Final Exam Results Released

A new month arrived right on schedule.

From the actions of the first-years over the past month, the school administration noted a phenomenon: this year's first-year group was quite enthusiastic about online chatting, constantly coming up with various tricks on the network, and even reaching the point of autonomously discussing the school's rules.

The school had no intention of interfering.

After all, as things stood, none of the content circulating on the internal network had caused any damage to the school's management or operations.

Objectively speaking, these rumors even served to regulate students' daily behavior and stabilize campus order.

As a result, the school had no reason to modify the rules for the first month's behavioral assessment, nor was there any need to step in and interfere with the students' online social activities.

However, the school was not doing nothing.

To further optimize the students' online experience, the school focused its attention on improving its information technology; simply put, it strengthened keyword filtering and firewall protection.

In particular, for those who liked to use roundabout ways to insult others or make sarcastic remarks, the school added recognition for profanity.

So, the final result was:

This year's first-years successfully passed the first month's behavioral assessment.

The students' attendance records and the results of daily extracurricular activity inspections were all perfect.

Of course, this was inseparable from the efforts of each class's teacher.

Whether it was Mashima of Class A, Hoshinomiya of Class B, Sakagami of Class C, or Chabashira of Class D, they were all escorting their students and providing various forms of help.

It could be said that without their assistance, the exam results this month likely would not have turned out this way.

Class D.

"Ayanokoji, stop spacing out."

The aloof beauty Horikita Suzune tapped the shoulder of the boy sitting next to her with a book, reminding him to pay attention.

With that tap from the girl, Ayanokoji's hand shook, causing the three erasers he had just stacked on his desk to topple over.

His gaze turned helplessly toward the podium.

At this moment, Chabashira was standing at the front of the class, holding a scroll similar to a poster, her eyes scanning everyone in Class D.

The atmosphere in the classroom was very quiet.

However, what concerned Ayanokoji more was that Chabashira's expression on the podium seemed exceptionally grave.

Scanning the room, he noticed that not only Chabashira, but all the students in Class D were on high alert, waiting for the announcement she was about to make.

Compared to other classes, in order to cope with the school's first month of behavioral assessment, Class D was undoubtedly the class that had worked the hardest to change itself.

Many half-hearted underachievers had forced themselves not to sleep, play on their phones, or chat during class.

All of this was to ensure that they could preserve enough class points this month to obtain a sufficient amount of personal points.

After all, without personal points, they couldn't even carry out normal social activities, let alone survive three years in this closed-off school.

On the podium, Chabashira looked around at all the students in Class D, and facing their expectant eyes, she spoke continuously:

"I have said more than once that this year's first-years are different from previous years."

"To be honest, it wasn't until today, when I received the definitive reply from the school, that I was finally willing to believe this fact."

"Be proud of yourselves, but also be prepared to face the challenges ahead."

"The top classes this year are not opponents you can defeat just by pinching your thighs or drinking hot water during class."

"From this perspective, I truly feel both regret and pity for you."

[

Class points announced:

Class A: 1000

Class B: 992

Class C: 920

Class D: 810

[No class replacement this month]

]

After the point details were displayed, before anyone else could react, one person had already stood up to celebrate.

That person was Hirata Yosuke.

At this moment, he was the first to stand up, clenching his fists and shouting loudly:

"Yes!"

It was a celebration pose different from scoring a goal in soccer; it looked more like a home run celebration in baseball, appearing even more flamboyant.

Seeing this from behind Hirata's seat, Kushida reacted as well, realizing that she should show happiness, so she also stood up and cheered along.

If she weren't worried about her skirt, she might have even jumped up to celebrate.

Following this, the students of Class D were one after another infected by Hirata's emotions, standing up and shouting aloud.

The commotion stirred up by the students of Class D could be heard even by Class A, which was the furthest away.

Even so, Chabashira did not stop her students or tell them to quiet down.

She simply stood to one side of the podium, quietly observing the expressions on the students' faces.

By the time the voices of the Class D students gradually calmed down, Chabashira could see an irrepressible joy radiating from their faces, though a few individuals were slightly different:

Horikita Suzune, sitting in the back row, took a sip of water. From start to finish, she had shown no reaction, simply taking notes by herself and only occasionally glancing toward the podium.

Beside her, Ayanokoji remained listless, but strangely, Chabashira did not feel that he was distracted; it was more as if he were calculating something.

As for the other person who remained untouched by the atmosphere, she was also a girl: Karuizawa Kei.

She was busy adjusting her collar and the hem of her skirt.

The last person to catch Chabashira's attention was Koenji, who had been looking at himself in a mirror with a satisfied expression from start to finish, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking...

Class C.

Looking at the class rankings for the first month, the students of Class C were different from those in Class D. Upon seeing that their class possessed 920 class points, they had no particular reaction.

If there was one person who had changed slightly, it was Ryuen. As if relieved, he propped his legs up on his desk the moment the first month's exam results were posted.

