The Sky Is Falling

Meanwhile.

The atmosphere in Class D had reached a fever pitch.

According to what Chabashira had said before, they were supposed to receive one hundred thousand points on the first of every month.

But why was it almost nine o'clock already, and there was still no movement on their Terminals?

"Is the Terminal broken? My points haven't arrived either..."

"Have your points come in...?"

"Could it be a system delay? I think they came in around this time last month too..."

"Are you kidding me? If they don't arrive soon, I won't even have money for lunch!"

Anxious whispers spread through the classroom.

Many students tirelessly refreshed their Personal Terminal screens, murmuring to one another.

Just as everyone's emotions were about to spiral out of control, the classroom's front door was suddenly pushed open.

Chabashira Sae walked in with a stack of documents in her arms, the hem of her black suit skirt swaying lightly with her steady steps.

Her face was frozen with an icy expression as her gaze swept across the chaotic classroom.

"Kozue, are you on your period today? Why do you look so awful?" Ike Kanji suddenly blurted out.

???

The entire classroom instantly fell silent. Everyone turned to look at him in disbelief.

Chabashira Sae walked straight to the podium and slapped the documents down with a sharp bang, making the already frozen air feel even heavier.

"Student Ike, if your brain isn't working properly, it would be better to donate it to someone who can use it."

"Your Personal Points for May have already been issued. Do you have any other questions?"

Though most of the students were still shaken, they instinctively took out their Terminals to check.

However, their screens were still completely blank.

Hirata Yosuke took a deep breath, suppressing his confusion. He raised his hand politely and spoke toward the podium.

"Chabashira-sensei, sorry for the interruption. We just checked, and none of us received any notification that points had been deposited. Has... something gone wrong?"

A cold, almost mocking curve appeared at the corner of Chabashira Sae's lips. "The points were transferred to you long ago. There is no problem whatsoever."

"You Class D students," her voice suddenly rose, carrying barely restrained fury, "haven't realized it yet? How utterly stupid!"

"It's not that no points were issued. It's just that the number of points issued to you was zero."

"Zero?"

"How is that possible?"

"Didn't you say it would be one hundred thousand?"

After a brief, deathly silence, an even greater uproar erupted in the classroom.

Without explaining, Chabashira wrote the situation of each class on the blackboard, then turned to the students and said:

"Class D was late or left early eighty-nine times last month, talked during class one hundred and ninety-six times, used phones four hundred and twenty-three times, and committed countless other violations. What more do you want? Do you have even the slightest resemblance to students?"

"What does that mean...?"

At this point, even the dumbest among them realized something was wrong. It clearly had not been like this before.

Chabashira Sae continued with a cold sneer. "Every class starts with one thousand Class Points in the first month. One Class Point corresponds to one hundred Personal Points. Your Class Points this month are zero, so..."

"Your Personal Points this month are zero!"

"You've created an entirely new record!"

"In other words..." Hirata Yosuke's voice was dry and trembling slightly. "From now on, we'll be completely penniless?"

Chabashira Sae merely snorted and did not answer, but the coldness in her eyes explained everything.

Yamauchi Haruki and Ike Kanji stared blankly, slumped in their chairs. The others still had at least a few points left, but the two of them had not saved a single point.

Horikita Suzune's expression was colder than usual. Thinking about how she still had to make a bento for Kitagawa at noon, she looked especially gloomy.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka propped up his chin with one hand, his gaze passing over every face without expression.

Sudo Ken suddenly slammed his hand on the desk and stood up, veins bulging at his temples. "Are you kidding me?! Why didn't you tell us in advance?! If we'd known our points would all be deducted, who would've played on their phones in class, shown up late, or left early?!"

"Exactly, Chabashira-sensei. No one ever told us about this..."

"Can't you give us another chance...?"

As though they had found a breakthrough, a wave of agreement followed.

Chabashira Sae continued mockingly:

"Are you elementary school students? Have you even gone through compulsory education?"

"Why haven't the other classes had all their points deducted? Look at Classes A and B. They only lost a few dozen points. Even Class C, which is at the same level as you, still has 520 points. Why do you think that is?"

"When you enrolled, the school placed you into classes based on the level of your performance. In other words, your current results are exactly what you deserve. Defective products are defective products."

"One more thing. The opportunity to freely choose your career path or advance to higher education will only be given to students who graduate from Class A. As long as your Class Points rank first, you'll be Class A. Of course, with your performance, you have no chance whatsoever against the strongest Classes A and B."

Chabashira Sae's words crashed down upon them like an iceberg.

"I refuse to accept this!"

"How could I possibly be on the same level as them?!"

"This isn't what you told us before!"

"If you can't accept it," Chabashira tossed out a stack of withdrawal forms, "sign them now, then get out."

No one dared to move.

In Japan, dropping out of school was an extremely serious matter. It meant personally severing one's normal path through life.

"Furthermore, in any future exam, students who fail will be expelled. Ten people failed last week's quiz. Fortunately, that exam will not count toward your grades."

After saying that, Chabashira Sae slammed the door behind her as she left, feeling that the students of Class D were beyond saving.

Silence.

Despair, like tangible fog, enveloped every person.

"Everyone!" Hirata Yosuke's gentle voice broke the silence.

"Don't lose heart yet. Chabashira-sensei also said there would be opportunities to increase our Class Points later. We're only temporarily behind."

"Our top priority is dealing with the upcoming midterm exam..."

Before he could finish, Yukimura Teruhiko abruptly stood up and asked almost coldly, "Hirata, why didn't you buy Class B's special information back then? It's your fault for not being firm enough as a leader."

Hirata opened his mouth, his Adam's apple bobbing several times before he finally said in a low voice, "...It was an error in my judgment. I am responsible."

"Responsible?" Yukimura sneered, his gaze sweeping over Sudo Ken, Yamauchi Haruki, and Ike Kanji. "You three committed the most violations, didn't you? Why are you playing dead now?"

Everyone else turned their gazes toward them as well.

The three of them felt their scalps tingle under those stares. Sudo Ken could not help retorting, "That was for club activities."

Yamauchi snapped out of his daze as well. "It's not like I was the only one breaking rules. You did too."

Kushida Kikyo hurriedly tried to smooth things over, her voice sweet as honey. "Everyone, don't argue! I believe we can do this. If anyone has no points, I still have some here. You can borrow them from me for emergencies first~"

"Kikyo-chan is the best~"

Horikita Suzune sat in her seat, her fingertips unconsciously digging into her palm.

Class D, 0 points.

Class A, 980 points.

Her heart was ashes.

No wonder Elder Brother said I was an embarrassment to her.

The Class A Elder Brother belonged to and my Class D were separated by such an enormous gap.

"Horikita, what's wrong?"

Ayanokoji asked her out of courtesy.

"None of your damn business..."