The morning bell for the first school day of May rang. Soon after, Chiyabashira-sensei walked in, holding a poster rolled into a tube. Her face is always grim and serious. Are you in menopause? If I made that joke, I think an iron bat would come full swing at my face.
"Sensei~, are you in menopause?"
Ike really asked that out loud. However, I'm shocked that we were thinking the same thing.
"Alright, morning homeroom is starting. Are there any questions before we start? If there's something on your mind, feel free to speak up."
Chiyabashira-sensei completely ignored Ike and continued to talk. She talked as if she was completely convinced that the students had something to ask. Immediately, several people raised their hands.
"Um, I checked my point balance this morning, and no points were deposited. Weren't they supposed to be provided on the first day of the month, every month? I was impatient because I couldn't buy the juice I wanted."
"Hondou, I explained it before, didn't I? Points are wired to student's accounts on the first day of the month, every month. They were wired without any problems this month as well."
"Uh, but… I didn't get any points."
Hondou and Yamauchi exchanged looks. Ike was too surprised to notice their looks. Certainly, I went to check my points this morning too, but my point balanced hadn't changed from yesterday.
So I thought they would've been deposited later.
"… Are you guys really that stupid?"
Is she angry? Delighted? Chiyabashira-sensei had an ominous feeling about her.
"Stupid? What?"
Chiyabashira-sensei had a sharp glint in her eyes as Hondou repeated her words like an idiot.
"Sit, Hondou. I'll explain it again."
"S-sae-chan sensei?"
Surprised by her strict tone, Hondou slumped down into his seat.
"Points were deposited. Without fail. The likelihood that this class was left out is very low. Do you understand?"
"No, even if I say I do understand, we haven't received our points…
Hondou had a dissatisfied expression on his face.
However, if we say that Chiyabashira-sensei is telling the truth…
Isn't there some kind of contradiction? Does that mean zero points have been deposited?
I had a faint doubt, but my suspicions were raised.
"Hahaha, I see, it was like that, teacher. I've understood this riddle now."
Koenji said in a loud voice while laughing. Putting his feet on the table, he pointed at Hondou with his self-important attitude.
"We didn't receive any points because we're in class D."
"Hah? What's that supposed to mean. They said we'd get 100,000 points every month…"
"I don't remember hearing that. Right?"
Smirking, Koenji then turned and pointed his finger to Chiyabashira-sensei.
"Your attitude has some problems, but what Koenji is saying is on the right track. Not many people seem to have noticed my hint. How sad."
The classroom erupted in uproar and confusion.
"… Sensei, can I ask a question? I still don't understand.
Hirata raised his hand. Rather than being concerned about his own points, it looks like he's asking to help the worried students in the room. As expected of the class leader. He's taking the initiative again.
"Please tell me why we didn't get any points. If that's not possible, we can never understand.
After all, we were never given the reason for why we were never given points.
"98 total absences and tardies. 391 incidences of talking or using cell phones in class. I counted every infraction. In this school, your class performance is reflected in the amount points received. As a result your behavior, the 100,000 points you could've gotten went down the drain. That's all that happened.
I explained this all on the day of the entrance ceremony. That this school measures the abilities of its students. This time around, you guys were valued to be worth 0. There's nothing more than that."
Chiyabashira-sensei talked mechanically, without any expression. My initial doubts after coming to my school were finally answered. The worst way possible, but answered nonetheless.
In other words, even though we were given a great advantage of 100,000 points at the beginning, our class D lost all of it in a single month.
I heard the sound of a pencil on paper. Horikita was calmly trying to get the grasp of the situation as she noted the number of absences, tardies, and infractions of talking during class.
"Chiyabashira-sensei, I don't remember ever hearing that explanation before…"
"What? Are you people incapable of understanding without any explanations?"
"Naturally. There was no mention of reducing the number of points transferred to us at the beginning of each month. If it was explained before, I'm sure that we would've tried not to be late and not to talk during class."
"An interesting argument, Hirata. I also don't remember explaining the rules about the points received at the beginning of each month. However, haven't you guys learned not to talk in class and get to class on time since elementary school?"
"That is…"
"I'm pretty sure you guys have learned. In the 9 years of compulsory education, they've always told you that such things are frowned upon. Talking in class and being late to class is bad. Also, did you say that you couldn't understand because I didn't explain it? That excuse doesn't fly. If you behaved as a student should, your points wouldn't have dropped to 0. It's your own self-responsibility."
Without any room for rebuttal, her argument was completely sound. Everyone knows what is good and bad behavior, after all.
"After becoming first year high schoolers, did you really think that you would get 100,000 points every month without any restrictions? In this school created by the Japanese government to train excellent people? That's impossible, just use your common sense. Why leave doubts as doubts?"
Although Hirata looked frustrated by her sound argument, he recovered and immediately looked at her in the eye.
"Well then, can you at least tell us the details about how points are increased or decreased? We will always try to do our best from now on."
"That's not possible. We are not allowed to divulge the details of how we assess merit to the students. It's the same as the real world. When all of you enter society, and find work in some kind of business, they probably won't tell you how you're assessed—that's up to the company, though. However… I'm not trying to be cold, nor do I hate you guys. This is such a pitiful sight that I'll tell everyone here one thing."
For the first time today, I saw a faint smile on Chiyabashira-sensei's face.
"For arguments sake, if we say that everyone stopped being late and stopped talking in class… your deduction would be zero, but that doesn't mean you'll get more points.
In other words, next month's allowance is also 0 points.
Not being late or not talking to class won't help you get back up from the bottom.
