Classroom of the Elite, Oh No, I've Become a Stand-in

Suddenly, Horikita Suzune's pupils constricted as she fixed her gaze on the near-perfect scores Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki had achieved in other subjects.

"T-Teacher, are Sudo and the others really going to be expelled? Is there any way to save them?"

Hirata Yousuke stood up from his seat immediately, anxiously questioning Chabashira Sae.

"Don't be so naive. Didn't the school inform you of the rules long ago? It's your own problem that you didn't pass." Chabashira Sae raised a hand to her forehead and sighed helplessly. "Also, I had already anticipated this possibility, so I brought your test papers with me. Feel free to check whatever you want."

With that, she took a stack of test papers from under the podium.

"There must be a mistake somewhere! Ike and I should have received very high scores!"

"Right! Something must be wrong! I should have performed excellently on this exam!" Ike Kanji chimed in, shouting along.

Seeing Chabashira Sae bring the papers over, Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki rushed to the podium, practically snatching their respective papers to compare them against the answer key.

However, it took only a moment.

The expressions on their faces visibly shifted from certainty to confusion, then to profuse sweating, and finally, they began to stutter incoherently.

"W-Why is it wrong? This question... it shouldn't be like this."

"Where exactly did it go wrong, Haruki? Why doesn't it match up?"

Horikita Suzune, who had been deep in thought with her arms crossed, opened her eyes and cast a cold, piercing gaze at Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki.

"You two, why did you think you would definitely get high scores?"

The frantic movements of the two men froze instantly.

Yamauchi Haruki's face flushed red as he stiffened his neck, trying to regain his previous arrogance, but his voice lacked any real conviction. "W-What's it to you? Can't Ike and I be geniuses? Right, Ike?"

"Yeah, can't Haruki and I be geniuses?" Ike Kanji mustered his courage and puffed out his chest.

"Hmph, haha!"

The heated argument jolted Kouenji Rokusuke out of his world of admiring his own beautiful reflection. He took out a hand mirror, adjusted his dazzling blonde hair, stroked his face, and said nonchalantly.

"What an unsightly display, you two boys. To still be shielding the enemy who led you into such an unbeautiful predicament—it's truly an eyesore."

"What does that mean?"

"Still don't get it?"

Horikita Suzune sighed with a headache. "Although I don't know how you two got your hands on the answers for this Midterm Exam, there is no doubt that part of that answer key was wrong."

"T-This kind of thing is impossible." Yamauchi Haruki stammered. "It can't be. He told me these were the correct answers."

Hirata Yousuke, who had been pleading with Chabashira Sae, finally realized where the problem lay. A look of seriousness appeared on his gentle face for the first time as he stepped toward the two, his eyes downcast.

"Ike, Yamauchi, take out that answer key and let me see it."

"W-Why should we give it to—"

"You are about to be expelled!!"

Hirata Yousuke's voice immediately rose an octave. Not only were Ike Kanji and Yamauchi Haruki, who were closest to him, startled, but the girls in Class D were also taken aback, instinctively shrinking back.

"O-Okay, I'll take it out." Yamauchi Haruki tremblingly pulled his phone from his pocket, unlocked it, and handed it to Hirata Yousuke.

Hirata Yousuke said nothing after taking the phone; he grabbed their test papers and began checking them himself.

Seeing this, Horikita Suzune also stood up, picked up another paper, and took Ike Kanji's phone.

"I am very curious to see what kind of answers could have deceived you two into remaining so oblivious until now."

At this moment, no one in Class D spoke. They held their breath, watching the center of the classroom in silence. Gradually, the expressions on the two's faces shifted from their initial calm to confusion, and finally evolved into...

"Bang—!"

The massive sound of a fist striking a desk echoed throughout the classroom. All the girls in the class watched in terror as Hirata Yousuke suppressed his rage in the center of the room.

"This isn't an answer key at all! This is a trap designed from start to finish to get Ike and Yamauchi expelled!"

Yukimura Teruhiko, who possessed the highest academic ability in Class D, frowned and asked, "Hirata, what does this mean?"

"I will explain."

Horikita Suzune rubbed her temples with a grim expression.

"This answer key, or whatever source this Midterm Exam paper came from, has a 90% similarity to the actual exam. The four subjects of Japanese Literature, Social Studies, Mathematics, and Science are identical to the original, but..."

"Only in English, the beginning parts are correct, but the latter parts have either had punctuation changed, letters swapped, or the questions rephrased. If you don't look closely, you wouldn't notice any discrepancies at all."

Horikita Suzune turned to look at the two, who were completely stunned and staring blankly.

"Especially for the English exam at the end, most of it was multiple-choice. Given your personalities, you probably just glanced at it, saw no major issues, and happily copied the answers down!"

Horikita Suzune paused, sighing as even she couldn't hold back her frustration.

"The fact that they were still only a few points away from passing under these circumstances shows that they even memorized part of the wrong answers."

"If they had just worked through the test paper from start to finish, this clumsy yet precisely targeted trap wouldn't have worked. That enemy really understood their personalities perfectly."

