Ichinose and I Aren't in That Kind of Relationship Yet!

"I did receive it, but there was a problem."

"A problem?"

"Yeah." I nodded and thought for a moment. "The school deposited the points early this morning. It's just that the amount they gave us didn't reach a hundred thousand... What about you?"

"Our class hasn't received its points yet. The class chat is still buzzing about it. You said the amount didn't reach a hundred thousand—how much did you get?"

"Over sixty thousand. I haven't calculated the exact amount, but you can tell at a glance how far it falls short of the hundred thousand we got in April."

"Sixty thousand, huh..." Ayanokoji muttered after hearing my answer. After that, the atmosphere between us sank back into its usual silence.

Before worshipping in church, Christians had to shut out all outside distractions and maintain a reverent, humble, and peaceful state of mind. Their clothes, too, had to be neat and dignified; otherwise, they would be seen as disrespectful.

Though I had never believed in a god, the moment I stepped into the classroom, I still felt the oppressive atmosphere Christians must have experienced before worship. They were supposed to be praising their faith, yet somehow everyone seemed to grow more dejected by the minute. I knew all too well how oppressive it felt to be watched by a crowd of solemn people, and I hurriedly avoided their gazes.

"You're especially late today. Did something happen?" As soon as I returned to my seat, Ichinose asked me worriedly.

Being worried about by someone else felt much better.

"I just talked with someone for a while. I'll be more careful next time."

"Mm... Did you only get sixty-five thousand points too, Raku?"

"I'm not sure of the exact amount, but it was around sixty thousand."

"So the whole class got the same amount."

"Was there a mistake with the points, or is the school running short on funds?"

"I don't have any answers yet either. We'll have to wait for Teacher Hoshinomiya to come and explain."

"That's all we can do, then."

So, aside from me, nobody in our class had discovered the school's true nature yet. Class B hadn't managed to do it, but was it possible Class A had? At least we could see Class A's true ability from this month's Class Points.

I glanced at the clock hanging on the white wall and silently listened to the pendulum's clunking. As the bell rang to announce class on May first, my heart stirred. Teacher Hoshinomiya stepped into the classroom, carrying several poster tubes.

"Good morning, everyone. First of all, thanks for coming to school on your day off. Let's get right to morning homeroom. As usual, feel free to ask any questions you have. I'll answer them as best I can."

"Teacher, were we given fewer points this month? I checked, and my account wasn't credited with a hundred thousand. I only got sixty-five thousand points. The whole class is in the same situation. Did something happen?" Shibata was the first to ask Teacher Hoshinomiya, and he quickly got an answer.

"The school deposited the correct number of points into every student's account."

"But we're short by thirty-five thousand! Didn't you say the school would deposit a hundred thousand points on the first of every month, Teacher Hoshinomiya?"

"Motohashi, I never said the school would deposit a hundred thousand points on the first of every month. I only said the school would deposit points on the first of every month." After saying this, Teacher Hoshinomiya flashed a mischievous smile.

"What?!"

Was she still trying to tease her students at a time like this? What a nasty teacher.

"Teacher Hoshinomiya, how does the school decide how many points to give us each month? Is it random?" Ichinose followed up on Shibata's question.

"It's not random. The school allocates them based on each class's Class Points."

"Class Points?"

Teacher Hoshinomiya didn't answer right away. Instead, she took a sheet of paper from one of the poster tubes in her hand, unfolded it, and pinned it to the blackboard with a magnet. When she moved aside, I could clearly see everything written on the paper.

Class A: 940 points

Class B: 650 points

Class C: 490 points

Class D: 0 points

"These are each class's Class Points. Multiply them by a hundred, and you'll get the number of Private Points you can receive this month."

"W-what is this supposed to mean?" The students below responded with a chorus of confusion.

"These are points held by each class. At the start of the school year, every class began with one thousand points. The S System evaluates each class and adjusts those values accordingly. As you can see, every class lost points. Especially Class D. To be honest, I've looked through the records for past Class D groups, and I've never seen one start the first month of school with zero points." After saying that, Teacher Hoshinomiya laughed mockingly.

