points. From another perspective, you could say no matter how times you're late or absent to class, it doesn't matter. So, you're not really at a loss, are you?"

The bell rang, signaling the end of homeroom.

"It looks like we spent too much time yammering. I hope that you understood the gist of it. Well, it's about time that we switch to our main topic."

"Main topic? Ah that's right, class points and test points haven't been announced yet," said Komiya.

"Ha ha, I can't wait to see how many points they will get," said Kondou grinning.

"Yeah, same," said Ishizaki who was also excited.

"You guys act as if your grades are high," Nishino said bluntly after seeing the boys' behavior.

"Wh-… W-Well, at least I'm sure I got higher marks than them," Kondou said while stuttering.

"What's wrong, Nishino? It turns out you're still alive," said Ishizaki, looking at Nishino.

"Why do you say that?" Nishino asked sharply, she didn't like what Ishizaki said.

"Well, you've been quiet all along, I thought you were petrified or something."

"There's nothing I want to talk about, it doesn't mean I'm dead," said Nishino a little annoyed.

"Ha ha, sorry, sorry."

From the tube she carried, she removed a white rolled-up poster and spread it out. She stuck the poster to the blackboard with some magnets. The still-confused students stared blankly at the poster.

"Are these…the results for each class?" Horikita tentatively took a guess. She was probably right. Class A through Class D were listed. To the side was a row of numbers that went up to a maximum of four digits. Class D had zero. Class C had 490. Class B had 650. And at the top was Class A, with a total of 940. In this case, 1000 points would mean 100,000 yen, wouldn't it? Every class had apparently lost points.

"Isn't something about this odd?"

"Yeah. The numbers look too even."

Horikita and I had both noticed something strange.

"You've all been doing whatever you pleased this past month. The school has no intention of preventing you from doing what you want. Your actions, such as being late or talking during class, only affect the points you receive. The same goes for how you use your points. How you choose to spend is entirely up to you. We have not put any restrictions on point usage."

"This isn't fair, though! We can't enjoy our student lives like this!" shouted Ike, who'd stayed quiet until now.

Yamauchi wailed in incredible agony. He'd already used up all of his points…

"Ha ha, he is so messed up."

"He's also out of this school now."

Some people laughed at how sad Yamauchi's fate was.

Sudou and Ike ground their teeth when they heard their friend being insulted, but they didn't know what to do now, the reason being because Yamauchi reaped what he sowed, he was suffering from a mistake he made himself.

"Look here, morons. Every other class got points. The amount of points we gave you for the first month should be plenty for you to live on."

"B-but, how do the other classes still have points left? That's weird…"

"That's because we are better than you."

"I've already told you, there's nothing unfair about it. All of the classes were scored using the same rules. Despite that, they didn't lose as many as you. That's the truth."

"But…why is there such a difference in our point values?" Hirata also seemed to have noticed that the numbers were too tidy.

"Do you finally understand now? Do you see why you were placed in Class D?"

"The reason why we were placed in Class D? Weren't we simply accepted into this school?"

"Huh? But classes are normally divided up like this, right?"

Students exchanged glances.

"In this school, students are sorted by their level of excellence. The superior students are sorted into Class A, the least capable in Class D. It's the same system you'd find in the major cram schools. In other words, Class D is akin to the last bastion for failures. You are the worst of the worst. You're defective. This is just the result of you being defective."

"Ku ku ku, ku ha ha ha, finally the word came out," Ryuuen said while laughing his head off. It seemed he was eagerly waiting for Chabashira to say those words.

"Tch, that bastard was enjoying himself," said Sudou while glaring at Ryuuen.

"Ignore it, there's no point dealing with him," Horikita said.

"But at this rate it might bring our class down," Kushida said looking at the other Class C students.

Horikita followed Kushida's gaze and saw that almost all of Class C's students were looking down helplessly, just as Kushida said, if they continued to be insulted like this their morale would drop and the worst possibility would be their mental breakdown, it would definitely be a huge loss for Class C.

"You're right, this is definitely going to be a problem," Horikita said.

Meanwhile Sudou narrowed his eyes at his classmates who were looking down helplessly.

Horikita's face stiffened. She appeared shocked by this line of reasoning. It certainly made sense to sort the superior students with the other superior students and the failures with the failures. If you mixed rotten oranges with good ones, the rotten would quickly spoil the good. Inevitably, the superior Horikita would find this revolting.

"Fu fu, it's really fun to see that expression on her face," said Sakayanagi, amused.

"She must be very surprised to hear that, her expression got like that," Kamuro said.

"Of course she does, she thinks so highly of herself, suddenly being lumped in with the defective would definitely surprise her," said Hashimoto.

I, on the other hand, was glad. This meant I couldn't go any lower.

Everyone fell silent when they heard Ayanokouji's thoughts.

"W-Wait, why is he even happy? Is she okay with being considered defective?" Shibata stammered.

"I'm also confused, we already know that he doesn't want a graduation present, but he's also okay with being looked down upon by people?" said Amikura surprised.

Many people didn't understand anything Ayanokouji was doing, be it through words or actions. Everything confuses them.

"What a strange person, he is happy because he is at the lowest level. Honestly, I don't understand anymore," said Shinohara while shaking her head.

"Maybe he just doesn't care about class rankings or something," said Matsushita, but she was sure the reason wasn't that simple.

"However, I have to say, this year's Class D was the first to ever spend all of their points in a single month. I am impressed by how much you indulged yourselves. Wonderful, just wonderful."

Chabashira-sensei's false applause echoed throughout the classroom.

"Hey, you all clap too," Ryueen said while clapping following Chabashira on the screen, the other Class D students also clapped.

Sudou gritted his teeth and got angry at the situation, but his anger wasn't directed at Ryuuen, but at his classmate who was looking down helplessly.

"So, does that mean that once we reach zero points, we'll always stay there?"

"Yes. You will remain at zero until you graduate. But don't worry, you can still have a room in the dorms and free meals. You won't die."

Although we knew that it was possible to get by with the bare minimum, a lot of students weren't comforted by that fact. After all, we'd lived a life of luxury this past month. To suddenly restrain yourself after that would prove seriously difficult.

"Won't the other classes make fun of us?"

There was no question of that, since what Sudou said on the screen was happening right now.

Sudou kicked the legs of his desk with a loud thwack. After hearing that the classes were divided based on merit, everyone else would probably believe that Class D was full of morons. Despair wasn't unreasonable.

"What? You're still worried about your dignity, Sudou? Well then, work to make your class into the best one."

"Huh?"

"Your class's points aren't just linked to the amount of money that you receive each month. They're also indicative of your class rank."

In other words…should we get to 500 points, then Class D would be promoted to Class C. This really did sound like a company performance review.

"Now then, I have one more bit of bad news to share with you all."

"Fu fu, their despair isn't over yet," said Sakayanagi chuckling.

"Gosh, it's this sadistic nature that I don't like about her," Kamuro thought while looking at Sakayanagi who smiled happily at other people's suffering.

She stuck another sheet of paper up on the board. It listed the names of everyone in class. A number stood next to everyone's name.

"Judging from these, I can see that we've quite a few idiots in this class." As her heels clacked against the floor, she glanced at us. "These are the results of the short test you took a while ago. Your sensei was so happy after your excellent performance. Come on, what in the world did you all study when you were in junior high?"

With the exception of a few high scores, almost everyone tested below a sixty. Even if you ignored Sudou's wonderful score of fourteen points, there was Ike, scoring a little above him at twenty-four points. The average score was sixty-five.

Seeing those grades, an uproar broke out once again in the room.

"Wow, look at those grades."

"Ha ha, the first time I've seen such low points, this is setting a record."

"How did they graduate from middle school with grades like that?"

Insult after insult was aimed at Class C again, this time due to the low marks Ike and the others got. For normal students, it was unreasonable for them to see such low grades.

And for the umpteenth time, Class C was bowed down in shame and helplessness, there was no attempt by them to put up a fight or defend themselves. They were just silent while maintaining pitiful expressions.

There was one person who could no longer bear to see such a pitiful sight.

"HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO BE ACTING PITIFUL LIKE THAT, YOU BASTARDS!"

Sudou Ken's roar of anger silenced everyone, he stood up from his seat and looked at the entire Class C students with sharp eyes.

"K-Ken?" said Ike surprised at Sudou's anger. But Sudou completely ignored him.

"Why are you looking down like such pathetic people? Are you embarrassed to see your grades being shown to everyone, huh? It's just the damn past! Or are you guys telling me that you haven't changed at all in this year, that you're still 'Defective' like these other class asshole said!?"

All of the Class C students widened their eyes at Sudou's words, they stared at him with shocked looks.

"Listen to me! We are indeed defect, we are Class D who spent 1000 points in one month, but that is all in the past. We were not the same as we are now. Just so you all know, among all the classes during this year, we are the class that received the most points. And that's because of what? It's all because of our efforts to try to rise! If you are still bowed down sadly hearing their insults, it is the same as you insulting our efforts so far. I will beat you all right here and now if you still act like that!"

Ike and the other Class C students fell silent and widened their eyes at Sudou's words, they didn't know what to say but everything Sudou said went straight to their souls. The spirit that had almost been extinguished within them was rekindled.

Seeing that the situation was right, Hirata decided to enter.

"That's right, everyone," Hirata said as he stood up, earning the attention of his classmates, "Believe in yourselves, don't be swayed by what other people say. Let's prove our ability from the actions and results we get."

