Classroom of the Elite, A Hypocritical Gray Life

"I did receive them, 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 100,000... How about you guys?"

"Our class points haven't been deposited yet. The class group chat is still buzzing with heated discussions about it... You said the amount didn't reach 100,000, so how much were you allocated?"

"A little over 60,000. I haven't calculated the exact figure, but one look was enough to see how big the gap is compared to the 100,000 in April."

"60,000, huh..." Ayanokoji muttered after hearing that answer. Afterward, the atmosphere between us returned to its usual silence.

Before attending a service at a church, Christian believers must clear away all outside distractions and maintain a pious, humble, and calm heart; at the same time, their attire and shoes must remain solemn and neat, otherwise, it will be seen as disrespectful.

Although I have never held a belief in any deity, the moment I stepped into the classroom, I still felt the oppressive atmosphere of believers before a service. It was supposed to be a place to praise one's inner faith, yet the current reality felt increasingly heavy. I deeply understood how crushing the pressure of being stared at by a group of serious people could be, and for that reason, I hurriedly dodged their gazes.

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

It really is more comfortable to be worried about by others.

"I was just talking to someone for a while. I'll be more careful next time."

"I see... Did Raku-kun also only receive 65,000 points?"

"I'm not sure of the exact number, but it's around 60,000."

"So it's the same for the whole class without exception."

"Was there an error in the point distribution, or is the school short on funds?"

"I don't have any leads right now either. We'll have to wait for Teacher Hoshinomiya to come and explain it."

"I suppose that's the only way."

If that's the answer, it means that aside from me, no other student in our class has realized the true nature of this school. If Class B couldn't figure it out, is it possible for Class A? At the very least, we can see Class A's true strength from this month's class points.

I glanced at the clock hanging on the white wall, silently listening to the ticking of the pendulum. As the bell rang to announce the start of the May 1st class, my heart was filled with agitation. Teacher Hoshinomiya then stepped into the classroom, carrying several poster tubes in her hand.

"Good morning, everyone. First of all, thank you for coming to school on your day off. Let's get straight to the morning meeting. As usual, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. I will help you resolve your doubts within my capabilities."

"Teacher, were this month's points distributed incorrectly? I calculated it, and 100,000 wasn't deposited into my account; there were only 65,000 points. And it's the same for every student in the class. Did something go wrong?" Shibata was the first to pose the question to Teacher Hoshinomiya, but he received an answer very quickly.

"Regarding that question, the school has deposited the points into every student's account without error."

"But 35,000 are still missing. Teacher Hoshinomiya, didn't you say that 100,000 points would be deposited on the first of every month?"

"Motohashi-kun, I never said that the school would deposit 100,000 points on the first of every month. I only said that the school would deposit points on the first of every month." After saying this, Teacher Hoshinomiya revealed a wicked smile.

"What?!"

Is she still trying to tease her students at a time like this? She really is a teacher with a nasty attitude.

"Excuse me, Teacher Hoshinomiya, what does the school base the monthly distribution on? Is it random?" Ichinose followed up on Shibata's confusion and asked.

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

"Class points?"

Teacher Hoshinomiya didn't answer immediately. Instead, she took a piece of white paper out of the poster tube in her hand, unfolded it, and posted it on the blackboard, securing it with magnets. After she moved her petite body away from blocking the view, I could clearly see all the content on the paper.

Class A: 940 points

Class B: 650 points

Class C: 490 points

Class D: 0 points

"What is displayed here are the class points for each class. Multiply this by 100, and that is the amount of private points you can receive for this month."

"W-what is this?" The students below responded with constant confusion.

"These are the points held by the class as a unit. At the start of the school year, every class had an initial value of 1,000 points. After the S System makes its judgments, these values are adjusted up or down. Looking at the results, every class has been deducted points. Especially Class D—honestly, I've looked through the points of past Class Ds, and I've never seen one hit 0 points in the very first month of school." After saying this, Teacher Hoshinomiya let out a mocking laugh.

She looked very happy, as if she were watching an enemy suffer.

"Is there any meaning to this? Or is this simply a way to control our private points?"

