The Final Exam Results Are Out

The new month arrived right on schedule.

Based on the first-years' behavior over the past month, the school had learned one thing: this year's first-years were particularly enthusiastic about chatting online. They kept coming up with all sorts of things to do on the internet, and had even started discussing the school's rules on their own.

The school had no intention of intervening.

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

Objectively speaking, these rumors even helped regulate students' daily behavior and maintain order on campus.

Given the results, the school had no reason to change the rules for the first month's Code of Conduct Exam, let alone intervene in the students' online social activities.

That said, the school wasn't doing nothing.

To further improve the students' online experience, it focused on upgrading the school's information technology—in simple terms, strengthening keyword filtering and firewall protection.

In particular, the school added profanity detection to catch those who liked to insult others indirectly or make snide remarks.

So, in the end:

This year's first-years made it through the first month's Code of Conduct Exam without a hitch.

Their attendance records and the results of the daily extracurricular activity patrols were both perfect.

Of course, that was also thanks to the efforts of each class's teachers.

Whether it was Mashima in Class A, Hoshinomiya in Class B, Sakagami in Class C, or Chabashira in Class D, they had all been looking out for their students and providing them with all kinds of help.

It could be said that without their support, this month's results probably wouldn't have turned out as they had.

Class D.

"Ayanokoji, stop spacing out."

The aloof beauty Horikita Suzune tapped the boy beside her on the shoulder with her book, reminding him to pay attention.

But when the girl tapped him, Ayanokoji's hand jerked, knocking over the three erasers he'd carefully stacked on his desk.

He cast a helpless glance toward the podium.

Chabashira was standing at the front of the classroom, holding a rolled-up sheet that looked like a poster as she surveyed the students in Class D.

The classroom was completely silent.

What caught Ayanokoji's attention was how unusually grave Chabashira looked.

As he looked around, he realized that Chabashira wasn't the only one. All of Class D's students were on edge, waiting for her to announce what came next.

Compared to the other classes, Class D had undoubtedly made the greatest effort to change itself in preparation for the school's first-month Code of Conduct Exam.

Many of the students who had only half-heartedly applied themselves had forced themselves to stay awake in class and stop playing on their phones or chatting.

They had done all this to make sure they could preserve as many Class Points as possible that month, and thereby earn enough Personal Points.

After all, without Personal Points, they couldn't even take part in normal social activities, let alone spend three years in this closed-off school.

At the podium, Chabashira looked over the students of Class D. Meeting their expectant gazes, she continued:

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

"To be honest, it wasn't until I received the school's definitive response today that I was finally willing to believe it."

"Be proud of yourselves, and prepare for the challenges ahead."

"This year's top classes aren't opponents you can beat just by pinching yourselves during class or drinking hot water."

"From that perspective, I really do feel both sorry for you and pity you."

Class Points Announcement:

Class A: 1000

Class B: 992

Class C: 920

Class D: 810

[No class changes this month]

After the point details were posted, everyone was still too stunned to react. Only one person had already jumped up to celebrate.

That person was Hirata Yosuke.

He was the first to stand, clench both fists, and shout:

"All right!"

It wasn't the kind of celebration you'd see after scoring a goal in soccer. It was more like a baseball player rounding the bases after hitting a home run, and much more exuberant.

Kushida, sitting behind Hirata, saw this and realized she should be showing her excitement, too. She stood up and cheered along with him.

If she hadn't been worried about her skirt, she might have jumped up to celebrate as well.

Then the rest of Class D caught Hirata's enthusiasm and stood up, shouting loudly.

The commotion from Class D was loud enough for even the students in Class A, the farthest away, to hear.

Even so, Chabashira didn't stop her students or tell them to quiet down.

She simply stood off to one side of the podium, silently watching their expressions.

When the students of Class D gradually quieted down, Chabashira could see the irrepressible joy on their faces. A few, however, seemed rather different.

Horikita Suzune, seated in the back row, took a drink of water. She hadn't reacted at all from beginning to end, simply taking notes on her own and occasionally glancing toward the podium.

Beside her, Ayanokoji had looked listless the whole time. Strangely, though, Chabashira didn't think he was distracted. He seemed more like he was planning something.

The other student who hadn't been swept up in the mood was a girl, Karuizawa Kei.

She was straightening her collar and smoothing her skirt.

The last person who caught Chabashira's attention was Koenji. He had been admiring himself in the mirror with a satisfied expression the entire time. It was impossible to guess what he was thinking...

Class C.

Unlike Class D, the students of Class C didn't show any particular reaction when they saw their first-month ranking and learned that they had 920 Class Points.