Hearing Hirata's additional words made their excited spirits even brighter, no one looked down anymore, they all raised their heads with determination.

"Hirata and Ken are right, we can't be like this. Do you agree?" Ike shouted at his friends.

"Yeah, of course," said Hondou and the others in unison.

Hirata and Sudou breathed a sigh of relief seeing their classmates revived and cheering up.

"Thank you, Hirata-kun, Sudou-kun," said Miichan who was touched by the words of the two of them.

The others also expressed their gratitude, even the girls who had always kept their distance from Sudou thanked him.

But even so, there are still students from other classes who don't care about what Hirata and Sudou say.

"Ha ha, as if that could help you all. You are still defective," said the student with a laugh.

But in contrast to their previous reactions, the Class C students weren't affected by anything.

"Hey, did you guys hear anything?" said Ike deliberately raising his voice.

"No, I didn't hear anything," Miyamoto replied.

"Hmm, I believe I heard something."

"Oh, could it be the sound of a squeaking bird," said Hondou.

"Then the birds are smart enough, I could hear them talking just now."

"Maybe, ha ha ha."

"Ha ha ha."

Ike and his friends replied to the other students' insults with incredible sarcasm, the students who insulted them could only lower their heads in shame.

Hirata and Sudou returned to their seats after seeing that their classmate had returned to being normal as usual.

"Good job," Horikita said as Sudou sat down, surprising the boy.

"O-Oh, no problem," said Sudou stuttering a bit, then he turned to Ayanokouji, "Sorry, Kiyotaka. I used your efforts to appease these people."

Previously Horikita had told the other members of Ayanokouji's group that almost all of the points their class had gotten were due to Ayanokouji's efforts.

"No problem, don't worry about it. More importantly, you did a great job, Ken," said Ayanokouji.

"Yeah, I agree. Without you, our class would be in chaos now," said Miyake.

"I thank you too, Ken-kun," said Hirata with a gentle smile.

"Nice job, Kenchin," said Hasebe with a thumbs up.

"O-Oh, come on. I was just calming these people down, nothing big," Sudou stuttered again, looking like he was embarrassed to be praised.

"Ooooh, are you shy, Kenchin? You're blushing," Hasebe said with a teasing smile.

"Tch, shut up, Haruka," shouted Sudou while holding back his embarrassment. The others laughed at Sudou.

With that, the problems experienced by class C can be solved properly.

Now…

How would the other classes react after seeing Sudou's actions?

"Wow, those are amazing words he delivered. I feel touched," Hashimoto said as he whistled.

"Yeah, I didn't expect someone like Sudou to say something like that," Kitou said.

As far as they knew, Sudou was a hothead and a short fuse. So they didn't expect that he could say such motivational words.

"Fu fu, it's amazing but words are not enough to create a miracle," said Sakayanagi.

"Agreed," said Hashimoto, nodding.

"However…" Sakayanagi added. Apparently she wasn't done expressing her opinion yet.

Sakayanagi turned to Class C, her gaze fixed on where Ayanokouji and the others were. There was a feeling of unease inside of her looking at Horikita and the others. Excluding Ayanokouji for certain and Kouenji as an unknown factor, there shouldn't be any students in Class C who would pose a threat to her.

Yes, it should.

Sakayanagi felt a huge change within Horikita and the others, she believed that change was the origin of her anxiety. Anxiety that would be fatal if she let her guard down.

Staring at him for too long, Ayanokouji noticed Sakayanagi's gaze and turned to look at her.

Instead of being embarrassed or looking away because their eyes met, Sakayanagi smiled at Ayanokouji.

"You were the one who did it weren't you, Ayanokouji-kun?" thought Sakayanagi to herself while smiling. She didn't say it directly, but she was sure Ayanokouji got the point just from her gaze.

Even though she has no proof, she believes it was Ayanokouji who was at the center of the changes his friends had.

Satisfied with her own conclusion, Sakayanagi looked back at her followers.

"We probably can't underestimate them anymore."

Sakayanagi expressed her honest thoughts.

"I'm so glad. If this were an actual test, then seven of you would've had to drop out."

"D-drop out? What do you mean?"

"Oh, what, did I not explain this to you? If you fail on a midterm or final exam in this school, then you have to drop out. If we applied that rule to this test, anyone who scored below thirty-two points would be out. You guys really are stupid, aren't you?"

"He he, it seems you are very disappointed with your students, Sae-chan," said Hoshinomiya teasingly Chabashira as usual.

"Not anymore," said Chabashira with a small smile.

Hoshinomiya was surprised to see the small smile Chabashira made, because it was very rare for her to see her smile.

Apparently, it wasn't just the students who were motivated by Sudou's words just now.

"Wh-what?!" wailed Ike and the other failures.

There was a red line drawn on the paper, separating the seven people in question from the rest of the class. Among those seven people, Kikuchi had scored highest, with thirty-one points. Anyone with a score equal to or lower than Kikuchi's had failed.

"Hey, don't jerk us around, Sae-chan-sensei! Don't joke about kicking us out!"

"Frankly, I'm also at a loss," the teacher said. "These are the school rules. You should prepare for the worst."

"The teacher's right. There do seem to be a lot of morons here." Kouenji wore a smug grin while he polished his nails, his legs propped on the desk.

"Ku ku, it seems that narcissist really enjoys himself when others suffer," Ryuuen said chuckling.

"That doesn't make any difference to you, does it?" thought Ibuki, frowning.

"What the hell, Kouenji? You scored below the red line, too!"

"Pah. Where exactly are you looking, boy? Look again."

"Huh? Kouenji is…huh?"

Starting from the bottom of the page, Sudou scanned upward, and there he found Kouenji Rokosuke's name. Unbelievably, Kouenji had tied for the top spot, scoring ninety points. That meant he'd been able to solve one of those super difficult problems.

"So he is quite capable academically," Kamuro said.

"Fu fu, quite capable? You underestimated him too much, Masumi-san. I can tell he's one of the smartest students of our year," said Sakayanagi, amused by Kamuro's words.

Previously Sakayanagi had seen Kouenji's academic ability first hand, it happened during the year-end special exam, at that time Kouenji managed to answer the most difficult questions in the Flash Mental Arithmetic test without effort.

Even though Sakayanagi had only glimpsed Kouenji's academic ability, that was enough for her to conclude that Kouenji was one of the smartest students of their year.

"I never thought that Sudou was an idiot like me!" cried Ike, a mixture of wonder and sarcasm in his voice.

"Oh, one more thing. This school, which operates under government supervision, boasts a high rate of advancement into elite education and workforce placement. That is a well-known fact. It's very likely that most of you have chosen a college or future workplace."

Well, naturally. This school boasted the highest rates of advancement in the whole country. There were rumors that it was possible to get into a highly competitive school or company just by graduating. Rumors even suggested that graduation from this school was like receiving a recommendation to Tokyo University, the most prestigious of Japan's institutes of higher learning.

Everyone already knew about it, so they weren't surprised at all.

"However, nothing comes easy in this world. Mediocre people such as yourselves would have to be naive to think that you could easily get into the college or workplace of your choice."

"That's what I thought before knowing the truth about this school. How can they give a certain graduation to enter a university like the Tokyo University if the students are not as good as this," thought Matsushita.

She had wanted to share this worry with her classmates but she didn't because it might draw attention to herself, and she wasn't sure that her friends would believe her words after seeing their personalities. In the end her class crumbles after knowing the truth of this school, she's a little guilty because of that.

"Well, Ayanokouji-kun also had the same suspicions and he kept silent. So it's not just me who's wrong here," thought Matsushita to convince herself.

Chabashira-sensei's words carried throughout the room.

"In other words, you're saying that if we want to get into the company or college of our choice, we must, at minimum, surpass Class C?" Hirata asked.

"You're wrong. To make your dreams of a bright future come true, your only option is to overtake Class A. This school guarantees nothing for any other students."

"Th-that's…absurd! We didn't hear anything about that!"

A bespectacled student named Yukimura stood up. He'd tied with Kouenji for the top score, indicating that there were no issues with his academic abilities.

Yukimura groaned softly seeing himself on the screen, he still remembered how arrogant he used to be.

"How disgraceful. There's nothing more pitiful than men losing their cool." As if prompted by Yukimura's words, Kouenji let out a sigh.

"Don't you feel dissatisfied being in Class D, Kouenji?" Yukimura asked.

"Dissatisfied? Why would I feel dissatisfied? I don't understand."

"Isn't that common sense? You will be looked down upon as a failure, of course other people won't be satisfied," said Komiya confusedly.

"Maybe it's a matter of personality," Kaneda said, drawing Komiya and Kondou's attention, "As far as we can see, he is a person who only cares about himself. So I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't care which class he was in."

"I don't understand what's going through his head anymore," Komiya said, leaning back.

"Yeah, same. it's better not to think about it, it'll give us a headache," said Kondou.

Ishizaki frowned hearing Kaneda's opinion, he wasn't so sure Kaneda's opinion was right. The reason was that during the exam time at the camp, the student council president Nagumo had uncovered Kouenji's secret of being able to enter and graduate in class A, which meant that Kouenji really wanted class A.

But the question now was why was Kouenji still able to act relaxed even after his plan was exposed? It was as if the plan was nothing big to him.

Ishizaki shook his head to dismiss the question, it wasn't his business to think about whatever trouble Kouenji was in.

After all, complicated things weren't his forte.

