Cruel Competition of the School

"I see... the class evaluation is directly tied to our income." Katsuragi Kouhei murmured to himself, finally grasping the core of this system.

"Then, teacher..."

Katsuragi Kouhei stood up, voicing the question on everyone's mind. "Is there a way to increase Class Points?"

"Of course. Achieving outstanding results in the various exams and events held by the school can increase Class Points. Conversely, poor performance in these activities or major misconduct violating school rules can lead to a large deduction of Class Points, or even them being zeroed out."

"Zeroed out?!" That word made everyone gasp.

If Class Points were zeroed out, it meant their monthly income would also become zero.

In this school, where everything required points to purchase, that was essentially a death sentence.

After a brief commotion, Class A's room quickly settled back into calm.

Because they immediately realized something else.

"Teacher, what about the other classes..." a student couldn't help but ask.

Majima Tomoya, as if expecting the question, wrote on the blackboard.

Class A: 920

Class B: 650

Class C: 490

Class D: 0

"...Zero?"

"Class D's points were wiped clean? What did they do in a month?"

"Compared to them, the 80 points we lost are nothing..."

The vast gap restored a sense of superiority among Class A's students.

They weren't just ahead; they had left every other class far behind with an absolute, crushing advantage.

"This is reality. In this school, classes are in a state of outright competition. Every effort you make, every lapse you have, affects your class's future, and..."

Majima Tomoya paused for a moment. "This school, under national management, prides itself on high enrollment and employment rates. But... there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. It's not so simple that just anyone can enroll or get a job."

Majima Tomoya's words spread through the classroom.

"To achieve your goals of employment or enrollment, you must end up in Class A!"

The classroom erupted into chaos, everyone realizing the brutality of this competition.

"That means we have to work even harder to hold onto Class A's position."

"Finally, there's one more thing to announce. Three weeks from now, the school will hold this semester's Midterm Exam. This exam is different from the previous quizzes. In the Midterm Exam, if you score below the Passing Score in any subject, then..."

He paused, each word seeming to be squeezed out between his teeth.

"...that student will be immediately expelled."

"Exp... expelled?!"

"Is the school that ruthless? Expelled just for failing one exam?"

That word exploded like a bomb in the classroom.

"Teacher, what's the Passing Score?"

"You're worried about the Passing Score..."

Majima Tomoya glanced at the documents in his hand. "Based on the results of this quiz, our class's average score is about forty points higher than the estimated Passing Score. In other words, as long as you maintain the level of this quiz, or even slip a little, it won't be hard for everyone to pass the Midterm Exam."

These words instantly dropped the hearts of Class A's students, which had been in their throats, back into place.

"Forty points higher..."

"So even if we do terribly, it's hard to fail, right?"

"Scared me... but seriously, the classes below are such trash that they can only get this kind of score on an exam like this."

"I see... this rule is basically set up to weed out the trash from the lower classes."

Majima Tomoya watched the classroom return to a stable atmosphere and said nothing more.

He closed his folder, announced the end of the class meeting, and turned to leave the classroom.

The moment he was out the door, the classroom erupted into heated discussion again.

But this time, the topic wasn't about point deductions, but about that "Expulsion Rules" and Class A's overwhelming advantage over the other classes.

"Hey, Kazehara, you guy really stole the show this time!"

Hashimoto Masayoshi sidled over, plopping down into the empty seat in front of Kazehara Tetsu and turning around to face him. "The only perfect score, how does it feel? Are there already a bunch of cute girls ready to hand you love letters?"

Kazehara Tetsu glanced at him. "I'm not interested in love letters. But if they're willing to hand over their Personal Points as love letters, I might consider it."

"Haha, you're really something!"

Hashimoto Masayoshi laughed loudly, then lowered his voice. "Seriously, what do you think about the expulsion thing? Even though the teacher said our class is safe, I feel like it's not that simple."

Kazehara Tetsu's fingertips tapped lightly on the tabletop. He didn't answer Hashimoto's question directly. "Hashimoto, what do you think rules are for?"

"Rules? They're meant to be followed, of course."

"No."

Kazehara Tetsu shook his head. "Rules are meant to be broken and exploited. Especially... when a rule lets you easily 'remove' your rivals from the board."

His voice was soft, but it made the smile on Hashimoto Masayoshi's face vanish instantly.

"Remove... from the board?"

Hashimoto Masayoshi's voice unconsciously dropped lower. "Hey, hey, Kazehara, don't scare me. Expulsion isn't a joke. No matter what, we're all classmates..."

"Hashimoto, are you still asleep? Didn't you hear what Majima-sensei said just now? From the moment we stepped into This School, people from other classes stopped being our 'classmates.' They're our enemies—stumbling blocks on the road to graduating from Class A."

"The seats in Class A are limited. Every time a student from another class gets expelled for failing, it means one less potential threat to us. And if we can make another class completely collapse from mass expulsions... won't our future path be a lot smoother?"

A thin sheen of cold sweat broke out on Hashimoto Masayoshi's temple.

He had always known that Kazehara Tetsu was no ordinary person.

To earn Sakayanagi's favor, to be the only one to score a perfect mark on the quiz—this was no idle talent.

But Hashimoto Masayoshi had mostly seen him as a potential, powerful ally to cooperate with.

Only now did he catch a glimpse of the ruthlessness Kazehara Tetsu concealed.

This man, from the very start, had never intended to "coexist peacefully" with anyone. What he wanted was war—an annihilation campaign that would crush every rival.