"Chabashira-sensei! Is this kind of thing... allowed?" Hirata Yousuke seemed to be clinging to a final shred of hope.

"Y-Yeah! It's all the other side's fault! This kind of thing shouldn't be permitted, right? Our exam scores should be voided and we should be allowed to retake it, right?"

In their desperation, Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji shouted at Chabashira Sae as if grabbing onto a life-saving straw.

"Don't be so naive. As long as they don't violate school rules, everything the other party does is in accordance with this school's meritocratic principles."

Chabashira Sae rubbed her forehead in frustration. She hadn't expected that someone would go out of their way to set a trap for these two bottom-tier students. If the same tactic had been used against Class C, it likely would have plunged them into an abyss from which they could never crawl out.

Chabashira Sae's words ruthlessly extinguished the last glimmer of hope in the eyes of the two students.

"H-how can this be? I've only been enrolled for two months! I haven't found a girlfriend yet, I haven't experienced a dream-like high school life, I haven't even done that yet—how can you let me get expelled like this!" Tears streamed down Ike Kanji's face as he collapsed to his knees, wailing in despair.

"I don't want to be expelled! Running home with my tail between my legs like this is too pathetic. I already told everyone back home... it's all that guy's fault! Why did he send us those test answers? Everything is that guy's fault!" Yamauchi Haruki continued to blame everyone but himself.

The emotions of the two infected Sudo Ken, who was also facing expulsion. He swung his arms as if venting his frustration, letting out a low, guttural roar.

"Argh! I was supposed to become a regular on the basketball team this month! How can it end here!"

"Wait a moment, Chabashira-sensei." Hirata Yousuke seemed to recall something. "What about Sudo-kun's test paper? He didn't memorize those answers, and he only missed it by three points. If you check again, maybe you can find a way to let him pass."

"Give it up, Hirata-kun. If it were one point, you might be able to find it with some effort, but three points? Chabashira-sensei wouldn't make such an obvious mistake. Besides, isn't this just the natural outcome?"

Horikita Suzune, who had returned to her seat in the corner, crossed her arms and watched the three of them wailing. She spoke before Chabashira Sae could respond.

"If you can't even persist in something as simple as studying, you should give up on dreams like basketball as soon as possible. You knew this exam determined whether you'd be expelled, yet you didn't put any effort into your studies. Isn't it expected that you'd end up in this situation?"

Horikita Suzune had originally organized a study session, but it ended in discord due to the attitudes of both sides. She hadn't made any further attempts, and the result was now obvious.

"What did you say? Say that again, you woman! Do you want me to beat you to a pulp? Huh!"

Sudo Ken was instantly ignited with rage. He kicked his chair, and the desk tumbled over, colliding with the wall with a thunderous crash that echoed throughout the classroom, making everyone in the class shudder.

He raised his fist and charged toward Horikita Suzune, only to be intercepted by Hirata Yousuke.

Horikita Suzune didn't care at all about the furious Sudo Ken rushing toward her; she sneered.

"Am I wrong? When you should have been studying, you didn't. You threw your textbooks aside to go play, thinking you'd find a way once the exams arrived. And when the exams actually came, you comforted yourself with excuses about how things would work out. I can't think of any reason why someone like you shouldn't be expelled. When you go back, you'll probably just end up working part-time at a convenience store to support yourself."

Sudo Ken felt as if his deepest pain had been poked. He struggled and roared at Horikita Suzune, "I'm going to kill you, you woman!"

"Sudo-kun, calm down! Horikita-san, please, say less." Even though the class was in such chaos, Hirata Yousuke still tried his best to maintain peace.

The other students in Class D sat in their seats, showing no intention of intervening. These three were usually disliked by everyone in Class D; aside from their own small cliques, they had offended almost everyone in the class.

"If you start a fight, you will be expelled immediately. And since you will no longer be a student at this school, all your actions will be handed over to the police. Not only will you be expelled, but you'll never be able to play basketball again."

Chabashira Sae's words silenced the enraged Sudo Ken instantly. He seemed to have all the strength drained from his body and slumped back into his seat.

Glancing at the time, Chabashira Sae observed a certain spot in the classroom with her peripheral vision, a flicker of anxiety crossing her eyes.

"The first period is about to start. The three of you should enjoy your last day at Kouiku. I will notify your parents to come to the school to pick you up after school this afternoon. I have a class to teach, so I'm leaving."

The classroom door slammed shut, leaving Class D shrouded in silence.

In just twenty minutes, going from heaven to hell, from smugness to desperate wailing—what an interesting drama, isn't it?

In the corner of the classroom, Sakayanagi Arisu, who had remained silent the entire time, elegantly took a sip of tea, a pleased smile on her face.

Chapter 56 Yamauchi Haruki: My Internal Strife Is Above Yours!

He silently set the desk that Sudo Ken had kicked over back upright.

Facing the messy Class D classroom, Hirata Yousuke forced a smile and helped the kneeling Ike Kanji up. "It's okay. I'll go ask Nagumo-senpai later; maybe there's another way."