"Because the school says we're so low that we're basically delinquents and failures. We've been told that there's no guarantee whatsoever that we'll advance into higher education or get a job!"

"Pah. Utter nonsense. That's so marvelously stupid that I can't even find the words." Kouenji didn't even stop polishing his nails or turn to face Yukimura as he spoke. "The school simply hasn't seen my potential yet. I pride myself on being great, and I value, respect, and regard myself more highly than anyone. So, the school arbitrarily placing me into Class D means nothing. Say, for instance, that I dropped out of school—I would be perfectly fine. After all, I am 100 percent positive that the school would come crying to take me back."

"Wow, I'm really amazed how she said something so arrogant like that with such confidence," Andou said flabbergasted.

"Same, even I would never have that kind of courage," Minamikata said in disbelief.

That certainly sounded like something Kouenji would say. Was it being macho? Or narcissism? It's true that if you didn't care about the school's classification of students, then it really wasn't a big deal. If you considered Kouenji's impressive intellect and physical ability, it was difficult to imagine that all of the students in Class A could be better than him. Perhaps he'd been assigned to Class D because of his personality rather than his ability.

"Besides, I don't care in the slightest if the school does or doesn't assist me to higher education or the workforce. It's been decided that I will lead the Kouenji conglomerate group. Whether I'm in Class D or Class A is a trivial matter."

"So that's why he doesn't care at all about which class he's placed in," Shibata said after hearing Kouenji's words on screen.

"It seems so, his future has already been decided so he doesn't care about class competition anymore," said Hamaguchi.

Kanzaki crossed his arms with a complicated expression, he was contemplating Kouenji's words which confused him.

"Then, what is the purpose of him entering this school?"

Inevitably, Kanzaki thought about that.

It was true that for a man whose future was already decided, getting into Class A was far from a necessity. Yukimura, at a loss for words, simply sat back down.

"It looks like your bubbles have been burst. If you had simply understood the harsh reality of the situation from the start, then this long homeroom period might have meant something. Your midterm exams are in three weeks. Please think things over, and be careful not to drop out. I have confidence that you can find a way to avoid getting red marks on your report cards. If at all possible, challenge yourself to act in a way befitting a skilled individual."

Chabashira-sensei exited the room, closing the door with some force for added emphasis. The students marked in red were left dejected. Even the normally proud Sudou clicked his tongue and hung his head in shame.

Everyone took a deep breath after seeing that tense scene.

"Phew, that was quite tense," said Amikura with a sigh.

"Yes, probably because we've entered the serious part of the session," said Ichinose.

"I wonder what the main conflict in the session is, so far I haven't seen it," said Andou. Others also wondered about it.

"If I'm guessing, we might have seen a hint already," Ichinose said as she placed a hand on her chin.

Ichinose's friends look at her with curious eyes.

"Uh, which one?" Kobashi asked confused.

"Remember what Chabashira-sensei said on the screen before she left the classroom? About the upcoming midterm exams?" Ichinose asked.

Her friends nodded.

"I see, so you're saying that the main conflict of this session is their attempt to pass the midterms," said Kanzaki who understood Ichinose's point.

Ichinose nodded at Kanzaki's words.

"Oh, I see. Well, seeing as their grades are quite abysmal, I'm sure they're working hard to survive," said Shibata.

"Yes, but that's just my guess. Let's continue watching," Ichinose said, her friends nodding.

After that they all returned their attention to the screen.

---

Class had ended for the day. Hirata stood at the podium, using the blackboard to prepare for our big discussion. Because of Hirata's powerful charisma, almost everyone in our class had shown, with the exception of a few like Horikita and Sudou. When I looked around, I noticed that they'd already left the room. I decided to leave before the discussion got into full swing, as well.

"Ayanokouji!"

Yamauchi suddenly appeared from under my desk, his expression deathlike.

"Whoa! Wh-what? What's wrong?"

"Hey, buy this from me for 20,000 points. I can't buy anything!" he cried.

Yamauchi placed the game console he'd purchased the other day on my desk. Frankly, I didn't even want the thing.

"Ku ku, that idiot is paying the price," Ryuuen said chuckling seeing Yamauchi panicking on the screen.

"That's his own fault," Ibuki snorted.

"Yeah, I mean who is so extravagant to spend 100,000 points in a month?" asked Ishizaki shrugging.

"By the way, how many points did you have left at that time, Ishizaki-kun?" Shiina asked curiously.

"Eh? A-Ah, that's about…" Ishizaki said wanting to answer but he then fell silent, after a few moments of silence he finally continued, "My remaining points are around 20 thousand."

"Tch, you're no different from them," snapped Ibuki.

"Shut up Ibuki! At least I still have a lot of points left," Ishizaki snapped back in self-defense.

"Whatever," said Ibuki unconcernedly.

Ishizaki snorted in annoyance and crossed his arms. Actually he didn't mean to tell his real remaining points and meant to lie by saying he still had around 50 thousand points, but when he saw Shiina's innocent face asking him, he decided to be honest.

Ishizaki didn't want to lie to such a holy being.

"But if you sell that to me, who am I supposed to play with?" I asked.

"How the heck should I know? Come on, it's good, right? It's special, so it's a good deal."

"I'll buy it from you for 1,000 points."

"Pfft, only a thousand. Geez Kiyotaka-kun, he lowered the price so much," said Satou giggling seeing Ayanokouji on the screen.

"It can't be helped, even if he bought it, he doesn't have anyone to play with," said Matsushita.

"Also, Yamauchi forced him," said Shinohara as she propped her chin up with her hand.

"Ayanokouji! Come on, you're my only hope!"

"Why am I the only one? I can't afford it, anyway."

Yamauchi looked at me all teary-eyed, which grossed me out. I looked the other way. He must have realized I wasn't biting, so he immediately switched to a new target.

"Professor! Your best buddy has a favor to ask! Buy this game system for 22,000 points!"

"Wow, he raised the price," said Hasebe slightly surprised.

"Haruki…" Sudou sighed and shook his head at the behavior of his friend who had dropped out.

"Does he have no shame?" said Yukimura frowning.

"Maybe he really needs points? That's why he added the price," said Sakura trying to guess.

"Even so, his actions are still shameless. And also I feel like she has absolutely feel no guilt doing that," Yukimura said while crossing his arms.

"Yeah, his actions look natural," added Miyake who agreed with Yukimura.

"There, there, there's no need to argue about that. Besides, the person is no longer here," said Hasebe.

Cruel way to say it, but no one argues. After that they all looked back at the screen.

He was trying to get the Professor to buy it and had shamelessly increased the price.

"Things must be really tough for the people who used up their points," remarked Kushida as she observed Yamauchi.

"What about you, Kushida? Do you have enough points? Girls have a lot of necessities, after all."

"I'm okay. For now, anyway. I've used up about half of my points. I kind of lost control the first month and overspent, so it'll be a little difficult to hold myself back. What about you, Ayanokouji-kun? Are you okay?"

"It's got to be hard not to spend money when you're so popular. I've barely used any of my points, to be honest. I haven't really needed to buy anything."

"Because you don't have friends?" she asked.

"Ouch, she's too direct," said Onodera grimacing.

"If it was me, it would have stabbed me," said Mori who also winced.

"Hey…"

"Ah, sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to offend," Kushida apologized with a giggle. She was too cute when she did that.

The loudspeaker came alive with a soothing sound effect, and a robotic voice issued an announcement.

"Ayanokouji-kun, from first-year Class D. Please come see Chabashira-sensei in the faculty office."

The students were curious about the announcement, they wondered why Ayanokouji had been summoned to the faculty office.

"Eh? Why was he called? Does he have a problem?" Amikura wondered.

"I don't know," Ichinose replied shaking her head. She looked at her other friends who were also shaking their heads, it seemed they didn't know the reason either.

But then Ichinose suddenly remembered something.

"No, wait! Come to think of it, on May 1st I also went to the faculty office to meet Hoshinomiya-sensei, and that's where I met Kiyotaka-kun for the first time," thought Ichinose as she placed a hand on her chin, "So this is why he was there at that time, but it seems Kiyotaka-kun doesn't know why he was called either."

Curious, Ichinose looked back at the screen.

Meanwhile, Chabashira braced herself for what was to come.

"Looks like the teacher wants to see you."

"Yeah… Sorry, Kushida. Gotta go."

"Why were you called to the faculty office?" Karuizawa asked Ayanokouji.

"Discussing something troublesome. Just keep watching, you'll find out later," said Ayanokouji. Karuizawa nodded and looked back at the screen.

I was sure I hadn't done anything to get me called to the office. Exiting the classroom, I could feel my classmates' stares drilling a hole into the back of my head. Timid as a rabbit, I found the faculty office and entered. I looked all around, but I didn't find Chabashira-sensei anywhere. Baffled, I called out to a teacher inspecting her appearance in a mirror.

"Oh, I'm about to make my debut," said Hoshinomiya very enthusiastically.

"Excuse me, is Chabashira-sensei here?"

"Hmm? Sae-chan? Oh, she was just here a moment ago."

"That's Hoshinomiya-sensei," said a student from class B when she saw their homeroom teacher appear on the screen.

The teacher had wavy, shoulder-length hair, which made her look mature. The way she said Chabashira-sensei's name made them sound close. They were near in age and probably friends.

"That's right, Ayanokouji-kun~. We're friends, aren't we, Sae-chan?" said Hoshinomiya to Chabashira with a smile.