She seemed delighted, as if she'd just watched an enemy suffer.

"Is there a particular reason for this? Or is it simply a way to control our Private Points?"

"Just what I'd expect from Class Leader Ichinose—you got straight to the point." Teacher Hoshinomiya clapped her hands in praise.

"What exactly does this mean?" one of the girls beside us asked anxiously.

"Don't worry, Ando. I'll explain it to you."

"First, looking at those numbers, you should be able to figure out why the classes are divided into four ranks."

"..."

It was a tiered ranking system, a measure of ability.

"This school assigns students to classes based on their merit. The most outstanding students are placed in Class A, while the inferior 'defective goods' end up in Class D. It's just like the way rankings work in a math competition. I'm sure you all understand."

"As you can see, Class Points aren't just linked to the amount deposited each month. They also directly reflect the classes' rankings."

"...Is there a problem with the classes' rankings?"

"Of course there is. You've all heard that 99.9 percent of students at this school can get the jobs they want after graduation, right?"

"But that isn't the whole story. The 'graduation' they're talking about only applies to Class A. In other words, only if you graduate from Class A can you freely choose the career you want or attend the university you want. Students from the other classes are treated as losers. They're no different from other high school students, aside from having different experiences."

"H-how can that be!"

"So only Class A has a chance..." Ichinose murmured, momentarily dazed, but she quickly pulled herself together.

"Teacher Hoshinomiya, how exactly does the school decide how many points to add or subtract?"

"I'm sorry, but I only know some of the specific criteria, and even if I knew them all, I couldn't tell you. It's like the correct answer to a multiple-choice question. You might know the answer, but not how to reach it. You'll have to figure these things out yourselves. We teachers just follow the rules."

"But as for the general factors, maybe it's because you were late or absent nine times, or talked privately or used your phones during class fifty-six times, and so on. Remember, you didn't hear that from me."

At Teacher Hoshinomiya's reminder, Ichinose hurriedly jotted down a series of notes.

"Dong, dong, dong, dong—"

The church bells rang. Was it the end, or the beginning of a prayer?

Perhaps none of that mattered anymore.

"Huh? Is morning homeroom already over? Honestly, I haven't even finished talking yet."

Teacher Hoshinomiya didn't seem to care at all about how our class felt. She pouted and complained under her breath. Then she put another sheet of paper on the blackboard. It listed every student in the class, with a number written next to each name.

"Please bear with me a little longer. These are the results of the last quiz. First, I'm happy that nobody in this class scored below the passing mark, so keep it up. Don't get expelled."

"Students who don't meet the passing standard get expelled?" Shibata immediately caught the problem and asked in disbelief.

"I've never heard of that."

"That's how it is." Teacher Hoshinomiya placed a finger on the report.

Most students had scored in the eighties or nineties. A few were in the sixties or seventies, while several outliers were down in the forties.

"At this school, if you fail even one subject on the midterm or final exams, you'll be expelled. Based on this quiz, everyone who scored below forty-three is at risk of expulsion. Apart from Okabe, whose score of forty-four is a little worrying, there aren't any problems in the class. So you'll have to work hard, Okabe."

"Y-you've got to be kidding me!"

The passing threshold was set separately by each class. It was calculated by dividing the average score in that subject by two. A passing score of forty-three meant Class B's average on this quiz was eighty-six.

"Don't get so worked up, Okabe. Didn't I tell you at the start of the school year? This is a school where ability comes first."

"Even though a month has already passed, I'd still like to say this to everyone—"

"Welcome to a school where ability comes first."

God said that you must be steadfast in your faith to withstand the devil's temptation and seek new life from Him.

Chapter 14: Ichinose and I Aren't in That Kind of Relationship Yet!

On the first of every month, the school deposited a hundred thousand points into each student's account.

We had never been explicitly told this, yet everyone's thoughts had fallen into this mental quagmire.

Words could limit people's thinking.

Pure rational thought did not depend on language and existed independently of it. But human beings were emotional creatures, with no pure rationality to resist the "temptation" of language, and so they were constrained by it.