However, Sakagami had also stated that although the behavioral conduct exam was over, this did not mean students could do whatever they wanted from here on out.

It was just that for the students of Class C, Sakagami did not impose mandatory regulations, opting instead for a more laissez-faire approach.

As the leader of the class, Ryuen was in a great mood at this moment.

If he hadn't kept the class in check, he dared not imagine how far behind the top-tier classes they would be right now.

Likewise, the students of Class C in the classroom were thinking the same thing; it could be said that Ryuen now truly held absolute ruling power within the class.

As the howling from neighboring Class D reached Class C, Ryuen still mocked those idiots in the lower-tier class in his heart.

What a bunch of easily satisfied fools.

But contempt aside, Ryuen still had some reservations about the existence of Koenji in Class D.

This month, aside from his initial move against Kujo, he had spent his time observing the actions of Ayanokoji and Koenji.

Ayanokoji didn't seem to have any special instincts; he was just a tag-along. Horikita Suzune, who was by his side, seemed to have a significant background, but since she failed to join the student council in the end, she was also a waste.

But that Koenji was very troublesome. In the first month, he had already begun using an unconventional method to acquire points among the upperclassmen.

Ryuen had inquired about the news; it seemed that before school started, Koenji had spread the word that he was a family heir, allowing people at Advanced Nurturing High School to look up relevant information online.

Then, through his status, he promised the seniors who were about to graduate high returns after graduation in exchange for sufficient personal points, leveraging his identity and reputation.

How could he allow the other party to act so freely?

Upon learning the news, Ryuen immediately planned to destroy Koenji's scheme, and the method he adopted was identical to the other's: deception.

He would also issue empty checks, just without the background to back them up.

But he hadn't expected the student council to intervene after only a few days.

However, this successfully stopped Koenji's actions, and Ryuen was barely satisfied.

In terms of leading the class, compared to the bottom-tier class next door, his underlings wanted to cheer, but seeing that he hadn't made a sound, they all silently held it back.

Ryuen expressed his satisfaction.

It was just that there were always a few idiots who couldn't read the room.

"Should we cheer?"

Ishizaki asked Ryuen sheepishly.

Heh.

"If you dare to yell, I'll throw you outside."

Ishizaki's face looked even uglier than if he were crying.

And this was perhaps the calmest reaction among all the first-year classes.

Class B.

All the students were gathered around Ichinose.

"That's great, Ichinose."

"As expected of Honami-chan~"

"I knew our little Honami was the best!"

Unlike Class D and Class C, Class B was a completely different scene.

If it weren't for the fact that Ichinose was a girl and it would be inconvenient, the students of Class B would probably be tossing her into the air right now to celebrate, and they certainly wouldn't let her down easily.

Facing the enthusiasm of the crowd, Ichinose responded to everyone's gratitude one by one.

Over the past month, she had carried the trust and expectations of everyone, constantly giving her all for them, so at the moment the results were released, she was just as happy as they were.

As for Kanzaki, who had also worked tirelessly, he was more reserved.

He did not join the boys in the class in their group hugs, nor did he participate in the celebration for Ichinose, but instead fixed his gaze on Hoshinomiya, who had been staring at the Class D score.

"Is Sae trying to commit an act of insubordination?"

"How interesting. In the past, you already stripped me of everything."

"And now, you want to take away everything I currently possess once again?"

Hoshinomiya stood with her back to the students, her eyes fixed firmly on the ground.

Even though Sae had been badmouthing Class D all month, even though...

Why did it end up like this...

Amidst the cheers of the Class B students, a seed called competition sprouted within Hoshinomiya's heart.

Class A.

As the top-ranked class in the entire grade and the only one with zero point deductions, the atmosphere in the room was not only devoid of joy, but felt incredibly heavy.

Unlike the situation in Class C, where students were afraid to speak because of Ryuen, they were at least still wearing smiles.

But the students of Class A dared not make a sound, their expressions filled with confusion and bewilderment, as if they had just failed an exam.

"Why aren't you saying anything, Katsuragi? You were quite talkative before, weren't you?"

A boy stood up and began to mock Katsuragi, the leader of Class A.

Katsuragi had no intention of fighting back; he closed his eyes, preparing to face the judgment of the crowd.

Seeing that Katsuragi remained silent, the leading boy became even more aggressive, his tone sharp and merciless:

"Katsuragi, oh Katsuragi, the Student Council—you were rejected by President Horikita."

"The class—look at the state you've led the class into now."

"Even Class D is almost on par with our Class A now, do you understand that?"

Katsuragi remained silent.

Facing the questioning from the members of the Sakayanagi Faction, he had nothing to say.

At this moment, the words written on the blackboard, [No Class Replacement This Month], seemed particularly glaring.

There wasn't one this month, but who was to say there wouldn't be one next month?

There wasn't even a 10-point gap.

Katsuragi knew he had already lost to Ichinose once before.

During that interview, she had successfully joined the Student Council, while he, Katsuragi, didn't even know the reason he had been rejected.

