A Story Starting from Classroom of the Elite

It all depends on how the parties involved sell their goods and how they negotiate.

Fine, I might as well use this as a lead-in to get something done.

"I understand. I'm sure you all have many questions right now."

"Those who have questions, raise your hands. I will answer them selectively based on the actual content of the questions, in order from top to bottom, right to left."

Whoosh... whoosh. In an instant, over a dozen hands shot up across the class.

Following the order, Chabashira Sae called out a name.

"Ike Kanji."

Ike Kanji stood up and said with great dissatisfaction, "Teacher, it's the same thing as before. Why didn't you tell us about such an important matter?"

An R-rank card is truly just cannon fodder.

I turned my head to look at the poker-faced guy in the back.

"Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, you answer this question."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, having been called upon, stood up with a whirlwind of thoughts in his mind.

I just want to spend three years of school life in peace. Why does it have to be me? I haven't been acting particularly outstanding.

If we were talking about those who didn't raise their hands, there were at least twenty-some people.

Random?

No.

"I think this is normal."

"Why is it normal?"

"Since the teacher didn't mention such an important matter, it must be a requirement from the school."

With one sentence, he killed the question, and Ike Kanji sat back down with a sheepish grin.

The number of hands raised also decreased.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka sat down, pondering where he had gone wrong.

But having come from the White Room, he clearly couldn't realize that he had exposed himself too early due to a lack of certain common knowledge about the outside world.

"Hirata Yosuke."

"I would like to know information regarding how the class's points are added or deducted."

A bit better than an R-rank card, but only marginally.

It feels like he doesn't live up to his SR status at all.

Whatever, for the sake of him clearing up my doubts earlier, I'll guide him a little.

I reached out and pointed vaguely.

"Where is this?"

"The classroom."

"Broaden it."

"The school."

"What is your status?"

"A student."

Chabashira Sae picked up a piece of chalk and turned to write three words on the blackboard: Student, Class, School.

"Now, do you still need an answer?"

Hirata Yosuke had a sudden realization and sat down, looking somewhat embarrassed.

After all, the question was indeed a bit foolish.

With those two questions answered, only three people remained with their hands raised.

Clearly, they all had the same question.

"Horikita Suzune."

"I paid my points yesterday, so why was I assigned to Class D?"

Horikita Suzune, who considers herself quite excellent, didn't care at all about what others thought and spoke without any regard for her phrasing.

She's already been assigned to Class D, yet she still won't reflect on herself.

No, it's more like she can't even figure out where her flaws are even if she tried to reflect.

Sigh, the SRs of this batch are a bit lackluster.

"Tanaka Yukishin, you answer this question."

"Say, Teacher, do your own job. You aren't actually an incompetent teacher, are you?"

Borrowing the words of The Three Stooges from earlier who were attacking the school and complaining about the teacher, Tanaka Yukishin retorted.

"That makes sense. In that case, I'll pay you 10,000 points."

It was a figure that felt somewhat insulting to their status, but Chabashira Sae didn't care; it was just a test.

The tactic was too obvious, and Tanaka Yukishin couldn't help but laugh.

"Not enough? Then let's make it 100,000. Tanaka Yukishin, Koenji Rokusuke. I'll give you both 100,000 points each. You two can answer Horikita Suzune's question."

Tanaka Yukishin and Koenji Rokusuke exchanged a glance and reached a consensus.

"For 100,000 points, it's worth my time to educate my classmates a little."

"Everyone here is a student who has lived for over a decade. You shouldn't be strangers to the term 'honor student'."

"Hirata-kun, why don't you tell us the definition of an honor student?"

The sudden call caught Hirata Yosuke off guard.

But he quickly regained his composure.

"An honor student would be someone with perfect academic scores and all-around athletic ability, right?"

"Very good, thank you for your answer."

After saying a few perfunctory words, Tanaka Yukishin stopped.

He had only been paid 100,000 points, so putting himself on the spot for that amount was enough.

Seeing this, Koenji Rokusuke stood up.

"Although it may be a bit out of place,"

"I'll start by introducing myself."