"As expected of class representative Ichinose, you cut straight to the point." Teacher Hoshinomiya clapped her hands in praise.

"What does this actually mean?" A girl nearby asked anxiously.

"Don't be so impatient, Ando-san. I will explain it to you all."

"First of all, looking at the data above, you should have realized why the classes are divided into four levels."

"..."

A tiered ranking list—in other words, a division of ability.

"This school assigns classes based on the excellence of the students. The most excellent students are assigned to Class A, while the inferior 'defective products' are sent to Class D. It's just like the ranking system in a math competition; I'm sure you can all understand that."

"As you can see, class points are not only linked to the monthly deposit amount; this point value also directly reflects the class ranking."

"...Is there a problem with the class ranking?"

"Of course there is. Everyone here should have heard that 99.9% of students from our school go on to their desired jobs after graduation, right?"

"But in truth, that statement is incomplete. The 'graduation' mentioned in that statement refers solely to Class A. In other words, only by graduating from Class A can you choose the career or prestigious university you want as you please. The other classes will simply be treated as losers, no different from any other high school students—at most, they'll just have different experiences."

"H-how could this be!"

"Is the division of strength only meant for Class A..." Ichinose muttered, looking somewhat dazed, though she quickly pulled herself together.

"Teacher Hoshinomiya, how exactly are you determining the specific increases and decreases in our points?"

"I'm sorry, but I only know a portion of the specific criteria for those adjustments, and even if I did know, I couldn't tell you. It's like guessing the correct option on a test; you know the answer, but the process remains unclear. You have to explore these things yourselves; we teachers are simply acting according to the requirements of the test."

"However, as for general factors, it might be because you had nine instances of tardiness or absence, or fifty-six instances of private chatter or mobile phone usage during class. Remember, you didn't hear that from me."

Prompted by Teacher Hoshinomiya, Ichinose hurriedly began recording a series of notes on her paper.

"Dong, dong, dong, dong—"

The church bell tolled. Was it the end, or the beginning of a prayer?

Perhaps none of that mattered anymore.

"Eh? Is the morning assembly already over? Goodness, I hadn't even finished speaking yet."

Teacher Hoshinomiya didn't care at all about the mood of the students in our class, pouting in dissatisfaction. Then, another sheet of paper was posted on the blackboard. It listed the names of everyone in the class, with numbers recorded next to each name.

"Please, everyone, bear with me for a moment longer. These are the results of the last quiz. First of all, the teacher is very happy that not a single student in this class scored below the passing line, so everyone keep it up; don't get expelled."

"Students who don't reach the passing standard get expelled?" Shibata was the first to realize the gravity of the situation, asking in disbelief.

"I've never heard of such a thing."

"That is the reality." Teacher Hoshinomiya pressed her finger against the report sheet.

Most people's scores were in the eighties and nineties, a few were in the sixties and seventies, and there were even a few outliers in the low forties.

"This school stipulates that if you fail even one subject in the midterms or finals, you must be expelled. Looking at this exam alone, anyone who scored below forty-three is subject to expulsion. Aside from Okabe, who is in a bit of danger with forty-four points, there are no other issues in the class. So, Okabe, you must work hard."

"W-what kind of joke is this!"

The passing threshold is set individually by each class, calculated as half of that subject's average score. A passing line of forty-three points meant that the average score for Class B on this quiz was eighty-six.

"Don't get so worked up, Okabe. Didn't I say it right at the start of the term? This is a school that prioritizes merit above all else."

"Although a month has already passed, I will say it to everyone once more—"

"Welcome to the school that prioritizes merit above all else."

God says you must hold firm to your convictions to endure the temptations of the devil and seek new life from Me.

Chapter 14: Raku and I are not in that kind of relationship!

On the first of every month, the school deposits one hundred thousand points into the students' accounts.

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

Language can limit human thought.

Rational thought in its purest sense does not rely on language and exists independently, yet humans are emotional creatures; without pure reason to resist the 'temptations' of language, we are constrained.

After uncovering this mystery, the thinking of the students in Class B began to broaden. Under the divergent guidance of Ichinose, Shibata, and Kanzaki, they linked together numerous factors. Against this backdrop, we held an emergency strategic meeting.

