Midterm Exam Ends, Chaos

The next period of time passed without incident.

Nothing major happened.

Of course, minor issues cropped up constantly.

From what Yuki Gyakukai understood, Ken Sudou seemed to have lost some of his obsession with basketball after that last blow. Instead, he had started seeking help from the top students in the class and studying on his own.

This shift left quite a few people in Class D dumbfounded.

After all, it was the first time they had seen someone who used to be a thug-like slacker humbly asking the studious types for guidance.

Although Kiyotaka Ayanokoji knew Class D had been set up and that there was a way to break the situation, he chose not to act.

After all, whether someone from Class D dropped out or not had nothing to do with him.

As for Sae Chabashira's threat of expulsion, he had looked into it a bit.

The conclusion he reached was: unless someone voluntarily withdrew or was forced to drop out due to a special exam, no one at the school had the authority to forcibly expel a student.

Thus, Sae Chabashira's expulsion threat fell apart on its own.

So Kiyotaka Ayanokoji reasonably concluded that he didn't need to take any action.

Because for someone like him, who was merely pretending to be an ordinary student, none of this mattered at all.

Whether someone in the class dropped out or Sae Chabashira wanted to advance the class...

It all had... nothing to do with him...

Kikyou Kushida and Suzune Horikita had finally added each other as friends.

But the two still hadn't exchanged a single word, just like the month before.

The only change between them was that they now had a means of contact; aside from that, there was no interaction at all.

In the evening, Sho Ryuuen, who had just come out of the library, looked at Yuki Gyakukai with curiosity:

"Tomorrow's the last day, so what exactly is your plan?

I still don't know. Back in the private room, you only gave a rough outline. Spill it now—if someone from Class D gets expelled the day after, at least I'll feel like I had a hand in it."

Yuki Gyakukai, walking beside him, pulled a stack of past exam papers from his bag and tossed them to Ryuuen:

"Tch, I was planning to handle this myself, but since you want to feel involved, go take these past exam papers to the student council and report them."

He glanced down at the time:

"Go now, but make it quick. I've already talked to Manabu Horikita-senpai.

When you get there, just say the exam was unfair or something like that. You'll find out what's happening tomorrow."

Ryuuen took the past exam papers and rubbed his chin:

"I figured you'd have something like this in mind, but I didn't expect you to have even bought off the student council president. You really do have connections everywhere."

"Why so much chatter? Hurry up and go."

Ignoring Ryuuen's nonsense, he waved his hand at him impatiently.

"Hey, Gyakukai, what about our class's exam tomorrow?

You don't actually think that just because our Class C people got tutoring from your Class A, we'll score well, do you?"

Lifting his gaze from his phone, Yuki Gyakukai looked up at Ryuuen with a surprised expression.

Caught off guard by that strange look, Ryuuen frowned and shot back irritably:

"I'm asking you a question!"

"Ryuuen, I always thought you'd figured it out. The passing score is: total class score ÷ number of students × 1/2. I didn't expect you were still hoping Class C could pass on merit alone."

"You mean... everyone should aim for low scores?"

"Aren't you the tyrant of Class C? Is making everyone score low that hard?"

"Heh... Thanks to you, we probably won't get many class points this time."

Hearing Ryuuen's words, Yuki Gyakukai was momentarily speechless:

"Compared to losing 200 class points for one expulsion, being able to earn a little isn't already a good deal?"

The next day.

The midterm exams began.

The vast majority of Class D was brimming with confidence, having memorized the answers until they were second nature.

Of course, a small portion was still nervous. Even though the answers had been handed out quite a while ago, they had kept putting things off, to the point that some had crammed the answers just hours before the exam.

Given that failing the midterm meant expulsion, they had no choice but to be nervous.

Once all of Class D had taken their seats, the oppressive atmosphere of the exam inevitably enveloped everyone.

Sae Chabashira, the homeroom teacher of Class D, walked into the classroom with a grim expression, clutching a stack of exam papers.

Looking at the rows of students seated before her, each one so adorably foolish, she found them utterly exasperating.

They had been played for fools and still didn't realize it.

As she handed out the papers one by one, her gaze briefly fell on Kiyotaka Ayanokoji and Suzune Horikita, tinged with disappointment.

"What...?!"

The moment Class D received their papers and saw the questions, they rubbed their eyes in disbelief, checking again and again.

Yousuke Hirata's face also darkened as he stared at the exam paper on his desk.

Though the questions weren't difficult and he could answer them, that didn't mean everyone in Class D could.

Just as he opened his mouth to say something, Sae Chabashira's cold voice rang out:

"Begin the exam. No talking during the test, no cheating. Violators will have their entire exam results voided and be marked as failing!"

Left with no choice, he lowered his head, gripped his pen, and deliberately filled in only part of the answers, ensuring he scored low.

He had to guarantee that classmates who had been on the borderline last time would pass, while also securing his own passing grade in this subject.

Others in the class shared this mindset and began consciously controlling their scores.

As for Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, he didn't need to think twice, but considering the anomaly he had shown last time, He deliberately added 10 extra points this time, scoring exactly 60 on this exam.

As for the other academically strong students, they wrote without concern, filling in every answer they knew.

Some of them didn't care about their classmates, while others desperately hoped this exam would force the weaker students to drop out.

As a result, in this tense atmosphere, those who usually performed poorly felt immense psychological pressure.

Though they wanted to tear up their papers, they held back.

Finally, the last subject's exam ended.

Haruki Yamauchi, the leader of the "Dark Room Trio," kicked his chair back and slammed his desk hard.

The loud noise startled the already exhausted students, and everyone shot him disgusted looks.

Though Yamauchi hadn't bothered to study the Past Exam Papers from the start, it was now clear that the exam content was different, so the problem definitely wasn't his fault.

Thus, emboldened, he glared fiercely at Yousuke Hirata:

"Hirata, this isn't what you promised! Didn't you say the midterms would test the Past Exam Papers?!

I stayed up all night memorizing every answer, so why is the exam content completely different?!"

Other struggling students, equally lacking confidence, vented their frustration at Hirata:

"Hirata, don't tell me you're in cahoots with Kōenji and the others, hoping we'll all drop out, right?!"

"I was so wrong about you!! You hypocrite!"

Sitting in his seat with his back to everyone, Hirata's face was dark.

He admitted that this exam was partly his fault, and he felt some guilt for betraying their trust.

Moreover, he could see the disunity in the class, with different groups pushing each other away.

Finally, someone might have to drop out tomorrow—something he didn't want to see...

Yamauchi and the others, seeing Hirata silent with his back to them, assumed he was guilty, so they grew louder and more aggressive, even resorting to insults.

Meanwhile, Kei Karuizawa's group of gyaru began defending Yousuke Hirata.

Though they weren't the ones benefiting from this exam, various reasons made them dislike Yamauchi and his lot.

The rest of the class started stirring the pot.

Just as Class D descended into chaos, Bang!!!

Hirata stood up and slammed his desk hard. The thunderous noise briefly silenced the classroom.

He turned around, his face dark, and glared at everyone.

"Enough!"