Classroom of the Elite, A Hypocritical Gray Life

"Don't say things like that, have some mercy on my pride, will you? In any case, Raku's grades are just lower than mine. Haha—"

Three hundred points... that was the proud score I achieved as the person in last place, the result of getting exactly sixty points in every single subject.

"You were really lucky this time, too." I sighed with emotion as I looked at my name printed on the very last line. However, Ichinose didn't seem too happy to hear that.

"This isn't luck at all. Raku-kun must have completely mastered the calculations for increasing and decreasing scores."

"I don't think I have a skill like that; it was just a coincidence."

"Can't you take the exams seriously, Raku-kun? If something goes wrong next time... and you promised me before the exam that you would do your best."

"I didn't promise anything. I only said I would do my best."

"Is this what you call doing your best? Isn't this just like bullying me?" Ichinose pouted, complaining with dissatisfaction.

"I'm sorry. But I really am telling the truth; I had no intention of deceiving you."

Ensuring I don't get expelled—isn't that what doing my best during an exam means? Also, please stop looking at me with such a cute expression; it's making me feel guilty.

Starting from this midterm exam, none of us felt that anyone would be expelled because of it. In other words, we approached this exam with the absolute premise of winning.

Today, as we learned the results, the class was filled with a sense of joy. Yet, this very fact is what confuses me.

If you could compare this to a war where a billion people are fighting one person with their bare hands, why would we feel happy knowing we were guaranteed an absolute victory?

A win is a win; it was a victory without any suspense.

Since we won, why is such a thing worth being happy about?

No, it's precisely because we won that we should be happy, right?

That should be the case, so why exactly am I not feeling any joy? Isn't it said that smiles spread among people? Then, being in the middle of it all, why do I feel nothing?

What is the other reason? What is the reason for our laughter?

Chaotic and contradictory thoughts are clashing fiercely in my mind, making it hard to find a winner.

This is a war between evenly matched sides, where both are unable to move forward because of the other's existence. I understand that such a war only leads to the outcome of mutual survival or mutual destruction, yet I am unwilling to accept such a result.

"But it's really great that everyone is still together." Ichinose quickly arrived at her own answer regarding what I was thinking, a happy smile blooming on her lips.

It wasn't just Ichinose; everyone except me had quickly reached a conclusion. There seems to be an insurmountable chasm between them and me.

But, what is that?

I rubbed my hair, considering the connection, but in the end, I was left with nothing.

"How come you seem even more listless than usual? Did you not sleep well last night?"

"Don't tell me you've been stalking me? You can even tell something like that."

"Stop joking. An average person wouldn't have the energy to stalk you. Even if you became a celebrity in the future, the paparazzi wouldn't follow your boring daily life."

"That's too harsh. I just wanted to sleep."

"Today is also a good time for rest, so just go back to the dormitory and sleep to your heart's content."

"But I remember there's a victory party later, right?"

"Are you actually planning on going?"

"It's a class-wide gathering, so I'll attend, at least for now..."

"That decision really doesn't sound like you, especially when you could have just refused."

"Because my dinner is being watched by someone else."

"That sounds like a real pain." Kanzaki gave me a strange smile that could only be described as mocking.

In fact, I could have made up an excuse to refuse, yet I chose to do exactly this.

At the same time, I still cannot clearly define the reason for doing so.

Chapter 19: Private Points That Failed to Distribute Normally

[The points for the second and third years were deposited normally, and we didn't encounter this issue when we were first-years.]

[Information timed out, deleted.]

After confirming that the information was completely wiped from the program, I also deleted Yoshii-senpai's contact information, trying my best not to leave any traces. I don't trust the social software developed by the school; although most of us use it, I was worried that chat logs might be snooped on, so I created my own.

July 1st, the day for the announcement of class points and the deposit of private points.

After finishing the slightly tense midterm exams, we returned to our usual leisurely daily routine.

Students in Classes A through D are assigned based on ability; starting from academic performance, Class B has no issues with exams, so I assume the same is true for Class A. Although I cannot confirm the grades of other classes or what their strength represents, if they couldn't even cross this basic threshold, there would be no need for them to exist.

Returning to the topic of points, the reason Yoshii-senpai sent me that message was that we hadn't received our private point deposits in the early hours of this day. Class points don't just reset to zero without reason, and the normal deposits for the second and third years indicated that the school didn't have an overly heavy financial burden.

