The Weakest Class

"Hey, Hikigaya, have your points arrived yet?"

As soon as I walked into the classroom, Yamauchi leaned in to ask me that.

The eyes of the entire class were fixed on me.

"They haven't arrived."

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

"Even Hikigaya is like that? It seems like the school really messed up, huh?"

Yamauchi muttered as he returned to his seat, but this wasn't the school's mistake; it was all of your own doing.

I took out my chessboard as usual and began to solve problems.

In order to win against the Chess Club in the future, and more importantly, to defeat Sakanayanagi, I had to improve my skills as much as possible.

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

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

It was probably about the points again.

"Sensei~ is your period over yet?"

Ike started his mouth-running again.

This guy is always shouting about wanting to be popular; if he really wanted to be popular, he shouldn't say such stupid things.

Just as I was secretly criticizing him, Chabashira-sensei completely ignored Ike's joke and spoke directly:

"We will begin the morning meeting now. But before that, you should have some questions to ask, right?"

It was as if she were certain we would ask.

In fact, half of the students timidly raised their hands.

"Um... I checked my points this morning and they haven't arrived. Aren't they supposed to be distributed on the 1st of every month? I can't even buy juice now."

"Yamauchi, it has been stated before that points are distributed promptly on the 1st of every month. The school has confirmed it repeatedly; there are no omissions."

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

Yamauchi looked at Ike in a panic.

Most of the other students were also looking at each other in confusion.

As someone in the know, I was already starting to worry about whether a commotion would break out next.

There would definitely be some stubborn people who refused to admit their mistakes and would start causing trouble.

"--You are all truly foolish."

Chabashira-sensei suddenly uttered an insult that a teacher should absolutely never say.

What was contained in that tone... was it anger? Or was it pleasure?

Facing the teacher who was radiating a dangerous aura, the students could only gape in confusion.

"Sit down, Yamauchi. Don't make me say it a second time."

"Sae, Sae-sensei...?"

The stern tone, which I had never heard before, left Yamauchi standing there in a daze. Perhaps sensing danger by instinct, he slunk back into his seat a few seconds later.

"I will reiterate: the points have indeed been distributed. The fantasy that this class has been forgotten simply does not exist. Do you understand?"

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

Yamauchi looked for agreement in his dissatisfaction, and the students nodded one after another.

"Hahaha, I see. I have already solved this puzzle."

The class eccentric, Koenji, suddenly burst into loud laughter.

It seemed he had solved the mystery of the points.

Confirming that it wasn't class time yet, he propped his feet directly onto his desk.

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

"Huh? Isn't it one hundred thousand every month?"

"I have never heard of such an agreement. Right, Hikigaya-kun?"

"...Why are you asking me?"

Being singled out by Koenji was completely unexpected.

Under the gaze of everyone, I spoke helplessly:

"...Forget it... Chabashira-sensei only said they are distributed on the 1st of every month, she never said it was one hundred thousand every time. So there is another reason why our points are zero... right?"

I deliberately ended with a questioning tone, looking at the teacher.

Actually, I had known the reason for a long time, but if I acted like I knew too much, I would definitely be blamed with "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

That guy Koenji is really a troublemaker...

While I was secretly grumbling to myself, Chabashira nodded.

"Hikigaya is right. The reason is your own words and actions. You have a combined total of 98 instances of tardiness and truancy, and 391 instances of chatting or using mobile phones during class. It's no small feat to cause this much trouble in a single month; this school adjusts points based on class performance. The result is that the 100,000 points you were supposed to receive have been completely deducted. It was clearly stated at the entrance ceremony that this school judges students by their ability. The evaluation you received this time is zero, and that is all there is to it."

These words plunged the entire class into dead silence.

It seems they still couldn't grasp that the fault lay with them.

Even I was secretly shocked.

Although I knew the discipline was poor, I hadn't expected it to reach this extent.

As expected, these classmates were simply not on the same level as the students at Sobu Middle School.

"Chabashira-sensei, we don't remember ever hearing such an explanation..."

Class representative Hirata raised his hand to speak, but was rebuffed by the teacher.

"What? Does that mean you won't follow the rules unless someone explains them to you?"

"That goes without saying! If it had been explained in advance, everyone surely wouldn't have been late or chatting..."

"Hirata, isn't following rules a basic common sense? You should have learned that in elementary or middle school, shouldn't you?"

"Th-that is..."

"It is true that there are a few students who take classes seriously, including Hirata, Hikigaya, and Koenji. But that is only to be expected. If everyone had just done their part, at the very least, you wouldn't have ended up with zero points. Everything is a result of your own doing."

The teacher's statement made the air in the classroom even heavier.

That's right, yesterday—or rather, until last month—we were still happily discussing our plans for the coming month.

But for the students who actually took classes seriously, this system is a disaster.

Shouldn't there be some kind of relief measure?

"Furthermore, you first-year students who just entered high school, did you really think you would receive 100,000 points every month? In this school, which aims to cultivate elite talent? Using common sense, that's impossible. Why did you leave your doubts unconfirmed?"

I, for one, had considered it seriously.

I had discussed it with Sakanayanagi and Shiina, logged into the school's internal network, and even dealt with it by playing chess.

As a result, I am now holding 800,000 points and am safe for the time being.

I turned to look at Hirata; he wore a look of frustration, but he quickly met the teacher's eyes.

"At the very least, please tell us the details of the point adjustments..."

"That is confidential. The specific evaluation criteria cannot be disclosed according to the regulations. However... I can give you a hint."

