"Hello, everyone! You've all worked hard over the past month. Now that the Behavioral Standards Exam has come to an end, I'm sure you've been looking forward to hearing the results for a long time, right?"
As soon as she said that, the students in Class B could no longer hold back.
"Chie Hoshinomiya, hurry up and announce them! I've been going on about this all morning."
"Me too! Me too!"
"Come on! Come on! Did we beat Class A or not? Chie Hoshinomiya, stop keeping us in suspense!"
"Hahaha, you all seem really eager. Well, then, let me congratulate you: your efforts have paid off!"
As she spoke, Chie Hoshinomiya walked up to the podium, unfolded a rolled-up sheet of white paper, and stuck it to the blackboard.
First-Year Class Points--
Class A: 850 points.
Class B: 1,060 points.
Class C: 330 points.
Class D: 310 points.
62. The school had been thoroughly humiliated
Once all four first-year classes' Class Points had been announced, the students in Class B checked the figures again and again before finally confirming that their Class Evaluation Points really were the highest. They had beaten the original Class A by a full 210 points.
The students of Class B—or rather, Class 1-A now—erupted into excited cheers.
This meant that from that day on, they were officially Class A students.
As long as they held onto their ranking until graduation, they could choose whichever prestigious university or major company they wanted.
"Woohooooo!!!!!"
"We made it to Class A!!!"
The old Class B classroom was instantly filled with cheers and shrieks. The students excitedly hugged one another, their eyes shining with joy.
At last, all their hard work and effort had paid off.
Chie Hoshinomiya stood on the podium, watching the students below her celebrate. A relieved smile spread across her face.
She gave a soft cough to signal for everyone to quiet down.
"Take a look outside." The homeroom teacher pointed toward the hallway. A staff member was walking over. They removed the sign that read [Class 1-B] from the classroom door and replaced it with [Class 1-A].
"The classroom is still the same, but the sign has changed. From now on, we'll officially be Class 1-A."
"I'm so happy you were able to achieve this in your very first month. This is an unprecedented record at Kodo Ikusei Senior High School. Keep working hard, and do your best to hold onto this position until the end."
Chie Hoshinomiya stood on the podium, watching the former Class B students cheer and celebrate. The corners of her mouth lifted into a delighted smile.
After all, back when she had attended Kodo Ikusei Senior High School, she had once come within a step of reaching Class A, only to lose at a crucial moment.
Now the class under her guidance had made up for the regret she had once felt. Even she couldn't help feeling relieved.
Of course, more importantly, when she'd brought the news to Sae Chabashira that morning, the other teacher's expression—trying so hard to look indifferent despite clearly caring a great deal—had been absolutely hilarious. It would keep her entertained for a whole year.
Another burst of cheers rang out from the students. Over the past month, the former Class B students had been like tightly strung bowstrings, never daring to relax for even a moment. Now they had finally reaped the rewards they deserved, and everyone couldn't help letting their emotions out.
"That's great! I knew that as long as Shun Aragaki was here, our class would be the strongest."
Shiranami Chihiro turned around and gazed at Shun Aragaki with shining eyes, leaning so far over her desk that she was almost pressing against it.
"Hahaha, that's right! Our great hero, Aragaki, shouldn't you say something at a time like this?"
Shibata Sou laughed loudly and egged on Shun Aragaki, who had the attention of the entire class.
Aragaki shrugged and said casually, "What's there to say? Wasn't this only natural?"
"Besides, it's only the second month of the school year. The other classes still have three years to catch up. We're only in the lead for now, so don't pop the champagne too early and let them overtake us."
"Aragaki's right. We can't get conceited." Ichinose Honami stood up, a bright smile on her face. "But we really did win this exam, and that's worth celebrating. I believe that as long as we stand together, nothing is impossible!"
"Yeah!" Shibata Sou led the cheers, loudly letting out all the joy he'd been feeling. "We're the best, Class B—no, Class A!"
