Class D's Internal Strife (Continued)

After Sakagami Kazuma left, Kitagawa Ryo walked naturally to the podium and tapped the blackboard:

"Everyone, follow me."

"Boss, wanna fight?"

Ishizaki Daichi responded excitedly.

Kitagawa Ryo glanced at the guy with a hint of disdain:

"Go to Class 1-D."

"Collect the debt."

In contrast to the peaceful atmosphere in Class C, Class 1-D was already caught in a vortex of accusations and shirking of responsibility.

As soon as Chabashira Sae entered the classroom with the poster tube in her hand, she was immediately locked onto by almost all the students' eyes. They were eagerly hoping that their homeroom teacher could explain why the points had not been transferred to their accounts this morning. This unusual situation made everyone a little panicked.

Normally, the frivolous Kanji Ike might have joked, "Does Sae look so pale today because she hasn't had her period?" But now, even the most boisterous students in the class, Ike and Yamauchi, were unusually quiet, waiting with a mixture of panic and anticipation for Chabashira Sae's explanation.

"The morning assembly will now begin. But before we start, do you have any questions? If there's anything you'd like to ask, it's best to do so now."

Chabashira-sensei seemed oblivious to the unusual atmosphere in the class, and said these words with her arms crossed.

She sounded quite confident about the questions the Student Council wanted to ask, and in fact, several students immediately raised their hands as soon as she finished speaking.

"Um... homeroom teacher, I checked this morning and found that the points haven't been deposited. Isn't it supposed to be paid out on the first of each month? I was really worried this morning because I couldn't buy juice, so I had to use the free bottled water as a last resort."

The first boy to be called spoke in a rather lighthearted tone, even waving his water bottle at Chabashira Sae.

"Hondo I explained before, that's correct. Points are credited on the first of each month. This month's credit has undoubtedly been confirmed."

"Wait, but... the points haven't been transferred in yet?"

"Could it be that other students received it?"

Hondo and Yamauchi looked at each other and discussed quietly, then took out their phones again to confirm that no points had been transferred in.

"You guys are truly a hopelessly stupid bunch of students."

Chabashira Sae gently shook her head, her sharp gaze sweeping over the entire class. The students' expressions ranged from blank and bewildered to indifferent and apathetic.

"Huh? Did we do something wrong?"

"Hondo down, sir. I won't say it a second time."

Chabashira Sae reprimanded Hondou sternly for his naive Hondo. Perhaps only now was she truly displaying her authority as a homeroom teacher. It was only because the lax classroom discipline and the wonderful after-school life of the past month had made the students of Class D forget their identity as students, and naturally they did not have much respect for Chabashira Sae their homeroom teacher. This could be seen from the fact that the boys called her "Sae" without any restraint.

Now that things have come to this, Hondo recalled the fear he should have had of his class teacher during his student days, and timidly sat back down in his chair.

"The points have already been transferred; that's an indisputable fact. The fantasy that only this class has been forgotten is impossible."

"Do you understand?"

Chabashira Sae spoke without any mercy, as if she wanted to shatter everyone's expectations and fantasies.

"No, even if Sae, ask us if we understand... the fact is, the points haven't been deposited."

"Chabashira-sensei, would you like to take a look at my phone? It clearly shows the zero point."

Some students were still confused by Chabashira Sae's words, and quite a few even showed signs of dissatisfaction.

"Haha, so that's how it is, Teacher. I understand the mystery now."

Koenji Rokusuke, who hadn't participated in class affairs or social interactions since the start of the semester, suddenly laughed loudly. After all eyes turned to him, he swaggered onto the desk, arrogantly raising his eyebrows, and said:

"This is a very simple matter, it means that our Class D didn't receive a single grain of rice."

"The points were indeed deposited, but the amount deposited was zero."

Koenji Rokusuke's words instantly caused a huge uproar in the class. Yamauchi Haruki, who had always disliked Koenji Rokusuke, shouted loudly:

"What? Why? Wasn't it said that 100,000 points would be deposited every month?"

"I don't recall ever hearing that, do I?"

Koenji didn't explain, but simply Yamauchi a mocking smile.

"Although Koenji's attitude is very problematic, things are as he said. It's really sad that so many hints have been given, yet so few people can realize it on their own."

Chabashira Sae recalled some rumors she had heard this month about Koenji Rokusuke. This heir to a large conglomerate should have seen through some of the point system rules long ago, but he only chose to speak up now. Considering his performance since entering the school, Koenji Rokusuke had already been excluded from her list of candidates who could lead Class D to promotion.

