The Real Problem

"That's the situation, so I hope everyone can help us out by lending us some points."

Back in the classroom, Kushida gave the students a rough summary of the situation. She was the only one who could do it; Chabashira wouldn't bother with such things, and Sudo was completely incapable of it—just standing there made him feel incredibly miserable.

"Isn't this all Sudo's fault? Who told him to have such a bad attitude all the time?"

"Exactly... and not only that, he even dragged Kikyo into this."

The first reaction from the people in Class D wasn't to offer help, but to start pointing fingers.

"I don't have many points on me either."

"Me too. I spent a bit too much last month."

"Why don't we just let Sudo drop out? It's his fault anyway."

Hearing his classmates, Sudo clenched his fists tightly, but he didn't say much, his eyes filled with regret.

If his temper hadn't been so bad, he wouldn't have ended up in this situation. If his relationship with his classmates hadn't been so poor, perhaps someone would have been willing to lend him money. If only...

Ike and Yamauchi, who usually hung out with him, didn't say a word either, choosing to bury their heads in the sand. After all, they didn't have any points to spare.

"Everyone, please don't be like this. We are all classmates in the same class; we should help each other out.

I still have 30,000 points, and I'll try to find a way to get more from the upperclassmen in my club later." Hirata, one of the central figures of Class D, stood up, stopped the students from speaking, and took the initiative to offer his remaining points.

"Hirata..." Sudo opened his mouth. He hadn't expected that at a time like this, Hirata—the person he usually disliked the most—would actually step up to help.

"Since Hirata says so, I'll lend a little too." After he spoke, his girlfriend, Karuizawa Kei, quickly followed suit, a proud look on her face.

Seeing that two of the most popular students in the class had spoken, the others quickly changed their tune.

"Since you're saying that, Hirata, I'll chip in a little too."

"Me too."

"Same here."

While the people in the class were busy raising funds, Ayanokoji and Horikita sat in the back row, silently watching the chaotic farce.

"Do you think it's over just like that?" Ayanokoji looked at Horikita.

"What do you mean by that?" Horikita Suzune frowned.

"No, it's nothing. By the way, Horikita, have you been reviewing properly?" Ayanokoji Kiyotaka quickly changed the subject.

"Do you think I'm like those idiots like Sudo, who need to rely on answer keys to pass an exam?" Horikita Suzune glared at Ayanokoji. Of course she had been reviewing properly, and even if she hadn't, this kind of exam would be a piece of cake for her.

"I didn't mean it like that." Ayanokoji quickly backed down; he didn't want to be stabbed with a compass again.

"Hmph." Horikita Suzune let out a soft huff. "The answer keys... wait."

Mentioning the answer keys, Horikita Suzune quickly realized something important.

"Because the exam papers were leaked in advance, this exam is no longer fair, so the school will inevitably have to change the papers." Sawahara spoke calmly, explaining his scheme.

"Because Class D had the old exam papers, fewer than 10 people have been studying seriously for this midterm. Based on their grades, there should be over a dozen students who will be forced to drop out.

Once that happens, Class D will effectively collapse. Not only will they lose a large number of students, but many who lack academic ability but possess other specialized talents will also be forced out.

Future class competitions will turn into a game of luck. After all, as long as you're matched against Class D, you're guaranteed to win."

"That goes against the school's philosophy." Manabu Horikita continued, "Therefore, the school cannot sit by and watch this happen. They will definitely intervene. That is the reason you said the Chairman would definitely meet with you.

Is your goal really just to meet the Chairman?"

Manabu Horikita was very suspicious of Sawahara's motives. Would he really go to such great lengths just to meet the Chairman? Even if Sawahara said he was going to commit an assassination, Manabu Horikita would have to take it seriously.

"Your methods are far too radical."

After all, wanting to meet the Chairman, while not easy, only requires time.

"Apologies, President. I have my own personal reasons," Sawahara said. Of course, he knew that meeting the Chairman didn't require such an elaborate setup, "But what I want is an opportunity for an equal dialogue.

And as for my methods being radical... everything is under control. It can hardly be called radical."

"I suddenly feel that perhaps you really shouldn't join the Student Council." The President sighed. Why were the underclassmen these days all so...

"Perhaps." Sawahara didn't say anything more. "Please remember my small request, President."

The reason he had asked the President to meet was twofold: one was to remind him not to forget their previous agreement, and the other was to provide a slight explanation so the President wouldn't view him as some kind of dangerous individual.

The next morning, before class, the homeroom teacher Kazuma Sakagami announced to the students with a frown.

"Due to unforeseen circumstances, the questions for this midterm exam will be switched to Version B. In other words, the exam content will be changed."

Kazuma Sakagami was very dissatisfied with the notice from above. Academic performance had always been a weakness for the bottom two classes, and with only two days left until the exam, a sudden change in content was truly disadvantageous for his class.

His gaze couldn't help but drift toward Sawahara, the core of his class, only to find the student's expression completely calm.

Did he not pick up on my hints earlier? Kazuma Sakagami wondered if he should be more explicit next time.

"Don't worry, Sakagami-sensei." Sawahara noticed Sakagami's gaze and spoke up. "For this exam, all members of our class have been reviewing diligently. I guarantee there won't be any problems."

"That's right, we've been studying so hard every day lately, there's no way we won't pass."

"Exactly, if we still can't pass after all this, then there's really nothing more we can do."

"Can't you say something positive for once!"

"Ah, my mistake, we're definitely going to pass the exam."

The rest of the class chimed in. For some time now, they had been heading to the library for study sessions every day after school. Having worked so hard for so long, everyone was naturally holding their breath, eager to see the results of their efforts in this midterm exam.

Kaneda in particular had been looking a bit worse for wear; his bowl cut lately made one wonder if it had started to thin out.

At the same time, Classes A, B, and D received the same news. Classes A and B were merely curious about the so-called reason behind it; even if the test questions were changed, it wouldn't have much of an impact on them.

But Class D...

"How could this happen!"

"I didn't review that at all, what am I going to do?"

"Isn't this the end for us?"

Wails of despair echoed continuously throughout Class D.