The classroom rang with another round of applause. All the former Class B students joined Shibata in shouting. Even Shun Aragaki was smiling, not going out of his way to dampen the mood.
Their hard work over the past month had finally paid off. It was all right to let loose a little for now. After all, it was homeroom, not a formal lesson with strict rules.
And so, the students in Aragaki's class cheered for several minutes, expressing their joy in all sorts of ways. Only when Chie Hoshinomiya judged that enough time had passed did she speak up and bring them to a stop.
"Ahem, all right, that's probably enough cheering."
"If you still don't think that's enough, you can all have a victory party after school. For now, I'm sure you have plenty of questions for me, don't you?"
As though they had been waiting for this moment, the instant Hoshinomiya said she was ready to answer their questions, Kanzaki Ryuji stood up. "Chie Hoshinomiya, I'd like to ask why our Class Evaluation Points are 1,060. Didn't the school give each class only 1,000 Class Points in the first month?"
"Ah, that. Actually, the extra 100 points were both a reward and compensation."
Seeing the entire class turn their attention to her, Chie Hoshinomiya didn't keep them in suspense. She immediately explained the school's position:
"The school was very pleased with how actively our class performed over the past month. And even without those 100 points, we're the first class in Kodo Ikusei Senior High School history to advance after the very first exam. The school believes your achievement deserves an appropriate reward."
"As for the compensation, it's because we defeated the original Class A before the school had even made its rules public. That proved there had been a mistake in the school's initial class assignments. So, taking the reward into account, the school decided to give us another 100 Class Points."
Chie Hoshinomiya shared the news she had received from the school with everyone in Class B.
She had accepted the explanation without hesitation.
After all, if the school hadn't made a mistake in assigning the classes, then how could aces like Shun Aragaki, Kanzaki Ryuji, and Ichinose Honami have been placed in Class B?
However, as their homeroom teacher, she had access to the school's basic information on every student in Class B. It also stated why the school had initially assigned each student to that class.
So, procedurally speaking, the school's class assignments had been entirely reasonable. At most, the interviewers hadn't expected Shun Aragaki and the others to be so capable. In their first month, they had already upended the school's assessment of their abilities.
After all, during the first month of school, before the homeroom teachers had revealed any of Kodo Ikusei Senior High School's hidden rules, the teachers had barely paid any attention to the four classes.
In other words, during that month, the students had been left to their own devices. The abilities they displayed then were the abilities they had brought with them when they enrolled, completely unaffected by the school.
Under those circumstances, students assigned to Class B had directly defeated the students the school had designated as the best in Class A...
The school had been thoroughly humiliated!
63. Chie Hoshinomiya handed out a windfall
In fact, neither the students in Class B nor Chie Hoshinomiya knew that, near the end of the Behavioral Standards Exam, several senior administrators had predicted that the class rankings were about to change and suggested lowering Class B's Evaluation Points.
After all, according to the school, students were assigned to classes based on their level of excellence: the best students went to Class A, while the defective students with the most shortcomings went to Class D.
But now the Behavioral Standards Exam had ended, and the various rules governing competition at Kodo Ikusei Senior High School hadn't even been announced yet. The order of Classes A, B, C, and D was already about to change. How could the other students accept the school's class assignments?
They should at least have waited until the next exam, after the rules were announced, before changing the rankings... That way, people could have understood that Class B had always been only slightly weaker than Class A, but after receiving some training at Kodo Ikusei Senior High School, they were now able to turn the tables on Class A in a Special Exam.
But the truth about class competition hadn't even been made public before. The teachers had barely paid any attention to the students in class or outside it. Only a fool would believe that, under those circumstances, Class B had won thanks to the school's education rather than a mistake in the class assignments.
Unfortunately, even without the extra 100 points, the original Class B had 960 Class Evaluation Points, a full 110 more than the original Class A's 850.
If the school wanted to deliberately lower the original Class B's score under those circumstances, it would need a magnifying glass to find fault with them. It would have to dig up more than 110 points' worth of mistakes from their everyday conduct.