Keep that in mind—it'll help you."
"Tsu…"
Hirata's face got even darker. A part of the class still failed to understand; her explanation had the opposite effect. The students who wanted to change their bad behavior had their mood dampened. That is Chiyabashira-sensei's; no, the school's aim.
The bell rang, signaling the end of homeroom.
"Looks like we had too much idle chit-chat. Hopefully you understood. Anyway, let's move onto the main issue at hand."
She spread out the white poster that was rolled into a tube. Taking a magnet, she stuck it onto the board. The students looked at the paper, still confused.
"Is this… the results of each class?"
Horikita tried to explain the paper even though she was only half sure. Perhaps it's true.
Classes A to D were listed on the paper, with numbers right next to them.
Our class D with 0. Class C with 490. Class B with 650. And class A had the highest number with 940. I guess 1000 points would mean 100,000 yen? All the classes lost points in some way.
"Hey, don't you think this is strange?"
"Yea… the numbers are too clean."
Horikita and I noticed that there was something strange about the points.
"For the first month, all of you have been doing as you please. Now, the school's not saying that this is prohibited. Your actions, such as talking during class and being late to class, just affects the number of points you get. It's the same with how you use points. You have the freedom to use points how you want. We haven't restricted how you use your points."
"This isn't fair! We can't lead a normal school life like that!"
Ike, who had stayed quiet until now, shouted out.
Yamauchi was also crying out in agony. That guy already used up all his points…
"Look carefully, you stupid kids. Every other class except class D got some points. The amount of points you guys have should still be plenty enough to last for a month."
"H-how do the other classes have any points left? That's strange…"
"I'll tell you, but it's not like this is some kind of fraud. For this past month, all the classes were judged by the same rules. Nevertheless, they didn't lose as many points as you guys did. That's a fact."
"How… how is there so much difference in points between the classes?"
Hirata also noticed something odd about the numbers. The differences in points were too clean.
"Did you guys finally understand? Why you were put in class D."
"The reason we were put in class D? Isn't that because we were appropriate for this school?"
"Eh? That's how ordinary classes work, you know?"
Everyone exchanged glances.
"In this school, all the students are divided into classes by merit. The best students are put in class A. The worst in class D. Well, it's a system that's found in major cram schools. In other words, class D is the collection of leftovers. That also means that you are the worst students, the defective products of this school. This is really an outcome worthy of defective students."
Horikita's face stiffened. Looks like the reason behind the class division really shocked her.
Certainly, it's better to put smart people with other smart people, and incapable people with other incapable people. If you put rotten mandarins with good mandarins, the good mandarins will rot faster. It's inevitable that the superior Horikita is in shock at this sort of division.
However, it's probably good that I was put here. There's only one way to go and that's up.
However, this class D is the first one to lose all their points in the first month. On the contrary, I applaud you for living so lavishly until now. How praiseworthy."
Chiyabashira-sensei's unnatural applause reverberated in the classroom.
"After hitting zero points, does that mean we will always stay at zero points forever?"
"Yea. Your points will stay at 0 until graduation. However, be at ease, since you can still use your dorms, and there are free meals in the cafeteria. You won't die."
Although a student life with only the bare minimum is possible, a lot of the students probably won't like it. After all, the students lived their lives this month while indulging in every single possible luxury. Suddenly, having to live a life a self-control looks really hard for a lot of the students.
"… Will we be made fun of by the other classes now?"
Sudou kicked his desk with a bang. After having learned that the classes are divided by merit, everyone will probably make fun of class D as the group of idiots. It's not unreasonable to be despairing.
"What, you're still holding onto your pride, Sudou? Then do your best and try to make the worst class the best class."
"Huh?"
"These class points aren't just linked to the amount of money you get each month. It's also indicative of the class rank."
So, in other words… if, for example, class D had held onto 500 points, they would be promoted to being class C. This is really like a company assessment.
"All right, I have one more piece of bad news I have to tell you guys."
She put one more piece of paper onto the blackboard. The names of all the classmates were listed. Next to everyone's name was a number.
"From looking at these numbers, I came to understand that there are a lot of idiots in this class."
She glanced at the students as her heels clacked against the floor
"These are the scores from the test a few days back. Sensei was glad after seeing your wonderful performance. Seriously, what the hell did you guys study in middle school?"
Except for the top students in the class, almost everyone got below a 60. Ignoring Sudou's wonderful score of 14 points, the next lowest was Ike's score of 24. The average score was about 65.
"If this test was actually recorded, seven of you would already have to drop out of school. Good thing it wasn't, right?"
"D-drop out? What do you mean?"
"Why, did I not explain? If you get a failing mark on either a midterm or a final exam in any subject, you have to drop out of school. On this test, that would be everyone who got below a 32. Man, you guys are really foolish and stupid."
"W-whaaaaat!?"
The seven people who failed, or in other words, Ike and his group, let out a surprised voice.
On the paper, there was a red line separating the rest of the class and the seven people, the highest of which was Kikuchi with a score of 31 points. In other words, everyone after Kikuchi failed.
"Don't fuck with me Sae-chan-sensei! Don't joke about dropping out of school!"
"I'm also at a loss for words. It's the school's rules, so prepare for the worst."
"As the teacher said, there seem to be a lot of fools here."
While polishing his nails with his feet on the desk, Koenji had a smug smirk on his face.
"What's that, Koenji!? Your marks are in the red too!"
"Fu. Where are your eyes looking at, boy? Look carefully."
"H-huh? Hey, Koenji's name is… huh?"
