The Night Snow's Secret Was Seen Through

Sudo and Horikita were about to come to blows when, unexpectedly,

Kushida stepped up to Sudo, her eyes pleading.

"Sudo-kun, calm down. Maybe Horikita just isn't good at communicating. Could you let her finish what she has to say, for my sake?"

"Ah... yeah... okay. Since Kushida says so, I guess I have no choice."

Perhaps because she was standing so close, the hot-tempered, towering Sudo unexpectedly grew bashful. He looked a little shy in front of Kushida, his face bright red.

Tenyo Yuyuki calmly watched it all unfold.

Kushida was openly helping Horikita while covertly putting her down, lowering the class's opinion of her by implication.

This was D Class as it stood!

Without a doubt, they were a group of defective products. Even simple communication seemed difficult for them, and the few talented ones all had their own agendas!

Surprisingly,

Kouenji Rosuke was still sitting in the classroom, doing whatever he pleased.

Even when Sudo looked ready to throw a punch, Kouenji merely rested his legs on the desk, gazing into a mirror as he tidied his appearance!

He had always been a maverick, and no one cared what he did.

Horikita watched Sudo gradually calm down before speaking again.

"Is the farce over?"

"Horikita, could you choose your words a little more carefully?"

Hirata made the suggestion with a bitter tone, almost on the verge of tears.

Maybe Horikita really did think this was a farce and that Sudo was worthless, but she couldn't just say that!

Yuyuki was getting a headache too. He felt exhausted on Hirata's behalf.

Horikita frowned. "What's wrong with my choice of words? Besides, everything I said was true."

"Mm..."

Hirata nodded, temporarily giving up on trying to persuade Horikita. Resolving the conflicts in D Class was more important right now.

"Anyway, Horikita, why don't you tell everyone what you wanted to say?"

"That's exactly what I intend to do!"

Horikita brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. She was implying that the delay had been everyone else's fault.

She had no intention of wasting any more time. Bracing both hands on the lectern, she looked around at the class.

"Starting next month, the school will no longer give us one hundred thousand Private Points."

She opened with a bombshell.

The entire class erupted in an uproar.

"Don't joke around."

"What is she even talking about?"

Similar remarks rang throughout D Class.

A few students looked grave and seemed ready to listen carefully to Horikita's information, but the noisy classroom made that impossible.

"Everyone, please calm down a little."

Hirata soothed the class until D Class fell quiet, then turned to Horikita. "Horikita, could you explain?"

There were still some capable students in D Class.

Hirata and the others had also noticed that something was off about the school!

They couldn't get to the bottom of it, but at least they hadn't recklessly squandered their Private Points.

"Everyone, what I'm about to say is important, so please pay attention."

Horikita nodded and fixed her gaze on the students who had been the loudest moments earlier. Karuizawa was among them.

Perhaps Horikita's stare was too intense.

Karuizawa stiffened, then pretended not to notice. Twirling a lock of hair around her finger, she turned to look out the window, acting as though she wasn't interested, couldn't understand, and was annoyed. She avoided Horikita's gaze.

Only a few people noticed.

Everyone else probably thought nothing of it, and simply figured, Karuizawa is putting up with this for the sake of the class. It's best not to provoke her.

But the truth was easy to see:

Karuizawa's vulnerability was plain as day!

It didn't fit her gyaru image at all.

Before the others could react, Horikita spoke again.

"This school has a system of rewards and punishments called the S System. It evaluates us based on our everyday conduct and our exam results."

"The points we ultimately receive are called S Points, or Class Points."

"What does that have to do with our points?" Shinohara asked in irritation. "Can't you put it more simply? I can't understand what you're saying at all."

Before Horikita could reply, Hirata hurriedly cut in. "In other words, our everyday conduct affects our Class Points. Things like using phones in class, passing notes, or even sorting trash in the dorms. Our Private Points are affected by our Class Points, so we don't automatically get the same amount every month."

