"But you managed to blow through all your points in just one month. Even among past Class D students, you're the first to do that. I'm actually impressed. Amazing. Truly amazing."
Chabashira-sensei's deliberate applause landed like slaps across every student's face.
"...So now we're going to be looked down on by everyone else?"
Wherever people gathered, social hierarchies formed. It was only natural that Class D would end up at the bottom, and it was only natural that people would look down on them.
"What's this, Sudō? You care about your pride after all? Then work hard to move the class up."
"Huh?"
"Class Points don't just determine how many points are credited each month. The number directly affects the class rankings."
That was vicious. This teacher was downright vicious. Was this your way of getting back at me?
Anyway...
What did I care? I almost wanted to laugh. It didn't matter to me whether I made it to Class A or not.
"Heh..."
Shuichi Kanda let out a laugh.
"What's so funny? You're a defective product just like the rest of us, aren't you?"
Ike Kanji, who'd just gained some popularity by kneeling, immediately stood up to take down the heretic Shuichi Kanda.
"That's right, I admit I'm a defective product. But I know what's wrong with me. Unlike you guys, who don't even know what your own problems are. You're truly pitiful."
"What did you say?"
"Do I have to remind you? It was the second or third day of school, during homeroom. Hirata asked you to follow the rules and make the most of your school life."
Kanda's words brought the students' memories back to that day. But most of them looked blank. They hadn't taken what Hirata said to heart, so it was no wonder they couldn't remember.
"Back then, every one of you acted like you were some big shot and ignored Hirata. No, you didn't just ignore him. You started breaking the rules even more after that. You were loud and disrespectful to the teachers during class. Ike Kanji, weren't you one of them?"
Hirata's image as a thoughtful classmate who'd seen this coming and had the class's best interests at heart was now firmly established.
And Shuichi Kanda had gotten to say everything he wanted.
Honestly, bullying a bunch of idiots like these wasn't much of an achievement. It just gave me a little satisfaction.
"Then, Hirata, why didn't you just tell us outright back then?"
Hirata's girlfriend, Kei Karuizawa, turned the conversation toward him. That was exactly what Kanda needed.
Hirata, you'd better stand up now, or I really will become the whole class's enemy.
Hirata could only give a wry smile and get to his feet.
"I was planning to guide everyone little by little. Everyone was so excited back then. Even if I'd told you everything I'd learned, you wouldn't have believed me."
As it turned out, he was right. They couldn't even manage the bare minimum expected of students: showing up on time, not leaving early, and paying attention in class. Some had even deliberately gone against Hirata.
If he'd forced the issue on them then, the class probably would've erupted right there.
At the end of the day, most of Class D were arrogant without even realizing it.
Kanda really wanted to ask them: Was it so hard to admit someone else was better than you?
"Then why didn't Chabashira-sensei tell us?"
"Chabashira-sensei was also under orders not to say anything. Kanda, Miyake, and I went to see her back then, but unfortunately, she couldn't directly intervene."
The class fell silent again. Even those who didn't want to believe it had no choice but to accept the harsh and disappointing truth.
Chapter 35: Welcome to Classroom of the Elite
The harsh truth had left many students in the class unable to lift their heads, but Chabashira's barrage wasn't over yet.
"Oh, there's one more good thing I want to tell you."
"Good thing?"
The students looked confused. Had anything good happened today?
Chabashira-sensei took another sheet of paper and pinned it to the blackboard the same way as before. Unlike the previous sheet, this one listed the names of every Class D student, with a number beside each name.
Following the list, Shuichi Kanda quickly found his own name.
Shuichi Kanda, 80.
So I hadn't guessed right. Social Studies.
Still, Kanda was fairly satisfied with his score.
"These are the results of your last quiz. Seeing a class full of 'elite students' makes me so happy. What did you people even learn in middle school?"
Kanda looked down the list from his own name. Most of the class, including Miyake, had scored around sixty, which seemed about right for a class of underachievers.
But looking from the bottom up, the results were downright ridiculous.
Ken Sudō, fourteen points.
Ike Kanji, twenty-four points.
Yamauchi Haruki, thirty points.
The three of them were lined up perfectly.
By Kanda's quick calculations, the class average was around sixty-two or sixty-three. It was only a rough estimate, so it might not be exact, but it shouldn't be far off.
"Isn't that great? If this had been an official test, seven of you would already be expelled, and school's only just started."
Chabashira Sae brought up expulsion again. But unlike when she'd first witnessed the bet, this time there was more confidence in her voice.
When a student questioned her, Chabashira took out a red marker and drew a line through the seventh name from the bottom of the score sheet.
"The average score this time was 63.8, so the failing score was 32. Seven people in this class failed. In other words, if this had been an official midterm or final exam, those seven would be expelled in accordance with school rules."
As she spoke, she drew a big red X over each of the seven names, as if passing sentence on them.
After a brief silence, some of the class screamed.
"W-what the hell?!"
"Sae-chan-sensei, don't joke around! Expulsion isn't something to joke about!"