Scanning from the bottom, his eyes gradually reached the top. And then—he finally saw the name Koenji Rokusuke.
To his disbelief, Koenji had tied for the top score in the class. 90 points. That means that he was able to solve one of the super hard problems.
"I never thought that Sudou would be a stupid character like me…!"
Ike said out loud with a sarcasm in his tone.
"Oh, and one more thing. This school, which is under the control of the country, boasts a high percentage of alumni going to higher education and a high employment rate. That's a well-known fact. Most likely, many people in this class will go on to college or find work at a company."
That's obvious. As she said, this school has the highest employment and college acceptance rate. There are rumors that if you successfully graduate from this school, a usually difficult college or company will become a lot easier to join. Other rumors say that graduating from this school is like getting a recommendation to be admitted to Tokyo University.
"But… things aren't that easy in the world. People like you guys, who are of a really low level, will probably have trouble getting into college or getting a job."
Chiyabashira-sensei's words echoed in the classroom.
"In other words, in order to make our dreams of getting a job or getting into college a reality, surpassing class C is probably a minimum."
"That's also slightly incorrect, Hirata. There's no way to achieve your dreams except for surpassing class A. The school doesn't guarantee anything for all the other students."
"T-that's… that's something I never heard about! This is absurd!"
Yukimura, who wore glasses, stood up. She was the person who tied Koenji's score.
"How shameful. There's nothing as pitiful as boys making a commotion and panicking."
As if he felt something from Yukimura's words, Koenji let out a sigh.
"… Koenji, do you not feel any resentment from being in class D?"
"Resentment? Why would I feel any resentment? I don't understand."
"Because we've been told that our class is the collection of leftovers, and that our chances of getting into higher education or getting a job are slim!"
"Fu. That's nonsense. I can't even respond to that sheer stupidity."
Koenji didn't stop polishing his nails. He didn't even face Yukimura as he talked.
"This school just hasn't seen my full potential yet. I value, respect, and regard myself greatly, more than any other person. Even if the school puts me in class D, it means nothing to me. If, for example, I have to drop out of school, it's completely fine. After all, it's the school that will come crawling back for me."
Sounds like something Koenji would say. Is it masculinity, or is it self-conceit? Certainly, if you don't care about the school's class rankings, it doesn't matter at all. Considering his high intellect and physical ability, it is difficult to think that the students of class A are all better than Koenji. Or perhaps he was assigned to class D because of his personality.
"However, I'm not looking to go to college or find a job somewhere after I graduate. It's been decided that I will lead the Koenji Conglomerate in the future. It doesn't matter whether I'm in class A or class D."
For someone whose future has been guaranteed, there certainly is no need to be concerned about the class.
Without any words to retort, Yukimura sat back down.
"Looks like your happy mood has been dampened. If you guys understood the harsh environment you were put in from the start, we wouldn't have need this long homeroom. The midterm is in three weeks, so please avoid getting kicked out of school. I'm sure everyone here can survive without getting any red marks. If possible, please challenge your situation with a behavior appropriate for a capable person."
Closing the door for emphasis, Chiyabashira-sensei walked out of the classroom.
The red-mark students were crestfallen. Even the normally proud Sudou hung his head down in shame.
1"What am I going to do without any more points…?"
"I used up the remainder of my points yesterday…"
After Chiyabashira-sensei left the room, the whole classroom was in an uproar.
"Even more than the points, this is a problem with the class… Why was I put in class D!?"
Yukimura vented in frustration. There were beads of sweat on her forehead.
"Wait, does that mean we won't be able to go to a college we want to go to? Then why did I come to this school in this first place? I wonder if Sae-chan-sensei hates me…"
None of the students can hide their confusion.
"I understand that everyone is panicking right now, but calm down."
Hirata took control of the class, trying to calm down the sense of impending crisis.
"How can we calm down in this situation? Are you not frustrated that we are the class of leftovers!?"
"Even if I say I am, isn't it better to work together to get out of this situation?"
"Get out of this situation? In the first place, I don't even agree with this hierarchy of classes!"
"I completely understand your feelings.However, there's no use in sitting here and complaining about it."
"What!?"
Yukimura walked up to Hirata and grabbed him by his collar.
"Calm down, you two. Ok? Surely, Sensei must have explained it to us sternly in order to cheer us up, right?"
Kushida spoke up. She broke the two apart and gently took Yukimura's balled fist in her hand. Yukimura, as one would expect, tried not to hurt Kushida and unintentionally took a step back.
"Also, it's only been a month since school has started. As Hirata-kun said, I think that it's better for all of us to persevere through this situation. Do you think I'm wrong?"
"N-no, thats… Certainly, I don't think what Kushida said is wrong, but…"
Yukimura's wrath has already dissipated away. Kushida sincerely looked at everyone in class D, wishing for everyone's cooperation.
"T-that's right. We shouldn't be impatient. There's no need for Yukimura and Hirata to fight."
"… My bad. I lost my composure for a bit there."
"It's fine. I should've chosen my words more carefully as well."
With the help of Kushida Kikyou, the fight was resolved in an orderly way.
I took out my phone and took a picture of the class points. Noticing my actions, Horikita looked at me with a curious expression.
"What are you doing?"
"I haven't been able to figure out the specifics behind the points yet. Haven't you also taken some notes?"
If I can figure out the exact number of point deductions from being late to and talking in class, we can probably come up with some counter-measures.
"Wouldn't it be hard to calculate the numbers with this little information? Also, even if you managed to figure something, I don't think it will help resolve this problem. Simply speaking, everyone is always late and talks way too much during class."