"Please be quiet, Chie," Chabashira said angrily.

"She must have stepped away for a minute. Do you want to wait here?"

"No, thank you. I'll wait in the hall."

I didn't like being in the faculty office. I hated attention, so the hall would do just as well. However, the young teacher unexpectedly followed me.

"I'm Hoshinomiya Chie, in charge of Class B. Sae and I have been best friends since high school. That's why we call each other Sae-chan and Chie- chan."

Ike and his friends were stunned by the cheerfulness of Hoshinomiya's introduction.

"…Did you see that, Soshi," Ike said with sparkling eyes.

"Yeah, and I also felt the sudden atmosphere," said Miyamoto as he closed his eyes, as if he had sensed something.

"Me too." Ike also closed his eyes too, he then took a deep breath and exhaled. "It is an enlightening atmosphere."

"If only Sae-chan-sensei smiled easily like that, I would be happy every day."

"Yeah, but Sae-chan-sensei has her own charm that makes her charming."

"You're right."

Even though their homeroom teacher was a cold and sometimes cruel person, as long as she was charming, that was enough for them.

That information seemed kind of superfluous.

"Hey, why did Sae-chan call you? Huh? Huh? Why?" she asked.

"No idea."

"I don't understand. You were called to the office without a reason? Hmm? What's your name?"

Class B students could only sigh at the behavior of their homeroom teacher.

They all already know the personality of their homeroom teacher. Hoshinomiya is a kind and understanding teacher, but sometimes she acts childish and has a lot of curiosity, just like what happened to Ayanokouji on screen.

Maybe it's all because of the meaning of her name, Chie which means 'Knowledge'.

An onslaught of questions. She scanned me from top to bottom, as if sizing me up.

"My name's Ayanokouji," I said.

"Ayanokouji-kun, huh? Oh, wow, that's a cool name. You're pretty popular, aren't you?"

What was with this overly friendly teacher? She acted more like a student. If this were an all-boy school, she would have immediately captured every student's heart.

The boys nodded in certainty, they did not deny the truth of those words.

Meanwhile, Hoshinomiya smiled proudly knowing everyone was praising her. She then looked at Chabashira with a smile.

"What?" Chabashira asked while raising her eyebrows.

"He he, lots of people like me, Sae-chan," said Hoshinomiya.

"Is that true? Then I wonder how they will react when they find out that you are a heavy drinker," Chabashira said with a grin.

Hoshinomiya widened her eyes and after that she pouted, "You're not cool, Sae-chan."

"Hey, do you already have a girlfriend?" she asked.

"No… I'm, uh, not especially popular."

I tried to seem reluctant, but Hoshinomiya-sensei kept pushing herself onto me. She grabbed my arms with slender, delicate hands.

"H-Hoshinomiya-sensei, what are you doing?" Ichinose screamed upon seeing the scene on the screen.

"I was just checking," Hoshinomiya replied.

"But you don't have to be that close."

"He he, I checked him as thoroughly as possible," said Hoshinomiya grinning, "Don't worry, I won't take him away from you."

Ichinose's face turned red at Hoshinomiya's words, "T-That's not what I meant!" she said before sitting down shyly.

The students watched Hoshinomiya and Ichinose's conversation with interested looks. They understood Hoshinomiya's intention but thought it was impossible.

After all, from their perspective, hearing the jovial Ichinose like the quiet Ayanokouji. That's impossible, right?

"Hmm? How unexpected. If we were in the same class, I'd never leave you alone. Perhaps because you're so innocent? Or do you like playing hard to get?"

She caressed my cheeks. I had no idea what to do. She'd probably stop if I licked her fingers, but I had a feeling that'd get me expelled.

This time it wasn't just Ichinose. Karuizawa, Satou, even Sakura immediately looked at Hoshinomiya with sharp eyes.

"W-What is with this bloodlust?" Hoshinomiya asked nervously.

"Hoshinomiya, what have you done!?"

Before Ichinose and the others could say anything, Mashima got ahead of them and snapped at Hoshinomiya.

"Uh, what? What's wrong?" Hoshinomiya asked confused.

"Don't you know what you just did?" said Mashima, pointing to the screen.

"What? I'm just checking on him," said Hoshinomiya.

"You touched him."

"But I can't examine him without touching him."

"That's your only excuse. Even if you have to touch him, you cross the line of physical contact allowed between teacher and student. Anyway, don't do it again," said Mashima firmly.

"But…"

"No buts, or I'll be forced to report you to the school." Mashima gave the final Ultimatum.

"Fine…" said Hoshinomiya giving in, she sighed and then scowled at Mashima, "You are too strict, Mashima-kun."

"I'm just following the school rules," said Mashima.

Seeing that things had calmed down, Ichinose breathed a sigh of relief although she didn't know why she was feeling relieved.

"What are you doing, Hoshinomiya?"

Chabashira-sensei appeared out of nowhere. With a loud thud, she smacked Hoshinomiya-sensei on the head with her clipboard. Hoshinomiya- sensei crouched and gripped her skull in apparent pain.

Karuizawa had a big smile on her face, she was satisfied to see Hoshinomiya getting punished for what she just did.

"Ouch! What was that for?" she cried.

"For getting involved with one of my students."

"I was only keeping him company while he waited for you, Sae-chan."

"It would have been better if you just left him alone. Thanks for waiting, Ayanokouji. Let's go into the office."

"The guidance office?" I asked. "Did I do something wrong? I've been trying to keep a low profile here."

It was a question that everyone had wondered until now. As far as they could see, Ayanokouji was a quiet and aloof student, even though he had been able to make friends recently, they didn't see Ayanokouji causing trouble at all.

Sakayanagi and Ryuuen straightened their bodies while watching, they felt something big was coming.

"A good answer. Come."

While I wondered what this was all about, I followed Chabashira- sensei. Hoshinomiya-sensei remained by my side, smiling widely. Chabashira-sensei noticed and turned, her face much like a demon's.

"You stay," she ordered.

"Come on, don't be so cold! It won't be the end of the world if I listen, right? Besides Sae-chan, you're definitely not the type to give one-on-one guidance. Pulling a new student like Ayanokouji-kun into the guidance room out of nowhere… Are you after something, I wonder?"

"Well, isn't this interesting. I know Hoshinomiya-sensei is a cheerful teacher, but what I see on the screen now is someone who is alert and full of suspicion."

Sakayanagi thought that with her usual smile, she thought that maybe she'd find out some pretty interesting secrets about that teacher, though she didn't really care.

Grinning, Hoshinomiya-sensei scooted behind me and placed her hands on my shoulders. I sensed a storm brewing.

"So, Sae-chan, are you looking to be dominated by a younger man?"

*cough *cough *cough *cough

Several people choked and coughed at Hoshinomiya's words.

"W-What are you saying, Hoshinomiya-sensei!?" shouted Ichinose who had just recovered with a red face, she stood up and looked at her homeroom teacher.

"Hoshinomiya!" Not only Ichinose, Mashima also shouted with a terrible expression.

"Okay, okay, I understand! I won't do it again, I'm sorry!"

Hoshinomiya screamed apologetically as everyone looked at her in shock, but Chabashira was sure that Hoshinomiya's apology was only temporary.

Dominated by a younger man? What did that mean?

"HE DOESN'T KNOW!?"

Everyone shouted in unison when they heard Ayanokouji's words.

They already knew that Ayanokouji had always been studying at his house, but they also didn't expect that he didn't know about 'those things'.

"He's so innocent."

"How pure!"

"Keep him away from negativity."

"Yeah, agree!"

People commented on how innocent Ayanokouji was, most of them were girls because they very rarely saw boys without lecherous thoughts.

"It's quite embarrassing."

Ayanokouji thought that when he saw everyone talking about his ignorance, but there was nothing he could do about it, it wasn't his fault he didn't know about those things.

Blame Whiteroom!

"It's not a bad thing that you don't know about it, you know? It's even better that you don't know about it," Karuizawa said when she saw Ayanokouji's slightly contorted expression.

"That's right, Kiyotaka-kun," said Kushida while nodding, agreeing with Karuizawa's words.

"I see," said Ayanokouji, "But I was curious, do you two know what it means?"

"…"

"…"

The two girls froze when they heard Ayanokouji's question, while the boy looked at them in confusion.

"What is it?" asked Ayanokouji.

Karuizawa flinched and broke out of her frozen state, she then gave a small cough before looking at Ayanokouji.

"Kiyotaka, I understand you very well now, so I'll forget that you asked me such a question earlier. But I will give you a warning, from now on don't ask girls such questions, you understand?" said Karuizawa.

"Or they will stay away from you," added Kushida.

Seeing the two of them put on a serious face, it meant that what he was asking just now was quite sensitive for girls. Ayanokouji could only nod.

"Understand. I will remember it," answered Ayanokouji.

"Don't say such stupid things. That wouldn't be possible."

"Hee, you're certainly right. It wouldn't be possible for you, Sae-chan," Hoshinomiya-sensei muttered, her words laced with a double meaning.

Hoshinomiya blinked for a moment before returning to her usual expression, she was slightly caught off guard by Ayanokouji's words.

"As I thought there was something unusual about this Ayanokouji, he could sense something was wrong from my words with such a short amount of time. What else are you hiding from me, Sae-chan."

Hoshinomiya smiled a little, her curiosity increased to know the secrets of her friend and rival.

"Why are you following us? This is a Class D matter."

