A Bug in the Pop Quiz

Student Council.

"Knock, knock, knock."

"Please, come in."

"Excuse me."

Katsuya Shinjo pushed the door open and entered. The Student Council office wasn't particularly large; besides a long conference table, there was a desk facing the door reserved exclusively for the Student Council President.

Manabu Horikita was meticulously handling Student Council business.

Akane Tachibana stood quietly behind him, much like the secretary of a corporate executive.

"It's you? Are you here to pick up the application form today?"

Akane Tachibana still had a deep impression of Katsuya Shinjo, especially after hearing that he was a student from Class D.

"Yes, I'm counting on you, Tachibana-senpai."

However, Akane Tachibana didn't move an inch. Instead, Manabu Horikita stopped his pen, a glint of sharp intelligence flashing behind his glasses.

"Katsuya Shinjo, right? I have some questions regarding your club, so could I trouble you to wait for me in the reception room?"

With that, he returned to his work.

Akane Tachibana guided Katsuya Shinjo to the adjacent private room and brewed some coffee. Before long, Manabu Horikita walked in as well.

"My apologies, I have quite a bit of work on my hands."

"It's nothing. After all, you are the Student Council President."

Manabu Horikita adjusted his glasses, making him look even more mature and composed, which only added to his sharp, capable aura.

"I heard from Tachibana that the club you intend to establish is called the Odd Jobs Agency, correct?"

"That's right."

"May I ask why you want to establish such a club?"

What should he say in a moment like this?

Katsuya Shinjo had an answer ready on the tip of his tongue.

He deliberately put on a pained expression. "Sigh, to be honest with you, the social pressure on Sakura Island is growing heavier by the day, and the responsibilities on the shoulders of young people are becoming increasingly burdensome. Furthermore, the competition in our school is unexpectedly fierce. In such an environment, it's clear that everyone has neglected beautiful qualities like warmth, unity, and friendliness."

"As for me, while I don't have any grand dreams, I hope to use my own hands to help everyone and see them smile again. This feeling... do you understand?"

Manabu Horikita nodded, but the faint reflection on his lenses made Katsuya Shinjo, sitting across from him, feel somewhat uneasy.

"So you mean you are establishing the Odd Jobs Agency because you want to help others, is that correct?"

"Uh, that's pretty much the gist of it."

"If that's the case... why didn't you apply to join the Student Council instead?"

There's no way this guy in glasses could have seen right through me, right?!

Stay calm... He is the Student Council President, after all; it's perfectly reasonable for him to ask that.

"The Student Council is certainly great, but... because my superior doesn't seem all that easy to get along with, so..."

Katsuya Shinjo tactfully found an excuse for himself.

Sure enough, Akane Tachibana, who was listening from the side, retorted in anger.

"You're so rude! Who isn't easy to get along with?!"

Katsuya Shinjo immediately spread his hands and looked at Manabu Horikita with an innocent expression.

"You see what I mean..."

"You!"

"Tachibana."

Akane Tachibana wanted to lash out again, but upon hearing Manabu Horikita's voice, she decisively backed down, though she still glared at Katsuya Shinjo with dissatisfaction.

"Very well, take the application form back with you. Once you have filled in all the information, submit it to me for review. If it passes, your Odd Jobs Agency will be officially established."

Manabu Horikita pushed the application form toward Katsuya Shinjo.

"Then, thank you both, senpai."

After Katsuya Shinjo left, Manabu Horikita leaned back in his chair, lost in thought.

[Odd Jobs Agency... A master at exploiting loopholes on the edge of the rules. Perhaps a more troublesome character than I thought, though he seems to be in the same class as Suzune...]

In Class 1-D, because May had brought with it a hellish life, the leading figures like Hirata and Kushida specifically proposed a reform plan to improve the situation.

"There are three problems that must be addressed: tardiness, slacking off, and the fact that everyone must pass the midterm exams!"

"The first two shouldn't be difficult to solve, but the problem is the third one..."

According to Chabashira, the difficulty of the midterm exam was basically the same as this quiz, so from Katsuya Shinjo's perspective, most of the questions were very easy.

But even so, seven people in the class still failed.

Moreover, this included uncontrollable factors like Sudo; as long as he refused to cooperate or didn't want to study, there was nothing anyone could do about him.

However, the two class leaders were firmly unwilling to give up on any of their companions, so they mobilized all the power they could to organize study sessions for the students who were struggling.

"So, Shinjo-kun, you have to come to the study session!"

Kikyo Kushida stared with her two cute, wide eyes and grabbed Katsuya Shinjo, who was trying to bolt the moment class ended.

"Me? I don't really need to, do I?"

"That's not allowed! Even though your grades aren't exactly terrible, don't you want to get an even higher score?"

A higher score? Katsuya hadn't really thought about it.

In fact, if he wanted to, he could certainly score higher.

But...

"Is this really okay, Kushida-san?"

"Hm?"

Kikyo clearly didn't quite understand what Katsuya meant.

"Anything below half of the class average is considered a failing grade, right? In other words, as long as we keep the class average as low as possible, we can help the low-scoring students to the greatest extent, right?"

"Eh?! Is... is that so?!"

Katsuya's theory clearly shocked more than just Kikyo; it seemed most of them hadn't considered that this was an option.

According to Chabashira, the midterm exam score could not be lower than the quiz score, and it could not be lower than half of the average, so as long as they controlled their performance, passing the exam shouldn't be a problem.

"If you put it that way, we should have just turned in blank papers during the quiz!"

"No kidding, if that were the case, we could just turn in blank papers every time and pass the exams safely every time, right?"

As they talked, the students of Class D began to cheer, though some were happy while others were worried.

Those who had used their full strength and performed exceptionally well on the last exam couldn't help but feel a lingering fear: what if they had an off day and ended up getting expelled?

The look Suzune Horikita gave Katsuya held a hint of something different, because she was now absolutely convinced that he, perhaps just like Ayanokoji, was capable of perfectly controlling his own scores.

Unlike Ayanokoji, Katsuya Shinjo's disguise was clearly more effective; after all, compared to scoring exactly 50 points in every subject, his grades were far more ordinary.