Cruel Truth

May 1st.

The grass grows, the orioles fly.

At the same time, Advanced Nurturing formally announced to the first-year freshmen that true campus life was about to begin...

Year 1, Class D.

As time passed, the relationships among classmates grew more harmonious.

Of course, that referred to harmony within each small clique. The class as a whole remained a scattered mess.

The classroom was filled with restlessness and unease.

"Hey, did your points come through?"

"You didn't get yours either? I thought it was just me."

As the topic opened up, the class instantly grew lively.

"What's the school playing at! Did the system glitch or something?"

"Annoying, I wanted to buy the new game console!"

As each minute ticked by.

Most of the students sank into anxiety and unease.

Ring, ring, ring...

The bell for class rang. Chabashira Sae, dressed in an office lady uniform, strode in on long legs, arriving right on time.

Her face was cold, her aura imposing.

[Chabashira Sae] [Appearance: 9.7] [Intellect: 9.3] [Combat: 9.2]

Damn, Chabashira's stats were that high? Suzuki Tsubame was stunned.

It seemed none of the teachers at this school were simple.

Chabashira Sae slapped her lesson plan directly onto the podium.

Bam! A loud crash erupted.

"Quiet. Class begins."

Silence lasted only two seconds.

Probably used to Chabashira's icy attitude, Ike Kanji joked:

"Little Sae, is it that time of the month today?"

Pfft.

A ripple of suppressed laughter rose through the classroom.

Even Suzuki Tsubame couldn't hold it in for a moment—this guy really knew how to court disaster.

Chabashira Sae crossed her arms and let out two cold laughs.

"As a teacher, students like you are truly a first for me."

The atmosphere instantly chilled...

Normally, no matter what they did, the teachers at the podium always took a hands-off attitude.

Sensing something was wrong, the good-natured Hirata raised his hand and asked cautiously:

"Teacher Chabashira, it seems this month's points haven't been distributed."

Chabashira Sae didn't answer his question.

She picked up a piece of chalk, turned around, and wrote a few words on the blackboard behind her.

Class A: 1090 Class B: 720 Class C: 510 Class D: 0

Chabashira Sae turned back, dusting the chalk off her hands.

"All first-year points have been distributed. As you can see, your personal points for this month are all zero."

"How can this be? Wasn't it promised?"

"Teacher Chabashira, did the school make a mistake?"

The class erupted in wails.

Hirata Yosuke found it hard to accept as well. This would undoubtedly bring massive hidden dangers to the seemingly stable class.

They had no habit of saving points, after all.

The classmates who usually scrimped their points were also in an uproar.

Confusion, anger, despair... all kinds of emotions played out in the classroom.

Seeing their reactions, Chabashira Sae smiled instead of getting angry.

"Heh. Seeing the numbers on the blackboard and still don't get it? One class point equals one hundred personal points. Each student starts with 100,000 personal points—in other words, each class starts with 1,000 points."

"This... Miss Chabashira, you never explained these rules. You can't put all the blame on us, can you?"

Hirata Yosuke tried to argue his case, and the surrounding classmates chimed in one after another.

Yamauchi even shouted loudly:

"That's right, that's right! Miss Chabashira, you left the class to its own devices—you're responsible too."

But they clearly underestimated Chabashira's thick skin.

"Heh."

Chabashira let out a cold laugh.

"When you start a job, do your seniors tell you all the company's unwritten rules? If this were a company, you'd have been fired by now."

She was completely twisting the truth.

After all, over in Class C, their homeroom teacher Ban-ue Suma, when Ryuen was conquering the class by force—

Not only did he provide moral support, he even deliberately covered for him. When necessary, he even helped block the classroom surveillance cameras.

Hirata Yosuke, throwing all dignity aside, kept struggling:

"Even so, the class points shouldn't have been deducted this much, right? What's the deduction mechanism? The school's actions here are hard to accept."

Chabashira Sae seemed to have anticipated this question. Without a moment's thought, she answered.

"193 instances of tardiness or early departure. 453 instances of whispering, playing on phones, and eating snacks. Truly unprecedented."

"Among all past Class Ds, you are the only one to reduce your starting points to zero in the very first month. I can say with certainty now—you are the worst class I have ever taught."

"Oh, and this year's Class A is, like you, the strongest among all past Class As. They pushed their class points to 1,090 in the first month."

"Be grateful you're in the same grade. From now on, you can just stop trying. Coast through school and live off the system."

"How can this be? Doesn't that mean we won't have any points from now on?"