After explaining, Hirata looked at Horikita, sounding uncertain. "Is that right, Horikita?"

"That's right."

Horikita Suzune nodded, seeing nothing wrong with it.

"Of course Hirata would explain it so simply!"

"It's great having Hirata around."

"I knew it. I always knew the school couldn't possibly be so generous. There's no way they'd give us a hundred thousand points."

"Yamauchi, quit bluffing. Didn't that handheld game you're holding cost you eighty thousand Private Points?"

"Huh? You caught me?"

The girls in class praised Hirata, while Yamauchi Haruki seemed to think he'd seen through everything. He didn't seem bothered at all by Sudo and the others doubting him.

In the entire class,

two-thirds of the students, apart from a few exceptional ones, had grades that placed them in the bottom 20 percent of their year.

They hadn't been unfairly assigned to D Class.

Even Yuyuki couldn't stand it anymore. "Suzune, what's the ratio between Class Points and Private Points? Based on your assessment, how many Private Points will we get next month?"

"One hundred to one."

Although she wondered why Yuyuki was asking when he already knew the answer, Horikita swept her gaze across D Class, her voice turning cold.

"One thousand Class Points equal one hundred thousand Private Points. Judging by your attitudes in class, D Class's Private Points for May will most likely be zero!"

The entire class fell silent. Horikita's choice of words was still a little harsh, but this time, no one cared.

Yamauchi Haruki broke the silence with a laugh, joking, "Come on, that can't be true. Horikita, you're surprisingly fond of jokes. How are we supposed to live without Private Points? This is a school. There's no way they'd do that. Right, everyone?"

"Exactly! We're all students. How could the school treat us like this? The Ministry of Education would get involved! Horikita, you seriously don't understand something that basic? So funny~"

Horikita remained unmoved by her classmates' teasing and even mockery, staring straight at them with a piercing gaze.

Gradually, everyone realized she wasn't joking.

"Is that true? The school really won't give us any Private Points?"

"Idiot, if we do well, of course we'll get Private Points."

"This affects our lives! How can the school do this? I'm going to protest to Chabashira-sensei!"

The whole class erupted into chaos. It had only been a day, but many had already spent most of their Private Points. Yamauchi Haruki and a few others even considered going together to question Chabashira.

After all, Horikita's claim didn't necessarily have to be true.

"Everyone, don't panic. If Horikita is telling us all this, she must have a plan, right?"

Hirata still wore his reassuring smile. "Isn't that right, Horikita?"

There was a note of expectation in Hirata's voice. In just a few dozen minutes, beads of sweat had already appeared on his forehead.

"That's right."

Horikita nodded, then added with a hint of mockery,

"But there's something else. This school assigns students to classes according to their merit."

"Excellent students are placed in A Class, while useless students are placed in D Class. And only those who graduate from A Class gain the right the school promised us: the freedom to choose any job we want."

"In other words, D Class is a gathering place for the bottom of the barrel. The other classes even call us defective products."

"Seeing how you just behaved has only confirmed that for me!"

It was obvious from her tone that Horikita had already excluded herself from D Class. She didn't think she was one of them. The only reason she could have ended up in D Class was a mistake on the school's part!

Hirata's face froze.

He'd actually allowed himself to hope for something from Horikita. He wanted to slap himself.

Everything she'd said was true, but it was too hurtful.

Before Sudo could erupt in anger again, Hirata hurriedly cut in:

"Is that so? I think everyone in D Class is a wonderful friend."

After calming the furious D Class, Hirata immediately offered them encouragement. "Besides, since we're all in D Class now, we just have to make it to A Class. We have so many talented classmates. If we all work hard together, I'm sure we can do it."

Hirata was doing everything he could to keep D Class from falling apart.

The girls suppressed their anger, glanced at Hirata, then exchanged looks with their friends. In the end, they decided to let it go for his sake.

However,

Horikita's words had been far too harsh. She had basically treated everyone in D Class as a burden.

