Kushida, 100,000, deal?

"You didn't study seriously when you had the chance, so wailing about it now is useless." This was Horikita Suzune's assessment of her classmates.

"There's only one day left until the exam; what other options could there possibly be?"

She had been planning to work hard to climb the ranks and avoid bringing shame to her brother, yet the class had run into a situation like this... Even her resilient nerves couldn't help but feel a sense of despair.

If they couldn't even clear the first hurdle, it was no wonder her brother had said those things. She felt so frustrated.

Ayanokoji listened from the side in silence, not saying a word. Was there really no way to pass the exam? Even without the answer key, if one didn't review, passing this midterm exam wasn't necessarily impossible.

However, he didn't intend to say anything more; he just wanted to live out his high school life in peace.

"To pass the exam, besides studying hard or buying the answers, there is actually another way, though this method carries some risks."

Sawahara said to Ryuen.

"Oh?" Ryuen raised an eyebrow, surprised that such a method actually existed.

"We all know that there are two very specific types of questions on the exam papers: multiple-choice and true-or-false. Aside from the Japanese language subject, these two types of questions appear on every other exam paper." Sawahara provided the hint.

"I see... As long as all the students in the class agree beforehand to only answer those two types of questions and fill in the exact same answers, we can ensure everyone's scores are identical. There wouldn't be a single student whose score falls below half the class average." Ryuen quickly grasped what Sawahara meant.

"As for Japanese, we'll just have to put some effort into the final essay. For example, everyone could memorize and write out the same passage. Even if there are some minor errors, the final scores won't differ by much," Sawahara added.

"The biggest risk is the possibility of the entire class getting a zero. It's hard to say if the school wouldn't take measures against such a situation. However, the most likely outcome is just a deduction of Class Points; the possibility of the entire class being expelled is extremely slim."

"Heh, it's easy to say, but to actually do it, you'd need to unify the class first. Otherwise, those honor students won't be willing to accept such an ugly report card, especially since no one knows if this will reflect on their permanent records..." Ryuen pointed out the prerequisite for this plan with surgical precision.

"With the current state of Class D, it's simply impossible."

That class was completely scattered like loose sand.

"That is why you need to be the hero, Ryuen-kun." Sawahara smiled and handed the midterm exam papers he had obtained from the Student Council to Ryuen.

"Tch, you're clearly a robber taking advantage of a crisis." Ryuen clicked his tongue in annoyance but still took the papers, not asking about their source. "What are the specific conditions?"

"Just getting them to sign this contract will be enough." Sawahara pulled out a pre-prepared contract and handed it to Ryuen, reminding him, "You'll need a teacher present when the contract is signed. Don't forget to ask Sakagami-sensei to come along."

"Hmph." Ryuen took the items without another word, stood up, and called out to his underlings in the class, "Ishizaki, Yamada, you two come with me."

After school, in the Class D classroom.

The students of Class D hadn't left yet. They were using this time to study together, hoping to avoid expulsion—after all, sharpening one's spear at the last minute was better than not doing it at all.

Of course, not everyone thought that way.

"It's too late to study now anyway. I'll just rely on luck; my luck has always been pretty good." This was Ike.

"I'm an honor student, after all. I just haven't shown my true strength yet. This exam will be a breeze." This was Yamauchi.

As for Koenji, he had left for a date immediately after class ended; to him, this exam posed no difficulty at all.

The rest of the class didn't mind; after all, having two scapegoats to drag down the average wasn't such a bad thing.

Bang—

"Yo, everyone is still here, I see. The people of Class D." Ryuen kicked the door open and walked into the Class D classroom.

"Though, I'm afraid you won't be for much longer."

"Who the hell are you?" Hearing Ryuen's words, many in Class D were furious, but seeing the two burly men and the teacher following behind him, they didn't dare to say anything.

Even Sudo forced himself to stay quiet.

"Tch, what a bunch of trash. You haven't even gathered basic intelligence?" Ryuen frowned in annoyance. "First-year Class C, Ryuen Kakeru."

"Is there something you need, Ryuen-kun?" Hirata took the lead and asked.

"I just came to admire the rare sight of trash in this school." Ryuen began with a mocking provocation.

"You bastard! Who are you calling trash!"

"How much are you worth in Class C?"

These words instantly infuriated the students of Class D, yet Ryuen didn't care in the slightest; it was nothing more than the barking of defeated dogs.

"I'll give you all a chance, by the way."

As he spoke, Ryuen pulled out a stack of papers and gave them a flick.

"These are the questions for this exam. How about it? Do you want them?"

"Ha? Are you an idiot? The questions have already been changed."

"Exactly. Don't tell me you still think old exam papers are useful? That's just too stupid."

The students of Class D, as if they had finally found an opportunity, began to mock him one after another, wanting to vent their pent-up frustration.

"Heh, trash is trash. Not only are you stupid, but your eyes are bad too," Ryuen sneered. "Take a good look. What I'm holding is the revised Version B."

"It... it's real."

"How is that possible? The papers were only just changed..."

As if they had been grabbed by the throat, Class D fell into a deathly silence, everyone's eyes fixed tightly on the test paper in Ryuen's hand, their breathing ragged.

Although they didn't know if it was genuine, if it were real... as long as they had this, they would be able to pass the exam...

However, because of the mockery from just a moment ago, no one spoke up for a while, and most of the students in Class D looked toward Hirata.

"Ryuen, could you please sell that test paper to us?" Hirata knew that Ryuen had come to Class D at this moment having calculated that they had no other choice, and he had already prepared himself for a massive loss.

"Sell it to you? Of course I can. One hundred thousand points, plus everyone signs this contract, and the test paper is yours." Ryuen demanded an extra one hundred thousand points right off the bat; he might as well squeeze out as much as he could.

"One hundred thousand..." Hearing this number, the people in Class D fell silent, and many looked toward Sudo and Kushida.

Because of their previous issues, their points had basically all been used up, and now, coming up with such a large sum was simply impossible.

Many people looked at Sudo and Kushida with eyes filled with resentment; if it weren't for their problems, how could they have ended up in this situation?

Feeling the gazes directed at her, Kushida's expression stiffened for a moment, and she couldn't help but curse inwardly.

When we first got the answers, you were all so happy about it, and now you're in this state only because you spent all your own points.

But for the sake of her reputation, Kushida forcibly suppressed the dissatisfaction in her heart and squeezed out a somewhat awkward smile as she spoke to Ryuen.

"One hundred thousand points is really too much. Could you lower it a little?"

"Oh." Ryuen narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Kushida as if he were inspecting merchandise; after all, the so-called one hundred thousand points were just a bonus anyway, and trading for something else wouldn't be bad either.

"Fine, I can waive the one hundred thousand points."

The smile on Kushida's face froze completely, and she roared in her heart.

That's not what I meant at all, you bastard!