"Huh? I can't go to the guidance room? That's not okay? Come on, I can give advice, too."

As Hoshinomiya-sensei continued to follow, a female student came up to us, a beautiful girl with light-pink hair. I'd never seen her before.

"It's you, Honami-chan," said Shiranami.

Ichinose nodded, "Yes, at that time I had business with the student council and needed Hoshinomiya-sensei's presence."

"Hoshinomiya-sensei, do you have a moment? The student council wishes to discuss something with you." She glanced at me, but quickly returned her attention to Hoshinomiya-sensei.

"All right, you have someone who needs you. Get to it." Slap! Chabashira-sensei smacked Hoshinomiya-sensei on the butt with her clipboard.

"Aw! She'll get mad at me if I hang around any longer. See you later, Ayanokouji-kun! All right, Ichinose-san. Let's go to the faculty office."

With that, she turned on her heel and left with the beautiful Ichinose.

Ichinose's cheeks immediately blushed after hearing Ayanokouji's compliment.

"Look Honami-chan, he called you beautiful," Mako said in a whisper to Ichinose.

"I know, Mako-chan. There's no need to tell me about that," Ichinose said sullenly with a red face.

"He he, must be a lot of fun, right? When the person you like compliments you," Mako said in a low voice, the grin never leaving her face.

Ichinose freezes, her premonition finally coming true, her closest friend finds out that she likes Ayanokouji.

"H-How did you know that?" Ichinose asked in a low voice, not wanting the others to hear it.

"So you not deny it. It's easy when you see your behavior when it comes to Ayanokouji-kun," said Amikura with her smirk replaced by a smile.

"I see…" said Ichinose with a face that was red up to her ears.

"Don't worry, I won't tell the others, really," said Amikura.

"Why?" Ichinose asked confused.

"Since you didn't tell us anything, that means you've decided to stay quiet, right? So I won't say anything."

Ichinose looked at her smiling friend, then she also smiled back, "Thank you, Mako-chan. But that doesn't mean I don't want to tell it, I just don't know how to tell it."

"I see, it's fine," said Amikura before she drew even a little closer to Ichinose, "So, what's the story?"

Ichinose sighed, "That's a long story, I don't know where to start."

"I see. Alright I won't insist," said Amikura, then suddenly she thought of something, "But wait, since this is from Ayanokouji-kun's perspective, there's a chance I might find out right?"

"Maybe. But why are you so curious, Mako-chan?"

"You seriously ask that? A man, moreover he is in another class, managed to win my best friend's heart. Of course I'm very curious," Amikura said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Hey, what are you two talking about?"

Before Ichinose could speak, Minamikata asked them since they had been whispering for quite a while.

"Nothing, ha ha. I was just asking about Honami-chan's business at the student council," Amikura said. Minamikata nodded before looking back at the screen.

Amikura sighed before turning to Ichinose, they both then smiled together.

"Let's continue watching."

Ichinose nodded, "Hn."

Chabashira-sensei lightly scratched her head while she watched Hoshinomiya-sensei leave. Soon after, we entered the guidance room, which stood beside the faculty office.

"So. Why did you call me here?" I asked.

"Well, about that… Before we begin, please come here."

She briefly glanced at a clock hanging on the wall, which gave the time as nine o'clock, and opened the door. Inside was a small office kitchenette. She placed a kettle on top of a stove.

"I'm going to make tea. Is roasted green okay?" she asked.

I picked up the container with the tea powder.

"Don't make any unnecessary moves. Shut up and get in here. Understand? Don't make a sound and stay until I tell you it's okay to come out. If you don't do as I say, you'll be expelled," she said.

"Hah!?"

Astonished voices filled the room when they heard Chabashira's words.

"E-Expelled…?"

"What the hell…!?"

Everyone expressed their disbelief at what they heard, they then turned towards Chabashira.

"Looks like it's your turn to be the center of attention, Sae-chan," said Hoshinomiya with a smile.

"It seems so," said Chabashira not denying.

Hirata suddenly stood up and faced Chabashira with a stern expression.

"Chabashira-sensei, why are you saying something like that?" asked Hirata.

"I want to know too," said Karuizawa with a glare.

Chabashira stared at them blankly, her mind racing about what she should do.

"You better answer, Chabashira. This is the first time I'm hearing about this, why are you using your authority as a teacher to threaten students?" said Mashima sharply.

After a while under everyone's pressure, Chabashira's expression finally broke and she let out a sigh.

"Those are just empty threats, do you really think I can do something like that?" Chabashira asked Mashima.

"No, but you can make certain conditions," Mashima replied.

"Indeed, but I have no intention of doing that. Keep watching so you know why," Chabashira said before looking back at the screen.

Of course there were those who were dissatisfied with such an answer, Karuizawa was one of them.

"But sensei-"

"Leave it alone, Kei-san."

Before Karuizawa could demand, Horikita cut her off. Karuizawa looked at Horikita with a confused look.

"What do you mean, Suzune?"

"As Chabashira-sensei said, keep watching," Horikita said curtly.

"Do you know what happened, Suzune-san?" asked Hirata.

"More or less, since I'm also involved in it. Anyway, keep watching if you want to know the reason," Horikita stated once again.

Seeing that they had no other choice, everyone looked back at the screen.

"Huh? What do you mean by—"

She closed the door to the kitchenette without explanation, leaving me in there. What in the world was she scheming? I did as I was told and waited. Soon after, I heard the outer door to the guidance room open.

"Ah, come in. So, what did you want to talk to me about, Horikita?" I heard Chabashira-sensei say.

"Oh? It will be interesting," said Sakayanagi with an interested smile.

"I'm sure she will protest for being placed in class D," Kamuro said propping her head on her hand.

Apparently Horikita was in need of guidance.

"I will be frank. Why was I sorted into Class D?"

"That's very frank," said Hashimoto, whistling.

"I wonder why she hasn't seen her own faults in all that time," Kitou said.

"Fu fu, that is a very easy thing to answer, Kitou-kun," said Sakayanagi with amusement, earning the attention of Kitou and the others, "Like she said before, she's always been alone. There were no friends or anything like that, so no one was going to tell her that what she was doing was wrong. Coupled with her extreme superiority complex, she would never listen to the advice of others who were lower than herself."

"I see," Kitou said nodding at Sakayanagi's words.

"Well, then she will never change," Kamuro said in a bored tone.

Indeed, if Horikita's personality was like that, she would never change. But…

"I'm not so sure," Sakayanagi thought refuting Kamuro's words.

Horikita Suzune was already experiencing a huge change inside herself now, and Sakayanagi couldn't wait to see how that process would unfold.

"That's quite frank."

"Today, you told us that the school sorted superior students into Class A. You said that Class D was filled with the leftovers, the last bastion of delinquents."

"That's true. You must consider yourself to be a superior person."

I wondered how Horikita would respond. I'd bet she'd confidently object.

"I solved nearly every problem on the entrance examination. I made no substantial mistakes on the interview, either. At the very least, I shouldn't have been sorted into Class D."

Looks like I would have won that bet. Horikita was definitely the type to think herself superior. She wasn't excessively self-conscious, either. She'd tied for first place on the test, as shown in the morning's results.

"You solved nearly all of the problems on the entrance examination, hmm? Normally I couldn't show the examination results to individual students, but I'll make an exception in this case. I just so happen to have your answer sheet here."

"It's as if she had expected Horikita-san to show up to protest. Well, Chabashira-sensei has probably seen through her personality and prepared for the possibility this might happen," thought Matsushita as she saw Chabashira take out Horikita's answer sheet.

"You're incredibly prepared. It's…almost as if you knew I'd come here to protest."

"I'm an instructor. I understand the mind of a student, at least to some degree, Horikita Suzune. Just as you said, you did well on the entrance examination. You had the third-highest test score among the first-year students and were close to the highest- and second-highest-scoring students. You did exceedingly well. And you're right: We found no particular problems in your interview. On the contrary, we evaluated you quite highly."

"Thank you very much. So then…why?"

"Before I answer, why are you dissatisfied with Class D?"

Everyone was confused by Chabashira's question.

"Anyone certainly won't be satisfied with being ranked last, right?" Ike asked his friends while raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, of course," said Miyamoto.

"Who could be happy with an incorrect evaluation? Furthermore, the class rankings greatly impact our future prospects. Of course I'm dissatisfied."

"Incorrect evaluation? Perhaps your self-evaluation is far too high." Chabashira-sensei snickered, or rather, laughed outright. "I acknowledge that your academic ability is excellent. You're certainly very smart. However, who decided that smart people are categorically superior? We never said that."

"Eh, so that's not it?" said Ishizaki confused.

"From an academic point of view, it does make sense, but it's not enough to make that person superior. There are many other aspects that can make a person superior, one of which is personality," explained Shiina.

"I see. Well then Horikita isn't included since her personality is very problematic," Ishizaki confirmed.

"Yes," said Shiina nodding.

"But…that's just common sense."

"Fu fu, she's talking about common sense. How cute," said Sakayanagi amused.

"Common sense? Didn't common sense create our current, flawed society? Before, Japan relied solely on test scores to separate the superior and inferior. As a result, the incompetents at the top tried desperately to kick down the truly superior students. In the end, we settled on a system of hereditary succession."

Only a few people understood the meaning of Chabashira's words, the others only tilted their heads in confusion.

"Of course. If change doesn't happen, then distinguishing superior and inferior people will only be seen through whether that person is smart or stupid, as a result many people who have talents outside of academia are wasted," Ichinose thought with a bitter expression.