Chabashira-sensei looked around the class and said, "Even if you improve your tardiness and classroom attitude this month and keep the deductions at zero, your points will neither decrease nor increase. In other words, the points distributed next month will still be zero. Conversely, it doesn't matter how many times you are late or absent. How about that? Remembering this won't hurt, right?"

"..." Hirata seemed to understand.

This kind of system would only dampen everyone's motivation to improve classroom discipline.

However, for a normal school, this system is just too absurd...

Just as I was thinking this, the bell rang for the end of class.

But the homeroom teacher, Chabashira, continued: "It seems we wasted too much time chatting, so let's get to the main point."

She taped a large sheet of white paper from a tube onto the blackboard, on which the names of Classes A through D and their corresponding numbers were written.

Our Class D was a glaring zero. Although I had been mentally prepared, I couldn't help but sigh when I saw it with my own eyes.

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

Does this mean Shiina can get 49,000 points, and Sakanayanagi is holding 94,000 points?

"You have done as you pleased at school for this past month. The school does not intend to deny your way of life, but you must bear the consequences. How you use the points you receive is your own freedom—in fact, there have never been any restrictions on that."

To put it bluntly, you reap what you sow.

So, it's only fair that the zero-point crowd like Ike and Yamauchi are crying and howling.

By the way, could you guys be a little quieter during class?

"Why... is there such a large gap in points between the classes?" Hirata noticed the unusually precise numerical differences.

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

"Isn't it just a random assignment?"

"Isn't that how class assignments always work?"

"You are dead wrong." Chabashira-sensei sneered, "This school assigns classes based on merit. The most excellent students go to Class A, and the trash is dumped into Class D—in other words, you are the rejects that were left over."

Hmm, I heard about that at the chess club yesterday.

However, this grading system isn't just about grades; it's quite troublesome.

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

"As long as our points stay at zero, we will never get any points, right?"

"That's correct. But don't worry, you can still survive in this school even without points." After all, there are free daily necessities.

But looking at most of my classmates who are used to squandering, it must be hard for them to accept.

What's more, the free meals are only meant to fill your stomach; the taste is truly nothing to write home about.

"Are we just going to be the laughingstock of the other classes forever!"

Sudo kicked the leg of a desk.

Don't take your anger out on the furniture; you scared me sitting right next to you.

"Oh? So you actually care about what others think? Then work hard to promote the class. Class Points aren't just linked to money; they are a direct reflection of a class's standing."

That said, the gap of 490 points between us and Class C is truly insurmountable.

"There is another piece of bad news."

The teacher posted another list, densely packed with the names of every student in Class D and their scores. "Even the defective goods can understand this, right? These are the results of the recent pop quiz. What were you all studying in middle school?"

Looking over the list, aside from the top few, most were hovering around 60 points, with some even scoring below 30.

The 88-point mark next to my name showed I was ranked fourth, just behind Koenji, Horikita, and Yukimura.

But there are way too many idiots in our class, aren't there? I could understand missing the last three questions, but the ones at the beginning were clearly free points.

As I complained internally, the teacher's voice rang out again: "It is fortunate that this was only a mock exam. If it were an official exam, seven people would be facing expulsion."

"Ex-expulsion? What is going on!?"

"Was it not explained? The school rules state that failing any subject on the midterm or final exams results in immediate expulsion."

After Chabashira announced this, the group that failed immediately erupted into chaos.

Although I had already confirmed the rules on the school's internal network, I was still sincerely grateful that I had worked myself to the bone cramming science subjects before enrolling.

"Are you kidding me! Expulsion is way too extreme of a punishment!!"

"Complaining to me is useless; these are the school's rules."

"It seems that just as the teacher said, there really are quite a few fools in this class."

Koenji was leisurely filing his nails while resting his feet on his desk, wearing an arrogant smile.

If you're going to file your nails, at least put a tissue down underneath.

That guy always has this self-centered attitude.

"What did you say, Koenji! You must have failed too, you jerk!"

"Heh, where are this student's eyes located? Look closely."

Koenji's score was 90, tied for first place with Horikita and Yukimura.

"I really thought he was just another idiot character like Sudo..."

Although whispers like that were spreading throughout the classroom, Koenji had indeed been paying attention in class.

Even though he is a weirdo, he has never forgotten his duties as a student.

In my opinion, he is much more tolerable than Ike or Yamauchi.

"I will add one more point. This school is famous for its exceptionally high rates of advancement and employment. I assume you all have your own desired goals for your future careers or education."

I, for one, do not.

I only applied here to keep my distance from my family and those guys at Sobu High School.

"But there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Only the top classes can enjoy the benefits of this school."

"Teacher, do you mean that to obtain those resources, we must promote to at least Class C?"

"No, Hirata. To use this school to realize your life's ambitions, you must promote to Class A."

"This, this is too... I've never heard of such a rule before! This is absurd!"

Following Hirata, Yukimura also protested loudly, but the teacher remained completely unmoved.

Koenji mocked Yukimura for being unrefined, and just as Yukimura was about to retort, he was left speechless by Koenji's self-serving logic.

After all, Koenji possesses absolute confidence; Yukimura never stood a chance from the start.

"It seems you have all finally woken up. There are three weeks left until the midterm exams; please do your best to avoid expulsion. I trust you will find a way not to fail."

The teacher left the classroom after dropping that meaningful remark, and the atmosphere in the room became as heavy as a wake.

And at this moment, my only thought was—thank goodness no riot broke out.