Chabashira: "I'd Call You the Absolute Worst" (Continued)

"Then let's continue."

"I might as well tell you: this was indeed an assessment for the first-years. The rules were the same for every year. How many points do you think the other classes earned in this assessment?"

As Chabashira-sensei spoke at the podium, she took a thick sheet of white paper from the poster tube in her hand, unfolded it, and pinned it to the blackboard with magnets.

The students hadn't even had time to process what was happening. They stared at the paper, bewildered and at a loss.

"These are the scores for each class."

Chabashira-sensei braced both hands on the podium.

Her gaze swept coldly over the students below.

The classes were listed from A to D.

Beside each one was a number.

Class D had zero, Class C had five hundred and ninety, Class B had eight hundred and fifty, and Class A had the highest score of all: nine hundred and eighty.

[A980]

[B850]

[C690]

[D0]

"These are the scores for each class."

"Well? Any thoughts?"

Chabashira-sensei seemed to enjoy watching people despair.

She looked on with a malicious grin.

This teacher had her own issues, too.

"Idiots, take a good look. All the points have already been credited to every class except Class D, and there's more than enough for a month of living expenses."

"W-Why do the other classes still have points? That's so weird~~"

Yamauchi Haruki stared up at the scores, his expression downcast. He couldn't accept it.

His points had already hit zero.

He'd gone from thinking he'd receive a hundred thousand points every month to having nothing. He'd also borrowed quite a few points from other people, planning to pay them back once the hundred thousand came in.

Now, what the hell was he supposed to do? He'd be lucky if he could eat anything besides the school's vegetable set meals.

Thinking about how he'd have to spend every day discussing with Kanji Ike and the others which cafeteria vegetable set meal tasted best filled him with regret.

Then he resentfully shifted the blame.

He blamed everything on Kageya Shinjitsu.

If only he'd told them sooner.

Then none of this would have happened.

"Let me make this clear: the school was fair. Every class was assessed according to the same rules. And yet the points are so different. That's reality."

Watching Yamauchi Haruki's miserable expression, Chabashira Sae looked as if she were enjoying the show.

"Why are the class points so different?"

"They must have known about the school's assessment in advance. They..."

Yamauchi Haruki shouted his accusation.

He was showing a rare burst of courage.

"That's right. They did know."

Chabashira Sae answered without hesitation.

"Let me ask you something. If someone had approached your class during the first week of school and offered you a deal worth six million points in exchange for information about the school, could your class have raised that much?"

"Would everyone have been willing to pay?"

Chabashira Sae's follow-up left the class silent.

There was no way their class could have managed that.

At the same time, her words reminded them of the way someone had previously mentioned earning points.

It was exactly this method.

Quite a few students suddenly understood, thinking that they could have done the same themselves.

Once the so-called money-making method had been exposed, it didn't seem like anything special.

Many people in the class were simply frustrated that they hadn't been the ones to benefit.

"So that's how he earned the points?"

"Bastard. You didn't tell anyone in our class, but you told the other classes first."

"You bastard, Kageya Shinjitsu! What do you have to say for yourself?"

Yamauchi Haruki shouted, his eyes bloodshot. Just how many points were they talking about?

Everyone's attention turned to Kageya Shinjitsu.

Even Kushida Kikyo looked a little resentful.

She remembered seeing the several million in his account before.

So that was his way of making money?

Six million points from each class. Three classes.

"Eighteen million?"

Quite a few people were green with envy.

"Those points aren't yours alone."

"Hand them over."

"You betrayed the class, didn't you?"

"Just hand over the points."

Those points represented their future—the future where they wouldn't have to eat vegetable set meals.

The future where they could spend a hundred thousand points a month, just like before.

"Oh, right. Someone also made one more condition: once the assessment ended, Class D would have zero points."

"I have to say, you're pretty clever. It took you just one week to figure out what your classmates were like and conclude that they'd score zero. Even I didn't see that coming."

Chabashira Sae addressed Kageya Shinjitsu.

She seemed to approve of him.

But her words only stirred up more hatred in the class.

None of them felt that their zero points were their own fault.

Kushida Kikyo seriously wondered whether this teacher had some deep grudge against Kageya Shinjitsu.

She'd exposed the whole thing like that.

At the same time, she felt a little uneasy about the way the students around her were looking at Kageya Shinjitsu.

It felt like he was in trouble.

Faced with the students' hateful glares, Kageya Shinjitsu remained perfectly calm.

He'd expected all of this from the start.

He knew it was only a matter of time before the truth came out, and he'd understood that this would be the result.

But Chabashira Sae's resentful attitude...

It made him deeply uncomfortable.

It felt as though he was being targeted.

It almost made him wonder if he'd done something wrong.

"Chabashira-sensei, do you think saying all that will change anything? It won't."

"Don't waste time on pointless things. Morning meeting is almost over. Have you finished announcing everything?"

He paid no attention to the people around him, and even seemed bored.

He didn't take Chabashira-sensei seriously. No matter how much she said, he would never help Class D.

Kageya Shinjitsu practically ignored Yamauchi Haruki, leaving the students who'd hoped to find out about his points disappointed.

If they could get their hands on those points, they might be able to get a share, too.

Like a whale fall, when the whale fell, life flourished around it.

Take down Kageya Shinjitsu, and everyone else could get the points.

Unfortunately, the people here weren't enough to bring the whale down.

"Kageya Shinjitsu, don't pretend you can't hear us."

"Hand over the points."

"Otherwise, we won't let you get away with this."

"Chabashira-sensei, are you really going to let him off like that?"

"He betrayed the class!"

Being ignored so completely naturally enraged Yamauchi Haruki and the others.

They didn't want to let go of the points they believed belonged to them.

He kept pressing the issue.

Seeing this, Chabashira Sae smiled with satisfaction.

This was probably what she'd wanted. Otherwise, she wouldn't have kept steering the conversation and exposing Kageya Shinjitsu.

"You should be understanding. Because of you, there's quite a lot to announce. As for Yamauchi, if you have a complaint, I'll decide what to do based on the situation."

"Of course I have a complaint! The points, the points! That guy..."

Yamauchi Haruki was already focused on the points.

"You're really annoying. Why can't you have even the slightest self-awareness?"

"You think you deserve them?"

"What the hell are you? You're trash. Just having you stand here disgusts me."

"Our class lost all its points, and you're largely to blame. You've got some nerve running your mouth here. You should be thinking about whether you ought to drop out instead of dragging everyone else down."

"And the rest of you are no different."

Kageya Shinjitsu turned and cut off Yamauchi Haruki, who was still trying to argue. His expression was vicious, unlike his usual blank, lazy look.

He pointed straight at Yamauchi Haruki and went off on him, along with Kanji Ike and the others.

He didn't hold back at all.

"You..."

This sudden defiance startled Yamauchi Haruki.

He'd thought Kageya Shinjitsu was just a somewhat clever guy who wouldn't fight back.

Whether at the start of school or later on, even when things happened, he'd never dared to stand up to the class like this.

There were so many people. How could he dare?

"Idiot."

The way Kageya Shinjitsu looked at him as if he were a fool infuriated Yamauchi Haruki.

"I won't let you get away with this."

Kageya Shinjitsu's words drove them mad.