A system of hereditary succession meant that things like social standing, prestige, and employment were passed down to future generations. At those words, I groaned unintentionally. My chest hurt.

"You're a capable student. I don't deny that. However, this school's goal is to produce superior people. If you believe academics alone place you into a higher class, you are mistaken. That was the very first thing we explained to you. Besides, think rationally. Would we have admitted someone like Sudou if we decided superiority based solely on academic merit?"

"That's true, Kenchin's academic abilities are on par with elementary school children. Makes me wonder how she got into this school," said Hasebe crossing her arms.

"Ugh, at least I'm a lot better now," said Sudou grimacing.

"I know, I know," Hasebe said with a chuckle.

"Tch…"

Despite the fact that this was one of the country's leading preparatory schools, this place allowed students to enroll for purposes other than academics.

"Furthermore, you may be too hasty in proclaiming that no one would be happy to be incorrectly evaluated. Take Class A, for instance. They are under incredible pressure from the school, and also the target of extreme envy from the lower classes. Competing every day with that kind of pressure bearing down upon you is far more difficult than you might imagine. There are some students who are happy to be incorrectly evaluated at a lower level."

"Happy at a low level? Is she talking about Ayanokouji-kun?" Azuma asked tilting her head.

"It seems so, I think Chabashira-sensei has evaluated all of us," said Ichihashi.

"You're joking, right? I can't understand such a person."

"Is that so? I think that Class D boasts some of those people. Strange students who would happily be set at a low level."

It was almost as if she were talking to me.

"I don't understand this man at all…"

Ibuki frowned in annoyance while thinking that.

Like she said, she doesn't understand the student named Ayanokouji Kiyotaka at all. From her point of view, Ayanokouji was extremely strong in martial arts, she wouldn't even be surprised if Ayanokouji was actually very good in academics as well.

But what made her angry was that Ayanokouji didn't care about that at all, he preferred to be looked down upon when he had such great abilities. That's why Ibuki prefers to stay away from Ayanokouji, because it only irritates her to see that boy.

"You still haven't given me an explanation. Was I honestly sorted into Class D? Did anything go wrong with the grading? Please double-check," Horikita said.

"I'm sorry, but you weren't sorted by mistake. You are definitely in Class D. You are at that level."

"Is that so? Then I will ask the school again, at another time."

"How stubborn," Himeno muttered while resting her head on her palm.

"Yeah, she doesn't even believe her own teacher's words. By the way the results are still the same if she asks other teachers, right?" Andou said. Apparently she heard Himeno's words.

Apparently, she wasn't going to give up. Horikita had merely determined that her homeroom teacher was the wrong person to ask.

"You'll get the same answer from anyone in a higher position. Besides, there's no need to be disappointed. As I told you this morning, it's possible for one class to overtake another. You could conceivably reach Class A before you graduate."

"Reached class A, huh. That's constructive motivation, Sae-chan," said Hoshinomiya with a smile.

As usual, Chabashira ignored her friend.

"I can't imagine it will be easy, though. Forget overtaking Class A; how in the world could those immature Class D misfits gain more points? I can't see how it's possible." Horikita spoke the truth. The difference in points was overwhelming.

"Well, she did say that, but it's a fact that it's their class that gets the most points," Amikura said as she crossed her arms.

"That proves that they worked really hard to get those points," said Kobashi.

"I wonder how they managed to get all those points," said Shiranami.

"Yes, so do I. It's a good thing this is from Ayanokouji-kun's perspective, so we can see it," said Amikura as she leaned back in the chair.

Meanwhile, Ichinose smiled slightly listening to her friends' discussion.

"I wonder how they will react when they find out that it was because of Kiyotaka-kun's efforts that Class C got almost all of those points."

Even though she said that, actually Ichinose was also curious about how Ayanokouji got points for his class.

"I don't know. You alone get to decide how you head down that path. At any rate, Horikita, do you need to be in Class A for any special reason?"

"Well…I suppose that's enough for now. Excuse me. But know that I'm not yet convinced I was sorted correctly."

"She's avoiding the question, I guess she does have a special reason for being in class A. Interesting," thought Ryuuen with a grin.

"Understood. I will keep that in mind."

A chair squeaked against the floor, signaling that the discussion was over.

"It is over?" Mori asked confused.

"Who knows. If that's the case, why did Chabashira-sensei call Ayanokouji-kun. Is it to hear their conversation?" said Onodera.

"I'm sure it's not that simple, there must be another reason why Chabashira-sensei called him. After all Horikita-san also said that she was involved in it," thought Matsushita.

"Oh, that reminds me. I've summoned another person to the guidance room. It's someone relevant to you."

"Relevant to me? No, you can't mean… bro—"

"Come on out, Ayanokouji," the teacher said.

"I think this is where Ayanokouji-kun comes in," said Nishimura.

"I think so," said Sonoda.

This was a bad time to reveal myself. Maybe I just wouldn't go.

"If you don't come out, I'll have you expelled."

The Ayanokouji group members once again directed sharp glares at Chabashira.

Chabashira couldn't help but sigh when she felt those stares, she could understand why they would be mad at her. She and the members of Ayanokouji's group know very well how much it means to Ayanokouji to stay in school here.

It was because only here was Ayanokouji able to experience freedom, even if it was only temporarily.

So it was only natural for Karuizawa and the others to be angry at her for threatening Ayanokouji's school life.

Jeez. A teacher shouldn't casually wield expulsion like a weapon.

"How long do you intend to keep me waiting?"

With a sigh, I entered the room. Naturally, Horikita appeared surprised and perplexed.

"Were you listening to our conversation?" she asked me.

"Listening? I know you guys were talking, but I didn't really hear anything. The walls are surprisingly thick."

"That's not true. Voices carry pretty well into the kitchen." Apparently, Chabashira-sensei wanted to drag me into the action.

"It would seem so, but what is the teacher pulling that monster into the conversation for?"

Ryuuen wondered about that in his mind. He had some guesses but no definite conclusion, he should have more information.

"I see, so thats her plan," thought Sakayanagi as she managed to come to a conclusion.

In contrast to Ryuuen, it seemed Sakayanagi was one step ahead of him.

"It seems Chabashira-sensei wants to tie Horikita-san to Ayanokouji-kun. She seems to know about Ayanokouji-kun's abilities though I don't know to what extent she does. But the question now is how will she tie them up?"

Sakayanagi pondered that while placing a finger on her chin.

"Sensei, why would you do this?" Horikita noticed that this had all been planned and was clearly angry.

"Because I deemed it necessary. Now then, Ayanokouji, I'll explain why I called you here." Chabashira-sensei dismissed Horikita's concerns and shifted her attention to me.

"Well then, if you'll excuse me…" Horikita muttered.

"Wait, Horikita. It would be in your best interest to stay and listen. It may provide you with a hint on how to reach Class A."

Everyone blinked their eyes hearing that, they straightened their bodies to listen carefully especially for Class C because it was from their own homeroom teacher.

"Hint to reach class A?" Katsuragi pondered over Chabashira's words, then he glanced at Ayanokouji from the corner of his eye, "What does that have to do with summoning Ayanokouji?"

Horikita stopped dead in her tracks and sat back down.

"Please keep it brief," she said.

Chabashira-sensei chuckled as she glanced over her clipboard. "You're an interesting student, Ayanokouji."

"Here he is."

"Finally."

Sakayanagi and Ryuuen stared at the screen with full and intent attention, they both had enough of Horikita's nonsense and wanted to see a scene that caught their attention.

Unlike the two of them, many other students were confused by Chabashira's words.

"Interesting student? What does it mean?" asked the confused Ike.

"I don't know, man, what I know is that Ayanokouji is just a moody and quiet student," said Miyamoto, who was just as confused as Ike.

"Not at all. I'm certainly not as interesting as a teacher with a strange surname like Chabashira."

"Pff, that was rude," said Azuma holding back her laughter.

"I'm surprised he can say that with such a straight face," Ishikura said.

"Moreover he said that to Chabashira-sensei of all people," said Ichihashi.

The girls expressed their admiration for Ayanokouji for saying such a bold thing to a teacher.

"Would you speak like that to every Chabashira in the nation? Hmm?"

If you looked all over the country for another person with the surname of Chabashira, you probably wouldn't find one.

"Well, when I read over the entrance exam's results, your scores piqued my interest. I was shocked."

Sakayanagi widened her eyes when she heard Chabashira's words, then she gave a small smile.

"I see, so that's what will bind them. What have you been doing, Ayanokouji-kun?" thought Sakayanagi while wondering about Ayanokouji's grades.

On her clipboard, I saw a rather familiar answer sheet.

"Fifty points in Japanese. Fifty points in mathematics. Fifty points in English. Fifty points in social studies. Fifty points in science. You even scored Fifty points on the recent short test. Do you know what this means?"

"…"

Dead silence fell in the room upon hearing Chabashira's words.

Everyone was speechless and unable to speak resulting in an eerie silence, their brains trying to process what seemed impossible. But even so, they still couldn't believe what they were hearing.

A few minutes of silence, then came the sound of applause. Everyone automatically turned their attention to the sound source.

"Amazing, really amazing. You did something amazing, Ayanokouji-kun," Sakayanagi said as she clapped her hands, her voice echoing through the silent room.

After hearing Sakayanagi's words, everyone came out of their frozen state. Of course a commotion erupted in the room.