"Koenji Rokusuke, the only son of the Koenji Conglomerate, destined to shoulder the future of Japan. I welcome all beautiful girls to come find me—oh, Tanaka-kun, you're welcome to as well."

Most of the students present came from decent backgrounds, so while they might not have been flush with pocket money, they hadn't suffered much hardship.

The few who had suffered had no intention of gambling on human nature.

After all, they had just been jolted awake from the dream of Advanced Nurturing High School; without value, why would a conglomerate heir pay them any mind?

Therefore, Koenji Rokusuke's introduction served as an explanation of his own attitude.

It didn't bring any substantial benefits.

Perhaps it wouldn't be until their second or third year that some students would realize the weight of his status.

"If that's the only definition of an honor student, Horikita clearly won't accept it."

"So, I'll use her as an example to broaden the scope a bit."

"For instance, social skills."

"Although I only caught a glimpse of her yesterday and didn't have a conversation,"

"The impression Horikita left on me was that of a pretty face, a well-trained body, and a cold, aloof temperament."

"I believe Tanaka-kun in front of her and Ayanokoji at her side have already discovered that Horikita Suzune is not easy to deal with."

"Does this count as a shortcoming or a flaw?"

Horikita Suzune's expression shifted slightly, though she remained unconvinced.

Her brother had mentioned similar issues before, but the criteria for an honor student clearly went beyond these aspects.

If this was all there was to it, she still couldn't accept the fact that she was in Class D.

"It counts, but it's not enough."

"OK, I have a question for you."

"Speak."

"Does your current academic ability rely more on talent, or on effort?"

"Effort. What, does the young master look down on that? You were assigned to Class D just the same."

"No, no, no. Working hard enough is also a talent. But with effort alone, you cannot stand on equal footing with those who have talent."

It was simple addition and subtraction: Effort + Talent (Good) vs. Effort + Talent (Average).

Horikita Suzune didn't say anything, accepting the point with a surge of frustration as she sat back down.

At this moment, only one hand remained raised in the classroom.

"Matsushita Chiaki."

"If that's the case, then why were Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Tanaka Yukishin, and Koenji Rokusuke assigned to Class D?"

Hahaha, Matsushita Chiaki, well done.

Chabashira Sae felt a surge of joy; as a teacher, it wasn't appropriate for her to get involved directly.

At most, she could only skirt the edges and drop subtle hints.

That was why she had pointed the three of them out earlier without providing any specific explanation.

The transaction involving points for an explanation might have been a bit blunt, but where were they, after all?

At Advanced Nurturing High School, it is only natural for me to give preferential treatment to those with ability.

It would be best if the students could figure it out on their own; if they can't, I'll just try a different approach next time.

Now that I am a fellow member of the student body, drawing the class's attention to those three is the best possible outcome.

"I didn't single them out on purpose; it's just preferential treatment for the excellent."

To shift the blame away from herself, Chabashira Sae tossed out another 100,000 points.

"Whoever can provide Matsushita Chiaki with a satisfactory answer will also receive 100,000 points from me. Those interested may raise their hands."

The others were restless, but they looked toward The Big Three first, only raising their hands once they saw the three of them make no move.

Looking at the N, R, and SR options, Chabashira Sae naturally chose the SR.

"Horikita Suzune."

"Teacher, why did you choose her? It should have been my turn according to the order."

The Three Stooges started making a scene again.

"Right now, it is a student answering a student, so it does not follow the order I just mentioned."

Giving a casual explanation, Chabashira Sae ignored The Three Stooges.

"Answer one: these three, just like me, have obvious shortcomings or flaws in certain areas."

"Answer two: the four classes of the first year are in a competitive relationship. If the gap is too obvious, then they are just participants, not competitors. Therefore, they are the seeded players."

...Things are going so smoothly that I wonder how much of my lifespan I have left.

Chabashira Sae felt a bit panicked; just yesterday, she was worrying about how to handle the situation.

Today, with a casual effort, everything fell perfectly into place.

A strong sense of daze made her recall what a student who played games once said while drawing cards—Lucky Sturgeon have very short lifespans.