You Should Drop Out (Continued)

"If this person..." Horikita Manabu met his gaze without hesitation.

"Yamauchi Haruki," Asakusa Toru replied naturally.

"Well, if this Yamauchi is willing to be in charge," Horikita Manabu said, "I think that in the third year, at least in our Class 3-A, there will be students other than me who would be willing to be in the same group as Yamauchi."

He could see Yamauchi Haruki's basic qualities.

I could sense it, and I knew perfectly well what level the so-called Class D really was.

If Yamauchi Haruki were in charge, he would certainly feel most at ease.

Because without a doubt, he would get the lowest ranking and take over the position of the dropout.

Although Yamauchi Haruki may be somewhat innocent, since he is a student in Class D, let this expulsion make Horikita Suzune feel more deeply the gap in quality between Class D and the higher-ranking classes.

... Actually, judging solely from the rules of this exam, although there is a withdrawal mechanism, it seems that as long as all groups in the final exam do not fall below the school's average score threshold, there will be no withdrawals.

But this is an absolute fallacy.

Having spent over two years at this school, Horikita Manabu is well aware that the school wouldn't give students such an easy opportunity.

This Special Exam will inevitably result in either students dropping out or losing students who spend 20 million to save their companions.

If possible, he would naturally hope that Yamauchi would choose to take on this... well, responsibility.

I'm very sorry, but please go and die.

As he spoke, he added a sentence to the students around him.

"Even if we don't get a top-three finish, the Private Points deducted from the bottom three in a group with Yamauchi can be reimbursed by me for third-year students; I will cover that loss."

Of course, this only applies to Private Points; he can't make up for Class Points.

Yamauchi Haruki: "..."

Despair.

Yamauchi Haruki felt a sense of despair.

Why are you, the Student Council, interrupting? He's just a first-year student. Why are you listening to them?

"Second, second grade..."

He trembled as he tried to grasp at his last hope.

"It's alright with us." The man named Kiriyama Ikuto said in a deep voice, "We need to be in a large group anyway, so it doesn't matter to us which group we choose among the first-year students."

That's obviously a lie; if the goal is to be in the top three of the group, then obviously different people will have different goals.

But that's exactly what he wanted to say.

Because it was clear that the person with the highest moral character, or rather, the person who could decide the group assignments for the first-year students, intended for Yamauchi to die.

Of course, he would say something casually, as a way of repaying the favor done to the other party for defeating Miyabi Nagumo, causing Nagumo to drop out of school, and for him to become the Student Council president.

However, unlike Horikita Manabu, he did not promise to cover any losses.

"..."

Yamauchi Haruki was speechless.

"Alright, alright... then let me show you the power of Lord Yamauchi."

His speech was somewhat slurred and incoherent, his mind seemingly frozen as he responded instinctively.

It's a complete dead end.

The terms were so generous; if he refused, he would truly lose face.

Anyway, he said he could pick anyone he wanted.

Surely, maybe, probably... they won't really make me the worst, will they?

Yamauchi Haruki felt that he still had hope.

"Hey, you there, Shibata, come here." He then put his hands on his hips and began selecting the person he wanted.

He originally wanted to call out to Kanzaki Ryuji, but then he thought that seeing the other's sour face, he might just be asking for trouble.

Calling Shibata over is just right.

The candidates for Class A have been selected.

Then there are Class B and Class C.

Katsuragi...

Never mind, the bald guy looks too intimidating.

Yamauchi Haruki feared he wouldn't be able to control Katsuragi.

"That one, yeah, that show-off." So, Yamauchi Haruki pointed to Hashimoto Masayoshi casually to the side.

Hashimoto Masayoshi blinked, raised his index finger and pointed to himself:

"I?"

"Yes, you." Yamauchi Haruki straightened his back more and more, he had completely begun to take on the role of the group leader.

Hmph, it's practically like choosing a concubine.

Although they all chose men.

A feeling of comfort instantly washed over my entire body, from head to toe.

Yamauchi Haruki had never felt such a wonderful moment before.

Power is in hand.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh.

Hashimoto Masayoshi turned his head and glanced at Asakusa Toru, looking into his eyes and at his smiling expression. It seemed like they were communicating with each other through their eyes before he shrugged and sighed.

"Okay, okay, I'll take it."

To be honest, if one were to act according to the principle of "a wise man does not stand under a crumbling wall, "Hashimoto Masayoshi, who is a fence-sitter who sides with whoever wins, should not have chosen to join Yamauchi's group.