There was no way Sudo and the others would let Horikita off just because of Hirata's flattering words of encouragement.

They weren't fools.

They were young, in the prime of their lives, and proud.

Just then,

"That's right." Kushida stepped forward, looking at Sudo and the others with shining eyes as she clenched her fist. "If we all work hard together, we can definitely make it to A Class, right?"

"Mm... well, if that's what Kushida says, let's all work hard together."

Sudo and the others slowly unclenched their fists and reluctantly decided to let the matter rest.

But everyone in class looked at Horikita with some coldness.

No one thought of themselves as a good-for-nothing.

Still, they understood how to show consideration for others. They were only letting it go out of respect for Hirata and Kushida.

Horikita didn't notice. Even if she did, she probably wouldn't have cared. Instead, she nodded.

"That's right. Making it to A Class isn't impossible. Anyway, I'm definitely going to make it to A Class."

"Then, Horikita, do you have a plan?"

Hirata finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Of course."

Horikita brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, utterly confident.

"As long as everyone follows my instructions, we can definitely make it to A Class."

"Starting today, everyone will get up at 6:30 every school day and gather at seven for a half-hour run to strengthen your bodies. Be at school by 7:50. During class, hand your Student IDs—your phones—over to me, or to Hirata, whom you can trust. After school, attend a two-hour Study Session every day."

"If anyone has trouble, such as being unable to get up, I can wake you every morning."

"Also, everyone will hand over half their Private Points each month as a deposit, which will be returned the following month. If anyone gets into a fight, passes notes in class, or does anything else that affects the class, some points will be deducted and added to D Class's class fund."

"I believe the remaining fifty thousand Private Points should be enough for you to live comfortably."

"If you still have doubts, you can give the points to Hirata, whom you trust, or even have Chabashira-sensei supervise them. I won't touch the Private Points."

"Any other questions?"

When she finished, Horikita looked around the entire class. Everyone had fallen silent.

Hirata looked awkward and managed to force a smile. "Horikita, that... might not be such a good idea."

"What do you mean?" Horikita frowned and explained, "This is the best plan I could come up with. I believe I've considered everyone's circumstances carefully enough. Of course, if you have a better plan, I'm willing to accept it."

"No, it's not a problem with the plan." Hirata glanced at the others and tried to put it gently. "Your plan could certainly protect our Class Points, Horikita, but I'm afraid everyone will find it hard to accept."

"I don't understand!" Horikita brushed her hair back, displeased. "You've admitted my plan is sound, and everyone shares the goal of making it to A Class. What reason could you have for rejecting it? Tell me. If there's another valid reason, I can try to make changes, as long as our Class Points are protected."

"N-no, that's not..."

Faced with Horikita, Hirata couldn't find a way to argue.

Horikita really was exceptionally capable. She'd considered things thoroughly, was willing to work hard for the class, and was even willing to sacrifice her own time.

But Hirata had already realized the problem.

Horikita severely lacked empathy for others. She didn't consider other people's feelings at all.

Relying on nothing but absolute logic wouldn't work.

"Tch, after listening to all that, it really was a waste of time. Haruki, Kanji, let's go."

As if all his interest had vanished, Sudo slung his bag over his shoulder and left the classroom with the others.

"It's already four thirty. The Sports Briefing is about to start."

Yuyuki suddenly spoke, turning to look at everyone. "Besides, everyone needs time to digest all this information. Why don't we call it a day? We can ask Chabashira-sensei to confirm anything we're unsure about."

"Y-you're right."

Hirata hurriedly agreed. If they kept talking, D Class probably wouldn't reach any good outcome.

Horikita watched her classmates with a cold gaze but said nothing. She returned to her seat and began packing up.

"Come on, weren't we going to the Club Fair?"

"That's right."

Yuyuki nodded and said a quick goodbye to Matsushita Chiaki. He also texted Kushida to tell her he'd definitely make it to the gathering that evening.

Then he left the classroom with Horikita and Ayanokoji...