The only one whose mood changed at all was Ryuen. As if freed from a burden, he propped his legs up on his desk as soon as the first month's exam results were announced.

Sakagami had also said that although the Code of Conduct Exam was over, that didn't mean students could do whatever they wanted from then on.

Still, Sakagami hadn't imposed strict rules on the students of Class C. He had mostly just let them do as they pleased.

As the class leader, Ryuen was in an excellent mood.

Without him keeping the class in check, he couldn't even imagine how far they would be from the top classes by now.

The other students in Class C thought the same way. It was fair to say that Ryuen had now secured absolute control over the class.

When the uproar from neighboring Class D reached them, Ryuen still privately sneered at those idiots in the lower-ranked class.

What a bunch of easily satisfied fools.

But disdain aside, Ryuen had his eye on Koenji, the student in Class D.

Apart from taking action against Kujo at the beginning of the month, he had spent the rest of it keeping track of Ayanokoji and Koenji.

Ayanokoji didn't seem to have any particular instincts or abilities. He was just a tagalong. Horikita Suzune, who was always by his side, seemed to have an impressive background, but she hadn't managed to join the Student Council, either. So she was useless.

Koenji, on the other hand, was a tricky one. During the first month, he had already started earning points from upperclassmen in an unconventional way.

Ryuen had looked into it. Apparently, before the school year began, Koenji had spread word that he was the heir to his family, making information about him available online to people at Advanced Nurturing High School.

Then he used his status and reputation to promise the soon-to-graduate third-years generous rewards after graduation, in exchange for enough Personal Points.

How could he let Koenji carry on unchecked?

As soon as he learned about it, Ryuen had set out to destroy Koenji's scheme. His method was exactly the same as Koenji's: lie.

He could hand out empty promises, too. He just didn't have much of a background.

But a few days later, the Student Council intervened.

Still, it had successfully stopped Koenji's plan, which was enough to satisfy Ryuen.

When it came to leading the class, unlike the low-class students next door, even when his underlings wanted to cheer, they would silently hold it back if they saw that he hadn't said anything.

Ryuen was quite pleased with that.

There were always a few idiots who couldn't read the room, though.

"Are we supposed to cheer?"

Ishizaki asked Ryuen sheepishly.

"Heh."

"If you dare make a sound, I'll throw you outside."

Ishizaki's smile looked more like a grimace.

Perhaps that made Class C the calmest class in the entire first year.

Class B.

All the students gathered around Ichinose.

"Great job, Ichinose."

"Just what I'd expect from Honami-chan~"

"I always knew little Honami was the best!"

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

If Ichinose hadn't been a girl, making it rather awkward, the students of Class B would probably have tossed her into the air and celebrated over and over, refusing to let her come back down.

Faced with everyone's enthusiasm, Ichinose responded to each of their thanks in turn.

Throughout the past month, she had shouldered everyone's trust and expectations, constantly working for their sake. So when the results came out, she was just as happy as they were.

Kanzaki, who had worked just as tirelessly, was more reserved.

He didn't embrace the boys in the class or join in the celebration with Ichinose. Instead, he turned his gaze to Hoshinomiya-sensei, who was still staring at Class D's score.

"Is Sae trying to challenge her superiors?"

"How interesting. In the past, you took everything away from me."

"Are you trying to take away everything I have now, too?"

With her back to the students, Hoshinomiya stared fixedly at the floor.

Sae had spent the entire month criticizing Class D. She had, and yet...

Why had the results turned out like this?

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

Class A.

As the top-ranked class in the entire year and the only class that hadn't lost a single point, Class A's atmosphere felt not just devoid of joy, but downright heavy.

Unlike in Class C, where the students were too afraid of Ryuen to make a sound but were at least still smiling, the students of Class A didn't dare say anything at all. Their confused expressions were tinged with bewilderment, as if they had just failed an exam.

"Why so quiet, Katsuragi? You were pretty talkative before."

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

Katsuragi didn't seem inclined to fight back. He closed his eyes, ready to face everyone's judgment.

When Katsuragi didn't respond, the boy leading the charge became even more vicious, criticizing him with a harsh, unforgiving tone:

"Katsuragi, Katsuragi. The Student Council—you were turned away by President Horikita."

"And the class—you've led it to this."

"Even Class D is about on par with Class A now. Do you understand?"

Katsuragi remained silent.

Faced with criticism from members of the Sakayanagi Faction in his class, he had nothing to say.

The words [No class changes this month] on the blackboard stood out painfully.

There hadn't been any this month. Did that mean there definitely wouldn't be any next month?

There wasn't even a ten-point gap.

