Class 1-D, Like a Family

The moment he said that.

Katsuragi and Kamuro Masumi fell silent at the same time.

Was it hard to understand how impressive what Kijima Tsukur had done was?

Of course not.

For everyone in the first years to graduate from Class A.

Everyone would work together to raise each class's Class Points as much as possible, thereby increasing the personal points they received each month.

That was the optimal solution!

How could anyone fail to understand something so simple? Why did Kijima Tsukur have to explain it to them over and over?

And yet.

Could Kijima Tsukur lead everyone to graduate from Class A?

Impossible.

Anyone with a brain would reach that conclusion.

Needless to say, the Sakayanagi Faction members like Morishige Takuro didn't believe him. Even Katsuragi Kohei had never believed him.

Just as Kijima Tsukur had said.

People's prejudices were like a towering mountain.

No matter what he said, they wouldn't believe him.

That was precisely why,

Kijima Tsukur had never tried to force them.

He would only prove it with facts.

The truth would always be known only to a select few.

People couldn't predict the future.

The road was made one step at a time.

You couldn't give up just because the odds of success were too low.

If you gave up because your chances of success were too slim, then you'd never have any chance of succeeding!

Even if the odds of getting everyone to graduate from Class A were only 0.1%,

Kijima Tsukur would keep walking the path of Tenmei!

Watching Kijima Tsukur stride forward alone without hesitation, Yamamura Miki stood rooted to the spot. By the time she came to her senses, she hurried to catch up.

She seemed to understand something, yet also seemed to understand nothing at all.

Soon,

they arrived at the Class D classroom.

Class 1-D, Like a Family

Class 1-D.

As soon as they arrived,

they saw the Class D students standing in groups of three or five.

A quick glance revealed 39 students. They gave off a rough, uncultured impression.

Of course, after school, their time was their own.

But Kijima Tsukur had notified Hirata and the others in advance, and the students had agreed to wait in the classroom.

Being unable to wait even this little while and needing to gather together to chat and kill time showed an extreme lack of self-discipline.

"Kijima..."

Hirata Yosuke came over to them and nodded.

"Sorry. I did my best to get everyone to stay, but Koenji left anyway. Kijima, you said you had good news. What did you mean?"

"Let's go inside and talk."

Kijima Tsukur led them into the classroom.

Yamamura Miki took the camping chair off her shoulder, unfolded it, and set it on the teacher's platform. She was already used to doing this.

Below,

Horikita Suzune and Kiyotaka Ayanokoji watched them, too.

When they heard Hirata asking everyone to wait because someone from Class A had good news for Class D, they were curious about what Kijima Tsukur was up to this time.

Just as Kijima Tsukur sat down, someone shouted from the back of the classroom:

"Hey, Hirata. They're the people from Class A you were talking about, right? You didn't make us stay just to wait for them, did you? Hurry up and tell us what this is about. My time's precious, you know."

"Yeah, and we even have to bring our own chairs."

"Seriously, what's with the attitude... Who does that guy think he is?"

Perhaps because they felt they were on their own turf, a few boys at the back of the classroom muttered among themselves without stopping.

They mainly had it in for Kijima Tsukur. He'd come all the way to Class D and brought a chair just to show off. Who did he think he was impressing?

Katsuragi and the others looked in that direction, their expressions calm.

They were all among the best of the best in Class A. No matter what they felt, they wouldn't show it on their faces.

According to Morishita Ai and Hashimoto Masayoshi,

they seemed to be Sudo, Yamauchi Haruki, and Ike Kanji from Class D.

Kijima Tsukur didn't care, but Katsuragi and Sakayanagi had naturally asked Morishita Ai and the others about them.

I see...

Kijima Tsukur understood.

With people like that around, it wasn't surprising Class D had fallen to zero Class Points. Even ten thousand points probably wouldn't be enough to keep them from losing it all.

"In that case, let's get straight to the point."

Kijima Tsukur took the Rubik's Cube from his pocket and looked at the students below.

"The school announced each class's Class Points today. From what I can tell, Class D has already lost all its Class Points and fallen to zero..."

"So what?"

Before Kijima Tsukur could finish, a red-haired boy stood up. The veins on his forehead bulged as he glared and snapped at him:

"Don't think there's anything so great about Class A. Don't look down on us."

"Calm down, Sudo."

Hirata Yosuke hurried to soothe him. "Kijima doesn't mean it that way. How about we hear him out before saying anything? Sorry, Kijima, Sudo has club activities to attend. Could you keep it brief? Please."

Hot-tempered, sensitive, extremely proud, impatient—he couldn't even listen to someone finish speaking before flying into a rage.

Kijima Tsukur looked at Sudo and the others, sizing him up in an instant.

As for the "club activities" Hirata mentioned, that was probably just an excuse he'd made for Sudo's impatience and temper, to avoid a confrontation.

The word "please" alone

showed just how deferential Hirata was.

He was effectively apologizing for Sudo's behavior, which also proved that Hirata really did have the ability to keep the situation under control.

"Is that so? Since you have club activities, I'll keep it as brief as I can."

Kijima Tsukur nodded, deciding to do Hirata a favor. Then he explained to Sudo:

"What I'm about to say might hurt your feelings, but please believe me when I say I'm not looking down on you."

"Oh... Okay... Then hurry up."

Sudo sat back down, a little embarrassed.

Communication required tact.

Sudo was clearly someone with an extremely strong ego and a very sensitive nature.

As long as Kijima Tsukur made it clear that he wasn't looking down on him and prepared him for what was coming, even Sudo could settle down and listen.

Kijima Tsukur didn't care about saving face. He cared more about the outcome of the conversation.

Judging by Sudo,

he'd already formed a rough impression of the overall quality of Class D—or, rather, why they were called defective products.

Proud,

concerned with appearances,

oversensitive,

uncultured,

conceited,

self-centered,

and disrespectful of others.

They had plenty of flaws, but that didn't matter.

"Back to what we were discussing."

Kijima Tsukur nodded at Yamauchi Haruki and the others. "So I took the liberty of guessing that you're short on personal points. You've probably already spent all one hundred thousand of your personal points, haven't you?"

"So what?"

Yamauchi Haruki and the others sounded scornful. "So you really did come here to laugh at us?"

"No. If that were the case..."

Kijima Tsukur held up one finger and looked at the other students in Class D.

"I'd like to make a deal with you."

"Hey..."

Yamauchi Haruki sounded exasperated. "Stop being so cryptic. What deal?"

Behind him,

Katsuragi and Kamuro Masumi frowned.

They couldn't help glancing at Kijima Tsukur, sitting there. His way of speaking was completely different from how he'd talked in Class A...

Kijima Tsukur was deliberately creating a certain atmosphere for the conversation.

He was making Yamauchi Haruki and the others feel involved, as if they were in control, and treating them with respect.

And yet,

the truth was

that Sudo and the others, who were looked down on and labeled defective products in Class D, were now able to have a proper conversation with Kijima Tsukur.

That showed Kijima Tsukur also had excellent social skills.

In Class A, he acted like he owned the place. But here in Class D, he was like a sunny, popular boy.

This guy... He was doing it on purpose, wasn't he?

The Class D students were just as puzzled. They couldn't help looking at Yamauchi Haruki and the others.

Those guys were among the most disliked students in Class D.

They caused trouble for everyone around them all day long, yet after just a few words, they were already so friendly with someone from another class.

Kamuro Masumi and the Class D students cursed inwardly at the same time: