The Weakest Class

"Hey, Hikigaya, did your points come in?"

As soon as I walked into the classroom, Yamauchi came over to ask me that.

Everyone's eyes turned toward me.

"They haven't."

Even though I'd won quite a few points in the bet.

"So even Hikigaya didn't get his~ Guess the school really did mess up~"

Yamauchi muttered as he returned to his seat, but this wasn't the school's mistake. You people had brought it on yourselves.

As usual, I took out my chessboard and started working through a problem.

I needed to improve as much as possible so I could win the upcoming bet against the Chess Club—and, more importantly, defeat Sakanayanagi.

The bell rang across campus, and Chabashira-sensei walked into the classroom.

She was holding a poster tube, and her expression was more severe than usual.

It was probably about the points again.

"Sensei~ Has your period stopped?"

Ike had started running his mouth again.

He went around all day saying he wanted to be popular, but if he really wanted that, he should stop saying stupid things.

While I was silently criticizing him, Chabashira-sensei completely ignored Ike's joke and got straight to the point.

"Homeroom is starting. But before that, I'm sure you have some questions."

She sounded certain we'd ask.

In fact, half the class timidly raised their hands.

"Um... I checked my points this morning, and they still haven't come in. Aren't they supposed to be issued on the first of every month? I couldn't even buy juice."

"Yamauchi, I've told you before that the points arrive on the first of every month without fail. The school has checked repeatedly, and there haven't been any oversights."

"But... I really didn't get any..."

Yamauchi exchanged a panicked look with Ike.

Most of the class looked at one another, too.

As someone who knew what was going on, I was already worried about whether things would get out of hand.

There'd definitely be someone who refused to admit they were at fault and made a scene.

"—You're all utterly foolish."

Chabashira-sensei suddenly hurled an insult no teacher should ever say.

Was that tone of hers... anger? Or delight?

Faced with their teacher's dangerous aura, the class could only stare at her with their mouths hanging open.

"Sit down, Yamauchi. Don't make me tell you twice."

"Ch-Chabashira-sensei...?"

The severity in her voice was unlike anything we'd heard before. Yamauchi stood frozen in place, perhaps sensing the danger instinctively, then slunk back into his seat a few seconds later.

"Let me repeat myself: your points were issued. There's no such thing as the school forgetting about your class. Understood?"

"Even if you say that... right?"

Yamauchi sought support, dissatisfied, and the others nodded along.

"Hahaha, I see, Sensei. I've solved the mystery."

Koenji, the class eccentric, suddenly burst out laughing.

Apparently, he'd figured out the mystery of the points.

After making sure it wasn't class time, he put both feet up on his desk.

"Simply put, Class D received zero points this month."

"Huh? Don't we get a hundred thousand every month?"

"I don't remember anyone promising us that. Right, Hikigaya?"

"...Why are you asking me?"

Koenji calling on me was completely unexpected.

Under everyone's gaze, I reluctantly spoke.

"...Well... Chabashira-sensei only said the points would be issued on the first of every month. She never said we'd get a hundred thousand each time. So there must be some other reason our points dropped to zero... right?"

I deliberately directed the last part at the teacher as a question.

I already knew the reason, but if I made it too obvious, they'd complain, "Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

Koenji was such a busybody...

While I grumbled to myself, Chabashira-sensei nodded.

"Hikigaya is right. The reason is your behavior. You were late or absent a total of 98 times, and you chatted or used your phones in class 391 times. It's quite an achievement to cause so much trouble in just one month. This school adjusts points based on each class's performance. As a result, the entire hundred thousand you should have received was deducted. At the entrance ceremony, I clearly explained that this school evaluates students based on their abilities. Your evaluation this time was zero. That's all."

The entire class fell silent.

It seemed they still couldn't understand that they were the ones at fault.

Even I was a little surprised.

I knew their discipline was poor, but I hadn't expected it to be this bad.

These classmates really were on a completely different level from the students at Sobu Middle School.

"Chabashira-sensei, we don't remember hearing any explanation like that..."

Hirata, the class representative, raised his hand, but the teacher shut him down.

"What? If no one tells you, you can't follow the rules?"

"Of course we can! If we'd been told beforehand, everyone would've made sure not to be late or chat in class..."

"Hirata, isn't following the rules basic common sense? You should have learned that in elementary and middle school, right?"

"Th-That..."

"It's true that a few students, including Hirata, Hikigaya, and Koenji, have been paying attention in class. But that's only what you're supposed to do. If everyone had done their part, we wouldn't have ended up with zero points. You brought this on yourselves."

The teacher's words made the atmosphere in the classroom even heavier.

That was right. Yesterday—or rather, up until last month—we'd all been happily discussing our plans for the coming month.

But this system was unfair to the students who'd taken their classes seriously.

Shouldn't there have been some kind of provision for that?

"Besides, you're all newly enrolled first-year high school students. Did you really think you'd get a hundred thousand points every month? At a school whose mission is to cultivate elite talent? A little common sense should tell you that's impossible. Why did you let your questions go unanswered instead of checking?"

I'd given it serious thought.

I'd discussed it with Sakanayanagi and Shiina, logged into the school intranet, and even prepared by betting on chess.

As a result, I now had eight hundred thousand points and was relatively safe for the time being.

I turned to look at Hirata. He looked frustrated, but soon met the teacher's eyes directly.

"At the very least, please tell us the rules for how points are gained and lost..."

"That's out of the question. The detailed criteria are confidential under school policy. However... I can give you a hint."

