Hoshino's Conjecture

"...You really are a busybody." Ayanokoji shifted his gaze back to the textbook on his desk, picked up a pen, and began doing his homework, his words sounding like he was talking to himself.

"How can you call this being a busybody? I need to provide an explanation to both Chabashira-sensei and President Horikita!" Hoshino looked out the window with an indifferent expression.

"An explanation for what?"

"...Fine, I suppose I am being a busybody, but I just can't leave those two alone like this."

"...You really are difficult." Ayanokoji pondered for a moment, having already guessed a thing or two.

Hoshino was momentarily at a loss for words; explaining it was indeed troublesome. After all, being in Class D, there was no harm in doing a few things in advance as long as it didn't cause any issues. If Hoshino hadn't made a deal with Chabashira-sensei or joined the Student Council, he certainly wouldn't have bothered doing anything.

"...Ayanokoji, do you want to reach Class A?"

Hoshino suddenly thought of something. The previous archaeology papers and the actions taken to keep Sudo by using private points—those were all driven by Ayanokoji, right? At the very least, Hoshino didn't think Horikita could have come up with those on her own.

If anything, Hoshino was more interested in Ayanokoji's motives.

"...I have no interest in that. Why do you ask?" Seemingly hearing something unexpected, Ayanokoji looked up with a puzzled expression.

"It's nothing... I just feel like my private points aren't enough to spend." Hoshino made up a random excuse.

"Uh... if you're running low, then what does that make us..." Ayanokoji retorted, a rare occurrence for him.

"Haha... that's true."

Giving a perfunctory reply, Hoshino began to think about other matters.

Come to think of it, Hoshino hadn't really discussed any class strategies with Ayanokoji or Horikita, and he didn't know what other specific actions Ayanokoji might be taking.

"...Ahem, if you feel like your private points aren't enough, then why not aim for Class A? You'll definitely have plenty of points then," Ayanokoji added immediately.

But why did that sound like there was a hidden meaning behind his words? Aiming for Class A—wasn't that Horikita's goal? He remembered her mentioning it before.

"Haha... let's talk about that later..."

However, speaking of which, Hoshino felt that being assigned to Class D was a huge disadvantage! He had to rely on side hustles every day, while looking at other classes—especially Class A—they were getting over 100,000 private points a month just from the school! Hoshino was truly envious! Seriously, when would these people finally step up?

Hoshino turned around and scanned the classroom; they were the only two left now.

"Hey, Hoshino? What are you thinking about?" Ayanokoji's voice rang out again, pulling Hoshino out of his deep thoughts.

"...I just think Class D is too difficult. When will I be able to be like Class A, getting points just by sitting around? I'm so envious! Even if it's not Class A, even Class C would be fine! At least they have some points, seriously..." Hoshino began to mutter to himself.

"Then Hoshino, why don't you help the class reach Class A as well..." Seemingly finished with his homework, Ayanokoji put down his pen and looked at the disgruntled Hoshino, bringing the topic back to that.

"..."

Was Ayanokoji really hoping he would help the class move up? Wasn't he uninterested? Hoshino looked at Ayanokoji in front of him, deep in thought.

A bold guess suddenly crossed his mind: had Ayanokoji reached some sort of deal with Chabashira-sensei in private?

Hoshino had originally thought Ayanokoji was just joking around with his comments, but now he suddenly realized that might not be the case. Ayanokoji seemed very keen on him contributing to the class.

Class promotion should, in reality, be a process of growth for everyone; only ability can justify status.

Furthermore, setting aside the question of whether these people could even be led to the top, even if they were, given their current state, they wouldn't be able to enjoy the high employment rate without significant growth. In the end, the school's original promise was essentially a scam. After all, society and companies couldn't simply accommodate someone without ability.

In this game, achieving some form of growth was the school's fundamental purpose, right? Even if the methods were indeed quite detestable.

"Yeah—I'll pass." This time, Hoshino explicitly refused.

Hoshino wasn't very interested in reaching Class A. If the class truly had high cohesion, or if there was a leader capable of driving them forward, Hoshino wouldn't mind doing what he could. But in the current state, there was absolutely no need to cooperate with anyone.

"...Alright." Ayanokoji just nodded gently, not a hint of surprise on his face, but his hands, which were packing up his books, suddenly stopped. "...By the way, aren't you supposed to go to the Student Council?"

"..." Hoshino froze...

Coming to his senses, Hoshino gave a brief greeting to Ayanokoji and sprinted away.

He had lost track of time while chatting—what a blunder!

At the entrance of the Student Council room, Hoshino felt a bit awkward. He didn't knock to enter immediately, but after calming his breathing slightly, he bit the bullet and knocked on the door.

"Please come in." President Horikita's voice rang out again.

Hoshino pushed the door open cautiously.

"Why are you so late today?" President Horikita looked up at Hoshino, her expression the same as always, revealing neither joy nor anger.

"Um... some things came up..." Hoshino stood stiffly in place, stammering, as there wasn't really anything important.

"Punctuality is a good habit. Please be mindful of it next time." President Horikita lowered her head again and began processing the documents in her hands.

"Yes! Understood!" Seeing that President Horikita didn't intend to pursue the matter, Hoshino let out a long sigh of relief and hurried back to his seat.

Taking a quick glance, he realized that it seemed only President Horikita was there.

President Horikita looked completely calm, as if nothing had happened. It seemed Horikita still hadn't arrived; this problem was more serious than Hoshino had imagined.

"Hoshino, go complete the club survey today. Also, hand these data reports to your first-year teachers and have them verify and fill them out."

"...Oh, oh... okay!" Hoshino, who had been observing President Horikita, was startled and responded in a rush, feeling the embarrassment of being caught peeking at someone.

He went to President Horikita's desk, received the necessary materials and forms, and after a quick check of the content and quantity, Hoshino hurried out of the Student Council room.