The only possibility was that some kind of dispute had occurred among the higher-ups managing the first years, delaying the distribution of points.

"You're as slow as ever. Can you tell me what exactly you've been doing in the dormitory during this time?"

"Nothing special, I just simply didn't have the desire to arrive early."

"That's a very unique answer."

"Thanks for the compliment." Finishing my conversation with Kanzaki, I put down my messenger bag and was just about to lie on my desk to spend the rest of my break, but unfortunately, I was interrupted by Ichinose again.

"Raku, did you get enough sleep last night? You seem sleepy every single morning."

"If I don't get enough rest, I'll just drop dead. As for why I'm sleepy every morning... I suppose it's just a habit. It's been like this for a long time."

"How could that possibly be a habit—"

"By the way, Ichinose, have your private points for this month arrived? I checked my balance this morning and it hadn't changed. Did something happen?" I interrupted her before she could start acting like a mother again.

"So you didn't receive them either, Raku... It's not just everyone here; not a single first-year student has received their points. We don't know the reason for the issue yet, so we'll just have to wait for Teacher Hoshinomiya to arrive."

No sooner had she finished speaking than the bell for the morning homeroom rang. Teacher Hoshinomiya walked in, swaying slightly as if she were a little tipsy, her hair a messy, unkempt clump, though thankfully her clothes were still neat.

"Looking at her like that, Teacher Hoshinomiya must have gone drinking again last night," Ichinose sighed helplessly.

"It's not the first or second time; you should be used to it by now." She has such a strong desire to promote the class, yet she spends every night hungover. She really is a strange person.

"Good morning, everyone. Let's open our textbooks to—"

"Teacher, it's time for morning homeroom now."

"Eh? Oh, right. Sorry, I went to bed quite late last night, and my head is still spinning. Well then... come to think of it, I don't think I prepared anything to talk about for this morning's homeroom."

"..."

What a reassuring teacher she is.

"Teacher, it's already July 1st today..." we reminded her weakly from the side. Only then did Teacher Hoshinomiya notice the poster tube she was holding in her hand.

"Ahahaha, actually, I was just teasing you all. I wanted to see if you were paying attention. It looks like things are in pretty good shape." Teacher Hoshinomiya nodded triumphantly and pasted this month's class point rankings onto the blackboard.

Class A—1,004 points

Class B—664 points

Class C—462 points

Class D—87 points

"Although our class points are only fourteen points higher than last month, Class A's increase isn't that large either. I believe you all can work hard to catch up. Everyone needs to think of more ways to improve." Teacher Hoshinomiya was analyzing the fluctuations in points, but we had no heart to listen; instead, we became even more confused.

"It's not zero points, so why didn't we receive our private points?"

"I guess the S System really did malfunction."

"Teacher Hoshinomiya, we haven't received this month's private points. Do you know the reason why?"

"You haven't received this month's private points?" Teacher Hoshinomiya replied, looking surprised.

"Yes. Logically, the school should have distributed the points at dawn today. But when I checked this morning, the account balance hadn't changed, and it's the same even now."

"Can we find out the reason?"

"How could that be... Wait, let me check the messages on my phone." After saying that, Teacher Hoshinomiya hurried back to the office to find out what was going on.

It didn't take long for her to jog back, breathless.

"You don't need to worry about the points. Because of some dispute, the points couldn't be distributed on time. The distribution will likely be delayed for the next few days, so please keep an eye on your specific totals."

"Is there a dispute with the government?"

"I'm not sure either. The notice only says 'distribution suspended due to a dispute'; the school hasn't provided any detailed reasons."

"Will the school provide any compensation for this delay in point distribution?"

"Of course not. I've been teaching here for many years, and the school has never provided compensation for its own mistakes. You also need to understand the school's difficulties; the government's funding isn't just given away for free."

"That really is something that can't be helped. At the very least, our private points weren't swallowed up by the school," Shibata remarked from the side, sounding relieved.

"That may be true, but everyone can still look forward to something."

"Look forward to what? Didn't you just say there's no possibility of compensation, Teacher?"

"Even if there's no compensation, who's to say there won't be a reward? For example, if everyone helps the school resolve the dispute, much like the club activities I introduced during lunch break last time. Though that doesn't seem very realistic, considering we don't even know if the dispute is internal to the school or with the outside world."