And during the first month's behavioral conduct exam, he hadn't expected that even Class D, at the very bottom, would be able to maintain over 800 class points...

Katsuragi felt the pressure.

Just as Katsuragi remained silent, his loyal follower could not stand by and watch him be bullied; he stood up and shouted loudly at the member of the Sakayanagi Faction who had just spoken:

"And what have you done? Don't you know how hard Katsuragi has worked over the past month? Our class hasn't had a single point deducted—isn't that proof enough of Katsuragi's ability? Huh?"

After Totsuka Yahiko finished shouting, he was already panting for breath, clearly under no less psychological pressure than Katsuragi.

Just as the Sakayanagi Faction was about to retort, Katsuragi stood up and patted his follower on the shoulder, signaling him to sit down.

To be honest, Katsuragi didn't think he had done anything wrong.

For the past month, he had strictly demanded proper conduct from himself and held his classmates to a standard of perfection.

But now it seemed that not only his class, but other classes were doing the same.

Class points do not lie.

All the lower-ranked classes in the first year were now qualified to challenge Class A.

In the upcoming exams, he would either have to change his mindset and lead everyone in a new way, or hand over leadership to someone more suitable to take on the responsibility of protecting Class A.

Just as Katsuragi was about to say something, Kamuro left her seat and opened a contract bearing the school emblem and an official seal in Katsuragi's direction.

This action caused Katsuragi and the rest of Class A to shift their gazes toward her.

What Kamuro held in her hand was actually a cooperation contract with someone from Class C?

It detailed the terms and conditions of a partnership between Class A and Kujo from Class C.

[

In the exam designated by Class A, Kujo will do his utmost to help Class A gain class points.

For this exam, Class A will pay Kujo Makoto of Class C personal points commensurate with his labor each month.

If Class C violates the terms, then [Kujo Makoto] voluntarily withdraws from the school.

]

If Class A violates the treaty, then Sakayanagi Arisu will voluntarily withdraw from the school.

]

Kujo Makoto's name had already been signed on it.

The members of the Sakayanagi Faction in Class A had all signed it as well.

As of now, only Katsuragi and a few of his followers had yet to sign.

Katsuragi let out a sigh.

The specific contents of the contract were not important at all.

A class does not need two rulers.

Katsuragi never really had the intention of being a leader to begin with.

It was just that at the start of the school year, he had received the expectations of the majority, so he decided to lead everyone and have them act as students worthy of Class A.

Now it seemed that this school was not suited for his style of leadership, and he had indeed failed to live up to many people's expectations.

In this school, Katsuragi felt there were still many things he needed to learn.

Katsuragi walked over to Kamuro and carefully checked the contents of the contract once more.

When he saw Kujo Makoto's name, Katsuragi read it over and over again.

He thought back to that encounter with Kujo in the library; the other party's words and actions were no different from a normal student, but thinking about it now, the other party had indeed been guiding him to think in the wrong direction the entire time.

The ridiculous thing was that he had naively believed at the time that the other party was just an ordinary student oppressed by Ryuen, someone he could make a deal with.

Little did he know, Kujo was the most dangerous person in Class C, to the point where even someone like Sakayanagi had to take him seriously.

After understanding the situation, Katsuragi looked at the listless Sakayanagi and spoke to her:

"I understand. You win this time, Sakayanagi."

He signed his name on the contract, and subsequently, the few remaining members of the Katsuragi Faction who hadn't signed had no choice but to put their pens to the paper.

Katsuragi walked up to Sakayanagi and asked his question:

"I've heard a lot of rumors lately—no, those aren't important. I'll only ask one question. Is Class C a friend or a foe?"

Sakayanagi found this question quite amusing. Her slender fingers tapped a rhythmic beat on the table, and in a good mood, she decided to give Katsuragi an answer:

"That's a strange question. I simply chose the plan most beneficial to Class A. As for Class C, looking at it now, they do indeed have an interesting person among them, but judging by their overall ability, I'm afraid it would take them three years just to climb to a height comparable to where we are now, wouldn't it?"

Katsuragi crossed his arms and asked the most crucial question:

"Then, under your leadership, can you stop them from rising to Class A?"

What a boring question.

Sakayanagi did not answer the question immediately.

Because deep down, Sakayanagi did not care about the status or privileges of Class A; the only thing she truly cared about was her battle with Ayanokoji.

She picked up her cane, stood up, and then, with Yamamura's support, left the classroom alongside Kamuro.

Before leaving, she left only one sentence and her retreating figure for the Class A students behind her:

"You are all very boring, but if a single sentence can make you happy, then I will make an exception and say it for you. I will ensure that all of you graduate from Class A."

This was not out of a sense of responsibility, but pure self-confidence.

However.

Sakayanagi promised that she would let the people of Class A graduate.

But she never said that she herself would graduate from Class A.

Because battling Ayanokoji was her heart's desire.

After that wish is fulfilled...

I'm afraid...