Classroom of the Elite, but It's a Diary Style

"If you want to know the answer, you must pay an equivalent price."

This sentence was as direct a warning as one could get; if Horikita Suzune couldn't pick up on it, then there was nothing else she could do.

To Chabashira Sae's regret, Horikita Suzune only fell silent for a moment before proactively taking out her personal terminal.

She really intended to pay.

Chabashira Sae: "..."

As expected, there was a reason she had been assigned to Class D.

The moment she had quoted the price, any student with a brain should have realized the answer.

...Forget it.

Without saying a word, Chabashira Sae expressionlessly accepted the 10,000 points transferred by Horikita Suzune, then gave a calm nod.

"Yes."

"Then, is it true that the school divides students into different classes based on different evaluations...?" After hesitating for a while, Horikita Suzune still didn't ask the question, "Does the school view Class D as trash?" directly, but chose to confirm it in this manner instead.

"10,000 points." Very calmly, Chabashira Sae gave the exact same answer.

Consequently, Horikita Suzune transferred the points over once again.

"Yes."

"What is... the special exam for the first month?" For the third time, Horikita Suzune had her transfer ready the moment she posed the question.

"..." With a faint sigh, Chabashira Sae said softly, "200,000 points."

Horikita Suzune was just about to raise her hand to input 10,000 points, but her movements suddenly faltered.

As if she couldn't believe the number she had just heard, she raised her head and looked at her homeroom teacher.

"200,000 points." Chabashira Sae's expressionless reply made it clear that she hadn't misheard the figure.

Gripping her personal terminal tightly, Horikita Suzune bit her lower lip.

"I can't afford that," she said.

If you can't afford it, why not find someone else in the class? If you can't afford it, why not break the question down? If you can't afford it, what's the point of just standing there?

Chabashira Sae didn't want to say anything more in her heart, but Horikita Suzune's actions still made her want to curse internally.

She clearly possessed such excellent academic ability, so why was she such a blockhead?

"I know you can't afford it," Chabashira Sae said. "But the price for today will not change."

"You can come back and ask me in a few days."

That way, the price would drop.

The price would be different with each passing day.

The first day was the peak, and today was the third day.

"...I understand." Horikita Suzune lowered her head and put away her personal terminal. "I will find a way."

You'll find a way? What way could you possibly find?

Chabashira Sae was almost on the verge of opening her mouth to scold her.

Calm down, calm down.

Having led so many batches of Class D, she should have been used to this kind of thing long ago.

It was precisely because she was used to it that she had always done nothing, wasn't it?

"...Give me another 10,000 points." Even though she told herself this in her heart, seeing Horikita Suzune about to turn back, Chabashira Sae couldn't help but speak up.

She really shouldn't have proactively asked a student for points.

She regretted it almost the moment the words left her mouth.

But as if afraid she would go back on her word, Horikita Suzune transferred the personal points to her without hesitation.

"...The exam is conducted on a class-by-class basis." Watching the personal points arrive, Chabashira Sae softly gave the final hint she was able to provide.

She waved her hand, not stopping any longer. "Alright, go back to class. You're going to be late."

Ha, if only she could realize that this sentence was also a hint.

But that was impossible.

A defective product is a defective product.

Brushing past Horikita Suzune, who remained standing in place, Chabashira Sae soon disappeared into the hallway.

She left behind only Horikita Suzune, who was lost in thought with those last words still echoing in her ears.

"On a class-by-class basis..." After muttering to herself for a moment, she raised both hands and patted her cheeks.

Never mind that for now; she just needed to get back to class.

The first period was about to begin.

Chapter 37: Horikita Suzune Makes Up Her Mind

In class, Horikita Suzune was uncharacteristically not paying attention to the lecture, instead spending a long time pondering the answer she had received from Chabashira Sae.

Of course, there was also the content of the Diary, which she had already spent the entire night thinking about.

According to the Diary, this intelligence had been traded by Asakusa Toru of Class B to Ryuen of Class C.

The asking price was two million private points.

However, when she had separated the first three items to ask Chabashira Sae about them, the total price she received didn't even amount to two hundred and twenty thousand.

Even if she added the final request regarding a class transfer, it was impossible for the figure to reach two million.