"Did you know about this from the start?" Kanzaki, sitting next to me, frowned as he voiced his suspicion.

"Are you referring to the points? Why would you think that?"

"Because your expression hasn't changed since the beginning. Is it just my imagination?"

I shifted my posture, which had been stiff for a long time, and rested my elbows on the desk. "My expression must have changed slightly; it's just that you didn't notice. Even if you were surprised by this now, it wouldn't matter; the results aren't something we can change just by talking about them."

"But you didn't look like that just now."

"...Actually, I was spacing out." I said, turning my head away in embarrassment.

"Spacing out at a time like this... you wouldn't happen to be thinking of a way out, would you?"

"No, I rarely offer constructive suggestions for the class's overall strategy. Anything I say would definitely be vetoed, like 'let's just leave it be'... obviously, that would be rejected."

"Then what were you thinking about?"

"Just some irrelevant, off-topic things, like a person named Yin Hui."

"...Does this person have some great significance to you?"

"No," I shook my head, "I don't even know how I made the connection. It was like thinking of a banana out of nowhere while looking at Mars; it was very inexplicable. In the end, you interrupted me anyway."

"The degree of divergence in your brain is truly incomparable to an ordinary person..."

"Impressive, right? Even I find it scary."

After ending this meaningless conversation with self-deprecation, my consciousness returned to Class President Ichinose's speech.

"If there are no other opinions, then we'll decide on this."

"If the points are being held by Class President Ichinose, then there's no problem."

"I agree."

"We have no objections."

"..."

In the blink of an eye, I had missed the strategic discussion phase and gone straight to the meeting's conclusion.

"Then, without further ado, let's get started." After saying this, Ichinose wrote a string of numbers on the blackboard. "This is my account number. Although everyone already has me added, please be sure to double-check the information if you need to remain anonymous. Also, remember to reserve thirty thousand points for your monthly living expenses; please, do not make any mistakes."

After a thorough investigation, we gained a profound understanding of Teacher Hoshinomiya's warning.

Points can buy anything at this school.

Upon inquiry, we even learned that it is possible to purchase exam scores, although the specific price was not disclosed. However, this undoubtedly confirmed the importance of points. Consequently, we decided to pool the students' points together; this would not only effectively prevent students from spending points recklessly but also allow us to mobilize a large amount of capital at a moment's notice.

This kind of operational plan would be impossible to execute without an extremely strong sense of teamwork within the class. From this point alone, anyone could understand the terrifying ability that Ichinose possesses.

Existing as both powerful and fragile, she is always a contradiction.

0

There are four classes in the first year, and according to Teacher Hoshinomiya's description, the classes are divided based on the students' individual abilities. Even though we were assigned to the second-place spot, which is a decent result, the students of Class B still felt a hint of depression over their imperfection.

Even Ichinose was the same, yet soon after, we made the statement, "It's truly wonderful to be in Class B with everyone!" This is enough to prove the positive mindset of the students. If one is still not convinced, there are plenty of examples in the surroundings.

"It's decided then, I'm going to sell that game console." Takashima took a deep breath, his eyes filled with determination.

"Are you really going to do this? Even if you sell it, you certainly won't get its proper value as a second-hand product."

"Do you think I don't know that? But for the sake of points, I have to do this. Don't try to persuade me anymore; I've reached the age where I should leave video games behind."

"Didn't Class President Ichinose make it very clear? There's no need to rack your brains too much for points; necessary expenses are still required. Besides, if you don't have enough points to spend, can't you just apply for more from the class president?"

"How could I do that? To be indebted to the entire class for my own selfish desires—no matter what you say, I can't do such a thing."

"This game console was bought with your own previous 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're short the points from this game console, wouldn't that be even more frustrating?"

"Why not just sell it when that time comes?"

"The price will be even lower then. If I'm going to sell it, I should do it sooner rather than later! Doesn't Okabe have his own game console too? You should keep yours for now; if I get a craving, I'll come over to your place to pass the time. And the same goes for Shiratori's laptop."

"Ah, how could you do this—"