Ayanokouji's Confidence in Class D, the Weakest; Class A, the Strongest; and Class B, Stronger Still

The Classroom of the Elite World.

Class 1-D.

After telling the class about the special exam, Sae Chabashira picked up a piece of chalk and wrote each class's score on the blackboard.

Class A: 940

Class B: 980

Class C: 490

Class D: 0

"During the first month, every class started with the same 1,000 Class Points."

"Look at the other classes, then look at yourselves."

Sae Chabashira braced both hands on the desk, her pretty face wearing a cold smile. "You squandered all your Class Points in your very first month. You're the 'best' class this school has ever had."

Hearing the teacher put such heavy emphasis on the word "best," the students in Class D all lowered their heads and kept quiet.

At any other time, if they'd been compared to the other classes, some students would surely have felt it was unfair.

But the worst score among the other classes was still 490 points, and two of them had over 900.

Having turned their Class Points into zero in the very first month, they didn't dare argue.

Even in these circumstances, though, some of the students were whispering.

"Horikita, did you notice?"

The brown-haired boy sitting in the back row looked at the points listed for each class on the blackboard and spoke to the black-haired girl beside him.

"Classes A and B are far ahead of the others." Horikita Suzune had noticed the disparity too.

If the students had been assigned to the four classes at random, there shouldn't have been such a huge gap in their Class Points.

But after a month of special exams, Classes A and B both had over 900 points, Class C had nearly 500, and Class D had zero.

Did that mean the school had divided the classes according to the students' abilities, placing the best students in Classes A and B, the average ones in Class C, and the worst in Class D?

Horikita furrowed her pretty brows and clenched her fists. She was gripping them so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.

She'd done well on her entrance exams and in the interview.

Since arriving at this school, she'd studied hard every day, never been late or left early, and earned grades on the quizzes that should have put her near the top of the class.

Why, then, had she, with her good grades, athletic ability, and respect for the school rules, been assigned to the worst class, Class D?

Horikita wanted to confront the school, but the teacher was explaining the school's hidden rules. She had to set her doubts and frustration aside for now and wait until the explanation was over before asking.

Under Sae Chabashira's explanation, the truths the school had kept hidden were revealed one by one.

Only Class A could enjoy the school's benefits.

Class assignments weren't random; students were divided according to their abilities.

The students assigned to Class D were the worst—the defective products.

Anyone who failed the midterm exams would be expelled.

"Incidentally, if your Class Points surpass those of a higher-ranked class, your class rankings will switch."

Sae Chabashira pointed at Classes A and B on the blackboard. "Since Class B currently has more Class Points than Class A, starting today, Class B will become Class A, and the former Class A will become Class B."

"Actually, the original Class A this year isn't bad either. After the special exams, it had more Class Points left than any previous Class A."

"But the original Class B is even stronger. It's the first class in the school's history to make a comeback in its very first month."

"This year has the strongest Class A and an even stronger Class B. For you, the worst Class D in the school's history, that's quite a disaster."

Sae Chabashira set the chalk down on the lectern and was about to leave the classroom.

Just then, Horikita raised her hand. "Chabashira-sensei, may I ask a question?"

Chabashira narrowed her eyes and folded her arms, gazing with interest at the girl sitting in the back row. "Horikita, go ahead and ask."

"According to what you just said, the students in the original Class B should have been worse than those in the original Class A."

Horikita's beautiful eyes grew sharp. "But the original Class B has more Class Points. Doesn't that mean the school's assessment of the students' abilities was inaccurate?"

If that were true, then being assigned to Class D wasn't her fault. It was the school's.

"Exactly!"

Hearing Horikita's words, Yamauchi Haruki raised a fist and shouted, "Someone as great as me couldn't possibly have been assigned to the worst class. The school must have made a mistake!"

What the hell does that have to do with you?

Horikita glared at Yamauchi in irritation.

If she weren't so well-mannered, she'd have loved to punch him in the mouth.

"Horikita, it's only natural to wonder about that. To be honest, I'm surprised too."

Sae Chabashira folded her arms. "But this school has a long history, and special exams have been around for many years. After the first month, previous Class As had an average of 800 to 900 Class Points left, while Class Bs had 600 to 700. Classes C and D naturally had even fewer."

"As I just said, the original Class B is the first in the school's history to make a comeback in its first month. Perhaps the school did misjudge the original Class B."

"But..."

Sae Chabashira changed tack. "What does that have to do with you, a student in Class D? Even if the school really did misjudge your abilities, it can't transfer you from Class D to Class A now."

"Horikita, do you have anything else to ask?"

"No."

The black-haired girl lowered her hand. Her expression remained cold, but her gaze was much more resolute than before.

"If the school admits it might have misjudged someone's abilities, then the problem wasn't with me. That's enough."

Horikita's words seemed to reflect the thoughts of the other students in the class too.

Right, maybe the school had misjudged their abilities.

The Class Points reaching zero wasn't necessarily their fault. It could have been caused by the others.

Realizing they might not be the so-called defective products, quite a few students relaxed a little.

Yukimura, who had excellent grades, and Wang Meiyu were especially quick to blame the school for being blind to their abilities.

"Horikita, is that really what you think?"

After the black-haired girl had no more questions, Ayanokouji asked her from the seat beside her.

"That's a fact."

Horikita Suzune's tone was utterly firm. "Chabashira-sensei admitted that the school had misjudged the original Class B's abilities, didn't she?"

"But that doesn't mean they misjudged your abilities too."

Hearing the girl's words, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka really wanted to point that out.

But he had a feeling that if he did, he'd get a chop from her.

So he decided to put it another way.

"Still, Chabashira-sensei also said that even if the school did misjudge someone's abilities, that wouldn't change the fact that you're in Class D now."

"If you want to enjoy the benefits the school promised, you'll still have to work hard to get into Class A."

Ayanokouji said.

"I've obviously thought about that." Horikita Suzune gave a slight nod. "But the original Class B managed to make a comeback in its first month. That shows the competition between classes isn't as difficult as it seems. If we keep at it, we'll have a chance to reach Class A."

"You're pretty optimistic."

Ayanokouji decided to shut his mouth. He didn't feel like talking to the overconfident girl beside him any longer.

His thoughts were focused on the original Class B's comeback.

If he remembered correctly, that guy had been in the original Class B.

Ayanokouji recalled meeting Dokuho Kouya on the first day of school. When they'd run into each other at the convenience store, Kouya had already had 1.6 million points and said he knew about the school's hidden rules.

So, had Dokuho Kouya figured out the hidden rules in advance, allowing the original Class B to make its comeback in the first month?

What a terrifying guy.