In Classroom of the Elite, Ichinose You Will Regret It

Himeno: [Hey, don't skip class tomorrow, you hear me?]

Uesugi Gen stared at his phone with black lines running down his face. Are you kidding me? Am I really that untrustworthy to them?

Hmph, fine, I won't skip then!

Uesugi Gen swiped his screen and retracted the leave request he had sent to Hoshinomiya.

The next day, Uesugi Gen wrestled with his blanket for a good while before sluggishly heading to the classroom.

"Ha~ morning!"

He arrived at the classroom, walked to his seat, and greeted Ichinose and the others.

"Morning, Uesugi-kun."

Ichinose was as energetic as ever.

"Morning, Uesugi, here's your breakfast."

Shibata, sitting in the back, handed him some bread and milk.

Ever since Ichinose and the others discovered that Uesugi Gen didn't have the habit of eating breakfast after he skipped class last time, they had started bringing him a portion every day.

"You're just in time. We were discussing that deduction of yours from before."

Kanzaki Ryuji, who was reviewing his textbook nearby, closed it when he saw Uesugi Gen arrive and spoke with a serious expression.

"It wasn't mine, it was yours. I just said a few words, that's all."

Uesugi Gen sat down in his seat, took the breakfast, and said, half-asleep, "I'm the one who was kept in the dark, okay? You're only telling me now that the points might be linked to student discipline."

Himeno Yuki, leaning against the window, narrowed her eyes and glared at Uesugi Gen, blaming him for not telling her about this sooner.

"I only just realized that Yuki didn't know about this. She wasn't there when we were discussing it."

"Besides, it was just a deduction without any substantial evidence, so I didn't spread it around. I just told the students to try their best not to break the rules."

Ichinose stepped in to smooth things over.

"Not breaking the rules—"

Himeno Yuki felt a jolt of alarm, turned her head to look at Uesugi Gen, Is this guy going to be okay?

"Daijoubu, I have the skipping privilege granted by the Student Council. The school won't pursue it."

The Student Council always had a lot to do—patrols, fieldwork, and the like—so a significant portion of its members held this authority, though none used it as frequently as Uesugi Gen.

Uesugi Gen reassured Himeno Yuki. She was the only woman in the entire class who could remain immune to the Ichinose aura, so he had to treat her well.

"If Uesugi-kun's deduction is correct, the points for next month should change. This test might be the school's final summary for the students."

Ichinose, standing next to Uesugi Gen, said earnestly.

"Ichinose is right. After all, the school can't just let the students remain this lax forever. The point distribution next month is the perfect opportunity. While students are worried about losing points, delivering a fatal blow to those who have been living a life of luxury for a month should be very effective."

Kanzaki Ryuji gave his final summary.

A pretty impressive judgment. It seems that even with me slacking off all the time, the situation in Class B isn't doing too badly.

Uesugi Gen watched the intense discussion between Ichinose and the others quietly, then suddenly revealed a mischievous smile.

"Hey, Ichinose, judging by your social circle, you have quite a few friends in other classes, right? Aside from our class, how many points do you think the other classes will receive next month?"

That's right, Uesugi Gen decided to go big.

Anyway, it was only a few days until the answer was revealed, and the school had already deducted most of the points it was going to. Instead of waiting for Hoshinomiya-sensei to announce the answer next week, he might as well put the waste to good use and let Ichinose and the others deduce the answer themselves.

"Well, let me think..."

Ichinose rested her finger on her chin, lowered her head, and began to think quietly, her expression gradually becoming more solemn.

"I'm not too sure about the situation in Class A and Class C, but Class D—"

Kanzaki Ryuji's pupils constricted, his brow furrowed, and he muttered to himself, "Strange, why?"

"Why is the point distribution so—"

"—orderly."

The two said in unison.

Watching the slightly eerie scene before them, Shibata Hayate and Himeno Yuki were left feeling a bit confused.

Uesugi Gen looked at Ichinose and Kanzaki, then turned to look at Himeno Yuki and Shibata, shaking his head with a touch of pity and sighing.

Veins popped out on Himeno Yuki's forehead as she glared fiercely at Uesugi Gen.

"What on earth are you talking about? Is there something strange about the points?"

Seeing the varied expressions of everyone present, a pleased smile appeared on Uesugi Gen's face.

"Yeah, why is that? Why on earth would the school operate this way?"

Heh heh, you thought you could backstab me? You didn't expect that it was actually me, Uesugi Gen, who was backstabbing you!

After a long silence, Ichinose was the first to come up with an answer.

"The school's class distribution was likely decided by the administration from the very beginning, which is why the scores ended up being so neatly organized."

As expected, compared to Kanzaki, Ichinose, who has many friends in other classes, is able to gather more information.

Hearing Ichinose's voice, Kanzaki Ryuji, who had been deep in thought, gave a start. He suddenly recalled the example Uesugi Gen had given him on the second day of school.

What ranking means in a company, or rather, why a company would rank its employees.

"Competition is competition. To increase efficiency, companies rank performance across departments to foster rivalry."

