Sudō Facing Expulsion

"Nagumo, I still don't quite understand. Is your fawning over that Yorozuya just to give Horikita-senpai a favor?"

Kojima Hayato didn't really get it. He felt like a fly being toyed with by a junior for several rounds, and he couldn't grasp the ultimate purpose behind doing all this.

"Heh, let's just say that. But there is one thing that Yorozuya said that was correct: even if we sold the midterm answers to others, we'd only end up with a pittance of points in our hands. Besides, if some senior from the third year decided to sell them, we wouldn't even earn that much."

"Giving that side a little sweetness can be considered a favor to Horikita-senpai. Regardless of whether that Yorozuya is a smokescreen pushed out by him or not, establishing a connection is never a bad thing."

Kojima Hayato nodded thoughtfully. In just one more year, the world would belong to them, the second-years. By then, something like a Yorozuya... would be a presence not even worth mentioning.

"Then... what about that first-year junior from before, you..."

"Hm? Ah! You mean her? Heh, I just don't like Horikita-senpai's rigid mindset. He is a very capable person, but just like the old stubborn fools in the school administration, he doesn't understand that only the youth can create a better future for this school. And I, as it happens, am willing to do just that."

Meanwhile, in Class 1-D.

"Teacher, didn't you say you would announce the exam results today? May I ask when that will be?"

Chabashira Sae held a cold sneer on her lips:

"There's no need to be so impatient, is there? An exam of that level should have been a piece of cake for you all, right?"

"But..."

Chabashira waved her hand, signaling that she wasn't finished:

"Fine, I'll announce them now. After all, if I wait until after school, I'm afraid you won't have enough time to finish the paperwork."

Shinjo glanced calmly at the visibly nervous Sudō. If his guess was correct, something must have gone wrong.

With that, Chabashira fixed the white paper in her hand to the blackboard with magnets, just like last time, a rare smile appearing on her face:

"I really am impressed by you all. There are over twenty people who scored full marks in Math, Literature, and Sociology! And the other subjects clearly went very well, too."

The data was very intuitive; the rows of one-hundreds made the students cheer and jump for joy.

However, that wasn't the main point. The crucial part was that in the last row, Sudō had scored around 60 in four of his five subjects, but his English score was 39.

"Yes!"

Sudō immediately stood up and shouted. 39 was much higher than his previous 14, but clearly, he hadn't calculated the minimum passing threshold.

Chabashira Sae picked up the red pen at her side and drew a red line through Sudō's name.

"What a pity, Sudō. You were just that close."

In truth, she was quite puzzled herself. Why would someone score so low when they had received the answers a full week in advance?

Was it because he felt confident, so even after getting the actual test questions early, he still procrastinated until the day before the exam to start studying?

"Huh?! Wait! What is going on?!"

"Did you forget? I warned you this time: anyone who scores below half of the average will be considered failing. The average for this exam was 79.6, so the passing threshold is 79.6/2 = 39.8 points."

"In other words, you are 0.8 points below the threshold. You were just that close..."

Sudō looked as if he had eaten something foul; his features contorted, cold sweat beaded densely on his forehead, and his body trembled as he struggled to believe his own ears.

"Which means, you are expelled, Sudō!"

"Wait! Teacher!"

Hirata, sitting to the side, couldn't sit still any longer. He quickly stood up and called out to Chabashira-sensei.

"Hirata. Do you have something to say?"

"I! I want to say that Sudō-kun has worked so hard, and everyone can see that he really wants to stay here. So, could you... give him one more chance?!"

"Don't be ridiculous!"

Chabashira Sae's expression shifted suddenly, and she slammed her hand onto the podium in front of her:

"These are the school rules! Since they are school rules, they cannot be broken! Who do you think Sudō is? Do you think the school will make a special exception for him just because he worked hard?! I tell you, in this school, there are countless people who work harder than you! But reality never gives them a chance to regret!"

"But..."

"Besides... Sudō, did you really work that hard? If that were true, why did you still fail even after getting the answers a week in advance?!"

Now even Hirata didn't know what else to say. This time, he was completely in the wrong, but he still couldn't accept the expulsion of a classmate! Even knowing he was being unreasonable, he couldn't accept it!

"Liar... am I... am I being expelled?"

Sudō was stunned; the cruel reality had finally shattered him completely.

"Although the time is short, you still have time to say goodbye to your friends. Please submit your voluntary withdrawal application after school. It will require a guardian's presence, and I will contact them."

Chabashira Sae announced Sudō's fate as if it were nothing.

"Wait a minute!"

"What do you want now, Hirata?"

"I, can I take a look at Sudō-kun's test paper?"

This was the best solution he could think of, praying for a miracle to happen.

"It won't do you any good to look at it; I guarantee there are no grading errors. However, it doesn't matter. Feel free to look if you want."

To make Hirata give up, Chabashira tossed the only test paper she had on hand toward him, as if she had been mentally prepared for this moment all along.

After taking the paper, he carefully examined every single question, confirming time and again that there were truly no points of contention or grading errors to be found, before collapsing powerlessly into his chair.

"It seems you understand now. The homeroom meeting is adjourned."

In truth, only a small number of people felt sad about Sudō's impending expulsion, such as the Idiot Duo, for whom Sudō was one of their few friends.

Or someone like Hirata, who genuinely viewed everyone as his companion.

But for the majority, they were actually hoping for Sudō to be expelled as soon as possible.

Just imagine: someone with a rude personality who constantly caused trouble for the class, wasn't very bright, and frequently hung around with the most bottom-tier people—how could such a person not be disliked by others?

Chabashira watched the students below the podium with a cold gaze, but the person she was truly focused on was Shinjo, who had shown no change in expression from the very beginning and had no intention of speaking up.

[You put in the effort of an average student, which is to say, at a critical juncture like this, you have no intention of saving the world? If it were Yamauchi facing expulsion this time, I would do it without hesitation, but Sudō...]

"Shinjo."