Ike Kanji shoved Hirata Yousuke's hand away and pointed at his nose, cursing, "I don't need your fake sympathy! You look down on us in your heart anyway, don't you? Our expulsion is exactly what you wanted, right?"

"No, that's not it. I never thought that way." Hirata Yousuke shook his head desperately in denial.

"When it comes down to it, this is all your fault! If you had tried harder to convince me to study back then, I wouldn't be getting expelled today! Yes! It's all your fault! It's all the school's fault! It's all the fault of that guy who sent us the answers!"

Yamauchi Haruki pushed away Hirata Yousuke, who had come to comfort him, and after muttering to himself for a while, he couldn't wait to pin the blame for his failure on Hirata Yousuke.

Hirata Yousuke stumbled a few steps across the classroom before collapsing to the floor, his eyes gradually turning dull, unable to say a word.

Sudo Ken, the only one who had accepted the reality of his expulsion, leaned against the back of his chair, staring blankly at the pale ceiling.

People are like this; only when they lose something do they learn to cherish it.

That red-haired freshman, he played well!

Sudo, try to control your temper. Aren't there often collisions on the basketball court? Can't you control yourself well there?

Ken, do your best on the exams. You're a student with great basketball talent. One day you'll be able to play professionally, but if you can't stay at this school, all your efforts will be for nothing.

Even though the coach and the seniors had warned him, why couldn't he just calm down and study back then?

The words of the basketball coach and the seniors echoed in Sudo Ken's mind, while Sudo Ken questioned his own heart over and over again.

In contrast to Sudo Ken, who was immersed in his own world, was the noisy environment of Class D.

"Hey, how can you two say that to Yousuke? He was trying so hard to plead for you!" Some of the girls stood up for Hirata Yousuke.

"You guys aren't any better!" Ike Kanji pointed at the girls and cursed, "Especially you, Shinohara. You follow behind Karuizawa all day; if I didn't know better, I'd think you were her shadow."

"And Karuizawa too, acting like a 'gal' all day long. You're just relying on the fact that you're with Hirata, which is why the students in class give you any face. Without Hirata, you're nothing."

"And you, Kouenji Rokusuke, looking at your reflection in that mirror every day, talking about beauty—your beauty isn't even one-ten-thousandth of mine!"

"And another thing, what kind of trash school is this? Scamming students! I never cared for it anyway. When I get back, I'll definitely file a complaint and expose this unscrupulous school."

The self-abandoned Ike Kanji began to insult everyone in the class he was dissatisfied with, his spit flying everywhere.

The group of girls didn't back down, decisively starting a shouting match. Both sides clashed, and the entire Class D fell into chaos.

Of course, there were also students who were completely unaffected by this matter.

A golden-haired boy named Kouenji Rokusuke had his legs crossed and propped up on his desk, admiring every inch of his own skin with intoxication, occasionally letting out sighs of admiration like, "Ah, I am truly too beautiful."

The two-faced master Kushida Kikyou was verbally urging everyone not to fight while secretly fanning the flames; she appeared sad on the surface, but was laughing wildly inside, unable to wait for them to start brawling.

Horikita Suzune sat in her seat, watching the chaotic scene in Class D with cold eyes, quietly contemplating a countermeasure.

The argument lasted from the morning until the break before the very last period of the afternoon.

Sakayanagi Arisu glanced at the time on the wall, a curve forming at the corners of her mouth.

The timing was just about right...

At this moment, Karuizawa Kei, who had maintained a thin presence throughout this farce, suddenly raised her hand toward Hirata Yousuke.

"Um... Yousuke, a senior student told me that we can use points to buy marks... Is that really okay? She said that personal points can buy anything in this school, and marks are the same. If we buy a large amount, maybe it could even be cheaper."

As soon as these words were spoken, the three hopeless boys jerked their heads up, and even Hirata's eyes reignited with color.

"Really? As expected, you're different from those useless guys. I thought from the very beginning that you were the cutest in our class." Yamauchi Haruki fawned as he leaned toward Karuizawa Kei, his dog-like expression causing her to show a look of disgust, which came as no surprise.

"If that's the case, I won't have to drop out and go home." Sudo Ken stood up excitedly, muttering to himself.

"..." Ike Kanji, who had been arguing with the group of girls since the morning, froze on the spot, while the girls stared at him with mocking expressions, their attitudes self-evident.

"Is it true? Let's go find Chabashira-sensei right now!" Hirata Yousuke immediately took action to verify the information.

"I told you there would still be a way..." Yamauchi Haruki laughed out loud.

The next moment, his hope was completely extinguished by the returning Hirata Yousuke.

The cost for the Midterm Exam was 60,000 personal points per mark, and among them, Sudo Ken was short 3 marks, Ike Kanji was short 8 marks, and Yamauchi Haruki was short 6 marks, requiring a total of 1.02 million personal points.

And since last month, the points deposited into their class account had been—0!

More importantly, this was already the break before the final period; they couldn't even go to find friends in other classes to borrow points, and could only contact them via mobile phone.

Upon hearing this news, the noisy sounds of the entire class went quiet for a moment, and then it erupted into discussion like a pot of boiling water.