As Horikita said, it's hard to come up with a conclusion with the amount of information at hand. She seems to be strangely impatient; her usual calm attitude seems to be missing.
"Are you also at this school to get into college?"
"… Why are you asking that?"
"It's just that when she talked about the difference between class A and class D, you looked really shocked."
"That was more or less everyone's reaction in the class, no? Even though we were given an explanation on the first day of school, I can't understand this new development."
Well, that's reasonable. The people in classes B and C are probably grumbling in discontent just like us. Every other class other than class A is treated as leftovers by the school. Trying our hardest to increase our class rank seems to be the best course of action here.
"I think that before thinking about class A or class D, we should probably work to guarantee some points."
"Points are only a byproduct of our efforts in class. Not having any points won't hinder our school life. After all, this school provides everything for free at some capacity."
Even if you think that, this is relief for those who lost all their points.
"Won't hinder our school life, huh…"
It's not an issue for living on bare minimum. However, there are a lot of things that can only be obtained by points. For example, leisure and entertainment. Not having any means of entertainment will probably only hurt us in the future…
"Last month, how many points did you use Ayanokouji-kun?"
"Hmm? Oh, how many points I used. I used roughly 20,000 points."
The students who used up all their points were in trouble. Like Yamauchi, who had been panicking for some time now.
Ike also spent all his points.
"Even though I think it's unfortunate, they're paying for their own mistakes."
Certainly, using up all 100,000 points in a single month is a small problem.
"We were baited by the lure of the points in the first month…"
100,000 points a month. Even though we thought it was too good to be true, everyone celebrated.
"Everyone, once classes starts, I ask that everyone pays attention earnestly. Especially you, Sudou-kun."
Hirata attracted the attention of the noisy classroom by standing up at the podium.
"Tch, what is it."
"This month, we didn't get any points. This is a problem that will hugely affect our future student life. We can't go on like this and graduate with 0 points, can we?"
"Definitely not!"
One girl shouted at Hirata's words. Hirata gave a gentle nod.
"Of course not. So, we have no choice but to try and get some points next month. That's why everyone in the class has to work together to fix our problem. We should refrain from being late to and talking during class. Naturally, using cell phones during class is also prohibited."
"Ha? Why do we have to listen to what you say? If the points stay constant, there's no reason to stop."
"However, if we continue being late and talking during class, our points will not increase. Although we can't go further down from 0 points, it still counts as a negative."
"I don't understand. Even if we work hard during class it's not like our points will go up."
Feeling dissatisfied, Sudou snorted and crossed his arms. Noticing Sudou's feelings, Kushida spoke up.
"Didn't the school say that not being late and not talking during class should be an obvious mentality?"
"Un, I also think the same way as Kushida-san. It's the natural thing to do."
"That's just an explanation for your own convenience. If you understand that our points won't increase, it's pointless. Talk after you figure out how to increase our points."
"I don't think there's anything wrong with what Sudou-kun's saying. Sorry for making you feel uncomfortable."
Hirata bowed his head towards the disgruntled Sudou.
"However Sudou-kun, it is a fact that if we don't cooperate, our points will never increase."
"… It doesn't matter what you do. Don't involve me. Do you understand?"
As if he felt uncomfortable from staying in the classroom, Sudou left the room.
Is he gone only until class starts, or will he never return?
"Sudou-kun really can't read the atmosphere. He's the one that's late the most. Even without Sudou-kun, can't we still get some points?"
"Yea… he's the worst. Why is he in the same class as us…"
Well, everyone was having the time of their life until this morning. There was no one complaining about Sudou then.
Coming down from the podium, Hirata walked to the front of the room.
"Horikita-san and Ayanokouji-kun, do you have time later? After school, I want to talk about how we can increase our points. I want you guys to participate. Can you?"
"Why us?"
"I want to hear everyone's thoughts. However, even if I ask for everyone to speak up, I think more than half will not listen seriously."
So that's why he thought to ask the two of us in particular. I don't think we can give any helpful ideas, but I guess it's fine to participate. Even though I thought that—
"Sorry, but can you ask someone else? I'm not very good at discussing things."
"You don't have to force yourself to say anything in particular. It's good enough to just be there."
"I'm sorry, but I have no intention of meeting for a pointless reason."
"I think that this is our first trial as a united class. So—"
"I already refused. I am not participating."
Calm yet strong words. Despite considering Hirata's standpoint, Horikita rejected him again.
"I-is that so. Sorry… If you ever change your mind, please participate."
Horikita already stopped paying attention to Hirata, who had given up.
"How about you, Ayanokouji-kun?"
Honestly, I thought it would be good to participate. After all, most of the class would probably participate.
However, if Horikita was the only one to not participate, she would probably get the same treatment as Sudou.
"Ah… I'll pass. Sorry."
"… No, I'm the one that should be sorry, If you ever change your mind though, feel free to join."
Hirata probably understood what I was thinking. I didn't reject him strongly like Horikita did.
Now that the discussion was over, Horikita started preparing for the next class.
"Wow, Hirata is pretty remarkable. He was able to get everyone in action. It's not unusual to feel depressed by the situation."
"That's one way to look at it. If you're good at solving problems with discussions, there won't be any difficulties. However, if a student that's not very smart tries to hold a discussion, it would probably fall into mayhem. Also, I can't bring myself to accept the situation right now."
"Bring yourself to accept the situation? What do you mean by that?"
Horikita, without answering my question, said no more.
2It was after school. Hirata was on the podium, using the blackboard to prepare for the discussion.
