The Arrival of May

April passed quietly, as if someone had pressed fast-forward on the stage of Kouyoku High School.

During that time, the atmosphere in Class A underwent a subtle change.

It was no longer the loose collection of individuals it had been at the start of the school year. Instead, it had quietly split into two camps.

There was no open conflict between the two groups, but the coldness and distance between them were even more apparent than any argument.

Kazehara Tetsu, meanwhile, remained outside both whirlpools.

Though others in class thought he leaned toward Sakayanagi Arisu, he hadn't offered her any help.

His life was divided into a few fairly regular routines.

Aside from class, he spent most of his time in the Library.

His newly acquired Eidetic Memory let him absorb knowledge at a terrifying rate.

History, economics, law... The breadth of his studies had long since surpassed what one would expect of an ordinary person.

Sometimes, he ran into Shiina Hiyori when she came to borrow books. The two of them would find a quiet corner and discuss their views on a novel for a long time.

The girl from Class C now looked at him with something close to reverence for a mentor, rather than the simple camaraderie she'd felt at first.

When he had some free time and Sakayanagi Arisu invited him, he would play a few games of International Chess with her.

Their Chess Games had become an unspoken way for the two of them to communicate.

Thanks to his Master Level chess skills, Kazehara Tetsu won more often than he lost. Occasionally, he would deliberately leave an opening and let her snatch a hard-fought victory, though Sakayanagi Arisu always saw through him.

The nights, meanwhile, belonged to Kamuro Masumi, who appeared from time to time.

Ever since that night, she had become a regular visitor to his room.

In the dead of night, she used her firm body to offer what she considered "repayment."

No one knew about their relationship but the two of them.

In class, Kamuro Masumi remained the same girl who kept to herself.

Notably, ever since the Yamauchi Haruki False Accusation Incident, Kamuro Masumi's standing among the girls in class had undergone a strange reversal.

She had become a tragic figure who had been "framed by a despicable nobody, yet managed to tough it out."

The girls who used to keep their distance from her began approaching her and inviting her to have lunch with them.

Kamuro Masumi seemed at a loss in the face of this sudden kindness, and most of the time she responded with silence.

But that only made the girls interpret it as "self-protection from someone who'd been hurt and was reluctant to trust others again," stirring up even more sympathy for her.

In the final week of April, an unannounced pop Quiz arrived.

It covered five core subjects. The questions were two levels easier than those on the entrance exam, mostly extensions of junior high school material.

For these Class A students, who were already quite strong academically, it felt more like a relaxed warm-up.

However, the final three questions were on a completely different level from the rest.

They seemed far beyond what anyone their age could solve.

Kazehara Tetsu finished the entire test in less than half the allotted time. The questions were still far too easy for him, even the final three.

Time quietly moved on to May 1.

It was a day that would determine the fate of all the new students, though most of them had no idea yet.

During the morning Class Meeting, most of the students in Class A stared at the glaring number on their Mobile Terminals.

"Ninety-two thousand? What's going on? Weren't we supposed to get a hundred thousand every month?"

"I got ninety-two thousand too... Is there a bug in the school system?"

"That's eight thousand Points missing. It's not much, but they should at least explain it."

Though quiet, the murmurs carried clearly to every corner of the classroom.

Katsuragi Kouhei furrowed his brow. Sitting upright at his desk, he repeatedly scrolled through his phone, seemingly searching the system notifications for clues.

On the other side of the classroom, Sakayanagi Arisu seemed much more at ease, a faintly amused smile on her lips.

Kazehara Tetsu leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed, gazing lazily out the window. He didn't look at his phone. He seemed indifferent to the change in the number—or perhaps he'd expected it all along.

The bell rang right on time, instantly silencing the murmurs.

Majima Tomoya walked into the classroom as the bell rang.

He still held the same black folder, and his face still wore that familiar, unchangingly stern expression.

"It seems most of you have already noticed the change in your Personal Points."

Majima Tomoya's gaze swept over the room, his voice steady and firm. "Before I explain why, I'll announce last week's Quiz results."

Majima Tomoya pinned a sheet of paper to the blackboard. It showed the Quiz scores.

[Class A Average: 87.3]

That was quite a high score. It meant that quite a few students in the class had managed to solve at least one of the final three questions.

However, everyone's attention was soon fixed on the one name and score at the top of the Report Card.

[Kazehara Tetsu: 100]

The only Perfect Score.

Only one person had scored 100.

"Whoa—"

The classroom could no longer contain its astonishment and chatter.

"A perfect score?! Is this guy a Monster?"

"He's always zoning out. He doesn't look like the type to be good at studying..."

With the whole class staring at him, Kazehara Tetsu acted as if nothing had happened. He didn't even change his posture, just yawned as though the score of 100 had nothing to do with him.

Majima Tomoya waited for the noise to subside before continuing. His voice drew everyone's attention back to the podium.

"That's enough about the scores. Now, let's return to the original question—your Personal Points for this month."

He picked up a piece of chalk and wrote a few words on the blackboard.

"This School measures the value of a class by one standard alone: Class Points. When you enrolled, each class started with 1,000 Class Points. On the first of every month, the school multiplies the Class Points your class holds by 100 and distributes that amount in Personal Points to every student in the class."

"In other words, the reason you only received ninety-two thousand Points this month is..." He turned and wrote a number on the blackboard.

920.

That was Class A's current total.

"Over the course of one month, your class lost a total of 80 Class Points due to various violations."

Majima Tomoya recited a list of numbers and reasons without expression.

Wondering why it was twenty Points fewer than in the Original Work? You'll have to ask a certain someone who often zones out during class.