"We're going to be looked down on by the other classes."

The classmates whispered among themselves, their voices unguarded.

"Damn it!"

Sudo kicked hard at the desk in front of him, letting out a bang! as he sent it flying sideways.

Ike Kanji, sitting in front, nearly fell over because of it.

Ignoring Ike's resentful glare, Sudo stood up and roared angrily:

"Does that mean we're gonna be looked down on by those bastards?"

The commotion was so loud that all eyes in the classroom snapped toward him.

Though they disliked his tendency to make a scene, no one dared to provoke the enraged Sudo.

Sakura Airi, sitting nearby, was startled. She buried her face deep in her chest, minimizing her presence.

Chabashira seemed to relish this scene. The corner of her mouth curled up slightly—a rare sight.

"If you're afraid of being looked down on, then climb your way up!"

"If your class points surpass Class C, you become Class C. Surpass Class A, and you become Class A."

"Almost forgot..."

Pausing, Chabashira Sae pinned the exam rankings to the board beside the blackboard and continued:

"This month's end-of-term exam—anyone whose score in a single subject falls below half the class average will face expulsion."

"Based on these scores, our class will lose at least nine people. They are Ike Kanji, Yamauchi Haruki..."

"Sudo, you're one of them."

With those words, the campus utopia was shattered.

"No... no way! My dad will kill me!"

Ike's face was full of despair.

Yamauchi, sitting in front of him, was the same.

A heavier wave of despair filled the classroom. If they could barely adapt to having no points...

If they got expelled, the sky would truly fall!

Bang!

Sudo slammed his fist onto the desk.

Ignoring Chabashira Sae on the podium, he turned around and left this place that had wounded him.

After this battle, Class D was nearly torn apart.

Faced with such a class, Hirata Yosuke didn't know how to comfort them for a moment.

But...

The class needed him! His classmates were still waiting for him! He couldn't stay silent! He couldn't say nothing!

"Everyone! I don't think things are that bad yet!"

He still stood up, turned to look at everyone, and said loudly:

"There's still one month left. If we all review well during this month, we won't give up on anyone. No one will have to leave!"

Yamauchi Haruki showed no gratitude at all. The dazzling Hirata Yosuke only made him feel irritated.

"Easy for you to say. With grades like yours, of course you're not afraid!"

His words were so twisted that they immediately drew the displeasure of the gyaru.

Karuizawa Kei looked at the distorted Yamauchi with utter contempt.

"What a waste of space. Yosuke, I say just forget about them."

With the boss lady opening fire, the gyaru group quickly chimed in one after another.

"Exactly, exactly. If it weren't for them messing around in class, we wouldn't have gotten zero points!"

"That's right. I say we just stop caring about them and let them fend for themselves."

With someone leading the charge, Yukimura Teruhiko, as a representative of the good students, immediately joined the fray.

"Rather than wasting time on these idiots, it'd be better to let them leave directly. Maybe the class could develop better instead."

This statement won the support of the good student faction. They studied hard in class and rarely disrupted the lessons.

The ones they hated most were people like Yamauchi, Ike, and Sudo.

"You... you lot..."

Being ganged up on by nearly half the class left Yamauchi speechless with shame.

The other underperformers also hung their heads in shame.

They didn't dare meet anyone's eyes.

"Enough!"

Hirata rarely exploded. He stared intently at those who had just spoken.

"I won't give up on a single person in this class!"

Faced with his gaze, everyone instinctively looked away.

After all, he was a middle school boxing champion. His fierce aura wasn't something ordinary good students could withstand.

Seeing the classroom fall silent, Hirata left without caring whether Chabashira was still there or not.

The oblivious only thought Hirata Yosuke's unusual behavior might be due to the pressure the school was putting on him.

But the observant could tell—Hirata's grades, while not the best in class, were still in the top five. Why was he so furious?

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, needless to say, had probably already noticed.

Koenji Rokusuke watched Hirata's retreating figure, feeling that Hirata-boy had become interesting.

Besides Suzuki Tsubame, someone else in Class D had also seen through it.

I'd better keep some distance from Kei. Something about their relationship feels off...

Matsushita Chiaki thought this, her delicate mind seeing through people's hearts clearly.

The relationship between Hirata and Karuizawa had struck her as strange before.

They got along well, often walking arm in arm while shopping.

But their eyes rarely met.

The farce ended. Chabashira Sae silently walked out of the classroom.

Horikita watched her leave without a word and felt a sense of dread. Chabashira-sensei! Did you forget something again!