Due to Hirata's charisma, it seems like everyone showed up except for Horikita and Sudou. Those two already left the room. Before the discussion starts, I should leave the room too.
"Ayanokouji~"
From under the desk, Yamauchi stuck out his face, still looking dead.
"The hell!? W-what's wrong?"
"Buy this for 20,000 points~. I can't buy anything because I have no points~"
Yamauchi put down the game console he was playing with the other day. Don't push your troubles onto me…
"If you sell that thing to me, who would I play it with?"
"How should I know. It's fine though, right? It's a good deal."
"I'll buy it if you lower the price to 1000 points."
"Ayanoukouji~! I don't have anyone else to rely on~"
"Why only me… I can't give what I don't have."
Yamauchi looked up at me with watery eyes, but I averted my eyes because I felt bad.
He realized that asking me for points wasn't going to work, so he switched to another target.
"Hasebe! I have a favor for my best friend! Buy this game console for 22,000 points!"
Looks like he's trying to get Hasebe to buy it now. Furthermore, he shamelessly increased the price.
"Must be hard for everyone who's used up their points…"
Kushida said while watching the exchange between Yamauchi and Hasebe.
"Kushida, are you ok on points? Girls have a lot of various necessities, after all."
"Hmm, well, for now. I've used up about half my points. I used too many points this first month, so it'll be hard to control myself. Ayanokouji-kun, how about you?"
"It's certainly difficult for someone who's popular to live a school life without spending money. …I've practically used up none of points. I don't have anything that I particularly need, either."
"Is that because you don't have friends?"
"Hey…"
"Ahaha, sorry, sorry. I didn't mean any offense."
Kushida apologized to me while giggling. She's so cute when she laughs like that.
"Um, Kushida-san?"
"Karuizawa-san, what is it?"
"To be honest, I used up all my points. I've already gotten some help from the other girls in the class, but I also thought to ask Kushida-san. We're friends, right? I only need about 2000 points."
Karuizawa asked for points from Kushida with a fake laugh. This should be an instant rejection.
"Un, ok."
I shouted "Ok!?" in my mind, but I guess it's up to the person as to how they decide their friends.
Without wavering at all, Kushida decided to help Karuizawa.
"Thanks~. Friends are really useful. This is my number. Well then, see you later~. Ah, Inogashira-san, to be honest, I used up all my points~"
Moving onto her next target, Karuizawa walked away from us.
"Was that ok? Your points probably won't come back."
"I can't send a friend away when they come asking for help. Karuizawa-san also has a lot of friends, so it's probably hard for her without too many points."
"However, I think that having used up all 100,000 points should be your own problem."
"Ah, but how do I even transfer my points?"
"You received a slip of paper from Karuizawa with a number, right? You can transfer points using your cell phone."
"Wow, the school really thought of everything for the students. They even created a system like this to help people like Karuizawa-san."
Certainly, it is a help to Karuizawa. However, was it really necessary to send her money? Looks like a bunch of trouble instead.
"Ayanokouji-kun from class D. Chiyabashira-sensei is calling for you. Please come to the staff room."
After a jingle, a voice came over the loudspeaker.
"Looks like you were called by the teacher."
"Yea… Sorry, Kushida. I'll be going."
Since the first day of school, I don't remember doing anything that would get me called. Feeling the heavy gazes of the other students, I exited the room.
I reached the staff room and timidly opened the door. Looking around the room, I didn't see Chiyabashira-sensei anywhere. I called out to the teacher that was checking their own face in the mirror.
"Um, is Chiyabashira-sensei here?"
"What? Sae-chan? She was here until a few moments ago…"
The teacher who looked back had wavy, shoulder-length hair that gave off an adult-like impression. She said Chiyabashira-sensei's name as if they were close. They also look close in age.
"Looks like she had something to do. Do you want to wait inside?"
"No, I'll wait in the hallway."
I don't feel comfortable in areas like the staff room. Because I didn't want to attract any attention, I decided to stay in the hallway. As soon as I thought that, the teacher walked out into the hallway.
"I'm Hoshinomiya Chie, responsible for class B. I've been best friends with Sae since high school. We're close enough to call each other Sae-chan and Chie-chan~."
I've never heard of her before, but it seems like some useless information.
"Ne, why did Sae-chan call you here? Ne ne, why?"
"Who knows. I don't know the reason either…"
"I don't understand. You were called out without being given the reason? Fuun? What's your name?
A barrage of questions. She examined me up and down.
"My name's Ayanokouji."
"Ayanokouji-kun? Isn't that a cool name~. You're popular, right~?"
What is this overly casual teacher. She's closer to a student than she is to a teacher like Chiyabashira-sensei. If this were an all-boys school, she'd probably capture the hearts of every student.
"Ne ne, do you already have a girlfriend?"
"No… um, I'm not really popular."
I tried to make myself look offended and hurt, but Hoshinomiya-sensei still assertively approached me. With smooth motions, she grabbed my shoulders with her slender, beautiful hands.
"Fuun? That's weird, I would've totally gone for you if we were in the same class~. Is it because you're too innocent? Or are you tsuntsun?"
She poked my cheeks with her fingers. I wasn't sure what to say. If I suddenly licked her fingers, she'd probably stop, but if it's brought up at a staff meeting, I'd probably be expelled immediately.
"What are you doing, Hoshinomiya?"
Suddenly, Chiyabashira-sensei hit Hoshinomiya-sensei's head with a clipboard. Hoshinomiya-sensei squatted down, holding her head in pain.
"Oww. What'd you do that for!"
"That's because you were doing weird things with students in here."
"I was only talking to him while he was waiting for you to come back!"