Katsuragi knew that he had already lost to Ichinose once.

During the interview, she had successfully joined the Student Council, while Katsuragi hadn't even learned why he had been rejected.

And during the first month's Code of Conduct Exam, he hadn't expected even Class D, the lowest-ranked class, to hold on to more than 800 Class Points...

Katsuragi felt the pressure.

While Katsuragi remained silent, his biggest fan wasn't about to stand by and watch him get bullied. He stood up and shouted at the Sakayanagi Faction member who had spoken:

"What have you done, then? Do you have any idea how hard Katsuragi has worked over the past month? Our class didn't lose a single point. Doesn't that prove his ability? Huh?"

After Totsuka Yahiko finished shouting, the other boy hadn't even reacted, but Totsuka was already out of breath. Clearly, he was under no less psychological pressure than Katsuragi.

Just as the Sakayanagi Faction was about to respond, Katsuragi stood up and patted his biggest fan on the shoulder, signaling for him to sit down.

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

Over the past month, he had strictly held himself to a high standard in his words and actions, and he had required his classmates to meet an eight-point standard as well.

But now, it seemed that the other classes had done the same.

Class Points didn't lie.

Every lower-ranked class among this year's first-years was capable of challenging Class A.

For the exams ahead, he either had to change his approach and lead everyone in a different way, or hand over leadership to someone more suitable and let that person take responsibility for protecting Class A.

Just as Katsuragi was about to speak, Kamuro left her seat. Then she held up a contract bearing the school crest and stamp toward him.

Her actions drew the attention of Katsuragi and everyone else in Class A.

Was that a cooperation contract with someone from Class C?

It stated the terms and conditions of the cooperation between Class A and Kujo from Class C.

For the exam designated by Class A, Kujo will do everything in his power to help Class A earn Class Points.

In exchange, for that exam, Class A will pay Kujo Makoto of Class C an amount of Personal Points commensurate with his work each month.

If Class C breaches the contract, [Kujo Makoto] will voluntarily withdraw from school.

If Class A violated the agreement, Sakayanagi Arisu would voluntarily drop out.

Kujo Makoto's real name had been signed above.

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

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

Katsuragi sighed.

The specific terms of the contract didn't matter.

A class didn't need two leaders.

Katsuragi had never been set on becoming a leader in the first place.

But at the start of the school year, most people had expected it of him, so he had decided to lead everyone and help them become students worthy of Class A.

Now he could see that this school wasn't suited to his style of leadership. He really had let down many people who had placed their hopes in him.

Katsuragi believed he still had a lot to learn at this school.

He walked over to Kamuro and carefully reviewed the contract once more.

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

He thought back to his encounter with Kujo in the library. Kujo's every word and action had seemed no different from those of an ordinary student. But looking back, Kujo had indeed been manipulating him all along, leading him to think in the wrong direction.

The ridiculous part was that he had naively assumed Kujo was an ordinary student being oppressed by Ryuen—someone he could negotiate with.

Little had he known that Kujo was the most dangerous person in Class C, so much so that even someone like Sakayanagi had to take him seriously.

After learning what had happened, Katsuragi looked at the listless Sakayanagi, then spoke to her:

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

He signed the contract. The few remaining members of the Katsuragi Faction in Class A who hadn't signed had no choice but to add their signatures too.

Katsuragi walked up to Sakayanagi and asked the question on his mind:

"I've heard a lot of rumors lately. No, those don't matter. I just want to ask one thing. Is Class C an enemy or an ally?"

Sakayanagi found the question amusing. Her slender fingers tapped out a lively rhythm on the table. In a good mood, she decided to give Katsuragi an answer:

"That's a strange question. I simply chose the option most advantageous to Class A. As for Class C, there certainly is an interesting person there, but judging by their overall abilities, I suspect they'll need all three years just to climb to roughly where we are now."

Katsuragi folded his arms and asked the most important question:

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

What a boring question.

Sakayanagi didn't answer right away.

Deep down, she didn't care about Class A's standing or privileges. The only thing she truly cared about was competing against Ayanokoji.

She picked up her cane and stood. With Yamamura supporting her, she left the classroom with Kamuro.

Before she left, she gave the Class A students behind her just one sentence and a view of her back:

"Though you're all rather boring, if a single promise would make you happy, then I'll make an exception and give you one. I'll make sure every one of you graduates from Class A."

It wasn't out of a sense of responsibility, but pure confidence.

However.

Sakayanagi had promised to make sure the people in Class A graduated from it.

But she hadn't said that she would graduate from Class A herself.

Because competing against Ayanokoji was her dearest wish.

After she fulfilled that wish...

Perhaps...