Even if only the person in charge is expelled, it's important to know that in this exam, if the person in charge is expelled, everyone else in the group will also be expelled.

But he went anyway.

The reason lies with Asakusa Toru.

He, Hashimoto Masayoshi, is a fence-sitter.

As the name suggests, he's on whichever side is stronger.

When their class was still in Class A, Sakayanagi Arisu displayed overwhelming strength.

Therefore, he was a loyalist of the Sakayanagi Faction.

But this loyalty lasted only a short time.

The fact that Class A was transferred to Class B was not enough to make him betray them; it only made him start to consider whether he should take advantage of Sakayanagi Arisu's orders to investigate Asakusa Toru more thoroughly.

What truly caused him to lose loyalty was the Uninhabited Island Special Exam.

Sakayanagi Arisu demonstrated her strength, but was then defeated by Asakusa Toru in an overwhelming and crushing defeat.

And then Sakayanagi Arisu, who seems to have become withdrawn after experiencing some minor setbacks.

If Sakayanagi Arisu hadn't been withdrawn, he wouldn't have acted so rashly so quickly.

But Sakayanagi Arisu gave up; she gave up on herself, on her class, and on the struggle.

Too weak-willed.

If you still want to graduate as Class A.

He could only try to curry favor with Asakusa Toru, just like that guy Ryuen Kakeru.

I wish I were a woman.

If I were a woman, I could transfer to another class as easily as Ibuki from Class C and Sakura from Class D.

Unfortunately, I am not one of them.

Then, all we can do is offer our loyalty.

He casually sought refuge with them, and Asakusa Toru casually accepted.

The Sports Festival certainly didn't require him to play a role.

[Paper Shuffle] has absolutely nothing to do with him.

But when Hashimoto Masayoshi saw that smile during this Mixed Training Camp, he knew that this was the only risk he could take.

Otherwise...

He would be judged as a worthless being.

Even if someone is an inside man in Class B, if they have no value, the other side wouldn't spend 20 million to transfer them to another class.

You must demonstrate your value.

In this Special Exam, I can slightly influence the results of the Yamauchi Group, causing them to fall to last place, without incurring any liability or expulsion.

That's right, anyone with eyes can see it.

The true meaning behind the conversation between Asakusa Toru and Yamauchi Haruki.

'Yamauchi Haruki, you should drop out of school.'

That is almost the true meaning expressed in those words.

Only Yamauchi himself couldn't hear it.

If it weren't for that, why would the others present have been so cooperative?

It was precisely because everyone knew that the sacrificial offering had already been chosen that they smiled with relief and Asakusa Toru's words.

Otherwise, they can shut up; second and third graders aren't so easily obedient.

In a sense, Yamauchi Haruki is quite remarkable.

Even those who hadn't had much contact with his seniors could sense his inconsistency in such a short time.

Thus, such a tacit consensus was achieved.

I imagine there must be some people in Class D who can sense that the atmosphere is unusual.

But it doesn't matter. Even in Class D, this man in front of me is bound to be a rather special flawed product.

No one will point this out on their own initiative.

There is only one thing I need to worry about or care about.

How to avoid becoming one of the culprits he hysterically chose to hold accountable when he was expelled from school.

Hashimoto Masayoshi didn't think this was difficult.

Two methods.

One approach is to place expectations on the school's judgment criteria and the other party's stupidity. As long as the exam is conducted step by step, even if he chooses some good teammates, given Yamauchi Haruki's qualities, he is destined to be at the bottom. Even if he tries to drag others down with him, the school will fairly deny any joint responsibility based on the standard that "only if the school recognizes that the student is one of the reasons for the student's grades being below the threshold."

Hmm, that sounds good. You can achieve your goal without doing anything.

But clearly, there are huge pitfalls involved.

Leaving aside whether the fairness of the school is a false proposition, the very act of 'doing nothing' is already quite dangerous.

What were his reasons and purpose in stepping forward?

Expressing one's stance, demonstrating loyalty, and becoming a fence-sitter, leaning towards one side.

What does doing nothing mean? It means you have no willingness to put in any effort.

This contradicts Hashimoto Masayoshi intention; if he really wanted to do this, there was no need for him to stand up in the first place.

It would be foolish to try and claim credit simply for stepping forward.

Therefore, although there are two options, only the latter is worth considering for Hashimoto Masayoshi.

The second method.

--All we need to do is create another person who will be resented by the other party and drop out of school.

Everyone is openly or secretly lowering the ratings, so theoretically anyone could become a collateral damage to the Yamauchi.