"Just leave it at that. Sorry for making you wait, Ayanokouji. Well then, let's move to the guidance room."
"No, I didn't wait long. Also, the guidance room… did I do something? I thought I was living a non-conspicuous school life."
"A good response. Come with me."
I followed Chiyabashira-sensei while thinking "What's this about…".
Suddenly, Hoshinomiya-sensei walked up next to me with a smile. When she noticed, Chiyabashira-sensei turned around and looked at her with a look of a demon.
"Not you, you stay back."
"Don't say it so coldly~. It's no big deal if I listen too, right? Besides, Sae-chan isn't the type to give one-on-one lessons, right? Also, to take Ayanokouji-kun to the guidance room out of the blue… do you have some kind of goal?"
Replying to Chiyabashira-sensei's question with a grin, she got behind me and put her hands on my shoulders.
I couldn't see Hoshinomiya-sensei's face, but I understood that there was electricity in the air.
"By any chance, Sae-chan, are you looking for a younger man?"[1]
A younger man? What do you mean by that?
"Don't say stupid things. That's impossible."
"Fufu, certainly. It's impossible for Sae-chan~"
Hoshinomiya-sensei kept following us.
"How long are you going to follow us? This is a problem concerning class D."
"Eh? Can't I go with you? Is that no good? Look, I can give advice too~"
As Hoshinomiya-sensei followed us against our will, a student suddenly walked up in front of us and blocked our way.
It was a beautiful girl with light pink hair that I've never seen before.
"Hoshinomiya-sensei. Do you have time right now? The student council has matters to discuss."
She looked at us for a moment, but went back to facing Hoshinomiya-sensei.
"Look, she's looking for you. Hurry up and go."
Chiyabashira-sensei hit Hoshinomiya-sensei's butt with her clipboard.
"Mou~. I think she'll get mad if I stay any longer, so see you later, Ayanokouji-kun. Well, let's go to the staff room, Ichinose-san."
With that, she turned on her heel and went back to the staff room with Ichinose.
After seeing off Hoshinomiya-sensei, Chiyabashira-sensei lightly scratched her head and continued walking towards the guidance room. Soon after, we arrived at the guidance room, which was right next to the staff room.
"Then… what was the reason you called me?"
"Umu, about that… before I talk about that, come over here."
While glancing at the clock on the wall, she opened a door that was in the room. She put a kettle on top of the stove in the office kitchen.
"I'll be making some green tea. Are you ok with roasted green tea?"
I picked up the container with roasted green tea powder.
"Don't do anything extra. Enter quietly. Until I say it's ok to come back out, stand here quietly. If you don't, you'll be expelled."
"Ha? What do you mean—"
Without giving me an explanation, she closed the office kitchen door. What the hell is she trying to do? I stayed quiet as she told me to, and before long, I heard the sound of the guidance room door opening.
"Here, come in. Well then, what do you have to say to me? Horikita."
It looks like Horikita was the one who was called into the guidance room.
"I will ask you frankly. Why was I put into class D?"
"Are you really asking frankly?"
"Today, sensei said that the classes were divided by superiority. And that class D was the lowest collection of leftovers."
"I did indeed say that. It looks like you consider yourself as a 'superior' person."
I wonder how Horikita will reply to that. I'm betting that she'll confidently object to her words.
"I believe that I solved nearly all the problems on the entrance exam, and had no big mistakes during the interview. At the very least, I don't think I should be in class D."
Look, I got it dead-on. Horikita's the type to think of herself as the best. She isn't self-conscious either, and really thinks that she's superior to everyone else. On the results of the test, Horikita was also tied for first place.
"Solved nearly all the problems on the entrance exam, is it. Usually, we can't show the results of the entrance exam, but I'll give you a special exception. I have your answer sheet here by chance."
"You are thoroughly prepared, I see. …Looks like you also knew I would come here to protest my placement."
"I'm a teacher. I understand the students to some degree at the very least. Horikita Suzune. As you thought, on the entrance examination, you were 3rd place among the incoming first-years. Your scores were behind first and second by only a small margin. You did very well. There were no particular problems that we observed during the interview either. Rather, you were highly rated."
"Thank you very much. Then—why?"
"Before that, why are you dissatisfied with class D?"
"There is no one that would be happy when they are not correctly evaluated. Also, the differences between classes also greatly affect future prospects. It's only natural that I'm unhappy."
"Correctly evaluated? Hey hey, your evaluation of yourself is too high.'
Chiyabashira-sensei snickered, or rather, openly laughed, at Horikita.
"I recognize that your academic ability is high. You are definitely smart. However, who decided that smart people were the ones who got into the superior classes? We never said that."
"That's—that's just common sense."
"Common sense? Didn't that 'common sense' create the broken Japan we live in now? Indeed, we used to separate the inferior from the superior using the test scores. As a result, incompetent people tried to make up the difference in desperation to defeat the truly superior people. In the end, it led to a heredity system."
The heredity system means that social status, honor, and job are all passed on and inherited.
Hearing those words, I unintentionally let out a low groan. My chest hurts.
"Certainly, you have the ability to study. I won't deny that. However, this school's goal is to produce excellent people. It is a big mistake to think that you can be assigned to a superior class by only studying. That was the very first thing we explained, at the entrance ceremony. Besides, think about it calmly. Do you think someone like Sudou would make it if we determined acceptance only by intelligence?
"Tsu…"
Even though this is one of the best schools in Japan, they accept students that are interested in areas other than studying.