Considering the impact such a drastic move would have on future class competition, and the fact that not all the former Class B students were without connections, the school's senior administrators ultimately decided to maintain a basic level of fairness.
Besides, the school evaluated its students based on a wide range of qualities, including intelligence, physical fitness, judgment, teamwork, and past experience. With such a complicated assessment system, it was perfectly normal for the interviewers to make a few mistakes in their evaluations.
So, the school simply admitted that there had been an error in this year's class assignments and awarded the former Class B 100 Class Points as compensation. That satisfied the former Class B students. The former Class A had been given their chance and failed to make use of it, so they had no right to complain. Classes C and D had nothing to do with the matter. And just like that, the problem was resolved.
It also gave the school a new record. If something similar happened in the future, there would be a precedent to follow.
"So, we didn't advance by turning the tables. We just helped the school set things right?"
Shun Aragaki teased them with interest. The score of 960 was within his expectations.
He had deliberately planted a genius from Class D in the original Class A. If the original Class B still couldn't overtake them in Class Evaluation Points after that, he would have had to give some serious thought to what the administrators at Kodo Ikusei had in mind!
But from the looks of it, the people who made the rules were at least being fair for now?
"Great. We made it to Class A because under Meritocracy, we were always meant to be Class A. Now we've simply returned to the place we belong."
"If anyone from the original Class A shows you hostility in the future, just say that to them."
The students in the class couldn't help laughing. "I hope they don't get so mad they keel over. They were knocked down to a lower class in the very first month of school. They've probably set the record for the fastest fall from Class A!"
"That's their own fault for not being strong enough. The school originally gave them the highest evaluation, but now they've proved that being undeserving of your position only leads to a nasty fall!"
A slight curve appeared at the corner of Kanzaki Ryuji's mouth. He had no complaints about being assigned to the original Class B.
Because of that, he had been able to meet these kind and close-knit friends. If he'd been assigned to the original Class A from the start, he might be struggling with how to deal with the three factions that had split the class.
But now he could advance to Class A alongside everyone in the class. That proved they were the best, and it couldn't have worked out better.
In Kanzaki's eyes, everyone in the original Class B was absolutely no worse than the original Class A. They had simply reclaimed what had belonged to them all along, under Aragaki's leadership.
"Hahaha, exactly! We were always meant to be Class A. If those people from the original Class A dare to act superior to us, I'll throw their fastest-fall record right back in their faces."
"Right! We're the best. The original Class A doesn't look like much, and Classes C and D are even worse."
After Shun Aragaki reframed the reversal of the Class A and Class B rankings as a matter of setting things right, the former Class B students grew more and more confident.
At first, when they learned that the school assigned classes according to how excellent its students were, they had felt considerable pressure around the original Class A students. Now they didn't feel that way at all.
The facts had proved that they were the best. The initial class assignments had simply been a mistake on the school's part.
Only Chie Hoshinomiya knew that the school's class assignment system was generally sound. Previous Class B groups had always been made up of this sort of student, because the school had deliberately assigned students who were obedient but lacked their own opinions and individuality, or who were good at everything without standing out, to Class B.
In the past, class rankings had never changed after the Behavioral Standards Exam. That was proof that the school's assignments to the four classes were generally accurate.
After all, the Behavioral Standards Exam mainly tested the students' self-discipline. On that front, the school could confidently confirm that the four classes had been arranged in descending order of strength: A, B, C, and D. It was more or less like drawing the target after firing the arrow.
The school's assignment rules might really have made a mistake this time, resulting in this unexpected situation, but there was no way every student in the original Class B had been misjudged.
In fact, there was probably only one student in this class—or perhaps just one of the administrators—whose ability had been misjudged from the beginning.
Still, Chie Hoshinomiya was naturally delighted by the whole thing!
After all, if the interviewers hadn't made a mistake, how could she have so easily been promoted to Class A homeroom teacher after the first month?
