Truly an Unbeautiful Existence

"Why? Why isn't that bastard Sudou on the expulsion list!"

"This doesn't make sense. How could someone with Sudou's grades score higher than me!"

Haruki Yamauchi stared at the grade sheet on the blackboard in disbelief.

Before the results were announced, he had clung to a sliver of hope, thinking he wouldn't be expelled.

Even if he were expelled, he figured it would be alongside the people he usually hung out with in class, so he wouldn't be left alone.

After all, in the first month's surprise exam, he was one of those facing expulsion too, but he wasn't at the very bottom.

Ken Sudou had been the bottom of that exam, so in Yamauchi's imagination, Sudou was definitely getting expelled this time.

"That bastard Sudou must have cheated, hey hey hey! Why did his worst subject, English, score 8 points higher than last time!"

Seeing that Sudou had passed every subject, Yamauchi felt nothing but seething rage.

It was a feeling of betrayal.

He was probably the type who feared his buddy suffering, but also feared his buddy driving a luxury car.

"What do you mean by that!"

Ken Sudou, who had been grieving over Yamauchi and the others' expulsion moments ago, now felt a furious rage surging inside him.

Sure, passing the midterms was an unexpected blessing for him, but his grades were no one's business to slander.

So Sudou, always hot-tempered and blunt, immediately shoved his desk aside and strode toward Haruki Yamauchi.

Watching Sudou approach without hesitation, Yamauchi's face hardened, and he barked out:

"Your grades are clearly worse than mine, so why did you pass this time? If that's not cheating, what is?

Do you really think studying for half a month before the midterms can produce results like this?

This is nowhere near the ability of a guy like you, whose brain is nothing but muscle, alright?!"

The entire classroom was drawn to the commotion.

Suzune Horikita frowned at the grade sheet, annoyed that the red-haired gorilla Ken Sudou had managed to scrape by expulsion through sheer luck.

Some others in the class who shared that sentiment glanced at their own scores with a hint of regret.

If they had tried a little harder and scored a few more points, Sudou would probably have been expelled by them too.

By the window, Rokusuke Kouenji was idly doing his own thing, pulling out a mirror to check his hair, then taking out a file to trim his nails.

He focused on his own business, as if the chaos in the back row had nothing to do with him.

"Enough! How long are you going to keep this up!"

Knowing that seven people were about to be expelled, Yousuke Hirata had completely snapped. Now, his face dark and cold, he glared at the back row.

"What are you pretending for, Hirata? You think I'm getting expelled, and whose fault is that?!

This is all your doing! If it weren't for those so-called past exam papers you mentioned, I would have passed!"

Yamauchi wrenched his collar free from Sudou's grip, his face twisted with rage, as if venting all the pent-up resentment inside him.

He furiously kicked over his desk, grabbed a chair in a flash, and while everyone watched in horror, he sprinted straight at Hirata, ready to bring it down!

Keep in mind, Hirata had been ganged up on by seven or eight people just yesterday, and he was still covered in wounds big and small.

When he came to class this morning, he had to be helped in by others, so now he couldn't dodge Yamauchi's attack at all.

"Ah—!!! I'm getting expelled, and it's all because of you!"

Haruki Yamauchi raised the chair to strike, his eyes vicious, still roaring.

Slap.

Just as the heavy chair was about to crash down on Yousuke Hirata's head, a hand suddenly grabbed one corner of the chair and yanked it away.

"How ungraceful. Yamauchi boy, whether it's a sneak attack or bullying the injured, it suits your despicable personality surprisingly well."

Rokusuke Kouenji slowly dropped the chair he'd snatched from Haruki Yamauchi to the floor, his face still wearing that arrogant smile.

But when his gaze met Yamauchi's vicious glare, the smile on his lips faded slightly, though his arrogance remained, his words dripping with icy coldness:

"You... seem to be radiating killing intent toward me... So whatever I do to you next, you can't complain, okay?"

Faced with that frigid stare and words that were no joke, Yamauchi instinctively stepped back, fear and timidity creeping into his eyes.

"Tch. Yamauchi boy, unexpectedly weak."

Without sparing another glance at the insect-like Yamauchi beside him, Rokusuke Kouenji shot him a disdainful look, then returned to his seat, holding up his mirror to admire his own face.

After this farce, everyone had fully recognized Yamauchi's true nature.

The disgust in their eyes deepened, and the malice in their words became undisguised.

Yousuke Hirata's expression grew darker and darker. He didn't know how to remedy the situation, how to save the seven students facing expulsion from the punishment.

Up until now, only a small portion of Class D knew the rule that points could buy anything within the school.

The majority were still at a half-understanding level, merely thinking points could purchase daily necessities and be used for entertainment like yen.

The biggest reason for this situation was that Kiyotaka Ayanokoji didn't want to put in the effort.

Suzune Horikita was happy to see these people expelled.

As for Rokusuke Kouenji, he simply didn't care. As the only son of the Koenzai Zaibatsu, it didn't matter to him whether he graduated from Class A or not, and helping fools was never within his consideration.

So from this afternoon onward, first-year Class D officially expelled seven students, leaving thirty-three.

And this news naturally spread to every class across all grades in the entire school.

"How surprising. Only the second month since enrollment, and seven people have already been expelled. Should we call that lucky or unlucky?"

"Seven people expelled at once. That's even more terrifying than second-year Nagumo. That guy Nagumo has only expelled a little over ten people so far."

"..."

Karaoke

The Class A students, who had smoothly received their personal points, gathered here again after handing over fifty percent of their points.

The largest private room had more than enough space to accommodate all forty Class A students.

"Everyone worked hard on this midterm exam. Cheers!"

"Cheers!" *40

Ichinose put down her juice-filled glass with a somewhat resentful look, grabbed Teacher Hoshinomiya sitting beside her with both hands, and shook her, pouting:

"Teacher Hoshinomiya, why did you steal my line? That was supposed to be what I said."

"Hehe~ What does it matter? Little Honami doesn't need to worry about it."

Already two bottles of alcohol down, Hoshinomiya drunkenly hugged Ichinose, her eyes growing hazy.

In the room, people occasionally opened the song list and went up to invite friends to sing.

Below, they gathered in small groups of two or three, playing different little games.

Or discussing where to go during the break, or what to buy with their remaining points.

Yuki Gyakukai was among them. Just as he was laughing and chatting with the others, a message popped up. He glanced at it, and the eyes that had been full of smiles moments ago instantly turned cold.