The morning sunlight streamed through the windows, casting patches of light and shadow across the classroom floor.
Today was the day the midterm exam results were announced.
Most of the students in Class A looked relaxed.
For them, the outcome of the exam had been decided long ago. The question wasn't "Would they pass?" but "How many of them would get perfect scores?"
The bell rang right on time. The one who walked into the classroom as it sounded was Majima Tomoya.
He held a thin folder in his hand, his expression as stern as ever.
He walked to the podium and set the folder down on the desk with a soft slap.
The classroom fell silent at once.
"I'll now announce the results of this midterm exam."
He took a printed report card from the folder, turned around, and pinned it to the magnetic board.
Almost everyone's eyes turned toward it in unison.
The report card listed everyone's names and scores in each subject.
Rows of bright red "100"s filled most of the page.
"Wow, it's almost all perfect scores."
"Told you. This exam was practically handing out points."
"I think I got one part of the English test wrong. Damn, I lost two points..."
A subdued murmur rose through the classroom—not one of surprise, but of expectations being confirmed.
Most people looked unsurprised. A few students who had lost points through carelessness or a lapse in memory let out frustrated sighs.
The result was exactly what everyone had expected.
But amid the harmonious hum, one discordant note quietly rang out.
"Hey... look at Classmate Sakayanagi's math score..." one sharp-eyed student exclaimed, a note of uncertainty in their voice.
Everyone's attention instantly focused on the name that should have been at the top of the report card.
[Sakayanagi Arisu: Japanese Language 100, English 100, Social Studies 100, Science 100, Mathematics 99]
99 points.
Amid a sea of uniform "100"s, the number stood out—jarring and glaring.
An eerie silence fell over the classroom.
Everyone froze, disbelief written across their faces.
Sakayanagi Arisu, widely regarded as one of the top students in Class A, had actually lost a point? Even though she had the actual exam questions?
It was harder to believe than if everyone had scored zero.
Sakayanagi Arisu remained seated.
Her posture was unchanged, and the faint, habitual smile on her face hadn't disappeared.
But a closer look would have revealed that the fingers gripping her cane were turning slightly white at the knuckles.
Her gaze was fixed on the "99." For the first time, genuine confusion appeared in her usually wise, violet eyes.
She replayed every detail of the math exam in her mind, over and over.
She was one hundred percent certain that every question and every step of her work had perfectly matched the Standard Answers from last year's actual exam.
There was no way she had made a mistake.
"Teacher."
A cool voice broke the silence.
Sakayanagi Arisu looked straight at Majima Tomoya at the podium. "I have an objection regarding my math score."
Majima Tomoya lifted his gaze from the lesson plan and looked at her.
He seemed to have anticipated that she would ask.
"Sakayanagi, the school's grading system has undergone multiple rounds of both manual and automated review. I can assure you that the grading was completely fair. There is no possibility of an error."
His voice was steady, devoid of personal feeling. "Your score of 99 is final and correct."
His words shut down every possibility of an appeal.
"...I see."
Sakayanagi Arisu was silent for a few seconds, then sat back down.
She didn't ask which question she had gotten wrong, nor did she request a recheck of her paper.
She understood that the moment Majima Tomoya had said those words, challenging the result through normal channels had become pointless.
The problem wasn't with the "grading."
It was with the "rules" themselves.
Her gaze traveled across the classroom to the figure on the other side.
He seemed completely oblivious to the commotion around him.
Kazehara Tetsu.
He was turned toward the window, as if none of this had anything to do with him.
But in his excessive calm, Sakayanagi Arisu detected a wordless, victor's boast.
The bell rang.
Majima Tomoya closed the folder and left the classroom.
The students rose in twos and threes, chatting as they filed out and discussed how they had done on the exam.
Sakayanagi Arisu didn't move.
She sat quietly, cut off from the commotion around her.
She waited for the classroom to empty, until only a handful of people remained.
Then she rose, leaned on her cane, and walked step by step toward the silent figure at the back of the room.
"Tap... tap... tap..."
The footsteps stopped beside Kazehara Tetsu's desk.
"Classmate Kagihara, don't you have anything you want to say?"
Kazehara Tetsu turned toward her, wearing an innocent smile.
"Say what? Oh... you mean the exam results? Congratulations, Classmate Sakayanagi. You almost got a perfect score. But 99 is still an excellent result."
Every word sounded like praise, but together they formed the sharpest possible taunt.
"My intuition tells me you had something to do with this." Sakayanagi Arisu wasn't provoked by his flippant words.
"Something to do with it? Classmate Sakayanagi, you're giving me too much credit."
Kazehara Tetsu spread his hands, looking innocent. "I'm just an ordinary Class A student. I'm not powerful enough to influence how you performed in the exam room, let alone affect the school's grading system."
Who could interfere with someone's exam? And who could alter a score that had already been finalized?
It was impossible.
"Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible. But, Classmate Kagihara, you've never been someone who uses 'normal methods.'"
She took a small step forward and leaned in slightly. The tip of her cane nearly touched Kazehara Tetsu's knee.
"Tell me. How did you do it?"
"Sakayanagi, you're very clever. So you should understand one thing."
He spoke slowly.
"When the usual route can't determine a winner, we have to carve out a new path."
"So..."
He paused, then uttered the key phrase.
"...I had no choice but to use a few 'special measures' you hadn't anticipated."
"Special measures..."
Kazehara Tetsu stopped keeping her in suspense. He raised a finger and lightly tapped the air.
"It's simple. I used a little of the most valuable resource we have in This School."
His lips silently formed two words.
"Points."
Before you continue