"Wait, wait, wait! Seriously, I don't understand any of this at all," Ike shouted after a moment of silence.

Ike's screams were supported by his friends, they also didn't understand the same as Ike.

"That's right, how did he get a score like that!?"

"Yeah, how? Is he cheating?"

Ike's friends shouted their disbelief at Ayanokouji who got such a unique points.

Not only Ike and his friends, students in other classes also had the same situation.

"H-Hey, it was just a coincidence, right?" Shibata asked his friends.

"THERE'S NO WAY IT'S A COINCIDENCE!" shouted Kanzaki while standing up angrily, taking his friends by surprise. They looked at Kanzaki with wide eyes.

"K-Kanzaki-kun…?" Kobashi stammered.

Kanzaki gasped as he realized what he had just done, he then sat up and sighed.

"I'm sorry, Shibata. I didn't mean to yell at you like that at all," Kanzaki said to Shibata, a note of regret in his voice.

"It's fine, don't worry about it," Shibata said while waving his hand, then he looked at Kanzaki confusedly, "But what's wrong with you dude? You don't normally lose control like that."

"That's right, Kanzaki-kun. What's wrong with you?" asked Amikura.

Kanzaki paused to look at his friends, concern and confusion evident on their faces. It didn't take long for Kanzaki to answer.

"Like Sakayanagi said earlier, Ayanokouji has done something extraordinary. Getting 50 points in each subject is something that is very difficult to get, if it's just one or two subjects I dare say it's a fluke. But all subjects? It was clearly on purpose," explained Kanzaki.

"On purpose? Wait, if he does that in all subjects, that means…" Hamaguchi said widening his eyes, unable to finish his words in shock.

Kanzaki nodded in understanding with Hamaguchi's words, he then looked at his other friends.

"Getting 50 points in all subjects is something that is difficult to achieve unless you already know all the answers," said Kanzaki.

"So you're saying he could have gotten perfect scores in all subjects if he wanted to," Shibata said in surprise.

"Exactly," said Kanzaki nodding.

Shibata and the others' bodies shivered at Kanzaki's words. It couldn't be helped, getting 50 points in every subject wasn't a feat that could be done by everyone, it was only done by a genius.

"Wait a moment," said Shinohara suddenly as she stood up, gaining the attention of many people, "I've never heard of Ayanokouji-kun getting such high marks before, but if he can really get a perfect score, does that mean he's holding back?"

Class C students from Ayanokouji's class widened their eyes at Shinohara's words, apparently Kanzaki's voice was loud enough for people to hear.

The suspicious glances from the Class C students went straight to Ayanokouji, even Ike and his friends had already stood up to demand an explanation from him.

But before they could say anything, Hirata stood up and blocked them all.

"Wait everyone, please calm down," Hirata told them.

"What do you mean, Hirata? Don't you see the current situation?" Ike asked.

"That's right, Hirata-kun. There's a chance he's holding back in class," said Shinohara pointing at Ayanokouji.

Satou stood up to stop Shinohara's actions but stopped when she locked eyes with Ayanokouji. She could see Ayanokouji shaking his head as slowly as possible and soon a message popped up from her phone. It was a message from Ayanokouji.

[Let Yousuke handle Shinohara.]

That is the content of the message. It's amazing that cell phones can still be used in this other dimension, but that's probably the result of Eve's powers. Satou nodded after seeing the message and sat back down.

"I know what you mean, but-"

"But what? Don't tell me you're defending him, Hirata!?" Ike demanded cutting Hirata off. Hirata was overwhelmed by the question.

Seeing Hirata struggling, Sudou decided to intervene.

"Shut up, Kanji!" said Sudou sharply, surprising Ike.

"Wh-,… What the hell, Ken! You're defending him!? He could have held back in class, you know?" Ike said unexpectedly.

"You think so? Then so be it, at least he's still willing to help out the class instead of that narcissistic bastard," said Sudou as he pointed at Kouenji.

Kouenji himself didn't care about that and just kept polishing his fingernails.

Before things could get any worse, Hirata quickly took the brief moment of respite Sudou gave him.

"Everyone, I know you guys are feeling confused. But now isn't the right time to bring that up as the other classes are looking at us. We can have our own discussion after this," Hirata said to all the Class C students.

Ike and the others flinched at Hirata's words, they quickly looked around themselves and noticed that almost all the students from the other classes were watching them.

In the end they decided to give up because they found Hirata's words to be reasonable.

"Okay," Ike said with a sigh, then he and his friends returned to their seats. Shinohara also returned to her seat.

It was also one of the developments Ike had this year. If Ike was his old self, then he wouldn't care about Hirata's words and would continue to demand the truth from Ayanokouji.

But the current Ike was different from before, even though his reckless and shameless self was still there, but he had quite a bit of growth inside of him. For some situations, he could think with a cool head like what was happening right now. He decided to give up on pushing Ayanokouji because this might reveal his class' secret.

Hirata heaved a sigh of relief seeing that his classmates had restrained themselves and not making any further noise, he then sat down and leaned back on the chair to relax himself.

"Thank you, Yousuke. You really helped me there," Ayanokouji said to Hirata.

"You're welcome," Hirata said with a smile, but then he frowned, "But I don't know if I can still calm them down if they're still curious about you after this session is over."

"I guess you're right," said Ayanokouji, "But don't worry, I'll try to think of something."

"I understand," said Hirata nodding.

After that, everyone turned back to the screen to continue their viewing.

A stunned Horikita looked over my test paper and then shifted her focus to me. "This is a rather frightening coincidence," she said.

"Oh? You believe that getting 50s all across the board was a coincidence? He did it intentionally."

"It's a coincidence. There's no evidence that it's not. Besides, what would I gain by manipulating my scores in the first place? If I were intelligent enough to achieve high marks, I would've tried to get perfect scores."

As I feigned innocence, Chabashira-sensei sighed in exasperation.

"Feigned innocence, huh. He really did that on purpose. So this is your weapon, Sae-chan," thought Hoshinomiya while biting her bottom lip.

Hoshinomiya naturally didn't like this development, the fact that Chabashira had a student who had achievements that none of her students could achieve worried her.

But even so what she should do remained unchanged. If her class couldn't reach class A, then she wouldn't let Chabashira's class reach class A either.

It was something she would definitely do.

"You really do seem like an odious student. Listen. Only 3 percent of students solved the fifth math problem successfully. However, you solved it perfectly, and used a complex formula to do so. However, the tenth problem on the test had a completion rate of 76 percent. Did you make a mistake on it? Is that normal?"

"I don't know what normal is. It was a coincidence, I tell you. A coincidence."

"He was very adamant about denying it," Andou said.

"Yes, but he looks even more suspicious the longer he is like that," said Minamikata.

"For crying out loud! I respect your frank attitude, but it'll cause problems for you in the future," the teacher said.

"I'll think about that when the time comes."

Chabashira-sensei shot Horikita a glance that seemed to say, What do you think?

"Why do you pretend not to know?" she asked.

"Like I said, it was a coincidence. It's not like I'm hiding that I'm a genius or anything."

"I wonder. He may be even more intelligent than you, Horikita."

Horikita flinched. Please don't say anything unnecessary, Chabashira-sensei.

"Ku ku, that teacher really wanted to bond that monster with Suzune, I guess that's when they started working together. But why did the teacher insist on making the two of them work together? Does she also want to advance to class A?"

Ryuuen thought that while wondering about Chabashira's strange actions.

"I don't like studying, and I don't plan to try hard. That's why I get those scores."

"A student who chose this school wouldn't say something like that. However, some students may have different reasons for getting in. You, for example, and Kouenji as well. I think you're fine with being in either D or A."

This school wasn't the only abnormal thing. The teachers were weird, too. Moments earlier, Chabashira-sensei had upset Horikita with just her words. It was almost as if the teachers knew every student's secrets.

"Hah? Is that true?" said Shinohara surprised.

"I think that makes sense. I mean, how else would they group us into each class, can't be random right?" said Matsushita.

"In that case, the school may have coordinated with the elementary school and junior high school where we went to school," Satou concluded.

Matsuhita nodded, "By coordinating with our old school, they can determine personality, academic level, or any problems we had while at our old school. That way they can determine which class we are in at this school."

"Ugh… that really makes me uncomfortable," said Shinohara groaning.

"But that's just my guess, we don't really know until we hear it ourselves from the school," said Matsushita.

"You're right," Satou said nodding.

Actually Matsushita also felt uncomfortable like her friends. If the school really knew about the student's past, then the fact that Matsushita was holding back was also known to the school. One thing she didn't really like.

Matsushita took a deep breath, there was nothing she could do about it. She then shook her head before looking back at the screen.

"What other reasons do you have?" Horikita asked.

"You want me to explain it to you in detail?"

I noticed the sharp gleam in Chabashira-sensei's eyes. It was almost as if she wanted to provoke Horikita.

"No, we'd best stop here. Any more, and I might go mad and destroy all the furniture in here," I said.

"If you did that, Ayanokouji, I would demote you to E Class."

"THERE IS AN CLASS E?"

Many students were surprised to hear that information because they had always thought that Class D was the lowest.

"Wait, there's an E Class?"

"Certainly. Of course, the 'E' stands for 'expelled.' As in, you'd be kicked out of school. Well, I suppose our conversation has ended. Enjoy your lives."

"Tch! Why should I be surprised just now," said Ibuki in annoyance, apparently she was one of those who were surprised earlier.

