Meeting Adjourned

"Oh my, little Sae, don't be angry~"

Chie Hoshimiya gently nudged Chabashira Sae beside her.

"It's all your fault..."

"Alright, both of you, quiet down." Tomoya Mashima pressed his hand to his forehead, cutting off their conversation.

These two really were something—always ready to bicker at the drop of a hat. Everyone here knew each other, so scolding them felt awkward, but letting it slide wasn't right either.

Still, he had to step in, since the board of directors would be reviewing the full meeting record.

Suguru Itagaki had no interest whatsoever in their squabbling; he didn't even bother to acknowledge Class D or Class B.

From the very start, he'd noticed a promising talent in his class—Ryuen Sho.

Ryuen Sho was exceptional. On the first day of school, he'd already mostly whipped the class into shape.

In all the classes Itagaki had led before, such talent was rare.

He was confident that under Ryuen's leadership, Class C would achieve remarkable results. Of course, he'd also offer a bit of support within the bounds of the rules.

When Chabashira Sae and the others saw Mashima speak up, they quickly fell silent.

From Chabashira's words, Mashima had more or less guessed why Class D's score was so low this time.

But based on past experience, while Class D was admittedly weaker, it shouldn't have had its class points wiped out right from the start.

There was probably some fault on Chabashira's part too. Even though she couldn't reveal the school's rules at the beginning, she could have offered a few basic reminders.

Like telling them to pay attention in class, be frugal, and so on...

That wouldn't have violated the school's rules.

But Chabashira likely hadn't done that—she might even have stirred things up a bit...

Well, how she handled it was her business. Mashima couldn't control that.

But if the point gap between classes grew too large, he'd have to step in.

"For the upcoming midterms, the board has decided to implement an A and B paper format."

"A and B paper format? What does that mean?" Chie Hoshimiya looked puzzled.

"It means two different exam papers for the midterms, but with similar difficulty," Mashima explained.

"I see. But haven't we always used past exams from upperclassmen?"

"That's correct, but the board decided that aside from Class A, all other classes will use the old exams. Class A will get a paper with the same difficulty but different content."

Mashima glanced at Hoshimiya and continued.

"Doesn't that put Class A at a disadvantage?" Chabashira spoke up.

"It's the board's decision, Chabashira. But in my view, it's not wrong. It prevents them from taking shortcuts."

"And ensures the most genuine results."

Chabashira nodded. Though she didn't fully understand their reasoning, since it was the board's decision, there was no helping it.

In all her years teaching, she'd never seen the board actively meddle in inter-class competition.

That alone suggested this year's Class A was strong—strong enough to warrant the board's intervention.

"Hmph, Class C doesn't need this kind of charity."

Itagaki slammed his hand on the table, furious that the board's decision felt like a handout to the other classes.

He did want to rise to a higher class, but this approach left a bad taste in his mouth.

He could almost hear the board's discussion:

Aside from Class A, this year's freshmen are all trash!

Let's show a little pity to the other classes!

We can't let Class A pull too far ahead—we don't want this year's Class A turning into another second-year class like the current one.

The thought made him grind his teeth in frustration.

"Calm down, Itagaki. The decision's been made, and I've already explained it. Besides, whether they can actually seize this opportunity is another matter entirely."

Mashima's gaze toward Itagaki was calm and steady. Under that look, Itagaki suddenly felt his anger subside.

Back when Mashima was a student himself, he'd often used that same look to calm down angry classmates. Those he stared at would quickly cool off.

That was probably the charm of his leadership.

Itagaki lowered his head. Thinking it over, Mashima's words rang true.

Over the years, even when students realized the midterm exams were the same as past ones, it was almost always Class A students who caught on.

Compared to other classes, Class A had more sharp-minded students, and the most people capable of spotting loopholes in the rules.

Once someone pointed it out, they could rally more supporters, making it easier for others to believe.

Other classes weren't completely devoid of such people—a few might notice the trick with the midterm papers—but they often chose not to tell their class.

They understood that in a lower-ranked class, even if they spoke up, not many would believe them.

...and even take on unnecessary trouble.

Unless there was a way to make everyone believe without exposing oneself...

"Oh my, and here I thought it was some method to close the gap. Doesn't seem to help us Class B much, so I'll leave it to you, little Sae."

Chie Hoshimiya grinned as she patted Chabashira Sae on the shoulder. Chabashira Sae didn't reply, just shot her a glare.

The reason Hoshimiya said this was because she understood in her heart that under Ichinose Honami's leadership, Class B wouldn't resort to such shortcuts even if they knew about them.

This year's Class B had a great class atmosphere, and the students all worked hard. Honestly, she really liked this class in her heart.

But this school wasn't an ordinary school.

Classes like this often ended up at a disadvantage in future competition...

So when she saw Chabashira Sae calling two students to the guidance office, the panic in her heart grew stronger.

From chatting with those two students, she could vaguely sense that they were definitely not ordinary.

This was an intuition she'd developed over years of observing students.

She was very worried that in the future, her class might be overtaken by Chabashira's class...

"Alright, that concludes today's meeting. I assume no one will voluntarily disclose the meeting content to the students, right?"

With that, Tomoya Mashima swept his gaze across the teachers present. They all nodded in response.

Although Mashima trusted them greatly, the board of directors had specifically emphasized this point before the meeting, so he had to repeat it.

Honestly, he couldn't quite figure out why the board was doing this. Did they really think it would give other classes a chance to close the gap?

In the past, it was always Class A students who discovered and implemented these methods.

Except for this year's second-year class led by Nanyun Ya—they had been Class B.

But back then, the class point gap wasn't very large, and their class quickly rose from Class B to Class A.

Step by step, they pulled further and further away from the other classes, until now they completely controlled the entire second year.

Thinking about this, he wondered if the school administration was afraid that this year's Class A would widen the point gap too much with other classes and repeat the second year's old path.

That would make sense.

But, Could the other classes seize this opportunity...