Therefore, either the Diary was lying, or the Diary had left something out.

The information she had already spent twenty thousand points to confirm couldn't be wrong, so was something being hidden?

Furthermore... the teacher had accepted the ten thousand points she gave for that hint.

'The exam is conducted on a class-wide basis.'

Could it mean... that I need to unite with the others in the class?

Thinking of this, Horikita Suzune couldn't help but sneak a glance back at Yamauchi Haruki and the others in the rear rows.

"..." No, just the thought of participating in an exam with them made her want to vomit.

After all, how could a human possibly work hand-in-hand with a pseudo-human?

But since the exam was on a class-wide basis, their participation was clearly unavoidable.

...What should she do?

If it were her brother, what would he do?

She couldn't help but think that way.

But as soon as she did, the words from the Diary two days ago surfaced in her mind.

"A person without their own opinions, only knowing how to chase my shadow."

It was as if Horikita Manabu's cold voice was echoing in her ears.

It felt as if her older brother were truly standing right in front of her, scolding her with a cold face.

No, I, I am not, I am no longer that useless version of myself.

I will prove it.

I will definitely prove myself!

Screaming this in her heart, Horikita Suzune gritted her teeth.

That's right, she would prove herself.

Even if it meant dragging people like Yamauchi Haruki along to Class A.

To that end, she had to figure out what exactly the special exam for the first month was.

Class A had been in a superior position from the start, while Class B and Class C were already one step ahead of them in knowing about the special exam.

They were severely lagging behind!

The bell for the end of class rang slowly, and the classroom quickly became noisy.

Taking a deep breath, Horikita Suzune closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, there was no longer any confusion in them.

Standing up, she walked step by step to the podium.

The view from the podium was very broad, and a sweep of her gaze allowed her to clearly see the actions of everyone below.

The pseudo-human trio was chatting loudly about meaningless things, the girls next to Kushida were casually gossiping about things they would forget by tomorrow, Hirata was surrounded by many girls, and scattered small groups were huddled together.

And then... Ayanokoji Kiyotaka looked up and gazed at her.

He still didn't seem to have found any friends.

"..." No one cared about her strange behavior of standing on the podium; even those who noticed only glanced up before looking away.

This was Class 1-D, the class known as the trash heap.

Why was I assigned to a class like this...

No, now is not the time to worry about such things.

There is still something that must be done, something only I can do.

Taking a deep breath, Horikita Suzune spoke up: "Everyone, I have an announcement to make."

"The special exam for the first month has already begun, and we are severely lagging behind!!!"

Her heavy yet incredibly firm and loud voice rang throughout Class 1-D, and almost instantly, the noisy chatter came to an abrupt halt.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Everyone couldn't help but cast their gazes toward her; at this moment, the entire class was focused on Horikita Suzune.

"...What is she talking about?"

"This person... is her name Horikita?"

"Oh, oh, she's the one that Kushida is always inviting but who refuses every time, right?"

"What kind of madness has gotten into her?"

"Is this an impression? Is she planning to copy that guy from the Club Orientation yesterday to grab everyone's attention?"

"Special exam... did the teacher ever mention that?"

Following a brief silence, an even greater wave of discussion surged forth.

Everyone had absolutely no respect for Horikita Suzune, nor did they take her words to heart; they simply felt that this friendless person seemed to be doing something inexplicable.

"Um, Horikita-san?" Kushida Kikyo wore a puzzled expression.

Hey, hey, hey, what are you saying?

Almost the moment she heard "special exam," Kushida Kikyo realized that it seemed to be the content from the Diary yesterday.

She didn't think Horikita Suzune could have noticed anything, nor did she believe that someone as antisocial as her could have obtained information from anyone.

Judging others by herself, even she, who had already befriended most of the class in a short time and even exchanged contact information with some students from other classes, hadn't been able to hear any news related to a special exam from anyone else.

And now you're telling her that this Horikita Suzune figured it out?

How is that possible?

Therefore, Kushida Kikyo's first reaction was, "Could it be that she can see that Diary too?"

After all, from the very beginning, the person writing the Diary had claimed that there was "more than one person" who could see it, and from the start, it had been written in a tone addressing the first-year students.

But, does this Horikita Suzune really have no guard up at all?