"Well, from Kiyotaka-kun's intention to destroy the furniture it's obvious that he's going to be kicked out, right?" said Shina. Ibuki only snorted in response.

What incredible sarcasm.

"I'm leaving, too. It's almost time for the faculty meeting. I'm going to close the door, so please step outside."

She pushed us into the hallway. Why had Chabashira-sensei called both of us in together? She didn't seem like the type to do meaningless things.

"Well. Should we head back?" I asked.

Horikita didn't respond, and I walked away. Probably best if we weren't together right now.

"Wait." Horikita called out, but I didn't stop. If I managed to keep away from her until I got to the dorms, I'd be home free.

"Was your score…really just a coincidence?" she asked.

"I already said so, didn't I? Or do you have any proof that I got that score on purpose?"

"I don't, but…I also don't understand, Ayanokouji-kun. You said that you like to avoid trouble, but you don't seem to be interested in Class A."

"You have an extraordinary fixation on Class A."

"Should I not? I'm simply striving to improve my future prospects."

"Oh, absolutely. You should. It's perfectly natural."

"When I entered this school, I thought graduation was my only goal. But the reality is different. I'm not even at the starting line."

Horikita sped up and started walking next to me.

"So, why are you aiming for Class A?"

"First, I want to ascertain this school's true motives. Why was I put into Class D? Chabashira-sensei said I'd been deemed a Class D student, but why? When I discover the answer, I'll aim for A. No, I will definitely make it to A."

"That's going to be difficult. You'll have to rehabilitate the problem children. You have Sudou's continued tardiness and class cutting, everyone else talking in class, and, of course, the test scores. Even if you manage all of that, you're still at zero points."

"Once again, I'm amazed how they get so many points when their class is full of problem children," said Andou.

"Same here," Minamikata said nodding.

"I know that. I still think the school made a mistake with my placement."

Anxiety had replaced Horikita's previously overflowing confidence. Did she really know that was the case? The only conclusion I could draw from today was that "despair" was a two-syllable word. If you followed the fundamental school rules, you could avoid losing points. However, it was still unclear how to turn those losses into gains. Class A had had only had a small number of points subtracted.

Even if we somehow found an efficient way to increase our points, the other classes might also find a way to do the same. Since we'd started out with such a substantial difference in points, we'd have to compete hard against the other classes in a limited amount of time.

"I can understand your thoughts, but I don't think the school will continue supervising us so carefully. If they did, there'd be no meaning in competition," Horikita said.

"I see. I suppose you could think that. So, you'll try to take care of this situation by yourself?" I asked.

"Yes."

"What self-confidence," said Sakayanagi in praise, but everyone could tell it was a mockery.

"She really doesn't like that girl, does she?" thought Kamuro, "Well, I guess so am I. I don't like that arrogant girl either."

"Don't act so proud."

A hand chopped my side. Horikita ignored my pained expression.

"Ow. Look, I understand how you feel, but you can't solve this by yourself. Think about Sudou. Even if you improve, the rest of the class will drag you down."

"No. You're right that no lone individual can solve this problem. We won't even make it to the starting line without everyone's help."

"Well, it sounds like we've got a huge problem on our hands."

"We have three major, immediate issues. Tardiness and talking during class are the first two. Third, we must make sure no one fails the midterm exam."

"I think we'll manage those first two issues, but the midterms…"

"That's right, even if they get over tardiness and talk during class, they still have students with terrible grades," said Shibata.

"Yeah, but as far as I can remember there were no students who dropped out at that time. That means they can handle it, right?" Hamaguchi confirmed.

"That's what we're going to see now, how they get through the difficulties they're facing," Kanzaki said while crossing his arms.

The short test we'd taken had contained a few difficult questions, but overall it had been pretty easy. Even at that level, some students had failed. Honestly, their chances of passing the midterm exam were slim.

"I need your help, Ayanokouji-kun."

"Help?"

Horikita glared at me.

"What if I refuse? Like how you refused Hirata this morning."

"Do you want to refuse?" she asked.

"What if I said I'd gladly help?"

"I never would've thought you'd do it gladly, but I doubt you'd refuse. If you did refuse to work with me, then that would be the end of it. No matter what I said about our future, I'd be powerless if you refused. So, will you help me or not?"

I wanted to say what she'd said before, when she'd silenced Hirata… What was it, again? Well, it wasn't as though I would just bluntly refuse someone who asked for my help. Then again, if I told her I would help, she'd probably run me into the ground until graduation. I needed the heart of a demon.

"I refuse," I said.

"Somehow I'm glad Ayanokouji-kun said that," Sonoda said, getting the attention of Nishimura and Maezono who were sitting nearby, "I mean, I don't really like how Horikita-san rudely rejected Hirata-kun and the way she asked Ayanokoji-kun for help with demands like that."

"I think so too, Horikita-san's attitude is too arrogant," said Nishimura, Maezono also nodded in agreement.

"I always knew you'd help, Ayanokouji-kun. I'm grateful."

"I didn't say that! I turned you down!"

"No, I heard the voice inside your head. You said you'd help."

"Sometimes I'm amazed how you insist and don't care about anything to achieve your goal, Suzune," said Hasebe admiringly.

Horikita sighed at Hasebe's words, looks like she should be used to the girl's jokes.

Terrifying! It was like she could read my thoughts.

"I don't even know how I could help you, though." Besides being an exemplary student, Horikita was incredibly quick-witted. She probably didn't need my skills.

"Don't worry. I don't require your brain power, Ayanokouji-kun. Leave the planning to me, and act as I tell you."

"Huh? What do you mean by act?"

"Doesn't our lack of points trouble you, Ayanokouji-kun? If you follow my instructions, I promise you we'll see a point increase. I would never lie."

"I don't know what you're cooking up, but there are other people you could count on. If you made friends, they'd cooperate with you."

"Unfortunately, no one else in Class D is nearly as easy to manipulate as you."

"Ku ku ku ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

Ryuuen suddenly burst out laughing, attracting everyone's attention. Most of them were confused as to why he was laughing, but no one dared ask out of fear or didn't really care about it.

On the other hand, Sakayanagi covered her mouth to suppress her laughter.

"No, there are several people. Hirata, for example. He's popular and smart, so he'd be perfect. Besides, he's worried that you're all alone, Horikita."

If she reached out to him, they'd probably become good friends.

"He's no good. Even if he has some talent and ability, I can't use him. To use an analogy, think about the pieces in shogi. Right now, I don't need a gold or silver general. I want a pawn."

So, you just called me a pawn? That's what you called me?

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

Ryuuen burst out laughing again, but this time he wasn't alone. Sakayanagi who usually kept herself dignified and polite, couldn't hold back her laughter any longer and let her laughter escape until she burst into laughter.

Just like before, no one dared to interrupt when the two class leaders laughed. Ibuki who usually interrupts Ryuuen didn't do anything, on the contrary, Ibuki understood what Ryuuen was feeling because she also found Horikita's words funny.

Ibuki knows enough about Ayanokouji when he is serious. In her view, Ayanokouji is a very manipulative person more than Ryuuen, he is also strong in martial arts, and in addition to his extraordinary academic abilities that Ibuki just found out about. So when she heard Horikita say Ayanokouji was a person who was easily manipulated and made him a pawn it was really funny to her. Luckily she was able to stop herself from laughing and only gave a small smirk.

After a few moments of laughing heartily, Sakayanagi finally managed to calm herself down. She corrected her posture and gave a small cough to restore her dignified self.

"Ahem, sorry for the unsightly sight. I lost control a little earlier," said Sakayanagi.

"What's wrong with you?" Kamuro asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing. I just found Horikita-san's words funny."

"Funny? I don't see where it's funny."

"Fu fu, of course. That's because we have different amounts of information about what's going on," Sakayanagi said with amusement.

"Then does Ryuuen also have that information?" Hashimoto asked curiously.

"Who knows? I'm also curious about that," said Sakayanagi while looking at Ryuuen.

Meanwhile, Horikita only made a bitter expression when Sakayanagi and Ryuuen laughed at her. After learning about Ayanokouji's true self, she realized how ridiculous the words her past self had said were.

But then Horikita's eyes widened as she noticed something strange and confused her, the other students didn't seem to notice since they had absolutely no idea what Horikita knew.

What confused Horikita was only one.

For those who knew about Ayanokouji's true self, it was natural for them to laugh at her.

But… why are Ryuuen and Sakayanagi also laughing?

"So, if a pawn were to cooperate, he could become a gold general?"

"An interesting answer, but you don't seem like the type to make that effort, Ayanokouji-kun. Besides, haven't you been thinking, 'I've always been a pawn, I don't want to advance,' all along?"

She'd shot me down with precisely the right brand of ammunition. If I were a normal person, my feelings would've been hurt.

"Sorry, but I can't help you. I'm not suitable for this," I said.

"Well, contact me once you've given it some thought. I look forward to hearing from you."

Horikita wasn't paying attention to what I'd said in the slightest.

Video ends.

Everyone sighed and started to relax their bodies in their seats as usual. But now they need it more because this video is more thrilling than the previous one.

Starting from the events of May 1 and Chabashira's cold words to her students, to Ayanokouji's true academic abilities being shown.

After seeing all that, they all needed time to calm down and process the information they had obtained.

"All right, everyone. As usual, the next video will be broadcast in five minutes, please rest for a while."

Eve's words echoed in the room.

---

Thanks for reading!