After this mystery was unraveled, the Class B students' thinking began to broaden. Under the influence of Ichinose, Shibata, and Kanzaki's expansive thinking, they connected it to all sorts of other factors. Against this backdrop, we held an emergency strategy meeting.

"Did you know about this all along?" Kanzaki, sitting next to me, asked with a frown.

"You mean the points? Why would you think that?"

"Your expression hasn't changed at all since the beginning. Or am I imagining things?"

I shifted out of the stiff position I'd been holding for a while and rested my elbow on the desk. "My expression must have changed a little. You just didn't notice. There's no point in being surprised about this now, anyway. It's not like we can change the outcome just by talking about it."

"But you really didn't look like you were surprised."

"...Actually, my mind was wandering." As I spoke, I awkwardly turned my head away.

"Spacing out at a time like this... You weren't thinking of a way out, were you?"

"No. I'm not very good at coming up with constructive suggestions for the class as a whole. Anything I say would definitely get rejected. For example, 'let's ignore it and see what happens'... That would obviously get rejected, wouldn't it?"

"Then what were you thinking about?"

"Some trivial, unrelated things. Like someone named Yin Hui."

"...Does this person mean something important to you?"

"No." I shook my head. "I don't know how I made that connection either. It was like suddenly thinking of bananas while talking about Mars. Completely random. Then you interrupted me."

"Your mind really does wander more than most people's..."

"Impressive, right? Even I'm scared of myself."

After ending that pointless conversation with a self-deprecating joke, my attention returned to Class Leader Ichinose's speech.

"If no one has any other suggestions, then let's go with this plan."

"If Ichinose is handling the points, there shouldn't be a problem."

"I agree."

"We have no objections."

"..."

In the blink of an eye, I'd missed the entire strategy discussion and was already hearing its conclusion.

"Then let's get started." Ichinose wrote a string of numbers on the blackboard. "This is my account number. You're all friends with me, but if you want to remain anonymous, please make sure to double-check the details. Also, remember to leave thirty thousand points for your own expenses this month. Don't get the amount wrong."

After digging into the details, we'd thoroughly understood Teacher Hoshinomiya's hints.

Points could buy anything at this school.

When we asked, we even found out that exam scores could be bought, although we weren't given a specific price. That alone was enough to confirm how important points were. So we decided to pool the students' points. That way, we could prevent anyone from spending them carelessly and quickly mobilize a large amount of money when needed.

A strategy like this could never work without a strong sense of unity within the class. From that alone, anyone could understand the incredible ability Ichinose possessed.

Powerful, yet fragile—she was always a contradiction.

0

The first-year students were divided into four classes. According to Teacher Hoshinomiya, the classes were assigned based on each student's individual ability. Even though we'd been placed second, a respectable result, the students in Class B still felt a little down about not being perfect.

Ichinose was no exception, but soon she exclaimed, "I'm so glad we're all together in Class B!" That was enough to show how positive the students were. If that still wasn't clear, there were plenty of examples around us.

"I've made up my mind. I'm going to sell my game console." Takashima took a deep breath, his eyes shining with determination.

"Are you sure? Even if you sell it, you won't get what it's worth as a secondhand item."

"Do you think I don't know that? But I have to do it for the points. Don't try to talk me out of it. It's time for me to leave video games behind."

"Class Leader Ichinose made it very clear. We don't need to go out of our way for points. We still have to cover our necessary expenses. Besides, if you don't have enough points, can't you ask the class leader for more?"

"How could I do that? I'd be burdening the whole class for my own selfish desires. No matter what you say, I can't do that."

"You bought that console with your own points, not everyone else's."

"But if I hadn't bought it, wouldn't those points belong to everyone now? And if we fail in the future because we were short the points I spent on this console, I'd feel even worse."

"Couldn't you sell it then?"

"It'd be worth even less by then. If I'm going to sell it, I should do it now! Okabe, you have a game console too, don't you? You can keep yours for now. If I get the urge to play, I'll come over to your place for a while. And Shiratori's laptop too."

"Hey, how could you—"