"Teacher, may I ask a question? There's something I don't understand."

Hirata Yosuke raised his hand:

"Please tell us why we weren't given points, otherwise we cannot accept this."

He had a rough idea of the reasons, but since the points couldn't be recovered now, he should at least know the detailed rules for deducting points so that he wouldn't lose points for no reason in his future school life. As a way of dealing with the aftermath, Hirata Yosuke managed to get by.

Unfortunately, that's probably the extent of their abilities.

Chabashira Sae sighed almost imperceptibly. Finding someone with both the right skills and personality wasn't easy. Hirata Yosuke was excellent enough, but he still couldn't meet her expectations.

"Nightly tardiness and absences totaled ninety-eight times. Private conversations or cell phone use during class amounted to three hundred and ninety-one times. That's how many times you did it in just one month. In this school, class performance is reflected in points. As a result, you've given up all the 100,000 points you should have earned. That's all there is to it. I should have stated it directly on the day of the entrance ceremony: this school measures students by ability. And this time, you received a 'zero' rating. That's all there is to it."

As if running a necessary procedure, Chabashira Sae still uttered mechanical, emotionless words.

Every word she said struck the hearts of the students in Class D, pushing them little by little into the abyss.

"Chabashira-sensei, I don't recall receiving any instructions about this."

Hirata Yosuke was still trying to struggle. He wasn't concerned about his points, but rather he didn't want to see Class D in such a state of uproar over points.

"What? You can't understand unless someone explains it to you?"

"Of course, we've never heard of any reduction in incoming points."

Because he ignored his friend being bullied during junior high school, which led to the friend jumping off a building, Hirata Yosuke has an astonishing obsession with the atmosphere of a group. While other classmates have begun to panic and even argue with each other, he is still trying to communicate with Chabashira Sae, hoping to find a way to mediate.

"Once we get an explanation, everyone should stop being late or whispering."

"Hirata, do you even think before you speak?"

Chabashira Sae said with a cold smile:

"I honestly don't remember explaining what rules would determine the points. But, didn't you learn these basic classroom rules in elementary and junior high school: don't be late for class, and don't chat privately during class?"

"Or are you saying you've stopped considering yourselves students?"

"Now that things have come to this, you insist that it's unacceptable because it wasn't explained? If you had simply done what was taken for granted, the Class Points wouldn't have been zero."

"This is all your own responsibility."

Hirata Yosuke's struggle was easily defeated by Chabashira Sae's logic.

She looked at Yamauchi Haruki in regret after spending all 100,000 points on the game console, and said:

"You've only just entered your First Year high school. Do you really think you can use 100,000 points every month without any limit? Especially in this school established by the state to educate outstanding talents? Common sense tells you that's impossible. You're just going to enjoy these 100,000 points so comfortably and plan to stay here until graduation?"

Chabashira Sae pulled the white paper out of the poster tube, unfolded it, and used a magnetic teaching device to fix it to the blackboard:

"The college entrance rate is almost 100%, and students are free to choose their future after graduation, whether it's employment or studying abroad. The school will provide maximum resources and assistance... Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? I hope you've all been spending the past month fantasizing about this while recklessly using up your points."

All the students' attention was focused on the unfolded sheet of white paper:

Class A: 940 points

Class B: 650 points

Class C: 590 points

Class D: Midnight

Even compared to the closest Class C, the points difference is a full 590 points, not to mention the even greater gap compared to the top-level Class A.

"This is the Class Points. Each class starts with one thousand points at the beginning of the semester."

"Now you all understand, right?"

Chabashira Sae seemed to be enjoying the appalling state of Class D, and she continued:

"The class assignments at this school are never random, but rather based on the students' academic performance. The best students are in Class A, and the worst students are in Class D. And it turns out that at the end of each first month, the differences in Class Points clearly show up in the order of A, B, C, and D."

"In reality, only the students in Class A actually enjoy the benefits that the school advertises."

Although she said that, a strange glint flashed in Chabashira Sae's eyes:

The gap between Class C and Class D this year is too small; they are almost evenly matched.

"To have used up all your points in just one month, even among the top Class D of all time, you are truly outstanding. You are so amazing that I can't help but admire you."

As Chabashira Sae said this, she deliberately clapped her hands.

