There was about two seconds of dead silence.
Then—
"Boom—!"
Class D erupted in an instant.
"87 points! We have 87 points! It's not zero anymore!"
"Thank goodness! We finally have Class Points! We'll get our personal points as usual next month!"
"We have Kushida to thank for the answers this time! We're finally not stuck at the bottom with zero points!"
Cheers, the sound of desks being slapped, and excited shouts rose and fell.
Most of the students' faces were alight with joy and relief. After all, last month, Class D had hit an unprecedented zero CP.
That had left them struggling to afford even the bare necessities. Once their points ran out, they had to get by on the cafeteria's free vegetable meals.
Now, even 87 points meant each student would get 8,700 personal points next month. It was nothing short of a lifeline.
(Note: 1 Class Point equals 100 personal points.)
Kanji Ike jumped to his feet, pumping his fist. "Finally! I don't have to eat those damn vegetables anymore! I'm going to the convenience store and buying ten bags of chips!"
Haruki Yamauchi joined in. "I'm getting the latest game! I've been holding out for ages!"
Ken Sudō burst into laughter.
The classroom was filled with the joy of people who had narrowly escaped disaster.
But not everyone was swept up in the excitement.
Yosuke Hirata sat at his desk, watching his classmates celebrate, his brow slightly furrowed.
He was smiling too, but his smile showed more relief than elation.
He knew the gap between 87 points and the upper classes was still enormous—Class A had 1,004 points, nearly twelve times as many.
This score was nowhere near enough. Class D was still at the bottom, still teetering on the edge of a cliff.
Suzune Horikita