"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do. Those are the school rules. You'd better prepare yourselves."
Seeing the pleased look on Chabashira Sae's face, Kanda realized she was a bit of a sadist too.
"One more thing. This school is managed by the government and takes pride in its high rates of university admission and employment. That's common knowledge. Most of you probably came here hoping to go on to university or get a job."
Of course. Most people applied to this school because they wanted to reach their ideal goals for university or employment.
"But... there are no free lunches in this world. It's not so easy that people with as little ability as you can get into university or find work wherever they go."
Chabashira-sensei's words carried across the classroom.
"So, to benefit from the school's help in reaching our university or career goals, we have to make it to Class C or above... Is that right?"
"Nice try, but unfortunately, no. If you want this school to help you achieve your future goals, your only option is to make it to Class A. Classes B, C, and D will graduate under the name of some other school."
So that was how they managed to maintain a 100 percent success rate? Interesting.
"H-how can that be...? I've never heard of this! That makes no sense!"
A student named Yukimura, who wore glasses, stood up.
They'd introduced themselves earlier, so Kanda vaguely remembered him.
But he'd scored the highest on this test. That meant he had a firm grasp of middle school material and had even studied some high school material. Otherwise, there was no way he could've scored over ninety.
Combined with his quiet, scholarly demeanor, it wasn't hard to imagine that he was a textbook honors student.
"Why are you so surprised? You know there's no such thing as a free lunch. If one really fell from the sky, you'd have to wonder if your eyes were playing tricks on you—if you'd mistaken a rock for a lunch."
"That may be true, but I still can't accept it. Kanda, your grades wouldn't be near the bottom even at this school, would they? Are you really okay with being placed in Class D?"
Faced with Kanda's sarcasm, Yukimura didn't start shouting like Ike had earlier. It showed how basic qualities influenced a person's behavior.
"What's there to be unhappy about? No matter what kind of environment I'm in, I won't change my goals. A 100 percent employment and university admission rate? Don't make me laugh!
"If you enrolled for something like that, I'd advise you to give up.
"The moment you enrolled because of it, you admitted that you couldn't get what you wanted through the usual means.
"That's why you chose a shortcut. Am I wrong?"
He wasn't. Kanda didn't know whether Yukimura had enrolled for that reason, but there were definitely plenty of people at this school who'd applied because of its perfect employment and university admission rates.
Those people were ordinary people who lacked confidence in themselves from the start. They were destined never to become strong.
"What about you, then? Didn't you enroll for the same reason?"
"Are you joking? I came here because it offers free housing and free food. As for what I want, I'll take it with my own hands."
Shuichi Kanda's bold declaration stunned the entire class.
So cool!
Was this what he was really like?
Quite a few students had seen Kanda in a new light after that.
Of course, some probably thought he was boasting and acting arrogant, but Kanda didn't care what they thought.
Watching his classmates' reactions, Kanda felt a little pleased with himself. Looks like my performance was pretty good. I fooled quite a few of them, at least.
"Let's take an example, Yukimura. Suppose your goal is to get into Tokyo University. If you hadn't been accepted to this school, would you have given up on that goal at an ordinary high school?"
"How could I? Of course I wouldn't give up!"
Yukimura answered Kanda almost instinctively.
That was right. If he hadn't gotten into this school, he probably would've gone to an ordinary high school and worked hard as usual.
And now that he could enjoy free food and housing, things weren't so bad after all.
Even so, he still couldn't get over being placed in Class D.
"Well, it looks like all the fun has been sucked out of the room. If you understand how harsh your situation is, then perhaps this long lecture wasn't a waste of time.
"Midterms are three weeks away. Think carefully and find a way to avoid expulsion. I'm sure there's a way to avoid failing and make it through the exams.
"Oh, I know it's a little late, but I'd still like to say: welcome to Classroom of the Elite."
Chabashira-sensei shut the door with a little force and really did leave the classroom.
The students who'd failed hung their heads in despair. Even Sudō, who usually did whatever he wanted, had lowered his head.
Chapter 36: Mr. Yosuke Hirata, the Savior
After Chabashira-sensei left, the class was quiet for a brief moment before descending into chaos unlike anything they'd seen before.
"They didn't deposit our points. What are we supposed to do now?"
What do you mean, what? Eat grass. What, were you going to steal money?
"I used up all my remaining points yesterday..."
Damn, did he have to live paycheck to paycheck?
"The points aren't the real problem. Why am I in Class D?!"
Good question. That's exactly why you're in Class D.
"I understand how confused everyone feels, but let's try to calm down for now."
Hirata stepped forward. Hirata was about to become the savior!
"Calm down? We've been called the bottom of the barrel! Doesn't that make you mad?"
"Even if they say that about us now, we can prove them wrong by working together, can't we?"
"Prove them wrong? I couldn't accept it from the moment they assigned us to our classes!"
"I understand how you feel. But complaining about it here and now won't get us anywhere, will it?"
"What did you say?"
Before you continue