"Does that mean as long as the Class Points are zero, we'll remain with zero income indefinitely?"

The helpless voice came from a girl whose face had turned pale.

"These points will remain until graduation, but don't worry, the dorm rooms are free, and food and daily necessities are also free. Unless you guys want to die, you shouldn't die."

The words, a stark contrast to the warm greetings at the start of the semester, stung the students of Class D. Going from spending 100,000 yen in a month to having zero points wasn't just a matter of starving; it was the drastic difference that was most unbearable. On one hand, there was the lack of points, and on the other hand, the beautiful scenes they had imagined after graduation were shattered by Chabashira Sae. Even worse, there was another piece of paper that Chabashira Sae had pasted on the blackboard.

"However, many students probably don't need to worry about having a miserable time, after all, some of them might be leaving this school this month."

Chabashira Sae paid no attention to her classmates' complaints, and instead added fuel to the fire:

"The results of yesterday's quiz came out, and the 'elites' in the class really live up to your pitiful zero-point scores. Have you ever received a systematic junior high school education? To be honest, I almost laughed when the scores were tallied."

Faced with the merciless mockery of their homeroom teacher, Chabashira, the students in the class were almost speechless.

According to Chabashira Sae, if this quiz were a midterm exam, seven people would already be eliminated.

After saying everything she wanted to say, the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Chabashira Sae didn't linger and turned to leave Class D's classroom.

As soon as Chabashira Sae left, the entire Class D erupted in chaos. A bespectacled boy sitting in the front row screamed almost at the top of his lungs:

"The Class Points... Are you kidding me? Why am I in Class D?"

He looked at each classmate with almost hatred in his eyes:

"I've been attending class diligently every day for the past month. If it weren't for you all, how could we have lost so many Class Points?"

The boy named Yukimura angrily spoke in a rough voice, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. He pointed at Yamauchi and Ike and cursed:

"You two idiots are clearly the ones with the most late arrivals and absences, so your Private Points should be deducted separately!"

"Hey, who are you? You spewing filth and want to fight?"

Yamauchi Haruki and Kanji Ike were not going to tolerate this classmate who was academically excellent but physically weak, and they were itching to teach him a lesson.

"And you too!"

He then pointed to Sudo, who had been keeping his body low and trying to minimize his presence:

"It's all because of you, you bastard! We still have to pay Class C 10,000 Class Points every month, even though we only have zero Private Points left!"

It wasn't until Yukimura uttered those words that many Class D students, who had forgotten about the contract, suddenly remembered the contract they had signed with Class C at the beginning of the month. Many students who had only ten or twenty thousand points left last month were just glad that they had saved some as a backup, and now they had to transfer ten thousand to Class C. And many more students who hadn't even saved ten thousand points had already started cursing Sudo along with Yukimura.

At first, Sudo managed to hold back his words, but as his classmate's words became increasingly harsh, he couldn't help but clench his fists, which trembled as if he were about to stand up.

"I understand how confused everyone is, but let's calm down for now."

Hirata Yosuke, who was extremely sensitive to the atmosphere, stood up to calm the surrounding emotions. He first soothed Sudo, who was about to explode:

"We're all classmates, so don't say things that go too far."

"What do you mean by calm? Aren't you resentful of being in the same class as this bunch of good-for-nothings?!"

Even if we're being treated like this now, as long as we work together to get our revenge, isn't that enough?

"I understand how you feel. But even if you pour out your grievances here now, nothing will get started, right?"

Hirata Yosuke tried his best to persuade her in a gentle tone.

"What did you say?"

Yukimura closed the distance with an air of impending doom, as if he were about to grab Hirata by the collar, seemingly about to throw a punch at Hirata Yosuke.

"You two, calm down, okay? The teacher must have been trying to motivate us, that's why she was so harsh, wasn't she?"

At this moment, Kushida Kikyo, who could not stay out of it, hurriedly came over to mediate. As soon as she entered between the two confrontations, she gently placed her hand on Yukimura's tightly clenched fist, causing him to take a half step back.

"It's only been a month since school started, if everyone works hard from now on..."

Just as Kushida Kikyo was calming down Class D with her gentle charm, thanks to the persona she had carefully cultivated over the past month, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka Ayanokouji, who had been quietly observing the situation without making a move, suddenly noticed that Horikita Suzune standing up next to him had walked to the podium and said:

"If we really want to advance to Class A, expelling some of the useless students might be a better approach."