The Expulsion List

Everyone was at their most enthusiastic when there was gossip to be had.

At that moment, Class A's group chat was buzzing with discussion about what had happened in Class D that afternoon.

Minami Kosho: "Hey, has everyone heard about what happened in Class D?"

Kohashi Yume: "I know a little, but I'm not sure about the details."

Yuki Gyakukai: "What? What happened? Why don't I know anything? Have you all teamed up to ostracize me?! [Angry]"

Honami Ichinose: "[Shakes head in panic] Huh? I don't know either. Am I being ostracized too?"

Shibata Hayate: "Why is nobody saying anything? Can someone tell me what happened? I was at the soccer field all afternoon. I really don't know anything. [Laughs]"

In his dorm room, Ryuji Kanzaki looked at the lively bunch in the group chat and couldn't help shaking his head.

Ryuji Kanzaki: "I'll explain. Basically, after the midterm exams ended this afternoon,

there was an argument in Class D. Because of the past exam papers, Hirata started attacking some of his classmates indiscriminately."

Chihiro Shiramami: "Scary... [Shivers]"

Chie Hoshinomiya: "I can confirm it. What Kanzaki said is all true."

Honami Ichinose: "How does Teacher Hoshinomiya know? [Confused]"

Chie Hoshinomiya: "Because Hirata from Class D is lying in the infirmary right now. [Winks]"

Honami Ichinose: "..."

The group chats for Classes B and C were discussing the incident too.

"There were past exam papers? Wouldn't that count as cheating?"

"Didn't you see the notice? The past exam papers were reported the day before the first-year midterms."

"That's awful... So Class D didn't cheat; someone set them up..."

As Sakayanagi Arisu watched the messages fly across her phone, she pondered for a moment, then smiled.

"How devious, Gyakukai. I wonder how many students Class D will lose this time."

There was no need to overthink a matter like this. Once she connected the clues, she could more or less figure out who had planned the whole incident.

Although she knew there were several capable students among the first-years, none of them had any reason to do this.

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, the artificial genius from Class D, had no motive.

The tyrant of Class C, Ryuen Kakeru, would be better off narrowing the gap between Class C and Class B. He had no reason to do something like this.

As for Class B, the class Sakayanagi Arisu belonged to, it had already split into three factions: the Katsuragi Faction, the neutrals, and the Sakayanagi Faction.

They were all busy fighting among themselves and had no time to bother with the other classes.

Besides, there was no strategic reason to target Class D, whose Class Points stood at zero.

At the Student Council,

Manabu Horikita was still dealing with paperwork.

Across from him, Tachibana Secretary was diligently scrolling through messages. Her two little buns swayed as she moved her head.

Kouhei Katsuragi, the only first-year on the Student Council, sat at his desk, meticulously handling the work assigned to him.

"Katsuragi."

Kouhei Katsuragi set down his work and looked up at the student council president.

Since he suffered from alopecia, his bare scalp reflected the light, briefly blinding Manabu Horikita behind his glasses.

With a resigned sigh,

he took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"A violent incident occurred in Class D. Since you're a first-year and should be familiar with the classes, I'm putting you in charge of handling it."

"Yes, President."

Committed to handling the matter by the book,

Kouhei Katsuragi left the Student Council and quickly headed for the school infirmary.

Along the way, he contacted the students who knew what had happened and asked each of them to explain the incident.

Of course, that wasn't the most important thing.

Knowing what had happened wasn't enough. If the matter was pursued, one side would have to be punished.

The worst-case scenario was that both sides would be expelled.

But that depended on someone pressing charges. If nobody did, the matter would be handled differently.

He reached the infirmary, knocked lightly on the door, and went inside.

"Katsuragi, sorry for the trouble."

Hirata, covered in bruises with a face mottled red and blue, sat up on the bed when he saw Kouhei Katsuragi arrive.

His body was still aching.

Kouhei Katsuragi looked at Hirata's condition, at a loss for words.

"I'm here on behalf of the Student Council. I'd like to ask whether you want to hold Yamauchi and the others responsible.

"After all, what happened to you counts as serious bullying."

Hirata shook his head.

Seeing this, Kouhei Katsuragi's expression grew serious.

"Your injuries may be minor, but you were still jumped by seven or eight people. That's a serious violation of school rules.

"Even if they're your classmates, do you really need to protect them like this?"

"No." Hirata gave a bitter smile.

"It was all my fault. I just hope they won't be expelled when the exam results come out tomorrow."

Kouhei Katsuragi didn't quite understand Hirata's thinking, but he still handled the matter by the book.

After asking for his opinion, he went to find Haruki Yamauchi and the others.

Because their Class Points were depleted, they'd spent a long time eating free mountain vegetables and playing games in their dorm rooms.

So they were easy to find. Kouhei Katsuragi went from dorm to dorm, looking for each of them.

When he asked whether they wanted to hold Hirata responsible for striking first, some hesitated.

Yamauchi, however, chose to press charges without hesitation.

"I'm the one who got hit. What does it have to do with me that he's lying in a hospital bed? This is all his fault!

"I'm going to make sure he gets expelled along with me!"

Kouhei Katsuragi looked at Haruki Yamauchi, unsure what to say. As someone from another class, he didn't feel it was his place to judge.

"Is that so? I've recorded your request. You'll be notified of the result tomorrow."

The following day, every class was tense.

Class A (Gyakukai's class): Everyone passed; earned 67 Class Points.

Class B (Katsuragi's class): Everyone passed; earned 73 Class Points.

Class C (Ryuen's class): Everyone passed; earned 16 Class Points.

Class D (Hirata's class): 7 students failed; earned 0 Class Points.

The atmosphere in Class D was oppressively bleak.

Hirata, still covered in bruises, had arrived early and taken his seat.

His Class D classmates glanced at him and whispered among themselves.

At last, their homeroom teacher, Sae Chabashira, came in.

Without wasting any time, she wrote this month's Class Points on the board as everyone watched in dismay.

Still zero.

Then she posted the midterm exam results on the blackboard.

"You've certainly managed to surprise me..."

Hirata felt a faint glimmer of hope, but her next words made his heart—and the whole class's—sink.

"You're all hopeless rejects. Tsk. Seven students expelled in only your second month since enrollment. Unprecedented. You lot of losers have managed to set a new record."

Looking at the useless students who couldn't get their act together, Sae Chabashira gave a derisive snort.

Then she quickly drew a passing line in red beneath the scores on the sheet.

"Can you see it?"

Those whose names were below the red line felt despair creeping in.

Some of the students who had taken part in beating Hirata glanced at their own scores beside his and lowered their heads in shame.

The results showed that Hirata had scored unusually poorly on this midterm.

Yet because of him, some students who had already been struggling had gained one more point of hope.

At last, gazing at the idiots in disappointment, Sae Chabashira spoke coldly from the podium:

"Students to be expelled: Haruki Yamauchi, Kanji Ike, Satsuki Shinohara, Hideo Tonokura, Ryotaro Hondo, Soushi Miyamoto, Wataru Isekii."

"If you hear your name, pack your things. You'll leave the school this afternoon."

Just as the class sank into despair at the number of students facing expulsion,

"Wait!!!"