"Also, it's rash to say that there is no one that would be happy when they are incorrectly evaluated. Class A, for example, receives a lot of pressure from the school and a lot of envy from the lower classes. Competing under heavy pressure is harder than you think. There are students that are fine with being evaluated lower than they actually are."
"That's a joke, right? I can't understand those kind of people."
"Really? I think there are a few in class D. Oddball students that would stay in a low-level class with pleasure.
It seemed as though she was talking to me through the wall.
"You still haven't explained clearly. Is my placement in class D the truth, and was there no mistake in my evaluation? Please double check."
"It's too bad, but your placement in class D was not a mistake. You're definitely in class D. You are a student only at that level.
"… Is that so. I will hear from the school at another time."
It looks like she decided that her homeroom teacher was not the right person to ask, and didn’t give up.
"You'll get the same result if you try to talk to anyone in a higher position. There's no need to be that disappointed. As I said this morning, classes can overtake and surpass one another. Remember that there is the possibility of rising up to class A before graduation."
"It does not seem like a very easy path. How will the immature class D ever get more points than class A? No matter how I look at it, it is impossible."
That was Horikita's honest opinion. There is an enormous point difference this time.
"I wouldn't know. It's your own choice whether or not to head down that reckless path. By any chance, do you have a special reason as to why you need to be in class A?"
"That is… I will excuse myself for today. However, please remember that I still do not understand."
"All right, I'll remember that."
I heard the sound of a chair being pulled. Looks like the discussion ended.
"Oh, right. I called another person to the guidance room. It's a person that's also relevant to you."
"Relevant to me…? No way… Niisa—"
"Come out, Ayanokouji."
Don't call me with such bad timing. All right, I won't come out.
"If you don't come out, you'll be expelled."
C-cruel. You shouldn't unfairly use expulsion as a weapon.
"How long will you make me wait?"
While letting out a sigh, I exited the office kitchen and into the guidance room. Naturally, Horikita was surprised.
"Were you… listening to us?"
"Listening? I know you guys were talking about something, but I didn't hear anything. The walls are pretty thick."
"That's not true. You can hear everything clearly from that kitchen."
For some reason, it looks like Chiyabashira-sensei wanted to drag me out into the room.
"… Sensei, why would you do that?"
Horikita immediately noticed that this was a setup. The anger was clear on her face.
"Because I decided it was necessary. Well then Ayanokouji, I'll tell you the reason I called you."
Chiyabashira-sensei shot down Horikita's question and turned her attention to me.
"Excuse me then…"
"Wait Horikita. It is better for you to listen to the end. This'll be a hint for how you can get up to class A."
Horikita stopped in her tracks and sat back down in her chair.
"Please keep it short."
Looking down at her clipboard, Chiyabashira-sensei laughed.
"You're an interesting student, Ayanokouji."
"I'm not interesting at all, not as interesting as someone like Chiyabashira who has a strange surname."
"Do you want to prostrate yourself in front of all the Chiyabashira-san's in the country? Hmm?"
No, even if you looked all of the country for other Chiyabashira's, there would probably be no one else other than you…
"After your entrance examination results, I was thinking about potential individual teaching methods, but after seeing your test results, my interest was piqued. I was surprised at first."
A familiar answer sheet from the entrance exam was on the clipboard.
"50 points in Japanese, 50 points in math, 50 points in english, 50 points in history, 50 points in science… and the result of the most recent test was also 50 points. Do you know what this means?"
In surprise, Horikita looked over my test form then shifted her gaze to me.
"What a frightening coincidence."
"Hou? You're going to claim that your results are a coincidence to the very end? It's clearly intentional."
"It's a coincidence. You have no proof. Anyway, what benefit would I get from manipulating my own results? If I had a brain that could get high marks, I would aim for perfect scores in al all subjects."
Watching me feign innocence, she let out a sigh with a look of amazement.
"Honestly, you're a really weird student. Are you sure? Math problem #5 was only solved by 3% of all students this year. Additionally, you included a complex formula and used it flawlessly. On the other hand, the correct answer rate of #10 was 76%. Did you make a mistake? Or is that 'normal'?"
"I don't know what's normal in this world. It's a coincidence, a coincidence."
"Good grief. I admire your attitude, but it'll cause problems for you in the future."
"I'll think about that when I have to."
Chiyabashira-sensei sent Horikita a look that said, "How was that?"
"Why do you… pretend that you don't understand?"
"No, like I said, it's a coincidence. It's not like I'm hiding that I'm a genius or something.
"What do you think? He might be more intelligent than you are, Horikita."
Horikita visibly flinched. Sensei, please don't say anything unnecessary.
"I don't like studying, nor do I want to try my best. That's why I get those kind of scores."
"It's not about the students who choose this school. Like you and Koenji, there are others who are fine with either class A or class D."
It's not just this school, but even the teachers aren't normal. During their conversation earlier, Chiyabashira-sensei was able to upset Horikita with her words. It's as if they hold the "secrets" of all the students.
"What is it? What other reasons are there?"
"Do you want to hear about it in detail?"
I noticed that Chiyabashira-sensei had a sharp glint in her eye. Somehow, it seems like she's trying to provoke her.
"No, I'll stop here. If I kept listening, I think I would go crazy and destroy all the furniture in here."
"If you do that, Ayanokouji will be demoted to class E."
"There's such a class?"
"Certainly. Class E means expelled. In other words, dropping out of school. Well, the conversation ends here. Enjoy your student life from now on."
What a sarcastic remark.
"I will also leave. It's time for the staff meeting to start. I'm going to close this room, so let's leave the room."