Chabashira-sensei looked around the class and said, "Even if you improve your punctuality and attitude in class this month and keep your deductions at zero, your points won't decrease or increase. In other words, you'll still receive zero next month. On the other hand, it won't matter how many times you're late or absent. What do you think? Remember that, and you won't be at a disadvantage."

"..." Hirata seemed to understand.

This system would only discourage everyone from improving their classroom discipline.

Still, this system was absurd for an ordinary school...

As I was thinking about that, the bell rang.

But Chabashira-sensei continued, "It seems I spent too long discussing this. Now, let's get to the main topic."

She took a large sheet of paper from the tube and put it on the blackboard. It listed Classes A through D, along with their corresponding numbers.

Our Class D had a glaring zero. I'd been prepared for it, but seeing it with my own eyes still made me sigh.

The other classes had 490 for Class C, 650 for Class B, and 940 for Class A.

That meant Shiina would get 49,000 points, while Sakanayanagi had a whopping 94,000?

"You did whatever you wanted at school this past month. The school has no intention of denying your way of life, but you're responsible for the consequences. How you spend the points you receive is up to you—in fact, there have never been any restrictions in that regard."

In other words, they'd brought this on themselves.

So it served point-less people like Ike and Yamauchi right if they cried and complained.

By the way, could you people keep it down during class?

"Why... is there such a big difference in points between the classes?" Hirata noticed the neatly spaced numbers.

"Are you starting to understand? This is why you were assigned to Class D."

"Weren't the classes assigned at random?"

"Isn't that how class assignments work?"

"Not at all." Chabashira-sensei sneered. "This school assigns classes according to merit. The best students go to Class A, and the failures get dumped into Class D. In other words, you're the defective rejects left behind."

Well, I'd heard as much at the Chess Club yesterday.

But the ranking system wasn't based on grades alone. It was a real pain.

The teacher suddenly clapped her hands. "By the way, your class is the first in the school's history to spend all its points in a single month. Should I say that's impressive?"

"If we stay at zero points, we'll never receive any again, right?"

"Correct. But don't worry, you can survive at this school even without points." After all, basic necessities were free.

But judging by how most of the class was used to spending freely, they'd surely have a hard time accepting that.

What's more, the free meals were just enough to fill your stomach. They were hardly pleasant.

"Are we supposed to be a laughingstock to the other classes forever?!"

Sudo kicked the leg of his desk.

Don't take it out on the furniture. You scared me, sitting right next to you.

"Oh? So you care what other people think of you? Then work hard to move up a class. Class Points aren't just tied to money; they also directly reflect your class rank."

Even so, the gap between us and Class C's 490 points was enormous.

"There's one more piece of bad news."

The teacher put up another list, densely covered with the names of everyone in Class D and their scores. "Even the rejects should be able to understand this, right? These are your recent quiz results. What have you been studying since middle school?"

At a glance, aside from the top few scores, most were hovering around 60, and some were even below 30.

The 88 beside my name put me in fourth place, behind Koenji, Horikita, and Yukimura.

But our class had way too many idiots. The last three questions aside, the earlier ones had been free points.

While I complained to myself, the teacher spoke again. "Fortunately, this was only a practice test. If it had been a formal exam, seven of you would be facing expulsion."

"E-Expulsion? What do you mean!?"

"Didn't I explain? Under school rules, failing even one subject on a midterm or final exam results in immediate expulsion."

After Chabashira-sensei announced that, the students who'd failed erupted in an uproar.

I'd already checked the rules on the school intranet, but even so, I was genuinely glad I'd worked like crazy to brush up on my science subjects before enrolling.

"Are you kidding me?! Expulsion is way too harsh a punishment!!"

"Complaining to me won't help. Those are the school's rules."

"Looks like the teacher was right. There really are a lot of idiots in this class."

Koenji leisurely trimmed his nails, his feet still up on his desk and an arrogant smile on his face.

If he was going to trim his nails, he could at least put a tissue underneath.

He was always so self-centered.

"What did you say, Koenji?! You probably failed too!"

"Hmm. Where exactly are this student's eyes? Take a closer look."

Koenji had scored 90, tying for first place with Horikita and Yukimura.

"Never thought he'd be anything but an idiot like Sudo..."

Whispers like that came from all around the classroom, but Koenji really had been paying attention in class.

He might be an eccentric, but he'd never forgotten his responsibilities as a student.

As far as I was concerned, he was a lot more tolerable than Ike and Yamauchi.

"Let me add one more thing. This school is known for its exceptionally high university admission and employment rates. I imagine you all have your own goals for university or work."

I didn't.

I'd only applied because I wanted to keep my distance from my family and the people at Sobu High School.

"But there are no easy shortcuts in this world. Only the upper classes can benefit from the school's support."

"Do you mean we have to reach Class C or higher to get those resources?"

"No, Hirata. If you want the school's help to achieve your life goals, you have to reach Class A."

"Th-That's too much... We were never told about this rule! This is outrageous!"

Yukimura loudly protested after Hirata, but the teacher remained unmoved.

Koenji mocked Yukimura for being undignified, and when Yukimura tried to answer back, Koenji's self-serving logic left him speechless.

After all, Koenji had absolute confidence in himself. Yukimura never stood a chance.

"It seems you've finally come to your senses. The midterm exams are three weeks away, so do your best to avoid expulsion. I'm sure you'll find a way to pass."

The teacher left the classroom after those words, which carried a deeper meaning. The mood in the room was as heavy as a wake.

And my only thought was—thank goodness no one started a riot.