Kanzaki was jolted awake. Recalling Uesugi Gen's actions that day, his thoughts connected like a spark. He turned his head toward Uesugi Gen instantly and said through gritted teeth, "Uesugi, you guy, you knew from the very beginning that the classes were meant to compete against each other. That's why you warned me on the second day that student quality is tied to points, so I would make the class pay attention to discipline."

Ichinose, standing nearby, also realized it, muttering to herself in a reminiscent tone, "So that's why you wouldn't let me share the specific reasoning, only telling me to have the class strengthen their discipline. Because if it got out, it might reach the ears of other classes, allowing them to close the gap with us, which would be disadvantageous for our competition."

"What are you guys talking about? I don't understand. Right, Shibata? Yuki?"

Uesugi Gen dropped his arrogant attitude and feigned confusion.

"Shut up, you guy."

"Asshole, don't call me Yuki!"

Shibata and Himeno Yuki also realized that the four of them had likely been played like fiddles by the guy in front of them.

"Don't worry about the little details."

Uesugi Gen wore an expression that suggested they were making a mountain out of a molehill.

Seeing Uesugi Gen's smug, villainous look, the four of them clenched their fists tightly.

Ding~

As the bell rang for class, the four had no choice but to return to their seats.

"So, Kanzaki, Ichinose, one last question: what do you think the school relies on to drive competition between the classes?"

Uesugi Gen changed the subject and spoke to the two of them seriously.

Given their judgment, Uesugi Gen believed that as long as they had a direction, they would find the answer soon enough.

But before that...

Accept my revenge, Uesugi Gen's revenge, for my lost sleep!

This was the final struggle of Uesugi Gen, who had turned into a hedgehog after being persecuted for nearly a month.

Chapter 22: Welcome to the Classroom of the Elite

At the beginning of the second month, Uesugi Gen arrived at the classroom, uncharacteristically not cutting it close to the deadline.

Kanzaki and the others also wore serious expressions, waiting for the points to be distributed.

Buzz~

Everyone's terminals rang at the same time. It's here!

Points credited to account: 86300

Uesugi's deduction was correct.

Looks of "as expected" appeared on everyone's faces.

The previous night, Ichinose had already told the students of Class B about this deduction, so the students of Class B, having been informed in advance, were not overly surprised.

"There's actually over 80,000 points? I thought 70,000 was about the limit."

Uesugi Gen looked at the phone in front of him and said in a strange tone.

Based on Class B's scores from previous years and combining them with the information he already had, Uesugi Gen had estimated that Class B's retained points would be around 650-750.

The biggest difference between Class B and Class A is that when faced with problems, most people in Class A prioritize the solution that is most optimal for themselves.

In contrast, when solving problems, Class B considers factors like friendship and the impact of the situation simultaneously.

Too many concerns lead to a failure to achieve the optimal result, causing Class B to lose many points invisibly.

"The fact that the points distributed by the school change proves that our previous deduction was correct. As for the remaining questions, we'll just have to wait for Hoshinomiya-sensei to answer them later."

Kanzaki had a pair of panda eyes today, a complete change from his usual state. It was clear he had been brooding over the question Uesugi Gen posed a few days ago and hadn't slept much all night.

Uesugi Gen looked at Kanzaki Ryuji's appearance and laughed loudly, "Haha, Kanzaki, that look suits you. A gloomy-type handsome guy."

Smack!

Uesugi Gen felt a light, rhythmic tap against the back of his head as Ichinose struck him with a book, her tone laced with a hint of resentment.

"Uesugi-kun, could you please be a little quieter?"

Ichinose's condition wasn't as severe as Kanzaki's; she had managed to cover her dark circles with a touch of makeup, though she still looked haggard and lacked her usual vibrant energy.

"And just who is the reason we ended up like this?"

Kanzaki turned to glare at Uesugi Gen, his eyes flickering with killing intent.

When it came down to it, it was all this guy's fault. He would throw out a question to trigger their vigilance, and just when they had finally solved it, he would hand them an even harder one, only to chuckle and say that the new one was the real key before slipping away. That was exactly why they had ended up in this state.

What a damn riddle-monger!

Sensing the anger radiating from the two, Uesugi Gen defended himself.

"These things only have meaning if you figure them out yourselves, right?"

"It's about time, class is starting."

Himeno Yuki, who had been playing on her phone in silence until now, offered a reminder.

Hearing this, Ichinose and the others stopped dwelling on the issue and dispersed, returning to their respective seats.

The classroom door slid open with a sharp whoosh.

Teacher Hoshinomiya walked in, her face flushed with a rosy glow as she hummed a cheerful little tune.

Had she just been drinking? And why was she so happy?

Uesugi Gen felt a flicker of confusion. Based on his understanding of Teacher Hoshinomiya, she was genuinely happy from the bottom of her heart, rather than wearing that usual superficial smile she used when handing out praise or consolation prizes.

Even though Class B had retained a decent amount of points, they still hadn't promoted to Class A, which was more or less the result she had expected. So, why was she so happy?

"Heh heh, I'm sure you students have questions, right? Don't worry, your favorite teacher is here! I'm going to answer them for you one by one."

Teacher Hoshinomiya slapped a sheet of paper onto the blackboard like a poster, placed her hands on her hips, and flashed a smug grin, looking incredibly bold and spirited.