Thinking about the lucky break she'd gotten, Chie Hoshinomiya smiled even more brightly. She clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "I'm so happy we were able to advance to Class A together. The benefits for Class A's homeroom teacher are much better than those for the other classes. I owe this promotion to all of you."
"So I've decided: from now on, I'll cover your monthly 400,000 yen tutoring fees. Consider it my contribution to supporting everyone as a member of this class."
Chie Hoshinomiya grinned. Without batting an eye, she took on the entire class's monthly tutoring expenses.
After all, at Kodo Ikusei Senior High School, the teachers followed the principle of Meritocracy too.
As Class A's homeroom teacher, she enjoyed far better treatment than the teachers of the other three classes in every respect, including salary, bonuses, seniority, and school privileges.
With that sort of advantage, as long as she could hold onto the Class A position, she would consider it worthwhile even if she had to pay for everyone's tutoring out of her own pocket each month.
She could always put some effort into finding a reason to get the school to reimburse part of it.
63+1. Three classes owed 1.6 million a month
Chie Hoshinomiya's decision immediately caused a stir among the students.
"Chie Hoshinomiya, is that really okay?"
Ichinose Honami stood up and asked uncertainly, "Didn't the school say that teachers weren't allowed to get too involved in class competition?"
"That's true enough." Chie Hoshinomiya planted her hands on her hips and struck a proud pose. "But the main restrictions are on things like revealing exam content and making decisions on behalf of the students. A homeroom teacher can still spend some of her own Private Points to support her students' efforts to improve."
After all, the homeroom teachers and the students in their classes were bound together by their shared interests. When one prospered, they all prospered; when one suffered, they all suffered.
If a class rose in rank during a Special Exam, its homeroom teacher would effectively receive a promotion too. Under those circumstances, it wouldn't make sense to leave the students to compete on their own while the homeroom teacher simply reaped the rewards.
So, as long as they had a reasonable justification and didn't violate the school's rules, the homeroom teachers were allowed to give their classes a certain amount of support.
Normally, even if a homeroom teacher was eager to advance her class, the most she would do was hint at the exam rules, offer support while the students competed, or cover up irregular actions taken by students she approved of. Few would go so far as to directly spend a large number of Private Points to support them.
After all, Private Points were the same as real money at this school!
Most homeroom teachers were willing to help their students compete for Class A because they hoped to get promoted and earn more. If they had to take money out of their own pockets to support their class instead, wouldn't that defeat the whole purpose?
The former Class B students had thought of that too, so one of them awkwardly raised a question. "Isn't that a bit much? You need money for your own living expenses too. How about we cover the tutoring fees with class funds instead?"
The average monthly income of an ordinary working person in Sakurajima was only around 300,000 to 400,000 yen.
Hoshinomiya-sensei had suddenly offered to cover 400,000 yen in monthly tutoring fees for the whole class. That was awfully generous. Wouldn't it affect her own day-to-day life?
"Don't worry about it!" Chie Hoshinomiya waved her hand dismissively. "Kodo Ikusei pays us homeroom teachers very well. Even a Class D homeroom teacher, who gets the least favorable treatment, earns a lot more than an ordinary office worker once all her benefits are included."
"Now that I've been promoted to Class A homeroom teacher, my base salary alone has increased by nearly 400,000 a month. My other bonuses, allowances, overtime pay, and various subsidies have all gone up too. Even after covering your monthly tutoring fees, I'll still be enjoying far better benefits than before my promotion."
She hadn't even counted some of the special privileges exclusive to Class A homeroom teachers. For example, if all four classes took an exam together, the Class A homeroom teacher would be the one to explain the rules. And if she thought the school's Special Exam arrangements were unreasonable, she had the right to raise her concerns with the school.
In short, just as only Class A graduates received the future the school had promised them, the position of Class A homeroom teacher at Kodo Ikusei Senior High School was far superior to that of the other three homeroom teachers.
Now that she had secured the position, she had no intention of giving it up. At the very least, she wanted to enjoy it for three years!
Before you continue