Chapter 4

Airi's only true friend is indeed Hasebe. Yukimura, who has no interest in girls and is solely focused on reaching Class A, cannot be considered her best friend. But let me say this: a true friend will never betray another. True friendship is a bond of life and death, much like Guan Yu passing through five passes and slaying six generals; how could it ever yield to something as trivial as 300 class points or the inability to reach Class A? Furthermore, with the tragic love story of Chabashira and her boyfriend as a backdrop, it serves to highlight the word "ability" that Kinugasa Shogo wishes to express. What is ability? If Hasebe were a person of ability, she could have saved Airi. Why? If they had protected each other to the death, refusing to back down even if it meant losing class points and offending the entire class, Horikita and Ayanokoji would have judged Airi to be a person of ability. Remember? Being able to make friends is also a part of ability. If Airi had a friend who could influence the class, her value (which is her ability) would have increased significantly, and Horikita would have gone to find someone else with the lowest value instead. Of course, if everyone in the class were more valuable than the currently self-destructive Kushida, then Horikita, the author's favorite, would have kicked Kushida out immediately without any hesitation. Unfortunately, Airi couldn't even find a capable boyfriend to protect her, and her "girlfriend" was the type like Hasebe who couldn't stay afloat either. This resulted in her value in Horikita's eyes being even lower than the current Kushida, which is both pitiful and sad. In summary, Airi's expulsion was logical. If you still feel she was wronged, I feel the same way. When the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer; she was entirely a girl caught in the crossfire of the power struggle between Kushida, Horikita, and Ayanokoji. However, Kinugasa Shogo wants to tell everyone that such things are common in real life. Being "screwed" by life is something everyone might encounter, and besides reflecting on one's own lack of ability or bad luck, one can only blame heaven and others. I once read a report that left a deep impression on me. It said a typhoon knocked over a truck, crushing the driver to death. According to surveillance footage at the time, this terrible accident occurred because the driver got out of the vehicle, trying to stop the truck from tipping over due to the typhoon. Many people commented that the driver was too stupid, attempting to use his physical body to fight a typhoon, not even caring about his own life. But the driver himself was thinking that if this cargo flipped, he, who had to support his entire family, wouldn't be able to afford the damages. His family would be torn apart, his parents wouldn't have money for medical treatment, and his life would be over. If you were that driver, and one day you had to face the howling winds of fate, what would you do without any ability? Perhaps such a heavy topic isn't worth discussing in a light novel, but I feel that what Kinugasa Shogo wanted the readers—who are mostly students—to feel has been conveyed. Whether you enjoyed it or not is not his concern; as an author, he was satisfied. That's how it is. Finally, let's offer some incense to the kind-hearted Yamauchi; he was the one truly targeted by the author, being written as completely worthless. At least Airi still has many fans! Actually, Yamauchi had his bright spots too; at the very least, he kindly advocated for taking in Mio-chan when she was kicked out on the uninhabited island! Perhaps that is why Minya didn't make things difficult for him? Haha! Author's Note: Minya, did you read the machine translation of the new volume? Ren-di's girlfriend is really pretty! Minya: It's drawn quite well, but who is Ren-di again? Which show did he guest star in? Ren-di: == Explanation: Is Minya losing his intelligence again today? (Discussing character development) Everyone's favorite paid discussion is back! Haha! First, I want to specifically praise all the readers who have commented on this book, excluding those who use foul language, of course. I am just an amateur writer who writes as a hobby, a science student who even went off-topic on his college entrance exam essay, and I currently work in the finance industry. It is obvious that the novel I write has various problems. Compared to the standalone version of the site, I naturally welcome everyone to give me suggestions so that I can continue to improve on the path of writing. Today, I will calmly discuss some of my views on character development in novels. There are a thousand Hamlets in the eyes of a thousand people. Some people think I lowered Minya's intelligence, which is very toxic, and I can understand that, because I never intended to create a flawless character. It is very difficult to suppress Minya's intelligence while trying to avoid a sense of dissonance. On one hand, my writing style is clumsy; I have a clear picture in my mind, but what I write is unsatisfactory. So what can I do? My level is just like this, and I only started writing because I couldn't find similar fanfiction. If you readers are unhappy, start writing yourself; I'm suffering from a book drought and waiting to read yours! On the other hand, because Minya is the protagonist, and even a first-person protagonist, everyone will inevitably project themselves onto him. Knowing the plot beforehand, and being even richer and more handsome than Minya, you will certainly be dissatisfied with his mistakes, thinking that if it were you, you wouldn't have ended up like that. This phenomenon is universal. If you don't believe me, why not look at the Four Great Classical Novels of literature? Song Jiang in Water Margin, who says "Accept the amnesty, accept the amnesty, what kind of amnesty is that," makes people grit their teeth after reading, wishing they could lead the 108 stars to "slaughter their way to Tokyo and seize the throne." Similarly, Baoyu in Dream of the Red Chamber, Tang Sanzang in Journey to the West, and Liu Xuande in Romance of the Three Kingdoms are all the same. You say they aren't protagonists? They really are, but what do you think of these protagonists? Do you ever get the feeling that you could replace them? No one is perfect. Writing a character that people hate means it's written well and vividly. My previous fanfiction for The Irregular at Magic High School was like that; many people kept saying they didn't like Mitsui, the lovesick girl, and told me to stop writing her. Actually, her personality in the original work is just like that. I restored it so well that I wanted to write more about her! Haha! If you ask me, the person she is lovesick over isn't you, which is why you're so picky, haha! Jokes aside, unlike a minor character like Mitsui who is dispensable, Minya is the protagonist! Did I go too far by writing him this way? But... not many protagonists in the classics are as handsome, brilliant, wealthy, and invincible as the readers here! I think it's definitely not that everyone is shallow, but that my writing skills are not enough. First of all, intellectual battle stories are generally slow-burn (let's just barely consider Classroom of the Elite an intellectual battle story!). Fast-paced intellectual battles are extremely brain-draining and are mostly short stories; because the rhythm is so tight that you can't even insert a needle, they are not suitable for fanfiction. A familiar example is Death Note; you see, not many people can write good fanfiction for it. The rhythm is just too fast. Classroom of the Elite is slow-paced by nature, and adding light novel and school elements makes it even slower, which is the original author's rhythm. On top of that, I am writing a diary + daily life format, so the rhythm is very slow. Therefore, those of you who are used to fast-paced "satisfying" stories are complaining about why the first satisfying point hasn't arrived yet, to the point where you feel it's toxic after Minya loses to Ayanokoji. Actually, this shows that Minya is very persistent, lol. Indeed, if it were a commercial work, there would be a satisfying point within thirty or forty chapters, making readers feel comfortable and worthwhile to follow. As the saying goes, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river," wanting to raise...