"Actually, everyone should probably just ignore what I just said. Your focus right now should be on your class points. My final evaluation depends on your help, so let's all work hard to promote to Class A."

Teacher Hoshinomiya glossed over the topic of the dispute, and we didn't pay it much mind, as the conversation drifted back to the disparity in class points.

"The gap with Class A is a full 340 points. It's going to be incredibly difficult to catch up."

"Even Class D had a larger improvement than us this time. Did we overlook something? Or is it just easier to raise points when you're at the bottom?"

I'm not sure if it's easier for bottom-tier classes to raise their points, but I'm inclined to disagree, as Class A's point increase was also quite substantial.

When Teacher Hoshinomiya previously told us the truth about this school, she mentioned a small part of the reason for our point deductions. Tardiness, absenteeism, leaving class without permission, using mobile phones, etc.—we have improved on these basic manners, but I don't think these can be called "bonus items," at least not the main ones. For Class D's 87-point increase, they must have done something that couldn't be ignored.

The only thing that could serve as a test within this month was the midterm exam. They probably took some special action at that point. For example, buying test papers, buying scores...

The discussion within the class grew louder, and I silently tallied the conclusions I could draw so far.

First, the S System possesses a standardized, digitized formula for point increases and decreases. I deduced this from the uniformity of the class points.

The other point concerns the drop in Class C's points. The decline in Class C's points didn't come as a surprise to us; it should be considered a deserved punishment. After all, they seem to have done many excessive things to the students in our class, even though I haven't encountered them myself.

I might be able to guess why they did that. If I'm right, there is a leader behind them. It's hard to imagine that in a class without a commander, the majority of people would commit acts that violate moral standards. Such behavior is something even Class D hasn't done.

And the person capable of doing this must be quite ruthless and decisive. I fear they would use anyone they could, stopping at nothing to achieve their goals. Just thinking about such a person is terrifying.

"Let me share a piece of news with you all. It's said that this summer vacation, we might have the chance to visit an island in the south to experience a homestay!" Seeing the students discussing things so heatedly, Teacher Hoshinomiya couldn't help but show a happy smile, revealing something she wasn't supposed to tell us.

"Oh, really? Does such a good thing actually exist?"

"Don't get so excited, Okabe. Nothing is certain yet. The school is still considering whether it's necessary, but if they do decide to hold it, it will last for two whole weeks."

"Teacher, didn't you say you were a student at this school too? Did you get to experience it?"

"Of course! Back in my day, I even went swimming at the beach. It was super comfortable. The sun was a bit intense and there were quite a few mosquitoes, but overall, the experience was wonderful."

"The teacher participated in it too; this might be a recurring event. That would be amazing."

However, would this school really be that benevolent?

I hid in the corner, peering at the changes in Teacher Hoshinomiya's facial expressions, yet I couldn't discern a thing. The comprehensiveness of her words was just like the woman herself—hidden very deep.

Chapter 20: All Actions Are Premised on a Goal

If a person goes to the battlefield with the conviction that they will lose, even if they do lose the war, they have actually won. Because things unfolded exactly as they had envisioned, and everything was under their control. Thus, victory was inevitable.

So, I wandered around the campus with the conviction that I would absolutely not find the item, all for the sake of my final victory. Yet, I lost—I lost completely. Because that small, lost black object was now in my hands.

I was so mentally unprepared to retrieve the item that I stood dazed at the recovery spot for a long time. My mind was even filled with the alarm bells of a trap about to be exposed.

I hadn't caught the prey; it was just an inconspicuous pebble that had triggered the trap. The feeling of having my carefully prepared trap ruined was likely exactly what I was experiencing now.

Looking on the bright side, maybe they did it on purpose... Yeah, right. The incident was already over, and I had been playing a battle of wits against thin air the whole time. No matter how I look at it, it feels incredibly awkward.

I casually brushed off the tiny soil particles clinging to the object, and the result of my inspection told me it was completely intact, not even tampered with by anyone else.

Well, in a way, this result isn't too bad.

"Raku?" Just as I was gazing at the sunset in the distance, Ichinose's voice suddenly came from behind me.

"Good evening."

"Good evening... Why are you here, Raku? Usually, at this time, you should be at the school cafeteria with Kanzaki and the others."