She pushed the two of us out of the room. Why did Chiyabashira-sensei make the two of us meet? She doesn't look like the type to do meaningless actions.
"Anyway… shall we go back?"
I started walking away without waiting for her to confirm. It's probably better for us to walk back separately.
"Wait."
Horikita called out to me to stop, but I kept walking. If I get away from her until we've reached the dorms, my goal would be successful.
"Is your score… really a coincidence?"
"I already said it was. Or do you have any evidence that I'm doing it on purpose?"
"I don't have any evidence, but… Ayanokouji-kun, I don't understand. You avoid troublesome things, and you don't have any interest in class A."
"You also have some unusual thoughts about class A."
"… Should I not? I'm working to make my future prospects more advantageous."
"No, it's perfectly natural."
"That has been my goal ever since I entered this school. In truth, it's a bit different. I'm not even at the start line yet."
I noticed that Horikita sped up her pace and was walking beside me.
"Then, are you aiming for class A?"
"First, I want to find the real intention of the school. Why I was put into class D. Chiyabashira-sensei said that I was only judged as someone fitting for class D, so… When I figure it out, I'll aim for class A No, I'm always aiming for class A."
"That's going to be really hard. You'll have to fix those problem children. Sudou's perpetual lateness, the talking during class, and the test scores. Even if you achieve that, it's still ±0."
"… I already know that. I'm still hoping that my placement was a mistake by the school."
Horikita's previously overflowing confidence had turned into anxiety. Do you really "already know"?
The only conclusion I got from today's information is the word "despair". If you follow the basic rules of school life, minuses can be avoided to a certain extent. However, the crucial thing is that we don't know how to turn minuses into pluses. The most superior class, class A, still had a small detraction of points.
Even if we do find a way to increase our points efficiently, the other classes would also find a way to do the same.
Also, once there is a huge point difference, it is very difficult to stay competitive among the classes in limited time.
"I can understand your thoughts to some extent. However, I don't think that the school will continue to carefully watch the students. Then there would be no meaning in competing."
"I see, you can also think of it that way."
I read that the school does not allow class A to escape in the first month of admission. In other words, Horikita believed that this was our chance to make a big increase in points.
"Are you thinking of taking care of this situation with your own hands?"
"Yes."
"What a quick answer."
A hand stabbed my sides. Horikita ignored me when I made a painful expression.
"Ouch… I understand your feelings, but it's not a problem you can solve on your own. I'm talking about Sudou. Even if you improve yourself, there's nothing you can do if the rest of a class is a minus."
"No, it's slightly different. Certainly, a person can't achieve anything by themselves, but if everyone doesn't put in their own effort, it'll be an extraordinarily difficult problem. Unless everyone does it, we can't even begin to compete against the other classes."
"So what are you going to do? All you've done is admit that it's a huge problem."
"There are 3 key points we need to fix in order to improve. Tardies and talking during class. And then making sure that everyone passes the midterm."
"The first two will probably be done to some extent. However, the midterms are…"
The small test from the few days ago did have some hard problem, but overall it was easy. There's a lot of students who still fail at that level, so the midterms look bleak, to be honest.
"Also—I want to ask for Ayanokouji-kun's cooperation."
"Cooperation?"
Horikita looked at me with a blatantly unpleasant expression.
"You refused Hirata earlier this morning, so I can refuse for the same reason, right?"
"Do you want to refuse?"
"If I said I would gladly help?"
"I never thought you would go as far as to say you would gladly help, but I don't think you would refuse either. If you really didn't want to help, then… I wouldn't ask further. It can't be helped if you refused the same way I did. Well then, can I expect your help or not?"
If possible, I want to remember the words she used to refuse Hirata before… However, I don't want to bluntly refuse someone who's asking. No, no, stay calm. If I say that I will help, I'll probably be worked to death until graduation. I need to have a heart like a demon here.
"I refuse.
"I believed that Ayanokouji-kun would agree to cooperate from the start. I give you my gratitude."
"I didn't say that! I completely refused!"
"No, I heard the voice in your mind. You said that you would help."
Scary, she read my mind.
"I don't think there's anything I can particularly help you with."
Horikita's definitely a smart person. I don't think there's any need for my skills.
"It's nothing to worry about. I don't need your brainpower. Leave the plans to me, and you can be the muscle."
"Ha? Why should I be the muscle?"
"Aren't you worried about our class' points? If you follow my instructions, I promise to make our points positive. I can guarantee that."
"I'm sure you have some kind of plan, but you can rely on people other than me. If you make friends, you can ask them to help."
"It's too bad, but there is no one else in class D other than you that is remotely competent."
"No no, there are a lot of people. For example, Hirata. A classmate like him has a lot of influence in the class and is smart—he's perfect. Moreover, he is worried that you don't have any friends."
If you reach out to him, you'll probably become good friends soon.
"He's no good. Even if he has talent and ability, I can't accept him. If I make a comparison, I need a chess piece. What I want now is not gold nor silver, but rather a pawn."
Are you calling me a pawn then? Is that what you're calling me?
"A pawn can also be used to make money."
"An interesting reply, but you're a person that wouldn't make much of an effort. Haven't you been thinking, 'I'm ok with being a pawn, but I don't want to admit it'?"
She shot back a tsukkomi on the spot. If I were a normal person, my feelings would be hurt.
"Sorry, but I can't help you. I'm not suited for this."
"Well, you can contact me once you collect your thoughts. I will look forward to then."
My words didn’t reach Horikita.
She means a relationship where the younger one is dominant, but I wasn’t sure how to say that elegantly, so here’s a footnote.