Nightfall

May 1st.

This was a day that filled Class D with anticipation, yet one they would soon come to loathe.

Katsuya Shinjo was yawning as he walked into the classroom, only to be met with a chaotic buzz of discussion. The topics were nothing more than, "Have your points arrived yet?"

Or perhaps, "Just wait a bit longer, maybe it's not time yet."

Watching his naive classmates, a flash of sympathy and pity crossed Katsuya Shinjo's eyes. Poor kids, their beautiful daily life was about to be buried in a grave...

"Shinjo-kun, have your points arrived?"

The person who spoke was Karuizawa. Naturally spendthrift, she was looking forward to the hundred thousand points arriving at the start of the month more than anyone else.

Katsuya Shinjo opened his mouth instinctively, but he had no intention of playing the villain. Besides, Teacher Chabashira would explain it all in a moment anyway.

"No, not yet."

"I see... Then it must not be time yet. Maybe the teacher in charge of the transfers hasn't started work."

"Maybe."

A while later, Sae Chabashira walked in from the door, holding a poster tube.

Her expression was even colder and more severe than usual, as if the joke Ike had made about her cycle being off was actually true.

She placed the item in her hand onto the podium without haste, swept a cold, indifferent gaze over her students—lingering on Katsuya Shinjo for a moment longer than the others—and then spoke slowly:

"We will now begin our homeroom. However, I suspect that before we start, you might have some questions for me?"

Sure enough, following her prompt, several students immediately raised their hands.

"Teacher, um, I checked this morning and found that the points haven't been deposited. Wasn't it promised that we'd get them on the first of every month? I almost couldn't buy a drink this morning!"

"That's right. Points are indeed deposited on the first of every month, and this month is no exception."

"Huh? B-but I really didn't receive any points? None of the other students did either?"

Yamauchi and Ike exchanged glances; it was clear they didn't understand what Sae Chabashira meant at all.

"Heh heh heh... You really are a bunch of idiots."

A cold, chilling voice drifted from the podium, filled with anger, disappointment, and a hint of schadenfreude.

Although Teacher Chabashira never seemed as friendly as other teachers, she had never criticized these rowdy students before, so the class was stunned by the sudden insult.

"Idiots... what do you mean..."

"Your points, as I have already stated, have indeed been deposited. I am not joking, you did not mishear, and it is impossible for the school to have forgotten to deposit them. Do you understand?"

Teacher Chabashira seemed to relish the role of the riddle-maker, enjoying the pleasure of watching her students slowly fall into an icy abyss of despair.

Though, perhaps they had brought it upon themselves.

Setting aside what kind of person she was, even if a truly kind teacher had been assigned here, they would likely be driven to fury by these guys in Class D.

"But even if you say that... I still can't understand..."

The student clearly wanted to say more, but Sae Chabashira ignored him and turned her gaze toward Katsuya Shinjo:

"Shinjo, you should know what's going on by now, right?"

Fortunately, she didn't point out that Katsuya Shinjo had figured this out long ago, otherwise, he would surely be targeted by the hostility of the entire Class D.

Following Teacher Chabashira's question, everyone turned their eyes toward Katsuya Shinjo in unison.

Why do you love doing such unnecessary things? You could have just said it yourself instead of dragging me into it...

After mentally complaining about Sae Chabashira, Katsuya Shinjo sighed and stated the reality in as calm a tone as possible:

"You mean that the points we received this month total zero, right?"

As if to heighten the atmosphere, Koenji immediately burst into wild laughter and arrogantly propped both his legs up on his desk:

"Hahahaha! So that's how it is!"

Katsuya Shinjo rolled his eyes at him; this guy really knew how to play the fool.

"Wait! Didn't they say a hundred thousand points would be deposited every month? Why is it zero?!"

"Hondo-kun, although I know this fact is hard to accept—even I don't want to accept it—if you think back carefully, Teacher Chabashira only said on the first day that points would be deposited on the first of every month, and that this month, everyone would receive an equal hundred thousand points."

"She never said that it would be a hundred thousand points every single month."

Seeming to have found her mouthpiece, Sae Chabashira's expression finally changed, though it only shifted from an ice block to a face full of mockery:

"I gave you so many hints before, yet only a handful of you noticed. That is why I said you are all just a bunch of idiots!"

But clearly, the students of Class D could not accept this fact calmly. As the core figure of the class, Hirata stood up:

"Teacher, please tell us why the points are zero, otherwise we cannot accept this!"

Sae Chabashira was already prepared for such a question:

"Tardiness and absences totaling 98 times, plus over four hundred instances of slacking off or playing with phones in class—do I need to say more? As students, you have reached this level of conduct; how can you blame the school for giving you a zero for your evaluation?"

"Wait, but you never told us that the points would change, and you never explained these deduction criteria!"

Hirata tried to make a desperate final stand, but the only response he received was another cold sneer from Sae Chabashira:

"Are you telling me that as students, you never learned how to respect classroom discipline or how to study properly back in elementary or middle school?!"

"You've just entered your first year of high school; did you really think you could receive one hundred thousand points every month without any restrictions? Let me tell you, this is a school established by the government specifically to cultivate elite talent! It is not a paradise for raising losers and freeloaders!"

"This..."

The classroom fell into a deathly silence. They truly hadn't considered all of this, but upon reflection, the idea that there is no such thing as a free lunch was a piece of wisdom they had all heard at least once before.

Consequently, resentment and regret were etched onto everyone's faces. Even Hirata was frozen in place, unable to utter another word.

Although she saw the reaction she wanted, Chabashira was clearly not yet satisfied:

"Oh, right, I have one more piece of good news to share with you... even if you decide not to be late or decide to study hard for the rest of this month, the points deducted from you will not be restored. Simply put, next month, the personal points you receive will still be zero."

This was indeed good news. At least in the eyes of Shinjo, since points couldn't drop below zero, he could now be late or skip class for the rest of the month without a single care.