The atmosphere in the classroom was oppressive. For a while, nobody spoke.
In the end, Hoshino was the one who broke the silence. "Teacher Chabashira, could you please continue explaining the second sheet?"
"The one on the right shows the current Class Points."
Class D had zero points. Class C had 490, Class B had 650, and Class A had the most, with 940.
"Just as I thought."
Hoshino's remark drew everyone's attention.
"Judging by the scores for each class, these Class Points must be tied to the personal points deposited each month. My guess is that every class started with 1,000 points in the first month, and that the Class Points are converted to personal points at a ratio of one to a hundred. That would mean 100,000 points per student."
"But...if every class started the year with 1,000 points, then..."
"Exactly. It means the other three classes haven't had all their points deducted like we have. They still received their monthly deposits."
It wasn't a fortune like 100,000 points, but even Class C, with the fewest points, had 49,000—enough to cover daily expenses.
Hirata was smart. He must have already reached the same conclusion, but he still couldn't bring himself to believe it.
"More importantly, judging by how many points each class lost, it seems the classes weren't assigned at random."
The revelation was so shocking that, for a moment, nobody in the room reacted. Then came a round of applause. It was Teacher Chabashira.
"You were able to deduce all that from this chart right away. You're a perceptive student, Hoshino."
"I was hoping I'd gotten it wrong this time."
"You didn't. Your conclusion is correct. At this school, students are assigned to classes according to their ability. The best students go to Class A, and the least useful go to Class D. Do you understand? Class D is where the bottom of the entire year ends up. You're all defective products—the least useful students."
Teacher Chabashira's cutting words must have stung more than a few students. The ones who had scored near the top were especially affected. They considered themselves academically capable, yet had been placed in the worst class. It was a hard gap to accept.
"No! That can't be right!"
A boy with glasses jumped to his feet and shouted. His name was Yukimura Teruhiko, and he'd scored a high 90 on the test.
"Accept it, Yukimura. This is reality."
"How can I accept this? Teacher, there has to be some kind of mistake!"
When Teacher Chabashira shook her head without changing her expression, Yukimura turned around, agitated.
"H-Hoshino! You got a perfect score! You can't accept this either, right...? How can you still be smiling?"
"Heh. Sorry, I just thought of something funny."
"...What's so funny?"
"Never mind. Just pretend I'm babbling."
Hoshino had come to this Advanced Nurturing High School on a whim, after hearing from Arisu that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had enrolled. Since the application deadline had already passed, Hoshino had approached Koenji Rokusuke, the young master of the Koenji Conglomerate, who had also applied to the school. He'd struck a deal with him at great expense, and with help from Arisu's father, Mr. Naruse, had taken Koenji's place and enrolled.
Now he was thinking that Koenji was supposed to have been assigned to this defective class, Class D, and he couldn't help laughing.
With Koenji's personality, he definitely wouldn't care about it. He'd probably say something conceited like, "The school is simply incapable of judging my true abilities." Still, just thinking about it amused Hoshino.
Hoshino's mind had wandered, making the atmosphere in the classroom a little strange. Seeing this, Teacher Chabashira nodded as if she were quite satisfied.
"There's one last thing I'd like to add. This school is famous for its high rates of university admission and employment. I imagine many of you chose it because you were counting on that guarantee."
According to the rumors, the school had a 100% rate of university admission and employment. After graduating, students could go on to top universities or join companies that were notoriously difficult to get into.
"But use your heads. What kind of world would guarantee university admission and employment to people with as little ability as you?"
"Then...does that mean we can't achieve our goals of getting into university or finding a job from Class D?"
"Hirata, you're still too naive. It's not just Class D. Class B and Class C can't do it either. At this school, only graduates of Class A are guaranteed those opportunities."
Those cold words were the final, cruel blow to the students' last shred of hope.
"Why did I even come to this school?"
The less resilient students had already begun to doubt themselves.
"If you understand how harsh your situation is, then maybe this lengthy guidance session will have served some purpose. Midterms are coming up soon. If things stay as they are, more than one of you will be expelled. Struggle all you like, work as hard as you can, and just make it through the exams first."
After saying this, Teacher Chabashira shut the door firmly and left the classroom.
The students who had failed hung their heads in despair. Even Sudo, who was usually so arrogant, looked dejected.
"What are we supposed to do if we don't have any points from now on?"
"I just spent my last points yesterday..."
"What are we going to do? Getting expelled isn't a joke."
"Damn it, why is this happening? Why am I in Class D?"
As soon as Teacher Chabashira left, the classroom descended into chaos.
Worry over points, fear of expulsion, anger over their class assignments. All kinds of emotions mingled together.
Hoshino watched it all in silence. Just then, a message came through on his phone. It was from Arisu.
"Akira, how's it going? Judging by the time, I thought you'd have heard the teacher's explanation by now."
"Yeah. I figured you'd be contacting me soon, too."
"Thanks for having such high expectations of me. So, how are things?"
"Not great, in any respect."
"I noticed the Class Points for Class D that were made public."
"Yeah, they've been wiped out. Honestly, I never expected we'd lose this many points. My classmates are really something."
According to Teacher Chabashira, no Class D in the school's history had ever had its points wiped out in a single month. In a way, they'd made history.
"It's only natural they're confused after being hit with so much information at once. It's the same here in Class A."
Arisu said that, but Hoshino couldn't imagine why the Class A students would be confused. They'd lost only sixty Class Points in a month. It was easy to imagine that Class A was full of disciplined, well-behaved students. Even if their grades weren't good, students like that should be able to focus on studying and avoid failing.
"Akira, don't think too highly of Class A's students. Ability is relative, and they're still only first-years."
As if she'd read his mind, Arisu reminded him.
"That's true."
To Hoshino, the students in Class A were merely "normal." They did what students were supposed to do. It was the students in Class D who were hopeless.
"And besides, I deserve some of the credit. I've been making a few things go my way."
"...The students in Class A are a little unlucky to have you as a classmate."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
Arisu may have had that sort of personality, but she really was exceptionally capable. With her leading them, Class A, whose students were above average, would surely be a formidable opponent for Class D.
Hoshino wasn't all that confident about the contest he'd agreed to have with Arisu.
"By the way, Akira, are you all right for points? Do you need me to bail you out?"
Hoshino thought for a moment, then sent her a sticker that read, "Rich lady, I'm hungry. Feed me."
Arisu replied almost immediately:
"All right. Come to my room tonight, and I'll feed you."
The moment he saw the message, Hoshino instinctively turned off his phone screen, then glanced around. Of course, nobody was paying attention to him.
What am I acting so guilty about? Hoshino thought, then began to look forward to it.
Before you continue